That Marble Goby at Humpback

I'm glad that Humpback is still around. Its menu and choices of Washington state oysters suit my tastebuds. I really love their flavors because of how much they remind me of food in the Pacific Northwest. The chefs really gave it a think. The current rotation of oysters are Hama-Hama from Hood Canal, Aphrodite from North Puget Sound, Eld Inlet from South Puget Sound. Monday nights are great for oysters since it's happy hour all night. Heh.

The wine list is pretty hip, and the chefs currently at helm are quite brave to also showcase marble goby as a main. There's no main chicken or beef here or in its small plates. There's a main of Kurobuta pork chops from Snake River Farms with sesame miso and tuscan black kale.

Having dinner at Humpback is always fun. If it's just the man and I, we could easily demolish a whole Dover or Cornish sole. With friends, we do even more food. One night, we literally had almost the whole menu. That included two rounds of oysters. Hahaha. The burrata with roasted soybean and spiced plum was delicious! While I loved the taramasalata with tomatoes and chili crunch, it could have gone lighter to nothing with the strips of shiso leaves; because I dislike the taste of shiso. Eioow.

Their fish is good. They curate the menu for the freshest and most sustainable catch they could get. The grouper from Ah Hua Kelong is nowhere on the menu anymore this month. I don't mind a grouper, but if I have a choice of other fish, I'll order those. One day I'll get to their red amadai (done with crispy scales) with spinach and pumpkin, from Ehime Prefecture in Japan. Had the whole grilled Cornish sole with baby potatoes and kelp butter is sourced from Prodemar Aquaculture in La Coruña, Spain. That was lovely.

I think their star is the marble goby (soon hock) is excellent. Served with broccolini, black garlic and mussels with a miso drizzle, the menu stated that this fish is sourced from from Tembilahan River in Sumatra, Indonesia. I usually prefer it steamed in soy sauce. But grilled this way, it's really rather delightful I've had it a few times now and they're consistent in how they grill it. Mmmmmm. 

Hubris & A Greek Tragedy

I'm not certain, but this viral social media graphic is likely done by France-based PEZ.
Handles: @PEZdessinateur on twitter and also on fb.

The incongruous image of the devastated survivors disembarking the Mayan Queen on a port in Kalamata last week underlined what has become the strange reality of the modern Mediterranean, where the superyachts of the superrich, equipped with swimming pools, Jacuzzis, helipads and other trappings of luxury, share the seas with the most destitute on smuggler-operated boats perilously crossing from northern Africa to Europe. The world’s waterways have become a reflection of global inequalities in recent days. In the North Atlantic, a billionaire, his son and other businessmen set out to explore the wreck of the Titanic on a luxury tourist submersible that has gone missing, touching off an international search and rescue operation.

~ 'A Superyacht Gave a Lifeline to 100 Migrants Thrown Into the Sea' by Jason Horowitz and Matina Stevis-Gridneff in The New York Times, published on June 21 2023.

All eyes were only two ocean tragedies this June. The actions of the Greek Coast Guard towards the overcrowded fishing trawler Adriana and the refugees on the night of June 14th versus the enormous resources poured in by the US Coast Guard, the Canadian government and their allies to search for the Titan that lost communications within an 1 hour and 45 minutes of its descent to the Titanic on June 18th. 

Out of an estimated 750 refugees on the Adriana bound for Italy, only 104 were retrieved from the waters, almost all saved by the crew of superyacht 'The Mayan Queen'. The rest presumably drowned. The ship was smuggling refugees from Libya to Italy. When international laws and E.U. rules hold sway in the waters, it's totally murky as to what sort of strategies to adopt, even when saving drowning humans. European border agencies have been forced into a game of migrants being trafficked into the waters of other nations. 

The sinking of the Adriana comes in the context of a rise in sentiment against refugees. More than a million refugees arrived in Greece between 2015 and March, 2016, when the Syrian crisis provoked a mass movement to Europe, and they have been followed by hundreds of thousands in the years since. That influx has been a profound shift for Greece, a relatively traditional country whose economy was devastated by a financial crisis that many felt was imposed on it from the outside. Athens had to enforce capital controls, and people were prohibited from withdrawing more than sixty euros (about sixty-five dollars) from A.T.M.s per day.

Singapore has neither asylum or refugee procedures. We have a total closed-door policy towards refugees. And I'm quite sure our electorate support this policy. We stop refugee ships at coastlines. While we provide them with food and water and fuel, we send them away. While on the one hand I get how we can't accept refugees because of the strain on our infrastructure, it's presumptuous to assume that they'll drain our resources because we don't know how to offer them avenues and channels to be contributing members of society. There's a perception that refugees would live off subsidies and benefits for the year in Singapore when everyone is pulled tight and taught that 'nothing is for free' in this city, and contribute to our crime rates. Our attitudes are highly telling in how we treat our migrant workers, and well, our tiny Gurkha population. 

I don't know what I feel about the imploded Titan submersible. It's sad, of course, but that's a teeny bit of me that went, 'wow, all of you chased your dreams'. Is it unexpected, given all information that we now know before and after the accident? I don't know if these wealthy experience-chasers have a death wish, or are they so blinded by the thrill that they forgot about safety protocols and could no longer independently verify if OceanGate has been thorough in certifying that Titan is deep-sea worthy, or rather, Titanic-depths worthy for each dive. Did Stockton Rush III's companions/paying patrons think they might die? There's passion, a sense of adventure, impatience and also, perhaps, recklessness. All of which took the human race to where we are today. With a touch of 'let's just do it', and a faith in his vision, OceanGate's CEO and founder, and now deceased pilot of the Titan did what he had always wanted to do. I'm just sorry that he convinced and took others (who might be equally impassioned and convinced) along with him on this quest. 

On a very human aspect, I can't help feeling more sorry for the Pakistani, Syrian, Palestinian and Egyptian refugees who drowned in the Mediterranean waters. Those waters are a mass graveyard to so many refugees in search of a better life that isn't war-torn or deeply impoverished. Whose fault is it then that they're 'forced' to leave their homes of their birth? 

