What I ate today

Sweet Saigon

2009-07-13T13:47:00.003+10:00

After the culinary backwater that is Perth, HCMC was a joyous, riotous, cacophonic wonderland. Food so good it almost made me cry.

Sweeeeeeet Saigon. I'll be back soon for another heady dose.

Pics here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106445&id=728481834&l=ca5618ab47

Things you won't find at your local Woolies

2009-07-06T19:28:00.014+10:00

Porcine pleasures:

Heart

Tongue

Tail

Skin

Maw

Hock

Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's ice creams: Australian supermarkets, get with it and start importing American ice-cream!

Yum

Yummier

Multigrain curry pau

Burdock Root

Cactus

Dragon Herbal Tonic

Day 14: Kueh for breakfast and + some homecookin'

2009-07-06T18:05:00.019+10:00

Brunch:

Kueh Dardar

Gula melaka was nice and smokey, skin was rubbery

Kueh Koswee

Potato Epok Epok

Egg Prata

We've never had to wait more than 2 minutes for a taxi or 5 minutes for a train

Pondering happily on the public transport system

Dinner:

Mom's prawn fritters. I could eat a bucketload of these!

Har Cheong Kai

Steamed Ngo He fish

Kangkong Lemak

Chap Chye

Indian brinjal

Perth pics

2009-07-06T00:06:00.002+10:00

Perth pics here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=105185&id=728481834&l=98e64911a2

Day 13 - Aborted Hill St CKT attempt & Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre

2009-06-30T03:05:00.017+10:00

Lunch @ Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre:

We were meant to head for some Hill Street Char Kway Teow (perfection on a plate) which has now relocated to the Bedok South Hawker Centre but just as we were about to turn in I remembered that the stall shuts on Mondays. Alamak. Dad's face was as black as the storm clouds gathering above. Ever-resourceful Mom suggested Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre instead, which was a fantastic idea--BIHC was a much loved after-church haunt when I was but a wee lass. It's one of the best Hawker Centres in Singapore.

Soto Ayam (besar) + 2 begedil from Stall 11. Not as good as it used to be. Soup was lukewarm and the dark chilli thing is gone! Mom was really looking forward to this and was quite crestfallen.

We ordered 2 CKTs from different stalls to compare:

Bedok Interchange CKT - Better flavour

People's Park CKT - Better frying technique

Both had NOTHING on Hill Street CKT. I have dreams about that CKT.

Orh Luak. This was rather insipid and boring unlike the one at Jalan Berseh which rocks muchly.

Stall No 11 Mee Rebus

Tiong Bahru Chwee Kueh. OMG. TBCK is still the best Chwee Kueh I've tried. The Kueh is divinely silky and melts into nothingness in the mouth. The chai poh is crunchy and is power to the max, especially when mixed with the chilli.

Hollywood Ice Kachang. Not at all like how I remembered. And not enough milk.

Hollywood Chendol. Nice and lemak. The red beans were plump, firm and sweet.

Ed's Cheng Tng: it tasted quite fine, but was some bastardised version that did not come with gingko nuts, lotus nuts, barley, red dates or cloud ear fungus. And who puts red beans and chin chow in their Cheng Tng? I don't think he was quite impressed

Hokkien Mee. Ok nia.

A visit to BIHC is never complete without some pisang goreng and other such fried-y goodness

Ed's soybean drink. Ok nia.

Day 12 - Korean feast

2009-06-29T23:18:00.039+10:00

Lunch pictures akan datang

Dinner @ Han Sang:

Starters:

Starter plate

Potato and pumpkin mash

Marinated kidney beans

Ikan bilis and peanuts

Sides:

Kimchi

Marinated eggplant

Hae Bee and Seaweed

Korean fish cakes

Garlic spinach

Soybean sprouts

Pickled radish

Unfinished kimchi

Mains:

Dinner spread

Dipping sauces

Sam Gyeop Sal - Pork belly

Yum

Shiok

Gal Bi Sal - Marinated US Beef Short Ribs. Super lau nuah-some.

Tim, the Korean BBQ magician

Dol Solt Bab - Hot stone pot rice with sweet potatoes

Chab Jae - Warm Tanghoon salad. We were given 2 plates of this free because my brother is a lao da

Sam Gye Tang - Chicken Ginseng soup. Damn kena.
Would be fab in winter.

Yuk Kae Jang - Beef brisket soup. Also shiok.

O Sam Bulgogi - Hotplate squid and pork belly

Beef bulgogi

Jang Myon - Za Jiang Mian

Dokboki - This was free as well

Group shot

Dessert was free - Sticky rice dumpling with red beans

Instant noodles at the Korean grocer next to the restaurant

Day 11: Yet Con, Transformers*** and Ed's Dad's Birthday

2009-06-28T15:00:00.025+10:00

Breakfast: Mom laid out a quick breakfast spread as we had to head to the city. We had Ah Hiao's Kueh Lapis, Some soft-boiled eggs, Ed's Mom's Kueh Sarlat and some Tiong Bahru Pau.

