Slurp!

I HAVE MOVED!

2006-03-04T00:57:00.000+08:00

Please bookmarked the new link! Cheers!

Quiz: Slowly moving over to new castle (updated)

2006-03-01T00:47:00.000+08:00

Oh, I'm by now you should have known I'm moving over new slurp!. I do like blogger, however, Wordpress based blogging provides some of more useful features I that needed badly. So here I am,, relocating to my new castle. :D

My plan will to leave the posts here as it is while I continue blogging from my new castle. So probably this will be the last quiz here.

Now can anybody guess what is funny "castle looking" house really is?
And from which country was this photo taken?

------------- UPDATES -----------------
ANSWERS
Toilet / WC / Restroom :)

PLACE?
Korea, Suwon City (About 30km away from Seoul). I guess the design is inspired by their UNESCO World Heritage site, Hwaseong Fortress. One of attraction in Happy Suwon City. The fortress was restored from 1975-79.

This enormous fortress was around 1796 by King Chongjo with the intended to move the capital here from Seoul. The fortress, surrounding the city with circumference of 5,744km, was completed but the move never took place due to the King's death.

Besides the interesting historical structures, this beautiful fortress offers excellent paramonic views of City of Suwon as part of fortress was built on Mt. Paldalsan. I entered the fortress at this point and hence have to face the steep climb up. :P

More Info about Suwon or Hwaseong Fortress can be found below:
City of Suwon
Hwaseong

Some of my shots, hope you enjoyed them!

Have Fun! Cheers!

Ramblings: Something brewing .......

2006-02-27T23:03:00.000+08:00

... somewhere
... in another Blogophere
... Here!

Travel: Time After Time @ NZ, Hamilton & Tairua

2006-02-26T21:16:00.000+08:00

Here are some "early" morning photos at Hamilton & Tairua (Coromandel Peninsular)
NZ Hamilton @ about 7am NZT

NZ, Tairua @ about 7am NZT

NZ, Tairua @ about 9am NZT
And about what we are doing waddling the waters during low tide, I shall leave this to another post. Well, actually not that low, water level is right up to our neck at the deepest part. :)

Travel: What time is that? @ NZ, Paihia (Answer & Update)

2006-02-23T23:57:00.000+08:00

Now a little quiz just for fun ... What time do you think this photo was taken? Taken at NZ, Paihia in Dec 2005. Cheers!

Answer: 9pm NZT

Can you imagine this is 6:30pm NZT??!!!

And this one is 8:39pm NZT :)
Actually it works to our advantage. More daylights means we have more time to go around. When we drove back at 6pm, it still looks like sunny afternoon! :)

Food: Bun Bo Hue @ VN, HCMC

2006-02-20T22:42:00.000+08:00

Time for another delicious Vietnamese dish. HCMC is full of surprises (just like me?), you never know what you will find along some back alley until you try. So does this path along Le Thanh Ton looks like it going to lead you to some great food? No? You'll regret if you didn't try!

So what do you get when you have ...
Bun (Coarse Rice vermicelli)

Bo (Beef)

And a Warm & Friendly woman from Hue

BUN BO HUE!
A delicious Spicy beef noodle from Hue.

There are loads of ingredients added to make this delicious & flavourful stock. Pineapples, beef, bones, lemon grass, spring onions & probably some other vietnamese herbs. She particularly meticulous in removing suds, constantly lookout & replenishing with more herbs & stock when needed.
psst ... ok, actually she added some fresh ingredients for my photo taking here, awww ... isn't that sweet! :)

As usual, they are served with a plate of fresh herbs made of banana spayte (flower bud, I think), coriander, bean sprouts etc artfully presented!

All these efforts produce a light sweet-sour tasting beef broth with a nice tangy touch from Pineapple. Surprising, from the amount of red liquid she added, presummingly its chilli, it only mildy spicy. The cooked rice vermicelli are soft but never soggy. Cooked & raw beef were nicely done & more herbs gives the final aromatic touches. It's such a nice change from the usual Pho Bo and certainly have wish that I found this dish earlier!

Now, one non-food surprises is that you find these fans operating without the usual protective grille cage. I'm not too sure why, perhaps it's easier to clean. This one is just right above me. While it certainly not touching my head even when standing (as long as I don't make any wild jumping action), I'm worry those taller folks may have to take extra precaution of this potential danger. :)

Photo: NZ2005_Botanical_Series 2 (The Dahlias)

2006-02-20T01:13:00.000+08:00

The Dahlias are very popular gardening plants producing spectacular flowering with vivid colors during summer. Enjoy!

Food: Sweetest Valentine @ NZ

2006-02-15T23:13:00.000+08:00

Happy belated Valentine Day! Traditioanlly for Japan & Korea, this will be the day when Girls buys gift for their sweetheart while guys will return a bigger gift on white day (i.e 14 March). On the other hand, the west have their version of St Valentine day. Whatever, Valentine Day should be sweet, perhaps as sweet as the Pavlova.

Crispy crust while moist & fluffy inside, Pavlova is meringue dessert named after the ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. While there is a controversy surrounding the origin of recipe. I shall leave that to Aussie & Kiwis to sort out for themselves.

I have my first taste in NZ 2005, Paihia. It's very commonly found in NZ supermarket and available in various fruity flavors.

Pavlova is made by beating egg whites, salt till stiff before folding in caster sugar, vanilla, vinegar.

A slow baking process create a crisp crunchy shell while keeping the insides soft & moist. I have to say this is very sweet dessert, the crispy crust breaks into many small pieces when moment you sink your teeth into it, while the moist & fluffy insides simply soften & melts on your tongue.

To sweeten the deal even more, add NZ honey wine. There, the sweetest dessert, Valentine or not, I have ever tasted.

Of course, our kind kiwi host, Jenny, showed us the traditional NZ way of serving in Christmas, whipped cream with lots of freshly sliced fruits toppings. Beautiful & sinful way to end any meal!!!

Food: Sleepless Meals @ SG

2006-02-13T23:21:00.000+08:00

I have been contemplating making the switch to Wordpress (WP). In fact, I started with WP. Well, actually it never really got started as I've to drop when work rushes in. I also did played around with CMS (Content Management System), stuffs like PHPnuke, Mambo etc. Interesting, but it's a steep learning curve for me. Anyway, I restart with blogger because everyone seems to be using this.

Recent revisit to some blogs powered by wordpress got me thinking again. I really like blogger, but one of the features, Post categorization isn't anywhere in the horizon. So it's sleepless, sleepless nights, thinking & thinking if to make the switch. And sleepless makes me hungry. Fortunately, in Singapore, you have food available 24hours everyday. I decided on simple porridge.

Just right at the entrance of Keong Siak Rd @ Chinatown is one of my favourite hunt for porridge, Tiong Shian Eating House. it's very popular and offers quite a big assortment of porridge. From raw fish slices to fried intestines etc.

I have Fish Stomach porridge. Well, it's not exactly fish stomach but just the flesh around the stomach area. They are more tender portion of a fish. Oops! I forgot the exact price but it should be around $3.50.

It's already midnight and you can see the amount of "sleepless" people here :)

Big Auspicious banner meaning Money Luck, ahhh, yes I needed this alot :D

Alright, I'm all already for ZZland ... GOOD NIGHT! zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Food: CNY2006 Luncheon @ SG

2006-02-10T01:38:00.000+08:00

Although this Obligatory Chinese New Year (CNY) Luncheon post was delayed, still it isn't too bad to post it now. Because on 12 Feb 2006, we have reached the great finale of CNY. The full moon is lovely tonight and many would have their final round of celebration.

As usual, we had our annual CNY luncheon & "lo-hei" session. "Lo-Hei" (Cantonese) means to grab yourself happiness, prosperity. In Singapore, traditionally, we will do this with dish called "Yu Sheng" (literally means raw fish) means abundance. Actually is a wonderful salad of vegetables, raw fish slices, small crispy crackers with plum sauce dressing.

Alantic Salmon Yu Sheng
This such a wonderful dish auspicious colors & textures. Every colors, every ingredients signify something which is auspicious. As with traditions, everytime a new ingredient is added to the plate, the waitress will have to say some auspicious greetings.

The ingredients are typically finely shredded daikon (white radish), carrot, red pepper (capsicum), fresh ginger, sweet pickled ginger, fresh chinese parsley,chopped peanuts, Toasted sesame seeds, pepper, five spice powder and much more. Here you see the raw slices of salmon been put on top, whether is it from Alantic or not, I really can't tell :D

Plum salad dressings was poured over.

And finally crispy bitesize chinese crackers. At this juncture, I will have to put aside my camera and getting ready for "lo-hei"!!! :D

All of us tossed as high as possible, as we mixed up and shouting "lo-hei" and auspicious greetings. The end results of the tossed. OK, gotta tuck-in! ;)

Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Abalone and Sea Treasures
I have gotta say that we don't have Sharkfin Fin often. For me, it's often once a year affair. Serve it with good red vinegar, this is breaming with seafood goodies.

