The Slog Reviews - Veni Vidi Vici

Fishing Season 2012

2012-01-29T10:50:00.003+08:00

Ever since I've been with my CEB, I have not gone prawn fishing. The only fishing I've done was offshore fishing organized by his friend.

With my old fishing kakis jio-ing me to go pond fishing at Punggol and for upcoming fishing trips, I need to go send my reels for servicing and set aside some time to practice tying knots so I don't make a right fool of myself.

My fingers are itchy. It has been far too long. Going to cut back on personal and work trips to free up the weekends.

I MUST go fishing. The huntress in me is crying to be let out.

Celebrating CNY at our own home for the first time

2012-01-28T16:25:00.001+08:00

I know I have been going on about CNY - the celebration with all its accompanying festivities took on a whole different meaning (and meant a huge amount of work too!) after marriage and having my own home with my CEB.

But I just wanted to remember the first time ever when I've played host to more than 10 people - so this will be the last post on CNY 2012 I promise. :D

Now, despite my CEB spending loads of time "fun-ning" around with Goh Buah Buah on CNY, I have to say that he really stepped up to the occasion. That is one of my CEB's strongest points to date - that he has never failed to make things happen when I need him to.

Even though of course my CEB was hardly involved in any way in the little nitty gritty details - such as choosing and buying good oranges to give...or finding a place in our house to place the oranges....

Or buying and then setting out nicely on the living room table, the Chinese goodies such as bah kwa, deep fried spring rolls, mixed nuts and pineapple tarts. Or to arrange everything nicely in the display cabinet (save for his tigers)....

Me "Eh, help a bit"

My CEB (cheeky grin) "My Mob-Soh will do it. I love my Mob Soh."

Me (suspicious) "Mob-Soh? What's that?"

My CEB (proudly) "You are worse than an "Auntie"... more like an Ah Soh...so Mob Soh"

Me "!@!#@$@@#@"

Anyway, that's how our guests found our living room area on the 2nd day of CNY. My in-laws decided to bring a hundred dollar Lo Hei dish from Peach Garden and truth be told, it was the best Lo Hei dish I've had. I usually detest the stuff but I really liked this one.

And so did everyone else who came. Even after polishing off most of my mother's dishes (she cooked and we brought the dishes over from her place), and having dessert (out of cans, I'm afraid - I don't have a oven here), everyone, old and young had the most awesome time in the dining area with the lo hei. Nian Nian You Yu, Man Di Huang Jing...!

I have to applaud my CEB for preparing the paper plates, bowls and cups, washing the numerous dishes, heating up the food on the stove, mopping the floor, making coffee for the guests..and all those million little things that need to be done if one is the host.

Although this was one of the most hectic and tiring days ever, it was definitely memorable. There are loads of times when I more than happy to take my CEB's head off, but this husband of mine, he managed to survive past this new year :)

Sibu Island Resort - our first holiday for 2012

2012-01-27T14:24:00.000+08:00

There was a Groupon Promotion for Sibu Island Resort at SGD48 nett per person for a 2D/1N stay at Sibu Island Resort which seemed like a pretty good deal. So a week before CNY, my CEB and I woke up at the unholy hour of 7am on a Saturday for the drive to Tanjong Leman jetty.

We stopped for breakfast at the Macs near Carrefour (en route to Jusco Tebrau City) and it took us about an hour to get from Macs to Tanjong Leman Jetty which I had been to before. How to get to Tanjong Leman Jetty is pretty simple. Head in the direction of Jusco Tebrau City and basically just keep going all the way straight in the direction of Mersing. No turn-offs or turning to the right or left. Just straight following the signboards. The turn off the Tanjong Leman Jetty is very abrupt off the main road so it is wise to keep an eye out for signboards. This is how the jetty looks like. Parking at the jetty cost RM4 a day and there is a nice new parking area behind the main jetty building near the KFC.

From the main road, one gets on to a narrower road (1 way each direction), the start of which is marked by a police post. And on this narrow road (the journey from the main road to the jetty is pretty long - at least 25mins), it is easy to get lost and head in the direction for the Sedili jetty so follow the signs that say KFC. I kid you not. There is a newly built KFC at the jetty which opens at 10.30am. The first ferry out to Sibu Island is at 11am and the KFC is the only place in the jetty which is air-conditioned and has a nice view of the sea. The cost of the tickets to the island was not included so we purchased 2 round-trip tickets at Counter 1 of Tanjong Leman jetty at RM140.
The journey to the island on the ferry took less than half an hour. The ferry was supposed to hold just 50 pax and there was just the right number of seats for that number of people. Some folks put on life jackets and we followed suit though my CEB commented that this was a bad idea as we would be trapped in the cabin if the boat capsized. I made sure we sat very near the exit so we could get through the door. Just in case. The tragic drowning of fellow anglers at this same area couple of years ago is pretty much unforgettable.

Anyway, after we got off the ferry and started the short 3 min walk from the terminal to the resort (the only hotel on the island), I had a feeling of Deja Vu, that I'd been here before. And when I caught a glimpse of the staff singing and playing musical instruments at the reception area, I was even more certain that this was not my first time to the island. The peacock wandering across my path drove the nail into the coffin...especially when it let out loud and irritating caws.

My CEB on the other hand, had never been to the resort so I was careful not to spoil his experience by telling him what could be expected...he would find that out in due course. As we made our way to the room which was situated along the winding path up a hill, we came across some wild deer lazing in the shade. When we moved closer, well....guess from the pic below it is clear what happened. Forget Bambi cozying up to you.

The room (superior room) was just as I remembered it. Dank, dusty and dark. For the first time since a long time, I had to get up in the middle of the night and put on a pair of long pants so I could sleep on the sheets. I was scratching uncontrollably in my shorts and T-shirt before that and just praying I could fall asleep so I wouldn't feel how dirty the sheets were. There was limited cable access on the small (32 inch?) TV in the room and although we were told there was free WIFI access in the room, neither of us could get a working connection on our smart phones. We were "connected" but could not access the web so lying about the room (which is what my CEB loves) for the afternoon was out of the question.

So we made our way to the lobby where my CEB tried to access the web on his HTC but again the free WIFI service proved deceptive and he gave up after a fashion. To sit in the lobby and hear the cawing of the peacocks was not an experience I enjoyed prolonging.

We were entitled to enjoy 1 free recreational activity so we chose Archery where each of us would get to shoot 6 arrows under the guidance of an instructor. I was more than eager to let my CEB shoot my share of the arrows but because we had to wait so long for our turn (there were only 2 shooting boards so only 2 people could shoot at a time) I decided to have a go. The instructor was friendly and spoke good English so we had a pretty fun time there.

With 3 more hours to kill before dinner and no WIFI, my CEB and I decided to check out the sea sports centre for an hour of kayaking. The cost was only about RM30 per person, and when we got to the center, there were 2 staff there watching TV. However, they obligingly got to their feet and dragged one canoe to the water's edge for us.

My second time canoeing (first time was in Hanoi) and I was determined to get paddle around the island or at least head in the direction of the mountain which was most scenic. Unfortunately, the waves were pretty strong (monsoon season isn't officially over till Feb) and we found ourselves being rocked pretty violently in the little orange canoe.

From the pic below of my wet hair, it is pretty evident what happened. We capsized. The wave rocked us to the right and instead of leaning to the left, we let ourselves get caught in the momentum and before we knew it, we were in the sea. Salt water in my eyes, my haviannas floating around me...the canoe overturned next to my spluttering CEB...what an experience. The first thing I did was check that my camera was still around my neck (waterproof cameras rock), and then grab for my haviannas. My CEB and I then took an end of the canoe each and uprighted it before clambering on board. That was when he wanted to call it a day but with half an hour more to go, I wasn't about to. So the compromise was that we would just canoe near the island and not around any bends. Especially when my CEB pointed out that the resort staff in the sea centre were watching TV and not know if anything happened to us.

After the canoeing experience, we went straight to the pool, showered off the salt water and jumped right in. It was a really smallish pool with the deepest end being 2.3m which was really quite deep. Best not to let a child swim unattended in this pool despite its deceptively small size.

It started raining in the evening and to our amazement, we saw a peacock sitting in the rain at the small pool at the top of the slide (the pool). We had pretty much run out of things to do on the island short of fishing (which we didn't come prepared for and were loathe to spend good money renting rods and sitting at the coast) so we decided to take the earlier ferry (10am) back to the mainland instead of the 2pm one the next day.

Since there were no other restaurants on the island and there were no transport services provided between the kelongs nearby and the hotel, we had dinner at the same restaurant we would have our buffet breakfast the next time. There was a choice of having either a buffet at RM55 per pax or ordering from the ala carte menu but because we were starving, we didn't look at the menu at all. The buffet for dinner wasn't exceptionally good but the lamb curry was pretty delish. There was plenty of fish, green veg (kai lan) with mushrooms, and 1 other main dish but really the selection of mains was very limited. And the dessert sucked. Awful. Just awful. I would not recommend having the dinner buffet at all - a salad from the ala carte menu at RM20 would be a better choice.

Now that I have blogged about this and have some photos of the place, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to forget that I've been to Sibu Island Resort and there is no way absolutely that I am going back, esp given the bedsheets!

The 8th month of marriage

2012-01-26T23:55:00.001+08:00

Oh my, and yet another month has gone by...How is it even possible that I have been married for 2/3 of a year!

And my CEB hasn't changed the least...I was totally tickled to look up from my work laptop (I have been so busy with work ever since the Xmas break) and find my CEB on his netbook, holding the stuffed buaya toy on his lap. What a sight!

Oh let the good times last.

Impressed.

2012-01-26T21:31:00.002+08:00

Talk about fantastic service. I just happened to mention to the HSBC Infinite Card hotline service officer that I hadn't received my priority pass and I was travelling for work soon. She checked and said it hadn't been sent out yet and my natural response was to ask her to do so soonest possible.

That was on a Thurs evening. On Friday, she called to say that she had arranged for courier of the 2 priority passes to my home on Monday evening. The Krisflyer Gold Lounge gets pretty crowded so I think for my upcoming work trip this Feb, I'll try out the Priority Lounge.

That kind of service...impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if the complimentary 1 way transfer to SG Airport goes just as smoothly...and the best bit is that you don't even have to charge anything at all to the card to use this service.

I really dig this card.

Spring Cleaning 2012 - Credit Cards

2012-01-26T10:04:00.001+08:00

When we were just friends, my CEB was appalled by the number of credit cards I had. That was then when I had about 20+ credit cards. At last count, I had almost 30. And I hardly use 70% of them. I only applied for them because there was some on-going promotion if I did.

As part of my spring cleaning for this lunar new year, for the first time, I decided to cancel all the cards which I hadn't used in the last 6 months.

It took me about half an hour of phone calls to the banks to make sure that there was no outstanding amounts or points/credits on the cards before reducing all the cards above to the pile below. Way to go!

And I also decided to concentrate ALL my spending to just two cards. But first I had to make up my mind what I wanted more - Cash (via cashback) or Krisflyer Miles. If it was the former, all I would need was just the Citibank dividend card and the NTUC plus card (for groceries).

Since I could not decide, the decision was made for me when I was invited to apply for the HSBC Infinite Visa Card. The annual fee for the card was S$248 but I would get 30,000 Krisflyer Miles as a welcome gift. Also, this credit card has 1 of the better KF miles earning program - 1 KF Mile for every SGD 1 spent. Here is a pic of the card which came in the post today.

And to add icing on the cake, I found out that this card comes with a Priority Pass for unlimited access to airport lounges (note: the priority pass is also given free of charge to the supplementary card holder), unlimited access to the JetQuay Terminal (for private check-ins at Changi Airport), and a 1 way free limo transfer to Changi airport for any trip (personal or business trips).

Filled with glee that I could replace all the cards in my wallet with this credit card and the DBS Altitude Card (which doubles as my DBS ATM Card and has 1 of the best Krisflyer Miles earning program at 1.2miles per S$), I opened my wallet eagerly to start taking out the other credit cards.

However, I found that I could not do so and my wallet still looks like this above despite 1 hour of deliberation. Excluding the corporate credit card, I have a total of 14 credit cards I simply must have, even with the HSBC Infinite Card.

Just in case there are any promotions that require any of the cards, you see. I mean, how could I give up using my Plus Card when I buy groceries? Or not take advantage of one of those fabulous ANZ promotions that come along like the 1000rewards points promotion last month? Or not carry the Ikea card which entitles us to free drinks at our friendly furniture shop?

Ugh. Somehow I don't think I can say that this spring cleaning of credit cards was a success :(

And I wonder how my CEB manages to only have 4 credit cards in his wallet max.

CNY Reunion Dinner 2012 at Grand Copthorne

2012-01-25T23:33:00.002+08:00

My CEB and I hit upon the brilliant idea of having our first reunion dinner as a married couple at a hotel restaurant. This would save both parents having to prepare, cook and wash, and also spare us the thankless task of eating two dinners on the same day and having to rush from 1 place to another.

Both MILs love buffets so 2 weeks before CNY, my sis and I went down to Grand Copthorne Waterfront hotel to pay up in full for the reunion buffet for the 7 of us. We were informed that Cafe Brios was fully booked but the hotel would be opening up a second venue (the function rooms) and the same type of food and service could be expected. I was disappointed that we could not secure a table at the restaurant and rather apprehensive what the experience might be given that we would be eating at some alternative venue.

However, thumbs up for Grand Copthorne for pulling it off very well using their function rooms. We were shown to our table (the tables were arranged wedding-style) and were pleasantly surprised to find that the table had been thoughtfully decorated with ang pows, gold foil chocolate nuggets and coins and even an ang pow containing a 25% off discount card for future visits to Cafe Brios.

The spread of food was superb for the CNY reunion dinner - there were loads of sashimi (no shortage of tuna, salmon etc) and sushi. And oysters, scallops in shells, prawns (both the normal type and the river type with the big head), and even crab legs at the cold counter area. There was also a dragon beard candy counter (that had a really long queue each time).

The lobster bisque was extremely creamy and delicious, as was the black herbal chicken soup. For a buffet especially. Hot dishes-wise, there were just too many to choose from ranging from Indian curry chicken which my sister found mouthwatering good, to otah which I simply loved, and even sambal stingray and grilled seabass etc. There was also a counter serving beef (ribeye) and salmon wrapped in cheese. Oh, and there were pineapple tarts, tang yuan, red bean soup, jelly and even durian cake for dessert. Perfect. Just perfect.

And the price for all that food? Just slightly under SGD400 for the 7 of us. Money well spent and value for money. Grand Copthorne even had a Cai Shen Ye ("God of Fortune") go around the tables shaking hands and everyone at my table shook his hand for good fortune :)

Of course, when we got home, despite a fully founded belly, my CEB was not too sleepy to play with my nua nua buaya toy by putting all the nuggets the hotel had laid out on the dining table into a plate and having Gold Bar Buah (pun on Goh Buah Buah's name) offer them for CNY.

With such a fabulous experience at Grand Copthorne for CNY reunion dinner, I'm definitely going to be making my reservations earlier for CNY 2013 at Grand Copthorne's Cafe Brios!

Happy Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-23T16:49:00.000+08:00

A message from the Goh family...

Happy Lunar New Year 2012! GONG XI FA CAI!

May the year of the Water Dragon bring you good fortune, health and wealth!

Viral Factor (2012) Movie

2012-01-22T16:52:00.001+08:00

I have watched a lot of movies between now and the last time I blogged about a movie. However, I have not been compelled to blog about any of them, good, mediocre or bad.

I do now. Here is the Slog's Review of Viral Factor: (scream!!!!) VIRAL FACTOR SUCK EGGS!

Okay, great I've got this out of my system. I foolishly noted an acquaintance's post about how great Viral Factor was and insisted my CEB and I watch it on Chinese New Year's Eve. Instead of Journey 2 (which was no great shakes but which I would have happily watched twice on hindsight).The movie is like a 150 year old vegetable that won’t just quit despite being senile, incapacitated and annoying. The characters in the movie are worse – they get shot with bullets, front, back, centre and side and yet can run with the best of them and kick the baddies’ ass.

The opening scenes were shot in Jordan but there were only Chinese actors/actresses which made the whole thing seem rather unrealistic. The good cop lead actor played by Jay Chou was part of a team tasked to protect a scientist who was able to make a deadly virus. His girlfriend called Ice (what a name) gets killed in the shootout and Jay’s character gets a bullet in the head. He is told he will die in 2 weeks/months. His character’s mother then chooses to disclose that he has a father and brother. I hate the mum’s character – she is incredibly full of self-pity and sheds endless tears at every scene when talking about the past or when embracing the present. The tears are all for herself of course…ugh. Ugh ugh. Okay, so Jay takes an AirAsia plane (one would have thought he would fly by a better airline given his limited lifespan) to KL where his character’s dad and elder brother are. On board, he meets a doctor played by an actress who has been beat about the head with an ugly stick. She tells the pilot to fly at a lower altitude (is that even possible?) so that Jay’s headaches will ease. They part at the airport and incredibly, she just happens to be the one scientist that the baddies target to kidnap and work on the virus because the scientist got killed running away. Oh yes, a huge part of the movie is shot in Malaysia of all places (one is treated to repeated scenes of the twin towers ugh). Jay sees her being kidnapped and saves her from his bad ass elder brother.

In the evening, he susses out his good for nothing gambler of a father and what do you know, the first time he finds his father, the father is being pummeled for failure to pay his debts. What a family reunion. At this point of the movie, I find myself feeling genuinely sorry for Jay. He has been given short and bad lines which he delivers in a stilted stuffed monotonous voice. And sorry for his character too. With a mother like that and a father…and a bullet in the head. He gets the second prize pity ticket. He founds out he his a niece who is the only likable character in the movie. Nicholas Tse isn’t too bad either – he gets the first prize pity ticket because of the troubles in his personal life. Good acting despite the lousy script and lines.

I’m not going to waste anymore time reviewing the movie except that it is predicable. Jay with the bullet in his head sacrifices his life for the brother when they take down the baddie. The little girl gets saved and is reunited with the grandmother (the most annoying character who of course cries tears of self pity and stupidly asks for Jay – I mean, come on, how could she not have known). Nicholas’s character does time of course and the baddies are all killed by the superbionic brothers.

This has to be one of the worst movies ever.

Preparing for CNY 2012

2012-01-19T22:46:00.006+08:00

The good thing about having a blog is that you can track/look back accurately. Memories sometimes become just that bit fudged, especially after a period of time.

Just 2 years ago in 2010, my preparation for CNY was limited to caring for me and my car (click here to read). Needless to say, as a wife and a host-to-be for the 2nd day of CNY this year, I've been kept so busy that I've had no time to blog - Be it Food (I just had 2 hotel buffets this week - Rise @ MBS and Carousel @ RP), Movies (Sherlock Holmes 2 , Ghost Protocol, Journey 2, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Contraband), Books or all the Travel.

My CEB calls me House Mob, or something like that. I've become quite domesticated (which is pretty much evident from my posts these days).

The first thing I did in terms of preparation was to spring clean - the clothes, the cupboards. (Okay, that isn't strictly true - I shopped for clothes for my CEB and me first hehe). The next thing was to prepare new bed-sheets to be used for the new year - these below have been washed, hung up to dry and packed neatly to be used this Saturday.

And how could I forget decorations? The first decoration I bought for our home was this. My CEB put it up on our door using blue-tack because his "hopeless mob" used double sided tape and paint (the one on top of the door) and double sided tape do not quite agree.

My father-in-law was of the strong opinion that we should have the "Fu" character in our house and he bought us this decoration to put up. I put it facing the door and snipped off the tail. This will be taken down after CNY because my CEB has....I'll let the pics do the talking.

We went to Chinatown 2 weeks back on a Saturday with his friends because I wanted to take photos of the 3D massive dragon decoration I'd read about in the papers. The dragon was not impressive. The massive crowd was. It was as bad as going on CNY eve (most pp go there because everything is sold at a huge discount that day - stalls are all closed after).

Nonetheless, my CEB was very much taken with another "Fu" decoration that we saw at Chinatown and he was absolutely insistent that we buy it. When we got home, the first thing he did was to put it up on the wall, right smack in the center of our living room. In the face.

And after that he got around to putting the decorations on the pussy willows that we bought from Chinatown that evening.

Followed by changing the cushion covers of the hall's cushions. My mum gave us 2 vases for the pussy willows - those vases have been in my family for more than a decade!

Because the second vase was standing empty in the dining room, we bought more pussy willow last week from Ikea and these were so much cheaper (SGD 8?) compared to the ones we bought at Chinatown (SGD 12). I'm pretty tempted to go to Chinatown on CNY eve to check out the prices of the pussy willows then...and maybe buy more. I don't know why I really like these.

After prettying up the house (did I mention I just bought a new sofa too!), we got down to hamper shopping for the in-laws. Both sides. I bought the dragon hamper from Eu Yan Sang for my in-laws about 3 weeks before CNY. My CEB was even busier than I was so we only went hamper-shopping for my side last week.

And that's my CEB in my house (okay, now my old place) looking very smug because his mother in law is very pleased with the gift.

I've bought all the new year goodies last week, and today I've changed the dollar notes for the red packets (our first year giving ang pows!), bought new matching dustbin, newspaper box and magazine rack for the living room...and I'm not done. Oranges, full tank of petrol, new garments to be taken out...