With both tragedies occurring at sea in the same month, we're reminded of this ceaseless struggle of life and living. There's this commitment to science and technology, and space exploration which will always result in deaths. There's the determination to make a better life for ourselves in spite of our circumstances, a desire that over-rides all regulations to get on a smugglers' unsafe and overcrowded trawler to the open seas, to hedge against nature and one's fate to remake a destiny elsewhere.

Pink Dot 15! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

This year a bunch of us gave Pink Dot 15 at Hong Lim Park a miss. It's very hot ah, we cannot make it. We're outdoors so often with our dogs. We're melting every day. Instead, we gathered, got decked out in all hues of pink and had our little Pink Dot party at Humpback. In the earlier years, it was about the numbers, and we made sure to attend. Now, it's a different movement. 

Themed 'A Singapore for All Families' for Pink Dot 15 in 2023, we need to truly practice the inclusivity that repealing Section 377A has paved the way to begin in earnest. FAMILY. The word and its associated meanings to me, are a double-edged sword. *sigh

It's not the easiest choice to birth and raise children for even heterosexual couples. If you ask me, not all heterosexual couples are qualified to raise their children either. Humans are evil. Who's to say the LGBTQIA community aren't qualified to raise kids? It's equally as tough for them, if not tougher, in the face of social criticism. If LGBTQIA couples would like to take on this mammoth task and contribute to the national TFR, surely our government could tweak some laws to support them the way they support single mothers? Who are you to say that one family is dysfunctional over another? 

Even if we don't believe in the institution of a monogamous marriage (even in its classic definition), we believe in the sanctity of a long-term committed relationship and the fulfilment of responsibilities as a dedicated partner. If our own morals and ethics require legal and religious policing to build a 'relationship' and family unit, then we aren't very nice humans, are we? 

This is a discussion for us at this table. Well, this table doesn't need to be at Humpback tonight. This table can be anywhere, and the humans can shift and slot in. But this table at Humpback tonight is a space space. It's not the most pleasant of conversations to have, be it on a political or religious premise, much less on the legal aspect. It's not a conversation I want to have if these aren't good friends. I also don't need extreme opinions or echo chambers. And this is a conversation we need to continue having so that we can decide for ourselves how we want to grow civil society and how we want this city to be shaped for our younglings. 

Lunch at NOKA

NOKA by Tippling Club at Funan Mall is a little cute restaurant that has completely fallen off my radar. Till I had a work-thing in the area, decided to get lunch with H in the vicinity. I suddenly recalled this restaurant on Level 7, accessible via Lift Lobby A. They had plenty of tables available at 12.45pm.  

Took the $80++ lunch omakase. Began with a fun scallop tacos. There was sashimi with hirame. Opted out of the amaebi in the sashimi and requested for them to replace it with some sort of fish. They gave me seared toro. LOL Fine. Haizzzz.

Added on a grilled fish cheek. It said 'kama' (かま) and I ordered it. Then realized, oops, I didn't ask if it would be yellowtail. I assumed it was. Yes, it was. It was so good. Hadn't had that in a while. The grilled black cod drizzled with katsuobushi broth and wild rice was delicious. But I felt a tad dissatisfied. The wild grains were just crunchy bits. I wanted actual steamed sticky rice. Hahahaha. 

Then there were finally carbs. A unagi rice cracker. The unagi was well grilled, and I gave a piece to H because I'm not keen on unagi. Wrapped it all up in the yaki nori and ate it in a bite. Dessert was a matcha mochi. 

I would return again for lunch. To come for a $245 omakase dinner, I'm not so sure. I don't mind its interpretation of Japanese food. It's pretty all right, but for dinner and sushi, its flavors and presentation aren't what I'm looking for. I want something traditional and no weird bits. NOKA had a decent list of whisky, and I just asked for a highball with Suntory. I don't need anything fancier. A cold highball on a hot day is the best. The ice came in a shiny rectangle column. Nice!

The Sinification of Islam :: “爱国才是爱教最高的信仰。”

News headlines are never pleasant. What's going on in China is particularly grating to me, especially the incumbent government's treatment of religion in the country, the imprisonment of the Uyghur Muslims, as well as the long-standing persecution of Tibetan Buddhists. 

In 2018, the party line is "历史证明，坚持中国化方向，是所有中国宗教生存发展的基本趋势和规律。"

Vivian Wang's 'Behind a Rare Clash, a Fight Over Faith in China' published in The New York Times on June 8, 2023 took a look at the recent clashes in Nagu, Shadian over the forced demolition of minarets of the 13th century Najiaying Mosque. (纳家营清真寺位于中国云南省通海县纳古镇、纳家营村忠训路76号.) 

The biggest clash occurred on the morning of May 27, 2023, when construction cranes were driven into the mosque's grounds. Riot police and the residents got into a major skirmish. (Other news coverage of the clashes reported here, here and here.)

Of all the places in China, I love Yunnan and her food best. Living in multi-racial Singapore and knowing Muslim faith and its tenets allowed me to ease into the minority races' way of life and their food, making my stomach very happy. But in the recent years, what's whispered of the persecution of minority races and their religions is horrifying. China is powerful enough to close her doors to unwelcomed visitors to these regions and probably put us in detention if we try to question the policies or actions. The pandemic years were lost to us and a boon to the Chinese government enacting their internal policies and there's nothing much anyone can say about it.

Since China’s leader, Xi Jinping, rose to power more than a decade ago, the party has torn down Christian churches, razed Tibetan Buddhist enclaves and put Uyghur Muslims in internment camps in the name of political security. But it has also gone after lesser-known groups, including the Hui, who make up less than 1 percent of the population and have historically assimilated well with the ethnic Han majority. 

The party has systematically closed, demolished or forcibly redesigned mosques in Hui enclaves across the country, condemning Arabic architectural features, such as domes and minarets, as proof of unwanted foreign influence over Islam in China. Resistance has been limited, and the mosque in Nagu, along with another large one in the nearby town of Shadian, is among the last major ones with such architecture still standing in China.

