Faerie Tales

衡山小馆吃粤菜

2012-02-03T12:36:00.000+08:00

A random weekday dinner at Hengshan Cafe & Chinese Cuisine (衡山小馆) also turned into a spread of dishes on the table. *groan* If you want the familiar flavors of good Hong Kong or Cantonese cuisine, besides Tsui Wah Restaurant (翠华餐厅) this is a good choice. Avoid Crystal Jade at all costs. Am still scarred by the subpar standard of the food. I don't even quite like Crystal Jade in Singapore, unless it's the very yummy restaurant at Paragon or perhaps Ngee Ann City.

Hengshan Cafe held an aquarium of some catfish of sorts that didn't quite look like they ought to be eaten. (Been told it's a freshwater Amazon red-tail catfish. Dunno what's the other one though.) Although the aquarium was placed in the corner, it was attention grabbing. We stared and stared, watching the fish move. The habitat looked too small for the four of them. They seemed more like fortune fish of sorts. Hey, they're placed in a restaurant, what am I supposed to assume?

Only Cantonese restaurants know how to boil up a decent pot of soup. But no vegetarian soups are available. All pork. The friends dug around the bowl of ingredients from the soup and held up a long tongue. A pig's tongue. Woah. I don't know tongue is used in soups as part of the stock. The roast pork here was proclaimed "not nice" by the friends. So don't bother with that. 'The minced pork cake thingy with salted fish was surprisingly very well done.

I got my lightly stir-fried greens, and braised tofu. Told them less oil but it was still glistening in a pool of it. Ugggh. The pumpkin fritters with salted egg yolk were AWESOMELY tasty. I loved that! That proves my theory, put salted egg yolk over anything and it would be a winner. Like salted egg yolk prawns.

The highlight at Hengshan Cafe is their claypot rice (锅饭或港式‘煲仔飯’). There were many versions. But I didn't look at the menu thoroughly. The friends randomly ordered quite a standard version, but they didn't find the sauce that impressive. Comfort food though, if you like Chinese sausages, liver sausages and a lot of tasty carbs.

A Nice Warm Scarf

2012-02-03T12:20:00.000+08:00

Knowing that I like warm scarves to use in the fierce air-conditioning in the tropics, and as an essential in winter, a girlfriend (not the bff) had personally knitted a scarf, and got it ready as an early birthday present for me to use in Shanghai.

I still like drab and dreary colors for winter clothes. But I make an exception for scarves. Those can come in different colors and I'm non-plussed. Just no polka dots or ugly swathes of florals or animal prints please. Easy florals, graduated tones, monotones or stripes will do. The silk and cotton ones are good accessories in the tropical humidity. They work better in temperatures that don't require a cardigan. They're quite handy in jazzing up my mainly white top (tees) and jeans combination in weirdly strong air-conditioning indoors in high summer.

The girlfriend had used some fabulous quality wool of which I forgot to ask her what it is. But it's probably merino because it kept the wind out, and protected the neck area so well that on same days, I didn't need a hat. Last year, she also knitted a deep red cowl scarf too for me. At this rate, I'm not going to need to buy any more scarves!

Bar Constellation No.3

2012-02-03T12:17:00.000+08:00

We've been going to the good cocktail bars in the city, a much better experience than the last round. Somehow, all the bars have upped their game and begin to make pretty decent concoctions.

Nice and spacious, Bar Constellation No.3 (251, Huang Pi Bei Road, 黄陂北路，近江阴路) is my favorite-st of them all. This is the branch that I turn up at, again and again, as often as I can during the sojourn in the city.

If I'm alone or with just another human, we would plonk ourselves at the bar, or simply stand around the ample space. Tonight, we had a large group. Thanks to the bff's 'anal-ness' about reservations wherever we go, we secured a comfortable table at No.3. When we walked in at 10.15pm, it was packed out with ours being the only empty spot. Whoa.

We had 2 beautiful bottles of single malts. A Highland Park 18 y.o and a bloody awesome Balvenie 30y.o. We still ordered a round of mojitos, and decided to order a second. When the server apologized for being unable to serve the second order of mojitos because they had ran out of mint leaves, we blinked. Win lor. We returned to trusty whisky. No way they would run out of that. Whisky it remained for the rest of the night as new and old friends found out we share common interests, causes, passions and ideals, and not afraid to turn them into concrete action.

Me, Made Brunch

2012-02-02T17:45:00.000+08:00

Not difficult to rustle up breakfast or brunch either, especially the types where it didn't require much cooking, except for frying up eggs in the pan. Scrambled eggs ain't tough. Everything else is store-bought. I was going to use the kippers bought from Marks & Spencer to prepare brunch.

We couldn't resist the packet of mortadella at the supermarket. Ham is always nice, for the carnivores, as long as it isn't too crappy. Not bacon though. Didn't feel like managing bacon in the pan when I don't understand its properties when cooked. Also, for RMB40, I would rather buy tartare sauce from Colman's than Kraft. Pricey, but the Colman's version is sublime. The multigrain sourdough had been bought, and kippers would be easily heated up in the pan, along with a sprinkling of Italian herbs. Oddly, I prefer not to use the microwave unless absolutely necessary.

I've watched the man caramelize onions enough to know what to do when I'm on my own. Chopping them up isn't difficult. They become strips anyway. With very little olive oil in the pan, I waited for the onions to brown. Quite pleased that the lot of caramelized onions tasted pretty similar to the man's. That same pan, with all the onion smells and flavors, was a good base to make scrambled eggs. When I cracked the eggs, the raw yolks and whites looked so good that I couldn't resist slurping up one. Yummmz. It was rather delicious. Then I set about whipping them and adding a dash of spices, black pepper and salt to it. Very easy to cook.

With a flounce, the bff layered pieces of mortadella on top of the plates for the meat-eaters. A pity I forgot to buy avocados. They would have added some color and gone well with the meal. No matter, we had raw sweet cherry tomatoes. Those were juicy crunchy.

Ta-daaaaah. Our brunch.

Fluffy Things

2012-02-02T17:32:00.000+08:00

Since we had been invited out to dinner, I thought it would be nice to go get some chocolates for the hosts. So we went to the Godiva cafe at Xintiandi (新天地). Along the way, I paused in front of the shop's window to stare at the bears in traditional Chinese outfits. I told the bff to block me while I snucked a photo.

The bff helped, by walking went straight in to stare at more bears. She picked up one. "They're quite cute. Do you want one?" I shook my head vigorously. Too many bears at home. As it is, I brought like...5 bears along with me on this trip. She continued, "How about a cheongsam thingy or a Chinese robe for them? Cute wat." I totally objected. No.way.

They're quite adorable eh?

Then we got distracted by Starbucks and went off to get coffee. When we got home later that night, I realized the bff's partner had somehow bought a pink dress for her Rabbit to don this Chinese New Year! That was so sweet of him! None of us knew exactly when he did that. He didn't even go to the toilet! I guess we weren't paying much attention to him. Hehehehe. He must have been really fast and made sure we didn't notice his absence for that 5 minutes.

Oh, yes, the bff's got a favored Rabbit who follows her wherever she goes, even onto the plane. The last time we were on a plane together, that silly spoilt Rabbit wasn't content to sit with the bff. She clambered up to the big ledge between our seats, stole my bottle of water, took the tubs of salt and pepper shaker and scattered the tiny grains all over my quivering little bear who had hidden in one corner. Big bully! This Rabbit is quite large, fierce and unfriendly to my bears. Hmmmpf. In this pink cheongsam thingy, she looks so prim and proper, and well, cheery for the season. Matriarchal, I say.

Residences (故居)

2012-02-01T19:12:00.000+08:00

On a happy sunny day, I decided to leave the camera at home and step out with as little barang-barang as possible. I can't be lugging a 3.5kg bag around every friggin day. All I needed would be a tube of lip balm, a credit card and some cash, which could all be zipped up in the inner pockets in the coat.

1930s Shanghai must have been elegant, stately and gorgeous. Those villas that you can still see now in the form of museums, restaurants and bars are beautiful. I wouldn't want to live in any though, not unless I've an army of household staff, a housekeeper and a butler to maintain the estate. I love the architecture of a nostalgic era gone by, and wondered how my grandparents felt when they met along the streets of Shanghai back then.

Strolled by to visit the residences of the 1930s- Zhou Enlai's Residence (周恩来故居) at 73 Sinan Road (思南路73号), Zou Tao Fen Memorial Hall (韬奋纪念馆) at 54, Chongqing Nan Road (重庆南路54号) and the Sun Yat Sen Museum (孙中山故居) at 7 Xiangshang Road (香山路7号).

周公馆（周恩来故居）
I gave the main street of ridiculously bright huge shops (like H & M) a wide berth and hopped into the quiet area within the French Concession to have a look at the three-storey French villa that used to house the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, Zhou Enlai. There're a number of beds, desks and of course documents on display. Rather officious, I must say, reflective of its incarnation as the Communist Party's Shanghai office in 1946. The information provided is in Chinese only. However, the beauty is in the architecture of the villa and its lush vegetation that is now a sad grey in winter.

韬奋纪念馆
Not that I know much about Zou Tao Fen (邹韬奋). But I had google-on-the-go. A respected journalist, writer, publisher and political commentator, he's considered a patriot and lived in these apartments between 1930 to 1936. Many state leaders paid homage to him through scripts, tablets and autographs in this villa that has been turned into a Memorial Hall. I haven't read any of his articles. But it was quite satisfying to browse through the quiet halls of the museum paying homage to the legacy of this man in times of political turmoil. There's a road named after him, along with bookstores and teahouses.

孙中山故居
Apparently this two-storey Western-style villa was bought by the overseas Chinese for Sun Yat Sen who lived there with his wife Soong Ching Ling from 1918 to 1924. The house has been largely preserved, along with its furniture. It doesn't try to overwhelm you with historical information, but instead, leaves it to visitors to feel and surmise what they will, on the assumption that one has somewhat read up about the history of the founder of the Republic of China and subsequently, the Kuomintang. Traces of the villa's residents are still so obvious today. I left the place feeling like this is authentic, unlike what the Singapore version tries to achieve with tenuous links to the man in our memorial hall.

All in all, a very nice interlude walking around and standing for a couple hours before stuffing the stomach again at Family Li Imperial Cuisine (历家菜餐厅), where the nuances of Chinese food were completely lost on my unappreciative tastebuds.

Bar Constellation No.2

2012-02-01T19:03:00.001+08:00

It seemed like we kept playing phone bingo calling Bar Constellation No.2 (33, YongJia Road, 永嘉路) to pin down a table. They don't seem to pick up the phone, ever. The second time we tried going, we simply rounded over at 9.45pm and they were closed! Arrrrrgh. They were supposed to have opened at 9pm during the Chinese New Year period. Hmmmph.

I rarely hit No.2 during the last visit because it wasn't along the way to my destinations even though it's located in town. Anyway, we finally got through to the bar over the phone, booked a table and sat down for a drink at No.2 at 9.30pm. It was crowded. They didn't open the second floor and the ground floor hit full capacity before 10pm. Where did all these alcoholics come from?!

Had stiff shots of Tullibardine 1988 vintage edition. Very strong, very nice. Although I stared quite hard at my glass because the ice came in a square instead of its expected round. Whatever. It was still a solid piece of ice. Towards the end of the night, I wanted something lighter that would taste almost non-alcoholic. So I picked a Moscow Mule that the bff had earlier. I took a sip from her mug and loved it. I love ginger beer. When mine came, I was glad that the bar used a proper ginger beer and not ginger ale. :P In all the bubbles and sugar, I couldn't really taste the vodka. Not that it mattered.

At Marks & Spencer

2012-01-31T19:25:00.000+08:00

Muesli bars and cereals are always a choice of snack for us. Or it could be breakfast. I refuse to eat 3 meals a day or huge meals outside. Not when we could cook here or rustle up an easy salad. I can do salads very well, so I'm not particularly inclined to settle for less than mediocre quality at the cafes or even hotel lounges who can't do hearty salads.

We've been cooking every other day, so supermarkets are of interest to us. The man is of course curious about all of them. I'm only interested in the wares. If it's just down to the bff and I, we go for the so-called frozen meals at Marks & Spencer (玛莎百货). They've got a frozen food section. Wieeee. It isn't difficult to fry up or microwave these pre-cooked packs. Heh. The bff is just as lazy as I am when it comes to cooking. However, she's way superior in the sense that she can actually cook rather well, if forced to do so.

Since the store's eeeky start in 2008, it has gotten their act together and put out wares that the consumers in Shanghai appreciate. Now, it has more than frozen fish pies, potatoes and pizza. We didn't bother looking at the clothes. It's exactly what we have at home, and I'm not bothered about buying more winter wear from this store. I prefer other labels. The bff stocked up on packs of pilau, wholegrain and basmati. She buys the bigger packs from the supermarkets. But as a matter of laziness, she still buys these microwaveable ones to toss into canned soups or easy stews.

I was pleased to find the frozen foods section well stocked and almost identical to those in London, and slightly bigger than Singapore. I grabbed familiar boxes of lightly dusted fillets of plaice and haddock. Those would be great for lunch or a light dinner. I also spied a box of Scottish kippers that were already marinated with butter. Woot. Definitely an option for breakfast since it only needed heating up!

At The Adidas Flagship Store

2012-01-31T19:18:00.000+08:00

We haven't bothered with shopping very much. Nobody needs to buy anything, and the bff knows I'm not keen to hit the malls at all. For curiosity's sake, the bff and her partner made us take a look at the giant Adidas flagship store along Huaihai Zhong Road (淮海中路，近思南路) which has finally opened in Shanghai after protracted delays. I didn't mind getting some Originals, Silver and Y-3 stuff.

I don't fit Adidas very well. I'm a very odd size between 32 and 34. I know that the man can't quite fit into L, and XL is too big. The sizing fits the bff and her partner fine though. No matter. We shall browse and see what the fates have in store for us.

The woman egged me on to get a fluffy pink down jacket. Hallo, I already have a fuchsia pink sitting at home! I don't want more colors. I still like my clothes drab. I don't need more winter coats, especially when I'm not on a quest to own all of Originals' or Y-3's winter collection! It's not necessary for this girl living in the tropics to amass a formidable wardrobe of winter gear. Duhh.

I found some casuals that I didn't mind. However, we were all the way up on the top floor (think the store has 5 floors in total) and we wanted to pay at the main cashier on the ground floor on our way out. Somehow, the staff managed to lose all the clothes we had picked out, and we had to wait a good 20 minutes while the staff scrambled like headless chickens to find it. Man...their inventory was a mess, and they took such a long time with sizes, and the fact that they seemed to have limited stock for everything.

（又）吃上海生煎包和小笼包

2012-01-30T18:05:00.000+08:00

排队买‘小杨生煎包’。

We had to take the man to try the famous xiaolongbao in Shanghai. He does like this little bao, if done well. To Huanghe Road (黄河路) it was for the steamed 'JiaJia Tang Bao' (佳家汤包) and the pan-fried 'Xiao Yang Sheng Jian Bao' (小杨生煎包).

I can't go to these places on my own because the quantity is too much for me, and the Chinese bao, being typically pork and meat-based, often there's very little I could eat. But I know at 'JiaJia Tang Bao', they do a pure crab meat version that's absolutely heavenly. So I totally love it. It comes in a basket of 12, and I can only do 6 at one go, even if that number makes up one meal.

For lunch today, it would be all savory steaming bao and nothing else. By the road outside 'Xiao Yang Sheng Jian Bao' where we chose to stand and eat, the man was grappling with his chopsticks. Ahahahaha. We couldn't stop giggling at him. He couldn't wrestle with both slurping of the soup and holding up the bao. He was the last to finish his one cute bao.

While standing around with a styrofoam box of browned bao, we could see across the street into Jia Jia Tang Bao. There was no queue (Hurrah for Chinese New Year in a city mostly devoid of its inhabitants), but the tables were full. So we simply kept an eye on the shopfront to ensure that no horde of humans rushed in to lengthen the wait. Once done, we hurried over for more eating.

佳家‘鸡鸭血汤’。

At 'JiaJia Tang Bao', they had ran out of stocks for most items. We came at 2.15pm. The friends said they always run out of the popular items (pork and meat-based stuff, and prawns) by 11am. The crab meat based ones are usually still available. We easily got a table and ordered 6 baskets of bao. I LOVE the one with crab meat (纯蟹粉). Absolutely delicious. The man loved them too. However, being the one with the most adventurous tastebuds at this table, he also had a bowl of soup of chicken and duck blood. He didn't care very much for it after all. Heh.

佳家‘蟹粉‘小笼包。含有猪肉。

We've had good xiaolongbaos, and we've had fabulous ones. These tiny street stores in Shanghai sell out-of-this-world jewels. Or perhaps we've been in the city only during winter, I guess half the yummy-ness came from eating hot stuff in the cold. Always comforting. Hot steaming buns and soup in 3°C. Perfect.

We were ridiculously stuffed from eating so many baskets of bao between 4 humans. We took a long stroll around the streets, going nowhere in particular and just looking at the street sights, random humans, buildings, architecture, and simply soaking up the uncrowded streets and vibes of a historic city.

我喜欢的‘纯蟹粉’小笼包。

人日捞起

2012-01-30T06:57:00.000+08:00

Bff 说，”来，咱们 lo hei ！你带一盒过来吧。” 我笨笨的答应。到余仁生看一看，原来一盒这么大！蛮重的。哎哟。既答应了友人，最后还是买了下来，把密封包装大盒的‘发财鱼生’塞近行李箱，一块儿带到上海。

农历新年‘捞起’平时对我们来说没什么特别的象征。有‘捞起’并不代表一年好运。没‘捞起’也不意识一年倒霉。但bff人在异乡，不想费力煮出一桌新加坡式美味佳肴，搞个‘捞起’也蛮有意思的。(Read the history of 'yusheng' and 'lo hei' on the rather accurate Wiki link.)

到日本超级市场－Fresh Mart 买刺身。我想重造熟悉的口味，想用一种鲱 (yellowtail) 或宝刀鱼 (ikan parang or wolf herring)作为生鱼片。最讨厌用鲑鱼了。家里已有罐头鲍鱼。还得买胡萝卜，萝卜，黄瓜，柚子之类的生菜水果。这超级市场什么都有。真妙！带了两大袋东西回家。

我们挺喜欢鱼生的。有生鱼，有蔬菜，口感很好。不太喜欢酸梅酱，就少放；橄榄油也稍许。备料容易，但得花上两小时洗和切成丝。人家把鱼生当成开胃菜，咱们把鱼生当成主菜。也有通心粉汤做伴。这么个吃法，肚子也开心。前几天真的吃太多了。超饱。感觉似还未消化一餐又来一餐。

我们就随着新加坡习俗，给它捞个年头到年尾‘风声水起，红运当头，金银满屋，五福临门’。

Shopping At 田子坊

2012-01-29T18:22:00.000+08:00

Plenty of kitschy and cute shops at Tian Zi Fang (田子坊). Entirely your taste and choice of whether to buy anything from there. Some are an outright rip-off, many sell silly looking useless (relative) souvenirs, silver and beaded jewelry, and there are some gems in handmade items. After brunch, we had quick stroll through the narrow alleys. To us, it was more to have a look than to buy anything. However, it's embarrassing that none of us managed to catch the names of the shops we like. We randomly know where they're located though.

The pretty Flying Pigeon bicycle with its rustic woven basket caught our eye. In we went to the shop to have a look at their wares. They sell craft items made of felt. Many cute animals and sea creatures! Loved the colors and the vibe of the shop. And the music! Not ching-chong-dong-dong-chiang Chinese New Year music. After browsing around in the shop for a while, we realized the stereo was playing the soundtrack from 'Juno'.

