On a Cold and Rainy Day

Waking up to a cold and rainy day, and getting rained on, on the ride in, I decided this called for a nice hot breakfast. Too bad, we walloped the soy bean drink and you tiao brekkie I got on the way in, before pics could be taken! *burp* You are welcome to turn a brighter shade of green, as the you tiao was fresh, crunchy yet chewy, and the soy bean drink was hot and sweet. A perfect combination, washed down by a hot cup of teh c!

For lunch, someone had suggested going for the daily soup at Asia Grand Restaurant. Formerly "Tsui Hang Village Restaurant" at Asia Hotel (now sadly demolished to make way for some spanking new building or other), they have now re-opened in the Odeon Towers, where Chef Chan's restaurant used to stand. Check out the multi-coloured starters, which had little chunks of fish cake, making it an interesting mix of sweet, sour, and savoury.

The succulent and soft steamed pork ribs. In the background, we had already polished off three of the shao mai (juicy without tasting full of fatty pork), leaving a lonely one standing, trembling with fear of being the next victim...

Our daily soup, being dished out by the very attentive service staff. Steaming hot dried veggie and pork soup. Tasty without the MSG. What more could one ask for?

See how thick the soup was?? Nothing like some warm liquid sloshing about in your belly on a cold and rainy day! Satisfying!

House Bound

Gosh, what kind of freaky low pressure has enshrouded the island?? It's been raining for 2 straight days! By that, I mean the kind of persistent pissing down that seems to go on forever. 

It all started on Friday evening, causing massive jams on the roads and a delay to the start of the company D&D (that's a rant that's better not posted, even if it was rather mirth-ful at times). At first, it felt wonderful. Rain during the weekend and night means cool weather best spent lolling about in bed, not doing anything of an exerting nature. Household chores be damned! 

But TWO days' worth of rain? I've run out of websites to surf to, TV programmes to watch, magazines to read, and even instant noodles to fill the stomach. And I certainly couldn't muster up the energy to embark on my various half-finished projects. Sigh.

Weekend's coming to an end. I'm going to have to wade to the car and not let the weekend go to waste by trudging through the rain to find some entertainment with friends. I can feel cabin fever gripping my soul...

 

Introducing, the Ladies!

By popular demand, here they are! Bella on the left, and Lulu on the right! Why "Lulu"? Because it just seems appropriate to name an easy ride "Lulu". HAR-HAR. This is Lulu post-"zhng". New front panel and mudguard (because the previous owner had "buanged" the bike), new brown handles to match the brown seat, new brake grips, a new box, and a hot Hawaiian lady sticker to go with its retro looks. I know, I know. Nothing that makes the bike go faster. But it sure looks good as it mosies along slowly! :D

7th Month

Well, it's arrived - Hungry Ghosts Festival. The time when the gates of Hell supposedly open and all the Hungry Ghosts get their vacation time on earth...Lots of offerings are given to appease the "visitors", and one is exhorted not to wander around 'til late at night, "just in case". There's a massive tent set up in the void deck of a nearby block, and shows are staged nightly for the "visitors" to keep them busy. I guess it's in the hopes that they'd be so occupied they wouldn't be out creating disturbances amongst us. *shiver*

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

Oops. A little late, due to faulty laptop charger. Nevertheless...

Majullah, Singapura!

:)

Life

A funny and meaningful post from one of my frequently visited blogs, Mr Wang Says So.

Remember the author of "The Teenage Textbook"? For those of you who do, the author who made you giggle and burst out laughing in embarassment because you recognised so much of your awkward pimply teenage self in that book, is still as funny as ever, laying out a different perspective he has in life. Having personally done most of the things he advises NOT to do with one's life, then having a midlife crisis and stumbling over to the other side of the septic tank in the garden, yes, I can agree that he is right in his advice. Doubtless, there is a bit of disorientation and thrashing about down the wrong path initially. However, you'll find that the grass IS greener over on this side. Come on over! Don't stay over on the lallang overgrown, water-logged, mosquito-infested side!  

"Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway."

Be brave. Take a chance. Leap off into the dark. Do what you want to do, instead of what others expect of you. Don't stay on the straight and narrow. Don't be a square peg, squashed into a round hole. Life is for LIVING. Don't wait. Don't procrastinate. 

Oh, and don't forget to temper your pursuit of life and its many adventures with kindness. :)

Another Old Friend Revisited

After the usual government compulsory acquisition, we thought we'd lost an old haunt for Taiwan Porridge. Fortunately, P discovered their new location in Toa Payoh park. So we paid a visit to our "old friend" last week. The new location was similarly sited near a body of water, with new decor, but all the familiar old utensils (note the pink plastic tub containing the porridge and the plastic cup holder!).

"Kong bak" - check!

Polished off the rest of the meal! *Burp*

Dessert time. Almond jelly with tinned longans. Yum!

The next morning, on the way to check out accessories for the new bike, I stumbled upon an old-style eatery. Too embarassed to take photos of my surroundings, but here's a pic of the minced pork porridge I had (couldn't find any minced pork, but yummy nonetheless). I promised myself to re-visit this "old coffee shop caught in a time warp" another time.

Hidden Dragon...

...pouncing dog? Heh heh...After a long hiatus, I finally re-visited an old friend - Mac. Got a little tired of all that cycling round and round the tracks near home, so I dutifully trekked all the way over across the island to take a walk along the boardwalk, and check on the status of the little fishies swimming about. Spotted a couple of big dark shapes moving menacingly about just below the surface of the waters, and reckon someone's project seems to be quite well entrenched these days.

Taking a breather while...

...enjoying this view! On a day like this, it's easy to believe that all is well in the world and one's life is just hunky-dory

A hidden gem of a pond spied on the way back

Happenings

On Saturday, paid a visit to Y for a gabfest over pizza. Clare looked longingly over her own nutritious dinner at our oily, cheese-covered pizzas, for the entire night. She was eventually rewarded with a slice of her own upon finishing her own dinner.

Gleefully tucking into a little slice of heaven!

Mm-mmm! You guys made me wait for a very long time for this!

On another night, in an effort to eat more healthily, I rustled up some cha soba, supplemented by Thai Green Curry with Chicken. Satisfying! Alright, green curry isn't exactly healthy, but surely that was balanced out by the simplicity of cha soba, which should contain some healthy nutrients, being made from matcha - green tea! *comforts self*

On a different note, in a fit of retail therapy, I bought myself the new Sony Ericsson C902 5-megapixel Cyber-Shot camera...I mean, mobile phone...Hehe. These days, mobile phones no longer restrict themselves to performing their basic function of making and receiving calls. In fact, I now rely almost solely on my mobile phone's camera function for my blogging purposes, and even holiday pictures. That was the major motivation for getting a phone with a good camera. I've been exceedingly pleased with the old K800i, and this new phone is looking promising. Check out the "hair" on the flowering plant I've been cultivating on my kitchen ledge!