割烹懐石の高山

So happy to see S and T well and in the pink of health after getting through a long flight and serving out their quarantine with a negative COVID-19 swab test. We had a celebratory lunch at Takayama (高山). Chef Taro Takayama's restaurant only serve kappo-style omakase (割烹、懐石料理), which is fine by me. Nowadays, I prefer that over sushi and sashimi since my favorite Sushi Hashida has sadly shuttered with no concrete plans for a new restaurant in the near future. 

The nine-course lunch began with two appetizers of cold somen and uni, and a piping hot grilled abalone. It included a signature foie gras monaka (フォワグラ最中), which is described as 'foie gras ice cream sandwich wafer with candied yuzu'. I'm not a fan of either savory or sweet monaka (or any type of wagashi), and not into foie gras. Requested the kitchen to skip mine, and also to skip the prawns, if any. The replacement for the foie gras monaka came in the form of an unagi monaka. Hahahah. Okay then. 

Kappo restaurants do offer sashimi, but a limited selection, which will be the fresh fish that their chefs are better at curing and treating. The otsukuri (御造り) today were sea bream, otoro and salmon. Hmmm... next time I'll swop out the tuna too. Hurhurhur. They served a palate cleanser of fish bunched in a shiso leaf deep fried in a spring roll, and a fried egg plant.  

The main of grilled Kagoshima wagyu beef was frankly beautiful. As much as I can't quite appreciate wagyu (this is likely Grade 4, but I can't tell), I can appreciate the effort to raise the meat to taste this way, and the kitchen's treatment of it. The menu stated oshokuji (御食事/お食事) as a 'seasonal donabe rice'. I took that to mean 'second main', or rather carbs. Whatever it is, I always welcome tasty rice that has been cooked in a donabe. Slurrrrp. The donabe rice served was steamed with Hokkaido corn. Very sweet. Nice. If you prefer fish, that is usually served at dinner. 

 

Dessert arrived in a bowl and on a plate — a passionfruit mousse and a set of matcha and hojicha financiers. Imho, Takayama is perfectly suited for a nice lunch in terms of ambience and menu selections + prices; I'm iffy about dinner. Right now, the evening menu doesn't impress me. The menu has to be vastly different and improved upon to convince me to part with S$250++ and more (for sake) per person at dinner. 

It was a lovely lunch, much treasured in these unprecedented times. Yes I have to use this term because who would travel for leisure now. (Rhetorical, because I know idiots who do.) It's a huge risk they have taken — two flights, many humans and such. S and T aren't in Singapore for fun. They have things to do, and T has national service duties to fulfill. I won't exactly use 'welcome home' because that's too loose a definition and not quite exact. Welcome in for a bit then, S and T. 🖤 

Freeze-dried Salmon for Choya

When Choya came along and the man asked me to start an IG account for her, I was like... erm... fine. I was introduced to the world of fur-influencers. What the. I'm like, NO. I'm not going down that road. I'm certainly not judging people who choose to have their cute pets secure sponsorships for food, toys, accessories, et cetera. Raising and caring for a pet is hard work, so if sponsorships take a bit of stress off fur-parents, why not. Maybe some find it fun to have their pets become paw-dels.

I'm Choya's social media manager. I'm not going to work so hard to get her sponsorships and work at keeping them, or securing new ones, and put in some effort to do sincere posts. I don't view it as 'fun'. All these are obligations that I've got no interest in adhering to. This isn't what I do. I'm keeping her account strictly 'personal'. I'll post whatever content I want to, whenever. I pay for everything that the dog and I use. As it is, I already look at a brand's philosophy before I buy anything for Choya. To have us stand with a brand means that we have to agree with its ethics and philosophy, and likely the people behind it before we subscribe to its products. A fancy website usually doesn't tell me much about what I want to know. 

We went to NUDE Grill at Marina One. Choya was pleased to run into Taki, the Boss Shibe at NUDE. They went off for a pee together. Hahahahaha. So random! It was such a thrill to receive a gift for Choya from NUDE. It was a generous fillet of freeze-dried Norwegian salmon. I was like, are you sure you wanna give us this??! NUDE said they were experimenting with food for dogs, and everything is still in trial stage. They're doing small batches of freeze dried salmon fillets according to demand for interested pawrents. So they were happy to let Choya have a pack. It was given out of pure goodwill, and not because they expect anything in return.  

I don't usually give Choya a whole fillet of salmon for one meal. Just in case her fussy gut flora doesn't like it. That fillet is split into two or three meals. And it usually sits together with another portion of meat and eggs. Balance in a dog's diet doesn't have to be done so for every meal. (70% muscle meat, 10% edible bone, 5% organs and liver and so on.) As long as the food intake fulfill the recommended ratio, balance can happen over a period of a month. My meal mix for Choya is more of catering to her fussy palate and stomach. 

I didn't ask NUDE if this fillet has been gently seared before being freeze-dried. I can't tell either. But I think it was uncooked. Otherwise it wouldn’t keep the shape. Freeze-drying typically removes moisture and while it doesn't do a microbial kill, it reduces the microorganisms present in dead meat. It makes feeding raw a little more palatable. I generally don't feed Choya raw salmon unless it's sashimi grade. Wow, it was a good quality fillet! That fabulous fishy smell! She couldn't wait to eat dinner. Tonight, she had an awesome dinner with a third of the freeze-dried salmon fillet, chicken gizzards, egg and flank steak. 

Finally Bought Poultry Shears

Finally procured a pair of poultry shears. Took me long enough to do it. Well, I never really had a reason to. I don't like handling raw chicken, so roast chicken doesn't appear in the oven at all. If it does turn up, maybe once a year, the man takes care of it, including spatchcocking it so that the breast meat cooks evenly along with the thighs and remains tender. Chicken in this kitchen always appears in the form of whole legs or fillets of breasts and thighs sealed in vacuum packs.

When it comes to chicken feet (in soup stock), the butchers at the wet market or the supermarket cut off the nails; I simply rinse and throw them into soup. However, now that there's a Choya and she is chomping on raw chicken feet at least twice a week, I have to cut them up into bite-size pieces. The dog loves chicken feet, but she's a bit lazy and doesn't bother to crunch the whole foot. Guess who has to make a chicken foot palatable to the dog?

I had been using fairly sharp kitchen scissors to do the job. Bad idea. Kitchen scissors are great for meat and cooked bones, but it isn't that easy to slice through raw bone. Last week, the friction burn from exerting too much strength at the wrong angle got to the hand bad.

On that same night, I sliced the sole of the foot on a sharp corner at the patio ledge, leaving drops of blood all over because I didn’t realize it was that badly cut. Later in the night, I also managed to hit my back on the sharp edge of the door handle, splitting the skin, and bloodied my dress. Ugh. Took a hot shower, disinfected the cuts again and put plasters on them. Went to bed feeling very sorry for myself.

