MIA

What a beautiful dreamy morning, with hardly any clouds and the weather cool at around 27°C. Usually the hot spell nowadays hovers around 34°C! I am basking in the rare comfort of the cool and happy weather. And it makes me happy!

These few days, I am in a contented and relaxed mood. After a hiatus of many months (or was it a year?) of "self-imposed isolation", meaning not much interaction with the outside world of friends and activities, I am slowly beginning to get out of that state. When I want to do a little soul searching, I go "MIA", meaning no one knows where I go, what I am doing and how is my situation. I just minded my own business and went about doing my own things. It is what I called, giving myself breathing space.

Sometimes things happened so fast that you do not have the chance to think. Sometimes people you meet and talk to, leave you with more question marks. With my gut feeling, if there are "question marks" encountered, more often than not, it is a warning sign to me to steer clear of these people and their intentions. Even people whom were friends and whom I doted so much. Or people who were strangers and just appeared and gone from my life. Sometimes people you meet may have some disagreements with you, or things happened that makes you boil inside, or you get scolding for nothing. Sometimes these people antagonise you so much. Whenever things are not smooth like these, I will avoid or walk away or go "MIA". Sometimes it is not only me who went MIA, sometimes others also do have the tendency to go MIA. Take a break, buddy.

I am slowly bouncing back. Many friends, some long-lost ones, have touched base with me, and it was a refreshing experience to catch up again. A friend who called me "honey beez", wrote to me about the big gathering. I said I would catch up with her soon. Another whom I have not seen for more than 10 years, he is now working in IBM and is asking to meet up for coffee. There is another friend whom I have not seen for 2 years I need to catch up with, and to see her dog. There are so many others that it will probably take me till the end of the year to catch up with individually. I am the sort who prefers to meet friends on a one-to-one basis rather than in a group. Because in a group, you cannot have a heart-to-heart talk. To me, that defeats the purpose of "catching up".

BTW, congratulations to Karen Cheng on the arrival of her 3rd boy, Liam!!! It was not easy to conceive this child, but all turned out well and good. Such a cute and adorable boy!!!

Sometimes when we touch (base)

I am very busy meeting up with people from the past. 有缘千里来相会,无缘对面不相逢. It's my belief that those whom I have the fate to know in life, and to meet up yet again and again, are connected to me somehow or another from past lives. And I value this kind of affinity.

Met up with an ex-colleague last week, and had a good time catching up with her for 4 hours. We have not met each other for maybe 6 months. Although she is in the process of finding another new job, she did not have any regrets leaving the ex-company. Times are bad, hence the pressure is especially hard for sales people, who are accountable for the sales figures of the company.

One of my temp staff who worked for me for about 2-3 weeks, also sent me a message, wanting to meet up. She is just 20 years old, pretty and sweet. She is currently having her industrial attachment. I remembered her performance met my standards last time. I believe she will do well when she graduates. Another ex-staff, who is dealing with wines now, also sent her regards.

Another colleague who was in marketing, also emailed me. We have not met for almost 2 years. We would meet this week. Glad that she is doing well too, enjoying motherhood and travelling. We used to have such fun at work, while she was handling marketing programs for us sales people.

Chatted with another colleague who was in marketing as well. We have not met for 5 years! Well, I was in my ex-company for many years, hence I saw so many generations of people who came and went. So we have many different groups of people from different "eras". She was one of my closest colleagues in the company, but somehow we lost contact, till now. We would be meeting up this week.

This week, I am also meeting another group of 6 ex-colleagues from the earlier eras, as well as another 2 of my favourite sales guys. I will forgo another outing with another group because there are simply too many gatherings and people to meet up. I actually KIV-ed a few other meetings with people, some of which I have not met for more than 10 years!

It is really a warm feeling when we touch base with the people who were part of our lives a long time ago, a part of our past, reconnecting with the past. And I am glad they remembered me.

Let me dedicate this song to my ex-colleagues, especially to Ah Mich, who loves this song by Olivia Ong. See you soon, my dear! I miss you too!

Cinnamon roll lover

Today was raining cats and dogs. And I was on the road when the rain came suddenly and just poured and poured. Hence I was stuck at Rail Mall in Bukit Timah. The row of shops along Rail Mall were mostly cafes and restaurants, with a furniture shop, a dental clinic, a spa and an organic shop. I would have gone into one of the cafes if I was not that full.

There was also Cold Storage. So I went in instead. One thing I liked about premium supermarkets was, there were many other brands and items which were not available in local supermarkets catered to the masses, like NTUC Fairprice, Sheng Siong, Carrefour and Giant. I like premium supermarkets like Meidiya Supermarket, Jason's Market Place, Fairprice Finest and Cold Storage, although their prices were also a little "premium".

At the bread section, I discovered these bagel chips by NYC Bagel Factory. I normally do not like bagels because I found them hard and dry. I prefer my bread soft. But since these bagel chips were made in cinnamon raisin flavour, then it was a different matter. I love cinnamon rolls! The bagel chips were not too big in size, and they were baked till crispy, lightly coated with little sugar, raisins and a taste of cinnamon. To me, they were like cookies for tea time. I liked this crunchy cinnamon snack with its cute packaging.

Then immediately on the same shelf, I saw Cinnamon Rolls by Five Loaves! Let me reiterate ... I LOVE Cinnamon rolls! This was an alternative to the cinnamon rolls from the cafes which cost at least $2.80 per piece. This whole bag of 6 cinnamon rolls was $4.55. Of course there was defintely a difference. The usual cinnamon roll just melted in your mouth because it was so soft with lots of cinnamon powder all over. Whereas this, was more of bread. Nonetheless, I was happy with this find today.

I recalled having the superb mini cinnamon rolls in Dubai a few months ago. The brand was Cinnabon, a worldwide chain selling different types of cinnamon rolls. It was sweet, exquisitely soft, and utterly heaven. Makes me drool thinking of them right now. Yummy.

