For The Love Of....

As I was posting the travel photographs onto Facebook, I couldn't help drooling when I got to these 4 pictures of the early dinner we had at the Lobster Pot at Portland Bill. The crabcakes, crab salad, crab sandwiches, and scones with jam and clotted cream are to die for. I would definitely travel all the way to Dorset just to have that, and have done so the 3 times I was there. So far, I've not had anything done so good, and so simply really.

Now I need to find a way to replicate this or find cheap airfares!

Need Some Colour

My room is turning out whiter than I'd like and I'm wondering if I should add some colour or do some stencil work on the cupboards. It might be nice considering my birdcage candle holder has a nice pattern I could try to replicate yet I think that would be a little too much. 

Or I could fill empty spaces up with colour?

The One Thing I Like About Paris

After the 2 days in Paris, I realise that it is one city I did not like, and other than to visit Disney Studios which we didn't have enough time for, I probably will not go back there again by choice.

However, I did enjoy the food, and one of the first things I had in Paris was a Croque Monsieur from Disneyland. It was really well done, considering I took the one with a huge patch of browned cheese. The sliced brioche had a really good toast on the outside, and yet stayed really soft. Cheese in the centre, just like the top, melted into that perfect stringy texture. Even the ham was lovely, not too salty and thin enough to give a nice flavor and texture to the whole dish.

Now that is one thing I crave from Paris, but I still rather go to other parts of France for it if I ever was that desperate.

Childhood Favourites 05

Today mom made another one of my childhood favorites, although she didn't use my favorite or 2nd favourite filling. My grandmother called them potato cutlets, and was the one who made the first ones that the blew my mind. They're made like bergedils, the potato balls that go great with soto ayam, but my grandmother's twist was to mix them with luncheon meat instead. The luncheon meat kind are my 2nd favourtie filling though. The one that really captured my heart was when she made them with sardine. A potato-sardine cutlet, eaten with a green chilli akin to prawn vadai - absolute heaven!

Mom made a new version with corned beef or mutton, depending on what she found in the pantry. We never had corned beef as my grandmother was a buddhist. Since my dad, grandfather and brother-in-law love their corned beef, as well as it being halal for Adi to enjoy, it was quite easy to see why mom decided to make these instead - more mouths to finish a big batch!

Spreading Some Pepper Love

During this year's reunion dinner, my cousin Javier took a liking to my battery-operated pepper grinder as it was quite easy to use and was just as simply designed. My pair was bought while on my trip to Australia and it really has come in handy, especially with you need to pepper your food while cooking, or even when marinating, and you don't have 2 hands to work a manual grinder. The best thing it is for is actually for pasta and soup, when you just need that bit of freshly ground black pepper to add a lovely hit of earthly spice

So while out with Angie at JEM, I was walking in Robinsons when I saw them being sold there, and with a discount to top it off. Since I was looking for another one myself, I ended up getting Javier a pair  instead of waiting till his birthday in November. Goes to show how much he liked it as he sent his dad to pick it up the day I posted it out to him online.

Beggars Aren't Choosers

Went out with Angie today and I felt like I needed to have a cup of coffee the whole day, preferably with some soy milk. In the end, we went to McDonald's after dinner and shopping and I got some iced black coffee from McCafe. Honestly, the coffee is alright, but somehow, even with 3 shots of espresso in it, they still managed to make it diluted. Guess I've to ask for an iced espresso next time, if there is a next time. The whipped cream didn't even help either. Thank goodness for the brownie though.

An Addict Since Four

I got my first blue passport that allowed travel between Singapore and West Malaysia in 1985, and that also meant that it was the first year I started getting out of the country. Ever since, I've been enjoying my adventures out of the country, but my adventures have gone much further than West Malaysia after I got a red passport.

I remembered the first few trips were mainly to Malaysia, and by long car rides. A memorable one was to Genting and I remembered 3 things very clearly - my grandmother having a go at the sharp shooter game near the casino, "chicken in a basket" dish (which was so good, I could eat everyday), and frozen in fear over crossing the bridge over the swimming pool (which I still am some what uncomfortable with). Obviously, this trip was probably the one that got me hooked as it was basically awesome new experiences and 99% of the memories were awesome.

The second big trip definitely got me hooked on flying. Well, I don't exactly love turbulence that comes with flying, but it is the fastest way to get to far off destinations. However, my first flight was only to Kuala Lumpur on a big Malaysian Airlines plane that had little bumps on the way. The take off was exciting and I was seated next to some guy with mom and sis behind me. After landing in KL, we were soon onto our second flight to Pangkor on a tiny little propellor plane that took about 10 passengers. Everyone was a bit skeptical about it, but it obviously got us to our destination, and boosted my confidence in air travel.

If only we had digital cameras then, so that taking photos would be much easier as you would know if the shot was good in an instant. However, I didn't have a camera, and mom was too busy making sure we didn't freak out to take pictures out of that tiny plane window to compare them to what I do now.

Twisting An Old Recipe 02

I've always loved the chilli crab sauce, but eating crab while it's hot isn't one of my favourite things. A while back, I had a chilli crab pasta and it gave me an idea to substitute the crab with prawns. Since it could work as a pasta sauce, I didn't see why I couldn't work as a dish alone. Then just before CNY, I got a few bags of frozen crayfish and thought I do a chilli crayfish instead. However, the freezer wasn't closed properly yesterday, causing the prawns to defrost. So I ended up with a big pot of chilli prawn and crayfish.

What better to do when  you have a big pot of food? Share! So I told Uncle Dennis to come for some and they brought the perfect accompaniment, mantous!

