I'm a sucker for Shoes

A while back I used to travel up for weekend trips to KL (Kuala Lumpur) pretty often with my brother, sometimes parents, usually friends. And when I say often, I mean every month.

PIC - brother, his friends, my friends, our parents. I'm taking the foto so I'm not pictured. (This trip had the largest number going at the same time. 2 couples drove up and the rest of us took a bus.)

We'd hop on the bus and travel the 5 hours up in the middle of the night (usually a Friday) and then arrive at  some god-forsaken hour (like 3 am) only to be met by the one lonely hotel clerk at the Concorde KL who'd be pleasant enough to quickly get our checking-in sorted ASAP.

After a quick change of clothes we'd head down to Bangsar for a supper of Roti Bomb and Tandoori Chicken and often end up crawling into bed just as dawn threatened to break.

Pic: Bangsar for Supper; Brother, his friends and my friend. No, I'm not in the picture.

While the eating was definitely noteworthy, it was merely the side event. The reason I went up to KL so often was so that I could satisfy my insane obsession with shoes.

Yes, yes, I know you're all going to say that every woman has an obsession with shoes, but I'm telling you, in my 20s I never had fewer than 50 pairs at any one time. From thongs to courts to strappy sandals, flats, heels and open-toed mules. I had every possible type of footwear to fit any occasion. I kid you not.

So why all the way to KL? VINCCI. Yes. Padini had just opened in a number of  shopping centres in KL and one of their brands was Vincci. Mostly shoes, with a spattering of handbags and sunglasses. Depending on the outlet, sometimes you could find keyrings and wallets too.

The important thing for me - size 9 shoes at affordable prices. Vincci's sizes run all the way up to 10 at a time when Singapore hadn't caught on yet. And I refuse (yes, I still do) to pay more than S$20 for regular muck-around possibly-get-trashed-after-3-wearings footwear.

So, because
1) I'm a klutz and wear out my shoes reeeeal quick;
2) I don't make a ton of money;
3) my feet are gigantonormous;
4) and for me, it's all about the quantity, not quality;

Vincci in KL was the perfect solution. I'd return to Singapore with no less than 3 pairs of lovely fake-leather/synthetic-snakeskin/PVC-covered may-not last-one-year shoes per trip.

Ah, but all that isn't necessary anymore these days. Vincci opened up in City Square JB soon after, so I shopped across the causeway for a period of time. Then Singapore shoe stores got on the big-foot bandwagon and many shops now carry sizes 9 and 10. And nowadays I don't step out of the house as much (to club or party or shop) so I've managed to curb my shoe obsession (having a mortgage helps) and find myself buying fewer and fewer shoes. My current shoe count is less than 20. (EEKS!) 

But you know, you can never be truly free from your inner Imelda and so 2 nights ago I traipsed off to Eastpoint Mall with the excuse that I need groceries from NTUC Fairprice, knowing full well that between the multi-story carpark and the supermarket was a shining beckoning Bata.

What I didn't know, was that they were having a sale. Up to 70% off! It was a sign. I mean, I had planned to pop in, try on  a coupla shoes then be on my way.  In the end, I tried on more than I had intended to, and ended up with these (yes, they're under S$20):

And so, welcome lovely beige strappy kitten heels, you now have a brand new home :)

Difference In Price

Remember this? I paid S$4.50 for it at the John Little sale. I was told it was on offer. So after trying it I went back and got 2 more boxes (one white cream and one brown stew).  All happy and thinking me-so-clever, I later descended upon GIANT hypermarket at Tampines.

There, to my shock and horror, I saw the boxes, those very same ones, being sold at S$4.15. Egad! I was cheated. Oh how could they! Grumbling to mum and sis I left the store feeling stupid, gullible, taken for a ride. Argh.

But wait - could it be?

Guess who saw this in NTUC just 2 days ago? Ah well. I feel better now. I'll just keep telling myself that the S$4.50 per box I paid was still cheaper than what I would have paid at NTUC. Which kinda makes sense, see... I don't usually shop at Giant. Most of the time I'm at NTUC Fairprice anyway. So instead of thinking about the S$4.15 I'll console myself with the S$4.65. Because I can.

Finally, She Did Something Right

The latest article (and I hope the last one) on Ris Low. The people at ERM (the organisers) say they've spoken to her and her parents and have agreed to accept her resignation.

This means they would have allowed her to keep the title if she hadn't come forward and decided to resign yes? Sheesh. Or were they the ones asking her to resign? I'm not clear.

"On her command of English language, which has been criticised by the public, the organiser said: 'We felt that person who made fun of her on YouTube was malicious and did not do her justice. The video clip was presented in a way to ridicule her."

Ok this is just way retarded. .How could the video clip have been presented in a way to ridicule her? It's not like there were cuts or you could see where the clip might have been edited. The stuff she said at that RazorTV interview was all her! Now ERM says "'So perhaps her spoken English could also be an effect from her Bipolar disorder."

Er, right.

This girl has just rubbed too many Singaporeans the wrong way and I'm a little sorry for her. But seriously, why, oh, why did she not just say all this in the first place BEFORE even taking part in the competition? A lot of problems could have been avoided if she had first and foremost pre-empted everything and made it public information.

I think we're less likely to gasp in shock and horror if we heard all this beforehand.  You know, along the lines of : One of the contestants, who is on probation for 5 counts of credit card fraud, had this to say about being in the pageant, "I'm really sorry about the stuff I did in my youth. I have bipolar disorder and sometimes don't think very clearly, but I do know that now it is under control and I'm doing my best to turn my life around. I'm hoping this pageant will help me to do that."

Ta-dah! Immediately she would have been given all sorts of support and encouragement... knowing Singaporeans...*mutter mutter*.