Soup Kambing

I had been wanting to have the popular Kambing Soup at the market in Upper Boon Keng Road (near Kallang MRT) for some time. The indian stall had been closed for renovation for almost a year and had reopened just before CNY, but I did not have the chance to patronise the stall till this weekend.

I seldom take kambing soup but this one was quite good. Normally I would not take mutton, because in most places, the mutton sold usually had a strong smell. Likewise in this stall, I did not take the meat. It was not that particularly tender as well. I only liked to drink the soup, which was full of flavour with its spices, thick gravy that was not too oily. And usually we would order a plate of toasted bread in bite-size pieces to dip in the gravy. You must drink the soup while it was still hot. It was especially delicious if taken on a cool rainy day. The people at the stall were not exactly very friendly, I must say. Perhaps the 4-5 helpers there were too busy serving their popular soup.

‘世上只有穷人，没有丑人'

Plastic surgeon, Alex Tan, in Perfect Cut 2, swears by "世上只有穷人，没有丑人". And 只有懒人! “There is no ugly person in this world, only poor and lazy people". Besides having constructive surgery to beautify ourselves, indeed sometimes paying a little attention to our makeup or dress can make a world of difference.

I saw this picture from another blog. It is a contest among 9 ordinary women for a makeover. Within 12 hours they were transformed from plain janes to woolala attractive women. Their "before" and "after" photos were worlds apart. BTW, the second lady from left won the contest.

Of course there were detractors who said the way the ladies were transformed were not exactly natural, that they were wearing wigs, or had artificial stuff on their faces and bodies. Some even said the ladies were made up as modern-day "Frankenstein Barbies". In local context, perhaps some Singaporeans would call them "ah gua" lookalikes?

Nonetheless, a little external help is always welcome, and can prove to be a great boost in how good we can feel. Just don't overdo it. Goes to show besides finding our unique X-factor within us, we can complement our inner beauty with some external touch up and grooming as well. Sometimes, when we look good and feel good on the outside, it makes us a little bit more confident on the inside, and hence a little happier? Kinda makes you wanna call Dr Alex Tan .... er... Dr Georgia Lee or Jean Yip right away, right?

And how extensively "beautiful" you want to be, depends on how much lottery you strike, right?

Earth Hour

Today 28 March 2009, at 8:30PM local time (about 9 hours from now) wherever you live on planet earth, it is time to switch off your lights to support this campaign.

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.

For the first time in history, people worldwide have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.

VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.

Earth Hour 2009 - Sign up for Earth Hour!

Mickey mouse quizzes

Like many people who are still getting used to the stupid new template layout of Facebook, I also took a few of the 1001 quizzes available, just for the fun of it. Here are some of the quizzes I took, my results and what I think.

What nationality are you?
Your result is French.
You like the special and magnificent! Whatever it is, if it is outstanding, you like it, just watch out; others might think you are arrogant.
What I think?
Mon dieu! (my god!)...erm... I actually dislike the French, because of personal experiences in Paris and Monte Carlo. And I 'die die' won't become a French citizen because then I can't speak English with pride (call me proud then). But I do like things that are outstanding and special in my standards. Merci beaucoup. 10% accurate.

Where Should You Be Living?
Your result is New York
You love the busy city life. You want to be able to go out at any hour of the day or night and find an awesome place to eat. You are also very fashionable and are dedicated to your job! You also don't mind extreme temperatures and humidity. You should be living in New York!
What I think?
Another shocker. I thought I'm made for the countryside as I dislike the hectic city life. I like places like Nepal or Bhutan or any countryside in England and Scotland. But then again, being brought up in Singapore, I guess we are all city-oriented, city-trained, city-clothed, city-efficient. Pity that I love the 4 seasons. I supposed if I were to stay in an ulu village/kampong/suburb for 3 months, I had be dead bored. I need a place where food is easily accessible! NYDC here I come! More likely 50-50%.

Which Disney character are you?
Your result is Mickey Mouse
You're a fun-loving person with a great amount of care for friends and family. Everyone likes you and you easily make friends and cheer people up quickly.
What I think?

Haha! True, true, true, true and true! Maybe just the "easily make friends" part, now once bitten twice shy. I will assess the character more carefully if I like the person. 99% accurate.

Which President are you?
Your result is "Ike" Eisenhower
A natural born leader. Your friends often look to you for advice. You are careful with your money, but willing to spend a little if it is a good investment. Though labeled as a "fighter", you are truly a leader, and are capable of mobilizing lots of people.

What I think?

Yes, I've been 'bestowed' leading roles many a time, when I was young(er), so much so I got a little tired, but other than this I supposed I could mobilize the nation if need be (haha). And friends look for me for advice because I am a listener. Only the money part, I am actually a spendthrift. 88% accurate.

Who Is Your Soulmate?

Your result is Belongs With Someone With Rhythm
Your future lover should be someone with talent. Someone who can juggle your busy schedule and make it work. You guys have something extremely important in common in your life.
What I think?

I took this quiz because I have not found my soulmate. Yes there is an extremely important criteria we've got to have in common. I don't need someone who can "dance or sing", but yes I would think rhythm means "same wavelength", having some kind of telepathy, and not getting misunderstood easily. 90% accurate KIV.

What Career is Most Suitable for Your Personality?

Your result is A Sales Person!
You have the gift of advertising and selling! This may sound like a low paying job, but trust me, if you sell top of the line products, you could make millions! Try to get with people that you know sell wonderful products and don't be afraid to start small.
What I think?

Bingo! That's what I am my whole life. All my life, my job has been something to do with "my mouth" for a living. I don't know if it suits me, but then I couldn't do anything else lah. And it's where the money is. 100% accurate.

Dr. Phil's Personality Test

Your result is The Lively Center of Attention.
Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced, not one to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.
What I think?

This sounds interesting so I did a search. He is Dr Philip Mcgraw, a popular psychologist. Dr Phil designed this test with the help of several psychologists and introduced it on the Oprah Winfrey show. It is supposedly one of the most accurate psychological assessments in the world and consists of 10 simple questions. Dr. Phil himself scored a 55, while Oprah scored a 38. I scored a 43. The both extremes are those scoring above 60 (being self-centered, dominant and vain) and below 20 (being shy, indecisive and a nervous wreck). So I guess I'm pretty in-between.

