Happiness for $2?

I met someone at Tanjong Pagar for lunch near my old office. Supposed to meet at the Jap restaurant, Kai Ho, my favourite Jap restaurant in International Plaza as I miss the food there so much, have not been there for more than a year. As it was impromptu, I did not make a reservation. It was extremely packed as usual. Even the normally-quiet Korean restaurant a few doors away were unusually crowded.

As I walked along the shops to see if there was any new nice interesting places to eat, I stumbled upon this shop called Shinjuku and this is what was printed on its plastic bag. Can you buy Happiness for $2?

Well, you see, they are selling lots of little stuff for just $2 each. Kinda reminded me of the $2 Dollar Shop years ago, but at a very much smaller scale. Mostly hair bands, clips, cosmetics, pouches, keychains etc... The lady promoted these hair oil capsules from Korea to me, supposedly very good. I said ok (since it was only $2 and my hair was getting dry). Also got this VOV shiny lipgloss also from Korea (since it was $2 and my lips were cracking peeling from too much MSG). Also got niece a cute flower rubber band. So, yes, happy it was only $2. :D

I did not forget lunch. So thought of heading towards The Icon condo where there used to be a few restaurants. My goodness, all restaurants have closed down except Sakae Sushi which was doing roaring business. One Jap and another Korean restaurants have closed. Hopped over to Amara Hotel and Subway, Burger King, one Jap restaurant and one Turkish place was so packed. Decided to walk further to the shophouses along Tanjong Pagar Road as there was a restaurant selling western food. Alas it was very packed too. Walked further down, 2 Korean restaurants have closed down. Finally saw another Korean restaurant so I had no choice left. I was so famished as it was almost 2pm and I have not taken any food today.

Ordered the Soo Doon Boo Jigae set lunch (photo taken of the menu), which was supposedly to be hot pot of kimchi soup with pork and tofu, some side dishes and rice.

Quite disappointed the hotpot turned out like this instead. There was lots of tofu in the kimchi soup but only tiny bits of pork. I wished I had ordered the BBQ pork set instead. The side dishes were kimchi, fishcake, and veggies. Disappointing even though it was less than $10. I should have gone over to one of the 2 small Korean restaurants over at Peck Seah St where I used to eat. Over here, this restaurant did not even have a Saba Fish set. Today was an unlucky day for food.

Then I was in Central to meet someone. After that, since I was there, I went to the basement to Le Petit Provence bakery to buy one of my favourite bread which was very soft and not too sweet. Also bought a pack for sis family as they love it too.

Walking passed the basement, I noticed the spouts of green plants grown in columns. Thought it was nice of them to enhance the otherwise boring grey basement with some greenery. It really made a difference.

New media shiok ...

It has been a liberating 2 weeks ever since I went on the mobile data plan - a mere $13 a month for 30GB usage - practically "unlimited" to me. After 2 weeks, I only clocked about 140MB! It is so shiok to be able to access the web with my mobile phone ALL THE TIME or whenever I wish, compared to sitting in front of the laptop (less backache!). Now whenever/wherever I am eating or travelling or walking or even shitting, I can use my mobile phone to surf! And I love my phone Sony Ericsson C905 with its many features (although it is not as hardcore a smartphone compared to the high end ones like N97, Blackberry, Iphone...).

And thanks to Opera Mini (a mobile web browser), I can surf the net on my phone effortlessly. Although I can still surf traditionally using the Access Netfront browser in my C905, for certain sites, it is still a tad too slow to upload. So Opera is a breeze!

Some usual stuff I do on my phone:

1. Take photos
I can snap mind blowing photos whenever I want! Or to capture that sudden special moment. How I wish I had this kind of luxury when I was in school. And having the instantaneous ability to take great photos from a quality phone-camera is a plus plus plus.

2. Read blogs.
I already bookmarked in my phone many regular blogs I read. Great way to pass time outside while waiting. Now people may wonder why I am inside the loo for such a long time :D

3. Blogging.
I can blog with my phone but my posts are usually rather long so I have not got the hang of blogging from phone yet, otherwise next, I would be looking for fingers massage! LOL!

