Sambal Belado Hijau and Merah

Tue April 5 The man isn't interested in the run-of-the-mill food at shopping malls. Even if we head out for a casual lunch run, he wants something tasty that isn't in a mall, which is often the most accessible venue. The other day, we needed lunch after a crazy morning of work calls. The man wanted spices. We went to Kandahar Street for lunch at Rumah Makan Minang. 

It was a week day, but it was super crowded in the Jalan Sultan area. Never mind that we had to wait a bit to get a parking space in the area (they've closed off Kandahar Street for 40 days for a Ramandan bazaar), it was also searing hot afternoon at 1pm. But of course it proceeded to storm right after our meal as we were driving off. 🤨 

Unsurprisingly, at 1pm, the restaurant had run out of begedil and paru. Ahhh well. Something else then. I should switch up my usual selections of dishes when it comes to nasi padang. Hahaha. The queue was short and it moved fast. The man picked out sotong masak hitam, ayam belado hijau, ayam gulai, sambal goreng, and an ikan tenggiri head cooked with chilli padi and lemak. NOMS. 

Ordered a bottle of mineral water and two glasses of ice cubes. That was much needed in this heat. It was madness. We sat outdoors. It was sweltering, but food was soooo good. I do love a good meal of spices and piquant belado.

Stuffed Our Faces at Tomahawk

Had a lovely dinner with the friends at Tomahawk in celebration of the man turning 47. This is just three years away from turning 50. *gasp* 50! It was supposed to be just the man and I plus Choya for dinner. Then the friends wanted to join us too. Okaaaaay! Come! Too bad Chewie the Cat isn't fond of 'going out'; she stayed at home. 

There was plenty of space at the restaurant on a week day night, but parking in this area is crazy dicey. While that was okay during the lockdown, the restaurants along the stretch suffered. The road works for the new train line have changed major turn-ins to buildings. With restrictions lifted yesterday, Novena Gardens and Novena Regency are seeing an increased number of humans at restaurants. If you don't get to those two carparks early, they'll be full by 7pm. Most people park at Revenue House and walk.

This restaurant has evolved from a pasta-fusion steak bistro as 'Pasta J', then into slightly more experimental and focusing on aged wagyu tomahawks as 'O'maJ' and finally now as a full fledged wagyu steakhouse, Tomahawk. Their menu changes ever so slightly quarterly. This is nice, but it also meant this isn't a restaurant we can pop into often because our stomachs can't bear this much food. We'd need to share with another two friends at the minimum. We want a range of menu items on the table and taste different flavors of the dishes.   

Tonight, there was no way we could do a 1.2 or 1.5 kg tomahawk. That would simply kill us and send me into indigestion purgatory. We opted to share a small 300g Galiciana vintage boneless striploin between us. And ordered loads of other items — lamb empanadas, salted fish burratina, clam chowder, beefy tomato soup, lamb shank, seafood squid ink lobster stock risotto, Yorkshire pudding, and twice sautéed shrooms. All wonderful. I do love Yorkshire pudding. It goes with everything!

The restaurant accommodated our special request for fish. They seared four portions of grouper on squid ink mash, just for the man's birthday. Their fish is honestly as good as their steaks, if not better. Fish is always market-fresh and they don't have it on the permanent menu. It's a pre-order, and they can't promise that they have fresh fish till the day of our reservation. 

Four of us polished off two bottles of red (Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva 2015), and still left at 10.30pm. Heh! After two years of being hemmed in by pandemic rules, we can finally be rid of the no-alcohol after 10.30pm rule. Bars and restaurants could open till midnight now if they choose to. The irony? Both the man and I know that we wouldn't be able to stay out beyond 11pm. I'm pretty tired nowadays by 10pm. I can't stay out late because I need to walk the dog for the last pee of the day, and to feed her supper. 

The Man Turns 47

Birthday celebrations are always a series of meals nowadays. Pandemic years have conditioned us to simply treasure meals, rather than organizing an event or outing of sorts and have that fall apart. S and N bought the man a superb lunch at Samy's, a restaurant we all love. But it has become place that's tough for just two persons to eat at. Get a table of four, and our stomachs will be much happier. We were all already happier that pandemic restrictions are eased TODAY. 

The man and S love a number of dishes, especially the masala chicken and mutton, black sotong masala, and that whole plate of chicken liver, gizzards and hearts. Of course those appeared at the table. There was the ubiquitous fish head curry too. Food here is sufficiently spiced, but not too too spicy. Hilariously, we drank like eight young coconuts not because we couldn't take the spice, but because they were sooooo refreshingly on a blistering hot day. 

The friends didn't just pay for lunch. They even paid for our extra to-go dishes! There were leftovers that shouldn't be wasted. So those were packed up, along with the last bits of fish curry, and the man ordered extra vegetables too. The pumpkin masala and beans poriyal were totally on point. Those would totally do fine for another meal. Samy's food is the gift that keeps on giving. 

The 'leftovers' were totally sufficient to feed the man and I for dinner the next day! OMG. We simply cooked a pot of basmati, and heated up the rest of the food. We thought of adding some boiled eggs, but there was more than enough food, so we didn't. Mmmm. The fish curry tasted even better. The man very much prefers this style of celebration than anything fancier. The years indeed fly by. The man turns 47 today. 47! Where did the time go?!

Happy Birthday, my love. 🖤 

Food from Samy's. Dinner at home.

How Does A Woman Prevail?

I told myself to read at least five books a year that are far and out from my usual genres. This is one — Hilma Wolitzer's 'Today A Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket' (2021). The author writes a genre of stories that I'm not interested in, hence I don't know her, or her daughter, acclaimed writer Meg Wolitzer. (Reviews here, here, here and here.) 

I had to read a number of reviews to familiarize myself with said author before starting on this book. Thanks to NPR, I learnt that, "the collection is bookended on one end by the title tale, which was first published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1966, and on the other by a powerful new story, written in 2020, which checks in on a pair of Wolitzer's longtime recurring characters just as the novel coronavirus pandemic hits New York."

I don't know what possessed me to read the book. When I finished the last story, I was relieved. Yup. I didn't like any of the stories at all. As nuanced as the 13 stories are, beautifully layered and painted, and the writing is good, I didn't like these short stories at all. Most of these stories were written in the 1960s and 70s. They touch on a girl's growing pains, motherhood, suicide, marriage complexities and such. The first story is written in 1966 — the eponymously titled 'Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket', and that would be Shirley Lewis who has a husband and two small children. In the supermarket pushing an empty cart, she broke down.

