Floofs at Zouk

Took Smol Girl to Zouk since they were having a flea market and burgers Hungover event. We had some friends who had rented booths, and went to say hi. It was indoors and the AC was much welcomed in the searing afternoon heat. 

The only thing about Clarke Quay, there's absolutely no green patches for dogs to pee. I'm not a proponent for dogs peeing on the pavement or lamp-posts. Choya rarely does that unless she smells something really interesting or she needs to pee badly. So I took her out to the park to pee first before we went to Zouk.

The music volume was acceptable. We didn't turn up at noon or at lunch-time or even 3pm. We cleverly went much later at 5.30pm. That seemed to be a timing of which the crowds weren't there anymore. There were photo booths for dogs or something but I didn't bother. The queues were significant, and I had absolutely no interest in joining. 

Choya didn't mind the environment and had some fun sniffing other floofs and sniffing around. Then we ended up chilling by the friend's booth for a bit. I wasn't interested in digging through heaps and piles of clothes. They aren't going to fit me anyway. Or they're too short in length. Hahaha. I did find two fun pieces at my friend's booth though. Hers was the best laid out of all. Neatly hung up and placed. She even gave bat wings to Choya for Halloween. Great! That solves my issue of finding her a Halloween costume. Hahaha. 

How awesome it is to have a venue welcome floofs indoors without too much policing. The floofs I saw at the timing we went were all well-behaved and the pawrents were very reasonable and sane too. It made our hour there very comfortable. 

A Good Stay & Wait

I often prefer to get the heavy non-chilled groceries online, and simply pop out to the supermarkets or wet markets to get the fresh vegetables and fruits and milk. I could technically take the dogs out to these grocery runs, but I don't live near a supermarket. They're a drive away. And those within 'walking distances' are located in malls. I'm not inclined to tie my dogs this far away. That would be irresponsible. 

I wouldn't mind my dogs waiting for me at the smaller supermarkets say, the CS Fresh at Siglap V, or the one at Greenwood Avenue. They remain outside, away from pedestrian traffic, and I hope dog owners would know not to go near my dogs since mine wouldn't approach them while they're on a 'wait mission'. These supermarkets are smaller, and I have a direct view of my dogs. I'm usually very quick in these aisles. I prefer that. That night, I needed some milk and Greek yoghurt and cherry tomatoes. It was about 9.30pm, and dog-traffic is lower at this hour. 

It would be foolish of me not to tie them to the railing. I usually do — securing them to the rails with a carabiner. Tonight, the husband was there, so he held on to them. He let the leash loose so that the floofs would be comfortable. We don't need them to sit. Although sometimes sitting makes them feel more stable and less nervous. Ryo and Choya obediently did a Stay and Wait. 

When I was done with payment and strolling out to them, they stared at me through the glass door. It was too cute. My Choya was completely focused on her mission. Ryo was just... very distracted. LOL But they didn't bolt. Good job floofs.

Hello New Staub Skillet!

Remember the small and cute Lodge cast iron skillet that cracked into two through to the center? Bought a replacement skillet. They call it a 'frying pan'. Opted for a Staub with dual handles that could go into the oven too. It's the same size of 8 inches. 

Obviously I didn't bother going out to the shops to buy a pan. I'm that lazy nowadays. Also, store discounts can't quite beat Amazon's prices. For this new pan, Amazon JP did the heavy lifting for me. Browsed around, found an ideal pan in the right size and color. Bought it. It was delivered within a week, from the warehouse in Japan straight to my doorstep. Yayyy.

Finally got down to seasoning the new pan. These cast-iron pans come pre-seasoned anyway. I just needed to coat it once before actually using it to sear steaks. It will be in frequent use anyway, so it would be kept nicely oiled. I also have a habit of scrubbing the pan with only salt, then oil it and heat it a little before storing it away till the next use. 

