An Assisted Pilates Shoulder Stand

Flipping up into a handstand is way easier than articulating into it. Instead of a walkover or a rollover on the ladder barrel, I went back to basics to do an assisted shoulder stand with full spinal articulation. Very slowly. Luckily the studio was quiet at that timing and I was less self-conscious about doing that.

"No handstands," the instructor said, "Do a shoulder stand." She had me grab the lowest rung of the ladder instead of placing the hands on the floor. That totally changed the angle of how I’d utilize the shoulder blades. The left obliques tend to be lazy and I’d have to activate them to lift it all up straight. Also, if I don't to do that, I'd simply crash onto the floor, head first. Eeeeps. 😕

Initially when I attempted this exercise, the instructor had to guide my legs, and I was too dependent on that. Now that I trust my own strength, I know I won't fall. I ask the instructor to film the movement on my phone so that I'd know what I'm doing wrong, and could rectify it the next time. Otherwise, I'm working blind and won't have a good picture of what the heck I'm supposed to feel in relation to the movement. Watching Youtube videos doesn't help that much.

The pilates shoulder stand with deliberate spinal articulation is usually done towards the end of the hour. S.L.O.W.L.Y. Gotta make sure that all the obliques are awake in order to help us, and we could make teeny adjustments while upside down. Moved into position and slowly swung my legs up. Had to totally rely on the instructor's voice to tell me if I had straightened up fully. Not too bad. Just a wee bit more to go, core. Get there in 2018. Work work work!

Tis The Season For Good Beers!

Whenever we look for beers, we keep ending up at the very convenient TAP and Thirsty. While we've scaled back on alcohol generally, we still drink. Our livers are still in decent condition, but they're definitely happier with a lower volume of work. Oof.

There's something about beer this season. They make great gifts. Oddly, we haven't bought any beers for anyone! We've received them as gifts. Our dear friends sent us an awesome Advent calendar in the form of a box of beers from Thirsty. WHOAAA. Of course the beers didn't even last through three days of Advent. They were drunk pretty quickly. Hahaha. The choices that Thirsty put in were quite fine. A range of beers that included a root beer with alcohol, some okay fruit beers, and my dependable Lost Coast 8-Ball (oatmeal) Stout.

Then when I opened up a cute box (also from Thirsty) from Y and A, I found my beer of the season- the 30th anniversary edition Deschutes Jubelale. Oregon artist MaryLea Harris did the series of snowflakes on the bottles. I've heard of her long ago and enjoyed her works. Nice to see it on beer bottles too!

I love winter ales. They tend to be rich and strong, which is perfect since I keep leaning towards stouts and porters. Beers that are hoppy and too light don't work for me. Deschutes Jubelale's pretty good! Y and A said they couldn't choose what to go in the box, so they were glad that we've very drinkable cans and bottles. Oh yes, indeed. There was only one bottle of Deschutes Jubelale in this pack, so I went out to Thirsty to grab another half a dozen bottles to keep in the fridge.

Then, the man and I were gobsmacked when I found out this cute Thirsty box from Y and A is the first of three. They bought us a three-month subscription! WHUT. Another six pack is arriving in January, and a third in February. Too generous. 🍻😍

Glorious Food!

This season always brings mixed feelings. It's extremely exhausting for an introvert. I can only truly be comfortable with people whom I regularly talk to and see through the year. I am soooo glad to have spent time with people I love, and importantly, who know me (and my opinions and triggers). The smiles and laughter come naturally, and I needn't hold back my snark.

Such a treat to receive invitations to meals at the faeriefolk's homes. What a privilege. It meant that I could do tasting portions. Still, I overate. Hurhurhur. Never cared about dessert. Dessert seems to be quite a highlight at Christmas meals. The friends are great at making them, and each have got their specialty. Log cakes, cakes of all sorts including kueh lapis and sugee, pudding, and trifle. Well, I'm not big on sugar. But there were some amazing gingerbread cookies which went seriously low on the sweet scale and I really liked them.

Oddly when it comes to food during this season, I'm not a fan of traditional Christmas fare. I'm not fond of poultry (turkey, goose or chicken), and ham; don't mind roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and mash. Beef is my favorite meat anyway. Vegetarian food and salads are very welcomed, only if they're done well. I hate sad salads and one-dimensional pastas. I was completely taken by C's nut loaf. It was soooo tasty and chockfull of ingredients. Nut loaves over meat loaves any day.

I also like the Singaporean or Thai twist to Christmas foods. My palate likes its spices! Curries are always welcomed. The friends cook excellent curries, rendang and a whole assortment of tasty things. I will partake in curry devil and feng (pork offal curry) this season when they're generously trotted out. Those are rather delicious things done in different versions depending on each kitchen’s preferences. The assortment and spread of pickles, chillies and sambal is mind-boggling.

One ridiculously awesome tasty snack- Aunt G's ayam buah keluak buns. They were splendid! Such generous filling contained in the cutest homebaked soft milk bread rolls. OH MY. We could pair these buns with very good sambal belachan too, but we didn't. Ate it as is. Full-on grounded buah keluak goodness.

There're bakeries selling those polo buns (菠蘿包) or milk buns filled with ayam buah keluak. I wouldn't eat them even for a quick fix. Too sweet, and the sugar goes weird with the savory filing. Aunt G's buns held sugar of course, but because she baked them and could control the amount of ingredients that went in, they turned out to be perfectly balanced.

There were uhhh four buns for us to take home. I didn't want to hoard them. Whatever for? These taste best freshly baked. Ate all four buns late in the night at 10pm. Why not? Heh. I was greedy, and there would always be stomach space for good food. (Okay, I did share it with the man.) Totally worth the calories.

We Made Tomato Relish!

For some friends who are vegetarian or who love onions and tomatoes, the man and I decided to cook a batch of tomato relish for them. We love Seattle Canning Co's products, and stock them up by the cartons. We’ve been greatly inspired by Seattle Canning Co's 'Uncle Winston's Tomato Relish'. That tomato relish is so delightfully smoky. We can’t seem to get the smokiness right, but we’ll get there.