Twisting An Old Recipe

I wanted to test the oven on the apple pie recipe again, but didn't want to bother with making 9 mini pies. Since I already tried this for my sister's birthday party, I decided on making the apple slice so mom could have a try. 

Seems like we managed to get the oven setting right this time as the party didn't get to dark. So now we've got a new version we could do for Christmas so everyone can share, along with the little pies to take home. 

Seasonal Experiments

Just last year, my mom reintroduced me to this super sour fruit. She didnt have much ideas as to what to do with them other than slicing them into her sambal belacan, and that was best eaten with fried fish. Furthermore, we usually got only a handful or two of these at a time when they are in season, which made it hard to experiment with. 

Lucky for us, her cousin has a huge tree that happens to be bearing a lot of fruit just as Uncle Raymond visited them for CNY. He brought about 10 handfuls of fat, juicy fruits back to our place, more than enough for Uncle Dennis and experiments. The suggestions then came in with stories about people using it as replacement for tamarind and made me wonder what else I could do with it. Mom also wondered how it would taste if it was pickled. 

Guess it's time for some experiments.

Childhood Favourites 04

Went to the Floating Platform at Marina Bay today for the annual River HongBao and found another favorite of mine in the food corner. Putu Piring, similar to Kueh Tutu, but there's less rice flour mixture, lots more gula melaka, and no pandan leaf to sit on. The texture also differs from the chinese version as this is more like a dense sponge cake even if it's over-steamed. The kueh tutu somehow feels like gum paste in the mouth when it's over-steamed. 

Anyway, I can't really remember when I first ate one of these, but I do remember mom getting some kueh tutu from the coffeeshop under the Tai Chung building. They were either filled with the sugared shredded coconut or peanuts, but I loved the chewy texture of the rice flour mixture and the lovely panda smell. However, once I tried a putu piring, the gula melaka just got me hooked. There are some stalls that place these on pandan leaves, and that just makes it all sooooooo good!

Learning From Kids

Manvinder's son, Aaryan, got his own bowl of noodles and a plastic spoon so he could feed himself as we had dinner together As all of us were enjoying our dinner and were chatting about the mundane, we caught sight of how Aaryan was eating and it only brought laughs to all of us. So it's no problem if you eat messily as long as you enjoy it so much that you lick the spoon clean!

Beach Combing

The tide was really low and we went to Changi beach again to check out what yummy gems we could get. Other than the edible stuff we got, there were a few cool finds hidden in many spots across the exposed seabed. Fat starfish, skinny starfish, lots of hermit crabs, corals, weird weeds n anemones. Cool to know there's a good amount of sealife even with the traffic in our surtounding waters.

Christmas Treat For CNY

Gong Hei Fatt Choy!! Day 1 of Chinese Lunar New Year and everyone came over to our place for dinner as planned. We had a few usual things on the menu and mom had place the christmas pudding on the trolley together with the rest of the sweet stuff. Looking at the pudding, I decided it was no better time to cut it up for everyone to eat as everyone wouldn't mind something new. Looking at the box, it was named "hidden orange christmas pudding" and I wondered how hidden the orange would be. Cutting into the pudding, I realised they hid the whole orange in the pudding, and it was really nice with the liquor and sugar soaked into it. Other than it being really sweet, it was a refreshing treat to the same old CNY goodies. 

Reunion With Friends

Michelle & Mark were back in Singapore after their cruise and wondered if we were free to meet up. Finally, we managed to squeeze in a meet up with all the Lunar New Year shopping we had to do, and that was to have reunion dinner with them. Since we already had our reunion dinner last Sunday, we became a replacement family for Michelle to reunite with. Dinner was initially supposed to be at Jin Shan, but they told us that they weren't taking any walk-ins for the night. So we ended up at the restaurant Michelle first texted us about, Yu Cuisine. We were told we had to finish our dinner by 7.30pm, which meant we had more than an hour to eat, but that was more than enough as the kids would have wanted to go to bed by then. 

The dinner started off really well with their version of yu sheng, that was 'blessed' by the waitress as she built the dish up at the table. It was known that each ingredient had some meaning to it, but to listen to someone listing out the idioms as she placed the ingredients in the plate was really cool. Other than the yu sheng, we also ordered a steamed fish, spinach, a platter of roasted meat and chilli crab. Guess it was also great we ended up here as Michelle got to eat her Chilli Crab and this one was quite good, even though the mantous were really small. 

I would say mom and dad wouldn't mind coming her in the future as it was so satisfying, we didn't touch the one bowl of rice we ordered to share for the 3 of us. And from the prices I saw (no bill to refer to as Mark paid for dinner… Thanks Mark!!), it wasn't too bad considering the building we were dining in. It was an really great reunion with friends and also to meet the kids, which would never have stopped at the corner of the canal if poor little Mia didn't need to pee. 

New Toy

I saw this Instax Share  printer before christmas and was thinking of looking it up but totally forgot about it with all the preparations that had to be done for Christmas and Lunar New Year. Then as I was looking through  Yahoo news, I saw an advertisement for this on Qoo10 and decided to check it out, only to find that it was available at the shop I go to for all my polaroid needs. So got on their pre-order list and they texted me yesterday saying that a shipment had arrived and that I could come down to get it. 

Dad had wanted to go get some things today and so I decided I might as well get the printer since we were heading out. So here we are, my new toy printing some really old photos I dug out from my iPod. 

Baking Sunshine

As Lunar New Year approaches, the amount of festive favourites such as love letters, bak kwa and pineapple tarts, fill the shelves of almost every shop just banking in on shopping frenzy. The same shopping frenzy that has increased the prices of these goodies to really ridiculous rates, which is a reason why my dad makes his own bak kwa, and my aunt makes her UNIQUE pineapple tarts. 

