Ordering Chilli Crab

The friends LOVE chilli crab- the more spicy it is, the better.

I'm ambivalent about it. I'm not a fan of any form of crab. I eat very little of it. At most, I'll just pick at the pincer part. Importantly, I've no inclination to crack crabs. They spoil my manicure!!! Many of the friends love the legs and wax lyrical about cold Alaskan crabs and of course the hairy crabs (大閘蟹). Too bad for me that I simply can't appreciate the sweetness of the crab meat!!

What I do like, is dipping the oily, crisp, fried man tou (饅頭) into the chilli gravy. I like the tangy rich spicy taste that is quite appetizing.

The friends can finish a crab each, excluding the Alaskan crab which takes at least 4 to share. So every time the friends pig out on crab/s, I'll order this huge steamed fish that I'll merrily finish on my own.

Whaddup

I haven't blogged for 2 days and the friends are asking "What's up?!" And I go, "What's the big deal?!"

Yes yes, I'm a net addict- I'm perpetually online and I always have something to whine about on the blog, or pick just 10% out of the daily living of mundane-ness to talk about no matter where I am- as long as there is stable internet access.

No. It's NOT Twitter. Tweeting, as convenient as it is on my Berry, hasn't taken precedence over writing on this blog. To me, tweets and blog posts are separate platforms to air different thoughts and ideas. I don't quite find it difficult to use either. Plenty of different topics to address. Tweets, are a little random, if you will. Blog posts are carefully framed and hopefully more intelligent sounding. :p Since I don't have a job in the writing industry, this blog is my only creative outlet for spastic rants. I've spent 4 years nurturing this blog- ain't letting it go unless there are extenuating circumstances that warrant its termination.

I'm not blogging because I've no inspiration or impetus to do so. I haven't had time to sit down, sift through my life and pick out what I want to put out here. My thoughts are filled up by reflections from work and tying up loose ends on the personal charity projects. Those projects are coming along nicely. I'm giving it my all and crossing fingers that it will kickstart something for the greater good.

I'm also flooded at work this week. Beside the usual busy stuff, there is a major event happening which fries my brains during waking hours. Alright. Truth be told- the pay scale doesn't match the hours put in. But who's counting? If I like something, I simply do it. I never took this job for the offered pay. This event has thrown up lots of wonderful points. It is almost enjoyable. The flipside, it serves to concrete all the negativity about my industry, even to the extent of fulfilling certain stereotypes. That takes alot of getting used to. However, what I'm experiencing here, compared to the bitching in the advertising industry, is, frankly, nothing. I'm almost relishing the tight turnaround time. There is a certain sort of rush in making things happen, you know?

The friends hollered, "You've no strategic overview! How to rise up the ladder like that?!" And do I care? I don't. I've zero career ambitions. I like being a little itty bit at work. I'm living my life- the life after hours. And you know what- I honestly wouldn't mind being a personal assistant to a reasonable boss. That sounds peachy.

One Random Annoying Conversation

For once, I didn't bother calling for a cab or anyone to pick me up. I decided to rough it out in the queue at the cab stand at Ngee Ann City.

While standing at the super long queue, I recalled these 2 random conversations that were separately conducted with a fairly familiar colleague and a 3-year acquaintance who I'm not comfortable to call 'friend' just yet.

The conversation below isn't verbatim. The gist remains the same.

Colleague/Acquaintance (CA): How're you?! What've you been up to? Been travelling?
imp: Yea, work trips and a yummy vacation with *Barney. [*just take it as the man's name. Don't laugh.]
CA: Who's *Barney???
imp: My partner. [still feeling neutral]
CA: Who's your partner??!!!
imp: In other social circles, you call them boyfriends or husbands. In mine, we call them 'partners'. Barney's my partner. [wondering why I'm still talking to her]
CA: Orrrh! Boyfriend say boyfriend lah! Boyfriend and husbands not the same wat! Boyfriend married already different from husband. Why must call partner ah?! So atas for wat!
imp: o_O [lamely] I follow Hollywood mah.

On those separate occasions, I was quite amused, but I also honestly wanted to clobber them both. It's almost the same logic, but to a way lesser degree as compared to how someone pissed me off by grabbing my finger to scrutinize my rock, then asked why the 'boyfriend' would buy me a HUGE diamond if we're not married and what have I done to deserve it. I tell you, *Barney himself would have kicked her giant ass over the edge of the cliff for making such a comment. It's not our fault if your ignorance is because of how your husband treats you by the way of stick and carrot. I wanted to tell her that this is the smallest rock I've got. Anyway, the reply shot out, it's because we belong to a different generation.

No wonder I don't particularly like talking to certain humans very much.

@ 12.20am :: ps: *Barney just clobbered me for having the audacity to term him as.....ahem...a purple dinosaur.

Penang Buffet At Copthorne King's

The other day, I surprised myself by suggesting lunch with the colleagues. You know how picky I am about food. I avoid eating with people I'm not familiar with or those whose preferences don't match mine simply because there won't be one restaurant to please everyone.

As anti-social as I am at work, I mean to buy a farewell lunch for the colleague who is leaving at the end of the month. I really appreciate all the help she has given me all this while. So in her honor, I asked her to grab a couple more people to make a table of 5. This lunch would be all about what they liked to eat.

I picked the long-standing famous Penang buffet at Copthorne King's Hotel because it was Chinese food- something the colleagues would enjoy. Many people I know like the food. I guess it wouldn't go too wrong. The colleagues loved the spread. They loved the homemade taste of the pig stomach soup, Hokkien mee, assam laksa, etc. To my surprise, they hadn't eaten here or even heard of this cafe. I was quite taken aback because I've been eating here since I was a little girl. It is still Chef Loh Hong Chye who helms the buffet's kitchen. It's been a good 35 years since he started this buffet in 1970 and the food has never slipped in its standards.

I'm glad they enjoyed the outing. The sweetest thing- the colleagues insisted on paying me back! Oh goodness. I said no, it was a lunch that I wanted to buy. With all the discounts I got, the bill was so little that it didn't make sense for anyone else to pay. I was embarrassed to take their money. In the end, I still got S$20 from each. Luckily the colleague whose honor this lunch was held, didn't shove money into my hands. Still. DOH! My endeavor to buy lunch has failed. Heh.

I'm terribly particular when it comes to food, so I usually tell acquaintances not to buy me meals for whatever occasion- just buy me drinks. That would make me wayyy happier and it also reduces the chances that I actually have to sit down to drinks with them. Only the friends (and blog stalkers) would know what food/current eating places I like. So, because I picked this makan venue, I'm happy that everyone ate properly and lots of it! I was kinda worried that the colleagues wouldn't take to it.

An Email

I thought I made it very clear that I don't care for her very much. Apparently, I haven't been direct enough. She didn't get the message at all through any sort of platform.

Out of the blue, she sent a really strange email the other day. I couldn't stop laughing. The weird phrasing in her email isn't pleasing. I didn't find her questions particularly coherent. I'm not fond of strange people like that. I avoid them like the plague. None in my circle of intimates and friends, thank goodness. Unfortunately, there're many strange people like that at work- whom I thankfully do not have to talk to very much. She used to be one of them.

We're not friends. I really don't understand why she would ask me questions like that. This sort of email would be best asked of friends over dinner or a phone conversation. We don't talk, we don't text each other. Effectively, we don't contact each other. At best, we're acquaintances. I don't see a point in sending me this email or to waste time on crafting a lengthy reply. I was most annoyed with her line asking 'how're things going' and said she knew. Whatever. I doubt it. She's not a friend, remember? Email reproduced here in full:

Hi [insert imp's name],

How are you? Sorry haven't got time to update the blog....:P
How's things going for you...yeah I know...