Steamed Fillet of Sea Perch with Fried "Taiwan" Yellow Bean Paste
The steamed fillet is well done. What got me interested is the paste. Looked like sambal belachen sauce but it's not spicy & made from yellow bean. I'm not too sure how they done it, my wild guess will to have the Yellow bean coarsely mince & crispy fried before making it into this wonderful paste. The sandy / coarse textures goes very well with tender fish.

Braised Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber, Mushrooms, Dry Oyster, Black Moss and Garden Greens.
More seafood. Those black stuffs are black moss which is actually some kind of dried seafood. It's called "fa cai" (Mandarin) which make it sounds like making money, and there are alot of "fa cai" there. Got the idea?! :)

My plate

Yes, overflowing with Abundance!

Lotus Fried Rice with Chinese New Year Sausages and Preserved Meat
Hmmm ... interesting presentation, but I'm more interested in what goes inside the Lotus leaves.

Look messy, but the aroma alone going to entice your taste buds.

Well done! Very delicious. Don't ever judge anything by the looks. :)

Sweetened Almond Cream with Sesame Dumplings
Almond cream sweetness just right, smooth & tastybut would have prefer to be thicker.

The dumplings skin with thin skin & black sesame fillings was fanastic!

And with that, I gonna do that again once more :)
!!!A VERY HAPPY & PROSPEROUS HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Photo: NZ2005_Botanical_Series 1

2006-02-10T01:19:00.000+08:00

I guess if you having been following my blog, it's quite evident that I'm pretty fond of botany even though I'm STILL A NUTZ when comes to identifying them. Well, I'm working hard on that but I DO STILL in need of much help.

I took quite a handfull of shots while I was in New Zealand last year. And I will be trying to ID 3 plants a week as part of my self-learning process. If you do indeed know the plant, kindly share your knowledge. Thanks in Advance!!!

I'm kicking off this NZ Botanical Series with 3 shots for this & next week.

Variant of Lavender?? Need more info

Sedum pachyphyllum???

Foxglove

Ramblings: Some "KIND" of day

2006-02-07T00:07:00.000+08:00

My 2year old foot massager has been lying dead many months ago. I never thought of repairing since the warranty ran out. Yesterday, I thought of giving it a new lease of life by repairing it myself. Disasembling it, I THINK I found the fault, the onboard 250v, 2A fused was blown. I hope/praying all the rest of electronics are fine.

Since the fuse was soldered onboard, it makes replacement difficult as you need desolder & solder. Hmmm ... it needs a fuse holder, pretty common item, I thought. But when I search for it at Sim Lim Square, was frustrated to find it's so difficult to find that bloody 20mm fuse holder!!! Best part, after finding something close, I then found my soldering iron giving me that freaking "lukewarm" response. Yeah ... can't even melt the solder let alone getting the job done. *sighz*

Well, looks like gotta borrow soldering iron from somebody. So meantime I stuffed myself with Sheng Mian from nearby Cze Char stall to forget my sorrow. It's basically fried raw noodle (sheng mian) topped with hor fun gravy some pieces of prawn, sotong, pork slices, veggies. Very filling meal at $3.00

And lastly, drown myself in cup of tea-O (tea without milk), and pondering about life & death ...... of my ill-fated foot massager

Food: Fresh Oysters for Good Business @ AU, SYD

2006-02-04T22:54:00.000+08:00

It's day 4 of Lunar New Year. Seeing many postings of their reunion dinner, I thought I should have done so as well! But no, really, my mum have a minor operation a week before Lunar New Year. So we have a simple but satisfying home steamboat dinner for reunion. Nothing too extravagant nor sinful.

Still in spirit of Lunar New Year, I will post something auspicious and it's good that I have "kept" Oysters I had in Sydney for the Lunar New Year!

Chinese are fond of associating words that sounds auspicious. Some examples:-
Tangerines/Mandarins sounds like "Luck" (Mandarin)
Shrimp/Prawn symbolises "Happiness" as "Har" (Cantonese) reassembles the sounds of laugther as in "hahaha" :D
As for fresh Oyster, "sheng hao" (Mandarin) almost sounds like "good business".

So how fresh? Is freshly shucked Oysters from the farms good enough? Let go Sydney Fish Market! And before you proceed, do remember to select your tools! :P

Of course I'm kidding, I reckon it going to take me 5mins or more just to do one. So I rather leave this to the pros who will get one done in less than 5secs!

I found 2 type of oysters available at Sydney Fish Market, Sydney rock(Saccostrea glomerata) & Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas). They are usually named according to the variety & location where there were breed.

This is the "Sydney Rock Port Stephens Oysters". They are bred naturally on the rocks and mangroves. Although smaller sized then Pacific, they are highly prized for creamy textures, beautiful gold colors, briny and flavourful. I love Syd Rock creaminess, besides it's not as briny as Pacific since they are bred closer to the shores. Being medium size also makes it easier to enjoy as a whole. You can have it on its own or with light refeshing whites.

For Pacific, I have (if I remembered correctly :P) "Coffin Bay Pacific Oysters". Don't be fooled by the photos, they are at least 1/4 ~ 1/2 larger then the Syd Rock. Very briny & robust & full flaours. Being larger means that I can only finished them on my second bite. Don't recommend you takes this on it's own. Prefably with sweeter white wine, full bodied reds, tangy & spicy sauce or even grilled.

There were many more from other Oysters farm in Australia. But I guess having 2 dozen is ... *burp!* ahem ... quite enough for my small digestive system hehehe ... I do have 8 additional shots (Yes, EIGHT is lucky!) of Oysters to share. Without much ado, presenting *drums rolls* Sydney Fish Market Fresh Oysters. :D

1. Large St Helens Pacific

2. Syd Rock Nambucca

3. Syd Rock Wallis Lake

4. Diamond Island Tasmanian Pacific

5. Cloudy Bay Tasmanian Pacific

6. Little Swan Port Pacific

7. Syd Rock Teranora

8. Bruny Island Tasmania Pacific

(Hhere I go again) I wish my readers another year full of excellent & exciting business opportunities ahead!!!

Photo: January 2006

2006-02-01T22:54:00.000+08:00

Starting Jan 2006, I will be putting one of my personal favourite shot, out of many taken during the month. While there are many who are already doing a day a shot posting, I can't even do a week a shot posting, let alone a day. :(

This month shot is one of my favourite photography activity, Panning. Technically, panning is technique whereby you move your camera horizontally or vertically at speed close to a moving object (e.g Cars, People etc). If done properly, this will create a sharp moving object and a blurred background. It gives a sense of speed to the photo which can look too static if no panning technique was used. Panning is challenging & fun and after many months of practise, I'm still in need of more practise! :P

While I have tried panning in local motorsports activity, streets to playground. This time, I have given panning a little twist. Instead of panning with your hand, I have pan with a car. That's means I hold the camera static & putting to slow shutter speed say 1/8sec while the driver try to follow the car in front at the same speed,

And I like the effect it gives me and there are room for furthur exploration in this technique. Although I would like to pull the light streaks longer, I'm limited to the fact I'm using a super compact Panasonic Lumix FX9. It doesn't gives me manual control to play around. But I like it for it's size & weight so much that I could carry the camera all day.

Feel free to comment & critique as there is still SO MUCH for me to learn in photography. THANK YOU!!!

Oh lastly, a road safety message from yours sincerely :D
IF YOU DRIVE DON'T SHOOT, IF YOU SHOOT DON'T DRIVE

CHINATOWN LUNAR NEW YEAR 2006, SINGAPORE

Banner: Gong Xi Fa Cai 2006 Edition (updated)

2006-01-24T01:11:00.000+08:00

Warning: "Explicit Language" ahead if your browser didn't support Chinese characters :D

恭喜发财!!! Gong Xi Fa Cai !!! Today is the day of reunion dinner whereby family get together to celebrate the eve of Chinese New Year (农历新年). Chinese New Year starts on on the first day of the new year with a new moon (29 Jan 2006) and ends 15 days later during the full moon (12 Feb 2006). However, in Singapore, we usually have 2 days of public holidays which falls on 30~31 Jan 2006.

This Year is also Year of the Dog (狗年). So while many decor, gift package may use dog figures, picture to commemorate this year, I have opted for this beautiful & elegant Dragon Fish (Asian Arowana). My simple reasoning is because dog (狗, gǒu) sounds close to (夠, gòu), which means just enough. Fish (鱼, yú) sounds close to (馀, yú) which means excess or abundance!. Being greedy, I rather choose the latter kekeke ...

Back to the Asian Arowana, they are the most famous & expensive in Asia (if not the world). The arowana is very popular as it is believed to bring prosperity and wealth to the owner. However, they considered an endangered and protected species.