While the other minor wounds had nothing to do with cutting chicken feet, they were rather annoying altogether. The cuts didn’t stop tearing till two days later. The friction burn from the kitchen scissors on the side of the thumb will take a longer time to heal because it's in an awkward position. Gentian violet, antiseptic powder and plasters to the rescue daily till the scabs form.

Anyway, I finally went on Amazon to buy a more practical pair of poultry shears. Since the local site carries stock, it was promptly delivered the next day. Hahaha. This pair of poultry shears are from OXO. Poultry shears are designed as such for a very good reason, so that you don't get dumb wounds like mine. Dunno know why I procrastinated in buying these shears. I really should have bought them sooner. They slice through chicken bones like I'm slicing through a slab of cheese. I use them to cut through everything else. These poultry shears are a kitchen essential. And save the delicate skin on my thumb and fingers from future friction burns. 

Dining In at O'maJ

[O'maJ has rebranded to Tomahawk on 1 May, 2021.]

After many months of doing takeout from O'maJ, we finally made our way to the restaurant for dinner. Glad to see it bustling (social distancing requirements nicely adhered to). That night, we were the only table with a dog. Oof. It's a good thing because this meant that their focus on food has reached out to diners beyond dog owners. It's not viable if this runs like a dog cafe, and we are pleased that it's not one.

Ordered Choya the usual Norwegian trout, but she didn't want it. She took two bites and sat down in a corner. It was the first time that she didn't want food at O'maJ. I wasn't surprised. For dunno-what reason, Choya was in a super alert and cautious mood tonight. She was still playful, but she didn't exactly want to be distracted by food. Perhaps it was the noise of the crowd. We haven't dined out often with her since April 7, so she might not be used to the noise again. When she's in this mood (similar to her being anxious, nervous and scared), she rejects all food. I usually pack away half of the trout for her breakfast the next day — that went into the Thermos. I had a feeling, and had brought along an extra container to pack her 'rejected' portion of food. It didn't go to waste; nothing was wasted — she ate the 'rejected' portion at home, and even had air-dried venison added to it. The portion in the Thermos went to a proper lunch the next morning.  

Couldn't resist the burratina. We loved the explosion of flavors in the mouth when the burratina sits on a square of crispy focaccia, and is served with salted fish, vine tomatoes, honeycomb and black sesame seeds. It's really the salted fish that I like. Hahaha. It's almost a meal by itself. Hahaha. Didn't overdo it with the food. Ate in moderation and we shared all the dishes. Two pastas for four persons sounded about right. It came in the form of the spaghetti with pork meatballs and a white meat sauce with caramelized onions, and another with a tomato base with beef and pork meatballs.

The humans weren't in the mood for steaks or beef tonight. Fish had been pre-ordered! This has to be a pre-order two days in advance because the kitchen only wanted to do it with the freshest grouper, and nothing frozen. Thankfully, the market usually stocks grouper. The restaurant named it 'The Black Dirt Red Grouper'- fresh red grouper, squid ink mash, and prosecco-finished scallops and two-colored fish roe. They had experimented with grouper earlier. However, the kitchen has improved on this dish, adding loads of dimension to the flavors. The fish is still served with garlic velouté at the side, but the beautifully rolled-up fillets now sit on an additional thin bed of squid ink mash. It's a great combination.  

How Will Nespresso Continue to Evolve?

Saved this for a read over afternoon coffee that's not from Nespresso. It's an 'Ethiopia Refisa' from Nylon Coffee. Ed Cummings wrote about Nestlé's money-making brand Nespresso, its inventors, people who improved upon the original 1986 design and how it took off after 1990, and pondered if it is done and dusted. Titled 'How Nespresso's coffee revolution got ground down', the article was published in The Guardian on 14 July 2020.

Nespresso's marketing has been top class when it comes to ads and coffee pods. I can't stop giggling each time I see George Clooney advertising for Nespresso. The brand's ultra-practical machines are small and space-saving, and most importantly, easy to clean. Even in Seattle (home to Starbucks) and anywhere in WA, I'd rather see a Nespresso in the hotel room than a Starbucks coffee maker. Hahaha. But the US remains indifferent to Nespresso. Starbucks reigns.

Thirty years after its first successes, Nespresso has scale, experience and buying power that no other premium coffee company can match. But increasingly it finds itself threatened from below by its rivals’ cheaper capsules, and from above by fussier coffee enthusiasts. The more scrutiny Nespresso has attracted, the tighter it has drawn the curtains. It no longer releases figures about its sales or revenues, with its results buried in the overall Nestlé reports. James Hoffman, the author of the World Atlas of Coffee, describes Nespresso as “a black box of a company”.

Nespresso also faces mounting criticism over the environmental impact of its pods. (It does not release any figures for how many of its aluminium capsules end up dumped in landfill, rather than recycled.) Talk to people in the industry, and you get the sense that Nespresso’s golden age has passed. “In the major markets, Nespresso’s getting close to saturation point, and there’s lots of competition,” says Jean-Paul Gaillard, Nespresso’s former CEO. “The good years are over.”

My childhood and teenage years saw three coffee-makers sitting side-by-side at the grandparents' home — a standard Krups, a traditional local style coffee sock over a tall pot, and a Nespresso. While I will make the effort to grind beans and do a French press pot of coffee, I'm not a coffee snob. I have a Nespresso machine at home too. It's a super convenient machine.

After testing out third-party-compatible coffee pods and powder and realizing the packaging isn't great, and the coffee isn't better, I've given up and returned to Nespresso's fold of exciting coffee pods. For some reason, Nespresso's coffee pods taste better than its sister brands under Nestlé or anything instant by Nescafé. But yes, the guilt is seeping in over the used aluminum pods, even as I dutifully return them to the store's recycling program. 

2013 saw a better time for Nespresso, for it to get over its expired patent rights over coffee capsules, as well as taking a hard look at its ethical policies and the use of child labor in the coffee plantations it has licensed to produce its coffee. It is now producing responsibly-farmed coffee. A new CEO for Nestlé Nespresso S.A, Guillaume Le Cunff came on board in January 2020. He was previously President of Nespresso USA, and is outspoken about his agenda on company's sustainability. As it is with each CEO, a new legacy will be built. How will this current CEO lead Nespresso to stay abreast of its competitors?