Beggar Buah Buah before CNY

2012-01-03T16:07:00.004+08:00

It has been a hectic few days and the day to day housework as well as CNY spring cleaning has been keeping me occupied. Also, the Big US of A is no longer in "holiday mode" and therefore my office workload has increased considerably.

Last Friday evening, I'd spent over 2 hours on my feet ironing the pile of laundry using our steam iron (Note: Never ever buy the Novita steam iron - the clothes end up still slightly wrinkled, you have to be on your feet to iron, your shoulder aches from the up down motion of ironing and because there is no ironing board, one's fingers and hands end up being burnt from holding up the ends of the sleeve/legs to iron).

And my CEB surprised me by coming home after dinner with a reading lamp for me. He had it all assembled in all of 5 mins - I really like how good he is with fixing stuff - and now, I can read in bed. :P

Sometimes, I think that my CEB is a pretty smart person because he knows how to do the little unexpected stuff occasionally to show his appreciation for his wife doing the bulk of the housework....and therefore keep her off his back!

Like the day my CEB came back from his work trip this month, he absolutely insisted on buying flowers despite my objections. I am not a flowers-person (more a food person as you might have gathered), and having received an "overdose" of flowers from previous beaus, I'd put my foot down on my CEB buying the pretty but soon-to-wither things. But I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I thanked my CEB politely for his loving gesture.

And, talking about my CEB and loving gestures, one evening coming into our bedroom, I caught my CEB cleaning the blardly "Cold-Faced" Tiger which my CEB has been annoyingly plunking on his wife's face (and after I've put face cream too!). My CEB told me very sadly that the tiger's face was peeling off and when I told him that it was HIS fault, he said it was MY fault because I'd swatted the tiger away in its face. That, or my face cream was poisonous to the tiger. In any case, in an effort to preserve the creature, my CEB has finally consigned it to the display cabinet in the hall. Thank God for the small mercies he grants. I do not have to contend with "Cold-Faced" Tiger any longer.

On the other hand, the one other creature who still shares our bed is Goh Buah Buah. And one can't help feeling sorry for my beloved nua nua buaya toy when my CEB's imagination goes wild. Just because he felt like it one day, my beloved nua nua buaya toy was made to wear his used home t-shirt.

Me "Buah Buah looks like an angel with your T-shirt"

My CEB, without batting an eye-lid "Buah Buah is God's most beloved creature."

Seriously. I really can't figure where my CEB gets lines like that.

Oh, and in the countdown to Lunar Chinese New Year, I have been awakened every single morning by my CEB shaking 1 of the buaya's three-fingered hand in my face.

My CEB (in a growly tone) "MONEY! Give me MONEY"

Me "UGH! Why do you want money for when you are a stuffed toy!!"

My CEB "MONEY! I want to bao New Year Ang Paos for the tigers!"

Me "NO!"

Until this morning when I had quite enough of this latest antic by my CEB.

My CEB (in a growly tone) "MONEY! Give me MONEY"

Me "Ok Ok...give you 50 cents"

And to my surprise...because I thought he would haggle for more money....

My CEB "OK give me now...MONEY!"

Me "Good buaya...not greedy at all...take 50 cents and don't bother me anymore ok"

My CEB "I take the 50 cents so I can throw at you! MONEY!"

Me "!@!#$#@$#@$@

Food.

2012-01-02T15:11:00.001+08:00

Food is all those substances which, submitted to the action of the stomach, can be assimilated or changed into life by digestion, and can thus repair the losses which the human body suffers through the act of living.

The Physiology of Taste, Billat-Savarin.

The first post of 2012 and resolutions

2012-01-01T14:59:00.007+08:00

Happy New Year, my dear reader, whoever you may be! May 2012 bring you good fortune and your heart's desire!

Each new year brings change and challenges and 2012 will be no different for The Slog despite her decision not to rock the boat relationship-wise and career-wise (unlike 2011!).

After thinking long and hard about resolutions, the Slog has but 2 resolutions for the new year, which are

(1) Think and stay positive in thoughts and words;

(2) Improve thyself.

2011 - Travel for the year in pictures

2011-12-31T23:55:00.005+08:00

I was looking at the post I wrote on 30 Dec 2010 about the travel I'd done that year (click here). And it was all good. However this year, the places I have journeyed to are truly awesome and I have to thank my new company, my new boss(es), my mum and my CEB for making all that happen.

There are just too many photos from each trip and although I initially wanted to post 2 for each trip, I decided that this post would wind up too long so 1 pic it has to be.

15 to 18 January 2011 (Penang) - A weekend getaway with my dear ole mama to Penang where we had so much fun at Golden Sands Resort (dining at Sigi's there is a must!), and where we pigged out at Jalan Penang and Gurney Drive.

22 to 24 January 2011 (Krabi) - We rented a Honda City to get around (and got lost trying to find our hotel because the maps given were so useless). And on the first day, I dropped on the ground (from shoulder level), my shock-proof Panasonic Lumix camera that my CEB had bought for me just 6 months earlier. We had to rely on my blackberry and trusty Sony Ericsson W995i for the rest of our holiday! We went to the famous turquoise pool, tried to climb to the top of Tiger Cave (but gave up after 100 steps!), ate at various famous awesome restaurants, walked along the beaches, and of course, dropped by the Ao Nang beach for photos and all.

8 to 11 February 2011 (Melbourne) - The lady who hired me (the one in the middle) flew me over to Melbourne where she was based with the other corporate counsel for Asia Pacific. The days were filled with meeting folks, visiting the various offices and understanding the business. And in the evenings, she brought me to nice places to dine such as Riva at St Kilda's. This is one trip where I regret bitterly not extending my trip over the weekend. Oh well.

March 2011 (Midwest USA) - The lady who hired me resigned due to a fantastic job opportunity that came her way. I was happy for her of course, but I'd accepted the job primarily because she was much like my beloved ex-boss. My new boss flew me over to where he was based in the USA - the second time in my (yes, insert the word sad here) life that I flew business class. The trip took more than 23hours. Singapore to LA, LA to Chicago, Chicago to final town in Mid-west. When I finally arrived, all the excitement about travelling had been replaced by exhaustion and jet-lag. However, my mood was restored by the great dining experience I had at Hard Rock on this trip, and this was where my HRC magnet collecting craze started.

After 4 days of meeting more new folks (this time at the highest level of the company), I extended the work trip to go to New York for 4 days on my own (4 days because the hotel room rates there are astronomical and I didn't dare to book somewhere cheap and less safe!). I bought the New York Pass, and had 1 of the best ever trips by myself Phantom on Broadway, shopping at Macy's, going to Rockefeller's Centre, Times Square, Century 21, Empire State Building (including the ride), Madame Tussard's and of course, shopping at the famous Woodbury Common Premium Outlets (1 day isn't enough!). I also went on the cruise to see the famous Statue of Liberty (how can one go to New York and not see the iconic statue!)

May 2011 (Bangkok) - The first time for my CEB in Bangkok! I couldn't believe he'd never been there before. And he loved everything about Bangkok, especially the hotel I'd booked (Four Points) and when we got back, he kept bugging me to book tickets to go back :D We ate at Fiji, MK, took the public transport about, shopped at MBK, Central, Paragon etc, and even squeezed a trip to Chinatown and to the weekend market, Chatuchak.

May 2011 (Bintan) - The week after the wedding, we spent the weekend at a sea-view villa at Banyan Tree Bintan, courtesy of my CEB and his Maybankard. We had really high expectations (Banyan Tree!) but unfortunately, it failed to thrill.

3 to 9 July 2011 (South Africa) - We had a regional attorney's meeting in South Africa and after 3 long days of training and lots of work, we had an afternoon off to enjoy a cultural village in South Africa. I also had a half day city tour to Soweto with the other corporate counsel for Asia Pacific the day before the week of work. I wanted to extend my trip to go on a safari but thankfully I didn't because it was winter. And all I could think of was how to keep warm. Anyway, I've been on a safari before in South Africa with my family and, my CEB and my mum could not go along with me on this trip so a short work trip it was.

July 2011 (KL) - The second time this year going up to KL for work (the first time in April, I didn't take any pics because I was worked so hard by my project manager that I barely had time to enjoy the club room in the five star hotel!). This time I extended the trip over the weekend my CEB took a plane up to join me and we met up with mutual friends for dinner! And they brought along their 7 month old daughter who was so adorable!

August 2011 (Shah Alam) - Another work trip which spanned the weekend and of course, with a coach service that runs right to the hotel's doorstep, my CEB was more than glad to come join me for the weekend where we bought tickets to Sunway Lagoon and had a great time on all the rides there, the pool and eating at the many different restaurants.

End August 2011 (Bali) - Bali, the land of love, what more can I say? :D We stayed at The Westin and it was without a doubt, one of the best hotels we've ever stayed in, in terms of room design and service. We only left the hotel to go to Bali Collection which wasn't very much, and to join a 1 day tour to visit Kuta Beach, GWK and Uluwatu (temple and kecak dance).

September 2011 (Brazil (Sao Paolo, Rio, Foz Igauzu) & Argentina) - Rio! I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to fly to Brazil for work. The trip took 26 hours on SQ, and another 4 more hours to get from Sao Paolo to my hotel in Rio. But it was worth all the time and money (Air ticket to Rio and back to Sao Paolo, Rio's accommodation and tours were at my own expense since I was flying in early to holiday before work in Sao Paolo) to go to and be at Rio! I joined day tours - the city day tour on the first day to go to Christo, Sugar Loaf Mountain, eat a Brazilian Churrascaria lunch, visit some football stadiums, a day tour on the second day to go to Petropolis and to just chill at Copacabana on the third day.

And at the end of my work trip, my CEB came over to join me for our honeymoon in Brazil, Argentina and Peru! :) Like me, he was thrilled flying business class on SQ for a 26hr flight home from Sao Puolo - man, I used all (and I mean ALL) my krisflyer miles to get his flight ticket upgraded. It was absolutely worth it given how happy he was, or rather, he was was absolutely worth it :D

We spent 3 days touring 1 of the new 7 wonders of the world - Foz Iguasu. The falls were absolutely magnificent, and we both were awestruck by nature's beauty. We had a private tour on the first day for the Brazilian side of the falls, and we went on the boat ride to go under the falls which was an experience in itself. On the third day, we returned again in the morning on our own before the flight out in the evening to Juliaca, Peru.

On the second day, again we had a private tour and crossed over to the Argentinean side by car. We viewed the famous part of the falls called the Devil's Throat there, and dropped by the duty-free on the border of Argentina and Peru.

After Brazil and Argentina, we took a flight to Juliaca in Peru via Lima (1 night stay there). I remember that the airport security had us open our one big bag which were about to check in and confiscated my aerosol-like mosquito spray which really upset me. I mean, that was a check-in bag, and I had no problems carrying the spray from Singapore to South America! Ah well. In Juliaca airport, we were picked up by our private tour guide from Condor Travel and taken to the first attraction - the Sillustani Graves.

After the Graves, we were driven through Puno where we checked into a really beautiful hotel called Casa Andina. The next day, we joined a cruise on Lake Titicaca which is the highest navigable lake on earth. The first stop after 4 hours on the boat was Tarquile Island which is a UNESCO site where the men there knit. Tourism, crafts and terrace farming on Tarquile is what sustains livelihood on the island.

We also stopped by Uros Island, which is one of those places on earth that is just...unforgettable. While the view of Lake Titicaca (sparkling and blue) from Tarquile Island is breathtaking, it is the entire structure of Uros Island which one remembers - it is made entirely of reed and the people use the reed for everything they need - food, houses, boats.

From Juliaca, we flew to Cusco, and spent a day touring Cusco city, before travelling 3 hours by car to Ollantaytambo where we stayed a night ebefore taking the Peru Rail to the town of Aguas Calientes where we stayed for 2 nights to visit the world-famous Machu Picchu. Getting to Machu Picchu was easy - a bus takes one up a treacherous road carved out of the mountain side from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu's doorstep. Alternatively one can choose to hike by taking a 3-4 days walk following the Inca trail. Machu Picchu is just amazing - to walk in buildings occupied by a civilization long past, built when during a time before wheels were invented. And to be surrounded by the huge and majestic mountains of the Andes...I feel just humbled.

The second day, we climbed Huayna Picchu which is the mountain overlooking Macchu Picchu. It was a very dangerous hike and took us almost one and a half hours to climb up. There were parts that required us to slither along on our butts, to squeeze through narrow openings no fat person could ever hope to pass (that is to get to the peak), and to really cling on to whatever handhold we could find. But we made it up to the peak of Huayna Picchu. And from there, the view of Macchu Picchu down below us (the right of the picture which is the shape of a condor - amazing huh) was priceless, just priceless. It took some time for the fog to clear but we finally had a clear view of the ruins, and even of the bus route (left side of the picture) from Aguas Calientes up to Macchu Picchu. Only 400 pp are allowed to climb Huayna Picchu per day so we feel extremely blessed to have this opportunity to do this together.

End October 2011 (Bangkok) - Well, what can I say? My CEB wanted to go back to BKK so we found ourselves back in BKK again this year, and this time we had a free upgrade to the Terrace Suite at Four Points. The suite was really lovely although we didn't use the garden at all, and we spent a lot of time just soaking in the jacuzzi which was in the room! We had MK steamboat, Fiji, and walked around the new shopping centre at Asoke Station. It was fun and we are going back again soon!

November 2011 (Philippines, Manila) - I was there for work, and flew in one day earlier so I could join a tour of the city, just to see how much had changed in 4 years. I really enjoyed my day tour which covered Jose Rizal's execution ground (pic below), the Walled City and even the Philippines Museum. Dining at Makati was great and it helped that I had been booked into a hotel which was right across a small street to the famous greenbelt shopping area in Makati. It was a good trip but I am not in a rush to return to Philippines. :D

November 2011 (Negri Sembilan, Port Dickson) - My CEB had heard from his friend how enjoyable PD was, so the day after I got back from Manila, a Friday, we drove up the very next day to Port Dickson. My CEB was not impressed by the dull and polluted beaches and sea at PD, and preferred instead our experience driving up to KL, and stopping by Melaka and Seremban for the food.

End November 2011 (Ho Chi Minh) - I had travel for work to HCM so despite my swearing never to return (which I do each time I go to Vietnam), I found myself in HCM this year. My mum was free to join me so I extended over the weekend at my own expense, and took her to places I'd been before like Cu Chi Tunnels, the Cao Dai Temple, the War Remmants Museum and of course, a city tour. We had a good time together, but I do hope I don't have to go back to this country any time soon!

Early December 2011 (Hanoi) - I called Hanoi, Hell on Earth when I holidayed there with my good friend in September 2009. It was blazing hot then. This time, the weather was awful in another way - it was chilly and raining on the time. Dragging 2 big bags in the rain on the road to the bloody junk where we could do nothing but sit indoors cos of the rain, was just awful. And the junk (Imperial Junk) was really junk. Even my dear old mama said so. Not a good time to visit Hanoi but I had to visit Hanoi for work after Ho Chi Minh, so I figured I might as well just go all the way with dear old mama who had never been to Vietnam. After Halong Bay, we joined the City Tour where we got to see Ho Chi Minh's preserved body and the Temple of Literature, attractions I'd missed on my last trip there. I don't want to go back to Hanoi ever please.
And finally. I must thank my CEB, my friend and my love, for taking my hand and leading me on 1 of the most wonderful journeys of all, a journey I could never have taken on my own, a journey of committed love on the road of "Married Life" on 26 May 2011.

2011 - Looking back

2011-12-31T23:05:00.002+08:00

2011 just flew by...it didn't seem all too long ago when I wrote an entry on looking back at this time of the year in 2010.

So with just one hour to 2012, I thought I'll reflect on what 2011 has been for me.

Career-wise, I have absolutely no complaints about this new job I started in early Feb this year. I now have legal responsibility for a region (NE/SE Asia) and I report directly into the US. My job allows me a decent amount of travelling globally which I love, and in this one year, I have done resume-building work like the transfer of business from 1 of our co to another co locally, an acquisition of a foreign company and an overseas joint venture. I also have made friends out of colleagues in this new company, both locally and overseas, and the job environment is just right for setting up a new family. The only thing is that I miss my ex-boss terribly still - not that I do not have a terrific new boss now but he who is in the US, is not her.

Finance-wise, I would like very much to buy the Honda CRZ. However, logic dictates that I should stick with my precious because my CEB and I need to buy insurance policies for each other as a form of responsibility, and we need to buy our own home next year.

Marriage-wise, I'm very content with my marriage and my CEB. My CEB is a good man whom I have grown to love and be proud of, during the time we have been together as a couple, and even more so after we tied the knot in May this year. I am happy waking up to him in the mornings, and happy having him to cuddle up to/cuddling up to me in the nights. There are so many joyous moments because of, and with him, and believe me when I say that I am so grateful to God for blessing me with him and blessing our marriage so abundantly. I am also grateful to my in-laws for being so supportive of our marriage, and to my own family too for everything they have done for us.

Health-wise, I've been in the pink of health this year unlike 2010 where I was coughing badly and sick a couple of times. It must be 1 of the psychological benefits of being happily married. The downside is that I've gained weight which needs to be shed in 2012. Bah.

Personal growth-wise, I have learnt to keep a house. I thank my mother for this. I now know how to set a washing machine, hand-wash clothes, hang up clothes, iron clothes, and to mop+vacuum. Domesticated I am. Even to the extent that from not knowing how to cook anything but instant noodles, I can put together an edible home-cooked meal. I have to say I am proud of my personal accomplishments in this area - no one has been "poisoned" by my cooking yet and I keep a clean and neat house for my husband to come back to.

In summary, 2011 has again been one of the best years of my life. and once again, I thank the Good Lord, and everyone (my friends, colleagues, CEB, the folks whose lives have crossed with mine this year) for making it so.

May 2012 bring abundant blessings to one and all!

The hour of one's death

2011-12-27T23:49:00.001+08:00

I received an announcement from my HR manager the day after Christmas. My feet started to perspire as I read. And of course I went into denial mode - maybe it was someone else with the same name, some one who was a faceless employee I'd never met working on the shop floor. And the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced it had to be so since most men of that race had that name as a surname.

But when I got to work, I found out that indeed it was my colleague, my "would-be" fishing kaki, one of the few in the office I'd laughed with, shared pictures and stories with and made plans for 2012 with, that had gone to his reward early. :(

An accident according to the police. He had tried to repair his own car at his second home,propped it up and gone under to check, and something went horribly wrong.

His sudden and unexpected demise brought to mind 1 of the bible's stories about the coming of the groom and how one's lamps should always be lit because it is not known when he will arrive. The priest told us that the lesson behind this passage is that we should always be ready for the day that God will call us home to him unexpectedly, ie we should live each day as God has taught us to. Indeed, the hour of our deaths is known to God alone.

I think sometimes we forget how unpredictable life is, and how very real and sudden death can be. There is no certainty or guarantee how much time we have on earth, or how much time the people we love, care about or know have. We can't change that, this cruel reality, but we can be kinder, more thoughtful and forgiving so we have no regrets when the unexpected happens.

Oh Mohd Z, may your soul rest in peace. :( I'm glad our paths crossed, that I took the time on the way to the copier room, to stop by your desk and chat with you the week before you were called. I'm sorry that we missed the chance to fish together this year cos I had to travel and I am even sorrier that all our plans to fish together in 2012 will never materialize. But I know that if there is a fishing paradise, you must be there...and if God is so willing to put us fishing enthusiasts together, I'll see you again one day. Goodbye.

Our first Xmas 2011

2011-12-27T12:16:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas 2011 from Buaticus, Cold-Faced Tiger and the newcomer - Angry Bird!

Because Christmas is a religious holiday that I was raised to observe by going to church and exchanging gifts, I didn't plan any getaways during the Xmas long weekend. Instead, my CEB and I spent Christmas eve shopping for gifts (at the last min, of course), and a Christmas hat for Cold-faced Tiger. That below, is the only token to Christmas we had in our house because neither of us had the time or energy to set up a Christmas tree. Maybe when the family gets larger.

And on Christmas day, after church, my CEB went with my family to my relative's place for Christmas brunch. He pleasantly surprised me on the way there when he said "our family" when referring to my folks instead of "your family". The same way he surprised me again yesterday when he said "our dad" when referring to his father. It makes me very happy that my CEB seems to have truly embraced our marriage in the broader sense.

Below is the Christmas dinner we shared after catching "MI: Ghost Protocol" in the evening. A sushi platter with all the kind of sushi that I really like, starting from the top row down!

Of course, it shouldn't come as a surprise that after all that food, my CEB fell asleep on my lap on the sofa while watching another movie. And looking down at him, both his hands clutching mine as he dozed, I thanked the good Lord for the best present of all - my CEB.

Truly, to have and to hold this buaya, I am content this Christmas day.

7 months of marriage

2011-12-26T22:17:00.007+08:00

Incredible. Just incredible how more than half a year has passed since the day we both said "I do" to each other and a lifetime of being together.

If not for the ticker on this blog, we both would have forgotten that today is our "Monthiversary" because we'd spent the day spring-cleaning for CNY.