I lingered long in the leather shop where they sell handmade leatherbound books. While I may not have been very nimble in notabilia's bookmaking classes, I've at least learnt (without googling) to recognize what's a coptic bind, a Japanese side stitch, long stitch, using beewax, etc, to make gorgeous handbound books. The ones I picked up are just as beautiful as those I've seen in other countries where leather bound notebooks are abundant. But, the paper used in the leatherbound journals in this shop is not nice. It's thin, almost like tracing paper. Certainly not acid-free paper. I was so tempted to buy a couple of notebooks, but for the low grade paper used. What a shame.

A good spot of seeing some old buildings, ancient architecture and its adopted new forms to breathe life into the area. We finished up at Tian Zi Fang and ran off to the indoor gym where it was much more interesting to exercise the limbs and gain some muscles.

Kommune at 田子坊

2012-01-29T18:03:00.000+08:00

While some of the friends' regular breakfast/brunch cafes are closed for the week, others remain open. We've come down to simply eating two meals a day and no more. Although we've a habit of walking everywhere, it's still too much food at every meal, and we never learn to stop stuffing ourselves to the brim.

After a lazy morning of boardgames, we went to Tian Zi Fang (田子坊) for a browse and brunch at Kommune. The Tian Zi Fang area is like a wind tunnel. Always so cold. As we browsed the tiny streets, it was essential to bundle up in order to be comfortable in the wind. Surprise, surprise! Many of the shops and eateries were opened for business! The area was bustling with tourists and locals.

Apparently Kommune is packed out on normal weekends. Usually it takes about 45 minutes to get a table in the cramped space. You gotta love the lunar new year. It was crowded when we got there, but within 5 minutes, we got a table. The food was pretty decent. Although it's nothing we couldn't have cooked at home. We got our bacon and egg fry-ups, and I got my tiny vegetable dips and hummus, and a falafel wrap. In fact, the boys ate, and the bff and I shared their food. We really couldn't eat this much for every meal. The tomato soup came in a quaint Chinese thermos flask and honestly tasted very good, and that wasn't because it was hot. They made it from scratch and peppered it well. Unexpectedly lovely.

We got healthy doses of vitamins too, in the form of fresh juices. Had to request and emphasize for no sugar or honey to be placed in them. While there's flat white and piccolo latte on the menu, the beans and barista at this Australian owned cafe are disappointing. Perhaps it's because the owner is away. But the flat white, is nowhere near the rich beauty of the Oz flat whites I love. The milk was rather horrible tasting. I don't know about its usual coffee standard, but I'd take my chances with Starbucks or Costa over today's cuppa. The Japanese Cafe Dan a few doors down would have been a better choice for coffee.

Fireworks For The Fortune God

2012-01-28T23:54:00.000+08:00

The fireworks have been insane. The Chinese set off firecrackers and fireworks anytime, anywhere, anyhow. I understand that there're certain main roads and highways where people aren't allowed to do so, but the streets and alleys are ripe for picking.

Ear plugs. Totally necessary. The fireworks reached a fevered pitch on the night of the fourth day of the lunar new year and all of the next day. It's even more heated than those to signal the start of the year of the Dragon. Every friggin' corner, rooftop had blasts and light reverberating through the city. We were super glad to be indoors and not standing amidst the rain of debris and smoke which sent Shanghai's air pollution index soaring. The friends said that Beijing would be five times worse. Right, and Beijing's air quality is already worse than Shanghai's on a good day. They've got a permanent haze shrouding the city.

At 11.45pm on the fourth night (初四), as we moved into the fifth day (初五), the city went nuts. Fireworks were let off from the streets, from rooftops and out of balconies and window sills. It was mad. The horizon on both sides was lit up from end to end with flare, light and a red glow. The continuous blasts were so loud that we abandoned the music and television to look at just how crazy the fireworks were. It's their first time spending the festive season in Shanghai too. Other years, they simply went off for a vacation.

Clearly, neither of us knew why the fireworks were so major tonight. I only had a vague impression that the Chinese 'prayed' to different gods on different days of the fifteen days of the lunar new year. Fireworks this major, had to be the God of Fortune. So we googled. Ahhhh. We were kinda right! The fifth day is when the southerners, i.e. Shanghai, 'send away poverty' (送穷), welcome and pay tribute to the Fortune God (祭财神，接财神). There we go. Fortune God. Need I say more?

The fireworks, both legal and illegal, shot up to a height of 20-something floors of many buildings. They really take the Fortune God seriously. There's been plenty of money going up in flames across the city this week. I'm not even thinking of how pretty these are. I've no love for fireworks. Mouths agape, we stared at the major fireworks going off, flanking a gas station. Win lor. Safety? What safety?

The Man Likes Cooking In Winter

2012-01-28T23:33:00.000+08:00

The best time to cook in the kitchen is winter. The man loves the cool air coming into the kitchen while the stove is on and pots are bubbling with gravy and whatnots. There isn't a need to turn on the heater in the kitchen at all. In fact, it's the only time he doesn't perspire while bustling about.

He had insisted on cooking many meals over 2 winters in London at home and at the aunts'. In Shanghai, he can't resist whipping up a couple of meals as well. The kitchen draws him like a magnet, especially when he discovered the rather exciting but pricey range of products at the both the local and so-called 'expatriate' supermarkets. There's plenty of stuff available in Shanghai that isn't available at home, and vice versa. The bff is rather nonchalant about it. She has no issues with handing him the kitchen as long as he doesn't burn it down. Ha.

Also, we didn't expect so many restaurants to remain open for business during this week. So we ate out a fair bit. We had a shiteload of good food everywhere till we're like...no more mega meals please! Each meal will mean either 7-8 dishes on the table or a 5-6 course degustation meal. I absolutely rejected the 12-course at Pelham's. Homecooked 1-dish meals are wonderful for the soul and stomach. And let's face it, eating out in Shanghai is an oily business. We don't have the stomach for it.

One meal, the man set about doing an easy aglio olio with capellini. The friends had a stash of fabulous frozen German sausages and anchovies bought from Frankfurt and Madrid. That went onto the menu too. He couldn't resist topping it with a light tomato vegetable stew. The ingredients randomly complemented one another. The result was quite yummy.

Yes, you're not seeing things. I can help in the kitchen by chopping up a couple of zucchini. No sweat.

Up In The Sky

2012-01-27T09:07:00.000+08:00

During the last visit, I didn't go up to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Centre (SWFC, 上海环球金融中心). It's kinda known as the 'can opener'. The story behind the 494.4m tall building by a Japanese conglomerate is juicier than its statistics and numbers as SWFC surpasses the pride of the city that's the 421m tall Jin Mao Tower (金茂大夏). Well, the Shanghai Tower (上海中心大厦) is currently under construction, right next to these 2 urban monoliths. When completed in 2014, its spire will hit 632m. This visit, the bff and I decided to take the man to SWFC.

One reason why we like Shanghai so much during Chinese New Year is because it's so empty. It makes the city so much more pleasant. At SWFC, The man experienced the full shoving and pushing of the Chinese (domestic) tourists who were loud, obnoxious and wouldn't hesitate to push us. I always believe that 'kiasu-ism' probably originated from China where many Chinese Singaporeans' ancestors come from. (And that's not to say that Singaporeans are well-behaved. We're not.)

There were long queues of tourists clogging up the entry points and long waits for the lift. At the security gantry where there was only space for one, one annoying idiot pushed my shoulder to try to get past me. Hey! I'm way thinner and still, there isn't space. You think you can get through? I said firmly, “别推啊！” He had the audacity to retort, “我就是推，怎么样？” Before I could decide whether to expend energy to scold him, the security guards came round to tell him to get behind me and queue in line. HA! None of us took it lying down. We shoved back as good as it got and told off a number of humans who tried to elbow us in the lift. HALLO, we're IN the lift; not going anywhere till we hit the 97th floor. The ushers at SWFC were soooo good. They were authoritative and firm; refused to allow the humans to skip the queue or overpack the lift. Many actually didn't think it was a problem to push more than the permitted 20 humans into one lift.

We took the man up 100 storeys to the Sky Walk and let him merrily skip across the glass. Since he's the newbie to China, it was one way of showing him the city from another point of view. It was a sunny day, but it was so close to sunset when we finally went up. We probably caught the last 15 minutes of daylight before it turned dark. Wheww.

Window Shopping - Guitars & Gear

2012-01-26T19:23:00.000+08:00

The man heard that in Shanghai, Jin Ling Road, East (金陵东路), is the place to go to check out electric guitars and gear. He didn't have anything to buy from the stores. But he would like to take a look at the prices, the feel, the brands they carry and the sorts. We didn't know what shops would be open during this season. Easy googling and a number of calls confirmed what we thought- the shops selling traditional Chinese instruments, pianos and acoustic guitars are closed for the week. The shops carrying imported electric guitars, drums and gear, as well as the bigger chains, are open.

To Jin Ling Road, East then. We went browsing for Chinese-made guitars, brands, colors, prices of imported Mesa amps, Fender guitars and everything else. I probably didn't surf comprehensively enough for the names of the shops till I got there, and am not in the scene to know enough of Shanghai's increasingly vibrant indie music scene.

I don't know how true the comments in the forums are about the fakes sold on this street, and how rude the sales staff are. I really don't want to simply assume the worst of the city, even though the stories of fake milk and fake whatever. I just want to keep an open mind and take a look at what the city offers without thinking through too much. However, we took care not to try out the guitars unless we intended to buy one. Likewise, the man feels the same. He can definitely tell a real Mesa amp from a fake. He spent quite a fair amount of time looking at the Wharfedale amps.

Anyway, here's a list of what we went round to. These shops are located on the same side of the street; an easy stroll down.

Best Friend Music (知音琴行)
五度乐器 (上海市黄浦区金陵东路445号，近浙江路)
Parsons Music (new branch, 柏斯琴行)
通韵琴行 (上海市黄浦区金陵东路449号)
世音琴行

Bar Constellation No.1

2012-01-26T08:50:00.000+08:00

Most of our favored bars are running at full capacity this season. We've to call and reserve seats wherever we go. While Shanghai streets are relatively uncrowded in the day, the bars reveal a different scene and set of party-goers.

We walked in to an empty Bar Constellation No.1 (86, Xinle Road/新乐路，近襄阳北路。) at 9pm. Within 45 minutes, the tiny casual, cosy bar was chockful of humans. WIEEEEE. They've beefed up their menu of cocktails. Good for the others in our midst who prefer non-whisky based drinks.

Ahhh...whisky. Flipping through the menu, I realized the bar has raised their prices by 10 to 20 yuan for their drinks. I've been dreaming about the Edradour 2003 Port Cask Matured 10y.o. I haven't bothered to find it elsewhere and only thought about having it in Shanghai. The man loves the idea of the bars and wants to go to all 3 bars in the city. Sure! We don't mind it at all. So for tonight, it's No.1 for a start since it's the first bar that the owner 金-san (Jin-san) opened. He was there and we said hello. A merry night we had. Apparently, there'll be 2 more bars (with hopefully different concepts and decor) coming up in other areas.

Of course the thing about bars here, if you're not a smoker, you need to be able to tahan the second-hand smoke (and cigar smells) and febreeze the hell out of your clothes when you get home. So glad it's winter. Also, bring eyedrops. It'll help when your eyes begin to smart after an hour or so.

Not Allowed To Wash Rice

2012-01-25T23:39:00.000+08:00

It's nice to be able to cook at home and control the amount of oil, salt and whatnots that go into the food that's flavored to our preferences. Chinese was on the menu for dinner. The pack of baby bok choi was rinsed, soaked and ready. The itty bits of ingredients were chopped up and readied to be poured into the rather brilliantly-made Midea (Chinese brand) cooker as well. Rice grains was scooped out and poured into the pot. I was going to take it for a rinse when bff stopped me. "You. Out of the way. I'll wash the rice."

She hasn't forgotten how...a long time ago, I washed rice using detergent for a couple of times before I remembered that it shouldn't be done. I protested vehemently. "I know how to wash rice now!" I do know! I really do. At most I'll use a few drops of detergent specially for vegetables to do it.

Bff shook her head, muttered something rude under her breath and refused to allow me near the pot of grains or the sink. WHAT IS THIS? I'M NOT ALLOWED TO WASH RICE?! WHAT NONSENSE. I strode out of the kitchen in a huff. I went to the sitting room to talk to the bottle of Glenfiddich 18 y.o which was definitely a more agreeable companion.

到老吉士吃开年饭

2012-01-25T11:28:00.000+08:00

Again, a traditional Shanghainese meal isn't what I can have with just another friend or two. Too many varieties, too much food and too many things I don't eat. We needed a full table to spread the love around. Many friends in Shanghai didn't leave town for a vacation this lunar new year. We've got plenty of company.

We went to the original Jesse's (老吉士) at Tian Ping Lu (天平路) for a dependable taste of sweet and savory authentic Shanghainese food. There's a newer outlet (新吉士) at Xintiandi (新天地), but the friends swear by the original.

Split into 2 units, our 8.30pm timing meant we avoided the first crush of diners. It was a cold night, but we were snug and warm in the tiny restaurant. It got so hot that we asked to turn off some of the heaters. We've also began to appreciate the light bubbly Tsingtao beer. Not so much for the flavors, but literally as a thirst quencher or an appetizer. Many product lines available. We like their pale lager, known as 'Chun Sheng' (纯生).

The meal began with 'Kao Fu' (五香烤麸). It's a wheat gluten based dish marinated in dark soy. At restaurants like this one, it could include Chinese fungus and strings of gluten, also known as '功德烤麸'. Wheat gluten, basically. Pretty appetizer. Am sure many have eaten this in its canned form. I'm more familiar with the Japanese macrobiotic dry version 'yakifu' or raw 'namafu' since that was what the grandmother fed me as a kid.

上海‘烤麸’，又名’功德烤麸‘。

There was vegetable rice and steamed white rice for the accompanying carbs to the meal. We also had bowls of noodles. I love this restaurant's scallion noodles (上海葱油拌面). Before I breezed into town, of all venues, I had eaten at a Shanghainese restaurant in Singapore. Their version of the noodles is horrible. YUCKY. Bad sauce, badly made noodles which aren't at all fragrant. The first bite of those noodles proved heavenly satisfaction. I threw aside the no-carbs preference and finished a bowl!

Unfortunately, the smelly beancurd (臭豆腐) didn't waft up a stink. It was rather mild, and horrors, almost delicate. Half the table wrinkled their noses and said they could smell it! It was either my sinus acting or something, but I really didn't think it stank at all. There was a dish of steamed cold chicken. Of course I avoided it. I could smell that chicken! Methinks cold chicken stinks more than smelly beancurd. Arrrrrgh. Dunno how the friends ate it. Ermmm...there were a number of visible hairs left on the skin.

老吉士酒家的版本：不是很’臭‘的‘虎皮臭豆腐’。

The star dish at the restaurant is the famous Shanghai style braised pork belly (红烧肉). Our table loved it. We had pots of that. I don't know how it's possible for people to eat so much of it. But I guess the sweet dark gravy goes great with steamed white rice. Bloody unhealthy, but the friends loved it. It amused me to see them and the man picking out the fatty top parts and eating the bottom. People! If you want to eat this dish like for the rare few times in your life, eat the fatty portions! It's pork belly. My grandparents told me the fats are the best. Heh.

Bellies full and warm, we declined dessert. Actually, I don't know if the restaurant serves dessert. I never had any at their outlets. Too full! However, there was space for liquid dessert! We continued the evening with very good fruity cocktails at Cvrve. Absolutely fabulous conversation peppered with alot of wit, laughter and insight about the city.

红烧肉。

Portable Fireworks!

2012-01-24T06:42:00.000+08:00

I'm not a fan of fireworks to begin with. But of course I was curious about it. So last February, I had my induction. This year, the man got his, in a double dose, since we got in before Chinese New Year's Eve. I think I've had quite enough of fireworks, be it seeing it or setting it off. I'm especially perturbed by those boxes bigger than I am, or half my size.

The man struggled to sleep through the continuous boom of fireworks that began last Friday and lasted all the way to Monday. I was able to block out the noise and continued snoozing. The crazy humans didn't stop the fireworks till 3am or so, and started again at 7am. Arrrrrgh. Luckily the man had earplugs and noise canceling headsets. Not exactly the most comfortable things to sleep with, but better than having loud blasts intrude upon his consciousness.

We went to the stall selling a ton of fireworks at the street corner, and bought many boxes. We threw it out on the balcony where the cold would ensure no accidents happen. There was so much intense light and sound on 除夕. A small box of fireworks that cost about RMB670 could shoot up to 7-storeys high. Many people went up to rooftops and maximize that height and to the joy of the many other viewers.

After our reunion dinner on Sunday, at 11.45pm, we grabbed the earplugs, hauled the boxes and hopped out to the street to set off fireworks and firecrackers for the next hour. High, low, flat, twirling, jumping, useless ones that only made sounds and gave out no light...all manner of badaboomboomboom. WOOOHOOO! Wear goggles if you intend to look up at the fireworks you set off. Otherwise, watch from the comfort of a building. Debris. No fun.

We saw so many different variations of fireworks and firecrackers. Was a little amusing watching the friends and others too, especially those who ran away pronto after setting it alight. After we were done, the others weren't. When we took a peek much later, the aftermath was well...very festive. The streets were littered with red bits and cardboxes. Poor cleaners had to work really hard to clean it up by sunrise.

年初一早餐

2012-01-23T23:43:00.000+08:00

First day of the lunar new year of the Dragon. I woke up at 11am. Muahahahah. What an awesome sleep. I vaguely heard a shiteload of badaboomboom fireworks, but determinedly tuned it out. I didn't know the plans for the day. But who cared. We usually dress and chill out at home before deciding where to go for lunch. Today, we were very zonked from all that drinking, laughter and playing with fireworks into the wee hours of the morning.

The bff was up earlier than I. She was still in PJs though. "Breakfast!" The bff announced. I toddled out to the dining table, stared at the plates and grinned. It was a radish cake done Hong Kong style that she brought home from Hong Kong. Bff grinned right back. "No, X.O sauce though." True blue Singaporean, this one is, who kept up with the news.

Naah. This Hong Kong supermarket-bought radish cake (萝卜糕), close to what we call 'carrot cake' in Singapore needed no sauce. For something that came out of a frozen pack, it was oddly not desiccated. It was damn tasty and still moist. What a nice teeny bite before we headed out for lunch and do random touristy things in many places that were surprisingly open today and for the week.

彩凤来仪迎大治，金龙起舞庆新春！

2012-01-23T03:05:00.000+08:00

'Awakening The Dragon Within'. ('唤醒心中的巨龙')
A shadow play created and performed by youths from the Singapore Girls' Home.

农历水龙年，无论是被迫参与“一夜连双岁，五更分二天”习俗什么的，年，还是要过的。总觉得人是有选择的。这边讨厌过年的虚伪奉承，那边看不过去圣诞节的装华奢侈，那就没剩下什么节日值得庆祝了，对吧？

不管您选择怎么样度过这个周末，愿您的年，过得没这么痛苦，在‘尽责’之中，也有开心的时刻。祝大家“龙腾华夏钟灵地，德启门庭毓秀人”。

年夜饭

2012-01-22T23:46:00.000+08:00

The bff made the call to go with the familiar hotpot for reunion dinner. She was up first thing in the morning and zoomed into the kitchen to prep for ingredients. Her iPad was tuned to ahemm...some Hong Kong tv soap drama. The boys were busy being snipers and killing enemy soldiers on tv. I couldn't get a foot in! So I hung around to take silly photos and wash whatever the bff threw into the sink.