I've visited both the Najiaying Mosque in Nagu and the Grand Mosque in Shadian (云南省沙甸的大清真寺), and it's beautiful. To think that it's set to be demolished into an ugly, faceless and characterless concrete building is a little heartbreaking. History is always written by winners. So is architecture. Humans seem to have this penchant for buildings to reflect the current trends and political winds.

So am I just being swayed by 'western media' and the 'western propaganda'? I doubt it. How much of these news are fake? Sure, I depend on a few platforms to filter out news, but by and large, the persecution is real, and is continued. These video clips getting out of Chinese social media accounts are pretty real. This official stance will probably be on banners everywhere and uttered by any Party member and official sorting out Islamic affairs in Chinese provinces.

坚持伊斯兰教中国化方向，必须高举爱国爱教伟大旗帜，同心同力实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦。

Beijing is on a literal warpath to sinicize Islam / “坚持伊斯兰教中国化方向”. In 2018, it came up with a five-year-plan, that's been extended and expanded. Wow. It's bulldozing its way through. The Chinese government seems to view all religions as bad. What's the best? Money? The cult of communism? To be patriotic?

Mr. Li insisted that officials were not interfering with religious freedom, and that the plan would proceed only with locals’ assent.

He added: “Patriotism is the highest form of religious belief.” 

Back in Nagu, the cranes still sat in the mosque courtyard several days after the clash. The demolition was likely inevitable, said Mr. Na, the Hui resident. But he hoped residents would be allowed to hold on to other freedoms that they were not willing to compromise. For him, that included the right to pass his religion onto his children. 

“If you can’t guard your bottom line, then others will see you as someone without a bottom line,” he said, “and they’ll trample over it again and again.”

端午節 :: 吃粽子

I don't bother about the Dragon Boat Festival a.k.a Rice Dumpling Festival observed the 5th day of the 5th Lunar Month. I've never marked it even as a child, so it carries no significance for me. Although the dragon boat races are mildly interesting. It is summer solstice. Why would I care about a patriotic Chu poet in the Warring States who killed himself when his state got steamrolled over by Qin? But when friends' parents still bother to make and steam up rice dumplings, and allocate me two or three, I would happily accept.

There're a few types of rice dumplings, but I don't care for them all, especially not the sweet ones or the ones with red bean or lotus seed paste filling or to be eaten with sugar or kaya. Eioooow. I very much prefer savory rice dumplings, but not Nyonya dumplings (娘惹粽子). 

I don't mind the savory Cantonese ones (裹蒸糉 or 鹹肉糉), but I don't like the version with mung beans or peanuts and pork belly because those don't taste that great. I like the Hokkien bak zhang (福建肉粽) because those pack a super savory punch. 

O's Dad made rice dumplings and allocated us some. Happiness is when I get to steam up O's Dad's Hokkien bak zhang for dinner. O's Dad made two batches of bak zhang — one with a lot less salt and pork belly, and the other one with the standard soy and salt. ALL THE EFFORT. I heated up both to taste. Hey, both are good! The low-salt version is equally lovely; just add soy or XO sauce if you wish. The salty version is gorgeous, and a touch of sambal totally upped the game.

Red Snapper & Dried Scallops Ready Stock for Chunky Fish Soup!

It was one of those mornings when the man randomly said he wanted fish soup for lunch and wondered where we could get a bowl. And I decided to be nice and said I could boil up some. There was a pack of fish stock at home that I could use. It wouldn't be as good as me boiling up fish bones, but it would do.

Went out for a coffee and a supermarket run for ingredients, and I was all set to boil up stuff for lunch. The supermarket had nice threadfin (in season now) and sea bream. Got those. There wasn't any Australian wongbok, so I got the Japanese hakusai. Added on Fuzhou fishballs, silken tofu, and lean pork slices. 

Also got a pack of mee tai mak. That was for ME. I need my carbs and I love mee tai mak done right. The fish and pork were marinated for a short bit before going into the soup. Cut up the fish and layered them in soy sauce and sesame oil. The pork was slathered in Shaoxing wine and fish sauce since they were supposed lend some depth to both soups.

Two pots were needed. One pot would holdthe 500g of soup stock + 100g of water that would be boiling up the fish and bits of hakusai stems, and also to blanch the leaves. This 'Premium Soup Stock Red Snapper Chicken with Dried Scallops' is from Soup Spoon. It was pretty good, but a tad salty for my preferences. I like my soups a lot less salty. So I diluted it with 100g of water. Diluting it wasn't an issue because I added in thick hakusai stems and the fish that would thicken the soup and add even more flavors to it. #ImpieCooks2023

The other pot of 'soup' was done with dashi powder, a strip of kombu, and crushed anchovies; this would hold the Fuzhou fishballs and lean pork. I also blanched the mee tai mak and tofu in this pot. There would be plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day. This is the kind of comfort food that I could eat daily too with nary a complaint.

The man was super happy with lunch. He didn't expect me to offer to cook, and he definitely wouldn't ask me to do so. Teheheeheh. He didn't have much mee tai mak save for a spoonful. So it was still low on carbs, full of proteins and easy on the salt. 

I'm quite pleased with this pack of soup stock. It's got pretty decent quality ingredients and this sort of fish soup is extremely easy to whip up, especially when I don't have time to sear fish bones and boil up fish stock. Hahaha. Okay can. I can indeed cheat with this pre-boiled fish stock from Soup Spoon, or I can also do with decent packs of stock from other brands.

Blu Kouzina Welcomes Choya

Now that Blu Kouzina at Dempsey and Siglap are officially pet-friendly (with an approved SFA/NEA licence), we can't be happier. When a restaurant that has good food also takes the effort to secure a pets-allowed licence, we ought to show it some love. We love the restaurant's food and having it welcome Choya simply means that we'll be dining there more often. 

Went to Blu Kouzina Dempsey for dinner. It's a lovely space outdoors. Importantly, it's sheltered and has overhead ceiling fans, so it's a rain or shine place with the dog. Perfect. Slap on insect repellent if you need to. There're the usual bugs flying around in the evenings. 

The table had ordered prudently. Nobody was starving and we didn't want to waste food. They shared a salad and two bowls of tomato soup. Then shared mains of a chicken skewer and grilled lamb chops. I didn't want any mains for myself. I had a huge lunch and wasn't that hungry at dinner. 