Like other high-street businesses, Nespresso has been buffeted by months of coronavirus closure. In its late-00s incarnation, when most of its pods were sold by mailorder or on the internet, Nespresso would have been less affected by coronavirus. (“When I was there we had the highest percentage [profit] margin in Nestlé,” Gaillard told me. “But Nespresso did a ‘reverse-Amazon’. They had an Amazon and turned into a bricks and mortar business.”)  Nearly half a century after it was conceived, Nespresso finds itself in an uncomfortable new world. Consumers who might have once craved its polished, urbane chic now look for dirty-fingered artisanal blends to use with their pour-overs and Aeropress machines. A Nespresso machine on the kitchen counter used to prove your membership of a convenience-loving global consumer coffee elite. Increasingly it suggests that you are not a serious coffee person, and that your attitude to the future of the planet is suspiciously relaxed.

Koji Sushi at Raffles City

Hopped into the casual Koji Sushi Bar at Raffles City (at the far corner on the third floor nearer to Swissotel the Stamford) for lunch. This outlet has been open for a while, but it was my first visit. I usually go to Koji on Pickering Street, but now I'm in town less often, this outlet at Raffles City is just as convenient. 

Koji Sushi Bar serves up a localized version of sushi and sashimi, and omakase at dinner. Lunch sets come in the form of chirashi-don, and friendly rice bowls of or salmon, tuna, unagi; the menu also offers heavier meats of pork cheek and wagyu sukiyaki. There's a board up on the wall that lists the specials of the day and those are available at lunch too. 

I've never eaten at Koji at dinner or tried its omakase. I always pop in at lunch for its easy donburi and sides. Or its five-piece sushi sets. The donburi usually comes with a salad and miso soup. The default option for steamed rice is white, but they also offer a S$1 swop to a mixed-grain option. There're additional sides to order. They have beancurd with century egg served cold with shrimp roe, but this 'pidan tofu' doesn't interest me. It's blended too mushy till it feels like I'm drinking a thick creamy soup. Nope.

I always grin at the menu listing of 'salmon tartare'. Hahaha. It's pretty much my usual option at poké bars and casual eateries. It's difficult to screw up salmon that has been soaked in soy. That day, I ordered the salmon tartare with avocado and mixed-grain rice. That's a decent and tasty portion of lunch for me. My lunch companion ordered a salmon roe donburi, and a yuzu mochi for dessert. The restaurant opens at 11.30 am. If we favor an early lunch to beat the crowds, our meal gets served super fast. And we'll still have time to stroll over to Gather for a good cup of coffee. 

Up The School Bus!

We've always preferred utilizing the school bus to get Choya to school on time. It's a (paid) service that the school offers, so why not. That stretch of traffic on the roads to Sunny Heights is always crazy, although it seems better now that many schools are doing home-based-learning. Still, sending the dog to school via the school bus makes our lives easier since I don't drive. Then the man doesn't have to put another task into his weekly calendar. That's a full hour saved. 

Even pre-COVID-19, pawrents could only do a quick drop-off at school, and can't linger. During this period with COVID-19 social distancing measures in place at every venue, the fewer pawrents who appear at school, the better it is for the handlers. A van-load of dogs arriving at school with one crew is safer than eight random humans appearing. We ought to be mindful of the safety of the handlers too, since they're the ones selflessly taking care of our dogs. 

E is the usual crew who takes our route. He's great at estimating pick-up and drop-off timings. He's punctual and super responsible. I appreciate that loads. He knows exactly how to deal with all manner of dogs and understands their temperament, especially those on his usual route. Although Choya knows E well by now, she still doesn't want to get into the school bus. Tsk! It's a small van, so she could technically jump into it. But she keeps running away so that we have to carry her into it. LOL

She would either sit in the back with the other dogs, or at the front if there're too many big dogs occupying the back space. It also depends on which dog is grouchy that morning. Hahahah. E would know who she gets along with. On many occasions, she gets to ride up front with E. Waaaah! It's like a VIP seat. Hahahaha. She's damn thrilled about it once she's in the front seat. You could see that little glint in her eye as she proudly sits up to satisfy her curiosity about the sights from this vantage point, and promptly lies down properly once the van moves off. 

At least nowadays she's happy to come home. Previously, she didn't want to get out of the bus when I pick her up. Now, when she's up in the front, she would jump into my arms once the door opens. Ahhh... there's really something cute about sending the dog off to school in a school bus, and picking her up when the bus comes into the driveway. Damn adorable. 

ホッピーバでの夕食

The BFF and I made a last minute dinner date and bravely went out without a restaurant reservation. It was just a random meal so we weren’t bothered with fancy. We would settle for wherever eatery that had available space for us. At the Tanjong Pagar area, the crowds were ridiculous. There were queues out spilling out of the sidewalk at many restaurants. The required social distancing was as minimal as it could be without breaking the rules. Yeah, the tables are spaced a meter apart. But when butts and spines sit down, your back is barely 50cm from the person behind. We grimaced at the crowd at The Public Izakaya. Those tables were too close and we didn’t want to wait an hour for a table.

Went across to The Public Izakaya's sister bar- The Hoppy Bar. By some random luck, we were immediately ushered to the last four seats at the bar in the quiet corner. Perfect. The BFF had a craving for a small serving of tako wasabi, of which I resolutely ignored. Me and wasabi aren’t really friends. I wanted the negitoro on toast. Hurhurhur. She was loading up on carbs for her morning dive by way of tsukemen. I loaded up for my run through buta-onigiri. Had a small bowl of gyusuji nikomi (牛筋煮込み, beef brisket and tendon stew) as well. 

Also had a few sticks of yakitori which took super long to arrive. But that was cool because we were warned about the wait, large orders, crowds and such; anyway we had other food to eat first. The food at Hoppy Bar and The Public Izakaya is generally satisfying. It’s a casual izakaya that fits our easy mood. Ordered beer too. We had enough of drinking from bottles and cans. It has been a few months since we had such good Suntory beer on tap. Ahhhhh. Absolutely refreshing. 

Tan Dun’s ‘Martial Arts Trilogy’ :: 谭盾音乐会《武侠三部曲》

Was happy to have Esplanade peg Tan Dun’s ‘Martial Arts Trilogy’ 谭盾音乐会《武侠三部曲》on Offstage and stream it from 16 to 31 July. Tan Dun conducted the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (previously known as 'Singapore Festival Orchestra') at these performances at Esplanade’s Huayi Festival (华艺节) in 2012. I was in Shanghai and Yunnan in 2012 and didn't manage to catch anything at Huayi. So to be able to watch this now is awesome. 

This ‘Martial Arts Trilogy’ featured Tan Dun's compositions in three Chinese wuxia films — the violin concerto in ‘Hero’ (《英雄》2002, Zhang Yimou), the cello concerto in ‘Crouching Tiger’ (《卧虎藏龙》2000, Ang Lee), and the piano concerto in ‘The Banquet’ (《夜宴》2006, Feng Xiaogang).

