Noodlestar K's Chik Naengmyeon

I'm not into Korean food the way I'm not into K-Pop or the accompanying beauty and skincare products. You know how limited my understanding of Korean cuisine is, and how much I dislike gochuchang and kimchi. I can only appreciate certain dishes, but it's enough to get around if I visit South Korea or I’m obliged to step into a Korean restaurant with friends. At least I don't view it like Sichuan food or mala things- all of which I assiduously avoid. 

Made the mistake of watching 'Korean Cold Noodle Rhapsody' (2021), and an intense craving for naengmyeon (냉면) arose. The most recent memory of a good bowl of naengmyeon was when we were in Seoul. I had the best bowl at Eumildae at Mapo-gu. That was rather unforgettable.  

I do get a few decent bowls of naengmyeon here and there in Singapore. F suggested Noodlestar K for naengmyeon. The eatery has a clever price point, and a limited menu. All noodles, bit of rice and beef, and of course, mandu. It didn't offer fancy items or require a minimum spend like many Korean restaurants which use that to cover the banchan dished out. We had to walk the dog, so we took a jaunt to Tanjong Pagar. It was too last-minute to eat there. It was packed out anyway. We got noodles and mandu to-go. Unlike udon and soba, naengmyeon stands up well to delivery and takeout.

There were complimentary sides of beansprouts and kimchi given with our takeout. I was a tad annoyed with the man for dumping the kimchi atop the gogi mandu; smack in the middle and not at the side. UGH. I'm not fond of kimchi, and to have it to drip down and soak through the nice mandu, that was eeky. At least if it was moved to the side, it wouldn't be so bad. Aiyoh.

I love dumplings in most forms, especially when it's boiled or steamed as xiaolongbao, jiaozi, mandu and momo. The mandu tonight were good! It came in a portion of six pieces. Three for me was more than enough. Next time, I might order two portions of mandu and that would be my total meal. Hahaha. 

Noodlestar K's does chik naengmyeon. This version is made of arrowroot noodles instead of the Pyongyang style of buckwheat. As usual, the Asian pear and radish made for a beautiful naturally sweet crunch in the noodles. Mmmmm. This bowl had no sliced beef or pork along with it, which was fine for me. They threw in a bit of spicy sauce. The weakest link is in its broth. It isn't as lovely I had hoped for it to be, but it would do. I would order it again and slurp it all up. 

Look Out for One Another

Venita Blackburn's 'Halloween' published in The New Yorker on August 5, 2021 is a chilling little story. What the three little girls experienced that afternoon, is what many little girls and boys face everywhere in the world at some point of their growing up years — the feeling danger and feeling unsafe even in a neighborhood or home that they know well.

Late afternoon on a week day, the unnamed narrator (no gender mentioned. It could be a boy, but I'll assume that it's a girl) and her friend Esperanza were riding home on their bicycles after jujitsu practice, and saw a car following a younger girl. It was pure luck that they had somehow saved a little girl from an unknown horrible fate.

To this day, I feel like perverts drive Hondas. The little girl had been out of our sight for too long, and the car too. I wasn’t afraid like Esperanza yet; it didn’t occur to me that I should’ve been until I saw her lean forward on her bike and begin to pedal past me. Sometimes it’s the witnessing of a horror story that makes us forget we’re in one. She pedalled for the life of the little girl and our own. I pedalled just to keep up. Back then, I couldn’t imagine the worst of us, those who take and take and stretch the tender parts of life to the point of breaking.

This very short story that is pretty much the length of an essay, gave me the heebies jeebies. Humans are evil, as extrapolated by the news headlines in every city in the world. Adults prey on one another, and go after the vulnerable, and children aren't spared. It's a horrible world we live in. If I were a parent, I wouldn't just want to raise kind kids. I'll be under a lot of pressure to raise street-smart kids who know how to protect themselves, surround themselves with decent friends and not meet horrific incidents and be caught in situations. 

Children look like easy prey. While they should enjoy their innocence and childhood, the current state of the world dictates that they have situational awareness, wariness towards strangers and even familiars, learn boundaries and draw a line between what makes them feel safe and what makes them uncomfortable, and preferably know basic self-defense. 

We stopped and held our ground while the girl made it to us and paused in between our bikes, looking over her shoulder as the car slowly approached. I wanted the car to careen into the curb, and then a corpse would stumble out of the passenger side and a greasy alien with a mouth like a lamprey eel and arms long as my whole body would burst from the windshield. But villains never look the way they should. Threats are often surprising and unannounced, so it takes a lot of people to protect one another, especially little girls. The car sped off, and, even though all of our eyes watched it go, we never saw the driver. Just like that we were alone, the three of us. The day faded fast right before the gold street lights lit up the sidewalk. We had the dusk to ourselves and moved again through time, exhausted, as if the shapes of the night could be anything we wanted.

A Birthday Lunch for L

It was L's 52nd birthday and we had a mini-celebration at home for her. L helps me out so much in keeping the house clean and neat every week. Yes, this is her job; I pay her a weekly wage. But she has certainly been upfront and committed about it. It has been three years and counting. Part-time or weekly help can be dicey and inconsistent. So I'm thankful that she is dependable. 

L really misses home these two years. She usually flies home to the Philippines twice a year, maybe three if she can afford the time. But with the pandemic restrictions and quarantine rules, it has been impossible for her. It's been all about work this year. She works hard. In a way, I'm glad that last year's strict lockdown in April forced her to take a break. 

As schedules change and pandemic lockdowns closed restaurants and eateries, she has acquired the practice of having lunch at our home before starting on this shift. I most certainly don't mind that. She preps her lunchbox at home in the morning, takes it along as she begins her work day. Then she comes over to heat it up and eat. Told her not to prep lunch for today, and instead, we would get takeout and lunch together. Ordered nasi goreng, Yangchow fried rice, and stir-fried kai-lan from the trusty Penang Kitchen. 

L is kind to Choya, and the wary dog has come to like her. She welcomes L each week with a little hop and twirl, and present her with a toy. During thunderstorms, if Choya is really frightened, she sometimes goes to look for L to be comforted. She doesn't totally need a hug, but she wants to be near her too.

I can leave them home alone if I need to. Initially, I wasn't comfortable leaving her home alone with Choya. When they first met, the dog left enthusiastic long nail marks on L's thighs. It took some time, but now, Choya's all chill when L comes, and I can leave them be when I can't shift appointments. 

Went out to the bakery to get a birthday pastry of sorts. Bought cakes. There was a small slice of chocolate cake topped with a little candle. We gotta do the customary ritual of luck and wishes to the birthday girl. L is valued by our little family, and the least we can do is to mark her birthday and tell her we appreciate her. 