Anyway, here's why many just can't seem to be more sympathetic of this person. Read the side box of this article and you'll see that she's just super immature and totally irresponsible. Add to that she finally admitted that she told the organisers about the credit card fraud charges only last week, when previously she had said that she told them beforehand but they collaborated with her to keep mum about it. Which is it missy?

For those of you too lazy to right-click on the link - the side box says this:

WHY SHE DIDN'T TELL ORGANISERS:  'They ask then I tell lah, because actually I don't find the point of telling... It's still a record, but it's not as though it's that big... I was given a second chance to change.'

Hello...? Credit card fraud?? Not a big deal???

WHY SHE DIDN'T DECLARE IT: 'I didn't really go and check because I've joined other pageants before and they didn't really check.'

I don't understand this "really" check thing. Means they "bluff-ly" check huh? What is going on with the youth of our country today?

Dear Ms Low - please, PLEASE, wake up, sort out your life, and stop pretending that everything will go away or work out in the end just cos you hope so. Stuff has a way of poking its way out from under concealment. Especially Nasty stuff. Nothing ever remains hidden. NOTHING. Everything comes out sooner or later!

And finally, FINALLY, one MP had the courage to say something :

Member of Parliament Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) told the Chinese evening daily Shin Min on Saturday that Miss Low should not represent Singapore internationally. She said: 'Using another person's credit card is a very serious offence. Honesty and integrity are very important.'

Hear hear! That's the problem. Integrity. Missing In Action. 

Methinks She's Got Mad Cow Disease

I read the Straits Times Interactive news article today which made reference to her bipolar disorder, or manic depressive disorder, and couldn't help laughing. She really is a mad cow!

Gees. 1) Bad English  2) Smooth Criminal  and now 3) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

This woman is a walking entertainment hub! LOL

'Nuff said about this one. I give up. Really.

I forgive you, Taufik

I can't find a video anywhere on the web, for love or money, of Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah singing the National Anthem with the wrong lyrics.

I settled down to dinner in front of the telly, all set to watch the F1 race with MySO.  BTW, I know NOTHING about Formula 1. Except that the sound of the cars is a real turn-on. (Some of you will remember that I enjoy watching movies with lots of car-crashes.) For want of something better to do on a night like tonight when the whole country would probably be watching, I thought I'd join in so as not to be the only clueless eejit without any idea about the F1 drama unfolding not 15 minutes away from me.

And so it began. The National Anthem filled my living room via old Philips speakers, yes, the kind that are probably as old as (if not older than) me. Ahh great sounds will come from them when the race begins, I'm thinking.

When suddenly I hear "Marilah kita berseru". *Blink Blink*

I turn to look at MySO. "Did he just sing the wrong lyrics?"
MySO : Wait, wait, maybe we heard wrong. Give it a chance.
Me : But, but.. is he going to sing "bersatu" on the 2nd line?
MySO : Here it comes... listen.. shhhh.

And there it was again. Yup. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. It was all I could do to keep from jumping up (and possibly overturning my Japanese Curry with Rice meal) to get to my PC to tweet or blog all about it right away.

So I left it for a while, watched the race, wrapped Children's Day gifts while MySO drifted in and out of sleep, and only now decided to pursue this matter.  And as I was looking for a video of this monumental event, I came across CNA's article of Taufik's apology. Ah well, it's not excusable and I'm not anywhere near accepting the reason for it. But I will accept the apology. If only because the report reportedly reported it nicely.

So I forgive you Taufik. At least he admitted that it was a mistake and instead of going on and on about why and how and what happened, he had the grace to ask for forgiveness. Sometimes, that's all it takes.

Vermont Japanese Curry

Dinner tonight was Japanese Curry from a box. This costs S$5.50 and serves 6. However, I only used half the amount but threw in more chicken than the recipe called for. Me and MySO had double helpings each, and I have leftovers for one serving.

Cut up veggies into bite sized chunks (I've used 5 chicken thighs with 1 carrot, 2 potatoes and 1.5 big onion) then saute in a little bit of oil.

When everything gets nice and brownish, add water and bring to a boil. (Measurements can be found on the box. I used 700ml.)

In the box - 2 halves further subdivided into 6 smaller portions each. This way you can divide up the recipe and cook 1 or 2 servings at a time. Dump the remainder in the fridge. It'll keep.

When the water's a-boilin', throw in the curry cubes.

Stir continuously - the gravy will thicken and continue to boil.






Serve over rice or noodles or anything else you like. I give this 5 stars but only because I'm a real big fan of Japanese curry. Enjoy!

Ondoy Tragedy

Click HERE to read more.

At the moment I can't seem to find any organisation in Singapore that is collecting contributions / funds in aid of this particular disaster. However if you would like to make a donation via bank transfer you will find details at the Philippine National Red Cross site.

You may also try filling out their Online Donation form and see what happens. I haven't tried yet. But hopefully I'll find some local e-nets or paypal enabled donation channel soon. Will update if I do.

I'm the Youngest of 3 - so there!

I was surfing and came across a website which said this about "youngest children":

Some true traits of youngest children include:

• Compelled to make a contribution to the world
• A show-off who enjoys the limelight
• Both a charmer and a rebel-endearing one minute, hard to deal with the next
• Often the family clown
• Creative
• Often stuck doubting the validity of their perceptions because they were often laughed at or not taken seriously
• Likely to be compelled to do what the older children haven't. 

And you know what? It's all true. Except maybe the bit about being the family clown. I'm not sure exactly how that might manifest itself but the rest is spot on.

Are you the youngest child? Let me know if this is true for you too.

Do I Look Fat? A guide to dealing with this loaded question.