I had watched all three films, because, wuxia. It's very hard for me to resist a wuxia film, unless it's a stupid comedy (think Stephen Chow's very gross toilet humor). I still remember their storylines (a tad... clichéd), and the characters. I definitely enjoyed the acting. Except I have to see Zhang Ziyi in all three films. Zzzz. She has significant screen time. Tan Dun said, 

The three female protagonists in the three films all have something in common, in that they lost their loves and lives for their ideals. The musical images of these three heroines are interpreted by three different musical instruments in these three ‘film music’ pieces.

Decided to start watching in chronological order of films' release dates. I'm not familiar with any of the musicians. I uhhh don't attend enough MFO or SSO concerts... or even those by YST Conservatory. If I do attend, I simply enjoy the music, and I rarely pay much attention to the individual musicians, unless their name is printed gigantically on the bill. Also, I'm not super familiar with soundtracks of Chinese music, because unfortunately I don't watch enough of them. Obviously I can't compare Hans Zimmer or Ramin Djawadi with Tan Dun. Each score is done to a different film, requiring different vibes and feel. 

Cellist Ng Pei-sian with Tan Dun in the 'Crouching Tiger Concerto'.

I considered watching this concerts separately on different days. Then again, I decided to run through all three in one glorious afternoon. It was such a luxury. I can always re-watch them since the streaming is available till 31 July 2020, 2359hrs! I began with the 'Crouching Tiger Concerto' (37 minutes). It featured Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) principal cellist Ng Pei-sian. The Singaporean cellist has a superb touch. 

The cinematography is expansive and breathtaking. The martial arts sequences in this film are wonderful. The choreography is skillful and the actors are absolutely elegant and convincing in their movements. “暗石疑藏虎，盤根似臥龍”. I didn't watch this for Chow Yun Fatt, although he really does have that kungfu master stature. I watched this for Michelle Yeoh (as Yu Xiu-lian).

'The Hero Concerto': Composer and conductor Tan Dun,
violinist Wang Jiamin, and on the guqin- Zhao Xiaoxia.

'The Hero Concerto' (50 minutes) featured Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) violinist Wang Jiamin and also guqin musician Zhao Xiaoxia. Wang Jiamin has played in Tan Dun's many collaborative orchestras over the years. Zhao Xiaoxia has been hailed as 'Queen of New-Style Guqin'. I know nothing about guqin and I definitely can't tell what's traditional and what's 'new-style'. Tan Dun introduced the guqin as a 3000-year old instrument, and talked about “琴心剑胆” as a running thread through all three films. 

Whatever the musicians did, they evoked the pain of the film, those elegant flights among tree-tops and swirls of fabric in colors of red, white and black. It brought out the pain of Sword (Tony Leung) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung) to have to give up their personal ambition of assassinating the King of Qin for the greater good in the unification of China.

'The Banquet Concerto' (37 minutes) featured Chinese pianist Sun Jiayi. She often plays under Tan Dun's baton in his international showcases. Tan Dun likened the piano sounds in this composition to be like 'Bartók's lyrical sounds fused with Chinese percussion'. I suppose he was referring to the Hungarian composer's penchant for pandiatonic and chromatic sections, and not adhering to diatonic harmony. 

I like the piano concerto loads. Sun Jiayi's playing is extremely enjoyable. It almost felt like she knew every scene in the film. I don't quite like this film because it's a lot of palace intrigue, of killing Emperors and backstabbing one another. The wuxia scenes aren't stunning. It focuses a lot on Empress Wan (Zhang Ziyi) who isn't exactly a nice person. However I really like the ending of this film. Hahahaha. In her hour of glory, Empress Wan is killed by an unknown assassin. We see her dying face that tells of confusion, then horror and anguish. We'll never know who killed her, but we can have a few fun guesses. After all, palace living back then is short and deaths are plentiful and they come sudden. 

Pianist Sun Jiayi in 'The Banquet Concerto'.

First Visit to Roketto Izakaya

Decided to head out for dinner at the last minute, so something casual was ideal. Roketto Izakaya had a table for us at 9pm. It took us long enough to dine at Willin Low's showcase of mod-Sin fusion of Japanese and Thai flavors. (I know I know, where have we been?!) Willin's food has greatly improved over the years, and I've come to enjoy his menu at the old Wild Rocket. When the lease finally ran out, it was closed in favor of his other ventures in Taiwan and Japan. In December 2019, I briefly considered an eating trip to Niseko in January 2021, interspersed with some skiing (finally a trip after all these years; I wonder if I still can ski those black runs that I used to conquer with ease) Then COVID-19 happened, and canceled the entire 2020 and likely the first quarter of 2021. At least we have Roketto Izakaya at Frasers Tower. Hurrah.

I wouldn't recommend eating here unless you really like mod-Sin creations. I do! There were also mod-Sin cocktails done by Nutmeg & Clove popping up here for July. It's a 'Nutmeg & Clove X Roketto Izakaya' collaboration. The pop-up is meant to last a month, but we were told that it would be extended by another month. The man loves cocktails and he was most interested in checking them out. Unfortunately, a late dinner meant that he could only have two cocktails, in order to keep within the alcohol limit, and we only had one hour and fifteen minutes to gulp our alcohol. (Phase 2 10.30pm alcohol cut-off time) Oof! 

The man ordered the 'Maxwell Martini', which was a really odd concoction of Hendrick's gin, chicken rice distillate, chilli, umami and cilantro oil. I almost gagged at the scent. Well it was inspired by chicken rice after all, and it really subtly tasted of chicken rice. Erm... okay. The man loved having that with the food. He also had a glass of 'Silent Tears' and loved it. It was categorized under Peranakan/Eurasian because of its achar. It was made of Black Tears spiced rum, spiced pickled brine, cucumber, pineapple juice, sugar syrup, and London Essence ginger beer. I didn't want any cocktails. I generally don't like the sugar and so much different flavors in a glass. I didn't feel like an easy G&T either. So I stuck to my conservative sake from Kamonishiki Brewery (加茂錦酒造) in Niigata. I drank all 280ml of it. Hahaha.

I didn't fancy the 'orh luak' which was really oyster omelette spaghettini tossed in spicy hae bee hiam. It was good, but it didn't hit a spot with me since I'm not a fan of dried shrimp paste or oysters. The krapow prata pizza was small and on point with the basil, chicken mince and chilli and cheese. The man ate it all up. I love krapow, but not in this form. I tried a piece and while decent, it's just not quite for me. These aren't quite my kind of flavors. The man had to have serving of 'har jeong tin gai', marinated frog legs deep fried in prawn paste. He ate the bones clean. Marinated with pear and served with Javanese inspired peanut sauce & pineapple salsa, the Iberico pork satay was gorgeous. 