Voice from Above: You don't want to kena tomorrowed huh?
Me: Aiyoh! Why kena tomorrow when all I want is kena today!
Voice from Above: NOOOOOOOOO..., I mean this!
Me: Oh I see, I thought strike lottery hahaha, nah ... still won't trade my Fish (鱼, yú) for (狗, gǒu). Look, I have more auspicious fish here ...
FLOWERHORN FISH (Cichlid family)

GOLDFISH: RYUKIN

Even Orchids & citrus are much better then dog (狗, gǒu)
COLORFUL ORCHIDS

SMALL CITRUS TREE

Voice from Above: NO NO NO, Dog Year should have at least some dog photos! Better do otherwise I send thunder down
Me: Eeeeeeeeeeeek!!! OK lah! Some doggie photos here lor!

Mr See What! & Mr Don't Care You

Ms Cute Cute & Ms Moody Blues

And finally, this is probably the laziest (but cute) dog I ever seen. Mr Basset :)

Ooook, enough of my nonsense again. To end, there are some season greetings written on the banner, but they are in chinese. For benefits of those who don't understand, here my quick rough translation.
金钱钞票滚滚来
Great Wealth will rapidly flows to you.
好运喜事天天来
You will recieve daily doese of Luck & Happiness
心想愿望顺顺来
All your hopes & wishes will be fullfilled
福禄寿禧齐齐来
Prosperity, good reputation / social status longevity will all be yours

I wish all a very Happy, Healthy & Properous Lunar New Year to all. Need to prepare for my reunion dinner now. Ciao!

Food: Makan Session Jan 2006 - PeraMakan @ SG

2006-01-22T23:54:00.000+08:00

Oh gosh! I'm about 1.5 weeks due. Guess I rollout before become stale news :P

"Grim care, moroseness, anxiety—all this rust of life ought to be scoured off by the oil of mirth. Mirth is God's medicine." Henry Ward Beecher
So every month, many great women & men gather. Have food, wines, friends, Mirth and Laughter. Mind you, this is not sinful indulgence, in fact, it's a necessity in life

This month merry making happened along the little street of Joo Chiat Road which is already crowded with many food joins. Peramakan - a small but cosy restaurant that's serving up eclectic Peranakan food cuisine.
WHERE: PERAMAKAN
ADDRESS: 92 Joo Chiat Road. Singapore 427386
TELEPHONE: 6345 7565

Much have been written about our unique Peranakan culture in Singapore, Malaysia. If you are interested to read furthur, please follow the links below, so let's go to the yummy stuffs!
Peranakan Association
Peranakan Resource Library
Wikipedia: Peranakan

Nasi Ulam (Spicy: No)
(A cold salad of long grain rice with Asian herbs, prawns & fish)
If you think rice is too heavy as starter, think again. This rice salad dish uses Basmatic rice and is fragrantly scented by freshly sliced Asian herbs. It's light & refreshing starter for beginning this dinner, getting ready your appetite for heavier food to come.

Jantung Pisang Kerabu (Spicy: *****)
(The heart of the banana blossom is mixed with mango, cucumber, onions and prawns topped with a tangy prawn sauce and the traditional coconut sauce topping)
Using banana blossom already sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, this is my first time. Crunchy, Spicy, Sour with mild sweetness from the prawn. This dish bites, well at least to our foreign friend which rated this 5/5 in spicy rating :) If you like hot & sour, this dish is definately for you.

Hati Babi Bungkus (Spioy: No)(Pork and liver balls)
Fortunately, the spicy hot is quickly toned down by this sweet & savoury dish. Bitterness from liver is well tamed, the sweetness imparted by the sweet dark sauce were just right. I suppose there was caul lining around that provides it with a little of sinful fats that I loved so much.

Sayur Nangka Masak Lemak with Prawns (Spicy: *)
(Young jackfruit in a spicy coconut gravy with prawns)
Again, Young jackfruit is my first time, so I'm not too sure what to expect. While interesting, they do taste nothing more like vegetable that's cooked till tender. No sourness / bitterness, in fact I guess most of the flavour comes from the spicy gravy which isn't spicy at all. Only 1/5 from our foreign friend :P

Ikan Panggang (Spicy: ***)
(Grilled Fillet of Red Snapper with our special sambal sauce)
Grilling is well done so Fish is tender, Sambal sauce is, well, alright other then will like a little more spicy. But this is entirely personal, I suppose.

Udang Masak Kuah Nanas (Spicy: **)
(Refreshing and tangy, prawns in hot pineapple gravy)
Prawns swimming in Sweet, sour gravy, what's not to like? OK, maybe I want bigger prawns :)

Ayam Kleo (Spicy: *)
(Grilled chicken simmered in rich spicy coconut gravy)
While not my preferred style, the chicken is nice & tender except that I don't feel that they have been grilled. Hmmm ...

Nyonya Pork Ribs (Spicy: No)
(Prime ribs braised with taucheo, plum sauce and spices)
Taucheo (fermented salty soya bean) & plum sauce are of both chinese origin, together with Peranakan spices, makes this very delectable "fusion" dish. The prime ribs nicely done, the tender meat detach from the bone so easily. Yummy!

Soup Kambing (Spicy: *)
(Lean mutton in a rich and fragrant Nyonya-style stew)
I like this tasty kambing (mutton) soup as well. The spice mixed in smooth soup is well balanced with the mutton. However, I wish there were more Lean mutton on my plate. (Or did someone stole them while I was away? :P )

Beef Rendang (Spicy: *)
(Tender pieces of shin beef in rich rendang gravy)
Very tender beef, however, I will love the rendang to be richy & spicier.

Dessert:
Sago Gula Melaka
Gula Melaka, which literally translated as Sugar Malacca, is actually Palm Sugar. I'm not too clear about how they got the "Sugar Malacca" as it available easily everywhere in Malaysia, perhaps it's gain popularity while in Malacca. This rich sugar syrup have great caramelised flavour. And along with sago pearls and freshl coconut milk, this is a heavenly dessert! Sweetness is done just right and coconut milk is fresh. Great!

Before Mixing up

After Mixing Up

Wines
Well, you see 29 bottles but I learned from TTC there were actually more then 40 bottles. About 10 bottles broke, and we are not counting the unfinished wines that didn't make it to the photoshot. :D

Dessert Liqueur
YKW (You know who) brought this lovely liqueur to end the evening. I like this so much that I'm going to put into my oversea alcohol shopping list :) What? You want to know who is YKW? Come join our merriment session and you will know that soon. :D

Quiz: Guess what are those black patches (Answer)

2006-01-20T00:32:00.000+08:00

Got sometime for a little updates. Here is a little quiz. Guess what are those black patches are?

I took them at NZ, Hot Water Beach. Apparently, there is a volcano out in the sea, and hot salty water are escaping through the sand. So during low tide, you could actually dig your own hot pool. Unfortunately, we wait and wait and the tide didn't seems to go low. Arggh ... better luck next time! :( but do have fun with guessing! :)

Well, they are baby Mussels! NZ Greenlipped Mussels are absolutely my favourite!

Ramblings: Long Long way

2006-01-17T00:38:00.000+08:00

Looks like it's still a long long way to go before I could do my next update :(
Sorry, but hope you do stay with me ....
- Makan Session at PeraMakan (Peranakan Cuisine) @ Singapore
- NZ trips etc
- Sydney Oysters, fish market etc
- More HCMC food, places etc ...

Home: Hari Raya Haji / Korban - Timid Edition

2006-01-10T20:29:00.000+08:00

Today's marks an occassion when our Muslim friends celebrate the conclusion of the annual Haj - the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. Thanksgiving prayers are offered in the mosques. Sheep were sacrificed (korban) whose meat was distributed among the relatives and the poor. As for myself, I get a day of Public Holiday :)

Korban (religious sacrifice) were perform in various Mosques around Singapore. Watching the Korban wasn't actually on my mind, but since I coincidentally drive past a mosque, I might as well take a peek. And don't worry too much about, I assure you that mine is a less bloody version of Korban :D

Beautiful Mosque

The Main Hall and this area is strictly out-of-bound to women.

Did I mentioned that it's raining? It been like these for several days now :(
That's the area whereby sheep were slaughtered. It's covered up due to the rain, you seeing it now because they already packing up :P Ideally, the slaughtering should be performed by the person offering the korban, however, butchers were mostly employed nowadays to perform this task (i.e slitting the neck, blood draining & finally cutting & twisting its head off)

The headless sheep were move to the next area whereby skinning & gutting were done.

Then it's onto the trolley and off to the next section

Here, sheep were cut to halves or quarters.

Then it's off to another section where they were electric saw to smaller pieces.

And finally, to even smaller pieces for packaging.

These people were waiting for to collect small part of their offering. The rest of the offering will be distributed to the more needy.

Collecting part of offering when their name is called.

(Needy)People lining up for distribution of offering. Well, they don't exactly looks like "needy" people, but that's the spirit of sharing their offering with others.

So you see, virtually no blood. Perhaps I'll do a bloodier version next year, but that requires some planning. Till then, I wish our Muslim friends ...
!!!SELAMAT HARI RAJA HAJI !!!