Breakfast

Tiong Bahru Char Siew Pau closeup

Lunch at Yet Con:

Old Skool. Since 1940

Yet Con interior

Old-style Hainanese Chicken Rice using Kampung Chicken

Chilli and Ginger

The star of the show: Hainanese Pork Chops

Fried Tang Hoon. I love Tang Hoon.

Fried Kailan

Mah Bow Tan and his family were at at the table beside ours!

Dinner: Ed's Dad's 67th birthday @ Lee Seng

Birthday noodles. They did not have Mee Sua so we opted for hokkien noodles instead

Sambal Garoupa/Grouper

Pork Ribs

Ikan Bilis Fried Rice

Har Lok

Tua Tow

Seafood Kailan

Sambal Sweet Potato Leaves

*** Transformers was ok nia.

Day 10 - Dinner at Grandma's

2009-06-28T14:19:00.016+10:00

Finally found some time to slip in a workout today. Bumped into my old swimming coach at the gym. Lunch was with Mom at a Japanese restaurant at the club, but we forgot the camera.

Pre-dinner nap with GiGi:

GiGi is quite manja and likes chicken and bak kwa. She doesn't like walks. She barks at dogs and tries to ingratiate herself with the gangster stray cats who hang out at the void deck, but they're a wary, insular bunch and she has yet to be admitted to their inner coterie.

Dinner @ Grandma's:

Huge pots simmering on the stove

These 3 dishes took 2 days to prepare!

Buah Keluak Ayam. This is the BEST dish in the world. My mom makes a mean version of this too. Sometimes she mixes the buak keluak with minced meat and prawns.

Buah Keluak nut: The raw nut is apparently extremely poisonous and can used to tip poisoned arrows. The ones sold commercially have been detoxified but still need to be soaked in many changes of water.
The shell has to be cracked open, the flesh extracted and pounded and stuffed back in. The taste is hard to describe but it is dark, rich and has depth.

Kepiting Bakwan. A Chinese New Year fave. This takes forever to prepare as well. Grandma's and Mom's meatballs and tender and springy which indicate good wrist technique and a proper ratio of quaility ingredients. I've had mushy ones which are yeuuch.

Udang Masak Lemak. Whoa man. Whoa. Super shiok.
The prawns were as large as my palm!

Tofu and fish thing for the monken who can't bear spice. Malu lah, that one.

Late-night Chocolate:

Royce Potechi Crunch: Royche chocolates with potato chip/crisp bits

Niiice

Day 9: Katong & Joo Chiat

2009-06-28T13:46:00.021+10:00

Had a quick breakfast as we were heading out to Katong and needed as much tummy space as possible.

Lunch:

Katong Laksa. So so so so good.
Especially after years of making do in Melbourne with the Malaysian Curry Mee travesties they dare to call Laksa . Pfft.

Grilled Otah

Foreground: Tau Kwa Pau. A childhood fave.
Background: Ngoh Hiang (nerrrrh--too starchy) and fishballs (yum).

Ed was drugged out from the runny nose meds my mom gave him and had to take a taxi home

Post-lunch Snacks:

Coconut Candy. Too much sugar and tasted a bit thin, but okay lah.

Cempedak (jackfruit-like fruit) goreng

Joo Chiat Putu Piring. Power!

Soursop slice. Coz fibre is your friend.

Dinner:

Nasi Goreng Ikan Bilis +Merah

Cheese Prata

Monken + Ed

Mutton Chop. Tak kena.

Hainanese Pork Chops

Chicken Chops in Black Pepper(R) and Mushroom Gravy(L)

I like playing with food

Day 8: Jalan Berseh Orh Luak and $79 Durian

2009-06-25T02:20:00.022+10:00

Breakfast:

Kway Chap

Kway Chap closeup: Tau Pok, Tongue, Large Intestine, Pork Belly and Braised Duck

Sng Buay

Kettle Chips

Haagen Dazs Belgian Chocolate.
Best mass-produced chocolate ice-cream in the world.

Belgian Choc closeup. Yum.

Not shown: Mom's Butter Pound Cake, Lychees, Pineapple Tarts, Kaya Roll

New glasses:

Ed's mid-afternoon snack:

Mos Burger: Tsukune Rice Burger. Boring.

Dinner @ Jalan Berseh Hawker Centre:

Wanton Mee and Prawn Dumpling Soup

Orh Luak: We had 2 plates of this. Super shiok and greasy.

Hae Pia Jee

China Apple Drink

Dessert:

DURIANS!

"I want those..."

Durian Ah Beng

$79 durian. &*^%*!!!!
But it was really good. And it fed four of us.

Musang Durian closeup

Cooling down with some coconut juice

Day 7: Ho-hum.