The fish collagen broth shot was beautiful. At S$4.80 for a small glass of broth, it totally packed a punch. I loved the scallop 'her kiao' glass noodles! It was delicious! That was a small cute bowl of scallops wrapped in fish ravioli skin on braised glass noodles and a dollop of spicy Marmite peanut butter. It totally worked for me. We had to google 'her kiao' because the man asked which local dish inspired it, but I don't know what her kiao is or what dialect it is. Hahahaha. I finally realized it's usually served with Teochew fishball noodles, but I have only had sad ones, and never had any good ones. So I never really bothered with hunting down the proper fish dumplings using fish paste. I really wanted the abura-age (油揚げ) rojak salad that uses hae ko ice cream and tiger prawns, but I had no more stomach space. Next round then. We even made it to dessert- a chendol that Wild Rocket used to serve, in the form of a pandan panna cotta, housemade honeycomb, gula melaka and coconut ice-cream. Ahhh Roketto Izakaya, what a lovely meal.

Scallop 'her kiao' braised glass noodles.

We Can't Share Books

Grinned when I read Mark Oppenheimer's thoughts on riffling through his wife's bookshelves in 'An undiscovered library: My wife's books', published in The Washington Post on July 10, 2020. It's a wonderful little nugget on books, titles and couples who read. The author and his wife Cyd Fremmer don't share similar reading preferences.

Mark Oppenheimer's musing began after he finished reading Geoffrey Wolff's 'The Duke of Deception', and enjoyed reading about Wolff's father. He had wondered why he hadn't read it earlier. Then he realized that it's his wife's book, not his. He was forced to go through their bookshelves again during quarantine when bookstores and libraries went dark, and deliveries delayed. 

This dissonance in our tastes surfaced early in our courtship and led to comical misfires. I hoped Cyd would share my love of a good nonfiction narrative, so I bought her Bernard Lefkowitz’s “Our Guys”; she wondered why her new boyfriend got her a book about sexual assault at a New Jersey high school. We discovered a shared love of dogs, and Cyd gave me Sharon Creech’s “Love That Dog”; she was dispirited that I had never heard of the Newbery Award-winning children’s author.

We both enjoyed a good crossword puzzle or a vicious Scrabble contest, and were both enthralled by “American Idol,” but we simply didn’t get each other’s literary tastes. What’s more, we had never read the same stuff. In elementary school, Cyd went through the young-adult canon, while I finished all of Gregory McDonald’s Fletch mysteries. (She got her recommendations from librarians, I got mine from Chevy Chase movies.) To this day, I go for cops, she goes for magicians. On our bookshelves, Richard Price’s “Samaritan” may sit next to Philip Pullman’s “The Golden Compass,” but there can be no mistaking which has Oppenheimer yichus, which one is a Fremmer. 

It got me chuckling because the man and I don't share books either. Neither do we watch the same films or television series. The rare television series that we fully agree on is The Game of Thrones'. All Hail King in the North and King of Winter! He's iffy about the rest. 'Witcher' is a hoot, but Geralt of Rivia has B-grade lines, so it's not the man's kind of show. Hahahaha. He likes cerebral things that are mind-bending. I appreciate 'Dark' (watch all three seasons together), but it made my head explode. As much as I understand it, I don't dig it. Hello, it's sci-fi. I'm strict about sticking to supernatural, horror and fantasy. The man wouldn't explore my bookshelves. I might sometimes wander over to his if I'm feeling cerebral. He reads a lot of legal writings, sci-fi, urban fiction, and Zadie Smith type of books. 

I rarely venture into the man's bookshelves. I peek at it now and then, but rarely do I see a book I want to read. The man and I can agree on some graphic novels, and we might share books that are a collection of contemporary short stories. Chances are, some of the stories will appeal to one of us. Our bookshelves are not existent. We're voracious readers. Our bookshelves and floor space can't keep up. But we have an enormous depository on the Kindle and in the Amazon cloud.

The author thinks that it's jealousy and inadequacy that are preventing him from dipping into his wife's books. Hahahaha. Well, it takes some endurance to finish a fantasy trilogy, or chase it down every other year waiting for the next book in the series to be published. Whatever it is, he's definitely going to be scanning the wife's bookshelves during this period. Who knows, he might find a gem or two. And more.

But this forbearance has no place in our current, sweatpanted world. In quarantine, everything becomes communal property: A good book must be shared no less than the last pint of Haagen-Dazs. I followed up “The Duke of Deception” with “This Boy’s Life,” by Wolff’s brother, Tobias, about his childhood with their mother, thousands of miles from Geoffrey and their father. Equally terrific. I read Cyd’s copies of Ian McEwan’s “Amsterdam” and Michael Cunningham’s “A Home at the End of the World.” I find myself envious of all the years she knew these books. And also grateful. We have this life in common — and now, increasingly, maybe books, too. The children will leave someday, but Galsworthy will remain, thick on our bookshelves, beckoning.

Grilled Steak & Veggies at Viio Gastropub

Since we were in the neighborhood, we texted the friends to see if they were free to meet after walking their dog. We keep doing quick meets with them at the dog parks in the mornings, but we haven't had sat down for a coffee or had a meal with them in a few months. Tonight was a good night as any to try our luck. They were free! And they wanted to ask if there was a chance we were nearby and could do dinner. Hahaha. Perfect. This 6.45pm dinner timing suited us well too. 

Met G and M at Viio Gastropub for an evening of steak and drinks. The table wasn't in the mood for wine, we didn't order any 'sets' that came with a bottle of red. Had many cute easy half-pints of beer so that people could get to the stout later as dessert. I decided to go alcohol-free and gulped down its refreshing bottle of pandan cooler with lots of ice cubes.

Nobody was interested in pasta that evening. Nobody wanted carbs! What a surprise. Heh. We wanted something robust yet light. Hahaha. Yeah, a table of difficult diners. So 'robust and light' translated into meats and some veggies, no carbs. Ordered a simply grilled tomahawk with two sides of roasted potatoes and grilled vegetables. These were great for the tastebuds, and were merrily shared by four people. There were no leftovers. 

School Is Good For The Dog

Hanging out with Mochi, a four-year-old Shiba-ken.

It's definitely beneficial for Choya to be swimming again. She loves water and can swim fine on her own. Swimming is a great exercise to strengthen her muscles and tissues. Managing her patella luxation and pre-empting all sorts of potential health issues are always on the top of my mind. I hope future COVID-19 closures don't disrupt her school again. It's always very nice for the school to send me different photos of her each week. They really take loads of effort to get photos from different angles to send to the pawrents. Awwwww. 

I pack a full lunch box for Choya to take to school weekly. She does need a mid-day meal. Even if she doesn't fully eat it, a bite or two would be fine. Although she won't starve if she refuses to eat. Except for the first week, her handlers said that she has been eating it. Whewww. I was worried about her food aggression and not wanting to eat with other dogs around. Her handlers knew and took care to watch her too. They said she seemed fine so far.