Banner: January 2006

2006-01-10T01:04:00.000+08:00

(belated) !!! HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
Hmm ... looks like I'm still not out of the woods yet. Still I need to start off with something simple. And banner for Jan 2006 should be easy to do :P

I made a few banners from my last New Zealand Trip.

New Zealand Christmas Tree, Pohutukawa [po-hoo-ta-car-wa](Metrosideros excelsa)

Kiwi Fruits

Tairua @ Coromandel Peninsula, a small but beautiful & relaxing seaside village. We stayed with our host in their lovely & unique "Barn-like" design holiday house.

Wai-O-Tapu @ Rotorua, New Zealand most colourful natural volcanic environment.

In the end, I choose to go local for all banners. So I dropped my baggage upon reaching home and join the mob at Esplanade for the New Year Countdown Fireworks. Was hoping to photograph the crowds with fireworks in the background.

Arghh ... too difficult! For a start, I was late. Secondly, I don't the height like those NBA players, so when the fireworks starts and everyone were raising high up their mobile phone trying to do recording of the splendid fireworks display, that's all I could see hehehehe..... Anyway, I thought the sight of those mobile phones in the dark were interesting. So that how this banner come about. :)

Home: Orchard Rd Xmas Lightup

2005-12-16T03:35:00.000+08:00

Since I went to the "Winter" Wonderland at Tangling Mall, I miight as well checkout the xmas decoration at Orchard Rd since it's just around the corner. And oh my, this year was certainly the Year of Lights!!!

Rallying to run me flat as roti prata (indian pancake)? Fortunately, the (traffic) lights are in my favor now hehehe ...

"EARTH FROM ABOVE" Photo Exhibition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. SIMPLY STUNNING!

Interesting revolving Christmas Tree outside Ngee Ann City. Even more interesting events are the nightly carolling that going to start from 16 ~ 24 Dec 2005. These features songs & dances from different countries tribal & aboriginal including Thailand Karen & Lahu, China Yunan Dai & Miao, Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Japan International Choral Group etc etc ...

Definitely not to be missed!!! Unfortunately, I will be leaving for vacation from 16 Dec 2005 onwards :(

My favourite Christmas Tree got to be from Paragon. Lots of people posing shots with this Paragon Christmas Tree.

Christmas Tree from Wisma isn't too bad as well.

Arabian nights Theme for Tangs Plaza. Stunning lights creating 3d-ish visual delights.

My evergreens, Starscape from Wheelock Place.

And lastly, Season Greetings & Best Wishes.

This will be my last post for 2005. As I head to vacation-land, counting sheeps & rolling hills, attempting to refresh & rejuvenate. Hopefully this break will help me concoct new creative ideas as well as setting new goals & direction in life.

Frankly, it have been pretty hectic & tiring period creating this blog. Due to work schedule, most of my blogs updates were usually done very late at night. At the same time, I'm always constantly amazed by the work I'm able to achieve within such a short span of time.

Nevertheless, I'm not sure if that's the kind of life I want to lead, but since I have set my one year goal from Oct 2005, I guess I should continue and decides when the time comes.

Till then ... See ya in 2006
!!! P E A C E !!!

Home: "Winter" Wonderland @ Tanglin Mall

2005-12-16T02:37:00.000+08:00

So, finally I did went down to Tanglin Mall for the annual fake snow festival.

*** OYSTERS leh!!?? ***
Oops! This fake snow is more fun! Besides, I'm searching for more information on Australia Oysters so that I can put up a better article =). Hence, sorry to say that the Oysters thingy it will have wait next year ...

Back to annual snowy affair, this have been a regular feature at Tanglin Mall that's very popular with kids as well as photographers for photographic opportunities, of course. If I remembered correctly, snow maker machine was initially brought in for making snow, however due to cost as well as issues of controlling the melting snow, they have use non-toxic soapy foam as subsitute.

While the soapy foam certainly doesn't feels or even look like snow (closeup), the fun factor is certainly still there. Just look at all the smiling faces :)

Getting pretty chaotic!

Look! ma! So many "snow"

Throwing "snow" ball

Hit & Run!!!

The Channel-U (TV media) came down to report as well. Do not know who is this pretty lady, obviously I have been not using the TV for far too long.

Aftermath, you see the maintenance people on the right spraying liquid that dissolves the soapy foam quickly

Still reluctant to part with her "snow" hehehe ...

For those who are interested, "Winter" wonderland will ends on 2nd Jan 2006.
Fun times starts at 7pm & 8pm (30mins each start with "Avalanche" & then "snow" simulation). Washup area is provided nearby, do bring a towel to clean yourself up.

Have Fun!

Food: Nibbles here & there @ Australia, Sydney

2005-12-13T01:13:00.000+08:00

Just posting the rest of nibbles I photographed while I was in sydney.

First thing I have when I step out of the Sydney Airport, Krispy Kreme Doughnut.

Plain Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme with Raspberry fillings.
While nice, personally I find it a bit too sweet to my liking.

Pho Bo at Pho Pasteur (near chinatown). It was good when I tried few years back. But it turn out disappointing this time. The "fresh" basket of herbs weren't fresh. Soup was on salty side. I beginning to miss Pho24 in Vietnam now :(

I wanted the Fresh Spring rolls (Summer Rolls) but they ran out. So I decide on seafood spring roll which was not too bad. Crispy, prawns crunchy albeit a little oily.

Fugu anyone? :D Well, not actually my nibble but decide to include just for interest. Not too sure if this the same edible kind. This was fished out by 2 Korean families who were spenting their leisurely weekend break at Macquarie Point.

Their kids were so adorable, here one of them waving at me. Unfortunately, I forgot their email address. If by chance anybody knows them, please let them know I'm trying to email them their photos. Thanks!

Split Roast at Milsons Point. Serves lovely roast meats. Their kebabs that spiced with middle-east blend of spices was great as well.

Will love to try all, unfortunately I have only one stomach :(

Somewhere near North Sydney. Interesting twist to Vietnamese Cui Guon. Instead of prawns, they have raw/smoked salmon slices with chilli dipping sauce.

Again, North Sydney. This place have far more excellent choices of homey italian pasta & middle-east meals than City itself. This quick grab lunch is good turkish bread with Australia Brie, Turkey slices with plenty of fresh veggies in-between.

Going to try "serve" the Oysters before I go for my vacation.
Slurp! =)

Ramblings: Let's live again!

2005-12-12T03:07:00.000+08:00

Throttling through the throng, dodging past "professional" flyer distributors, I pass from shop to shop, collecting related price lists, headed Apple Center to "salivating" for a while at the MAC Mini before off to basement food court for a cuppa. hehehe ... nah, not about to made the switch yet. Been considering to add-on later.

Pouring through the price lists, I'm simply overwhelm by the choices available. From past single page pricelist to present 3 pages of doubleside pricelist!!! Even the printed font were very much reduced.

I was looking for SFF (Small Form Factor) barebone system which is basically consists of chassis, motherboard & Power supply. You just have to add your choice of CPU, Memories & other peripherals. While I'm prepared to pay a little more, it is unfortunate that better designed barebone are built with more costly configuration. Much more then I willing to pay.

I wanted something smaller then ATX (doesn't mind if it's bigger the SFF) with neat & simple design. So I threw away all the pricelist and start to wander mindless again from shop to shop. Thankfully, I found what I wanted. =)

As you can see from my hand-drawn illustrations. It's neat, cute, simple and it's BLACK!!!. Oops!!! perhaps my illustrations were a bit messy (just like my blog). So here the textual description.
Hidden behind those covers are
Top-Left : floppy
Top : DVD writer (add-on myself).
Middle :7-in-1 card reader, clock & radio display (yes, it comes with built-in radio although I doubt I will be using it much)
Bottom : Mic & radio, 2 X USB, 2 X 1394 (aka firewire)

There are more at the back. But I don't think it's nice to show the "backside", so just the textual description here hehehe ...
- 4 X USB
- Serial X 1 (Yes, I need for my GPS)
- Parallel X 1
- Gigabit LAN
- Mic + Speaker + Line-in
- VGA Port
- Game/MIDI Port

I think this is a better perspective with regards to its size. And oh, can't see all the ports as I forgot to turn on the flash, my apologises :P So I'm all ready to start posting more food photos now =)

On other stuffs, Glad that my Orchids are getting prettier & prettier each day ....

Ramblings: R.I.P

2005-12-08T00:20:00.000+08:00

Yup~ PC finally RIP. But at least I'm quite certain to have narrow down to faulty motherboard. It's nearly 5 years old and I suppose its high time to upgrade anyway. Come weekend, and I will be heading to Sim Lim Square, Singapore one-stop shopping for your all DIY computer needs.

I certainly hope to reuse back some working parts like 512M RAM, 40G harddrive, Matrox G550 display card, DVD burner. Yes, its old but still working fine. I don't play games hence do not require the latest & greatest graphic card, bleeding with cutting edge 3D rendering & co-processing capabilities.