My CEB has done more housework today than he has done in the past 2 months. And even though he goes around moaning "I am a poor poor husband", and flopping about the house (and even on me - shuffling up for a hug and slumping on my shoulder), he really has been a very very good, helpful, and supportive husband - washing both toilets, packing all his stuff, moving furniture about, and throwing away the old and unwanted items in our house.

And at the end of the day, as I am writing this in bed, laptop on my lap, he snuggles up to me and says endearingly

"Dear Dear, Love you love you".

It is really hard not to love this cheese-eating buaya.

Ramen Champion at Iluma - Ikkousha

2011-12-20T00:23:00.004+08:00

I was in town today for work and met a fellow legal eagle I hadn't met for months (he has a 2 month old daughter now!). Because I wanted ramen, he suggested we go to Ramen Champion, somewhere I'd never heard of before! Ramen Champion is a "Marche-concept" restaurant where there are 6 different ramen stalls in one large restaurant and at the entrance, one is given a card where one's purchase is recorded. Payment is made at the exit based on the card.

At my friend's recommendation, I had Ikkousha's version of Hakata Ajitama Ramen, which he said was the most popular of the 6 ramen stalls here. The lady at the stall persuaded me to opt for the ramen bowl which had 7 slices of fatty pork meat and cost a hefty SGD17+ a bowl (regular version). The Slog Reviews: 6/10. The broth was so darn salty that finishing the soup base was not possible, and I was thankful to have my cup of bubble tea which I'd bought earlier with me to clean out my mouth between each bite. The noodles were firm and springy, no complaints but the meat had loads of fat, and being soaked in salty broth did nothing to improve the taste of the meat. I wouldn't go back to this stall again.

My friend on the other hand chose Bario, because he was starving. I understood what he meant when he carried his bowl of ramen to the table - a veritable mountain of ramen indeed! I think I'll try Bario the next time I go back!

When I complained to him about the saltiness of the Ikkousha ramen, he said I should try the Sappora Ramen because that had corn in it and would be sweeter.

Going to Ramen Champion today makes me wish I still had a job in town - just so I could savor the better fare instead of the stuff that passes for lunch in the boondocks. :D

Address: 201 Victoria Street Bugis Iluma #04-08/09/10 S(188607).

Operating Hours: 11.30am to 10.30pm

Te: +65 6238 1011

Spring Cleaning for the New Year

2011-12-20T00:03:00.004+08:00

1 more difference between married life and single-hood, is the amount of spring-cleaning one has to do for Chinese New Year.

Previously, I just had to clean my room. Now, I have to clean the entire house.

After a day of work which consisted of back to back meetings in the office from 2 to 5.30pm, I came home and worked some more on the laptop till 9pm before unpacking my luggage bag from Vietnam which was still lying in the hall after a week, cleaning the bag with a wet wipe and storing it, and then sorting out the food area (because my in-laws had told my CEB that some of the food had expired...and yeah, I wonder too why he had to tell me instead of helping me sort out the food area).

I also washed my CEB's army bag which he had left soaking in a tub of dirty water before he left on Saturday, and hung it up to dry, along with my other travel bag, and then set the laundry for our clothes. After which I took in all the other clothes that I'd hung up to dry since Thursday, and then hung up the washed clothes after washing. I also hand-washed my 2 other silk blouses.

It was 11pm by the time I was done and the only thing I felt at the end was - it's just freaking crazy how much I am juggling .

If my CEB comes back and just bums around or goes out to enjoy himself, I know I'm going to lose it at him in big-time. I'm sorry but much as I love my CEB, he is going to have pull his weight around the house, and that includes cleaning the toilet from the mirrors to the cistern and the tub. I'm not his maid, or his mother. I'm his wife, and if he works and is tired, I work too! Ugh, why didn't someone tell me about this bit of marriage life before I got hitched!

Shopping with my little sister

2011-12-19T23:32:00.003+08:00

7 for All Mankind. What kind of brand is that, and one that doesn't carry larger than a size 31 in Singapore? *irritated.

Shopping with my little sister always deals a heavy blow to the wallet, and the self-esteem. Let me elaborate: Firstly, I do not have her size 25-26 waist (on a 170cm frame). Secondly, I do not have the lifestyle that she currently enjoys with her Mister.

I so should not have gone shopping with her last Friday. Now I fully understand why some women hide their purchases in the car trunk. What am I, The Slog, doing with a pair of premium denim jeans with a price tag 4 times that of a decent pair from good old Levis?

I really need to start spring-cleaning for CNY early so I don't buy any more stuff!

Sunday Brunch at Ku De Ta at Marina Bay Sands

2011-12-18T21:02:00.006+08:00

Ku De Ta is one of my sister's favorite places to be and to dine (if that word can be used given how very little she eats to preserve that figure which has been on the covers of magazines). So naturally, to celebrate my mother's birthday this year, we found ourselves having Sunday brunch at the restaurant. And at a window table indoors to boot, given how last minute the reservations were. But that's my sister we are talking about - given how she is a frequent diner there, and how last Xmas she and her Mister racked up more than SGD700 on Xmas dinner for the 2 of them alone....

Anyway. Ku De Ta for brunch buffet cost SGD68++ per pax. Which was not overly priced given the view, the ambiance, the "name" of the place, and the quality of the food. This was an ala carate menu buffet which meant that one could order the dishes one wanted of their (somewhat limited) menu. In the mean time, there was a spread laid out for desserts, cold cuts and cheese and bread, as well as mushrooms and soba which one could part-take of freely.

The menu had black angus beef but at 1pm, they had run out of beef which made me most upset. I mean, what kind of buffet runs out of a dish, and they had less than 15 dishes on the brunch menu! So we made do with the oysters, foie gras, chicken teriyaki, yellowfin tuna steak, prawn skewers, tempura, fried rice, all of which were rather limited in portion-size wise. There was also the breakfast menu one could order a chicken steak from, or crumpets even with eggs. Milkshakes like banana something, lychee with coconut milk, coffee (latte, mocha) and tea were also available in unlimited quantities.

I wish I could say it was impressive but it wasn't. The foie gras was of course done well, but how much of the extremely rich tasting liver one can realistically down is limited. The chicken teriyaki was burnt, the oysters took a long time coming although they were fresh (we had to ask 3 times), and my mum thought her fried rice was better than the one at Ku De Ta. The prawn skewers were unimpressive, and so were the eggplant and tempura dishes.

The dessert spread was pretty good and there was a fair selection of unique chocolate desserts all of which tasted delicious, like the balls which had a hint of banana. My mum thought I'd taken this plate below to share with the rest of the table, but no mdm, I finished all of it on my own,

And at the end of 3 hours of eating (the buffet brunch is from 10 to 3pm), I was so stuffed I could not open my eyes. It was raining outside and the aircon was slightly chilly so I took out my burberry cashmere shawl which is as soft, rich and fluffy as, well, I don't know, and wrapped it around myself...and almost dozed off. The rest carried on with their lattes and mocha shakes.

And I resisted going outside to take photos (since I'd been twice already) but my mother was insistent. Since it was her birthday, I had no choice but to walk around with the rest of the tourists and snap pictures which are probably duplicated a million times on facebook. The weather was pretty awful today and we got off the rooftop just before it started pouring really heavily.

The Slog Reviews: Not going back to Ku De Ta anytime soon for the brunch buffet. Although the place was packed (mostly with tourists), and some felt that it was not expensive given the quality of food, I know of an even better place to drop one's dollar and feel satisfied, as one should when going for an all-out-pig-out.

我的心太乱

2011-12-18T20:54:00.002+08:00

我想要一个自己的空间
能够好好想想我们之间的明天
如果爱情不如我们想像的甜美
那么所有的最让我来背

Xu in Ho Chi Minh Vietnam - 1 of the best fine dining experience I've ever had

2011-12-18T01:17:00.002+08:00

It is 8pm and I am still stuffed from the buffet brunch at Ku De Ta. I'll write about that later but first, let me share this absolutely fabulous dining experience I had in Ho Chi Minh. I'd walked past the restaurant on the way to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner the day before, and the simplicity of the menu outside, the glimpse of the interior, and 2 Japanese girls carrying a map and scurrying in, caught my attention. So, the next night, we were back for dinner at Xu.

The first level is the bar area which appears to be highly popular among the local folks and expats. Men and women can choose to sit at the bar, high bar tables or sprawl in comfy couches. The dining however, is on the second floor which looks like this. We did not have reservations (duh) but the sincerity (and not menace, I hope) written all over our faces got us in. Don't be fooled by the empty tables - the tables filled up really quickly by 7.30pm.

The servers spoke pretty good English and were helpful and friendly. Upon their recommendation, I ordered the fresh spring roll filled with ribeye. Now, my mother dislikes eating beef and when I mentioned that to the server, he was quick to check with the kitchen and offer to have the spring rolls filled with shrimp instead. However, given that the cost was VND200,000 still, I thought we should still stick with the ribeye.

When the dish was served, truth be told, I was aghast at the size of the portions. SGD12+ for just one spring roll which was sliced into 4 pieces. Yes yes, I know, fine dining, not pig out session but still. But the moment I bit into the spring roll, and the juices of the perfectly done ribeye flooded my mouth mixed with the accompanying greens within the roll, I was in gastronomy heaven. I kid you not. The right doneness, the right portions in each quarter, the sweetness and succulence of the meat, of the entire roll...even my mother said there wasn't any trace of "beefiness" at all. Yet it was still beef to a beef lover, and 1 of the best I ever had...in a spring roll at that!

The next dish is my mum's favourite out of all we had for dinner. Lemongrass skewered seabass. It sounds deceptively simple, and if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have ordered seabass at all because that is a cheap fish. And one that I have caught so many times, F.O.C. So why would I spend VND300K (SGD 18+) on a fish dish in Vietnam.

But..and I mean a huge but here...thank God I had my mother with me. Because the chef in the kitchen worked a miracle with the fish. No, not the Jesus kind of miracle by multiplying the fish. In fact, the opposite. I thought with the price tag on the dish, we would get a whole fish at the least, even if it was a small one. But wrong. Just 4 portions of fish. No kidding. For SGD20, I could get 4 whole seabasses in the market/fish pond.

The sweet onions, coconut milk and mushrooms accompanying the fish were so delicious that I wiped the plate clean. I don't care if those were there to beautify the dish because...they were so damn delicious. And the fish, when I say the chef worked a miracle, I meant it. He managed to turn this ordinary-tasting fish, into pure chunks of heavenly sweetness and flavor. And I mean flavor, the kind that bursts in your mouth and makes you think that if the world were to end with this fish dish in your mouth, you have absolutely no regrets. It is THAT good.

Out of deference to my mother again, I ordered the chicken roulade. Out of all the meat, chicken is at the bottom of my list but my mother loves chicken so...Anyway, when the dish was served, I was pretty immune now to the appalling portions. Again, for VND250 (SGD15+), the food was beautifully presented but so, so, so, limited in quantity. Esp when viewed by a glutton.

Now, the puree that accompanied the chicken which was more than ordinary slices/cuts of chicken somehow enhanced the experience of eating the chicken meat which appeared to be wrap around some sort of center. I am sorry I can't describe this dish better but believe me when I say the chicken was the most tender I've ever had.

Up next, coconut braised pork belly. Hey, all I am going to say is that...have you watched Masterchef? Because this dining experience made me feel like....wow, so this is what the really good food in life must taste like. I haven't been eating grass my entire life, and had the good fortune to eat at pretty pricey places both in Singapore and overseas (esp when travelling for work with the "Higher Beings"), but nothing I've eaten so far has moved me as much as the food in Xu. So. Order the pork belly (but only after you had the seabass which is still more awesome)

And surprisingly despite the little portions of everything, I was quite full by the end of the main courses. I suspect it has to do with the fact I ordered morning glory to go with the one bowl of rice that we shared. This was the only dish that didn't have me waxing lyricals because the entire dish was all stems. For VND60,000, I think we should have at least some green leaves!

We had room to spare for dessert and thankfully the server warned us the portions would be really small. I had no idea how small till dessert was served. Now, each dessert cost between USD 75cents to USD2, so we figured we could order 4 and share, so that we could try more. The coconut che (in the shotglass at the end) was ordinary, the durian one failed to impress in anyway, and the pandan pannacotta was just passable. The only one slightly more interesting was the sugar and cinnamon soursop parcel which was recommended by the server.

And...after having the 4 desserts, we ordered another 4 because frankly, a teaspoonful for 2 pax isn't quite going to cut it. The chocolate brownie with ice cream was a waste of money, the white chocolate custard was good, chocolate kumquat truffle was boring and I forget what the last one is. But you should get the drift by now - desserts at XU...not fab. Main courses...Fab.

The Slog Reviews: Don't, please don't miss out dining at Xu if you are ever in the bustling city of Ho Chi Minh...and especially if you are staying in District 1! If I ever have to (touch wood) go back to that city, you can be sure that I'll definitely be back for more of the good stuff.

I want this for Christmas this year!

2011-12-18T00:32:00.007+08:00

I seldom really WANT something...and not go right out and GET IT. Okay, wait rephrase.

I seldom really WANT something that I CAN afford...and not go right out and get it.

And right now, I need to really sit hard on my hands so that I don't go right out (Esp when my CEB is out of town) and trade in my current car, My Precious for this beauty below.

If only there wasn't a part of me that acknowledges the wisdom of my CEB and mother's words

When Mini-Mob is here...baby seat, maid, big bag for all baby's bottles yada yada...you feel in the blanks.

But hey, Mini-Mob isn't here yet and my CEB has his own car which is a 4 seater which can be used for the family so...

Never have I felt such lust or want before, and for a huge liability at that. It must be the "So close can touch yet should not touch" attraction. Forbidden fruit that is well within one's ability to grasp is always sweetest. Darn.

One Bite Puff from Taste Better at Jusco Bukit Indah

2011-12-17T23:35:00.004+08:00

Thankfully the husband is away from SG on a work trip today (and for a week ~ yes brilliant marriage life we have with us spending half a month apart, when I travel and he travels the same month).

My mum had absolutely insisted on buying for her daughter (despite spending most of the car ride taking photos on her cellphone of my bulges sigh) a box of durian puffs at a shop that we just happened to pass by. It was the herd mentality - the sight of the queue there had her making a beeline for the shop despite my telling her that I did not NEED a durian puff. (At the time of writing this sentence, I have eaten all the puffs :( ).

Now, this picture below was taken right before I'd started eating - you will note that the box is full of the 6 puffs (cost RM8 for the entire box). I didn't notice what was written on the lid but I really should have heeded the suggestion there, despite the stupid smiley face at the end.

Because I've now got thin durian goo all over my nightie. Freak. As I said, thank goodness my CEB is away as he absolutely does not approve of my eating in bed at all. The bed is now empty except for all the animals he has piled on to his side to fill the empty space. I would have preferred the T-shirt he wore last night. At least I could have used that to wipe the spillage instead of having to face the amused stares of the stuffed creatures.

In particular, the look from F Tiger (yes, F stands for you-know-what-cannot-be-said-in-polite-company). My CEB has recently developed a most nasty habit of plunking the horrid creature's face on MY face while yelling "Cold Faced Tiger". The reason is that the creature's face is made of plastic material and I put the creature on a chair next to me face against the wall so that we have some space on the bed for ourselves without creatures all over! And the tiger's face gets rather cold as a result. I absolutely hate it when my CEB goes ape with the creature. (Thought: think I'll wipe some durian paste on it!)

Anyway, the primary point of this post was to share, or rather trash these one bite puffs. Firstly, I'd told my mum it would not be good just from the look of the puffs because the outer crusts looked so hard and slightly brown, nothing like those durian puffs which melts in the mouth from our good old 717. The crusts were hard for a reason - to contain the durian goo within which was lacking in substance...very thin and watery, not a paste at all, or real durian meat for that matter.

Hence, the advice on the box to put the entire puff in one's mouth. Because half a bite would result in the same disaster that I had - durian goo flowing down my chin, on my chest, on my nightgown...after I'd bathed. However, the puffs are so large that it is a challenge putting the entire puff in one's mouth...and I assure you with all my eating, I do NOT have a small mouth. So figure. And the thick crust just tastes horrid and doughy. Combine that with the lousy durian goo (I can't make myself write paste as it isn't), you have a right sh*t puff.

There is a reason why the brand is called Taste Better. The sh*t puffs really need to taste better because after eating the entire box of puffs and having 3 puffs burst on/all over me (not that I didn't learn my lesson but I could not fit the puff in at a go), the aftertaste in my mouth is not one of durian but a strangely bitter one of lousy crusts

La Jolie Hotel & Spa in Vietnam Ho Chi MInh

2011-12-14T00:11:00.003+08:00

Excuse the appearance of the bed. I snapped the picture when we were leaving because I could not be arsed to do so when checking into the hotel. Travelling with two large suitcases, having to tip the bellboy, and having to move from Sheraton to a well, more affordable one kind of quells the happy-camera button.

Given that I'd arranged for day tours (Cu Chi Tunnel, Ho Chi Minh City Tour) for the next 2 days, there wasn't much point staying on at Sheraton Hotel at USD250++ a night. I'd checked Agoda's reviews and La Jolie had received so many positive comments that it made sense to book a room there for about SGD80 a night.

La Jolie is a new hotel and the taxi driver (airport cab) could not find the hotel. We went around a few times till we found the tall skinny building next to some sort of an Indian restaurant, and 2 traffic lights away from Sheraton. The staff were friendly and spoke good English but what I really disliked about the hotel was that they were insistent on keeping our passports unless we gave them USD20 as deposit. I definitely wasn't comfortable letting them hold on to our travel documents overnight and shelled out the USD20.

However, other than that, and the taxi incident, which I shall write about later, I have nothing but good things to say about the cleanliness and condition of the hotel. The room (we were upgraded to a suite on the 6th floor which had an awesome river view) was all in white, clean and spacious enough with free wifi. There was even a bathtub (not just a shower), bathing robes and a safe in the room with 2 bottles of complimentary water.

As for the breakfast, I thought it was really excellent for the price we were paying. There were eggs and pho to be had (by ordering), as well as dessert like coconut jelly which I ate without restraint, soup, porridge, fried noodles, fried rice...and the staff provided excellent service throughout. The environment as per the pic below was clean and comfortable. In fact, I would go so far as to say that other than the drinks available (or lack of), La Jolie's breakfast spread gave me almost as much satisfaction as the buffet breakfast I'd been having at Sheraton.

In fact, our breakfast experience was so good that we decided to utilize the 30% discount coupon the staff gave us upon checking in to have dinner at the restaurant (the same place we had breakfast). We ordered spring rolls, since these are a Vietnamese staple, but the spring rolls turned out to be fried spring rolls and not the fresh ones. Therefore, be very careful when you order spring rolls in Vietnam - always ask if fresh, or fried, if not clearly specified.

In any case, the fried spring rolls were decent enough - not swoon-worthy or even close. Despite being a tad too oily for my liking, the spring rolls were crunchy and quite tasty, especially with the dip.

We also each had a bowl of pho. Unfortunately unlike the pho for breakfast, the beef in the dish while plentiful, was either cooked too long or was just plain tough. Not very appetizing. I would strongly suggest against ordering pho as a main course from the menu (unless during breakfast).

Overall, I would definitely rate La Jolie Hotel very highly in terms of service, location, food and condition of the room. Definitely value for money in every way given its current hotel rate. However, the hotel needs to stop holding on to travellers' passports in exchange for a monetary deposit. I hardly think there is any law that mandates that and if this is a policy the hotel has, it definitely is a huge turn off. Also, the hotel called a taxi for me from off the streets at VND160,000 to take me to the domestic airport. I paid that amount to the hotel staff but when I asked the driver at the airport to give me a receipt (for my travel claims), he wrote that he only received VND130,000. I am definitely not too thrilled about the hotel keeping VND30,000 for doing nothing except sending a staff to flag down a cab passing by which I could have done. That doesn't smack of an honest way of earning money.

Hard Rock Cafe in Ho Chi Minh City

2011-12-14T00:05:00.002+08:00

I've been to Ho Chi Minh (HCM) a couple of times but never knew that there was a hard rock cafe there despite staying at the District 1 area hotels like Park Hyatt, and hotels at the Riverside like The Majestic. I always thought that the Hard Rock Cafes would be centrally located or at least in a popular district with visible presence. However, it took a 15 min slow walk from my hotel (Sheraton) to get to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner as the restaurant was located at/next door to Intercontinental Hotel (a 6 min walk from Park Hyatt). Click here for the address.

Because we got there about 6+pm, there was some rehearsal going on for a show that night and it was really really loud. The server informed us that if we wanted to stay until the show started, we would have to pay for tickets for the show. I told her that given the noise level, I could not wait to be out of the place fast enough. Snap. The manager was at my side in all of 5 mins explaining that the rehearsal would be over soon and we could get to enjoying our meal without our eardrums throbbing.

We started with the Jumbo Combo: This consisted of the Santa Fe Spring Rolls, Hickory-Smoked Chicken Wings, Onion Rings, Potato Skins and Tupelo Chicken Tenders. The dish came with 4 different sauces for mixing and matching, 1 of which was Blue Cheese. Presentation of the dish was good, impressive, and portions large enough for 3-4 pax. The server suggested that this dish was enough for 2 for the evening, (hint: I should not order any more).