Them Bloody Cockles

Grabbed our cockles-loving friends and went to town at The Famous Kitchen. Well, they're the VIP members at the restaurant, not us. So we shall depend on them for favors. Muahahaha. This meal also required a pre-popping of a charcoal capsule and an antihistamine pill. 

We've not been back since March, and we really missed the bloody cockles. To be precise, I missed the fabulous layer of chilli and garlic. Of the many zi char restaurants we bravely attempted cockles at, this one does it the best. Cockles are high in protein, low in saturated fats and carbs (79 calories per 100g serving), but the risk of getting Hepatitis A and falling ill from bacteria in these cockles will get us first. Oof.

We were hungry, but not starving. We didn't go all out. Ordered about six to seven dishes for four of us. We didn't bother with fish or crabs. Not in a fish sort of mood tonight. Skipped crabs since that would really kill our diet plans when it comes to cadium and mercury. Hahaha. Also, too much crabs and shellfish will simply make everyone's allergies flare. 

The poached pork belly with minced garlic didn't turn out the way that I had hoped. It wasn't elegant like... Din Tai Fung's version, or like 蒜泥白肉. This was rather marinated and not as light-tasting as what I had hoped for. Two types of vegetables appeared in the form of beansprouts and kai-lan. Crispy seafood beehoon formed the carbs to pad up everyone's stomach. 

This isn't a meal we can do often. Never mind the ton of oil used to cook the dishes. The whole meal is super rich and cholesterol-laden. For the love of our heart and arteries, we should just go easy on rich foods. I tend to avoid mega zi char feasts because I've learnt long ago that my digestive system doesn't like it. As we near 50, we're super cognizant of our cardiovascular health. 

However, the laughter around the table for such a meal (usually 4 to 6 persons Well, only a maximum of 5 for now.) is very precious. Tonight, we give thanks quietly to these friends who have been there with us through ups and downs for many years. I met them in my late twenties. By now, they're here to stay. They're what we call, our lifelong friends, warming the cockles of one another's hearts. 😬😂 These two years have helped us whittle down the friends that we want to see in person and keep in touch with. For me, they're pretty much the same few. I only cut out the acquaintances, or even those whom I wouldn't mind forming a deeper friendship with, but it isn't priority when nothing in our lives cross, and there're few shared reasons to make an effort. 

Daisy's Dry Mee Siam & Laksa

Picked up dinner from Daisy's and went over to the BFF's. We could dine out, but we're also trying to get Choya to be super comfortable at Godma's home. Getting a QO or falling ill is very real now, so we need to prep. Godma can't deal with anything more than a 7-day quarantine, even at home. So she ain't traveling to anywhere in the near future, and can fulfill Godma duties to the dog. Germany is a possibility, but the rising cases from an influx of Delta among the summer vacationers made her wary of making travel plans.

After checking out her surroundings, and feeling a tad nervous, Choya sat down under the table while we had dinner. Once we were done, and got up to clear dishes and adjourn to the couch, she also got up and went to her favorite spot under the couch. Till today, she doesn’t wander to Godma’s study or her bedroom without an invitation. Good girl.

The BFF had a craving for good mee siam last week. I was up for mee siam any time. But we were too damn busy to fix that craving. Till the week wound down, and I took a look at Daisy's Dream Kitchen. The BFF was in luck when Daisy's announced that they would be doing dry mee siam this weekend, and they still had available portions. We had Sunday dinner sorted! 

To be honest, three bowls of mee siam would be more than sufficient for us. But we were greedy. We didn't go overboard with the food, but it was a feast! The carbs would fill us up loads but we had to put in the usual order for otah, chap chye and ngoh hiang. 

The man had surprisingly never tried Daisy’s dry mee siam. I love mee siam in any form. So it was three bowls of dry mee siam. One for each. And the fourth bowl of dry seafood laksa was ordered out of pure greed. Haha. We said to share. You know what? We finished it — all the mee siam and laksa. Woohoooo.

The bowls of carbs already held a generous dollop of chilli to mix in. There were sweet sauce and cilicuka for the ngoh hiang, but the restaurant also gave us complimentary tubs of sambal belachan. BEST. So glad that I took a probiotic pill. Oof! Oh man, dinner was SO DELICIOUS. We were so stuffed. We finished most of the food, but had to pack away half the chap chye for the BFF’s next day’s meals. 

Thai Woven Fabric Bandanas

The dog has one neck, but I seem to have amassed quite a collection of bows and bandanas for her. Some are new and I'll let them remain unopened and unused. Those come into great use as gifts for other dogs when I don't have time to wait for the maker to sew them. Heh. Bows are easy because I don't have to think about neck sizes or embroidered names. 

I've been wanting to get some bandanas made from Thai woven fabrics, and the Northern Thai dresses for the dog. (I really miss Thailand — the friends, the food and the vibes.) But obviously I've been procrastinating. Then I came across two brands that met my needs. One is based in Thailand, and the other is based in Singapore. I would have simply ordered from an unknown Thai label, but since I didn't mind some of the designs, I ordered a few. Bought three from WalkieHolic and two from Boss & Olly since they just launched a new collection of Thai woven fabric bandanas. However, in my defense, two of those bandanas have since gone out to the friends' dogs. 

I think WalkieHolic's brand owner lives in London, but has a contact in Thailand who will arrange for the supply of fabrics and the sewing, as well as shipping out to customers. They source from Tohsang Cotton Village and Wisdomative. 

I'm not so sure about WalkieHolic's quality control or the designs. The fabric and sewing are neat, as expected, but whether there's one button or two or three buttons on a bandana seems arbitrary. I'd prefer two or three for it to be adjustable. Out of the three bandanas ordered, one is smaller than the stated 11"-14". It seems to be at a max of 11" instead. It's definitely smaller than the other two that are in the right size of 11"-14". So I'm sure someone packed it a smaller size but the size card stated it right. The brand indicated they would be stocking up in Singapore and I could do an exchange in a few weeks when stocks come in. I hope they would. Otherwise I'd have to get a tailor to do an extension for the buttons. Zzzzz. 

Boss & Olly's fabrics are sourced from Chiang Mai, and sewn in Singapore. Their quality control is tight, and I couldn't be happier with the three buttons on each bandana to allow for adjustment of sizes so that it either sits tighter or looser on the dog. Their cut and my preferred sizing S fit Choya perfectly, and the colors are rather pleasing to me. You know I can't stand prints or patterns or anything complicated overall. It's still a tad jarring, tbh. Hahaha.  Choya seems comfortable in the bandanas. They don't restrict her movements. She's fine lying down, rolling around or running about wearing them. 

