Adoi, Edogawa

One weekday during lunchtime, I had lunch at Edogawa in Novena Velocity. I did not feel like having carbo (ie. rice or noodles), so I did not order their set lunches starting from $9.80. I thought I had just order some ala carte dishes which turned out more expensive. Ordered the fried chicken with miso soup, asparagus salad, and chawanmushi. When I asked the China waitress what drinks they served as the menu did not show any drinks selection. It took a while for her to understand what I asked, so I repeated a few times. Then she pointed to the pot of green tea which was already been served (FOC). I just said ok, did not want to pursue further. I had wanted a cold drink.

The chawanmushi came first, I wanted to wait for the rest too. When the fried chicken came, I asked where was the soup. Again it took the waitress (this time it was a Filipino or Indonesian) a while to understand my question. So I said the fried chicken was supposed to come with soup, right? She just walked off so I was no sure she was checking or not. After walking to and fro a few times, she finally pointed ok there was soup.

The fried chicken was really just fried skin, I hardly tasted the meat. And there was some light sweet gravy with it which made the whole dish soaking wet. The menu said fried chicken, so I expected it to be dry, and not something like teriyaki chicken. The miso soup tasted abnormal, it was like just plain hot water, did not even have a hint of miso in it. Thought the asparagus salad should be nice with the salad cream and cuttlefish floss bits. The asparagus was just steamed plain so there was no taste to it, and mixing with the salad cream somehow did not gell. The chawanmushi was cold by then, and too watery. There were no other ingredients besides just one radish shoot. There was no mushroom, no tiny chicken meat, no gingko nut, no carrot, NOTHING. I really felt short-changed.

This had to be the most disappointing Japanese meal I ever had and the price was not value for money because the food was not up to standard at all. This meal made me frustrated. I should just stuck to the set meals. Or maybe I should have gone to KFC instead.

Stylo mylo

One of the days, I saw a motorcyclist and his pillion passenger on the road. We were all stationary at the traffic light. I noticed the pillion passenger lady holding a cigarette, she was smoking and puffing it. How dangerous, I thought. Then at the same time, I saw the motorcyclist, the man himself holding up his hand and puffed his own cigarette! Both of them were smoking while riding at the same time. The driver might have been maneuvering using one hand all along. How dangerous, I thought again! I could only sighed.... what a stylo mylo couple.

宁可信其有?

I just heard first-hand news on how the Ox has come to clash with Goat people. A friend, who is a Goat, related what happened to her and her husband these few days. They were supposed to have left for a holiday before CNY. Her husband who was working in Malaysia, came back to Singapore. But he forgot his air tickets for their vacation and left them in Malaysia. So he got his driver to send them back to him.

The driver while driving from Malaysia back to Singapore got involved in a hit and run accident. Apparently, he was hit and robbed as well. His mobile phone, the air tickets and the money his boss had given him were all stolen. When the husband did not hear from his driver, he thought something might have happened. He and one of his staff then drove to Malaysia to try to find his driver on the same route. They passed by a spot, saw an overturned motorbike. Then they learnt there was an accident and the driver was sent to the hospital, now in A&E. His staff upon hearing this, wanted to find out more about what happened, so he crossed the road to ask some people there. Unfortunately, he was also knocked down by a passing hit-and-run truck. He broke his hip bones. Her husband, who saw what happened, was too shocked and passed out.

My friend in Singapore did not hear from her husband, and could not contact him on the phone. She did not know where he was. She spent the past weekend alone at home, waiting anxiously for him, when they should have flown off for their vacation. She did not inform anyone. She spent the past Saturday and Sunday visiting the temple, without knowing what else to do, and she did not want to disrupt anyone's CNY. She visited her father-in-law's tablet in the columbarium and prayed for her husband's safety.

On the first day of CNY morning, she woke up with still no news of her husband. She saw a dead bird in her big koi pond (first time a bird was found dead in her pond). My poor friend was so worried she decided to go to the police station to make a police report of a missing person. As she was on the way, she discovered she has left her handphone at home. So she turned back. And then her husband called. Apparently, he has lost consciousness for 2 days and was in a Malaysian hospital, so could not have contacted her. The doctor has said he was lucky to be alive as his blood pressure shot up to a dangerous high which could have caused a stroke when he passed out.

Then last night as my friend was home alone, she suddenly smelt smoke coming from her neighbour's house. When she peeped over the wall, she saw a fire on the grass pad and a tree. She was shouting and shouting to see if anyone was home. Finally someone came and put out the fire. If my friend was already asleep upstairs earlier, her house might have been set on fire as well. Imagine what would have happened.

After all the numerous unlucky events that happened within a few days, my friend was so shaken and exhausted and in fear. She is scared what else will happen next. When I heard all these, I found them too incredulously unbelievable. Why so suay? She told me tomorrow she will be going to pray to Tai Sui (Great Duke Jupiter).

It is up to you to believe whether such clashes exist when your own animal sign is in conflict with the annual year animal. There is an old saying 宁可信其有,不可信其无. I would rather believe in it than do not believe in it. Just make sure you take preventive measures as much as you can and be protected.

In the genes

This mosaic art piece was done by niece. In the dark of the night, flowers blooming with windy skies and butterfly fluttering. All colours were carefully cut from paper into small pieces and pasted on piece by piece. Obviously niece inherited her artistic genes from my side of the family. Her mommy, myself and most of my aunts and cousins are sort of talented in art or in all forms relating to the arts.

When I was young, I would always enjoy my Arts classes, and Literature/English classes. My teachers would always praise some of my drawings or art pieces and they would be exhibited in class (the art pieces could be in handicrafts, crayons, watercolour, pencil sketching etc..). One of my Arts teacher made an impression on me, a beautiful Mrs Diana Ng. She was very encouraging. Since I was in primary school, for fun I would sometimes just draw the layout of my house (or any houses) with topdown view, the different rooms, and drawing the furniture and where to put them (I thought I would be an architect or interior designer when I grow up).

Once I remember spearheading a class decor cum clean up session, by painting colourful cardboards in different bright colours and had them pasted up on some part of the walls, so much so the entire classroom became a piece of art. It jazzed up the room considerably, giving it an identity of its own. So fun.

Or I would be writing some short poems in my free time, and thought I had be an author or journalist next time). I think when I was in Primary 2 or 3, I saw a newspaper ad from UK asking people if they were keen to write children's stories. I had the gall to write in to the company in UK and sent by snail mail, saying I was interested. Even more surprising was, the company actually replied me in a letter sent all the way from the UK, telling me to concentrate on my studies first. HAHA!