I went to get spring onions. Spotted a slab of pork belly that was on a discount. $2! Score. Got that. Well, I wasn’t going to eat it. I just wanted an oily cut of meat to smear the pan and I wouldn't feel too guilty about chucking it. Pork belly is ideal; that thick layer of fat on top left a nice sheen on the pan and all around. Once I cleaned out the meats and all, I coated it again with oil and baked it. It's all good and in business now.

A New Plate & Bowl for Choya!

I wasn't expecting it but atomi remembered my passing comment and asked if I would still like to have the bowl I was eyeing. I wanted that bowl for Choya, but I was in a rush and they were out of stock for this bowl. They only just brought in new pieces. I was like, YES PLEASE. 

These simple pieces by Hasami Life are gorgeous. Obviously I love the colors! Couldn't resist touching them and lifting them to feel the weight and such.  When I went to collect Choya's bowl, I was also browsing the range in earnest. In the process, bought a few more pieces of crockery. LOL 

This batch in this range is apparently dishwasher-safe and microwave-safe. Excellent. I need this sort of sturdiness in my daily crockery. But the maker is careful to elaborate to say it's safe enough for dishwashers in a home and not in a commercial restaurant. Okaaaay. It also reminded me that if I put this in the microwave, it shouldn't be on high heat for too long. Like <50secs. Hahaha. Sure.

In the end, I didn't just get a bowl for Choya. I also got her a plate. Both are in glazed gray. The brown/terracotta is also nice, but it's a bit rough that unfinished sandpaper texture isn't suitable for a dog's tongue. I generally prefer to use stainless steel for the dog's food things. But once in a while, I like to plate her food on porcelain and ceramic plates. Oof.

The diameter and depth of the bowl and the plate are great for her and shouldn't give her whisker fatigue. This phenomenon affects dogs a lot less than cats, but just in case. I don't want bowls that are too deep for her. She seems to prefer a shallower bowl too. She kinda enjoys having different foods for her meals in different-sized bowls.

Got home and washed the new pieces of crockery. The bigger serving plates and some dessert plates are for the humans. It was time for Choya's afternoon snack. Decided to use the new plate. It was such a clever design. The Smol Girl is pretty neat with eating. This plate is perfect for her! 

All Them Guitars in Tokyo!

This is as much as the man's vacation as it is mine. I got to chill out in Seoul and did some shopping. In Tokyo, I had better not even begin to shop because I would buy back whole shops. It's too dangerous. I'll come back to Tokyo on my own to shop and ship back things that can't go into my suitcase. On this trip, the man ought to be able to check out what he wants more than what I want. And he got it. I like guitars, but not as keen on them as he is. He can probably spend all day wandering about in these shops.

The man wanted to see if he meets a decent Ibanez dunno-what-model and maybe finally succumb to a custom-shop Fender. LOLOLOL No, no more PRS or Gibson. He doesn't feel anything for those guitars. Not in the sounds or the touch. He's more of a Fender and Suhr player. I'll stick to my trusty Tele. 

We went to Ishibashi at Shinjuku, and the indie guitar stores at Ochanomizu; the 'Guitar Street' is just two streets from the train station, including the not-so-small BigBoss. Of course we had to go pay homage to huge four-storey the Fender flagship store at Harajuku/Omotesando that opened in June 2023.

The Fender flagship store is GORGEOUS lah. The man spent so much time mulling over the Made in Japan pieces that I was almost tempted to just buy a tote bag and a bamboo cutting board in the shape of a Tele or a Strat, just to justify my time spent here. (Our own Swee Lee CQ carries the cutting boards and doesn't overprice them.)

The man was totally stoked. Since we didn't get to catch any gigs we wanted, this wandering in and out of music shops was really satisfying. He managed to find tuning pegs and other stuff at the accessories sections. As for the guitars, they would definitely be over the shopping limits set by our Customs. As a dutiful Singaporean, I had to sternly remind him to declare and pay GST before we get home. 

Dolce Tacubo's Bakes!