Then I left the kitchen to fiddle with my Macbook. Lots of chopping and stirring went on in the kitchen. Then there was silence. It was followed by the ominous opening of the kitchen door, and the chilling announcement, "We're out of soya sauce!" Of course we must have the soya sauce from Lee Kum Kee. So we bundled up and trooped out to the nearest Tesco.

Clearly, I wasn't much help in the kitchen beyond washing the vegetables, prawns, the dishes and whatnots. After realizing that I didn't know much about needing to peel clean (washed) lotus roots, the bff inspected my bowl of washed vegetables. She peered at them and lifted the top leaves. "Oeh. You didn't throw out the yellowing or blackish pieces?" I guiltily hung my head. "Nope..." She gave me THE look.

Finally, the hotpot was ready! More friends came over for a happy meal. Lovely yummy meal where there were many squid balls, fishballs, abalone, prawns, corn and many other edibles! The continuous badaboomboomboom of fireworks around the city accompanied us from last night till now and would probably continue all of tomorrow. The man and I totally enjoyed this 年夜饭 (Chinese New Year Eve reunion dinner). I'm fairly used to celebrating Chinese New Year with friends who are more or less equivalent to kin. You know some friends mean so much more than the traditional definition of 'blood ties'. Needless to say, it means everything in the world to me to be able to spend Chinese New Year with the bff.

By the way, I did this mega double-take when I saw the table-setting. All of us ate out of rather dainty Hello Kitty bowls. I don't have any objection to them. None of us raised any eyebrows at it. Honestly. It's such a hilariously warm and pretty touch!

These bowls come in many colors. MANY.

Hanging Out In Shanghai

2012-01-21T23:53:00.000+08:00

Bff arbitrarily decided to grow some inches to my waistline. Shanghai doesn't shut down for Chinese New Year. Many restaurants and stores remain open. She cooks anyway. Her partner too. I brought washing gloves, detergent and cleaning supplies! Feeding the man and I, and to keep the kitchen clean wouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, the bff was going to feed us all sorts of Chinese cuisine till we turn green in the face. (Probably very soon.) She's made some determined calling and has lined up a whole host of makan venues and whatnots for cuisines of the provinces of China. Her list is so impressive that my stomach churns in protest before the meals. I'm already begging her for salads, juices and muesli bars. I simply cannot deal with so much food.

We like the ambience at the gorgeous The Waldorf Astoria, and have spent a few afternoons there for pre-dinner drinks. It's a luxury of time that we can ill afford on days at the office. This is a comfortable and convenient venue to catch up with the rest of the world. We were busy googling about random stuff at various points of the conversation, and decided to read up on the history of the hotel. We almost fell off our chairs at "The original bar was taken out, piece by piece, when the space was converted to into a KFC in the 1990s." Fried chicken. Fast food??!!! Oh blasphemy. Thank goodness they came to their sense and brought back heritage and history into the building.

Now, the Long Bar is beautifully restored. The oyster bar is always a welcomed sight at any good bar. The man is pleased with all the oysters available. The bar offers a decent range of single malts, pretty good beers and okay mojitos. They always refill the olives that the friends devour with pleasure. After these repeated visits, we probably drank their supply of London Porter dry. They ran out of it today. Darn. On a day when I really felt like a beer. Also, I wanted to strangle the pianist who 1) kept on missing notes in her pieces, 2) played half the repertoire of Richard Clayderman non-stop. If we weren't about to rush off for dinner, one of us at the table would have gladly get up to play something else.

It's Got To Be A Guinness

2012-01-20T23:54:00.000+08:00

A city is a city right? So in a city with a buzzing nightlife, there has to be a pint of Guinness to be had at an Irish pub. Easily found. Plenty available. Nothing like a pint of Guinness to drive away the rain, the cold and the generally dreary weather not unlike London's.

With very full bellies from dinner, we wanted to bust the calories count with alcohol. Beer and Guinness were craved. There were plenty of bars around, and we randomly went to O'Malley's. Ahhhh. Guinness on the tap. Naaaiiiice. There was even a band doing R & B. Bassist, guitarist, keyboardist and the drummer who doubled up as the singer, When the band came on and began their set with 'Mustang Sally', it was a blast of music in our faces just a couple of paces away. Ear plugs are always a travel essential for us.

Doing stretches in the morning is easy. Spacious apartment and plenty of space in the bedroom. Oh, and the very cold balcony can be used if I'm bothered to zip up and hop around. Not about to go swimming here. The man is pleased with the gym at the bff's estate. While he's busy looking like a lab mice running in a wheel, I'm doing some jumping out in the bracing cold. It isn't too bad really, not when I'm properly outfitted and keeping a constant body heat with the momentum. We're going to do a refresher at the indoor climbing gym before heading out to the real cliffs. But this log of the trip might just be focused on tanking up the calories, via liquid fuel. Muahahahah.

Sichuan Cuisine

2012-01-20T23:49:00.000+08:00

油麦菜，花生酱。

The evening's menu was 川菜 at Pin Chuan Sichuan Restaurant. We only have a vague impression of Sichuan food, and not all good. It manifested in the peanut sauce for the raw strands of Chinese lettuce (油麦菜). There was something chilli-numbing in there. It's called 麻酱汁. Eiooow. It wasn't our kind of tasty chilli, but a sourish bitter aftertaste lingered. I hate that.

We ordered a ton of dishes. Not quite normal for us. The bff and her partner aren't the sort to require ten dishes on the table to show their guests that they're good hosts. We operate on a need-to-eat basis. In spite of a heavy lunch, all the brisk walking had burnt off enough calories to eat again at dinner. We eat late, usually at 8.30pm or so, after the usual rush of the regular 7pm diners.

People say that food in Beijing and Shanghai are generally cooked with too much oil. I agree. Nothing on this table didn't gleam. But we made do and found dishes with less oil. After all, we aren't going to eat like this on a daily basis. Apparently the kung pao chicken was good. I didn't mind the bamboo clams. There was a tasty dish of baby cabbage and vermicelli. Not that oily. The dish of soft tofu and crunchy peanuts was good! Almost bland. Yummy. It was meant to have that numbing peanut sauce drizzled over it. We were glad that it came in a separate gravy bowl so that we could opt not to have it.

麻辣水煮鱼。

That 麻辣水煮鱼. (I've no idea how to translate this. The menu stated "water boiled fish". It was a freshwater perch soaked.in.oil. For the lack of description, it was thoroughly drowned in oil and chilli/pepper bits. It was unbelievable. In my heart, I thought, "What a waste of a good fish!" You know what? I dipped pieces of the fish in the cup of tea before eating it. Hurhurhur.

None of us dared to try the peppers. They looked menacing. We've never taken up any challenge to chew on chillies or peppers. We aren't foolish (or drunk) enough to try to kill the tastebuds. Sichuan cuisine is full of these numbing peppers and chilli oil. Not something I can relate to in terms of edible food. But if you pick the right mix of dishes, some would be non-spicy, and Sichuan cuisine can be a robust meal in the middle of different flavors in your food intake for the week.

We had some space for beer, but not dessert exactly. Dessert. Not a big fan, but since we were there, we ought to try something. The bff had recently fallen in love with this 酿酒丸子 or also known as 米酒丸子. It's a dish of glutinous rice balls with peanut filling steeped in rice grains with rice wine. We ordered 2 bowls to share and hoped they would come in a smaller portion than what the photos indicated. They did! In two cute giant Chinese wine cups. Didn't like the sourish rice wine broth. But the balls were okay. They arrived small and tiny, totally bite-sized. So cute that I decided to chew on two.

酿酒丸子。

Nibbles From Yoke Bakery

2012-01-19T10:22:00.000+08:00

The bff loves her lunar new year goodies. She's even more thrilled because I won't be fighting with her for them. In addition to the usual mints, chocolates and whatnots, I've got cereal, muesli bars and the sorts. Mainly to feed the man, in case there isn't breakfast readily available, and no one is too interested in cooking. She doesn't bake, neither do I, so slabs of kueh lapis from Bengawan Solo meet her requirements. She's now trying resist eating them all. Shelf life of 3 weeks in the fridge. Let's see if the slabs last that long.

However, I also want to buy from independent bakers. Part of the bottles of 'tasty rubbish' I've lugged to Shanghai is the 'Prosperity Trio' from Yoke Bakery. Pistachio snowballs, peanut cookies and the open-faced pineapple tarts. In the bff's bloody detailed shopping list which included photos, she specifically requested for open-faced pineapple tarts. She doesn't like those no-lard golf balls 'covered' tarts that we usually get from Le Cafe. So it was perfect to stumble upon Yoke Bakery's 'correct' version.

The good people at Yoke Bakery make music too. I love how they hold their passions close to their hearts and try to live them well. How awesome is their story? Yoke Music is Chuan and Alberta's quirky beautiful project of love for indie folk rock. Have you heard 'Crumble'? I'm hoping to hear more songs from them. They said that their debut album should be ready year end! That'll be really cool. Can't wait.

'Prosperity Trio' from Yoke Bakery. Pink-ish ang pow decorations not included. My god-daughter used last year's leftovers to make these 'lucky fishes' for me.

Approaching Lunar New Year

2012-01-18T08:04:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year is not a festive occasion I enjoy, simply because of the unwelcome modern interpretation and evolvement of it. I can't quite complain about the materialism because every other festival (religious or otherwise) has been commercialized to the hilt. I absolutely dislike the superstitiousness of certain festivals.

However, because Chinese New Year means something to the old folks on my roster, I'll still fulfill certain obligatory duties, but I'm very firm (and loud) in telling humans to not over-step my boundaries which have been clearly set. Chinese New Year is here to stay, forever, so we should just deal with it no matter how much we dislike it. Either we sharpen some teeth in our replies to stupid questions, or we make some hard decisions about family ties, being a tad mean to parents who emotionally blackmail us, and cut off peripheral relations. But we must also remember the consequences of such actions, especially in terms of the ripple effects of relocation (never underestimate homesickness), terminal illnesses, disabilities or death.

Ran many errands these 3 weeks. Sorted out the lunar new year gift packs for the old folks, turned up for their obligatory karaoke get-together, and completed the last tai-chi session before the holidays. Sent out cards and parcels of food to the humans living overseas. Also sent off gift packs of not-cookies-but-useful-dried-ingredients to the friends' parents. The man and I were flooded with invites by the friends' parents to turn up for dinners, homecooked, hosted at restaurants or otherwise! We would so love to go. These friends' parents have watched us grow up through the years. Too bad for us that we won't be around.

The man and I are off to Shanghai. He's on his maiden induction to China proper. (But his work laptop and phone are coming along for a week.) I'm looking forward to spend time with the bff, one whom I truly consider family. Be good, y'all. Try not to be (like me) too rude and short-tempered to the nosy-parkers and weirdos at strange relatives' houses. Kill 'em with wit and decorum.

Hanging Out With Big Tots and Little Ones

2012-01-17T21:50:00.000+08:00

Managed to spend a precious afternoon with Corsage and Bubbles, as well as another girlfriend who's back in town for 2 weeks. SO DIFFICULT to pin that woman down. If you think my schedule is crazy, you should try asking her out. I had a bonus lunch hour with her as well. Yay. Coffee was crap at that cafe, but whatever, it was not too crowded, convenient and conducive for a chat; I'd take what I could get.

While the little girl napped, we were able to catch up with one another on what's been happening and also to take stock of what's going to happen. When Bubbles woke up, there couldn't be a 3-way conversation; it had to be only between 2 of us. Attention had to be given to the little girl too. We took turns to be ordered around by her, read stories and well, basically be her adult human toys. Oof. She imperiously told me to switch off my phone. I raised an eyebrow, but obediently complied. Heh. She was on her first week of school, doing a new sleep routine, and wasn't tired out at all when we came to tea! Bleah.

Idyllic good times. Enjoying this while it lasts.

The Feasting Hasn't Stopped

2012-01-17T21:39:00.000+08:00

Dates for a couple of Chinese New Year meals were kept with people who matter. It's more of sitting down for a meal with people we don't have to schmooze with or pretend to be nice to when we don't really know them. These meals are just regular meals, exactly like how it is whenever we get together, regardless of festive occasions.

For many of the friends who aren't fans of the lunar new year festivities and whatnots, these 'pre-festive' meals are their way of buffering the onslaught of unwelcome interaction with the relatives and extended family, majority of whom they see only once a year. Most of us confess that we might not even know the full names of our aunts or uncles, or even first cousins who're closer to us in age, not to mention second cousins. An erosion of values and culture? We view it as a necessary brevity of time and space in an urban setting where many are dependent on friends and prefer not to have to deal with relatives and supposed obligations simply because we're unfortunately, related by 'blood'. Nowadays, Chinese New Year is really for the children, isn't it? The friends grudgingly confess they just zip it and swallow certain traditions for the sake of passing on the 'excitement' to the children.

We didn't particularly bother with having Chinese New Year foods on the table simply because we eat them all year round, and we're really not fans of the black moss thingy (faat choy) or the new year foodstuff. Always, a meal with the friends doesn't have to revolve around Chinese cuisine or seafood unless it involves humans who live in other cities with limited access to Singaporean dishes and are visiting for the festive season. But I rarely say no to abalone. So it's been an overdose of the sea snail these few weeks. That said, we went for a lot of spices as well. I don't survive well without regular doses of spices in my food.

Full Of Colors

2012-01-16T22:17:00.000+08:00

We were invited out to celebrate the friend's birthday at Casa Latina. Very fun to have the whole place to ourselves for the hour. We could make as much noise as we wanted! Happy Birthday, my dear friend. Here's to many more adventures and little side trips to odd places where people might wonder who are these crazy women hanging around. :)

At Newton Hawker Centre!

2012-01-16T04:15:00.000+08:00

After the exciting gigs at The People's Party, we needed food. All of us had a heavy lunch and some random bites here and there, but haven't had a proper dinner. We were not too bothered, really. Too much fun going on to feel hungry. Supper could be done later.

After lurking around for a bit, we finally got to deciding where to go. Drinks were considered, but being a Sunday night, we had very few options for a party even though we could make one happen. We ended up at Newton Hawker Centre. Don't ask. We had many non-Singaporeans in our midst. So it seemed a must to head there. Even though there're many other choices of venues for supper, the friends would still want to take a look at Newton Hawker Centre because some stupid guidebooks pointed them here. Grrrrrr.

While we didn't like pushy hawkers, it was rather appreciative to have them back off when we said, "No, thank you." We could deal with ordering our food from whichever stall we preferred. It wasn't that crowded at this hour. We found 2 very long tables to accommodate us. The humidity was bearable with the large quantities of cold liquid ingested.

Needless to say, the table was filled with plates and plates of food. I was immensely amused to see our friends wallop cockles, sambal stingray, sambal kangkong, fried squid and everything fun in the zi char stall. Drenched in perspiration, they loved that sugar cane lemon drink thingy, as well as the soursop juices and avocado mixes. There were unabashed bottles of Tiger beer perched around too.

Half of the group. The other half was busy photo-bombing at the back, and heckling at the front.

You know, tonight I had a plate of chye tau kueh that came in a large portion offering both 'black and white'. That portion cost S$6 and it was satisfying at an acceptable quality. I don't know any chye tau kueh stall that sells a portion for anything less than S$2.50, much less S$1.50. I'm most certainly not going to Peach Garden to pay S$10 for a fancier sounding "XO sauce chye tow kueh" even if they offer excellent service, better crockery, and perhaps a cleaner environment.

Look, I'm NEVER paying S$25 for nasi lemak in Singapore. Not when 'Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak' offers me a better version. I'd rather queue in the heat and get shouted at by the aunty and uncle at the stall. (But they're usually pretty nice.) Then, I'd be most interested to find out which atas restaurants can do the humble chwee kueh in the familiar flavors I love. But hell, I'm not paying S$5 for a tiny piece of chwee kueh. Not even 2 pieces. No.friggin.way.

Day 2 :: The People's Party

2012-01-15T23:57:00.000+08:00

'Noughts and Exes', Hong Kong.

Like I said, gigs aplenty in Singapore. If you weren't at Fort Canning for 'Simple Plan' tonight, then you would have been at *SCAPE for 'Bombay Bicycle Club'. If you weren't at either, then you would have been at The Pigeonhole for the launch of 'The Midas Sessions' by 'Lunarin'. Some Sundays are awesome, like today...we were spoilt for choice.

The wonderful thing about festivals- the different genres of music available for everyone. Pick and choose what you like! We strolled in early for 'Muon' who opened the day with their electronic and ambient sounds. Of course we were in time to watch our favorite Hong Kong band 'Noughts and Exes', and hear their two new songs. The dancing started from there.

More bands and DJ sets came on. Then many of the friends came in for the party. Woooohoooo! As the sun set, 'In Each Hand A Cutlass' played a soaring 40 minutes, drumming up the mood and the pace for the rest of the evening. Their gigantic soundscapes work best in large venues. I wonder how they'd pare down for an acoustic gig at The Pigeonhole in February. 'The Naked and Famous' seemed to have improved so much since many last saw them at SXSW. We couldn't resist doing the hipster moves to their music tonight which also consisted of a lot of sequences and samples.

'In Each Hand A Cutlass', Singapore.

Then, the venue was packed to the brim for everyone who was waiting to catch TPPSG headliner 'Bombay Bicycle Club'. Incredibly, the band was even more amazing tonight than when they played at Clockenflap. I loved their set in Singapore! The acoustics were better, and the band sounded much tighter in the smaller space. We danced, sang and lolled around. This is in no way a hipster band. (Don't say Ivy & Gold or Shuffle is hipster-ish ah.) Tonight, they rocked out on stage and owned the crowd.

What a fantabulous weekend! Gigs galore. Dancing, grooving, rhythm filling up the mind. So much better than hanging out at clubs with doof-doof brainless beats. More gigs please. There'll be never gig fatigue unless promoters bring in crap or mediocre bands and charge sky-high prices. Keep it sane. Don't make us feel ripped off and we'll gladly pay your asking price. Please come back next year with an equally strong line-up, The People's Party!

'Bombay Bicycle Club', England.

Day 1 :: The People's Party

2012-01-14T23:53:00.000+08:00

'Tenderfist' from Malaysia.

There're so many gigs happening in February and March till I've to tweak travel plans to be in town to catch all of them! My first quarter budget for alcohol is certainly going into buying tickets. We kicked off our 2012 gig schedule with The People's Party (TPP) at *SCAPE.

I guess audiences were divided and tonight, many chose to go to Fort Canning where 'Foster The People' played. I ummm...only know that one song- 'Pumped Up Kicks'. Between that and TPP's headlining 'Metronomy', I've no idea which one has more ahemmm...hipster cred. Anyway, it was cool to have some of the friends attend the Fort Canning gig and also be able to check out their updates for the happenings that we weren't able to see firsthand.

I saw a couple of plastic beer cups that went flying at the front. Since I wisely stood far away, I didn't care. During Metronomy's set, I was rather wary of this couple holding up a column of half empty cups and flailing around. Many gave them a wide berth. The woman managed to pour beer on her friend's hair. Clearly, the friend didn't mind. Muahahahahah.

'Metronomy', United Kingdom.

Enjoyed opening band of the day, Singapore's 'Monster Cat'. Malaysian duo 'Tenderfist' is not a stranger to Singapore, but I've never seen them. Quite thrilled that the duo is pretty good. Their fairly upbeat electro-pop was dance-able. It was fun.

