Lunch With Missy

Missy knows that Y and I meet without her for coffee during the school term. So the moment school holidays came around, she wanted in on lunches too. Muahahaha. Okay, little girl. We made a date at Prego for lunch. She excitedly showed me her touch-screen camera, the controls, how she could shift the auto-focus and brighten photos. She stopped us from tucking in immediately when the food arrived, and shifted table items around, eagerly snapping photos. Oops. Y and I had this look as we stared at each other. Oh dear, what have we done? Never mind.

Missy is quite the lovely lunch companion. She's very used to hanging out at cafes, tea-time, dainty crockery and all that. She enjoys sitting with us at lunch, reading the menu and deciding what to eat. She doesn't get bored that way. If Y and I are chatting and she doesn't want to interrupt, then she asks for paper to draw and scribble on, usually setting picture riddles and questions for us to guess, like Pictionary, except with a kinder timing.

Ahhh, this little doll. Six months as a Primary One student, and she has changed so so much. There's a certain jauntiness in her facial features, and a subtle shift in this greater confidence when making decisions. It's very easy to expect more of her because she feels so much older than her seven years. We forget that she's still so very young. I'm secretly very happy that she still wants Aunty Imp to hold her hand as we stroll the streets. Don't grow up too fast, sweetie pie.

Jumping Bodies and Identities Again

I resisted getting Claire North's latest novel 'Touch' as long as I could. Succumbed after three months. Clearly Catherine Webb likes her pseudonyms. She has nicely separated the genres under each identity. Kate Griffin's voice is nothing like Claire North's.

Like her first 'The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August', we are back to this concept of ouroboros. 'Touch' should be finished in one sitting. Grinned, settled in for the afternoon and read the book to IEHAC's 'The Kraken' track 12- 'Ouroboros'. (Reviews here, here, here and here.)

A non-gendered entity named Kepler has the ability to leap from body to body to survive for centuries. Kepler can be male or female. It doesn't seem to have a preference. But there isn't time traveling involved. It can't do that. It has memories and competencies gleaned. The consciousness of these willing and unwilling 'hosts' are put to sleep when Kepler is in uhh residence, and when they wake, they remember nothing and only know they've lost time, be it minutes, an hour or thirty years. Ghosts, these entities called themselves.

The story is riveting enough. Of Kepler jumping bodies to go after the man Nathan Coyle who killed his last host and tried to kill him, occupying the body of Coyle, and even working together to find out what this shadowy organization Aquarius was up to in its research, experiments and planned murders,  a secretive sponsor, and what an old nemesis Galileo had to do with everything. But the conspiracy portion isn't sinister enough. Dunno, but murder and torture in these plots is too commonplace. There's something about the idea of beauty, being beautiful and being loved, something about the vibrancy of life sought by the 'enemy' Galileo. Then we're back to this concept of love. Of a very human love. And that was when the book lost me. Like everything had to go back to 'love', as an ideal, not so much of romance. I get it, yet I don't get it.

I am the stranger who gave you the white flowers she carried in her hand
the face you forget as it turned away
I am beautiful
until I see that she is more beautiful than me
and he more beautiful again
so beautiful and never enough
I am the woman who stood on your foot on the train
jostled you in the queue
asked you for the time
I am the ancient man who has forgotten his name
the tired old woman who wished to be someone else.
I am no one.
I am Kepler.
I am love.
I am you.

Le Chasseur at Eunos

We haven't stopped by Le Chasseur (樂食軒) for the longest time. It's been at its current Eunos location for almost two years now. Situated in a foodcourt within the industrial area, while it's only a 10-minute walk from Eunos MRT station, it's a bit far for us. But we try to go occasionally. Just ignore the name okay, it's kinda got historical meaning for its owner-chef. No air-conditioning, no problem. Dress light and we're all good. We love its chicken claypot rice which uses basmati grains instead of the usual jasmine rice. The eatery declared that it doesn't sprinkle additional MSG into its food.

When L stepped into town, it was the perfect reason to gather up a small table of four for her to have a taste of what zi char is. She didn't have time to do that with us during the last trip. She was kinda done with crabs, prawns and shellfish. So we skipped the seafood zi char stalls and the standard crab items. Le Chasseur totally hit a spot with its other stir-fried dishes. Home-style. Ordered very conservatively as we erm had a first round of nibbles at Amoy Street Food Center, and happy gin cocktails at The Spiffy Dapper.

L was totally into laksa on this trip and aimed to eat as many variations as possible. Not with those blood cockles though. She fell in love with the spices of the otah and was thrilled with the otah omelette, and also sambal kangkong. She could easily find dou miao back at home at a Din Tai Fung, so we had the big pea shoots instead. She has never really done good clear Asian soups except the Thai tom yam variations. She couldn't stop sipping the piquant salted vegetables and duck soup. Her tastebuds were completely charmed by it. Le Chasseur does a lovely one. We love it too. It's probably the only dish we would order as a large portion. Oof.

Le Chasseur (樂食軒) 
27 Eunos Road 2 S409387 
T: +65 63377677 (Reservations recommended for big groups)

Nritya Rang :: Expressions of Kathak

Bharatanatyam and kathak are pretty similar yet very different. More than differences between originating respectively from south and the north, the dances are distimguishable by how the kathak has limited or zero hip movements, and in the musical instruments used. The music and its beats are also different.

Bharatanatyam tells the tales of Shiva while kathak speaks of the romance between Radha and Krishna. Kathak is the dance of the historical times when it was brought from the Hindu temples to the Muslim courts of the Mughal Empire. These dances share slightly similar characteristics in the foot percussion to the flamenco, likely from influences along the ancient Persian trade routes.

Attended 'Nritya Rang: Expressions of Kathak' at Esplanade Theatre Studio. Such a treat to watch kathak soloist Ponnamma Devaiah perform pieces in the styles of Jaipiur and Lucknow. She's been based in Singapore for a few years now. There're three main schools of kathak today- Lucknow, Jaipur and Benares. I'm not versed enough to discern the differences between them; neither am I so familiar with the stories of Radha and Krishna. I simply enjoyed the dance and imagined the stories. It was a very lovely evening with the friends.

E's Birthday At Cafe Pal

[Cafe Pal has permanently closed on 12 March 2017.]

Waited for Corsage to get in from her well-deserved vacation to catch up on the happenings and also to celebrate E's birthday. Our usual 'tradition' of comfort food and warm companionship; conversation that is easy because we've known one another for years, understand various trigger points, bugbears, what motivate us and make one happy.

Corsage and I aren't hot about durians. My aversion to this local favorite might have increased after this 'bumper crop' because of the smells that assaulted me all hours of the day till I'm imagining the slight whiff of durians even when there's none in the vicinity. E is a huge fan; she loves the pungent fruit. She just had a huge merry durian party with the family, and thought we should go easy on the meals after. Hurhurhur.

Since we didn't feel like doing meat-thingies and we love spices, the birthday girl requested for a one-dish meal thingy at Cafe Pal. Alrighty. Luckily we made reservations because the cafe was completely full from 6.30pm onwards. Wahhh. I was looking forward to have its som tam again. It was odd that I only first tried it two weeks back. Never ordered som tam here or at Yhingthai Palace. Pretty good! It doesn't quite pack the full punch of spices, but it was definitely tingling-satisfying. Birthday girl satisfied a craving for Thai-style beef noodles and orange chiffon cake.

