Human Pretzel

Yoga stretches parts of me I usually forget about. I'm reasonably flexible about the shoulders and the hamstrings but not around the sides of the waist, hips, knees or ankles. I've resumed yoga practice since joining Amore and as they have a branch at Heartland Mall, I try and make it there on Saturday morning when they have a very good instructor whose name escapes me at this time.

Last Saturday we were doing a lot of asanas which stretch the side just above the hip and twists which work the entire waist including the side. And given I feel like I'm developing a little paunch, I felt it was much needed.

We did an asana which was new to me: do the half lotus tree pose with one's hands together above the head and then bend and hold to either side for at least 30 seconds each time. We also stretched our sides in another asana where we were also in half lotus but with our knees on the group rather than either of our feet and this was a similar stretch for the waist.

We also did a very elegant (when properly done that is) dragonfly pose which involves lying on one's stomach and raising one leg straight up backwards as far as one can go and propping that leg up with the other leg. So it looks great but for me, my foot just kept pulling my track pants down steadily so I would give up at the point where it was going to lead to some immodesty although given that it was a room full of women, that didn't really matter.

Hopefully if I remember to stretch my waist, hips and ankles, they'll slowly become more flexible with time.

Gubana

I'd been wanting to do something special to mark Easter Sunday other than attending the Easter Vigil mass. So this year I decided to bake an Italian Easter bread called Gubana. Gubana is from a region east of Venice called Friuli, near the what used to be Yugoslav and Austrian borders. It's a briochelike dough rolled up like a strudel with a nut and dried fruit filling and twisted itself around like a snail then baked.

The recipe I used came from a book by Carol Field called "The Italian Baker". It's an excellent book and I've had good results from recipes I've tried in the past. And twisted doughs have always appealed to my inner aesthetic cook. So out I went on holy Saturday morning with my shopping list of ingredients.

As our domestic helper is always wanting to learn things new in the kitchen I decided she could do the dough and I would do the filling and walk her through the process. So I showed her the recipe and told her she could either use the electric mixer or knead it with her hands. She chose the mixer with the dough kneaders.

The process took the whole afternoon but of course much of that time was spent doing other things while waiting for the risings to take place. The fruit (mainly rasins and candied peel and lemon zest) and nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts) was mixed with a mixture of different liqueors and spirits so it tasted wonderful on its own. The filling was spread on the rolled out dough rather like spreading jam onto a swiss roll and then rolled up. The additional step was then to roll up again to form a round snail, wait for it to rise again then pop it in to bake in the oven.

The result was great when freshly baked but I was on the whole a bit disappointed with what it tasted like the next day. It was nice enough, but nothing to rave about. The fruit filling while it tasted great before being baked lost a lot of its nuance afterwards so I'd personally adjust the recipe to include more raisins and more liqueor.

As it doesn't have any artificial preservatives, it doesn't retain its freshness well although it keeps so it greatly benefits from toasting from the next day onwards. I felt that while it tasted nice enough, it could have been kneaded more to create a greater elasticity in the final bread plus maybe bread flour rather than all purpose flour would also help to that end. But it is actually meant to be a dense bread, so maybe the texture wasn't wrong, just that I prefer my bread slightly softer although I still like chewy textures. However while I grumble, you may notice that the only picture I managed to take is on the second day when most of the bread had already been eaten or given away. So it was certainly edible enough to get eaten fairly quickly and distracting enough for me to forget to photograph it freshly baked.

Overall verdict: interesting but not rave-worthy

Syllabic Verse Exercise

The next exercise in poetry was to write simple stanzas with pre-set numbers of syllables each. This form of poetry focuses on the number of syllables regardless of the number of stresses. It's not too common in English poetry because English is more of a stressed language than eg Japanese or Chinese where syllabic poems are far more common.


On Rain:

I saw my brother run once
Down the slope near home
I was driving up the slope and
Wondering why he ran

Then just behind him, a sheet
Of rain I saw. Light
But growing strong. It followed
Him to the door. Slam!


Hygiene:

Hygiene counts
When baking bread: no ants,
Birds,
Are allowed in
The kitchen while it's done.
At least during
Which
One's hands especially
Are washed, dried.

Kneading means
Wet, sticky, doughy hands.
But
Later this turns
A drier dough which springs back at
A gentle prod
So
Then we rest it and clean
Hands and wait.


As you can see, I was contemplating the process of baking as I had planned to bake an Italian Easter bread called Gubena so it seems more interesting to slant the poem in that direction. For those who are interested in the outcome of the baking, stay tuned.

Napolean

I watched the TV mini-series Napolean recently on DVD and was highly impressed. The acting was outstanding and the casting perfect with Christian Clavier doing a great job of portraying the Emperor of France in a way that one can understand how his humanity and charisma had men and women willing to give their lives and their love to him. I liked the way both his and Josephine's love life and their other loves were portrayed. In a way it struck me as being so much more realistic than many American type dramas are wont to be. Isabella Rosallini was the beautiful but older Josephine. Tallyrand, the foreign minister of the period, is also outstandingly acted by John Malkovitch, and typifies the whole balance of power approach to international (read European) politics of the time.

The costumes and scenes showed a period in French history that was breathtaking in its stately homes, and dress of the upper classes and aristocracy. I spent much of the time admiring the coats, tunics of the men who seemed to be more stunningly adorned than the women a lot of the time.

The war scenes were a real study in military tactics before the advent of fire power. There were some muskets in use but clearly the battle tactics had not yet adjusted to fire power with phlanxes of men forming squares and moving forward in large formations. Nowadays they'd be sitting ducks and the loss of life intolerable. But the bravery of the men was remarkable and also how Napolean needed to be there to inspire them.

I have to say also that just before watching it, I had read a thread on www.aikiweb.com which impressed me about the ability of the French to organise and have central command. Aikido is one of those organisations where the founding country, Japan still has a strong central Headquarters but in the manner of all human institutions, as the art spread across the world, the groups in different countries, as in Japan itself split. What struck me about France was that there are only 2 main schools there, one headed by Tamura Sensei and the other by Tissier Sensei who is himself recognised by Hombu Dojo. France is a large country with a strong tradition of aikido. My own country, much smaller already has 4 main schools. And apparently Israel has 47 and counting. It really dawned on me at that point that the French have a tremendous ability to organise themselves in large groups and to respect a central command which meant that they could have someone like Napolean lead a large army across Europe.

Anyway, the series is highly recommended for history buffs, for those who liked military history, Europhiles and anyone with a taste for period movies. The movie is beautifully shot and has sumptous sets and costumes.

Fruit and Veg Juice Galore

I've finally discovered a fruit juice stall that serves exactly what I want and more besides. And it was practically in my neighbourhood too. Or at least nearby in Hougang Street 21. There's a hawker centre next to Heartland Mall and the fruit juice stall has an amazing range of fruit and vegetable juices. I'm highly enthusiastic since it will make my detox days much easier. I'm soooo not into making my own juices because I always end up with too much fibre and hate cleaning the bits off the juicer.

So far I've tried three different mixtures he has. The pineapple and chye sim is fine. Not too green tasting but it's a nice green colour. The spinach and apple is sweeter, without the tanginess of the pineapple and is a slightly deeper green in colour. The beetroot takes the prize for colour with its gorgeous magenta hue ending in a purple-pink foam top which you can see in the photograph.

If I make it through to the end of the day with a detox, I'll go back and try three more. He has a chives and ginger one which sounds interesting but rather strong so I wonder if he dilutes it with some other fruit juice to make it more palatable. There's more exotic drinks like cactus juice and he does have a nice succulent cactus leaf hanging as part of his decor over the stall front.

Overall it's good to see an imaginative hawker who's come up with a much larger range of vegetable based juices to complement the usual fruit juices. And the fact that it seems to be surviving nicely certainly seems to imply there's a market out there for even healthier drinks than plain fruit juices.