The Onam Sadhya at Home :: 2021

Onam 2021 came to a close over the weekend, and we were eagerly waiting for the Kerala restaurants to announce their festive menus for the last two weeks. We debated whether to dine-in or to get a takeout. In the end, we decided to get a takeout from good old Spice Junction. 

Buffet lines are a thing of the past, and the restaurant can't squeeze in that many people during the meal hour. They simply can't do it any more due to pandemic hygiene regulations, capacity limits, and social distancing. Neither do we want to squeeze with crowds. Spice Junction prepped the pre-ordered takeouts by noon, and we simply turned up to pick up from the table. We Then we went home to set up the meal and demolished it. Most ideal. 

The nature of the vegetarian dishes meant that nothing on the table would keep well for lunch the next day. Too much coconut-everything used. The food ought to the eaten asap within the day. We were hungry (had the foresight to hit the outdoor gym at East Coast Park), so we ate everything. Heh.

The restaurant said there were 24 items in the vegetarian Onam Sadhya. Erm. WOW. We got the Kerala matta rice, and the savory items of vegetables with coconut flakes, and curries. There were a big pack of pappadum, tubs of pickles (puli inchi, naranga achar), bananas (instead of banana chips), and two types of payasam. I love the banana leaves provided. I swear that it always makes the meal tastier. Ahhhhh. This must be the most superb vegetarian meal of the year. We so look forward to sampling the Onam Sadhya every year.

When We Pretend Our Dogs (and Cats) Can Talk

I laughed so loud and so hard at this article by Maura Judkis and Elliot Smilowitz, published in The Washington Post on August 12, 2021 - 'The Voices We Make When We Pretend Our Dogs Can Talk'. The article even embedded audio of some of dogs' 'voices' as told by their owners. There're photos of the dogs too — Rocky Titus, Seamus, and Teddy. Hahaha. Too cute.  

I don't think all dog owners baby-talk their dogs. But there's a high chance that owners change the pitch of their voices when they speak to their dogs. So they would most certainly slip into a conversation with their dogs, knowingly or unknowingly. That's on the premise you do like your dogs and are more or less in tune with them. 

Cat owners too. Cat owners talk to their cats all the time. Cats' IG accounts are pretty hilarious too. We want to give our floofs a little personality, something that seem like them. This is beyond giving them a voice on Instagram and type out captions that seem like they're the ones talking.

It’s a common relationship dynamic, says Alexandra Horowitz, head of the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College, who sees people using “the dog’s voice in order to talk to somebody else over some contentious issue, like talking to the dog and saying, ’Oh, you know, I guess Daddy is not going to do the dishes tonight,’ ” she says. “Most people aren’t even aware that they’re doing it but are kind of unconsciously bringing the dog into the human conversation.”

All dogs and cats have a personality. They have their own quirks and they most certainly know how to train us to do their bidding. My schedule is largely dictated by the dog. Heh. But she doesn't get all the cheese that she wants. Nope. 

I try not to baby-talk Choya. It's super unbecoming. HAHAHAHAH. I ask her if she's hungry in a fairly normal voice, and if she wants food. I swear she understands English. She will display that skill if there's cheese involved. Otherwise, she pretends that she doesn't understand our commands. However, this dog doesn't like it if I harden my voice to nag at the man. So she's fairly instrumental in being peacemaker at home. We both have learnt not to raise our voices at each other, and try to see the funny or the positive. 

Choya is generally pretty quiet. She watches a lot more than try to contribute to any conversation or situation. She is fairly expressive though. When she wants something, she stares at me with those liquid eyes. She doesn't whine or bark to demand toys or cheese. She politely asks and make requests. I only give her a voice mostly when she's frightened. Like, "Momma, wake up. I need to poop NOW." or "Momma Momma Momma, the rain is coming! Oh NO!" and when the thunder rolls, "Momma, Momma, it's the end of the world. AhhHHHHhhhhHHHH!"

Those are some reasons we make our dogs say the things they say. But why do we make them sound the way they sound? For some people and their pets, that might be a high-pitched baby voice, or a slow and low drawl, or a sassy, indignant vocal fry.

New York dog behaviorist Michele Wan says dogs sometimes seem to understand that a higher-pitched “baby talk” voice is directed to them and will be more responsive to it, even if they don’t understand the words. People who might not speak for their dogs often speak to them in this tone, which some owners adopt “almost subconsciously,” a team of Austrian researchers noted in a 2019 study.

“Often, dogs are kind of attracted to that, they perk up,” Wan says. “They may approach you when you do that.”

Grilled Ox Tongue with Lettuce

Made a reservation and went to Chang Korean BBQ for dinner. It was a cool day. The afternoon rains made it so lovely to sit outdoors for the night. But I've always preferred an outdoor table at any Korean BBQ restaurant. It's less smeowlly. Chang's outdoor area is spacious and sheltered, so it's good for rainy nights too. 

It was a night of Asian beef! We ordered in moderation. Had the seasoned raw beef and yolk with bibimbap (yukhoe bibimbap) this round. Ordered thinly sliced beef brisket, and ox tongue. Those raw meats were presented to us before being whisked away to the side to be grilled. They returned to the table beautifully grilled. 

I do like grilled ox tongue quite a bit. Chang's version is tender and sliced just nicely thin. And eaten in this fashion with vegetables and dips, it feels so much healthier than an ox-tongue sandwich with mayonnaise and pickles. Hahah. We asked for a second platter of vegetables because it wasn't enough! Oof. They should have given three of those green chillies. 

Had to skip the ginseng chicken soup (samye-tang) because I didn't take antihistamines and the man didn't want to finish that on his own. Didn't bother ordering any pork dishes either. With the banchan and a simple but satisfying small bowl of clear beef soup that came with the bibimbap, these were more than enough food for us. 

Had a bottle of makguli that went well with the food. We didn't order the premium version, and it was surprisingly drinkable and not too harsh. I slurpped it all up. A 750ml is way too easy. Burrrrp. I don't do soju. I tend to avoid it. It doesn't go down well in the stomach, and it certainly doesn't come back up tasty either. Hahaha. 

Weather Forecast For This Lunar Seventh Month

The lunar Seventh Month quietly began on 8 August. It isn't the ghouls I believe in. I'll just respect the traditions of those who do. I don't know what the dog thinks or what she sees. She's a tad unsettled in the day, which is something that happens throughout the year; she does have a nervous disposition, and an aversion towards loud noises, and can be rather timid. The frequency of those military choppers and planes flying overhead this month doesn't help. But I most certainly hope that the Seventh Month doesn't mean a whole month of sleepless nights. 