I don’t usually fancy buying chutney or relish off the shelves. Only because these are easy for me to cook at home. I tend to make relish and chutney slightly more salty than sweet. Four tomatoes and a dollop of paste fill up one jar, along with salt, sugar, vinegar, lots of onions and curry powder. Each batch in the pan makes two jars. I'm tickled that only the mildest curry powder can be used. There’s tons of curry powder in the larder but they all contain too much heat. Oh believe me, I've tried. Baba's is awesome for everything else but this type of tomato relish. Had to hunt for a wimpy one from McCormick’s. 😂 #ImpieCooks2017

These jars keep well in the fridge for a few months. Tomato relish with anchovies on bread is divine. On days I prefer something more savory than a banana, it's an easy pre-workout snack. On many days, it makes a meal, along with a boiled egg. I also get a jar out and eat a few scoops of relish on its own just for fun. Hehehe.

Putting Gifts In Tote Bags

This thing about Christmas gifts and gifting. I'll never make sense of it. It's an obligation, and it can become a burden. I'm all like, why bother with this charade? To be fair, I'm not inclined to make the effort either. When humans don't already feature in my life through the year, they aren't privy to my thoughts or my quirks. Neither would I matter in theirs. Anyway.

I'm so thankful that by now, the wonderful friends never fail to select the best sort of gifts for me. A card with a long message, a long email, or a long text attached to a photo sent in whichever medium works very well. Precious gifts of time, companionship, conversation, food, and other thoughtful items (such as dishwashing gloves and jars of preserved black olives Asian-style...) that tell me they truly know me, and that they care. I'm thrilled that many have agreed to sort out small donations to the various charities instead. Let us also not forget the point of Christmas.

This year, I'm in a slightly DGAF mode. Didn't quite know what to get for the friends. We see one another often, so gifting happens through the year. During Christmas, we tend to just have a meal together or get each other fun or fancy food items. Managed to sort something out at the last minute. The rest do fine with say, Amazon vouchers and magazine subscriptions. Heh. Didn't feel like wrapping 'em gifts either. They all went into those re-usable grocery bags brightened up by red ribbons and gift tags or these cute cloth tote bags printed with local icons and foods. They look kinda presentable, I think. May all these gifts bring a smile to the recipients.

There're many more fun prints of kopi-o, nasi lemak, Hainanese chicken rice, laksa and such.
Didn't bother to snap a photo of each.

Mercy, Gaiety and Kindness

[11] Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart. [12] Rejoice, ye just, in the Lord: and give praise to the remembrance of his holiness. 

~ Psalms 96, Douay-Rheims

A blessed Christmas to those who celebrate. May the season bring you strength and lead you to light. May there be renewed strength in your soul, and joy and love in your hearts. Amen.

Omotesando Koffee

Now that the crazy crowds have stopped surging to Omotesando Koffee, I shimmied there for a cup. It's not as though I went out of my way for it. It was a short stroll from the gym, and a good hour to meet J for lunch. I didn't bother to hunt down the pop-up in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, and I haven't had a chance to check out Toranomon Koffee or Koffee Mameya in Tokyo.

Omotesando Koffee is back to its original pop-up concept as a little stall instead of a coffeehouse. No seating is available. During off-peak hours, the baristas might not mind you standing around for a short while as you sip your coffee. However, be warned that between 12.30pm to 2pm, you'll still have to queue and wait for about 15 to 20 minutes for your to-go cup.

There's the usual rich and creamy caffe latte I know from the coffee joint. That's always expectedly beautiful. Today, we asked for their secret stash- a single origin espresso, with milk added to make a caffe latte. :P The single origin beans change about every other week. This week, they used an Ethiopian Guji. From my favorite Sidamo region (or perhaps Sidama after the controversy). I really quite like how the berry flavors came up under all that milk.

There's a cookie in the photo. Please ignore it. It doesn't come with the coffee at all. Never. No cookie ever comes with it at Omotesando Koffee in any city. It was BYOC-Day. Bring-Your-Own-Cookie Day. J brought along a little packet to share with me and the baristas (who could only munch on it after their shift). She primly informed me that the cookies are from Rusu Rusu (菓子工房ルスルスの). Heheheh.

I was so focused on coffee that I forgot about food. Hahaha. There're plenty of options within Downtown Gallery. J suggested a few eateries, but mentioned about Chatterbox chicken rice last because she figured that beyond chicken skin, I might not be keen on it. But hey, there's rice and bits of meat- I don't need that much food, and I hadn't tried this restaurant in its 'express' version. Chicken rice for lunch it was (with many slices of meat contributed to J's plate).

Express by Chatterbox priced its chicken rice set at S$8.50 a plate, it's definitely more do-able than its Mandarin Orchard Hotel's incoherent S$32 for a portion. There's its pretty decent laksa too, but no option of lobster, just chicken or prawns. The restaurant was crowded, as expected of any located in town at this hour. But it does empty out by 1.45pm.

Omotesando Koffee
6A Shenton Way, Downtown Gallery
#04-01, The Work Project
Singapore 068815 
Hours: 8am to 6pm; Closed on weekends.

At The Osteopath's

Since there was a fair chunk of leftover budget for medical stuff, I decided to pop in to the osteopath at the sports rehab clinic. Didn't think I need any sessions, but since I've never visited one, thought I'd check it out. For the right ankle. I could feel the peroneal tendons getting better, but when the ankle moves in certain positions, they're still twinging at about 85%. When it comes to this type of actual pain relief solutions, I don't welcome TCM methods or its massages thingamajigs. An osteopath sounded like it works better for me. It indeed is.

The man is seeing the same osteopath at the sports rehab clinic for fairly acute lower back pain, of which I already told him months and months ago that it was due to the lumbar and sacral nerves being compressed because of his poor form for weightlifting and squats, and because this pain has been going on for years in the same spots, if he isn't careful, it will lead to a herniated disc soon. AND HE REFUSED TO LISTEN. He must think that my pilates certificate is bullshit. Pffffft. 😐 SO, THE OSTEOPATH TOLD HIM THE SAME THING. Of course the advice coming out of the osteopath's mouth sounds way better.

Osteopathy is different, and a little confusing. It's not just a sports massage or the manipulation and kneading of muscles or myofascial release. It's everything. It's like a mix between a pilates instructor and a physiotherapist. I was fixed for a one-hour session with the osteopath, and he attended to me all the way, including putting me through some exercises to check out my form and how I shift my weight around. It's very different from the 15-minute chat-and-crack sessions at the chiropractor's unless I'm hooked up to the machines for an additional 20 minutes. I really don't mind how fast the chiropractor works. The efficiency and effectiveness are both what I want out of a session. Electrical impulses that calm spasming muscles are the best, especially if the pain involves kinks in the neck (from sleeping in a bad posture) that send cold tingles down to my wrist and fingers.