His prices are usually around S$2.30 to S$2.60 or so for those of you who are curious enough to want to go try and he lists all the prices upfront. I didn't however ask his opening hours but he's certainly open in the mornings and my guess would be the whole afternoon and evening but I'm not sure what time he packs up. The nearest MRT is Kovan and it's just a couple of minutes walk from the station exit.

A Good Barista is Hard to Find

I went in search of good coffee yesterday and my search took me and my mum to two places: Highlander Coffee Cafe in Kampung Bahru/Blair Road area and Wiener Kaffehaus near 6th Avenue. Both were set up as specialist coffee houses by enthusiasts. One by a pair of Singaporean engineers in pursuit of their dream and higher coffee standards and the other by an Austrian who wanted to replicate the Austrian coffeehouse experience in Singapore.

I have to say I was disappointed as my expectations were high. I'd say the staff of both were eager to please and were definitely trying hard, but the coffee, for places which specialise in coffee, and roast and grind their own beans, the actual drinks turned out to fall short.

Both places are nice to sit and drink in: the Highlander is a cheery, newly renovated shophouse unit in the conservation Blair Plain area near Outram MRT station. They just reopened so perhaps that accounts for the less than knowledgeable staff, who presumably will learn as they go along, and I'm sure if I go back in a few months, I'll be able to ask questions about the beans etc and get more confident and knowledgeable answers. I liked most of the decor except the neon bits didn't really go with the shophouse ambience. The training area was behind a door and since there was a training session in progress, I wasn't able to take a peek at it.

The Wiener Kaffehause is meant to be a replication of an Austrain coffeehouse and has traditional leather covered, dark chocolate coloured seats and lots of lovely Gustav Klimt reproductions adorning the walls and a couple of art deco lamps here and there. The staff were certainly friendly and warm without being intrusive which I appreciated. The only thing missing was that since they do not roast the coffee on the premises, it doesn't have that coffee aroma hitting you once you walk through the door.

For those of you who would like details on the drinks: I had an expresso machiato at the Highlander Cafe and this turned out to have a very pretty clover pattern done with the crema but the taste of it was sour which I dislike very much in coffee. I'd rather bitter than sour and in fact I'm one of those who never adds sugar to coffee because that seems to result in a sour aftertaste once the initial sweetness wears off. The whole cafe smelled great as did the actual expresso, and one of the reasons why I dragged my mum along was that she has a far more sensitive nose and palate than I do, and I wanted her opinion since my taste buds and nose aren't quite as reliable as hers. Turns out she had the same opinion as me except more exaggerated. So I rest my case. Either that or having been brought up on kopi tiam beans, she's a Malaysian kopi devotee.

In the Wiener Kaffehaus, the decaffinated cappucino was better although it left me wishing I had ordered an expresso machiato as well so that I would be able to taste the coffee without the milk getting too much in the way. However, I still am not convinced it was as good as it could have been. It didn't have a sour aftertaste but it was not as full bodied as it could have been. I do also think it got a little bit overfoamed. My mum's verdict on the cappucino was again similar to mine but less enthusiastic.

The big hit was sachertorte which my mum positively gobbled up, she liked it so much...I found it just a little dry but the taste as my mum atested to, was a wonderful mixture of chocolate and a touch of almond and cherry.

The best coffee of the western roasted variety that is, I've had in Singapore, still remains in Da Paolo's restaurant along Jalan Merah Saga. It caught me by surprise as I simply wasn't expecting great coffee and it was at the end of a business lunch. And I'm generally not too picky and ordered a decafe cappucino but when I took the first sip, I was very pleasantly surprised and now I know what coffee aficiandos fuss about. It was a taste bud opener. Sadly the gastronomia place under the same ownership does not do decaf any longer so I've stopped ordering coffee from there.

Tau Hui with a Twist!

At Serangoon Gardens Chomp Chomp hawker centre, there's a stall which serves the traditional soya bean curd in the usual ways, plain or with toppings such as gingko nuts, lotus seeds or flavoured with traditional flavours such as almond etc. What makes this place unique is that it also serves flavoured soya bean: bandung (read rose syrup with carnation evaporated milk poured over) is what is shown in the photograph. It really does taste like bandung, the drink of milky rose syrup and is a very pretty pink.

The bowl to the rear of the picture contains the more traditional tau hui with gingko nuts on top which is one of my favourites.

There are other interesting flavours. I liked the green tea one which has a distinct green tea flavour to it and a more gelatinous texture, more jelly like than tau hui-like with a dark green transclucent hue to it. The chocolate one, sad to say isn't that chocolately, so chocolate lovers consider this to be more asian flavour chocolate ie lightly chocolate only. I haven't yet tried the other flavours although I've seen my aikido buddies lap up all manner of colourful choices with gusto. They're major fans and the ones who introduced me to this stall. For them, they love the texture but personally I still prefer the more liquid texture of the more traditional tau hui, but for variety of flavours, they sure can't be beat: the baskin robbins of tau hui.

Alliterative-Accentual Verse

I tend to write on a full stomach rather than empty so when I did this exercise, I was thinking more of drinks and snacks so my food tends to be less robust than what Stephen Fry came up with. However as the exercise is more about writing in the bang bang bang - crash! style ie alliterate three times and then change in a line, so it scarecly matters really what the subject matter is.

Here's my attempt and for those of you who don't yet know what alliteration is, you will by the end of the poem.

Things I Want or Don't Want to Eat or Drink Right Now:

Chocolate comes first or cocoa with froth,
A lemony drink or lime leached juice
Speedily hits the spot and sooths but then
Coffee doesn't. Caffeine kills my mind
But my body remains hyped: bouncing off the walls

I crave kana a lot, those clumps of fruit
Dried, salty, sour and sweet - I drool
Now that I'm done with drinks and desert, I desperately want
A Kaya toast: covered in coconut eggy jam
Thin crisp bits of bread, buttered and hot.

Or half-boiled eggs basting brown wholemeal toast
With soya sauce and pepper, spotting the yolk
Teh halia heaving with froth is heaven I think
So I'll stop soon enough to ready my mug
Yew tiao too is tea-dipping worthy

I wouldn't want wanton mee right now
Nasi lemak's not nice - too gelak
Oyster omelette oozes oil and lard
All these add on an extra pound or two
So to the gym I go and gallop on the treadmill.

Poetry Exercise: Anapaestic Hexameters & Dactylic Pentameters with Spondees

Can't say the title sounds that appetising with all those technical terms in it. Nevertheless I plough on with one quatrain of anapaestic hexameters which for those of you who are interested means a di di dum beat and six of them in a line.

The exercise was to write a quatrain of such lines as directions to one's house. Since I'm not about to place a set of directions to my house online, I've written a set of directions which will hopefully take one from my office to the nearest Catholic Church.

At the end, Merah Saga, turn right at the lights. Again Right. Up the slope
To the T, a third right. Go on past all those flats. Filter left at the cross
Farrer Road. At the lights midway down go on left. Empress Road
Old Market so go past. No, it's not the white spire on your right. Instead look
Straight ahead and you'll see. There she stands: new St Ig's, looms above.

And the second half of writing metres was to write a quatrain of dactylic pentameter ending with spondees at the end of each line.

Stopping for a Cow crossing the road:

First one I saw as a child was on route up to Penang.
Still so she stood on the road. She was muddy, bedraggled
Queen though she strolled on across as her hooves did go clip clop
Forced so, we waited, ablare was our horn and we wooshed past.

The second exercise was slightly more enjoyable to write...clearly I like cows more than I like giving directions. Fortunately we take a pause from stressed syllable counting in the next exercise as we move to alliterative beats instead.

Poetry Exercise: Tetrameter, Trimeter

We take a break from the pentameter here. The exercise was to take the subject, television and write

(a) two quartrains of standard, eight syllable iambic tetrameter

A whirr of words and issues too
The PR crises fly. Control
The press, with truth, not lies, just spin
It lightly so. That's CJ's job.