As mentioned before, looking through the shelves for some pineapple tarts to satisfy my cravings just didn't work. However I got a batch of them from my aunt which helped with the craving for a while, but soon, the itch to have my grandmother's tarts was back and I had to ask mom to make some. So making it simpler by using prepared pineapple paste, mom finally got into the mood to make a batch of tarts today. 

It didn't take long for her to get the dough ready, and neither did the baking with my new oven. The tedious but was building up the tart. Rolling the dough, stamping out the bases, ensuring the pineapple paste sat nicely in place, not to much or too little paste, and finally giving each tart a nice egg wash.  Looking down on the tray, the tarts look like little sunflowers getting baked. Little bits of sunshine that easily fit in my mouth and satisfy my very particular craving. 

Reunion Dinner Crazy Creations

For the past few years before the move, we had to hold our annual reunion dinner at some restaurant as our family usually hosted the event. This year, since we've sorted the house enough to start hosting parties again, we got to hold this year's reunion at home. Once again, we brought out the hotplate and hot pot, and brought in the air fryer for a little more fun. Also, Criszean and his family got to join us as they were now staying in the next apartment. 

New company meant a new bunch of food being introduced to the mix as they brought some gyozas which were first cooked in the hotpot and then got a little fried bum using the hotplate. Somehow, everyone seemed to sliced pork belly, and one tray had a nice amount of fat which was later wrapped around some prawns and did some time in the deep fryer. Later on, looking at the squid left, I brought out some chilli paste and cooked it with a little bit of belimbing dad and I had picked. Instead of the usual belacan squid, we had a quick pseudo-assam pedas squid. 

Wonder what we'll be doing for next year?

Late Blooms For Mom

Didn't really plan on getting anything for mom for her birthday as I really didn't know what to get her anymore. She gave up on cheesecake and has too much crochet and sewing items. Plus we were having our reunion dinner tonight and getting something to eat wasn't on the top of the list.

So as we were shopping for ingredients for our reunion dinner, dad and I decided to check out Eco Garden to see if there might be a nice belimbing plant I could get. After feeling like a shabby spot was trying to cheat us, we wondered if this location, which was well-organised, would have higher prices. The range and prices here shocked us both with it being really good and the plants looked really healthy. Oh, and can't forget that the staff there were really helpful! That was when dad and I thought that we shouldn't pass up on the orchids there and to get her a birthday present, one that she can also show off for Lunar New Year.

So after choosing the 3 orchids for her, which was a bit tough looking at the amount of really nice ones on sale, we went off with me forgetting that I wanted a chilli plant. Well, when I go back for my full garden supplies, that chilli plant will be on the list.

Happy Birthday Mudder!

Childhood Favourites 03

Mom's apple pie is one of the desserts I will never say no to. It was the first apple pie I've tasted, and it has been the benchmark for other apple pies (that has only 1 come close) since then. The recipe is simple and it doesn't have any raisins or spices that mask the flavor of apples, or the buttery pastry. I think in the end, it's this simplicity that has won over a few friends and family as well, making this a yearly treat for everyone that comes to our Christmas eve party.

Childhood Favourites 02

Another one of my favorites is curry chicken, the kind made with coconut milk. My mom says it's because I probably loved the one my grandmother used to make. I think it might also be due to coconut milk, because I do love my mom's curry chicken, but I'd love it more with coconut milk!

This one is packed from Ikea, and tucking into it after midnight after bringing a load of stuff back. Strangely enough, the local dishes at Ikea are really nice,  and sometimes (in this case), better than the Swedish fare. They've even improved thier menu by adding options to add achar and papadums to your order. Well, I'd be happy with the curry just poured over noodles.

Bliss!

Childhood Favourites 01

One dessert that falls in the list of childhood favorites is Cendol. I'm not sure if my first taste was from Johor on the way to someone's kampung or Sepang, or the corner drink stall at Margaret Drive Food Centre. Wherever my first taste of Cendol was from, the taste of the dessert never left my mind, and definitely stuck as I love stuff with coconut milk and gula melaka.

Today's bowl was from the Malaysia Boleh foodcourt at Jurong Point.  Although it was a little too sweet for me, I really loved the fact that the coconut milk was slightly salted and bumped up the flavours. The green cendol bits and huge red bea s were also nice and soft.

Satisfied tummy.

Operation Ecosystem

I wanted to do something to ensure that our terrapin, Pestinator, had a rather clean environment to live in instead of mucky stagnant water. However,  instead of just clogging up a filter with poo n leftover vegetables, I thought that maybe some plants would be better off with the water.

Putting plants in the tank would mean the Pestinator would have a tank that was too small, and a bigger tank wouldn't fit on the shelf. So plan B was to get 2 tanks and use the tank with plants as a big filter, then filter the semi-cleaned water back to the Pestinator's tank.

So far, we've got the basics set up and running. Hopefully the idea works out well. 

Festive Ambience

My sister sent me a message that she wanted to hold a steamboat party during the Lunar New Year celebrations and regretted not getting some decorations from the shops here. So since I was going out, and it could possibly reach her before her party, I was instructed to get a few staples from Daiso and Chinatown. 

Daiso was great for cheap decorations, and soon I got inspired to decorate the house with some of it. After getting a bunch of items for my sister,  I decided to throw in a few lanterns and a little lucky charm for our own place. Mom and I then put them up this morning. 

Fried Chicken Rating

Angie and I wanted to meet up to discuss our next trip and decided to try a new fried chicken outlet thst has started to pop up in some malls. After locating our options, we decided to head to Plaza Singapura as it had a few more shops we planned to visit ad well. 