Of course, I"m too sophisticated in things psychological (isn't everyone today?)  to think that one goes mad at a moment's notice. There are insipid beginnings to a nervous breakdown. There's lonely crying in the bathroom, balanced on the edge for the tub, and in the kitchen, weeping into the dishwater, tears breaking the surface of the suds. There's forgetting, or or wishing to forget, the names of the children, the way to the local bank, the reason for getting up in the morning. There's loss of vanity — toenails growing long and dirty into prehensile claws, hair uncombed, eyebrows unpacked. Yet something seems very right to me about going mad in a supermarket: 

After reading the first few stories, I was like, oh the author really likes to name her characters as 'Paulie' and 'Howard'. Then I realized, they are the same Paulie and Howard. They're not the narrators, but most of the stories are seen through their marriages and perceptions.

The last story in the book is 'The Great Escape' written in 2020 by the 92-year-old author, who's coming to terms with her life after the death of her husband from Covid-19, and an eight-year hiatus from writing. At the encouragement of her daughter Meg Wolitzer, she did so, by publishing this book. This last story is almost a recollection of her life with her then-alive husband. This one, I didn't mind since it touched on end-of-life topics. 

The first-person narrator Paulie recalled her time with her husband (Howard, yes), and her adult children who have their independent lives. Then Covid-19 came along. One day, Howard fell ill first with pneumonia and then tested positive for Covid-19. Paulie tested positive shortly after. She recovered. He passed away in hospital, alone. She had to pick up the pieces of their shared lives. 

But the business of being old took up most of our time and concentration. A schedule for our various pills and tonics was stuck by a magnet to the refrigerator, where we used to hang the children's drawings, then the grandchildren's. And our bodies let us down as we lurched toward oblivion. 

............

And Howard had died without anyone who loved him nearby, had been cremated with no on there to see him off. I hadn't witnessed any of it and my imagination failed me for once—I couldn't picture it. His clothes were hanging in the closet, his frayed blue toothbrush was in its holder. It was as if he had merely vanished, like a magician's assistant falling through a secret trapdoor. 

'Light the Night'《華燈初上》

Here's the 'mini-review' nobody asked for but I'm still going to talk about 'Light the Night'《華燈初上》. 😂 Written by Ryan Tu (杜政哲) and directed by Lien Yi-chi (連奕琦), I didn't think I would be into the show, but three episodes into Part 1, I was hooked! Hahaha. It's not fully a genre of romance, although the many motives, decisions and crimes in there stem from a misguided form of romantic love, and passions. The overarching ideal of LOVE. Oh, and I really really like Taiwanese accents and phrasing too. 

It was a slow release of eight episodes each in Part 1 (November 26, 2021), 2 (December 30, 2021) and 3 (March 18, 2022), totaling 24 episodes. Part 3 was released on a Friday. I was busy and had no time to binge, and didn't bother about it. I died laughing when some girlfriends texted me on Sunday to say that they've finished Part 3, i.e. the whole show, and 'please hurry up to watch it so that we can gossip about details'. Gosh, why are y'all so fast?! There're plenty of loopholes in the plot of course, and many parts are not just unbelievable because it's fantastical; it's just illogical. But this is a drama, so I'll suspend all disbelief. 

Protagonists Rose 羅雨儂 and Sue's 蘇慶儀 friendship is long and complicated, as long and intimate friendships often are. Thank god I didn't have to go through this type of convoluted nasty stuff with the BFF. I did a double-take when Wu Kang Ren / Chris Wu 吳慷仁 appeared. He's quite lovely as BaoBao 寶寶. There're plenty of back stories of each of the characters and throwbacks. The show utilizes that as a narrative method to draw in the audience, and also to create that sense of mystery. Many of us thought that the one with the best character overview and development is the hostess Ah-Chi 阿季 played by Cherry Hsieh 謝瓊煖. Her life is sometimes not within her control, but the gambling addiction is, although we cannot underestimate how this addiction is almost as bad as a drug addiction. 

The hostess bar where all the action happens is aptly named Hikari「光」. It's such a wonderful name, and a metaphor, and the ending is all about that. Do we walk in the light or in the shadows? Or are we destined to live in between? The show depicts the hostesses' lives as is, trials and tribulations. Well, it's not a documentary. It's fiction, and it's very watchable, and respectful. Set in 1988, the clothes and sets were soooo true to the era. Hellooooo old telephones, Sony tape recorders and old school cakes. I like the ending. It's stoic. The ending is not about romance. It's about forging one's path in adversity, making the best of the situation, being independent, being deeply flawed, and ultimately, being human.  

Jelebu's Lobster Dry Laksa

The home-based business by Renée Tang of Jelebu Dry Laksa is now a pop-up (till 31 May) at Hotel Soloha on 12 Teck Lim Road in the form of 'Jelebu X Takeshi Noodle Bar'. I love love love laksa in its dry or wet form. I just don't like the extra laksa leaves sprinkled into the bowl upon serving.

It's a small restaurant and seats are limited. It takes maybe 18 people; at most 20 if there're two groups of five to a table. There're bowls of dry laksa with prawns or half a Boston lobster tail by Jelebu Dry Laksa with other food options of Marmite Brussels sprouts and sliced sirloin steak, small plates that rotate monthly, and dessert, and there're also bowls of collagen and seafood mala ramen by Takeshi Noodle Bar. 

We were there for the dry laksa. It was a planned lunch, so I had popped an antihistamine in anticipation of shellfish. But I didn't realize I could ditch the grilled tiger prawns. While I couldn't do anything about the stock (the pill ingested would help), I was happy to see lobster on the menu too. Yayyy. So I opted for a butter poached half lobster dry laksa. 

The man had to have a Buah Kaya cocktail, with a base of white rum, kaya, pineapple juice and evaporated milk. Eiooowww. Cocktails are really not my thing lah. That's really a form of liquid dessert. I really didn't mind the goreng pisang with chilli chocolate dip. Freshly fried, of course, it was gorgeous. One was enough for me. (Fried items are a quite a no-no because I get the runs straight after.) But yes, savory desserts are my thing. 

How's Your Lent Going?

This Lent isn't going well for me at all. I'm flailing. I barely eked out quiet time these few weeks. There're 1001 worldly tasks demanding my attention. Don't we all have that? I'm failing horribly at being positive. And trying very hard not to be mean. I'm not particularly unkind. I'm very reasonable. But I do not go out of my way to 'be nice'. Being mean is my usual thing. 

Work pressure and stress are just work things. They're plodding along fine. Deadlines are met, the scope of the projects are kept to, and any expansions are reasonable. I can't exactly blab about them online, and I'll just deal with them as they come. As it is, taking on projects on a term-basis is a huge load off the mental stress. It keeps things in check and everything in perspective because I'm not beholden to a firm's annual appraisal systems. My KPIs are clear and the goal posts do not move. 