But hey, I am Stuff-Thy-Face-If-Stressed-When-Travelling-For-Work. So after demolishing most of the smoked chicken wings, onion rings and chicken tenders, and leaving most of the potato skin behind because it was so hard and not worth me wasting any calories on, I waved the server over and to her horror (Are you SURE? *high pitched tone), ordered the Smokehouse Trio Combo (slightly more expensive (almost VND400K) than the Jumbo Starter which was about VND320,000+).

Smoked chicken, smoked ribs and smoked pulled pork. The ribs were so good that it had me licking my fingers and wishing that I'd ordered all ribs instead. The chicken tasted like well, chicken...and I was so so incredibly stuffed that the taste of the pulled pork did not register much. I think it tasted porky even though it was coated with heaps of some sticky thick sauce. Needless to say, to the smug triumph of the server behind us, we had to ask for bags to take away the fries, and the other half of the Jumbo Combo. Note: I managed to down the entire glass of milkshake before leaving as a final gesture of defiance.

As you can tell from the picture above, the ambiance at Ho Chi Minh's Hard Rock Cafe is really very nice with all those pretty red lanterns at the bar. The servers speak reasonably good English and on a Thursday evening, the restaurant appeared to be popular with expats (no local folks here) and other tourists. I really like Hard Rock Cafe. The atmosphere and servers there (from USA to Ho Chi Minh) somehow make me feel welcome and less alone when I am travelling for work.

Oh and of course, I had to get my HRC fridge magnet. For some strange reason, they did not have the guitar-shaped magnet so I had to make do with this one. And the Love All Serve All bit is missing too. Oh well. I'm not sure if this is true but the guy manning the cashier told me that there would be a Hard Rock Cafe in Hanoi sometime in 2012. I'm so not going to back Hanoi ever if I can help it (more posts on that later) so despite preferring to always buy my own magnets from places I have been, I'll have to get my colleagues to send the guitar-shaped magnet to SG. I bet it'll have a picture of Halong Bay!

Cooking on a weekday

2011-12-13T23:17:00.006+08:00

The plan was to go out for dinner tonight. I'd finished work about 6+ and when I got home about 7+, I saw the sms from my CEB to buy back food as he would be home late. But I was tired after a day of meetings from people who wanted/needed professional hand-holding. So I told him I would cook a simple dinner instead of driving out again to hunt for food.

Into the microwave went the frozen pork (express defrost), after which I hastily googled "stir fry pork" and found noobcook's recipe for pork with ginger which I tried to follow with whatever ingredients I had in the fridge. I then sliced the pork and seasoned the same with 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp of light soy sauce and 1 tbsp of sesame oil for about 15mins. And while the pork was marinating, I soaked the mushrooms as well as prepared the miso soup, and the miso paste for the cod fish dish. And then it was just a matter of steaming rice together with the fish, and stir frying first the pork with ginger slices, and then the mushrooms with Eu Yan Seng's Mushroom Scallops XO sauce.

Guess how long all that cooking (including preparation time) took? 1 hour. Maybe I would have done better if I had just gone downstairs, driven out and bought back dinner. The problem is the place we are staying has absolutely zero amenities food-wise. The location is...don't get me started. But anyway, the effort to cook for my CEB paid off because when he started on the pork dish, he proclaimed it was good and finished all of the pork. And he also finished 3/4 of the miso soup and 1/4 of the fish.

Actually, I hadn't intended to cook at all of this week. And I hadn't bought any ingredients to do so from the supermarket. But we all know that life can be perverse right, or rather my CEB can be, and so for the past 2 days I'd found myself in the kitchen cooking dinner for the husband. This was dinner last night when he went off to Malaysia after work and I had committed to settle dinner. I couldn't find sashimi with rice for sale unfortunately so I had to hurry home and cook some rice to go with the salmon sashimi I'd bought for him, and the ultra-large scallops which we were to share.

And while I was at it (dinner preparation that is), I figured I might as well clear off the two large green kiwis in the fridge and the apple I'd brought back from Vietnam. So I ended up peeling the fruits, dicing the fruits and blending the pieces with orange juice and loads of ice.

My CEB came home about 9pm and sheepishly confessed that he had already eaten (and Kentucky Fried Chicken at that!) because he was so hungry. Now, there was no point getting mad over the wasted effort for the rice and also, I fully understood what it was like to be hungry. So we ate the sashimi and I put the rice in the fridge (in a bag).

My CEB surprised me though when he showed me that he had bought for me from Watsons, the facial cotton pads I'd moaned to him that I had forgotten to buy the day before - there was a 1 for 1 promotion at Watsons in Malaysia. I didn't think such a small matter would register with my CEB but apparently it did, and I do appreciate his effort to remember, and to get them.

It is the little things that count in a marriage..., I am finding out. And marriage does take so so so much effort.

Paitan Ramen at Men-Ichi Ramen Restaurant

2011-12-13T22:47:00.003+08:00

Coincidentally, the day after eating at Nantstuttei Ramen Restaurant, I had a dinner appointment with a friend at Jurong Point. And guess what we had? Yeah, ramen.

I was at the Japanese food street (consisting of Kushin Bo and other Jap restaurants) at Jurong Point and Men-Ichi Ramen caught my eye because it was smallish and I hadn't seen any other outlets before. So I joined the queue (oh, that was a criterion too) and ordered the Paitan Tonkatsu Char Siew Ramen at SGD15.

Paitan (which translates to white soup) ramen is the restaurant's current promotion and the soup is without a doubt, one of the richest and creamiest ramen soup base I've had. The noodles though, of which there wasn't too much of, was pretty ordinary and rather springy like instant noodles instead of authentic ramen noodles.

If you go to the restaurant's website (click here), it states that this Paitan ramen promotion is for a limited period only so if you are into creamy ramen, Jurong Point is the place to go until they open more outlets in the country

Nantsuttei ramen at Parco Marina Bay

2011-12-13T22:04:00.003+08:00

When we were just friends, my CEB and I hung out pretty often at Ajisen. It was either dinner there or at Cafe Cartel. Week after week. After watching my CEB down about say, 80 bowls of volcano ramen, we/I decided that it was time for a change. And so one weekend evening while at the Marina Bay belt, we joined the long queue outside Nantsuttei Ramen restaurant.

We were given counter seats so we had a bird's eye view of how the noodles were prepared. And the chefs in the kitchen appeared to be actually Japanese and not locals. I ordered a bowl of the original Nantsuttei Ramen which cost SGD12. The egg cost an additional SGD 1. As you can tell from the picture below, there is unfortunately, only 1 slice of char siew in the bowl of noodles but the entire meal was flavorful with just the right amount of roasted garlic oil that did not leave a greasy film on the lips.

My CEB on the other hand, ordered a bowl of the hot/spicy ramen with a "hotness" level of 4. Apparently, someone actually ordered a bowl with a "hotness" level of 10 before and lived to tell the tale. My CEB however declined to challenge that record claiming he was here to enjoy a meal and not suffer. Oh well, in any case, by the time he was done, he was perspiring but well satiated.

The Slog Reviews: Definitely good authentic ramen with great noodles texture and slurp-worthy soup :)

Address:

9 Raffles Boulevard #P3-06

Parco Marina Bay, Millenia Walk Singapore
Tel: +65 6337 7166

The beginning of the end - Ka Fei by Jacky Cheung

2011-12-13T01:30:00.009+08:00

I first heard this song when the man I'd spent the longest time with sang it at a karaoke.

I didn't even know he knew this song, much less knew how he felt about us, about our relationship. I knew what he liked to do, where and what he liked to eat, how he looked when he slept, how his hands felt in mine, his bank account, all the things I thought mattered.

If I had to put my finger on the day that marked the end of our relationship, I would say it was the day I heard the words of the song falling from his lips. There wasn't much to say after he put away the microphone and drove me home. I knew what he was trying to tell me...about the state of our relationship. AND I also knew what he was trying NOT to tell me...that his heart was no longer with me. Oh, the sinking feeling...the pain and sadness of realizing how much trouble we were in. :(

Hats off to the songwriter who captures so accurately how a failed relationship is like...or how a relationship that is beginning to fail feels like..A Joke indeed.

太濃了吧
否則怎楹苦得說不出話
每次都一個人在自問自答
我們的愛到底還在嗎

已經淡了吧
多放些糖也很難有變化
不如喝完這杯就各自回家
別坐在對面欣賞我的掙扎

一場失敗的愛惰像個笑話
熱的時候心亂如麻
冷了以後看見自己夠傻
人怎麼會如此容易無法自拔

一場無味的愛情像個謊話
甜的時候只相信它
苦了以後每一句都可怕
人怎麼會如此難以了無牽掛

The origin of Goh Bua Bua, otherwise known as Buaya Man / Buaticus

2011-12-13T00:41:00.006+08:00

I don't think my buaya toy had a clue about what his life would be like after being lifted up by yours truly, from the bottom shelf at the National Geographic shop at Cairns.

In fact, I had debated long and hard whether to even buy him because of his size and because it was the first day of our holiday. However, even after stepping out of the shop and walking around the mall to stop myself from engaging in an impulse buy, I knew I had to have him. And while we had lunch at the food court with him sitting in the paper bag occupying one chair and peering up at us in the most adoring manner, I promised silently that he would always be loved.

And for the half year before my CEB and I got hitched and lived together, my nua nua buaya toy had a peaceful existence on my bed, only occasionally getting hugged to death and drenched with tears by yours truly after a particularly nasty quarrel with my CEB. But the day he moved into the matrimonial home, his life took a 180 degrees turn in a way he never would have for-seen. I think if he had known what would befall him, (in the form of my CEB, the bigger buaya) he might have unbuckled the seatbelt and taken his chances as a fugitive on the Jetstar flight back to Singapore.

Having his paws mashed together so as to give the world The Finger, being made to assume compromising positions and wear eye-masks as a mock bra/underwear, I thought I'd seen it all when my CEB recently came up with yelling out "Aerodynamic" before squishing my buaya toy into some sort of an aeroplane shape. I say some sort because with a belly like that and two skinny arms flopping away, I fail to see how my buaya toy would ever be able to take flight. Ever.

Oh, and of course, let's not forget that when my CEB's imagination fails him, he takes to just simple downright squashing of my poor buaya toy. Like this below. Just to see how small the buaya toy could become. Pray, tell me, what benefit is there really in knowing this?

Anyway, all the gentle and not so gentle loving that my CEB has bestowed on my nua nua buaya toy over the past 6 months has resulted in the poor fella looking a little worn with 2 of his 4 teeth loosened, and the thread at the side of his mouth coming out altogether. When I mourned my nua nua buaya toy's appearance to my CEB, he told me it was a simple matter of just using a needle to poke the thread back in. So I told him to do it since he said it was that simple.

And what do you know? My CEB put my buaya toy over his knee and tried his best for the next hour to repair "Buaticus".

But alas, my CEB finally said sadly to me that he could not sew back the thread that had gotten loose, and worse, there was now a small hole near the buaya toy's mouth. :( That night, my CEB solemnly put Buaticus on a chair.

Me "What is buaya doing on a chair?"

My CEB very sadly "Cannot hug buaya anymore. Now he is a Protected Species."

Me "!@#!#@#@#"but deciding to keep silent and watch how long this would last.

2days later, Buaticus was back on our bed, lolling around with my CEB who said excitedly to me that Buaticus would now be part of our family and be called Goh Bua Bua. So much for protected species!

An extremely popular restaurant in Muar

2011-12-12T22:43:00.007+08:00

The day after I came back from Hanoi, I persuaded a reluctant CEB to spend the weekend in Muar because I was craving the fish eggs dish from my favorite restaurant there. (If I could find fish eggs in Singapore, I really wouldn't drive the 150km there!).

And so, after a heart-stopping incident at the Singapore causeway (the first fuel check I'd been subject to in 3 years and this had to happen when my fuel was at its very lowest ever when crossing), we found ourselves in what my CEB termed, the "boring little town". Although it was the school holidays and the wedding season, we managed to snag the last superior room with a queen bed in Streetview hotel, 1 of the newer hotels in Muar.

RM98 nett bought us a decent room which was cozy, clean and reeking of disinfectant. The sheets were clean and there was cable (ESPN but not HBO or Star Movies). The toilet was spacious and though nothing close to fancy, pretty fine- nothing like a hot shower and a working toilet. Oh, and there was also free wifi in the room so after we checked in and once the curtains were drawn against the blazing sun outside, my CEB engaged in a meaningful relationship with a bag of chips while watching Japanese movies on his netbook.

We wanted to go out for an early dinner but the carpark was so full that it was hard to get my car out. And so we decided to take a walk instead to the nearby shopping area consisting of The Store and Wetex Parade. We couldn't find a cineplex so we ended up buying groceries (more chips for my CEB to devour) and having a pretty sucky early dinner at the Sushi King. I have to say that the shopping in Muar is really dismal - forget high-street fashion or large high-end departmental stores. However, if one is into nightlife reminiscent of that of Singapore's in the 80s, Jalan Ali in Muar has quite a few roadside hawkers that sell "Muar Chee" (pun intended) and other sort of foodstuff.

My CEB wanted to go to Shee Yan only the next day (Sunday) but I wasn't having any of that after having put so much mileage on my car to get to Muar just for my fish eggs. I'd made reservations at 8.15pm (the lady informed me that they closed at 9pm) and although we reached the restaurant early about 7.30pm, the restaurant was so popular, so crowded that we ended up sitting outside on the bench waiting for a table until 8.30pm.

Now, the assam fish is the restaurant's specialty with every table ordering this dish, and the other dishes may appear to be very simple and ordinary like fish (eg stingray in curry powder) otah, fish eggs, squid, prawns etc but believe me, the otah is to die for with bits of prawns and fish inside. And the fried fish eggs, don't even get me started on those...

As you can prob already tell from the pic below, going to the restaurant for dinner wasn't quite enough for me and the next day found us both back at the restaurant's doors at its opening hours (11.30am on Sunday). We thought we would be the first but there were about 3 families seated already. 1 of them made the mistake of being a smart mouth to the aunty behind the food counter when picking his dishes, and when it was my turn and he'd gone off, she told me she would give him the blackest fish eggs. Hah. Never offend those who have a say in what goes pass your lips!

I, on the other hand, enjoyed one of the best fish eggs dishes which had me closing my eyes in sheer ecstasy at the sweetness and fluffiness of the fish eggs. If I could pack away some of the fish eggs, the way I did with the otah, I certainly would have! But because I can't, you can bet that I am going back to this little heaven on earth as many times as I can!

Oh, and on the way back at the Malaysia side of the causeway about 3+pm, there was a Grassland bus trying to cut into the middle lane from the right lane. And the car behind it and in front of me kept applying the horn to force it to move. It didn't. And so this ah beng with badly dyed yellow hair stuck at his head out and yelled "Oy! (Insert Vulgarities)" at the bus, before turning around to look at me and mouthing what appeared to be reassurances that he would get the bus out of the way. And then he turned right back to yelling "Oy oy" at the bus and after a fashion, the bus did move off. And the Ah Beng turned around and gave me the most beatific smile I'd ever seen before putting his dyed head back in the car and going off. I laughed so hard I cried.

Argh, I think when baby CEB or as my CEB says, the Mini-Mob comes, I'm going to have no problem typing with 1 hand given how much practice I am getting now - my CEB is all curled up against my left shoulder sound asleep with his left arm across my waist, trapping my left arm/hand under him.

------------------------

Address of Shee Yan Restaurant (Xi Yan Lou)

30 and 31 Jalan Pesta Baru 1

Pusat Perniagaan Pesta Baru

Jln Bakri 84000 Muar, Johor

Tel: 06-953 9014

From Five Stars to No Star

2011-12-07T20:17:00.003+08:00

The second last time I was in Vietnam,we went, as my friend The Slug so aptly put it, from Hyatt (we spent one night at the amazing and exp Park Hyatt at Ho Chi Minh) to hovel (which was some hotel called Dic Star in Vung Tau).

No different this trip. I am in some strangely named hotel which is a hole in the wall in Hanoi. After spending two nights at Sheraton Hanoi. The cost of this room is the cheapest I have ever paid for any hotel room - about SGD13.62, which is less than 1/10th of the cost of 1 night at Sheraton Hanoi. Hah.

However, to my surprise, this hotel isn't too bad. It is heaps better than Sweet Inn Hotel in Langkawi which was until before now, the cheapest hotel I have stayed. For starters, the room is clean, spacious and there is free wifi in the room. All for just SGD13.62 a night - thank you booking.com for the wonderful 50% flash deal.

I am running a low grade fever from walking in the rain the past few days though - the last time I was in Hanoi, it was blazing hot and I called this place Hanoi Hell. The past few days though it has been raining non stop here and that is just another form of hell. Imagine lugging the heavy suitcases in the rain and not being able to take any nice photos. Ugh. I can't wait to be home.

Married for half a year

2011-11-26T23:41:00.004+08:00

I have been for the past six months, in my CEB's words, "Mrs CEB, Madam Mob"

And so we cross the half year mark of marriage - with laughter, affection and love. Gawd, I really love my CEB. He is the best gift from up above, and come what may in the future, I can't tell you how so blessed I feel to have been given these months with him. He isn't Mr Perfect and we do quarrel from time to time, but I believe that God must have a reason to give my CEB to me as a husband. And respect, treasure and love God's gift, I must.

Cooking at home on Sundays

2011-11-24T23:55:00.003+08:00

My FIL is absolutely right - with marriage, one does tend to acquire a few new skills. I can set a washing machine now, and I can cook edible dishes which occasionally elicits a "Good" from my CEB. To boost my self-esteem which my CEB seems hell bent on tearing down so he can eat more "outside" food (and lose more hair - pun intended), I have solicited my FIL's support and he comes every Sunday for dinner prepared by yours truly. The picture below shows what I cooked last Sunday for the 3 of us.

I was excited about trying out the miso soup paste that I'd bought from Cold Storage and I had a packet of chicken minced meat in the fridge waiting to be cooked. As well as toufu tubes meant for the miso soup. And guess what, as the fates would decree, I found a recipe on noobcook's website requiring the use of all these ingredients. Minced meat with toufu - steamed. This is such a simple dish to prepare and looks pleasing to the eye too. Unfortunately, my wolfberries were not fresh and I steamed the dish too long so the meat was hard. But I'll get better.

I also found a recipe for minced meat with egg and it was also easy enough to prepare except that my CEB said that there was too much minced meat in the dish. Which was a fair comment because I had originally wanted to use the minced meat to prepare the steamed meat with tomatoes and toufu that my suitor used to cook for me. And I steamed this dish too long as well so the meat was hard with the egg dried out. Ugh. The miso soup also lacked flavour because I had no idea of the correct proportions of water versus paste.

The week before was slightly better. I'd been craving my mum's salmon porridge for the longest time and what do you know, I had 2 packets of salmon I'd bought and stored in the freezer. Those were occupying space in the tiny freezer we had so I was determined to use up the salmon by hook or crook. And with my mum's recipe which she texted over to me, my CEB and I managed to whip up steaming bowls of porridge full of mushrooms, salmons and scallops. I even fried some eggs to go along with the porridge per my mum's instructions. Easy cooking, and we thought we did a decent enough job. My MIL whom we'd packed some back for, didn't like it though - she said it was too full of ingredients. Which it was, the way I like it :)

The last dish I cooked was steamed miso cod fish following this great recipe (click here) which turned out pretty good despite my adding too much sesame oil to the sauce. My CEB isn't a fan of fish, so I was a bit apprehensive when I cooked this dish on Tuesday evening. The fish cost about 14 bucks (Cod is the most expensive fish there is in the supermarkets) and I was prepared to eat all of the fish if he didn't want it but surprisingly, he ate at least half the fish. Maybe it was the miso which totally masked the fishy taste or maybe the cod was just good, or maybe my CEB has decided to eat healthily.

In any case, it has been fun being Mrs CEB. I remember that my CEB and I had crossed swords over eating at home and eating out, and I pointed out to him that out of 14 meals a week (lunch and dinner), he only eats home-cooked food 3 out of the 14 times (dinner on Sundays and once on a weekday with me, and every Thurs at home with his folks).

He looked at me sadly and said "I am a poor poor husband".

Right.

First night at home without my CEB

2011-11-24T23:34:00.004+08:00

I am NOT a clingy person...am I? :D

But it is awfully quiet at home tonight because my CEB has to stay in (camp) for his reservist. And I am all alone at home. No Bleahs No Buahs, absolutely no sounds at all except for the aircon and my typing.

I still have the 2 fellas - F Tiger (do not ask me what the F stands for), and my nua nua buaya toy to accompany me on the bed but the bed still feels awfully large and empty without my CEB. And I should mention that as of yesterday, my CEB has claimed MY nua nua buaya toy as his. He said that the buaya toy had changed allegiance because my CEB is the one who cuddles him to bed every night. I beg to differ - what cuddle? More like suffocate and abuse! I've got the evidence of my CEB blissfully sleeping and MY nua nua buaya toy trapped helpless!

I used to dislike (silently and mildly) my CEB doing other stuff when in the bedroom instead of cuddling up with me but damn, what wouldn't I give to have my CEB at home tonight. Strange thing, we've been married almost half a year now and I love my CEB as much as ever, if not more.

Oh, and I was saying I wasn't clingy....right?