This osteopath is wonderful, and very practiced. To his credit, he didn't even ask why I bothered to see him when it was pretty clear it wasn't necessary. Easiest S$170 earned in that hour. HAHAHAHA. I would return to him if I need help in the future, IF my Pilates instructor and the studio's physiotherapists can't mitigate my pain. In this case, I'd say that the osteopath told me nothing new, and offered no insight to the further exercises I could do to help with a full recovery. Pilates cover all of that already. He just affirmed what I already know and currently do. On track- two more weeks to a 100% right ankle.

[Text me if you want to know which clinic I went to. Again, the osteopath is fantastic. I don't know if he can solve your aches and pains, but he's logical and decent. This is definitely not an ad. Heh.]

Leng Kee Fish Soup At ABC Brickworks Food Center

I was initially confused about this fish soup stall at ABC Brickworks Market & Food Center. Thought it moved over from Bukit Timah Market & Food Center. I asked the stall owners and they said this one at ABC Brickworks is the second outlet! Ohhh. Yay. I don’t frequent Bukit Timah Food Center, so this Bukit Merah option is way more convenient.

Named Leng Kee Fish Soup (龍記), the sliced fish soup holds the familiar taste I know from Bukit Timah. That’s the best part, and the only reason why I would come to ABC Brickworks Food Center. The stall has got a similar blue signboard (with different photos, and placement of words) and it uses the same bowls too. Heh.

The first time I went, it was already 1.30pm and there was no more fish roe. Never mind, soup and fish slices sufficed. Batang fish (ikan tenggiri) was used. Only blanched slices of fish available; no fried options. The queue was long even at 1.30pm. At that hour, I still had to stand in line for 20 minutes. Well, it was kinda worth it; pretty decent, much better than the stalls at Maxwell Food Center, but not better than Hup Lee at The Arcade (which offers fried fish), and Piao Ji at Amoy Street Food Center. Made a second visit to Leng Kee at 11.45am on another day, and there was no queue! Hurrah! Didn't even have to 'chope' seats. However once I got my food and sat down at a table, a queue of 10 people had formed.

Those were my first two visits to this food center. Dunno why it took me this long to check it out. It's got a decent range of food. Also found Hylam Street Old Coffee (海南街老咖啡 #01-53) in the next aisle. That's the one I keep hearing about. Had to try it, and decided that there would be no point going elsewhere for coffee if I’m at this food center. S$0.90 for a superb cup of kopi-o-siu-dai! Thick and richly brewed, it hit every requirement I have for kopi-o-siu-dai. Mmmm. The standard cup from this stall is already 'gao', and of course wins any version by Toast Box or Ya Kun. What unexpectedly wonderful meals!

Leng Kee Fish Soup #01-41
(next to Yong Zhen Lor Mee and Prawn Noodle at #01-40; 永珍卤、虾面)
ABC Brickworks Food Center
Block 6 Jalan Bukit Merah Singapore 150006
Hours: 10am - 2pm; then 5 - 8pm. Closed on Sundays.

We Need Net Neutrality

It's with a fair bit of horror when I read about the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to remove net neutrality rules it put in two years ago, effectively ensuring it can't ever reinstate it. The US and its current Presidency have been really good at shocking the rest of the world this year.

Regardless of whether you're for or against net neutrality, the rule are in place to encourage fair play, so far. Scrapping net neutrality is going to make consumers suffer more, and pay more without the benefit of wider choices. The absence of net neutrality will just see dominance of larger companies over start-ups that wouldn't necessarily translate into better terms of service. The Atlantic wrote,

In truth, nobody yet knows how the net-neutrality rollback will affect anyone—consumers, telcos, big tech, or start-ups. Internet zealots warn of widespread blocking and throttling, not to mention pay-for-play fast lanes that might benefit big companies like Netflix and Google and prevent upstarts from enjoying innovation and growth. ISPs, aware of how hot the issue is, will likely take no immediate action.

The ripple effect is bound to reach us. We don't know what exactly will happen in a few years, but IMHO, Singapore can't afford to go down this same road. We're way too small. Our infrastructure and all works, but I really don't trust our ISPs. The market is limited, and look at the way our telcos respond to market demands. It was with relief when I read that the Infocommunications Media Development Authority (IMDA) said Singapore's stance on net neutrality remains unchanged from its white paper released in 2011.

"Since the formalisation of the Net neutrality policy, IMDA has been monitoring international development, including US and domestic market practices, as well as actively engaging the stakeholders in Singapore," said an IMDA spokesman. 

"Currently, there is no need to revise our policy approach and we have not found any pattern to suggest that ISPs are operating in breach of this policy." 

Singapore's current Net neutrality policy forbids ISPs from blocking "legitimate Internet content", according to the white paper. 

They also cannot implement practices which render content "effectively inaccessible or unusable". 

This means that while ISPs can still throttle Internet traffic, they cannot do so to the extent that users are practically unable to access websites or the Internet. However, there is no definition of what constitutes "unusable" connectivity.

Prawn Pasta With A Sunny-Side Up!

J grinned when she saw me. It was probably one of the rare times she saw me in non-sweat gear. Like I was in street clothes. Jeans. Heh. It was a day which I had allocated to fully churn out work, with just a long lunch break between meetings! Might as well utilize it to meet friends.

We hopped in to PUNCH for lunch, and very dependable coffee. We had to have one last PUNCH special of prawn and scallop pasta for the year. It came the way I've always liked it- extra spicy, little oil, and topped with a sunny-side-up. No, it doesn't usually come with an egg. It's just that I like eggs, and always request for the add-on; by now, the awesome staff know my preferences. On very hungry days, I ask for two eggs. 🍳 That day, the scallops came a little bigger than usual. The last time that happened, we asked why. This time, we assumed their regular supplier ran out of scallops again and they had to switch to another for the week.