On the first day of Lent, Sunny Heights (Animal World Pte Ltd) pissed me off by suddenly announcing that they would cease operations OVERNIGHT, and then went MIA on every client with existing packages and outstanding sessions unconsumed. There's no way I'm forgiving the debt. I won't get the $900 refunded. But I'm going to have a think about whether I want to pay ≥$20,000 in legal fees to give the ACRA-listed assholes personal admin hell for the year. They're banking on clients not to take it that far. It's enormously unfair.

After the December and January spate of solid poops and happiness, Choya's second round of explosive diarrhea in February when she went back to school for two weeks. I was so annoyed, and I was miffed with myself for not heeding my instincts. Her GI tract hasn't healed properly since then. A month later, over last weekend, dunno-what triggered another round of gastroenteritis. ARRRGGGH. Then when the liquid shits stopped, this morning, she pooped out a long string of mucus that made her Daddy shriek in horror 'It's a part of her intestine!' What the. It's brown lah, no dark tarry blood or fresh red blood. He always shrieks when he sees Choya's blood, wounds and bodily fluids. This is why he cannot deal with the smol girl's health thingies. I brought it home for an inspection. It's a string of mucus-coated dead grass and leaves, obviously there for a week maybe. Were these causing the blockage, and the decay resulted in the inflammation of the gut? My poor smol girl.

The man isn't Catholic. Well, he's agnostic. But as partners, he's definitely the better person this Lent. I'm grateful to him as a pillar of support. He literally isn't my main pillar of support because in this life, I cannot be more thankful to have lifelong friends who are my pillars of support. They share the equal burden of having to deal with uhhh me. Hahaha. Except each friend gets a different sort of shit piled on them. I don't unload everything in the same way on them. That would be way too much.  

I was reading Isaiah/Isaias for the week. And rolled eyes. Acccck. REALLY. NO.

To the upright I will show the saving power of God. 

“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?

Or do you think that I am like yourself?

I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes. He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; 

and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” 

~ (Responsorial) Psalm 50

Mezcla Japanese-Mexican Fusion

Checked out Mezcla, the newest brand in The Feather Blade and Rappu family. The restaurant sells itself on its Japanese-Mexican taco bar fusion menu. So instead of a seaweed wrap like a handroll (temaki) at Rappu, Mezcla did it tortilla-style or with grilled and crisp seaweed.  

There are only two tables outdoors that could seat four or five. I don't mind the heat. I mind that one table is just next to the giant dustbin, and that floor is almost always wet and dirty. Those floors generally hold a lot of cigarette ash. And a clean floor under outdoor tables is very important to me. Tonight, I asked for thick napkins and squatted down to dry and brush the floor.  

The ceviche of the day was hugely disappointing. Today it used yellowtail, and was garnished with usukuchi pickled roma tomato and lime zest. The garnish was fine. The fish wasn't cured properly and had no flavors and was pretty much rubbish. The Unicorn was decent and came in a serving of 2 pieces and was pretty much uni on a purple tortilla chip with grilled corn and Cotija cream.

The man pretty much wanted everything on the tacos menu. Okaaaay. I wanted the chipotle tofu wrapped in spinach tortilla, habanero, pickled cabbage slaw, onions and tomatoes. We had to order that $32-a-piece uni and scallop with seaweed taco, ikura, togarashi mayo and pickled onions. Some decent flavors going on, but needs refining. It's currently rather rough; I guarantee you that any one of us could reproduce these flavors at home, and better. If you want handrolls, stick to Rappu. I don't have much love for tortillas.........

It's got cocktails and $13 margaritas in tiny glasses. That would do. I went easy on those. Tequila would kill me. The man actually bothered to have a Mezcal Negroni to end the night with. He said it was good. Mezcla is definitely a tad over-hyped as a restaurant. But luckily for us, we didn't come for the hype. We were there because it was convenient that night, and it had an outdoor table for us. Okay then!

Cocktails at Kizuna

We finally found a date to sign up and pop into Kizuna for its weekend cocktail nights. The bar was manned by the OGs behind Ah Sam Cold Drink Stall. I hesitated for the longest time because I'm really not a fan of cocktails. I drink either highballs or a plain gin and tonic. Any else simply had too many flavors going on that my tastebuds and stomach don't like.

Tonight we started with a gin-based 'Ju Hua Cha' (sparkling chrysanthemum). That was refreshing and quite delicious. But it was all I could tolerate. I asked for a plain gin and tonic for my second drink and highballs after, and stuck to it. The highballs were superb. The man went the whole hog with another gin and egg-white cocktail, 'Kentucky lemonade' and a whisky cocktail. What a night!

It was truly a supper club of sorts. There was food, but limited to what Kizuna's kitchen felt like cooking. Fine by us! We put in a pre-order so that the kitchen could adjust purchases of ingredients, arrange for logistics and such. This is really not a professional kitchen, and definitely not a restaurant. Okaaay, it's really Shen's cooking, finding tasty and easy to assemble dishes to go with the alcohol. We loved all of it. The items trotted out were DELICIOUS. The portions were decent and we lapped it all up. 

There were cucumber fish cake (ちくわきゅうり), poached fillets of sea bass and clams (in the style of aqua pazza), steamed cabbage and pork belly (豚バラとキャベツの蒸し), and of course, the ubiquitous oden (おでん). We ate everything. The man really enjoyed the sea bass and clams. The fish was perfectly poached, and super tasty. The pork was really for me, but the cabbage was a hard fight between us. it was so good that I almost wanted to ask for a bowl of steamed rice to go along. Hahahah. I was this close to ordering a second helping of the steamed cabbage and pork belly.

The Town Called 'Around Here'.

I like Hiromi Kawakami's writing. I don't mind her books' English translations as well. I finally got around to reading her newest collection of whimsical short stories in English, 'People from My Neighborhood' (published in 2019), 川上弘美『このあたりの人たち』. It's translated in 2020 by the indefatigable Ted Goossen. 

Borrowed it from the library and had to finish it in two sittings because I was a tad busy, and there're 36 stories! Granted, they're very very short stories, but they require some mental effort to link them up. (Reviews here, here and here.) The first story is titled 'The Secret' and it totally got my attention.

I've come to realize that he can't be human after all, seeing how he's stayed the same all these years.

Humans change over time.

I certainly have. I've aged and become grumpy. But I've come to love him, although I didn't at first. I bought an apartment. And a dog. And three cats. I developed a fear of death.

The dog died, and the cats too. Now only the child and I remain. Before too long, he'll be the only one left.

"Why did you come here?" I asked him once.

He though for a moment. 

It's a secret," he said at last.