Happy birthday dear girl. You with the big smile and balloons. This. For the lightness of heart and strength in faith. Stay this way. xo

Homescapes :: SG Heart Map

Visitor looking at Darren Soh's 'Facades'.
The photographs captured how "HDB typologies have evolved in 55 years in a collective portrait
of the orderly yet idiosyncratic spaces that the majority of Singaporeans call home." 

Stopped by Block 99 Old Airport Road. Went to the early evening launch of 'Homescapes'. It's a pop-up photography exhibition curated by by Gwen Lee, co-founder of SIPF, featuring works by Ang Song Nian, Bob Lee, Darren Soh, George Wong Yung Choon, and Robert Zhao Renhui; with community participation from Raffles' Girls School Photographic Society.

It was nice taking a short stroll around the estate and peering up the blocks into the windows of the residents. I took loads of photos. Considering all these angles, luckily I affixed the wide-angle lens on the camera. Well, I've never seen this many DSLRs at one event attended by residents, curious on-lookers, both professional and amateur photographers. :P Importantly, I think it has reached out to everyone. What is home to us?

The photographic works wrapped around pillars and walls at the void deck explore what home means to each photographer. There's infrastructure and hardware, as well as 'heartware', humans, and flora and fauna. Robert Zhao's 'The Occupants' captured otters, bugs and birds in the most curious of urban nooks. There were buildings and structures, construction, and of housing estates. There were also photos of families in their homes, mainly their living rooms, smiling for the camera. There were a number of panels on the items people collect and display in cabinets too. Little knick-knacks that told different stories in the photographs by Ang Song Nian titled 'A Million Stories of Us'.

Spent some time staring at the different items in people's living rooms in Bob Lee's 'Memory Blocks'. He had photographed portraits of resident families in their common living space since 2009. It's a project of "social realism documenting the ways we live and lived". More than the humans per se, I was curious about what they had in their homes, satisfying the secret voyeuristic streak in me. In one family's living room, (The 'Lim Family at Strathmore Avenue') the walls were full of scale replicas and toys from the comics. There was a R2D2 sitting on the floor that reaches up to a human's mid-calves; a huge Millennium Falcon model sits in a glass case in the middle of the living room, and of course with 'May the Force be with you' in Aurebesh printed on the wall. Woah. Heh.

I grinned. Part of the definition of home would be eating or cooking food the way we remember it. What's more apt than this void deck that's just 100m from Old Airport Road Food Center that offers every taste of the yesteryears? Of course later on the friends and I went over for an after-event meal at the food center.

'Homescapes' is held till July 5 at the void deck of Block 99 Old Airport Road. It's right next to Dakota MRT station. Go take a quick look!

By now, the lyrics and melodies of Kit Chan's 1998 'Home' are unwittingly firmly lodged in my mind. Heard the song so many times that by now, I can play it on the piano and the guitar without intentionally tabbing out the score. Honestly, it's one of the more catchy 'new' National Day songs. There's Tanya Chua's 2001 'Where I Belong'. I don't remember all those after the ones we were forced to memorize in school, like the 1984 'Stand Up for Singapore', 1986 'Count on Me Singapore', 1987 'We Are Singapore'... And that rather lame 1990 'One People, One Nation, One Singapore' marking 25 years of nation-building.

This year is Dick Lee's 'Our Singapore'. Many of us were stunned when we first heard the song. Okaaaaay. Good luck to the emcees getting the crowd to mass-sing that at the National Day Parade. I'm not even going to try humming it. Wait, I can do the part 'oh-ho-ho-ho-oh-ho' towards the end. 

At the launch of 'Homescapes', as 'Home' blared loudly over the PA system, the volunteers and participants, who were perched upstairs at units, enthusiastically waved red heart-shaped balloons and flipped out red sheets to form two hearts at Block 99. As much as we rolled eyes at the activity, it did look good to the audience and through our camera lenses. Staged? Oh absolutely. We all cringed. Pride? Oddly, yes, fully.

Block 99 Old Airport Road.

Father's Day 2015

The man looked up from the book he was reading, "Dad wants a what?"

I repeated, "A Nvidia Shield." We both rolled eyes. Dohh. So a Nvidia Shield was ordered as a gift of which half (the remotes) strangely arrived in time for Father's Day. The man's dad likes playing all his games. I suppose this is a natural want after the new 4K TV was set up. The dad was really pleased with all his fancy new gadgets.

The man and I refuse to go near video games because we have a problem with addiction. The moment we start on any game, it's impossible for us to put it down till we clear all levels. That, sometimes takes weeks. You know how it goes. Crysis. And I'll want to shoot or slash all zombies, monsters and anything that moves on the screen all day. Watched the trailer of Fallout 4; looked really good. :P

Took the parentals out to Father's Day dinner at Summer Palace. It wasn't crazy crowded and we didn't have to wait too long for food. Hurrah. For some reason, the parentals were really into soups that evening and had huge bowls of double-boiled fish maw thingies. There was of course a lump of abalone for each of us. Ordered vegetables and small portions of fish, and a lovely bowl of braised beef tendons. The folks like their dessert although they take it in moderation nowadays. At least everyone managed to share two small bowls of really tasty mango pudding.

A Different Sort of Dumplings

I picked up the book because I thought it was talking about dumplings. Regular dumplings. I don't know the influential Hong Kong author either- her pen name is Lilian Lee (or Li Bi Hua, Li Pik Wah). Her stories have been adapted into many Hong Kong films, of which I haven't watched or even heard of, except 'Farewell My Concubine' 《霸王別姬》. It was just a book stumbled upon at the library.

李碧華的短編小說集《餃子》The cover doesn't indicate otherwise. When I looked at the short stories within, the titles suggested something else. The moment I finished the first story, the giggles started. Five delicious dark little creepy tales of human greed, passions and deviousness, and a good dose of superstition.

The book began innocently enough with 《潮州巷 · 吃滷水鵝的女人》It introduces us to Yue Ming (月明) whose mother brought her up singlehandedly from age seven onwards when her father apparently left the family for another woman. The mother continued running a successful business selling braised geese cooked in one of the best braising sauces in town. However, it was later revealed that all these years, the father had contributed towards the pot of secret sauce used for braising geese, with his chopped up body parts. UGH. What's even more chilling is Yue Ming knew it all along.

