Steamed Grey Mullet

The convenience of a wet market is really in how I could just pop in to get groceries, grab some fresh vegetables and fish. I love Tiong Bahru market. But since the fish and seafood stalls at Tiong Bahru Market would be closed or have limited supplies for a few weeks, I'm not bothered to go and squeeze with the crowds who will sweep out stocks before 9.30am. I don't eat much seafood/shellfish, so I can't quite order a seafood box online. Many online fishmongers are closed too. For now, I'll just pop into the supermarket for a quick one to get a fish or two, and the vegetables. Those are really plentiful. So I also dunno why people made a mad rush to stock up on fresh fish and seafood last week. They must have a really big freezer.

Sent the man to do a quick supermarket run that afternoon for fruits and he decided randomly to get dinner ingredients too. We didn't have any cravings and didn't plan to get takeout from any specific restaurants. I might as well sort out dinner myself then. I was hoping for some sort of fish that wouldn't be a snapper or a seabass. The man said that the seafood section was well-stocked. He found fresh grey mullet as a whole fish, and as fillets. I told him to buy a pack of two lovely fillets to steam them for dinner. 

Cabbage was also bought. For some reason, the man really loves cabbage. Each time I ask him what type of vegetables he would like to go with the meal, it's always cabbage, regardless of what the mains or meats are. All right, tonight's vegetables would be stir-fried cabbage with fish sauce, chillies and dried shrimps. 

I didn't steam them fillets Teochew-style (tau cheo and lime). The fillets were steamed plain with sea salt and white Sarawak pepper. I would blanch them with the sauce later upon serving. Prepped a tangy dipping sauce to heat in the pan. Then it was drizzled over the steamed fillets. That was just a sauce of lime juice, soy sauce, spring onions and a ton of garlic. On days I don't feel like having tau cheo or salted plums, this sauce works great. It's super easy to prep, and is perfect to go with different types of steamed fish. #ImpieCooks2021

Grey mullets would be good grilled too, but when they're this fresh, I love them steamed. The kitchen sliced the fillets properly because the bones were lifted right off and there was very little of them in this batch. Tonight's steamed grey mullets went beautifully with brown rice, and yeah, cabbage. Heh. 

Bought Wines from Angra's Warehouse Sale

I'm not a big buyer of wines since I don't drink enough at home. (The man's first choice of alcohol isn't wine. It's beer.) Wine goes slowly. I finish maybe a bottle a month. We don't have that many friends over for wine either. If I want to, it's convenient enough to hop out to get a decent/desired bottle of wine if we're having friends over. 

The last time I bought 12 bottles of wine at a go was in November. It has taken me half a year to whittle it down to a bottle of Beaujolais. People do send gifts of wines. I'm lucky that they don't send cartons! But they still gift a bottle or two. That's very lovely though. Importantly, there isn't a reason for me to stock wines at home because of space constraints. I don't own a wine fridge. It isn't a necessity. If I have the extra space, it's a second fridge or a small freezer that would be helpful.  

Anyway, it was time to restock my meagre supply of wines. When the friends sent the information over about Angra's warehouse sale over the weekend, I signed up for it. I like it that we could simply buy loose bottles here and there instead of dealing with six of the same bottles or a dozen of them. I don't have that many favorites to want to drink the same labels over and over and over again. 

It was a blistering hot day. Thank goodness the warehouse was air-conditioned. We had booked our preferred timed slots (one allocated hour); and the queue to enter was short and fast-moving. It was a full-on sale. People brought their trolleys and even boxes. I didn't. I figured that Angra would have sufficient sturdy cartons for shoppers. Between the man and I, a few bottles of wine wouldn't be that heavy to carry down to the car.

The stock list indicated that there were plenty of reasonably priced wines for us to choose from. I didn't want anything fussy, requiring exact storage temperatures or too vintage. I wanted a few easy bottles of Barolo, Sangiovese, Chianti and Chablis, a few bottles of Chablis and sauvignon blanc for the BFF, and that was that. Went to the ale with the intention to buy eight bottles of wine, and left with ten. Not too bad. Well, 12 bottles of wine are all the space I have at home. These must be finished within seven months, given the limited storage conditions. Three bottle of wines will sit in the food fridge at any one time; the rest lie quietly in a dark corner in the music room (the coolest and darkest room) till needed. 

Pizzas & Sambal Stingray

On a random evening, the friends wouldn't mind a drink, and wondered what we were up to for dinner. So we said, "Come over!" Time for us to have them over rather than us barging into their home all the time to steal their wine. Heh. However, they still generously brought an easy bottle of Petrolo 2018 Val d'Arno di Sopra Torrione to share.

Ordered a few items from Ristorante Luka's Cross Street Exchange menu. They arrived neatly packed. A lovely oxtail ragu rigatoni (a Cross Street Exchange exclusive), and the 200g skirt steak was nicely grilled medium. I was tickled by their label of 'sotong', which was sautéed squid and garlic, spicy tomato sauce and squid ink cream. It's still one of the best grilled sotong out there done this way. The man was thrilled because he could finally have two pizzas without a ton of leftovers. There were a margherita with anchovies, and a salsiccia pepperoni.

For a lark, the friends added on a sambal stingray and salted egg yolk prawns from Modern Grill in Newton Hawker Center. These were seemingly totally incoherent with Luka's food, but they did go fine the way Singaporean potluck always do. A mish-mash of dishes made for a happy table. I hadn't had sambal stingray for a while! It was pretty decent. The spices went brilliant with champagne. It was the last bottle of champagne we had, and it ought to be finished before July ended. 

Ristorante Luka's Tanjong Pagar outlet offers a slightly different menu. It has been maybe four years since they opened, but I still like their pastas trotted out right on their earliest menu. The shirasu aglio e olio is gorgeous, and I so love their uni aglio e olio spaghetti with bottarga, garlic, chilli and yuzu, and this is only available at the Tanjong Pagar outlet, even for delivery. So I kinda had that two nights later. Hahahah. Had a craving lah! 

Choya Wears An AirTag

It was tough to find a real-time GPS tracker. I wasn't confident that Tractive or Whistle will work in Singapore. The pricey monthly/annual subscription plan is a major put-off. I was willing to pay it, but their range doesn't seem to cover Singapore. There’s Tack, a homegrown brand offers a recently Kickstarter-funded similar product with an annual subscription at an affordable S$56.  

Choya's recall is dicey at best. I'll have to watch her mood to let her off-leash. But I generally don't; I use a long line. As small as Singapore is, dogs can still get loose and lost. If that ever happens to mine, I want to give her the best chances of surviving till I find her. Two years into having her, I finally seriously considered a tracker on a collar. I almost put an old Apple Watch on Choya, but it was too heavy. 

I was seriously considering a Tack, but hesitated about its 30-gram weight. The next best option- Apple's 11-gram AirTag. Well, I'm on this dark side and mired in the Apple ecosystem. Got the AirTags immediately on product launch day. I didn't need a pack of four. Two sufficed. Had one engraved, and left the other one blank. I wanted to stick stuff on it. Hahaha. The engraving only allowed for four letters or four limited emojis. So I made sure to include a poop emoji on that one. I have plenty of Shiba Inu stickers, so randomly stuck one on the other AirTag. 