Double-checked the weather forecast and expected patterns for the prevailing Southwest Monsoon. As I had hoped, the dog isn't showing any signs of distress at night for these two weeks. There's a really simple reason- the thunderstorms aren't happening in the nights. She has no reason to panic. She doesn't like loud noises or the fighter jets flying overhead, but she'll deal. It's the static electricity that she hates that comes along with lightning and thunder. 

Last year's Seventh Month (August 19 to September 16) also matched the fierce thunderstorms in the night, and that created havoc. I realized that if the typhoon's path is headed for Japan or Korea, then it doesn't matter to her. But if it's supposed to roll up and hit Hong Kong or Taiwan, then there'll be barometric pressure drops for Singapore, and the dog's double coat can feel that. 

Last year's Seventh Month began two weeks later than this year's (from August 8 to September 6), so I'm hoping that the two-week window meant we'll not get the fierce thunderstorms this quickly. This year, with some luck, maybe these showers will hit in the day in between pee breaks. Or in the late afternoons and nights (before midnight). As long as the thunder doesn't roll in, we're good. We've survived for two weeks. There were two not-too-panicky 5am mornings, and two terrible 3am, 4am and 5am nonsense. Hopefully we'll still get at least a decent 7-hour sleep at night for the next two weeks or so. (August 22 is the 15th day, and September 6 is the 30th day and the end of Ghost Month.) 

Kumquat & Lemon Snowskin

If I want to eat mooncakes, I'll buy them for myself. Over the years, the boxes of mooncakes that come in as gifts have diminished — a good thing because I keep telling corporate outfits and acquaintances not to send me mooncakes because I don't eat it. They keep sending me mooncakes that I don't like — those traditional baked Cantonese mooncakes lor. Ugh. I can't get over how cloying they are. I tend to prefer savory items, and I love those Yunnan mooncakes that are virtually impossible to find in Singapore. 

What I do like- are the snowskin mooncakes. (冰皮月餅) But even so, I'm soooo particular about the flavors. I don't fancy the much-raved about champagne truffle snowskin. No chocolate, no truffles, no rose, no lychee, no pandan and no black sesame. I wouldn't mind matcha or some longjing green tea filling with chrysanthemum but few restaurants do it with thick and bitter. Ironically, this meant that most snowskin offerings out there don't suit my palate. Muahahahah. 

This year, I was rather taken by Jiang Nan Chun's Kumquat and Lemon snowskin. It sounded so good. Picked up a box for myself, and a box of Mao Shan Wang durian snowskin for the man, and a Hazelnut Royaltine Chocolate for the BFF. I didn't bother with the Bird's Nest with Custard. Since there was an early bird discount, and I could just pre-order online and simply pick them up, it was super convenient to also buy a few boxes for the old folks who like the traditional baked white lotus paste with double yolk versions. 

My snowksin mooncakes were tiny, no more than 1.5 inches in width and height. Yay! They're in such an ideal size. Literally bite-sized; very manageable. I wasn't going to eat all of them at a go. I would eat ONE. The rest went into the freezer. When I took a bite of the Kumquat and Lemon, I didn't regret it for one bit. I'm not into the custard, but the center was tangy! It was EVERYTHING that I expected of it. It wasn't cloying. It was absolutely delightful. Superb. 

Curry Chicken & Sambal Petai

I can't be more pleased that restaurants are open for dining-in again. It's somewhere to take the dog too. We have the choice of making a reservation and going to sit down at at restaurant; I'm always happy to have someone else cook my food, clear and wash the dishes after. Hurhurhur. Of course we still have the option of getting takeout, which we do on some nights because that's just easier on the schedule. We do cook at home, but we don't have to do it so often.  

Sorted out a simple dinner at home with nyonya curry chicken, and stir-fried nai-bai, and sambal petai and ikan bilis. Three easy dishes that hold plenty of flavor and umami. I have a batch of frozen packs of chicken breasts and legs that I should really pare down...... by cooking them. So I used a whole thigh and a breast for the curry. The man would eat all the meat anyway. Hurhurhur. The curry was easy. I always have a stash of curry powder. I just needed curry leaves, lemongrass, potatoes and the vegetables. 

I didn't need organic stuff. I needed them fresh, and I chose to visit the wet market to get them. It has been a while since I stepped into Tiong Bahru market to buy ingredients for a simple meal. The bonus is randomly stopping at the fruit stall and scoring a batch of firm and lovely Rainier cherries — 1kg for S$45, okay can. This is the last of the season. 

Oh I didn't fry up the ikan bilis from the tiny raw bits. I don't really want to work that hard. Hahahah. They were bought cooked and crisp from Lee Wee & Brothers. Cleverly packed into four small sealed packets, I could just open one for a snack or to add to noodles and such. So I opened up one packet tonight. After the petai were boiled, I tossed in the sambal and the ikan bilis. Mmmmm. Dinner looked presentable, and not too sad. Basmati rice with the meal fulfilled the carbs to mop up the curry with. Spicy sambal belachan (fried up last week) on sliced kyuri completed the meal. #ImpieCooks2021     

潮州式芥蘭菜脯炒粿條

Once a week, we have dinner at the man's parents' home. Their helper manages all of the logistics. The parents' tastebuds remain the same, and equally conservative, so when the same ingredients (sesame oil, ginger, black pepper and spices) are removed from the dishes, over the years, every helper’s food amazingly tastes identical. The man and my tastebuds have changed and shifted along the way, and I'm even more fixated on things that I prefer. Instead of complaining (of which I don't bother to do so, and really why should I be so self-entitled), I fix it by eating a proper meal before going over so that I don't actually have to eat, or I bring my own food. 

Also, after the February Lunar New Year debacle, I no longer play this game of hypocrisy. Being colder is exactly who and what I am, and that includes not compromising on food. I'm upfront with my friends, so I'll do the same to the in-laws. If we're eating together often, and this regularly, then I'm not going to lie or suffer allergy flares to eat food that I don't want or can't have. Why should I not be frank about it, especially when I'm more than happy to bring my own food and don't expect special treatment.

That night at the parents', instead of having the helper cook, the man and I decided to order from Swatow Seafood. Ordered some dishes for the parents, and some for us. We have made it very clear that we can't share food, and reminded them to stop saying that they would eat whatever we eat, because they don't, and they can't. Being polite about it isn't going to fill stomachs, or worse give you the runs because everything is too spicy. Even when it comes to Asian food, we don't share the same preferences, so whenever we dine out or order in, the dishes on the final bill would have to cover everyone's tastebuds. 