“都是新派人，還辦什麼‘嫁妝’？”
她非要送我一小桶四十七歲的滷汁。“這是家傳之寶，祖父傳給你爸爸三十年，我也經營了十七年。”
“媽，“我聲音帶著感動，”我不要。想吃自會回來吃。同他一起來。” 我不肯帶過去。雖然爸爸走了，可我不是。我不會走，我會伴她一生。
“你拿著。做好東西給男人吃 — 它給你撐腰。”
“我不要 —”
她急了：“你一定得要 — 你爸爸在裏頭。”
我安慰她：“我明白，這桶滷汁一直沒有變過，沒有換過。有他的心血，也有你的心血。”
“不，” 她正色地，一字一頓，“你爸爸 — 在 — 裡 — 頭！”

The second story《鑰匙 · 吃燕窩糕的女人》is mysterious and full of puzzles. It wasn't that scary. Something about a time warp between 1933 and present day, and the appearance of items in a safe deposit box for him that stupefied protagonist Paul Chiu (趙保羅) who was gay and didn't even like women that way. Yet he was plagued by images of this mysterious woman who seemed to like eating bird's nest cakes. She might even be the past owner who used to live in this current flat he lived in, or perhaps his lover in his past life. Locks and keys. Lots of metaphors to do with past lives and whatnots.

The third《尋找蛋撻 · 吃蛋撻的女人》and fourth《貓柳春眠水子地藏 · 吃眼睛的女人》speak of sad women in search of young love, missed chances, true love and not finding a dependable life partner. The fourth title was mind-boggling till I realized that it was set in Japan. 水子地藏 referred to Jizō or Ojizō-sama, the patron deity of deceased, miscarried or aborted children.

The final story is also the most gag-inducing. If you don't have the stomach to read about aborted fetuses, unfaithful men and vengeful women, STOP HERE. 《餃子 · 吃嬰胎的女人》Apparently this last story has been made into a movie with the same title 'Dumplings' (plot summary in English on Wikipedia) directed by Fruit Chan Gor (陳果). Hahahahah. I would have totally watched that. Instead, I stumbled upon the book first, which is less explicit but no less graphic. The starkness of the words on static pages is horrifying.

Of women ingesting fetuses to conserve their youth. The idea of 回春, what most women want through bottles of cosmetics or surgical procedures, like the consumption of collagen and uhh placenta. This story is of Auntie Mei (媚姨) who procured and sold them as filling in special dumplings clients happily paid for. Auntie Mei was supposedly 60 but looked like in her mid-thirties. She also had a painful history as a young doctor performing legal abortions in China that was enforcing its one-child policy. She didn't question and did her job well, resulting in this 'career choice' later in life when she went to seek better prospects in Hong Kong where she had no lack of rich and famous clients. The author painted Hong Kong as a city consumed by humans wanting to get rich, and the rich wanting to stay young and beautiful.

先把那個老土的飯壺打開，上層是已涼飯菜，火腿雙蛋飯，一個幌子，倒掉。下層有個厚厚的隔熱發泡膠盒，以冰塊保持溫度，中是一個膠紙層層保護的包里。每回她到深圳提貨，用這個方法過關，若無其事。 

拆開膠紙的包里，倒出一大堆魚腸一樣，癱軟的物體。大約三四十個，每個二三寸大，粉紅色，帶著血澤和黏稠的薄膜。一湯匙可舀兩三個吧。一舀，見其中兩個小小的黑點，分得很開。 

兩個小黑點像眼睛。但奇怪，“有眼無珠”。
這一堆物體，先被浸泡在大碗鹽水中。
旁邊的小鍋開水正沸，下了幾片薑片，避腥。
她一時饞了，挑了一個飽滿的，在開水中涮一涮，一、二、三、四、五，好了，嫩嫩的，馬上放進口中，骨碌一下，吞下去。
唔，她滿足地微笑。

Grilled Stingray

When the friends fired up their grill, I opted for the stingray over cuts of rib-eye. Woohooo. The last time I had grilled sambal stingray was at Newton Food Center gazillion years ago. In fact, I haven't eaten stingray done in any other way. Haven't stepped foot in any beach destination that offers stingray on the menu either.

Home-grilled stingray is the best. We're lucky that the friends indulged us. They bothered to clean and prep the ray before grilling it for dinner. They soaked it thoroughly in a light brine of sorts. Mainly vinegar I think. There wasn't the least bit of fishy smell. Out of the grill, it was slightly charred with sambal. Ahhhhhh. It was perfect. I had unabashedly scooped out a big piece of stingray all to myself. Hurhurhur.

There were slices of ribeye too. Juicy. I took a few small cubes for tasting. Only three pieces of steaks  were grilled to share among five of us. The portions were just nice. Any more would have us groaning from too-full-stomachs. Pasta was also whipped up, lightly tossed with truffle oil and mushrooms. There was corn. OMG, the most amazingly sweet corn. LOVE. If they had fed me just pasta and corn, that would be enough too. So good. Stuffed my face full of food.

When we were chilling out after dinner, I could feel my brain's processing speed slow to virtually zero. That translated into- wasn't really absorbing what everyone was saying. Hahaha. Luckily there weren't serious discussions going on. Was just happy to float around. Also, ate two tiny frozen blobs of Japanese mango pudding.

Thank you for such a wonderful meal!

Dim Sum Dollies 2015

As curious as I was about the new Capitol Theatre which has a bit of that West End feel, I declined complimentary tickets to watch its first show 'Singapura: The Musical'. I'm not a fan of musicals. Not hot about the songs that way. But there are some I will sit through, like 'Dim Sum Dollies: The History of Singapore Part 1'.

Bought tickets for the sole reason to support the Dollies and the cast. Parts 1 and 2 were first shown years ago in 2007 and 2008, with dear Emma Yong. I didn't watch the re-staging of Part 2 last December. Was a bit sian about those themes, and I wasn't in town anyway. (Everybody is so touchy about Operation Coldstore. But it did happen in 1963. Operation Spectrum is even more controversial. 1987. It's just a matter of which versions piss you off.) Didn't mind catching Part 1 now with Denise Tan since it covers pre-1965 and early history.

To be honest, the friends and I were a bit lost at certain points. Like it was 2007 all over again. Except the script has been updated with current happenings and cheeky potshots bravely taken without being slapped with an advisory for under-16s like Part 2 last December, i.e. Amos-sphere, public drinking, taxi-crunch, MRT breakdown, etc. The liberal use of Hokkien rendered some of the lines incomprehensible, and some of the Singlish phrases flew right over my head. So when the theatre erupted in laughter at various junctures, we scratched heads in puzzlement. Same same like other shows they've done. I didn't get quite a number of the jokes. *shrug* No surtitles at this production. To our credit, we didn't consider running away at intermission.

Some lame jokes and lines, yeah. But it wasn't too bad lah. Quite a hoot at some points. The allusion to statesman Mr Lee's passing was nicely done without any flashing of archival footage or photos and the likes. His name wasn't mentioned at all. Satire intact in every segment. Great chemistry among the cast. Fun costumes and colors in a slick production directed by Glen Goei. Catchy tunes and easy music composed by Elaine Chan and Dolly Selena Tan. A zillion amount of effort put in by the Dollies, cast and production team.

From the Dollies' facebook- with the #LohMaiGuys and 'Chopstick' Hossan Leong.

Pink Dot SG 2015

This is the first year that we didn't have to rush to Baybeats after popping in at Pink Dot. Baybeats is held on the weekend of 26 to 28 June. This is also the first time that we could stay on to form the Dot. WOOT. By now, it's more of a big blob as there are more of us spilling out of Hong Lim Park. I've worn the same fuchsia pink dress and gold Havaianas since 2009. Hahahaha.