Which Hollywood actress are you?
Your result is Catherine Zeta Jones!
You have got it all: the undeniably gorgeous looks, the talent and the intelligence. Besides being every red-blooded male's fantasy thanks to roles in The Mask of Zorro and Entrapment, You also are an A-list actress and Hollywood royalty.
What I think?
Aiyoh, great! I love this sexy woman! Haha!

The beauty lies within (no lies)

In the series Perfect Cut 2, actress Phyllis Quek was Joey, a manager in a modelling agency, a super career woman who was aloof, no-nonsense, elegant and sophisticated. She did a good job in this character which was real and convincing. Phyllis has matured with this role in a good way. Her acting was pretty natural, portraying a character with spunk.

Phyllis' aloofness in that character and her looks reminded me of my form teacher cum vice-principal in secondary school days, Mrs Ng. Mrs Ng, probably in her mid to late 30s then, was a beautiful teacher who could not accept any nonsense. Being the VP and disciplinarian, she got to ensure she was strict enough in order to command the respect from the students. She seldom smiled. But when she did, she was a beautiful lady, alright. I remembered she taught us Maths and my golly, I was poor in Maths. Always in class, I would be day dreaming, or consciously auto-switched off. I was always trying desperately to concentrate in subjects like Maths and Science, but my heart was not in them. So during those classes, I was pretty stressed trying to focus. Mrs Ng called me to answer a question once, and as I stood up, I was completely blank. So instead of saying I did not know the answer, I just said we needed the calculator to know that answer. Surprisingly, she did not scold me, she said ok. Wow! I was let off, and I was so disbelievingly relieved, while my fellow classmates shot me that incredulous look. Hehehe. You see, I was pretty blessed in the sense that, throughout my school life, most teachers doted on me. Perhaps because I was very well-behaved, a bit "wooden" and innocent. (^o^)

Anyway, as I was trying to say, age need not necessarily be a bad thing for women. I believe, like men, women also do age like fine wine as well. I observed many "mature" women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, as they get older (compared to their teens or 20s), there is a certain attractiveness and growing allure and aura surrounding them. Ask many a steady/sensible man, he would prefer the woman with a certain charisma that develops with age, and not just a "manja" immature sweet young thing who can pose more of a headache. Looks aside, it is the woman who maintains herself and carries herself well, with a certain special confidence that makes her attractive.

We as human beings, tend to place emphasis on outward appearance, rather than the heart. The ones with bestowed external beauty, are somehow "more noticeable", or rather, first impressions count. But they may not necessarily last. Anyhow, it is hard to be persuaded that true beauty lies within.

So regardless of whether internal or external beauty, we can grow beautiful with age. We should tap on our experiences, our feelings, our confidence, our peace of mind, to find that X-factor unique to each of us. I guess that is what makes us beautiful.

Boiled pig trotters black bean soup

I have blogged before that I have been CRAVING for Black Bean Soup for like umpteen years. It has been umpteen months since and yet, Mom still have not made this soup. Fed up, I decided to boil it myself although I have not tried before. I liked the taste of black beans in soup, because it made the soup a little musky (or shall I call it "sticky" instead?) in taste. I had it last time and I loved it. I searched for a recipe from the internet. I know Mom mentioned must use Pig's Tail for this soup, but I could not find Pig's Tail in the supermarket, so I settled for Pig Trotters and the Front Hock instead. Here is my improvised version.

Ingredients:
About 600g of pig trotters & meat

1 cup of black beans

1.5 tbsp of dried longan

1 tbsp red dates (with core removed)

1 tbsp wolfberry seeds (gou qi zi)

Few slices of ginger (crushed a little)

Method :
1. Wash and soak black beans for an hour (ideally it should be left overnight)

2. Wash dried longan, red dates and ginger.
3. Stir-fry black beans over low heat until shells break. Dish & wash.
4. Simmer pig trotters in boiling water for 5 mins. Drain & wash.
5. Pour water into pot till 3/4 full. Add all ingredients. Bring to boil again. Then simmer over low heat for 3-4 hrs. Add dash of salt．

(Note: On the 2nd hour, take out the trotters and remove the skin from the meat and discard the skin. Then put the meat back into the pot to continue boiling).

I removed the skin because I was afraid the soup would become very oily afterwards. But it was still ok. I thought the meat from the pig trotters were supposedly more tender and would taste nice with the soup, rather than the usual pork ribs. At the end of it, my Black Bean Soup was ready! And it tasted very sweet, that I hardly needed to add much salt. I think I must be a closet Cantonese because I love all kinds of double-boil soups.

Nutritional Value And Functions:
1.The soup is good for the spleen, kidneys, spinal cord, heart, as well as replenish blood.
2. Black beans nourish blood, kidneys and the "yang", eliminate wind & help excretion．
3. Dried longan replenish blood & energy & has tranquilising effect.
4. Dates are good for the spleen, stomach & also relieve thirst.
5. Pigs trotters are rich in collagen, a protein (often found in beauty products) that is responsible for skin and muscle tone.

Malaysia-style Bak Kut Teh

I cooked this Bak Kut Teh for the first time. I had bought this Bak Kut Teh spice in satchets from Malaysia sometime back. The brand was Success 9. I like Bak Kut Teh from Malaysia as they were different from Singapore's style Bak Kut Teh. Malaysia style was darker and more herby and strong in taste, compared to Singapore's peppery flavour. Malaysia Bak Kut Teh also has more ingredients like pork ribs, mushrooms, taupok, beancurd skin and other innards. Singapore's Bak Kut Teh normally only come with just pork ribs.

I marinated about 1kg of big pork ribs. I saw we have got some fried beancurd skin at home so I cut them up as well, and also soaked a few chinese mushrooms. Then I got ready few cloves of garlic without removing the skin. After boiling the pork ribs once and sieved them, I prepared the big pot of water. I used 2 satchets of the Bak Kut Teh spice. And mixed all the ingredients into the pot to boil. Then I added some light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, oyster sauce and pepper. The kitchen began to be filled with a nice aroma of Bak Kut Teh. I tasted the perfumed concoction and it was very flavourful and the taste was strong. Perhaps I added too much sauce and because of the marinated pork ribs, so it was a little too salty. But overall, I like the taste which I could improve on the next time.