While there's beer (the only choice of Chang) at the venue, it's smack in the middle of the city and we could wander out for fruit juices, coffee, light bites and dinner. The convenience is certainly welcomed, together with the indoor air-conditioning to buffer us from the humidity outside. The nice cool weather of November and December is definitely dissipating fast. The sound system is more than decent. Nothing has been compromised. However, early birds today were treated to an unwelcome display of disorganized mess at the door. When doors should have opened at 3pm, it didn't. It finally opened at 3.45pm and the first band went on at 4pm or so. Tsk tsk.

'The Jezabels' were amazing live. Thank goodness they don't just sound fabulous over a stereo system. The band was tight, had great energy, and of course Hayley Mary's vocals are always mindblowing. So glad that I ditched dinner plans to rush back to catch them. Awesome. Onward to Day 2 of TPP. More exciting sounds to hear.

'The Jezabels', Australia.

Friday Drinks

2012-01-13T23:58:00.000+08:00

Did my rounds at Art Stage and snucked away for the evening. I would have walked across to LeVel 33 but for the fact that I cleverly wore stilettos. I can't, for the life of me, totter very far in them. Had a date with the girlfriend to quaff a pint before happy hour ended. I was nearer to LeVel 33 than she is, from her office. So I had to make it there before she did. I took a cab. Haha.

While food wasn't our main concern, we did need some carbs and protein before going on to whisky later. But it meant that there was no more stomach space to do another pint of that delicious house porter. The ceviche, beef, gambas, greens and all came along to the table. The girlfriend wasn't keen on the clove of roasted garlic. So it was all mine. *happy sigh* So very nice to sit down with her at sunset. Of late, I've been meeting her in the day so often till I've begun to miss seeing her in the evenings! Heh.

Tummies filled, it was onward to single malts to settle into the evening proper, and also to round up the week. There was no tai chi the following morning, so I was pretty happy to stay on for more drinks and chill out at the bar with the friends. I need to figure out which are the beers that won't go well with whisky in my body, and which are the ones that best complement each other without giving me a hangover. For now, LeVel 33's house porter and some other Fuller's bottled beer seem to be working really well with my usual single malts. Good.

Growing Up

2012-01-12T23:51:00.000+08:00

For those who know, I've another not-so-little god-daughter who'll be all of 26 years old soon. I've watched her grow from a little girl in school uniform to a sassy young lady who struts both designer labels and flea market gems with ease, flounce and a ridiculous amount of confidence.

As she grows older, our common topics of conversation increased. I've come to appreciate her as an equal, and as a friend too. She's managed to build a very strong-willed mind of her own, and is very level-headed about what she wants to make out of her life, and with some non-rose-tinted idea of where she wants to be in 10 years.

I usually don't allow her to pay on any of our outings simply because I'm older, and she was still in school. There're some responsibilities as the 'godmother'! Only in the recent years that she's graduated, got a job and stepped into those adult shoes, she's permitted to pay for tiny items, and absolutely never to buy expensive presents for me.

Tonight, she insisted on getting the tab for drinks at Nektar. My eyes widened. In my usual fashion, I didn't even ask how much the individual cocktails cost because I know their prices. But she isn't familiar with this bar, so she doesn't know, and she offered to pay! There's the other matter of...have you seen how much I drink or rather the types of drinks I pick? I took out my credit card. She took my hand away and said firmly, "Drinks are on me. I'm earning too. You're unemployed." My jaw dropped. Snarky little thing!!! With a wink and a flourish, she placed her credit card on the bill presented.

Awwwwww. I'm so very proud of her. That's my girl, alright.

Day Of Sweets

2012-01-12T16:31:00.000+08:00

I suspected that lunch was just an excuse to line the stomach so that eveeleva could go straight to dessert at The Daily Scoop. The woman had her eye on the ice-cream since...probably at the time of wakefulness this morning. I stuck to coffee. I feel no affection whatsoever for ice-cream nor any inclination to pop a mouthful. However, I know this one other girl (not in town right now) who would have loved to be here and finish that scoop of whatever flavor faster than we could.

I got a super super cute pressie from eveeleva and her boys. It was a such a clever heart-tugging add-on gift to their already generous donation. No prizes for guessing the cause they donated to. (Nothing to do with the panda. That's just World Wildlife Fund's logo on the useful tote holding the plushie.) The awesome people remember it to be one of my secret likes.

Then we made a pit stop at Plain Vanilla Bakery simply to take a look and say hello to Vanessa. (Smitten Coffee & Tea Bar currently stocks their cupcakes.) Small batches of limited traditional solid win-win flavors were put out on sale. Those would do great. Of course we couldn't resist getting munchies for our favorite humans hard at work in the office and wouldn't mind a dose of happy sugar.

Lunch At 7Adam

2012-01-11T23:41:00.000+08:00

It was an overdue date with multi-talented home-cook extraordinaire- maameemoomoo. It was tough to find a common date in our schedules and we shifted the lunch several times before finally fixing it.

To lunch at 7Adam it was. A beautiful venue in daylight. We used to frequent this place (the bar) in its incarnation as the NUSS Guildhouse. Now, as 7Adam, the restaurant, you can still use your membership card here for dining privileges. The heritage building has been refurbished nicely, and it works as a gallery showcasing artworks from Singaporean artists. Very supportive concept.

The kitchen kindly split the soup of roasted butternut pumpkin, truffle oil and prawns. Hmmm...average, I'd say. The truffle oil used was almost redundant. Did nothing for the soup since the essence wasn't even fragrant. The salad of mesclun, avocado, tomato and pear arrived in a generous portion, but a tad sad. I'm just a little disappointed with many salads at restaurants in Singapore. It's as though the kitchen doesn't care about salads and just make them any-old-how. Salads, at prices of more than S$12 at restaurants ought to be hearty and chockful of ingredients. I expected more from this restaurant.

maameemoomoo was headed to yoga and couldn't stomach any more food lest she threw up. I had stayed over at the girlfriend's and she dragged me up at 6am for a spot of jumping and a very long swim session. So I was very hungry by 1.30pm. I had a baked whole rainbow trout with sambal terasi. For some reason, we were expecting a paste for the sambal, but it came as cut chilli with shallots. Wasn't too shabby, but it looked more like a sambal rawit bawang with missing ingredients than the traditional sambal terasi. A little odd. I'd have been more impressed with sambal lado mudo or sambal-something. The fish was nicely baked. Moist too. YUMMY. Don't order this if you don't like picking out fish bones. The trout is full of bones. Well, which fish isn't?! I had fun polishing off the flesh.

Happy Splashes Of Colors

2012-01-10T19:31:00.000+08:00

For Christmas, my god-daughter made us clay magnets.

I got the most cheerful rainbow in its correct hues of seven. Heh. Even if she had reversed the colors, it'd be fine! I'd love it all the same. I'm not one of them nazi art (strangely ironic) teachers who flunk students because they painted the sun green or colored the field orange.

The little girl remembered that the man has an inexplicable liking for all things cow, so she made him a cow head. He went into a fit of giggles upon seeing it and held it up to stare. "This is sooooo cute!" He said, in that voice reserved for talking about cute animals and Misery Bear. He's absolutely tickled by the head.

The man wanted to stick the magnets on the fridge. Except that we don't have a habit of sticking things on the fridge. So both magnets went onto the memo board where it would hold notes that read "Please empty the garbage since you're the one coming back home latest.", "Out with the girls. Might not be home tonight." or written by the man, "Off to the gym and won't be back till 1.30pm, or when you're awake, whichever that might occur first.", "HUNGRY. NEED TO EAT NOW. Can't wait for you to wake up. Will tapau a coffee for you." or you know...the sorts. We don't always use the phone for everything. Nowadays, most of the time, my phone is turned off. There's always Skype on other platforms. Hurhurhur.

LeVel 33

2012-01-10T19:26:00.000+08:00

The whole point in going to LeVel 33 has always been for its beer more so than the food. While many of the friends and the man like the 33.2 Pale Ale or the 33.3 Stout, I love their blended 33.4 House Porter, a slightly stronger maltier fruity brew. Mmmm. I'm always pleased whenever I see the venue for event invitations at this restaurant. We also find plenty of excuses to hop into the bar for a beer before heading off to dinner or to ahemmm...the real (whisky) drinks elsewhere.

Made a date with the friends and hopped in for a late lunch. Food, yes. But that wasn't my focus. Beer was. Pints and pints of rather delicious beer. The Saturday beer brunch and Sunday roasts serve familiar standard fare done well. The menu for both days are meat-based, with one choice of fish. There're prawns too. What I appreciated was the kitchen being flexible enough to meet our requests and fix us a special side serving of nicely grilled vegetables that weren't laden with brown sauces from the meats. The usual bar bites are decent enough to work around diets that aren't vegan or vegetarian. However, watch those chips. They're awesome thick yummy, and that nice, familiar but disturbing taste of it...I haven't had guts to ask if they're fried in beef fat or duck fat.

It was nice to linger over lunch amidst the grey mist of rain blanketing the city, chatting about the similarities and questions raised or highlighted in the recent releases of 'Borgen' and 'The Iron Lady', (I love Meryl Streep! And while SOME people are chasing down all seasons of 'How I Met Your Mother', I'm done with S1 of 'Borgen' and trying to catch up on S2.) as well as 'The Lady'.

Pulse

2012-01-09T22:37:00.000+08:00

I was hesitant in picking up 'Pulse' by Julian Barnes. I wasn't sure if I'd appreciate the premises the book is based on. Many short stories which are some kind of supposed reflection of the author's take on middle-class values and all its angst and neurosis, and a lot of focus on couple-dom or the lack of. All these, spells stereotyping. (Read reviews from The Guardian, Los Angeles Times and The New York Times,)

In the left corner of the photo, sat a piece of the friend's mom's homebaked fruit cake. It was excellent! The sugar was very controlled and while a tad sticky as most fruitcakes are, it wasn't cloying. I ate it really slowly. The last bite was taken as I flipped the last pages of the book. A rather nice tidbit to go along with a lovely grade of oolong steeped hot in the pot.

Barnes is an excellent observer of the human psyche. He understands what drives it, and all of its emotions. This keen insight comes through in his writing. The stories are genuine, painful and the scenes are kept real. At the interwoven stories of 'At Phil & Joanna's' from 1 (60/40) to 4 (One in Five), they contain a lot of chatter about politics, current concerns, bankers' bonuses, etc; nameless guests postulating their opinions and each trying to profess the 'right' and the 'smart' view. We, as readers, are simply looking on at scenes of the lives at random evenings of the year.

'Because that's the whole point. If you can't see, if I have to explain - that's why we're not getting married.''You're not being logical.''I'm also not getting married.'Forget it, forget it, it's gone. On the one hand, she liked you making the decisions; on the other hand, she found you controlling. On the one hand, she liked living with you; on the other, she didn't want to go on living with you. On the one hand, she knew you'd be a good father; on the other, she didn't want to have your children. Logic, right? Forget it.

~ from 'Trespass'. (Also found online at The New Yorker 2003, November 24.)

I'm not entirely sure I like the stories. They flow, as social observations are wont to do. The writer is succinct, clear and puts across his ideas and concepts in the contemporary brevity expected of this decade. I wasn't bored. The stories are well paced, as short stories are wont to be. However, I'm just not particularly inclined to this genre, and reading stories about coupledom. This is the argument I always have with the friends. Humans are about relationships, and if a book or a movie doesn't take a look at that, then there won't be any story to tell. Whereas my argument leans towards something like, 'talk about something else!' Needless to say, I'm not taken by 'East Wind', 'Carcassonne' or 'Marriage Lines'.

You would think, wouldn't you, that if you were the child of a happy marriage, then you ought to have a better than average marriage yourself - either through some generic inheritance or because you'd learnt from example? But it doesn't seem to work like that. So perhaps you need the opposite example - to see mistakes in order not to make them yourself. Except this would mean that the best way for parents to ensure their children have happy marriages would be to have unhappy ones themselves. So what's the answer? I don't know. Only that I don't blame my parents; nor, really, do I blame Janice.

~ from the title story 'Pulse'.

I Like Brown Gravy & Dried Mushrooms

2012-01-09T22:28:00.000+08:00

The girlfriend didn't mind walking further than the usual from her office for lunch at Peach Garden. The venue was kinda chosen for our Chinese New Year meal before the Chinese restaurants get crazy busy with corporate lunches and family dinners.

I got there earlier. The servers passed me the special menu for Chinese New Year. I asked 3 different servers about whether they had any other a la carte menu, and all said no. Finally, I grabbed the last server back and asked her pointedly about the usual dim sum menu. The girlfriend mentioned porridge, so I was certain there was that. Then she went, "Ohhh...yes. We have it." She brought it over in 2 minutes. ARRRRRGGGH. Wasn't that 'another' menu? I don't come here often, certainly I wasn't sure about their practices to rescind the usual menus during this period. If the girlfriend hadn't mentioned it, I would have thought that the usual menus weren't available at all.

Anyway, we came for porridge and prawn rice rolls. We got them all in fine condition. So that was perfectly acceptable. We ordered tiny quantities and the food was sufficient for a meal without knocking us into a carb coma for the rest of the afternoon. We also had baby abalone which came in 2 separate cosy little pots that had steam whoosh out as the server lifted the lids. It was a satisfying dish with its not too salty gravy, and the accompanying ingredients of broccoli, dried mushrooms, fish maw and sea cucumber. There, my idea of fulfilling food traditions for Chinese New Year.

Cheerful Colors & Black Eyed Peas

2012-01-08T07:50:00.000+08:00

Headed out of the city and into a convenient venue for lunch at Blu Kouzina. It was a lovely sunny day. No huge crowds gathered at the restaurant to make it unpleasantly rowdy. We escaped from the heat and sat in the air-conditioning on the second floor.

I've grown very fond of this cheerful little eatery that's full of colors and sunshine. It's got awesome dips, tasty pita bread and pretty good seafood on the grill. The man makes a mean fava dip. But he concedes that Blue Kouzina's simply great. He's conscientiously experimenting to make it as savory and flavorful as the eatery's. Not too difficult as long as he balances out the seasoning.

There's a lemony-soda juice that they'll do for us whenever we ask the waiters about it very nicely. It's not on the menu and they'll usually tell you they've no freshly squeezed juices. So if you order, please expect to pay S$8 to S$9 for a glass and don't yell at them about it. Today was probably the first time I realized this girlfriend likes lemon and lemon juice and lemon-whatever so much. Heh.

In addition to the dips, we had the bean salad, and lo and behold, black-eyed peas in there. Didn't have cornbread, but it's still the first week of 2012! Since we were talking about the Civil War and all, and according to the Southern tradition, we're still in time to eat them for luck for the new year!

La Braceria

2012-01-08T07:43:00.000+08:00

When Limoncello got really crowded, hot and standards slipped because of the volume of orders, I stopped going. For a casual fix, I prefer to head to the management's other restaurant- La Braceria, which is just as convenient for everyone, but (for the now) offers better quality food that has been paid more attention.

On evenings when we've no fixed plans and want comfort food at a familiar venue, we head to La Braceria. We quite like this restaurant because it's smaller and cosier. The size of meant that the kitchen could control and manage the orders on a night when it's full. It's been a while and standards have been maintained at each of our visits, so I'm pleased.

The man had a really long day at the office, one of those days that began at 7.30am. Right on the dot at 7pm, he left and sought comfort in pasta and pizza. On these sort of nights, we usually request for off-the-menu items. Pizza with anchovies and broccoli. With the cheese, it's rather salty, but so savory yummy. On many weekends, they would have fresh lobsters and those make a good lobster linguine in a tomato based sauce. Always a winner. I had to settle for this because I was insanely jealous of the bff's photos of her table of humans tearing apart crustaceans at an outlet of Joe's Crab Shack.

Pink On Lil'Missy

2012-01-07T17:42:00.000+08:00

It's a perfect satchel for the impossibly cute girl.

I'm probably the only Auntie Imp who doesn't care if she drips ice-cream or coffee all over the pink bag. Don't care if the bag swept the floor or if she squishes it. If she had asked, I would have given the bag to her.

It had nothing to do with the fact that unbidden, she noticed my chunky-wonky rubber Mary Janes, gave an approving nod to them and stated, "I like your shoes. They're very pretty." AWWWWWWWW. Her mom's jaw dropped. The other girlfriend couldn't contain her laughter. My heart totally melted.

At The Table

2012-01-07T17:36:00.000+08:00

We got together for lunch at Wild Honey. Nowadays, conversation can't exclude lil'Missy. She has to be part of it, and she doesn't want to be left out of anything. We can't all talk and ignore her. Little girl, luckily I adore you as much as I treasure your mommy. As the little one grows, it's amazing to watch how she adapts to play with her peers and rather solemn conversation with adults.

Lil'Missy is too big to sit in high chairs now. She has learnt to voice out, "I don't want to sit in a high chair." Oookies. Today, she sat in an armchair just like us, and had no problems with reaching her plate and scooping spoonfuls out of it.

Now that the work year has begun, we're back to meeting during the weekends. This means planning for a date weeks in advance! So glad that everyone makes an effort to nail down an agreeable date and time to sit down for a chat. Quite a pleasure to hang out with friends whose thoughts and humor lie on the same wavelength; words and laughter are never lacking.

Lunarin's 'The Midas Sessions'

2012-01-07T10:17:00.000+08:00

If you aren't at *SCAPE for The People's Party on Sunday January 15 (Bombay Bicycle Club, The Naked and Famous, In Each Hand A Cutlass, The Analog Girl, Muon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and of course Noughts and Exes), please tell me you'll be at The Pigeonhole at 8pm for Lunarin's launch of their new album- 'The Midas Sessions'.

Here's their brilliant, chirpy yet ethereally dark new single titled 'Right of Sleep'.

Right of Sleep from lunarin on Vimeo.

Memories At Old Ford Factory

2012-01-06T23:53:00.000+08:00

We visited Memories at Old Ford Factory and liked it a fair bit for its curation and pertinent, if not painful links to Singapore's history. The last time we visited was as school kids. Didn't remember much of that. So it's about time we take a look at what the National Heritage Board has done with it since the front portion of the factory was gazetted as a national monument in 2006.

It was easy to simply spend an hour browsing through the stories, artefacts and photos. There weren't other visitors while we were walking through, so there wasn't a need to peer over anyone's shoulders. We grinned at some of the wordings used for certain events that totally contradict the versions at Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall. Like..."extortion" of the infamous $50million from the Chinese community to the Japanese Imperial Army, as opposed to "donation". We were inexplicably pleased that there were mentions of the anti-Japanese volunteer Force 136 led by Lim Bo Seng and others, but none of Sun Yat Sen. Really, what has Sun Yat Sen got to do with Singapore besides inspiring beginnings of nationalistic thought that ought to have nothing to do with the word 'motherland'?

While I'm curious about the stories (every family has a different tale to tell), I don't enjoy hearing stories of suffering or heroic acts during World War I or World War II. It's depressing, and for many reasons, I don't want to know. I can read about it in a flat history text, but I don't want to see photographs or human voices re-telling their suffering and pain. Which probably explains why whenever I sit through docufilms about them, I'm also fiddling with the iPad or the laptop so that I can be distracted and skip the mournful portions.

An Evening At Punggol

2012-01-06T23:50:00.000+08:00

Went out to dinner at Punggol Promenade with the girlfriend and her husband, and their 2 little girls. We got there at dusk and there was just that bit of light to take in the scenery before it turned completely dark. It felt nice to be out here in the breeze.