The bargining, the compromise,
All part of cooking law, Thus Josh
And Sam and Leo too, all work
To get things through: the White House Corp

(b) two quatrains of alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter

A little town called Stars Hollow
Community abounds.
There's Luke, the grumpy diner man
And Taylor, grocer old

But most of all, the girls themselves:
The Gilmore daughter and mum
They're smart and sassy and their words
Do snap, crackle and pop

(c) Two quatrains of trochaic tetrameter: one in "pure trochee" (dum-di instead of di-dum) and one with docked weak endings in the second and fourth lines.


Dead man speak not through words.
Science clears the mist. Just blood
Spattered or paint scratched off can
Clue the team and cases crack

Murderers they find entrenched in
Crime. The lab reveals all that.
Intent still needs a human touch
Jigsaw the remaining facts



No prizes for guessing my favourite TV shows.

Pyrrhic and Trochaic Substitutions & Weak Endings

The next exercise involved writing in some pyrrhic substitutions, trochaic and weak endings to a basic iambic pentameter. Write 16 lines on any contemporary news items, so ordered Stephen Fry. It was, I found, a very difficult exercise.

The Jargon:

Pyrrhic substitutions: instead of the basic iamb di-dum, it's di-di
Trochaic: instead of di-dum, it's dum-di
Weak endings: at the end of the usual heroic (iambic pentameter line) add an unstressed syllable/word

Pyrrhic and Trochaic substitutions both score 5 points each while weak endings and emjambments score 2 points each. Points are deducted for poor style.

The results:

On the recent escape from the Whitley Detention Centre by Singapore's most wanted man and JI operative, Mas Selamat Kastari.

We seek him here. We seek him there. We seek
Him everywhere through undergrowth, through roads and
Sea. But selamat datang, mas. A ghost.

Enjambment: 4 pts
Weak ending: 2 pts
Trochaic substitutions: 5 pts
Deductions: 0

Total: 11

On the hustings in Malaysian elections:

The date's been set. The ruling Barisan
And opposition parties' race is on
"Vote!" they all cry, "It is your right you know."
But sad to say, democracy's a game
That's hard to win, in best of times. Even
A fool can win, though, of course one hopes not.

Pyrrhic substitions: 12.5
"Barisan"...I wasn't sure if this was a pyrrhic sub to be honest so I'll cut these points to half for that particular one. The other disputable one is at the end "hopes not".
Trochees: 5
Weak Endings:0
Enjambments: 4
Poor style: - 5

Total: 16

I really did have a problem deciding if some phrases were equally stressed or pyrrhic subsitutions. And I found my ear getting somewhat inaccurate after a while, rather like drinking too much wine to be able to taste it well. So if anyone disputes my scores, I would happily accept some independent criticism.

On the proposed means testing in Singapore hospitals to determine the level of subsidy for patients:

A sliding scale, a "Testing Mean", or is
It "Mean Testing"? Oops, I mean "Means". But not
The plural of "mean", I mean. A fairer means?

Trochees: 5
Pyrrhic Substitutions: 2.5 (again I'm having a problem as I think it's two words emphasied next to each other rather than a pyrrhic sub so I'm deducting half)
Enjambment: 4 pts
weak ending: 2 pts

Total: 13.5


On the recent move by the IIF to debate a banking code discourage short term risk taking at long term cost through restructuring compensation packages for bankers:

The Institute of International
Finance debates a banking code: to cut
Pay in the aftermath of subprime woe.
Can law subdue such unbridled greed so?

Pyrrhic Subs: 5
Trochees: 20
Enjambments: 4
Poor Style: -5

Total: 24

Grand total: 64.5

My total is a far cry from Stephen Fry's 106 and my pyrrhic subs aren't always actually pyrrhic subs. I wasn't that happy with the quality of the verse either but well, I guess that's why Stephen Fry's a celebrated writer and I'm not :).

Poetry Exercise: Enjambments & Caesuras

The next exercise for crafting poetry is to write run-on lines (otherwise known as enjambed lines) and write in some pauses (caesuras) on top of a basic iambic pentameter couplet. So I first wrote a set of five couplets in straight iambic pentameter with end stopped lines and a second set as a variation on the first with enjambments and caesuras. The subjects were given by Stephen Fry.

1. Precisely what you see and hear outside your window

end stopped:
I sit and hear a car and bike roll past.
I see a tree with leaves so green give shade.

enjambed:
A bike goes swish. A car roars past. But green
Remains the tree. In silence growing strong.

2. Precisely what you would like to eat right this minute.
NB: since I did this exercise right after lunch I wasn't hungry but wanted a nice drink so that's what I wrote about.

end stopped:
A cappucino would be nice to sip
Or cold green tea sans sucre oh so sweet

enjambed:
A frothy drink, all steaming hot, would suit
Me fine. Or else a tea, all icy green. Sweet.

3. Precisely what you last remember dreaming about:

end stopped:
I really don't remember what I dream
I fall asleep and wake and all is gone

enjambed:
The dark enfolds: I fall asleep. Enwrapped
am I till dawn. Then sunbeams wake: all dreams are gone.

4. Precisely what uncompleted chores are niggling at you:

end stopped:
My income tax forms call out to be filled.
And my computer desk so old discard.

enjambed:
More tax, more tax - more papers still remain
Unfilled. Computer desk so old it must go soon.

5. Precisely what you hate about your body

end stopped:
I wish I had a slimmer tum and arms
More hair but not upon my legs but head

enjambed:
Tight abs: not me! Nor toned, taut arms. Alas,
My hair: it falls but grows too slow. O me.

Poetry Exercise: Iambic Pentameter

I've been inspired by my cousin's example and Stephen Fry's book, "The Ode Less Travelled". From the moment I read the first line of the Forward, " I have a dark and dreadful secret. I write poetry." I was sold. I got myself a notebook and am now taking spare moments to put pen to paper and start practising the craft of poetry. It'll at the very least give me a greater attention to words and hopefully make me write more carefully even in everyday speech and writing. And it's also fun.

Here below are the results of the first exercise: a batch of iambic pentameter lines which are non-rhyming.

On an Aikido (Japanese Martial Art session):
I went and threw my uke so he fell
And hit the mat with an almighty bang

NB: an uke is one's partner and crash dummy in aikido as we practice in pairs co-operatively

On my cafe du chocolat from the Japanese bakery:
This choc-filled bun is wonderfully yum

On waiting by the phone:
I wait and wait: my mobile does not ring

On my new pair of dress trousers recently purchased from GG>5:
My trouser legs have seven buttons each
A show of leg and ankle they do line

On email missent:
In office land I stare at my computer screen
Aghast that I have sent an email wrong

On my dogs greeting visitors:
My dogs are runing up and down the stairs
Excited, barking: strangers they proclaim

On waiting for my prennially late friend:
I can't believe she's *always* late, and then
she goes and does it yet again. O hell.

On prayer:
I pray my prayers each morning, noon and night
Awaiting God, His Presence, Love and Grace

My prayer go forth, an arrow seeking light
From darkness bursting doubt and into faith

On work and frustration:
I try and try but nothing's going right
My boss's words of comfort scarcely heard

Birthday Celebrations

My parents, two aunts and my cousin and I recently repaired to the nearby Bintan Island, Indonesia, a short hour long ferry ride away from Singapore. We stayed in a lovely little villa part of a series of villas called Banyan Biru (after the large-ish pond which both my aunt and dad were at pains to point it was green rather than blue or "biru"). It was really a lovely birthday celebration for me and I'm very glad that so many people were actually able to make it and share these few days with me. So thank you to all of you who could make it.

I came back to a lovely surprise dinner party organised by my sister and my sister-in-law contributed lots of dishes too. It turned out to be lots and lots of scrummy food with my brother-in-law turning out a wonderful duck dish for which he made a great marmalade wine sauce. Yum!

All I can say is after 3 days of feasting and being pampered in a spa, I'm spoiled. Thank you to my dear family!

Conehead

Custard, my one year old dog, got neutered on Valentine's Day and has since had to wear a cone to prevent him from licking and potentially infecting his wound. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic about being left at the vet and I had to trick him to go into the consultation room, but he recovered quickly from this operation, much to my relief, and by the following morning, had returned to all his mischevious ways.