Could hardly find time to sleep these days.
And guess what, arrowed to do Emceeing for gala dinner. Well, would you reckon to do emceening in formal manner i.e. read off from script or add a little of personal touch?

How do you pronounce these words?
-Chamber Ensemble - Sh-amber Aw-som-bleh?
-baton - Beh-tern or Beh-torn?
-cellist - sell-list?
-Tony Osborne - Os-born?
-Frolicsome Finale - fro-li-some fern-na-leh
-Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by W.A. Mozart - ein klein Nat-music by double-U. A. Mozar
-Ottorino Respighi -autorino res-pig-gi
-Dance, from Suite for Strings by Peter Hope - suite - sweet

Oh my.....

If you want all these from me, ask me out. Talk to me over tea or drinks. I'll be happy to meet. Don't ask me these over a stupid email that Google can easily answer. My understanding of phonetics is obviously different from yours. If at the age of 33 you don't even watch tv or youtube to even learn how to pronounce these basic words, I don't know which rock you've been hiding under all your life. These are English words, for pete's sake. Not Thai, French or German.

I bascially did not answer any of her questions. I'm honestly too lazy to even attempt to answer the email. My reply was curt- I told her to google, bing or chrome it, and wished her luck.

A Blueberry Pie!

After a super heavy brunch, we still hopped down the road to Miss Clarity Cafe for their blueberry pie with a scoop of ice-cream.

It was alright- generous with the jammy blueberries. But you know if real blueberries have been used to make this pie, have the crust baked a little browner and crispier, it'd be much much better.

Of course it loses out to your blueberry pie/struesel, Dawnie. I judge all blueberry pies by yours. :D

Nasi Padang @ Sari Indo

(Eatery has now closed in 2011)

We passed over Bar None at 1am so that we could wake up fresh and chirpy for brunch in slippers and singlet.

The boys took me out to their 'hood to have brunch of nasi padang at Sari Indo! I lurrrrrrve nasi padang. Spices! Woots. Luckily we went early at 11.30am before the ferocity of the mid-day heat killed us.

Good luck finding parking space though. Easier if you just grab a cab or walk from wherever you live in the 'hood. :p

So many dishes to choose from. We ordered plenty. The food just kept coming, non-stop. We kept eating and didn't care that we were loading up on the carbs! This is the only way I would eat rice- piled with spices, gravy and kecap manis. We even tapau-ed back the beef rendang, fish bakar and watnots for the maid. We knew she was going to like the food!

We're often too lazy to travel too far for nasi padang. We like Yanti's and now, we've a newfound love at Thomson Road! That so-called famous stall at Zion road (which used to be good) is bluff tourists one.

Sari Indo is almost 7 months old. The little eatery is run and operated by Indonesians, the food is soooo tasty. Mouthwatering. It was an absolutely satisfying brunch. Oh bliss.

Sari Indo
Indo Rasa Restaurant Pte Ltd
215-R Upper Thomson Road
Singapore 574349
T: +65 6554 4756 F: +65 6554 3481
Email: indorasa@yahoo.com.sg

Steak Is Done This Way

See the photos? Now, this is one part of a T-Bone done beautifully to the requested medium at The Prime Society.

The T-Bone is a huge cut meant for 2 (or one very hungry person) at S$118++. Not that expensive, but very tasty and lovingly grilled. The restaurant doesn't serve gravy/sauce along with the meats. We had to pay extra for our sauces of bernaise and mushroom. That's fine too because the sauces are well made and don't come out of a can. And if you truly enjoy meat, the taste is so awesome that one doesn't really need any additional sauces.

Now, Chili's has thoroughly riled me with their steaks. I'm not going to talk about their other food. At those prices, I simply can't complain. (The only reason I ate there was because of nostalgia.) However, I can whine very loudly about their steaks. If Chili's priced their USDA ribeyes and tenderloins lower, I'd not have felt so indignant. But by pricing their steaks at S$45++ and S$50++, they are putting their steak menu in the premiere league of meats and pave the way open to criticism.

I'm so annoyed by my experience at Chilis that I'm never going back. Somebody in the kitchen can't grill steaks for shits. If we compare diner to diner, Chili's can't even match the standard of the so-called brainless but tender tasty ones at Hooha Cafe. The rather chic Le Bouchons' steaks are cheaper and trump Chili's nonsense. Chili's should take a leaf from the kitchen of Botak Jones at Toa Payoh North. Those dudes know how to grill a USDA cut to perfection. The USDA ribeye is such a good cut and Chili's kitchen managed to make it tough and almost impossible to slice. When I finally got a tiny bit and stabbed at the middle, the insides were ALL BROWN. Now, I've never seen a steak that's been requested to be done medium turn out all brown inside and difficult to chew.

Of course I sent it back. Our whole table was tempted to send the food back. Their burgers were dry and tasted of grease rather than smoky grill. The steak came back looking better. It was almost well done still, but not as bad as before. However, the taste just couldn't cut it. They didn't marinate it properly. The somebody in the kitchen really cannot do meats. It's obvious he can't 'feel' the meat. He probably just decided to 'oh, let's cook it 3 minutes shorter this round.' And the oil used is just....not nice. This standard of the steak is a standard that I churn out- F.A.I.L. With a sigh, I decided to just eat the damn thing. The alternative would have been to walk out of the restaurant, which we ultimately didn't choose to do so. We didn't deny them the service charge because they truly tried. The wait staff were lovely. Not their fault that the kitchen failed them.

Days later, Prime Society made me happier with their steaks properly grilled to our specifications. If Chili's wants to price its steaks in this same league, then they better make sure that the kitchen matches the diner's expectations when it comes to the final product.

Made With Love

Knowing that I'm a picky eater and subsisted mainly on bread for meals in Cambodia (except for those with the friends), the man and his parents wanted me to eat a proper meal at home.

So the man went out to buy top grade minced beef to make hamburgers! The parents loved his hamburger patties! He did my favorite spicy aglio olio fettucine with anchovies. I ate so much of that! There was corn in soup and lots of fresh vegetables and sweet tomatoes.

How lovely it is to come back and sit down to the man's homecooked dinner!

Goodbye Phnom Penh

On the work front, we've come to do what we intended to do. Lots of effort has been put in to complete this event. That's been done properly. The meetings have been productive.

On a personal note, I've concluded fruitful discussions that seem to take forever to do over emails. Projects have gotten off the ground and to a good start. That is the depth of my commitment. I'm not based in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, so it'd be difficult to see it through. May it sustain through the efforts of other volunteers.

Now, there's more work to be done at the office and handover to be done for the side projects. I must return to share the load.

Very glad that I slept so little on this trip so that more time could be spent with the friends checking out the cool spots in the city. Thrilled that I snucked away from the colleagues too. Wahahaha. On every work trip, I've a really 'bad' habit of sneaking off elsewhere afterhours. Time alone does enrich one's perception of a city. No matter how rough a destination is, it doesn't quite trouble me. (See, tell your daughers to acquire self-defense skills.) Of course I don't stupidly walk into dark alleys either. Anyway, I had a great time. This city is really best discovered on foot.

So now, it's time to say goodbye to Phnom Penh.

Scooters and Motorcycles

You'll see 3 - 4 people sitting on the motorbike in many Southeast Asian countries. So many photos of riders balancing huge stacks of groceries, wood or furniture have been captured. Many have also marvelled at how one tiny motorcycle could seat 4 people including a child.

I'm not too sure what road safety means to them. They try to ride as best as they can- but all that weaving in and out to whim and fancy would mean that accidents happen. However, scooters are not quite a menace in Phnom Penh as it is in Ho Chi Minh City.