J said that Dolce Tacubo's financiers and cream puffs are actually good. I didn't have to make a reservation just to buy (they seem to still do that for the main Ebisu store) at this Toranomon Hills space within T-Market. So that made it super convenient to simply buy loose pieces of confectionery when we pass by.

We taste-tested the financiers, cream puffs and canelé. They are seriously tasty. I like financiers, but it's very difficult to find good ones without too much sweet. The man isn't bothered with canelé. He doesn't mind the financiers. I like the brand's financiers and canelé. I shall take some home.

The one thing that's his Achilles heel — the cream puff. He couldn't resist eating a cream puff every other day. LOLOL. Between this and a dorayaki daily, he’s hitting all his sugar quota for the year. The man ate so many dorayaki from Ogino Wakan / おぎ乃 和甘. He said, 'NO REGRETS'.

We decided that these financiers and savory sablés (think chocolate and cardamon, dukkah, rosemary and sea salt) would make decent gifts. I wasn't going to be in any snack stores and I most certainly do not like shopping at the airport and carrying giant bags of crushable snacks or perishable mochi or whatever up the plane. Mochi and dorayaki have a three-day limit to eat them; they need to be kept cool too. That's too much work. I'd see one person upon landing, and that would be the only one I'd buy the mochi for. I need to check on Choya first before I'm in the right frame of mind to deliver gifts to the friends. These little pastries from Dolce Tacubo could keep for a bit and would do nicely.

Brought A Suitcase of Gifts

We brought gifts to Tokyo for the folks we would be meeting. They're mainly for the man's colleagues. I'm not seeing many friends here since it's a short trip; I don't really want to spend all my time meeting people. Caught a few for lunch before they flew out for their work trips/vacations.

I am catching up with J because we are finally in Tokyo together! Hahahaha. We do meet in Singapore, but without her in Tokyo, I'm likely not going to get good coffee with the man. So I'm sticking to her to get to a few coffee spots.  

I wasn't going to lug anything as hand luggage. I didn't even bother to bring a cabin-sized suitcase. Thank goodness I didn't because... REMEMBER I WAS FORCED TO TAKE THE TRAINS INTO TOWN AND TO THE HOTEL. OMG. Anyway, it was a clever move to pack everything securely into the two big suitcases so we could travel slightly lighter. The man had a backpack, and I just had a manageable tote.

On our way out of Changi Airport, we also procured bottles of whisky for those who drink and enjoy a good glass of Scotch. Obviously we weren't going to get them Japanese brands! Although many brands are owned by Beam Suntory now. Ooof. Bengawan Solo provided most of my confectionery needs. Pineapple tarts are friendly, and crispy spicy shrimp rolls give a savory kick. Supermama offered me a selection of the tea towels and sauce plates (mame-zara / 豆皿) that I thought might suit the aesthetics of the recipients. These aren't too fancy gifts, and not utterly useless. So I guess these make for decent enough gift bags. 

Tees from TimidTales

I didn't set out to shop for the husband. I would get something if I see something. I thought I'd get him tees, but not those touristy designs. The material of those tees is terrible. Nothing popped out at me till I saw TimidTales Creative Studio. Oh wow, those graphics! They're awesome! Importantly, the tees were finally printed on a decent fabric. 

Loved the designs of 'Freedom Cat' and 'Friend'. Unfortunately they were out of sizes for tees in black. So I had to settle for black tees available in size L. Yeah, the husband has gone down to L for Asian sized tees. If it's American sizing, he's now an M. Too bad 'Angry Cat' wasn't available in the desired size anymore. I didn't need to dither over anything. I just swept up what I spied. Ended up with three tees and a tote bag. I didn't bother to get any tees for myself. That 'Angry Cat' tote bag is MINE. Heh. 

The husband loved the tees! These designs totally appeal to him. Of course where there are Korean words, I google-translated... just to be sure they aren't like super vulgar or something. Glad they fit him well.

Tamburins

While I am still marveling how cohesive and huge retail and cafe spaces are in Seoul, we walked into the three-storey flagship of Tamburins at Garosugil. Escaped the crowd on the ground floor and went upstairs where it had a lot fewer humans. 