Thai Odyssey - the best massage in JB

2011-11-24T22:49:00.005+08:00

I never used to like massages but my first boyfriend was a fan of massages. I would go shopping while he had a massage, especially when we crossed the causeway to City Square where Thai Odyssey is located. My second boyfriend went for massages every week or so too, and I went with him once but the experience was so painful that I swore never to go again.

Well, since last year, age has caught up with a vengeance and I experienced backaches (esp lower backaches) and other body-aches that made me downright uncomfortable. I wasn't incapacitated by any degree but the soreness and sometimes, pain would make grouchy me even more grouchy.

Today was 1 of those days where I awoke with a backache between my shoulder-blades that would not ease up. And remembering how a Traditional Thai massage at Thai Odyssey (the city square outlet) eased the aches I had once before, I made my way to the outlet at KSL city.

Thai Odyssey at KSL City is located at one corner of the 2nd floor near the bridal shops and appears to be dimly lit at the reception area and throughout the entire shop. But the staff were friendly and accommodating even though I walked in without an appointment. I had my feet washed before exchanging my flip flops for their bedroom like sandals. Unlike the outlet at City Square where there are individual rooms with thin walls, privacy for each person here is assured through the use of curtains. Despite the appearance, everything appears to be very clean (From what I can see at least in the dim light), and smells fresh and nice.

I had the 90mins Traditional Thai massage (RM108) because I had more time than usual, and the 60mins massage was just RM20 cheaper. I was at first apprehensive of the masseur's capabilities because this was my first time at Thai Odyssey at KSL City but at first touch, I knew I was in good hands. Somehow she knew exactly which areas hurt the most and needed the most stretching and man, it felt good. And of course, hearing the crack of my spinal cord being manipulated gave me a feeling that I was "fixed" good. I was served a cup of tea at the end and found my flip flops just outside the curtain when I was done.

Oh, and after the massage, I did not have any bruises whatsoever unlike the times when I tried other massages which were really torture sessions. There was this massage place my CEB brought me to at the recommendation of the wedding studio early this year, and at the end of the session, my back looked like this. The masseur said it was because I had too much heat, and that's utter crap - she was just rough and applied too much pressure. The bruises were so bad that I had trouble sleeping on my back the first night! And when I tried another massage place at KSL's ground level, I had bruises around my shoulders because the lady squeezed so hard there. She said I had too much heat too. What bull. And for those places, the masseurs aren't the shop's employees (unlike Thai Odyssey) but come to do a massage when called for by the shop owner. Ugh.

I'm not paid in any way to write about Thai Odyssey but I thought I'll share about this great place to those looking for a clean safe pleasant place for a cheap massage in JB / Johor. And unlike those "promotional" massages in Singapore, there is absolutely no selling or promotion by the staff of any massage packages.

You can check them out at this link (click here). They appear to be a well established branch with many outlets throughout Malaysia including KL.

Blender for the house

2011-11-20T23:57:00.004+08:00

To those of you who have wondered/asked about my CEB, yes, this big bag of nonsense is still very much around.

I can't remember what I said to him on the way back from our Port Dickson holiday, but he responded "sadly" that in this marriage there is no democracy. And when we got home, after his bath, my CEB headed straight for his wardrobe to put on this "Game Over" T-shirt he had bought in Bangkok before our wedding. I almost died of laughter when I spotted him wearing the T-shirt.

But other than providing me with hours of entertainment and laughter, my CEB recently bought something for our home on his own initiative *clap hands.

We'd been looking at blenders for some time and even bought and returned one at Giant (because he said it wasn't powerful enough). And I thought we would never get one but my CEB surprised me with the Philips blender which has a range of functions like Smoothie and, Ice (crushing). I really love my CEB when he does deliver on what he says he will, and delivers something awesome.

So anyway, the blender sat in the box for a few days because I'd been horribly busy at work. And my CEB wanted me to open the box. So one Sunday , I finally tore open the wrappings and my CEB happily blended the strawberries which we'd bought with some ice. And when I was about to drink it, he threw away the entire cup because it was the first time the motor was being used. Alas. But I had some fruits in the fridge and remembering how utterly difficult it is to get my CEB to eat something healthy like kiwi, I cut some kiwis and apples to blend.

Following the recipe in the manual that came with the blender, I added in some orange juice in the mix before pressing the smoothie button. And what came out was this, which wasn't very cold. So I added ice cubes and pressed the ice-crushing function.

And that is how we both ended up with a large cup of kiwi-apple icy smoothie. My CEB said it tasted very good, which made me feel happy, but he was able to pick out each of the ingredients that went into the blended drink.

Which means I can't trick my CEB into drinking some strange concoction that I might decide is good for him - like celery and broccoli blended together hah. But try I will :)

Krisflyer Elite Gold

2011-11-20T23:44:00.007+08:00

Guess what came in the mail today?

And all it took was the time I spent in this new job - 9 months - to quality.

If I was in a business, sales or marketing role, that would be no surprise.

But I'm just a slog in the company's global law department, who happens to have traveled to Australia, USA, South Africa, Brazil, Philippines and Malaysia, all in less than a year. And I am off to Vietnam (both Saigon and Hanoi) in a matter of days

If you had asked me back in October 2010, whether I ever thought this travelling every month for a week to a different country, would have been my life, I would have laughed. After the extensive travelling to China and Hongkong for weeks in 2009, 2010 was a relatively quiet year for me work travel-wise. And if I had stayed where I was, that would have been the case for 2011.

Life is indeed unpredictable.

Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice at Toa Payoh

2011-11-20T23:26:00.002+08:00

1 of the places that sells the most delicious and tender soya sauce chicken is Lee Fun Nam Kee Chicken Rice Stall at Toa Payoh, a traffic light or so down from the exit door of Risen Christ church. I've eaten at this place for years, and the staff and quality has not changed one bit.

The shop has undergone renovations of course, over the years and from the pic below, is evidently well-lit and clean with about10+ tables in the restaurant, and a counter for takeaways. Other than soya sauce chicken, the stall also sells other types of roast meat and veg dishes but believe it or not, I've never even bothered to try the other dishes because the soya sauce chicken is THAT good.

I believe I've brought all my boyfriends to this shop. And none of them have disagreed about the quality of the food. If there are 2 of us, I'll order half a chicken and a bowl of sui jiao soup. And if there are 4 of us, like there were last Sunday, 1 chicken (See the pic below) is just the right amount for all. And before I forget, the chili that the stall serves is mighty good too (a little sweet), but it is unlikely that one would eat much of it given how mouth-watering the dark sauce that the chicken comes in, is.

The price was pretty reasonable at SGD 30 for the entire chicken (not a very big one though, there were loads of cucumber slices under the chicken meat), and about SGD 10 for 1 big of sui kao (dumpling) soup which had about 10 sui kao. We asked for a couple of refills for the big bowl of soup and the service staff was friendly and prompt in bringing us bowls of steaming fragrant soup. Be warned though that one gets rather thirsty after drinking all the soup.

So, if one is in the mood for great soya sauce chicken, do go to

Lee Fun Nam Kee at Blk 94 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh.

Opening Hours: 11am to 3pm, and 5pm to 9pm

Tel No: 6255 0891

Immortals (2011) Movie

2011-11-20T22:37:00.005+08:00

Despite the thrilling and promising trailer for this movie, and the exciting still picture below, I would say that this movie was a huge disappointment compared to the movie "300" (the same director for both movies).

The actors and actresses in "Immortals" were largely unknowns which should have given us a clue how the movie would turn out. And the lead actress was seriously...well, unattractive. If she was eye-candy, then that would have been at least 1 saving grace. The pace of the movie was contrived, the plot thin, and the graphics nothing like those in "300". I watched "300" at least 3 times.

But I would NOT watch this movie again...in fact, if I could go back in time, I would not have wasted the time and money (Even though it was in ringgit) to watch it the first time. To read a good summary of the plot, click here .

What must be the best beef noodles in Singapore

2011-11-12T22:40:00.007+08:00

I'd been wanting to write about this place for some time, and blogging about the beef noodles we had at Seremban reminded me that I had yet to.

So. I believe this place sells the best beef noodles in Singapore. The stall is located in the hawker centre opposite Parkway Parade Mall, along the same stretch of stalls as the famous and popular wet fried kway teoh stall.

We always order the dry version which comes with a small bowl of soup. The gravy is extraordinarily delicious and the beef, oh, the beef is so tender and sweet. The best bit is of course, the hawker is pretty generous with the amount of meat given for each bowl he dishes out. Looking at this picture brings back the memory of how absolutely delish this dish is...and easy on the pocket too.

Be warned though that the place does a pretty brisk business - we were disappointed a couple of times when we got there at almost 8pm for the stall was already closing for the day.

Yee Kee Beef Noodles at Seremban

2011-11-11T03:02:00.003+08:00

Thanks to the friendly and helpful server at Pasar Besar where we bought more of the famous Empayar Seremban Siew Pau who gave us clear directions (go pass Jusco which will be on your left and at the end of the road where you see a Petronas, turn left), we managed to have some famous Seremban beef noodles while in Seremban.

When we got there about 6.20pm, there was only 1 other table occupied at this so-called famous beef noodles stall and I had my misgivings. But it was too late to do anything and so we sat down and looked through the menu which was pretty extensive with set meals (RM 13 for a bowl of noodles, beef ball soup and a drink) and stand alone beef noodle dishes.

The picture below shows the interior of the restaurant. I found it strange too that most of the servers were Malays and not Chinese, given that beef noodles are more of a Chinese dish than Malay dish.

And where we were seated had me facing a mural that covered the entire wall of peaceful grass-eating cows. However, even the cow staring straight out at me did not faze me or my CEB from tucking into the bowls of dry beef noodles, which were served within minutes.

Here is a close up picture of the beef noodles. I had the set that came with the soup while my CEB ordered a large bowl of dry beef noodles (there is the option of a regular bowl but my CEB being my CEB....).

I should mention here too that Yee Kee Beef noodle stall sells more than just beef noodles per the poster they had up below. If not for the fact that we had a complimentary buffet dinner waiting for us back at our hotel in Port Dickson, we would have tried the other dishes too.

Or maybe not. Now, if one has limited capacity, one should definitely just order a bowl of their ultra-delicious dry beef noodles. Despite my CEB's resolution not to eat everything (so he would have space in his tummy for the buffet), he finished the entire bowl of beef noodles and even eyed my below. The Slog Reviews: 9/10. We agreed that Seremban beef noodles are indeed the best. The gravy was not too thick or salty but was just the right texture and taste, and the noodles were cooked to soft perfection, sliding down our throats together with the sauce. The seasoning of nuts and sour veg made a perfect complement to the gravy and noodles. The only thing that could do with some improvement was the beef - not that it wasn't tasty or well cooked but this dish would have been perfect if the beef was sliced beef fillet.

I should also mention here that my CEB said that the beef balls were the best he ever had - they were so springy that when he bit down on them, he could feel the sponginess and the soup squirting out of 'em balls.

In any case, I would definitely recommend a visit to this beef noodles stall if one is in Seremban. I don't have the exact address but I took a picture of the road's signboard on our way out and I hope that helps, in addition to the directions at the start of this post.

In search of the famous Seremban Siew Pow

2011-11-11T01:01:00.004+08:00

I feel like 1 of those sad characters in stories where there is a race to the finish line and one just makes it in the nick of time...only to find out that the prize one was racing for was given away.

We left Berjaya Times Square at 4.15pm and since Seremban was on the way back, we decided to buy the famous Seremban siew pau. Now, based on my research the night before, I'd read that the best siew pau was from Kee Mei Siew Pau in Seremban. Despite setting my GPS for the address, it was difficult finding the way to the shop as it was off the main road (a road behind the main road) and one had to really look out for the place. (Address: 1849 Jalan Tok Ungku. Contact No: 06-633 6219)

I knew the shop closed at 5pm and after my CEB asking at 2 restaurants for the exact location, we finally foundthe shop...at exactly 5pm. I pumped my fist in the air with glee when I saw the shop was still open, and with a mouth full of drool in anticipation of the hot siew pau that I would reward myself with, I rushed into the shop.

Only to find that all the siew paus were sold out. Every single epithet I'd learnt, English, Chinese and Hokkien, filled my mouth in place of the warm savory buns. Since I knew better than to spit them out, the lady boss seeing me wordlessly staring at the empty tray where those damn siew paus used to be, suggested that I return the next day at 7am when they opened. She was even prepared to reserve some of those pows for me. But alas, when I told her we were staying at Port Dickson, she agreed it was too far for us just to drive back for the paus.

Since there was nothing to be had but to move on without my pows, we went next to the alternative source: Warong Serembang Siew Pow shop which was located at 1607 Jalan Rasah (Phone number in case you get lost is 06 764 9360).

There were many W-plate cars (KL folks) there and the shop did a pretty brisk business of selling its paus, which thankfully it had in abundance per the pic below. Although I was thankful that we hadn't make a wasted trip to Seremban and we could at least try the paus, I felt a tinge of regret that I couldn't compare these paus to the ones from Kee Mei - the paus that got away.

Anyway, as it was almost dinner time and although we had a complimentary dinner waiting for us back at the hotel, my CEB wanted to go for the Seremban beef noodles and I keyed in the address Pasar Besar into my GPS because that was where the famous 747 beef noodle stall was supposed to be. To our surprise, we ended up instead at another famous Seremban Siew Pau shop. There was a restaurant in the premises but the attraction was the siew paus and being KS Singaporeans, we joined the queue just because we were there.

Well, it turned out that no one knew about the so-called famous Seremban beef noodles at this market and the restaurant most certainly did not sell beef noodles. I even asked if the beef noodle stall was on the second level of the market but the helpers around all replied in the negative. However, one of them did direct us to a beef noodle stall which I shall blog about next.

Oh, and guess what, the siew paus we bought from this famous Seremban Siew Pau shop was exactly the same as the ones we bought from Warong, right down to the packaging. We hadn't realized that at the time we bought the same and so we ended up with 12 Siew Paus.

I ate about 5 in the night and I thought that the crust was nice and flaky , and the meat juicy and tasty despite the pau's rather unappealing appearance. And if you are after the famous Seremban Siew Paus, do eat them when they are piping hot. The ones we got were right from the oven and even in their boxes, filled the car with a wonderful mouth-watering porky fragrance.

Weng Yin Seafood Village at Port Dickson

2011-11-10T23:46:00.002+08:00

I figured that since we were so near the west coast of Malaysia, having at least one seafood meal was a must. "Google-ing" "best seafood restaurant in Port Dickson" threw up the name of this restaurant "Weng Yin Seafood Restaurant" more than once.

And hence, we decided to have our last meal in Port Dickson at Weng Yin before driving back to Singapore. The restaurant is located almost opposite Thistle Hotel, and next to PD polyclinic. You can't miss the place from the main road, given how close it is. The pic below shows how the interior looks like and it is evidently pretty crowded on a Sunday afternoon (about 12noon) for lunch. There were many cars with the local number plates, so we figured we were going to have a great lunch.

Well. Let me start by saying that the servers were very polite, helpful and friendly. They showed us to a table and gave us a menu which had no prices next to the dishes. We figured it couldn't be too expensive given the ambiance (or should I say lack of) so we ordered crabs. But we must have offended the God of Seafood that day because we were informed, rather regretfully, that the restaurant had no crabs.

So, we decided to order the other dishes we'd read about on the web. The first dish was the sambal kangkong. The Slog Reviews: 6.5/10. This dish was the really wet, loads of oily moist not spicy gravy kind. It was not definitely not outstanding in any way but was the 2nd best dish of the lot we ordered.

As there were no crabs, we decided to have the Kam Heong Lala (instead of Kam Heong crabs). Alas, alas, the slog reviews: 5/10. This dish was so ordinary tasting with overly salty sauce and shells which was smallish in size and tough in meat. Enough said.

And because we would not have a chance to stop by my favourite Muar restaurant for my beloved otah, I thought my craving for otah would be satisfied with a helping of hot plate otah but instead, I was most sorely disappointed. The Slog Reviews: 1/10. Yes, just 1 point for the dish being edible. The otah was so horribly tasteless except for the excessive sprinkling of pepper on the otah. I would absolutely not recommend this dish to anyone else.

The only saving grace in my opinion was the 3 flavored fish. This was a 750gm fish which was not only fresh but cooked very well so as to be very nicely crispy on the outside yet moist and not burnt at all on the inside. The thick sauce on the top of the fish was something we'd never had before and went very well (slightly sweetish it was) with the fish. I would say that if one had to go this restaurant, this fish dish is a must-order.

Anyway, the meal I had at Weng Yin was one of the shortest most unpleasant meals I've ever had. Not because of the food or the service...but because of the sheer number of flies. It was horrid, simply a horrid experience trying to eat with the flies landing boldly on the straws of our drinks and taking every opportunity to land on the dishes with their dirty "Gawd-knows-which-pile-of-dung-they-have-been" legs. We spent much time swiping away the flies until towards the end of the meal, a lady server brought over some lighted candles (flies-repellents) to the table. But guess what - the flies still buzzed around and when the flame of one candle went out, a few flies boldly landed on the candle too.

Oh, and there is no air-conditioned area at all. I would absolutely never go back to Weng Yin, even though it was amazingly cheap (the fish was only RM34 and the total meal was about RM50+).

哩香海鮮村
Weng Yin Seafood Village KM15.5, (Batu 10), Jalan Pantai, 71050 Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Phone: +60(6)6627559, +60(12)6281660 URL: www.portdickson.net/wengyinseaf ood

Lucky Seafood Restaurant at Lukut in Port Dickson

2011-11-10T23:44:00.000+08:00

One of the "must eat" places in / near the Port Dickson Area is Lucky Seafood Restaurant which houses the infamous Lucky King Bun stall. When we were there, every single table at the restaurant (the entire place is non-conditioned, more like a coffee shop) had at least one curry chicken bun from the stall. And there were quite a few folks queuing to "take away" a bun.

Although the female server rattled off the restaurant's specialties (which was kind of touching given that she must know from experience that everyone goes there solely, if not primarily for the chicken curry bun), we decided to have just one curry chicken bun to share for brunch.

The cost of our curry chicken bun above was about RM 24 (I'm guessing this is the price cos we paid RM27 for the bun below and a can of coke). My CEB said the dish was like "Jin Zheng Tou" and nothing exceptional. However, his actions spoke louder than his words, and he ate at least 65% of the dish, ripping off the soft buttery fragrant bread slices and soaking them in the thick flavorful warm curry. *wipes drool.

As you can tell from the picture above, there was plenty of chicken meat and potatoes in the bun - quite sufficient for 2 hungry folks, and all of it, especially the curry gravy which was amazingly tasty despite not being spicy. Coupled with the prompt and friendly service, and the lack of flies, I would recommend this restaurant to all who go by P.D.

To make things easier for all, here is the exact address and telephone number of Lucky King Bun / Lucky Seafood Restaurant / Lukut Seafood Restaurant.

好運海鮮飯店
Lucky King Bun (Lucky Seafood Restaurant)
No.4366, Taman Aman, Lukut,
71010 Port Dickson
Negeri Sembilan.
Phone: +60 (6) 651 2392 (Mdm. Lew)

As the restaurant was in Lukut which was in the direction of Kuala Lumpur from Port Dickson, we decided to try driving up to KL. With the help of the trusty GPS, and after several tolls, we reached Berjaya Times Square in about one and a half hours (there wasn't a traffic jam because it was the eve of a public holiday)

Parking in Berjaya Times Square cost quite a bit - for 2 hours, we spent about RM 5! But my CEB would of course tell you that this was money well spent because he found himself a new toy at a great deal (compared to buying the same item in Singapore).

I'll write about the other not so great experience we had at another recommended eating place in Port Dickson in my next post!

Hard Rock Shop in Melaka is open! ( Nov 2011)

2011-11-10T23:30:00.005+08:00

I had read on Hard Rock's website that the Hard Rock Cafe in Melaka would only be open 2012 but when we dropped by Melaka on the way up to Port Dickson this long weekend....guess what, the Rock Shop was open and doing a pretty brisk business.

And of course, I just had to buy the hard rock cafe guitar-shaped magnet, the second one from a different country in the span of one week (see post below on the magnet from Makati, Manila)

First day of this biz trip to Manila

2011-11-01T21:53:00.005+08:00

I would write more except that I am too tired. And I am using my iPod touch besides.

I woke up at 630am for my 940am flight out to Manila. My mum's flight was one hour later and that left me some time after landing at the NAIA airport terminal 1, to take the free shuttle to terminal three where she would arrive. And en route there, (the terminals are not connected at all and definitely not within walking distance), I saw Resorts World Manila. If I had known of the existence of RW Manila earlier, I would have booked a flight back later and stayed a day there to try my luck at the machines, just for fun you understand.

But anyway, I managed to meet my mum at the arrival hall without any problem. The airport taxi cost 500 pesos which I think was a total rip off because it was such a lousy uncomfortable mpv and the ride to makai took less than half an hour without any tolls. The driver also did not want to give me back the full amount of change I am glad we don't have to take any more taxis for the rest of the trip.

My mum seems to be enjoying herself a fair bit this evening - we went to Red Crab for dinner which is one of the more famous restaurants here. After that, we walked away to Glorietta 3 so I could get my Manila Hard Rock Cafe magnet.

Tomorrow I have arranged a day tour to all the attractions in Metro Manila and I think we are going to have a pretty awesome time. It has been 4 years since I've been too Makati and sadly, I return at least 10kg heavier. I think all the travelling is really doing me in. Ah well.