Tonight, I needed that bottle of wine more than food. Hurhurhur. An easy Greek syrah hit a spot, along with dips and pita bread — hummus, fava bean, tzatziki and taramasalata. I love grilled pita with sea salt and oregano! Blu Kouzina does the best taramasalata in town, and I was happy to order two portions and mopped it up. 

Not Quite Bak Chor Mee

I normally wouldn't bother to rush to any old-school stall that's shutting down just to taste its food for one last time, what more for bak chor mee. However, this 'no signboard' bak chor mee stall at Tiong Bahru estate, or also known as 'Sixties Chaozhou Traditional Minced Meat Noodle' at the corner of Block 71 Seng Poh Road, is within easy reach at the corner kopitiam sited near my gym. So it wasn't difficult to rock up at 11am after a class to eat a bowl before the stall closes at this location on June 27, 2023.

The queue aren't that long but it's very slow-moving because the owner DGAF about the crowds and simply cooks at his measured pace to produce a fairly consistent bowl for everyone, every day (except Thursdays). I go after 9.45am and before 11.15am. Any earlier or later, you run into the peak breakfast and lunch crowds; that would be minimally 30 minutes in the queue. Even at this hour, sometimes my wait can be 20 minutes. Even when I'm the second person in the queue, I wait for at least 12 minutes before it's my turn. That is, if the person in front of me orders only two bowls.  

I don't fancy bak chor mee per se. I can deal with mee kia but I love kway teow. At these noodle stalls, the order in Mandarin for me usually goes "粿條，白白".

I like it as minced meat and mushrooms with kway teow; no chilli and no vinegar. 

I don't mind either dumplings or fishballs in the bowl; don't care about meatballs. For this stall, I always order the $7 or $10 bowl — they add in dumplings/jiaozi, this tangy mushrooms, small meatballs and lovely fresh prawns. I really love these dumplings. They add crispy dried sole fish bits into their jiaozi/dumplings! SO TRADITIONAL, SO GOOD.

I've been eating at this stall for years. The flavors come together a lot better than other stalls and are superior to any budget-friendly stalls at the food centers or stalls in a mall. There're literally like five items on the menu for you to choose from. Nothing complicated. But if you've been going here for a while, the couple is quite happy to 'customise' your bowl if you're clear with your single order. The might not look it, but they're okay. Just don't quibble with them over the prices; they're very fair and will never kertok us anyway. 

The other option I like to have at this stall is the Teochew dumpling soup with slices of fish (usually snapper). That's usually about $14 - $15, depending on whether I request for kway teow in the bowl or more fish. They will usually have some form of fish. If there isn't ti po (地寶, a flounder of sorts), it's red snapper. 

Unfortunately the soup isn't the best for this order because it isn't done using fish bones. It's just the regular pork bone soup. But it's tasty enough. They don't stinge on that soup. I have added extras to the bowl of Teochew dumplings + fish slices that it came up to $22. Hahahaha. Got side-eyed by the couple who oddly, sometimes, don't want to sell me such a 'pricey' bowl, and have ticked me off for it. 🙄

The 76-year-old owner Koh, or Ah Chye as he's known to the community, and his wife has run this business for 57 years. They want to continue serving up bak chor mee in the area for a few more years, but I don't know how the hunt for a viable new location is going. Their opening hours of 6.30am to 1pm for six days a week might seem kind (as opposed to a full-day of operations till the evening), but for their age, it's exhausting. The purchase of ingredients, prep work and clean-up are tedious and the physically demanding. It's an enormous toil on your body.

These old-school flavors are fading away as this generation of hawkers retire. Sure, every generation has its preferred flavors and people will always tweak commercial foods to their preferences. And hence, every older person in each generation laments about the 'loss of old flavors' because those have been etched in our memories and tastebuds. We hunt for these flavors that don't exist anymore. Unless we're a halfway decent cook and try to recreate in our own kitchens.

Upcoming Presidential Elections

I haven't deleted my Twitter account, but I will, soon. I have mostly stopped tweeting. I don't bother checking the account or its updates or catching up anymore. Japan Twitter accounts are still crazy active though. Those are still kinda fun. What a pity. 

This opinion piece resonates because I share the writer's opinion. Clare Malone wrote 'How Elon Musk Could Affect the 2024 Election', published in The New Yorker on June 13, 2023. This illustrates it, "The personal politics of Twitter’s owner wouldn’t matter so much if he hadn’t also demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for pettiness."

I normally wouldn't care so much about who bought Twitter or who owns it, but in this case, the owner's style of corporate takeover was a tad unsavory and his personal branding is so huge till I'm suddenly averse towards supporting any of his ventures. We were sort of keen to get a Tesla if it could get its software and pricing right in Singapore. But that tanked. Acck. 

Musk’s personal political leanings and his cultivation of right-wing voices wouldn’t matter as much if he hadn’t demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for pettiness. Naked displays of insecurity are typically welcome and hilarious in billionaires—see: Jeff Bezos’s five-hundred-million-dollar yacht with a busty mermaid figurehead that looks an awful lot like his new fiancée—but Musk has a taste for personal vendetta that runs from the benign (cancelling a customer’s Tesla order because he didn’t like the guy’s blog review of a company event) to the malignant (trying to get a lawyer who interviewed Musk during an S.E.C. investigation fired from his position in private practice). The malignant pettiness has only grown since his acquisition of Twitter. In December, Musk removed several journalists’ Twitter accounts after they wrote about or linked to an account that shared publicly available information about his private-jet usage. This instinct to censor those with whom he disagrees—a sort of personal autocracy—coupled with the alarming news about Twitter’s enthusiastic compliance with takedown requests from governments, should raise some alarms about what limits on political speech could come during the 2024 cycle. Could Musk put his thumb on the scale for Republicans?

Every generation and century of leadership and people shape their own politics. This era is no different. We look to both US and China in our foreign policies. It'a always a delicate waltz. How we lean also has a lot to do with our geographical location and who our neighbors are. The sensitivity has to be there, and it's something that as a people, we haven't fully grasp.