I had cravings and specifically only wanted two items. I wanted a steamed minced pork with salted fish. The Teochew-style fried kway teow with kai-lan and preserved radish (芥蘭菜脯炒粿條) totally hit a spot. The portions were meant for two or three people, or more if we simply nibbled at them. Besides the man, nobody else at the table would eat it. After the man took tasting portions, I ate up ALL OF IT. Hey, I was hungry! It was also very tasty. I love love love kway teow, especially kway teow done this way. I can't resist chye poh either. This is possibly the best meal I've had at this dining table in six months. 

Goshawk Common :: Common Ground

Since I read Naomi Ishiguro's debut collection of short stories, I had to continue with her second book, also debut novel, 'Common Ground' (March 2021). Again, I refused to buy the book. Borrowed it from the library. They stock only hard copies and there aren't digital books. (Reviews here, here and here.)

Although the story isn't really isn't my cup of tea, I rather enjoyed it. This is a completely different sort of storyline and content to her first book of short stories. 'Common Ground' is a much stronger piece of work. Her fantasy/fairy tales aren't arresting, and didn't draw me into their world. The language was middling. But this, is sharp, observant, and the story is very much relevant to today's experiences. 

Two young boys in Newford, Surrey became good friends in 2003, lost touch and reconnected as adults in London 2012. They were not schoolmates. Street-smart and savvy, and also a Traveller/gypsy Charlie Wells was then sixteen years old, and quiet, shy, bookish and studious Stanley Gower/Stan was thirteen. They continue to meet at Goshawk Common, and found common ground with each other. However, racial and societal prejudices gradually seeped in, as they always do against Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers (or Welsh or Scottish, or traveling circus and fairground showmen or anyone with a nomadic lifestyle), in spite of the UK Equality Act 201. Then they went off their separate ways and lost touch for nine years. 

'No trainers,' said the bouncer at the first bar he tried., mouth turned down in a thin line of dour disdain as, at the same time as stopping Charlie, he waved through a bunch of lads, who as far as Charlie could tell were dressed just the same as he was.

'What?' Charlie said, 'Sorry, mate, I know you're only doing your job and all but weren't some of those just in trainers, same as me?'

'Not really,' said the bouncer.

'Sorry?' said Charlie.

The bouncer just shook his head.

'But surely trainers is trainers though, right?' said Charlie. 

The bouncer appeared to think about this for a moment, then said, 'No. These ones' — indicating the shoes on Charlie's feet — 'these aren't the same thing at all.'

The first half of the book was narrated from the perspective of Stan. The second half held Charlie's perspective. The boys, now weary young men, met again after losing touch for almost a decade. They bumped into each other at a student art party in London. Would this friendship pick up from where it left off? Nobody knew if the friendship would endure. 

Charlie now works in a warehouse, is a raging alcoholic and unhappily married. Anti-Traveller prejudices follow Charlie. It never ends. Stan is a university student doing his Masters in Journalism, and is now doing all right. Stan initially interned at a paper 'Writing Left', but he quit because he realized that his old boss might be too practical and prejudiced. He wanted to do a story about Travellers, and Charlie's life, but his old boss said no because "Gypsies don't sell papers." He kept in touch with Charlie in London, and wanted to be part of his life. 

Charlie had to participate in a traditional fist fight to defend the honor of his disabled brother. That spun off a whole series of incidents and fights and people landing in hospital injured, which ended with them having more fights with others and a fight with a racist group in a local pub. Stan proposed and Charlie finally agreed to write an article about the fight and such, which was published by The Newford Echo. How cool was that to see Charlie's name in print. And the story clearly indicated that this friendship has endured. 

Ses snart igjen håper jeg!

There was time for one last makan before S flew home. We had intended it to be at home. But what did we know, the government let us out and allowed the restaurants to reopen for dine-in! We could do five persons at a table. I quickly booked the old school but dependable Yamagawa Restaurant at Beach Road. 

I ordered many things on the menu. LOL They do have an extensive range, and it's a celebration of sorts. Well, there were three teenaged boys to feed, and their stomachs would be able to put away a fair bit. They did. But uhhh I did order a tad too much food. Hahahahah. Then the boys went away to do their stuff; S and I went off for a cup of coffee and a looooong chat. 

It was lovely to see all three boys. They're all young men now, confident and sassy. The next time I see them, they would be super self-assured confident young adults. Not that they're not, but they're still figuring out how the world works as they gain both work and army experiences in this city that isn't exactly their home. They've adapted well to living here. Two years in Singapore for each of them would round off their international experiences and stand them in good stead for college life.  

Fly trygt. Ses snart igjen håper jeg!

Tonkatsu at Hajime

On a day when I was in Serangoon Gardens to run errands and get groceries, it was great that J was free for a random lunch too. We didn't need fancy, so decided randomly to meet at Hajime. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations and only accept walk-ins. It would be quiet enough to accommodate the few tables it would have at lunch.

Hajime met our expectations for a casual lunch with its fuss-free and tasty meal options. The tonkatsu sets were super decent. I could pork done this way. A Loads of shredded cabbage, a lovely miso soup and a bowl of sticky rice came along with the set. I welcomed them all. I was hungry. For the tonkatsu, I didn't opt for the premium pork loin because I thought it would be rather fatty. I just wanted the regular ones where there would be a a higher percentage of lean meat. 

Then we hopped over to Apollo for a cup of coffee before going our separate ways to run our respective errands. Takeaway coffee works, but like beer, sipping a freshly pulled shot is the best. I certainly won't bother getting a coffee machine at home to pull own shots. Ahhh... the luxury of being able to dine out, to have instant conversations with good friends instead of losing humor and meaning over text messages.... I've missed this quite a bit.  

A Long Line for Choya

I've swopped out many of Choya's collars and leashes to BioThane. Leather, nylon, rope and such don't work for me because they stink to high heaven after a while and nothing rids the smell, not even enzymatic cleansers. Many makers and craft teams use BioThane to make leashes and collars, so just pick one maker who's dependable (doesn't use fake stuff or rubber/silicone-something to pass it off as BioThane) and has neat and solid stitching. 

Both lambwolf collective and staplecrafts offer great options. staplecrafts is a small business based in Singapore, and uses BioThane to make leashes and collars, customizing it to our preferences. lambwolf can't customize, but pushes out their own designs; the brand uses their patented "soft vinyl coated webbing material that is extremely lightweight but also durable with a layer of tightly woven nylon inside". I chose staplecrafts to do Choya's leashes and collars, and chose lambwolf's NOMAD for the long line. 

