Durians from Pahang!

The neighbors stopped by with durians for us. They don't know that I hate them. But well, the husband loves them. They gave us two durians. They said that the durians just arrived from Pahang this morning. I was like...... okaaay, obvious fuel shortages and inflated prices don't affect durian trucks coming into Singapore. 

I placed the durians outdoors on the patio and closed the doors. DAMN STINKY SIAL. What on earth do I do with two durians? They're totally unopened! I wasn't going to throw it away lah, what a waste. Didn't bother asking who would want unopened durians. The husband was really keen to taste them. 

As much as I hate durians, I can tell when they're a good batch. The husband has never opened a durian in his life. He wanted to watch a youtube clip and then try to follow it to open the durians. I rolled my eyes. Obviously I had to be the one to open them. He was incredulous. He has never seen me open a durian or even gut a fish.

Well, I can open durians easily, and I can open one in five seconds. It's one of those things I just know how to do. Okaaay, I've had plenty of practice as a kid. Give me a day or two to practice now, and I can open durians matching the speed of the crew at durian stalls .  

Now, I don't have those thick leather gloves used to hold durians. Neither do I have a parang. All I have at home is a Chinese cleaver, old tees to be thrown out, newspapers and plastic sheets. These would do I guess. With these make-do tools, instead of five seconds to open a durian, I took 12 seconds. Yes, I put on the timer. I'm competitive this way. LOLOLOL Not bad lah. I still can open a durian without breaking a sweat. 

We placed a few seeds in a box to share with other neighbors. Kept a nice 10 seeds for the husband. The fridge would stink, but nothing that coffee beans can't resolve. The husband declared that the durians were really good. Rich, creamy and bittersweet. He loved it. 

Prawn Biryani & Lamb Shoulder

When the table enjoys Shahi Maharani's flavors, we made a 8pm date. Celebrated both the husband and E's birthdays. M had flown out on a work trip and couldn't make the date, so we naughtily picked Indian cuisine since it isn't her favorite but the rest of us like it! Teeeeheeee. 

The restaurant serves up good food that has been consistent, and great company makes for an easy wind-down before bedtime. We don't bother coming here unless our dining companions enjoy Indian food done in this style. 

Skipped all the chaat, because we didn't have enough stomach space for everything. We couldn't wait for the mains! We ate all the papadum in a small cup and asked for more, and that arrived in a big basket. Hahahaha. The food arrived together, as intended, making it a nice communal meal. 

We wisely followed the server's recommendation to do half a lamb shoulder instead of the full portion. That was more than enough for us when we wanted to sample other items. A spicy Chettinad chicken, fried potatoes and dal completed the meal.  Carbs came in the form of naan and rice. Prawn biryani is a must each time we come. That was done tonight too.

I was glad that we met at this restaurant. I didn't manage to get a gift for E earlier. There were shops downstairs, and a tiny Kinokuniya that provided me gift ideas and I managed to get her birthday presents sorted! We didn't mind one drink, but nobody wanted to drink that much. A glass of white for me, and gin tonics for the rest. It was a good meet after a loooong day at work. 

Lunch with My Smol Girl

I do enjoy hanging out with my Smol Girl at lunch. She's really quite the sweetest thing. Well, dogs chilling out at cafes are a thing, but not quite everything.

There're many dogs who can't quite do cafes, and that's okay. These floofs can stay at home. It's taxing for owners who insist on their dogs adapting to their preferences, and these dogs bark their heads off at every passing dog or human, and try to nip servers. 

Of course I would need to walk Choya before sitting down so that her toileting is settled, her sniffing sorted and she could exercise another aspect of her brains and maintain her training. I'm not fussed about her being on the floor. She always gets wiped before getting into the car, and a thorough wipe-down and brushing at home. I just don't want horribly dirty floors littered with grease, food remnants, cigarette ash and rat/lizard poop.

That day, Smol Girl and I went out to lunch at Acqua e Farina at Keong Saik Road. Along this whole stretch, this is the only restaurant that bothered to extend its canvas to shelter the outdoor tables from the noon-day sun. The sun hits full-on and even a 10am coffee at Tong Ah next door is quite unbearable. The overheard fans at the restaurant also made the humidity bearable on days I don't have portable fans. 

Lunch specials at restaurants are always fun. You don't have to eat that much. I feel slightly less pressurized to have alcohol. Hahaha. Well, it's all about self-discipline, isn't it? I had none of it that day, and got a glass of white to go along with my pasta. 

I decided to have an aglio e olio with mushrooms and pancetta. The flavors are always a winner when it's done dry. I really like how the restaurant does it here — casual and hearty. The kitchen threw in big chunks of garlic, along clear big chillies, not that much spaghetti and everything doesn't simply drown in oil.