I also tried another simple dish - Mapo Tofu. I just needed tofu and minced pork. I chose egg tofu which was supposedly sweeter and firmer. I just needed to stir fry the minced pork till almost cooked and added the tofu as well as the mapo sauce. And in about 5 minutes, Mapo Tofu was ready.

Status change

A blind girl hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If only I could only see the world, I will marry you.'

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her, 'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?'

The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying:

'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, before they were yours, they were mine. '

This is how the human brain often works when our 'status changes'. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Temporary relief

I think a lot of people are going to be thankful for today. They will love today. Because it finally rained. After the hot spell these days, I was so happy when I see there was no morning sun today. There were dark skies and there was wind. Although I think this would be temporary because the hot sun would still come out again soon, at least it was a temporary relief. When it was burning hot, moods got agitated, we tire easily, tempers flared, and we do not think properly. So even a drop of rain was heaven.

How many times in life you had hoped for a temporary relief from something ..... for example, a temporary relief from busy work for time alone to check your thoughts, a temporary relief for a getaway holiday just to relax, a temporary relief in financial aid when times were really bad, a temporary relief from crying kids for a quiet time etc...

By the boat quay

As I was nearby, I went to the OCBC main branch office to make payment for my Robinson's card's overdue bill. I was still using the very old Robinsons card, the one which was not the OCBC-Robinsons card, so I did not need to pay subscription fees. Usually for any OCBC credit cards, we could make payment via any cash deposit machines or AXS machines. However for this Robinsons card, I was told by a counter staff a long time ago that I needed to pay personally at the counter or otherwise I should send a cheque by post. I could not do it through the ATM machines, I was told. That explained why I was always late in payment.

Then today in the queue, one bank officer came towards me, and when I told her what I intended to do, she said very politely she would show me how I could do it through the machine. I resisted and tried to explain I tried last time and was told I could not, particularly for this card. She assured me, and helped me deposit the payment through the machine without any hassle. I asked why did they told me I could not do so previously. I would like to compliment this lady for her good service and for being very patient. Now I know I could pay my bills timely with the machine nearby my house.

After that, I walked passed Boat Quay where all the restaurants and pubs were. I walked past Molly Malone's restaurant and was trying desperately to recall who was I with when I ate there umpteen years ago. And I still could not recall who. I liked the walk through all the old shophouses. I used to wine and dine there quite a number of years ago when I started working. The restaurants were so expensive then. I remembered my buddies and I used to patronise a Japanese restaurant there with a predominantly red decor theme. It has since closed down.

Next, I saw this particularly small and old building above the shophouse. The office on the upper floors used to be my Grandfather's company in the 1950s or 60s. My Grandfather used to deal with the import-export business. I remembered Mom told me in those days, she would visit my Grandfather's office to help out after she knocked off from work at the Police HQ. My mom was a civil servant all her life serving the Police Force. She told me she used to give her entire pay packet to my Grandfather every month, and my Grandfather would in turn, gave her a certain amount of pocket money for herself. Being the eldest, she had to help Grandfather in supporting her huge family of 11 siblings and extended families. I thought Mom was quite poor thing then.

A fool

Today I received a sms from a good friend whom I have not seen for some time. He said "Hey baby, I am planning lunch with XXX next wednesday, wanna join?" I replied "Sure baby" then added "but if I find out it is April Fool's joke, I am gonna kill you." Haha, we were used to joking like that. We were supposed to meet up on April's Fool day for lunch with another mutual friend of ours. It was nice to hear from him. He was a bubbly joker whose laughter was very infectious. A funny guy. I missed those times when we worked together. We in the sales and marketing team, used to be the so-called "elite" people in the company and the loudest in the office, because sales people mah, were naturally loud and boisterous, compared to the nerdy techies or the serious admin people. Hehehe.

I was amazed with the speed at which I replied "ok, on". A mere second. A mere second was how fast I used to reply people in sms. I got another email a week ago, from a Yahoo group mailing list of a group of friends. Yes we actually created a Yahoo group mailing list to let all these friends keep in touch with each other. It was a pretty good idea.

The big group was actually planning a get together soon. I had not reply .... yet. One thing about big group outing is, we tend to gather for small talk and to fool around with each other. I prefer one-to-one or two to really update or to have heart-to-heart chat. In normal circumstances, I supposed I would have agreed to go anyway. However this time, I did not reply. Maybe because I would meet some people whom I would not be that enthusiastic about.

I used to trust this person very much, closer than any confidante, and whom I had doted dearly. Because I thought we could be friends for life. But all I got in return was betrayal and cold treatment. It was this person who made me wake up, as I found out bitterly that my judgement of people had gone awry, and made me not to be too trusting towards people anymore. I always thought kindness begets kindness. But I was hurt that it did not turn out that way, and even more broken and insulted when it came from someone whom I had great faith in. I stooped that low in order to work things out, to patch things up. The person did nothing. Despite my efforts, I was not even considered a normal friend. Others were more important to this person. That was why I chose to walk away.

I had thought time would ease the pain of losing a friend. It was even more painful than confronting an enemy. But even after such a long period of time, whenever I think of this person, it was still painful. No apology. No efforts to seek reconciliation. Not even a birthday greeting from this person. Not even a shallow "hi" or artificial "how are you?" Even a very insignificant person to me, remembered me and bothered to keep in touch.

I was that fool on that certain month of April.

Deja vu

Was at my playground Parkway Parade over the weekend to do some errands. Then to meet up someone for a drink. We were at Caffe Bar. I decided to have a cocktail in broad daylight because I hardly had any alcoholic drink for some time. Yes I was actually craving for alcohol stuff. Ha! I ordered a Hawaiian Blue (which consisted of gin and some other alcohol types with fruit juices). I forgot what was the concoction. Then ordered a Fine Tune Apple something with vanilla ice cream on top.