Majority of the 36 very short stories are centered around a small community in a tiny Tokyo town. (そこは〈このあたり〉と呼ばれる「町」。) Readers are introduced to the inhabitants of the town and their homes, and their family lives by way of the narrator's memories and described visuals. Some of the stories broached on the supernatural and the fantastical, like 'The Six-Person Apartment', and 'Grandpa Shadows', an old man who lived not he outskirts of town and he had two shadows, one docile and submissive, and the other rebellious, and would attach itself to other humans. 

The narrator remains unnamed throughout. She owns a mixed breed dog, and seems to be in her late forties or early fifties. She has a good friend during childhood named Kanae. They hung out together, till a 'scandal' put the the friendship on hold. Kanae was a name that was spoken of with derision and spit in the hometown as a rebellious teenager who didn't conform. She went to France to study and eventually became a famous fashion designer with her own cult brand and when the narrator bumped "into one of the neighborhood women, she praised Kanae as "the pride of our hometown". It was the very same woman who had told me about Kanae's impure relations. I was amazed at her use of the word hometown."

I loved all the little stories! After a while, I really couldn't be sure if the narrator made these all up from her child's mind or this town is truly as she described. I enjoyed all the stories anyway, and happily finished them all. ‘The Bottomless Swamp’ was hilarious.

The bulk of the school was made of chocolate. Dark chocolate, rich in cocoa. The surrounding fence consisted of ginger snaps. The roof was shortcrust pastry with an egg-yolk glaze that shimmered in the sun, while the light that passed through the hard candy windows sparkled. The walls and floors were a mosaic of cookies, and the railings were Mikado biscuit sticks, baked especially big for the purpose. The blackboards were enormous Bourbon Alfort biscuits, topped with dark chocolate, while sweet pastries and salty rice crackers helped complete what was a highly detailed and intricate piece of architecture.

The weirdest parts of the school were the students' chairs, which were huge doughy dumplings, and the staff room, which was made of vegetable-based crackers and the like. The chairs were soft and comfortable—too comfortable, perhaps: their one drawback was that those who sat in them quickly drifted off to sleep.

Heat Pads!

These dogs truly have the best life. I was at krav maga, then went all out at Ritual the next day. I'm usually okay with DOMS. It's the man who always screams about it. But DOMS got me bad this round. I hit the ground too many times during krav maga, and did way too many pull-ups at Ritual. Hahahah.  

The man caved and bought a Flow Mini in 2020 since he didn't feel like using the heavier TheraGun. He needs it for all the random aches he has. It's apparently been really helpful. He does use the heat pads and cold compress on his knees too, but less frequently. 

I rarely use the Flow Mini on myself unless it's that bad. So I had to use it this time, but I clean forgot about heat pads, till I warmed up Choya's to ease her tight hip flexors and iliopsoas. The lucky dog! Initially she shared heat pads with us. But now that RehabVet recommends us doing the heat pad thingy for her daily, I bought her one of her own. I prefer to use the manual heat pads — by heating it up in the microwave. I do not want electric ones, even if I'm supervising the usage on the dog's skin. 

Putting the heat pad on Choya in the nights before bedtime is the best timing for us. She's exercised, fed and relaxed. She loves the warmth of the heat pad, and on some nights, wants head rubs. She know I rarely give those, and asks for it when I'm seated next to her for these 15 minutes. She then promptly falls asleep after the heat pad 'treatment'. I admit I'm not that hardworking. I can likely do it for five nights a week for a stretch, and then get lazy about it. Hahahah.

All these achy joints in the family. I wish I have a bacta tank or a pod. 😂

Beef & Rice

Could you see the medium rare in the meat? 

It was my turn to cook dinner. I'm not that inventive. I would do beef, veggies and rice. Found a tray of two nice pieces of tenderloin at the supermarket. 300g or so. I forgot to check the label. I only saw the price and grinned. $22. Finally it was our turn to have lovely fillets of beef instead of getting it for the dog. 

Marinated the beef in the usual Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, bit of salt and soy sauce, black pepper, olive oil and garlic. Seared them, then sliced them to do a one-dish meal of sorts. It was perfect that the two fillets of beef were different in thickness. The same grill time would result in two done-ness — medium rare for the man and medium for me. Two minutes on each side. #ImpieCooks2022

Normally people would just do a steak, toss up a bit of salad and call it a meal. I kinda put an Asian spin on it. Stir-fried a pack of hydroponic nai bai that's sweeter than the normal. Chinese style, with Shaoxing wine and sesame oil. Hahahahah. It's not gyu-don. There were no sous vide eggs tonight. I did sprinkle furikake over the plate before serving. The man totally lapped it up. The tenderloin cut was truly tender, and the marinade made the meat was super tasty. This meal wasn't as strange as it sounded. It was quite delicious. Oof.

Mine! Done beautifully medium. 

Putting the 32oz Growler to Good Use

As far as growlers go, the ones from DrinkTanks is among the best out there. Their insulation and dual bail system really lock in the freshness of a pulled pint. 32oz fits two pints from all bars willing to fill it.  

Our friends thoughtfully gifted the man a beautiful 32oz grey for Christmas and it has been in use ever since. Weekly. Heh. This size works best within the constraints of our fridge space. Ours works very well to keep beer fresh overnight. That's more than sufficient. Once filled and if we don't open the growler at home, it can easily keep beer fresh for three to four days.  

That night, we stopped by Thirty Six Brewlab and Smokehouse to fill the growler before the dinner. This is exactly where Little Creatures used to be, right at 36 Club Street. What a nice address for 36 Brewlab. I think they took over the distillation tanks too. It was quiet at the bar, and we decided to have a pint before heading off. Opted for beers from Lion Brewery Co — a refreshing Island Lager pilsner for me, Zizi Stardust mead for the man, and an easy Straits pale ale for the growler. It was a hot day, we downed our beer in minutes. Then the man and I shared a pint of 36 Brewlab's Something Something APA. 

The venue doesn't actually take dogs. We were just there to get a to-go and were fine with chilling out by the side to wait, and have a beer. The dog could just lounge about on the street. She was happy to be out and about at sunset, watching the world go by. She wasn't impressed by our growler or beer though. She still doesn't fancy the smell of alcohol. She shows a tad more interest in the initial scents, but once she gets through the layers to the ethanol, to her, they're all the same. Yes, dog, you might be right about that.  

Pangdemonium's 'The Glass Menagerie'

I'm not a trained critic of theater and plays; I'm just an average member of the audience. What do I know about theatrical approaches and drama applications? Regardless of what I think about a show, a production team works hard to bring it to the stage and have it ticketed. The actors work long hours and put in tremendous efforts to match lines, cues and try to bring that world to the audiences. I thought long and hard if I wanted to vocalize my thoughts about Pangdemonium's adaption of Tennessee Williams's 1944 'The Glass Menagerie' to present-day terms. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the show at all. 