Each year this time, strange people crawl out of the woodworks to say the most bigoted things about other humans, as though others different from them have no right to even exist. Or if they do, they should do so in shameful silence hidden away in dark corners. I'm not just talking about acknowledging the existence and rights of LGBTQ who are as human as you and I. It's about every other groups of humans that don't quite fit meekly into mainstream sleek and chic urban Singapore.

Anyway. #PinkDot2015 Organizers said 28,000 of us streamed in and out of Hong Lim Park from 4pm to 9pm. I think (wild guess) less than half was able to form that Dot at 8pm since only Singaporeans and Permanent Residents could do that. We sang the national anthem, lit pink lights and cheered. For the universal concept of 'family' the way one wants to define it so as to provide emotional support and refuge from daily cares; for the love we need; for inclusivity, and above all, for a kinder society.

Oh, the weather was PERFECT.

Shun Fa Yun Tun Noodles (順發雲吞麵)

I'm not fond of Hong Kong's wonton noodles even if the wontons hold prawns. Although those noodles are super thin and QQ. Growing up in Singapore means the version with char siew and a thicker saltier sauce and a ton of spicy chilli is my preferred. Nope, don't fancy the Pontian-style, Sarawak kolo mee or Thai wonton mee either. Also, I don't care about the char siew. Occasionally I check out the wonton skin for thinness, but don't care for its usually-pork filling. What I do care about, is the chilli, the sauce and especially the texture of the noodles. I like it dry, thin and super al dente. QQ! Everybody likes their wonton mee done differently. They even like the char siew done in different colors from red to brown.

There's no one shop that checks off everyone's desires 100%. People wax lyrical over different plates of wonton noodles of their favorite stalls. Totally subjective. You'll have to decide what you want in a plate. There're like 1001 noodle shops on the island. Again, RERG has like the best food lists- here's its excellent list of best wonton mee in town, as of May 2015.

There was an old uncle's nameless wonton noodles stall with Loo's Hainanese Curry Rice at its old location of 57 Eng Hoon Street. Now the curry rice shifted to 71 Seng Poh Road, the old man's gone. It has been replaced by a nameless stall selling pretty decent bak chor mee and Teochew noodles done by an elderly husband-wife team. The relocation displaced another modest Shun Fa Yun Tun Noodles (順發雲吞麵) that used to be at 71 Seng Poh Road to Tan Boon Liat Building in March 2015. This shop is what I want to talk about.

I've eaten at Shun Fa Yun Tun Noodles (順發雲吞麵) since their days at Outram Park. The char siew is nothing to scream about. But their dumplings are tops, along with the dark sauce that holds the proportionate ratio of everything else. The wonton skin is thin, and the pork filling is pounded evenly.

They also have an option of yong tau foo with their noodles and sauce. Just a small selection. You can't choose- it comes with standard items, with a tasty spicy-sweet dip. It's tasty enough as an additional accompaniment to the plate of wonton mee.

Obviously I like this stall for its noodles. I could just eat the noodles and the sauce and pretty much nothing else. :P This sort of thin QQ noodles and sauce are old-school style. I love those flavors and it's so difficult to find them nowadays.

Sure, some of those famous shops claim to have the best wonton mee thingies, but many don't. There's a higher chance of me finding these old-school flavors in a random kopitiam in a quiet HDB estate than at the big name stalls. I have a secret list which I try to check off by eating at those little stalls at once every two months. Muahahaha. None of them have good juicy smoky char siew. However, QQ noodles guaranteed. I usually go with friends so that I could palm off the wontons to them.

Sadly, within just three months, Shun Fa Yun Tun Noodles (順發雲吞麵) has decided to close because of a lack of human traffic. Their takings suffered. Next Friday 26 June will be the last day of operations at its current premises. It's located at the ground floor canteen of Tan Boon Liat Building, 315 Outram Road S169074. Plenty of parking available. The stall opens Mondays to Fridays from 8am to 2pm (except public holidays).

Shun Fa's owners Victor Tan and Madam Quek are looking for a new space. They haven't found anything yet. Haizzz. I really hope they find something suitable soon. I'm certainly going to miss their noodles. Meanwhile, if you want, go now. One more week. Otherwise you won't get to taste their noodles and wonton till a few months later, if at all. (There's a Facebook page, but it's set up by their customers and not by them.)

Uncle Victor and Auntie Quek might look stern, but do say hi. They'll appreciate that loads. They don't bite; they're just busy and focused on churning out the noodles and dumplings at the right texture. Obviously, don't attempt a conversation with them during peak lunch hours between noon to 1.30pm. IF they should set up a new stall, they'll tell all their regulars. Well, I'll know, and I'll tell you. :) Word-of-mouth will have customers flocking to them again, hopefully in a not too out-of-the-way venue.

A World without Sight and Colors

The man keeps chucking post-apocalyptic novels into the Kindle cloud. He must think I really like them. I'm not partial towards the genre but I would read it. It can get depressing and that's probably why I read it. Dystopia seems a more likely scenario than Utopia.

Go through enough post-apocalyptic plots and you'll know it's the same few scenarios. It'll take a brilliant mind to conceive an engaging story or a chilling concept. Apocalypses are either supernatural, alien-induced or man-made. They need not have zombies, super-human animals or super-viruses.

Randomly opened Josh Malerman's 'Bird Box'. Read it to instrumental rock group ASIWYFA's new album 'Heirs'. After that, I ran through the author's band's old-school power-pop songs. Oof. Quite enjoyable. (Reviews here, here and here.)

Apparently beautiful creatures from another world suddenly walk amongst humans. Sighting them causes one to commit suicide in all sorts of ways. Animals aren't immune. Set in Detroit, Michigan, the story follows Malorie's pregnancy, unfolding of the 'apocalypse' and her eventual flight to safety with them. Boy, Tom who's her son, and the same-age Girl, Olympia whose mother died. Her safe-house got invaded by the creatures, no thanks to a maniac's actions, and all her housemates died. She would need help. But for now, she has to survive alone and keep two infants alive. It took her four years to wait for the children to grow up a little, get used to blindfolds and resist the temptation of seeing since she couldn't bear to blind them and they still have sight. She never calls them by name until the end of the book. She trained them and heightened their sense of hearing and touch to what they could understand of their surroundings. One foggy morning, she decided to take the four-year olds to brave the trip downriver to a self-contained survivor camp that has no windows and offer sanctuary.

It's true. Tom's recorded voice means she has arrived where Rick said the channels split. He speaks as he once did, in the living room of the house, when he used to say, Maybe they mean us no harm. Maybe they are surprised by what they do to us. It's an overlap, Malorie. Their world and ours. Just an accident. Maybe they don't like hurting us at all.  

But whatever their intentions are, Malorie has to open her eyes, and at least one is near.
She has seen the children do incredible things. Once, after flipping through the phone book, the Boy had called out that she was on page one hundred and six he was close. And Malorie knows she's going to need a feat like that, from them, right now.