Both did not go well. I must be getting old or rusty, because after just a few sips, I already felt warm and flushed. My normal standard of alcohol tolerance was pretty high. So I made sure I sipped really slowly. As for the snack, I am actually not an apple snack person. Normally I would not have ordered that, but I did. The puff was too little and the apple slices too many slices for my liking. I should have ordered my usual soda and very safe chocolate cake or something. Anyway luckily it was a short chat.

Today on a weekday noon, I met up someone else for lunch at my old work playground, Tanjong Pagar. So I ate at Tanjong Pagar Market. I missed the hawker food there. I ordered the Fish Maw Soup in a claypot with white rice at the stall which was selling Fish Soup. This is the only stall in so many hawker centres that sells fish maw as well. I usually take this. There were a few pieces of fish maw, fish meat, pork liver, tofu, tomato and veggies. And their chilli was very nice. Very light and healthy lunch. And since I was there, I had to order the famous Annie's Peanut Ice Kacang next door. I like the ice kacang here simply because the ice was so finely shaved (it was much better than say, the ice kacang in any restaurant or hotel). It just melted in your mouth. When I ate that and being surrounded by the lunch time crowd and the hot stuffy place, it brought back memories of those days when I used to eat here almost every other day. It was a feeling of déjà vu.

The perfect cut

Last week saw the ending of Perfect Cut 2. I really liked the show. Every episode would have me pondering over some issues, and the script was good. There was a lesson or two to be learnt in each episode which was what I liked - be it human relationship issues, love issues or ethical issues.

The last episode was about the break up between the doctor and his girlfriend and also involving a third party. It was touching watching the girlfriend pining and missing her boyfriend who went missing in action for over 100 days. Each day, she would send him an sms, telling him about her day and always it would go like this ... "First day without Alex, I went ....", "Second day without Alex, I was ......", "30th day without Alex, I did...." etc... The boyfriend saw all the smses but never once did he replied. She opened the very first gift given by boyfriend (somehow the gift remained not opened since day one). She was broken by the separation and touched by the gift which she finally opened. And as the boyfriend said, he did not want to be Number One anymore, he just wanted to be her Only One.

Have you ever had similar experience as theirs? Have you ever been apart from your girlfriend/boyfriend for more than 100 days without news of each other? Or was it more than 365 days? Have you ever felt how silly a misunderstanding or quarrel has ruined your relationship? Have you ever thought if you could turn back the clock, how you would have dealt with some issues better? Have you ever wished he/she would understand you better? Have you really understand him/her as well? Just some provoking thoughts for us, if you were to go through the same situation, what would you have done? Was your experience bitter or sweet?

"Love is a gift. You can't buy it, you can't find it, someone has to give it to you. Learn to be receptive and be grateful of that gift.” - Kurt Langner

Chilli Padi, Joo Chiat

We went to Chilli Padi in the Joo Chiat branch for Father's birthday lunch. We ordered ala carte from the menu, which were Nonya dishes. The restaurant was not that crowded for a Saturday noon, so we could eat in comfort and peace. The decor was done in unabashed Nonya style of course. Chilli Padi is comparable to the other popular Nonya restaurant nearby, Kim Choo.

For starters, there was Achar as the appetiser, then followed by Kueh Pie Tee (cups of grated mang kuang with prawn, peanut and chilli). There was Chap Chye (mixed veggies), Assam Curry Fishhead, Itek Sio (which was salted duck), strips of Honey Pork, Sotong Hitam (squid in black sauce), and Mee Goreng (noodles are a must for birthdays symbolic of longevity). For desserts, we had Durian Chendol and Pulot Hitam. Overall I think I liked the curry fishhead and the salted duck and the honey pork.

We spent the afternoon shopping and walking around before heading home in the evening to cut cake. We got a real small chocolate cake because we always could not finish the cake. The round cake looked kinda cute, overwhelmed by all the 68-year-old candles. And it was the first time I tasted a chocolate cake that was not too sweet nor heavy at all, which was what we like.

The old man

I bought 2 shirts for my Father plus an Ang Pow for his birthday today. I got them from British India as the quality was quite good and soft. 100% pure cotton. I found it excruciatingly boring buying gifts for men, especially old men. It was either a shirt, pen, watch, tie, wine, or polo shirt. Of course I meant these are generic gifts for men friends. If it was for your own special guy, probably it might be a different story. Or maybe not?

Mom has been complaining that my Father was getting too fat for his shirts lately. His tummy was growing, due to all the beer and snacking. Father claimed he needed to eat in between meals because his daily medication made his stomach churn more than usual and thus caused hunger pangs. For dinner, he usually would have 2 plates of rice. He really ate alot these days.

This was a far cry from 15 years ago when my Father was diagnosed with cancer near the kidney. Before he discovered his illness, he was rapidly losing weight till he looked real scarily thin and forlorn. When we found out about the cancer, he had to remove one kidney immediately, and he was given 6 months to live (the doctor told me privately). However, after the chemotherapy sessions and resting at home for about 10 months, he finally pulled through. Then he began to eat normally and gained back his usual weight. He is lucky to be alive today. Below photos of Father and moi, in our younger days. He was in his signature Elvis Presley aka curry pok hairstyle and thick black rim glasses.

Happy Birthday, Father!

Love is a gift

One of the days, I brought niece and nephew out as it was the one-week school holidays. We were in Takashimaya for a purpose - we needed to buy gifts. One was for niece's friend's birthday. Another was my belated birthday gift to niece (my earlier gift got rejected by the mommy, so I had to fork out more money to buy another gift! Bah!). Yet another was the kids wanted to buy their grandpa a birthday present.