The play is known for its gravitas. It's semi-biographical and we follow the fractured Wingfield family of Amanda and her adult children, Tom and painfully shy and awkward and emotionally fragile Laura. The father is absent as he had long left the wife and children for other relationships and traipsing the world. Amanda is described as a 'faded Southern belle', unyielding, mean and a 'force of nature'. She wants to marry off Laura to a good man, and hoped to have some money out of it too to improve the family situation. Tom plays dutiful son and brother, working days as a warehouse assistant. But he's grown tired of it and wishes to leave, and in all honesty, follow the father's footsteps. The play is intended to be seen through Tom's eyes, as both narrator looking through his memories, and also being part of the play that is taken from his memories. 

Directed by Tracie Pang, the play sees Catherine Grace Gardner as Amanda, Jamil Schulze and Inch Chua as Tom and Laura, and Salif Hardie as Jim. If there's one American accent that I can't catch, it's the Southern drawl. In this play, the actors' adopted accents and the pitch of the voices totally put me off, as did the overall slightly campy feel to it. For a good half of the play, whenever Laura spoke, I didn't understand what the heck she was mumbling about. If that was the intended effect, okaaaaaay. Yeah, I know the family is supposed to be living in 1930s St. Louis, Missouri. BUT.

The gentleman caller is Jim O'Connor, who is Tom's colleague at the warehouse and also his high school mate. Back in the day, Jim was like the most popular boy in school, and all that jazz. But he didn't live up to expectations of being 'somebody' after graduation. Jim is someone whom Laura knows too, and she has had a crush on him back then as well. But today, in his normalcy, Jim refers to himself as 'stumblejohn', and that's utterly apt. And in this casting of Jim, he was definitely utterly annoying and very unlikeable. Acccccck. I feel that in this production, the actors didn't have the depth to carry off their complicated characters. I was completely not absorbed in this play.

I came home and re-read the play instead. It was a much better read than the play I just watched. I Theater's 2006 adaptation (directed by Paul Faizon and produced by Brian Seward, with Christina Sergeant as Amanda, and Timothy Nga and Emilie Oehlers in the roles of Tom and Laurie, and Paul Hannon as Jim) was just as unmemorable. What a pity I'm unable to catch Amy Adams in the titular role as Amanda Wingfield on West End during the play's run. Gender roles, nostalgia, and living in the past and an illusion of the future. Literally a glass menagerie, reflected in the dainty glass animals that are preciously collected by Laura. I guess that in 1944 America, women didn't seem to have many choices in deciding how to live independently...

“What are we going to do, what is going to become of us, what is the future?”

Hotel Indigo's Aperol Spritz Garden

Hotel Indigo's ground floor Aperol Spritz Garden (accessible from street level) is getting loads of love from us because it's licensed pet-friendly, and offers easy alcohol and decent food from Baba Chews. This is a comfortable space, and while not entirely sheltered, it's nice enough in the evenings and can withstand a light drizzle. It's open from Wednesdays to Sundays from noon to 10pm. 

During the previous visit, we had nice-enough oysters, nonya chicken katsu, beef rendang that came with steamed jasmine rice, a dollop of sambal and achar, and chap chye. That was lovely, and it was a nice night with a slight breeze. This is a pop-up, so I don't know when Aperol Spritz would remove its branding. I hope the hotel or the restaurant will maintain the garden and partner with another brand or do its own after this. 

This round, it rained as we sat down for dinner and drinks. But it wasn't that heavy and stopped within the hour. Our seats in the corner were sheltered under the giant garden umbrella, and the dog was comfortable on the fake carpet grass. She was out of the rain bits too. The synthetic carpet grass can get really soaked and soggy during a thunderstorm, so bring a mat for your dog on those days. 

The bar offers non-alcoholic soda too. Nice. Of course I certainly don't mind a glass or two of aperol spritz. But the sugars make me hesitate to drink more. LOL It is sweet, deceptively so. Go easy. Tonight, we ordered the pork satay which came in a generous portion with onions and pineapples, the nonya sambal fried rice with chicken katsu, and a portion of fried youtiao dyed charcoal stuffed with otah (one opt for prawn too). 

The rains stopped when we were done with the food and about ready to leave. That was lovely. It made for a nice short stroll back to the car, detouring to find grass patches for the dog to pee. It's hard to find restaurants and bars like this who are licensed pet-friendly. So we appreciate the service and details. These make us want to return to a venue.

Homeless in Singapore :: Liyana Dhamirah's Story

This book was available to me as an audiobook and an e-book on Storytel. I opted to listen to it so that I could get some work done at the same time. I didn’t want to pick up this book for the longest time because it’s a memoir, and sometimes, when I delve into individual experiences, it can be too intimate and I don't particularly want to know. 

It's Liyana Dhamirah’s ‘Homeless: The Untold Story of a Mother’s Struggle in Crazy Rich Singapore’ (2019). It's her life lived, and her story that she chose to share. So I respect how she did that. It was 2009, and a pregnant (with her third child) 22-year-old Liyana Dhamirah lived in a tent on both West Coast Park and Sembawang Beach for a year. Today at 35 years old with four children and a new gentle husband, she is now a home-owner. 

Her life changed at 12 years old when her parents divorced and her mother was unable to earn enough to support the children. She had to live with 11 others in her Aunty Zainab’s three-room flat. She had her first child at 16 years old, secured three credits for the O’level examinations, and then went out to work to support her child and growing family. By the time she had her third child, she was effectively a single mother since her then-husband didn’t contribute anything to the family and neither could he hold down a job. 

As much as I wonder why she got pregnant thrice with an unreliable man, and uncertain future/income, that's not in my place to judge. A romantic liaison can make or break us. It's that crazy. People struggle. Not all of us got on the 'right path' to a cushy adult life, by that, I define that as what our parents want us to be — to have the best education we can, secure a job and to have the means to earn an income to support a family, a mortgage and live with stress. I wanted to switch to reading the digital book, but the narrator for the Storytel audiobook, Anita Kapoor is excellent, and I decided to stick with her voice for all 3hr and 11 minutes. I had to stop mid-way though, to go to bed and continue with it the next day. 

Fate dealt Liyana Dhamirah a hard hand, and her chosen life partner didn't pull his weight. The children are innocent. What she did have, is family help to care for her elder boys in the form of her mother, and then stepfather. She didn’t crumble. She is strong. She moved out of the beach into rental flats. That went on for the next seven years. She stuck it out, met some helpful people along the way, had the determination to provide for herself and the kids, and began earning an income. She finally got a divorce in 2014, met another (better) man, continued growing her small business. 

This book ended when she moved into her own new home in July 2018. But her story continues in real life today. She continues to find meaning in her work, ensure stability at home for herself and her children, and also continuing her quest to help others who're struggling in similar circumstances. It's a short story, and a TLDR version is found in the author's own voice and an excerpt of the book in a Mothership article in August 2020, and in an interview with TODAY in July 2020.