Lucky for us, we managed to get to the outlet by 6.30pm and ordered a few items off the almost non-existent menu. I really didnt get why they couldn't have a menu high up on the screens behind the cashiers. It made ordering the first time a bit confusing when the guy just kep asking if I wanted to upsize, twice, without really referring to what I was upsizing. 

Anyway, all said and done and quite sad with my small drink, I waited for a few minutes at the table while my order was prepared. I get my order and wondered if they got it right as it looked rather tame with that lemon on top. However, having a taste of the sauce told me that it was indeed the hot version I ordered. Angie ordered a wings set and want impressed with it as she said the chicken was actually too dry. Mine was quite juicy inside yet still had a nice crispy coating under all that hot sauce. I really enjoyed my choice but would have really loved it if they used fat chips instead of shoestring fries as they were just too skinny for the seaweed sprinkles to cling on to.

I'd put this as my 2nd choice for fried chicken from a fast food joint. 

Ohhh Happy Day!

Alright, he married in September last year, but only did an announcement party today, but I'm still happy as if it's the actual day of his wedding. Finally Mr Eddie Kheng has decided to settle and I would say Sunny made a good choice. He didn't have to think too much about making her his wife really. Haha

The excitement for me was also partially because the reception location was a recommendation by me and I internally hoped that Dome didn't mess anything up. Thank goodness everyone seemed to enjoy the food and Uncle Billy and his team were AWESOME!!! (and I got to keep the buffet's centrepiece!) 

Check out the simple way they announced their marriage at the back of their car as opposed to the boring old ribbons and bouquet. 

Bubble Bubble Toil And Trouble

I love experimenting with recipes and the best kind of challenges for the mind is to try to recreate a dish I tried, in my own kitchen. This time it was an old cucumber soup that I had from mom's favourite soup stall. Although it's easier to just head down to the stall and get a soup fix, sometimes that shop just sells out too quickly. So replicating a dish would be one way to ensure that a craving could be satisfied, and making it for the whole family to enjoy is a bonus. Sharing is caring. 

Dad's Mini Birthday Party

It's dad's 63rd birthday today and we started early with a little celebration. These 3 bottles were in the fridge, and since he wanted fridge space for making Bak Kwa, out they came! Well the ginger beer was alright, but I've had better. And the others didn't taste like cider at all. Guess we won't be getting anymore of these. Barkley enjoyed them though, and so did dad, so that's good. 

Happy Birthday Old Man!

Crime Scene Investigation

Mom came home this afternoon, telling dad rather excitedly (read: LOUD) that there were a ton of police vans, cars and trucks parked outside the old block of flats. She said she wanted to get the mail from the old place this morning and was not allowed to park, and still wasn't allowed in even after her visit to the doctor. Wondering what big murder case was being investigated, she returned and asked dad to do some leg work, and hopefully get the mail from the old blocks along with any interesting details. Just as I was to go out and take some photos, dad called back to report that it was just some filming and that people there were mostly posing for photos and getting ready for the next shoot. 

I headed out to take photos anyway and started to laugh when I saw that the 2 big trucks parked there were from the Special Operations Command, which usually deals with the riots. Riots! My mom can be quite clueless at times. 

Festive Craving

I was craving for pineapple tarts on Saturday and was looking at the stuff available in stores but non of them seemed nice. Maybe it's just a gut feeling, or maybe it's knowing the exact taste I'm craving for was never to be found in one of the bottles on the shelf. So I left the place and ended up convincing mom to make some of the family's secret recipe tarts. Lo and behold, Aunt Jeannie have been making tarts for the festive season and happen to set aside a few for me. The message that came in was rather extensive, telling me she had made a few kinds, which included a bear-shaped one that she was trying to recreate. As you can see, the 3 different versions of her pineapple tart that have no uniformity. However ugly they might be, it's all in the taste, and I would say it came close to satisfying my craving. Close. 

Crazy Nonyas

I woke up yesterday with the smells of fried tofu skin and fermented bean curd wafting into my room, knowing it was Chap Chye bubbling over the fire. Mom decided to make it for dinner and paired it with some Ayam Buah Keluak. Since she packed up the leftover gravy and black nuts in the freezer, that dish just needed a bit of meat added and heated up. I decided I wanted to try a new dish and had always wanted to make Babi Cincalok. Looked up the recipe on the internet and found a simple one that sounded good in my head. Thus I had the basic stuff the recipe called for and sort of winged it with the flavor. The dish turned out rather interesting with the nice blend of sweetness, saltiness, tartness and spice. Hopefully I'll be able to write the recipe down. Well with most Peranakan dishes, they are usually best eaten on the 2nd day after it has been warmed up a few times so that everything marries and get nice and tender. So today's lunch was just the same feast for 3.

Barkley's Strange Addiction

Barkley is a nutcase. There's no other way to describe him. He's got no objection to any kind of toy. Everything that squeaks is his, any fluffy toy is his, anything that is covered in the flourescent green tennis ball felt is his. He can have a ton of toys all over the house yet know whee every toy is hidden.

When it comes to food, however, he can be such a fussy one. He doesn't like the fancy, supposedly good for his health kind of dog food. He likes the cheaper stuff, but won't say no to Caesar's.  He doesn't like treats like the dried fish or biscuits, but prefer softer chews like liver straps. Even so, he'll only take certain kinds. Then the shocker of his oddball choices was the fish strips. One day the family was snacking on it and he sat there begging. It's now his alternative snack when mom thinks he's had to much liver in his diet.

Well as long as he's happy and it won't kill him like the grapes he actually loves.    