After a puzzled evening when he was still dopey and bumping everything because of his new dress, he has discovered how to do virtually all his usual tricks, upsetting the dustbin in the kitchen, sticking his nose out the gate at the hole just when one is about to stick in one's hand to open the gate, and generally figuring out how to eat and drink with his Elizabethean collar on.

My very macho little nephew, all of 7 years old, laughed and called him a girl dog for wearing a girl collar so they got a little education in Elizabethean male and female fashion.

I'll remove the collar on Friday morning assuming there's no further problem and no sign of infection. I figure a week is enough for things to have stabilised.

To Friendship

I have a very dear friend, who sends me flowers each valentine's day and I, her...it's a girls' tradition for us and while we have been physically separated much of our lives by entire continents and oceans, she of all my friends, is the one who understands me best, with whom I have carried on an unending correspondance and with whom I can always pick up as if there's been no gap whenever we see each other again. So to my beloved friend, thank you very much once again for a bunch of flowers that so aptly celebrates our friendship.

Here's to friendship.

Coconut & Lemongrass Ice Cream

Our domestic helper is a whizz in the kitchen. This weekend she decided to turn her hand to ice cream and after she figured out (from me) that the recipe's mention of an ice cream maker was unnecessary (as I told her the word "alternatively" meant she could still use the manual method), she turned out an intensely flavoured ice cream redolent of my childhood. The lemongrass gave it both a nice tanginess as well as a lemony aroma which was not too sharp and citrusy. I could taste the coconut but what surprised me was that the end taste was actually reminiscent of condensed milk: another childhood comfort flavour. It must be all that sugar and cream and maybe she used brown sugar or gula melaka?

The texture, for those who like their ice cream to be creamy and smooth, is not that great because it does need stirring every hour for the first 2-3 hours. Otherwise ice crystals form within. However my mother who grew up with homemade ice cream actually much prefers this nostalgic, icy, flaky texture so I guess in our home, that's the way it will continue to be made. However for those who didn't grow up in that era, but instead on the rich creaminess of American superfatted ice creams, you'll need a ice cream maker or be particularly diligent about repeatedly whipping it into shape.

Funky Blue Shoes

In a fit of frustration over someone at work, I went out and bought a new pair of funky blue shoes.

I don't usually do retail therapy but as this pair was a steal at S$20 and such an cheerful bright blue and white, they made me feel happy just looking at them.

It helped that I did need a new pair of casual blue shoes as my other pair was on its last legs.

Settling Down to Boardgames

Choo choooooo! And we're off! All four of us gals settled down to a train across Europe game, trying to outwit each other in playing a game which involved chope-ing (monopolising) train routes across Europe (see photo for our game in progress). Yours truly won but in a group of beginners it was purely by chance rather than strategy.

It was our first time at Settler's Cafe, a boardgame cafe in Singapore near Clarke Quay on a lazy Saturday afternoon when I was bored and I ended up rounding up a bunch of friends to try this out. It turned out to be a lot of fun and I liked the whole set up of a fairly plain and simple cafe, with game masters in attendance at the press of a bell to explain rules and otherwise take orders for snacks and drinks.

I went back again for their member's night which also turned out to be a lot of fun but I think that was partly because I had a ready friend there in my cousin who has been mad about boardgames ever since his teenage years. So integrating into the group was made easy for me. Definitely a good scene for anyone interested in boardgames.

Stretch and Ache

My tummy has been noticabely expanding and so I finally decided to stop being in denial and return to the gym. Aikido is great and I do not want to have to cut down on my thrice weekly practices but it simply doesn't keep me in shape enough.

So I signed up at Amore Fitness which is a gym just for women. It's not that I demand an exclusively female atmosphere but I was looking for a combination of convenience in terms of location and a selection of classes I would like to go to at the right time. Amore fitted that bill this time and offered a once a week package which is costing me S$70 a month for a year. It's expensive but I'm hoping that after a year I will be in decent shape and can go back to just aikido.

I was sold 20 minutes into the Belly Blitz class which is a class based on belly dance movements because I was having sooo much fun with it. I figure it's good for my sense of coordination and my belly but I noticed that it was not my abdomen that ached the next day but my shoulders. I've since tried another Belly Blitz class with my brand new hip scarf which shimmers and jingles along with the music but sadly I was a lot less coordinated that day so despite the adornment, I'm sure I looked more clumsy than sensuous. And this is one class I'm glad is being held in a women's only gym since I'd be a lot more self conscious if there were men around.

So I then decided I should experiment around with the other classes to see what else would suit me and tried out the pilates class yesterday. It was a slow moving workout concentrating on a lot of the smaller muscles which was interesting. I discovered that my lower abs are very weak and some of the muscles which help with my balance in my legs also need strengthening. But oddly enough my left shoulder is very free of tension which surprised me since I spend a lot of time on the computer...must be all those nikyo pins during aikido have stretched that joint out nicely. My right shoulder joint is also nice and loose but is slightly more tense than my left. It's actually very useful doing this class because now it gives me a better idea of what areas of the body I really need to work on and lower abs is really one thing I'd like to improve. Other than of course overall fat reduction and toning.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to try out the yoga class and the abs, hips and thighs session as well.

My Favourite Spot: the Hammock

My Favourite Spot: the Hammock
Originally uploaded by CatSienna

This for me symbolises Pangkil most: the long lazy afternoons spent dozing or reading in this enormous hammock which can fit easily 2-3 adults.

Private Island Bliss

I recently stayed again on pulau pangkil kecil at the kind invitation of a friend.

Pulau Pangkil Kecil is a tiny little island southeast of Bintan which I have been told, belongs to the Marden family of Wheelock Marden fame. Bought initially as a private family resort, it was developed by an American very successfully. It consists of 6 chalets each with their own bathrooms and even a treehouse, and another open treehouse area near the swimming pool.

As one rents the entire island at a time, privacy is guaranteed other than the little army of staff there to cook and clean and maintain the place. They have their own quarters and are remarkably discreet. Best of all, they're great cooks and I especially love their freshly baked bread every morning. I believe they have a baking machine. The bread tastes rather brioche like and is a buttery yellow in colour and very slightly sweet. One is fed to the gills while there with mid morning and tea time snacks and a fully stocked bar with bar snacks as well available all the time.

I was lucky enough to go there a few years ago and again very recently at the invitation of a friend who's family is in the shipping line and have business connections with one of the Marden companies. Hence I got in at a fraction of the cost. Normally it would cost approx S$700 per head for a weekend from Friday to Sun with all meals included.

Private islands are not all that expensive, contrary to popular belief . At least not in the Riau archipelago where the cost of buying an island is low. However developing it is expensive as getting the materials and labour over to the island can be costly.

Needless to say I enjoyed my time there hugely. The first time around it was a very small group staying there but the second time around, we were fully packed in so I ended up sleeping in the large chalet with the fabulously huge bathroom but sadly no enormous hammock beneath the chalet. The hammock is my favourite spot as it's so big it can take easily 2 adults at a time. And I arrived with two books and spent much time reading quietly in the shade of the chalet.

I also spent much time either in the beach or in the pool. The waters around are beautifully clear and there is even some coral that is still alive particularly near the area around the swimming pool. However swimming there without fins was a bit tricky as there was a moderate current and the rocks around there were sharp, so we rapidly retreated after excitedly pointing out to each other the more vivid colours of the corals and fish around that area. However I have to admit that if one really wants to see something more spectacular, it would be better to take the fishing boat out a little deeper and snorkel or dive from there. However for scaredy cats like me, I tend to stick very close in to shore.

433 Race Course Road

I spent some time in the last fortnight looking at shophouses in the Farrer Park area hoping to find one suitable for my office to purchase.

My trip took me down a road which turned out to be quite interesting as it had three Chinese temples on it, at least two of which were buddhist and one of which I suspect was taoist. The street also had a hotel, eating houses, and numerous pretty shophouses many of which had conservation status. Altogether a street with plenty of character and surprisingly enough reasonably quiet.