I was confident because I did very well for my English/History/Literature as I could write well (bullshit alot). I remember all my teachers who taught me English too. And I knew they quite favoured me at that time, be it writing a funny essay or economic essay, or bullshitting about my interpretation of Shakespeare's stories and quotes. In my private time, I would write and write about anything under the sky.

Indeed, I often thought I would have ended up as a designer /artist/ journalist/ writer, since I have always excelled in the arts. But I turned "commercialised" and into "business" because simply, it pays more.

"I learned what is obvious to a child. That life is simply a collection of little lives, each lived one day at a time. That each day should be spent finding beauty in flowers and poetry and talking to animals. That a day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered.” - Nicholas Sparks

胖娃娃

I have always like looking at these 年画 Nian Hua (New Year pictures) of chinese chubby babies. Sometimes these come in the form of red packets. I am fascinated by the exuberance and happiness emanating from the pictures, so full of joy. The chubby babies are depicted with many auspicious symbols like the carp, magpies, flowers etc... it showed pictures of the chubby baby successfully hooking the fish of abundance in a pool of lotus flowers [lian], meaning "May you have abundance year in and year out 年年有余".

Nian Hua 年画 was the most important influence on the propaganda posters produced by the Chinese Communist Party for decades. Employing various elements of folk art and symbolism, these pictures catered to the tastes and beliefs in the countryside, expressing wishes for happiness and good luck. According to the Chinese nianhua specialist Wang Shucun, "During the New Year festival, more than 20 varieties of New Year prints would be stuck on the front gates, doors onto the courtyard, walls of a room, besides a room's windows, or on the water vat, rice cabinet, granary, or livestock fold. Colourful and floral prints would be everywhere in the house to express the hopes and joy of the festival."

The chubby babies (胖娃娃), particularly those holding carps, denotes male offspring and abundance, all representative of traditional ideals of wealth, happiness, longevity, and others. Babies are sometimes depicted with protective charms around their necks, clutching peaches of immortality, surrounded by magpies and mandarin ducks, they often portrayed as girls.

Normally when ladies are pregnant, they look at beautiful babies' pictures. I find 胖娃娃 in Nian Hua perfect to look at as well. The chubby baby looks so happy and fortunate, plus all the auspicious symbols in the background, it will surely make being pregnant and giving birth something to look forward to - a healthy good-looking 胖娃娃.

I found a real life Nian Hua 胖娃娃, who looked so cute and "auspicious" that you would want to pinch his cheeks and hug him. He is the 4th Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche.

Out of the norm

Went visiting a few households today. This year we did some things which were a break from our annual routine. (Hope that because of this, this year, things would also be happening out of the norm for me in a positive way. I would like to get out of the rut and routine lifestyle and change for the better).

First, we went to a grandaunt's house which I have never been to. This grandaunt and her children used to dote on me as a kid because they were also my neighbours in the old shophouse in Cecil Street. I felt bad I did not visit her in her house before.

Went to another elderly aunt's place in Tiong Bahru. She has just moved to a new flat. Wow the view from her 25th storey house was splendid, garden below, and opposite, were a row of flats painted with "118" starting from blocks A to D. I commented, wow you see "118" everyday! 118 in cantonese means everyday prosper.

Another break from norm this year was, I visited an uncle who has suffered a stroke and recuperating at home. This uncle is my father's younger brother and he visits us during CNY every year except this year. He was so touched to see us that he shed a few tears.

Another out of the norm thingy was, we did not visit 2 aunts. One was because her husband had passed away a few months ago and we could not visit. Another was on holiday.

Other than the above, the routine thing was to visit my maternal Grandma. A group of aunties and uncles and cousins gathered there for the rest of the day. We lazed there. We chit chatted, ate and played blackjack (I only know how to play blackjack). I did not win nor lose. So not much damage done.

And this is another red top I wore today, a very "ang ang" red packet top, so that I will have a "heng heng" year. My mom's family surname is Heng. "Heng" in hokkien and teochew means "lucky". So all my uncles and aunties are guaranteed to be "heng" for life. Hehehe.

Gong xi doggy

Saw these from my friend's facebook. Her doted doggy, Wenzel, in CNY garb. Wenzel is growing and growing fast. William Shakespeare said, "our eyes are the windows of our soul" - meaning when we look into the eyes of a person or animal, one can see their hidden emotions and attitudes. So your eyes can give you away.

When I look into Wenzel's eyes, I see kindness and innocence. How not to dote her? The same goes to us humans. When you look into the eyes of a person, you can tell whether they are feeling sad or excited or angry. Sometimes, looking deep into the eyes of someone during a conversation, you can see the earnestness in their eyes and sometimes a flush on their cheeks, and he/she can also feel your emotions through the communication. This is called how "sparks ignite and fly". Somehow you know if the person understands you even if you are not saying out your thoughts aloud.

And the eyes that I most dread to see on someone, are dreary eyes which reveal they have already given up - the despondent and sad look. Or the eyes that just refused to look into your eyes, avoiding contact, and you know that person is trying to hide something. I so hate these 2 types of eyes.

First day of the Ox Year

The first day of CNY usually I would have guests visiting us. They are my mom's younger siblings and their families and dad's younger siblings. Mom will normally whip up a few dishes for the guests. This year, it was a big pot of chicken curry, big pot of fishball and veg soup, braised pork leg, E-fu noodles, mixed vegetables as well as roti prata. There was also Cheng tng for dessert, plus all the more than 10 types of CNY goodies. Yes, and I ended up as the one frying the roti prata piece by piece in the sauna of our kitchen! This is because my kitchen is very windy, so when we cook, we have to close the windows in case the fire goes off.

This year, my house was full mostly with my mom's side of the family. My cousins, mostly boys, and my uncles can eat more. My mom also invited some foreign students from her school, who have no families here. They are gifted students from Vietnam who are here on scholarship.

After all the guests had left in the late afternoon, I went to the ATM to deposit some cash and then quickly paid a visit to the temple to offer light to Shakyamuni Buddha and flowers to Guanyin and Amitabha Buddha. Today was an auspicious and merit-multiplying day, so I had to pay respects to the Buddhas. Also due to this reason, for the first time on CNY day, I am taking only vegetarian food for today.

I hurried back home to receive more guests this evening. On the way back in the cab, the driver turned out to be a very devoted Buddhist and was relating to me about the miracles of Buddha he personally encountered. Wow, I was glad to meet a fellow brother in Dharma.