Spice Up My Life

I'm not sure when I really started my collection of salt and pepper shakers, but they've become an easy gift idea for friends who don't really know what to get me. Also because of that,  I've now got quite an extensive collection, even though I know it's not the biggest in the world. It's been fun collecting them,  hunting each country for unique.  Can't really pick out which is my absolute favorite yet, but I know I can't bear to use any of the shakers The grinders, however, I would at least use to empty them first.  Then again, I do have 2 extra sets which I could use.  Hmmm....

Red Velvet Obsession

I always wondered why red velvet cake seems to be a big favorite among a lot of Americans, especially when it seems to have more fans than simple chocolate, black forest or carrot. Then finally I get to try one from Cedele and I realised how good it was. That chocolatey richness with the slight tartness of the cream cheese frosting. O! M! G!

I then went on to look for a nice recipe and it was good that the very first one I decided to try, albeit with a little editing to the amount of sugar in the frosting, was absolutely perfect. Made it for my sister's party with coconut flour and still it was delicious. 

Though I've found an awesome recipe, I'd still go around trying other red velvet cakes, especially when there's other people to share it with. This one for today was from Fish and Co. I'd say it would have been really nice if it wasn't that cold, and I wasn't that eager to eat it. Haha

Noodle Bin

I once saw some show on tv introducing some noodle manufacturer in Hong Kong that sold flavoured noodles and vowed that I would definitely visit their store for the prawn roe noodle.  Lo and behold, walking in Giant supermarket and I see it being sold as some Lunar New Year special. And since there wasn't a pack with all 3 flavours,  I had to get all 3! Mom thinks I'm mad,  but I love my noodles and there's a lot I could try with these flavoured ones. I'm soooooo excited!!!

Special Summons

It's 12.30am and I get a message from Eddie wondering if I'm still awake. Then he tells me he has a delivery to make and this is what I get… well part of it. A red envelope indicating, quite obviously, what's inside. But I already knew about this months ago and this is just out of courtesy… or maybe so I can keep it as a souvenir. Finally that playboy has decided to settle down and announce it to the world… sort of. 

Testing Coffee For Beary Testers

Sent the sister off this afternoon and TaiYee wanted to eat. Since it was January and Mom's birthday month, it was time for a treat for both of them, together with TaiYee's sister-in-law - Aunty Mary, dad and myself. Off to TCC and they were offering bear-shaped pineapple tarts. Being obsessive about pineapple tarts, TaiYee had to have a try. So I ordered a coffee just so she'd have 2 to have a picture and try. They are cute, and I would say they'd make a nice gift. 

Tired Out

Mom babysat Brayden for the first day yesterday and Barkley assisted with keeping him in check.  The whole experience definitely took a toll on him as he ended up in his bed, so tried that he's sleeping with his arm hanging out!

For The Love Of Food

Singaporeans are known to wait in line for the oddest things, but the one thing almost all of us would do is wait in line for food. Today was for French-inspired food recommended by the sister's friend, Grace. After watching some show, she thought the food looked damn good and was affordable, thus we ended up in a line for a table 5 minutes before the place opened.

Celebrating A First Birthday Like A Boss

As he was getting ready to open his presents,  Dinata was placed in his armchair for a quick photo session.  He was wondering what all the fuss was about and soon got comfy in the chair, started to slouch and shake his legs. Definitely owned it!

Sister's Husbandless Shopping Spree

Once Brendan left, it was time for Sis to go made with her doing again. So off to Orchard Road we went and I only ended up getting this Nutella Swirl Cheesecake and a dress on sale,  while sis brought back 2 bags, a bag of clothes and a pair of shoes. The cheesecake was alright,  and I think I can find better recipes. 

Beach Party

Sent Brendan off at the airport and decided to take a trip to changi beach so Barkley could stretch his little legs. Mom spotted a bench and decided to act like Ronald McDonald.  Sis then decided to join her on the bench and do the same for some reason.  So finally I got dad to join in and just snapped a pic of all of them on that one bench.  Barkley didn't look too happy about taking the photo though.  

Upping My "Tourist In Singapore" Game

Yesterday it was a visit to Marina Bay Sand's Art Science Museum for the Chanel and Eames exhibits, today it's getting a pair of "I ♥ SG" slippers in Chinatown. It's not that I wanted to show my love of country but more of an emergency pair due to an unrepairable snap. It snapped in half right at the point where it sits between the big and 2nd toe, and would have been harder to glue or tape back than to get a cheap new pair. So there we go, the pair of slippers I now wear for non-important trips. 

New Year's Mark

Brendan wanted to see how good Dad's archery skills were and decided to book a slot for us.  While dad adjusted his sight and practices since shots,  Brendan, the sister and I tried to ensure our survival in the hunger games.  Was all good until the string got caught in the arm guard,  making sure that it gave me a good beating on the arm. So first day of 2014 and I look like I was fighting 2013 away.

Happy 2014

The blog posts have definitely slowed down and it's definitely time for a change. So starting with the first post of the year, the annual awards list shall go, mostly because I can't fill up most of the categories anyway. I guess just a paragraph reflecting on the year itself would be better than a stagnant, almost non-existent list.

So here goes….

2013, started off alright as I was in Perth with family and friends, but I already wasn't happy at work. So obviously work had to go and I left the place right after Chinese New Year which made the rest of the year awesome! Ended up going back to Perth to babysit 2 big dogs while sis turned 30 in Bali. Made a huge dinner for 10, which reminded me how fun it was to bake. Came back to get the keys to the new house and started moving in just before I left for London/Paris with Angie & Adi - Loved London, disgusted with Paris. Came back and started living in the new house while we moved stuff over from the old ones. Sis flew in for Christmas and New Years this year. Handed over the keys to my old house on the 16th of December. Brendan flew in as well. Held a mini tea ceremony to introduce Brendan to mom's side of the family. Handed over the keys to the other house on the 23rd. Held the Christmas party on the 24th. Went to Adventure Cove Waterpark, got on rides, snorkeled with the fish, choked on salty fish water, cut my toe in the tank and survived. Headed to Universal Studios Singapore, was "snowed" on and got some freebies by accident. Went to River Safari and loved watching the Panda eating, also the chocolate custard panda pau. Dinner at Sakae Sushi on the 31st might have had a computer glitch which made it almost free. Then finish it off by watching fireworks on TV and making a whole lotta noise with Barkley's toy.