I made a face at the little kid. I waved at him. He stared at me in puzzlement and frowned. He kept staring and staring with this pout. For the entire length of the traffic light, he didn't smile and simply frowned.

That disturbed me just a little.

A Way Of Life

I don't think there is much spontaneity in Singapore anymore. People go to designated parks to gather for healthy wholesome activities so that they won't get rounded up for illegal assembly. If more than 15 people want to wear t-shirts of the same color, they'd have to apply for a licence from the relevant authorities to do so. (My tongue is firmly-in-check.)

At twilight in Phnom Penh, especially during weekends, many gather at the wide public spaces and mill around to chat, blast music to do group aerobics, dance and play badminton. These spaces belong to government buildings and private entities. The spaces are definitely not designated parks or anything like that though it does beautify the landscape. However, the Cambodians merrily claim it for their own. Then, there are the people sitting on the road dividers! They braid each other's hair and chill out in the middle of cars, motorbikes and tuk tuks zooming by. (???)

To me, it's quite an interesting spectacle (Yes, I know they do that in China and many other countries too) to see so many people spilling out onto the streets to participate in all these seemingly spontaneous events with nary a police car or crowd control personnel in sight.

Unexpected Presents!

Between serious conversations with the friends, they also dumped a pile of colorful fabric in my hotel room. I was instructed to take the whole heap home. At the same time, I was to check out the label and the store in Phnom Penh.

But I didn't have the time to go shopping. Thank goodness for presents! I cautiously went through the huge pile of clothes. I really wasn't sure if the clothes would fit or if I could carry off these designs. Then it would be disastrous.

Phwaaaah. I truly underestimate the friends. They somehow managed to have picked out really gorgeous stuff for me. The clothes don't just fit- they're quite me! Rather quirky and cheerful, I love the fluid designs and how the fabric falls on the body. I so love them!

Designed by Valerie Gregori McKenzie, her label Song is quite the darling for summer fashion. I haven't been this excited about clothes or a new label for a long long time. I'm not even bothered about our swanky new ion. Checking out ion is the last thing on my agenda. But I want to go look for Song's boutique in Singapore the first thing upon return.

Song is available in Singapore, at Liang Court, of all places! (No longer so as of January 2010!) Looking at her other boutiques in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, I'm all sorted to grab many more pieces of her stuff over the next couple of months.

Street Food- Yay Or Nay?

Out and about, I usually pass by numerous food stalls along the dusty streets.

Full of color and textures, the array of food laid out in the trays is varied and attractive. The smells are enticing for sure. Frying, sizzling and clinking fill the air. I'm almost tempted to try a bowl of something. Street food.

But I realized I've lost the adventurous streak where food is concerned. I'm so conservative, or rather stubborn when it comes to putting things in my mouth. I've always been finicky, just more so nowadays. I wouldn't dare to try many new or old food, for that matter. Strange food turns me off. Put me on Fear Factor and I won't last 5 minutes in the food challenge. Tsk.

There is no way I'd dare to slurp up the street food in Cambodia- not about to risk getting the runs. I'll stick to smelling them. Even in Singapore, I don't really eat at eeeky hawker centres much. I do eat at others where the stalls are clearly cleaner. Grime, grease and smells can be a little, off-putting. I rather eat a tasteless sandwich from the convenience store than sit at a 'popular good food' hawker stall next to the drain with cockroaches and rats running around.

As Phnomenon so aptly puts it in this post,

"6. Don’t eat stupid things – A good guide to judging the stupidity of a food is that if the locals believe primarily that a food will give you strength or vitality in the pants department rather than chiefly eating it because it tastes appealing. Some foods stay as provincial delicacies for one of three reasons: they’re either shit, endangered or they kill you. If snake’s blood was really that delicious, McDonald’s would have a cobra-flavoured sundae. I’m all for eating new and random (but not endangered) things but remember to keep your expectations very low and your bowels at maximum readiness, because when you do discover something that is loosely edible, it will taste like the food of the gods."

A Coffee In The Afternoon

In the middle of the afternoon where it was hot and humid, I started to feel sleepy. The face felt like an oil pot, the body was sticky with perspiration. Waking up at 6am local time to maximize the day does have its drawbacks. Somewhere along Preah Norodom Boulevard, this is where I caved in to caffeine in the form of a good brew of cappucino.

Preah Norodom Boulevard is the premier address to lovely houses, apartments, embassies and chic shops. I was invited up to the flats and a house along the Boulevard- they're so charming and lovely! Not just the interiors- the stock cabinets, taps, etc. Lovely international quality, like any other apartment in a big city. It is such a stark contrast to the rest of the city. If the average annual salary of US$400 - 600 or about US$30 - 45 a month, I can't comprehend how their street food of rice, vegetables, meat and a drink or noodles can cost US$1 - 3.50 per item. No wonder every office worker takes a 2-hour lunch to go home for the meal. Eating out is not an option here except for a certain strata of society, expats and tourists.

I flipped through the data provided online, EIC and in my files. The data hasn't changed much since 2006 when I studied it in earnest. So it doesn't explain the huge number of Lexus I see on the road now, together with a sizeable population of Honda CRVs and Range Rovers, and a sprinkling of shiny S-class Mercedes.

Along the shops and cafes on Norodom and Sihanouk Boulevard, I'm quite amazed at how many (local and expat) women carry that ridiculous Neverfull tote. Real ones okay, not fake. I wonder why and how. The obvious answer needn't be stated here, of course. The gulf between the very rich and the very poor is immense.

Anyhow, I was glad for a respite. At this outlet (out of 3) in the city, Cafe Fresco serves Illy coffee and New Zealand Natural ice-cream- what a treat in Phnom Penh. Plus they offer free wifi!!! I was in heaven man.

I Did Think About It

Pausing in the middle of typing notes of meeting to frame a thought, the eyes rested on the bottles of water in the room.

So.many.bottles.of.water. Die. What were we saying about bottled water? Oh dear.

When travelling, I've a hang-up about water. I drink ALOT of water in a day. I need to have ready access to water all the time. I'd grab a bottle of water to take into the plane, even if the plane offers bottled water. Extras are a psychological comfort.

I've been told that Phnom Penh is in the process of treating water from the Mekong to supply potable water to urban areas. Looking at the color of the Mekong and observing what people do inside the river, I'm not particularly confident that I'd like to drink the chemically treated end product from the tap. Neither do I have the habit of boiling water in hotel rooms. Terrible, I know.

Well. The friends always slime my tendency for ordering bottled water in restaurants. What?! It's on the menu isn't it? The bottles look good! I'm a sucker for advertising. Unfortunately, bottled water doesn't all taste the same. There is tasty water, I tell you.

As fond as I am about bottled water, I'm not going to raise ruckus and protest if our government decides to ban them. I'll just, well, filter water in Brita jugs or cap the tap with a filter and boil water lor. I shrugged and went back to a more pressing concern of completing the filenotes.

NB: Phnom Penh doesn't carry Fiji water. I carted 6 bottles over from home.

Of A Bookshop Window

I read an observation written by Charles Moore in Notes of the 20 June issue of Spectator. So, I walked by said bookshop, stared at the window display and had a good giggle. Of course I went in to poke around as well.

"Walking past the Church House bookshop in Westminster this week, I noticed an entire window display devoted to one book. It was called Lay Presidency at the Eucharist? An Anglican Approach. What a perfectly undumbed-down title - not the faintest attempt to vulgarise, or, indeed, to interest anyone in any way. Right down to the question mark and the offer of 'an' approach rather than 'the' approach, it had a wonderful Anglican tentativeness about it. I felt it would be crassly against the spirit of such a publication to march in and buy it."