In Singapore, there isn't a clear left or right wing faction in political parties, not really. It's just the incumbent and the 'opposition'. There really isn't a clear divide of policies or ideas. It's an opposing voice, and hopefully measured and valid. But for the society at large, there seems to be a clear divide as to which segment the people lean towards. I'd love to think that I'm moderate, but all my values and the principles I support seem to lean towards a mild left. I could care less about Singapore's own upcoming Presidential elections. Looking at all the candidates, to me, is a no brainer vote. I would have to vote, methinks. 

I dread the see a return to a Trump-style Presidency. The 2024 US Presidential elections are kinda scary, and the candidates from both parties are even scarier. Sure, it doesn't directly impact me. But the policies and social fallout will reach us in many ways. 

It's inevitable that technology and social media will be used to sway electoral votes. Technology itself is meant to be neutral, but the platforms and channels are now defined as 'left and 'right' and well, 'fanatic'.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has just announced a 2024 presidential run with Elon Musk on Twitter Space, moderated by David Sacks. Of course he is Republican. His 'Stop Woke Act' bill in Florida is pure madness, and so is his proposed law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. I shudder to think of how much wreckage that could pile up should he actually win. 

When a supposedly for-free-speech and neutral Twitter lends candidates platforms to air their views, perhaps the owner shouldn't be involved in it. Or at the very least, give air-time to all candidates. That's fair isn't it? Then it's erm less Republican-facing in the presentation of whether a corporate channel favors one candidate over another. 

Musk’s prominence is, in many ways, a continuation of the personality politics that was popularized when Donald Trump ran for President. Though Twitter was never a bastion of admirable civic discourse during the Trump years, at least it was regularly filled with sharp arguments; now that it’s run by a man who revels in ad hominem attacks (and attention), the chatter on the app is just a lot dumber. And, unlike Trump, Musk’s incessant desire for clicks and controversy carries a significant downside. Trump was a national joke who suddenly found himself being taken seriously; Musk is only lately a national joke, having fallen from great heights of seriousness. With Tesla’s stock price recently tanking and Twitter flailing, it’s unclear whether there will be a pile of money to cushion his landing.

Seafood Vermicelli at Yan Ting

It has been years since I stepped into Yan Ting (宴庭) at St Regis Hotel for a meal. It kinda dropped off my radar since it was an overall decent restaurant, but there was nothing in particular that I miss. Made a dinner date with S at Yan Ting. 

I had to have a bowl of soup! Didn't want anything complicated. Opted for a 'soup of the day' in the form of pork ribs and radish with... I think it's dangshen herb. But the amount is insufficient to trigger allergies. The menu offered celtuce as an appetizer. It came tossed with scallion oil and topped with shrimps — no additional ingredients. Perfect. It's as simple as I want it. 

S had a craving for the restaurant's seafood vermicelli. She specially requested for it since it wasn't an on-menu item, but the kitchen would have all the ingredients. The kitchen obliged. It held generous slices of fish and loads of shrimps. The oil and salt were kept light and the dish tasted great. There was also spinach tofu to fulfil fiber requirements. Oof. 

There were only two of us, and we didn't have to tapau food and there wasn't much wastage. Three dishes were more than enough for our stomachs. It was a lovely long night catching up in air-conditioned comfort. Heh! Ended the meal with dessert. Picked the least filling of the lot, or so we thought. Hahaha. An aloe vera jelly with fruit (芦荟果冻) for S, and a herbal jelly (龟苓膏) for me.  

Anju for J's Birthday

Celebrated J's birthday at Anju. Got a 6.15pm seating and a nice booth to ourselves. I didn't plan it, but luckily we had a booth. I just zapped the solar lentigines on my face and I didn't feel up to facing the world openly. In this booth, I could hide. Hahaha. We didn't swop out to a bar after dinner. We headed over to the friends' home for another bottle of red as a nightcap. 

Had loads of starters cold and hot. There were black bean mascarpone with olive oil and chives on sourdough crackers, snapper sashimi (domi), squid ink battered oyster with pickled fennel and flying fish roe, the yukhoe of course, and grilled Iberico pork with salsa verde and baby romaine. 

Pre-ordered a portion of sotbap because the kitchen only made limited portions each day. However, we requested for the server not to mix in that charcoal grilled seabass. We would do it ourselves. I do not like finding bones meshed into my rice. The stewed beef short ribs was a must-have, with a side of baek kimchi. Ordered another bowl of rice along with that to share. They also used barley in the rice. Nice! Mmmm. Carbs. Awesome. Heh.

I had no idea what desserts arrived because I didn't look at the menu and didn't bother to cross check it online. The man and L ordered them. Heh! Anju only has like three desserts for our choosing. I only wanted to have a dessert with a candle just because it was a birthday dinner to celebrate J. Heh. What arrived were a strawberry bingsu of sorts drizzled with condensed milk, and a platter of mochi-donut thingy with a birthday candle for the birthday boy! 

Lobster, Oysters & A Talisker!

Found a little gem in Mad Charcoal located at an industrial estate. It does BBQ and grilled stuff. Its techniques are pretty good, although the butter and the oil aren't as ideal. But at these lower-than-town prices, there's really nothing to complain about. 

Lunch is way too hot and too far for us to get to Ang Mo Kio St 62 to eat these foods. Visiting for dinner on week days makes for a pleasant experience. There's Archipelago beer sold at the drinks stall, along with the usual array of soft drinks, but no soda water or sparkling water.

I love it that they offer small portions of food. Loads of meat to choose from. Sure, it's pricier than what a 'western food stall' at a kopitiam offers on the menu. But Mad Charcoal offers a higher quality of ingredients, cuts and cooking style. There's the option of half a rack of Kurobuta ribs, and also just a small regular portion of three ribs. That was manageable. The $30 Angus ribeye was nicely done medium as requested, and arrived sliced. They also offer lamb ribs, and sometimes on Fridays, there's lamb shank.

Carbs came in the form of pasta. They have two or three options of spaghetti with tomato gravy or cream and aglio e olio. The spaghetti aglio e olio could have been spicer and loaded with more garlic, but I think they're catering to a specific demographic of diners who prefer it done this way. It came with a poached egg. I like that! A poached egg can make up for many things! Heh.