Instant Food

It was one of those nights when I had no cravings for food, didn't feel like going out to the restaurants, and didn't feel like ordering takeout. The man had no cravings either. So we decided to have dinner at home. That's when frozen cooked rice packs, instant noodles and spam come handy. We didn't have any greens in the fridge, and didn't bother to pop into a store to get some. Ah well, never mind. 

I'll always stock a can of spam at home. Oddly, I don't eat it as often as I would have liked. Hahaha. It's just a form of psychological security to me. Hehehe. I hadn't had spam for a bit, and really didn't mind frying it up at home. Laughed when I saw that there were only two eggs left at home. I hadn't gone out to buy more. These two were enough for dinner tonight. 

Sliced up the can of spam and fried them brown, but not too crisp. I like my spam still soft in the middle. It was a very yummy dinner of rice, sunny-side-up, and well, loads of spam. The man didn't feel like rice, and opted to boil up a pot of Maggi noodles with all its accompanying seasoning. Heh.

Communal Kitchens for Seniors

When I come across heartwarming writing and causes like this, I can't help but smile. Okay, I'm aware of the efforts, it's just rare to see them flagged this way in the media, mainstream or otherwise, especially when it comes to seniors living in our midst.

This is Rainier Cheung's 'A Senior's Recipe For a Good Life: Food, Friends, and Dignity' for RICE, published on 3 March, 2022. It's a story written and published in partnership with DesignSingapore Council, and one worth reading.

Run by Montfort Care, the six-year-old community kitchen called GoodLife! Makan is located at Block 52 Marine Terrace. Have you visited it? It's a lovely space designed by DP Architects who understand what elder-care design principles mean. It's not just an accessible space. It's also holds clearly labelled signages and illustrations. It goes big on the details that matter.

I've stopped by GoodLife! Makan at Marine Terrace countless of times, and have been privileged to be invited to eat too. I've sent my roster of seniors there to cook (a few fun annual initiatives) as well. Cooking isn't my domain. LOLOL I'll just help out with serving food, clearing plates and washing up. 

Solitude isn’t just a state of being, but also a way of life. How, then, do you convince a bunch of elders who’ve long grown used to living on their own to come out of their shells, both emotionally and physically?

It starts with the bottommost level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs — food. Instead of bringing the food to their doors, encouraging them to take active ownership of a communal kitchen meets their physiological need for nourishment without enabling a reclusive behaviour. Thereafter comes love and belonging by fostering a sense of connection, the third level in the hierarchy.

The key to that is in GoodLife! Makan’s design. More specifically, the sense of openness that has curious senior passers-by poking their heads in enquiring if they too could join in the activities. The space GoodLife!Makan sits in was formerly an HDB void deck, and Chee Huang found it essential to make sure the premise retained the same feel of one — by blurring the boundary between the premise and the concrete corridors outside.

My roster of old folks do a 'communal kitchen' too. It's just not done on this scale or in any commercial space and capacity. Unless we get all approval permits and partner with GoodLife! Makan to run it at the few estates we know that would welcome this venture. Anyway. My seniors do it in their own homes. Nobody wants to cook every day. So maybe 6 to 10 of them will come together as a 'family' of diners. They come up with their own roster to see whose kitchen would host the communal meals, they decide for how long kitchen would so, and to cook how many meals a week, and sort out the timings. They also pool resources to plan the menus and buy the ingredients. They've more or less decided to do heavy brunches from 10am to 1pm, and light dinners from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, five times a week. Diners stay on to help with the washing up.

Has Covid affected them? Yes and no. It was painful during the lockdown. But they made it through. They simply moved in (temporarily) with one another to help with the cooking, and we also sought special permissions to do brief checks on them, and for them to help out one another. The moment restrictions eased up, they simply stuck to the five persons permitted to gather, and adjusted.  

If the government is advocating 'family support' for senior care, then we will need well-run private options too, for a growing percentage of seniors who'll be living alone. More of us are choosing to be child-free, or somehow when we get to old age, we're bereft of our children. You can wish, but wishing isn't going to improve facilities and policies. To this end, family support isn't possible. The government policies have become an 'ideal', rather than a workable solution. The traditional family structure' espoused by our government isn't going to fly in a few decades. We don't need sad nursing homes. We need elderly care facilities, thoughtfully structured programs and good staff. This is where private-public partnerships will come in productive and effective. These start now. Why else do you think I've become more active in senior care activities in lately? I'm only getting older and I will need these programs and improved facilities in a few decades.

Mention the communal kitchen to the elderlies of Marine Terrace and they’d all chorus “hou mia!” (Hokkien for ‘good life’) with smiles on their faces. A good life, a fulfilling life, that’s basically everything we’d want our grandparents to have, isn’t it?

Luxating Patella Grade II

When Choya joined the family and went in for a full medical + spay in 2019, her doctors had flagged that she likely has issues with both her knees — luxating patella Grade II. However, there wasn't any x-ray done. Bearing that advice in mind, I didn't sign her up for agility or obstacle courses, in case they hasten the degeneration of the patella. But I've not done anything about it, beyond strengthening her hind legs. Three years on, the time has come to see if these daily walks and exercises have worked for her, and what else could be done to help ease inflammation and pain. 

Since her first month with us, I've put her on some leg strengthening moves by way of pilates movement principles. I watch her like a hawk when she walks, trots, runs and jump. I'm anal over her swim sessions in school (back then), and on some days, requested for weights and a life jacket to add on resistance so that her legs don't have to kick too hard. I don't bother taking her swimming outside of that since it's not exactly hydrotherapy. She hasn't started limping or clearly favoring the hind limbs. But to my untrained eye, I can already discern a slightly off trotting gait, and her iliopsoas muscle seem to be aching a little more nowadays. 

I don't think she is in too much pain, yet. I've maintained Grade II for three years, but I'm not a canine therapist. Before Choya ruptures her cranial cruciate ligament or early osteoarthritis sets in, I decided to stop procrastinating and get Choya a first consultation with RehabVet Centre. There wouldn't be time to ask all the questions I wanted in this first 60-minute session. So I read up as much as I could before. The clinic's website also offers loads of information, and what clients can expect within ten weeks of the non-invasive treatment program, barring any unforeseen accidents and such. 

The girl didn't mind being handled. She was extremely suspicious of the staff. She trembled and was a tad afraid of an expected injection. But that didn't happen. So she relaxed and allowed the physiotherapist and the doctor to check out out. I brought treats — cheese on an ice pack. But I think I don't need to use that the next round. She's fine with Dr Sara and Yen. 

