Review of the "50 Years of Television" exhibition

I was under the impression that this exhibition would be as its name suggests i.e. a look into the history of TV for the past 50 years. However, it was rather disappointing on several counts and I did feel misled by its title and what it suggested would be covered.

First of all, the scale of the exhibition was considerably small especially when you are talking about 50 years of content to be covered. It took me slightly less than 15 minutes to cover the whole area even though I thought I had been taking my own sweet time taking photos and looking at the displayed items. Of course, considering that 50 years is a long time, it is impossible to expect that everything can be covered but I would have liked the scale of the exhibition to be bigger and more inclusive.

Secondly, the title of the exhibition was rather misleading because the afterthought of viewing this was that, did I just look at the history of MediaCorp only? Isn't the title of the exhibition "50 Years of TV"? The "convenient" omission of MediaCorp's competitors such as the now-defunct Mediaworks and entry and proliferation of cable TV were so obvious that I think the title needs to be changed to "50 Years of MediaCorp".

Thirdly, the selection criteria of items or content to be featured was bewildering, if not inconsistent. The emphasis of the TV programmes highlighted were mostly Chinese dramas thus there was little mention of variety programmes which I think deserved quite a bit of attention too. Channel 5 had its fair share of hits too but only "Phua Chu Kang" was featured. Where does that put "Under One Roof" or "Growing Up" then? I think it would have been better to feature different zones for various content i.e. one for Chinese dramas and one for variety shows, one for Channel 5 dramas or sitcoms, one for the development of TV  over the years in the lives of Singaporeans, one for changes in the equipment or technology used to produce TV programmes etc. Information displayed in the form of trivia e.g.which TV drama was the top-rated in the 80s, 90s and 2000s would be quite interesting to see. More effort also needs to be put into the writeup for each of the displays because I think they are quite bland to read. And if this exhibition is meant to be for all to enjoy, surely you need to have the content translated in the four official languages? I saw a lot of elderly people at the exhibition and I'm sure the English content didn't help them in understanding the displays better. Even in the small number of Chinese words used in the writeups, I could spot at least one mistake i.e. the name of Yang Guo which I think reflects badly on whoever should be responsible for the exhibition because of this lack of QC.

The biggest problem with this exhibition is, it tried to do everything and made a mess out of it by not having a focus theme. In the end, I didn't really gain much new knowledge on top of what I already know and it was such a pity.

*Side note: I wrote this review last night but surprisingly, an article appeared in the evening news today with the same criticism as what I have mentioned above. So I guess I'm not the only one who has issues with this exhibition? ^__^

If I have to name the two highlights of this exhibition, they are actually not so related to it in a sense. First of all, the feature of magazine covers from I Weekly and 8 Days on the wall was a welcome walk into history as you see some of the more notable cover pictures of stars, some as far back as 20 over years ago. I would have preferred to see more of the covers though but given the scale of the exhibition, it would have been difficult to ask for more. The problem is, this section felt pretty much standalone and it would have been better to weave it into the central theme e.g. saying which cover was for which TV production and offering some titbit info on what went on behind the scenes for the production of these covers. Otherwise, just showing the covers alone would take a bit of effort on the part of the visitor to recall the linkage with TV programmes.

On the second floor, you might miss this wall of photos unless you walk into the interior part of the museum and catch a glimpse of it from the ground floor. This wall of photos features some of the most memorable characters or stars which I think works better than most of the exhibits in the main exhibition. Unfortunately, due to space constraints, it's not possible to be as inclusive as possible but I think it's commendable that they had this at least. Otherwise, I think the exhibition would have seriously flunked in my eyes for being totally ineffective.

Just next to this display and on the reverse of this wall, is a special feature of the ongoing big production on Channel 8 i.e. The Voyage. I watch this drama from time to time but I wouldn't count myself as an avid viewer. What was interesting wasn't the display of the costumes of four of the characters but rather the production process shown at the back of the photo wall. It shows the amount of effort and technology in making the drama while giving you a background of the historical setting of the story. Quite informative, I would say but I think it deserves a better place to be displayed because I'm sure many people would not have known that there was something behind the photo collage wall. Wonder who was doing the space planning, really leaves much to be desired.