I was so busy serving guests the whole day I did not have the chance to snap photos of my guests or the food. I only managed to capture this photo of mom and dad in our CNY-ish house this morning. Hehe, we all wore CNY colours as well. I wore a red top, mom wore pinkish flowery top, and even dad wore a dark red polo shirt. Did you wear your red underwear as well? :D

Today was a nice heartening day. May my family have a smooth and prosperous year ahead!

Shower of blessings

Wow, just a few minutes after the Ox Year arrived, I suddenly heard an abrupt thunder, and then followed by a light rain, a drizzle and then it stopped. And I thought I heard that the Ox Year is going to be a very hot year?

But then again, I was so happy to see the rain. Everyone knows and thinks that the Ox Year is going to be a year of challenges. So when it rained just now, just after midnight, I felt so relieved.

Rain has always been a symbol of abundance. When it rains, there is a bumper crop, and when it does not, there is a poor harvest. So I prefer to view that the significance of this rain as a shower of blessing despite a forecasted gloomy year. If we stay positive and happy and work hard, maybe our devotion would move the heavens.

On a personal note, as today is also a merit multiplying day, I view this as the Buddhas' blessings as well. I had wanted to attend Gaden Shartse Drophenling's CNY Eve pujas at 10pm but I was not ready then, hence I did not go. The pujas supposed to have been completed sometime after midnight, to welcome the new year. As I understand before, when there is light rain during a puja and it stopped just before the puja ended, as the old geshela (monk) has mentioned before, it was a good omen. It was a sign of blessings from the Buddhas.

新年快乐!!!

CNY house

Last chance to clean up the house, and to put up everything (almost) red. My red table cloth that was only used during CNY was put on, and instantly the whole house transformed and became so CNY-ish. In the storeroom, I found an old statue of an ox with a chinese boy sitting on top, so I brought it out for display just during CNY (most probably, it only makes an appearance every 12 years *chuckle*). I also found a new bright red cushion cover which I have no idea where it came from, and used it for the armchair.

My niece was so nice, she made 3 fishes out of red packets and gave us. I pasted them on the wall. She was so smart, she saw the fishes which her tuition teacher made at home, and when she came home, she took out the red packets, and fiddled and cut and pasted and made them into fishes, without any guidance.

Multiply your merits

I just received a message from a Facebook friend. Tomorrow 26 Jan 2009 is the first day we celebrate the Lunar New Year. It is also the day of the Annular Solar Eclipse.

On this day, all positive and negative actions (of body, speech and mind) will be multiplied by 10,000 times. It will benefit us greatly if we do good deeds such as saying prayers, helping others, and staying positive and blissful. Because whatever good we do, it will be increased by 10,000 fold. Isn't that great? And it coincides with the day being the first day of CNY. Likewise negative actions should be avoided. Do not quarrel or get angry easily, do not kill living things (even animal and insects!) etc..

If you are able to, do take the opportunity to recite the Six-Syllable Mantra, 'Om Mani Padme Hum' as many times as you can. Or offer light to Buddha.

The greatest eclipse will take place at 7.59 GMT and will last for 7 mins 54 sec. Good luck and have a great Eclipse and Chinese New Year!

团圆饭

Had my reunion dinner today, eve of the eve, because we would like more time to clean up the house on the Eve. Did not want to cook and eat at home to save the trouble of cleaning up. So we decided to dine out. This year we invited my Grandma along (she usually has her reunion dinner with my uncles and their families on the Eve). She more than happily obliged as she likes to come to our place whenever there is a chance to, or whenever someone can fetch her. So I am real glad we had our matriarch with us for the most important dinner of the year.

Since we are small eaters, we ordered a fish head steamboat (which was huge and with lots of ingredients), claypot toufu, sambal kangkong, cereal prawns, marmite chicken and kung pao porridge. All the portions were quite big. But before dinner, of course we had to lao yusheng. And again the Yu Sheng was also a huge plate and very nice. Plus a gift of oranges and angpow too for good luck. May we all huat ah for the coming new year!

Nonya Ngo Hiang

Today was a sweating day. It has become a CNY tradition that mom makes her special Nonya-style Ngo Hiang. She said she follows Violet Oon's recipe. I helped her in doing everything else other than the main crucial part of wrapping the Ngo Hiang!

The ingredients used were : minced pork, fish meat, shelled prawns, carrots, water chestnuts, chives, onions, eggs, flour, pepper, salt, sesame oil and ngo hiang special spice. The most tedious was probably peeling those water chestnuts and carrots and chopping them into teeny weeny pieces. At that moment I wished I could find ready made peeled AND chopped water chestnuts and carrots! It was so time consuming. Mom prepared the meat, fish, prawns. (Note: Mom substituted crab meat for fish meat, Violet Oon's version is with crab meat).

Then the mixing part began. We threw in all of the ingredients and mixed them, adding flour, eggs, spice powder, pepper and sesame oil. They turned into a beautiful colourful pot of ngo hiang mix. Hence it was time to wrap. Mom cut up the salted beancurd skin into square pieces to wrap the meat prawn rolls. Mom happily sat and wrapped her Ngo Hiang (she insisted no one could wrap the ngo hiang as perfectly as her *roll eyes*). I had to do everything else then.... steaming the rolls in a steampot, washing the plates and pots, cooling the rolls. Each tray of 3-4 rolls were steamed for 10-15 minutes at one time (because mom said cannot have 2 tray/layers as the upper tray's rolls would not be as cooked as the bottom tray *roll eyes*). Hence I spent about 2-3 hours just steaming 38 ngo hiang rolls, that I almost lost steam!

However, luckily and thankfully, today's Ngo Hiang turned out very nice, as mom remembered to add in the spice powder this time. Normally we would add more water chestnuts so that the ngo hiang would be crunchy. Usually on CNY day, mom would fry the frozen ngo hiang and serve guests as a dish.

That awesome feeling

The other night, I had a wonderful dream but I do not seemed to remember all the details now. What I saw was so surreal and vivid and it was a lovely feeling. I saw the big ocean in front of me, very blue skies, very blue waters, with clear beautiful clouds. As I moved along the dream, an invisible someone (I will called this The Invisible) was like narrating to me as I was led from place to place.