Walking into the store is like being soaked in all elements of fashion, beauty and art. It's truly an experience. There were art installations of giant candles in the form of cats, and random displays of Korean traditional knots arts and crafts. We were welcomed to try out its scents. I happily washed my hands in the very nice sinks with a choice hand wash, then smeared a little hand balm on clean hands. Ooof. 

No, I don't know Tamburins because of Jennie (BLACKPINK). In fact, I walked by that wall in Sinsa-dong and S pointed it out. I was like, 'Who is Jenny?' Yeah, I didn't know how to spell it when I didn't make the association. I'm so not a BLACKPINK fan. I can't even name one song. I could vaguely name two members since their names are always in the news, and there're only four of them. But I can't quite remember their faces. Hurhurhur. Okay, whatever. 

Well, I wouldn't mind stocking up on two bottles of scents. Some of the girlfriends wanted perfumes from Seoul as well, but they didn't specify a brand. So I got them from Tamburins. If you have your passport with you, at many of these big-name shops, the tax refund is immediate — that makes it so much more convenient.  

That cute egg-shaped bottle got me. Heh! I really wanted 'Holy Metal' (that name!), but the scent didn't appeal at all. Took a sniff and decided on 'Late Autumn' for myself. Apparently 'Chamo' is their most popular scent; so I got that for the friends, along with 'White Darjeeling'. 

Amorepacific's Flagship Store at Seongsu

I know nothing about Korean skincare or beauty products. I'm generally not keen on all these anyway. But since the girlfriends wanted to check out Amorepacific's flagship store at Seongsu, I went along. I'm a tourist, and shall do touristy things.

There was an event they had for the day. It was crowded, but not overly so. It was a Mise-en-scene Perfect Serum 'members only' event. The staff made every visitor sign up for an account at the entrance and gave away free samples of shampoo and a bottle of face serum, both of which I didn't bother to take.

The ladies were keen to try out the AI face analysis tool (complimentary), and get a bottle of face serum customized, and had their label personalized. I did the face analysis, but didn't bother to get the serum. I have sensitive skin and I prefer not to randomly experiment with serums when my current ones work fine. The ladies bought SO MANY little tubs and bottles and jars of dunno-what. LOL

I wasn't interested in even trying out products on the hand or read the labels or whatever. They don't excite me. What I was more keen on, was the interiors of the shop and what they do to draw in their customers. I marveled at the amazing space. Shelves, empty walls, benches, seats, and a little garden. 

There's simply so much space for all these shops. Brands can take up a whole narrow building. The brand experience is superb. Retail space design is truly a thing outside of Singapore. We don't have such luxury in Singapore where rental kills every retail shop. Shopping in Singapore isn't pleasurable, especially not in the cookie-cutter malls. At Amorepacific's flagship store, although I didn't buy a thing, I wandered through the space admiring the interiors. I felt rather overwhelmed after a while and had to sit down. It was so mind-boggling to see so much negative space. 

Solid Soaps from Lush!

Went to LUSH to get a birthday gift for S. M and I had a quick chat and thought bath bombs would do great. LUSH had shelves of those for us to choose from. The scents were super overpowering for me. Hahaha. But okay, it was kinda fun to choose things for a good friend.

Then I went to the other shelves to check out their soaps. I use both shower gel and solid soaps. No preference over either; I simply put both on the shower rack to use. I don't really bother about the brands of solid soaps either. Solid soap is soap. I only need their scents muted — say sea salt, lemon, citrus and ginger, the sorts. No rose, no lavender, no shitty florals, thanks. 

I have never used solid soaps from LUSH! Amazing right, considering that I've been getting soaps from all over iHerb and such. I like them in manageable sizes of 100-g blocks. Found them in the scents I like! Got three blocks in 100g. That's the minimum size permitted at LUSH anyway.