Needed a sleeve + holder for the AirTags. Bought cheap silicone holders from Lazada. Those don't just protect the AirTag, they're fit it securely to the dog's collar. At S$2.50 each, I bought like 10 of them in two designs to try out. Hahaha. I didn't bother with leather. I don't particular fancy leather on an active dog. The key-ring types are fine, except that the dangling might irritate the dog. These cheap holders turned out to be practical and effective. 

The other silicone ones that flip open with the 'button' aren't that secure, but they have held up so far when the dog gets zoomies or when she rolls around in grass, sand and water. The most secure ones are those that simply slip in and out of the collar. Those won't come open easily and that would be used for school. The school doesn't need an additional headache to check on missing AirTags. It's the owners' responsibility to ensure that the gadgets are securely attached to the collars to begin with. 

I sent Choya to school with one AirTag. Kinda fun stalking her at school or when she heads out on pack walks. In the morning, I could see her bus route to pick up the other furries and when all of them get to school. In the afternoon, I could see her when she was on the move home. To be clear, it's not real-time tracking though; there's a lag of eight to ten minutes and it wouldn't work without iPhones (with Bluetooth turned on) nearby. 

I'm quite impressed that AirTag's bluetooth and ultrawideband (UWB) capabilities allow for some sort of real-time tracking, maybe to a distance of 10km if there're plenty of iPhones with bluetooth turned on and in range. We have sufficient iPhone users to make this useful in the event that Choya gets lost. When used in this manner, the AirTag is more useful than a standard lousy bluetooth tracker, but not as accurate as a GPS tracker. Apple has stressed that the AirTag is meant for locating items, not people or pets. But who cares. Something is better than nothing, till Apple releases an actual pet tracker.  

Miraku at the Park

Barely a month after the dining restrictions lifted on June 21, we’re back to getting takeout from the restaurants in this P2.1HA (22 July to 18 August). Since I’m so sian about it all, I have no mood to think about ordering stuff from restaurants. 

Planning what to eat and having to pre-order aren’t exciting at all. On top of analysis and paperwork, I’m flooded with work calls and meetings. Menu-planning isn’t on my list of priorities. When I get hungry, I stop by whichever food center to get brainless takeout. I either quaff bread, eggs or granola, or cook easy stir-fry vegetables, or have the man do a pasta. 

On a whim, I put in a last-minute order with Miraku for dinner. The restaurant is back to doing takeout for the weekends this month, and dates are announced on their fb page. Picked up the order, and went out to the park with it, and the dog. Since we were dining outdoors on a table, no picnic mat was required. Brought placemats, little spoons and chopsticks. Tried Carlsberg Smooth Draught Pilsner for the first time. It was light and pretty drinkable. Went well with ponzu sauce, seafood, fish and vinegared rice. 

The restaurant informed us that there were fresh deliveries of uni-in-shell, and summer oysters. So we added those to our order. They were so delicious! Mmmm. Great appetizers. Miraku’s dependable sushi bento and bara-chirashi made for a filling meal. They had shiny fish for us tonight. Hurrah. It was a lovely meal at the park under a still bright sky. A 6pm dinner works very well for us. The dog chilled out and was quite happy rolling around in the grass. 

The sky darkened just as we finished dinner and was packing up. Fast-moving storm clouds had rolled in. Had no idea if it was a passing drizzle or an all-out thunderstorm. Either way, we weren’t hanging around to find out. Hurried back to the car and made it home before it rained. Dog was a tad nervous but she was fine since there was no thunder. She happily asked for her dinner, ate it up and snoozed in her bed through the gentle drizzle. 

Is It A Numbers Game?

I blinked as Europe and US open up for summer festivities, concerts and of course, vacations. Oh how I wish to be able to catch a gig again! However, COVID-19 vaccination rates have also dropped off in both Europe and the US. Hmmm. Statewide lottery vaccination carrots have flopped. And the Delta variant is insidiously sweeping through states. 

The Atlantic's senior editor Daniel Engber examines the decline of vaccination rate in the US in an article titled 'Vaccination in America Might Have Only One Tragic Path Forward', published on July 20, 2021. He highlights the divide between Democrats and Republicans, and their sense of danger from the virus. 

The problem, it’s been said, is that we live in two Americas, riven by both ideology and immunology: In blue America, vaccination rates are standing up just fine; in red America, they’re slouchy and exposed. Indeed, the latest vaccine numbers show that 17 states have now provided at least one dose to more than 60 percent of their population—and every single one of them voted for Biden in the last election. Another 16 states are struggling to reach a rate of 50 percent; all but one of those went for Donald Trump.

But there’s another, better way to think about what’s happening here: If the distribution of vaccines keeps slowing down, it’s not because America is divided but because we’re running out of people who think vaccines will save their lives.

The society's risk perception is one of the factors in determining vaccine uptake. How do you fight fearmongering and deep seated beliefs? What's happening in America is also happening in Singapore. We're super small though, and super dense, so those numbers mean more. Our government isn't inclined to pay heed to what we want, and simply bulldoze their way through to do what they feel is right. The government wants ⅔ of Singapore vaccinated by National Day, coming up on August 9. We seem to be chugging along fine. However, we apparently have 200,000 unvaccinated seniors who are thoroughly recalcitrant.   

Vaccination has been touted as the only way out of pandemic lockdowns and restrictions. It's to be viewed a silver lining, so that people don't fall severely ill and over-burden the hospitals and the ICUs. Singapore got hurriedly shoved back into another lockdown known as 'back to Phase 2 Heightened Alert' (P2HA) with rather different rules and regulations as we battle mushrooming clusters and infection rates of people both vaccinated, and a large number, unvaccinated. 

The Straits Times has a pretty concise article on vaccination numbers in Singapore. It was put out on June 26, 2021, and has been updated every few days since. The latest update was on July 26, 2021, for figures that were firm on July 24, 2021. "We know more than 2.8 million people have been fully vaccinated as at July 19. This is 49 per cent of the total Singapore population."

I'm frustrated because the government has insisted on vaccination rates as a key to rolling back community restrictions. And we have people (young and older) not believing in the pandemic or understanding the seriousness of the situation. At some point, it's not about YOU. It's US. At this juncture, I'm like, if you don't have allergies or a valid medical reason to skip the vaccine, how about you stay at home and not go out. Or how about you just die? The biggest problem is, you don't just die. You take up precious ICU space at the hospitals, and end up infecting people before you die a painful death. It's bloody inconsiderate.  

its Times: Vaccination numbers updated as at July 26, 2021.
[Article and numbers are updated every few days.]

Our Ministers had to step up to the front to learn how to properly communicate with us. They had to explain exactly why this lockdown has to happen. This shifting goal-post doesn't sit well with me. I kinda get it, but I'm not pleased because a huge part of these new clusters have got to do with people refusing to wear masks properly, if at all. Being made to feel like I'm being punished for it too sucks. 