We bought a cute Piglet pink bag for $9.90 for her friend as niece said her friend was carrying an Iora recycled bag for her files, plus she had already bought a key chain for her. In fact, niece said she was also using an Iora recycled bag sometimes (her mommy bought clothes from Iora). By chance we found another very nice sturdy pink shoulder bag which was actually a laptop bag. It was on sale for $29.90. Usual price was $59.90. Besides the bag, it also came with a folder bag to store laptop. Niece could use the folder to store her papers or use the bag for her files or art class. Since she liked it, I bought that as her birthday present. Plus a porcupine soft toy which was quite cute. She chose the soft toy herself.

Next they each wanted to buy a birthday gift for their Grandpa. The boy was pretty generous, he mentioned his budget was $20, from his own ang pow money. He found a huge mug, as the words were "World's Best Grandad". Wah, no wonder my father doted on him dearly. Niece decided to buy something more practical. She bought a pair of boxer shorts for grandpa - 2 very nice manly colours. Haha!

Finally we could take a breather. As they love Bo Luo Bao (and me too), I brought them to Crystal Jade. They served dim sum and snacks for tea in the afternoon. My buddy brought me to try once. The Bo Luo Bao was to die for. It was soft inside and crispier on the outside, even better than the ones they sold at their own bakery, and a slab of butter was added to make it even more tasty. I liked their mini egg tarts which were very light, very soft and fluffy. Each of them came with Almond Soya Beancurd, which was equally nice. The almond and beancurd blended so well together they just melted in your mouth. Each set cost $3.80, which was reasonable for a restaurant sitting.

So we had a fruitful day, buying gifts and makan.

Dream

I had another dream last night. I dreamt that MLY came to fengshui my house again. In the dream, I was impatient and sort of fearful - an uneasy feeling. When the doorbell rang, MLY was outside, she was wearing something blue and black. She said she was here to fengshui my house. It was an unexpected visit and I was surprised she came as I did not arrange for this session.

When MLY came in, she immediately took a seat on my sofa and set to work, with a flurry of papers and drawings and the compass. I sat at a further distance. I did not utter any sound, which was unusual of me. I did not bothered to engage in small talk or even joke. I merely watched her go about her work. I was thinking "what's wrong with my house now?" Then she stopped her work halfway and was flipping through a fengshui book or magazine, reading and turning each page carefully. I think it took ages, as I sat there for a long time. Suddenly she got up and walked towards me, and from her bag, she took out another book and gave it to me. She said she bought it and would like to give me the book to read. I said thank you and accepted it.

Then as she walked around the house, suddenly the windows in the house became very high, almost above our eye level. And sunflowers began to sprout from where the windows were, at an amazing speed. This was not the first time I dreamt of MLY and sunflowers. I just stood there amazed as the windows just went higher and higher and sunflowers grew higher and higher. Or did I became a dwarf? It reminded me of the scene in Jack & The Beanstalk. Hehehe.

"So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a big beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky.

The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack's window, so all he had to do was to open it and give a jump onto the beanstalk which ran up just like a big ladder. So Jack climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there he found a long broad road going as straight as a dart. So he walked along, and he walked along, and he walked along till he came to a great big tall house, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman. She was the ogre's wife who made Jack hide in the oven to avoid the ogre who eat young boys.

Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big chest and takes out of it a couple of bags of gold, and down he sits and counts till at last his head began to nod and he began to snore till the whole house shook again.

Then Jack crept out on tiptoe from his oven, and as he was passing the ogre he took one of the bags of gold under his arm, and off he pelters till he came to the beanstalk, and then he threw down the bag of gold, which of course fell into his mother's garden. and then he climbed down and climbed down till at last he got home and told his mother and showed her the gold and said: "Well, mother, wasn't I right about the beans? They are really magical, you see."

Then suddenly I woke up. Hmm, such a weird dream. Now what is supposed to be the meaning of this dream again?

Mind your language

"Mind Your Language" was an old British comedy series first launched in 1970s which I remembered fondly. Even though I was so little at the time, I could appreciate and enjoyed the comedy so much, because they dealt with English blunders and bloopers. It was hilarious and funny.

The show was about an international language school, where Indians, Malays, Chinese, Japanese, French and Deutsch come together to learn English. The class consisted of foreigners with varying degrees of English proficiency. The humour of the show was derived from the students misunderstanding English words or terms, and played up to the cultural stereotype of their individual nation of origin. They were an excellent cast, and interesting to see a make-up of many nationalities and their accent and their use of the English language. I love the English teacher Mr Brown with his shocked expressions, the stoic typical matronly-looking headmistress Miss Courtney, and the Punjabi student, Mr Singh, with his signature expression: "A thousands apologies!" as well as Ali, the Pakistani with "Oh Blimey!"

It was also at that time, I was deeply in love with books. I was reading fervently many English books throughout my primary school although I hardly finished a Chinese storybook. Perhaps that explained why my English results were always good throughout from primary school till A levels. Hence the English language played an important part in my young life.

I notice there are some words that we tend to use errorneously, and had brought with us to adulthood, either by habit or oversight.

Loose vs Lose
Simple carelessness leads people to write "loose" when they mean "lose". The words 'loose' and 'lose' are mixed up in writing;

Loose means the opposite of tight or contained. For example,
My shoes are loose
I have a loose tooth
I have some loose change

Lose means to suffer the loss of, to miss. For example,
I win! You lose!
Don't lose your keys
I never lose bets

I also notice many people spelling the word "anyways" instead of "anyway". Drop the "s" !!!! There is no such word as "anyways", my dears. It would be nice we use and spell some words correctly, especially if we know there will be a lot of people reading what we write. While it is nice to use words correctly, I do not mean we have to be too extreme and fastidious. I know of someone who insists on writing the perfect english in all medium, for example, on paper, on MSN, on email, on sms. Well I think that may be carrying it a little too far, being too "principled". What do you get out of life, being so fussy?

Sometimes, we can relax and go singlish and be generous with our "lahs" and "lors" and "aiyohs" but ensure we do use the proper words and spellings in proper medium. If I have ruffled some feathers here ...well, blimey, thousands apologies hor!