2009-06-24T02:14:00.010+10:00

Breakfast pics are in my mom's mobile phone and we don't know how to access them.

Lunch: Indochine @ The Asian Civilisations Museum:

Lemongrass Seafood Pasta

Laotian Duck Curry

The food was nothing special but we had hunger pangs midway through and didn't want to leave the museum.

Pre-dinner Snack:

Carl's Junior Western Bacon Thickburger. Blah. Burger King is better.

Dinner at Yishun Blk 848:

BBQ Chicken Wings. Not as good as they used to be.

Sambal Stingray. Shiok, but where's my cincaluk?

Not shown: Mom's pineapple tarts and butter pound cake, Haagen Dazs Belgian Chocolate ice-cream, Rich & Good kaya roll (Thanks, Ah Hiao!), Royce Chocolates, 727 Durian puffs.

Kebaya suiting

2009-06-23T14:12:00.008+10:00

Blue or blue?

Cek Cek Alvin helping with the sarong

Made-to-measure

Batik napery

I'm getting 3 Kebayas made: Teal, Fuschia and Black. And 3 sarongs. And 2 Kasut Manek.

Day 6: 848, martinis at the Grand Hyatt and Akashi

2009-06-23T13:43:00.021+10:00

Breakfast at 848:

Nasi Lemak

Mee Rebus with Begedil

Chwee Kueh

Sardine Epok Epok

Mid-afternoon Snack:

Egg and Bacon Pie

Pre-dinner Drinks at the Martini Bar, Grand Hyatt:

Passionfruit, Negroni and Grand Cosmo

Ah Hiao and I

Still super-Hiao

Akashi:

Puffer Fish

Salmon, Horse Mackerel and Horse Mackerel tail

More Horse Mackerel

Ebi

Fish Fin. Shiok. We had 2 sets of this.

Jellyfish

Saba Fish

Ebi Tempura

Not shown: Unagi, Tamago, Swordfish, Edamame, Yuzu liquer thing and Asahi

Day 5 - Junk Food Sunday & Warung Lele

2009-06-22T02:16:00.035+10:00

Breakfast:

Lor Mee

Soy Sauce Eggs and Kaya Bread

Not shown: Kopi C x1, Teh C x1

Lunch:

Long John Silver's Chicken Bonanza

Long John Silver's Cheesy Fries

Long John Silver's Fish & Chicken Meal

Milo Peng

Mutton Briyani

A small section of the cereal aisle at Cold Storage

Pre-Dinner snack:

Sugee biscuits and Teh Halia

727 Durian Cream Puffs. Bliiiiisssssssss...

Dinner:

Pink Guava Juice

Lime Juice

Emping & Sambal Belachan

Asam Pedas

Ayam Bakar

Chilli Crayfish

Sate/Satay Ayam

Stuffed Tauhu

Tauhu Fantasi

Tauhu Telur

Cumi Bakar

Black Pepper Prawns x2 plates

Sambal Kangkong and Otah

Chilli Prawns

Pisang Popiah, Es Cendol & Ondeh-ondeh

Ondeh-ondeh--plate 2

Es Teler

Warung Lele. No, we did not try the Lele.

Not shown: Nasi Kuning, Kailan, Cumi Tepung Goreng.

Day 4 - Takashimaya Food Court & Mom's cooking

2009-06-22T01:49:00.022+10:00

Breakfast:

Polar curry puff and cheesy crab puff

Not shown: Big Pau, Bak Kwa and Pineapple Tarts.

Pre-lunch Snack:

Old Chang Kee Spicy Squid on a stick

Lunch:

Chicken Skin skewer

Auntie Anne's Sour Cream & Onion Pretzel

Korean Potato thing on a Stick

Orange Julius: Chilli Melt Dog and Orange & Pineapple Juice

Har Cheong Chicken Wing from Crystal Jade Palace

The Nasi Padang stall had an amazing array of dishes--3x what is shown in this photo

Blueberry & Cheese Obanyaki

Hokkaido Ice Cream

Matcha and Red Bean Ice Cream

Karamelkorn

Dinner:

Sambal Sotong

Puay Leng with Scallops

Curry Chicken

Steamed Ngoh He

Sambal Udang

Fishball, Crab Meatball & Tanghoon Soup

Not shown: Polar Durian Puffs, Hae Bee Hiam Spring Rolls and Royce Chocolates

Day 3 - Bedok Hawker Centre Kway Chap and Din Tai Fung

2009-06-20T11:35:00.034+10:00

Breakfast:

On the way to Bedok Reservoir Hawker Centre

Stray kittens in a box

Chai Tau Kweh

Chai Tau Kweh closeup

Kway Chap

Tapioca Kueh

Melting in the heat

Lunch:

Din Tai Fung

Crab and pork Xiaolongbao

Prawn & Pork Dumplings

Dandan Noodles

Zha Jiang Noodles

Prawn Pancake and Kailan

Roast Pork Fried Rice

Not shown: Red Bean Glutinous Rice Dumpling.