A married couple, a dating couple, a single female and a single male. Great sampling of people at different stages of their lives. You'd think we'd be able to have a nice conversation about the 4 most dreaded words known to MANkind. Right up there with (perhaps even surpassing, for some) "We Need To Talk". Well, apparently after years of  collective dating, courtship and even a wedding among the merry group, one thing was clear - the guys still don't know how to handle this question of all questions.

Ok, first off, it's NOT a trap, trick question, or any ploy to get you to buy us another outfit. And secondly, I'm just going to state here and now that I speak for myself in this matter and you guys out there have to figure out on your own what YOUR woman means when she looks at you and asks you "Do I Look Fat?" OK?  But here are some pointers.

1) What I Mean

When I ask MySO if I look fat, what I really mean is, does this outfit highlight the not so nice bits of me, or is it doing an adequate job of hiding them.

The reason I ask is because as a woman I'm certain that different bits of me look good on different days. Also, the same bits of me could look good in one thing and awful in another.  And sometimes I get confused and lose track of which bits I need to hide and which I'd like to flaunt.

2)  How To Answer It

It really is NOT a yes/no answer type of question. If your woman says "just tell me yes or no" then she's playing you.

Here's what I look for in an answer: if some bit of me that's not so nice to look at is highlighted in the outfit, then let me know *gently* that it's the outfit that's to blame for the way I look.

Eg. "Yeah, your arms are flabby" is the wrong answer. However, "I think the sleeve length makes your arms look rounder than they actually are" would earn you a kiss on the forehead and a loving smile. Geddit?

Next - I also appreciate a little advice or suggestion on how I could highlight a bit of me that does look nice.

Eg. "No, you look fine" is the wrong answer. FINE is what you pay when you get caught for littering. (Don't get me started on this one... trust me.) However, "Actually, your butt looks really good in those shorts and even if you think you've got flabby thighs, trust me, no one will notice. Wear that shiny belt you love - it'll make your bum look even more fondle-worthy!" just about guarantees you a really, really good night ahead. Trust me on this one.

Notice that last answer managed a criticism even. But hidden under all that praise and constructive belt advice, it was hardly noticeable. See? It's easy.

3) What NOT To Say

In case you're still clueless, just steer clear of these types of answers :

a) do not blame.

NEVER ask her why she's wearing it if she thinks she looks fat in it.,or why she bought it in the first place.

b) do not siam (evade).

NEVER say - it doesn't matter what I think, as long as you like it, or are comfortable or anything along those lines.

c) do not feign ignorance.

NEVER say you don't know about girl stuff, cos she'll just come back with "but you guys look at girls ALL the time and have SO many things to say about this one or that one, don't PRETEND you're not judging us by what we wear.

d) do not patronise.

NEVER say we look nice whatever we wear, and that it doesn't matter what other people think cos you think we're gorgeous.

4) Why I Ask

Because it matters to me that MySO thinks I'm hot, worthy of public appearance on his arm, and come on, we all need validation from time to time. If I'm just going off to the market in slippers and muck-around-at-home shorts I really don't bother asking how I look. Cos I don't really care. But if we're going OUT out, then I'd like to know that when someone looks at us, they'll think - holy smoke, she's hot, and he's one lucky dude. And that he can feel all peacock-y about the blokes scoping me out and KNOW that he's the one I've chosen to be with. So in the end, it's really for the benefit of the guys in our lives. *Grin*

Oh, and One More Thing...

I've heard all about this probation thing being a way of rehabilitating minor offenders aged 16-18, as putting them in prison may not be the best option - the fear being one might end up being worse off than when they went in.

"Lawyers whom The Sunday Times spoke to said probation has always existed as a sentencing option, especially when dealing with juvenile offenders who may otherwise be sent to a corrective institution or prison."

-www.straitstimes.com

And so I'm confused. If probation is a sentencing option, as The Straits Times says, then doesn't it stand to reason that one has to be first convicted of something before being sentenced? So Ris Low WAS convicted of credit card fraud right? And her sentence was probation right? So how is it that the headlines read "Probation Order Not Conviction"? Me No Understand. I get it that being under probation means the person does not necessarily have a "criminal record" to tarnish their reputation. But surely we're confusing the term criminal record with conviction?

It's simple. She did something reeeeal bad. She got caught. She was charged and convicted. And finally sentenced to probation. Still kena caught, still kena convicted, still kena sentenced. Right? Right. Whether or not it leaves a stain on her personal record is NOT what fellow Singaporeans are concerned about. Pretending the probation is NOT a conviction is just rubbish. What is this country coming to?

Guilty - That's my verdict

[All quotations used in this post were taken from HERE unless otherwise stated.]

Ok, so what do I think of this recent update? She's guilty as the cookie monster with his hand in the cookie jar lah. Guilty of being shallow, irresponsible and of questionable morality.

The summary:

"...The beauty queen was convicted of five charges of misappropriation, cheating using illegally obtained credit cards, and impersonating their users' identities....
...was sentenced in May this year to 24 months of supervised probation, said a Subordinate Courts spokesman...

...Another 60 charges were taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing...

...spent a total of more than $2,400...using at least three different credit cards in April and May last year...

...bought two gold anklets worth almost $1,000, a $698 mobile phone, and food and drinks at a swanky restaurant...

...her previous employer, a healthcare company, made a police report about her in April last year...

...suspected that Miss Low, who worked there for five months as a patient-service assistant, had used credit cards belonging to its patients...

...The organiser of the Miss Singapore World pageant, ERM World, did not respond to queries as to whether it was aware of her criminal record during the pageant..."