On normal walks, I prefer a longer 1.5 to 1.7m leash compared to the standard 1.2m. I don't usually keep her that close to me unless we're in a place with high human and vehicular traffic. Got a 9-meter (30-ft) long line from lambwolf collective for Choya. Her recall isn't perfect; I would never let her off the leash, but she loves wandering and would do well with a long line. 

A long line isn’t the usual walking leash. It’s meant for training recall, and for trained dogs to wander while being on a loose loooooong leash (since Singapore doesn't permit dogs to be off-leash in public spaces), and most importantly, for the owners' peace of mind that they wouldn't run off and get lost. 

I use the long line when we're at public parks (without crazy monkeys and such) with wider spaces and not too crowded. On a long line, Choya knows that she's allowed to roam and run around a little, and she's super thrilled to be able to do that. She doesn't have that puppy energy anymore, and she isn't particularly interested in dog parks or running in there off-leash. She's happier outside of dog parks with us or other dogs and do zoomies. 

We had a looooong morning at a quieter part of East Coast Park. It was too lovely to simply go off after a walk and a poop. We had plenty of time since we had no lunch plans, well, till our bladders needed emptying. Hahaha. Got a coffee and sat down on a giant tree root in the shade. The dog merrily rolled around in the grass, and moved from sitting in the sun to the shade whenever she felt like it. She loves it when we do this. We simply enjoyed the sounds of the sea, and even appreciated the nicely-spaced-out groups of humans who weren't making a ruckus. 

Dog was thrilled to be chilling out far away from us.

Bread & Conversation

I was extremely upset with GrabFood and Miznon. Had V and R over for lunch. We wanted its excellent pita and spicy Moroccan barramundi stew, but it was a thorough disappointment because the restaurant canceled my scheduled order. 

I scheduled this delivery a day ahead, for it to arrive between 12.15 to 12.30pm. On the day itself, the restaurant shifted arrival timing to 30 minutes later, and eventually canceled it within 10 minutes with the reason 'no drivers found'. The order was confirmed but didn't even get into the kitchen. That was bloody annoying and absolutely bullshit. I filed a note with GrabFood, but that was it. Nothing else to be said. GrabFood has so much volume that I don't think they care when there isn't a refund to be made and a ton of inconvenience caused to users. In hindsight, perhaps I should have used Oddle instead of their GrabFood platform. WHAT THE HELL. 

It was too late to schedule any other delivery for lunch that could arrive within 30 minutes. We would have to go pick up a random list of food at a nearby eatery. Ugh. So that was what we had to do. The company and wine were lovely. It was good catching up with the friends. But the food was middling because I had to scramble to replace our canceled lunch orders with another less ideal caterer. It was okay food, but nothing very satisfying. 

V and R brought home-baked bread and wine. Ahhhh, staples. She meant the bread for us! The bread was still warm when it arrived. Mmmm. That would be lovely for the next three days. Kept half a loaf in the freezer for the next week. Wine also made everything better. Luckily this wasn't a celebratory lunch. It was meant to be a casual thing because we miss the friends. For the man and I, we had lovely afternoon with them. I was just relieved that the friends forgave the lousy food. 

Miss Vanda by Labyrinth

We wouldn't have gotten around to trying Miss Vanda by Labyrinth save for the friends' recommendation. While I admired Chef Han's creations at Restaurant Labyrinth, I'm not wowed by them in the early years. It's not my kind of food. I prefer my food served in its conservative form, and not in foam or other unexpected surprises that my tastebuds can't appreciate. 

However, with Miss Vanda, I was happy to taste his take on our local favorites. Since the government is only letting us out on 10 August, we still gotta get takeouts. Over the National Day weekend, we ordered in food from Miss Vanda in support of the F&B industry for a patriotic celebration. I was relieved to see solid food on Miss Vanda's menu. LOL The friends said that Miss Vanda is a long-form version of Labyrinth's fancier small-bite presentations. Miss Vanda has been steadily propping up the main Labyrinth during this pandemic restaurant closure thing. Dunno if it will return when dining-in gets back to normal. 

I couldn't resist the Singapore style seafood laksa and XO garouper noodle soup. The laksa totally hit a spot — I love atas laksa. Teehehehe. The jackfruit and you tiao fritters with peanut rojak sauce was soooo good. I love jackfruit done in any way! The fish soup was delicious too — all that I ever want in a good fish soup. 

The man opted for the Van-Li burger with ma-la curly fries. As delicious as that was, it wouldn’t be sufficient food for him. Of course he shared the XO garouper noodle soup with me. He also bought a bottle of kaya. He's a kaya monster, and he likes this style of old-school Hainanese kaya. 

The friends had a curry pork cutlet donburi, and also the laksa. Would you believe that we were soooo full that we couldn't finish two boneless crispy har cheong chicken wings. Also, the table thought that the shrimp paste wasn't strong enough. Hurhurhur.

Luckily the friends also ordered dessert from the restaurant. My freezer and fridge have no storage space. LOL Dessert was a Kaya Sea Salt Buttercream Swiss Roll and a Miss Vanda X Mr Bucket Double Soy Sauce Caramel Chocolate Bon Bon. The kaya roll thing wasn't my cup of tea. The bonbon was! OMG. 64% dark chocolate ganache made with cacao beans from Panchor, Melaka. THAT SOY SAUCE. It was paired with Kwong Woh Hing's light and dark soy sauces that were "cooked into a flowy caramel". 😍 Totally my type of dessert. 

Singapore Turns 56 🇸🇬

The National Day Rally this year is postponed to August 29th, and the Parade itself has been postponed from August 9th to August 21st. At least. MINDEF came out with a totally expected tone-deaf statement that the Parade goes on even as we go into yet another lockdown. Hello, this is pandemic yah? Could you not place performers at risk of infection even as you said no spectators? The numbers of performers interacting in a Parade, and staying in a holding room is sheer madness. (I'm clearly not a fan of the Parade. Not the show of military might, and not the choreographed song and dance to entertain the nation.) 

In a recorded National Day Message, our Prime Minister acknowledged troubled stirrings within the Singapore society in this frustrating pandemic times. He said, 

Our social cohesion has held. But we cannot take this for granted," the Prime Minister said. "COVID-19 has strained fault lines in our society, and brought up difficult issues that we need to deal with.