Then I read Notes in the 11 July issue and completely cracked up.

"This column recently reported (Notes 20 June) a display in the Church House bookshop in Westminster devoting an entire window to a book with the defiantly ungripping title of Lay Presidency at the Eucharist? An Anglican Approach. Perhaps the staff were stung by this mention, because the display has been replaced by another, veering wildly to the opposite extreme. The book now promoted is called If You Meet George Herbert on the road, Kill Him."

Lunch By The Mekong

At the group's request, our genial host struggled to think of an appropriate lunch venue that was not French.

From the city centre, we crossed the bulging Tonlé Sap to the restaurants along the bank of the Mekong River. He took us to a rustic restaurant serving traditional Khmer food for lunch.

Expansive and lovely, the restaurant was really somewhere I'd check out on vacation. I was secretly glad the host brought us to a place where locals go. The only grouse- it was damn hot man- no air-conditioning. June to August belong to the rainy season in Cambodia, so it's cool in the mornings and still freaking hot by noon.

The calm and quiet of the surroundings were so different from the hustle and bustle of city cafes and bistros. There was a different kind of buzz- we ate with the company of dragonflies and bees.

The conversation turned to Thai and Cambodian relations. Reluctant to enter into the topic, I sorta zoned out. I was still trying to figure out the Cambodian language and not being very successful. I could sort of read it in Thai, but it wouldn't sound correct in Camobdian. Then the ears pricked at familiar words- I could understand the conversation of the men at the next table! They are Thais. Oh dear. Okay, it's a long shot, but I hope they don't understand English. Eeeps.

Then I got distracted by a woman selling really fresh longans. Almost lush, I'd say. Full, round and luscious, the plucked leaves were still green. Very beautiful. Another came by brandishing durians and offering to open one for us to try. That, I avoided.

Horrors of horrors, there was a huge piece of chicken for each person- no way to escape it. One must be polite. I picked up a wing/breast with the chopsticks and poked at it. I played with it but still had to swallow a good portion. At least, it was well grilled.

Okay, I confess I'm not too enthusiastic about traditional Khmer food, the same way I'm not hot about Chinese food. Too much pork in everything. Khmer soups tend to be salty- too much fish sauce lah. I like the other elements of it- the dips and the chilli. We ordered giant spring rolls (with pork in it) a la Vietnamese style- I soaked it in chilli gravy. Yummmz. They filled me up nicely for lunch.

Imp @ Work

It's been a long day filled with meetings and needing to give 100% attention to all the going-ons.

While I still pull double shifts during work trips (fulfilling the morning itinerary; at night to clear emails and file notes), it's not really exhausting.

Sure, I sleep very little on work trips, but I get by on adrenalin and coffee with caffeine. The pace at the office is punishing. So in spite of tight meeting schedules, I actually find work trips a breather somehow, a way to recharge, even if they're 1-day turnaround trips up to Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur.

If I do have 5 minutes alone, that time will be more than enough for me to gather the thoughts to focus on the agenda for the next discussion. Quite fun.

It's a huge challenge to focus on the 'official' work that I'm doing here as well as finishing up the discussions for the private charity projects that are being finalized and put into motion right now. It's all really exciting. The party in my room last night was absolutely exhilarating because the enthusiasm and commitment of the friends and partners (in these side projects) made me feel alive.

Please be assured that I haven't turned into a workaholic because yours truly is damn lazy and scared of hard work. Many aspects of work can induce stress, but it doesn't make me depressed. I've thought of throwing in the towel last year because of a clash in beliefs. But I got over it and grew up a little bit more.

I can only conclude that I truly love my job. It doesn't define me though. It only makes me more aware of how much more I can do in this life, as a human being. At social situations, I don't bother explaining or telling people what I do. I still don't intend to make a career out of it. I only want to be able to contribute positively as best as I can. But I'm curious to see how long I can stay in this job. Bets laid earlier were for me to last a year in this scope. It's been 2; a total of 4 in the industry. Lots of (not monopoly) money and Nogawa/Tatsuya meals have been won out of many friends. Haha.

Eating Along Sisowath Quay

For hygienic food of any kind, one has to go down to the riverside, to a tourist-trap restaurant located along Sisowath Quay. Unless you possess a cast-iron stomach for local street food.

We just walked along the busy streets filled with locals and not many tourists till we saw bistro all lit up on a pretty street. I was suspicious of it because it looked and felt exactly like a Parisian sidewalk cafe.

But the name said Lyon d'Or, so I hopped along into its doors with a teeny bit of hope.

The menu was alot more extensive than the usual Parisian sidewalk cafes. If all else failed, there were the US$7 - US$10 Khmer and Thai dishes to fall back on. Besides being exceptionally sweet, the dishes were pretty okay. I don't get why Khmer dishes are so fond of piling on the sugar.

At US$15 - US$20 a dish for the Khmer-French style fish and meats, they were way more edible than those at €15 - €20 in Paris. Though the mash and tons of cream in the dishes made it iffy, one could just scrape it away. Oh, the bread was hot and tasty! I actually ate 2 rolls without the strange-tasting butter. But I wasn't about to complain nor compare it to back home. I'm here in Phnom Penh and I'll eat according to the dictated norms as a tourist.

Phsar Chas

In the evening, the Old Market (Phsar Chas) in Phnom Penh was filled with locals, plenty of noise and excited chatter.

What I liked was- it didn't sell too many idiotic things for the tourists. It was a bustling market filled with locals who'd go to buy their usual stuff or soak up the atmosphere.

I meandered to the southern end where a stage had been set up. I guess there would be a performance there later, but I didn't stay to check it out. The PA system just played hip hop, R & B. The adults were just milling around. But the little kids at the front were actually trying to dance hip hop to the music! So fun! Not too sure if the sheer volume of the speakers would be of any good to the little ears.

Further on, there were plenty of food stalls that sold terribly colorful things that I wanted to try but didn't have the stomach for it. The square in front of the food stalls were laid with plastic sheets and people simply sat down and had their food. A picnic of sorts, if you will.

A Big Building

I've not explored Phnom Penh properly. The last 2 visits were simply too brief. It is Siem Reap that I'm more familiar with. This 3rd visit for work meetings, will be over just quickly. Since I won't get to go to depressing museums on this trip, I'll settle for viewing buildings.

This is the building for Phnom Penh's Council of Ministers. More than US$30 million went into its construction. A major portion of construction budget is ummm....financed by China.

Quite an impressive building indeed. Such a vast expanse of space on its grounds. I'm easily awed by big buildings like this. I'm a Singaporean living on a tiny island- don't get to see beeg buildings at home.

A Little Tougher Than That

As we carefully wound through the uneven pavements and potholes, Boss asked if I was alright. "You look a little uncomfortable. You're more used to London and New York right."

I told him I was okay and had this silly grin plastered on my face. It was a really cool night. The breeze was lovely. I was just so absorbed in the sights and sounds, plus trying to get my bearings in order to cut through little streets to get back to the hotel. Alamak, how little you know me, boss. Don't forget I love wearing birkies and flip flops more than stilettos.

Yes. I don't mind chic cities, tasty sparkling water, inspiring museums, galleries and theatre and all the jazz. But there is also another side of me. How to tell him I'm the same girl who spent 3 months in Luang Prabang with ripped fingernails, blisters, pimples and bruised toenails? Not to mention Darkhan at -15°C with no hot showers for 7 days and cold sores as souvenirs to boot. Plus that arduous (no porters) trek from Yunnan through Lijiang because it was the trendy thing to do. And wouldn't mind doing it all over again in a heartbeat.

Aiyoh. So of course I neber say anything lor, just smile only. Not necessary to say anything. :)

Our Movie Night

For the whole of last week, everyone in Twitterverse tweeted about movie nights. So I thought I should blog about it instead.