So probably I need to just DIY the small platform chassis, motherboard c/w CPU. btw, Pricelist can be found conveniently online at Hardwarezone SG

*sighz* I foresee another ULTRA HECTIC weekend, not to mention the regular work that I'm trying to complete before my vacation starts. I guess it is times like this that I have learn how shift my gear down and smell the flowers along the way. Got a couple of shots from my Malaysia, Cameron Highlands trip 2002. Folks at GREEN CULTURE have been kind to provide me with some leads. I'm hoping to locate a more precise ID (i.e Common & Latin botanical names) of these plants. Please HELP ME if you can ID them, otherwise, please just enjoy those beautiful plants.

btw, the last photo is my Orchid that just bloom. Been trying to ID this as well :P

Food: Spanish Portuguese Affair @ Australia, Sydney

2005-12-04T01:30:00.000+08:00

I love evening walks in Sydney, the lovely shades of blue skies never fails to leaves me in awe. Of late, life is full of surprises. My mindless walking lead me to quiet cross junction of Pyrmont St & Union St. And there, I spotted a lovely quaint building away from the buzzing touristy streets of sydney. I found Talentino Restaurant that serves Portuguese Country Style Cuisine.

Their cosy atmosphere evokes feeling of romance and style. I felt completely at ease once I got seated at the table. Service is excellent & attentive. The food is full of rich robust flavour. They are served freshly cooked, even if you arrive to the resturant half an hour prior to their closing. I'm wondering why there were so little reviews found about this excellent restaurant with value meals.

WHERE?
Talentino Cafe . Restaurant
Portuguese Country Style Cuisine
9 Union Street Prymont NSW 2006
Tel 9518 8000

btw, I made a little boo-boo about the title, I got to know Paella from Spanish cuisine and only realise, after looking at their business card, its Portuguese that they are serving. Nevertheless, they all belongs to Iberian Penisular region, and cuisine bears a close resemblance to each other. For example, they are fond of adding Piri-piri to their dishes.

Piri-piri means "pepper-pepper" in Swahili, an pan-Afrian language. They member Capsicum genus that originate from Africa. Being relating to capsicum / chilli, they adds a lovely spicy note to dishes. There a couple of interesing reads about how it get to Portugal or iberian region. I shall not elaborate and left to reader for furthur exploration, if they wish.

SOURCES
Fiery Foods
Leite's Culinaria

Without much delay, I shall let the photos do the rest of talking :)
BOM APETITE! BUEN APETITO!

Cosy & Relaxing

Sangria (blend of wine & fruits juice) with juicy bits of fruits

Bread with Portuguese Olive Oil

Baby Barbeque Octopus served with salad and lemon olive sauce

Sapaghetti Marinara - Fresh mixed seafood, garlic, piripiri, parsley, white wine and spicy iberian sauce

Paella - Traditional spanish rice dish, cooked with chicken and variety of seafood

Freshly made Hot Chocolate

Chocolate Mousse

Hope you enjoyed those photos! :)

Banner: Dec 2005

2005-12-01T22:53:00.000+08:00

Another new month, another new banner. And December being XXXtra merry month, rightfully, I should put up some XXXtra merry banner. Perhaps night scene of Orchard Road glittering décor or even the annual artificial “snow” event at Tanglin Mall that draws huge crowds every night.

But noooooooooooo …… simply because I’m XXXtra lazy and have no wish to be sandwiched between those XXXtra joyous crowds.

But you may ask, what’s up with all the XXX? Ahhhh...
Xtra merry one : Because Christmas Holiday coming
Xtra merry two : Because New Year Holiday is next
Xtra merry three : Because most of the people will be heading off for longer holidays soon. Meaning, work slowing down soon =)

Hence it’s XXXtra pleasurable for me to kick off my shoes, turn down the lights and simply indulge over a smoothing cuppa of warm, aromatic & foamy Teh Tarik.

TEH TARIK(or Tea Pulling literally) is a popular street style Indian Milk Tea in Singapore & Malaysia. Strong Ceylonese (I think sometimes Assam are used as well) black tea are used to brew thick flavorful tea. Condensed Milk are added to tea. With 2 mugs / large cups, The Teh Tarik master will “pull” the tea to & fro the mugs to create a smooth, rich & foamy milk tea as you see in the banner.

So whatever pleasures you desires, wish you have a XXXrta happy & XXXciting holidays ahead.

p.s: I'll be XXXtra curious how many XXX google searches will hit my blog as well :D

Quiz: Plant Guessing (Updated)

2005-11-29T01:25:00.000+08:00

Haven't really finish my HCMC, a quick glance what's coming
A couple more to go like interesting wraps, noodles soup from Hue, street scene, cu chi tunnels, tay ninh with unique religion that you can't find else where.

Also few more from Sydney trip, if you love oysters or like Spanish Paella & pasta in rich Iberian sauce, sydney street scenes, stay tuned.

Arghh ... that reminds that I told someone that I will post some shots of of my Mae Hong Son, North Thailand few years back. Looks like it's quite impossible now.

hmm ... seems like gonna drag for months hehehe ... hope that didn't sounds too boring :P

Anyways, with Month end approaching, meaning more crazy work schedules coming. Besides, need to preparing for another trip in Dec 2005 :P So I will less time to work on my post. :(

MEANTIME ...... why not try guessing which plant these flowers belongs to. HINT: Its a pretty popular culinary herb in South East Asia.

Have fun!
p.s: Will reveal answer perhaps in couple of days? Sorry, no prize for making the right guess. Pretty much broke after all the vacations :P

ANSWER
So does this picture tells you anything more?

Well, they are the curry leaves (Murraya koenigii). Actually they are small trees with highly aromatics leaves, They are used in Indian curries dish. But we do find deep fried leaves that are serves along with local chinese dish like oat/cereal prawns, pepper crabs.

Interesting, they are traditionally used for treatments in digestive system, skin ailments & diabetes.

More links here if you are interesting in furthur readings .....
Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
Plant Cultures

Food: Something Simple @ Home

2005-11-26T12:30:00.000+08:00

Being not a early raiser, sometimes I skip breakfast entirely. Otherwise, it will be any simple brekkie that I can easily whipped up with whatever leftover I got. This morning, typically late of me. I found eggs, Savoiardi Lady fingers and Lavazza Perfecto Espresso Coffee pods.

I love Omelette. And since I don't have anything else, I would have to settle for a plain one, seasoned only by natural sea salt & freshly grind black pepper corns. hmm ... This morning omelette was a little over done, nevertheless, it was still good for me.

To finish off, I have Savoiardi Lady fingers with Espresso "dips" :)
You don't really have to stop there.

Got Kahlua? Add a few dash to zing up your espresso
Got Mascarpone? Add sugar to taste, spread it on espresso soaked lady fingers
Gor Vanilla? Imparts lovely fragance to the Sweeten Mascarpone
Got cocoa powder? Sprinkle them over the espresso soaked, Sweeten Mascarpone spread Lady fingers.

So there, you finally got a bite-sized TIRAMISU!!! Well we are almost there :D

LIFE is not religiously adhering to exact "specifications & requirements" of others. LIFE is more of "adjusting & adapting" yourself to ever changing circumstances. And that's makes me more happy & satisfied.

Have a good weekend!

Food: First love ... @ Vietnam, HCMC

2005-11-25T00:54:00.000+08:00

I vividly remembers how I meet my first love in HCMC. It was the day when I was suppose to be early. Early for a daytrip to Cu Chi Tunnel & Tay Ninh. Overslept, I find myself feverishly rushing to my meeting point at Sinh Cafe.

Fortunately, I got there 15mins prior to departure. However, I felt so empty, I need a quick fix, to fill up all my emptiness in me. And there I found her, quickly fixed in a jiffy (well, almost). When I first touch, she crackles a little, then it was warm, soft all over. Insides her, were warm, moist & runny. A little spicy with a seductive pungently scent that simply blows my mind away.

Please allow me to introduce my first love. her name, "BANG ME"

Alllrrright, enough of my nonsense hehehe. In all my silliness, I added extra "g" & "e"to the pronunciation. "Bang Me" or "Ban Mee", they sounds so similiarly anyways :) However, my apologises if I unintentionally offend in anyway.

So that's my first encounter with Vietnamese Banh mi . Vietnam solution to french baguette and America submarine sandwiches. These were light & crusty bread made with rice & wheat flour. (According to Corrine Tang in "Authentic Vietnamese Cooking : Food from a Family Table").

I love the thin crispy crust with soft & light textures inside. Warm runny omelette that's laced with chilli, pate & pungently fish sauce. At 10000dong(S$1), what a bargain!!!

Consequently, that leads me to search for more Banh mi .in the streets of HCMC. Luck was with me all along. I found two at the busy cross junction of Hai Ba Trung & Ly Tu Trong, just minutes walk from my stay.