We stayed a little longer to chat over dessert of uhhh a serving of avocado. Teehehehe. Neither of us are keen on sweets, so the creamy avocado worked great. 🥑 Had coffee too, of course. We were horrified when Vincent said "No more prawn pasta next year!" He must be joking. We'd riot! As much as we love their muesli, breads, generous servings of avocado and other items this year, the prawn and scallop pasta is our singular love. Savory carbs. Best!

The Wildwood Chronicles

Inhaled three books of the ‘Wildwood Chronicles’ by Colin Meloy. Yup, of The Decemberists. Otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered reading this children’s fantasy where the protagonists are two seventh-graders. The books are beautifully illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis. The Wildwood Chronicles have been described as a very age-appropriate series that is a mix of 'The Chronicles of Narnia', 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Alice In Wonderland'. (Reviews here, here and here.)

Just a week after I was done with these books on the Kindle, I was quite tickled when Missy picked out Book One ‘Wildwood’ (2011) at Kinokuniya. I didn’t influence her at all! She devoured the book in a day. Initially she didn’t want Book Two ‘Under Wildwood’ (2012) or Book Three ‘Wildwood Imperium’ (2014) because the covers looked ‘scary’ and she wasn’t sure of the contents based on the summary. But she enjoyed Book One so much that she finished it in a day and requested for the next two books. Yay! Girl's got good taste. Went off to the bookstore to get the rest of the series for her.

The story begins when thirteen-year-old Prue McKeel’s one-year-old baby brother Mac is taken by crows to the Impassable Wilderness, some huge swath of forest in a Portland neighborhood. I believe it refers to Forest Park in Portland's Tualatin Mountains. Prue’s classmate Curtis Mehlberg helps her to chase after Mac, in spite of her not really wanting his help. Predictably, there's this whole spiel about Prue's parents making a deal with Alexandra, the dowager-governess who was exiled to Wildwood for the practice of black magic, and how in exchange for the parents to be able to have children, Alexandra demanded their second-born child in return. There're bandits, revolutions, coyote armies, battles, and the triumph of North Wood over the corrupt government of South Wood, giving rise to a new peaceful Wood.

Prue McKeel is the target of unknown assassins from the Impassable Wilderness in Book Two 'Under Wildwood' (2012). We see Curtis again, as a bandit, with Bandit Leader Brendan who helped Prue escape and took her to the Bandit's Camp in Wildwood to protect her. There's an evil industrialist Joffrey Unthank who has grand plans to decimate and drain the resources of Impassable Wilderness. We're introduced to Prue's new companion, Esben the Bear, and Curtis's sisters Rachel and Elsie. The story doesn't quite end nicely in Book Two, and it continues on in Book Three.

All of this: the boy and the rat crossing the Outside, the crying man in front of the burning building, the captive child and her blind friend, the lost children in search of a new home. The bear in the metal lean-to, the quiet, thoughtful girl pondering the road ahead, the sleeping town—all of this, he sees. 

The snow has stopped falling; the rain has come. 

Winter is passing. 

A Spring will soon arrive.  

~ The last paragraph of Book Two

In Book Three 'Wildwood Imperium' (2014), the story picks up from Book Two. There's young Zita who called up the vengeful spirit of Alexandra and decided to help her. Esben the Bear continues his companionship with Prue McKeel, even more battles with more new characters, and the fight against Ivy who puts all residents of South Wood and all of Portland into a deep sleep. Prue McKeel of course, fighting the Ivy (the spirit of Alexandra), and somehow, fell unconscious, became a sapling that was known as the One Tree, before returning to the land of the living. This book contains the most illogical space-distance concepts and some odd lines. I've got no idea what the book's target (younger) readers would think, but I was highly amused at the many loopholes.

She told them about a ship that took her to a faraway rock in the ocean, where she thought she'd die—until the great bird prince rescued her and returned her to a land overcome by a reborn spirit, made of ivy, bent on the destruction of the land, and how only the return of the spirit's son, the heir to the kingdom, would stop the devastation. She described the heartbreaking reunion of these two, mother and child, and how the ivy was pulled away and the boy became the emperor of this strange land.  

The girl's mother listened to the story attentively; her brother barraged her with questions; and her father, shaking his head and smiling at the incredible tale, only said, 

"Who's up for some hot chocolate?" 

And indeed, they all were. 

~ The last paragraph of Book Three

Nasi Lemak Still Power!

You know those little packets of nasi lemak wrapped up in pandan leaves? Yeah, those work for me when somehow, the flavors are beautifully balanced between the really tasty rice and superb sambal. In fact, the tiny piece of omelette and bits of ikan bilis in there are the perfect foil to soak it all up. But as nasi lemak turns hip, it's almost as though we're eating it Padang style. Heh. 

I dislike paying a lot of money for nasi lemak that's not done very well. S$25 - S$32 for a plate is a no-no. I'm fine with like... a certain S$15-plate with additional condiments, but not if nothing tastes particularly decent. I especially hate nasi lemak served up in the way that old Fong Seng did (very old NUS people would know), and what Punggol Nasi Lemak does. Not a fan of Adam Road’s Selera Rasa. If I want nasi lemak, I want it done Boon Lay Power style. 

On many nights, the craving strikes hard, and I would go all the way to the west for a plate of very dependable Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak. Through the years, the cooks have changed, and it has changed serving plates and all that, but it hasn't failed me. The queues are still as long. We go during off-peak hours, but a shorter queue simply means having six to eight people in front instead of twenty. :P At Boon Lay Power, it has many add-on options. I've found the ideal combination- the basic S$3.50 (for now) nasi lemak paru set, and add a piece of fish fillet and begedil. Sure, the rice ought to be more 'lemak' instead of cloying; this stall does its rice nicely. 

It's probably how I judge all these food stalls- by their begedil and paru. Hahahaha. If they can't do these two basic items well, then I have little hope for the rest of the dishes. Maybe it isn't fair, but that's all I pretty much eat in a plate of nasi lemak or nasi padang. I'm not much of a rendang eater. Neither do I care about ikan kuning (now endangered) nor fried chicken. All I want is- super good begedil, tender paru, the fake-super-processed fish fillet (sometimes optional), crisp ikan bilis (peanuts optional), an egg and damn good sambal that's more spicy than sweet. 

Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak

Block 221B Boon Lay Place Market and Food Center

#01-106B Singapore 642221

Cupcakes & A Bear

Ed the Bear with his buddy Roo, chilling out at Missy's, again. (📷: Y)

It was super funny. Logistics caused Ed the Bear to not come along when I met Missy and Y for lunch. Missy must have been wondering about it, but she was too polite to rummage in my bag, and managed to contain her burning question till after lunch. Then she asked, "Aunty Imp, can Ed the Bear come over to play with me and Roo?" Awwwww. Of course! She's turning 10 next year. I wonder if Ed the Bear will still get to visit her. Ooof.

The man had insisted that we must always send Ed the Bear to Missy's with a little gift, because bears ought to never turn up empty-handed when they get ridiculously pampered. Ermmm, okaayyy. I used to pack the Bear off to Missy with a bunch of biscuits or a box of color pencils and stuff. Things that school-going little girls might find useful.

Also, Missy has learnt that the man loves rose macarons. 🙄 (Don't ask me why he does.) If Missy knows she's seeing him, she always asks to buy him one or two macarons. That day, Missy and Y bought him a whole box of six! So these bears. Bears get totally spoilt by Missy. I still have no idea why Missy has taken such a shine to Ed the Bear since she was a wee tot. Well, my friends remind me that I'm like, this old, and still talks to bears and stuffed animals. Riiiiight. 😂

In the quiet of the night, the man and I took a slow drive to specially deliver Ed the Bear to Missy for his staycation, along with a box of cupcakes from Plain Vanilla. I know the flavors Missy likes, and also included two festive flavors for the adults- 'dark chocolate whiskey' and 'spiced apple bourbon'. Passed on the 'white chocolate gingerbread'.

I'm quite fond of Plain Vanilla's items, and tend to buy them for the friends. Not quite into buying them for myself. To be honest, even these pretty good cupcakes that hold lower sugar are wayy too sweet for me. The one flavor I can stomach a few bites of is 'dark chocolate ganache' because it doesn't hold frosting or cream. It's topped with pure dark chocolate crunch. It's rather tasty. 

Breakfast Amongst The Green

Headed out to breakfast at Carrotsticks and Cravings with Y and Missy. We wanted to chill out away from malls and the city center. Went to look for trees and bushes at Dempsey Hill. Y's in love with the concept of the cafe and how the owner is so into creating good food and styling great photos. I'm just cool with the casual feel and the convenience, and its guilt-free food with plenty of vegetarian options.

Opened by Terri-Anne Leske, she has moved from writing about food, and sharing recipes and photographs on the blog to properly collating them to publish 'My Creative Kitchen' (2015). Now she has started this cafe and cooking school. Nestled amongst its lush greenery of Loewen Road, the cosy Carrotsticks and Cravings is full of laidback vibes. Dress light. There's no air-conditioning; all outdoor seating.

The food is right up our alley. Missy totally loved the cold breakfast bowls. Oof. Good portions. The organic açaí berry bowl and breakfast berry parfait filled us up nicely. One couldn't go wrong when the bowls were topped with peanut butter granola and peanut butter quinoa crunch. Loads of berries. Delicious. We also ordered a quinoa and pomegranate salad with herb-crusted chicken breast and dukkah. I thought we would adjourn for coffee, but the cafe's flat white was really decent. So we hung out longer over coffee.

Checking My Weight

Stepped onto the InBody machine at the gym to measure my body's fat-muscle composition. The last time I did this was in February when I joined the gym. It uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and the electrical pulse tracks body water-fat-muscle composition. I don't actually know how accurate it is. Whatever. It's definitely more comprehensive than stepping on a weighing scale, which doesn't really tell me anything.

The intention of joining the gym isn't to lose weight. It's to tone up and build muscles. Muscles should replace fats, therefore, my body weight should ideally remain the same, or gain 2kg in muscle mass. We shouldn't be too obsessed with our body weight because it isn't a proper indication of health. The InBody tracker measures the basal metabolic rate too.

My pilates sessions sort out flexibility and keep me limber. But it isn't going to help build muscles or strength in the desired time frame. To build serious muscles and stamina, get to doing cardio, plyo, and weights. Utilize that core. Loads of cross training is key to achieving that lean and mean physique. As the months go by, I could focus on improving form and increasing speed for each set of exercises.

Ten months on. Weight has hovered around 50 - 51kg. At 161cm, that's a very acceptable weight. It hasn't dropped. Not really. Hurrah. Apparently it’s now time for me to start eating more. My fats are burning up quickly and the muscle mass isn't sufficient. I’m aiming to gain 2kg to pile on muscles, but clearly I’m not eating enough. How to eat more when my stomach refuses to cooperate?! Eating more = indigestion. Ugh. As it is, I normally eat four small fairly clean meals a day.

February saw a body fat mass of 10.4kg (20.6%), and December sees 9.7kg (19.6%). Not a big difference. Looking at the breakdown, some stubborn fats have been lost, and abs and some muscles have been built. Stamina has greatly improved. Obviously I haven't bulked up because I didn't do anything close to that scale. Am lean, but nowhere near the lean-ness of runners or swimmers. At 39 years old, I'm now 50kg of muscles and possess sufficient strength to do pull-ups. Let's hope I can keep this up next year. Okay, I'm ready for the zombie apocalypse. 💪🏻🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️🧠⚔️🤩

Sushi Kaishin :: 海神寿司

[Sushi Kaishin closed in mid-October 2019.]

Suddenly three new sushi restaurants have sprouted in Robertson Quay. Ishi, and the soon-to-open Plum and Toro (under the same management as Ishi). The friends’ birthday lunch was held at the three-year-old Sushi Kaishin (海神のお寿司). I'm sooo glad they picked this new-to-me restaurant.

Sushi Kaishin is a small restaurant that seats 10 at the counter and another six in a private room. Reservations necessary. Owned by the group behind Ginza Kuroson and Ike Ike Maru Singapore, its previous Chef Ichiyama just left two months ago, and the new team has revised the menu a little.

Sushi Kaishin serves mainly sushi and sashimi, omakase. This is the first time I’ve stepped in. There have been mixed reviews, but I had a good experience. Perhaps it’s the current combination of chefs, or suppliers, or that we filled out the whole counter for lunch, but the sashimi, sushi and beef we had were really decent. It was a good luncheon with great company.