Ladies and gentlemen, I draw your attention to the last line and then I give you this:

Apparently (source not verified) when asked if the organisers knew about the report that had been made against her Miss Low replied:

"In the beginning, they did not know, but when I signed the contract, I informed the manager. They said that if the news did not leak out, they will allow me to continue in the competition. But now that the news is made public, I'm not sure what will happen next."

And again, elsewhere on the web someone wrote:

~ In ST today, it was quoted that an ERM employee said : "Singaporean did not pay for her" when asked about why the company is not responding to public queries.

So where you now Mr PR Service-Recovery Person of ERM? Come on out and answer us.

Did you really say that if the news doesn't leak out that it'll be ok? What does this tell me about your standards or criteria concerning contestants? I can understand if she got expelled from school for bad behaviour then went on to prove she could turn her life around, or if she had gone to drug rehab and come out of it stronger, or even if she was known to be associating with some 666 or 559 or some other number gang.

But I think the fact that she has a CRIMINAL RECORD kinda makes it hard for her fellow citizens to say - "aw, never mind lah, now she's sorry for what she's done and deserves a 2nd chance".

2nd chance at life maybe, but to represent my country? Be the spokesperson of our little lion city? I think not.

If she had stolen the cards to pay for her father's medical bills, to put  food on the table, to pay the bills - we'd be more sympathetic. You know, poor little girl, lost, desperate to save her family... sob, sob. Yeah, we'd be all like, never mind lah. Not her fault, she didn't know where to turn. Heck, knowing Singaporeans (we're such suckers for Poor-Little-Match-Girl stories) she'd end up having a fund started in her name for the welfare of her family.

The other thing that's got my knickers in a bunch is this - how can ERM say Singaporeans didn't pay for her? Er, it's Miss Singapore right? We're Singaporeans right? I think we would like to know how you could justify having her keep her title when she's a crook? Um, does everyone else NOT see a problem with this picture?  If you're not answering public queries because we "didn't pay for her" then how about you don't use the word SINGAPORE in your title? How 'bout you call her Miss ERM (from Singapore) then you can go ahead and have whoever you want represent you? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Yes, you DO owe it to us Singaporeans to explain your choice for our ambassador. Geddit?

Miss Singapore - I HAVE to say something

When this first started making its rounds I absolutely refused to watch it. I knew it was going to be awful. I knew I would cringe and I knew I would feel terrible after seeing it.

So for many days I kept away from email attachments, facebook posts and twitter links to this Ris Low interview or anything related to it.

However, recently I succumbed. My student came in to class and said I simply HAD to watch it if I hadn't already. Cos she wanted to know what I thought of the whole thing . So I watched it. And after I did, she put forward this question - is it their fault that people who can't speak well don't speak well?

Erm, well, I really don't know it's something you can FAULT someone for, any more than you can fault someone for not doing math well or understanding history well. I mean, some do, and some don't and that's the way the cookie crumbles (oh wait.. I have more apple crumble in the fridge... yum...) .

That aside, this is what I have to say. I am sorry that she doesn't speak English well. I assume she might be more eloquent in another language. And I wish she'd chosen to do her interview in whatever language it is that she is presumably more proficient in. Because, while it looks like she's all brave and daring and willing to do an interview in a language she (obviously) can't handle, it is also extremely annoying for those of us who DO have a handle on the language to have to listen to her awful diction and strange ornamentation of consonant sounds and might I say, what flourish she adds to her sylla-li-ba-bles.

I've seen some posts online defending Ris Low citing 1) her bravery 2) the difficulty in pageant-ing and 3) being proud of ALL Singaporeans not just well-spoken ones as reasons for NOT attacking her.

Granted. Not everyone listens to the BBC or watches non-TCS fare. And I admit that pageant-ing is hard work. Also, I give her credit for being brave (although there's a fine line between bravery and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ... I'm not going to say it but you know what I mean).

But I also have to say this - it IS a competition. Just because it is gruelling and not every Mary, Jane or Sue  will qualify, does not mean we have to automatically discount our beauty queen's language skills (or lack thereof). Heck, in that case, we may as well just ignore the interview portion altogether. If the stuff that comes out of her mouth doesn't inspire, doesn't resonate with the residents of our nation, doesn't make us all want to cheer and smile and see her get to the Miss World stage in JNB, then she ain't got what it takes, sistah.

To those of you who say that we're being mean - well tuff sheeet. Cos that's what competition is all about.

Moving on - even if I were to accept that her diction/language skills should be discounted, then I'll say this - how juvenile is someone who thinks that just 'cos she likes animal prints that means she loves South Africa. Er, does she KNOW what she's saying? And her fashion style? All about her. Her. and more Her. Never mind what people think. Wait - I thought the point of having a unique style was so that one could convey their personality to the people looking at them.  Is fashion not about communicating in clothes - and does communicating not involve reception by someone? Anyone? oh er. yes. Herself apparently.

I don't get this girl. I think that her attitude is the problem here. Not so much the speech, cluelessness or crazy I-don't-know-what-I'm-saying rolling of eyeballs all over the place from time to time. It's her attitude- I'm so hot. I'm the bomb. I deserve to win. It's all about me. And I know it.

Who does she think she is? Me?

Easy Apple Crumble - additional pictures

If you hit the link on the title you'll see the video and ingredients for this easy apple crumble I tried today. I don't know why I never thought of making this, since I actually like cooked apples a lot!

I used red apples instead of green cos that's what I had. Add150-200gm of white sugar and throw in a cinnamon stick for flavour. Let stew for about 20 mins on very low heat.

When that's done,  set  aside to cool while you get started on the crumble. (I pour my apples straight into the baking pan/dish to cool.)