Sitting on one corner, we have a very quiet women. She runs this makeshift stall all by herself in the morning. An empty basket, perhaps a testimontal of her "popularity" along this side of the street. With no menu available & zero Vietnamese language capabilities, I will have to order what the previous person ordered. Did I said luck seems to be on my side? Yes, it was good!

For 5000dong (S$0.50), she starts preparing your breakfast swiftly, spreading butter & pate, filling up spaces whatever available spaces in the bread and fainlly dizziling with some pungently aromatic fish sauce blends.

A peek inside prior to munching reveals ??chicken?? luncheon, fatty cured pork slices, veggies stuffed to "max capacity". I've already said all how I liked the bread, the savoury fillings add notches up to the taste. It was a good breakfast at a bargain!

On the other corner, we have a mother & daughter team. they served Banh mi with omelette. Having tasted my "first love", which was really a plain omelette Banh mi, I actually look forward savouring them for another time.

Again, with no Vietnamese language capabilities & menu unavailable, I have to finger point ao the eggs to indicate what I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised the sweet & shy daughter asked me to choose my own bread. Similarly, Banh mi costs 5000dong as well. By the way, these plain bread sells at mere 1000dong ($0.10) / piece!

Having selected your favourite bread, she starts her swift action, multitasking between preparing bread at the tabletop and making 2 eggs omelette under the table.

Peeking at the fillings reveals a gorgeous piece of freshly maded omelette that completely covers the veggies filling underneath. Pieces of chilli adds some mild heat, and Pate spread (above) with, again, pungently aromatic fish sauce ups the savoury taste & aroma.

Having tried 3, I have got to say that I liked them all. While the breads are the similiar, mix-n-match of different igredients can completely creates an entirely new Banh mi . So if you happens to find one Banh mi stall around the corner when in HCMC, do give it a shot. I'm pretty sure you be will delighted.

Bon Appetit!!!
p.s: Yeah! Managed to fix my home PC. Fortunately it's just a minor window registy corruption. Phew!!!

Ramblings: Home PC down :-(

2005-11-23T12:49:00.000+08:00

Last night, while trying to install SCSI card for my scanner, my ethernet card decides to stop working. Even after reverting to original setup & reinstalling hardware & drivers et al ... it simply refuse to autoconfigure to right IP Address. While I'm trying hard to get it to work, it certainly doesn't help to have a mild fever "visitig" you at the same time ... arghhh ..

All my stuffs was on my home PC, I just couldn't do any furthur updates until the ocnnectivity issues got sorted out. Guess we both need some rest :(

Interestingly, the horoscope was right on advising not to make any changes while Mercury was retrograding from November 14 to December 3, I shouldn't have attempted the change during this period.

Food: Bun Oc @ Vietnam, HCMC

2005-11-19T00:07:00.000+08:00

Being my first trip to Vietnam, it is quite understandable why many are my first experience. Snail meat happen to be one of them. Many thanks to Noodlepie excellent blog, locating a molluscs meal of all sorts anywhere in HCMC is merely a few mouse clicks away. This man is truely a walking dictionary of all things edible in HCMC (if not Vietnam). I decided on the snail noodle soup at Bo Ai.

With a printed page on hand, I walked-the-talk on the streets of HCMC. I'm really looking for red colored signboard & blue chairs (seen on Noodlepie's blog) since this is far more visible then hunting down some Vietnamese words, which I hardly understand. Strangely, I could not locate Bo Ai even though I have a gut feeling that I'm pretty near there.

Strolling up & down, perplexing, sweating profusing under the noon sun. Fortunately one kind soul point me to the shop right in front of me! ARGGHHHH *blush* IT'S JUST RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!! *blush* There is a tree available at my side for my head knocking as well *blush* And I realise why I'm not able to locate by colors!!! They changed the color scheme. The signboard is blue/white while the chairs are red now.

Embrassed, I quickly get seated to the nearest chair I could find. A kid brought a menu but I just quickly points to Big Sign on the wall that says BUN OC.

The food arrived pretty quick and the "usual suspects" showed up. The wet towel (1000dong),some shredded vegetables or herbs, chilles, sauce and of course the bowl of Bun Oc.

The veggies / herb plates were made up of possibly mint leaves, ?shredded banana flower bud?, bean sprouts. (ok, I admit, I'm lost here!

Bowl of Bun Oc were full of chopped spring onions, tomatos, noodles (bun) & of course snail meat (Oc - blackish bite-sized thingy in the soup). I so pleased that these don't looked as challenged as the duck egg.

Soup taste light & easy, sourish with hint of mild sweetness from tomatos. No oilliness or fats nor traces of MSG are deteced (at least my head tells me otherwise I will have a throbbing headache). The crunchy snail meat itself don't have any odour nor taste. But I think it adds interesting textures & body to the otherwise soupy noodles bowl.

I really liked this light refreshing soup, it really nice and easy meal. Especially good when you don't feel like having a heavy meal. And with all the veggies and absence of the fats & cholesterol, This is really a great bowl of health!

Where? Bo Ai at 19/12 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street in District 1
Price? hmm ... scribble something in my notebook, will update later (if found) :P

Looking just across the road, I can't help thinking why Vietnamese prefer to "stacked" their houses vertically up on limited land. Perhaps land costs might be one of the primary reasons especially in District 1. However, you have consider the extra costs for "stacking" your rooms vertically up. Besides, I do find it quite a hassle to climb up & down if your bedroom happens to be on the top.

Perhaps there might be other reasons, do shed some lights in the comments if you know them :) Thanks!

Photo: Sunsets

2005-11-17T01:47:00.000+08:00

For some reasons I'm not fully aware, I always love watching Sunset. Be it Singapore, Thailand, Tokyo, Australia etc. I will always diligently make a point to watch them whenever possible. Perhaps it concludes a day of hectic work, signifying the end of daily mad rush and time to be back with home with family or out with friends. Whatever the reasons, it always brings me peace, calmness & great sense of contentment

Both photos were taken on the same day (around March 2000) with my old 2Megapix Digicam at different locations.

The first was taken somewhere near ??Singapore Yacht Club??. While the sunset wasn't the most spectacular I have seen. I do find the clouds most interesting & lovely.

The Second was taken from Kent Ridge Park. I was rather late when I rush from the first location. The cloudy skies have eaten up most of the lovely orangy hue. Just when I was about the leave, the sunset (or perhaps it was the clouds?) showing off its last streak of brilliance before dwindling quickly behind the dark skies.

Food: Hotel "Embryonic duck"@Vietnam, HCMC

2005-11-15T00:30:00.000+08:00

I have long heard about Embryonic duck eggs (Trung vit lon) that were much relished by people of Vietnam & Philippines. These eggs were well-known for their superb nutritious value to these people. Nevertheless, savouring a cooked duck embryo that gone through half it's development stages STILL sounds pretty gross to me. It never ever strucked in my sane mind that I would "savouring" one of these eggs, until one fine day ...

While stroling along the busy streets of HCMC. Stumbled upon a cafe that sells Bo Bia. What really caught my initial attention was Bo Bia, it sounds so familiar with the po-piah that I so loved in Singapore. Bit of glancing around, revealing several white eggs in simmering water. When asked, the owner gladly pointed to a gentleman who was already devouring the half-born, fully cooked egg.

I hestiated. Wanting to retreat. A few strike of lightnings and moment later, the skies turns dark and began pouring. Stucked, stumbled, with no where to hide. Suddenly "Hotel California" rings in my head ...

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Suddenly, I realise I was already seated. Plates of Bo Bia & an Embryonic egg sits visibility right in front. Damn hard decision which to go first. But finally settled to take a roll of Bo Bia. If it tastes good, I can proceed with the Embryonic egg then, leaving the last two rolls to mask off any aftertaste of the egg. Smart choice! (Assuring myself)

Usual ricepaper, vegetables with striking red colored stuffs that initially looks like chilli

First bite, crunchy vegetables finally revealing the red stuffs to be spicy-sweet shrimps. Dipping sauce of coarse chopped peanuts, hoisin sauce, chillies etc. This is good! So proceed with Part 2 of the plan.

Slowly crack the upper half of the egg, immediately, warm dark brown liquid began seeping out from the cracks. Quickly, I licked the warm liquid, taste exactly like meaty & full bodied broth. Ate a few peppery & minty Vietnamese mint (which we call laksa leaves as well) to counter the meaty aftertaste.

Sprinkle a mixed of salt, pepper and possible MSG provided onto the "partially naked" egg. First bite, taste of different textures. White portion like a soft bone, yellow like cooked yolk and lastly the gross meaty portion like tender young meat.

I paused for a breathier. A dozen of eyes sets upon me, wondering if this stranger is able to finish up the rest. Not wanting to lose out, I take a deep breath, sprinkle more salt/pepper mixture and began "devouring" the rest of this half-borned creature.