Note to self, do not follow other people to have marathon movie nights- because the movies we invariably choose can be such mindf*^ks that we need time to digest. Or rather we need loads of stamina to sit through them.

Forget The Wings of The Dove. That was good, much better than the rather dry book. It was enjoyable on screen. Besides the plot, we also loved the 'costumes' of that era. But we were itching to get something surreal on the screen.

We were glued to the silent science fiction film Metropolis. It was mesmerizing. All of 1927's technology. Fritz Lang's vision then was already amazing. Then discovery of lost footage gave it a 2002 restoration. In that version on Youtube, The New Pollutants added soundtracks and re-scored it. So we moved all Youtube clips from the computer screens to the big-ass 60-inch plasma screen. Smokes. It was so cool! Almost trippy.

I was so fixated on unravelling the 1927 Metropolis that I couldn't stay focused on the film after. Luckily there were giant tubs of Tillamook's chocolate peanut butter, marionberry pie, oregon strawberry and expresso mocha to help freeze our brains. We can't wait to watch Frankenweenie next. I certainly hope it'll be as cute as the title sounds.

We picked The Nines. Very much easier to understand than Primer (I had to watch it twice!), The Nines was not ideal for a mind that was still trying to wrap itself around Metropolis. Plus I forgot to read the synopsis before putting it on. Gaah. It was g.o.o.d. In 3 parts, the stories were intertwined. till the HitchHiker brought the protagonist home to where he couldn't, in a nutshell, screw up the worlds.

Bought Shoes, Many

Did I mention that I love these comfy heels and flats from El Naturalista?

They're not your sexy killer stilettos. These are casual stuff with an indie edge. I love them on weekends or days that I don't want to dress formal. Loving the colors and their quirky designs. The flats are divine. As for the 2.5-inch heels, I could walk all day in them. Perfect for travelling and days that I need to prance around in covered heels.

The other brand that I favor for walking shoes (not track shoes- those are for sports!) is Kumfs. Those shoes are not sloppy and easy to match stuff with. Their boots are awesome. But the designs are nowhere as stylish as El Naturalista yet.

Last month, I bought a couple of designs from El Naturalista and totally fell in love. I took 2 to London and they lasted miles with nary a blister or even chafing on the feet. As usual, once I'm certain of my size in whatever brand, the friends are sent out on buying missions. Their success is proudly announced by the many boxes shipped over that are now quietly sitting in my bedroom, awaiting inspection.

No Nimble Fingers

It was completely random. In the middle of squeezing brain juices in one afternoon, I rolled away from my desk and asked my colleague to teach me how to weave a ketupat. She's got really deft fingers.

It's friggin' not easy at all. I did the first one right, then screwed up the next 2 attempts. Grrrrr. I didn't manage to get the concept right. I got half of it only.

So of course I had to check it out on youtube. Waaah. Best. Got plenty of instructions. Following those instructions, I managed to make 2 more. But I couldn't quite get it without the videos, especially when tucking the sides in.

Now I need to learn how to weave it on my own, without people helping or looking at the videos.

4 Environmental 'Heresies' ~ Stewart Brand

On population growth and urbanization. Really now??? What a different tune he sings then and now. How? I can't wrap my head around how slums are good for cities. I'd postulate that slums are good for politics and politcal parties. The basic premise of urban planning has always been to eradicate slums and resettle squatters. A fundamental policy in many decent governments has always been to create affordable public housing or at least ensure that its people have access to loans to own their homes in the country of their citizenship. That sense of home ownership, I believe, creates the first layer of the social fabric.

On genetically engineered organisms. GEOs or GMOs. I'm a little swayed by his subtle suggestion about how organic farming isn't really good for the environment. As much as I'm a proponent of all things organic and free-range, these words are getting tiresome. It's a leeetle grating to be constantly reading about sustainable food, sustainable produce and free-range veal, chicken, beef, etc. I cannot decide if choosing to consume organic food sourced from sustainable farms is about me wanting to focus on getting healthier food into the body or it's because I genuinely care about the environment.

So if we could mass produce genetically engineered food, that would solve alot of starvation problems, wouldn't it?

I don't have concrete opinions on the portion about nuclear power. Not a scientist- I haven't studied it very much either- certainly not by reading the journal articles. The enormous power to be harnessed is equally balanced by its mega production of by-waste. If uranium is the new poster child to replace oil, we'll have to remember that it is a finite resource. Likewise, it will poison the environment bit by bit.

Light Meals

There were a couple of things I was mulling over. It was lovely to have a quiet office almost all to myself to do so after 7pm. I was marking off multiple timelines on Gant charts, and also trying to pin down the ideal dates to clear leave. By the time the man finished his stuff and picked me up from the office, it was 8.45pm.

I was just a tad hungry and had no cravings. Neither was I in the mood for a huge meal. The man had a definite idea for dinner. He braved the infamous Little India traffic and humans to find a parking space just so he could eat at Raj.

We really hadn't eaten here for some time. The chefs had obviously changed. The dishes tasted different. Those that I loved had new flavors added. The basmati pulao was pretty good. The raita was overly watery and contained rather pathetic tiny cubes of onion and had NO cucumbers. The dishes the man loved but Raj didn't do well then, turned out really delicious this dinner.

Obviously the man over-ordered. We ended up having to pack food home, again. At the rate we're packing food home from restaurants, we wouldn't quite need to cook for the week actually. Re-packing them for lunch at the office the next day is always good.

Next to Japanese sushi and sashimi, Indian food is our all time favorite. Raj is still one of our favorite restaurants.

Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale

The brochure looked inviting enough. Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale to be performed by the Singapore Philharmonic Orchestra. An easy enough piece- lively and entertaining. So we thought- let's go!

As much as I'm a fan of Lim Yau, I'm quite aware of how young and raw Singapore Philharmonic Orchestra is. I'm prepared to forgive the music quite a fair bit. Although many of the friends and the man aren't ready to forgive that. They're accomplished musicians and went into many technical (and not very polite) details which I shan't repeat. In a nutshell, there were no texture, layers and subtlety. The instruments played, but didn't talk to one another. The musicians really need a lot more practice to perform to a critical paying audience at the Esplanade Recital Studio.

However, what I'm not willing to compromise is the standard of the accompanying theatrics. Besides the chamber musicians and the conductor, The Soldier's Tale is also performed in tandem to actors telling the story that is derived from the legend of Faust.

I was flabbergasted. What I saw last night wasn't even half decent. It was terrible. My gawwwd. With all due respect to the actors, they performed their parts adequately. On a separate (theatre) platform, it could be considered a twist to today's interpretation of a classic. However, in this instance, this contemporary acting really wasn't suitable to last night's production.

The acting mirrored Mickey Mouse cartoons in the 1950s. The actions, the vibes were totally incongruent to the music. How on earth can an actor break out in that Singlish kopitiam accent midway? It was almost insulting to the combined intelligence of the audience. We were so shocked that it wasn't even funny. Humor ought to have some form of wit. Last night, I saw none but slapstick humor. One must be forgiven for thinking that the director was trying to dumb it down for the 'local' audience, which unfortunately had many classical music lovers (and non) in the audience who weren't the least amused. Perhaps if this production is taken out to another venue with another target group of audience, they might better appreciate it.

The stage directions were terrible. Appalling. *facepalm* It had all the sophistication of a primary school performance, but without the charm.

As a combination of less than stellar music and acting, this is by far, imho, remarkably, the most abominable interpretation of The Soldier's Tale I've (heard) seen.

United Breaks Guitars

So if getting compensation for what you think is rightly due to you ain't going too well for the past year, write a song.