4. Twitter.
Whole new world of communicating in mere 140 characters. Had to try to be clear and concise (just make sure my proper English standard won't get affected with all the short forms and lingos). My friends are not on twitter yet so I am following other well-known celebrities/ bloggers/ strangers. I could never have imagined I could converse with some celebrities I like so easily, and following their daily schedules and thoughts. For example, I have Coco Lee, the fantastic singer with a powerful voice whom I dote, and I have Jewel, another singer I like and a few others etc.... I signed up for Twitter a long time ago but never really use it till recently. And I can take a photo on my mobile and post up Twitter via Twitpic immediately. Twitter is here to stay.

5. Facebooking
This is great as I can check updates on my FB anytime (although anything in FB may not be THAT urgent). Just a side note, I feel FB is getting weirder and weirder when someone you know added someone from your friend list (a stranger) but still have not added you.... request still pending.... hmmm... stumped.

6. First hand news
I get news from CNN, Reuters, NYTimes, Channelnewsasia, Straits Times instantaneously. Too much to read, too little time! Information overload!

7. MSN
I can MSN and chat with my friends on my mobile. So convenient, don't even need to talk on the phone anymore. For that matter, I have also installed Skype on my phone for overseas friends. No more excuse for being uncontactable?

8. Youtube
Downloaded the application for Youtube on my phone browser. Now I can view videos anywhere or listen to music or Dharma teachings while on the go.

9. Emails
I can check, write and send emails on the fly. No need to go home/office to check. No more excuse for being slow in response? In my course of work, I need to view many attachments, so it is useful to get immediate data and respond to clients immediately.

10. Google maps
I love this for the fact that I won't get lost anymore, with all the maps telling me where I am and providing me with the directions anywhere. Also especially I can search any timbuktu street in Singapore and anywhere in the world. I can also search for any eating place and I will get all the outlets addresses (hopefully they are updated).


The only one thing I don't do on my phone is playing games (WHERE GOT TIME??!). I let niece and nephew play the games once in a while. Even nephew volunteered to pay the $6 for me to purchase and download SIM 3 onto my phone... hmmm... wait I kena axed by the mommy.

So, now when I sit in front of my laptop, what else is there for me to do?

Chilli crabs, anyone?

We had some crabs given by aunt yesterday and got to enjoy chilli crabs today. We have not been buying crabs to cook at home for many years, perhaps a decade? First, it was too messy and leceh to prepare. Second, we didn't have the heart to kill the crabs in the first place, especially if they are still alive.

These were the small Indonesian crabs bought by aunt from Serangoon. They may be small but they were quite meaty and full of roe. Mom prepared the crabs while I didn't dare to look. I have told mom I would buy the chilli crab mix for her to cook the crabs. I bought the Prima Taste brand. Hmm... my aunt told us she only paid $10 for the 5 crabs but I spent $6 to buy the mix, something is not right, right? Haha.

Then mom got dizzy and confused reading the lengthy cooking instructions. So in the end I was the one frying the crabs (minus the shells) instead. After stir-frying the chilli sauce mix and adding water, I let the crabs cook with the lid covered, stirring them every other minute mixing them with the gravy. Then I added the shells on top and mixed them with gravy too. Finally I added the Chilli powder with water, the gravy instantly became starchy and drier. Then I added 2 beaten eggs. I even added a little ketchup to improvise. The whole wok of cooked crabs smelled so nice.

This was how the crabs looked like finally in 2 big bowls. A little too hot for kids, but we still finished everything. I just loved the roe inside the shell mixed with gravy and egg.Mom also cooked her signature curry chicken with potatoes. So, it was a hot hot hot hot Sunday lunch.

Purifying the veil of karma

By chance, when one of my aunts came over today, we decided to go for a puja and initiation of Amitabha Buddha. I had happened to see a poster about the event outside the day before. I could not even remember which centre, which Rinpoche, what program, what time..... I only remember it was in Teochew Building sometime today (Teochew Building is one of my favourite places to attend pujas/initiation). I just noted it was Amitabha Buddha, whom most of us are familiar with.