I got them solid soaps in Sea Vegetable (some sea salt, seaweed thingy), Karma (patchouli and lemongrass) and Lemon Zest. Then the store gave me a free little bit called Faerie Realm (wild orange, snow mushrooms and cocoa butter). It's their upcoming springtime limited edition item. I laughed and laughed. Quite apt; a fit to my social media handles huh. 

Red, White & Blue Bag :: 紅白藍帆布袋

Since the 1960s, Wah Ngai Canvas (華藝帆布, established in 1954) and its founder Lee Wah 李華 are known as the maker of the iconic red, white and blue nylon bags, literally, 紅白藍帆布袋. Films used to have these bags to store corpses in, but nowadays they use suitcases. LOL I also have an actual 紅白藍袋 that I use to move bulky items around and when not in use, it's folded up. These are as sturdy as the IKEA bags.

Now, the popularity of these bags meant that they're an avenue to do social good. A concept shop run by New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association have the disabled and mentally-challenged workers up their mental health by sewing these bags in workshops in Kowloon and sold all over the world. They're obviously priced a lot higher than what you can buy off of Taobao, Shopee and Lazada. As consumers, we then choose where we want to spend to get these bags. I simply want neat and tight stitching. It's meant to be brand-less. It's supposed to be the antithesis of a brand, or at least not a designer brand. 

I have some of those in nylon, and a mini version as a stylized tote made of fabric. The fabric tote was a fun buy from Hong Kong. I was in Cheung Chau and walked into a shop selling handmade fabric bags. The lady boss could make a few for me in the desired designs if I had another day to return to pick it up or 2.5 hours to wait for her to make one bag. I couldn't. So I simply took what was available on the racks. There was one in water-resistant frabic. The lady's stitching was top-notch, and she made an extra layer of fabric for the bottom of the bag. 

Sure, the nylon ones are used mainly for dog things and activities or supermarket runs. But this fabric tote — I'm very fond of. I don't just use it to carry random extra items around or as a shopping bag. On some days, I also use it as a bag-bag. I don't need to lug around designer bags all the time. They're just stashed at home. If I feel like taking them out, I will. If I don't, then I don't. I don't feel any social pressure to do so (got past that); I needn't live up to anyone's sartorial expectations. 

年初一 :: 喜對良宵玩玉兔、笑同勝友賞新春

I had earlier bought a few boxes of mikan and dekopon as gifts for some friends. Then realized I didn't get any for myself. I supposed I need to have a box of mandarin oranges at home in case visiting has to be done. My usual fruit seller ordered me to pick up two boxes on the last day of the Tiger. What I didn't realise was, she reserved two boxes of Red Beauty (红美人) for me. It's a hybrid of tangerine and orange. This hybrid from Ningbo is one of China's better quality exports of Mandarin oranges. I dunno why, but it seems to be extra hot property this year. Why ah?  

Had to make the obligatory and kinda mandatory visit to the man's parents in the afternoon (they're not morning people), and brought two Red Beauty over. The MIL definitely didn't know anything about mandarin oranges, so she didn't know what these were, except that they were packed really nicely. Hahahah. I don't particularly care, but if giving these out means that people will eat them instead of throwing them away or letting them rot as the days go by, then it makes more sense to gift these oranges rather than buy shitty ones in the name of adhering to a tradition that stinks of wastefulness.

At 6pm, I retreated back home for a glass of whisky. It was a rather happy day. The morning stroll by the beach in the sun and breeze before the rainclouds rolled in was such balm for the soul. We ordered loads of food from our all-time favorite Gokul; it provided us with such a delicious lunch. Smol Girl was very pleased that she wasn't left alone this rainy Day 1 of the Lunar Year of the Rabbit. 

The Hokkaido Yubari

Autumn heralds the arrival of many seasonal fruits. Gorgeous apples, persimmons, nashi, and even matsutake. Some fruits are worth its weight in gold. It's time to indulge in a bit of fruit-buying and perhaps eat a few grilled Pacific saury at the restaurants. 