With the extra exercise, she comes home hungry in the late afternoons, and she has been asking for an early dinner each week. Hahaha. That's a good thing, considering how fussy she is about eating only when she's hungry enough. Then it's nap-time because she's exhausted. She falls asleep in seconds. She'll be out like a light sprawled on the floor. After an hour or so, the floor either gets too cold or too hard. Then she'll clamber onto her bed in the living room, and falls back asleep in seconds. She likes her little bed where she could curl up or roll around and get really comfortable. This little bed nestled between our armchairs is perfect since it's close enough to us but she still gets her own space. 

To NUDE Seafood with Choya

So pleased that NUDE's Marina One outlet now takes dogs outdoors. Their al fresco seating area is covered and comfortable, within the ground floor of The Heart at Marina One. That's perfect. The official announcement was recently made in the cutest way possible- by Boss Shibe Taki.

Choya likes the fields around Promontory, MBFC and Marina One. We'd better utilize it before they build something else on it or fence it off. She also has fwweends living in the area, so it makes it super convenient for us to walk her with her fwwwends. We also get to see our human friends, then if schedules permit, we sit down to a decent dinner that isn't just pizza or burgers, and at a nice restaurant that is so not a dog cafe. 

Choya seems super comfortable there. It's not very crowded now on week days since most humans in the office buildings are still adhering working-from-home. There aren't noisy sounds of traffic, motorbikes revving or pesky bugs to irritate her. It was also extra cool tonight, thanks to the rains and continuous cloudy days. She sat under the table and walked around our chairs. The leash was long enough for her to shift positions. She was happy chilling out and watching the humans walk by. 

There's no food for her on the menu here. Oof. I'm not bothered to bring out food to feed her either. She's not fully comfortable eating outside unless it's in a familiar environment. For now, NUDE isn't familiar just yet. She'd have to eat when we get home. So we have to get an early dinner and then feed her before 9pm, otherwise she gets super hungry. Nowadays, she doesn't want to have breakfast anymore unless she has a tiring morning walk that expends loads of energy. Luckily she still has an appetite for dinner at 7ish or 8pm after her evening walk. 

I really like the food at NUDE, especially their Grandpa's Pomfret Soup, which is surprisingly legit and has been consistently good for all the times I've had it as a takeaway order in the past three months. However, at the Marina One restaurant, the soup is only available on weekends and public holidays. If that's the one thing you're hoping to taste, call and check if they have it before you go.

Tonight, we had the coleslaw with ponzu aioli and the bit of spice probably came from a sprinkling of shichimi togarashi. The side of broccolini with cashew emulsion went well with the binchotan-grilled spring chicken that sat on a delicious combination of house fermented chilli glaze, Chinese chive emulsion, scallion oil, pickled daikon. Also had a duo of fish fillets of hickory-smoked salmon and a Singapore Straits barramundi, signature black forbidden grains, cauliflower. Almost keeled over when the man insisted on dessert. He ate all that by himself. A giant plate of soufflé pancake with caramelized bananas and yam ice-cream. 

First Class Back at the Pilates Studio

I usually ignore the Reformer because I had the use of it at the gym. Without a gym membership now, I kinda miss it. Hahaha. However, gym group reformer classes are never as precise and beneficial as a private class. Most of all, it's the Pilates Chair and the ultra-beneficial in-person corrections that I've sorely missed. Virtual pilates classes at home can only be in the form of Mat, or on the Arc. Classes are a sweaty business. I prefer exercising out on the patio, and loads of effort has to be put in. It's an absolute workout. K doesn't let up online either! Side planks and mountain climbers galore! 

Now that we're back in the studio, K wouldn't go easier on me. I 'regret' telling her about my new-usual exercise routine, which includes more regular 5km runs at a faster pace, and krav maga classes which incorporate HIIT now that we can't do much sparring with other humans. It has only encouraged K to formulate tougher workouts for me. She has a disgusting habit of making me do dips, press-ups and planks. Ugh. I like a challenge, but I'm not exactly hardworking. I'm quite lazy. 😉

First class back in the studio and it was brutal. She killed my obliques with crazy side bend holds. Then we went into many long minutes of planks, press-ups and the most brutal of all was the Balance Control Front on the Reformer. Holding the plank with resistance, and then sliding the carriage up and down extra slowly to K's evil counting left me struggling to seek strength deep within my core. It's incorrect to solely using arm strength to move that carriage. That strength has to spiral up from the abs to the lats and shoulder blades. I woke up the next day with DOMS. 😐 My body actually ached for a day. Wow. The muscles had really gone to sleep during lockdown. While the very portable Arc is useful, the Reformer and the Chair will utilize the muscles in a different manner although the same exercises are done.

More Granola!

V and R handed me a box of granola as a gift. Wow! It was superb timing because I had just finished the current pack and was thinking about ordering another batch.

V said R had been experimenting with baking granola in all forms — with dried fruit, goji berries, green apples. In addition to the base of rolled oats, he has been adding different types of nuts and such. He's trying to nail down a few versions that would make both their individual tastebuds happy. R likes it sweeter; V prefers it nutty with no dried fruits. 

Baking granola at home seems to be a lot of trial and error with the mix of flavors because people like their granola in many different ways, and not everyone loves the same kinds of nuts. Some want it with dried fruits, and some prefer it with coconut flakes, et cetera. Good quality granola on retail is a bit tough to hunt down, especially if I'm looking for specific flavors. No odd vanilla, gula melaka or pandan flavors for me. Just a regular recipe works. Home-baked granola tends to be less experimental. As long as the maker doesn't load in the sugar, it's definitely acceptable to my conservative tastebuds. 

R and V's gift went straight into a jar for eating this week. I eat a lot of granola, but I don't eat that much, so a 500ml jar will feed me for 10 days. I thought I'd be nice and portion out a small serving for the man. The note did have his name down too. Teeheheeh. However, he tends to like his breakfast hot, and he doesn't eat as much granola and yoghurt as I do. Less for him!

Gifts of home-baked not-too-sweet home-baked goods are always welcomed. If it's granola, it'll never be wasted. A 500ml volume feeds me for about 10 days or so. Anyone's home-baked version will always be better than any I can produce. Only because they put in effort for research and sourcing for ingredients. I haven't been desperate enough to even try baking a tray of granola. Heh. This was a batch without the dried fruits, which could sweeten the nuts. I usually eat my granola topped with fresh fruits anyway, so it doesn't matter that no dried fruits are in there. I'm one happy beneficiary of all granola-bake experiments.