More herbs & bo bia began tucking into my mouth. FOllowed by heavy sipping salted lemon drink. Much relieved I have finally "conquered" this fright of mine.

Just as I finish the last drop of my drink, the rain stops, the skies shines. With a sense of pride & accomplishment, I begin to stroll proudly, feeling more confident of any (food) challenges ahead of me.

Coming home .........

2005-11-11T15:05:00.000+08:00

Hello from Sydney

And YES!!! Feels good to be coming home tomorrow
Meantime, here another eye candy for you "faithful" readers :)

Travel: Langkawi's Pulau Dayang Bunting & hiatus again

2005-11-04T00:59:00.000+08:00

We are having a "brief break" from Vietnam stories and i decide to add memories of my past travels

Langkawi - An island situated North-West of West Malaysia (Just off the coast of Kedah. Actually made up of 99 (small) islands which Pulau Langkawi being the largest.

That was a trip made in 2002, we went island hopping and Pulau Dayang Bunting was one of the island we visited. One of the key attraction was the Tasik Dayang Bunting (Lake of the Pregnant Maiden). This picturesque freshwater lake was separated from the sea by a thin shore line. It is believed that barren women who bath & drink from the lake will be able to conceive.

There are a few version of this folklore, I choose the shorter one :P
A lovely fairly princess who married an earthly prince. Their first child died shortly after birth. Deeply depressed, she buried her child in crystal clear watera of the lake. And before returning to celestial abode, she blessed the waters so that any childless maiden who bathed in the lake would concieve thereafter. -The end - Short & sweet huh? :)

That also partly explains how the Island & Lake got its name of "Pregnant Maiden". But if you are still unconvinced, check this out, was told it look like pregnant woman, hmm ... use a little of your imagination lah. :)

Whatever, the cool sparkling cystal clear water gives us instant respite after hours of island hopping. And "free foot massage" also available from the friendly "resident" (i.e Freshwater Catfish). Well, I think are actually biting but it feel more ticklish then pain hehehe ...

!!!WARNING!!! Some variant of catfish, especially saltwater/sea catfish are extremely poisonous. Please be very very sure before you plunge your feet into the water.

With that, gonna make another week of disppearing act again. See ya the following week!

Photo: "EARTH FROM ABOVE" Photo Exhibition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

2005-11-04T00:07:00.000+08:00

Was hanging around Borders (Orchard Rd) and was pleasantly surprised of a outdoor photo exhibition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

EARTH FROM ABOVE
An Outdoor Photographer Exhibition
26 Oct 2005 -> 17 Jan 2005
Orchard Rd (Near Borders)

Joinly co-presented by France Embassy of Singapore & Singapore Environment Council, EARTH FROM ABOVE exhibition hopes to bring environmental message across to the public.

The Earth damages are not irreversible but changes need to made as soon as possible. Such developments needs improving production to use earth-friendly methods and changing our consumption habits. With active participation from all around the world, everyone can contribute to the future of the Earth & Mankind.

The exhibit showcase Aerial Photography done over period of 10 years. Flying over 76 countries and clocking up to 3,000 flying hours from helicopter. The large prints of these magnificant landscape aerial photography were simply breathtaking. Not only bringing great aspiration to any photographer wannabe, it left the public viewer astounded, or as what one has wrote in the guest book "BEYOND WORDS!!!"

Though I have not finish the exhibit (as I got to rush back home), I intended to revisit again when I'm back from my trip.

DON'T MISS THIS!!!
And if you are not around Singapore during the exhibition dates. Check out his website here for more fabulous photographs Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Hot skirts, Vespa, Pho24 & Mumcooks

2005-11-02T00:51:00.000+08:00

Just some quick updates ... firstly continuing from Hot Skirts, Short Skirts.

Vietnamese Ladies were very fond of their beautiful Ao Dai. So obviously, when I went back that night. No hot skirts, short skirts :( Instead, I found bunch of Friendly Motorola - Vespa Fanatic Club. They were having their Friday nightout with likemind peoples (i.e Crazy over Vespa Scooter). Those customized Vespa Scooters are very beautifully done up.

NOTE: It's really really dark there and I have to boast my camera ISO to the max to capture this which results in noisy & poorer photo

Well, feeling a little "disappointed"(hehehe, just kidding), though the custom scooter & friendly folks were fanastic!. I headed to Pho24 for my first Pho & beer fixes. Having seen a little of pho shops around HCMC which generally looks bit rundown. I was very surprised to find a modern & clean Pho24. Service are fast & efficient

I ordered Pho Bo tai(Price? 24000 dong) and Vietnam 333 Beer (Price? 13000dong). I reckon it arrived within a few minutes. Soup was delightfully aromatic with slight meaty punch. It was hot enough to cook the strips of raw beef within minutes. Vermicelli were the thinner type, anyway I wasn't too particular about the type of Vermicelli.

It was a good meal, Nice & Clean decor, what's there not to like? I won't hestiate to recommend you Pho24 even though Pho cost more here. BTW, the teacup which you see besides my beer is Lotus Tea which they serve at end of your meal

Where? They seems to be everywhere in HCMC. I have mine along Hai Ba Trung Street. And on this same street, there is another Pho24 within walking distance.

More information can be found at their website Pho 24

And fastforward to Singapore ................ I just want to blog down whatever Mumcooks every weekend. And last week, we had Homecook Prawn Noodles. Good thing about homecook meals like this that you add extra prawns, pork slices as much as you like. And of course, nothing beats the freshly made prawn broth, especially it's made by mum :)

Banner: Ver 2.0 Roadside Trees

2005-10-31T23:25:00.000+08:00

Picture this! A city with conrete jungles, mind-boggling roads, people & chaos. Now add well kept trees & plants along the roadside, softening the dull bureaucratic looking buildings. Gardens & Parks sprouting around the island providing people with much shade & relaxation. This was the brainchild of our former Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Today, we enjoyed lush greenery, beautiful flowering trees if one bother to slow down and "smell the flowers" along the way.

Banner Ver 2.0 shows Cassia fistula or commonly known as the Golden Shower Tree planted along the roadside, nearing its peak of flowering season. They bloom several times a year, producing drooping branches with clusters of bright yellow flowers that seems like showering down, and hence the name "Golden showers". At the end of flowering, long dark brown cylindrical pods appear on the branches. The barks, young leaves, seeds are used in traditional medicine around asia.

And if you are interested to know more about our greenery. It's gratifying to know that we have a bunch of young Green Culturers, very driven, ever keen to share their joys & knowledge in Gardening & Plants.

Do drop by and give support to their course :)
Green Culture Singapore

Food: Cafe Van Xuan @ Vietnam, HCMC

2005-10-27T23:18:00.000+08:00

I have just finished my Bun Oc (Snail Noodle, yes yes, will blog that later) and was about to walk to Bach Dang for my Ice Cream fixes. This distinctive building caught my eye.

Being a nature lover, I was very attracted to the copious amount of greenery used in their decor. While Cafe Van Xuan is not a ice cream parlour, I'm pretty sure ice cream are typically on the menu. Besiding being able to test ice cream from somewhere different, I could also indulged in the lush greenery as well as resting my tired legs. "So why not?" I asked myself.

Sadly, while the decor is great, the ice cream wasn't. Their Danlan Naomi (Price? 28000 dong) is basically 2 scoops (Vanilla & Chocolate) with various fruit toppings, chocolate sauce and wafer stick. The main issues was with the ice cream, they taste floury and the chocolate scoop wasn't chocolately rich as well.

Fortunately, their excellent Vietnamese Drip Iced Coffee (Ca Phe) @ 16000 dong makes up for everything. Vietnamese way of coffee extraction itself is pretty therapeutic to your senses. First you patiently wait for your coffee to be dripped into a cup prefilled with condensed milk.

Next you remove the drip and give the coffee& condensed milk a good stir. Smell your coffee before you pour into the ice glass provided. This smell of deliciously good caramel & cocoa, just like the Moka Coffee Beans.

And finally, relax, enjoy your cuppa while lazily watching the world go by :)

Next to this Cafe is yet another interesting building. Apparently it's a drinking pub. And what's so INTERESTING is that they got transparent flooring. WOW! I wonder how short skirts, hot skirts will look like when standing on this flooring. Obviously I will be back in the night to see if I can capture any "beautiful moments" hehehe ... Watch this space :D

Food: Bach Dang Ice Cream @ Vietnam, HCMC

2005-10-27T00:11:00.000+08:00

Sitting right at the cross junction of Le Pasteur & Le Loi, unmistakably one of few popular tourist streets, Bach Dang Ice cream serves up quite a variety of cool desserts and ice cream. While the variety of ice cream wasn't as extensive as Fanny, they seems to be extremely popular with locals as well as tourist. Perhaps being situated right in the middle of prime tourist strips makes them more easily noticable. Probably not known by tourists, Fanny ice cream is just about another 100m walk from Bach Dang.