Happiness is buying a carton of Hokkaido Yubari musk melons and sharing it with friends. Chilled musk melons are such a lovely dessert. It's great for this hot and humid + mad rainy weather too. If I do inhale sugar, I'll take the sugar from fruits any day over cakes or kueh and such. 

Could the man and I quaff a few melons on our own? OF COURSE. These melons arrived not quite ripe, and keep well in the fridge. I picked out the most unripe ones in the shipment to make up my carton. We could do three easily over two weeks. The dog could have a sliver if she wishes, but she isn't interested in fruits. She generally doesn't have a sweet tooth for fruits or vegetables. She prefers cheese and cream, goat's milk or yoghurt. 

Sliced up the first musk melon three days after purchase. It was still firm, but ripe enough to be eaten. I like it at this stage. (Like how I prefer crunchy peaches and persimmons) I'm so greedy. I can finish a melon all by myself. When it gets riper, it gets softer, and sometimes it tends to be mushy. People say they like the texture when they're able to use a spoon to eat the melon. Erm.... no thanks. The man likes it somewhere in the middle, so I usually select a rather ripe melon for him. 

Miss July

Ahhh, the month is coming to the end. There goes my calendar girl for July. Boss & Olly included Choya in their 2022 calendar, and she is Miss July. Heh. We provided the photographs, and the brand picked one to be featured. I didn't use the phone to capture these shots by the beach. I used an actual camera to capture hi-res RAW files. Choya always gives me her brightest smiles.

Of course this is an unpaid 'gig'. I don't bother signing Choya to any floof social media agency. Yup, those exist, and it's a competitive yet maybe big-enough business. I'm too lazy to bother with posting regular stuff, and I'm not keen to pimp her out as brand ambassador to whatever brands, and compromise both our integrity. There're many habits that we practice which aren't typical of other pet owners or canine consumers. I don't need to share 'discount codes' with 'mates'. There're plenty of those floating around on IG and whatever other platform. It's for public usage anyway. And often, when you opt to use whichever discount code on a relevant brand, the floof/owner gets a commission. If they hit enough numbers, they get paid. 

If I pimp out her for ads and such, I won't be asking for payment; and I might or might not want the brand's products. Hahahahahah. As always, Choya's comfort comes first in any project that I do with her. If she's stressed, then it's tough to capture her adorable expressions. If she gets to play, then she's all derpy. Oooof.   

This is why nobody buys commercial treats for Choya. Not even those packs of meats air-dried at home or sold at decent pet bakeries. She doesn't care about treats and she doesn't need treats. I'm not a snacker, and I won't have her be one and overload her GI tract with too much nasties. Any 'treat' she ingests is her actual food.... or well, cheese rather frequently now. Some friends are very clever. They've gotten hints of what to buy her, and good quality meats have turned up at our door. Oof. Buy Choya a fillet of grass-fed beef tenderloin or venison!

Pasar Pink 2022

I was totally hoping that the weather would be kind because I wanted to go to Pasar Pink organized by PinkFest x Sunday Social. It rained through the night, but it cleared up by the time Pasar Pink opened. I decided to pop by earlier slightly before lunch instead of jostling with the crowd at the popular mid-afternoon timing. 

Pasar Pink was held at See Sing Soon Garden Center; it's sheltered and breezy, and it was also pet-friendly. Oddly, I was very hungry, so I zoomed straight to The Good Burger's truck for its a classic burger, and got some coffee. Then I was in a more sociable mood. Heh. We stayed on a little longer than usual than we normally do at events. A number of dogs went there, and we also said hello to a number of friends. Choya was done with socializing and kept reminding us that she was hungry and wanted to go home for lunch. Okaaaay, smol girl. 

There were booths run by some small businesses of which I wanted to kaypoh. I wanted to get some pins from Heckin' Unicorn, and some new sailor bows for Choya. The man also wanted to taste The Daily Broth's beef and chicken bone broth, and vegan broths so we got a few jars. Since the venue is a garden center, if you really want to, you could buy some plants, pots and soil and such. 