GE2020 :: 61.24% to PAP

Late afternoon on Polling Day, we got takeout boxes of prawn biryani, butter chicken and meen mulakittathu (Malabar style red fish curry), and many other items from Spice Junction. J and L came over for good dinner conversation. We called it a night at 9pm so that they could get back to work, and we went to walk the dog. The conversation continued over text as election results came in. As midnight turned into the early hours of Saturday, after the results of the Singapore's 13th General Election were announced, the morning headlines all read,

GE2020: PAP wins with 61.24% of vote

WP claims two GRCs including new Sengkang GRC: The ruling party won 83 seats out of an available 93. The victory saw the PAP’s vote share slide by close to nine percentage points from the last General Election, where it garnered 69.9 per cent of the votes.

OH YES!!!!! Then I became greedy. I was like, if only PAP won with 60% this round... one can hope. It would be ideal to bring it down to 57%. That would be a wonderful wake-up call. Well, this would happen in time to come then. When the sample count came in, I was quite thrilled. Those counts are fairly representative of the final results. And when the final tally was announced, I was relieved. I couldn't believe that East Coast GRC was won by PAP at only 53.41%. Woah, East Coast GRC people, what a coup. And of course, aye aye Sengkang, Aljunied and Hougang! 

I vote in Tanjong Pagar GRC. I don't think I'll be moving out of the electoral boundaries even in 2025. Over the last two years, I made the effort to pop out to some community/grassroots events to check out potential candidates and current office-holders. Otherwise I'll never see most of the Tanjong Pagar GRC MPs. The GRC system makes it so easy for new faces to ride along the coat-tails of the current MPs. It's really annoying. 

This GE2020, Tanjong Pagar GRC is held by PAP with 63.13%. PSP took 36.87%. Okay lor. I would have loved it to be closer to 58.5% - 60% to PAP. But this is cool too. Also, Tanjong Pagar GRC had 1930 spoilt votes. WALAOEH. I did raise my eyes at the number of spoilt votes in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC (3392), Sembawang GRC (2947) and Jalan Besar GRC (2943), and the wow-inducing 5009 spoilt votes of a total 178,039 votes cast in......... Ang Mo Kio GRC. 🙄 

I was really tired, but I stayed up. I wanted to hear what our Prime Minister had to say about the results at the post-election conference. I wanted to watch his facial expressions and listen to his tones. 61.24% is okay with me. I was happy with the results because I was hoping for it to send a message. It did. We need diversity in the Parliament. And for the incumbent to stop talking down to voters like we're stupid, and don't threaten us. I'm pleased that we now have 10 Opposition Members of Parliament who aren't afraid to speak out, and they're guided by one another's experience. 

Mr Lee said the result also showed a “clear desire” for a diversity of voices in Parliament.

“Singaporeans want the PAP to form the government, but they, and especially the younger voters, also want to see more opposition presence in Parliament,” he said.

He added that he looks forward to the participation and contribution of the Opposition in Parliament.

He said it is “only right” that WP chief Pritam Singh be “formally designated” as the Leader of the Opposition, and that he will be provided with “appropriate staff support and resources to perform his duties”.

~ Channel News Asia, 11 July 2020

Imho, Pritam Singh is an excellent and credible Workers' Party chief. And now, it is only right that he be named the Leader of the Opposition, not just in name, but with the recognition and (reluctant) support of the incumbent party, and rightfully allocated staff and resources. The incumbent can call it whatever they want. These terms calling Workers' Party's manifesto and proposition as "PAP-lite", and "taking a half step to the left". They're hilarious. Well, it isn't that wrong, to a layman. Whatever. We'll take it. Do your thing, Workers' Party. Be the credible Opposition worth voting for. 

Mr Singh said early on Saturday (July 11) that he was grateful to voters in the three constituencies for trusting his party with their vote, adding that he was very humbled by it.

“I’m not feeling euphoric at all… There’s a lot of work to do and I think we’ve got to work hard,” he told reporters outside Teambuild Centre along Geylang Road, where the party’s headquarters is.

While WP won 10 out of 93 elected seats in the House, Mr Singh said that this was still far short of its medium-term aim of clinching a third of parliamentary seats that would allow it to make a strong position on constitutional amendment bills, for example. 

“It’s still not exactly a quantum leap,” he said.  “We should still focus on strengthening the party as an organisation and speaking up in Parliament intelligently and thoughtfully, such that we represent what people are feeling.” 

~ TODAY, 11 July 2020

Titer Test & Annual Shots

Took Choya for her six-monthly bordetella jab. It’s required by her school. In densely populated Singapore, she meets many dogs on walks and at the dog runs. Dogs drool on and sniff one another, sniff and walk on pee, poop, soil. Dogs falling ill from kennel coughs are more common than we think. I’d rather her not get that and be susceptible to other infections. 

She doesn’t do well with vaccinations though. They seem to cause her to be disorientated or even hallucinate for 12 hours. She might have body aches because she doesn't seem to like being carried for two days. If we carry her, she makes very loud protests and treats us to loads of shrieks and Shiba screams. Those screams are sometimes about finding her voice and happily using it when she's displeased. I'll cut her some slack for two days. Then I chide her for screaming like she's being butchered. 

After each vaccination, I make an effort to keep her surroundings calm and quiet. I keep two days free in order to watch her and gauge if her reactions need clinical intervention. I’m not an anti-vaxxer. However, I don’t believe in over-vaccinating myself or the dog. Choya will get the necessary vaccines if she needs it. She'll be a bit pissed with us for two days, but that's okay since she's still sleeping, happy to go walking, and has pretty usual bowel movements. Most importantly, after vaccination, she still eats, and has an okay appetite overall on the day and the next few days.

Choya’s also due for the annual vaccination. She has had her puppy shots and the 7-in-1 (canine distemper, hepatitis, corona viral enteritis, parainfluenza, parvovirus and two strains of leptospirosis) last June. So I opted to do a titer test first. If her bloodwork shows she has sufficient antibodies to parvovirus, distemper, or adenovirus, then we can skip the 4-in-1 (DHPP) shot, and just do the leptospirosis.   

Titer test results came back earlier than expected. I’m glad that the titer test showed that she has high levels of antibodies, so the jab she needs would be for leptospirosis. Whichever way, she's going to have to get jabbed anyway. Hahaha. With a lower number of vaccines required, at least the after effects wouldn't be so bad. The best thing- she now weighs 7.3 kg, a lovely increase from the 6.2 kg that she carried for seven months. She doesn’t look so skinny now, and she has packed on muscles. YES. All the food has helped! Wheeeeee! May this ideal weight stay on her. She’s allowed to get up to 8 kg. 

Titer test results.