The long stretch of Waterway is really quite beautiful. I'm just going to enjoy it before more flats come up and make it a total turn-off. But I guess that's what the ultimate aim is- for a bustling hub. Some of the photographs of hoardings on the developments in the region made me grin. It reflected 'waterfront' living when that particular estate is nowhere near the Waterway nor tall enough to have a view of it. The government is really pushing for humans to come populate this segment of the island. It's like, the Waterway is the next big selling point for everything and anything.

The friends said that just 2 months ago, there wasn't exactly a carpark for visitors to the area. Parking was free and available anywhere along the road or any other space. Now, a carpark's built with a gantry to maximize revenues at this place. There weren't enough adults to pop into a seafood restaurant to devour dishes. I wasn't exactly in the mood for crabs and prawns either. Quota filled. No more for the week.The friends mentioned something about Uncle Leong Seafood being decent. Another time then.

We popped into a random cafe for casual food- fish and chips and a Caesar's salad, the sorts. The bistro doubles up as a bar at night, but I ain't going to be drinking here. The alcohol list is very limited. Especially when the servers offered me green tea as a mixer for whisky. I tried very hard not to grin. The little girls liked the food, and to my absolute horror, ate more than I did, and demanded for more. Muahahahhaha. The girlfriend's superbly busy as a stay-at-home-mom, and unemployed as I am, our schedules never seem to match. Good to catch up once in a bit. Outdoor seating on a cool evening was awesome. The continuous breeze ensured no chance of perspiration.

The Bro & Chick Code

2012-01-05T23:50:00.000+08:00

The man is on a streak to finish all 6 seasons of 'How I Met Your Mother' before settling into the current Season 7. He's watched it in dribs and drabs. For some reason, he's got this thing in his head to watch endless episodes into the night as though fuelling a hopeless addiction. I've caught some of it here and there. Honestly, some of the scenes play out like conversations and outings with our friends. Some are funny, some not so, and D just reminded me today about Robin Sparkles' 'Let's Go To The Mall'! That's hilarious.

I scrambled to the bookshelves and peered at the spines. There it is! 'The Bro Code' by Barney Stinson with Matt Kuhn. Hurhurhur. I've never read it, but I know Barney enough to know what would go into the content. (So ironic though! I mean, it's Neil Patrick Harris afterall!) A quick flip made me chuckle non-stop.

Article 8 - A Bro never sends a greeting card to another Bro.
Is this why I'm always the one sending cards to HIS friends? (But I usually don't bother to do so.)

Article 12 - Bros do not share dessert.
Right. No wonder he's so sad I don't take sweets. But hey, his Bros are all into desserts, and they ALL SHARE. DOHHHH.

Article 65 - A Bro must always reciprocate a round of drinks among Bros. [Exception: A Bro is off the hook if his Bro orders a drink that arrives with an umbrella in it.]
This explains why they (the man and his friends, or for the matter, and my girlfriends and I) are never very sober.

By the way, there's also Barney's version of 'Chick Code' which I don't like. This is part of 'The Bro Code'. They also have a book called 'The Bro & Chick Code'. ARRRGGGGGH.

Article 22 - There is no law that prohibits a woman from being a Bro. Women make excellent Bros. Why? Because they can translate and navigate the confusing and contradictory whims that comprise the Chick Code.
A chick never pays for anything. Ever.
If a chick hears a chick-empowerment song like 'I Will Survive', she shall stop whatever she's doing, grab another chick's hand and shriek the lyrics at the top of her lungs.
If two chicks are wearing the same outfit, each retains the right to accidentally spill a drink on the other.
A chick shall not operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner.

Dear Lawwd, I've no words to formulate coherent comments on my thoughts about the books, the show, the lines or the humor. Hurhurhur.

Seeing Purple

2012-01-05T23:43:00.000+08:00

I've bunches of girlfriends (interspersing social circles, and some don't) who found it very fun to encourage me not to wear black, and say very flattering comments good for my ego each time I'm in a cheerful color. Well, I like black, a lot of black. Dark colors. I love them. The alternative is a white top. I also like white tops and jeans. Casuals. The only colors I'm partial to are reflected in the choice of sports wear or sports shoes.

Okay okay. Since it's the festive season and I'm a guest at the friends' homes, I decided it might be polite to wear colors and honor their food. Beige, green floral swirls, white, embroidered stuff, etc. A lot of linen thingies. I've been avoiding the so-called 'drab' colors. Importantly, for a practical reason, black and dark-colored fabrics don't go well with pet fur; silk and chiffon don't work very well with animal claws either. Sturdy fabrics and light monotones or swirls are ideal.

So after pilates one morning and for a leisurely lunch at Culina Dempsey with a couple of charming women, I decided to give them a color that I rarely wear. Purple. WOOT. It was a color that some other girlfriends insisted that should be bought when we were in some random shop after lunch one random day before the one ran off to some odd country. They literally barked at me to buy something that wasn't "boring". And I allowed myself to be bullied into buying it. Whatever. I won't be in a hurry to don again unless I'm in a mood for it. Needless to say, this garnered many approving nods from the girlfriends.

Five & Dime Eatery

2012-01-04T19:22:00.000+08:00

Looking for a random quiet evening, the man and I hopped into the newly opened Five & Dime Eatery that is still hosting only a pre-opening dinner menu.

The pre-opening menu is limited, but decent. Teething. It touts its food as "honest and simple comfort food". Imho, the food on this menu is akin a mish mash of better-than-average pub grub. But yes, the flavors are familiar and would be fairly close to what you'd find in a friend's home/kitchen. I love their beautiful letterpress business card.

The soup of the day was cream of potato and corn. It was heartily done, thick and pleasing, but without complexity, i.e. the corn wasn't roasted, no coriander and no hint of spices in the body. So one would have to really love potato and corn to like this soup. Not over-salted. Very nice. I didn't mind it at all.

The man was neutral about his bangers and mash, but liked the curry sauce that came along with it. He thought it a good contrast to the usual flavors. He was more impressed by the appetizer of flamed smoked duck with creamy sesame dressing. I opted for a mentaiko pasta and requested for the kitchen to replace the yakitori chicken with fish or vegetables. I'd have been happy with simple grilled vegetables, but they offered to do a fish fried in batter (they call it tempura) for me. That was a gracious gesture. The mentaiko pasta overall, was alright. I didn't ask what fish they used under the light batter. But it was more than acceptable. Service throughout was excellent! Beer came fast, and so did our food. Water was filled and topped up without prompting. I liked the freshly squeezed juices available and the bespoke cocktails.

But man, the noise level. It was unfortunate that we were plonked between two large and ultra noisy groups whose laughter and loud lines averaging 88dB on the iphone app made it impossible to ignore them. Couple that with shophouse acoustics to amplify the noise, I was completely deafened. I would need to be somewhat drunk to be able to tahan the noise. Or wear earplugs like I usually do in a bar. We spent the next half of the meal in silence because it was too much of a struggle to talk above that volume, and stumbled out without bothering with dessert. Oh, parking is going to be a struggle. Either find friends who live in the surrounding estates to secure a courtesy parking space, or park along Robertson Quay and do a 10-minute short walk or take a bus. There's a bus stop right outside the eatery. Currently, the pre-opening menu isn't vegetarian or pescetarian-friendly. I'm curious about its full menu and how it will eventually flesh out, and the identity it finally decides to adopt. Will definitely hop by to try it again then.

Not Buying From You, Ever

2012-01-04T18:50:00.000+08:00

Many, if not majority of the seafood suppliers sell shark's fin. That's their business revenue. Fine. I'm not in agreement, but market demand and supply rules. We've a long way to go before seafood suppliers cut back on the trade of shark's fin and to an extent, endangered abalone from certain regions. The seafood suppliers can be as rude as they want to those against the eating of shark's fin, behind closed doors of their boardrooms and desks. But I unequivocally object to Thern Da Seafood's insensitive, opprobrious, publicly accessible post on facebook dated November 17 2011.

How can this be a joke? It's not funny. It's way beyond uncool. In that same line, I question the integrity of the marketing communications department and especially the human who posted this. To that end, I'm not sure I like their company policies, environmental sustainability sourcing practices, business directions and marketing strategies. So at the risk of being boorish, I'll say it aloud, "Screw you right back, Thern Da Seafood."

In a matter of minutes today (like about 6.40pm), they've removed the entire facebook page. Too late. Too late to prevent screen grabs, too late to prevent a ruckus among the various communities, and too late for apologies. To me, this is going to be 'sorry no cure hor'. The only apology that will be sincere enough for me, is to pull stocks of shark's fin they've placed at the supermarket. To say sorry in order to put a positive spin to the company's image and continue selling, and earning the revenue from shark's fin, is being a ~~two-faced asshat~~ hypocrite. Didn't this company use their brains before making such a merry statement online? From any and all angles, I'm offended. I'll make it a lifelong decision not to purchase any of their (or their subsidiaries') products or distributed brands.

Addendum: A day later, NTUC Fairprice (supermarkets) announced that it would pull products from Thern Da Seafood off its shelves, as well as stop selling shark's fin by March 2012.

I couldn't stop grinning. NTUC Fairprice, you rock.

Nasi Lemak & Beer

2012-01-03T23:29:00.000+08:00

Since I was already in Tanjong Pagar, and was too early for a 7.30pm date at The Wok & Barrel, and knowing that the males would always be late for dinner, I browsed the titles at Littered With Books. It was raining anyway. Might as well pop into a cosy little shop for a while and see if I could find more books to add to the shelves.

Then I went over to our dinner venue and started on beer. Luckily I didn't have to drink very much before the first human (female, of course!) arrived. No one was very late! They turned up at the timing they said they would. Hurrah. Like all much anticipated catch-ups go, this one was cool, hilarious and made a good evening out. But no wild drinking. The peeps had to work the next day, so the decent beers were ingested in moderation.

This was also the night when part of the Christmas gifts included a nude lipstick from Chanel of which I didn't know how to use. It uses a new packaging which isn't rocket science, but somehow, my brain isn't wired to tinkle with cosmetics and all its bells and whistles. Muahahahah.

Service that evening was excellent. Warm, and hospitable- included a glass of cold milk for a male who merrily gulped down a giant dollop of sambal, thinking it wouldn't be a big deal. Ha. And...I forgot to tip. *hangs head in shame* They don't do service charge here; I fully trust Chef Shen to be fair to employees, so I try to make it a point to tip on each visit. :( Gotta make it up for this lapse soon.

Run On

2012-01-02T18:27:00.000+08:00

This bunch of friends went away over Christmas and New Year's Eve. We had our little celebration of the season before each of us disappeared, and one by one, we returned to town and gathered today for our usual activities. Well, the 3.5km sprint isn't my usual, but it has become very manageable, and almost easy. I need it simply up the timing to give me the strength and push needed for parkour. The friends are the runners and always do between 8km to 10km each session. I'm not going there. Those distances aren't my objectives.

Today's run at the Botanics mark the first of many this year. After warming down with a swim, we settled down at Wild Honey for brunch. At 10.30am, the weather was bright and still cool enough to ditch indoor air-conditioning to sit at the terrace.

I'm not fond of the coffee at this branch. The beans seem to be always over-roasted and the barista on duty can't pull a good one for weeks now. The flat white ends up bitter, brackish and umm...flat. So we went for the juices. Those wouldn't go wrong. We shared plates all around. I couldn't finish mine of a generous portion of eggs benedict, smoked salmon and avocado. Palmed it off to the girlfriend who was still hungry after her giant bowl of muesli.

This year, it's going to be such a breeze maintaining the exercise regime, diet and health. That feel-good factor is unbeatable. I feel better, I taste my food with heightened tastebuds, and I can still drink whisky, gobble chocolate and have a Coke Light anytime without guilt. I guess I'm lucky because having no sweet tooth means that I don't have to struggle to avoid cupcakes, macarons, cakes, ice-cream and all sorts of desserts. I never had a habit of snacking as a child, and that has lasted well into adulthood. So while I'm thinner than in 2010, I'm stronger and more flexible. 2011 has been the year for my body to equalize to its new form, to understand what makes it tick. In this quest for a trim body, it isn't about eating way less food or turning anorexic. No. It's about building strength and consolidating the healthy cells for as long as humanly possible.

The Sisters Brothers

2012-01-02T18:19:00.000+08:00

Luckily I didn't have to wait too long for the man to finish browsing through Patrick DeWitt's 'The Sisters Brothers'. The man was distracted by other books because he's one of those who can read 3 books at any one time, flip them halfway and put them aside for another. I can't. I need to sit and finish a book in one reading. I wonder why he picked up this book. Doesn't seem like his usual choices. From the first glance, it looks set to be something I'd like.

Yes, I totally enjoyed this one. An odyssey. What a hoot. Mostly because it's in tune to my preferences and sense of humor. It's light and easy. It's deadpan, but not corny. Oh, that red velvet cupcake from Plain Vanilla isn't mine. It's the man's. (Read reviews from The Guardian, The Washington Post and The New York Times.)

The waiter returned to clear the table and pointed at the remaining carrots. 'Didn't you care for the vegetables?' he asked naively.

'All right,' I said. 'Take it away.'

'More wine?''One more glass.'

'Would you like any dessert?'

'No! Goddamnit!'

The tormented waiter hurried away from me.

It's like an old western flick based on its setting during the California Gold Rush with a mastermind known as Commodore who hired killers who're brothers- Charlie and Eli Sisters. Charlie and Eli are supposed to kill this prospector who has annoyed the Commodore. So the tale begins on their murder mission and chronicles the obstacles along the way. The Sisters Brothers are either really unlucky, or just superbly formed comic characters. Hangovers, toothaches, spider bites! The death count is hilarious. There're humans, bears, horses, dogs and beavers.

This isn't a historical novel. So don't bother looking at landscape or background beyond the superficial. It's about listening to the brothers' the story and their 'trials and tribulations' on this journey. Although there aren't any philosophical insights, we get the moral arguments and newfound perspectives of whether there's a way out of this 'trap' of a zero-sum game of killing people in frontier culture.

We set up in a drafty, lopsided hotel at the southernmost end of town. There was but a single vacancy and Charlie and I were forced to share a room, when we typically kept individual quarters. Sitting before the wash basin, I laid out my toothbrush and powder and Charlie, who had not seen these before, asked me what I was doing. I explained and demonstrated the proper use of the tool and afterward smacked my jaws and breathed in deeply. 'It is highly refreshing to the mouth,' I told him.

Charlie considered this. 'I don't like it,' he said. 'I think it's foolish.'

'Think what you like. Our Dr. Watts says my teeth will never rot if I use the brush dependably.'

Charlie remained skeptical. He told me I looked like a rabid beast with my mouth full of foam. I countered that I would prefer to look like one for minutes each day rather than smell like one all through my life, and this marked the end of our toothbrush conversation.

Hello 2012!

2012-01-01T10:25:00.000+08:00

We drove out to somewhere near Mount Faber for a quiet look at the last sunset of the year. We thought about reflecting on the year past, but we didn't. We simply enjoyed the moment of evening colors on a non-cloudy day. We know that in whatever we do, we make each day, and each act count.

Then driving through surprisingly clear traffic in town, we joined the friends for dinner at Artichoke. We weren't looking for a big do, but something subtle and casual to mark this last day of the year. We would have cooked and hosted a party at home, but a confluence of factors discouraged this endeavor. Thank goodness Artichoke didn't disappoint. Food was good! The kitchen performed at its usual meticulous pace. Amidst the awesome items of dips, spiced chickpea and cauliflower stew and meats, I loved the crisp and refreshing grain salad most.

We sped to the next venue to join another bunch of friends for hugs. We rang in the new year with an easy bottle of Cristal 2004. Timezones are both fun and annoying. So for the friends who're currently in the cities hours behind Singapore, they waited a little and we managed to stay awake to send our greetings. When the merry-making drew to a close sometime near sunrise, we made our slow way home. Flushed with (not just alcohol) warmth, love and laughter, a bucketful of contentment and blessings; the Sunday papers lying on the doorstep greeted us with its brand new date, stamped '1 January 2012'.

So the new year begins, without a hangover, and a clarity of mind and soul, we hope.

To Single Malts & Good Blends

2012-01-01T10:18:00.000+08:00

Since I was of legal drinking age, the alcohol of choice has always been whisky. I love my whisky. Rather than drunken debauchery, it has always been easy nights of tasting. I'm not particularly sure why people would want to get smashed on good whisky. Such a waste, don't you think? Partying and drinking shouldn't be about getting drunk till one is embarrassingly flat out or buzzed till one becomes a prick. Sure, we might have done that at what...20 years old...but not now certainly. The point has always been to check out the different whiskies for their unique characteristics, to flesh out how they grow and mature to adopt different colors, texture and nose.

We've had such wonderful bottles in 2011. Tasted some excellent years from the various distilleries, and even more from our hosts' private collections through the year-end festive feasting and get-togethers. Can't wait to discover even more exciting flavors and characteristics from the various regions.

"In January 1920 it became illegal throughout the United States to manufacture, transport, sell or possess - but not to purchase or consume - alcohol. For all the recalcitrance with which Americans greeted it, Prohibition was not foisted upon an entirely unwilling population. When the national law was passed in 1919, thirty-three of the forty-eight states were already dry.

Reformers saw Prohibition as a necessary instrument of social improvement - a way to help the poor and needy help themselves. They associated alcohol with urbanization, with violence, laziness and corruption, and with unwelcome immigrants. Sober men, thought Prohibitionists, would be better Americans. They would stop beating their wives, hold down jobs, go to church (preferably a Protestant church), save their pennies. A sober society would be patriotic, stable, pious and prosperous.

Warren Gamaliel Harding, the Republican President elected in 1920, viewed Prohibition in much the same light as most of his fellow Americans, who were virtuous enough to praise Prohibition but not quite virtuous enough to practise it. Harding may have voted in the Senate to ratify Prohibition but in private he had no intention of abiding by its strictures. He could see nothing wrong with his own fondness for whisky, especially when it was accompanied by a well-chewed cigar and a few poker-playing cronies. Prohibition was a little like an unpleasant-tasting medicine: people recognized its merits and uses, but if they did not think they were sick (and very few did) they were unwilling to swallow it themselves. As a New York World satire went, 'Prohibition is an awful flop. / We like it... It don't prohibit worth a dime, / Nevertheless we're for it'.

The reformers had also failed to foresee that once alcohol was illegal it would take on an irresistible glamour. Rather than encouraging people to stop drinking, Prohibition made them want to drink. Writers like Scott Fitzgerald rhapsodized over forbidden cocktails like 'the iridescent exhilaration of absinthe frappé, crystal and pearl in green glasses' or 'gin fizzes [the] colour of green and silver'; the sparkle of champagne suddenly gave drinkers a delightful new sensation of naughtiness; liveried bell-hops rushed up and down hotel staircases bearing soda, buckets of crushed ice and thrillingly discreet brown-paper packages. The popular 1920 song said it all: 'You Cannot Make Your Shimmy Shake on Tea'. "

~ "Anything Goes" by Lucy Moore.

2011 :: A Merry Chapter

2011-12-31T19:31:00.000+08:00

I really really really love the year past and all of its blessings in my life. It's been wonderful. I end the year with no regrets, and a sackful of gratitude, happiness and contentment.

Thank you and goodbye, 2011.

We Love Fur

2011-12-31T19:25:00.000+08:00

The man and I. Soon, he'll turn 37 and I'll be 34. We don't conform to social norms about having children. We don't see or feel the need to become parents. Not now, not ever. There're other passions in our lives driving our dreams and fulfilling any other 'void'. If we have children, the rewards are far less than what we reap in our pursuit of our (sometimes separate) ideals.