5 Months and Counting

2011-10-30T22:20:00.007+08:00

My CEB has fallen asleep next to me, clutching the buaya toy (See pic below) to his chest while I write this entry. Nothing very much has changed in terms of our marriage life. The past 2 "Monthiversaries" just went by like that.*Snap.

We spent the 4th Monthiversary honeymooning in Brazil, and our 5th Monthiversary, which was a few days ago, in Malaysia. And we kind of forgot to remember both occasions. I guess there will come a time (quite soon I reckon), that we will only start to remember anniversaries. And that's an excuse for a long nice holiday next year! :D

Speaking of which, we just came back from a short getaway in Bangkok last weekend. And while shopping at Siam Paragon,

Me "Would you have married a Thai wife if you hadn't married me?" (After watching my CEB leer at all the pretty slim Thai girls)
My CEB "Of course - then I can set up business in Thailand....But now that I have married the Mob (his short form of the most unflattering nickname for me, Moby), I must concentrate on our business."
Me *suspicious. "What "Our" business?"
My CEB " Mini Mobs Making business!" *Guffaws at his own lewd joke.
Me "#@@#@$@#@!

My CEB has NOT changed the least bit evidently, after all these months.

My CEB still cracks me up, and he still abuses the hapless buaya stuffed toy that he bought for me. I bet the poor fella wishes that I hadn't lifted him off the shelf in Cairns and flown him back to Singapore. Look at the indignity that my buaya toy has to suffer, especially when my CEB gets struck by a creativity wave! Those are the eye masks that SQ gave him when we were flying back from Sao Paulo early this month!

But all that aside, I love my CEB very much, and I wouldn't trade him for anyone in the world. He makes me happy, very happy. He cracks me up with his jokes, we speak the same love language (physical touch), and he helps out around the house enough to keep me out of his hair (oh wait, what hair but anyway...).

My CEB is far from perfect of course, but he listens, and tries to make things between, and for us better. Throw in honest and sincere, all I ask God for, when I look at him slumbering next to me sometimes, is to just give us a little more time together in married bliss.

Although my CEB tells me that he is really happy to be married to me (and I was struck not by the words but the sincerity of his tone when he said that in Bangkok last week), I think I am just as fortunate to be married to a man I have grown to love so much. And not just love, but respect - for I found out recently that he had given to his parents the full sum of the monies that they had spent for our wedding, even though those monies (not dinner table monies, mind!) should by custom be from them.

It made me feel proud of him for being filial and responsible. But it made me even more proud to have a husband who was easily able to, and who wanted to, and did take the full responsibility of getting himself a wife, or in this case as he would say, getting himself the Mob.

I respect a man like that, even if he is a buaya, and a big cheese-eating buaya (CEB) at that!

Real Steel (2011) Movie

2011-10-27T00:03:00.003+08:00

This movie was exhilarating. I loved the fight scenes between the robots. I loved the underdog theme. I thought all the actors, especially the little boy and his dance routine, were just awesome. I'm hoping there will be a Part 2, and I am still wondering what the robot ATOM's secret is.

The Slog Reviews: 10/10. Is this a must watch on the big screen? Yeah! I had a seat 6 rows from the front and even from that awful angle, the thought "Oh wow, how far we've come in terms of digital technology" crossed my mind. I can't think of a single awful thing about the movie at all!

And in the final fight scene with Zeus, the ultimate fighting bot, it occurred to me that to win

(a) you really just have to get your as* in there and try, even if the odds are stacked against you; and more importantly

(b) being able to sustain major blows may be more crucial than getting a good one in ie one must be able to roll with the punches and take the hits without folding until the window of opportunity opens.

I really dig this show.

The Thing (2011) Movie

2011-10-21T15:31:00.003+08:00

I have no idea why I am so tired of late. I haven't been able to make myself switch on the laptop the past few evenings and upload pics to blog about our honeymoon. Unlike my CEB, I consider the 4 hours between after-work and bed-time, time that goes by just too quickly. Throw in time used for dinner and a bath, and the day is over. Just like that. And then the week rolls by. Followed by the month.

I have 4 short business trips coming up in November. It won't be like that next year, I think, this travelling every single month for work since I joined this new company. Business trips are so disruptive and bad for the old waist-line. But in the meantime, I am leaving for a short weekend getaway in Bangkok with my CEB tonight. This holiday was supposed to be last week on his birthday but we rescheduled because of a wedding we were told we had to attend (but didn't have to at the last min). So this is one more holiday to blog about, in addition to the back-log from South America.

But in the meantime, I thought I'll write about a movie which we had no plans to watch, but ended up watching because of the timing. The Thing. My CEB knows me pretty well (which really annoys me) and he asked me if I was sure if I wanted to watch this movie because I generally hate horror movies. And since there is nothing better than giving my old jaded tired self a fright, I said yes.

The Slog Reviews: 8/10. The movie was short (less than 2 hours) but well-paced with good acting all around. Special effects did not disappoint and The Thing scuttling about with 2 faces is something I can't wait to forget in a hurry. But before you get me wrong, the Thing is a hostile alien lifeform that scientists have discovered buried in the ice in Antartica, an alien which has the ability to devour and replicate human cells. So most of the movie was spent guessing which scientist in the group was the alien, and watching how folks turn against folks in times of doubt and fear. If I had to rate this movie on a horror meter, I'll give it a 3/10 - one would definitely be able to sleep in the night after watching this flick.

Tree of Life (2011) movie

2011-10-14T12:18:00.003+08:00

I had intended to keep all my next few posts about my South America trip but I'm on a mandatory teleconference call now (not active participant) and brain dead from having woken up at 6am and being at work since 7am. So I thought I would write about this movie instead.

I fell asleep early into the movie. But let me clarify - this movie was the first movie I caught on the flight back to SG from Sao Paulo. The flight was at 1.45am and we were served supper about 2.30 in the morning on that flight. So I was really tired at that hour.

But if you read the reviews on the web from common folks like me, you will find that there were those who fell asleep/walked out ie they hated the movie that much. And those who raved about the movie, calling it a masterpiece (hey this movie clinched some award).

Myself? The moment I woke up, I went to replay the movie from the start. And I couldn't decide after watching it again whether I loved or hated it. I definitely felt "something" watching the movie and I know it is going to be one of those movies that will stay with me for a long time.

So, what is the movie about? There are plenty of really beautiful artistic shots of the world, dinosaurs even..read, national geographic stuff, and that takes up a lot of movie time. There is some sort of a story about a young boy growing up in a suburban family in the 1950s, a family where his gentle mother believes in the way of grace (to forgive, to accept all, to trust God etc) and his authoritarian father believes in the way of nature (dog eat dog world). This boy has a brother die, a brother who taught him lessons of forgiveness, a brother who was "good". And in his convo to God as a child, this boy says "God if you can't be good, why should I be".

The Slog Reviews: This movie is not for everyone and the only way to find out if it is for you, is to watch it. And to find a means of doing at minimal cost just in case like the other people out there, you fall asleep or just walk out.

Taking a public bus to the Corcovado Train Station in search of Hard Rock Cafe magnet

2011-10-12T21:49:00.008+08:00

Those who read the blog will know about my recent obsession with collecting hard rock cafe guitar shaped magnets from all the cities I've been to.

The driver for my airport transfer in Rio informed me that Hard Rock Cafe in Rio was located at this district called Barra da Tijuca which was about an hour and at least 140 Reals (Brazil currency) away from my hotel at Copacabana. However, she said that there was a small stall at the Corcovado Train Station which sold Hard Rock Cafe merchandise and I could try my luck there.

Now I had taken a day tour up to Corcovado where Christ the Redeemer statue was (the reason I'd come to Rio) on my first day in Rio but the day tour operator had arranged for a mini van to take us up the mountain (the cost of an aircon minivan to take one up the mountain is 27 Reals as opposed to a train ticket which cost 36 Reals) and despite my plea, the coach driver did not stop at the train station for me to buy my magnet.

So, after much agonizing, I decided to use my last and final day in Rio (I had a flight back to Sao Paulo at 4pm and the airport transfer from the hotel was at 1pm) to acquire my heart's desire instead of hanging out at the beach as I'd planned. After rationalizing that I would never ever come back to Rio, I was prepared to spend the the 70 Reals (SGD 50) quoted by the hotel for a taxi to take me to Corcovado train station and back.

And as I was leaving the hotel reception to go up to my room and get my bag, it suddenly struck me that there was the option of public transportation. Now, my colleague who is at least six feet tall and 200pounds had told me that the only place he felt safe in Rio was the airport lounge. Which is why I was extra cautious in Rio since I was alone there. But 70 Reals was quite a pretty sum to part with so I decided it was worth my while checking if there was a bus that went to Corcovado station and if it was safe.

The hotel staff (The same one who had booked me the taxi for 70 Reals) obligingly told me that there was a public bus (853) less than 5 mins away from the hotel which would take me to the doorstep of the Corcovado train station for 2.50 Reals. And to get back to Copacabana from the train station, all I had to do was take the bus 854 in the direction of Leblon for another 2.50 Reals. To top it off, he said the public buses were v safe, clean and the ride was only 20 min. 70 Reals compared to 5 Reals...of course the public bus it was for me!

From the pic above, the public buses in Rio have a driver and a conductor who sits at this turnstile collecting money from passengers who do not have a card (to tap). I asked the fat conductor to tell me where to get off for the Corcovado train station and although she nodded obligingly, she kept dozing off which made me feel uneasy. The biggest problem I had in Rio was that few common people spoke or understood fluent English (the national language is Portuguese). So I went up to her again and took out my Portuguese guide book and pointed to the phrase "Can you tell me when to get off".

A passenger on board saw this and he came forward to help. With his help, I found out that the old lady sitting behind me was getting off at the same station and she would tell him when to get off. And throughout the journey, he kept trying to make conversation in his limited English, and gave me his email address and phone number. After he got off, the old lady tapped my shoulder and looking straight at me, wagged her index finger in the "no no" manner. She then gave me a thumbs down before pointing at my chest and then rubbing her thumb and index finger in the money sign. Yes lady, I get it. That friendly young man is a bad dude who wants my money.

Anyway, the public bus journey was safe, clean, fast and comfortable. I reached Corcovado Train Station in about half an hour. The bus stop was just 1 min away across the street and when I got there at 8.45pm, there was a long queue of people waiting to buy the train tickets. Now, I had no interest in going up to see Christ the Redeemer again and all I wanted was the hard rock cafe magnet so with the help of friendly folks who pointed me in the right direction of "Hard Ock" (that's how they pronounce it), I found the small stall near the boarding entrance. And to my horror, I found that it was closed (the other shops near it were all open),

I asked the stall operators of the stall next to it whether the stall would open and I managed to gather from their limited English that because it was a Sunday, it might not be open. I think I could taste despair at that moment. I went to ask another stall operator and she said the stall might open at 10am so I figured that since I was there already, I might as well wait till 10am (even though this would mean a waste of time on my last day in Rio). As there wasn't any place for me to sit and wait, I decided to give in the herd mentality and joined the queue to buy a train ticket to kill the time

Now, according to the informational stuff around the train station, the train which can carry up to 124 passengers runs through the Tijuca National Park. One can apparently get to see lots of flora and fauna, as well as enjoy an amazing view of the city on the way up.

Below is a picture of the boarding area of the train station. There is a small cafe, some mock train carriages as well as various write ups about the history of the Corcovado Train. Apparently, the late Pope took a ride up the train to see Christ the Redeemer. Anyway, about 9.20am I reached the train counter and bought a ticket for 36 Reals. The ticket I got entitled me for a train ride at 10.40am. The trains before that were full.

So, I asked the counter staff for help to see if anyone in the long queue wanted to buy my ticket off me and we managed to find a single traveler like myself who did. (The counter staff was very nice though and offered to give me a full refund for my ticket if I could not find anyone to buy the ticket). If I hadn't had to check out of the hotel by 12noon and go to the airport, I would certainly have wanted to try out the train given all I'd read about it. :( I would certainly advise anyone who takes a day tour that includes Christ the Redeemer statue to check whether this includes the train ride up the mountain instead of the air-conditioned vans.

I walked around the souvenir shops a bit more to kill the time and at 10am, made my way back to the Hard Rock Cafe stall with my fingers crossed. And when I got there, I saw a young lady setting up the stall. *pumps fist in the air, Yeah baby yeah! I was literally dancing with excitement and thanking God that the damn stall wasn't closed on Sunday.

I have to confess that I was very close to tears when I finally laid my hands on the guitar magnet I had come for. Christ the Redeemer is on the magnet, as well as the colors of the Brazil flag at the bottom. This magnet is certainly the most expensive Hard Rock cafe magnet I've purchased to date, and not just in terms of cost (at 59.90 Reals which is SGD 42) but in terms of effort to get it.

And in my exhilaration at managing to secure the magnet and saving 70 Reals on cab fare to boot, I indulged myself with a Hard Rock Cafe T shirt that had the words Rio de Janerio on it. It was about 69.90 Reals, the cost of the cab fare there. Hah.

I will write about the day tour I took in the next entry but silly as it seems, getting the magnet is the most significant event of my entire trip to Rio. Because it goes to show that if you want something really bad enough, you would take all risks and find all means possible to go out and get it.

Journey to Rio

2011-10-06T22:34:00.005+08:00

I now know why I gain weight after almost every business trip.

I left for the GAC 2011 4 days earlier so I could spend 3 days by myself in Rio before the work week started. And as usual, I flew on my company's preferred airline, SQ for the 26 hr flight into Sao Paulo where I would then take a flight on TAM to Rio.

The flight to Sao Paulo was some time after midnight and the almost non-stop feeding started soon after we were airborne. Courtesy of the Supper Menu (yes, at that hour) or the SG to Barcelona leg, I had one of the best crabmeat cocktail I'd ever had in my life.

This was followed by the main course. I had the recommended "Veal Grenadin with crystallised tomatoes, eggplant cavier, button mushrooms and black olives". Now, despite how it turned out on picture, I would strongly recommend this dish to anyone on a SQ flight if the dish is available. The eggplant cavier did not taste the least mushy or "vegetable-tasting" but was a rich flavorful concoction that had me ThisClose to licking the plate clean.

The Supper Menu ended with the selection of gourmet cheeses, by which time I was satiated and sleepy. So I watched a couple of movies and then folded down the seat to sleep.

I was awakened by a pretty stewardess in time for breakfast which I'd pre-ordered before falling into slumber. And I ate every single bit of the "scrambled egg with chopped chives, grilled chicken sausages, sauteed mushrooms and hashbrown potatoes". Because it was that good.

Anyway, after abt 11+hrs, we landed in Spain where those of us going on to Sao Paulo were hustled off to the transit area. The shops beyond the glass window of the sala VIP lounge beckoned invitingly but I was told expressly that I was not allowed to help the Spanish economy with my tourist dollars. Oh well, their loss....and mine too, I might add, given how expensive everything turned out to be in Brazil. The transit in Spain was about one and a half hours, and we were delayed another hour because of some (idiot) passenger's luggage issues. As WIFI access was chargeable in the VIP lounge, I ended up using the lounge's computers to write about the movies I'd watched on board and of course, stuffing my face with the complimentary food in the lounge. Nothing like an opportunity to eat Spanish food for free. Yay for the waistline right?

Right. So after stumbling rounded-belly back to the plane for the next leg of the trip which would last about 10hours, I was served with the Lunch Menu for Barcelona to Sao Paulo. As if I'd never eaten all that Spanish chow, I downed the Prelude which was 3 sticks of satay, followed by the Starter, smoked ham with roasted capsicum and mesclun.

I ordered the "Roasted duck breast, ginger bread sauce, carmelised pear, parsnip and leek" as the main course. The duck breast was not very tender or tasty but ate it all I did, rationalizing that it would be a waste of good food otherwise.

And then after the plates and all were cleared, I watched some more movies sprawled in the seat. Before sleeping again. I mean, come on, how could I possibly have thought that I could get away with not gaining any weight? It certainly didn't occur to me on the flight how much I was eating and how little I was exercising (do trips to the bathroom count?) in the 26 hours to Sau Paulo but as I write this blog entry with the aid of the pics I'd taken en route to Rio, I now realize how much I'd gorged just on the way there!

Oh, and before we reached Sao Paulo, there was one more meal to be served. Dinner! Yes, because of all the time differences between Singapore, Barcelona and Brazil. I can't remember what the starter was and I didn't take any pics of the menu this time round but it was beautifully presented and extremely tasty,

However, I do remember being disappointed by the cod fish which while well cooked and tender, had this strange taste to it. I guess I should have ordered the beef and was almost minded to ask for a replacement of my current main course which I'm sure they would have willingly given until I realized that the button of my jeans was biting into my belly. Not good.

I was glad when we finally reached Sao Paulo and the 26 hours of movies, sleep and food was over. The sight of the city of more than 39million people laid out below me got me all excited (the pic below is the first pic I took of the city from the plane) and I kind of forgotten how much I'd eaten on board.

Till I got up and the button of my only pair of jeans popped off when I reached up to get my laptop bag down. Way to start a holiday. After a short walk around the duty free at Sao Paulo airport in the hope of buying some pants, (Trust me, everything there is hideously more expensive than if purchased in Singapore or USA), I collected my check in luggage and made my way to the TAM counter for my flight to Rio.

My flight out to Rio was supposed to be at 9.40pm - I'd decided against booking the 7pm flight despite my arrival time being 5pm because the ticket was a lot more expensive. However, because the 5pm flight was relatively empty, the counter staff put my name on the standby list for that flight and I found myself rushing ticket in hand to the departure gate 5 mins before the take-off time.

The flight from Sao Paulo to Rio took an hour and because I'd stupidly forgotten to charge my blackberry on board the plane, it was dead after the 26hours of travelling. I was pretty much resigned to having to wait at Rio's airport (which had all of one cafe at the arrival area) for my airport transfer to come get me at 11pm (I'd arranged this based on my earlier flight time of 9.40pm) but a very kind stewardess helped me call the airport transfer 24hr hotline and the driver came at 8pm to send me to my hotel in Rio.

And that was how after almost 30 hours of travelling and feasting, I found myself in the city I'd always wanted to be in since watching Fast and Furious - Rio De Janerio.

Awwww....

2011-10-06T01:52:00.006+08:00

Well, at least I know one thing hasn't changed despite my being gone for some time.

My CEB is curled up soundly asleep next to me as I write this one quick entry while waiting for all the pics to be transferred to this computer.

While my CEB and I get along pretty well for the most part, close proximity for an extended period of time does increase the likelihood of spats and the like. I know marriage is all about proximity but the "24-7 in your face" type of proximity can be a bit overwhelming.

And our honeymoon was a lot of the latter kind.

I would love to say that every single day/moment of our honeymoon was as happy/loving as the pic above (taken at Taquile island) but it wasn't. I was irritable and snappy some days, and my CEB was an irrational and bad-tempered fella for some bits.

But there was this 1 really bad spat near the end where I could not bring myself to be with/talk to my CEB. However because we were bound by the travel schedule, I had to sit next to him on the plane..

And while I looked at him who had fallen into angry slumber (arms folded across his chest), I felt awful for my own less than nice behavior/words because....God had given me this fella as my husband for me to respect, love and honor. Not to hurt with words or action. And even if I didn't approve of his actions/words during the spat, holding onto my resentment/anger and ignoring him would just make my own actions just as bad.

So I took his hand and made peace. As well as apologized.

I quite forgot the whole thing after we made up on the plane. But after the flight while waiting for the luggage, my CEB hugged me and said

"You know your husband loves you very much, don't say things to break his heart."

*Gulp...

I know. Awwwwww......

Saudade

2011-10-06T01:04:00.004+08:00

After 20+ days or work and leisure in South America, I'm finally back in Singapore.

Getting used to the humidity and time difference (Brazil and Peru are like 11 and 13 hrs behind SG time) is a real challenge for us.

Stepping back into, or rather, finding a routine/semblance of a life after I left, is going to be a challenge too, but only for me and not my CEB.

In Brazil (the work bit), I learnt a word that accurately describes how I feel right now - Saudade. (Click here for the definition).

When all along I thought that word was "Lost" or "Restless".

Mad World

2011-09-24T22:47:00.005+08:00

Finally the GAC 2011 is over and I am done with the presentations and sumptuous meals. As well as riding around in armored bullet-proof vehicles and being surrounded by security wherever we go. I wanted to go to church this morning, the only church in this city that has gregorian chants but I was strongly discouraged to by the security folks. So here I am in this luxurious downtown hotel waiting for checkout before I go to the airport to meet my CEB who is coming in for our honeymoon.

Coming here has been an experience in itself. I've never felt so caged before. No shopping, no church even...and sitting inside the armored vehicle and having 1 big tough security guy climb in and ensure the windows were bullet proof...what can I say. I'm so glad I live in Singapore. I'm so grateful to LKY and the present government we have for making Singapore safe. Safety so many of us have taken forgranted but so many here do not have. Car jacking, 1 of the world's highest homicide rates, a city of more than 39million which means it is easy to disappear, the favelas (slums), the horrific traffic jams, the astronomical cost of living...I can't thank God enough for just the simple fortune of being born in Singapore at the time I was.