Next mix up 120gm butter, 200gm plain flour and another 50gm sugar  with your fingers to make the crumble. It's good fun for little kids too!

Gently place the crumble over the top of the apples (don't press down).












Pop into a preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes at 150 degrees celcius. It's done when the top turns a nice golden brown.

Ta-dah! Delicious! (I didn't have enough apples so my apple layer is a little thin... but considering it's so sweet - the balance is just right!)

Road Trip

A good friend of mine got some bad news on Friday, and to comfort (and surprise) her MySO (that's My Significant Other) and I decided to go visit her in Malacca.

It was a last minute decision, and after a couple of hours settling last minute details, watering plants, rearranging schedules etc, we were off at 5pm. Here are some pictures from the trip.

While my friend was out with her family attending a wedding lunch on Sunday afternoon, we went exploring by bike and managed to get from her home to Jonker Walk. Wanted to pop into Nancy's Kitchen to see what goodies we could get, but it was closed for a private function.

In the end, we sat and had some beer and shandy at the Geographer's Cafe opposite. Ahh, a nice cold drink in the afternoon heat was exactly what the doctor ordered!

From here we saw many things :

At Las(t), Edible Ice! 

And this bloke really knew how to make full use of the space in his car! I mean, look at that - how does he see anything through his rear-view mirror?

After about an hour or so of blissful people-watching, my friend was ready to join us and so we headed over to Najepe to have crepe cakes. Unfortunately there were no other flavours available except the original cream one. (I had the cheese flavoured one the last time I was there and it was so much better than this one!)  Sadly, MySO didn't really enjoy this as he's a little sensitive to having so much cream squished about in his mouth.

Eventually we got out of our food-induced stupor and finally decided to head over to Bei Zhan for dinner.

From bottom left: Battered Oyster Mushrooms with Macadamia Nuts, Fish Fillet Curry (with long beans and ladies finger), Sweet & Sour Pork, Black Pepper Chicken. (Not shown : Sambal Kangkong.)

Total cost for 5 Pax (including 1 beer) : RM$81.30

This is some good stuff. Add:

No 43 Jalan Kota Laksamana 2/17

Taman Kota Laksamana Seksyen 2

75200 Melaka

It used to occupy a couple of shophouses but has since expanded to a little corner plot of land with 2-storey seating. The air-conditioning can get cold after sunset so go prepared, bring a shawl or cardi.

I haven't been able to find it on any of the usual maps, but I'm sure if you've got an updated GPS you'll be fine. If not, ask around or take a taxi - it's very popular with the local Chinese folk.

After a lazy Monday browsing about Bunga Raya (aka Chinatown) and having found a shop that sells manek for my shoes and affordable kebayas, we dipped into Old Town Coffee House at Taman Malim Jaya till it was time to leave. And just in case we hadn't had enough to eat at lunch about an hour earlier, between the 4 of us (3 and a half really) we polished off a double ice cream toast, french toast, tuna toast, garlic toast, a basket of mini spring rolls, 2 soft-boiled eggs, a coupla coffees,  root beer, mineral water, and double scoop ice cream with strawberry sauce!

All in all, a great weekend spent with people I love, in my home away from home. Goodbye for now, but I'll be back soon - and I'll bring a spare tummy next time!

Ashes to Ashes

And so the end of the 7th month has come upon us.

While living in a multi-racial, multi-religious society means that we have to practise acceptance (or tolerance) of all the seemingly strange rituals that go on around us, it also means that we have to deal with air pollution, noise pollution and who knows what else.

I went to bed with the smell of burnt Hell-Paper in my nostrils, on my clothes, everywhere. The rooms were infused with that scent that we recognise as the "chit-guek" smell.

All I can say is, while I acknowledge it is a necessary part of some people's religious calendar, and while I understand that it's not nice to glare at them when they burn piles of paper in front of your car, TGIOver.

Today I can leave my windows wide open again. Phew!

Candles: Not always a pretty sight

Japanese Stew Mix Cream

The other day I was trawling the John Little sale at Singapore Expo and came across a range of semi-instant, I should say, pre-mixed, Japanese curries, stews and white sauce gravies. I tried the brown stew 2 nights ago and it was pretty delish. Today for dinner I gave the Stew Mix Cream a go. This box cost S$4.50 at the sale - I haven't had a chance to check out the retail price in grocery stores.

It says 6 servings, but perhaps The Significant Other (TSO) and I are big eaters. It turns out that after 4 servings it's all gone. (That's what happened to the first box, anyway.) The instructions are in Japanese but because there are pictures, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how it's done. 

First you dump 300 gm meat of your choice (I used 250 gm pork) with some onions and carrots and potatoes and celery and whatever else you want into a pot to cook somewhat. Then you add 800 ml water and bring everything to a boil. (I've only got pork, onions and carrots in there - it doesn't look very good yet, I know.)

When you're satisfied, turn off the heat and pour in the granules from the box. (I tried this with the fire still roaring under the pot and it turned out fine - so sue me if I'm not a stickler for detail).  Mix everything up and then return it to the fire. Add in 200ml milk (I used evaporated milk) and when that boils up, you're done!

Pour over rice, bread, pasta or even croissants - don't knock it till you've tried it! Tonight's choice was penne pasta and  it turns out  our simple Stew Mix Cream makes a pretty decent white cream sauce.

And here's how you can get the most out of stew-y leftovers - especially if there's a little more gravy than you know what to do with:-

Add more meat (fry up diced chicken or pork in a little garlic for extra flavour before mixing up the whole lot) to what you already have so you've got a decent portion

• which you can now have with some other staple
• which you can now pour over cooked pasta or rice which can then be covered with a nice layer of shredded cheese and baked for about 15 mins
• which you can then put into single-serving oven-safe bowls, cover with some puff pastry (I like Australian brand Pampas) and then bake up into a wonderful stew-with-built-in-pastry-lid supper snack
  

Isn't it great how yesterday's leftovers can become tomorrow's whatever-you-want-it-to-be?