As I was free today, I asked my aunt if she was interested, she said why not (she is a very pious Buddhist). So that was how we spent the entire afternoon (puja) and night (initiation). When we reached at 1.30pm (I presumed it would start at 2pm and I got it right), the Rinpoche just arrived and we bumped into him downstairs. Then I realised it was a Karma Kagyu group who organised the event, and I also saw the photo of the 17th Karmapa there! Wah.

His Eminence Gyaltsab Rinpoche is a leading incarnate lama (tulku) in the Karma Kagyu lineage. He is the 12th Gyaltsab Rinpoche (a dharma king) believed to embody the activity of Vajrapani. He holds the title Goshir (which meant "state teacher"). He is the regent looking after the interests of the Karmapas.

Gyaltsab Rinpoche was recognized by the 16th Karmapa before he was born in 1954. And Gyaltsab Rinpoche, in turn, was one of those who recognised the current 17th Karmapa.

Those who are familiar with Kagyu lineage, probably know of the two 17th Karmapas. There is ongoing controversy as two Karmapas had been recognised. Beru Khentse Rinpoche (whom I had met before) holds a distinct minority view, saying he believes both Karmapas are legitimate. He states "it is possible that there can be two Karmapas in order to benefit sentient beings because the Karmapa can manifest in many different forms" and writes that the 14th Karmapa highlighted that "in many universes a hundred million Karmapas have manifested. The Karmapa is also the Buddha's emanation, thus until all the thousand Buddhas have come and their doctrine is not diminishing, my activity of the Karmapa emanations will not end."

To me personally, I have not decided to take either sides yet, as I am not familiar with both Karmapas and the controversy. I think the more important thing is that the Dharma is being taught to many more sentient beings. My main purpose was to attend the Amitabha initiation and puja. I was real happy I did as it was not that often that there is an Amitabha puja/initiation. Although it was not the first time I had received Amitabha Buddha initiation, it was good to "renew" the connection with him and to clear karmic obstacles.

And since I was attending the event, I decided to be vegetarian for the day. Had a light lunch at Wang. I ordered the French toast set with half boiled eggs and kopi-C. I always ate the usual Kaya Toast, so this was the first time I had French toast, and I loved it. It was dipped with beaten egg and toasted, exactly the way my mom used to do it for me and sis when we were kids. After applying the butter and kaya, it was moist and so nice! Think I won't order the usual kaya toast anymore. :D

Then during the dinner break, we went Liang Court to the udon stall I usually patronise. I ordered the Vegetable Tempura Udon. It was ooo-la-la. My aunt ordered the Tempura Prawn Don.

Michael Jackson passed away

Early this morning at 6am, I got a news flash sms that Michael Jackson has died. The reports said he died of cardiac arrest. He is 50 years old. Here is a pix of Michael Jackson pre-surgeries, his orginal self. I have never liked to look at pictures of his post-surgeries looks because his nose looked hideous with 2 holes. I wonder has this affected his fortunes at 50? According to face reading, the tip of the nose corresponds to the age 50.

May he rest in peace.

BREAKING NEWS
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 6:53 p.m. ET June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson has died at age 50 after being rushed to UCLA Medical Center, NBC News has confirmed. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told the L.A. Times that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home and CPR was performed. TMZ.com reported that he may have suffered cardiac arrest.

Penang char kway teow

There is this stall in Upper Boon Keng Market that sells Penang Char Kway Teow. There is only one lady manning the stall and every time when we want to eat this, we have to be prepared to wait. She takes her own sweet time frying the Penang Char Kway Teow to perfection. Although I'm sure the real McCoy over in Penang must taste even better, this is quite good what we can get in Singapore.

The flat noodles she uses is the small kway teow. She adds beansprouts, little chives, egg, chinese sausages, 2 big fresh prawns and lots of pork lard. I must say it is quite delicious if you prefer savoury char kway teow to our local char kway teow which is black and sweetish. Squeeze some lime juice over it to make it less jelak (heavy).

Voyage to the bottom of the sea~~

That day when we were in Sentosa, niece and nephew were very obedient and spontaneous, they enjoyed themselves that they happily and cooperatively allowed me to snap photos for them. Sentosa is so changed now that everywhere is undergoing construction. Even this gigantic Merlion is relatively new. Since we were there for half a day, we only managed to visit the pink dolphin and then proceeded to take the tram and bus to another destination - Underwater World.