The kawahagi is at the tail-end of its season, and came as sushi, expectedly topped with its own liver. My favorite kinmedai didn’t disappoint, but I wasn’t too hot about their treatment of the kohada. Also, too much tuna. This time I didn’t want to be fussy, but the next time, I’ll request for no tuna to appear in my meal. I’m one of those who don’t particularly fancy akami, chutoro or otoro.

The friends brought a bottle of Roku gin. Those crazy people finished an entire bottle over lunch. Gin is totally my killer, and while nice, Roku's florals and botanicals aren't quite to my preferences. I like the flavor profile of a London Dry, which means gin should taste predominantly of juniper berries, and nothing too floral. I stuck to sake. There was a lovely bottle of Oyama (a Tokubetsu Junmai-shu; 大山特別純米酒 ひやおろし加藤嘉八郎酒造) from Kato Kahachiro Shuzo brewery in Oyama, Yamagata. I drank LOTS of that. Hahaha. No guilt because the others were fixated on gin, and there was also a bottle of Tomintoul 10 y.o.

A Horse Walks Into A Bar...

The book laid in the Kindle library for months, till I finally dug it out to read because it won the 2017 Man Booker International Prize. That would be David Grossman's 'A Horse Walks Into A Bar' (2014). Originally written in Hebrew, it's translated by Jessica Cohen and published in English in 2017. (Reviews here, here, here and here.)

Woah, it's a heavy book. Hefty in the number of pages, and hefty in terms of contents, details and significance. I couldn't finish it in one sitting. In fact, I had to re-read and muse upon many of the 'jokes'. I marveled at the author's prose and skill in weaving in circumstances and 'jokes' and scenarios.

The book revolves around one show in a night put on by fifty-seven-year-old stand-up comedian Dovaleh Greenstein in a small basement club in Netanya, Israel. The book is narrated by retired district court judge Avishai Lazar, who has been invited to this show by Dovaleh, and he reluctantly attends. Another old friend is in the audience too, seemingly without him recognizing her till much later. The comedian picked on her using her phone. Azulai is a manicurist and a part-time village medium. She's really short and has a speech impediment. She also knew him as a kid. She probably touched a raw nerve when she retorted, "Why are you like this? You were a good boy!"

Jewish humor abound in Dovaleh's 'jokes' as he begins the act with fairly mild topics. Then it becomes a drag as he insults and abuses his audience and goes on anti-Arab chants. He brings out his entire life story. It's a train wreck. The audience walks out bit by bit. Then only three people are left. Dovaleh doesn't mince the words about the abuse he has suffered at the hands of his family and in the military. Readers begin to wonder if this is a comedy at all. There’s nothing very funny about Dovaleh’s words. In the end, only the performer is left with his oldest friends whom he hasn't seen for decades, and they have seen his life play out on stage tonight.

He's saying goodbye. I can feel it. He knows this is the last time he's going to tell these jokes. The girl who was about to leave but came back leans her head on one hand and gazes at him vaguely. What's her story? Did she go home with him after a gig one night? Or maybe she's one of his five children, and this is the first time she's hearing his story? And the two bikers in black—were they somehow connected to him as well? 

I remember what he told us before, about how he used to play chess with people walking on the street. They each had a role, even though they didn't know it. Who knows what complicated chess game he's conducting simultaneously here tonight? 

Ayam Buah Keluak

We're very lucky to have friends who cook and make us gifts of food.  That day, the friends told us to come collect a portion of ayam buah keluak they had prepped for us. Woah. Could never say no to anything with buah keluak! 😍

It was a very big tub. So many black nuts! The friends are incredibly generous. We split the tub into little containers to be frozen. This dish is always meant to be slowly savored. Totally hoarded it. The tub was portioned out to eat over four happy meals with brown rice and damn good sambal belado. The friends cooked this pot in 'rawon' style. As opposed to the traditional Peranakan version which contains more assam and looks more red-brown. We like nasi rawon, and appreciated the twist in using chicken for this dish with buah keluak in the bumbu paste too.

I don't think these black nuts are to be feared. It's probably more of the matter that I've never cooked with them. But I've eaten so much and enough of it to know how I can extract these flavors into a dish I'm happy with. I've been procrastinating. One day, I'll clear some head space and get down to cooking a buah keluak dish of sorts. Then it's time for me to pay it forward with gifts of decent dishes of buah keluak to the friends.

An Egg-Boiler!

There are many mornings when I crash the BFF's welcoming living space and set up the MacBook there to work. One morning, I was completely distracted by her pink egg boiler that was happily bubbling away. I didn't even know she has one! She was all like, "Eh this came back with me from Shanghai. Didn't you notice it?" Clearly I didn't.

I want one too! There's a Cuisinart boiler that's quite cool, and so is the one from Gourmia. But it's those that look like plastic toys which are fun! Apparently there're many cute ones on Taobao (淘宝网的小熊鸡蛋器挺可爱的). I don't need an egg boiler, to be honest. I boil eggs fine in a pot. Or a kettle. Muahahaha. Do excuse my silly enthusiasm. Eggs are my staple food. Bring on the yolks!

Singapore doesn't quite allow 'organic eggs' on sale in the strictest sense. When those labels appear, it probably means that the chickens are on a diet of organic feed or eat a special feed of nutrients, which doesn't translate into 'organic eggs'. Cage-free eggs don't mean anything here either since it's impossible to verify unless you appear at the farm. And I don't own a yard big enough for hens to run about. Neither are we allowed to rear hens and roosters in residential estates. The point is, buy local eggs, that’s the only assurance to freshness since that is measurable in the Haugh unit, and it’s what our regulatory board (AVA) looks out for next to hygiene at local egg farms.

Meanwhile, the BFF raved about eggs in the boiler. She just bought them from the wet market. She said that the market stall Aunty told her these were 'first-born eggs'. Well, first-born eggs are laid by new hens in the first month. I really can't tell. What I do care about, is newly-laid eggs. There is a marked difference in the taste of newly-laid eggs versus those that have been sitting out for some time. If you could get to the wet market that just received new stocks from their suppliers, then those would taste pretty good. It's quite hard to judge when a supermarket brings in stock. Try to catch those new stocks!

Advent Begins

I've never enjoyed the consumerism that marks modern celebrations of Christmas. That is not the point of Christmas to me. At this time of the year, I seek to be away from humans, to carve out greater chunks of solitude, and tend to be grumpier than usual. Basically, I go into a DGAF mode. My WhatsApp status for December reads, 'Oh do sod off.' Only acquaintances and non-consequential people will be offended. Oof.