It's a Mad World we live in...and talking about Mad World, while cooped up in the hotel room last night with only the TV to accompany me, I watched the Glee Project and they had this song which is so hauntingly sad, so disturbingly true. Mad World, yes it is.

Grenade

2011-09-22T23:28:00.003+08:00

Thank you. Yes, the song is just perfect...

Grenade lyrics

I feel I should say sorry after listening to it but to do so would not be right. As we both should have (and have, on my part), moved on.

And if you must know - you are spot on. I would NEVER have caught a grenade for you.

Conan (2011) Movie, Last Night (2011) Movie, Bridesmaid (2011) Movie, and Something Borrowed (2011) Movie

2011-09-15T14:45:00.003+08:00

After watching a violent movie over the weekend at Batu Pahat Mall with my CEB, I decided to indulge in 3 chick flicks on board the plane from SG to Barcelona. So, because I am going to scarf my face with Spanish food right after this entry, I am going to just write about each movie I watched very briefly.

Conan ~3/10. My CEB would disagree but I found the movie overly violent, unimpressive and predictable. The whole movie is essentially about a barbarian boy whose father is tortured and slain by a dark lord in search of a missing piece of a mask which would make him invincible. The boy grows up and goes in search of this dark lord to takes his revenge. It happens the dark lord is searching with his witch daughter, for a descendent of the house of some ancient king. The blood of his descendent would activate the power of the mask and give the dark lord the power to raise his witch wife who was burnt to death at the stake. Anyway, Conan manages to save the descendent who of course happens to be a pretty nubile young lady and defeat the dark lord. Yay right? Sorry but this movie is so lame.

Last Night ~7/10. The movie leaves the audience wondering whether the couple will eventually tell each other or find out the truth about the night before when each of them slept with someone else. While on a business trip, the man slept with a colleague whom he was attracted to, and who was of course very attracted to him too. And on the same weekend, the lady bumped into an ex boyfriend and they ended up in his hotel room. The only thing I took away from the show is that affairs by women are usually led by the heart and that affairs by men are led by their eyes and well, d!ck.

Bridesmaid 8/10.~I get why this show was such an unexpected hit. It was hilarious but with so many cringeworthy moments that I had to shut my eyes at certain bits when Annie (best friend and maid of honor of the bride Lillian) wrecked the bridal party, and when Annie got drunk othe plane. Do people like her even exist? Ok, maybe they do so the question is, are people like her even allowed out with a free pass from the asylum. Eek. This movie is strictly for females and those who are like...females.

Something Borrowed ~8/10. I confess I have not finished wastching the last 10 mins of the show but the show really is nothing more than a lady having an affair with her best friend´s fiance. After they both discover they love each other just 60 days before the big day. The stuff that my CEB would shake his head at and call a big waste of time.

I guess my CEB and I are going to be watching very different movies on our way back from Sao Paolo. I can´t wait till he gets to SP but before that I have a gruelling week of presentations and meetings. Bah.

In Transit

2011-09-15T14:30:00.002+08:00

Everytime I travel on business class (and those are for the really long flights), I feel so fortunate to have all that I have. Really. This may not sound like a big deal to many folks out there but I figure I´ll just take delight in the small things that come my way.

I´ve just finished a 10hour red eye flight from Singapore to Barcelona and I am using a computer in the VIP lounge to enter this entry in the 2 hours that I have here. I can see the shops outside the glass windows but I am not allowed out there since I am in transit. I wouldn´t have access to this lounge if I was not flying business so that is another reason why I feel so lucky that I am. That, in addition to having the ability to fold my seat down to a comfortable bed, and to enjoy fine cuisine. Like the veal and eggplant caviar for supper, seafood salad all served on proper dining ware.

And I think that is the point of this entry. To share my thoughts on how when we have experienced something in our life, we are forever irrevocably changed. If I had to fly economy again (which is something I am going to have to do for the rest of the year), I would always remember wistfully how good it was to fly business. And feel a twinge everytime I walked past the business class seats to squeeze into my economy seat with its much smaller legroom and screen.

So I think I understand now when my ex' fiance begged me not to send him back to the desert again after he had walked there so long. I didn´t really understand then, the way I didn´t really understand so much about turning points when I told my CEB that he had managed to survive so long being a bachelor that it really wouldn´t matter if he went back to that status again.

After having a taste of something, say married life, a better home, a bigger salary package, a club membership, a fulfilling relationship, a great boss - you just kind of wonder how you ever thought you were content and could want to be content when you had lesser or didn´t have these.

There are just some lines in our lives that we cross and after that, we are no longer who we were before we cross them. And we can´t ever turn back the clock or even by sheer force of will, change us to be who we were then.

I guess I should be looking forward to my holiday in Rio instead of dwelling on these thoughts but I really needed to get these off my chest and there isn´t any shopping to be done. I would go feast on the food in the lounge too except that my jeans are tight and that there will be better food served on board the plane.

But then again, the clink and clank of the dining ware seems to be calling my name so off I go after this - however will I lose any weight!

Cracks

2011-09-13T00:56:00.003+08:00

I wanted to clear the eggs in the fridge before I leave for South America. So I decided to have half boiled eggs for breakfast. And after I poured hot water over the eggs, the whitish stuff of 2 of the 3 eggs leaked out.

I recalled then that I had dropped the box of eggs from the sofa onto the floor the day I bought them. I even recalled recounting to my CEB that I just had to drop the 1 plastic bag with eggs. And how thankfully the eggs did not crack.

I was wrong. The eggs were cracked. There was a consequence to me dropping them on the floor, a consequence which was not visible to the naked eye or seen immediately. Only when hot water was poured over them was it clear that there had been damage from the fall.

Which pretty much reminded me of relationships. Sometimes, all the little falls (quarrels) that a relationship take appear not to have any consequence - the parties "move on" ie start talking the hour or day after.

But then when the relationship is put under stress (hot water), the relationship like the eggs cannot hold together because of the fissures caused by the little falls (quarrels).

The straw that breaks the camel back indeed.

First Mid-Autumn Festival with myCEB

2011-09-12T00:14:00.000+08:00

I had completely forgotten that today was the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Until at 4.30pm my CEB smsed me

"Today is Mid-Autumn Festival...but the (insert unflattering pet name) finished all the mooncakes :( "

I kid you not - the SMS came complete with the sad face at the end. (Nevermind that he had left the chocolate mooncakes my mother had given him untouched for a week in the fridge, leaving me to finish the same).

Anyway, my CEB made me feel awful and guilty enough to buy him a box of moon-cakes after work. Which I had fun with by making him guess the different flavors of the snowskin mooncake. He was not very good at it, which made me realised that I probably could get away with my lack of cooking skills.

I was busy sewing a button onto his pants, ironing clothes so as to be able to pack for the upcoming South America trip (in 2 days!) and also had a telecon with my boss at 9pm so I could not accompany my CEB to the temple.

My CEB returned with not just more mooncakes but also....an angry bird lantern. Which he said was meant for kids.

And when I teasingly asked him if he hoped that bringing home the lantern from the temple would bring us a kid, he said yes but in the meantime, the lantern is for him to the nua nua buaya toy and the new tiger!

And that above is the snapshot of all the creatures of my little family...to date.

A companion for the buaya toy - a new tiger

2011-09-11T00:37:00.000+08:00

My nua nua buaya toy has a companion now! Guess what/who we bought back on our road trip to Muar this weekend?

I know it sounds ridiculous but I'd pretty much insisted on going to Muar for the weekend to satisfy my craving for Muar Otah and Fish Eggs at Shee Yaan. After driving 200km there to find the shop closed unexpectedly on a Sat, we ended up going to Batu Pahat for a movie and some shopping. Or rather, my CEB went looking specifically for these stuffed tigers. And we took him this fella who had been on the shelves for almost 2 years!

Now, talking about Shee Yaan and fish eggs reminds me of how lucky I was to come across these fresh-looking fish eggs while out for lunch with my colleague at a mall last Friday. Ever since I became Mrs CEB, I have been grocery shopping at supermarkets quite a fair bit and have never seen these for sale.

I cooked the fish eggs for dinner when my father in law came over simply by deep frying them in cooking oil. I also cooked oyster sauce mushrooms and nai pak vegetables. My CEB cooked the curry chicken on the table but it was far too watery and we hadn't a clue where we had put his left over curry powder.

But I digress (if only to show that I have made some progression with my limited cooking skills). This post was about the new toy that we have now sharing our bed with my nua nua buaya toy. And it didn't take very long for my CEB to disinfect them both, put them up to sun and of course, arranging the buaya toy and the new tiger in varied positions.

MBS Sky Park , Light and Water Show and Pizzeria Mozza

2011-09-08T01:30:00.006+08:00

My CEB wanted to try out the new camera I'd asked him to buy (oh, and at the time of this post the camera is no longer mine but ours (shared he says!) hah!) and we decided to make use of the complimentary tickets we had to Marina Bay Sands' sky park to take some pictures of our beloved country after work today.

Now, I would say that I have taken 10x more photos of my CEB than he has cared to take of me. Primarily because I have control of the camera 80% of the time when we travel. Now on this photo-taking expedition, since the camera was 95% of the time with my CEB - guess who became his test subject. Thankfully I'd make-up on and was dressed in work clothes!

Anyway, because the view from the skypark is pretty awesome, I couldn't resist snapping some photos using my trusty Sony Ericsson W995. I would definitely recommend a trip to the sky park for all visitors to Singapore, especially if they are into photography!

As you can tell from the pictures above and below, we stayed from sunset until the sky turned dark. My CEB had somehow found out that there was a nightly light and water show called Wonder Full at MBS and we stayed till 8pm just to watch the show. Which turned out to be boring, a far cry from HongKong's nightly laser light show. The 15min show was so unimpressive that almost all of the tourists did not bother to watch more than 3 minutes of the show. The night view of our city skyline though was magnificent.

After the laser show and some walking about, we decided to have dinner at Pizzeria Mozza which my sister highly recommended. Unfortunately we did not have any reservations and there was quite a number of patrons (who had finished watching the musical The Lion King) so we ended up having bar counter seats. Which turned out to be pretty neat because we had front seats watching the chefs make the pizzas from scratch.

While waiting for our pizza, we were served complimentary appetizers which were pretty tasty.

I'd asked for the most "cheezy" pizza and the server had recommended us the Bianca with fontina, mozzarella, sottocenere & sage.

The Slog Reviews: 8.5/10 - light on the stomach (but deals a heavy blow to the pocket at SGD34) and very tasty. The pizza was rather salty though and the chef confirmed that he had put salt on the edges of the wood-baked pizza. My CEB felt that the pizza was rather insubstantial and indeed the crust and base of the pizza was more fluffy and crisp than warm and heavy. Even the topping (cheese) was rather flat.

I wouldn't mind going back to the restaurant for another go at a different kind of pizza though (my sister says the mushroom one is good) given the prompt and helpful service at Pizzeria Mozza, and the good grub :P

Our last night in Bali - Matahari Guest House

2011-09-05T21:51:00.002+08:00

Because of all the work-related travel, I'd hesitated buying our return tickets from Bali back to SG till the very last minute. With the price of the tickets being therefore exponentially more expensive, I bought the cheapest tickets on the day we had to come back, which meant a 9am flight.

Since being a SPG gold member meant that we could get a late checkout from our very nice hotel the day before, I decided to find 1 of the cheapest possible lodgings to spend our last night in Bali (Tune Hotel was fully booked). The reviews of Matahari Guest House on Agoda (about SGD48) were pretty mixed so we decided to bite the bullet and give MGH a go.

Now, getting to the hotel is a story in itself. We made the mistake of hailing a cab from DFS about 7pm and going by meter instead of agreeing on a fixed fare. The traffic towards Kuta was just simply awful at that hour, the kind that makes you want to get out of your car and walk because traffic wasn't moving. And that is what we did when we were one street away - thankfully we both were travelling light without any check-in luggage.

The receptionist at MGH spoke some basic English but despite me producing the Agoda voucher, she claimed that there was no reservation under my name. She asked me if I was Fifi twice. I said no, and she asked me then if I was some other person which I really couldn't be, even if I tried. Anyway, despite not locating the reservation, she showed us to a room on the 2nd floor (all stairs, no lift) which she said was a deluxe room as I'd booked.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the room - I think I was too tired from all the walking to the hotel to whip out the camera. But it was clean and decently sized. No toiletries of course, and no cupboard to hang up clothes (just a basic clothes rack on the wall), It definitely isn't a place to stay for too long or to stay in during the day - it is, all in all, a good base to shower and crash after being out the whole day for day tours. There is a "restaurant" within walking distance from the guest house called Satsuma which sells basic Jap food. And I mean really basic as in no sushi or sashimi, just ramen and rice dishes.

Anyway, because we were starving from the long walk to the hotel, we were easily lured in to Satsuma by the pictures and promise of bowls of steaming tasty ramen. Well, the ramen took some time coming, and while it was steaming, it certainly was not tasty - more like instant noodles cooked in some weak gravy. This eatery while decent, is not a must-eat-at in Bali, esp if one is there for a limited amount of time.

We walked to Kartika Discovery Mall after dinner (a 10-15min slow walk) and with Mark and Spencers, Top Shop etc as some of the Mall's tenants, I think this has to be 1 of the larger malls in Bali if one is to do some shopping. After dinner, we walked back to MGH where I spent the remainder of the night hearing the phrase "We are going to crush them" said in a menacing tone at least 102 times while my CEB played his iphone game, oblivious to his wife's misery in the stark room.

We checked out about 6am the next day and while the staff at the counter took ages (to the extent that we just walked off after 7 mins of just standing there and waiting), there wasn't any problem with the checking out process at MGH (and how could there be if there was nothing worth taking from the room which had no fridge/mini-bar, safe or even hairdryer).

My CEB absolutely became my hero when he took me into the airport lounge with his premier card and we had a really nice breakfast of eggs, noodles and croissants before our flight out back home to Singapore.

The best husband ever.

2011-09-05T00:18:00.006+08:00

When my CEB is all curled up next to me like now, chin resting on his arm and sound asleep, I end up being torn between wanting to write versus watching and cuddling him.

Which kind of makes me shake my head at the depth of my feelings for my CEB, feelings which have grown deeper and remain just as tender despite the adjustment period and challenges of marriage life.

And reflecting on the events of this weekend, I guess it shouldn't be anything to really marvel about. The husband earned it. The weekend started with him playing the role of a dutiful husband and son-in-law on Friday night. We bought mooncakes at Vivocity and he fetched me around to get them all delivered - to my beloved ex-boss, my uncle and of course, my mother. He bought Goodwood Park durian mooncakes for my mother (who bought him a box of chocolate mooncakes from Sze Chuan court today) while I bought her the assorted snowskin mooncakes from Marriott Hotel.

On Saturday, my CEB and I went to my grandmother's place to paint the flat with my uncle. The place had been leased out and I was shocked at how dirty the walls were - a horrible grey with black marks and loads of dust-balls. My uncle had bought three painting brushes (See the size of the brush below!) and the three of us slaved away for more than six hours, painting the walls over with white non-odorless, anti-fungal paint from Nippon.

Now, weekends are precious to my CEB because of the long hours and early starting time for his job. But he spent the entire Saturday not just painting away the walls of the flat but also going to buy the cable for my grandmother's tv and setting up the tv for her. He also mopped the kitchen before we left. All this for MY grandmother, someone whom he met all of 2 times, someone whom he had no bond to, no memories of, unlike me who spent my childhood with my porpor.

Painting with just a paint brush is incredibly hard work, trust me I know because my hand ached so badly from clenching the paint brush to paint the whole day that I had to ice it, and in the night, I had to ask my CEB to give me a shoulder massage as my shoulder muscle was screaming in agony from the up down motion of painting. My uncle, my CEB and I concluded after Saturday that we definitely did not want to be painters!

On Sunday (today), my CEB got up early and queued for one and a half hours to get a camera that I had been lusting for, for some time - the Sony NEX-5. :P He got the camera at a steal and I believe we're all set now for our honeymoon coming up this month!

I believe this change in my CEB - to be an even more giving person after marriage - is the reason for my increased affection and respect for my CEB. To put things in context, my CEB being the only son, only child, has not been called to give or share as much as one would have to if one had siblings. So, his gift of time and effort on this weekend spoke volumes of the change in his nature and, more importantly, the extent of his love and commitment to our marriage.

Despite him still bullying our nua nua buaya toy last night by putting my eye mask on the helpless green creature's chest!

And making jokes like these:

My CEB "Blood is thicker than water" (in response to something my uncle said)

Me "Me not related to you by blood leh - only by water" (in the hope of some loving reassurance)

My CEB "No lar, you related to me by...OIL! Whale oil!"

Me "1@!@$@$#$"

To care for a coughing buaya

2011-09-01T23:10:00.004+08:00

When I went to pamper myself on my birthday at the salon, the stylist discovered this below: a hair that was black at the roots (the shorter black part), grey in the middle and black at the end. She told me that this was a grey hair brought about by stress but because the level of stress had dropped recently, the hair had turned black at and from the root. Poor stressed-out me, I agree.

There was the job change in Feb, change of boss in March, the wedding in May, the moving into a new home, the setting up of the new home, the adjustment period as a married couple living together....and of course, having my CEB fall ill this month. It wasn't as bad as when he was sick in April but still, I guess he wasn't just "manja-ing" when he asked me to fly back to "take care of my husband".

Since I hadn't the heart to banish the coughing buaya to another room to get a good night sleep, and each cough choked out of him was painful to the ears (and heart, might I add), I bought this at a Chinese medical hall that I happened to wander into at lunch. I hadn't any clue to its efficacy and certainly never tried it before but since my CEB is usually the surviving test subject of my various cooking experiments, I figured he'll probably survive this one.

Instructions were simple enough. Boil water, add ingredients, simmer for one hour. So that's what I did, except that instead of simmering via the stove, I used the top portion of the thermal cooker as a pot and put it in the thermal flask to simmer for the day while I left for work.

My CEB obligingly drank as much of the boiled soup as he could. After asking me worriedly what it was that I wanted him to drink. I told him it was something for his cough and that answer was good enough for him to trust that his wife wasn't about to poison him for something he had or hadn't done. Hah. There was a bit left over so back into the thermal flask the pot went and the flask kept the soup warm till the next morning when I got up at the ungodly hour of 6+ just to pour the husband one last cup before he left for work. The thermal flask rocks.

Anyway, because of my CEB had loads of cold drinks+ice cream while we were in Bali where it was terribly hot, that herbal soup and all the medicine weren't quite enough to put an end to his cough. So after we got back from Bali on Tuesday, I tried out a different Chinese herbal concoction which I'd bought at Tang Shifu. This was cheaper by 1/3 and had almost the same smell as the earlier one. In fact, my CEB didn't even notice the difference (or if he did, he made no mention).

Well, for all the effort put in by yours truly and by the in-laws to help my CEB have a speedy recovery, Thursday (today) found my CEB heading straight for the freezer and shamelessly helping himself to a large dollop of the Haagan Daz smoothie we'd bought yesterday. Whatever do I do with a husband like that!

Tipping

2011-08-31T12:54:00.008+08:00

We all know about the straw that broke the camel's back. A straw is too light to break anything but because even a straw carries some weight (else it would float), when it is added to the top of a very heavy pile on the camel's back, the weight sends the scales tipping one way and down goes the camel.

Breaking point, in short. Or better yet, known as Tipping Point (coined by the famous writer Malcom Gladwell). Usually a series of small and seemingly unimportant events that put together, lead up to THE crash.

I told my CEB yesterday quite bluntly, my view on the difference between a wife and a mother. A mother loves you no matter what, because her blood runs through your veins and you are a reflection of her upbringing of you. If you are a beast to her, she would blame herself and not you because you are that way either by nature or nurture, both of which she had a hand.

A wife on the other hand, has promised to love you but still has the right, lawfully and ethically, to stop loving you and walk away when you've quite completely and literally, bashed every single last drop of love in the love bank with a fist to her face, or just as cruelly, a fist to her heart/soul.

Now, my mother-in-law was the one who made the above very clear to me over dinner. Not in those words of course. She told me never to complain about her son because I had chosen him whereas she hadn't any choice but to love him. My mother also told me that once I was "married out", I should never come running back to my childhood home but work things out with whoever I'd given myself to. No doubt these were "pearls of wisdom" bestowed upon them during an era long gone where women were dependent on men, but nonetheless, all this has, together with the past 3 months of marriage life (blissful for the most part it has been), made me think very hard and long about my choice 3 months ago, and about the person I'd chosen to marry. And before God, family and friends no less.

My CEB is relatively easy to love, don't get me wrong. It is just that I am finally learning that love is one thing but marriage is another thing altogether. The "we love each other so let's get married and live forever happily ever after" is bullsh*t. Marriage is hard work and love doesn't get the work done. It motivates you to pull your weight to do the work but without respect, support, encouragement, appreciation or acknowledgement, you end up dropping the ball or just not caring any more.

And the biggest difference between love and marriage is that love can be happily one-sided, but for a marriage to succeed - that can't happen without both pitching in.

So how does my long ramble above tie in with the start of the post about the straw that broke the camel's back? I guess I'm finding out that in any relationship, especially a marriage, the little things really count and...not just count but add up at the end of the day. And although one tries to forgive and forget, every "little" tiff/spat/quarrel, every angry, thoughtless, harsh, and worse, mean, words goes towards adding just a bit more weight on the provincial camel's back, pushes the relationship just this bit closer to the edge of the cliff. There is always a choice how to react - play the blame game and make the other feel worse, or pitch in to fix the problem and have a constructive talk later. And there is a consequence tied to each decision.