At first I was at sea, in a boat. The Invisible told me we were going to a house, somebody's house. This house was situated next to the ocean. Then in a split second I was in the house. The house looked something like a mediterranean house, very very modern looking and sparsely renovated. What caught my breath was it was way way way too big a house. Because every room and corner I went it was huge. The living room was sparse but as huge as a school hall. Then suddenly I was at an indoor swimming pool, again it was way way way too big, which was linked to the ocean. The Invisible told me this house belongs to me. I was awestruck, filled with disbelief. Then I saw some strangers there (an Indian family of four) playing by the pool. The Invisible told me they were my visitors.

All the time, as I walked inside or outside the house, the ocean was at sight. It was very very beautiful, quiet and calm with gentle breeze. Inside the house it was so bare, but very big. I even had a motor boat that fetched me anywhere across the very blue ocean. Every place I was brought to, The Invisible would tell me that it was mine. In another place, The Invisible told me my sister owned that place. Again I was speechless and awestruck. I could not remember the rest what else I saw, but this dream made me feel so relaxed and at peace. Although the scenery was awesome and beautiful, it was so unbelievable, something like a wish-fulfilling genie in a jar who came to me.

Dozing ox?

This is a beautiful ox - young, shiny body and looks sturdy and alert, grazing on the field of grass. I hope the Ox year will be a year full of hopes and realisations for me personally, despite market sentiments.

Everyday, everywhere, every minute in the news, hearsay, and predictions, all pointed to gloom-and-doom year because of the dull global economic crisis. We could not help but only hope things brighten up soon.

Just the other day, I heard someone in the neighbourhood has jumped and committed suicide. It was learnt he was a foreign worker from China and struggling to work here and to make ends meet. It was said he borrowed about $2000 from his agent and remitted the money back to China for his wife and kid so that they could have a better CNY. With that, he was gone.

An aunt of mine who is a HR director said she has done 4-5 rounds of retrenchment drives for her company, and it was quite sad and heartbreaking to break the news to those staff who were being retrenched, and she was due to deliver another round of retrenchment after CNY. She was so despondent that she would be going for a short getaway during CNY, as she has no mood to celebrate. Another aunt is worried that her manufacturing company may retrench her and keeping her fingers crossed. Morever, her husband who is a GM in a Japanese representative company here, is also out of a job, as his company has closed operations in Singapore. And they have a big family of 4 children and maid and commitments to take care of.

Another uncle's son is due to start overseas studies in Australia, and the couple is coping to manage that. Luckily the son is obedient and earns his own keep as well, it is a blessing he is hardworking and willing to work to share his parents' burden. Another uncle's son has started his own business in this crisis, and has sought help from his father. I wonder if this was a good decision at this time when his parents are also struggling to keep their own business afloat as well as supporting 2 other children's university studies.

My brother-in-law left his 10-year-old job a few months ago to start his own business, and is trying to sustain it during this economic situation. On the home front, I hope to maintain the current job I have gotten used to, I need a lot of drive and discipline if I want this business to work. At the same time, I am also exploring some opportunities which I am familiar with in my past trade.

I hope I can turn this crisis period into my benefit, by riding on untapped opportunities and maintaining a good relationship with my clients. I have always been an optimistic person willing to take risks (eventhough if my luck may be down at times) and gungho in venturing into uncharted territories, simply because I believe in being optimistic (at the very least, act optimistic) then a situation will have a chance to succeed. If we remain pessimistic, the chances of you succeeding is almost zero, and worse, makes you down and unhappy and critical. Despite everything, let's remain positive, optimistic and pray for a good Ox year ahead.

“An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.”

Let's charge head-on like a bull, and not be a dozing ox in this new year.

The list goes on....

Countdown 3 more days to CNY, and we have added more and more stuff, some were gifts. I got 2 lanterns to hang and they really contributed to the "atmosphere" of CNY. Got a pot of four-seasons lime plant from Cold Storage (they are cheaper than the nurseries) and I re-potted it into a big pot. Now it looks huge and inviting, once the main door is opened you can see the bright little oranges. During CNY I usually buy 2 fruits which are shaped like hu-lu and they are for the altar. Saw this very red pineapple with sprouted leaves and I liked it. Normally I already have a pineapple in the house which I buy every week. And we just bought our big carton of 38 mandarin oranges.

Mom made some cornflake cookies and peanut cookies. There are also the "love letters", makmur, green pea cookies, pineapple tarts (2 jars as our family is crazy and particular over pineapple tarts), kueh bangit (the white cookies that melt in your mouth), prawn rolls. I bought the "folded" love letters which are egg rolls. There are the kueh lapis, nian gao, bak kwa (sweet BBQ pork slices) and honey rose biscuits (I wanted something different this year). I think there are too much food stuff already, and I have not even mention about those different types of nuts and chocolates we have. How to slim down!!?

Warholizer-ed

I have warholizer-ed myself in tons of photos! I love the vibrant colours of the end result. Surprisingly, those photos whom I thought looked nice, did not turn out nice after being warholizer-ed. Instead, those not-so-nice poses turned out not bad.

This is another one I like, a top-down view of myself. Haha. I would love to have a huge print of my portrait for my bedroom wall. But I have not found one which I am satisfied with yet.

Get organised!

This pouch is a god-send to ladies. Normally we have so many things in our handbag that we have to dig and search for a long while for what we want. Are you sick and tired of ransacking your handbag for your lipstick when you are in the public loo, or ezlink card for that crucial "zapping" moment, or umbrella when it suddenly pours, and or handphone when you are expecting an important call and it rings and rings.... Enough said. PurseIn is the ideal bag organizer for you.

I found this in Raffles Shopping Center and bought it for a friend's birthday. My this friend has everything so getting her a pressie was pretty difficult. Then I found this. Friend has 1001 things in her bag, especially when she works onsite, she has lots of barang barang to lug along. And because she travels often, she is often interested in different types of pouches and organisers to help organise her stuff in her bags and luggages.

This smart, sturdy and reversible purse organizer has ELEVEN pockets in various sizes that will fit all your life's essentials, it even has a handy clip for your keys. There's a place for everything and you will know exactly where everything is. And it is reversible! You can flip it over and the pockets became on the outside!

Best of all, if you like to swap your handbag to match your outfit, simply lift the PurseIn Organizer out of your current purse and the entire contents can be easily transferred to your next bag. Simple, quick and easy and you will never forget any of your essential items again! No more dumping everything out of your bag to find anything and changing handbags now becomes a breeze!

It is retailing at $52.90 and available in Raffles Shopping Mall. Well, like I said, it's a godsend, if you don't mind the price.