For fish and seafood, they have oysters and mussels, and clams. Their oysters are kept in the cooler box and shucked fresh upon order. Of course there're prawns and crayfish. You might have to pre-order something. For fish, sometimes have stingray, shark, and depending on what they can get at the market that morning versus cost considerations, there would either be snapper or threadfin. 

We have tried a variety of fish, and they're pretty decent grilled. The pesto sauce was okay and kinda fun. Not the pungent type I expect. It was lighter but it works. The mash was a bit weird. It's creamy, but it felt more cream than potato. I think the butter used isn't that tasty, methinks.

That night, we ordered a small lobster for dinner. It came with a bit of roe! Heh. Lobsters need to be pre-ordered, but even so, they might not have stock, so it all depends on luck. The price depends on how big the lobster is, and of course the effort to cook. Ours was $70 that night. The only drawback, they layered gratin over the lobster. Like a lobster thermidor, I suppose. With lobsters this fresh, I like them better grilled with just garlic and onions. 

We brought a bottle of Talisker Dark Storm to dinner. I got it at the airport duty-free shops. It was an updated darker expression from the Talisker Storm that debuted in 2013. We hadn't tasted this newer expression, might as well do so tonight. Brought our own glasses and a small thermos flask as an 'ice bucket'; we also brought two bottles of Chang soda water because the drinks stall here doesn't sell it. This expression is big on the smoke, coffee and sweet pepper — a gorgeous representation of the Isle of Skye. It went well drizzled onto the raw oysters. The man loved the combination of the peat and brine. 

Pangdemonium's 'Doubt: A Parable'

Watched Pangdemonium's adaption of John Patrick Shanley's play, 'Doubt, A Parable' (2004). This, thankfully, wasn't as tedious as the theatre company's three-hour-long 'People, Places & Things'. 'Doubt, A Parable' clocked in at a very comfortable one hour and thirty minutes without no intermission. 

I remember that the 2008 film that was adapted from the play, but didn't have much impression of it beyond thinking that people are going to have such doubts indeed, of their religious leaders. That was before the now public facts of prevalent and widespread sexual abuse of children religious elders, and a seemingly systemic issue within the Catholic church. The film starred Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as Viola Davis and Amy Adams. 

Directed by Timothy Koh, Pangdemonium's adaption stars Ching Shu Yi (Sister James), Jason Godfrey (Father Brendan Flynn), Neo Swee Lin (Sister Aloysius Beauvier) and Sharon Frese (Mrs Muller). The play is set in a Catholic parish in 1964, Bronx, New York. The anti-climatic ending disappoints many, seemingly a parallel to many accused priests getting away with clergical punishment or social justice. 

The play is very heavy on the dialogue, and the words are lengthy. The actors carried the words through fine, although I felt that the conflict within the individuals didn't come through strongly. The accusations and opposing sides of Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn weren't strong enough, I felt. Father Flynn simply capitulated to Sister Aloysius's needling, without much warning. I was like, 'huh? that was all it took?' Of course the play left everyone in doubt, the characters, and us, the audience. What sort of doubt, you'll have to ask yourself.

What do you do in a situation like this? Your faith is tested and shaken, you deal with skepticism and uncertainty, and a very serious set of accusations and possibilities. What is intention? What is truth? Is it okay to live in doubt? Is it okay to live in uncertainty? (No, I'm not okay with that.) The ideological arguments in this play in 1964 or 2004 or 2008 are still valid and relevant in 2023.

Peking Duck & Wine with V!

Pending impromptu travel plans, I didn't fix a firm date with V to mark her birthday. When we did fix a date without a confirmed venue yet, the birthday girl promptly went ahead to book her dinner at her restaurant of choice and informed me — Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck. That was at lightning speed. Hahahah! She had a craving! Of course she pre-ordered a whole Peking duck. LET'S EAT.

V brought along a lovely bottle of Bourgogne in a Pommard 2016 from Domaine Jean-Marie Bouzereau. She said that the selection of wine at this restaurant wasn't great, so we might as well pay corkage and have ourselves a satisfying liquid complement to the yummy duck. Agreed. Most Chinese restaurants have a  crap wine list that is wayyyy overpriced. 

We knew we would be able to pack away any leftover food. Two stomachs weren't gonna be able to clear all these foods. To that, we ordered judiciously, but we also bravely added fried prawns, two beautiful bowls of soup, as well requested for the leftover duck meat to be shredded and stir-fried with thin mee pok. I shamelessly packed home the mee pok and four prawns. That carbs would feed me fine the next day, and the prawns would be a great topper to the man's salad.  

A 6pm dinner meant that somehow the night felt longer and we had more time to chill out before bedtime, and doing all those winding down things. We adjourned home for more drinks and dessert. Luckily I had a few bottles of red at home still. Got out a bottle of heavy Italian red to complement the earlier French red — an Il Poggione Brunello di Montalcino 2017.

Well, the birthday girl isn't fond of much sugar or cakes and such. No need to get a birthday cake. Birthday wishes could always come in different forms. So I had prepped a box of bonbons for all of us to share. Got them from Mr Bucket in the afternoon. I was pleased to have an array of flavors in the two boxes. One was a June special of dark chocolate and whisky Glenfiddich 15 y.o, as well as the usual assorted box of six bonbons which included two pieces of my favorite double soy sauce caramel. Heh. I probably like the soy sauce more than the caramel. 

Happy Birthday, dearest V! You're like this beautiful dim sum basket of har gau — elegant, tough and full of substance. Be like har gau forever! 🥂

'Hardboiled & Hard Luck'

I have forgotten about this Japanese writer Mahoko Yoshimoto 吉本真秀子. She uses her pen name of Banana Yoshimoto 吉本ばなな on her works. I think she has some sort of cult status among book clubs, and hailed as an example of contemporary Japanese literature. But I didn't have a strong impression of her books, nor did I chase down her stories after 'Kitchen' (1988) published in English in 1993, translated by Megan Backus.