Pretty good year I guess.

On The Train To Weymouth

Back in London and were now headed back to Weymouth to stay with Grandpa for the last bit of our vacation. It's gonna be a long train ride, and I think we're all gonna sleep through it.

Sailing To Paris

Heading onto a boat to cross the English Channel and visit Disneyland Paris and the city… Croque Madame here I come!

Off To London

Time to say goodbye to Singapore once again and visit the Queen with Adi & Angie.

Rest In Peace Eric Chung

Even though we didn't keep in touch much, it was still good knowing you. One of the big brothers in our class who always tried to see the brighter side of life. May your soul be at peace. 

Save My Eyes, Save My Sanity

Been talking to Amy and Angie about one of the best options we have on Facebook - the option not to follow the posts of some of our friends and family. I bet some people actually do the same to me anyway, so no love list there really.

The reasons, however, might shock some people. Well Angie and I seem to have "unfollowed" the same few people in our list. It was quite obvious that these bunch of people were just posting too much rubbish we weren't interested in. In fact, they usually posted rather irritating or petty comments, negativity we don't need. 

Then came the bunch of people who just love posting quotes from every corner of the Internet. I'm not sure if they are showing how resourceful they are with image searches, how emotional they can be, or how sad their lives are. I don't mind the occasional quote about life's ups and downs, funny jokes to brighten everyone's day or even emotional quotes about heartbreak and loss. However, to have a minimum of 10 quotes a day, mostly about how people have wronged you, and that it's ok for you to wallow in your self pity - no thank you bloody much. Once again I don't need all that negativity. 

Now, there's another bunch of people I've started to consider "unfollowing", although I already have one "victim". The reason to leave them out is a bit mean, but there's a breaking point for everything. So what is it that has got me irritated? It's the incessant posting of pictures or videos of their child/children. What I feel bad about is that I feel that their kid is ugly. I'm not talking about newborn babies that are still wrinkly - that is nature, we're all born like that (unless your the newborn baby on tv shows). Most babies are cute, especially when they have chubby cheeks and give their toothless grins. What I'm referring to are kids that look like trolls, or don't seem to get enough sleep that they have eye bags or dark eye circles. I understand how parents will be proud of their child but I think some people should have a gauge as to what is cute and what is not. I don't know why, but it seems like the emergence of the non-photogenic kids seem to appear only in recent times. Maybe it's the parents, or the lack of camera skills, or the convenience of digital photography. Going through old photos of friends and family, you don't see tired-looking kids or trolls. Maybe it's just that it seems I have beautiful people in my life? 

Networking Interests Or Social Stalking

Ever since little "apps" were available on our mobile phones, and almost everything was linked to Facebook, I sometimes feel as though some people are either lost sheep, stalkers or nosy.
For example, my sis got me to join Facebook as it was a social networking site, and it would help our family get quicker photo updates through it rather than emails which had a bit of a limit. This was just as they launched Facebook to the world instead of just universities. Then came the fun of getting updates about friends you've lost contact with for a while, some for about 20 years!

What I didn't understand were the request from strange people whom I've never heard of or met in my life. We might have a common friend, but that doesn't mean I know you, and I don't particularly like to give such people access to my photos. One might argue that it is called a Social Networking site, and so adding people is a means to socialising. I would then say I think I'm rather well socialised with over a 100 friends, excluding family. However, out of these friends, it seems that 90% of them act more acquaintances. So really, the social bit isn't exactly what Facebook is all about. Therefore, if I don't know you personally, I won't add you. And if you're dumb enough to put a cartoon photo with a made up name, then don't even bother asking. No one will know you really.

Then comes the weirder requests, which are on Twitter and Instagram. So the option available on these two sites are to follow someone you're interested in. For those who might not know, Instagram is a photo and short video (added recently) sharing sight with options to link to Facebook and Twitter should the urge arise. Twitter is a place to do shout outs - short and simple posts with photo addition options.

One of the strange things about this 2 sites is when a request to follow you is by an account for something that probably will never be in you search radar. Personally, I think these accounts are hoping that by following you, you'll follow them back, increasing the interest to their account. I honestly don't think I have posted anything so interesting for anyone to follow me. All I see is "attention whore" stamped all over their profile.

The other issue is actually with the friends/acquaintances who join sites such as Pinterest and Instagram. They send a request to follow me, and they would not post or pin anything on their account. This is where I wonder if they are following the flock and getting lost, nosy buggers or potentially creepy stalkers. What is so interesting about my pictures, posts or pins that you have to follow every account I have? How fun would it be if you decide to follow me and end up looking at no pins or photos on my profile? 

I need an Antisocial site. 

Stuck In The Middle

"Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Do with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,

And the continuance of their parents' rage,

Which, but their children's end, nought could remove."

At this moment, I can say i feel like Romeo and Juliet combined. I can honestly imagine my dad as the house of Montague and mom as the house Capulet. Both don't seem to know how to agree, and I'm stuck in the middle. Just hope it doesn't take a tragedy to get them to agree on things. 