Services are prompt & efficent but they seems to hurry you with your order. Also, local seems to use a menu that is different from tourists. I'm suspecting that there may be different price lists between locals & tourists. That said, the pricing for tourists are comparable to Fanny price list.

And since they are situated along major streets, tourists should try to sit inside to avoid being pestered by Shoe shiners, post card sellers & the likes.

Creme Eskimo
Price? 30000 dong (approx S$3)
Romantically shaped like a Heart; Vanilla ice cream, half coated with Chocolate; Whipped cream toppings, 3 chocolate rock candies; Slices of Chiku,dragon fruit, Water Melon, small grapes & pineapple sauce. I love the presentation & taste ice cream. However, do wait a while for the ice cream to soften as it's a little harden when taken straight from their fridge.

Ice Cream in Young Coconut
Price? 40000 dong (approx S$4)
3 scoops ice cream (Vanilla, Chocolate & ?i forgot!?) in young coconut, various fruits toppings with dollop of whipped cream. While I'm less impressed with this, it seems to be very popular with locals & tourists. I feel it shouldn't cost 10000 dong more than the Creme Eskimo. Well, perhaps the extra cost is for the young coconut. Fair enough, but I DO want my coconut juice back. :-P

Vietnamese love their dessert. You can always see Vietnamese family packing into Bach Dang Ice cream for their after dinner treat. And another interesting observation of mine, Vietnamese ladies also seems to love their pajamas as well. I have not only spotted them wearing pajamas for ice cream in the evening, they are even seen in pajamas walking around Shopping Centres (e.g Diamond Plaza) during daytime hehehe...

Where?
26 & 28 Le Loi Street, District 1, HCMC . (848) 829 6381 . info @ bachdangicecream.com

Food: Fanny Ice Cream @ Vietnam, HCMC

2005-10-26T00:42:00.000+08:00

Of the 3 ice cream parlours I tried while in Vietnam HCMC, I loved Fanny ice cream the most. Will blog about the other 2 later.
I have read about that igredients were all imported from France and follows traditional french fomula. With 3 branches located in Hanoi, HCMC & Hai Phong, have supplied their products to many reputable hotels & restuarant around Vietnam. You can read more about them from their Website http://www.glacefanny.com

The ice cream that I blogged yesterday and this (Caramel ice cream topped with Meringue) are just some of their awesome ice cream products. Lovely to look at too!!!

Caramel ice cream enclosed in Meringue with soft caramel center (not shown) . And at 39000 dong (approx S$3.90), it doesn't hurts your pocket either :-)

I should also mentioned they serves a good variety of fanastic french crepes as well. This sugar crepes goes for 15000 dong (approx S$1.50). Delightfully soft with nice aroma.

Finally, comes complete with a french-like environment. Perfect! I was telling myself, if not for the unpredictable weather, I would certainly have my dessert fixes here everyday.

And since the location is away from the main streets, you are spared of disturbance from shoe shiners, postcard seller, beggars etc. However, I do have a minor gripe, not only I'm "popular" with taxis, cyclo, motobike. I'm also "popular" with kids -____-;;;

These cute kids were so restless, "teasing" me and only to settle down after their ice cream have arrived. phew ... finally, I can take photo peacefully hehehe ...

Where?
Ho Chí Minh :
29-31 Tôn That Thiep, Q.1Tel : (08) 8 211 633 - (08) 8 211 630

p.s: Do let me know if you need more detailed direction.

I'm back finally!!! But .........

2005-10-25T01:40:00.000+08:00

After days in HCMC struggling with great heat & humidity, incredibly chaotic traffic, dodging taxi + cyclo + motobike etc

I'm finally back!!! phew .............

But wait ... I need to dive into work immediately. There is so much to do becoz 2 weeks later and I'm on my working trip to Down Under :(

Arghhhh!!!!

However, I will try to post whenever possible. But in the meantime, please have some french style ice cream dessert. I think the french would have called them Creme Glacee. I can't believe I actually forgot to copy down the name of this dessert. Must have been enjoying too much :P

Anyway, here the breakdown of the assemble.
- banana split
- one scoop banana sorbet
- one sccop mango sorbet
- one scoop chocolate creme glacee
- topped with whipped cream
- drizzled with hot chocolate sauce

Sounds good? :)
How Much? 36000 Dong (approx S$3.60)
More details to come later ............

Travel: 16 Oct 2004 & upcoming trip

2005-10-16T22:35:00.000+08:00

OH NO!!! Yet another filler hehehe ...
and where was I on 16 Oct last year?

Thanks to M who brought me to 九份(Jiu Fen) in the little red hot riding hood ((小红). It's a very beautiful & nostalgic place that deserves at least a night stay. Not to mention that the food are great as well!

As we went back Taipei (台北) in the late afternoon, I can't help but to admire the beautiful skies & sun rays along the way.

Really felt funny. As soon as I started my blog, I have to go hiatus next week for a short trip to HCMC. Hope to return with some memorable photoshots & adventures for this upcoming trip.
Till then, see you soon .....

Mumcooks: Weekly Luncheon

2005-10-15T23:33:00.000+08:00

Saturday Family Luncheon was a simple affair, which was a relief for me as I was trying to shed off weight after heavy dinner at Makan x10/05 @ My Mum's place

So what did my REAL mum (not to be confused with "My Mum's Place hehehe...) cooks for Lunch.

Char Siew Fried Rice
Fried Rice with juicy bits of Char Siew.

Bean Sprout Fritters
Well, actually it's prawn fritters minus the prawn. That's what she usually do when she have extra batter after making batches of prawn fritters. I like it without the prawn as well, it was savoury & delicious even on its own, but we usually dunk them in chilli sauce.

Stir Fry Mee Siam with Fried Bean Curd skins
hmm .. this is the first time. Instead of making Mee Siam sauce, she stir fry the spice mixed along with the Mee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli). That was a refreshing change.

And the fried bean skins was another of her experiments. We recently tasted some really delicious deep fried skins which looks like Bean skins / Sticks. However, when she tried this using Bean Curd skins, we found that it's taste rather bland. So it's back to searching for the right igredient & recipe again :)

And lastly, wash down with cooling chin chow drink. Simple & pleasurable home cooked meals that never fails to bring smiles to our whole family.

Makan Session Oct 2005 - My Mum's Place

2005-10-14T22:13:00.000+08:00

Durian Brulee
Originally uploaded by slurp.

On 13 October 2005, I have yet another great makan session with my regular friends.
Thanks to eslim for organizing yet another satisfying & good value dinner at My Mum's Place. Can you imagine we had all these for only $25/pax!!!

WHERE?
My Mums Place 328 Joo Chiat Road, (S)427585 Tel : 6344 3343

Please visit my Flickr Albums for more food photos.
Makan X10/05 - My Mum's Place Flickr Set

Hope you enjoy them!

Checkout more excellent writeups here by
Umami
ivn (recent runes)

p.s: As I'm still new & struggling with my blogging. I have, at the moment, place all my comments in Flickr. Please be gentle with me ;P

Travel: Where am I same day last year (12 Oct 2004)

2005-10-12T22:36:00.000+08:00

My 2004 trip to Korea Seoul. it was my 2nd Day and I was preparing trip to Mt Sorak the next day.

Getting my Bus Ticket to Sokcho, travelling during midnight to Sokcho and then catch the first Bus from Sokcho to Mt Sorak National Park.

My Trusty Guidebook (borrowed from library) & Bus Ticket; Bus Ticket Lady was kind to write a note on the Platform Number (i.e No. 16) to board the Bus. After that, it's train trip straight to Suwon City to visit the Fortress

Well, it's a long walk around the fortress which offers paranomic view of Suwon City

Before heading back to Seoul, happened to pass by a market which sells Piggy head, jellied meat and Blood Sausage (as shown below). Wasn't in a good mood to try after the long walk around the fortress.

Welcome!

2005-10-12T18:35:00.000+08:00

"A journey begins with the very first step …"
Though infamously known to procrastinate, I'm happy to have make my first baby step towards blogsphere.

This going to be my experiemental blog. Not because I'm not serious towards blogging, but because I not sure if blogging will be for me (forever or not).

One year goal, beginning during birthday month, all this makes rememberance easier hehehe .... Nevertheless, I do hope this blogging will be my journey toward self-discovery.

So what you will expect to see here?

Writing doesn't seems to be my forte. Expect non-lengthy articles here in simple English.

Photography is in thing. Expect to be littered with pictures, pictures & more pictures.

Travels is an annual must-do list (be it for work or leisure). Expect to go places with me.

Food is our national past time. Expect simple & non-expensive pleasures with occassional indulgence and silly experimental food at home.

Of course it will be punctuated with humourous & interesting (hopefully) anecdotes when available.

So, if you manage to read this far, I sincerely welcome you to my little adventures (& experimental) in life!

About Banner
This will be change periodically. And what could be better then lovely sunrise depicting a fresh new start. Taken last year (2004) around West of Singapore, one of the more lovely sunrise/sunset I have seen.