Life throws curveballs at us, we take it and get on with the program. Often, these curveballs are kinda expected; it's not like these balls hit us blind. But we have to manage the accompanying emotional fallout. Our (the man and I) circles (think a Venn diagram) of friends and their parents battle injuries, illnesses, deaths, injustice, and senselessness. This year, solemnity and sadness tinge our consciousness even as we celebrate triumphs, little successes and love.

I begin the season with much to ponder about. Many changes afoot in 2018. Challenges aplenty. Nothing that I can't deal with because I have treasured friends standing with me. I've an odd relationship with religion and God. But faith carries me through always. I'm a pessimist and it's a mad struggle trying to balance that with a dose of optimism. Advent is a time for reflection and prayer, and redemption. Everything else for me, is problematic. :P Well, I've never been a very good student at catechism or theology classes.

[31] So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. [32] Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all things be fulfilled. [33] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. [34] And take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. [35] For as a snare shall it come upon all that sit upon the face of the whole earth. 

~ Luke Chapter 21, Douay-Rheims

A Moment With A Cup of Coffee

My relationship with coffee is not just about enjoyment; it arises out of a need for caffeine. Hahaha. Dunno if this is an addiction. While I can do without coffee on some days, I turn into an ogre without it on other days. A cup of kopi-o-siu-dai or kopi-o-kosong, or caffe latte or an easy pourover makes me equally happy. The type of coffee drunk depends on the mood of the day. While I like to get out to grab a cup of coffee with friends, I also like sitting down to work (at home or in an office) with it. It's great mental crutch. Hahahaha. I don't seem to have that habit of taking coffee at formal meetings though. I stick to water.

That morning was particularly stressful. So I went to the nearest coffee joint to get a shot of caffeine to even out the temper before it exploded. Went to a thankfully quiet Kurasu to get a lovely rich cup of caffe latte and some peace. For once, I didn't fiddle with my phone or even the Kindle. In between staring at the wall and at the building across the road, I simply sipped the coffee, lingered and enjoyed it.

Needed to slow the many swirling thoughts. Of course I get angsty with the business of life and living. I just don't whine about it too much to friends or on the blog. I tend to prefer seeking practical solutions to the emotions felt. And often, I have to be patient and wait for time to pass in order to get things done. As much as I can control stuff happening along the expected lines, it might not fit delivery dates; they don't always happen at the speed I prefer- often, it's out of my hands. There's a time and place for everything. I have to learn to be comfortable with that.

To Market To Get Fish

I've tweaked my version of Asian fish soups to my liking, using a mixture of fairly generous fish fillets and bones. No pork bones, but on some occasions, I don't mind a scoop or two of chicken stock or a few pieces of chicken bones in it. And no strange Chinese herbs.

Fillets of seabass, snapper and grouper tend to produce dependable non-fishy bowls of good soup. The other ingredients change about depending on what sort of final flavors desired. I don't always use dried squid or mussels or scallops. Unfortunately I don't cook with a fixed recipe, so the pots don't all taste the same each time, but it's about there.

Fish Soup

Boiled up a pot of fish soup for dinner. Mainly because the man doesn't like ordering it at the restaurants and prefers having it at home. So do I. The soup is tweaked to our preferences. Full of fish oils and less on other meat stock. It's also lower in the salt content, and it doesn't hold added sugars or MSG. Told the BFF to come over for a casual dinner too. After a long day at the office, she could do with some proper food.

The BFF has declared that she really likes my fish soup. Coming from her, that's quite a compliment. Mine's certainly not the best, but it seems to work fine. If she hears 'fish soup' and 'come over', she will definitely appear. There will always be sufficient amounts to pack a tub of soup and some carbs for her to take home so that she could have it for lunch or dinner the next day. I love the girl lah. She always has a place at my dining table.

Sliced Fish Bee Hoon Soup

It has been a while since I made sliced fish bee hoon soup. On some days I add in fish balls or beef balls. This time, I wanted it to be all fish and vegetables, but lighter in flavors. The soup base can always be tweaked. But the same rules apply for meat- I tend not to like cooking with pork or chicken. Unless it's a few pieces of tiny chicken bones or a few spoonfuls of stock (from boiling chicken bones and not from a carton).

Felt like having sliced fish bee hoon soup that day. The type that's supposed to be good for people healing from surgery. So my soup base for this generally holds no ikan bilis, no dried scallops, squid or mussels. Went out to the wet market to try my luck with ikan haruan (not ikan toman). I never bother to ask when the fish stalls have it. Some might, some don't. It all depends. Take a stroll through the market to hunt for it. I was in luck that morning even though I went late. Heh.

Stopped by my favorite Aunty's stall to get fish, and was happy to see that she had lovely slices of haruan, and bones. Rounded over to the vegetables stall to get some leaves and stems. Needed carrots, daikon, wongbok cabbage, baby bok choi and thick beehoon for the one-dish meal.

It's not too time-consuming, but it takes a bit of effort to cook this dish. Throw everything into the water for the base stock. After 20 minutes on the boil, I separate the stock into two pots—one thinner version to blanch the bee hoon, and the other pot continues to boil and that is the actual soup which is also used to cook the slices of haruan and vegetables later on. It's necessary to do so to maintain crunch in the ingredients, and ensure that nothing turns mushy from being overcooked. When the ingredients are this fresh, and require so little treatment, my job is to ensure that I do justice to them. #ImpieCooks2017

I don't have a recipe either. I take a quick look at what the internets say, and do my version. Maybe one day I'll write it down, but for now, it's all in my head. This would be the first time the man ate haruan in the form of sliced fish bee hoon soup. He declared he liked this version. Oof. Well, I'm flattered. 🤭😃

自家的生鱼片米粉汤。

'The Sinner'

Downloaded and rushed through Petra Hammesfahr's 'The Sinner' (first published in German in 1999, and translated by John Brown in 2017) before I binge-watched the adaptation on Netflix (only eight episodes lah). Yeah, I checked out its playlist on Spotify too. Big Black Delta's 2014 'Huggin & Kissin' is such a surprise hit as that trigger song.