你没想像中爱我

词：石欣卉 演唱：石欣卉

你小心翼翼 牵我手
其实是担忧 藏不住我
自尊也投降 活在她之下 我 好傻

你字字句句说 你不爱她
那又是什么 让你害怕
我疑惑但是原谅 因为你留下 我 好傻

不是我不说就不在意空等候
原来 你没想像中那么爱我
我不懂该拿什么安慰我的难受
你的存在 让我更寂寞

你寸步不离 像天使的她
挥霍我的爱 从不放心上
我有一丝无奈 也有一些明白 该 放开

不是我不说就不在意空等候
原来 你没想像中那么爱我
我不能再从你的怀抱感觉到什么
不爱我别再说 假装爱那是撒盐在伤口

啊~~ 谁说我不在意空等候
原来 你从来都没深刻爱我
我才懂不是我不心痛
其实是心没了感受

呜~~~

你没想像中爱我

July kid

Eversince Facebook changed its stupid layout/template, many people had been taking lots of quizzes about any topic under the sky. One of my friends took "What does your birthday say about you?" quiz. So I "borrowed" what they say about July as I am born in July too.

Fun to be with.
I'm not sure about this, I'm probably fun to be with if the person is someone I like and who likes me.

Secretive.
Yeah, everyone has their secrets. I'll be frank if confronted. Otherwise I will not volunteer anything out of the blue. And I can keep secrets .... or till I found out I was betrayed.

Difficult to fathom and to be understood.
Yes agree 100%. I don't think anyone has really truly understood me. And if I think I've been grossly misunderstood by people I care, I will go back into my crabby shell and never come out.

Quiet unless excited or tensed.
I think everyone is a little of this sometime. Just that when I'm tensed I'm as quiet as a mouse, more than normal.

Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation.
There was one and only someone who said I'm arrogant because of something. When it's time to be proud, then we deserve to be proud of something we have done or achieved. I think having that little confidence is better than wallowing in inferiority complex or some complex.

Easily consoled. Honest.
Haha honest yes. But I am not easily consoled, unless by the kids.

Concerned about people's feelings.
I think this strength has become my weakness, being overly concerned about people who couldn't care less about me.

Tactful. Friendly. Approachable.
Yes. Yes. Yes. 99% of the time.

Emotional temperamental and unpredictable.
This is 100% true. I need to take a hold of my emotional temperament at times. I do not have outbursts unless I'm up to the brim. And how I react and resolve some problem will be pretty unpredictable. Most of the time, I will try to talk it out, then walk away.

Moody and easily hurt.
Bingo. I do not show this outwardly but I have my moods and become crabby.

Witty and sparkly.
I think to boring quieter friends, I am the spark of conversation. But with loud friends, I'm a very quiet person.

Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets.
I do not care for revenge even if I was wronged. And at the bottom of my heart, I normally would have forgiven any wrongdoing towards me, but really, I can remember any spat for life.

Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things.
I prefer to do things fast and avoid unnecessary steps that are a waste of time.

Sensitive and forms impressions carefully.
I'm super sensitive and usually do trust people after the long observation. Usually I am 90% accurate in my judgement. I'm still mad about those 10% who proved me wrong.

Caring and loving. Treats others equally.
My weakness is probably sometimes I am too caring and tend to treat people I like with certain biasness.

Strong sense of sympathy.
Cancerians are the most sympathetic creatures, and hard not to cry if see or hear something very sad and touching.

Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations.
I am sharp and usually accurate in my observation and in assessing most people's character and motives.

Hardworking.
I am past the days of working hard blindly, now it's work smart.

No difficulties in studying.
I had my lull days when I was young, as I'm not scholar material but I do scrap through somehow. If I'm bored enough, I'll probably take my doctorate in some unusual subject before I die.

Apa ini macam?

These few days I had not idea why my eyes became a little swollen. I did not take any medicine. I did not take any unusual food. It would seemed like I cried. But I did not. Haha. Maybe my bedsheet was dirty or some insect has bitten me when I was asleep. But amazingly, my double eye lids became more obvious because of the swollen eyes. Goes to show that you can't have the best of both worlds in anything you do. Right?

Shanghai style braised pork belly

Saw this recipe from the papers over the weekend and decided to try it. It is called Shanghai-Style Braised Pork Belly. I am a porky person who loves braised pork knuckles, pork lard, suckling pig, roasted pork, pig's trotters with vinegar etc... So of course I had to try this dish. Here's the recipe, serves 6 persons.

Ingredients:
500g pork belly, cut into cubes
2 tsp black rice vinegar
1 tsp shao xing wine
3 tsp dark soya sauce
3 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp five spice powder
0.5 tsp ground white pepper
2 cloves garlic, halved
6cm ginger, cut into thick slices
400 ml water

Method:
1. Scald the pork belly cubes in a pot of boiling water for one minute. Drain and place in a medium saucepan.

2. To the pork belly cubes, add black rice vinegar, shao xing wine, dark soya sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger and 250ml of water or until the water just covers the pork. Cook over medium heat until it reaches a gentle simmer.

3. Lower the heat and cook for another 20 minutes. Add more water if necessary to ensure that the pork belly cubes are covered by the sauce.

4. Lower the heat further and continue braising for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.

The taste was unique because of the black rice vinegar. Tasted like pig's trotters with vinegar, normally where ladies in confinement take this dish. The vinegar in this Shanghai Braised Pork Belly was not as strong as that of the former, but was appetising and wholesome because of the vinegar and 5 spice powder.

Korean pancakes!

Here's what I did with the Ottogi Korean Pancake Mix I bought. The flour mix was ready-made. I just needed to mix it with 4 cups of water. You could add in any ingredients you like for eg. leek, pumpkin, prawn, meat etc... As for me, I added shitake mushroom, crab sticks, ham, and green onions, all chopped into tiny pieces and added into the pancake mix. Then it was time to make the pancakes. Oil was added into the hot pan, and I scooped up the mix with well-mixed ingredients and into the pan. My pan could accommodate about 4 palm-size pancakes. They were cooked for 2-4 minutes on both sides till they were golden brown and a little crispy on the sides.