The American's World View

Explaining the Title

Ok, for some reason no one gets the title of my previous post.

It's like this - in the past (10 years ago when I last had a blog) it seemed upkeeping a blog was like eating in a restaurant. Sure there were different dishes to pick and choose from, but only one type of cuisine.

Now it feels like eating in a food court. Variety. From Blogger I can "share" directly with Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, I can add Skype status updates, upload Tweets directly onto my sidebar, import feeds from all over - news, music, videos, import images from my comuter, from the web, add maps and other cool apps. That's what I mean.

Perhaps this was all possible at that time and so some of you may not understand what my big fuss is all about. Well, for a tech-challenged Bibik, it's a big deal cos I didn't know how to do all that before and now there are all these automatic, one-click, copy and paste resources that I can access from the comfort of my own blog-page.  It just amazes me that I don't have to go trudging around the net opening page after page. Remember the days when browsers didn't have multiple tabs? Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout hunny.

So it's like a food court where you can get almost anything from noodles to rice, Western to Asian, main course to dessert - it's ALL right there. That's what customising my blog feels like. So far, everytime I've said to myself,  "Let's see if I can ______ (fill in the appropriate thing that I want to do here)" I haven't been disappointed. It's exciting. And way, way better than eating in a restaurant.

Restaurant vs Food Court

It occurs to me that for someone who is so clueless about html codes and other techy stuff, I've been ridiculously clever at finding stuff on the web, copying other people's codes and tweaking them to fit my purpose.

When I last had a blog (oh, more than 10 years ago) it had nothing on it. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I mean, there was text, a photo or two, maybe a visitor-counter. I can't quite remember. But the number of fancy schmancy stuff that you can now put on your page - I even know about RSS feed and Widgets! How clever am I eh?

It's almost like being in a Food Court. Where previously there was a limit as to the type of cuisine that could be had, for example, if you were in a restaurant, now the possibilities are endless.

And not only am I utterly blown away at how easy this blogging lark is, I'm even more so impressed at how much crossover there is from one er, platform? Site? to another.

For example, I'm at my Blogger site, which I use my Google password to log in with, and at the top there's a nifty bar which allows me to share latest posts automagically on Facebook, Twitter and other sites which I don't use. And RSS! I mean, that's really got to be magical.

I feel like a Disney princess having been rescued by my Prince. (Just a note here to clarify that among all the Disney cartoons, only ONE prince was named Charming ok? It's not like some universal princely name. Don't believe me? Google it.) Now you may call me Cindewebba, or Snow Web. And on the topic of "webiness" I'm also amazed at how my language has changed recently to include more and more things cyber-related and electronic. Someone asked me recently if I kept a journal. And I said yes - for personal stuff, but that I also have a blog for the whole web world to see. When did the "whole wide world" become the "whole web world"? It must have happened while I was cybernating, oops, I mean, hibernating because I sure didn't notice it happening.

Anyway, now I'm like a blog addict. I already have this one for personal thoughts and gripes, complaints and bitchiness, soul-searching and thought-provoking (I wish, anyway) stuff. And there's Around the Bibik's Kitchen for food-related entries. (Check it, I've added a link to that... heh!) The dilemma arises as I try to include more and more widgets and feeds in my side bar. I want to share religious stuff, piano and music stuff, er, um, ok, mainly these two for now but I'm sure over the next few weeks I'll think of more to add. But what does this mean? I doubt I'll have many things to say about those topics specifically, not enough to  warrant starting another blog surely (although I have thought about the title - Making Music with The Bibik) but I'd like to have a whole page full of links and RSS feeds, updates and samples, oh the joy, the joy! Imagine, music videos, stories about composers, theory tips, Bible passages for everyday, Catechism of the Catholic Church for Dummies.

So good people, while you slumber away (notice I've been posting in the middle of the night lately?) I shall grapple with my problem and come up with a plan. I'm almost convinced you'll see a new blog by month-end though. *Grin*

Lantern

I often go to what my friends and I have affectionately nicknamed "Lantern" at East Coast Road. It's a 24-hour (it only recently started operating round the clock) coffeeshop with a larger-than-most smoking section. The food's pretty good and we're regular patrons because it's convenient for the gang who all live around the area. 

 

A particular favourite of mine - the 'point point rice' aka Economy Rice stall. (Some of you may know it as Chai Png.) Unlike many such stalls in other hawker centres and coffeeshops, this one boasts a large variety of dishes, generous servings and tasty cooking at a very affordable price.

 

You can see the stall on the right hand side of the picture above. Not only do they cater to the lunch and dinner crowd, but also to those in the mood for a Teochew Porridge style supper. My meal of  rice with sweet & sour pork, chicken with dried chilli and curry veggies came up to S$3.00. 

So if you're ever in the area, give it a go (you'll find a map at the bottom of this post). There's also the famous Jalan Tua Kong Mee Pok (which I must admit isn't something I enjoy), an Indian-Muslim stall in the back that makes a kick-ass Roti John (below) and a roast meat stall which serves up a succulent roast duck / roast pork / char siew combo.

But the main reason I keep going back there? Because they have what many coffeeshops don't : Gui Hua Green Tea. My all-time favourite. Ah... simple pleasures.

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I Hear Thunder

As far back as I can remember I had always been in some choir or other. In every school I've attended I was in the choir. In church, I had joined a choir and went on to become their organist. This went on for many years. At some point I found myself entangled with up to 4 different church choirs, either singing or playing for Mass. I practically lived in church every weekend. 