Can parenthood be in tandem to our lifestyles? Yes, but it cramps my style. So no. And don't give me the stupid spiel about having children to care for us in our old age. That's your concern, not mine. I don't care that you've children, I don't care that you've none, and I most certainly don't care what you think about children. Nobody has the right to ask us to have children. NOBODY. Not when no one else is responsible for whatever offspring I would supposedly have for the rest of their lives. It's a fiercely personal choice, and we aim to keep it that way.

Would you understand how wonderfully fulfilling it is for me to nurse an old folk on my roster through health, sickness, cleaning up pee and poop, and finally, seeing her don the peaceful robes of death? I doubt it.
Let's just say that if I want a kid now, pregnancy isn't for me. (So what if I can, and so what if I can't? So stop second guessing, bitches.) I'll want to adopt a child. Would you understand why? I doubt it.
Remember, I'm the girl who wore a severe dark blue-almost-black wedding 'dress' and the man wore jeans and a shirt with no tie. We're also the couple who never fails to forget our wedding anniversary till it's over, and will never celebrate that date. If you understand why, then you know us.

The one thing we love about popping into the friends' homes, is the opportunity to play with their fur-kids. Many friends have chosen not to have children, and for those who have, they remain 'husband and wife' first and foremost, rather than subsume that identity into 'father and mother' after the firstborn's first year. These parents adapt the kids to their existing pets, and giving the pets away because of the kids' allergies is never an option. For those who soldiered on, the allergies subside within the year. How lovely.

If and when I should be able to have my own pets, I already know what I want. A mutt from the pound and 2 cats adopted from somewhere or be picked up from the streets. The man won't object. In fact, he probably wants a couple more cats.

Fondue Love

2011-12-30T23:58:00.000+08:00

The drive to the friends' beautiful home was accompanied by a spectacular sunset. We paused, pulled over to the side of a quiet street to take in the splendid colors to the west of the horizon. Many tweets in my timeline displayed gorgeous photos of the same view from different angles all over the island, from different heights. The sun went down really fast, and in a matter of minutes, it became a memory.

Totally pampered by the friends this season. Fondue on the menu. Appetizers of bread and dukkah, tomatoes and homemade pesto. Plenty of dips available, homemade too. Woah. Spicy wasabi, butter, mayo...but my favorites were the dips of dill and anchovy. Fabulous stuff to go with the carrot and celery sticks.

The hosts took my dietary preferences into consideration, and were most sweet to split the food into 2 pots- one for meat and the other for seafood and vegetables. There was grapeseed oil for the meats and a light wine broth for the fish and prawns. Cubes of tenderloin. A huge plate of those. Broccoli. A whole seabass and a fillet of cod plus 2 kinds of prawns. Tons of food. We ate them all. The food cooked fabulously in the oil and broth. YUMMY. I definitely over-ate.

Those fondue pots were awesome. Unlike the traditional steamboat/hotpot, we needn't even top up the broth. Well insulated cast iron pots and fuelled heating gel ensured everything was cooked really quickly. All the flavors mixed into the final concoction and of course we had to have it. It was a wonderful heady soup that was a winning end to the meal before adjourning for dessert and drinks.

A Delicious Berry Trifle & Glögg

2011-12-30T23:53:00.000+08:00

It's a little known secret that the man in this house loves desserts, but can't quite get the feel of them to make a good one. At the friends' for dinner, the man of that house, K, doesn't just cook. He makes good desserts too, especially trifle.

We were treated to his homemade berry trifle with freshly made custard. The friend didn't even eat very much. (As usual, for the cooks...) He got up from the table midway and started boiling up custard for dessert. He also thoughtfully dug out the pits from the fresh cherries. To my surprise, the berry trifle wasn't too sweet. It was quite right, and in fact, I tasted more whisky that went into the custard than sugar. Hurhurhur.

We had lovely bottles of Riesling and Pinot Noir to accompany the meal. Easy drinking, no more than a glass for each. After the meal, and before we went on to the single malts, Mrs K prepared steaming cups of Glögg topped with nuts and raisins. The iPod behaved and spewed out good songs on shuffle. Nice start to the whisky that followed, or a nice end to those who aren't into the drinking and simply looking for a light celebratory touch.

No matter way than to wind down the evening with long conversation with like-minded friends, a cool breeze coming through, and a quiet hum in the night beyond, with a sprinkling of stars in the clear sky.

One Last Gig For The Year

2011-12-29T23:36:00.000+08:00

'Astreal''s guitarist on his pedals.

2011 has wrought a superb windfall in terms of the many musicians and bands I managed to catch in Singapore, and overseas. Some good, some bad, some utterly shite, and most brilliantly awesome. Such a pleasant surprise.

Well, of course there were the gigs we intentionally planned a trip for (Amanda Palmer in Melbourne and Foo Fighters in Perth!), and there were those which we caught as a 'by-the-way' thing and were most glad to find out how good they are live. Always unexpected, always welcomed.

It seems most appropriate to round up the year with a final gig at Home Club with Singapore bands Monster Cat, I Am David Sparkle and Astreal. It was an easy night. Knowing how Home Club operates, it never starts on time, and true to form, the first band Monster Cat came on at 9.40pm. Luckily I didn't turn up there real early. I would have been a tad miffed. The friends were around. Conversation was fun enough to make me forget a little about the 'rubber' starting time.

I haven't heard these good bands for a long while and it was fabulous to chill out to their different sounds and styles. Home Club has a new sound system that is so much more conducive for bands and gigs. The noise level didn't bother me. Ear plugs, yo. I never attend gigs without earplugs. Heck, I'm rarely without earplugs in the bag at any time.

Next year sees quite a bumper crop of music festivals and gigs happening in Singapore. I would love to catch some of those. Lots of talented Singapore bands. To collaboration on more projects, and not divisive actions or events. Keep the passion burning, keep the dreams alive. Many tickets have been bought and planned travel has been rescheduled to fit gig dates. Woot. There's Untitled's 'The People's Party' (nothing remotely political) and Lunarin's album launch coming up in January, a whole series of exciting shows for Mosaic in March. My favorite Swedish progressive rock metal band Opeth is coming to town too. Can't wait. Carry on this vibrance and our music scene has never been more alive.

'Monster Cat' at Home Club.

Roast Turkey Number-I-Forgot-How-Many!

2011-12-28T15:52:00.000+08:00

A wonderful convenience that the beer companies continued delivery over the festive season. We ordered crates of happy awesome beer or easy fruity wines by way of gifts to the hosts of each party we crashed. Often, we skipped the whisky if we know the hosts share our inclination. It means there'll be plenty of different flavors to taste!

At the friends', we were most thrilled to be able to help out in the kitchen. I went a-stirring the sauce for the lamb to reduce it, and the man went to stab some pieces of meat. There were other giant slabs of succulent lamb and meatloaf for the hosts to tackle and eventually place on the dining table for the hungry humans.

The host was a little upset that her turkey was a tad salty. Nobody minded that really. It simply meant that no additional sauces or whatever was necessary. It also meant that it went well with the other food items which weren't at all salty. The man said this was probably the best turkey of the season. Prepped over 3 days and sufficiently soaked in brine before roasting, the host put in major efforts to make sure this turkey stayed moist. We made fava bean dip really quickly to contribute and bought tortilla and pita chips for it. There was plenty of good cheese and fruit.

The table resolutely ignored the cats that were lurking around looking cute and hungry. None of us fell into the trap of feeding them. Ha. Taboo was played in the most impossible way tonight. It wasn't about winning. It was about scoring the lowest points in the middle of all that 'disruptive' shouting at the players-partners. The hosts had the newest version of the game which included some really Singaporean terms that I didn't really know how to express! Mad fun and laughter.

Polka Dots & Lunch

2011-12-27T18:25:00.000+08:00

Spent an awesome pre-Christmas lunch with V. We picked a later timing to eat at Open Door Policy, and were rewarded with fewer humans and the soothing sound of rain thudding onto the roof. We breezily contemplated finishing a bottle of pinot noir, but decided it might not be the most prudent thing, given that there was more drinking expected for the night.

She was off for the afternoon and didn't mind spending it with me. Yay! I was so glad she would do that because she's one of the few people I always enjoy a day with. Pretty glad how our friendship has developed through the years to something dependable and warm. She's probably one of the even fewer people who knows precisely where I am at any given time. Including the weekend trips I make, of which I don't blog about. Muahahahaha. She's very clever and knows exactly how to track me down whenever I turn off the phone in a huff to avoid picking up calls from spammers.

I didn't know she got a new phone cover, and was most tickled to realize that the corsage I picked out for her managed to match it. Heh! It was also a day when I was trying very hard to find a Christmas gift for the man. It's incredibly difficult to get him a gift that he doesn't already have. He doesn't even want anything new or exciting. Christmas is the one occasion we set strict limits to the prices of gifts, so Strangelets was my last hope. I did find something there. Wheeeee!

Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine

2011-12-27T18:14:00.000+08:00

Considering the number of times we've declined the invitation to have a meal at the new Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine at the Chui Huay Lim Club, we decided to round up a group to visit one evening impromptu, and without fanfare. The restaurant is managed by Jumbo Seafood Group.

They wanted to order one cold crab for everyone, but the man and I preferred to share. The crab quota had been partially filled in Hong Kong and we shouldn't bust it. The table merrily ordered tons of things. Not suckling pig (a pre-order) though. Nobody wanted that. But they ran out of bamboo clams, seafood kway teow, and didn't have braised goose. So we took the braised duck instead, and opted for seafood mee sua. The food was pretty decent. Quite tasty methinks. I don't know about authenticity or if people are particular about that. I'm not the biggest connoisseur of Chinese food, and whatever eaten that evening was fair.

The speed at which the food arrived at our table was impressive. Everything was churned out within 20 minutes. Strolling in at 9.30pm, the first wave of diners was already winding down, and the kitchen probably had a break. I won't want to brave this place on a weekend. A random weekday evening was already packed out with families and large groups.

We had 2 types of fish. A garouper and a pomfret. For the latter, they had no smaller fish and said that for the evening, the catch weighed in at 900g to 1kg. Okaay. We had to try it. It's a Teochew restaurant afterall. It was surprisingly steamed to perfection. The flesh wasn't too tough and the gravy was tasty. Not difficult for a full table to polish off both plates of fish.

I don't know if Teochews are pickier about their food, or if the general fussy eater judges the restaurant to be seriously authentic. But I don't see how it can be that bad. It's pretty decent, I must say. But to my consternation, the marketing people of the restaurant told me that their Teochew pomfret is steamed with lard. o_O Anyways, the more pertinent question is, how's the vote split for white pomfret to be a fish that's high in cholesterol and should be eaten in moderation along with crabs and prawns?

Festive Foods

2011-12-26T18:09:00.000+08:00

Yes, Christmas is about ham, roast beef and turkey or goose. But I stare at them, and my stomach churns. So no, no and no. Which rulebook dictates that we have to adhere to traditional food at Christmas? Is really about the food? Not for me.

Many home cooks who're really good go through enormous trouble to smoke their own ham and meats. But I'm also super appreciative of hosts who provide more than that. We've been invited out to houses with fantabulous kitchens, and the hosts usually toss up yummy carbs (usually a garden pasta or ratatouille) and a good salad that's more than just green leaves. Fresh greens are awesome, but without a complex salad dressing, it's rabbit food. In case they don't, I'd have made sure I ate earlier, or would be eating after, just so there's something palatable.

It's like you know...#firstworldproblems... There isn't a need to eat special foods on certain festive occasions anymore. We can eat them anytime, anywhere, in whichever way that suits our calendar. Anyway, at least you know if the man and I decides to host a Christmas party or something next year, you ain't getting these meats, and you won't just get rabbit food.

Well, the drinks are always pretty good, so far. When all else fails, we bring our own alcohol, especially to houses where we know there wouldn't be fellow guzzlers. Muahahaha. The eating hasn't actually stopped. It's going to go on for the rest of the week. But there isn't overeating on this end. I ate my usual, and a little more. I do watch what I eat. Not for calories, but for taste and what the stomach likes. Manageable because instead of one swim a day, I simply did two. No pilates classes don't mean I can't stretch out at home. There's always parkour. And man...shucking oysters takes ALOT of energy. Off to play with the gyroscope ball now.

Have A Blessed Christmas

2011-12-25T02:01:00.000+08:00

May your Christmas be filled with the richness of the intangibles, the joy of true friends, a loving soul and the wisdom to make choices in your life to warm the heart, even if there would have to be some not-too-painful compromises in realizing those dreams.

Christmas Eve Brunch

2011-12-24T19:29:00.000+08:00

Christmas Eve saw us at a long brunch at the dear friend's. I look forward to this annual gathering because it's always cool. Not all the items of food are shown here, but most were homecooked. Grilled vegetables, cauliflower mac and cheese. Mmmm. This year, we didn't cook and simply bought 2 kinds of biryani from our favorite stalls. We've never been interested in the meats, and today wasn't any different. The store-bought ham and turkey never seemed to have diminished even after a 4-hour meal.

Conversation veered to every topic and we were so occupied this year that we didn't do Taboo or Trivia Pursuit. There were awesome gifts carefully selected by everyone for everyone. Lovely lovely picks. We got the hands-down most addictive gift ever from this party (even though Christmas hasn't exactly begun) in the form of the NSD Powerball. It never stopped rotating as it got passed round and round.

Plenty of drinks flowed freely. But no getting drunk of any sort. Not glamorous. Whisky, champagne, wine, and ginger beer. We paced them all. We were so stuffed that dessert had to come later. In the form of the most awesome homemade rum and apple pie, and a rich chocolate-banana cake. The girlfriend went really low on the sugar, and upped everything else. A mouthful of each, and I continued on to polish off the rest of the plate. Oooh. I like.

There're many more meals to come over the next week, meals with friends whom I treasure for their steadfast friendship, unwavering faith and genuine warmth. I'm immensely glad that this is the start of many awesome renewals of friendship. You know I'm someone who strictly defines 'faeriefolk', 'friends' and 'acquaintances'. There're many sub-categories. But that's not very interesting. There's almost nothing I won't do for a friend. Yet there're some boundaries I'll never cross for a friend, not even if you're a faeriefolk.

I'm someone who needs validation to a relationship. Family ties mean nothing if those don't come with an actual liking of the human behind, and sustained gestures of sincerity. To many, they don't have a choice when it comes to that. To me, I walk out, instantly. I never pay lip service. Selfish? Of course. Never question my choice because at the end of the day, my friends have been the ones who stood by me; some have done so for two decades. Even when I refused (or will refuse) to attend their weddings. They know that I might not necessarily be around in times of happiness and joy. I don't care about keeping up appearances or performing superficial kowtows to social norms. Fuck that. Weal, I'm not so enamored with, but woe, yes. I do what I can. Let's just say that the friends know that when they're ill, dying, or dead, I will be there. These are the ones I hold near and dear.

I'm not an easy friend to keep. For those who graciously accept my warts, quirks and all, thank you for having me.

A Little Bit Of Rest

2011-12-24T19:22:00.000+08:00

It was with much glee when I realized The Salad Shop opens at 8am on the weekdays. I love their salads! Another venue to gather the roster mates for a face-to-face. Of course we make it a point to hustle out by 11.40am or so. That's when the office crowds whoosh in, and we most certainly don't want to be in their way. By then, it'll be too noisy for constructive discussion to take place.

When I was away, I resolutely turned off the phone for days on end, switching it on briefly once in a while. Nobody and nothing requires my attention that urgently. Leave an email or tweet. That might garner instant attention.

The roster mates informed me that we've received overflowing donations of food for the old folks this festive season, and they've requested for supermarket vouchers instead. As we do this in a cluster, we prefer not to take cash. The roster mates and I come up with the cash, and we don't need more from kind strangers outside of the circle. We prefer help to come in kind. We don't exactly solicit, and if people within the circle donate, then by all means. Although I'm a little iffy about vouchers, but okay, since the amount is not astronomical and it'll be reflected in the books anyway.

The roster mates and I kept in contact via email, and gathered for a detailed briefing today, finalizing all that needed to be done in these few days and in the run-up to Chinese New Year. We had earlier hammered out the schedule to allow us a bit of rest, and let the eager volunteers take over. Now, we need to slowly take it back and run it ourselves. We call this our Christmas holidays. It's less taxing than trudging through the weekly duties during the other 49 weeks of the year.

Christmas, Babies!

2011-12-23T23:20:00.000+08:00

The friends are very clever. They made a date way before I flew off to Perth. Even with the last minute trip to Hong Kong, I made it home in time for Christmas tea with them.

Saw many favorite little tots today who gave me enthusiastic hugs. Luckily nobody asked if I brought back a koala bear for them! Because I didn't! No soft toys for children simply because they accumulate dust mites the little tots are allergic to. In fact, when it comes to Christmas presents, I'm probably the most boring 'auntie' ever to the kids. I never give anything fun. Bleah.

We stayed in at the lovely host's. Dainty teaware and Christmassy colors. A happy afternoon. The host prepared lots of savories and muffins, and umm...fishballs for me. No fishballs for the little tots lurking around because they're full of preservatives, salt and MSG. Only freshly handmade ones would be suitable for younglings. They were pretty happy with yoghurt popsicles, grapes and strawberries. Whewww.

After the initial wide-eyed 'where-the-heck-are-we?', 'mommy-I-want-to-go-home', the younglings went off to play together. No idea what they did, but it gave the adults a chance for a chat. One teeny one couldn't quite play with them just yet. But she definitely knew where the 'fun room' was, and kept crawling in and pushing the door open to join her older friends. Woot. It was hilarious how the clever little one knew her way around the rooms!

So very difficult to get little tots to not open their presents till Christmas. Every brightly-wrapped package got ripped once presented to them. I kept addressing a little girl as 'baby' until she adamantly stated that "I'm not a baby!" Muahahaha. Okay, funny one, I shall call you 'little girl' then, the one who doesn't want me to take photos of her face, but readily showed me her hands when I promised her "no facial shots", and demanded to view the photo after.

Thanks for a peachy afternoon, ladies.

What Cheerful Blooms!

2011-12-22T23:40:00.000+08:00

I was surfing around for gift ideas and realized that a friend, Fern knits (okay...crotchets) these cheerful corsages. It could be a brooch or something to hang off a bag. To me, they're ideal accessories to go with gifts to the friends! Especially to those whom I know will appreciate these handmade beauties, and who won't have her creations. For those of you who know her, you'd already have seen (and probably own a piece) her work.

Totally thrilled that she agreed to make me 15. Woot! It was a fair bit of effort, and done during a crazy couple of weeks at work, and through a vacation. (Thank you babe!) When I got home and looked at them in earnest, I realized the girl didn't even put a stamp of ownership on those corsages! She doesn't do this for a living, and certainly not as a paid hobby. It's absolutely sweet of her to do this favor for me!

As I was thrown into the silly frenzy of having to wrap presents, I decided to make a tiny card to complement the corsages and give Fern due recognition because each roseate bloom is totally worth its weight in gold and more. Of course I'm not showing all of them here. Keeping secrets and sorely tempted to keep two for myself! Aren't they simply adorable?

For A Familiar Flavor

2011-12-21T23:47:00.000+08:00

Merrily bounded off to dinner at Hinoki with the girlfriend. Hadn't seen her in weeks and I was eager for a chat and sips of a lovely bottle of nigori sake. Absolutely stoked that our evening began earlier because she was able to leave the office on time.