Parkway Bak Chor Mee

Was at my usual playground - Parkway Parade. Normally if I eat at the basement foodcourt, I have to take my 2nd favourite Bak Chor Mee (top favourite is the one from Crawford Lane). The uncle usually give me a lot of soup and I also ordered additional bowl of dumpling soup. They have fried wanton as well. He said he does not add MSG into his soup, so I can drink as much as I like. I like Bak Chor Mee because of the faint vinegar taste, as well as the pork balls, liver, minced meat and mushroom slices (not forgetting fried pork lard). I seldom eat fishball noodle or fish soup outside unless they are not fishy. Fishball noodles do not taste as "sweet" as Bak Chor Mee.

Are you NUTS?

Read this very interesting article by Mr Sim Wong Hoo, CEO of Creative Technology, entitled "No U-Turn Syndrome ( NUTS )". Here are some excerpts of what he wrote:

What is NUTS? NUTS is when you want to do something and you seek approval of a higher authority. When there is no rule saying that you can do such a thing, then the standard answer is NO ...

In the US, when there is no sign on the road, it means that you can make a U-turn. When the authority do not want people to make U-turns, they will put up signs to tell you not to make U-turns.

In Singapore, it is the reverse. When there is no sign on the road, you are not allowed to make U-turns. When the authority allow you to make U-turns, then they will put up signs to give you that right.

In Singapore, the no U-turn without sign culture has permeated every level of our thinking and every segment of our life. When there is no sign, we cannot U-turn. When there is no rule, we cannot do anything. We become paralyzed.

How can you innovate when you have to get approval of somebody who looks at a rule-book first? Such is the syndrome of NUTS. NUTS is everywhere in the society including schools, offices, hospitals, parks, factories and even in our homes. Yes, in Creative (Singapore) too.

"Creative Resource"- needed approval?
When our corporate headquarters were completed in 1997, we needed to give it a name. The placeholder name was Creative Technology Centre. Made sense, but it was a boring name that everybody had. I wanted a special name, because we are "creative". So the usual names like, "Creative Building, Plaza, Complex, House..." were suggested on the name list. I rejected all of them. Finally we came out with a very good name, "Creative Resource" - the source of all creativity - and everybody loved it. But wait, before we could go ahead, we had to submit the building name for approval. What! I was shocked. I needed somebody else"s approval for the name of my own building. By some faceless committee that I did not even know existed. Imagine having the name of your baby being approved by somebody you do not know. Hey, that is the regulation. OK, we submitted and no prize for guessing the right answer. The answer was NO. The reason given was that the name was not "Centre, Plaza, Building, Complex, House etc..." There was actually a list of approved names in the rulebook and we were only given the impression that we could name our own building. I nearly jumped through the roof when I heard the answer. It was a very typical case of NUTS. "Resource" was not in their rule book, hence the standard answer was NO. I was not going to give up on this right. So we fought back and wrote letters to appeal. Finally, after a long process, our name was approved. Whew!

See red

Thought I put together my snap shots over the last few years, from my personal collection of photos (of places, people, occasions, sightings, memories). Here's something bursting with bright vibrant auspicious colours for the chinese new year season.

Stop

The weather is getting hotter and hotter these few days, as CNY draws nearer. I have been enjoying the real strong gusty winds for the past month. This is so-called our winter period in our one-season Singapore. December was the coolest particularly 2008. How I wish we have this weather the whole year round, then people can keep their cool and never lose their temper.

Do you notice the white clouds or blue sky or the stop sign?

Not here nor there

At times, being stuck in between extreme ends of the paradox is quite exasperating.

Sometimes some people will ask me about a topic in regards to the metaphysics, fengshui etc.. why do this and that, how to do this and that. They appear very keen and desperate. I gave my reply (sometimes positive, sometimes negative) and ask them to seek professional advise instead. These people will digest and said OIC, thanks. Then next, word will come back to me, that someone has said "I think she is overly superstitious about such things. I only believe in myself." Fine, then why did they want to ask me in the first place, and when told about things he/she does not want to hear/accept, then said "I don't believe in it". Grrrr.

On the other end, I am very keen since I was a young student about metaphysics, fengshui, life reading, palm reading, numerology, astrology etc.. I read all the available books and topics I could find and tried to understand, both in English and miserably in Chinese. I do not profess to know everything as I am not a qualified professional. I am still learning everyday. I am a curious person by nature, especially when it comes to topics I have an interest in, so naturally I will tend to have more questions (if you ask me about the mechanics of a car, I would be pretty dumb and bochap). To give a simple example, we know the advantage of say, the symbolic significance of carrying an abacus is for more money to count. But I will want to know why use an abacus and not ingot, or coins etc.. or why put an abacus in location A instead of location B, etc.. I do not have any intention to contradict what was transversed in this trained field. I just want to know the logic behind it. If you want to buy a Mercedes, for example, you would find out all the necessary information about that model and do your research properly before purchase. Or if you are interested in music, you would study or explore all the opportunities to learn about music.

So sometimes, I find being stuck in between quite contrary, being "knowing slightly more" than the newcomer, and being "knowing nothing" compared to the professional. Exasperating.

That angel

How many of you remembered Charlie's Angels (I mean the very first series)? I was a kid when this popular American TV series was shown. Then my favourite Charlie's Angel was Jaclyn Smith. My 4th aunt asked me and sis which angel we liked. I picked Jaclyn, sis picked Farrah Fawcett and 4th aunt liked Kate Jackson.

To me, Jaclyn was the most elegant, sexy and beautiful among the angels (Kate Jackson was too tomboyish, Farrah Fawcett/Cheryl Ladd were blonds). I liked Jaclyn's wavy thick hair, a true blue brunette. I liked her piercing eyes and her smile which was mostly a seductive half-smile. She was my Ang-Moh idol and role model then. Very womanly with a confident voice. Frankly I forgot what the show was about and the episodes but I watched the show just to watch her. Then, I also remembered her beautiful little kids too, a son and daughter.

Now Jaclyn is already in her 60s, and wow, she has aged beautifully. Today I suddenly remembered her, that was why this post. At that time, I wished she had been the Wonder Woman instead of Lynda Carter. Yeah, nice to remember those few idols in my childhood days...

Which season are you?

We can be divided into "seasons", depending on our skin tone.