General Elections 2020

Singapore goes to the polls today. Every GRC and SMC is contested. This will be the second time I’m able to vote. The first time I did so was in 2015. It was exciting and expected results left a sour taste in my mouth. This round wouldn’t be any different. Scheduling the General Elections in the middle of dealing with a pandemic within closed borders isn’t brave or foolhardy. It’s a calculated gamble; it’s an extremely old and well-used political move. (It’s anyone’s guess if we would be thrown back to Phase 1 right after. We can’t afford to do this start-stop thing over and over for rest of the year and the next.) 

All 93 parliamentary seats are contested and up for grabs. There have been a flurry of activities from the ‘Opposition’ parties, and many new and steady candidates have been fielded. The Opposition has been demonized and painted as untrustworthy with flawed moral character. But as I get older, I see that it isn’t so. Our majority party isn’t above dirty tactics either. We haven't progressed much beyond focusing on economic policies. The social policies aren't well debated or considered. Have we the electorate become more ‘woke’ though?

This entire campaigning period of 10 days stink of one-upping the other. I was hoping to hear new ideas and propositions. I heard none. Many topics have been swept under by every party. Stop trying to 'fix' the Opposition, dammit. They're not lesser beings than you are. Give them a voice. Is it so difficult to tolerate dissent and critic? If this is about winning the game, we the citizenry, lose.

I’m not enjoying the high-handedness dished out by the supermajority-incumbent. I dislike how quickly POFMA was passed, how it has been used and how it seems to be used. I’m not hot about being talked to and treated like I’m an idiot, and that I should leave it to the decision of the government since it knows best. 'This is how it should be done. We found the best people to lead. Trust us.' That high-handed tone doesn't sit well with me. Of late, when it comes to passing bills or policies, it will only bother with a perfunctory consultation with the electorate. 

I’ll go vote at my allocated time-slot later on, with much reluctance. By now, I’m irritated by all the manifestos of the contesting political parties, all words and accusations, and the statistics thrown about. What a show put on. It’s supremely nauseating. I’ll vote for the good of Singapore’s political stability, which imho, will be achieved through fair checks and balances. It’s not a ‘for or against’. I just don’t want a supermajority party in a government because it breeds contempt. I want to hear different voices represented instead of being curtailed by the party whip. There will be common ground when we get past arrogance and ego.

自宅で焼肉！

Most of us are a little horrified by the crowds flocking to the restaurants and such. We don't really want to go out that much. We don't have data on this matter of whether hanging out at one another's homes is 'safer' in terms of avoiding infections. But it definitely makes for easier contact tracing, and if we narrow our face-to-face social circle and don't gallivant everywhere, we can't spread any viruses further.

The Circuit Breaker and Phase 1 did funny things to the friends. They already have one of those Weber-type electric/gas grill to churn out serious pieces of meat. But they also bought a Korean BBQ grill pan and a squat table/countertop charcoal konro. Once Phase 2 kicked in and visitors were allowed, we planned ahead and made a dinner date to utilize their konro (木炭コンロ). Hahahaha. Yakiniku dinner at home!

I was so tickled to see that they bought the same identical grill. Binchotan was used for tonight. The six pieces of binchotan had to be fired for 30 minutes in the giant grill first. Otherwise it can't get to that glowing ember hot enough to cook food. Once the coals were fired and started turning white, the meats sizzled. We skipped the the vegetables and seafood this round. The genrous hosts had already bought some karubi beef. J and J said they would bring pork and also 25 skewers of chicken satay. So we stopped by Meidi-ya to buy some stuff and contributed more beef and pork. We also randomly cured a small fillet of kanpachi in salt and sake as an appetizer. 

The meats were quite delicious. Oddly, I prefer the pork to the beef. The kurobuta pork I'm still not a fan of that wagyu marbled flavor regardless of how it's cooked. The supermarket didn't stock jo-rōsu that day. So we got the jo-karubi cut which is perfect for yakiniku. It cooks so fast, literally in 45 seconds. J said he bought the satay from some seller on Shopee. Couldn't stop laughing. You could really buy many things off many sites nowadays! The chicken satay was pretty well-marinated with lemongrass, salt and pepper. It was quite tasty!

We didn't plan for a quick meal. We intended it to be an easy slow night. We even deposited the grouchy-just-vaccinated dog at the grandpawrents so that she wouldn't be alone for too many hours. The weather cooperated beautifully. It was a rainy night with a continuous breeze, so it was super comfortable (you can’t do this in air-conditioning or if you're swarmed by sandflies and mosquitos).The binchotan ensured that we don't have that lingering wood-smoke in the hair, clothes, curtains, couches and such. Haven't seen the friends for soooo long. It was really lovely getting together again. There were plenty champagne and rich bottles of red.

There was a lovely pot of miso soup, and a huge pot of Japanese steamed white rice cooked to go with the meal. The hosts always feed us so well. I had two bowls of soup! I scooped just a bit rice to begin with, knowing that I could top up. Oof. I did! All in all, I had a giant full bowl of it. No guilt! I ate more rice than I should because when the meats juices were drizzled onto it, the combination was seriously tasty. The binchotan lent a depth to the grilled meats. It made all the difference. I saved up all the my meat quota for tonight. I think those probiotics are really working. I felt fine the next day.

First GYROTONIC® Class In Three Months

Went to my first GYROTONIC® class in three months. The studio is always impeccably clean, with the instructor wiping down and sanitizing the equipment after each class. There isn't much of a difference now that in-person classes have resumed, except for a reduction of the number of clients visiting the studio on any given day/hour, and clients conscientiously hand-washing before and after classes. Also, bringing our own towels. 

In order to adhere to the many rules of social distancing in a fitness studio, J is now masked up all the way through, using an exercise loop and pole to correct postures and such. It works lah. She said she isn't too uncomfortable with the surgical mask since she's instructing and correcting rather than demonstrating. I only hope that all these efforts will sustain us through to Phase 3 unscathed. (When travel opens back up, all bets are off.)

Felt so good to be back on the machine (the pulley-tower combination unit). Working out is never only about working up a good sweat and increasing the heart rate. It has to be some sort cross-training. I've done the HIIT and running, so the body also needs to focus on flexibility and always maintaining that core strength, or building it up if it's insufficient.

I've missed these stretches. Even as I kept with the exercises at home, I've missed the aid of the machine to rotate the spine. It's especially helpful on the tighter side. That's something I can't fully do without its help or the pointers from the instructor. J's virtual classes are fine because she takes the effort to structure a flow for me weekly, anticipating what my body might need, or according to my complaints of 'tightness'. Hahaha. However, I can do this on my own, via cheaper but paid alternatives on other platforms. A screen and camera angles can never replace these face-to-face corrections. And the privilege of a one-to-one private class without committing to a lengthy package/contract is what I'm happy to pay for.

My back is supposed to be arched in this move,
but I can't articulate it well on this side.