So instead of zombies, we get strange creatures that is up to us to imagine what, how and all. I keep thinking pulsating light and wings, since they don't seem to touch, attack or hold corporeal form. In this new world, many have blinded themselves in order to protect themselves. How does it feel to be forced to lose our sight? To make the decision to blind your children or yourself? The writing is fine I suppose. Its ideas are chilling. The flashbacks and going-ons read like a movie script. Universal Pictures has acquired rights for the book and will have writer Eric Heisserer adapt it.

Any half-decent writing now, coupled with a savvy publisher is almost certain to be turned into a film adaptation. Why though. Are we this fascinated with end-of-the-world theories? At this rate, we might just kill off our planet before anything otherworldly does so. Look at what two hundred years of industrialization have wrought. It's depressing. Anyway, if this story going to hit the screens in 2017, I'd want to know if at any point, the audience would 'see' these creatures. Heh. It would take some pretty strong actors so as not to turn it B-grade. 

Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood

A Sri Lankan crab steamed with garlic and egg white. 

Haven't been back to Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood (萬隆華和海鮮餐館) since last July! Well it takes time to round up troops to make a table of 10 in order to decimate its menu. Half the table live in the hood and the rest of us live an easy 20-minute-ride away. Found an evening where we were psyched to brave the crazy parking situation in the area and sat down for dinner.

It was oddly not as crowded as usual. We easily got our 8pm table and spied a few more empty ones when the early diners left. The servers looked less harassed than usual. The aunties taking orders even smiled at us. I mean, they're not usually rude. Might be a tad curt, but that's how they are. As long as they're efficient, give us our table and deliver the right orders of food to hungry stomachs, that's more than meeting the expectations at a standard zi char eatery that's been around for eons.

We skipped the fish and prawns. Ordered almost the whole menu including the fat and juicy oyster omelette (蠔煎) that held little starch and plenty of eggs. Went easy on the crabs. Only two (1kg-each) crabs for the table, done in chilli and steamed in garlic and egg white, accompanied by deep-fried mantou (Chinese buns, 饅頭). Ordered a plate of token carbs in the form of the eatery's signature stir-fried seafood mee sua. The meat-eaters ate their fill of king spare ribs (排骨王) and prawn paste chicken wings (蝦醬雞). Another totally satisfying meal that doesn't floor you with the MSG-buzz after.

The yummy signature seafood mee sua with a ton of quail eggs.

Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood (萬隆華和海鮮餐館)
122 Casuarina Road Singapore 579510 (no air-conditioning)
T: +65 6452 2824 (Reservations necessary)

After Utopia

Tang Da Wu's metallic
'Sembawang Phoenix' (2013)

Went to the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) to view 'After Utopia: Revisiting the Ideal in Asian Contemporary Art', curated by Tan Siuli and Louis Ho. I like it that this exhibition is drawn from SAM's permanent collection as well as build on some of the new works and commissions from the 18 artists.

These 20 contemporary works from across Asia and Southeast Asia were presented under four themes and prefaced with a quote from four writers- 'Other Edens' with Thomas More's 'Utopia', 'The City and its Discontents' with Italo Calvino's 'Invisible Cities', 'Legacies Left' with E. E. Cummings' 'Communism and Fascism' and 'The Way Within' with Rabindranath Tagore's 'Fireflies'.

It's not fair to compare the artworks because every artist put in loads of effort, say Shannon Lee Castleman in 'Jurong West Street 8' (2008) who managed the feat of convincing residents of two HDB blocks across a few stories to accept a total of 16 video cameras used to film one another over a few hours one Sunday afternoon. Before seeing Tang Da Wu's 3D map and metallic stray dogs in 'Sembawang' (2013), I didn't even know that Singapore had an artist village (called TAV for short) in Sembawang's Lorong Gambas, flourishing from 1988 to 1990 till it was repossessed by the government for urban re-development. The Artists Village (TAV) is now an arts collective; its latest project is the Pulau Ubin artist residency program.

If I have to pick two memorable works, they also happen to belong to the two themes/galleries that left the deeper impressions; in the way that they make me think further after I leave the doors of the museum. I can't associate Utopia with books anymore now that the films have gone to town with the post-apocalyptic scenarios. I was too immersed in that old-now-gone-to-pits online game. :P Now, it feels like humankind will reach Dystopia way easier than Utopia.

In 'Legacies Left', needless to say, I was totally tickled by Shen Shaomin's 'Summit' (2009), pictured above. Before entry into this part, it came with warnings of graphic images. It's an installation made of silica gel simulation, acrylic and fabric. The grim image of the four 'embalmed bodies' in clear cases and on a hospital bed was conceived in response to the financial crisis of the late-2000s. "A hypothetical meeting of the leading figures of leftist politics in the bleakest of assemblies: a wake." The figures are life-like. More than that, this is my favorite piece of them all because of the irony, the associations and the thoughts they evoked when I stared at their...faces.

'The Way Within' was introspective. I was intrigued by the large metal sphere that was 2m-wide and weighed 80kg, dented and scarred by its journey. Watched the video created by Svay Sareth with 'Mon Boulet' (2011). Pulling the metal sphere, the artist made a six-day journey from his home in Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, eating only food offered by strangers and sleeping on a blue tarpaulin. Raised in refugee camps in war-torn Cambodia till the age of 19, this journey and metaphor of a sphere, while having had "no productive end, its performative process may be read as a kind of personal catharsis, an exorcism of residual trauma through punishing, physical toil." One would hope that there won't be any more refugees today. Sadly, no. Like the ancient times, as long as there's greed, humans and politics, there will be strife, deaths, and refugees.

Celebrations for V

Celebrated V's birthday two weeks earlier since she went off on a long work trip, and she's away now on a lovely birthday vacation. Glad I chope-d her calendar slots for random dates. Happy to spend time with the girlfriend.

There was time to indulge in one more birthday dinner. At V's request, sushi at Tatsuya it was. It was crazy crowded on a Friday night. Had to wait a long while for our food. But at least Chef Goh is familiar with how long I'm willing to wait before I turn into an ogre. So he peppered the wait with proper pieces of sushi. That's the biggest issue with Tatsuya of late- the waiting time on a busy weekend even if you're seated at the sushi counter at 8.45pm. ARRRGGGH. I think the 6.30pm dining slot is best on Fridays and Saturdays. The staff made up for it with giving as many pickled baby eggplants as we wanted, and a candle on a small slice of crème brûlée-custard-cheesecake thing and sang a very loud birthday song for V. Hahahaha. Okaaaay.

I had expected her presents to arrive late, but all items arrived way earlier. Woot. Even the customized Poppetry print was completed superbly fast. I was able to pass all of them to the birthday girl before the actual date. So glad she's pleased with all her presents.

To adventures, V, and above all, be selfish. xo

Cycling at East Coast Park

School's out! That means the not-so-little-Missy could go play! Y and I managed to meet for morning coffees without Missy. But she wanted in on our dates. Hahahaha. Bravely made a date with Y and Missy to go cycling at East Coast Park (ECP). Missy just picked it up and was raring to go. Y could easily cycle; I haven't touched a manual two-wheeler for years. Don't look at me. I don't cycle. I want one of those electric scooters but I can't justify the purchase when I get around the neighborhood fine balancing grocery bags on a skateboard or inline skates. Much more comfortable on those. I'm not particularly steady on a bicycle. There's a high chance of falling off at the corners or knocking someone down.