After I decided to throw in the towel and take a break from the internal politics of organised groups a friend rang me to ask if I could gather a couple of folk to sing at a wedding. It was to be in another Catholic church and the bridal couple needed a small choir and organist. Shalom was born. While we were the most slack choir I had ever been a part of (not least because I was the head honcho and I myself was a slacker) I must say it was also the best sounding choir I've sung in. Could be because its members were all handpicked. They had to be strong voices with half a clue about harmonising on the go because we couldn't afford to have a massive 30-strong choir if we were to be making our way around the local Catholic church circuit. Plus most of the time the weddings and funerals we sang at were at odd no-other-regular-choir-could-make-it timings. Sadly, people moved away, careers became more demanding and family commitments began to creep up on us. Shalom was no more. 

Often I think about reviving it. Gather a bunch of good singers, get together once a year to go sing Christmas Carols. And every year it ends up not happening. Still, I keep my fingers crossed and continue to hope that one day we'll sing together again. 

I bring this up today because despite the many choirs I've been a part of, the different roles I've had in them, from singer to conductor, accompanist to administrator, I've never ever been a part of a choir as good as this one - and I'm so so jealous. Enjoy this acapella rendition of Toto's Africa. And look out for the thunder! 

Roti Jala aka Roti Renjis

A couple of weeks ago I attempted to make Roti Jala (I'm more familiar with this version of its name) and dug up mum's recipe book to take a look at the ingredients. It seemed easy enough so I headed over to her house to get the cup-with-holes (see pic on the right) which is traditionally used to make 'em.

And in case you were wondering, here's the Malay-English translation:
Roti = Bread
Renjis = Sprinkle
Jala = Net
So now you know.

The ingredients are as follows:

• 4 medium-sized eggs (beaten in a largish bowl)
• 500 ml evaporated milk (add to beaten eggs)
• half teaspoon salt 
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (put them all in there)
• whisk in 200g plain flour and work at it till all the lumps are gone.

Now the fun bit. Making sure your non-stick pan is nice and hot, pour some of the batter into the holey-cup and as it dribbles out the end, make circular motions around the pan till you see something that resembles a holey pancake.

Then quickly turn down the heat so it doesn't burn while the surface cooks.

Be careful the pan is hot enough when the batter makes contact with it so as not to end up with a flat giant pancake with no holes. You want the heat to be strong enough that the batter cooks and hardens on contact with the pan.

When the surface looks firm enough (and not runny) gently lift the whole piece and turn it over once, then fold it in half and then half again. Set on a plate and then start on the next one.

The portions above make about 30 18cm-diamater pieces.

Things to note:

1. Have a satay stick handy in case the holes get clogged up. If the batter is too thick, add a little more milk.
2. If you intend to make these in advance and keep it for the next day, put some foil over the lot and fridge it. Pop the whole thing in a warmer (I used an oven, keeping the foil on) or steam before serving.
3. Ideally a cup with one or two holes makes for better manoeuvrability so that you can actually join up the edges into a complete circle. If you can't find one, do like I did and stuff the insides of the 4-holed cups. I used only 2 of the holes.
4. This is usually served with a meat curry or kurma. However if you prefer chocolate sauce or honey, that's fine too.

Happy Cooking :)

Fish and Clam Pie

When I was in Perth on holiday, I caught this on a cooking show and decided it looked easy enough for me to try it when I got back home.

First, peel and boil up some potatoes. When ready, these will be sliced and put over the top in a fish-scale-like pattern. If you look closely you can almost see the overlapping slices of potato in my picture. I apologise if it's not very clear. I didn't realise when I took that photo that it'd be for anything other than just personal amusement.

Next, the seafood. Saute some chopped garlic in a saucepan with butter. Adding a little fish stock, proceed to throw in flat steaks of fish and clams till they're cooked. (At this point let me mention that there's no limit to what other seafood you could throw into this mix. Squid rings, shrimp, lobster tails.) Remove and place at the bottom of your baking dish.

Now, the cream sauce.

Remember the saucepan you just abandoned? Add the remainder of your stock to whatever's already it in, then add some milk and cream to thicken. (In a pinch you can add corn flour to get a nice thick consistency.) At this point I usually add in some pepper and other herbs for additional flavour. It's entirely up to you.

Pour the sauce over the seafood.
Place the potato slices over to make up the top layer.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese (I like cheddar).
Pop into the oven to bake just until the cheese melts.

(Instead of using fish stock you might prefer chicken or vegetable stock.)

ENJOY :)

Days of our Lives

At the beginning of today I thought I'd be busy with work. That when I got done at 8-ish I'd quickly cook up  a simple dinner, then settle into a boring evening (The Significant Other and I don't usually meet up on Mondays for reasons you don't have to know) amusing myself with Facebook, Blogger and Television.

Instead, what I learnt was that even when it looks like it's going to be a solo day, you can always squeeze in some time for friends. The ones that matter of course.

Between classes today I had a 2-hour break. So since the cash deposit machine at the corner of my block didn't want to accept my cash, I thought I'd go to the airport and use the one there.  Not because there weren't any nearer to me,  but because NL got off work (at the airport) at 4.30pm and my break was 4-6pm. The timing seemed just right, so I got there around 5, did what I had to do; we had a 15-minute meal together at Burger King which had to be continued in the van (fries and drink) and then I dropped her off at her place before heading home.

Time spent with NL - 50 minutes

After class ended at 8.25pm I zoomed off to East Coast Road to meet DC. I was to pass her some files from my hard disk. I figured it'd be at least 20 minutes to get everything copied over to her PC, so while that was getting done, we put on our sneakers and did some brisk walking around the block. Exercise AND gossip! By the time we got back all the files were done copying.

