Keeping My Strength Up

I didn't think I'd keep with the strength training with the instructor (or PT, as most would call it) at the gym. But I did. There's no competition, except with myself to build strength and be consistent with the weekly training. 

I've gotten my strength to a point in which I could comfortably (back) squat 60-kg, bench-press a half-decent 35-kg, deadlift 60-kg sumo and RDL. This is functional training. I could mop the floor on my knees and hands in peace, I could squat to sort out the dog and all. Ha!

At this age, it's no longer just about cardio. I need to keep my muscles. The stamina for cardio-things surprisingly comes easier when I get stronger too. I've shaved off my running time for 5km, unintentionally. This is my usual distance and I'm not keen to run any farther. In that same line, I'm not keen on doing any sort of group running or even join a Hyrox race. I'm not that hardworking. 

What is annoying is my clothes. They're fitting differently. I'm still the same size, but walaoeh, the butt and the armpits can't quite fit. Say a UK8/US4 sleeveless dress — everywhere fits but I had to bring it to the tailor to alter the armholes — they were too tight. Hahahaha. My chest has somehow grown. Not boob size. But the pec muscles and lats have become solid. LOL The measuring tape tells me that my waist and hips are still the same circumference, but the glutes have grown. SO. I can't fit my current size for bottoms, but a size up is too big. AIYOH.

Chicken Congee & White Wine!

L decided to do a pot of her famous chicken congee, and rounded us up for dinner. I love her chicken congee! It's almost like we need to taste it annually. Teeheheheh. We are so thankful that we get to taste comfort food done superbly. 

Our dearest friend shredded chicken breast for the protein. And only chicken breast, skipping the thigh meat altogether. Wow! It was so well marinated. And of course we associate her version with cuttlefish; can't not have that. 

The porridge pot belonged to L's grandmother and she totally did justice to it. It's well kept, and oft-used. It's a much loved pot that produces lovely soup and chok. Oh that congee is LOVE. The consistency. Didn't need additional salt or soy sauce. You could sprinkle pepper I suppose. I ate THREE BOWLS. No shame. I can't get this outside at the commercial food stalls — that's something lacking in the consistency of the porridge, or the flavors that tell me they use cheap soy and other ingredients. This home truly has a magic porridge pot, along with L's special touch. Wheeeeee.

The small godson was hilarious. He rejected having a bowl of his mom's chok at his dinner-time. But when we all sat down around the table, he kinda abandoned bed-time and asked for food. He FOMO, wanted to join us. And he really ate. NICE. After that, he knocked out. Yayyy.

J got tubs of ah-balling from this famous stall that his whole family has been buying from for years. We know it's in the east, but we refused to ask him details. We want to him supply us with peanut and sesame ah-balling forever! I'm not a fan of ah-balling/tangyuan or even muah chee, mochi or daifuku. But I will eat a ball with sesame filling. It also sits in a weird beancurd paste that I can't deal with. I don't like tau suan or those odd dessert soups either. What I do like from this stall, is its ginger soup (薑湯). Gosh, it's seriously good in its ratio of spicy ginger with bits of sugar. 

Beef Tongue & Pork Jowl Tacos!

I'm not the biggest fan of Mexican food. I'd be hard pressed to even pick one time I'd voluntarily eat at a somewhat Mexican joint in Singapore. Tex-Mex is a no-go. Chipotle and GyG aren’t exactly serving up Mexican food. I can just about eat quesadillas because of the cheese and salsa, but even then... I'm not the biggest fan of brisket or pulled pork. (The cooking method, not the meat.) You won't catch me at Mexican food joints or having tacos or even a burrito on my own volition. 

Anyway, Kizuna had a Sunday pop-up for tacos, starting at 1pm. Brought many fans to have moving air surround us. It was mad-humid and hot out there. I went because I was very sure that they wouldn't be using too earthy Mexican flavor profiles. They kept it simple — hamachi ceviche with tortilla chips, and two choices of tacos — beef tongue and pork jowl. Drinks were easy yuzu margaritas, pina coladas, and Corona beer. Teeheheheh. 

I was right about the flavor profiles used. Purists of Mexican food definitely wouldn't like these tacos. The husband and the friends were simply there for beef tongue. LOL Kizuna's beef tongue tacos were brilliant with the zucchini and wasabi puree, and pickled red onions. The zucchini and wasabi puree really lent a different flavor as opposed to them using the standard guacamole. The pork jowl tacos came topped with grilled pineapple yuzu kosho salsa. I loved it. It was delicious! 

We ate so many tacos! They were bite-sized lah. So we each had about three tacos and two drinks. The rainstorm rolled in and poured down. Nobody could walk home or drive in this pelting sheet of rain. So we ordered a third round of drinks and waited it out. Once the rain lightened, we toddled off. I wanted a lie-down before plunging into the heat of Baybeats later in the evening.