I was in two minds about whether or not I really wanted to have my office there but in the end, the decision was not mine to make so the decision was made for me. I cannot yet decide if I'm relieved or happy and I think in any case I would have been sad. Either sad because I would have to leave my current office which is very beautiful and perfect in many ways, in Holland Village, or sad that I wouldn't be able to have this shophouse to play around with and turn into a permanent beautiful little space for my work. As it turned out, the sadness was for the latter and now I'm waiting to see if my office will renew its lease on my current office.

Miss Potter

I did read Beatrix Potter as a very young child but somehow didn't remember it well and other reading crazes at older ages left a deeper memory. So when the film, "Miss Potter", came out last year, I didn't bestir myself to rush to view it. More recently however, my sister lent me her DVD copy and I found it actually inspiring as a tale of a woman who was greatly determined, and endowed with high imagination, intellect and artistic skill. She was a woman who despite the Victorian constraints on a well off family managed to become a botanist in fact if not in name.

I also only discovered through this movie that she was also a conservationist in the Lake District area in England. I must have seen the areas where she walked and owned property and I must have even rambled across some of the land she bought up as farms and subsequently gave to the National Trust in England.

She also married late in life and only after achieving independent income and wealth and then became a farmer and I was thinking for a woman of her class and in her day, she really transcended class and gender.

Hats off to a very creative and strong willed soul who has given us not just bunny tales, but a whole tract of land to walk upon, not to mention her botanical work. "Miss Potter" is a movie I'd highly recommend that all women in particular and people interested in the Lake District, England, the English countryside, conservation and of course Beatrix Potter tales in general would most likely find enjoyable.

Love at First Bloom

This tea is called love at first bloom and it unfolds at the hot water cascades down the boom. The petals and leaves unfurl and flutter in the water and form a flower tea that is delicate in flavour. I've seen this served in Singapore in a restaurant at Raffles City basement as well, but of course couldn't resist ordering it with it's intensely romantic name in this Lock Cha Teashop in Hong Kong Park, Hong Kong. It did not disappoint but of course nothing beats the first time around.

Lock Cha Tea Shop, Hong Kong

Lock Cha Teashop is a traditional teahouse in the Teaware museum in Hong Kong. Near the Admiralty Area, the Teaware Museum consists of two main buildings which form Flagstaff House. It is set in the middle of a small but beautiful park and so forms the perfect environment for a teahouse.

The food served there is tim sum largely made by a monks in a buddhist monastary and is therefore vegetarian. We ordered a few dishes in slight trepidation thinking that monk's fare may be a trifle bland. But no, compared to the dish of pork dumplings which was made by the staff of the restaurant, the monastary made dishes were exquisitely blended in flavour and with delicate skins. Far superior in taste and texture to many other dim sum dishes I've eaten elsewhere.

Sadly I only remembered I should take pictures after eating half of the food with my friend, so rather than presenting you with half eaten timsum, here's a scene from the teashop. It remains a perfect place for a tranquil cup of tea and friendship. We were sorely tempted to come back on Sunday afternoon as there was a performance but did not make it. However it will be on the top of my list when I come back to Hong Kong.

Time to Smell the Flowers

I don't spend nearly enough time in the garden but when I do, it invariably imparts a sense of peace, quiet growth and contentment. As a zen proverb has it: Spring comes, and the grass grows all by itself. Sometimes it is indeed much better to simply sit back and let things unfold whether this is at work, or at play.

After allowing much of the stress of work and living in crowded little red dot of a city, I began to feel like a hamster trapped in an overcrowded burrow. So I am now making time to let the garden grow into my soul, letting its gentle peace seep in naturally simply by sitting amidst the plants.

So the picture you see above shows two of the profusion of halia flowers or ginger flowers which have been unexpectedly flourishing for a period in my parent's garden, tended lovingly by our Indonesian maid. I chose these in particular for the first entry on the garden for being especially large, spectacular and tropical. Hopefully they will continue to periodically flourish for many years to come.

Copywriting

A friend's friend recently asked me if I'd like to write some pitches for a production house. The topics were interesting as they're in the lifestyle area so I said yes and promptly churned out two pieces, one of which I'm genuinely proud of and the other more pedestrian. It was fun writing and hopefully I'll get paid for it which will make it worthwhile. If this takes off no doubt this blog will hear more of this anon but sadly none of the details can be disclosed for business reasons.

Growing Up

My doggie's growing up. The little tyke who weighed only 6 kg a month ago is now a whopping 12 kg and getting close to my other dog's height. As he's now had his third and last round of puppy vaccinations, I've now started to take him out on walks around the neighbourhood so he can begin to get to know a world wider than the house and garden.

Food for the Soul

On the Feast of Corpus Christi, my favourite priest wrote this in the local church bulletin which a friend of mine asked me for a copy of so here it is for all who wish to read it:

"Today I celebrate the awesome reality of my Christianity. I put aside self-deluding notions rampant today, that life is about me bringing about my own self-achieved fulfilment; that my Christianity is good works alone without faith; that life is what takes place in the market place and has little or no need of Sunday rest and celebration; that I am what I decide and I decide my own nobility. But along comes Christ with a very different version of reality. I am one with him in startling intimacy when I partake of His body and blood. Likewise am I one with my neighbour since the one divine life courses through my veins. "Take and eat."

What am I nourishing? My own very life, which in the eucharist, is injected with and permeated by the life of the God who created me. "Bread" abounds in the Eucharist as an effective symbol that has not lost its significance over the centuries. "Blood" is an even more frequent word in the scriptures - in which is signified the commitment and fidelity of God in my life and my own commitment to the life given me.

That my faith finds its fruit in service to my world and neighbour cannot be denied. But what service can supplant the experience of the Lord's Day celebrated in the presence of God at the most intense, in oneness with my neighbour with whom I have a redeemed world. On Monday I will return to a life of contribution which will owe its validity to all that was given me in yesterday's Eucharist.

Sacraments are, together with prayer, the most powerful means of appreciating and living my true self. Perhaps the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ needs more prayer for me to realise what it has to offer. "

Tan's Taiwanese Beef Noodles

While we're on the subject of beef (cf my last post), particularly stewed beef, I have another little rave in a very different category of restaurant: the Tan's homemade beef noodle stall in the Holland Drive Market place hawker centre.

Mr Tan is a personable chap who uses a 60 year old family recipe from his Taiwanese mother-in-law to stew beef to the point of melting tenderness. No MSG and no pork is used to flavour so the result is a wonderful broth and tender thin slices of shin beef, cooked for what must be hours in a pressure cooker. It's flavoured also with his special blend of chilli and chilli oil, fragrant and unlike the usual sambal type flavours or cut chilli normally favoured by Singaporeans.

The noodles too are a treat being smooth and silky in texture with enough "bite" to their texture to create that "la mien" type experience but less glutinous. They come with an optional side dish of piquant pickles (mainly turnip and speckles of carrot) to offset the depth of the meaty broth.

I down the whole meal with a glass of pineapple juice from my favourite juice seller across from the beef noodle stall whenever I'm there who invariably serves me promptly with a smile. Somehow it seems so far away from the far more commercially charged atmosphere of Holland Village just 10 mins away but a world away in terms of pricing and sophistication. Holland Drive market is still where you got good food for very good prices and real people unhurried by the pace of a more urban lifestyle.

For opening hours please refer to his website www.tansbeefnoodle.com

Quentins

I was recently treated to dinner by my aunt at a lovely little romantic place called Quentins in Katong near the junction of Telok Kurau Road and East Coast Road (note to early bird readers: I've corrected the location as a reader very helpfully pointed out my directions would lead you sadly astray). It's a unique little place because it serves Eurasian cuisine which in Singapore means it's a mix of British cooking with an Eastern flavour using many local ingredients, such as green chilli sambal prawns, and a bunch of rather more local dishes such as Chilli Kang Kong.

The dish I had that night that really stood out was the Beef Smore. The meat had a strong distinct and complex flavour which was delicious. It would be loved by meat lovers in general and those who like stews. The gravy was wonderfully flavoured and went nicely with the white rice.