Underwater World is a well-known oceanarium showcasing some 2500 marine life from 250 species from around the regions. I could not even remember if I had been there before.

We had fun touching the moving fishes, stingrays and starfish. There was another pool where there were huge stingrays waiting to be fed. The kids did not dare try. Instead they fed the smaller fishes like those freshwater ones and marine water ones. The fishes, corals and other what-nots in the tanks were beautiful.

We saw so many types of beautiful fishes....

.....and some not-so-pretty ones.....
..... and some grotesque-looking ones almost human size ...... I took so many photos of stingrays too. I like stingrays as they look like smiling kites. That huge blue thick-lipped fish reminded me of an acquaintance whom I could not stand. He (that man) was ...er.... quite ugly with similar lips ... the resemblance was so uncanny.... eeks.
These huge ones looked so dead just lying there but they were alive ... maybe just lazy...
This was an adorable giant known as the Dugong, one of the highlights. Weighing 160kg, she is called Gracie, a Sea Cow, which is highly endangered and look similar to the dolphins.
There were different types of eels, a cat fish that looked like a huge shell, different types of stingrays, and some porcupine looking thing.
Different species of crabs... the human size one being the orange Japanese crab (top left) with lengthy claws. I like the palm size one (top right) which has a blue shell but fat reddish claws.

I was blown away by these jellyfish. They were moving, illuminating and different types with different behaviour. Amazingly awesome.

Look at the different species of seahorses. The one at top right looked like a dragon, they are called Dragon Seahorses. The one bottom left looked like a coral, its the scorpion fish, and the one on bottom right is a scorpion seahorse.

Even octopus there were many types. Some looked like a brush ... some looked like conch shells, some looked like a still coral which could suddenly snap at you with its sharp mouth.
And I take my hat off this one..... the most yucky-looking gigantic octopus the size of a pillow or bigger, which seemed to be smirking and looking grouchy, and it's blue in colour. Blue monster.
So fun this trip to the Underwater World. One day I hope I have the chance to go diving to the real underwater world to explore the coral reefs, ecosystems and living creatures there..... ...... and perhaps find an adorable friend like this one who is smiling at you all the time. I hope all the creatures I have seen will have a good rebirth in their next life - a precious human life.

Meeting the pink one

Since school holidays are coming to an end, one of the days, we went Sentosa specifically to visit a special dolphin. We reached the Dolphin Lagoon exactly on time before the show began. The slight drizzle did not dampened our mood. In fact it was great since it was not hot at all! We were there to catch a glimpse of the rare PINK Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin performing their natural behaviors such as spyhop, tail -flapping, vocalizations, dancing on waters, tail-walking. It was hard not to like the 2 cute dolphins, especially the pink one.This was the beautiful, highly intelligent pink dolphin. The kids loved her. She looked like she was smiling all the time, right?
After the show, we stayed behind, as next was to get up close and personal with the dolphin. Those who paid an extra $15, would be able to sayang the dolphin and to take a photo together all for a mere 5 seconds. The kids did not want to go into the water although I kept prodding them to (maybe they didn't want me to spend too much money). It was still fun as we were really close to the dolphin.

Niece and nephew did managed to have a few shots with the lovable pink dolphin. It was an unforgettable experience for them as well as some little souvenirs from the dolphin store.

To be continued....

Something to gripe and grind

I don't purposely blog about food all the time, but it's what we eat everyday, so inevitably this topic still takes up a big part of this blog. I just like to share my good experiences or some horrible ones. But one thing I am concerned with, the rising costs of outside food.

The other day when I was out for an appointment, I was wondering what to have for lunch as I was alone. I was around Shenton Way and I walked and walked from Far East Square to China Square and still I could not decide what to eat. Finally decided on Han's on Princep Street eventhough there was a huge variety of selection across the road in Hong Lim Hawker Centre, as it was so hot to be eating in non-aircon places. I didn't want to meet clients with smelly sweaty clothes.

Han's is operated by a traditional Hainanese family which serves so called fast food, budget food ranging from local dishes to western sets to bakery. They have a huge outlet in Prinsep Street. I ordered one of their signature set lunch which was Hainanese Pork Chops. The set lunch costs $9.80 which came with pork chops, plain rice, a bowl of soup, a slice of mild garlic bread, a slice of water melon and a glass of ice lemon tea.