They tell us that this lockdown didn't happen because of the KTV cluster, but because of the Jurong Fishery Port cluster. COME ON. Don't treat us as if we're dumb. We're not ignoring the lapses in enforcement for the KTV clusters just because your enforcement agencies say that there's only so much enforcement can do if individuals don't blame their parts. Well yes. BUT. That's really a tone-deaf statement. Having our government set down pandemic restrictions just because a few of us misbehave shouldn't be the 'norm' for the final quarter of 2021 or a rinse-repeat-cycle in 2022.

When two-thirds of our population in Singapore have been vaccinated, then what? We treat COVID-19 like a common flu? What sort of restrictions will we then have? I'm suspicious of what comes after the vaccination numbers are hit. As statistics go, vaccination efficacy will drop, and booster shots would be needed, and likely, a new variant flares, and we go through the whole merry-go-round again? 

Tarts from Shio Patisserie

I suppose I didn't learn my lesson and still ordered tarts from Shio Patisserie. LOL Well, I wasn't going to eat them all. The man wanted them, and we shared with our neighbors. It's not a retail shop, so they're only currently opened for pre-orders and pick-up from their central kitchen. We ordered enough for complimentary delivery.  

With a shop name like Shio... I was hoping that their bakes would be more savory than sweet, and they go easy on the sugar. I think they did! Got a box of four small tarts — cheese brûlée, lime basil, earl grey pecan and mont blanc. The only tarts I wanted to taste from Shio Patisserie are its lime and basil, and the sea salt dark chocolate. Tarts keep slightly better than cakes. I wouldn't have to eat three in a day. 

The 16-cm sea salt dark chocolate tart would definitely have to be shared. Valrhona chocolate and Maldon sea salt flakes. Noms. To be honest, it's even better than Cheryl Koh's dark chocolate tart. They even packed the salt separately so that we would be able to enjoy it at optimal at the moment of eating. It's good for four persons in generous quarters, best shared. Of course you could quaff the whole 16-cm tart by yourself in two days. IF your tummy likes it. 

Now, that small lime and basil tart. This entire order was made so that I could taste this tart. I wasn't too interested in the rest of them. OMG. It was delicious! I liked it! The man took two bites and I polished off the rest. It held a gorgeous curd ratio of tangy lime and herbs. The tart shell was not as sugared as expected. I loved it. I think I want to order this tart in the bigger 16-cm size. 

W!ld Rice :: FAGHAG

Even before I bought tickets to Wild Rice's 'FAGHAG', there was already a brouhaha stirred up over the term 'fag hag'. I've always understood it to be derogatory. But by and by in our local scene, especially the arts, music and theater circuit, it seems to have become an affectionate term for straight cis-gendered allies to the LGBTQIA+ community. 

The brouhaha. That. TL;DR. One group is offended by the term and the whole concept of a show, and said so online. They expressed their opinion. But because they tagged a prolific playwright, writer, social activist in the initial post, and he writes for Wild Rice too, it triggered a response, of course. Pink Dot SG weighed in, made clear that they supported the actress, the show and the term (used in a positive manner). Then it snowballed. 

Some are offended by the term. Some aren't, and some proudly use it and accept the use of it. It's a divided issue, and the LGBTQIA community are trotting out 'queer history' and what happened in the past for the community to get to where they are today. Wild Rice has also thrown its support for Pam Oei and stood behind her and their straight allies.

I'm cisgender she/her. I won't ever use the term ‘faghag’ on myself or anyone else because I wouldn't know if that is acceptable to most people. Yeah, I could ask, but often I'm not prepared to engage in any type of cerebral conversation with acquaintances or at random social situations. I belong to the generation who totally gets why and how the term might be accepted. You can use the term around me or call me a 'faghag', but only if it's spoken with kind and positive vibes, and I'm absolutely certain that you mean it the friendly way. I won't stand for it if I suspect anything derogatory behind it. I won't flame you online, but I will ask you directly about it to clarify any doubts I have. 

Directed by Ivan Heng, Wild Rice has borne the burden of staging the entire production, a show that had been halted for nearly two years. FAGHAG was first staged at Singapore Theatre Festival in 2018. The script has been refined and edited for this new staging, and has been waiting to be shown once the pandemic regulations relaxed. AND THEN.

BY A SHEER STROKE OF LUCK BECAUSE OF THE TICKETED DATE WE CHOSE, WE CAUGHT LAST SHOW BEFORE IT CLOSED DUE TO PANDEMIC P2.1HA RESTRICTIONS AGAIN.

Accompanied by Julian Wong on the piano, Pam Oei is the consummate performer. She owned that stage. Julian and Pam have a good chemistry together that really carried the show well.  Dancer Gino Babagay doubles up as Pam's dresser. It was quite fun to see how the show split itself into such a thing of 'leveling up' of how one becomes a 'faghag'. We hit Level 9. 

The one segment that threw me off was Pam's description of the birth of her son. I was like... what. I didn't think it fit the show, but if this is a narrative centered around Pam's life, then I suppose I can vaguely see a link. In how the next generation should be taught neutrality and not judge people with biases. The real, actual huge watermelon that was used in this segment was sanitized and given away to a member of the audience. That tickled me to no end.

I don't know who would buy tickets to such a show, but I thought it was preaching to the converted. Given its material, it's unlikely to reach wider audiences or those who don't stand with the LGBTIQA+ community. There's a whole lot centered around Pink Dot and the efforts to repeal Section 377A. This is a show that's hard to travel outside of Singapore, not even regionally. This is very local and too many Singaporean references are used, since the material is totally drawn from Pam's growing-up years. 

The show is rather politically incorrect, to put it mildly. Today, nobody is going to randomly term themselves 'faghags' or call someone a 'fag-got', which are super derogatory in today's terms. I honestly wouldn't care about history if I hear someone using it. Like what Pam said, only the old people would know, and perhaps they are the ones who can and will use the terms. I'm not sure about that. That's not really a good thing. 

But to have a show like this (genre and script) staged, it is an achievement in our staid censorship rules. But if FAGHAG's intention is to reminisce about the history of LGBTQIA+ activism in Singapore through Pam Oei's personal experiences as an ally and her own activism, then yes, the show achieved that. 

Pantler's Strawberry Shortcake

I'm not into desserts, or fancy cakes. I really don't mind good cakes. But I don't have much opportunity to taste them. I'm too lazy to stalk the home bakers, and I don't get cravings for cake often. Once in a while, I'll look for good cake at the commercial bakeries/patisserie. 

I used to love Henri Charpentier's strawberry shortcake, all the way at their first outlet in Dempsey. I ate SO MUCH. Hahaha. Then the outlets grew and the cake got sweeter, and I didn't like after a while. After tasting a few done by the various patissiers and bakeries, I made do with Rive Gauche's. But that meant I don't eat it often. Maybe once in three months or so. Then I discovered Pantler. Now, I've pledged new allegiance to Pantler's strawberry shortcake. (Till the kitchen tinkles with the recipe again.) 🍰

Pantler has a lovely space, and a rather pleasant patio for the dog to wait while we get takeout boxes. Luckily we have been stopping at the patissier for quick coffees and cake for the past few weeks. It hasn't even been a month since we moved out of P2HA and we're now back to it, with no dining-in allowed, and social gatherings down to two. THIS WHOLE THING SUCKS. 