Choya was placed on a Stance Analyzer to measure her weight bearing load on each limb. The attending doctor and physiotherapist also checked her gait, range of motion of hind limbs, and measured (with a goniometer) her maximum extension and flexion angle in her stifle and tarsal joints. Her left hind limb maxed out at 150°, and her right at 160°. Hmmmmm.

The assessment was followed by a 30-minute session of ultrasound and electro therapy. The girl was bemused, but deigned to stand quietly to allow treatment to continue. She was definitely not in pain; she likely felt some release in muscle tension in her quadriceps, and the easing of spasms. She just didn't like the gel in her fur. Hahaha. I gave her a thorough wipe-down when we came home. 

Lovely! These are the treatments I can't duplicate at home. I know they work on humans. So the science should work for canines too. We'll continue with these non-invasive treatments for 10 weeks to ease any mild inflammation, muscle strains, spasms and tightness. After that, we'll take a break from therapy, then return to it. Meanwhile, parallel to the treatments, I'll carry on with the specific exercises for her hind legs, adjusting them to factor in the physiotherapist's advice. I'm determined to maintain this Grade II forever, to be honest. 

An Easy Night Out with the Dog

When Covid-Omicron got to our friends one by one, and we couldn't get together for the meal planned, the rest of us still went ahead. So many people I know are down C+ these two weeks, and recovering at home. Thankfully the science works, and their symptoms are considered mild. M and I decided to still meet for dinner on the same evening, but at another venue. We hadn't met for months, and this would be a fantastic chance to catch up, regardless. The dog was invited to come along! Ooooof. 

To Lino at Binjal Park we went. Even on rainy days, this is a sheltered al fresco area that we could sit at. There's never anything to complain about the food either. Choya trotted to dinner, found a cosy spot, got some head rubs, stretched, and settled down. She happily snoozed and chilled out while we ate. Choya's a very good girl. Now that she's so much older, she knows where I want her to be when we head out to dinner. She's usually under the table or under the chair in a corner, but still choosing a spot where she could see everything that's happening. 

We kept dinner light and easy. We didn't even order a bottle of wine. Opted for a glass each to start. Shared a delicious smoked scamorza salad, then for M, a main of baked halibut in parchment paper, and for me, pork bolognese gnocchi served parmesan melted in. It was a super satisfying dinner. We skipped dessert in favor of another glass of chianti. We should have just ordered a bottle. Hahaha. 

Happiness in a Bowl of L’s Congee

Turned up at J and L's for their famous chicken congee. Wheeeeeeee. I love how L separates the ingredients, and simply used the broth and mussels and century eggs to stir up a beautiful pot of thick congee. L has a magic porridge pot that simply gives and gives. Heheheh. It serendipitously rained in the late afternoon till evening, making it perfect congee weather. A cool breeze wafted through, and no air-conditioning was necessary.

The cuttlefish is always a brilliant addition. Shredding the chicken instead of mixing it into the congee meant that we could pick now much meat we wanted, and I spotted and grabbed loads of… skin. Hahahaha. Fried onions and salted eggs totally completed the congee. Ahhhh, it was sooooo good. I ate four bowls. Kekekekek. Well, not piled high and overflowing. You know, like three big full ladles from the pot into my bowl. Four lovely bowls of chok. Oof. 

We brought greens. Didn't bother buying from the restaurants. Too troublesome. I simply bought vegetables from the supermarket and did an Asian stir-fry — cabbage with dried shrimps and fish sauce, and easy Shanghai greens with garlic and salt. Brought them over in easy Pyrex trays. There, all nutritional values covered in this superbly happy meal. 

Relationships Are A Give and Take

I laughed so much while reading Claire Keegan's short story — 'So Late in the Day' published in The New Yorker on February 21, 2022. I shouldn't. But at the end of it, I'm like, 'SERVES YOU RIGHT'. It details the start, the possible marriage and the end of a relationship between an older couple. I dunno if it's meant to be funny, but I roared with the laughter by the time I got to the last line. 

Protagonist Cathal dated a woman named Sabine. They're an older couple and seemed to have an amicable relationship, and was going to marry. However, they also seemed to be as different as chalk and cheese. Cathal is tight-fisted with money and owns few items in his home. Sabine doesn't mind spending some money on food and such, and owns a fair number of items, and those flooded her fiancé's house when she moved over. 

“Did you think I would come with nothing?”

“It’s just a lot.” He tried to explain.

“A lot? I do not have so very much.”

“Just a lot to deal with.”

“What did you imagine?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Not this. Just not this.”

“I cannot understand,” she told him. “You knew I had to vacate the apartment at Rathgar by the end of the month. You asked me to come and live here with you, to marry you.”

“I just didn’t think it would be like this, is all,” he said. “I just thought about your being here and having dinner together, waking up with you. Maybe it’s just too much reality.”

Every line is simply a hint that the wedding won't happen. Or shouldn't happen. Cathal doesn't seem that into his girlfriend and fiancee. Marriage seems to be a convenient thing for him, or something that's a progression in life, a milestone. He didn't seem particularly happy. In fact, he was begrudging all the extra costs incurred with such an event, including resizing and customizing the engagement ring.

The wedding didn't happen. The relationship was over almost as soon as Sabine moved in. Cathal was more or less accused of being selfish. It really isn't a story about them at all. It's a story about mean and selfish heterosexual men all across the world who don't seem to treat women as nicely as they should. Well, Sabine burnt whatever she baked or cooked. She didn't seem to be very good at those. But she was also miffed that her fiancé never thanked her making him breakfast or dinner, or offered to pay for groceries. She called him misogynistic. And dumped him. 

One incident recounted by the protagonist made me decide that he has misogynistic tendencies, or at least doesn't know he has them. He is after all, raised by a father who is one, and his mother allows him and her sons to get away with it. 

The one thing he did have now, is Mathilde the cat, who wouldn't give two hoots about what he does as long as he feeds her, gets fresh water, and changes her litter box. In an interview, the author said, 

Maybe I wanted to explore why misogyny no longer works for men in our changing society. Of course I know that it never actually did, that all it really did was destroy relationships and prevent us from having a democracy—but what it meant to Cathal on the day that should or could have been a joyous one spoke to me, and I just had to go in there and take a look at the world through his eyes, follow what his gaze fell on and all the disappointment that was locked up in his heart. It also seemed apt to look at what our misogynistic society had done to him. I can’t say I like Cathal, but this man is lost and struggling—and lost and struggling people make for good central characters. Maybe he’s learned something from Sabine. Maybe he’ll put his hand in his pocket the next time. Maybe there won’t be a next time.