Dave Carroll's poor Taylor was broken, presumably by baggage handlers with United Airlines. His heart went to pieces too. Writing a song would guarantee a large audience. His folk style of music is so suited to telling a story about it.

This is really quite witty. The best part, it's effective.

The Uncanny Tree Of Fractured Hearts

Dudes, you rock. Totally. Last night's party was so cool.

I like how the band spent effort on the album to make it into a storybook, not just another album. Lovely.

The party was a beautiful celebration of the hard work put in by Another Sunday Afternoon. There was plenty of laughter among friends, acquaintances and the good people in the indie scene.

The album is the culmination of years of passion and dedication to their hobby. Craft, almost. The work in progress has been honed and refined for years. How many of us can claim the same dedication beyond the humdrum of mundane living?

We love you guys for having us there and plying on glasses of Glenlivet 12 y.o non stop. We had a blast! The music filled our souls. I also didn't have to put on earplugs. Your crew did a brilliant job! Thanks to all who came by to say hi. I feel your love!!!

Cooking Coq Au Vin

The man came home early one afternoon and started his research on coq au vin.

Ha! After all that interest in the coq au vin, I knew he was going to try cooking that at some point.

The Cooking Bible was laid out on the table. Except that it was opened to the page of chicken cacciatore. Obviously distracted by another chicken dish, he was trying very hard to decide which to cook.

In the end, coq au vin won. Into the dutch oven the chicken went.

I wasn't particularly looking forward to dinner. Chicken. Good lawwwd. At least, the sauce would cover up all smells and taste, hopefully. At least there were carrots and mushrooms.

Mixed together and slow cooked, the mirepoix, seasonings, mushrooms and all tasted appetizing and fabulous. There were potatoes and buttered basmati rice to go along. I was quite a happy girl without trying the meat. I poked around for chicken skin. Ha.

But the man made me take slivers of meat. Warily, I chewed it. Stewed in the sauce, the meat absorbed all its aromatic flavors and wine. So the meat didn't taste like chicken. Thank goodness.

I kinda liked coq au vin without the chicken. When slathered onto potatoes and basmati, that rich broth made such a wonderful combination for a homecooked meal.

Dancing At Home Club (After)

Don't know why the guys brought their mega-ass cameras with all the fancy add-ons for a simple pub gig.

Well yea, we haven't caught up in a while. But still it doesn't explain the huge bags lugged around. Was fun! There was a flash for my GrD too! Woots.

There was a queue to get into Home Club! Wah. We didn't realize so many people would come to see a cutie pie on the acoustic.

It was kinda nice to see a quiet gig at the club where we could actually talk in a more or less normal volume. Every time I'm there, ear plugs and shouting are necessary.

She is no Amanda Palmer. But better a night with a gig than none at all.

Not that I know anything about Emmy The Great. But as a singer-songwriter based in London, comparisons are inevitable to Zee Avi whose name is making the rounds on the internet now and many say her sound is very Morrisey. (Kikare + many friends, thanks for links on Zee Avi! Amazing how we guys share similar taste!)

Emmy The Great started off pretty tentative. Her voice was strangely shaking. It evened out and the confidence grew only in the final couple of songs. Rather listenable. We felt more like attending a gig at the uni pub. But well, this is what club gigs are about- if we're anywhere else, it's the same- £5 or USD10 for a first drink and discover if the act happening in there is any good.

While I'm not so into cutie sweet music, all the fresh stuff are great for the scene. And really, what's stopping our Singapore girls from doing the same? Except they will not be one of a knd like Amanda Palmer. :D

Photos In Hard Copies

I almost never print out hardcopy photos now. It seems kind of obsolete.

All the photos I have are stored in thumbdrives and external drives. Soft copies rock. I could do lots of magic with them on photoshop. It's so convenient to send them to friends if necessary. If the disks crash and the soft copies are lost, so be it. As much as I admire beautiful photos, angles, contrast, lighting and computer wizardry, I've learnt not to be so sentimental over them.

My camera takes more photos of inanimate objects than humans. Say for instance the recent vacation, out of like 2000+ photos taken, probably only <50 captured smiling humans.

However, I decided that printing photos at home would be too much of a bother. There're ink, paper, quality, alignment and whatnots to consider. I cannot be bothered. If hard copies are needed, I'd rather go to a printing shop or something, stick the thumbdrive into the machine and print all that I want.

That was exactly what I did last weekend. Went to the shops to print out plenty of photos to snail mail them to Aunt E in London. Aunt E loves photos in hard copies. So I extracted out a couple shots for her, squished them into 2 separate envelopes and popped it into the postbox.

Aunt E called to specially tell us that the photos are now safely sitting in her living room. She sounded so happy! I'm glad I took the effort. I didn't realize that such a simple thing as receiving photos would mean so much to her.

Album Launch :: Another Sunday Afternoon

(Click above edm invite for a larger image. Come pop in for a mellow night! And please hor, no need to wear yellow. :P For the band's facebook page, click here. For myspace, click here.)

OEH YOU THREE, don't say I not friend enough okay.

Le Bistrot 2009

The man had been flooded with work. His days hadn't ended earlier than 10pm. Tonight, he was determined to leave the office by 8pm. He asked me to go make reservations for dinner at an unpretentious quiet restaurant and I immediately knew where to go. This restaurant had slipped from the radar. It wasn't till riendel's recent tweet about Le Bistrot that I remembered it.

The man was extremely pleased with his huge serving of côte de bœuf that came with a rib bone. Le Bistrot made it beautifully medium rare, tender and very tasty. It's not easy to get a good côte de bœuf. Even The French Kitchen doesn't do it so well. We've eaten there a fair numer of times. We always know if the kitchen's in a hurry because it's telling in the food.

Yes, this little bistro serves better food than the crap at Parisian sidewalk cafes. I really don't like stylish Paris for this reason. I prefer to drown in gastronomic delights in Marseille and Lyon.

I love the dessert of dark chocolate mousse with cherry compote. Perfectly balanced betweden sweet-bitter and tart with a tinge of brandy, those fresh cherries made dessert so elegant.

By the end of a most wonderful dinner, the moon had risen a fair bit. This renewal moon was full, luminous and round. The night was cool and a breeze stirred. It inspired a stroll along the Kallang River to burn off those calories before the drive home.

Managing For Abundance, Not Scarcity

Last week, I read an article in Wired Magazine online. By coincidence, the colleagues talked about it too and stressed on how our IT systems aren't efficient enough. I rolled my eyes. That is exactly what I thought from day one and never saw any need to change that impression.

Our IT department seems to be made up of reactionary individuals who micro-manage and scrimp on everything. By itself, that isn't a bad thing. Financial prudence is good. IT systems take up a huge chunk of the operating budget. On one hand, lagging behind technology isn't cool; on the other hand, it's not possible to be playing catch up all the time, (Try catching up on missed tweets over a 48-hour period) but we need to know how to judiciously spend on upgrading the necessary aspects within our systems. Which essentially means, we need the IT department to be able to identify the big picture, not go burrowing into small holes and proudly proclaim them as 'achievements'.

I always send out random emails to the friends. (Not chain mails!) Like deep, meaningful articles. Ooof. Or crap jokes or B-grade videos, usually. (But you gotta admit Buffy kicked Edward's ass totally.)

So I sent out this mid-week hello email to the friends. Of course I also complained about my pathetic 55MB limit for office email inbox capacity. By the time 16MB is taken away for colors, anti-virus and watnots, only 39MB of usable space remain. It absolutely riles me when people send emails with attachments that are bigger than 1500kb. The last time someone sent me something with 20,000kb, it gave me ulcers. Archiving works and I do that religiously- immediately, daily. Heck, I work from my archive so that at any one time, the inbox has only 10 emails.