"Winter" complexion
Have blue or pink undertones, your skin will probably be porcelain or pale white, or yellowish-olive, or dark. Winter people are generally brunettes, with deeply colored eyes. Many Asians and African Americans fall into this category. Winters should wear colors that are sharp, stark and clear. Colours that suit winter tones include white, black, navy blue, red, hot pink, crisp white and most pastel shades. Earth tones, mid-browns, beige, orange and gold are best avoided, as they would make you look faded and ashen.

"Summer" complexion
Like winter complexions, "summer" have blue or pink undertones. Skin is pale and pink. Summers are often natural blondes or brunettes with pale eyes. Summers should choose pastels and soft neutrals with rose and blue undertones. Lavender, plum, rose-brown and soft blue suit summers well while black and orange do not. Summers have a low level of contrast between their hair and eye colours and skin tone. For you to look your best, choose soft neutrals and pastels, as well as muted colours with cool undertones. Powder blue, dusty pink, mauve, lavender, plum, and pale yellow are all great colour choices. Avoid intense, vivid hues because they will look harsh. Earth tones, black and orange will also drown out your skin colour.

"Autumn" complexion
Have golden undertones. Many redheads and brunettes with golden brown eyes fall into this category. Autumns should select colors with golden undertones, like camel, beige, orange, gold and dark brown. Autumns can wear both earthy and rich golden, spicy warm colours such as camel, beige, olive, orange, grey, gold, and dark brown. You will also look great in a rich warm grey. Stay away from clear, bright colours and black and white, and most shades of blue and pastels which will make your look tired and faded. Also steer clear of pastels and blue tones, which will look cold against your complexion and give you a pale appearance.

"Spring" complexion
Have golden undertones and are usually creamy white or peach. Spring people generally have straw-colored or strawberry red hair, freckles, rosy cheeks, and blue or green eyes. Springs can wear warm colors like camel, peach, golden yellow and golden brown. Avoid dark, dull colors. Springs can wear warm colors like camel, peach, golden yellow, golden brown and aqua. They also look good in ivory, bright greens, true reds, clear blues and coral. Avoid colours that are too dull and muted or too dark. Avoid black and white, which are also too contrasting.

I compared all my self portraits. After so many years of thinking I am dark and yellowish in skin colour, I finally realise I am a "Winter" type. I am not really a "Summer" as my skin is not pale white but has pink undertones. I am not an "Autumn" or "Spring" as I do NOT have golden undertones (or as Chinese say, "yellowish skin"). I have PINK undertones.

When I started working many years ago, I got to know a doctor who specialised in aesthetics. When I met him for a business meeting, he told me that I have warm tones (meaning Autumn and Spring types). He said hence I should wear all the earthy colours like khaki, green, brown, gold and beige.

However, now then I realised he was wrong. I am the opposite. Maybe it was because I was pretty tanned and darker in my younger days. I have wasted so many years wearing the wrong colours. But because I did discovered I looked good in brighter colours like ruby red, sapphire blue, hot pink, emerald green, snow white and pastel colours. I only do not personally like black.

Hence I am Winter.

11

A quiz from Facebook "What is your lucky number?" Somehow I don't think it is that accurate and don't think my lucky number is 11. I am more closer to 4 or 3 or 6.

You are a lucky person in life and love.

You are a caring and compassionate person and

that will come back to you in one way or another.

Things may be hard at times, but it will get better.

Green fingers

My aunt loves fauna and flora and she has a big garden growing all kinds of plants and shrubs. For the last few months, my aunt specially grew this big pot of plant for me and she just gave it to me the other day. I like it as it looks so strong, healthy and green, and it is always nice to receive gifts of flowers or pots of plants. I need wood!

I am quite sure I have a lil' of green fingers too. My collection of plants are growing steadily and heathily in the house. This is all thanks to the bright morning sun my plants enjoy in the living room everyday. The rest of the other plants are outside my house, and they enjoy the breezy wind as well. In my old house, I used to grow just 3 pots outside the house. The interior was impossible to grow any plants because there was no sun and air was stifled. Thank God I now have the morning sun (and not afternoon sun) in my new house, so I can enjoy this gardening hobby.

I do not allow my parents to touch my plants. Because somehow the plants will always end up withered or die. Whenever I am overseas, my parents had to water the plants. Somehow they always water too much or too little. And my poor plants were usually a goner by the time I am back.

Huat lah!

I took this photo when I was passing by a Chinese restaurant in Upper Thomson. This was the wall outside the restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised because rarely would a Chinese restaurant decorate and paint the place in a black theme. So I found it quite different. Normally they are in bright colours like red and gold. May we all huat ah!

Getting ready

This year, we are slightly early in putting up the CNY decorations. They were up since last Saturday lunar 15th of the 12th month. Yes we view CNY as very important compared to Christmas as it is welcoming a new year. This is the first year of celebrating CNY in my new house, there were many corners I could put up the decorations, as there were a lot of space and variations. However, I try to make it just tastefully done (and not-too-cheena) when I decorate my place with the CNY stuff.

In my living room I put a huge fan decor with the one character of 招财进宝 against my dark green wall above my sofa. Somehow the huge fan did not looked so huge against my huge wall. Inside my main door I put up a round 财神爷 decor with lots of ingots and 8 chinese coins and the words 吉祥如意. Above my main door was the mantra plaque with many mantras blessed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Outside my main door entrance, I put up a 五福临门 banner which can supposedly luminate in the dark. Also there is a 春 decor on my exterior main door. I think they looked nice together with my plants and golden gate and semi-circle door mat.

In my living room corner coffee table, is my Laughing Buddha with a money plant and a family portrait. There is also my prosperity plant with red ribbons on it, with the 恭喜发财 decor above. In my parents room, there is a 大吉 decor (with a 金童玉女) at the corner window, flanked by a photo of them and red flowers. On their bedroom door I pasted a 福 and a 花开富贵 on my bedroom door.

Next very importantly, on top of my water feature, I pasted a big picture of a round and laughing 财神爷 with the words 财神到 and 福旺财旺运气旺 as well as 家兴人兴事业兴. Nine small elephants are lined up in a row bathing in the pond with their trunks up. More ingots and chinese coins are in a big pot in the living room, as well as my big money plant, bamboo shoot plant, and 福 tissue boxes, as well as a golden frame of abacus and 6 coins and the golden rice bowl filled 满 with real rice. I even pasted a 福 above my kitchen stove!

I have a few more couplets not put up yet and the perishables CNY goodies, we would only buy when nearer to CNY. Other than that, I think we are almost ready for CNY.