What also charmed me about the place was that it was done up with nice touches such as old black and white photographs from the 1950s and 1960s of scenes typical of Eurasian life: a Eurasian wedding with the couple in the classic pose of the era; a shot of a bunch of altar boys in church preparing the incense burner; another picture of scenes of Katong of the time. It created a small window into the past that would definitely appeal to all the Eurasians and anyone who'd grown up in Katong in a slightly earlier time.

The rest of the restaurant had attentive little touches: darker wood furniture coupled with candles on the table and good linen and service staff who were helpful and unobstrusive. All in all a good dining experience which I would recommend as a mid-priced restaurant with food that you would only otherwise get if you were asked to dinner in a traditional Eurasian family.

How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

My newest bundle of joy is before you: Custard, named for the colour he is, is my family's latest adoptee from Action for Singapore Dogs Society.

ASD, a rescue society which I very happily support, have found a very good match for us: a cream coloured puppy with a confident but not overbearing disposition and which reminds me of my late, and most beloved, Scottie. And yet is individual enough so that I don't think of him as a reincarnation. Plus Custard has proven himself admirably suited to the children in the family as he has patiently endured the many little hands petting it without complaint and even with apparent enjoyment. Indeed so enchanted are my young nephews with this latest addition to the family that they have been claiming rights over feeding the little tyke breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm hoping their enthusiasm will last to when the little tyke is a big tyke and needs lots of walks with energetic young boys.

And for the how much I paid for the doggie, I actually don't pay for the dog so much as cover the costs of the vet plus earlier costs which the rescue society has incurred towards housing, fostering and otherwise caring for it while looking for a permanent home for it. I'd certainly encourage prospective dog owners to seriously consider adopting a dog rather than going to a petshop and buying one, and would particularly recommend working with ASD since they've proven themselves a very well run volunteer organisation.

Life Demands to be Lived

I came across this piece in the weekly bulletin of Novena church written by Fr Paul Kee. I found it very uplifting and just what I needed. So here I reproduce it in part.

"The human spirit refuses to be bowed. Life goes on, and hope springs eternal. Something inside us refuses to be defeated. Despite the aches and migraines of life, the sorrows (or glorious agony), the denial of accepting responsibility, feeling sorry for ourselves, living with past hurts or grieving over the death of a loved one, from years past, people come back from needless suffering and rejoice again. Life demands to be lived. On this subject of life and how to live it, Jesus had something to say. He tells us nto to be afraid, not to let fear rule our lives. Psychologists tell us that fear can not only cause psychosomatic illnesses like ulcers and headaches but also lead us to deep depression beyond our control.

Most of all we are reminded that in God's eyes, each of us is special, "unforgettable". Like the flower, "the forget-me-not", so are we to God. The world might see us as unforgettable, anonymous, dispensable even, but God does not. So let us live in the joy of that knowledge, in the richness of that faith, and teach others to do the same. Energy spent being with others is much better than constantly pointing fingers blaming and complaining and moaning about what might have been or could be better..."

Wedding Guest Shoes

Nothing like new shoes for a gal: again, I found a great buy at Charles & Keith when I was passing and in despearate need of a pair of dressy white heels for a posh wedding. My previous pair had long since expired and were duly retired.

I found this pair to be elegant and charming and on sale at an extremely reasonable price plus they went with my peach organza convered 3/4 length dress and I felt utterly chic and beautiful tottering around in them. It was all I needed to finish my outfit and give me confidence walking around the garden and tent filled with very illustrious guests in one of the large landed properties, yes, large enough to fit in an enormous wedding tent to hold all the wedding guests.

The finish to the dress and shoes was the borrowed silk evening bag from my sister and the champagne flute (filled of course with bubbly) which I wafted around with.

The best deal about the wedding was the desert cart which contained a selection of tiny, bite sized deserts, along with a glass vase full of peanut m&ms. Sadly the very attractive wedding cake composed of a very tall pyramid of multi-coloured profitioroles was not served as part of the desert. Instead, guests were comforted by having little Chinese black and red traditional bamboo carriers to carry away three types of wedding cake: kueh lapis, sugee cake and fruit cake.

One presumes the pile of profitioroles hid the real cakes?

QQ Rice

I adore food in tidy packages and have always been a big fan of sushi and dumplings. QQ Rice struck me as the taiwanese version of Subway sandwich bars. So instead of choosing a type of bread, one chooses the rice: purple, red, brown, ice lake wild rice or brown with wheatgerm sprinkled on it. Red is evidently very popular because it's been out of stock for a while.

Then choose the fillings and you get a generous 5 choices out of what looks like about 40 different choices of meat, fish, mock meat, and veg and fruit. The servers spread out the rice on the palm of their glove encased hand, then pile on your choice of filling then roll it all into an elongated fat roll of rice then steam it so that it all sticks together.

The result: a tidy little plastic wrapped package of rice with your choice of fillings. Talk about a meal in your hand. I can't resist buying two each time I'm around that area and once even bought three. They are extremely filling so actually I should only really be eating one for a meal. If I eat two, I end up being full for both lunch and dinner.

I still prefer sushi but this is a very nice alternative. QQ! fortunately so far the appellation does not refer to the process of getting one's food although if they get any more popular, it will as the process of ordering is not particularly speedy.

Aikido Shodan Grading

I graded for shodan in aikido today. It was like being at a big party much to my surprise. I'd been deliberately not psyching myself into it as if I had spent any time thinking about it at all, I'd have an attack of nerves so I had figured my best tactic was to forget about it as much as possible. Since it had been a busy week workwise, that was easy enough.

For the non-aikidoka among you, getting shodan is the equivalent of getting a blackbelt. It signifies that I've learnt all the foundation techniques and the real journey of learning now begins. Our sensei (teacher) always says the kyu grades (all the grades before shodan) are when one is a baby, and now you begin to walk (at shodan). I think it's very true. It's also for us to remember that learning is a journey and when we're in the process of learning a large body of techniques it can be easy to forget that the real importance of it lies in being able to use it well not just know it.

The fun bit about the grading was really watching my seniors grade. It turned out there was the largest number ever of senior dan grades (all grades shodan and above are dan grades). So there were the usual multiple attacks with weapons which are a joy to watch. The spectacular, and funny, bits all occur during these gradings because it becomes glaringly obvious when someone leaves themselves wide open to attack or not. The was a girl who's very good with strong clean wide technique who was otherwise performing superbly but she kept forgetting to disarm the attacker armed with a wooden knife. She'd very efficiently take him down and then leave the wooden dagger lying in his hand while taking on the second attacker. It was only in round 3 that it occured to her that hey, maybe I should take the knife away so after flattening the guy, so she had to go back and get it out of his hand while he lay on the ground. Which of course made her mistake all the more obvious. But at least she remembered while grading and not after.

I as usual forgot one technique. There's always at least one technique that I forget and this time it was yokomenkaitenage which is a throw that looks like a windmill from an attack to the side of the neck. I ended up having to glance over at my fellow testees to see how they did it before I could figure it out. Fortunately, this isn't regarded as cheating but as common sense during a grading.

Being able to grade with some of the top 1st kyu (grade just before shodan) chaps in my dojo is also why I chose to grade this time around. I just graded last round so I really should have waited till the next round another 4-6 months when I'd have been further along the learning curve and been able to handle the test with ease rather than struggling through. But when I realised what good company I'd have on the mat, I went for it. And sure enough, it was definitely the right crowd to be a part of, not just my own grading but also because after me, the largest ever crowd of senior dan grades graded. That took a lot of stress out of my own grading since it meant that my uke (attacker) wasn't changed halfway through and naturally he got tired during the 45 min long test. And that I had someone to copy from, and that the chief instructor's attention was diverted to the later gradings and that the rest of the 8 person panel almost to a man all had to come down and hit the mat so I'm sure they were more charitable with the marks :).

So as always, gambatte! train on! It's the daily day to day practice that is the ultimately the main thing and is the part I love most, not these highlights.