The morning wrought dark skies, rain and strong winds. We thought about abandoning plans for cycling, but by the time I picked up the girls, the rain had lightened to a drizzle, so we took our chances. Luckily we did! We were blessed with decent weather that was almost cool. The skies held fair and fine over East Coast Park while we were there. Apparently, it poured buckets over Marina Bay, all of Chinatown and Orchard, as well as Ang Mo Kio and Bishan. Just not over ECP. MUCH WIN.

ECP was relatively empty on a weekday morning, making it a pleasure to ride. I definitely felt better without having to jump out of my skin each time somebody whizzed past. Missy's way more confident on a bicycle now. She's got the hang of it and doesn't need any help from us anymore. We simply trailed behind her. She understands basic riding etiquette and safety, as well as the importance of keeping her lane on the cycling paths and keeping left to allow overtaking. Her stamina is increasing. She cycled a full 90 minutes before declaring "Stop!" Well done girl!

Now, my butt muscles hurt a teeny weeny bit. Y lied. She said it wouldn't hurt because we went so slowly. It wasn't anywhere near an energetic pace fosure. BUT. Butt. Not the arms, thighs, calves or ankles. Not the glutes; closer to the bone. The butt. Achievement unlocked. Clearly being reasonably fit and doing regular workouts that involve some butt muscles aren't of much help when a movement utilizes new muscle groups. I forgot there's such a thing as an aching butt.

Warong Mak' Shukur

On some days when the stars are aligned and we're all in the area at lunch-time, we makan at Warong Mak' Shukur. Nasi padang!!! It's situated in a kopitiam right opposite the main entrance of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Its proximity to SPH helps since we lurk there frequently for all sorts of reasons. It's a good way to catch friends if we don't see them for drinks or at whichever events/gigs.

I haven't managed to break out of a certain mode of choosing dishes when eating nasi padang. Without fail, the standard items on the plate are begedil, sambal kering bilis dan kacang, and soft paru goreng (don't fancy the crispy kind) accompanied by a ton of sambal tumis or sambal belado. I do consider eating something else, but on many occasions, these are all that sufficed for a satisfying lunch. Unsurprisingly, I judge all nasi padang stalls by how well they do these dishes, especially begedil. With no meat in the filling. Making those potato cakes is easy, but to get the taste right without using MSG or a ton of salt, takes some skill. And the oil used for frying affects the taste too. I've eaten some truly horrible begedil at supposedly good eateries.

We don't care that it's ridiculously hot in the day and there isn't air-conditioning at the kopitiam. Eat faster. Warong Mak' Shukur's food is worth the perspiration. If you go at noon and before 1pm, it's easy to grab seats. It's quite a popular kopitiam with the lunch crowd. Don't go too late because they do run out of food. Few places offer good nasi padang nowadays with fabulous chilli. Very sedap nasi padang with super spicy tasty sambal belado.

Warong Mak' Shukur 
Hai Fong Coffeeshop (right opposite the main entrance to SPH)
203 Toa Payoh North #01-1121
Singapore 310203
Weekday lunches only.

The Dog Stars

Of a bleak future after a man-made apocalypse and survivors in Colorado- Peter Heller's 2012 debut novel 'The Dog Stars'. No zombies or vampires. Nothing supernatural, all terrors were man-made, which made this story even scarier. Of a super-flu bug and an infectious strain of blood disease. (Reviews here, here and here.)

In Denver, Colorado, nine years after the super-flu killed most humans, narrator and some-time poet Hig lived in an abandoned hangar with his old dog, Jasper. He had struck an uneasy truce with nearest neighbor, battle-hardened Bruce Bangley, and formed a safety perimeter for them both. They had a Cessna 182, guns, ammunition, oil, radio comms, water and sufficient food in this strange world. They would shoot and kill invading humans, no questions asked. There were a few surviving families nearby that Hig flew out to drop off supplies and help to fix things.

The story with its broken sentences to depict the humans' resigned thoughts, followed their day-to-day survival, Coke (Coca Cola) runs, and Hig's reminiscence of the past, his wife Melissa who had the flu and he had to smother her with a pillow when she pleaded for a quick death. Every chapter talked about the past, of a spirit that was deeply grieved. There wasn't much to think about, beyond survival and planting crops. Then one day, Jasper died, and Hig took off beyond the mountains on an impulse, not knowing what lay ahead. He met an old man, and his daughter Cima, and brought them home.

You got in your plane and flew past your point of no return. In a world maybe without any more good fuel. You left a safe haven, a partnership that worked. For a country that is not at all safe, where anyone you meet is most likely going to try to kill you. If not from outright predation then from disease. What the fuck were you thnking? 

My dog died, I said. 

I told him about the radio transmission I'd picked up three years ago. I told him about hunting and fishing and Jasper dying and killing the boy and others, and being at the end of all loss. 

I didn't have another idea, I said. 

Then Hig and Bangley's quiet existence in their homestead increased to four. There was a bizzare addition of perhaps another tribe of survivors since they did fly two 747s over Denver a few times. But the pilots never once communciated with Hig. However, it was a random happy ending Hig. As happy as it could be in times of uncertainty, after finding companionship with Cima, and she found meaning administering Vitamin D infusion to the children nearby. The future was still a blank, with the survivors taking each day as it dawned, never keeping their guard down, but with more hope than when it began. The ending then looped it back to the meaning of its title, of Jasper, of the constellations, of Sirius and Procyon.

The story ended with Hig's apparent favorite poem, which really exists. I laughed because it was so unexpected but kinda apt. I know this one too. Those 300 Tang poems we had to memorize in school. The protagonist already quoted that moon-bed-missing-home poem from Li Bai. The author must really like poems. This final one that wrapped up the story and the emotional state of Hig and perhaps his companions, was written by Tang poet Li Shang-Yin (李商隱), also known as Yi-shan, 義山. In the book, the author translated this poem into English. I'll quote it in its original Chinese,

《雨夜寄北》 

問君歸期未有期，巴山夜雨漲秋池。
何當共剪西窗燭，卻話巴山夜雨時。

A Triple Bill: iNCH, The Great Spy Experiment, Charlie Lim

Rebranding from Riot! Records, now known as The House of Riot, it is still Mike See at helm, together with Eugenie Yeo and Sarah Sim, and the whole crew. The team staged the triple bill of Riot's musicians who respectively returned from a long break, ended their decade-long partnership, and launched new material- iNCH, The Great Spy Experiment (GSE) and Charlie Lim. Different genres of music. Varied sounds. Old favorites, new songs, friends, acquaintances and laughter. What an awesome night. 6 June 2015, a date for Singapore music to remember indeed. It was an amazing four-hour show at The Esplanade Concert Hall, inclusive of 45 minutes intermission for set changes. The sound, was of course excellent.

iNCH CHUA

iNCH has emerged from her retreat at Pulau Ubin with inspiration for an EP to be released in September titled 'Letters to Ubin', and a new album next year. In a video interview with The Straits Times, she shared how bird calls are included in new song 'Mouse Deer'. Heard it live. Love her voice and songwriting. She has changed. Still fiery, but less angsty. There's a touch of melancholic beauty in her melodies. Can't wait to listen to her new EP and full release!