Operational lingo

Saw the below instructions on the back of a pack of DIY jewellery acrylic stickers for cellphones.

Operation Method:

1. Please remove dirty and dust on the surface when stick.

2. Please tear the cell-phone which stick the back of the sticker.

3. Take down it from paper card and please pay attention to not being injured.

4. After stick on the cell-phone, it needs 30 minutes that sticker could be totally fixed.

5. When sticker is assaulted by brute force, acrylic will come off from the cell-phone. Please take down carefully.

6. It is not the products stuck on the skin directly. The person with sensitive skin will cause skin it ching and inflammation. So please don't stick it on the skin directly.

7. Please place the products on the place where children be unable to get.

I take heart this is NOT Made In Singapore. Think my niece can write better than this. Didn't know a sticker can assaulted by brute force and cause skin it ching. O_O

Kedai Kue Kue

My family likes one cake from Kedai Kue Kue, their signature cake called Srikaya Steamed Cake. Kedai Kue Kue is a bakery cum F&B cafe specialising in authentic Indonesian cakes and kueh kueh. They sell a wide variety of kueh like Ang Ku Kue, Onde Onde, Sago Melaka, and Kue Pisang etc... Cakes they have Kueh Lapis, Lapis Surabaya, Nanut, Pandan Cake, etc.. and for cookies, they have the CNY favourites like pineapple tarts, almond cookies, makmur, cashew pistachio cookies, Kue Bangkit etc.. they even sell different types of crackers like Keropok Udang and Emping and more.

The Srikaya Steamed Cake we like so much is a dark brown cake made from gula (brown sugar). Despite its humble looks, the taste is actually very unique and very fragrant. To me it's a happy substitute to Kueh Lapis or any other butter cakes. And coincidentally, they have opened an outlet in Changi Airport as well, so that tourists can buy and pack their kueh kueh before going home. This, to me, is another happy substitute to Bengawan Solo, the Nonya cake and kueh shop we are so used to.

They have a dine-in cafe in Bugis Junction which, besides selling their kueh kueh, they have a small area for you to dine in, serving a few hot meals like Dry Mee Siam, Nasi Goreng, Nasi Uduk and Gado Gado. I tried their Nasi Goreng once, with chicken wings, otah, fried egg, keropok, ikan bilis and cucumber with a dash of sambal belacan. The rice is soft, more towards steamed rather than the harder fried rice type. I think this dish is nothing to shout about, just something to fill my stomach. I think they should just focus on their kueh kueh and cakes instead.

Besides serving kuehs and cookies, they also serve a wide variety of drinks, from Cafe Latte to Teh Botol. And an unique drink with a local twist got to be the ice blended Chendol Frappe, if you are interested.

Or you can get your CNY goodies from there too.

Elephants everywhere

Wonder have you notice, this year I seem to see a lot of elephants around, being sold in the shops. Wooden elephant statues, brass elephants, jade elephants, stone elephants in all kinds of sizes, shapes, postures and designs. It can be due to religious purpose, or feng shui purpose or just purely elephants are such cute animals. Or maybe the traditional Qi Lin, Dragon, Fu Dog, Dragon Tortoise etc.. have become too common, they ran out of ideas what to promote (there are even Rhinocerous being sold too). This year it seemed many advocate the use of elephants. Strange phenomena.

I found online this write up about elephants:

The elephant is a sacred animal for many oriental cultures and carries a great amount of symbolism. It also is one of the sacred treasures of Buddha, and according to Buddhism it is a celestial animal. It is seen as a representation of morals and dignity as well as it can help people having good luck.

According to the oriental traditions and feng shui, the elephant symbolizes power, strength, wisdom and longevity. This allows feng shui practitioners to combine this symbolism with some of the bagua map life areas in order to enhance them. For example, whenever the career bagua area needs to be enhanced, a feng shui practitioner can recommend placing an elephant since it would help through the attraction of wisdom and power to that part of the house.

In feng shui, elephants are also used as house keepers and guardians. This way, their powers can be used in combination. Whenever a person needs to attract power or maintain it within their office, they can place an elephant near the front door since it would not only help him achieving it but also keeping him and the power he gains safe.

Symbolic elephants can also be used according to the materials and elements they contain in their structure in order to achieve the proper balance within an environment. This way, whenever one of the five main elements (earth, water, wood, fire and metal) is needed in order to harmonize a space as well as strength, power or wisdom are needed, placing an elephant which contains it can be a great solution.

The elephant’s characteristic of being sacred has its origins by being the animal that would bring flowers and carry the gem of wishes to Buddha. Elephants are very important animals not only for Buddhism and feng shui but also for the oriental cultures in general. Elephants carry a very wide range of different symbolism, from wisdom, good luck, power and carefulness to longevity, and oriental cultures are very respectful for them due to such symbolism as well as to its characteristic of being sacred.

I took the above photo of elephants and their backside in Chiangmai Thailand (hehehe). Personally I like elephants, especially those which are white in colour, in sitting position with trunks high up.

And it sounds hilarious, I actually indirectly derived my moniker, STUMPBO, from DUMBO, Walt Disney's famous flying elephant character. Do you remember DUMBO, with huge ears that fly and a cheery character? Well, I am not dumb, I am just stumped with things around me most of the time, so hence I am STUMPBO.

Cut throat

Once I was sourcing to buy a gift for someone and wanted to find a unique namecard holder.

Came across a cart stall in City Hall area selling namecard holders, pendants and other accessories with the option to customise the name on a metal plate for each item.

I saw a namecard holder similar to this one on the right picture, and asked if it was made of leather. The sales girl said "We won't be selling this price if it is leather". I thought it was a rather untactful way of saying it was PVC and a tad too bochap/rude. The price ranges from $19.90 to $49.90. And to add on the name on a small metal plate costs $10. The quality of the PVC was also not that refined. However, as I was in a hurry to get a gift, I chose the cheapest $19.90 one plus $10 for name customisation. Almost $30 for the (damn) PVC gift.

A few days later while I was grocery shopping in Mustafa, I chanced upon the same namecard holder I bought earlier. There were many of them all stacked up in the box and it costs only $4.50 each! I was pretty disgusted and disappointed. I wouldn't have minded spending $50 if it was made of leather and paid even a little bit more for name customisation, but the PVC one was totally not up to quality. Imagine how much the business-minded retailers profitted out of these and at such a low cost (probably the cost price is only about $3.00 or less).