Pink Martini

I've been drinking pink martinis or really I should say I've been metaphorically drinking in Pink Martini, the group. They've produced two excellent albums a few years back, which a friend of mine gave me for Christmas. I've been listening to them while filing financial documents (yawn), researching the latest company I am doing due diligence on and it helps give a mellow mood to my afternoon with the latin precussion. However the band is definitely more than latin band...it starts out sounding latin then morphs into swing and then one of my favourite pieces, The Gardens of Sampson & Beasley. Later in the album they turn to even more stark but still very melodic pieces with just voice and violin or cello singing charming French pieces such as autrefois and the hauntingly beautiful U Plavu Zoru.

My favourite pieces are the smaller intimate ones where the singer, China Forbes, and just one or two accompanying instruments weave an intimate simpler melody as if she is singing to just me. The title of the second album, Hang On Little Tomato, is an apt title but the tune remarkably happy for a song which starts in a sadder mood.

Reading the notes, I realised one of the albums was recorded in Portland, Oregon in a place called the Kung Fu Bakery. then I noticed the picture on the end of the insert booklet was that of a happy retriever lying on its stomach, with tongue lolling out, over a magazine. Quirky little touches that speak to whimsical me. At any rate, the albums have won me over and for any of you who might be interested in listening to some samples, their website is www.pinkmartini.com

Christmas Cheer

I love Christmas. During the 12 days of Christmas, we as a family have usually gone a-visiting our slightly more distant relatives. This year, as one of the further flung ones came back from Australia, that particular family opened its doors for lunch. This was a special treat indeed for many reasons. First among these is of course the people: being a typical bunch of Singapore Eurasians, the banter flew, warm and friendly and filled with humour covering the entire gathering with a warm glow.

Second among these was the venue: this family lives in a beautiful little one storey house, with a little verandah and with an extremely well kept garden. From my childhood I remember it being immaculately kept and that still remains. They have added an amazing little bunch of finches of various hues in a small aviary on the side of the house. The finches clearly find it a hospitable home as they're breeding. The house also has an old dog and a little aquarium. That's not to mention all the varieties of flowers and plants around the house. I cannot imagine how much time must go into getting the place to thrive so with life and yet remain so tidy.

The house has remained as an extremely well kept icon of a past era when life was a little slower and there was more space, literally...no huge built up houses or apartment blocks. And it's a house so it never imposes on its guest but rather welcomes them into its very tropical open doors and windows. A house built before airconditioning so it blends well into the surrounding garden. So the many guests whiled away the afternoon spilled out of the house, sitting on the lawn, spread across the verendah, trading stories to catch up and create that warmth so characteristic of the Eurasian community in Singapore.

The third reason is of course the food: the food was delectable always but the star of the show was one of the desserts. This very special cake is what I used to look forward too all year when I went to visit as a child. This household specialises in a cake that is both difficult to make and rare. I've never seen it baked anywhere else but in this house and it was done to perfection by the mistress of the house, who since passing on, very fortunately did pass on the secrets to her daughter. Sweet, brown, large grained, nutty and rose scented, it is suitably named: lovecake. It remains a culinary challenge to me to make one. I tried many years ago, over two christmases but mine turned out with a stodgy layer on the bottom and no fluffy large grains emerged. So alas the secret remains hidden from me. Nevertheless I was glad to hear the family has decided to those hankering for it, they will gladly bake on demand at the cost of $50 per kg which for a cake of its uniqueness is a price worth paying.

We took our leave reluctantly late in the afternoon, filled with the warmth of families and long lost friends reuniting, sprinkled with the outrageous Eurasian fencing humour and our bodies filled with lovecake...my dear dad ate 4 slices.

Advent

Christmas is coming! The sense of expectancy in the air is there and I now wait like a child for christmas. I've been helping with the household preperations and of course one of my favourites is putting up the advent wreath and the tree. This year sadly because of the renovations ongoing in my house, we have no room for the rather delicate crib (might get broken if out) and will not be able to hold our usual large hearty christmas party.

Nevertheless, I'm in a very holiday mood and have been getting my christmas shopping done. I will also need to do my christmas confession, never the pleasantest of exercises, but nevertheless which leaves my soul feeling squeaky clean. And then there are my christmas cards to write, late as usual, but well, christmas does last 12 days, so many people forget this...so you see, I'm really not late...

Anyway, to all readers, may you have a very blessed advent season!

Little Old Japanese Sensei

Tamura Sensei came along to our dojo to conduct a seminar. Tamura sensei is a slightly built, 5'5" 70+ year old aikido shihan (very senior teacher) who's 8th dan (8th grade black belt). He has enormous power despite his size and it's one of the big reasons why I picked aikido as a martial art, that there were all these little old Japanese guys able to floor guys less than half their age and twice their size. Tamura Sensei is one of those little old Japanese senseis who can do that. He was sent out to France many years ago to start aikido in France and much to his credit, aikido is now flourishing in France.

I spent much of my time during the seminar trying to figure out his techniques which were slightly different variations from the ones usually taught. Naturally the easier he made a technique look, the harder it was in practice. He came with a small contingent from France and visitors appeared from Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and Thailand, such is his fame and pull in the aikido world.

I am still waiting for the photographs of the seminar to turn out and will post at least one on this spot. However for those of you who might be curious as to what aikido might look like, do visit www.ueshibaaikido.org which is the website of the dojo I normally practice at.

Bellini Room, St James Power Station

The Bellini Room is a jazz bar at the newly opened St James's Power Station at Sentosa Gateway. I went there with a few friends last night who wanted to go karoke and despite my not particularly liking that activity, figured it was worth checking out St James' Power Station and I'm glad I did.

The highlight for me was the resident jazz band and singer, the Bellini Room Band. A 7 piece band of mainly local jazz artists, it's led by a very strong music director, keyboardist and singer. The two older musicians, the drummer and the trumpeter both wear these fedora hats adding to the mood. The saxophonists are much younger and do excellent technical renditions. The singer that night was what really made the band stand out much more: a young Aussie jazz singer called Dylan Foster originally from The Flying Pickets in London.

I somehow really liked this guy's performance. It helped that he was cute and could engage the audience with ease by doing the occasional stroll amongst them to get a little audience participation. He really does as he says: put the soul back into swing. Best at the more soulful jazz numbers, he excelled at the more urban pieces as well as the latin jazz ones. He then unfortunately did a Michael Buble number at the request of one of the members of the audience in the exact same style of Michael Buble. While it was a very good imitation, its a bit sad that he felt he should imitate Michael Buble and I hope in time that he will do less of that and more of his own style which has enough individuality to make him stand out.

He then switched to some rock and roll numbers but despite his ability to belt them out, his personality so did not go with them so I hope he sticks with what he does best: soulful swing and latin jazz. And I hope he sticks around. There aren't any other singers like him on the Singapore scene that I know but I figure he's good enough and young and ambitious enough that he'll move on to better pastures soon.

Zaru Soba

In quest for a healthier lunch now that the healthfood store next door to my office has doubled its salad prices, I have decided to try cooking a little at lunchtime. Nothing major ie boiling soba noodles for zaru soba which I love.

I managed to find chasoba noodles at the Holland Village Cold Storage which come prepackaged into little serving sized bundles. I also managed to find tsuya which is the soy based dipping sauce for noodles and a tube of wasabi. I stuck religiously to buying only Japanese brands with ingredient labels in Japanese, and the odd sticker of English translations as to my dismay, any Korean or chinese or even some Singaporean brands have been adulterated to local tastes.

Chasoba is made from buckwheat and green tea so maybe it'll even help me stay awake after lunch instead of falling into a postlunch stupor. Soba is also rich in fibre and selenium and vitamin B...apparently it is the noodle of choice of health conscious Tokoyites.

I boiled this together with some Chinese watercress and rinsed it. And discovered that one rinse with tap water is insufficient to remove all the starchiness. I have a wonderful bottle of australian made organic brown rice miso which I added a tiny teaspoon of to the mixture as well as of course the dipping sauce and gobbled it all up in 5 minutes.