That morning, along with the dog's morning walk, we hopped in to Pantler. She loves being out and about with us, and running errands too. She likes feeling important. Hahaha. It was a really hot morning. We stopped for coffee, and one cake. We also got two boxes of cakes to-go. One box was for the friends'. I gamely tried Pantler's 'Ivory', and decided that I like it too. It's a cheesecake mousse with fig jam, and sablé. It's oddly light and savory more than sweet. 

However, because I ate three cakes under 24 hours (¾ of an Opera, a Strawberry Shortcake and ¾ of an Ivory), I had the most terrible runs in the middle of the night. It was so bad that I had to pop two dhamotils and four charcoal pills within six hours. I'm not lactose-intolerant, but the body doesn't seem to like all that butter and cream and such. So it purged. THREE CAKES. At least I didn't vomit. Okay there, no more cakes till September. 

Pandemic Rage

So after all that, we have an explosion of infections with the Delta variant, and COVID-19 clusters mushroomed, we're back in Phase 2 Heightened Alert (P2HA). Much has been said about the KTV clusters. We've got naive policymakers. I blame both the enforcement officers (who didn't raid the venues and put a stop to it) and KTV operators (who refused to play by the rules) and everyone complicit (selfish and inconsiderate. I hope you get STDs and your dicks fall off) in illegal gatherings. Then the Jurong Fishery Port cluster boomed and affected all the seafood suppliers and fishmongers across the island's wet markets. Our government has no appetite for risks, and doesn't want the hospitals anywhere near capacity. BUT, THE SHOW GOES ON. What the heck.

I feel so so sad for the restaurants, gastropubs and the legit F&B operators. They spent a weekend agonizing over how to turn away unvaccinated groups of customers or figuring out which humans can dine together in groups of five and with how many children, their efforts came to naught as no dining-in rules kick in for a month. I don't know how long restaurants can survive with repeated closures in the year. I also feel so much pain for the theater people and the musicians, as well as fitness trainers, and those in the various industries. There's only so much one can innovate. How many home cooks and bakers can our island sustain? Or private hire drivers? It's miserable to go without income for a year. 

I have little tolerance for covidiots, and no kindness for these people. I almost lost it at an older couple over two afternoons. Yup, two afternoons. Two obviously idiotic heterosexual couples. These four humans refused to wear masks properly and didn't see a problem with it. These are educated humans; this is the second year of pandemic restrictions. Don't you assholes know better? I didn't want to engage them. But they opened their mouths first to address me. I only let them have the sarcasm. They didn't feel the full force of my rage. I hope all these older covidiots are vaccinated at least. (*whispers* Or let them die without using our precious hospital resources.)

I'm very very very very very very sian. I don't care about restrictions on dining out, social gatherings, or visitors to malls and parks. Or traveling. I care about restrictions at parks, the outdoors and the gyms. I care about whether the dog is allowed to go to school. This is more than 'pandemic fatigue'. I'm also seething from 'pandemic rage'. This is hard to control. I honestly don't dare to be around people who don't know me well. Very few people have seen this side of me — in a total loss of control, and in the full glory of blind rage. This is a rage I've controlled all my life with physical means — through judo, boxing, competitive sports, MMA, HIIT and now, krav maga. 

Gyms have to close again. No HIIT indoors at the gym for a month. I'm not okay with that. I can take HIIT outdoors, but it's not the same. When government restrictions take away my means of channeling that rage again and again, I find it hard to remain positive. (Yes, yes, privilege checked.) I don't know what to do. I can't run it out, or swim it out. Pilates and gyrotonic classes train my mind and force me to find an even rhythm that even the purported meditative benefits of yoga can never provide. But it doesn't diminish that spark or that rage building. Nope, I can't talk it out. Talking makes me angrier. LOL I need to physically hit or throw something. Yesterday afternoon, I had gone to punch a sandbag, and immediately felt better. My krav maga instructor is like, "Stop attacking me! Defend!" Our classes can continue with a mask, but...... Maybe I'll go climb a wall. 

潮州石斑魚頭湯

The restaurants are too painful to hang out at. We aren't risk-takers, so the rising number of cases persuaded us to keep to home dining. We celebrated B's birthday belated at home where we adhered to all P3HA rules (Phase 3 Heightened Alert) and still got a party going. The hosts ordered a ton of food from the old-school and dependable Swatow Seafood and Oasis Taiwan Porridge. Wow! All of us hadn't eaten at those restaurants for ages. 

The dog and cat were on their best behavior. They chilled out and snoozed pretty near each other. Till the cat gave up and went to her room. Perfect. However, the man and I couldn't stay too late. Choya has a 10.30pm dinner time. She doesn't eat outside. Depending on our schedules, she'll have a late afternoon snack to stave off hunger. While she has a substantial snack at 5pm, she needs a proper dinner by latest 11pm. I'm inflexible on that dinner timing, so I don't stay out late, and accordingly, the friends have generally accommodated my schedule. The party continued after we left though. Heh.  

When N does the ordering of food, we can be sure we won't go hungry. SO MUCH FOOD. LOL. Braised chicken, braised duck, crispy pork liver rolls, pan-fried kurobuta pork with tahini, stir-fried Teochew mee sua, braised pig intestines with salted vegetables, and three types of shellfish — Thai style and sambal cockles, and clams with chilli padi. What a spread! 

I guess the Jurong Fishery Port cluster is ginormous. Fresh fish and seafood stalls would be shut while fishmongers undergo COVID-19 tests, and markets are going to be shut as and when cases pop up among the stallholders too. So N went for broke and got TWO GIANT PORTIONS of grouper fish head soup with Chinese cabbage in Teochew style. One portion of soup was for three to four people. Of course we finished it all. This table inhales Asian soups in a heartbeat. It was soooo good. We loved it. Importantly, the birthday girl loved it, and thoroughly enjoyed dinner.  

The 1860 Murder in the Kent Family

I was thoroughly fascinated by Michelle Njihuis's piece published in The Atlantic on June 16, 2021, 'Detective Fiction Has Nothing on This Victorian-Science Murder Mystery'. The writer gave us a glimpse into the growing up years and the life of English biologist and pioneer coral photographer and advocate of sustainable fisheries, William Saville-Kent (1845-1908). 

I know of the marine biologist's work and efforts in Australia documenting marine life and notably, The Great Barrier Reef. But I don't know about his personal life, childhood or family history. The writer referred a lot to William Saville-Kent's biographer Anthony J. Harrison's work 'Savant of the Australian Seas' (1997). She suggested that the esteemed biologist was also hiding a grisly secret. Born William Kent, he took on the hyphenated surname William Saville-Kent when he turned 21 years old and began his journey in science and marine biology in London 1886. 