I honestly couldn't remember if I had read 'Hardboiled & Hard Luck' (1999), translated into English by Michael Emmerich and published in English in 2005. As I read on, nothing seemed familiar to me, so I guess I didn't. Heh. This collection holds two novellas, literally 'Hardboiled' and 'Hard Luck'. Both stories hold unnamed narrators. Both touch on grief and loss, making for a depressing read. 

'Hardboiled'

Our narrator is plagued by unresolved conflicts in her relationship with her partner, Chizuru, who died in an apartment fire. Although the narrator didn't kill Chizuru or had any part to play in her death, she still felt guilty about it. And Chizeru kept appearing in her dreams. There's this trail of black stones in the story that I didn't feel like trying to decipher their significance. The black stones seemed to herald misfortunes or ghostly happenings in said venues.    

The narrator went on a road trip, reached a country town, met a kind innkeeper and also met a ghost in her room. She met Chizuru in her dream again before she left the inn, and in that dream, all was resolved.

It's true that I'd had nowhere to live, that I used her. And the fact is, I never planned to stay with her, a woman like myself, for the long haul. We were living together, and she liked me. So when she got physical, I responded. That's all there was to it. But before long, I realized that she saw things differently. Or rather, some part of me realized it, and I kept pretending I hadn't noticed. I felt horrible about what I had done. She was still there inside me now, just as she always was: a life put on hold, a memory I didn't know how to handle. 

'Hard Luck'

In 'Hard Luck', the narrator's sister Kuni collapsed from (work) exhaustion, had a massive cerebral hemorrhage, laid in a coma in the hospital and eventually was taken off life support after being declared brain dead. We grieve with Kuni as she grapples with saying goodbye to her sister.

Kuni's fiancé had simply disappeared because he didn't know how to handle this. Oddly, it was the fiancé's brother Sakai who dutifully came to visit Kuni and showed concern to the narrator and her parents. The narrator was preparing to leave for Italy for her studies after Kuni's funeral. It also suggested a romance developing between the narrator and Sakai.

Slowly everyone in my family came to understand that no miracle would occur, and after that life became somewhat easier. 

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

That strange period we all lived through before my sister finally departed from this world forced us all to do a lot of thinking.

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

None of this mattered to my sister, who was dying. This was a sacred time set aside for us survivors to think about issues we didn't usually consider.

To focus on the unbearable only marred what was sacred.

A Steamed Soon Hock with Roe and Liver

When we were done with all our SIFA and Flipside shows, the friends had a day for shopping, and of course, a meal before they flew home. No way to do lunch because everyone was all over the island. Hahah. Dinner it was. Found a table at the last minute at the very accommodating Sin Hoi Sai at Tiong Bahru. 

Ordered plenty of dishes. Asked for the smallest portions of each dish so that nobody would be too stuffed. It was a nice table of six, but still, we don't eat so much nowadays. Heh! We had so much food on the table! I didn't bother to take many photos. I was busy eating. I was hungry and needed rice. They didn't have brown rice, so I split a bowl of steamed white rice with P. 

Nobody had any objections to having a whole steamed fish that was a soon hock (marble goby). Nobody here minded that it was a freshwater fish. I sometimes can't understand why some people refuse to eat freshwater fish, and would only eat fish in the sea. Goodness! Soon hock is gorgeous when it's fresh.

Our 700-gram fish came steamed in soy sauce (港蒸笋壳), and the prizes — the two strips of roe and a small piece of liver. OMG. I love that! I love restaurants that serve soon hock with the innards. Those are the hallmark of the freshness of a fish that the restaurant is proud to have acquired.    

Esplanade Flipside :: 'Famous Death Puppet Scenes'

Realized that Esplanade's Flipside was presenting 'Famous Death Puppet Scenes' by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop (Canada). It's theatrical puppetry and the man wanted to watch it. Never mind the macabre content (which I love), I was like, bloody hell. Puppets are as creepy as dolls. The 70-minute show actually stated this brilliant warning:

The show contains stage fog, strobe lighting, abrupt noises, unnecessary cruelty to inanimate objects, and hot, hot puppet nudity. Not recommended for the emotionally fragile. Please weep uncontrollably only into the buckets provided. Only darkness awaits.

The show was thoroughly delightful! There was a host, and there little vignettes in between. The little stories remind me of how fairy tales ought to be. Grim. Hahaha. The stories might or might not be linked to one another, but they were soooo fun. Three brilliant puppeteers and their crew were in town for the show. The puppeteers were Aya Nakamura, Louisa Ashton and Teele Uustani. And I think there's a Mitchell Craib. For a S$33 ticket, the set-up was elaborate and definitely worth it. 

At the end of the show, the audience were invited to step forward to have a look at the puppets and the set, and speak with the puppeteers and crew. Of course I went forward to peek at the puppets. As creepy as they are, they're slightly less horrifying than porcelain dolls, to me.

在家中吃米線

The friends and I had craving for noodles at lunch. We weren't that hungry, but we definitely needed food. I browsed restaurants to get a takeout, and came across GO Noodle House (有間麵館). It's a new-to-me place, and its food seemed decent on the delivery app. Got a bunch of stuff and hoped that the food wouldn't be crap.

The food came packed in cling wrap. Nothing leaked. There were fish paste, fish paste in beancurd skin, 'premium' beef balls, Saury fish balls, and century egg! We wisely got three portions of mi xian (what we term as 'thick beehoon') to share among four people. The chilli sauce was surprisingly spicy. It was good and went well with the fish paste, beef balls and fish balls!

Unfortunately, the 'soups' are all too salty. Quite unbearable in fact. But the ingredients and the mi xian are okay — not overly marinated or salted. Just don't drink the broth. We separated the solid contents from the soup, and only used a little bit to add to the mi xian so that it wouldn't be too dry. It was still a happy meal! Mi xian with fish balls are my comfort food and anytime-food.

SIFA :: 'Pompeii'

From SIFA's fb post.

Had tickets to 'Pompeii' at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA). It's a festival commission written and directed by Edith Podesta (AU/SG) together with filmmaker K. Rajagopal (SG). We have Remesh Panicker as a narrator and other actors, a vocalist Suhaili Safari and an ensemble to lend a full dimensional feel to the performance. 