THE GREAT SPY EXPERIMENT

Bittersweet. The end of a chapter. I grew up with their songs, from my twenties to my thirties, and found my identity. One of my favorite local indie-rock group The Great Spy Experiment is calling it a day, after 10 years. Thank you for the music. A pity, but the songs and rock-out vibes will always stay with us. They did the encore songs I was waiting for- 'The Lights' and 'Class A Love Affair'.



CHARLIE LIM

It was a good venue to hear singer-songwriter Charlie Lim's double EP 'Time/Space'. Catchy songs, good songwriting, and an arresting voice. He got my attention way back, and I've been listening to his songs here and there, but this was my first time hearing him live with a full band in support. Very tight, very pleasant. He's grown so much as a musician, finding his definitive sound and being very assured on stage. It was a beautiful launch and closing of the whole show.

This Will Destroy You

After missing This Will Destroy You's (TWDY) two-night-sold-out gigs at Home Club (now Canvas) in 2013, I wasn't about to miss them again this year. Mighty glad the venue was changed from The Substation's theatre to Zouk. I hate the lack of ventilation and non-existent air-conditioning at The Substation's tiny theatre. Zouk is much more comfortable.

Texan, instrumental rock. Nope, not going to compare them to the other Texan band whose gig I caught in Hong Kong. Besides scoring for Hollywood films, TWDY have largely kept to their brand of uhh...post rock. As much as the band eschews the term, it's what it is. It isn't just instrumental. I didn't like their sound in 2013. This new album 'Another Language' in 2014 is much better. Less ambient, more layers. I really like 'New Topia' and was glad to hear it live. In the usual manner of post-rock bands at live gigs, not many words were uttered. Right from the start, the band filled up the venue with their brand of soundscapes.

However, I was underwhelmed by the band live. Dunno why I expected more. Sure, I'm always appreciative of live shows and all the effort. But it was gentle and I wasn't hoping for that. I still prefer TWDY's older albums. Their sound has shifted since 'Young Mountain' (2006) and 'Tunnel Blanket' (2011). So good to hear 'Quiet' and 'Little Smoke' for the encore.

A Bygone Era :: 紅頭巾

'Not A Heavy Burden' • ‘挑重若轻习以常’ (2014). 

Went to Blue Lotus art gallery for its exhibition on 'The Samsui Women of Chinatown: Helping Hands from Our Past'. 《三水婆牛車水：童振獅水墨水彩畫展》The 30 paintings by 76-year-old Singapore artist Tong Chin Sye (童振獅) are done in Chinese ink and colors. He has done a few portraits and specializes in painting street scenes and landscapes. This exhibition shows Chinatown streets in the early years post-1965 and samsui women. I like his paintings of samsui women best. He has been drawing them since the 1980s, depicting their lives in Singapore from the 1950s to 1970s.

About 200,000 samsui women (known as 三水婆 or 紅頭巾), clad in blue and black samfoo and trademark red headgear/headscarf, were Chinese immigrants who flocked to then-Nanyang (literally 'south seas', 南洋, referring to Malaya) in the 1920s to pre-war years. They congregated in Chinatown, buying groceries and living in the tiny squalid shophouses. Life was very tough.

Comprising mainly Cantonese and some Hakka women from Sanshui district in Foshan, Guangdong province, they worked in the brutal heat and toil of construction, and hard labor jobs, avoiding the vice trades of prostitution, opium and drugs. Most were illiterate and wanted to escape the poverty of the farms to earn a stable-enough salary. Most hoped to send enough money back to China for their families to build houses and live more comfortably. These women were thrifty, fiercely independent and endured so much hardship in Nanyang.

Like the ah-ma-cheh (or ah-sum, amah, or in Mandarin ma jie 妈姐) with their single plaits or pigtails recognizable black and white samfoo from Shunde district in Foshan, also Guangdong province, many samsui women remained single, either by choice or via abandonment or divorce, forming a close network of sisterhood and support. These networks and clan associations were highly crucial to providing help post-war and aiding their medical needs as the century turned, and they got too old and too weak to continue to work.

Samsui women were a common sight right up to post-1965 Singapore, building Capitol Theatre and Toa Payoh housing estate in the early 1970s. They worked for as long as they physically could. Then they aged, and there were none to take their place. They retired. Some returned to China. Others stayed. A few remained single, and others married. A bygone era. The tides of the construction industry shifted as other male foreign labor from other developing countries dominated the trade. Machines and technology relieved the humans of back-breaking work.

'Resting' • ‘日当午，肚空鸣’ (2014).

I'm glad to have known a few, and had the chance to hear their stories of tenacity and optimism. Two were my nannies who were well-versed with my childhood tantrums and tricks; they were also my parents' nannies. They didn't just pick up and speak fluent Baba Malay and English to please my grandparents. They also taught me precisely how to discern and speak the main standard Yue Cantonese (粵語) and Siyi (四邑) dialects of Taishanese (台山话), etc, picking out differences between sounds of the five counties in the Jiangmen prefecture in Canton, including those next door Guangxi province's Moiyen (or meixian 梅州话), and the main Gan language (赣语) and its dialects of Yulin's Bobai (玉林博白, similar to Hakka) and standard Changting Hakka (长汀客家话) of course. Absolutely fascinating. Perhaps because of them and their hard lives and love for me, the moment I understood what it means to give and do God's work, I've almost exclusively dedicated my area of charity endeavors to the elderly.

Just four years ago in 2011, there were still seven known samsui women in Singapore (她们是卢亚桂、黄旺娣、何月金、胡润心、陆带好、蔡二女和吴妹仔), and three in China (陈群、黄苏妹和李秀祝). Madam Huang Su Mei (in pinyin, 黄苏妹女士) returned to China at 32 years old, married and started a family. She was 105 when she passed away in her hometown of Sanshui in February 2014. As of May 2015, there are only a few known samsui women left in Singapore, of which two are Madam Ng Moey Chye (吴妹仔女士), 83 years old and Madam Wong Ah Woon (王亚运女士), 88 years old. We mustn't forget the existence of samsui women in Singapore pre and post 1965. We can only admire and honor these women's amazing strength, loyalty, pride and willpower, and try to emulate their indomitable spirit.

Public art at URA Centre: Samsui Women (1999) by Professor Liu Jilin.
The figures are "carved from solid dusky-pink granite with rough textured finishing, reflect[ing] the hardship and the perseverance of these tough women during the 1950's and 1960's."

Sandwich Saigon

While I know and have tried almost all much-raved about Vietnamese eateries in town, I'm not taken by their version of bánh mì or phở. Many bowls hold additional MSG, which is really unnecessary. The eateries can't seem to get the consistency of the bread right or the soup base to taste like what I'm looking for. It's probably a lot to do with personal preferences. Tastebuds have been spoilt by the high standards churned out from the friends' kitchens and what we've tracked down in Vietnam away from the usual tourist spots.