It's prudent to split up Pink Dot SG and Pink Fest so that the festivities are differentiated, and everyone could join in. The Pink Dot main event itself at Hong Lim Park could only be attended by Singaporeans and Permanent Residents. Having Pink Fest on another day and at another venue would reach out to more people, and offer options. 

Pink Dot 14 at Hong Lim Park is happening this Saturday 18 June, 2022. If the weather permits, I'd like to go add on to the headcount at Pink Dot later on in the week. My pink NRIC has to show for something, isn't it? I'd want to take Choya along too. Let's see if I can figure out the crazy schedule. #PinkDot14

Seed Beads from Eden+Elie

The BFF gave me a birthday present in the form of a necklace from Eden+Elie which I absolutely loved. The weight of the three 'pendants' or bulbs is just right, hanging heavy to secure its design, but not such a burden that cuts into the back of the neck. The adjustable chains made it super practical for my wardrobe. 

I like the necklace so much that I went browsing at the website, and bought two pairs of earrings from the brand, one in hues to match (I think the brand named it 'oyster') and one in my favorite semi-precious stone of lapis lazuli. 

The necklace is in a minimalist design. Little capsules. However, the earrings are in a tad more complicated settings. A little nyonya, a little ethnic, and very original. So I wasn't sure if I really liked those. I stared at them for a few days before deciding on two easy pairs. Luckily these two pairs of earrings came in designs and colors that I like, and will wear. 

When the earrings arrived, I scrutinized them. The earrings are delicate but not that dainty. They're beautiful. The handiwork is impeccable. Wow! These earrings aren't small in diameter, but they're fairly light. If I keep to wearing them within four hours, the earholes wouldn't flare. 

Eden+Elie is a Singapore brand, and it's also a social enterprise that has partnered with Autism Resource Center Singapore to train artisans to produce their jewelry. The seed beads used are from Miyuki, an old-school reputable Japanese manufacturer. A social enterprise isn't exactly a charity. It's a mover in the economy that gives back to the community.  

A few weeks later, I then read this nicely written article on CNA about the brand. Awesome. In this dreary world with ultra depressing headlines, a piece of grounded and local news like this is very welcomed — people doing good, making a difference on the ground, to the local community, and to our country, our independent nation. Here's a recent interview with the co-founders of the brand hosted by DBS Foundation. 

A New 75-liter Upright Freezer

I've given up the fight over freezer space. I need to eat, and so does the man. We can't be cooking this often. It's nice to cook and freeze food for humans. After juggling Choya's food delivery schedules and our cooking timetable for two years, I caved and bought a small upright freezer to store Choya's raw meats and such.

My original purchase of a 71-liter net storage Farfalla Upright Freezer [(W x H x D): 54.8cm x 83.3 x 53cm ] didn't happen. I bought directly from Gain City, so the store called and said the supplier didn't have any more stocks and the line has been discontinued. WALAOEH. They offered a similar replacement of a 73-liter net storage Butterfly BUF-S75 Upright Freezer that has a reversible door; its dimensions are slightly different at [(W x D x H) 50cm x 53cm x 84.6cm]. OKAY FINE.

Hmmm... 'Farfalla' is Italian for 'butterfly'. The brands are all owned by Lea Hin Group. Anyway, these freezers have ideal dimensions.  I have no space in the small kitchen to store it, but I have just the right spot for the freezer in the patio. I just need it to slot under the 86cm height-space I have for it. The replacement Butterfly freezer arrived on the original delivery date. 

There were three storage compartments in total — two pull-out drawers, and one topmost wired base with a flip cover that requires a flat panel or box to hold items. Cleaned it, turned it on, and shoved a water-filled ice tray into it. Checked on it 4 hours later. There were ice cubes. Perfect. Added other frozen items to it to test it out. Once I ascertained that the freezer worked fine, and the insulation and nothing mechanical was compromised, I was relieved. I would hate to deal with a spoilt freezer. 