Of course I didn't know what to expect. I was just hoping the show wouldn't be so out there that I wouldn't understand what it was trying to convey. I know what the blurb said, and it was sufficient to manage my expectations. The summary read,

Trapped in a bomb-shelter following a cataclysm, a narrator tells us the story of an apartment block in which the lives of its seemingly ordinary residents were anything but. A still-life painter ponders the permanence of objects; a husband and wife negotiate the vastness that had grown between them within the confines of their tiny apartment; an old Franciscan comes to terms with the death of his wife, and forms a relationship with a child whose life is just beginning. As they hurtle towards their inevitable end, the apartment is transfigured into a museum celebrating the beauty of quotidian human banality.

It's a live cinema performance which offered a diorama into the lives of residents in an apartment block, or as we call it here, a condo. We look at three units in this condo named 'Pompeii', of course. The title of the show references Pompeii (yes, that city in Campagnia) and its preserved ruins from the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. We study the lives of people back then in Pompeii through the things they've left behind when they didn't have a chance to escape the city before its total destruction. 

In this show, we were also offered a look at the lives of said residents in the three units through the objects they owned, viewing their stories through the their possessions. We got to see the actors going in and out of their characters on set, as well as the film crew doing their thing. It totally satisfied the voyeuristic bit in me. It's pretty meta. A super enjoyable show!

SIFA X: INTERMISSION

Watched contemporary Thai post-modern dance theatre under the umbrella of Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA). 'SIFA X: INTERMISSION' directed by Thanapol Virulhakul. In collaboration with the Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM) and Georgetown Festival, the two main performers are veteran Thai folk music master and Lanna arts and culture champion Champa Saenprom and contemporary dancer Vidura Amranand. They are also joined by director Thanapol Virulhakul who performed alongside.

To be honest, the Thai folk music portion was so little that it really didn't matter that the blurb mentioned it. In fact, the way the blurb wrote about this performance led me to have a different expectation of the show. This is not a dance. It would have been more accurate to describe it as a performance of experimental theatre that involves movement, folk music, multi-media and props. At the end of the show, all the crew got onto stage, making it a total of seven performers to close the show. It was really cute.

I was a bit lost midway through. It's supposed to flag Thailand's socio-political structure and its recent election emotions — "A single dancing body portrays how political power relates to each individual. // assert the potential of art as resistance against the powers that be." Resistance. I struggled really hard to decipher that in the performance. 

Towards the end of the performance.
From SIFA's fb post.

'White Cat, Black Dog'

I didn't want to bring the Macbook on this trip. I wanted to just take the Kindle along, but it's highly impractical. The iPad would be a much better companion since I could do more things on it, like... fill up the requisite Singapore arrival card (more like a health declaration; SG residents must submit it too) and... blog. Heh. The Kindle app on the iPad works fine.

The short flight to Hong Kong meant that I could easily finish Kelly Link's 'White Cat, Black Dog' (March 2023). The macabre little stories are such delicious nuggets. Seven short stories in the fantastical and quietly touching on morality and life's values. 

These aren't fairy tales though. Apparently these stories have all been published prior, except for 'Prince Hat'. I have not read any, so they're all new to me. The illustrations that prefaced every story are quite beautiful. The charcoal illustrations are done by Shaun Tan. 

'The White Cat's Divorce' seems to be inspired from an old French tale 'La Chatte Blanche' (1698) written by Madame d'Aulnoy. I love this first story best. Narcissistic billionaire patriarch, odd sons, weird worlds and an expected obsession with youth and immortality. It's awesome little tale with people's heads being chopped off. Hurhurhur.

The second story 'Prince Hat' explores the relationship between staid and dependable Gary, and his husband, the whimsical Prince Hat. Yup, that's his name. We were taken through a journey of Gary searching for a missing Prince Hat, finding him in the other world and getting him back into this world. All because of love. 

All the excitement in 'The Lady and the Fox' pretty much happens every Christmas. The Honeywells are a family full of idiosyncrasies, an adopted relative, a centuries-old fox, a Lady of the mansion, and a happily-ever-after. Okaaaay. 

"We all lose," says an acerbic voice. "We all love and we all lose and that's just the way it goes."

'The White Road', 'The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear' and 'The Game of Smash and Recovery' kinda flew over my head. 'Skinner's Veil' was a bit difficult to finish. What on earth was that thing about ghosts and house sitting and strange smooth happenings in life for Andy? 

再見啦，香港! 🇭🇰

《大批判: 香奈兒》2001年、王廣義
'Great Criticism: Chanel' 2001, Wang Guangyi
(born 1957 in Heilongjiang, works in Beijing)
油彩布本 / Oil on canvas
Donated to M+ Sigg Collection

This city has irrevocably changed. The events of the past four years have scarred it. While its economy will get back on an even keel, the society might not. The people and nature of Hong Kong are changing. 'To what?' That remains to be seen.  

The old vestiges of the city are still there, but something innate has changed. you wouldn't feel it unless you speak to people across the social strata. We would be too shallow to judge the students for having ignited the protests in 2018 to early 2020. Did it bring about an earlier implementation of restrictions and the National Security Law? Perhaps. From my viewpoint, these protests had to happen. It would have happened at some point post pandemic anyway. This is one last stand against being fully embraced by the overarching ideals of the Chinese Communist Party. It's the final goodbye to the Hong Kong people's ideal of democracy. 

So many facets I love about Hong Kong have been destroyed, removed and persecuted. I'm an outsider looking in. There's still so much I love about the city. Once upon a time, this city is so easy to live and work in. Now, I'm not sure about it. I don't know if the language and culture will be assimilated into a tepid version because of National Security Law. As it is, post-pandemic, I'm reluctant to step into any Chinese territory for a vacation. Hong Kong remains an exception for the now. I'm highly wary of the National Security Law, tbh. This trip has been such an eye opener. 

I'll need to come back to eat claypot rice because I hadn't had any for the past week!

Goodbye Hong Kong. You'll always be a city of my heart. And, 毋忘六四.

Looking towards Victoria Harbor on Hong Kong Island
from my vantage point at Hotel ICON in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.