Deshelling Those Prawns

We hopped out to a late but easy dinner at Dumpling Darlings. It's a really convenient dinner venue, especially when Choya is comfortable there too. Sure we had dumplings. I only liked the original or veggie iterations. I could eat 10 pieces and call it a meal Also ordered a bowl of XO prawn noodles — since it was to be shared, I added extra servings of jjajang pork, mushrooms and prawns to it. However, those prawns aren't de-shelled. They arrive with feelers and full shells.

Grinned when the husband started peeling prawns this way. What were they saying about having your partner peel prawns for you? Like it's an unspoken gesture of affection or a division of labor thing at the dining table. Whatever it is, it isn't applicable to me.

I'm not just intolerant to shellfish, I'm deathly allergic to it. LOLOL To the point that the home doesn't welcome raw shellfish and would definitely not be washing and cooking it. The whole thing about peeling prawns as a love language is negated in my view.

The orange peel theory isn't applicable to me either. Ha! I do not eat mandarin oranges or oranges. I like the fruit as freshly squeezed juice. I'm the one who would slice and peel oranges at home for the husband since I'm faster and way neater than he is.

The husband peeled all the prawns before tucking in to dinner. That was way more satisfying than dealing with the prawns one at one at time. The restaurant used decent prawns and the husband said they held some crunch. The prawns didn't matter to me. I only wanted the noodles and some mushrooms. Wheeeee.

Paper-Wrapped Chicken

Our dear friends had us over for chicken rice, a chat and some wine. It was again, a much appreciated gesture because it provided respite from the haze and scorching heat (yes, even in the nights).

The friends picked up food from Boon Tong Kee at Balestier. This outlet somehow has claypot chicken rice in the nights, but it's off the menu and in limited portions. You'd have to ask for it. However, the chef was on leave that day, and there was no claypot rice available. So they got the paper-wrapped chicken (紙包雞) instead. Still very tasty! I was really tickled that it came individually wrapped. 

There was the usual portion of steamed chicken. The friends ordered well. There was more than enough food and variety for all of us. The deep fried prawn toast was yummy — since I took antihistamines, I had one piece. We had poached Chinese spinach with assorted eggs too. That's always a lovely accompaniment to the meats. 

The friends always generously host us in their home; we drink loads of their wines! Tonight, they even picked up the food from Balestier in the pouring rain! At least let us get dinner or split the food bill! So they did. Ooof.

Seventeenth

It was our seventeenth wedding anniversary. I seriously forgot about it until the husband remembered it. But he remembered it a day earlier. LOLOL You know I'm not bothered about marking these dates. I didn't plan a special day or something. In many instances, I prefer to mark special occasions with doing the mundane.

There was this depressing haze and all, and the year-end gloom creeping in. We're both stepping into our fifties. It's a sombre phrase of life. I'm not particularly sure how to live it. As I always have? Or I'm supposed to do something else.... These would be deep thoughts for another day. 

Then there was bad news all around — of illness, divorces, separations, unwelcomed milestone changes, accidents, losses, deaths, and more bad stuff, and more pain. It's not a happy quarter for many for us. We don't know what 2027 would bring and it doesn't feel hopeful. This Year of the Fire Horse is truly rocky for our circle.

The one bright lining — the haze lifted on 18 October. PM2.5 went down to 39, which was a normal sort of reading. Wow! We could all breathe in peace. We headed out for brekkies and a natter with the friends. The floofs were all happy to linger outdoors for a bit. Choya had a little sprint across the field, and entertained herself thoroughly. I let her. She wore a huge grin all day and snoozed deeply in the afternoon. This girl deserves all the fun. She's an absolute darling.

We kinda marked the wedding anniversary a day later at the gym, by lifting heavy (I hit all PBs for back squats and deadlifts.) and remaining injury-free. The husband has a very tender and knotted rotator cuff that is being treated at the TCM clinic. He really shouldn't be aggravating it at the first sign of less pain and mobility.

Health is wealth? Oh absolutely. It has nothing to do with vanity. It has everything to do with independence and feeling at peace. At this point, the one thing I do know as we move into our last few decades on earth, is to keep strong, move nimbly and be as sharp as we possibly could.