In conclusion, I probably would not recommend that people go for this exhibition especially if you already have a fair bit of knowledge about local TV programmes. It basically doesn't offer enough insight or additional information to spark your interest and the selection of displayed items just isn't inclusive enough to satisfy the needs of most visitors. It's also not so user-friendly towards people who can't understand English. I think you might be better off satisfying your curiousity via the Internet where you can get access to multimedia content rather than cold displays you see from this exhibition.

Review of Tonkotsu Itto (Ramen Champion - Bugis+)

Tonkotsu Itto is one of the newest competitors at Ramen Champion's outlet in Bugis+ and takes over the spot vacated by Ikkousha which has ventured into Tanjong Pagar with their own shop. Hailing from Tokyo, Tonkotsu Itto's specialty is in tonkotsu ramen rather than the usual soy-sauce flavour chicken-based broth which is a bit unusual considering its origins. And precisely because it is now occupying Ikkousha's previous spot and sells a similar style of ramen like theirs, I find myself comparing Itto's version with Ikkousha's somewhat unconsciously.

It was a pretty quiet Saturday afternoon when I visited so there wasn't any queue at most, if not all of the stalls. Ordering was a breeze but the time taken to prepare the ramen was somewhat longer than expected. I wonder if it had been that the stoves were turned off during the afternoon lull and the staff needed some time to get the right temperature to cook the ramen. Anyway, the wait wasn't that unbearable but it was a surprise to get a bowl of ramen which felt somewhat lukewarm instead of piping hot. And I certainly don't think I took such a long time to take pictures that it lost its warmth so rapidly so the lukewarm serving was probably deliberate.

At first sip, the soup felt somewhat close to Ikkousha's standard but a bit toned down. For people who don't like their tonkotsu soup to be too rich, Itto's version would suit you better. Coupled with the sesame seeds (you can help yourself to them at the counter), it brings out a nice fragrance in the broth. However, I thought that the body of the soup wasn't consistent because when I got to the bottom of the bowl, the flavour turned out to be quite bland instead of the other way round. I'm not sure if there was a conscious effort in trying to change the original taste to suit local taste buds but I think Itto's version of the soup wasn't as memorable as Santouka's or Keisuke's although I admit the latter two can tend to be a bit oily depending on what you order.

As for the noodles, I thought it wasn't cooked thoroughly and with the crunchy black fungus, it was a different type of texture I had never experienced before. Most noodles tend to be infused with the broth and could be slurped up very smoothly. Itto may have wanted the noodles to avoid being overcooked and coordinate with the black fungus to give a surprise to their customers but personally, I prefer my noodles to be flavourful and not overcooked at the same time. Itto scores in the texture aspect but taste-wise, the noodles felt rather bland if you try to eat it on its own without the broth.

With regard to the chashu, I think it's of a good thickness and quite tender. However, that's also its slight flaw because Itto's version of the chashu at this standard can be easily found elsewhere and it needs a stronger distinguishing factor in this item to win over fans who are meat lovers.

On the whole, I think Itto's version of the ramen is good in its own way but in order to stand out from the competition, there is a need to have a stronger selling point in order to catch the attention of those who go to Ramen Champion. Being situated right inside the restaurant has its challenges because people can easily bypass you. To win like what Ikkousha achieved, Itto must find their selling point and capitalise on it. It's as if Itto is an all-rounder right now with credible performance in every aspect but if I have to name something they are very good at, I struggle to come up with an answer.

Last but not least, my favourite side dish whenever I have ramen. Just like Itto's ramen, I also struggle to find fault with this dish. It's not bad yet not superbly interesting to entice me back. One bugbear I have with their gyoza is probably the lack of consistency when it comes to cooking them. As you can see from the photo, the first gyoza didn't have that golden brown skin as seen in the other pieces which seems to suggest uneven cooking. Some of the pieces were even charred at the edges. I like my gyoza to be crispy and yet succulent at the same time which is seriously a huge challenge so that's why I can't  find a version to date which has truly awed me beyond words. Despite the less-than-desirable appearance, the quality of the taste is still acceptable but I think the filling needs a bit more seasoning. If you dip it in the chili oil and vinegar, it easily overwhelms the palette and you really can't taste what's inside the gyoza because it is beaten hands down in terms of flavour.