Please, all retailers, if you would like to sell something at a cut-throat price, then please make sure it is really unique and of good quality, something extraordinary, something out of this world that your client would not find in a pasar malam stall.

As for my own name card holder, I found an ordinary metal one from Daiso at $2 each. And I even pasted my own customised silver metal nameplate (left picture) on my $2 namecard holder. And I think it looks real (damn) nicer than the $30 PVC one.

She

This is my 10 year-old niece. She is such a soft spoken and mild-mannered darling. She likes her sweet desserts like ice cream and milk shake. She likes her sashimi too. She likes to read. She draws and makes cards for people. She makes little accessories out of beads and what-nots, for herself, for adults and even for charity. She does all sorts of any handicraft stuff. She makes her own CNY decorations. She guides her little brother with homework. She likes to help her grandmother bake cheesecake, huat kueh and cookies. She likes to go supermarket shopping for groceries. She helps me peel potatoes, wash vegetables and cook tang yuan. She can even cook a meal of porridge with ingredients for the whole family.

What more can we ask for in an obedient 10-year-old girl/daughter/grand-daughter/niece? We should just enjoy her little girly moments now and hope she does not grow up too fast.

用心去感受

This is written by The Little Nyonya, Jeanette. I guess they are her feelings right now. Actually no matter if it is regarding feedback or other stuff which has affected her, I think she is right. Some things are best left unsaid.

These are her thoughts.

我原本想说一些话
但又不知道该从何说起
最后决定
还是不说了
有时候无声的角落更为响亮
有时候真的只需要用心去听用心去感受
有时候说的话未必是想表达的意思
有时候安静也能感到快乐

a million and one thoughts run through my mind
type
delete
type
delete
type
delete
...
so maybe
just maybe
i've deleted every single thought in my mind
i like it that i keep my mind clear and simple
i like it that some things are kept in my heart
i like it that i am able to respect that of myself
i like it that i am who i am

And my thoughts are ...... we may have the best of both worlds, but we would never realise the most important thing to us till much later, how much has been given to us, how much did we really appreciate of people or opportunities or how much we really felt when someone has sacrificed something to give you something, even one minute of their time.

Sometimes silence is golden, sometimes silence is not. It is only when we lose something, or when we are down in the dumps then we realise and remember those people or events in our past which has left an impression in our hearts. Feel with your heart, and conscience and then remember, how your heart has once been touched. And let that memory touch your heart again. 用心去感受.

Happy Birthday, girl girl!

Today is niece's birthday. She is a decade old today. Time flies.

We went to Miss Clarity restaurant to celebrate. Niece picked the restaurant herself as she heard me telling her before "next time we go try". I went Miss Clarity restaurant once but I forgot what I ate, was it escargot or chicken and some apple pudding for dessert? Miss Clarity Restaurant has a bright colourful predominantly pink theme, with a young gal as their mascot and they serve Western food. Everything in the restaurant was colourful from the lime green, yellow, red tables and chairs to the menus, lamps, cutlery to the wall murals featuring Miss Clarity herself. Notice how nephew's shirt today seemed to blend in very well with the yellow chair and table. Even their delivery van outside was so bright and cheery that I had to ask niece to pose beside it.

Despite its kiddish theme, the food was actually ok and price reasonable. From clockwise, we had the Pumpkin soup, the Dory Fillet, Fish & Chippy, Roast Chicken, Chicken with Shitake Mushrooms, Porky with Onions, Oxtail Stew with Rice, and Spagetti. One of the desserts we tried which was very delightful was Mud Ooozz, a hot mud pie with ice cream on top.

Happy Birthday, girly. Hope you like the pressie I gave you. ;)

Goreng me?

As today Friday was the start of weekend, I attempted to cook my first Mee Goreng for dinner - with ready-made paste of course. Mee Goreng is a popular malay-indian dish in Singapore. However I do prefer the Punggol Mee Goreng, owned by the Chinese.

I made do with whatever ingredients I could find in the fridge which were stuff you normally include in Mee Goreng. I chopped up all the ingredients into small cubes; tomatoes, onions, potatoes, cabbage into thin slices, shelled prawns, sliced pork, carrots, peas and corn, and cracked 4 eggs and had them beaten.

Then I heat up the wok with oil, and fried the beaten eggs till it was slightly cooked before I threw in all the other ingredients. Then I stir fried them, before adding the pork and prawns. Another 2 minutes later I added the yellow noodles and fry them for a few minutes. The final step was to add in the mee goreng paste and water. I prayed the way the noodles would turned out would be what it looked like from the recipe box. It turned out better looking than I expected - a bit moist (which was what I like my mee goreng to be) and with lots of ingredients. I cooked 2 batches of the mee goreng.

Overall taste was not too bad I guess, since it was my first attempt and I did not have to do anything with the seasoning (with the ready paste). My main little grouse was the taste of the dish tasted a little powdery - maybe because I added the Extra Hot Chilli Powder which was included in the box. And the other thing was, it would have tasted even better if the noodles had a little "burnt" taste, like those selling outside using a huge hot wok and fire. Otherwise, I think it was passable, full proof lah.

I am thinking of frying Char Kway Teow next .... ahem...

Chinatown shopping

These are the stuff you see when you visit Chinatown during this period - everything is targeting at the Chinese New Year crowd of course. There are many rows and rows of shops and stalls and the crowd is growing bigger and bigger as the CNY draws nearer. They are peddling all the stuff people buy for CNY - food stuff, clothes, flowers/plants, decorative stuff etc. However I do not think that all the stalls are doing that great a business due to the economic crisis. The people are just there to soak up the atmosphere and perhaps to feel the festive mood. Of course tourists find it a delight to shop and enjoy the festive sight too.

I normally visit Chinatown at least once during the CNY period with a friend but I forgot if I went last year. Although I may not buy anything, it is a habit for me to visit Chinatown during CNY.

And normally when I am there, I will drop in to this restaurant called Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee Hoon, for their said specialty. The bee hoon is served with big chunks of fish or fish head, and together with the milky soup which has a taste of XO in it. I like it because of the XO and I will finish every single drop of the soup. They also have fried kway teow with fish (San Lao Horfun) and other ala carte dishes like Prawn Paste Chicken, Sambal KangKong, Prawn Rolls, Fried Beansprouts etc.

This time I also tried the fried Sambal Shell Fish (tua tao) too. Somehow since 2 years ago, I find their standard has dropped a little. Still it has become a habit to patronise this restaurant whenever I am in Chinatown. And old habits die hard.