The taste of the pancake dough was soft and tasty, with the accompaniment of the ingredients, it was quite nice. I only found it a little physically too flat. It would be good if I could make them thicker and enticing with the ingredients protruding out. They looked like mini roti prata except these were full of ingredients. To me they tasted like fried koo chai kueh, except they were lighter and more fluffy. And if eaten with the right type of chilli, it would be heaven. These mini pancakes would be my contribution for the next party or pot luck, because they were such a breeze to make.

大白兔奶糖

Another snack that I miss, is the White Rabbit Candy 大白兔奶糖. Since my childhood days, we have been eating this chewy creamy sweet and it was so nice and addictive. Even my niece and nephew like them.

White Rabbit Creamy Candy is white with a soft, chewy texture, and in cylinder-like size. Each candy is wrapped in a printed waxed paper wrapper, but within this, the sticky candies are again wrapped in a thin edible paper-like wrapping made from sticky rice.

White Rabbit Creamy Candy originated from Shanghai in 1943 and it has been China's top brand sweet. Although the White Rabbit brand already had some history, its popularity worldwide has grown with the economy of China. In particular during the Chinese New Year period, many families provide White Rabbit sweets among other candies for visitors. The candies are exported to more than forty countries and territories, including the United States, Europe and Singapore.

Unfortunately, in Sept 2008, there were more than 52,000 reported cases of children made sick by melamine-tainted dairy products in China. Most of the children were diagnosed with kidney problems due to the Sanlu milk scandal. White Rabbit Creamy Candy was listed among the many milk-based food products made in China that were contaminated with melamine and was removed from store shelves. The same form of contamination was responsible for the Chinese melamine pet food contamination scandal in 2007, during which thousands of pet dogs and cats died of renal failure after eating pet food that contained melamine.

So looks like I won't get to eat these anymore, till further testing was done and certified safe for consumption. Niece was still asking for this sweet during the CNY.

Chewy snack

I passed by a neighbourhood bakery and saw these. I do not know exactly what you call them. They are traditional snacks made of maltose and peanuts. They are chewy, sweet and powdery on the outside. I remember hawkers peddling these in those days. When I saw these, I was so happy because you could hardly find these around anymore. I bought a box to try. It was not as sweet and shiok as the ones last time and not as chewy. But I guess it was still a good substitute. Sadly many traditional snacks are already no longer in production.

More and more

I did not have a clear and vivid dream for a long time. I just did. I actually woke up at 7am today by the sound of music outside. Mom had switched on the CD player and was playing the beautiful mantras of Om mani padme hum and the Heart Sutra. Then I dozed off again.

In the dream I was at home when I went into the kitchen. My mom was there cooking something, and one of my uncle and aunt were there talking to sis. Uncle was telling me, "you have a big house, hor?" I was like "huh?" I only have 3 bedrooms, I thought. Compared to his 3-storey terrace house, this was nothing. It was then my sis told me, "didn't you know you have some more rooms" in the inner part of the house, where the kitchen was. Is it?

From the kitchen, I went to look around. The kitchen suddenly seemed to be huge and long about half the size of a football field. Then I found one room and went in. There was a king-size bed there and the windows were all shut as it seemed no one was using the room. I was pleasantly surprised, "wow I have an extra room which I didn't know." I marvelled at the room and thought maybe I should change my bedroom here as the window has a fantastic view, meadows and greenery with the mountains at a distance.

Then I discovered another room next door. There was again a king size bed there, and dark brown cupboard. I touched the cupboard and wall as I walked around the room. Again I was like "wow, another room". Then again as I walked further down, there was another room, then another, then another. Altogether I found 5 extra rooms hidden near the kitchen's extension! No wonder the kitchen seemed huge. In my mind, I kept thinking, so actually I had 8 bedrooms in my house! I was beginning to imagine and cracking my head how to utilise each room, whether I should change my bedroom and whether I should do up the extra rooms etc.... Towards the end of the last room, it led to a back gate. When I opened it, it revealed a big field in front. I was so excited. I marvelled at the excess space. The air was crisp. As I walked out, it led to a street behind. I could not describe how wonderfully quaint it looked. It was a quiet street with not much traffic, with houses or buildings lining the streets. It reminded me of a modern Japanese suburban street.

I walked around to recce the place a bit, marvelling at the new discovery. Then I headed back towards my new-extended house to discover more.

Crazy dream, isn't it? I think it was a good dream because I felt very good in it. Plus the fact that today is Guan Yin birthday. It would be good if we can offer lights and flowers to Guan Yin today.

Bra-ry hot

Ok, I know I am being naughty. I could not help it when something unusual appeared before my eyes. Today it was at a taxi stand. Queueing in front of me was this (almost) bare-back lady. I know everyone is wearing spaghetti straps or sleeveless tops or strapless tops because it is so so hot here in Singapore. I know it is perhaps fashionable to reveal a little of your bra in front, but behind?

I could not help but think was the bra supposed to be a fashion statement, or what? A purple bra inside an orange top. Was it supposed to be revealed? Or was it accidentally revealed?

If she wanted to bare her back, she might as well wear these Backless Bra or the Very Bare Backless Bra from reputable brands.

Gourmet popcorn

I am not a fan of popcorn. And I usually eat popcorn only in cinemas, as a matter of habit. Other times, I hardly touch them. One reason why I do not fancy popcorn, is, the normal popcorn selling in the cinemas and supermarkets, tasted as bland as water. And usually I had to dig and dig for the sweeter ones and I found it a waste of time chewing so much and so hard on barely-sweetened popcorn. They are just not sweet enough.

However, I finally found the popcorn taste I like. In Golden Village, they are called the Gourmet Popcorn. What a right name. They were extra coated with different flavours, making them sweeter (finally). I tried the Butterscotch flavour and I love it (especially the buttery taste). Popcorn should taste like this, crunchy, sweet and seedless.

Years ago, when I was in my teens, there was this brand selling in cinemas, Karmelkorn (selling caramel-coated popcorn) and also the likes of Orange Julius (for banana shake) etc. They were so yummy. Once you started, you could not stop munching. Now they were all gone, except I think there is still one Karmelkorn stall in Takashimaya basement.