One by one, the friends saw it fit to reply to the mid-week hello email. They seemed to take GREAT delight in letting me know their (work) inbox quota. I realized most get above 150MB of inbox space. SOME get 500MB.

What??!! It is so NOT FAIR!

Finding Coq Au Vin

The man was insistent on having coq au vin for dinner. He had no time to look for it in Paris and there were too many distractions in London to focus on it.

He found it on the regular menu at Chalk. The chef promised to make him a good one for the evening. So we gathered the friends to the restaurant for dinner.

Full of casual easy vibe in a great locale, Chalk is one of our current favorite places for a good meal. The food is full of hearty homemade goodness. My only complaint- the portions are too big!

The man pronounced the coq au vin as delicious. The meat was supremely tender and simply fell off the bones. Somebody in the kitchen really paid proper attention to the sauce pan to cook the chicken in wine for 2 hours.

The breads and butter could be better, but I'm not complaining. We've too few choices of good bread and butter here. We notice that so many restaurants are using chervil now. As a garnish, chervil is indeed the new parsley. Its liquorice taste lends food a unique flavor.

Everyone's food was excellent. Likewise, the veal shank ossobuco was lovingly slow cooked to perfection. The friends were really impressed by the starter of ox tongue salad. My stomach space was filled up by saffron risotto and the niçoise salad.

A very good evening indeed.

Omakase @ Tatsuya

We could eat Japanese food everyday. Of course we have to sit down to a meal at Tatsuya. By now, the servers already know our individual taste, and even my preferred seat so that the light falls properly for photography purposes. Heh.

I stared at the snail. The kitchen probably just dipped it in boiling water and chucked it into the fridge to chill. Whatever. The snail looked so fresh till it felt so wrong. There was no way I was going to eat it.

It wasn't done in garlic and butter, but the man lapped it all up. He loved the taste. Quietly, I leaned over to the man and whispered to him to eat my snail as well.

"With pleasure, madam." He grinned. The carnivore even had a glint in his eyes. Watching him stab the snail to take it out of the shell whole made my stomach churn. Eioow.

I settled for the milder bamboo clam.

Omakase @ Kome

[Kome is still Kome. But the original chefs Lawrence and Gary now have shifted to Hinoki, as of February 2011]

During our trip, we paid so much attention to dips, French cuisine and tasting menus at Michelin-starred restaurants that we did not bother with any sort of Japanese food- not even Nobu since we're already familiar with Nobu Fifty Seven.

The tastebuds and curiosity were all satiated while on vacation. So upon return to Singapore, we wanted another set of flavors and textures to keep the palete interested.

It was lovely to be taken out to Japanese dinners, starting with good-as-usual omakase at Kome with a bottle of Bowmore 17 y.o. There were so many courses till I forgot how many. Too stuffed. Luckily I only had a granola bar and green tea for lunch.

Till the next one, people.

Eating With Our Eyes Open

The one thing that I appreciate in European, American and Canadian big city restaurants or even small town diners is the fact that they disclose ingredients fully.

Not just that, they go a step further by stating if the chickens are free-range; whether produce is sourced from small farms, sustainable sources, etc and if bottled water goes towards clean water projects in developing countries, etc.

I appreciate Nobu for finally stopping to stock bluefin tuna because that is an endangered species. Likewise on the recent trip, I was very happy with the restaurants we visited. Pied a terre and L'Autre Pied, both which blew our minds. also take pains to point out that they only buy from sustainable sources. A listing of that would be great, but I shan't be too picky. The Latymer does the same, although duck liver is kept on the menu. We probed and realized that the servers possess excellent knowledge of the produce sourced from the various regions for the vegetarian tasting menu.

As much as I like bottled water, I also look at the companies behind. I like to know about the scope of their corporate social responsibilities. At least I don't feel too guilty when indugling in crisp, clear water.

In this aspect, Singapore restaurants and companies really have a long long way to go. Each time I travel, I'm reminded why I'm jaded by the dining scene at home.

It's tough to be 100% green in our lives. We can't quit aeroplanes, cars and air conditioning for now. We can try in other small ways to reduce our carbon footprint. If we still remain ignorant or can't be bothered to sweat the small stuff in environmental protection, your children will live on an overheated earth and breathe bad air, no thanks to our legacy.

The Fun Ride

Now that I'm back in Singapore, I can say it- our driver in London is a weed-smokin', rave-lovin', straight-talking helluva fun dude.

He even showed us his pack of weed. (Of course we didn't ask for any lah.) Ooh one whiff! That smell was unmistakable. Very familiar too. Brought back many many angsty teen memories!

We were very tickled.

If I were me 10 years ago, I'd do the party scene in London all over again in a heartbeat. That was exactly what I did then for 3 summers. We crawled through all the hottest clubs on the row. Our days began with a late lunch and lasted all the way till sunrise. We didn't even bother packing clothes in the suitcase. We shopped and filled them up with new clothes. London was/is the party city to be in.

Now, our days begin at 8am with breakfast. We check out cafes, restaurants and museums in London instead. We still do late nights- for the gigs and at the theatre. The only leaves I drink or burn are of the potpourri, aromatherapy, tea sort of variety. And the only vice is grain in the guise of malt.

I think the driver found us and our pursuits most boring. :p

Cookbook Received!

The girlfriend went to the Jack Daniel's Distillery and got the man an entire cookbook. Along with the cookbook, out fell an Elvis Beanie Baby who'll be sitting in the car and headbanging to La Roux's new album.

Cooking with Jack features a complete menu from cocktails (of course), hour bites, breads, salads and soups to sweets and relishes.

There're a couple of interesting sweets- Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings and Late-Night Oatmeal Cake. We think we should pdf these receipes and send it back to the girlfriend so that she could make us some! Quick googling reveals that alot of the receipes are available online though.

In return, we could do everyone a Boarding House Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Lynchburg Lemonade Congealed Salad, Creamy Shoepeg Corn Salad and The Real Onion Dip. Hmmm. That sounds like a dvd/wii/trivia pursuit/charades party! Do we have a date?

Happy Fourth of July to the peeps who are citizens and to those who've adopted the continent as their home!

Whisky Shopping At Heathrow

When faced with the enormous selection of single malts on the shelves at the departure lounge of Heathrow's DFS, I literally went weak in the knees.

There were so many beautiful bottles and several limited editions specially bottled for Heathrow. So exciting!!! Each time the man is in London, he always buys it from their DFS rather than ours. These duty-free only bottlings are stirring up the whisky drinkers. There're so many to choose from- Bunnahabhain Darach Ur, Glenlivet Nàdurra 16 y.o cask strength, 2 choices of Dalmore 12y.o, The Snow Grouse (Famous Grouse) and a couple of others.

What I'm really looking for, are bottles of the Speyside Glenlivet Sparkling/Still to lug home. Exhibiting at Food & Hotel Asia last year might not have penetrated the Singapore market. The Moray company went into administration 3 months ago and has been rescued by Highland Spring. Essentially, that should mean that we should still see this brand of water being marketed. It is so so tasty. I've not had such lovely water. If you think Kingsdown is good, Glenlivet is 10 times better. I wonder if any of you hoteliers and restaurateurs is going to bring it into Singapore. (BIG SHOUTOUT here.)

We came away with 2 bottles of limited edition Bowmore 21 y.o distilled in 1988 (port cask matured) for ourselves, and a Talisker 57° North for the friends. The friends would love the powerful smokiness within the ash and orange flavors of this bottle of Talisker.