I supposed for an aircon eatery, a $9.80 set lunch was reasonable, and the food was really quite palatable. They gave generous portions of the sweet and sour pork chops, and good chicken corn soup. Elsewhere in other restaurants, a set lunch could set you back at least $13 to $20. But then again, for $9.80, you could have 2-3 plates of chicken rice plus drinks in a hawker centre!

Another day I was having lunch with niece and nephew and they chose a fast food outlet Superdog which specialises in hot dogs. These were our orders. I ordered a Bacons Lover Sandwich which was big with strips of bacon, egg, cheese, lettuce, onions and mustard sauce. Niece ordered the Chicken hotdog and nephew chose the fish and chips set. Adding a cup of iced chocolate costs around $5.00 and adding an egg to the sandwich costs $0.80, and if I had wanted a Mocha, another $6.00. I stuck to the ice lemon tea in the set. The total damage was $24, which I thought was a little too ex for fast food (it was more ex than McDonalds). I believe Carls Junior would do the same damage too.

Superdog tried to differentiate themselves, they even put up a sign that says: 

Superdog Rules
1. We are proud of our Chili dogs.
2. Only premium sausages
3. No frozen patties.
4. 100% chuck.
5. No pickles; it spoils the taste of fresh meat.
6. Quality comes before speed.

Nonetheless, although the bacon was fresh and succulent and we had to wait for the food, I still cannot tahan fast food being that costly. I do not mind paying for good food, but not so if it was fast food and only mediocre.

Another thing about outside food, I cannot understand the generous use of MSG especially in Chinese food outlets, the food is usually overladen with MSG, which is extremely unhealthy, just to make the food taste more delicious. It made my lips shrivelled in dryness and throat so thirsty afterwards. This was the case of the Laksa I ordered in a Sentosa food joint. It was so oily and did not taste nice, and I think they added a little too much MSG, because my mouth became sore and my lips cracked the next day.

The simple things matter

Didn't have a proper home-cooked dinner for about 2 weeks. So I enjoyed dinner at home tonight. When I say proper dinner, means when everyone were home for dinner and also means I liked the dishes.

Mom cooked dinner tonight. She also bought roasted chicken from a nice stall in Geylang Bahru. She asked me to cook chicken rice to go with the roasted chicken. I used the Sing Long brand chicken rice mix and cooked it with plain rice, adding pandan leaves and ginger.

I added braised sauce and cucumber slices onto the chicken. Mom stir fried some small Chye Sim. At the same time, she stir fried fish slices with celery and young corn ( I love young corn). Mom also brewed a big pot of soup with so many ingredients in it that it tasted so out of this world (there were corn, radish, carrot, peanuts, red dates, cuttlefish, pork ribs, dried longan).

Since it was such an enjoyable dinner, I made dessert. I boiled peanut and black sesame dumplings in pandan soup mixed with brown sugar. It is my niece's favourite.

A heartwarming meal. I guess home cooked meals like this are what I treasure most and what I would miss the most for many years to come. That's why I love to eat at home whenever I can.

Just another day in paradise...

Had a lazy Sunday. I was nursing a sore throat and stuck nose because of the hazy hot weather. The doctor suspected sinus. The medicine made me so drowsy that I slept and slept.

But nothing could come between me and breakfast .... even the sore throat...... especially when it's my favourite black carrot cake from my favourite stall..... Watched some travel program on cable, and it had to be Lhasa, Tibet... only whetting my appetite for travel only.... it is one of the places I would love to visit.... Watched Japan Hour too, and it was showing all the hot springs in Japan.... ahhhh.... another place I would love to visit. Had the ah-boh-leng (peanut dumpling beancurd) from Mr Bean at tea time..... never mind my throat.... :)
Had time to sniff the flowers along the way.... the beauty of nature......
Then it was dinner time again. Brought parents for dinner nearby, had father's favourite Fish Head Curry and mom's favourite Sambal Petai with Minced Pork. Eh..... nevermind my throat ..... Now time to take medicine again and be knocked out for the night... How's your Sunday?