Dessert:

Haagen Dazs! FINALLY!

Seventh Heaven: 7 scoops for $40. Bloody ripoff.

Anti-clockwise from centre:
Belgian Choc x2, Strawberry, Coffee, Vanilla Caramel Brownie, Tiramisu, Macadamia Nut.

Peng.

Lagi Peng.

Shoe Shopping:

Note the Gucci ripoffs!

Dinner @Lau Pa Sat:

Satay

Tau Pok Yew Char Kueh with Cuttlefish

Jiu Her Eng Chye

Sambal Stingray

Sotong Yew Char Kway and LaLa

Seafood Tofu hotplate

Satay was made of minced meat and was disappointing. The Tze Char was a huge letdown. We were overcharged for the hotplate tofu and Dad had aword with the stall owner in front of some customers. Serves him right.

Jiu Her Eng Chye and Tau Pok rojak rocked.

Day 2 - Tian Tian Chicken Rice & Changi Village

2009-06-19T00:25:00.020+10:00

Breakfast:

2x teh-C, one kosong; 2 eggs & kaya toast: $3.70.
Prada sunnies optional.

Tian Tian Ji Fan @Maxwell:

Queueing up for some Tian Tian goodness

1 chicken, bean sprouts and cuttle fish

Sugarcane juice and lemon

Finished off with some lovely, sticky ondeh-ondeh

Tian Tian was a disappointment. Not anywhere up to its usual standard, according to Tim. I want to give it another go, but Ed reckons we should exhaust our Chicken Rice quota on Yet Con.

Changi Village:

Nasi Lemak

Chicken Wings from 2 stores for comparison.
One had better batter, the other juicier meat.

Sambal Stingray

Sambal Sotong

Not shown: Two plates of fried tau kwah (shiok), various bowls of cheng tng and ice kachang and another Sambal Stingray from a different stall.

Day 1 - Bak Kwa & Chilli Crab

2009-06-19T00:11:00.010+10:00

Felt really dodgy after I got off the plane and had to give Changi Village a miss. Instead had:

Bak Kwa

Finally. After three long years.

Mai zhao!

Surprise Chilli Crab

Hello Mom, I got a haircut!

2006-12-27T17:47:00.000+11:00

Yeah, and I've taken to wearing sunnies indoors as well, just because I'm so indie. Pass the Gauloises, dammit!

Cam Ho

2006-12-09T15:01:00.000+11:00

My usual avid narcissism is today tinged with a slight whiff of nostalgia as I spent the morning going through some old pictures that I recently got my hands on. I miss rock n roll parties. :-(

Also, considering how camera shy I've become (always been?), it came as a surprise to note that I was a wee bit of what my cuz Becca calls a 'camwhore'. I suggest we update the term with a shade of street vernacular and call me a Cam Ho. And then I can go start a Chinese restaurant named after me.

I think it all comes down to the simple fact that for the most part, the camera doesn't like me. Rather than suffer successive celluloid coronaries going through bad photo after bad photo, I'm waving the metaphorical white napkin (heavy linen, of course) and am not taking many more snaps. Until my visage suddenly decides to get some fluffer action going and starts making love to the camera, my CamHo days are over.

Retirement regardless, here's to endless narcicissm!

Neil! Neil! Neil! Woo Hoo!

Hornblower

2006-12-09T14:26:00.000+11:00

Who's that dashing young man coming out of the waves?

Why, that's lieutenant Hornblower M'lady

Indeed? Lieutenant Hornblower? Compliments to the lieutenant, man. Tell him I will see him in my chambers at once.

Aye aye, M'lady

Maple-glazed pork chops with Jerusalem Artichoke Mash

2006-10-14T16:28:00.000+10:00

The black bits in the mash are crusty, fried, yummy chaotah pork scraps that were left in the pan after frying -- I didn't see the damned point in washing the frypan before I tossed the mash in to reheat.

I still don't.

Damned washing-up. Pffft.

Haircut + Collingwood Farmers' Market

2006-10-14T16:09:00.000+10:00

Firstly, finally got off me arse to get me hair cut. Methinks I might get a bob the next time round.

Before
With Panda, Hshen's & Richard's adorably gong Staffy at the Collingwood Farmers' Market
After
The lovely Nicole gave me a slight beehive for Gimme Shelter tonight - I love her!

Here are some things I saw at the Farmers' Market:

Titties...
Dicks (okay, dick)...
Inter-species pashing...

And to think it's advertised as a Children's farm. Shame!

City-bred me dumbly assumed there would be an ATM at the market. There wasn't one. With little more than $10 in my wallet, I neatly sidestepped the cheese stands (not without grabbing fistfuls of samples though) and bought a pack of lemon myrtle angel-hair pasta (was agonising between that or the black olive parpadelle. Should have got that instead) and 6 organic oranges. And a rhubarb tart. Yum.