重口味

Amy always described me as a person with 重口味, or extreme tastes. Other than the fact that I am usually quite adventurous with food, experimental as well, she finds I seem to attract weird people in my life. These weird people also seem to have their own extreme tastes or borderline perversions, some of which I probably have mentioned before. 

Anyway, this is about the strange joy I find in inflicting pain on myself. I not talking about suicidal slashing or depressive burning on my arms and legs. Noooooo. I'm referring to relieving muscle aches by inflicting more pain onto the area that is already sore. I'm not sure if this would qualify me as a sadomasochist, and definitely not a physiotherapist. 

As the dictionary puts it, a masochist is a person who finds pleasure suffering physical pain (among other things). While a sadist is one who finds pleasure in inflicting pain. I can't seem to find any definition of sadomasochist - probably because it is two opposite personalities that shouldn't fester in one person? To also clear things up, there's nothing about the pleasure here being in the sexual context. I'd say it's more of the release of adrenalin and endorphins kind of pleasure. 

I honestly do enjoy rubbing in more pain to already sore muscles, or stepping on stones when I have rather sore feet. Wouldn't the latter count as foot reflexology? However, I do add more pressure to the pain, like my own version of super focused deep tissue massage, and sometimes shout (in shock and joy) at getting the bubble of pressure to pop. My mom says I torture myself, and I would agree, but she doesn't seem to mind being an accomplice to this madness. 

Maybe this is why I don't really enjoy getting massages at the spas in Singapore. No one really has enough strength to get the knots under all my thick skin and fat layers. Don't know about a Thai massage though, it looks good. 

Opening New Doors

Got the keys to the new apartments today and after 2 hours of signing papers, we got a bag with all the important documents and a smaller pouch with all the keys. That's the keys for a 3-room apartment. Imagine the amount of keys for a 5-room. Off to go test them all and check for defects. 

Changing Things Up

After cleaning out some blogs, I decided to play around with some of the templates, wondering what new ones blogger might have come up with. To my delight, I found one that allows me to add pages to a central blog, creating a look like they all fit into one website. So now I'm mucking around with a tester and I'm hoping it can turn out as nicely as it 's forming in my mind.

Arrogance Versus Intellect

Someone's post on Facebook the other day didn't seem right to me and so I asked for some clarification. Instead of getting clarification, it seemed like the person was just twisting things to make their statement a fact.

After writing a few papers for the short course in Applied Psychology, Amy and I learnt a lot about digging for evidence and support for the points we were attempting to put across. Each bold statement or conclusion usually meant we had to quote someone or cite examples. 

So when a statement is made, especially one accusing another of being wrong, I tend to itch for proof. But it ends rather disappointingly when one decides that the world is wrong, and yet can't produce any points to back themselves. Then it just leaves me to conclude that the statement they made was wrong, and that the person is just really arrogant and possibly, an attention whore. 

Therefore, I find in favour of the defendant and ignorance for the plaintiff  is ordered.  

Awesome Deals!

Had some strange inkling to check out the events at Expo on Sunday and found out that Mayer was having a sale there. As I was told by Yana that prices of the KitchenAid mixers can drop quite low during their sales, I told dad to get ready to hunt as soon as he woke up. (I was on  some US time zone). At the same time, I wanted to check out the Bugatti Diva.

 

Even though the price was really too much, I wanted to see how good it was. 

So got there and once we got in, we were greeted by convection ovens. Oh boy, another item on my wish list for the new house. That started our journey through the sale hall and it somehow ended abruptly around the corner as the next 2 showcases were for KitchenAid and Bugatti products. 

There were so many colours to choose from, we had to stand back and take a deep breath before approaching our target, but dad noticed a difference in prices for similar-looking models. The professional range was easy to spot, but this looked exactly like the candy colored ones, but had a nicer shine to it. So curious about the price difference, dad had to ask and we found out that the pricier product would have alloy coatings to the attachments, while enamel-coated ones came with the cheaper range. So since I can be quite a klutz, I was leaning toward the alloy-coated ones. We would also get an extra mixing bowl with that choice. 

Down side, according to the sales people, was that we had to pre-order the mixer. That made it all better for us as we were thinking of buying it at a later date when we've moved to the new house. The deal was already sealed for the KitchenAid mixer, but the lady had to add one more bonus which was a $50 discount with any pre-ordered mixer. It was like an offer we couldn't resist just shoved into our faces. 

Then as dad was deciding between all the mixers, I stepped over the invisible boundary to the Bugatti showcase. I decided to check out the price, wondering if they would have a substantial discount on it so I could save up for the next sale. Lo and behold, the price was slashed from $1899 to $899. I thought it was a joke and asked the sales staff. She replied that it was a thousand dollar discount for all the display sets. Then I looked at all the display sets and one just called out to me, that chrome one just like in that picture above. It was a hundred dollars more, but at a thousand dollar discount, I took the extra fingerprints that came with it. The plus point was also the fact that only the body was displayed while the cheaper one had  all the parts out. At least I know my set wouldn't have had the portafilter  accidentally dropped while on display. 

I told dad I'm going to get it as it was another deal too good to pass up, and we end up telling the staff to ring us up for the two items. We were then told we would be getting a salad chopper as a gift and ended up with 2. Well, it could end up as a good present. 

After paying, we lugged the coffee machine and choppers to the car and returned for another round. Good thing we did as dad got some education on cooker hoods and realised that all this while he was thinking of it all wrong. Also found a good deal on air conditioner installation for the new houses, as well as a new fridge. The best part about the whole sale was getting stuff we needed but having them all delived at a later date. 

I told dad that mom might kill me for the coffee machine, but I think she was secretly happy that she would be able to make her own cup of extra shot long black once we get it up and running. 