This is the story of Cora Tannetti (in the book, she is Cora Bender), a seemingly normal housewife who uses her fruit knife to stab an apparent stranger to death at the beach in full view of everyone else. She doesn't deny it, but doesn't know why she did it. An unreliable narrator, lies upon lies upon truths upon false memories. There we go, a deeper story within. A song seems to set her off into a downward emotional spiral. Google will tell you all there is to know.

I enjoyed both the book and the miniseries, equally. Although I feel that the book contains a lot more details, naturally, and it's a lot darker, including what we know about Cora's mean parents and how they treated Cora and her sickly sister Phoebe. There's youthful explorations of the forbidden, fanatical religious asceticism, and the hint of incest, drugs, a kidnap and abuse. It isn't the type of fiction one would read for fun. It's painful and horrifying. Cora's son isn't named in the book, for a very good reason, he's just 'the boy'. But in the miniseries, he has a name, Laine. Cora's wimpy husband of three years is named Gereon in the book. The Netflix miniseries gave Cora's husband, named Mason Tannetti, and Detective Harry Ambrose (in the book, he's Police Commissioner Rudolf Grovian) a bigger role than the book did.

There was a hole in her life. She knew it concealed some dark, squalid episode, but her memory of it was missing. Until a few years ago she'd fallen into that hole innumerable times, night after night. The last occasion had been four years ago, before she met Gereon, and she had somehow managed to close it. She had never expected to fall into it again since her marriage to him. And then, on Christmas Eve of all nights, it had happened. 

The Netflix adaptation took liberties with the story and characters, of course. I didn't mind it. There's a hint of Season 2, by making the flawed Detective Harry Ambrose taking another case. Dunno if that would work, or even if Netflix will bring Cora back. I really think it's better as a one-off Netflix original miniseries. The actors are excellent. Bill Pullman (as Detective Harry Ambrose) and Dohn Norwood (as Detective Dan Leroy) share convincing chemistry as partners. I've forgotten that Jessica Biel is a pretty decent actress. She brought Nora Bender to life.

A Steamed Grey Mullet

The whole point of the meal was to devour the grey mullet. Spotted fresh ones at the market in the morning and decided to have that for dinner. Bought two. When I sliced them apart to steam, those fats were gorgeous. Shiny, translucent and wobbly. Hahaha. These fishes were superbly fresh.

The accompanying carbs would just be fishballs, mushrooms and kway teow. Boiled up a proper pot of chicken soup. No I didn't make 'em fishballs or kway teow from ground up. Too lazy. Next time. Bought them decent from the market stalls. #ImpieCooks2017

The man loves a good grey mullet, and merrily ate one whole fish by himself. He was very pleased. He now knows I can produce a somewhat edible meal, specializing in Asian soups, and salads of all sorts. Hahahaha. 😶 While the Teochew porridge stalls serve up fairly nice ones, this one is way better since it's super fresh, and nothing beats a homecooked version.

Well, I'm being nice to the man since he's recovering from sialolithiasis. He was on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory pills. So homecooked meals were ideal. Loads of fish on the menu. The man had earlier thought those hard lumps were tumors under his tongue. A CT scan and his brilliant funny doctor sorted that out promptly within the week.

His salivary glands were cut up to remove three stones (hardened calcium deposits) from the sublingual and submandibular spaces. It was done via day surgery on general anesthesia. There're two more tiny sialoliths stuck in the submandibular that couldn't be retrieved unless the whole gland is removed. Not a good idea at the moment. Stitches have been removed, incisions have healed and he's fine now. To coax the last two stones out over the next few months, he just needs to up his water intake and drastically cut down on dairy products. 🥛🧀❌ And minimize intake of supplements. FWIW, I don’t subscribe to dietary supplements. Am skeptical of their bioavailability or purported benefits.

Peroneal Tendonitis

The legs moved faster than the brain, and I managed to completely trip over a kerb, twisted the right ankle and sat down heavily on the ground. Felt something pop in the ankle. Had to sit there for three minutes before attempting to stand up. I wouldn't know how bad it would be till I put weight on it.

It didn't feel too bad. Managed to hobble to a chair to ice it immediately. It kinda hurt when I put it through a test range of motions, but it was okay. Not a big deal. Kept up with icing, and also taped it up for a few days. Then I returned to the normal gym routine. Took it easy with the jumps and squats though. Did them at a slower pace and didn't bother with any jumping lunges. No burpees! Yay. Heh. It has been a loooong time since I twisted the ankle. Unfortunately this right ankle is also my most heavily abused ankle, from the time of ballet, then figure skating. All my axels and salchows land on the right leg, i.e. right ankle. It is strong, but also weak at the same time.

It was a light twist and I didn't think it was necessary to see a doctor or the chiropractor. I have full mobility on the right ankle now, but oddly, the outer ankle bone now hurts to touch and to any form of pressure. It's also more swollen than usual. That bone vaguely began to hurt when I was in Hong Kong. I'm sure that this pain isn't due to the fall or twist. I feel it keenly since I sit cross-legged all the time.

Both feet have a high arch, and there's been an increase in weight training, longer running distances. Didn't think it's a big deal, but the ankles probably feel otherwise. The recent pilates sessions have been angled for ankle rehab anyway. It seems to have full mobility, and can take my full weight, but it feels unstable. The pain on the outer bone hasn't fully lessened; it comes and goes. It's acute when I press on it. Over lunch with the girlfriends, I proudly announced to them that my peroneal tendons are injured. Not a subluxation. Likely tendonitis. The girlfriend, who is an excellent orthopedic surgeon, cuffed me on the ears. Literally. She really did so. "Stop finding affirmation on the internet for your pain! Come and see me tomorrow." OUCH. Orrrrrrh. So I did.

Turned up at her clinic. The girlfriend ordered an X-ray, studied tapped my toes, ankle and all. "Well," she said, "You do not have a lateral ankle sprain. You have mildly inflamed peroneal tendons." Which is peroneal tendonitis. Not tendinosis. WTF. Lady, you made me spend money to confirm something I was fairly sure about. 😑 You could imagine the wild laughter that ensued. I'm sure everyone outside the room heard. I'm gonna kill her at our next krav maga class. Clearly, no medication is needed. She agreed with my proposed methods of being mindful about the ankle so that it could heal without compromising too much on the exercise regime, icing it occasionally, and continuing with pilates, focusing on strengthening the ankle. The peroneal tendons should calm down in about three weeks.