Titled ‘The Road Ahead’, this year’s National Day song sounds like… every other year’s. It’s got an easy melody, a regular rhythm, and a feel-good music video. It's supposed to be like this isn't it? Enough said. Singer-songwriter Linying and music producer Evan Low (who also worked on the last four National Day songs) took charge of this year’s theme song.

The song also had hilarious dance moves. In double-quick time. Go learn it and swing your hips! I foresee this dance to be wiggled across many virtual events. LOL Yah I can dance to it. The movements are very mass-dance friendly. The punch-rolls got me giggling so bad. I cackled hysterically when I was made to do it in a mini-performance (online) for my old folks. 

Singapore Turns 56 today. We have A LOT to work on. We aren't living up to the creed in our National Pledge. It hasn't been "tidak kira apa bangsa, bahasa, atau ugama". Neither are we being kind. IMHO, we're being exceptionally selfish, self-entitled and unnecessarily insular. Singaporeans can be so racist, and I must say that I exceptionally detest the tone, approach and line taken by op-eds in the national Chinese newspaper when it comes to a discourse about race.  

The race of our Prime Minister should never matter in a democratic selection process. Is it not? I don't see it as any issue at all. (Why, do we want to raise the specter of Malaysia?) I was horrified to see it in print. Please don't anyhowly use the older generation as a scapegoat. If the older generation indeed thinks so, then they're being racist and reactionary. They need to reset their opinions and keep up with times. Using age as an excuse for everything is off-putting. To the political party, it's a matter of, which portion of the electorate do you wish to please? 

Racism is well and alive in Singapore, rearing its ugly head everywhere, and this year, it's totally out of the closet. The pandemic restrictions and frustrations have really brought out the worst in us. This is something Singapore needs to acknowledge, a fact that the majority race needs to see and not avoid or refrain from correcting friends, families and neighbors about misguided jokes and comments. Insidious racism is the worst. We need to make our stand heard. Being polite is no longer acceptable. How many years have we been preaching about racial harmony? It's a veneer. It's a glossy surface that's easily cracked. Singapore is made up of a country of immigrants, right from the start, before and after 1965. Have we forgotten that? We need to do better. Jangan lupa Ikrar Kita. 

Kami, warganegara Singapura, sebagai rakyat yang bersatu padu, tidak kira apa bangsa, bahasa, atau ugama, berikrar untuk membina suatu masyarakat yang demokratik, berdasarkan kepada keadilan dan persamaan untuk mencapai kebahagiaan, kemakmuran dan kemajuan bagi negara Kami.

Loads of Sambal Petai for S!

I've always loved the food from Daisy's Dream Kitchen since their Tiong Bahru days, then to West Coast, and now at Temasek Club. I haven't tried out lunchboxes or lunch bowls from their new Daisy's Dream Cafe at Kinex (Tanjong Katong) yet. 

I ordered the dry seafood laksa that day for lunch. It was an item I really like. Well, I like laksa in any form, except for Penang-style assam laksa. The man loved it! He ate up every mouthful, and my prawns. Hahaha. Given how often we eat at Daisy's, I was surprised that the man had not tried their dry seafood laksa. 

Had S and F over for lunch the following day, and it was a menu from Daisy's Dream Kitchen too. S didn't want nyonya sambal prawns anymore, but she had a craving for petai. Sambal petai with ikan bilis and another dish of sambal brinjal and lady's fingers then! The other vegetables was chap chye, which is like, standard fare. The man can never resist chap chye (also, cabbage). They also gave us a lovely little tub of sambal belachan. Mmmmm.

F doesn't fare too well with chilli-spicy stuff. He was fine with beef rendang, and ngoh hiang. He bravely tried a buah keluak, and he was okay with that because it wasn't spicy! It was just a tad bitter, and the pork was also lean and non-spicy. The chips went down well with F too. The belinjo crackers lor. 

We shared just two portions of soups so that we wouldn't be too filled up — bakwan kepiting and itek tim. I only ordered a small portion of seafood otah to be shared, as a bite-sized appetizer. Otherwise it would be an overkill. 

It was such a lovely thing to see S and F. Flying into town in the middle of the pandemic, gritted through quarantine, got a few days of fun dining out, then back into lockdown and restricted visitors. Ugh. A pity the rules meant I couldn't see the other two boys. Ah well. I was just really really pleased to see S. The dog was the happiest because she got tons of belly rubs from F. He also bribed her with chimken. Hahaha. She deigned to hang out with us instead of disappearing into her cosy corners in the rooms. She happily snoozed and rolled around, asking for belly rubs when F came to sit next to her.

Then it was coffee and dessert. Well, dessert for our guests. The man and I skipped it. Hehehehe. Dessert were slices of pound cakes (orange and dark chocolate) from Pantler, and a box of salted dark chocolate brownies from Lucia Cakes (gifted by a friend over the weekend). F could really really inhale those brownies. He helped clear out half a pack. Yay!

'Barking Botanicals'

Decided to support Barking Good's first IG live sale. They were putting up a Bundle of Plant + Pot + Cake, and throwing in two packets of their usual freeze-dried treats. They themed it 'Barking Botanicals'. The cake was a lovely botanicals-planter-design cake. 

I definitely wanted that cake. It was cute, yeah, but the ingredients were also suitable for Choya. I tend to be a repeat customer of dog bakeries that Choya's stomach likes. Barking Good's ratio of meat to oat flour and other ingredients were fine for Choya's sensitive gastrointestinal tract. And her tastebuds like it too, and she happily eats whatever cake sliced and placed into her meals. (There're some ratios that she doesn't fancy.) 

Opted for a regular cooked beef. On any given day, she would always choose raw meats over cooked bits. But I still place them into her meals as a base. I can't have her stomach rejecting cooked food and top quality commercial food, especially if someone else takes over short-term caregiving duties. The cake was beautifully decorated. I loathed to slice it up into meal-size portions. After taking all the nice photos of the cake, I left intact in the fridge before cutting it up for Choya's dinner.

I'm not into cut flowers, floral bouquets or plants. Nope, not house plants either. You know that I don't care about them, and I don’t particularly like them very much. (I would also hate you forever if you think it’s a great idea to give me a plant without asking me if I want it.) I just wanted that pot. LOL It's a rather cute pot in white, and it also matches my other little pot. It's a 3D-printed pot from Little Printings. The pot will survive long after all the plants are dead. No plants have survived for more than eight weeks in this patio. 

Unfortunately, the pot came with the plant. So I opted for the most unoffensive plant that looks like it's all leaves instead of flowers. I hope it isn't delicate. They did say that it's a plant that requires little watering, needs more shade than light, and definitely can't do direct sunlight. Perfect. My patio isn't a garden. It's a utilitarian space. I can probably sort out this plant and water it sparsely till it decides to wilt and die in six weeks. 