Positive Versus Negative Shows

After my recent trip to Australia, I came back to a load of television shows mom had recorded over the six weeks.

There was a repeat season of CSI, the last few episodes of Survivor, 6 episodes of Mentalist, CSI: Miami, America's Next Top Model (ANTM), and also the start of some singing competition called The Final One. 

While in Australia, I had my fair share of shows that I caught other than having a Game of Thrones marathon. Started watching Arrow and Elementary, which I hope would be played on local free-to-air channels. Not forgetting the indulgence of Bondi Vet and Bondi Rescue. There was also a few times when I had a giggle with Judge Judy. 

As shown above, the list of shows I've been watching, with the shows I've yet to complete when I came back was quite extensive. So when my mom asked what I'd like to watch, I said reality shows were definitely not on the list. Especially since I already caught the results of Survivor. 

I realised that it's not the whole show I didn't like, but the stupid and irritating bickering that the contestants usually have on the show. So the arguments and nonsense the contestants come up with are usually the ones that get the ratings, but I don't want to torture my mind with that kind of negative crap. 

The one good function about having a recorded show is the fast forward button. I'd use it just to get to the good parts like the challenges and tribal council on Survivor, judging panel on ANTM, who did the worst job and gets kicked off The Block. But mom likes to watch the whole show and wonders how I can be blogging or playing games while the show is on. Rather easy when only 10 - 20 minutes of an hour-long show is actually fun to watch. 

Then I wonder, why is it I can watch shows like Judge Judy? Firstly, I don't actually watch it, but I listen in while doing something else. However, it's her sharp tongue and her no-nonsense approach that makes the show. Most people (most, but not all) who go on the show can be real idiots, but Judge Judy would never hesitate to put them in place or slap some sense (if she's lucky) into them. I guess I like it because it seems as though she's ridding the US of all these fools. 

Then came the point Adi said about watching Bondi Vet, and that I don't mind the yapping because Dr Chris Brown is handsome. I won't deny he is, and I bet he doesn't either.

However, compared to shows like Survivor, Judge Judy and ANTM, there are no mindless arguments in Bondi Vet. It's a show about vets helping animals, and the only stupid thing is when an animal dies due to a lack of a cure. 

The same goes for Bondi Rescue, Animal Rescue, Surf Patrol, and Piha Rescue. The shows are centred around getting a positive outcome at the end of the day.

Positivity that I gladly welcome every week 

Questionable

Are men more willing to photograph outdoors in the nude than women?
I think it's partially due to the fact that men only have one bit to hide should there be any emergency to cover up.
But I wonder, if there was no fee for the model, how many of each gender would a photographer really get.

Clearing Stuff Out

I don't know what got into me the other day and I decided to clear some blogs I had created. Looking at the blogs, I realised I like having things in their own separate corners, and that gives a problem when it comes to space. Good thing then for blogs being online, as well as sites like Pinterest where I can keep boards of ideas I have. To think of the million magazine cut outs we would be keeping if sites like that never exist.

Anyway, after deciding which blogs to delete, I noticed the first 2 were blogs that were shared with friends. It was also the reason they were deleted as most of them no longer blogged. So why bother holding on to something no one was interested in? It also taught me that if I ever wanted to start a business, I'd be better off just going at it alone. 

I think, however, I might like the idea of having guest posts once in a while.

Then came the question about deleting the blogs where I've been adding tons of photos. I haven't gone into my Flickr account for quite a while, then came the mess with adding the photos through blogger. So now I'm swinging back and forth about those blogs. 

As I'm now using the mobile version to publish this post, I realised that I had some really strange blog ideas 10 years back. More of which definitely needs to be deleted, and probably an update for 2 of them. 

Off To Babysit Some Dogs

Sis wants to celebrate her 20th birthday in style and asked if I could go over to help babysit her 2 fur balls while she goes of with Brendan to Bali. Since I have nothing better to do, and my visa is still valid… I'm off!

2012 Annual Awards

Remembering 2012 Awards Winner's Roll:

BEST HOLIDAY

* Koh Samui - Hen's Night *

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR

* The Sing Off *

SONG OF THE YEAR

* Drive By - Train *

MOVIE OF THE YEAR

* The Avengers *

BOOK OF THE YEAR

* NIL *

CLUB/PUB OF THE YEAR

* NIL *

DRINKING BUDDY OF THE YEAR

* Barkley (hahaha!) *

RESTAURANT/CAFE OF THE YEAR

* TCC International Plaza *

BEST EVENT OF THE YEAR

* Sis' Wedding *

BIGGEST DOUCHEBAG AWARD

* Wally LC Face *

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR AWARD

* Wally LC Face *

VALENTINES AWARD

* Aunty Carlolin, Hani, Mom, Barkley *

BEST RELATIONSHIP AWARD

* Adi *

WHAT WERE YOU FOR HALLOWEEN

* Stock Counter *

NEWCOMER AWARD

* Kamalrudin *

5th ANNUAL LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD

* Angie Ong *

BEST DECISION MADE

* Olympus PEN E-P2 *

BIGGEST CHANGE AWARD

* Leaving UCC *

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR

* Grandpa's Xmas Visit *

FUTURE PLANS

* Travel Further *

Christmas And A Wedding To Cater For

Heading to Perth with Grandpa, Mom and Dad to celebrate Christmas with the sister and new brother-in-law. Then it's also a wedding reception after for the people in Perth who missed the actual one. Lots to cater for. I live for such things… Can't Wait!

It's A Boy!

Congratulations Mandy & Puran!

Adding A New Member To The Family

Going off to Koh Samui for a secret plan but I think most can guess from the title. Hopefully I don't have too much fun that I forget to come back to reality. TTFN Singapore!