In short, how we choose to react, say to each other, do for each other, while seemingly small/unimportant, brings the relationship either closer to or further from the edge of this cliff. And then all that is needed is that little straw, or just a light tap before the camel crumbles or one tumbles off the cliff.

The third month

2011-08-26T14:33:00.006+08:00

I'm sitting in the same place where I sat when I wrote the post on our second monthnivresary. And what would you know - I'm now writing a post to mark our third monthniversary.

It was a really rough third month - we had a week apart cos of my work (and next month, we are going to have about 10 days apart cos of my work again but hey, it's the month for our honeymoon :D ).

And then that we had the mother of all quarrels - never before and never again, alright? Let's not hurt this relationship we have, or each other like that again, especially since we have taken vows to be together till death do us part. If we have chosen to be together, and since we live but once anyway, let's make our life journey together as a couple, the most enjoyable we can :)

I can't wait for the long weekend we will spending in Bali, the land of love - the flight takes off in less than 3 hours!

A most wonderful birthday

2011-08-22T23:21:00.003+08:00

I feel exactly like how my nua nua buaya toy looks below - hats off to the husband who never fails to amaze me with his creativity when it comes to arranging the buaya toy.

It was a simply awesome day from start to end, 12 hours of which was spent at Marina Bay Sands.

There was a birthday lunch from my 1 and only dearest sister at a fabulous Jap restaurant, Hide Yamamoto, followed by 4 hours of self-loving at Salon 360 where I spent SGD360 on myself - a full body massage, a facial, hair treatment and some light make-up thingy.

And after that, despite my CEB being sick and slightly late, he took me out for a really nice and indulgent birthday dinner at Cut by Wolfgang Puck.

I would write more about the day and food but I am too sleepy from the feasting. So I'll end this post by thanking God for all the blessings he has given me, last but not least, this man I call my husband snoozing next to me as I turn one year older.

Dear God, despite the relentless march of time passing us by year after year, please grant my CEB and me, as much time together as a loving couple as possible.

Wiped out

2011-08-21T23:27:00.011+08:00

The husband has fallen asleep next to me, one hand on my lap. I like looking at him sleep, his lips are always upturned just this bit gently. And the best part is that he isn't coughing any more - thank goodness for the cough medicine which knocks him out cold.

The poor dude - I would gladly exchange places with my CEB if I could. But since I can't, the least I could do and did, was to boil honey ginseng drink for him this morning, cook shi quan herbal soup for dinner and give him some manuka honey before bedtime. In addition to making sure that he took his med, cough drops and rubbing vicks under his nose - a sick husband, esp a sick buaya, is quite a handful.

I will be a year older in fifteen minutes, by the way.

My CEB bought a laptop today and gave it to me. He said he would also get me the iPhone5 the first month it launches, as the other part of my birthday present. That should be fun - I told him I wanted the phone in its original condition - the husband has a knack of playing with/taking apart all IT gadgets that come his way.

But all that aside, what my CEB had done on Sat with me, was the best gift of all. We had gone to TTSH in the morning and I felt the desire to attend Novena, something I had not done for more than a year. Maybe it was also the timing - because we finished shopping in time for the 1pm Novena.

It may sound silly but it took me 2 tries before I dared to ask my CEB to go to church with me. I was afraid of rejection, and also expected to be rebuked harshly since both of us had reached the common understanding that we would not try to convert each other.

But it is clear that I gave my CEB less credit than he deserved because after I prayed silently for courage to ask my CEB to go to church, asked him hesitantly if he could please go to church for half an hour with me, and was bracing myself for the expected "Can we not? Can don't go? Can you go yourself I meet you later" etc etc

My wonderful CEB instead answered "Can I say no? Okay lor"

And he went with me willingly. It is really hard not to love and respect this most open-minded husband I have.

Even if right after attending church...

My CEB solemnly "It is God's "whale" (will) that I marry the whale".

Me !@!#@$@$@

My CEB "Maybe the Holy Grail was not found because God meant the Holy Whale" (points to me and laughs)

Me !@!#@$@ UGH!!@!@#

Rise of Planet of the Apes (2011) Movie

2011-08-19T14:12:00.003+08:00

Definitely 1 of the better movies around with a fast paced story line and good acting by primates and humans alike.:)

Ape alone weak, Apes together strong.

Well "said", Caesar.

Reactions

2011-08-18T22:34:00.004+08:00

The day my CEB married me, I promised before God to be true to my CEB in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. We also promised to love each other and honour each other all the days of our lives.

It has been almost 3 months since that day. And I'm feeling awful and guilty that there have been days when I did not behave lovingly to my CEB, and worse, days when I did not honor him with my words and/or actions.

Especially the last quarrel we had. It was the worst I've ever had with my CEB in all our time together. It doesn't matter who was right or wrong.But I know that I was wrong to say and do everything that I did that day. I was wrong to allow his actions to dictate my reaction. While I cannot control how my CEB decides to treat me, sometimes thoughtlessly which really sucks, I can control how I decide to respond to the treatment.

I responded badly, very badly that day. And to say that I am feeling ashamed, awful, remorseful and guilty is an understatement. What I said and did is going to stay with me forever, and are things that I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for.

You see, my CEB invokes in me a strong sense of love and affection, one that borders on being protective. Not that my CEB needs me to take care of him, he is too much of a guy for that. I am glad my CEB doesn't need me at all, because this means that he being with me is because he wants to be. Does that even make sense? But anyway, to have that sort of feeling about him and then being the source and cause of hurting him is a double whammy to the guilt button.

He said he was sorry. I said I was sorry. But the damage is already done. As with all quarrels. I can't take back what I said and did. And neither can he. There was no love or honor how we treated each other that day. :(

Having a buaya around the house

2011-08-15T23:44:00.010+08:00

When the ceiling light in our master bedroom went kaput yesterday morning without any prior warning, it brought to mind this joke:

A: It only takes one lawyer to change your light bulb to his light bulb.

Q: How many lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?

My CEB was around so.....

Q: How many engineers does it take to change a light bulb????

A:Three. One to hold the ladder, one to hold the light bulb, and the third to interpret the Japanese text.

And since there were only 2 buayas around....

But nah, the husband got the ladder from the yard, climbed up and took the light lid off to unscrew the busted light bulb, bought a new light bulb and climbed back up to fix the light. All by himself.

If it was the first time he was changing a light bulb, he certainly didn't let it show. Three cheers for the cheese-eating buaya indeed!

Travel light so you can sing in the robber's face

2011-08-14T00:42:00.004+08:00

I have a splitting headache that is keeping me awake at this ungodly hour despite my desire to fall into blissful slumber.

I guess it is to do with everything said and done earlier today. Esp the packing which made me realize how much stuff I'd acquired over the years and how, none of it really matters, is really important or is even, stuff that I need.

It made think of this quote I'd come across "Travel light so you can sing in the robber's face." Of course, the quote doesn't refer only to the pointless acquisition of material stuff, but a way of living life so that one does not fear death (the robber).

And that made me think of the movie "Up in the air" where the lead compared relationships to burdens that one is obliged to shoulder, weighing one down.

I guess my problem is that I don't travel light. So when the robber comes, I lose a lot more than I would have if I had not acquired so much. And end up feeling doubly miserable and desolate.

Today was a good day. Even though I am very sad, it was good. Because it was a turning-the-corner day, the day I face up to the fact that I've made a mistake, the day I understood exactly where I stood, the day I resolved not to be stupid any more, and the day I'm going to start travelling very very light.

Time to come home

2011-08-12T13:06:00.001+08:00

This song has been playing in my head, or rather, just the very catchy opening lines:

In a matter of hours, I will be dragging my huge (and v likely "overweight") luggage once more across the tired concourse of the airport, presenting my huge (and most likely "overweight") self at the check-in counter, clearing customs and then boarding the plane back to Singapore. Despite my stated pref for an aisle seat, I've ended up with a middle seat this time. Bummer.

The novelty of travelling has quite worn off. Except for the month I got married, I've been away from home for a stretch of 5 days or more, once a month, since I joined this new company. Not that I am complaining about all the travel which has been such an eye-opener and an opportunity for growth. It is the hassle of getting to the airport, checking in and waiting around to board the plane which I have grown to dread. Add that to lugging around my laptop for work (thou shall never let the co's laptop be parted from oneself), a handbag and a suitcase that weighs a ton, travelling for work is a far cry from travelling for pleasure.

But since work can be combined with whatever little pleasure that one can afford, I almost extended my stay over the weekend at my own expense because of a very attractive hotel promotion I received in the email. I say almost because...

Me "Eh dear, I think this weekend I am not coming back"
My CEB (long silence)
Me "Sale still going on and there is a hotel promotion"
My CEB "Grrrrr"
Me (ignores my CEB)

1 day later
My CEB "Me sick...caught a cold"
Me "Okay, take care"
My CEB "When are you coming home to take care of your husband?"
Me (ignores my CEB)

And sometime later the same day
My CEB "My wife don't love me"
Me "Your wife loves you very much"
My CEB "Sick...need TLC"
Me "In short you want me to come back asap without extending right"
My CEB *grinz

Yes, my CEB is the Manja-King indeed :P
It is time to come home, and home is in this case, where the heart is.

46 and going strong

2011-08-09T15:08:00.006+08:00

Happy 46th National Day, Singapore!

I'm in a foreign land working on what is a public holiday in Singapore. A public holiday to celebrate the day Singapore declared itself as an independent nation, a different country from this very same foreign land I am in.

And being here makes me so proud to be Singaporean, and so grateful to all the people who brought Singapore to where we are today. Long Live Singapore!

Fat or dead?

2011-08-08T12:42:00.003+08:00

Dead. I choose death over being an out-of-control, "double-chinny" "face-stuffer".

When I was in secondary school, despite my struggle with the language, I wrote a Chinese essay "Yi Ge Pang Ren De Tong Ku" (A Fat Person's Pain). I was fat then, qualifying year after year for the "Tough and Fit" program (TAF Club), some sick person's idea of a joke - spell TAF the other way and you get FAT... only fat people would get automatic membership to that club, big Yay!

Anyway, my clothes are really tight. I've gained so much weight that when I looked in the hotel mirror this morning, I don't like me anymore. :( I really don't. I hate the re-appearance of what appears to be another chin (and how does that benefit me huh), the size of my arms which makes my sleeves feel snug (and these same sleeves used to be loose!), and the shape of my thighs. Oh, and don't get me started on....the tummy region. My CEB has most unkindly told me that I have an extra boob with an inverted nipple. How is that for romance huh.

I need to get back on the treadmill. I've stopped exercising since I got together with my CEB. I also need to stop the "hand to mouth", "me-see-me-devour" behaviour I've developed of late. The cooking isn't the cause of the recent explosion in size. The feasting when travelling for work is. After a long hard day of work, there is nothing one wants more than a nice good meal (usually in room dining) before laying down to rest, extended tummy and all, in the soft comfort of a hotel bed. My ex-cfo (and my beloved ex-boss) used to get up at 5.30am to use the hotel gym when we travelled for work. I thought they were truely admirable, now I think they are demi-Gods.

I guess it is time for a PLAN. I've learnt from my beloved ex-boss that the only way to get control back in my life and stop the hysterics is to have a PLAN. It was with HER plans that I managed to have all I have in my life. So, if I want to include a decent body to the things I have, I need a plan.

God save me from this fat suit.

Why have a husband

2011-08-05T18:33:00.006+08:00

This will be my 4th and last post written at the airport while waiting for my CEB's flight to land - his flight was delayed for an hour for take off like mine was - all the pictures were pre-loaded into blogger from my personal computer before I flew off (saved as 4 separate draft posts) yesterday.

And if the title of this post screams "Trouble in The Slog's Little Paradise" to you, you wouldn't be totally wrong. 1 of the worst quarrels we've ever had last week triggered a reflection on why I got married. Not why I married my CEB but why get married at all, this "stuck together thing".

It's easy for my CEB - when my CEB does something really nice for me and I thank him, he usually replies with " Why have a wife if not to love (her)". There is this song by a boy band with the lyrics "Nobody wants to be lonely, nobody wants to be alone". Having a companion is powerful enough motivation for one to get hitched but companionship can be obtained without the shackles of a wedding band. Loving someone is again another "reason" but love doesn't happen with or without that piece of paper.

I think the secondary reason I got married was because I was ready to start a family (and yeah, like my current work schedule will allow that with the travelling at least once a month for a week). The primary reason though was because I was happy to say to my loved ones, my friends, the world, that this man is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, the one out of all the men in my life whom I will love and honor, stay with through thick and thin till death do us part.

So going back to the quarrel, it was over a matter which I hadn't realised meant so much to my CEB. I was thoughtless, and unknowingly, I'd hurt my CEB - one of the rare times that a buaya's tough hide can be pierced. It didn't help that my CEB refused to talk to me or hint what was behind the stone-walling till I ran out of (1) guesses (and inevitably disclosing a purchase I hadn't meant to tell him about - a thermal pot). And (2) patience with him. (My CEB is usually most direct and his pure stubborn refusal to communicate what was wrong this time infuriated me past normal reason.

Anyway, I packed my bags. Or rather I left the room to pack for this trip because I knew if I shared the same room with him a little longer, I might end up saying something I couldn't take back. But I didn't leave the house that night of course - the thing about marriage is that you can't just leave your partner no matter how bad the quarrels are, unless of course there is violence or unfaithfulness. Like it or not, getting married means you have to stay and work out your problems with each other instead of running home to your parents like a little kid.

And that was what I kept saying to my unusually furious CEB throughout his stony silence - tell me what's wrong and let's work it out, we shouldn't be punishing each other and our relationship. It took me the better part of 2 hours to pry what was wrong out of my CEB, and it isn't that I've mellowed with age or love him beyond reason that I didn't give up trying to find out what was wrong or explode with rage at his stubborn refusal to communicate, much as I was tempted to.

I kept myself in check (ooo humble pie chokes going down) because earlier that same evening, my CEB had turned up at my parent's place to have dinner and fix the computer as we'd agreed earlier despite his "silent protest" from the day before. Before we were married, when we quarrelled, my CEB would just cancel all plans that we had made regardless of whether these plans involved his side of the family or mine. This was 1 of the things I told him I wouldn't stand for - as the Chinese saying goes "Jia Chou Bu Ke Wai Yang" (do not wash your dirty linen in public). Now that after marriage my CEB and I are a "Xiao Jia Ting" (small family), all the more we shouldn't embarrass ourselves and our spouse in front of their families by involving or affecting them in our quarrels. And truth be told, I was very impressed and proud of my CEB that he put up a merry good show in front of my mum...until we got home when he gave me that "stony silence" again which drove me to tears of frustration.

Marriage doth change a person indeed, and in the case of my CEB and myself, for the better it seems. And although it goes without saying that I love my CEB, I only realised the extent of how much when I included him on the very short list of pp I would take the place of willingly if something evil were to befall them. It doesn't matter if there is reciprocity, if they would or would not do the same for me - that should never be a factor when it comes to true love.

Madam Kwan's @ Suria KLCC

2011-08-04T00:57:00.002+08:00

Many of my fellow countrymen have recommended that I have at least one meal at Madam Kwan and until the last trip, despite my frequently pausing before its restaurant's entrance, I've resisted having a meal at the restaurant because of its "zi cha" menu. Stuff like Otah, Nasi Lemak, Assam Prawns, all these I've eaten all too often, whether locally or in JB.

However, simply because we've never eaten at Madam Kwan before, we decided to join the crowd in the restaurant and have at least one meal there.

So we did. And a rather expensive and unremarkable affair it turned out to be. Good enough food but definitely overpriced given the quality and type of food served. I'll tell you how much the meal above turned out to be - RM111 - and the only item not shown is my longan drink which cost RM5. The nasi lemak was RM15+, the nasi bojari RM 22.90, kangkong (small) RM14.50 and the plate of assam prawns (large) was RM 37.50.

It was more than enough food for the both of us, and the food was decent enough without being extraordinary BUT I would definitely not recommend this restaurant to my fellow countrymen given the prices, unremarkable service and interior decor, and the type of food served.

Iketeru @ Hilton Hotel KL Sentral

2011-08-04T00:51:00.004+08:00

At the recommendation of a friend who is a Jap-food lover and because we were staying at Meridien which is just next to, and conveniently connected to Hilton Hotel (they share the same swimming pools), my CEB and I decided to have dinner and lunch at Iketeru last month.

My CEB had flown in on a Fri afternoon and was starving because he hadn't had a chance to grab a bite before his flight. However, the prices on the menu certainly gave pause to his appetite. And mine as well. As it was one of the rare times I was feeling healthy, I ordered the black cod from the teppenyaki menu. It came done excellently but the portion wasn't very much for RM50.

I also ordered a plate of shitake mushrooms from the teppenyaki menu for us to share and that was amore reasonably priced at RM17. I would definitely recommend this delicious dish with its crisp garlic chips at the side.
My CEB ordered the gyu katsu curry which he proclaimed delicious after a few mouthfuls. This again was reasonably priced (as compared to the rest of the menu) at just RM60. Even with the complimentary green tea (free flow), the bill for dinner came up to almost RM160. I don't think I'll be in a hurry to go back to Iketeru until I have deeper pockets!

The next day, we went back for the recommended Sunday buffet lunch and despite the cost RM131.10 per pax (inclusive of tax), the restaurant was pretty fully booked. Lunch started at 12 and ended about 2.30pm, and unlike the normal buffets where the food is laid out, most of the food had to be ordered off the menu alacarte style. There was quite a nice variety with teppenyaki, noodles, rice and even some soups on the menu. Sashimi on the other hand, as well as the makis had to be ordered from the chefs behind the glass-covered counters.

From a websearch of the restaurant, it seems that Iketeru is one of the more famous Japanese restaurants in KL, and indeed the quality of each dish we had testifies to that. Do not expect quantity though (even for the buffets where each order means just enough and not in excess).

The last meal at home for a week

2011-08-04T00:46:00.002+08:00

I know. All my posts are all so "domesticated". So much for all the reviews of places, food, movies and books huh. I did warn though in a post at the start of this year that this blog wouldn't really be what it had been because of the 2 major changes - new job and a marriage. Call me naive but I never thought that both would have such a large impact upon my life/lifestyle. Maybe the job, yes. But definitely not marriage. I admit now that I was wrong. I can now use a washing machine/hang up clothes/iron clothes, and even cook.

Or rather, I am happy to do all these, I want to while our current lifestyles (job and family status) allow us to. With another job, with another member of the family, I would not have the opportunity. So while my CEB grouses about having to eat his (insert pet name)'s home-cooked foor which is just edible and involves cleaning up, he plays a supportive enough role in eating most of the food and even cleaning. Maybe he realises too that everything is temporary and nothing should be taken for granted, not even the opportunity to eat his wife's cooking.

Anyway, the day before my next travel (yes I am in an airport now waiting for my CEB to arrive for the weekend), I decided to cook dinner. I'd takenthe beef karubi chips from the freezer in the morning before I left for work so it was a matter of marinating them in kikoman's teriyaki sauce for about 20mins once I got back in the evening.

During lunch, my colleague and I had gone to the mall near our workplace to run some errands and I had picked up a packet of about 13 glass prawns which I thought would be a nice addition to the vegetable dish I was intending to cook. Since googling the words stir fry and prawns threw up a recipe by my now favourite cooking website www.noobcook.com . it was just a matter of following the recipe step by step.

I had a packet of dou miao from our supermarket shopping on Sunday, the last packet of vegetable in the fridge and while it looked like quite a bit of veg, when cooked, there was just enough for my CEB and me.

I had a nice new frying pan from Tefal which I'd acquired last Friday and used a couple of times (I cooked lunch and dinner on Sunday but was too busy and tired to take photos). Cooking the prawns was incredibly easy - they turned red rather quickly in the oil and it was just a qn of making sure they were not over-cooked. I don't know if I did a good job of that though because the prawns turned out rather firm.

After adding Eu Yan Sang's mushroom xo sauce to the prawns in the frying pan, I poured the prawns into a bowl and then used the left over oil and sauce to stir fry the dou miao. And then I put the two together to look like this. As I said, the veg shrunk considerably after frying.

To be honest, after cooking the prawns and veg, I was most hesitant about cooking the karubi chips as well but since I'd already marinated the same and would be gone for more than a week, it didn't make financial sense to let the beef go to waste so I put them in the frying pan too. And added some Chinese wine. Which turned out to be a mistake because the resulting gravy for the beef karbu chips turned out to be far too salty to be edible.

So, all that cooking took about one and a half hours. The chicken curry on the table was from my mom, left overs from dinner the night before at my mum's. Put together with the rest of the food I'd cooked that evening, to say that my CEB and I overate for dinner would be a gross understatement. We finished everything, except the bread. And my CEB said he was happy. Which was enough reward for me.

To be able to cook not out of choice but because one wants to makes all the difference. I think if I didn't want to, all the washing and cleaning up would make me most miserable. But maybe one of the positive things that came out of being married is wanting to try, having the opportunity to, and actually enjoying it just a bit.