What I ate today: Weird pasta

2006-09-21T23:02:00.000+10:00

Today I had weird pasta for dinner.

I started out intending to whip up some aglio olio but ended frying up some weird, bastardised, kitchen-sink version in my wok. I think this is multiculturalism taken too far. I'm getting out of Brunswick before it kills me.

The pasta started out with:
garlic
olive oil
chilli flakes (Ran out of fresh chillies because of what I ate two days ago)

Then I spied some shallots folornly loitering in some dark, dusty corner and threw them in and added:
anchovies (mashed up)
green spanish olives (slightly fermented, judging by colour of brine)
a whole lot of capers
and sliced up the leftover kipflers from yesterday's dinner

I would have loved to have added a splash of white wine but seeing as I am neither blonde nor do I shop at Chapel Street or wear gold jewellery, naturally, I had none around the house.
White wine. Pah. Nectarine and peach flavours or grassy astringency? Bah. Pale green to golden honey to tawny yellow? Pfffft.

On hindsight, 12 olives are perhaps a tad too much for a single serve of pasta. Even if you eat them by the barrowfull. Especially if they're almost fermented.

What I ate yesterday: Scotch fillet with a porcini-shiraz reduction, crushed kipflers in duck fat, rosemary and sea salt

2006-09-21T19:57:00.000+10:00

Had another one of my incessant, unrelenting cravings for steak yesterday, so come lunchtime I junkied down to Safeway to score me a slab of sweet, sweet beef -- scotch fillet, and thick cut, no less.

Twice I've had Jerusalem artichokes (once at the Courthouse Hotel -- birthday treat by twin lovelies Danielle and Matthew, and quite recently, at Luke Mangan's Glass at the Sydney Hilton. Company expense. Heh) and both times I'd been driven to delirious distraction by its nutty, earthy, almost otherworldly taste and was reduced to clutching desperately at the aprons of passing waitstaff choking "what is this? what is this?!"

So. Moseyed on down to the David Jones Food Hall only to be told by eager young Fresh Produce Section boy that no said artichokes were in stock. Gah. Also, apparently, was the second person that day to ask for them artichokes, which I found quite terribly exciting, really. Spent delirious minute or two headtripping about accidentally entwining fingers with aforesaid Jerusalem artichoke fancier (who also happens to be quite breathakingly dashing and is not only avid fancier of artichokes but also writes poems in Latin and Russian, hangs out with Eastern European revolutinaries and disgraced communist rebels, dances the tango -- expertly, is a card-carrying feminist, has all the Joy Divison bootlegs and every original single-issue Sandman comic and has a nice Indie haircut. And a quaint but luxurious art deco flat. And two dogs. And a claw-foot bath. And a 1976 S series Jaguar, in chrome preferably...)

Reluctantly shook myself out of reverie and grabbed some dried porcini shrooms, some kipfler potatoes and a jar of lovely duck fat to roast them with, and swanked out DJs with a faint air of disdain trailing behind me.

Frst up, the scotch fillet, weighing in at about 340gms. Already you would have noticed the anemic, bloodless pink that is characteristic of un-aged meat. I was an idiot. I should have gotten a nice and well-hung piece of meat *cough* *ahem* *cough* from Donati's or Excell but I was lazy. Fie! Fie on me! In my defence, I was absolutely famished and I was in no state to brave the botox-ed and rhinoplast-ied masses of Lygon Street only to, in all probability, find both shops shut. This is Melbourne after all. I was also not at all impressed with the sparse, lackadaisical marbling. What good is steak without generous swathes of unctuous, glorious, juicy fat? And the meat looks way too compact and tight, hence tough; I like mine firm but relaxed and tender.

Kipfler potatoes. Potatoes are yum. I absolutely refuse to hear a single word against them. Not a word.

I was actually looking for goose fat but it was closing time at DJs and I panicked and got duck fat instead.

Dried poricni shrooms -- intense, heady, sensuously earthy and bloody friggin expensive.

Lite cream. Lite! Lite!!!! *aaargh* Sometmes it's like I don't recognise myself anymore.

Li'l shroomies -- aren't they cute as buttons? *Guffaw* Got button shrooms coz I am poor and I didn't want to intefere with the taste of the porcinis.

Beef stock. From a packet. *Shhh*

A few precious slivers of porcinis. I dusted off and broke in my new lesong Yaay!

Porcini dust. Makes a little go a damn sight of a longer way.

Kipflers, boiled for a few minutes in a light chicken stock (poultry mishmash?) then drained and dolloped with a generous blob of pure duck fat. Toss to coat then bung the lot into a hot oven till the skins are crispy and brown.

Here is the scotch fillet all maldon-ed and peppered. This goes in the frying pan.

