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.