If you notice that I've been saying 'plant', that's because that's what it is. The moment I purchased that Bundle, I had promptly forgotten what kind of plant it is. The plant didn't come with a tag of its name. I didn't bother asking either. Hahahaha. It doesn't matter to me what type of plant. I'm not at all interested to find out. Not even curious. I don't have an affinity to plants. I’m allergic to the soil, sap, spores and pollen. They do liven up spaces though, and I can live happily with fake plants. 

Crab Beehoon + Chilli Crab!

Went over to our neighbors' dining table to celebrate M's birthday. They had a lovely seafood feast delivered. It arrived earlier than expected, at 5.30pm! We totally don't mind eating at 6pm nowadays! So having the food come in early was great since we were all home, and we only needed to pee the dogs, and we could happily eat.  

We had crab beehoon and chilli gravy. There were also salted egg yolk prawns, coffee ribs, stir-fried sambal kangkong and kai-lan with garlic. What a nice meal! This type of dinner requires three to four people at the table. It's very hard to have them alone, or with just two persons. Well, the man and I did try having just crab beehoon and rice vermicelli. The man took all the crab, and I ate loads of vermicelli. Fairly satisfying, but we couldn't order any other item. That was all we could stomach. 

I don't bother much about crabs, but I liked that crab soup and chilli gravy. It's such a treat to have the rice vermicelli in sweet crab gravy. Slurrrrrrped those up. I asked for those crispy mantou. Loved those. I like them plain or soaked in the chilli crab gravy. Tonight we had 25 mantou! Muahahah. More than enough to go around the table. I asked for two mantou. I might have eaten four... or more. 👀

We brought cake! Pre-ordering (to pick up) on Pantler didn't work since the website requires like three to four days' notice. It was much easier to stop by the patisserie to see what's available. They would usually have something. We got 'Yatsura' — made up of hazelnut dacquoise, dark chocolate ganache and crunchy hazelnut feuilletine. 

Our neighbors are very nice people. Of course we never knew that till we bonded over our dogs, and slowly got to know one another. As neighbors, while we randomly might know who live in which unit, and who might have a dog, or as that person who laughs loudly or have friends over, etc. Generic information. We don't pry and nobody would do that either. Nobody has been that mean in our block for anyone to start a fight. A smile and a civil head nod suffice by way of greeting, and being friendly usually means we actually open our mouths to voice a 'hello'. Like us, M and B have been living here for three years, so while they're still here, we're glad to have them around!

The dogs were on best behavior. Hurhurhur. Even Choya who doesn't usually beg at the dining table joined Maya and Ivy to see what the fuss was about. When she smelt crabs and such, she wasn't interested, so after lying about at our feet while we ate, she abandoned the table and went up the couch. 

Keeping Up With The Fitness Regime

Hello. How are you doing? 

Have you fallen off the exercise bandwagon? 

Don't. 

Stay on it. 

I have been less rigorous about exercising. LOL I feel like I've turned pudgy. Feel. That's because abs disappear damn fast. While the existence of abs isn't the yardstick of fitness or health, I use it as a gauge for the level of perceived fats in my body. And that's for me. That's not how I see you. Oh fuck it. Why would you care how I see you. Why would I bother to do that even? Your body, is none of my business.

I flat out refused to go running at all. It's too damn hot, even at 10pm. The idea of sweating it out at HIIT is also...... too hot. I don't have the luxury of an air-conditioned home gym. This is probably one period when I wished I had bought a bigger flat like I thought I would. Anyway. Press ups and planks are the easiest things to fulfill at home. 90-second daily planks and 50 press-ups a day do tone the body and keep it nimble.

My krav maga classes go on with a mask. My requests of coming up with tactics to fend off monkeys, wild boars and otters have bewildered my instructor. He was like, WHUT. HOW. Yup, how is exactly my problem. Explosive movements aren't my forte. I'm so lousy at plyometric exercises. I will never be as fast as the animals. Even if I'm in tip top shape, I'll never be as fast as an aggressive opportunistic monkey. I've come to realize that by simply appearing in their territory and even walking as fast as I can past them, they'll attack too. It's very hard to fend off an animal attack without being injured myself. 

Pilates and gyrotonic classes are still going on weekly. Studios have to get so creative about not letting clients 'share equipment'. So we are allocated set pieces and timings during this period, and we never share. We have also brought along our own personal equipment (towels, Arc, straps, balls) to and fro as well. I'm so glad that these sessions could still continue in the studio. I don't do group classes, so there're fewer rules to adhere by. By now, my instructors are all vaccinated, as are the staff at the studios. Even during the period when we (clients) could have masks off in the studios, most of us still kept them on. It's really in our personal interest to keep ourselves and everyone else safe. 

Canchita at Home

I was eager to taste chef-owner Tamara Chávez López's menu at the newly opened Canchita. We get so little LatAm cuisine in Singapore. The restaurant's Peruvian cuisine was right up our alley. K hurriedly made a reservation for lunch. Table of four! Wheeeeee. BUT P2.1HA happened. So we swopped it to dining in. Went to pick up the food and popped over to K and YQ's home for dinner instead.

It's sometimes very hard to share food between just two people. With four, we had more choices from Canchita's wide menu. We ordered the 'Canchita Bundle' for two persons which included a fisherman's soup, and, this tickled me the most- arroz chaufa — the name! It's really Cantonese fried rice in Peruvian style. But ours was more similar to a seafood paella in terms of flavors and texture than a drier wok-hei type of fried rice. I loved it though. Heh.

Added on an extra serving of mixed ceviche of fish and prawns and crispy calamari, beef, chicken and pork tacos, the requisite vegetables of espárragos (they gave both green and white), cochinito criollo leg (crispy skin suckling pig) with dried potato stew and grilled baby corn. The bundle came with a dessert of coconut cake with strawberries and cream. Nope. LatAm desserts are always wayyy too sweet. That was way out there for me. Ugh. 

This dinner suited my schedule. I had canceled earlier appointments and rescheduled a number of them. I didn’t want to see anyone for a week. I was in hibernation mode; not on QO but since I work with old folks, I decided to stay away from humans for a few days. Of course I went out to walk the dog, soaked in the sea breeze and the green at the parks. But I didn’t want to have f2f work meetings or meet any friends; didn’t want anyone over, and even canceled pilates and gyro. I needed the time-out. Tonight marked the first night that I could meet people. So I was in civil form tonight to see friends and not be a downer.