For William, science might have also represented a chance to break with his past, for around this time he began to use the hyphenated surname Saville-Kent. Saville, which was his own middle name as well as the name of his late half-brother, was also the family name of his paternal grandmother; he used it for the rest of his life. 

There was a brutal murder in the family in 1860- the death of a three-year old half-brother, Francis Saville Kent who was birthed by their father's second wife. 15-year-old William Saville-Kent and his biological older sister Constance were suspected of murder. As investigations went on, Constance became the prime suspect. She was first arrested for it at 16 years old, then freed without the case going to trial. Almost five years later in 1865, at 21 years old, she confessed to the murder. She was put away in prison for two decades and released in 1885, at the age of 41. And her brother never wrote to her very much. Although she eventually went to Australia after that, she didn't seem to have establish relationships with her living brother and step-siblings. Constance Kent apparently changed her name, never recanted her confession and also stated she never bore any ill will toward her brother. She spent her later years in Tasmania, made a career as a nurse, and died there too. In contrast, William Saville-Kent seemed to be on good terms with his step-siblings. 

As far as family hurt and murder mysteries go, we'll never know the exact terrible circumstances of Francis Saville Kent's death in June 1860. At three years old, he was such an innocent. "But only the perpetrator, or perpetrators, knew the full truth." There were so many books published about the murder, but nobody got closer to the truth. Family obituaries never mentioned anything about the murder that shadowed the siblings' early lives. 

While Saville-Kent succeeded in distancing himself from the murder of his young half-brother, the case and its unanswered questions were not forgotten. The first of at least six full-length books about the murder was published by a friend of Samuel’s in 1861, and a stream of pamphlets and essays rehashed the evidence. In 1929, the London publishers of The Case of Constance Kent, which had been written under a pseudonym by the detective novelist John Street, received a lengthy letter from Australia. The letter writer reported that Constance had died, but that before her death she had related the details of her early life. The writer insisted that Constance’s mother had not been insane, as Street had claimed, and that despite Street’s skepticism, Constance’s confession of her “most callous and brutal crime” had been genuine.

Street suspected that Constance herself had written the letter, but not until the 1980s would another author, Bernard Taylor, confirm that Constance, living in Australia under the pseudonym Ruth Emilie Kaye, had trained as a nurse and become a respected hospital administrator, even spending several years in charge of a ward for patients suffering from Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. She died in 1944, shortly after her 100th birthday, and her obituaries, like her brother William’s, made no mention of the murder of Saville Kent.

NUDE's Chirashi-don

Went by NUDE Seafood for dinner. We really enjoy our meals at NUDE at Marina One. The staff are always so kind to Choya, and hand her treats all the time. They're experimenting and prepping for a new product launch of freeze-dried king salmon; she got that tonight. 

Dinner tonight was with the man’s parents. After years of getting to know their tastebuds, we encourage them not to share food, but instead order what they want, and we’ll order what we want. I’ve also requested for the in-laws not to be courteous or fulfil social niceties and say “We’re fine with whatever you order” when we head out to restaurants because it won’t be. I’ve stopped being overly concerned by whether there’re suitable menu items for the parentals’ super conservative tastebuds, or if the chairs and ambience are okay. If they want Choya to come along for dinner, then they’ll just have to deal with the limitations of that.

NUDE's take on a Japanese menu is quite fun. The man and I opted for its Japan menu for two persons. We tried their unagi-don the last round, and tonight, we took the chirashi-don. It's a generous set that included a fillet of miso-grilled halibut and a bowl of chilled somen with ikura and cordeceps. We didn't lack carbs. I love their shiitake mushroom dashi. Nicely brewed. Dessert tonight comprised two types of mochi. I left that to the table to nibble at. I had my alcohol as dessert. 

Apparently we're in Phase 3 Heightened Alert since 14 June, but doing a three-step thing to progressively relax the rules. I guess that's not really happening. No thanks to the damn KTVs. In anticipation of the curbs and restrictions announced the next evening, I decided that alcohol was necessary. I didn’t feel like beer, so an easy bottle of pinot noir it was. The man and I polished it off in an hour. I drank most of it, and almost ordered another bottle. Heh.

No Hot Water from the Other Water Storage Heater Tank

The hot water stopped flowing in the other bathroom and kitchen. Haizzzzz. It had to be the other water heater storage tank in the kitchen ceiling. I sighed and climbed up to take a look. No leaks spotted in the valves or on the tank itself. No moisture in the area. No obvious signs of rust lines as far as I could tell. It was likely an issue with the integrated circuit, maybe the thermostat and heating element. (At least I had hoped it was indeed such a simple issue.) Since it wasn't an urgent matter, I ignored it for three months.

This is a three-year-old flat. Gosh, this developer's contractor who installed these water heater storage tanks did a really shitty job. Neighbors have been steadily reporting rust, cracks and leaks in their tanks. I still have nightmares from the December incident in the bedroom bathroom. Yup, this second water heater storage tank in my flat is the same 56-liter Ariston Pro RS 56 SHE SIN3. 

I didn't bother with calling my own contractor. His plumbers can rectify leaking valves and electrical issues, or change out a tank. But they don't have the know-how to check the heating elements in the access panel of the tank or have the spare parts to replace faulty ones. This is a job for Ariston to fix. When the water tank isn't leaking, the brand would carry all spare parts and their outsourced technicians would know how to fix it. At least this second one is located in the kitchen ceiling where there's a bit more space and light for the crew to do their job. The size of the opening is in the same shitty dimensions, which means the crew would have to drill and widen the opening if and when a replacement water heater is required. 🤬

The Ariston technician came to take a look at it. It was a 15-minute job. $160 for diagnosis and replacement of the faulty thermostat. He stayed another 10 minutes to ensure that warm water flowed from the taps. I had two invoices. One from Ariston for $100, and one from the plumber's company for $60. Okaaay. That means this plumber knows Ariston heaters, and probably has access to their parts, unless it's a regulated thing by the brand. I should keep the plumber's details for future needs. The heater is back up and working. I am soooo relieved. I'll just have to keep a ear out for leaks in the future.  

Omelette + Onions

On some nights, I would need food, but I didn't need fancy. The man went out for drinks, and that meant I was free to eat what I wanted. A one-dish meal suits me fine any day. I didn't feel like going out. I severely lacked sleep and wasn't good company for anyone. (Thanks, crazy thunderstorms in the wee hours and a nervous dog.) I wanted to read, and watch a bit of Netflix and Hulu. Between getting take-out, ordering in delivery and cooking a simple meal at home, I opted to cook. 