The girlfriend handed me a Christmas card and told me that her gift was in the form of a contribution to WildAid, for, no prizes for guessing right, their efforts in the conservation of sharks. She knows me well. I love this gift! Am feeling the love from the friends. This follows a string of gifts made out to WorldVision. I think...there're more to come!!! Wheeeeeee! Yes, more gifts, please.

I grimaced when I saw the first dish. I had requested for no prawns, no meat, no foie gras, but forgot to tell Chef Gary that I didn't want crab too. He merrily said that the gem was in its roe. Okay...whatever. I didn't quite clean it. I'm really not a fan of roe at all. The flesh, though sweet, was meagre, and great for nibbling. I asked for lobster and it came steamed. That was done so delicately. The light broth was immensely satisfying.

In addition to the generous platter of sashimi, we also had a horse mackerel and plenty of grilled stuff. Delicious. I could have Japanese food every day and not be tired of it. It came to pass that I had no more space for sushi except for 3 tiny pieces. No matter because there was a previous evening concluded at Tatsuya which provided all the sashimi and the sushi necessary. I need the raw fish fix. So the grilled stuff at Hinoki tonight was excellent in terms of delivery, and to the tastebuds.

Tea Time

2011-12-20T17:55:00.000+08:00

I like coffee quite a bit, but less than whisky. I like tea a little less than coffee, but on certain days, the tastebuds prefer a lighter flavor. So tea would be perfect. Heh. Yes, as the friends who swung in later pointed out, there wasn't any cookie or cake or macaron at my space on the big table. No nibbles needed. Just a good brew of whatever sufficed.

Finally had time to flip through a couple of essays and opinions on the late Christopher Hitchens whose (sometimes) controversial writing never fails to stir reflection of a long-held notion and on the occasion, shifts perspectives. Certainly, his critique of certain figures (say...Mother Teresa...) has raised ire among many camps, but hey, a well written discourse deserves to be accorded a proper discussion. Of course his "three great monotheisms" and hostility against Abrahamic religions, and organized practices of religious devotion still boggle my mind. His 'God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything' still provides much to chew on upon second and third readings. Having my faith doesn't mean I can't question it, okay.

All December issues of my favorite magazines (hard copies) have arrived. Frankie, Indie, Oh Comely, Spectator, New Yorker, etc. So in addition to a tech gadget, I grabbed the bunch of magazines and headed out to Smitten for a pot of tea. I didn't want to split them up to read over different sittings. There were too many things to do over the next 2 weeks, so it was necessary to devour all of them in a little over 2 hours.

Nasi Lemak Power!

2011-12-20T17:43:00.000+08:00

I don't function very well without spicy sambal. For the past few weeks, I haven't had a touch of sambal-anything. Once home, a slight twang of missing the spices ballooned into an insane craving that required instant satiation either through a meal of nasi padang or nasi lemak.

It was too late for nasi padang. So it had to be nasi lemak at either ends of the island. I nearly killed the friend who dared to suggest having it in a hotel. NO! That would so suck. It's gotta be something less atas from a non-airconditioned stall with real cooks. The friends mentioned their favorite supper haunt during university and National Service. I remember, vaguely, having that once or twice a decade ago. So a couple of us trundled all the way to Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak.

We arrived slightly before midnight. The queue was short- there were only 8 people in front of us. The friends eagerly ordered paru belado which apparently went great with the rice. All I wanted, were ikan bilis, a fried egg, begedil and tons of sambal. Got it. Man, it was awesome. I was so happy to fill the tummy. After that, the man simply nodded off to sleep. Lazy bugger. I went for a dip in the freezing pool (in half darkness) to work off some calories before hitting the sack in the wee hours.

Bye Hong Kong!

2011-12-19T23:54:00.000+08:00

Again, I didn't get to get out to the islands. But it's nice to have gone walking. I've seen the blue of the sea a number of times, be it from a hill or at along the waterfront promenade. We didn't check out the exciting private kitchens because those slots were allocated to cosy dinners at home with the friends. Next visit, perhaps. If these kitchens aren't too anal about accommodating our dietary preferences.

I love 18 Grams which serves up brews that hit a spot. But I wasn't able wander in daily. So we had to make do with commercial chains. While I'm not deprived of caffeine, I'm a little desperate for a good brew.The aroma of home began inflight. (Although Singapore isn't a city known for great coffee, but we'll get there.) It's been fun, Hong Kong. I enjoy peeling away the layers and discovering new things about you. Always good to see the various facets of the city through the friends' eyes.

'The Isle'

2011-12-18T23:52:00.000+08:00

I wasn't exactly hot about highly lauded Hong Kong playwright Paul Poon's 'The Isle', simply because of its storyline of (never mind the island) lovers and promises and whatnots. Not enthusiastic about books, movies (rom-coms be damned) or plays with romantic love as the central plot. But this play is presented in a new interpretation by theatre du pif (進劇場最新製作，潘惠森的《小島芸香》), so curiosity about the city's theatre scene won over skepticism, and I went.

Staged in Cantonese, I'm fairly pleased at not needing to refer to the English subtitles. See. Learn a language in its academic structure and one is all set. There was a substantial amount of conversation between the actors, most of it intentionally flowery and poetic to bring out the full power of metaphors and the resulting imagery. So is this play about the search for love and the ideal of romance, or is it about the usual meaning of life? (Think along the lines of 'no man is an island'.) I didn't dwell on those themes because I wasn't watching for that. I could talk about it, but why should I? As a newbie to plays staged in Cantonese, I was watching for the flow, the subtle differences (if there are) between an English and a Cantonese play, as opposed to English versus Mandarin. Through 'The Isle', I also sought a superficial understanding of the company's reputation for reinterpretation through its strong artistic directors Bonnie Chan and Sean Curran.

I never watched any other interpretation of this play and thus there isn't a basis for comparison. The acting was enjoyable. While the storyline still gets my goosebumps and hackles, it was a good evening at the theatre. Of course having a chat with the friends about the play and its background, provides more insights to the context. Given the chance, on a future visit, I'd like to see other intriguing works staged by theatre du pif.

Macarons In Hong Kong

2011-12-18T18:05:00.000+08:00

The boys were the ones who had this craving for sweets and we ended up at Le Goûter Bernardaud. The other friend's wife and I glanced at each other and rolled our eyes. She doesn't bake and isn't into desserts either, and would rather go round the corner to take photos of that decrepit building that seems out of sync amidst the gleaming glass and steel. I would be happy to tag along. We were fully intent on slipping away and leaving the boys to do their own thang. But the boys insistently pulled us into the mall. GROWL.

They ordered 3 cakes. 3! We (the girls) declined bits of it. No sweat. The cakes were still polished off. Then they bought 2 macarons to 'try'. That 'try' turned into 6 macarons. There were a couple of flavors but they declared that LGB did a pretty good rose. I really couldn't tell if the macarons were good. But the boys were of the view that the commercially available macarons in Singapore that are of some decent standard can't compare to LGB's bite and taste. They liked it. I was forced to take a bite. I made a face at them. It was just sugar, sugar, sugar and nothing else. Well, the colors were cheerful. Anyway, I didn't really care. I had my cup of tea, and that was sufficient.

The sweets evidently made an impression. Each (boy) bought a pack to-go and gleefully declared, "Munchies in the room!" With very benign smiles, we (girls) didn't raise our eyebrows, and instead, nodded indulgently. Yes, yes, dear.

Went To Smell The Flowers

2011-12-17T21:43:00.000+08:00

Thumbing through the schedule, I realized I wouldn't be able to get out to the coast or the islands. I'd have loved to see the places dimsumdolly swears by. Still, I was determined to shuffle stuff, swop certain activities to do some walking. It'd be a total waste if I didn't get out to at least one trail in this awesome weather. Dumped the camera (too heavy), suited up, grabbed a bottle of water and the windbreaker and it was off to an easy stroll along the Dragon's Back at Shek O. It's an urban trail. No way to get lost. It was refreshing walking without a backpack. Essentials went into the pockets.

Before getting onto the trail proper, we passed by many cemeteries that I oohed and ahhed over because of the grandeur of the tombs and how they've been cut into the hillside. Then we rounded to the back of the Sai Wan War Memorial and Cemetery that's the resting place of many British soldiers who gave their lives for the cause in World War II. I'm not completely fascinated because their headstones are not the intricate Chinese types. The view of the sea is always breathtaking. The air was crisp. There's something soothing about looking to the horizon from a height, into and across the sea, the miniscule buildings nestled amidst greenery. Today, there were paragliders, and I was insanely jealous that I didn't have the guts to do that. Bah.

This is precisely what I like about Hong Kong. It's an urban sprawl of 7.06 million on 1076km² of land area, and it's blessed with natural scenic trails (typhoons are a minor inconvenience) for jaded humans to get away from whenever needed. It's such a competitive city, yet out in the islands and the coastal regions, there's a palpable slowing down of the pace of life. There're pockets of places that have been locked in time. There's the inclination to stop and smell the flowers.

These Boots Are Meant For Walking

2011-12-17T21:38:00.000+08:00

This year, I oddly didn't know what to pack for leisure trips. It's like, I've been so conditioned on the 'uniforms' (typically black dresses with a colored belt, and suits. Black denims and never blue) required for work trips that I forgot how to pack for leisure jaunts. Packing for a destination in a city or tiny town is an absolute breeze for me, and I can still do it under 30 minutes.

On this trip, I packed a ton of black staples. My wardrobe is mostly filled with that! Yes. I like black very much. It works very well in Hong Kong because I've got a bloody bright fuschia poofy down jacket from Adidas Originals given by the bff for a laugh. I've no friggin idea how to wear it besides with monotones and solids to avoid looking like a ditzy fashion victim or total boondocks bumpkin.

I've this odd love for boots, Mary Janes and quirky heels from Doc Martens. I've showed great restraint in buying their boots because I haven't had many chances to wear them in Singapore. It's just too humid for high-cuts. These boots work for me in all other seasons except summer in the tropics.

I've got ahemmm...a few pairs of high-cut boots. Weight concerns, so one pair is enough for any trip. So the only decision I had to make was which color to bring along. Once selected, the trusty boots went everywhere and stood up to the test of endurance and comfort, especially through 6 hours of standing at gigs, and hours of walking to everywhere in Oz and Hong Kong. Those air soles, my gawwd, are totally da bomb. Woot. Of course the colors were totally complementary with my (black, grey or blue) clothes.

Beef Brisket Noodles (牛腩面)

2011-12-16T23:47:00.000+08:00

Aside from the hunt for beef pho in certain cities, the man is also eager to get on the trail of beef brisket (and beef whatever and all) noodles (牛腩面) in Hong Kong and London. The man's thrilled with the wide selection available in Hong Kong. We don't have a list to check off and simply pop into one whenever convenient. It doesn't even have to be say for lunch or dinner, or breakfast. It has been done between meals as a snack. Heh. I guess all the walking has made the humans really hungry.

We've gone into the various eateries at the different areas of Kowloon for him to try each stall's special versions and flavors. He's particularly pleased with the innards and all. While the cuts of beef differ in quality, I suppose the gems are found in the soup, gravy and whatnots. He doesn't have a particular favorite stall and none of us bothered to remember which specific stall to return. The fun's in checking new ones out. There hasn't been one that serves up a shitty dish. The stalls can generally really cook a mean version of beef brisket noodles. The man and the friends are definitely happy campers.

Herbal Tea Shops

2011-12-16T23:39:00.000+08:00

Passing by the medicinal halls and herbal tea shops in Hong Kong, I paused more than once to stare at their wares in absolute fascination. We still have these in Singapore, but I haven't really noticed them much. Plus Chinese herbs and herbal teas don't feature in my diet, so they're always a source of wonder and fascination, along with the idea of treatment of ailment by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). I don't subscribe to TCM though. Of course I can't tell you if this is still so if I'm stricken with a terminal disease, but it won't be my first choice of treatment.

I remember the grandmothers faithfully followed the advice of their mother-in-law to boil 'cooling' herbal drinks for the family, and also use herbs in savory soups and desserts. But when I came along, they had to boil a separate special portion for me because I reacted to most herbs except snow and black fungus, gingko nuts, wolfberries and bird's nest.

I avoid bamboo shoots because the first time I ate them, the skin, eyes and airways swelled, and that, was excruciating painful. Till now, when the friends forget and add ginseng or some cordyceps thingy into savory soups, and I neglect to ask about the ingredients and merrily ingest a bowl, hives invariably break out within 2 hours. Ugh. Not all teas are good for me either, especially kuzuyu and lapacho Sometimes, I'm even a little suspicious of that rather yummy longan and red date tea.

Congee!

2011-12-15T23:47:00.000+08:00

No visit to Hong Kong is complete without tasting its congee, either in the restaurants or the streetside eateries. Although I very much prefer the restaurants because then, chances of the porridge being cooked in a non-meat stock are higher. Often, the restaurants produce really delicate and dainty versions of congee which I really love, like with scallops or fish slices with no bones.

The friends swear by the dependable Lee Yuen Congee Noodles (利苑粥面專家) for an authentic feel of Hong Kong street eats and Cantonese congee, chok. They even suggested shopping at nearby Sogo to work up an appetite. At my look of horror, the group decided it would be better to split- half to shop and the other half to explore the area on foot. Yes. Much more palatable. Why would I want to be indoors in a mall when the weather was so good for walking around outdoors without breaking into a sweat?

As we walked into the tiny shop, we were all riveted to the ancient cash register on the counter. It apparently still works! How very quaint. Darkened and probably rusty with age, the color kinda matches the ummm...dirty ceiling and greasy floors. Authenticity? All checked. None of us dared to take a photo. Woman manning the cash register looked fierce.

I was pleased to find plain congee on the menu. There was fish porridge too. But I suspect they've all been cooked in pork stock rather than vegetable stock. That taste of pork was unmistakable. Okaaay, never mind, screw it. Not bothered to clarify. Wrong setting for it. I might even be scolded for being 'troublesome'. A couple of mouthfuls and I chucked the porridge. Then I turned my attention to the century eggs. Those were pungently acrid and piquant. Perfect.

Lee Yuen Congee Noodles
539 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
利苑粥面專家
銅鑼灣駱克道539號

Under Bridge Spicy Crab

2011-12-15T23:43:00.000+08:00

We were taken out to supper at Under Bridge Spicy Crab to try its famous typhoon shelter crabs (避风塘炒蟹). I've vaguely heard of it, but never tried it. So I was quite curious about it. But this was like...a few hours after dinner. I certainly didn't have space to put away more food! The friends were enthusiastic about it and declared they could eat many items. Okkaaay.

So the name of this dish originated from its strong flavors of garlic, scallion, red chilli and black beans, preferred by the 'typhoon shelter people', or 'boat people', who live in the typhoon shelters in Hong Kong, a stark contrast amidst the swanky yachts. The fried garlic bits were awesome and really spicy! Quite appetizing. However, frying the crab in this style made it dry and flaky, so the taste of the crabs was lost and the seasoning overpowered everything else.

The rest of the 'typhoon shelter cuisine' leaned towards spicy as well. There were also clams and mussels on the table. Some tofu thingies and claypot stuff. The only few dishes that weren't spicy were the green vegetables and fried rice. Quite an interesting change from the usual Cantonese and Shanghai cuisine widely available on the island.

After supper, the group wanted desserts for a 'cooling' effect. The crabs, spices and all were apparently 'heaty' for the body and could induce sore throats and whatever symptoms of 'heaty-ness'. I was like...whatever. I wasn't going to touch anything herbal, ginseng or cordyceps or whatever. Chinese herbs induce boils on my body and they don't sit well with me, especially things like herbal tea and soups infused with herbs. I promptly break out in rashes or fall ill.

Anyway, we ended up at a supposedly good dessert place that had a friggin long queue at this hour. It's clearly popular with the locals. The friends ordered many items off the menu. It was great that there were many people to share in the many desserts ordered. Things that I really didn't like- steamed milk, coconut something something, whatever. Too sweet, too sticky, and generally I'm not hot about it. But the shaved ice, I like. Especially the mango flavored shaved ice. I've never seen it or tasted it! I was totally mesmerized by the texture. It was ice! Thin sheets of ice that seemed like a super light chiffon cake. It was surprisingly not too sweet if the peripheral random items were pushed away. Cold desserts work fine by me.

Mango-flavored shaved ice.

Japanese Food In Hong Kong

2011-12-14T23:45:00.000+08:00

Itacho Sushi.

We've had a fair bit of Japanese food in the city. We skipped the tried and tested Inagiku and went for Sushi Hiro. It has been around for some time but we've never had a taste. On this trip, we ended up there by pure chance. I love it. It's dependable, consistent (for the duration of our meal) and surprisingly traditional. I've heard mixed reviews from friends, so my guess is that we went on a good day.

We also hopped into Itacho Sushi to see how it would be, and it was a pleasant discovery to find that it didn't suck too badly. The sushi rice was decent, but of course at the prices, the cuts of fish left much to be desired. But for a chain, the food's surprisingly edible. Some loved how the oyster sushi. Hmmm. It wasn't exactly raw. More like...marinated well. Tasty, they said. The onsen tamago was impressive. Nicely done.

There was a visit to a casual and authentic izakaya- Kyozasa. The table was thrilled with the menu of umm...everything. Grilled, baked, steamed or otherwise. Plenty of choices for everyone. There was also a huge bottle of sake which was easily polished off towards the end of the meal. I found an attractive crunch in a beautifully steamed kinmedai (or alfonsino). I had that, and a bowl of rice, and found it immensely satisfying.

Kinmedai at Kyozasa.

Kyozasa
20 Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
T: +852 2376 1888

Hello, Hello Kitty

2011-12-14T23:39:00.000+08:00

Desperate for caffeine, we made a detour into Langham Place to grab something from (unfortunately) Starbucks. Groggy and not too alert, I was just spacing out till the man poked my arm and asked me to go take photos of the Christmas display to send to my bff. I was like..."Why?" The man pointed, "See, Hello Kitty."

I turned. OH MY GAWWD. JUMPING HULA HOOPS. There were MANY life-sized Hello Kitty lounging around, ready and able to have human arms wrapped around them for photos. It was very difficult to get a shot of the toys without humans, but not impossible. It's amazing how many humans were eagerly posing with the toys. WOAH.

In the night, I immediately uploaded the photos and shot them off to the bff. Yes, she's got this thing for Hello Kitty, even at this age, still. I don't know what to say! I can't say anything because I talk to bears! Hurhurhur. She loved the photos and almost wanted to fly in to hug the toys. I'm immensely tickled.

A Bit Of Dim Sum

2011-12-13T23:55:00.000+08:00

Of course there would be a meal at my favorite-est Chinese restaurant in the whole wide world- Lung King Heen. I'm not bothered about trying out dim sum restaurants or other good ones with Cantonese cuisine, really. I've found this and am sticking with it for a long time till its standards slip. Each time I'm in the city, I must have at least one meal here, and remember how delicious its vegetarian shark's fin soup is.

We were taken out to a dim sum lunch at a restaurant somewhere in Kowloon, of which I forgot its name. I simply followed without bothering to notice my surroundings. It was 'Royal Palace' or something similar. Not bothered to google even. I was grouchy from the lack of good caffeine. Thankfully, other members in the group were late and while waiting, some of us went out for a caffeine fix. After downing my cup of Starbucks double macchiato, it still didn't feel like kicking my ass into gear. No oommph. Mehh.