Taste-wise, I need to either go really pure and eat proper zaru soba or convert it into hiyashi noodles, as there's something missing or which doesn't quite gel although overall it's not bad. Hiyashi noodles however is usually made with ramen, though in the interests of experimentation, I can always try a soba version. Overall, I think what's missing is a bit of protien for both taste and nutrients so next time I should try some cold tofu dish topped with bonita flakes in some soy sauce or add slices of omelette and ham.

These however are strictly for alone eating. I don't think it's the sort of thing I'd inflict on anyone else other than myself for a quick working lunch.

Aikido Grading

Grading for aikido ranks is generally a very helpful affair although it's still tense. I arrived just as the white belts were starting out but didn't really watch them as I was distracted with talking to my friend who was grading for her 2nd kyu (black belt). It's always nice to have a friend to go through these milestones with. It's also we had a pact that we would uke (attacker partner) for each other which was possible since we were grading one after the other.

Turned out fine on the whole. I uked (partnered) for my friend as her first uke. I think I ended up making 2 mistakes as uke but corrected them immediately and fortunately these didn't unnerve her. I have to say my friend was quite composed, far more than I was when I was doing my grading at her level.

When it was my turn, I had three very nice guys be my ukes one after the other after sensei (instructor) made my friend step down as uke as she had just completed her grading. Usually at this level the gradings are longer, so ukes tire out and sensei changes them. The last guy I had was a very nice shodan (dan grades are the grades beyond black belt) and he was great as he's got beautiful ukemi (partnering techniques). We ended with tanto (wooden dagger) techniques which were a surprise...shows you how much I've been paying attention at gradings! I should have realised there were going to be these techniques.

The funny thing is now I actually like the freestyle (respond how you want to an attack) section best which is the bit I used to be the most wary of. It's partly that I'm less nervous than the last time, and partly that I know I can't forget a technique since I'm allowed to employ any aikido technique that I know. Whereas now there are so many more techniques that I can be tested on, I could easily forget some of them on the spot.

And of course the best thing about it all is that it's over and generally while I don't think I did that well technically, I'm unlikely to fail. So I'm pretty happy.

Confessions of an Aikido-holic

I'm an aikido-holic. I practice aikido 3 times a week, two hours at a time. When I can't practice you may notice I begin to display symptoms of restlessness, inattention to whatever is at hand unless aikido-related, a predilection to thinking in terms of blending and movement and in extreme cases, a dashing off in the direction of the dojo.

Tomorrow is when I grade for what they call first kyu which is the last stage of learning the basic movements in aikido. Everyone sits in this very large glass walled hall, where the parents, friends, supporters can sit outside and watch. But in the hall itself, it's generally quiet and discipline that rules. They call the white belts up first and then it proceeds up the ladder of seniority. People grade in groups before a large grading panel of sometimes up to about 8 examiners. I'm always hoping that I won't have to be lined up right under the noses of the examiners. Then they call out for ukes or attackers to partner the candidates and off it starts.

I'm grading at intermediate level so it means I sit on the mat for an awfully long time before I get called....that's bad for me because I get increasingly tense and the adrenaline starts flowing but has no where to go. By the time I get up there, I'm so pumped and jumpy I tend to forget movements. not good. But after it's over, everyone is all smiles and saying what they did right or wrong, and since in the time I've been there no one has ever failed, usually everyone is happy although the formal results don't come out for a month.

So wish me luck!

Ribboned Courts

What a woman wants: comfy fun shoes to wear on sundays or working days that don't scream work or sensibility but are still a hoot to wear and won't give me blisters after a 20 minute walk.

Found: fun pair of shoes which however did not quite pass the blister test of a 20 minute walk from buona vista MRT station to my office in Holland Village. Too bad...but I'm still hoping to break them in.

At any rate, these shoes were discovered at a sale at one of my one-time favourite shoe stores called Pretty Fit and since they only cost just under S$30 I figured they were a good buy even if they didn't pass the blister test. Needless to say, I did try to then buy some cushioning for the edges of the back of the shoe but the supermarket only had those little edge things in black. Alas, clearly supermarket stockers (undoubtedly male) have no clue that girls' shoes come in many colours other than black. What's a girl to do??

Musica Antiqua Koln

Me, various members of my extended family had to privilege of attending Musica Antiqua Koln's concert in Singapore at Victoria Concert Hall last Thursday evening. It turned out to be a superb performance of baroque period music by a quintet of 2 violins, 1 cello, 1 double bass and a harpsichord. The harpsichord was what I liked best because it is rarely heard in performance in Singapore. As a little aside, my friend who was from the organising team that brought them into Singapore, has the task of transporting this harpsichord up to Macau for the concert there this Sunday.

I have to confess, that I have a very narrow band of classical music that I like and will listen to, and an even narrower band of tolerance for live performances. I do not have a particularly sensitive ear for classical music. And I was never a very good music students particularly at composing. While doing music exams, the part I I knew I had no clue at was composing a few small bars...I would simply put notes together almost at random and hope that my music teacher would declare it music. Fortunately for me, most of the other parts of the exam were very analytical so I could get past those as a swot.

The one great classical composer that I do understand to some degree however, is JS Bach. For some reason I react to him as I do to virtually no other composer and I am very particular about intepretations of his works as a result. To me, his music has an undertone which is always there of the joy of creation. It is for me a deeply catholic work, written by a man who understood the deep stability of creation being held lovingly in God's hand. I hear it most clearly in his smaller pieces...pieces that were written not as large orchestral pieces but small groups or even just the one player. I hear it in his brandenbery concertos, in the inventions, in the concertos etc. I think it is because I tend to like smaller groups of people in general. I love Glenn Gould and yes, I can hear him humming in some of the recordings.

The musica antiqua koln's performance was technically superb as I would have expected. And I predictably reacted best to the Bach pieces. Nevertheless, I think in order for me to fully appreciate their intepretations of Bach, I might have to listen to some of their recordings. Somehow I find I'm a lot more sensitive to recorded music. Perhaps it is simply because I need more time to decide whether or not a piece will really grow on me or not. But yes, Bach has been with me since childhood listenings of Walter (now Wendy)Carlos on the Moog synthesizer on a vinyl LP. I have listened to that umpteen times and it was with regret that i realise that the new recordings on the supposedly improved moog synthesizer do not somehow have the same emotional depth of intepretation despite the new sounds.

Reactions from my family to it varied: for some, like my 7 year old nephew it was their first time ever hearing a chamber group live. Worth at least that experience and I actually rather suspect he has probably a better sensitivity to music than I do since although he looked like he slept through the second half, he came out with some intelligent comments on it the day after.

To those who are interested, this is the link to Antiqua Musica Koln's site
http://www.musica-antiqua-koeln.de/

Alice in Wonderland a la Dali

Don't dilly - dali is what I imagine dali would have said to alice in wonderland...this is his portrait of Alice. I liked the face: it was composed of leaves. It made somehow the whole thing so much more tactile. It was also just very whimsical which is my favourite kind of art. Also not really typical Dali.

One half of the Two Cows

The Catholic variant of the two cows was to have a cow and a calf reminescient of the mother and child images. But yes, to all ye doubters, there really really was a cow present at the St Francis day celebrations at St Mary's and here's the picture to prove it. The cow was set up with its little calf at a milking station and brought into the piazza for the blessing of the animals. It sure smelled of the country there!

Poor cow was a bit stressed by the time I got to see it though but it was a nice touch. And I sure hope the kids finally know that milk comes from cows as opposed to packages in the supermarket.

I have to say it's really nice to have the animals welcomed once a year in this very urban society called Singapore. We have become so very detached a lot of the time from nature with many mothers teaching their children to be afraid of animals in general so that the next generation will be completely unable to talk to the animals.

Transitus of St Francis

In honour of the Feast of St Francis on 3 October, the local franciscan community at St Mary of the Angels blessed all creatures great and small in the piazza of the church. This is the resident franciscan beagle and his franciscan friar.

Unicorn Falls

In Love. This is the Dali statue that stands before guess where: the UOB plaza. The innocent virgin and the piercing of love at the basement of a bank. Was the irony lost on the sponsors?