Point Point Rice :: 這個那個飯

We've been getting to-go food from this point-point rice stall, Kimly Mixed Rice / Jin Wei Fan Chuang / 金味飯莊 at Everton Park that is really decent! It's a chain with many outlets across the island. Many of these ubiquitous 'mixed vegetables / cai fan / cai png (菜飯)' stalls are just passable. It's like nasi padang stalls in a food court. Most sell eeky dishes that are either tasteless or over-salted. Finding a convenient and good point-point rice stall is like playing a game of bingo! I never bothered to note the name of the stall till the fifth or sixth time we went to get a takeout. LOL Yes, it's that mundane. 

I was quite surprised that as far as brainless Asian-Chinese dishes go, this one at Everton Park is pretty all right! It's got a huge range of items for our selection. The crew who cooks them all, do them well. They're kinda tasty and not over-salted. They even have sambal stingray. At $5 to $9.20 for a portion of takeaway (depending on how many meats one chooses), if I live nearer to the stall, I'd buy more often from them; why would I bother to even cook. 

The man likes the curry and always has it ladled over all his dishes. I'm like, won't they all taste the same? Eiooow. I no like curry done like this or having wet rice. A half-portion of rice is enough for me. I think I'm just in love with their steamed egg and minced pork. Heh. That's an unbeatable combination. I sometimes add on the chicken chop or whatever for the man when he can't fit all his food into one takeaway tub. Hahahah. The chilli is all right too, it's spicy enough. 

金味飯莊 / Jin Wei Fan Chuang / Kimly Mixed Rice
Everton Food Place (non-airconditioned kopitiam)
Block 7 Everton Park #01-01 Singapore 080007
Hours: 8am to 8pm daily; closed for a week during Lunar New Year. 
(Food tends to run out by 7pm.)

The Sudden Closure of Sunny Heights

So I decided to take Choya out of school at Sunny Heights, and was going to enquire about the refunds for the remaining sessions of our paid-up package and such. Within a week, suddenly on Thursday 3 March at 12.41pm, I got an email from the school announcing closure and cessation of business operations THE NEXT DAY. Talk about being dramatic. What the fuck. 

There has been no mention of welfare of dogs currently in boarding, no explanation provided to owners with outstanding sessions left on their packages, and zilch on staff salaries and compensation. And till now, silence on social media. Even the staff had been blindsided. Sunny Heights updated their socials only a day later, with the same words in the letter and email. Beyond this pathetic semblance of an announcement that carries no sincerity, there isn’t further information and it all stinks of irresponsibility. 

You're a pet daycare and boarding facility, dealing with floofs and humans who're savvy on social media, and you go old school and do a runner. You didn't even try explaining how and why? You built trust and relationships with clients for years and you do this. You even terminated your staff on the same morning of said announcement. Is this how you close a business? Should you not own up if you're in the red, insolvent and winding it up? I like Sunny Heights not because of the owners. The school is everything it is today because of the hardworking staff, and their passion and sincerity. 

The owners of Sunny Heights are a piece of work; I'm also not discounting the senior management of the place who might be in the know but not able to tell anything to the clients because of confidentiality clauses in their employment contracts. These are business owners who have no clue or willfully ignore integrity and responsibility. Don't give me the 'I'm just a director in name and I dunno what's going on.' You want to be a director of this business, you jolly well query the business operations and not leave it to a manager who has no shares in this company. This is a classic example of bad public relations, corporate communications and even worse decision-making skills. 

I'm so angry. In total rage mode. This is not even about getting back money for the unconsumed sessions of my package anymore. This is a matter of principle. I filed a claim against the two directors of Sunny Heights within three hours of receiving that email. YOU ASSHOLES. The words and the email tell me that they're doubling down, and pretty much not giving a fuck about unsecured creditors, and made no apologies about it. There's no time to lose. I'll hassle them (legally) as much as I can. There's much to be said, but this is to be done offline. My team of lawyers rather gleefully await new instructions. Meanwhile I'll let the process roll through Small Claims Tribunal, and force the two clowns to respond. Let's see how this pans out.

Arcade Fish Soup's Frozen Base

I didn't know that Arcade Fish Soup sold their fish soup in frozen packs of 500ml each, till V ordered them for her freezer. What a brilliant idea. I should do that too. Their fish stock is pretty good, so now that I have space in the freezer (haha), I should just stock up some for rainy days, literally. When I ordered fish soup and noodles that day, I added two frozen packs. 

Broke out one pack tonight for dinner. Took it out early in the morning to thaw out in the fridge. At least I didn't have to wrestle with boiling up fish bones for the soup base. I could do that, but on busy days, if I have this decent option to utilize, why bother going out to get bones or boil up a pot and sieve like a mad woman?

On my way home from pilates, I bought half a head of wongbok, a small pack of eringi, and two fillets of red sea snapper and kurau (threadfin). Forgot to get tofu. Oops. Never mind. The mushrooms would do. Wongbok cooks very fast in soup, but I didn't have enough fish soup to boil half a head, so I needed a pot of dashi to do it. That was also used to blanch the mushrooms. 

Cut up the fish fillets, checked for bones, then marinated them. The fish would be seared, then placed in the fish soup later on. 500ml of fish soup was a substantial portion for the man and I. Lovely. He had the soup with ponni rice. I didn't feel like having rice, so it was just soup for me. It was raining cats and dogs that afternoon, cooling the grounds, and the surroundings. The soup made for a lovely dinner. 

A Lovely Patch of Green

Almost two weeks after the horrid bout of diarrhea, Choya is all better now. Her stomach seems to be hit worse by the bacterial infection this round, and made uncomfortable by the dewormer which gave her the runs too. She has cleared all her meds. Her poop's getting more solid, although we're not on a daily poop schedule just yet. I got a bit worried when she had a soft poop + diarrhea on her pack walk two days ago. But it seemed to be a one-off, which could be the duck bone grind that I shouldn't have added the extra 10g. 

I don't know how much Choya misses going to school, but I know I'll have to work harder to keep her mental edge sharp, and maintain her currently level of socialization with other dogs. Luckily she's four going on five years old. She's no longer a puppy, and she doesn't require all that work that goes into socializing a puppy anymore. 

That morning, I took her out to Fort Canning Park to practice recall. Since last June, her recall suddenly improved by leaps and bounds, and she's been pretty steady so far. You know I don't bother to do recall in the dog runs or parks overrun by monkeys and otters. Those are a no-no. I find spaces like this or at the beach which are quiet on week days, and we practice. 

She has this 'distance' set in her mind where she would run far and wander away from me before deciding to round back. Or she would stop running, and let me come near enough to allow herself to be 'caught' via her leash. I'm quite proud of her. She has completely bonded with me, which makes recall manageable. It also means that she's become a velcro dog. Zzzzzzz. We'll never be able to do a 100% reliable recall, but depending on her mood, we can do a good one on some days. I don't unclip that leash ever. She runs with it. She doesn't get to be a free-range dog outdoors.