The man is going to go home to flip his cooking bible. He's chattering about checking out the food that he could do for dinner that would complement the intense aroma of the Bowmore 21 y.o (port cask), which is very different from the distillery's other 1985 21 y.o. (of which we couldn't keep our hands off and finished it.)

I can't wait to taste that Bowmore 21 y.o matured in port cask. I wonder if it's going to make me fall in love with it the way I'm so enchanted with the port matured Bowmore 16 y.o. I've been quite faithful to that bottle for some time now. There just isn't any other bottle that I'm quite liking as much.

At Customs

As Murphy's law would have it, my line was the slowest moving line at customs for security checks. This particular officer was being rather difficult to people he didn't seem to like the look of or their faces/tone of voice/whatever.

He seemed like the stereotypical middle-aged man who was most dissatisfied with his lot in life and took it out on the nearest humans.

In the surliest manner, he commanded the people to 'take off their shoes', 'stay there', 'move there', 'hold your luggage' or 'wait'. He was quite nasty to this family of four who had alot of check-in luggage including 2 baby strollers. I really wasn't comfortable with what I was seeing. But the officer wielded absolute authority and nobody was in any position to say anything for now.

When it came to my turn, I dumped the laptop and ziplock bag of liquids ino the trays. I voluntarily took off my belt and shoes without being asked. He actually flashed me a smile. "Ah, lovely. Go the whole way! That should be the spirit." I was like, whatever. I just wanted to get this over quickly.

What he said next, boggled my mind. "For someone like you, you speak very good English."

I was like, WTF. So I retorted. "All thanks to your finest universities." Of course it was a fib. But it achieved the desired effect of seeing the smile freeze on his face. At least it stopped him from proving just how ignorant he was.

In this day and age, seriously, customs officers in first world countries should have learnt that yellow-skinned humans speaking good English is NOT a big deal. Go wow only when they fluently speak Swedish, French, German, Russian, Swahili or something that's not the universal language.

Wah lau eh. Not all Caucasians speak good English either.

At The VAT Refund Queue

There was the usual snaking queue at the VAT refund office at the airport.

A young officer was going down the queue checking everyone's receipts to make sure everything had been filled in properly so as to hasten the process at the counter later.

There were 2 women in the line with about 15 or so receipts who asked him if he could let them jump to the head of the queue. The young officer looked perturbed. The women wouldn't let up and kept pestering him to move them first because they had a plane to catch. Finally, he said he would have to check with the rest of the passengers to see if that would be okay. The women were triumphant and said, "Yea, do that!"

At the head of the queue, a lady with about 50 receipts, hemmed and hawed. It was obvious she didn't want to let them get ahead, but didn't know how to say it. I was second in line. There were 5 people in front of the women. So if all 5 said yes and I too, the 2 women would be able to go to the counter to have their VAT refunds processed first. If anyone said said no, then there would be no deal.

I politely asked the women what flight they were on and what time it was leaving. The 2 women told me it was "none of my [your] business." They gave me this blasé look and added that I only needed to know that they had a flight to catch soon.

So rude! What the hell.

Uncharacteristically, I firmly objected. I raised my voice to ensure that the entire queue heard what I had to say. "Then NO. If you want the VAT refund this badly, you should have had the sense to arrive at the airport much earlier to queue, like how the rest of us have done. We've all got planes to catch. If you're out of time, you're welcome to leave the queue, forget the VAT refund and run for your plane."

The man behind me applauded and said, "Hear hear!" The rest of the queue nodded in agreement. The young officer heaved a sigh of relief and moved on.

The 2 women threw me looks that could kill. But they stayed in the queue. Obviously, they weren't really in that big a hurry to catch their plane.

Bye London!

Carefully, we packed our most precious items to be handcarried onto the plane into totes- boxes of chocolate and tupperware containing the huge slices of chocolate meringue cake that Aunt E gave; gifts from the friends, etc.

The car was waiting at the door already.

Our very sweet concierge had earlier sorted out our check-in stuff and printed hardcopies of boarding passes. He and the driver wouldn't let us carry anything! They loaded all our suitcases into the car. 2 huge ones, 2 small cabin pieces, 1 laptop trolley, 2 totes and 1 guitar case. Amazingly, they all fit snugly into the boot.

I generally choose to spend vacations at beach resorts or some destination with an unpronounceable name. If I've to stay in a city, there better be friends, plenty of museums to visit and minimal shopping at the malls. Quirky non-touristy type indie shops would be preferable. Luckily, London has plenty to offer by way of experiencing a city. I don't love it as much as NYC, but it is still lovely. This trip, I'm glad we visited all the friends and aunts we wanted to say hello to.

This vacation has ended too soon! I ummm....don't want to come home leh. There're spots in London that we haven't had time to explore.

We can argue the finer points of the social system much later only if we're citizens or have a vested interest in the country. If you wear flats and birkies or 2.5 inch heels, London's a really easy city to live in. V, I bet you can *stride through the streets in your 4.5 inchers with ease. Stilettos are only for the true fashionistas (not me) and the brave.

*mind the potholes!

Museums & Galleries: Tally For London

(From left: Sokrates, Anthisthenes, Chrysippos and Epikouros)

I'm also rather pleased with the final tally for London. Could have done more. But there were gigs to catch, relatives to pester, people to annoy, friends to bug, and other stuff to check out. There're quite a number of things to do in London. So I've been suitably entertained.

• British Museum
• Tate Modern/British
• Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
• Geffrye Museum
• Courtauld Gallery
• National Gallery
• White Cube
• Lisson
• Royal Academy of Arts
• Natural History Museum

Till the next time.

To The Theatre!

There isn't even any doubt in my mind that I don't want to catch Transformers here. While I do want to watch that eventually, it isn't a priority on my list of to-dos in London.

Aside from the numerous (superb) gigs we trudged across town to check out, we've also watched so many plays and films.

London theatre offers something for the interested- not just on mainstream WestEnd or Old Vic. There're also the smaller theatres off WestEnd, namely The Soho Theatre and the Bush which are great for young playwrights, Donmar Warehouse and the Young Vic. The city boasts of a mature vibrant theatre world comprising of National Theatre, Royal Court and Barbican.

For film, there's a hodgepodge of cinemas to choose where to go on movie night- Riverside Studios, all branches of Curzon, Odeon, etc, the most exciting being how Secret Cinema does their mailers and screenings. Besides Hollwood blockbusters, the city gets a good spread of indie productions and European films.

There is something exciting to do here every evening, every weekend. The city is so vibrant and steeped in the arts and culture.

While we hold animated discussions over which school/education system is better or filled with less bullies and hidden dangers, we agree on the matter of space and variety. It is small wonder that none of the Singapore friends who live here want to come home to the little red dot.

Shopping @ Borough

We went to Borough Market, bought coffee from Monmouth and swept lots of assorted items into the shopping bag to bring home.

There were many bottles of sauces with white spring truffles within, truffle salt, sea salt, hummus, beans, etc. We also wanted to buy some fresh greens and all for the friends.

I was looking to grab a few bottles of chutneys and jams- fig, specifically. Lots of chutneys available. But I was told that figs weren't in season yet. They'd ripen mid-summer, in a couple of weeks. Oh well. There were other jams to choose from.

The man munched on chorizos, brownies and beans. He also gobbled down a pm pie, which was really a steak and kidney pie because it was the thing to eat in London. But the stall didn't have a warmer, so the pie was cold. Not very appetizing, frankly. Pies taste best piping hot. They had a pie named Heidi that looked good- goat's cheese, sweet potato, red onion and roasted garlic. Too bad I wasn't that hungry to eat a cold pie!

I loved this mushroom pâté from Pâté Moi. It was delicious! We bought a few tubs.

Happy sigh. Borough Market is such a cheerful place to roam around in.