When fillet is done and resting nicely, melt some butter in the same pan and sweat some shallots and garlic till soft and brown.

Add the button shrooms. Fry on high heat till nicely charred and caramelised.

Deglaze pan with generous splash of plonk and some beef stock. Boil and reduce till thick and syrupy.

Add a good pinch or two of porcini dust. Reduce further.

Turn heat down low, add a generous dollop of cream and some cold butter cubes for gloss. Stir, simmer lightly and turn off heat.

Crisp-skinned kipfler taters in duck fat. Yum.

This is me getting a tad overzealous with the crushing of them kipflers. Repeat after me - press down lightly. Spoon melted duck fat over to glaze and top with crushed maldon, black pepper and fresh rosemary. Most people would have roasted it with the rosemary and sea salt. But I am not most people. (Okay, I forgot)

And voila! I'm no food stylist, sadly, so it all looks like unappetizing brown mush. The sauce was sensational; the meat was blah. I've learnt my lesson. Henceforth, it's the grass-fed, dry-aged
straight and narrow for me.

Trigger Happy

2006-08-14T02:49:00.000+10:00

Happier than a cat with milk positively sloshing from whiskers and honeyed paws, I am now the rhapsodic owner of spanking new digital camera, thanks to my lovely brothers.

Actually Mom & Dad sort of made them buy me the camera. I think they must have been mightily sick of hearing me whinge constantly about getting one and Dad always gets antsy when I borrow his.

Requisite first snap: the self-indulgent self-portrait.

I love my mom! Especially when she makes people buy things for me.

Apparently Timothy knows Kung-Fu.

I need a camera, to my eye...
Nose
Mouth
Eyes

At this point, I think my brothers were quite ready to snatch the damned thing out of my hands

Kajang + Malacca

2006-08-14T02:41:00.000+10:00

Sacrificed ipod to The Monken™ after upteenth "Are we there yet...?"

The Monken™: "Why does it always say "Tresspassers will be prostituted"?"

The Monken™ "Seriously, are there really red and pink cows that give strawberry milk?"

Got reminded that Mom is a kancheong spider

The Monken™ can't use chopsticks. Ha!

..."Drinks like Richard Buuuurton, dance like John Travoltaaaa..."

I wish this blog were scratch n sniff

Drain in Kajang outside a curry stall

Roti Pisang + Condensed milk for drizzling over

Kajang Satay is supposed to be the best in Malaysia. It was good, but not mind-blowing stuff by any measure. This satay sauce had sambal stirred through. Shiok.

Cempedak
Durians
Chicken Rice Balls

We found a dead bird in the middle of a footpath in Macap. Auntie Margaret picked it up and put it in the bin so no one would squash it. She can be quite scary sometimes but she is actually really lovely.

The toilets in Malaysia are still disgusting. Everytime I went into one, it took me a few hours to recover.

Channel Outing! Channel Outing!

2006-08-06T23:42:00.000+10:00

We're like the bleeding three musketeers, Cindy, Ah Bin and I, lepaking together for four consecutive days. I don't ever recall hanging out with the same bunch of people so many times in a row. I think it bespeaks a certain level of friendship, trust and camaraderie; of amity, conviviality and a sense of shared bonhomie.
I also think it means that no one else wants to lepak with us.

Inspired by Ah Bin's 1/3rd life crisis and impending descent into senility, we desperately tried to claw our way back to our long-dissipated youth, to relive the giddy, feverish days of wanton hedonism and unbridled excess -- where we spent most our time in front of the computer on the IRC.
Only in Singapore, I guess.
Hence, we went on a channel outing. Needless to say, it was a sorry and futile exercise.

Mos Burger
I was craving some Mos Burger; Cindy said we should go there. I think she loves me.
I ordered a Teriyaki Chicken Burger and a Pink Grapefruit Juice. My Grapefruit Juice was tepid. Bleargh.
L-R: Teriyaki Chicken Burger, Pink Grapefruit Juice

I like the funky aqua stick-on label.

Positively pee-wee!

The indubitable zen-ness of the single lettuce leaf contrasts startlingly with the origami-like intricacy of the onion rings.

I finished my burger in 4 bites. It was okay, lah.

Little Arab
Little Arab has changed so much! The chichi brigade has recently stormed in, dusty old shopfronts have been given the manicured once-over, and the new shops are now run by a scarily similar troop of young, indolent twentysomethings who were probably weaned on a diet of wallpaper magazine, nina simone, opi nailpolish and gauloises since birth. I felt like a right grandma.

Cindy and Ah Bin tried to resurrect their fledging cool quotient by pretending to be a couple of extras from Saturday Night Fever...

...While I clung to Cindy for emotional support

Here I am channeling my inner Graham Coxon. I reckon I look so much like him I shuld just buy the glasses, look in the mirror and fall in love with myself.

The resemblance is uncanny!