For two years now, the friends and I have been going to Sandwich Saigon for easy lunches on both week days and weekends. This is our default joint for satisfying bits of Vietnamese food. Kinda comfort food. It serves up fantastic bánh mì for both omnivores and vegetarians. I'm particular about bánh mì. Love its crisp baguette and generous ingredients. I've tried a few different filling of bánh mì on the menu. Each definitely hits a spot. 

The eatery is tiny, but if you go in a group of four, there'll be enough tables and something on the menu for everyone. It offers a number of seafood (mainly prawns) and vegetarian options for its rice dishes, noodles and gỏi cuốn. Its bún is good, and does pretty all right bowls of phở; am not a fan of either type of noodles. I want mỳ Quảng and it's not likely going to found on a menu anytime soon. I still dunno why it doesn't seem popular outside of central Vietnam. It's okay. As long as I know Sandwich Saigon still serves up fantastic bánh mì, that will do nicely.

Boon Keng

Two of my projects overlap and involve lurking around public housing estates and waylay unsuspecting residents for a chat. I spent a day at Boon Keng. Took a train from town; with the North-East line (NEL), it's ridiculously accessible. Way faster than driving or cabbing it. Boon Keng MRT station is just three stations from Dhoby Ghaut interchange, located right in the heart of the estate next to the Kallang Community Club and the food centre.

Named after 19th century Peranakan pioneer Lim Boon Keng, it's a small housing estate consisting of Bendemeer, Towner and Boon Keng itself. As with all Singapore housing estates, all amenities are a walk away- medical clinics, shops, food stalls, supermarkets, etc. Its housing prices are also on the rise, as with all property prices in Singapore. It's also a hot Airbnb area. :P It's still a unique blend of new and old, public and private housing. I was fascinated by the older flats, not the newer ones that have been redeveloped. Its Townerville estate (Towner, May and McNair Road) which comprises restored conservation terrace houses built in the 1920s. Note, many housing estates in Singapore, were built pre-war, pre-1965, under what was known as Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT).

Wasn't there to do valuation of property or record its architecture. I was after the residents in the area. I wanted their stories. Of course I didn't knock on doors. It wasn't a MP/GRC team walk-about thing. I was after personal histories and thoughts. It was a hot day, but under the shade of the walkways, it wasn't so bad. I ambushed the residents who were chilling out at the void decks, both the elderly, the young and the middle-aged. Was totally prepared to get scolded, instead, they didn't mind a chat. I did buy a few rounds of kopi and teh. Hehe. It was very nice to have them willing and comfortable enough to talk to me.

Tales of Good Eats ::《暴食江湖》

Somehow, I keep gravitating towards reading Chinese books centered around food. Not recipes. But stories. Often, I like to read about food more than I want to eat it. Am a fan of Jiao Tung's stories, and have read all the other titles on Taiwanese food under “台灣味道三部曲”. Found an unread book in the pile of another of Jiao Tung's novels, loosely translated (mine) into 'The World of Gluttony'.

焦桐的《暴食江湖》。作者說：“人類文明的發展，靠的是一張嘴。飲食是一種文化，一種審美活動，緊密連接著生活方式。不諳飲食的社會，恐怕罹患了文化的失憶症。”，也說，“我懷著珍惜的態度，書寫飲食經驗，珍惜每一道美味的菜肴如閃過的吉光片羽，珍惜好餐館如採肩而過的人情，追憶那些奔馳離去的事物。”

20 chapters in this book covered topics from vegetarian food to packed meals, pig's trotters, beef noodles, fried rice, Hainanese chicken rice, alcohol, to fish and peach blossoms. The author truly loves his food and wine. He spoke about weight issues, even attending an 'exercise camp' only to run away from it because it provided food he didn't like. The last chapter spoke of his adoption of a healthy well-balanced diet, cutting down on alcohol and meat, and consciously cooking with less oil, salt and sugar. Sadly, that was done only when his wife took ill and he was plagued with health issues. 年輕時往往揮霍健康，常亂吃一些垃圾食物、危險食物；當年紀漸長，消化系統變得遲緩，卻平添許多飲食禁忌。

也許我們應該再回頭，仔細審視古人的智慧，正如扁鵲告誡我們的，「安身之本，必資於食。不知食宜者，不足以存生」。飲食生活的方式，表現出人生觀和價值觀。 

如今我每天吃大量的蔬果，帶著浪子回頭的心情。

The book spoke about hotpot (or steamboat, or in Singapore's case, 'battleship') and what Taiwan has in terms of flavors of hotpot. Cheese and chocolate fondue were mentioned. I have a love-hate relationship with hotpot. Am picky about the utensils, ingredients, and soup stock (no curry or spicy mala Sichuan or Chongqing numbing peppers please, and none of that Korean jigae instant noodles, tofu and spam crap). I'm well aware of the significance of reunion dinners of steamboat. The author repeatedly stressed on this concept of 'reunion' and heartwarming feelings of a hotpot meal.

《論火鍋》談臺灣的普通雞湯底火鍋、日式刷刷鍋、海鮮鍋、咖哩鍋、麻辣鍋、羊肉火鍋、酸菜白肉鍋 。前言指出：火鍋是一種深鍋文化，很能代表中華料理的精神內涵。中華料理追求調和、圓融、團聚，從象徵大團圓的圓桌，到火鍋類的炊具和煮食法，均屬這種調和文化。

火鍋可能是各種料理中最能增進感情的，在人情日益澆薄的年代，大家應該常一起吃火鍋。大學剛畢業時在《商工日報》上班，有一天晚上錦郁的父親在報社對面的日本料理店宴請女兒、女婿，阿騰帶我去飽餐一頓。至今難忘那那清澈的湯鍋，鍋裡的嘉躐魚頭和豆腐、魚板、青菜，對一個窮讀書人，有著一飯之恩的滋味。 

Of course I was curious about the chapter on Hainanese chicken rice. It began with the author's visit to Singapore in 1999. He first ate it at a random kopitiam across from Rendezvous Hotel, and was thoroughly disappointed that it was so...sub-par.  Heh. He did enjoy Chatterbox's. He also loved Malaysia's version of chicken rice. And like every other person, he had his all-time favorite chicken rice stall. Melaka's Chung Wah (中華茶室) at Jalan Hang Jebat got his vote. And like every true-blue foodie, he was willing to grab a three-hour ride to and fro Kuala Lumpur to Melaka just for a plate of chicken rice.  LOL.

《論海南雞飯》敘說吃一碗美味海南雞飯的經驗感想：“一陣感動襲上心頭，啊，我寧可肥死，也要拚命多吃一碗。”

連續兩天的破曉時分，我都陪攝影師劉慶隆在吉隆坡的荷蘭街拍照。天色漸光，群鳥亂叫，車馬之喧逐漸頻繁，鳥聲卻比任何車聲喧嘩。我頻頻催促阿隆動作快一點，拜託你再快一點，因為「中華茶室」就快開門營業了，我只想到他們家的海南雞飯就餓得發慌。 

從吉隆坡到馬六甲大概三小時車程，為了吃一盤中華茶室的雞飯，我願意來回搭六小時車。