Whipped up a Thai style omelette with onions (ไข่เจียว, khai jeaw). Went for broke and used FOUR eggs. Minced pork could be added too, but I didn't feel like having meat in it tonight. Didn't even want tomatoes in it. So onions it would be for that savory punch. There's truly nothing fancy or difficult in this meal. Eggs are an easy tasty hot food. I considered frying up spam too, but never mind. That could be saved for another day. #ImpieCooks2021

For a total indulgence in the carbs, I ate the meal with steamed jasmine white rice. Mmmmm. I love having that with a ton of fish sauce and chilli padi. I heated up a bowl of old cucumber and pork rib soup in the fridge from the last night's dinner. Just soup, no bones or meat in that. Yah, my own cooking, so I knew that the soup would totally complement the carbs, omelette and fish sauce. Hahahaha. It was an extremely satisfying fuss-free meal for one. 

Handheld Garment Steamers

Cirrus No.2 Pink from Steamery. 

I don't own a standard iron or an ironing board. Hahahaha. I don't have a need for it. I most certainly am not going to hunch over to iron the man's clothes. Ironing is so dumb. This household doesn't bother to iron jeans, tees or handkerchiefs, or bedsheets. The man has never and will never iron his own clothes. (I doubt he did it while serving National Service.) Clothes that need serious ironing go to the dry cleaners. If the man has work clothes that require sharply pressed lines are sent back to his parents' helper to sort out. He doesn't wear shirts often. Those number few and far. Our daily wear nowadays would be... athleisure! Muahahhaa. He found a great fit in Public Rec and I have Lululemon. 

Got irritated with the bulky and impractical Tefal garment steamer, and sold it for $80. Luckily there was a taker who happily drove over to collect it instead of complaining about delivery charges and such. I wanted a handheld clothes steamer. The BFF loaned me hers from Steamery to try it out. I loved it. But not in pink color; there're options for a black or a blue. Hahaha. I was almost gonna ship it in from Selfridges. Then I spied one from Philips. Casually mentioned it in passing to the BFF. Ever resourceful, she found me the brand's handheld steamer on a fantastic discount. Yay.

Tried them side by side and decided that I prefer the Philips. Admittedly, the 567-gram Steamery might be more aesthetically pleasing. IMHO, weighing 950grams, the heavier Philips seems to be more efficient overall with its 70ml water tank compared to Steamery's bigger 90ml. 

The Philips works louder, making you think it's more powerful but it's not. It operates at 1300w, lower than Steamery's 1500W. BUT it's louder because Philips's output is 24g/minute, but Steamery runs at 15g/minute. Hence, the creases get steamed out faster with the Philips over a Steamery.

My weekly helper is quite amazed that in these few years, I've had nothing that needed her help in ironing. A handheld garment steamer works perfectly fine for me. My clothes don't need heavy duty ironing. I also don't need my clothes to have crisp straight lines. I only need them to look vaguely presentable, and not seem like I slept in them and wore them straight out. 

Steam&Go from Philips.

Bak Kut Teh On A Rainy Weekend

It was one of those weekends in which I lived in my rain boots. Wore them to run errands and grab groceries. I even had to wear them to the gym to and fro the car since it was chucking down; the gym shoes would have been soaked. I absolutely detest wearing wet shoes and socks.

These Wellies have got to be the best buy of 2021. The year isn't even out and I've worn them so often. The weather has been unbelievably dreary. We might as well be in monsoon season all year round since the inter-monsoon conditions also bring squalls. I wouldn't mind rain so much if the thunder doesn't follow. I love thunderstorms, but the dog doesn't. Thunder freaks her out. She could deal with low rumblings, but not the sharp cracks. 

On a rainy evening, I scanned the weather app and caught a break. When the rain began to slow, we zoomed out to pee the dog and get a dinner takeout. Our timing was perfect. It was only a light drizzle when we stepped out of the car. The rains returned just as we got into the car with food and a rather happy dog. 

Hot soup it was to be for the evening. Bak kut teh (pork rib peppery soup) then. The man and I found ours in Balestier Bak Kut Teh at the corner kopitiam at 365/369 Balestier Road. The man loves them giant ribs, and a side dish of chye buay (菜尾). If he is hungrier in a particular meal, he would add on those braised tau kwa things too. 

I dunno how to eat chye buay. I like this sort of preserved vegetables as mui choy (梅菜). Not interested in fried dough fritters (油條) either. Nowadays, I skip the ribs in the bak kut teh. It's highly annoying when meat gets stuck in my teeth. Ugh. Somehow, I prefer just a small amount of sliced lean meat and loads of pig stomach in the peppery soup, with mee sua, or preferably kway teow (hard to find). With a ton of chillies and dark soy. I like bak kut teh like this. Without the ribs. 🤪

Apologies Past, Present & Future

I was suitably entertained by Sam Lipsyte's 'My Apology', published in The New Yorker on June 28, 2021. It's extremely relatable. It's so urban, so real-world, so full of the dilemma, and the nonsense of existing in this world within a society focused on social graces and people-to-people relations. 

The flawed and self-righteous protagonist and narrator had to craft an apology deemed acceptable by his co-workers. He had offended them with words and in his actions. They wanted him fired. His bosses deemed his initial apology insufficient and wanted him to redraft it, be sufficiently remorseful so that he didn't have to fire him. His family knew because they had been filled in by his ex-wife Melissa. It especially affected his daughter Sophia. They all checked in with him to see how he was doing, redrafting the new apology. 

Beekman and Leffler have given me the remainder of the week to refine my apology.

The problem now is all one of nuance. From a certain distance, the nuance is complex, but coherent. Close up, it splinters into myriad fragments of subtle distinction.

The events themselves—the words, the acts, the intent—are a blur, a frantic smear. A certain phrase, once quite common and, by my lights, benign, was uttered, I admit, by me. Its lesser-known and brutal associations, to which I was not privy at the time, choked the office like a poison gas.

Currents of history pushed this gas, herded it, prevented it from dissipating or exiting through vents. My history seeped into that of the offended party, which collided with the history we’d all been taught in school, as well as the revision of that history we knowing people knew, as well as the revision of that revised history, which had recently gusted in with the force of a reckoning.

The narrator listed out the whole history of apologies — of what he did and had to apologize for, and the things that people needed to have had apologized to him. Yes, the story stated what he did to his colleague to require said apology. It's almost hilarious. You gotta read it for yourself. I don't know if we're supposed to feel sorry for the narrator or condemn him as mean. It's the readers' call. Whichever way he lies on our sympathy scale, the fiction corresponds to what we experience in our lives. 

I never think about people who did me wrong. I can't quite remember them or what they actually did. I don't think I've ever been offended that often. I'm not sociable enough to make horrid acquaintances who piss me off. I never needed an apology because it doesn't set things right. I simply walk away and move on. If I dwell on it, then I'll be sucked into a whirlpool of anger, vengeance and I won't have enough energy to get on with what I need to do. 

We would have offended many people in our lives. I have. And I will continue to do so. It's impossible not to. To some, I would apologize to unreservedly. The others, I wouldn't even bother, and it doesn't matter that the offended think me a total dastardly scamp. Who cares. Life is too short for me to be angsty over matters or humans whom I don't care about. 

Thing is, I am sorry and I am also not sorry. It’s all so nuanced. The nuance itself is highly nuanced. 