B.Bakery
Cindy took us to B.Bakery at Bussorah Street which was lovely! She is a great one for hunting down sweets. It was Cindy who sniffed out the fabulous Sweet Source at Rathdowne Street, something I'm eternally grateful to her for. We had 4 cakes. I picked 2 because I am like that.

Apple Sage slice: I love apple-y desserts, so I chose this. Turns out apple and sage is a great combination -- what with the medicinal tang of sage lending that nice herby edge to the apple. The crumb wasn't what I expected, but at least it was moist.

Mango Mousse: We thought the Mango Mousse was fab! It had a base of sesame seeds and gula melaka and the mousse was made with coconut cream and infused with strands of limau purut (kaffir lime leaf)! I know it all sounds a tad tacky and obvious, but methinks it worked really well.

Chocolate Praline: This was yummy but then again, chocolate praline-y things usually are. I was so happy the cherries weren't maraschino ones. I hate maraschino cherries.

Lemon Meringue Tart: Ah Bin picked this and then started sniggering because it reminded him of something. They say you are what you eat. The meringue was way too sweet for me, but then again, I've never been one for meringues -- they're like fluffy clouds of mucous and sugar. The lemon curd was smooth and rich, with an acidity that sparked on the tongue! Yum! The best bit? The beautiful, thin, almost-perfect pastry. I think I'm in love.

This is their latte. Cute, leh.

This shop's upper level was a museum of sorts. The drinks cabinet had old Kickapoo bottles!

This shop only does repairs on old weighing machines

This crane was on a side street. I love cranes.

Cindy bought me a croquette from Bugis Junction. She does love me!

Panko crumbs. Yum.

I also had an unagi skewer which I don't have a photo of.

I ate a lot that day.

The Monken™

2006-08-04T01:09:00.000+10:00

Greg is my youngest brother. He is 10. He is also The Monken™. Here are some things The Monken™ likes:

The Monken™ likes Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby.

Chubby Hubby: Started out as a practical joke. Now in tummies everywhere. http://www.benjerry.com/our_company/press_center/press/chubbyhubby4-5-95.html

"Chubby Hubby is chunks of chocolate covered peanut butter-filled pretzels in a rich vanilla malt ice cream with deep ripples of fudge and peanut butter".

It is okay, lah; B&J's doesn't rock my boat like Haagen Dazs does.

The Monken™ likes his Awfully Chocolate Hei ice-cream.

So do I, actually.
Marks awarded for good-enough cocoa intensity and rather sticky texture. Kudos also for the tacky/slick noodle-box packaging and the yellow-green plastic spoons which are thick (and thus feel nicely weighted in the hand) and well moulded, with a broad base that is perfect for shovelling chunks of ice-cream into greedy open mouths.

Marks deducted because the chocolatey-ness tastes more like cocoa-powderiness. Not couveture chocolate, this. Also, the texture, while sticky, needs to be more velvety and sensuous. I want my tastebuds writhing in ecstasy from being enrobed in chocolate silk, dammmit!

The Monken™ likes Haagen Dazs Strawberry ice-cream

The Monken™ likes his Orh Luak.

The Monken™ likes his Chwee Kueh.

The Monken™ likes his Chicken Rice.

The Monken™ likes playing the keyboards.

For my surprise birthday party (yes, my parents are lovely!) The Monken™ surprised me with a keyboard version of Diana Ross' "When You Tell Me That You Love Me".
"Everytime you touch me, I become a hero..."
Damn straight, Monken™!

The Monken™ loves his jie jie.

Here are some things The Monken™ can't do:

The Monken™ can't tie his shoelaces
The Monken™ can't sit still or stay quiet
The Monken™ can't open a can of drink (the ring pull fazes him)
The Monken™ can't stomach spicy food. He can't even do sweet chilli sauce! (And he is Peranakan no less! Damned malu, The Monken™). My family doesn't like to talk about this.

Therefore, The Monken™ is also a Lan Boy.

Funan is Funan no more

2006-08-02T14:16:00.000+10:00

It is sorely bereft of one indie video wall person and said indie video wall. Like cigarette butts in an ashtray, I am an empty, turned-out pocket. And I am left destitute, left to ponder the vague auguries of loveseeds and the clumsy stench of desperate lovelorn lusts.
(Funan just isn't Funan withuot Cindy, lah).

Peninsula Plaza on the other hand, still smells exactly like Peninsula Plaza.

Today, as my Ee-poh was walking behind me she said: "Wah, Ah Ling, You sit so much until your backside so fat now ah?"

I am sick of blogging already

2006-07-31T23:35:00.000+10:00

It is a right royal bore.
I got another tooth pulled out. Only one more to go.
Here's what I ate today:

Orh Ni

Tau Hway

Wang Wang

Twee like me!