Time spent with DC - 45 minutes

Then it was off to meet DM. I wanted to pass him something and catch up on the latest news (we always have "latest news" for each other - even tho' I only just saw him 2 nights ago). And since we didn't think we'd be hanging around long, the plan was to sit at our favourite carpark, have a few smokes, drink a couple of canned drinks and then head home. Since said carpark is the one at NL's estate (we've sat there often enough on account it's close to DJ's home) I decided to see if NL wanted to come along. She did. And since it seemed like it was turning into a regular picnic, I reminded My Significant Other that he was welcome to come along if he changed his mind about staying in today. Which he did. And so the 4 of us sat at the carpark from 10 to 12.30.

Time spent with NL (round 2) DM and MySO - 2.5 hours.

Productive day? Hell, yeah! It makes me think about the times I tell people I'm too busy for them; I can't make it; I've been having a hectic day / week / month. Seriously, do people believe me? Cos I WOULDN'T... believe me that is. But we all know this. We figure out along the way that when we say "it's not a good time for me" what we really mean is "you're not important enough for me to make time for you". And just like that, a perfectly innocent phrase is bestowed with great meaning and importance. It's our way of figuring out what level the friendship is at. And we dance around this meeting-up game till we find the middle ground. At some point the frequency of the meet-ups is agreed upon by both parties, without specifics, without setting rules, without being explicit. But it gets sorted out. By itself.

And I'm glad most of us learn this so that no one gets hurt or has to be told straight to their face what we really mean when we make up an "I'm busy" excuse.

And so to NL  DC  DM and MySO - thanks for squeezing me into your day today too.

Strange aka Hairan aka Hey-Run (a tribute to Nya Lissa)

It surprises me how some people are constantly searching for topics of conversation. It's not as if your life is so devoid of experiences that you need to comment on every piece of jewellery you see adorning those at the supper table just so you can fill up 10 minutes. I mean, surely telling us about where you've been the last 2 hours while the rest of us were having "teh" would have made for more interesting dialogue.

It occurs to me that some of my friends are willing to share their lives and personal experiences with others. That's what holds the friendships together. In my opinion anyway. Others, not so much. Ordinarily I'd have given up on these surface-friendships. But when they're part of a larger "group" it's kinda hard to exclude the not-so-friend. Take for example, person A - married, 2 kids, 38 years old, ex teacher, currently volunteer for SOS helpline. Smokes, enjoys music, drives like a maniac and is in love with her i-phone. Enjoys cooking, but is too lazy to anymore. Hates idiotic customer service staff, doesn't like that her husband falls asleep watching telly. I could go on and on. In comparison I give you person B - married, no kids. trying for one. 29 years old, has a driver's licence but not sure if she actually drives. Works in engineering, recently changed religions. er... that's all I know. And that's all she's given us. I met them both at the same time and have had an equal number of outings with both.

It makes me wonder what some people think it is friends do when they get together. Do we just share space and appear to the rest of the world to be part of a social group? Is it affirmation that we're worth something when other people want to spend precious non-refundable shouldn't-be-wasted TIME on us? But what do we give them in return?

I've often said this - and those of you who know me well may remember this - I use and abuse everyone. Especially my friends. And I'd like my friends to do the same. I bore them with my sob stories, I share weird freaky dreams with them. I abuse the interest they have in me by telling them mundane things - how I woke up with all 4 pillows on the floor. I use them to amuse myself. When they tell me THEIR mundane stories and feed me with details like how they're so sleepy because they slept at 4am.. hey, I'm amused.

So why is it that some folks just don't know how to befriend someone? I'm not talking shallow acquaintances here. Neither do I mean the kind of friend who is worthy of wake-me-up-at-3am-and-I'll-come-running-to-you status. I am referring to that bunch of people we enjoy being with when there are no other pressing duties requiring our attention. Often people ask each other out for a meal or drink to "catch up". Well, to those of you who don't realise it, that means keeping one another updated on the things that have been happening in your lives.

And if you want to call me friend, you have to trust me enough to share some of your personal life with me. I don't need financial statements or sexual preferences (although that WOULD make for juicy goss), just let me in on some of the stuff that matters to you.

But if you're not going to share your life with me, or if all you can do is try to keep the conversation afloat with a running commentary on what's going on around us at that very moment (hey, I have eyes, I can see for myself) then don't expect me to do you friendly favours: pick up a loaf of bread on the way to our coffee meet, give you that great recipe I got from Gran, burn you a copy of that Duran Duran CD.

I don't lose anything by being nice to non-friends, I know. But I just don't think they're worth it.

The Bibik's Back

It's been a long time since I had a blog. Changes in living arrangements, upheavals in personal relationships and financial stress all seemed more important than logging on regularly to tell the world what was going on with me. So I gave up.

And yet I am reminded today how telling the world (read : friends, students, shopkeepers) my problems, sharing my successes, confiding my fears bring to my mind a clarity that would otherwise take me days (and even, months) to acquire. And so theBibik returns.

Most days I'm staring down the world, defending my position, asserting my worth. Everything else floating by in a blur. But recently I dared steal a furtive glance around and saw people who love me. It made me want to look around more often. If only to be reminded that I matter to people.

This week I learnt that being meaningful to someone doesn't mean you have to be on your best behaviour all the time. It doesn't mean you need to live up to that person's expectations (or what you THINK that person's expectations of you are.) All it means is that you're allowed to trust in the relationship that makes you BOTH meaningful to each other. And that means, if you need to say "hey you, why are you being so xiao jie?" that you'll say it.