Penne al Ragù & Cucumber Salad

When 7pm rolled around and we finally could remove ourselves from our computer screens, I took the dog out for a quick pee, and the man prepped dinner. We knew it would be a heavy day, and we didn’t feel like getting takeout, so an easy dinner at home it was.

We always keep a box of pasta sauce frozen in the freezer for easy-meal days. Had a batch of ragù; thawed it out overnight since we planned to eat in for dinner. A one-dish suffice, but sides would make it nicer. Like greens. I had stopped by the supermarket after krav maga in the morning to grab a pack of baby spinach leaves and Japanese cucumbers.

Didn't feel like having roasted veggies. The tastebuds thought that a random sort of cucumber salad would go with the pasta. The man made an easy gravy with soy, sesame oil, peanut butter, white vinegar and a bit of sugar. The cucumbers could soak in that for a bit before serving. Boiled up penne. Heated up the ragù, threw in wilted spinach, then the cooked penne and tossed everything together for a bit. That was rather delicious. The random cucumber salad complemented the hearty ragù that also had chorizo and mushrooms in it. There, another healthy-enough fuss-free meal at home. I kept a small bit of cucumber. That would go nicely into the man's otah sandwich for breakfast the next day.

We could soon dine out in groups of five. It's a nice option, but I think the past 1.5 years have given me a wonderful chance to retreat into quieter and smaller meets, so much so that I'm not inclined to get out 'more'. Hahahaha. Does this mean that we have been cooking more at home too? Not really lah. We just cook on the days we can, and get a takeout on the others. Nothing will drive me to bake any sort of bread or cake since those aren't my favored items. I'm not even inclined to get a pasta machine or a Thermomix, unless the apocalypse descends upon us. 

What is Strenuous? What is Safe?

I scanned the Ministry of Health's advisory and the infographic and rolled eyes big-time. Excuse me, this information came out rather late for many of us. And also, why did they even bother?! Aren't we responsible for our own health?! Nobody forced us to be vaccinated. We're encouraged to, and if we do, we'll manage our own health just fine. No? This just makes me annoyed. Our Ministry of Health has to do this to baby Singapore residents. And may I generalize to pan many of these nitwits as Singaporeans. 

This advisory comes hot on the heels of this incident of cardiac arrest of a 16-year-old schoolboy. Subsequent news of what he did and what he took weren't exactly helpful beyond telling the worrywarts and kaypoh aunties to nag others more. Nobody would nag me anyway. They wouldn't dare. I make it very clear that I don't care for their opinions. I also make it very clear whose opinions I do care about. 

This advisory might be suitable for the teenagers in school, perhaps the under 17s. But it's definitely not suitable for young adults or those 18-year-olds with part-time jobs. The advisory has made assumptions......... It's...... rather tone-deaf and high-handed. Just look at the squares — Cycling and my favorite- Housework. You tried scrubbing the floor the way we use sliders to wake the core muscles? 🙄 How do we define what's strenuous and what's not? To list it by activities isn't helpful. It's rather dumb. Can we look at calories burnt and heart rate instead? There should be recommended guidelines of how high to push one's heart rate. Or not. 

I bristled at all the 'Examples of strenuous physical activities to avoid'. Swimming? Seriously? Blanket suggestion of no swimming? How many of us swim like fiends in the pool on any given day? Swimming isn't HIIT or conducive to weight loss if you aren't competing against time or doing sprints. You can float around and flail around for an hour and not even have your heart rate raised by five beats. So as far as advisories go, I'm ignoring it. I already did. My second dose of Pfizer was taken way before all the news and further advisories. 

Anyway. I've already swam, run, did a few good classes of krav maga and HIIT. What's strenuous to some people, might not be so to others. There isn't a true gauge of what one should or shouldn't do. In this case, common sense and listening to one's body should prevail. 

Durian Party!

Celebrated S's belated birthday with a durian party! The peeps said it was to be durians for dinner! I didn't know that we're in peak durian season now. Sure thing. Whatever the birthday boy wanted. The birthday boy opened up his home and allowed us to come stink it up. Oh good gawwd. N literally ate durians first before grudgingly turning her attention to the actual dinner items. 

We toddled down to Mr Durian at Rangoon Road to get a bunch of Black Pearl (黑珍珠 or simply 太原, Tai Yuan). This varietal is supposedly grown in Johor. I wouldn’t know. 🤷🏻‍♀️ When we're no durian connoisseurs or arborists, we honestly think they're just the same durians mixed and matched grown in different regions, acquired morphological variation, resulting in their different terms. Hahaha. But yes, there're apparently 126 durian varieties/cultivars registered. We ended up with 10 kg of durians. TEN KILOGRAMS. WTF. The man and the friends went nuts and enjoyed it though. 

I couldn't believe I joined in. DURIANS. WTF. I give you many and much face, S. Okay, not my kind of dinner. Got bak kut teh to-go as well. I didn't need the meat, but I wanted the soup and of course pig's stomach. Heh. That should be light enough. Went to the next building to tapau from Legendary Bak Kut Teh. 

I keel over at the stench of the Musang King and D24. There's something cloying and sweet about them that makes me throw up instantly. Black Pearl doesn't have the same effect although it's just as stinky. I can eat a little of it, and the Black Pearl's bittersweet flavors and tiny flatter seeds are much more appealing, as far as pungent durians go. You do not want to know how many calories a durian holds. Two seeds will be like 360 calories. MUAHAHAHAHA. 10 kg of durians decimated. Go figure. OMG. 😵‍💫😱🥶 We all paid for it at the gym the next morning. 

I’m glad we’re able to celebrate friends’ birthdays virtually or in IRL. It’s important to me to know that my friends are happy and healthy. We also mourn those gone too soon. On those special birthdays, I take a moment to remember them. We owe it ourselves to make what we want of our lives. To our friends, we cheer them on and lend a hand when needed. May we no longer have toxic friends in our orbit(s) now, or at the very least, we’ve learnt to reclassify them as ‘facebook friends’ instead of giving them our actual time, effort and emotions.

Happy Birthday, S! May you be always surrounded by good sambal and spices. Keep those creaky joints warm and stop waking up at 5am to get in a solid workout. You make the rest of us seem lazy. Heh. Old people should get more sleep. 🍭

Annual Core Vaccines for Choya

The school reviewed their rules and reminded pawrents to keep their floofs out of school for two weeks after their core vaccinations instead of the previous rule of five days. Okaaaay. The school needs to do whatever it takes to keep the dogs in their care safe and healthy. 

People still remember the 2016 incidents of leptospirosis at the school and in the usual walking spots of dogs. None of us want that to happen again. But there're always irresponsible owners around. I'll keep Choya at home as per the school rules, for everyone's benefit. I'm not keen to have her fall ill if she comes into contact with asymptomatic ill dogs who are unfortunate enough to have negligent owners or those who are anti-vaxxers.  

Choya was due for her annual core shots right after the school's announcement. All right then. The timing meant that she only needed to skip school for a week. Bundled her to the vet clinic for three shots- Bordetella bronchiseptica, Leptospirosis, and a titer test (to check for antibodies for parvovirus, adenovirus, and distemper).