2006-07-30T22:01:00.000+10:00

Saturday Night: Cindy + Ah Bin + I @ Phuture. I am a Phuture virgin and after being at Indie dos at dingy places like The Rochy and Laundry, it was weird waiting outside this huge cavernous club with so many bouncers that it felt like a military operation. Everything was so clean and sanitised and bright and new. And the air didn't reek of smoke and sweat and spilt beer. I felt strangely light and twinkly-toed as I traipsed in and then it hit me -- for once, my shoes weren't sticking to the floor.

JD&Coke at Phuture costs $12! And they don't do Jagermeister! Now I know I can never live here! And you can't put your friggin drink down without someone jumping out of the shadows and thrusting a coaster at you. I also learnt that Ah bin drinks kuniang drinks like vodka cranberry. Hyuk.

It was great to see Cindy again; I've missed her so. She and I were perhaps the only ones dressed vaguely Indie. Everyone else was dressed clubby. And everyone danced sort of clubby as well. It was very unsettling. I tried to dance but gave up halfway and Cindy agreed it wasn't the same. She said we needed an Ivory on the dancefloor. She was very right. No one cuts some mean Indie rug like Ivory does.

The best bit of the night was bumping into the lovely Terence and the ever-gorgeous Regina! It was so fantastic to see them and I don't believe they remember me -- I felt like I was 16 again!

The worst bit of the night? I got sick and upchucked plentily. I am a public embarrassment. I blame it all on Ah Bin's kuniang drinks. Thank god I did it in the toilets where this nice auntie kept shoving plastic bags under my nose. Ah Bin was lovely and sent me home (I owe him a lifetime's supply of kopi) and my parents had to come down and get me. Ack. Talk about feeling 16.

I also had my first ever proper hangover today. First. Ever. I felt awful in about a million different ways. To think I used to be so smug about being the girl who never gets hungover. Today, I've realised I'm not invicible.

Happy snaps! Happy snaps!

Cindy's new haircut is beyond fab. I think I'm going back to my asymetrical Vidal Sassoon-y haircut when I get back to Melbourne! And she was wearing this lovely necklace that I've had my eyes on. She has the best dress sense ever!

Terence! I've missed you so! It was fab to see you and you are as sweet as ever. I wish we could have had a dance together.

Regina! You look fantastic and you're nicer than I could ever imagine you to be! I'm so amazed you remember me and were actually thinking of writing last week!
Ah Bin my neighbour! You are a lovely boy but you drink kuniang drinks! hurhur.

This is my brother Jeremy. Poor Jem, he had to wait with me under my flat for Ah Bin because my Dad wouldn't let me wait alone. In Singapore! At 10.30 pm!

I need to stop eating for a while

2006-07-28T16:21:00.000+10:00

I think I need to seriously reconsider my eating strategy.
The attack-everything-in-sight approach is obviously not working too well for me. It's entirely too random for one, and I find I'm repeating myself: I've had sambal kangkong and tua tow twice now and both times they weren't brilliant. I need to pace myself -- I'm already quite sick of food and I still haven't had the Adam Rd Mee Soto, or Jalan Besar Orh Luak or Bedok North Sambal Stingray or Chinatown rice-flour Ipoh Kuay Teow. And I was incapacitated yesterday with lightning-bolt like tummy pains. I thought they were period cramps at first but they were actually gastric cramps; my tummy was protesting in pain.

On another note, I got my right wisdom tooth removed today.

I'm glad I did. It means I'm compelled to take a temporary hiatus from all this bingeing(well, for the first few hours after the extraction at least).
I've also been going through my packet of gauze like a body double on the set of The Mummy.

The dentist said to soak my tooth in bleach and I've placed it in a tinted bottle to protect it from the sun.

Also, I couldn't chew, so all I had for lunch was Nestum. It's got 8 vitamins and minerals!

This is how I like my Nestum: Spoon 2-3 heaped tablespoons of Nestum flakes into a bowl. Add a wicked spoonful of condensed milk. I like the Dutch Lady brand.

Then add very hot water to taste and voila!

It looks like upchuck and tastes like babyfood. This used to be comfort food for me but at the moment, because I'm forced to eat this, it is not food that makes me happy. I am NOT a happy trouper.

That said, I am meeting Avvie for dinner which I am very excited about! I (strangely) miss Avvie heaps (I may learn the error of my ways after tonight) and I'm also excited about meeting the lovely Andrea, who seems to be quite marvellous in every way except for the fact that she is completely in love with Avvie. I guess Echo and the Bunnymen were right - People are strange.

I met Robin for a catchup session yesterday night. We were lepaking at the kopi tiam (both nursing a bottle of spring water each -- a right bunch of wusses we were) -- but thought we should go when one of the aunties from the table behind us started dancing around a lamp pole and the uncles burst into an impromptu hokkien singalong. And then Ah Bin said we had to go. Why? Because "(I was) not ugly". Damn you Ah Bin. Damn you.

So we took Rusty for a walk and stumbled across this.

It made me realise I had to go home.