The freezer sat for two days quietly humming before storing its first batch of Choya's newly arrived meats.  Then more items came, and they all went into the drawers. It was fun organizing the drawers! I used lightweight metal trays to place atop the wired base in the topmost compartment with the flip cover. The middle drawer is the biggest, and those would store her daily meats. The bottom drawer would take all additional bones, bone broth, goat milk kefir, bone grinds and such. 

73 liters are definitely more than enough to store Choya's food. I don't need it to stockpile or have meats keep for months in there. The main freezer in the kitchen is still in use. It will always store a week's worth of food. The extra small freezer just needs to keep sufficient supplies for three weeks. And perhaps two pints of of the man's ice-cream if I get around to buying them. 

Choya's one meal! 150 grams.

Cute Little Things for Choya

Fri Feb 4 Choya hasn't been put in too eeeky festive garb over this period. Well, I didn't bother to trawl the shops to find something I wanted. It was too much effort. It's also unnecessary, so I'll just get one or two items. Clothes for Choya are too fussy unless we're visiting, (when she doesn't need to pee) and we're honestly not doing much of that this year. 

Randomly put different pieces on her over the past week or so. I tend to put these on her when the weather is fine, and mostly in the evenings. Mornings are way hot, and those are for runs, getting in some proper exercise, soaking up Vitamin D, and rolling about in the grass. 

The girl gamely wore it all like the pawdel she is. She is quite the head-turner. Most Shibes are. Oof. The speech bubble pins are hilarious. Her tailor gamely sewed everything I asked for. Bows and bandanas are still my to-go additions to an already cute doggo. These are convenient small pieces of apparel that I don't mind eking out storage space for.

Then, there's the matter of getting some photos for the lunar new year greetings for the 'Gram. Since T is better at Procreate and stuff like that, I asked her to help me add stripes to the dog's photo so that she can be a silly Tiger on a lunar new year greeting. Hurhurhur.

Chose a Few 'Liang' of Bird's Nest

It's that time of the year again when I pick out bird's nest for the faeriefolks' parents who would use these, and whom have shown me much kindness through the years. Some girlfriends take them too, so they'll benefit from their parents' stove. Hahahah. Otherwise, the 'instant' bottles are good — those $90+ bottles with no sugar, and hold solid blocks of bird's nest. 

I kinda know how to choose bird's nests. It's one of those trivial 'skills' that I possess. Hahahaha. I can sorta tell a fake from a real, but even so, I can't be 100% sure about it unless I send it to the lab to break it down. Regardless of prices and the hype we label on them, at the end of the day, all I could think of is 'they're really just the birds' saliva, isn't it?' 

I like eating bird's nest more or less plain, or with a touch of honey or rock sugar. I know how to clean and boil them at home as a tonic or for dessert. It can still be done right without a fire stove or a double-boiler. I understand my electric hobs and how hot the pots get. I randomly do a double-boil with what I have. I'll just have to watch it. Often, I succumb to the convenience of the instant bottles. Good-enough quality too, and fuss-free.  

Still, I'm no expert since I don't work in a medical shop or in the bird's nest industry. I honestly don't even know if the much-raved about properties are true in spite of me quaffing loads of it. Prepped the right way, they're a tasty snack though. At the very least, I've spent a few days trekking out to the caves and man-made farmhouse walls holding the swiftlets' edible bird's nests, and watched the retrieval of nests, sat in at the mass cleaning up and packing for export, and was duly educated in what makes a good tael (兩) of bird's nests and its varying grades. 

One 'liang' is 50 grams. That would yield about five nice-sized pieces. Two 'liang' would be 100 grams. Three liang would be 150 grams and so on. Spent an hour in the medical hall choosing the pieces of bird's nest that I wanted for the various faeriefolk, and watched the staff gently place them into boxes, and secured all of them. Of course they gave me a nice discount off the stated prices. I've been shopping with them for years. Small boxes of bird's nests make lovely gifts to people who appreciate them.