The restaurant's chandeliers and opulent decor in a crass Renaissance style are staggeringly blinding. But the food wasn't too bad. The friends declared that the char siew (honeyed barbecued meat) and siew yoke (roast pork) were yummy. There were tiny plates of chicken feet that were proclaimed nibble-licious. Unfortunately, they didn't serve porridge. Anyhow, the prawn cheong fun was good! Considering how I'm not keen on the rest of the dim sum menu, and this is about the only thing I don't mind eating, I ordered one serving for myself. Freshly steamed, its balance of flour and water had been properly done. That was impressive.

Steamed rice noodle rolls with prawn.

At The Wet Markets

2011-12-12T23:53:00.000+08:00

Outdoor wet markets Asian style are interesting to me simply because it's chock-a-block of colors, sights and smells. Oh those smells. They can either make my hair stand or induce a serious food craving sometimes. Generally, the smells don't bother me too much, especially not in winter and at this comfortable temperature. I wore boots, and the splashes of water didn't matter. I put aside the general pain of watching a live creature die (some say vegetables scream too, in the form of an electrical pulse), and headed out to the not too shabby wet market in Mong Kok.

I saw snakeheads being chopped up, live chickens squawking in a panic as their throats were slit. There were slabs of meat, lots of pork and the most intriguing display of large pig's ears. I saw oysters being dried in the sun, and 2 black dogs casually lounging next to it. Fairly certain that they were guarding the the precious stock. It was awesome to linger, stop and stare at the wares at each stall. But the shopkeepers were probably not too happy that I was browsing so intently, but not buying. I had to tuck the camera away and sneak these photos without incurring their wrath.

Rounding the corner to the streets, there were lots of stalls selling dried seafood for soup, flavoring in dishes and medicine. Lots of salted fish hanging out with that familiar pungent smell. Waxed duck abound too, along with other unrecognizable (to me) bits and pieces of some animal or insect.

There was nothing to buy here that we couldn't get at home. The man didn't want extra bottles chu hou sauce ( 柱侯酱) for his Chinese beef stew. There're 2 more bottles in the larder. Nothing else needed since we wouldn't be cooking or hosting any parties this festive season. He was totally enthralled browsing through the area of offerings at the wet market, many of which he had never seen in his life. Stuff at Tekka Market doesn't count. Our 'wet markets' have been sanitized, in a good way for hygiene, and in a diddly, lost part of their kaleidoscopic identity.

Can you see those huge pig's ears?

The Pawn

2011-12-12T23:50:00.000+08:00

On this trip, our hotel and social engagements, and Clockenflap are mostly in Kowloon. We had earlier done a walking tour of the heritage buildings, derelict and charming residential estates and old shops. It was A LOT of walking. Fabulous. On a previous trip, I've seen the area briefly, but that wasn't enough. This jaunt provided a closer look. After 4 hours, I could feel the thigh muscles protest in a familiar and not unwelcome burn.

The sights and roads seen were charming and provided much food for thought. We didn't go on this tour without prior reading up (or refreshing the memory) on Hong Kong's housing policies, urban development and conservation trends. None of us wanted to just walk and go ooh and ahh. We wanted to be able to discuss, to a certain depth and link what we were seeing to the direction of social and political developments.

Come 7pm, the friends decided that it was to be a night out at the The Pawn. We had a pretty good meal at its restaurant off the Christmas menu. My carrot soup with ginger and honey and a main of watercress risotto were fairly decent. After that, we adjourned to the terrace for dessert and drinks. Lovely weather to be sitting outdoors. I chucked aside the sweets and opted for dessert of traditional potted Clawson Stilton and port with walnut bread. Rather satisfying.

There were plenty of pear ciders going around. Almost refreshing. I stuck to beer. Yummy beer. Bottles of Fuller's Organic Honey Dew were so welcomed. Especially after the crappy beer over the weekend. The other choices were shitty pre-mixed canned cocktails full of sugar. Eeeeks. Its full-bodied London Porter packed a punch for the later half of the evening when I wanted something stronger. Oddly, no one had whisky tonight.

I'm secretly glad that this gregarious group is so cool. I'm usually not too hot about meeting new people. Common interests don't necessary mean shared values on certain fundamental views. I'm not inclined to engage in a heated debate to reach the point where we agree to disagree. Let's just say that I instantly love them for opening the conversation with, "What have you been doing these few days besides turning up at Clockenflap? I hope you didn't just eat dim sum and shop." Tonight, I've met a couple of new acquaintances who might eventually become friends. Candid and witty, their words were a pleasure in a conversation, especially when it came to our opinions about the eternal comparison between Singapore and Hong Kong, and in this context, Baybeats and Clockenflap. Anyway, politics and parochial conversation aside, it'd be great to see them in Singapore in mid January when they hop in for The People's Party at *SCAPE.

Day 2 :: Clockenflap

2011-12-11T23:51:00.000+08:00

So for Day 2 of this not-for-profit event, knowing that it wouldn't be overcrowded and hence be denied re-entry, we went off for meal breaks in between. I was so NOT queueing up for 40 minutes for crap food that I didn't want to eat.

Yesterday, we hung out for almost 9 hours and got blown to bits. How's that for dedication? Very few seats around, so the floor space would have to do. No shelter from the sun, so sunscreen or a big hat would have to be brought along. Though we could always return to the hotel room to rest the legs, we didn't. Luckily we were in very comfortable shoes and all. Still, attending full-day outdoor gigs require some amount of fortitude, stamina and preferably a set of strong lower back and calf muscles.

We looked at the poor bushes. The festival brochures and banners exhorted humans to take care of the plants and that "Believe it or not, an unhealthy percentage of the entire festival budget is earmarked for bush repair!" Well...I guess everyone tried, but still, the green got flattened in many portions. The already wonky boardwalk got even more holes dug out somehow. Oh dear, I hope the parklands authorities won't give the organizers grief after the weekend's ahemmm...rampage.

We had to come see folk rock band 'Noughts and Exes' on their home ground. Today, they had an afternoon slot for a short set, and did most of my favorite songs. They were brilliant, as usual. Always a pleasure to hear them live.

'The Cribs' were horrifying. At least to me. Their stuff sounds fine on the stereo. Tonight, the singers were totally out of tune, and at some points, not even carrying a tune. We moved around, trying to catch the area with the best balance of sound. We didn't move to the front. We had enough of having beer flung all over. Since when did it become fashionable to hurl streams of beer at strangers at gigs? It's so not cool. We didn't bother to wait for 'Santigold'. Dinner beckoned. But we hung around to catch bits of quirky synth-pop 'French Horn Rebellion'. I'm not sure I know how to dance to neo disco.

Clockenflap 2011 has been quite alright. Rowdy at times, but all in the name of good fun. I suppose it could be said that the audiences are less regimented and know how party hard and get the groove going, drunken flailing around notwithstanding.

Well done, Clockenflap. I know how tough it has been for the organizers to get around the red tape and bureaucracy to organize this, hoping it would turn out awesome (it is!) and wonder with trepidation if it could endure for another year. I salute the organizers for their commitment and persistence. I believe the Singapore indie music scene empathizes and shares their angst, pain and optimism. The music portion helmed by The People's Party is nicely curated. There's something for everyone. Nobody ever minds diversity and more exposure across genres of independent music. And you must have heard of this by now- The People's Party is coming to Singapore. :)

'Noughts and Exes' at the main stage.

Day 1 :: Clockenflap

2011-12-10T23:53:00.000+08:00

A couple of months ago, we promised our friends to visit them in Hong Kong at some point. It might as well coincide with Clockenflap. The first outdoor indie music festival held over 2 days at a beautiful venue. It's grown from strength to strength, but this year, the focus is on music more so than film and art installations. It isn't a Glastonbury or Coachella or a Reading. No matter, Hong Kong should enjoy it for the next three decades before the political system changes.

I like how they sorted out the matter of the tickets. It's a free event, but registration was necessary, and the download of a printed ticket or a copy in your phone was essential to gaining entry as the door lines scan the QR code on the copy of the ticket with your name, and a photo ID. The organizers were pretty anal about matching the names to the tickets.

The venue at West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade boasts a splendid view of the Hong Kong skyline across the Victoria Harbor. Apparently this space is earmarked for the building of an arts complex. So this space might as well be utilized now. The beautiful blue of the cloudless sky meant a sunny day with a to-die-for 15-degrees celsius temperature.

Dentist and frontman of pop rock 'Hungry Ghosts', Luke Chow has taken a sort of sabbatical from the full-time job to devote a couple of months to his art, and took the stage with a bassist on the acoustic stage for some grooving. English singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich set the mellow mood for the afternoon.

'9 Maps' at The People's Party Stage.

There were good bands, and there were really bad out-of-tune bands- foreign and local alike. I enjoyed 'Poubelle International' and '9 Maps' quite a bit. They were tight and pretty good. I came to satisfy my curiosity about the indie scene in Hong Kong, and it's really cool to see the tunes produced.

Those portaloos had attendants periodically wiping down and cleaning throughout. It made heading in there less of a nightmare. However, I'm really unhappy with the ONE choice of beer (San Miguel), and for people who want to stay and party on throughout, the food is spectacularly crappy- long queues of at least 40 minutes for the cold half-cooked burgers, with falafels and pita running out always, horrid siew mai and fishballs. Lousy hot drinks. Organizers shouldn't disallow 'outside' food when the quality of the food available was questionable, and the worst bit, the stalls' stoves broke down and they ran out of food, leaving on burgers. Let's just say that there was nothing for me to eat. A hungry imp is an angry imp.

I didn't really care about the electronic pop and DJ sets. Oops. Sorry lah, not in the mood to be dancing like a robot. There were films too. But let's just say the films were disappointing. More attention could have been paid to the film tent programme, even though it's Vincent Moon who helmed the films and the Q & A session. As the sun set, the wind rose and the temperatures plummeted. Luckily we brought sweaters, so when it went down to a merry 10 degrees celsius, we were well insulated.

'The Pains of Being Pure at Heart' at The Harbour Flap Stage.

Granted, the set-up of amps and speakers wasn't as fantabulous because it would involve alot more money and this festival wouldn't have half a million dollars to spend on the main stage. It did make the not-so-tight bands sound poorly. 'The Pains of Being Pure At Heart' sounded so much better when heard on a cd. They were really messy during their set.

It's just a tad annoying because even though the parklands are meant to be smoke-free, everyone lit up everywhere, even in the midst of the crowds during a gig. Kinda annoying to have smoke blow straight into my face in the middle of my face. At least it's an open-air venue. Oh, I definitely smelt weed in the air. Unmistakable. Ahhhhh. I even saw the humans smoking it!

When night fell and we were hungry and cold, the only thing that kept us standing was 'Bombay Bicycle Club', and watching the total lunar eclipse that was startling clear in the dark parklands. The band didn't disappoint. Playing to the magical lunar eclipse right above the stage, the band compensated for the sound, and showed us exactly how tight the band is. Jack Steadman's powerful voice held true. They're an amazing live band.

Headliner 'Bombay Bicycle Club' at (main) The Harbour Flap Stage.

Bye Brisbane

2011-12-09T21:51:00.000+08:00

You've given us decent weather that isn't anywhere near hot. It's been a lot of fun checking out the hip and happening events in town, as well as see the marked growth that has taken place in the past decade or so. We didn't exactly bother to head out to Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast. Perhaps on the next visit. You've got amazing coffee and cool cafes. I'm in love with them.

Queensland Ballet And Theatre

2011-12-09T21:42:00.000+08:00

The man and I have rather separate interests as well. Luckily for us, we've friends in Brisbane who're just like that. And we're the type who could walk into a bar on our own to watch gigs, or stroll into the concert hall for an evening of opera or dance. The man has always leaned towards watching stage performances rather than dances. Hurhurhur. We're both not into musicals, so 'Rock of Ages' is a big no-no, especially when it contains greatest rock hits of the 80s.

Swan Lake

Since I was curious about Queensland Ballet and they were performing the quintessential 'Swan Lake', I might as well watch. Choreographer François Klaus has given it a new twist in the narrative by using Mathilde Kschessinska and her doomed love affair with Tsar Nicholas II to parallel Swan Queen, Odette and Prince Siegfried. (Background by The Courier-Mail here.) I wasn't impressed. I like the interpretation and artistic treatment more than I like the dancing.

Fractions

I was lured to Marcel Dorney's 'Fractions' staged by the Queensland Theatre Company. (Read reviews in The Brisbane Times and News Brisbane.) It got me at Hypatia and the Library of Alexandria, and her male nemesis Kyril. Beautiful costumes. How could one not like those flowing dresses and luxuriant hairdos? I chose not to interpret this in anyway to the idea of the male versus the female. I soaked up the portrayal of the utopian pursuit of knowledge at the expense of everything. I couldn't avoid reflecting on the notion of the lack of Christianity versus atheism versus scientific ideals. It's a rather lengthy play and feels kinda draggy. Many scenes could have been shortened and the portrayal of Hypatia could have further explored and reflected upon by both director and actress.

Waterwheel & Taking Flight

Had a lovely conversation with the friends who're members of the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts .So glad to be able to catch Suzon Fuks' 'Waterwheel'. An interactive installation, An exploration of water issues, you'll either go WTF, or hmmm. Even better, I was quite impressed by 'Taking Flight', which is a showcase of modern dance by graduating students from the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts. These dancers are very good.

*********

A pity the season's over for La Boite Theatre Company. I'd have loved to see their works. It was very fun to randomly mosey along to Roma Street Parkland Ampitheatre to catch a bit of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' as part of the University of Southern Queensland's festival 'Shakespeare in the Park'. Quite a hoot. The weather totally cooperated for the evening. I've really enjoyed Brisbane.

Desserts For The Man

2011-12-09T21:38:00.000+08:00

I don't bake nor exhibit an interest in sweets and sugary desserts. Chocolates are fine, but even so, I prefer the dark bitter ones. The man is a fabulous cook, but can't bake to save his life, and loves his sweets. The poor dude doesn't get to have much dessert when we dine out. He'll always want to share because he thinks eating a plate all by himself is too sinful, and I'll never want to eat more than a bite of it, unless it's an apple-pie/crumble/tart or it's made with minimal sugar or zilch.

The man is most thrilled when we eat out in groups. It means that he could possibly get to order a dessert to share, or even two or three. Same here when we dine out in Perth and Brisbane. Brownies, sticky date puddings and all those sticky sugared creations have been ordered, shared and put away by the man and the friends. He managed to find a good bakery that does a mean peanut-butter chocolate eclair and tapau-ed 2 pieces back to the room to have it for breakfast. Ughhh. He is most pleased.

Stocking Up DVDs!

2011-12-08T15:26:00.000+08:00

The man knows that if I want to go shopping for girlie items, I'll say it, and we'll make arrangements for that. But I'm not keen on it at all when there're other exciting things to do with my time. There's nothing I want from the stores. The few items I want are from Purely Merino at the airport. Those can be sorted out later in a matter of 15 minutes. So I don't mind tagging along with the man to browse through guitar stuff and music gear.

We were rushing about in Perth and didn't hop into the music shops. In Brisbane, we made sure to allocate time to pop into a couple of shops to check out their wares and peer hard at the upcoming gig posters pasted all around. Cool art in there. Apparently the stuff at the shops didn't excite the man enough to make major purchases. Ah well. At another big chain, I also took a walk at the big orchestral section and found a couple of fun scores.

A must-stop is JB Hi-Fi to stock up on dvds, cds and whatnots. While we buy music off iTunes and rdio, we still like the music hard copies once in a bit. Singapore record stores sell them at ridiculous prices. While we don't mind paying for originals, I refuse to pay the prices our stores demand for blu-ray films and import cds, and vinyls. Especially vinyls. So Amazon and trips to these overseas stores come in real handy. My box set of Bones S1-S6 has been scored at a great price!

Cup & Bunker

2011-12-08T15:15:00.000+08:00

'Cup' at West End

We didn't bother to opt for breakfast at the hotel. There're tons of cafes around for good chow. I love them eggs. Like I said, not all eggs are equal. I've been quaffing eggs sunny-side up on a daily basis.

In trendy West End, Cup is fairly spacious, does breakfast food and it's pretty packed on a daily basis. At Cup, their seasonal blend is sweet, but I prefer the oomph-packed single origins to try. They're roasters and also sell their coffee to many other bars. Famed Blackboard uses their beans too.

Food at Cup's quite tasty. Eggs galore. But no freshly squeezed juice. Simply bottled without preservatives. It's been my default breakfast venue so far. The good coffee is the fantastic bonus. :)

I give you my favorite coffee joint in Brisbane city- Bunker. Literally a hole in the wall with no tables and only a couple of stools, this local joint in Milton is hugely popular. We like sitting around for a bit, spilling out into the sidewalk or driving by to grab a to-go before running off. Mostly, we like to hang out and chill. In the middle of a quiet suburb, this is by far, to me, emanating cool vibes without being branded as trying-too-hard.

'Bunker' at Milton.

Blackstar Coffee

2011-12-08T15:07:00.000+08:00

It's such a relief to know that Blackstar Coffee serves food, and it's open on Sundays! Not mind-blowing good food, but decent bites using fresh ingredients. Open for breakfast and lunch, I've been making this another alternative brekkies joint as well. I couldn't really stomach much in the mornings beyond eggs, so coffee is really the main thing. At lunch, I could wolf down sandwiches. My eggplant parmigiana looked like crap for the both times I ordered it, but it tasted great.

I love their piccolo latte (otherwise known as 'caffè macchiato' outside of Oz). Their flat whites are robust, but I'm inclined towards their piccolo latte. It also depends on the barista for the hour. I've swung by a couple of times with 2 different baristas and the taste of the coffee varies even with the same beans. It gets really busy at lunch, and weekends.

Ugees Espresso & One Drop

2011-12-07T16:43:00.000+08:00

'Ugees' at West End.

The coffee scene in Brisbane is booming, and definitely gives Melbourne's a run for its money. I've not been disappointed with the cafes and it's been awesome checking them out at various times of the day.

I've been hopping in and out of these 2 coffee bars either before or after lunch, so I didn't notice if they serve food. Cakes and muffins, for sure. Savory filling light lunches, not sure. All I know is, the body's receiving an overdose of caffeine. HOWEVER, I could strangely still conk off soundly by midnight or so and wake up between 6.30 to 7.30 in the mornings.

I don't mind grabbing a takeaway from the superbly consistent and dependable Ugees Espresso (80 Boundary Street, West End, QLD 4101). It's a hole in the wall joint and it's frequented by regulars and curious visitors alike. That unpretentious vibe and a great cup make a lethal combination that makes me return repeatedly.

The beans offered at One Drop is comfortingly single origin. Their baristas have never failed to serve up a good brew. They only open on weekdays to cater mainly to the office crowd, so we've got to make some effort to catch them before closing time. One afternoon, we were running late and decided to take our chances, turning up at 3.45pm. The baristas frowned at us, but nevertheless good-naturedly made us our flat whites. Woot.

'One Drop' at St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley.

Late For The Silly Season

2011-12-07T16:39:00.000+08:00

Sorry folks, your presents and cards are going to be really late this Silly Season. (Especially for those not living in Singapore) I haven't done any sort of shopping or written any cards. I've also royally neglected to send out birthday cards for party people this month. Though it's been done through text messages and emails.

If I'm actually on time (i.e. on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and not within the Twelve Days of Christmas), you can be sure it's either you mean helluva lot to me, or it's because I'm forced by circumstances to get you a random no-choice-must-present gift or mall voucher that I don't really give a shit if you like it. And this would be because I've told you to stop buying me useless gifts, and instead, get me something handmade by independent crafters, or a damn gift voucher to Kiva or World Vision or something similar, and you haven't listened.