Between Daddy and Momma, Choya has a preference for me when it comes to going to the vet clinic and when she's upset. She'll settle for Daddy if I'm not around. So with the vet clinic's rule for one human owner per furry client, I was the one to take her in. She definitely didn't like being taken away from me to the clinical rooms to have her blood drawn for the titer test. I heard her infamous Shiba scream from the reception desk. Eeeeps. The clinic now has an antibody titer test gadget which will analyze the blood samples and provides results in 21 minutes. So we waited.  

Once the test ascertained that she had super high antibodies present, and she only needed the leptospirosis vaccine, and we proceeded with the two vaccine shots. Choya allowed one shot, then struggled like crazy for the second shot. She bit the syringe and broke the needle. 

We had to go out to where her Daddy was waiting. Needed his help to grab her head while I sorted out her legs and body without injuring her spine. There was one scream. The doctor had to get another syringe to put the shot in, but couldn't press down to stem the initial bleeding. Her blood did splatter a bit onto her fur, and onto my arm. Zzzzzz. 

She was all ruffled up. 'Puppers is angers.' But she deigned to follow me in (again) to pay the bill. Only then, could the doctor clean her up a little with astringent. I was a tad wary of vaccinosis. She was mad-hallucinating after the first 4-in-1 jab, but did much better when it was just the leptospirosis vaccine.

She rested for the afternoon, and then was woozy in the evening. We took her out with us for a quiet dinner. It was a quiet place, and there wasn't rain that evening, so she wasn't fussed or anxious. She had no fever, but she was a bit out of it. She screamed at me when I carried her up to clean her paws. That was when I knew she was still a tad annoyed from the afternoon. She was hungry though. Happily asked for her dinner, and ate it all up. Good girl. Took her out for a light stroll in the morning. Eager to have her brunch. She was all fine by mid-day. 

Restaurant Euphoria for V's 40th!

When dine-in restrictions were lifted, I hustled a belated dinner celebration for V at Restaurant Euphoria. After a stint as head chef at Corner House, this is Jason Tan’s new venture as owner and chef. I enjoyed his food at Corner House, and I was eager to taste his food again in this wider repertoire. No better dining companion than V to enjoy this meal with! 

Restaurant Euphoria introduces 'Gastro-Botanica 2.0'. In an October 2020 interview, chef-owner Jason Tan explained that he chose to create the likes of demi-glace and vin blanc using only botanical produce because 

“Many people don’t realise that vegetables can provide great complexity of flavour…… In some ways, it’s a challenge to myself since I have a new restaurant and I want to offer a new facet of my cuisine to my diners.”

I appreciate this take on 'lighter' sauces because I’m not into traditional mother sauces of béchamel, veloute, espagnole and hollandaise, all of which are too rich for my liking. The restaurant touts as a showcase of the chef's culinary philosophy of 'gastro-botanica'. I love how they presented the customized menus on nice thick card stock.

The 'Oignon doux des Cévennes'.

We took the eight-course tasting menu. I was looking forward to 'My Favorite Vegetable', the Oignon doux des Cévennes. This is Chef Jason Tan's signature dish (from Corner House) that has evolved and remained splendid. I'm loving this new presentation a whole lot more. I don't know any other chef who bothers so much about onions. The restaurant even created a special brochure on this dish, with an intricate cut-out pop-up of the platter. Wow! I took mine home. Heh.

The humble onion was deconstructed into a magnificent platter of four items. There were a Baked Onion Cup which was a whole hollowed onion filled with onion puree and confit, 62dC egg, chives, sea salt and black truffles, a lightly salted dehydrated Onion Chip, an Onion Tart of onion confit on filo pastry and finally a cup of Onion Tea, an emulsion of onion puree and cream with earl grey infused onion 'tea' poured over it. The Cévennes onion is in season now, and it's sweet and delicate. Gorgeous. I love onions! I loved this dish and its presentation! Also, note the onion themes and motifs running through the restaurant. 

I honestly wanted a second serving of their 'bread', which came as Mochishire 'Soupe à l'mignon'. The savory bread was right up my alley. I didn't need the 'soupe' bit. The bread was tasty enough. But if I ate any more of that, I wouldn't be able to stomach anything else. The Bomba Rice was a hit for me. Flavored with mirugai, seaweed, capsicum, the fermented rice was so so flavorful.

Although the restaurant terms its menu and flavors as 'gastro-botanical', for now, the restaurant is unable to cater to diners who require a full vegetarian menu, which is fine by me. As long as the menu isn't meat heavy, I'm good. V was happy with the menu's choice of langoustine and lamb. I had requested to swop out the langoustine and lamb for something else that isn't shellfish or chicken. 

The server offered another option of beef as a main too, but because it was wagyu, both of us balked at it. For my replacements of mains, an old Corner House favorite of New Zealand Blue Cod with crispy scales and Iberico pork appeared on the table. That fish was GOOD. I was thrilled to have two types of fish for the night. Our fish on the menu for the night was a nicely curled turbot with seaweed, girolles, and légumes vin blanc. It lived up to my expectations. It was perfectly done and balanced. The Iberico pork, was well, VERY FATTY. Luckily that were violin zucchini and picholine to balance it. I'm not that fond of Iberico pork. But I thought of it as alas char siew and ate it anyway. 😂

The meat mains of lamb and pork were accompanied by a lovely presentation of meat knives. It's the restaurant's special commission of Damascus steak knives, whom we were told were done by the swordsmith that made the weapons for Lee Ang’s ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’. That would be famed blacksmith Kuo Chang-shi (郭常喜, 台灣刀劍藝術家), whose workshop is in Kaoshiung, Taiwan. That knife was GORGEOUS. The weight! Gosh, I'm quite enamored by the knife. Diners simply got to choose the handle color. It was impressive, I give it that. 

I didn’t know what to make of the mara des boi of watermelon, rose, mint and légumes essence. I liked the watermelon but I was suspicious of rose and mint. I'm not hot about rose (or lavender) in any form and absolutely detest the scent and flavors. I hated the rose foam, obviously. o.O 

The next dessert of Lait 'Blanc' was way more palatable for me. It comprised milk, yoghurt and mascarpone, and the last bit was with crème fraîche ('ice', presumably) personally drizzled by the chef.  The restaurant also placed a candle of V's plate, garnished with a chocolate birthday wording. Nice! NO SINGING. Hahahaha.  

The petit fours arrived in a form of a wooden box named 'Alice in Wonderland'. I couldn't help grinning at it as a rather fancy mooncake box too. The contents held cornflakes mochi, macadamia chocolate, goma beetroot financier, and canelés. All in all, it was an enjoyable dinner. Loads of small bites that filled me up, but these wouldn't give me indigestion. My stomach was very happy with the food. I'd return to Restaurant Euphoria to sample new items when they've refreshed their menu.

A heartiest 40th birthday to you, V. I'm sure you miss that window seat in-flight, and catching those cloudscapes, sunrises and sunsets. May safe travels and wintry weather be back on the horizon soon. ✨