It's Reunion Dinner time or "Tuan nian jie" was last Sunday evening and this year we had it at my younger brother's home. These were some of the dishes for the steamboat. The kids loved the cheese tofu while the adults prefered the mushrooms and fishballs. My mother's family from Malaysia came down and we all had a good time catching up.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
A Slice of Pannettone
I got into baking mode late in 2008 due to my little thumb injury. However once I got going, I did get a bit adventurous and decided it was worth trying to bake bread again.
As you can see from the picture above, I baked the Italian festive bread: a pannettone. I baked it old fashioned style ie without the commercial high fluted pannettone moulds that give it its characteristic shape and incredible lightness. Since I lacked that mould, I simply used whatever came to hand in my kitchen which is pretty much how your average Italian housewife would have done it before the advent of that famous mould and the commercially baked ones.
The result: a flatter, slightly more dense bread but still a great texture and taste with the little orange peel bits and zest. I also ran out of lemons so no lemon zest but being it still worked very well with orange substitute. It does take a while as most breads do with 2 risings but is otherwise reasonably easy to make and very rewarding to eat. The rapidity with which the two pannetones disappeared was clear testament to its tastiness.
As you can see from the picture above, I baked the Italian festive bread: a pannettone. I baked it old fashioned style ie without the commercial high fluted pannettone moulds that give it its characteristic shape and incredible lightness. Since I lacked that mould, I simply used whatever came to hand in my kitchen which is pretty much how your average Italian housewife would have done it before the advent of that famous mould and the commercially baked ones.
The result: a flatter, slightly more dense bread but still a great texture and taste with the little orange peel bits and zest. I also ran out of lemons so no lemon zest but being it still worked very well with orange substitute. It does take a while as most breads do with 2 risings but is otherwise reasonably easy to make and very rewarding to eat. The rapidity with which the two pannetones disappeared was clear testament to its tastiness.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
A New Year Begins
I managed to get up and out of the house for 7.30am new year's day mass and then went to the gym for a Body Pump class. It felt good. It was also the first day this week I wasn't feeling quite as flu-ish since I came down with a cold at the start of the week.
My resolution has been to pay more attention to my faith life particularly by nurturing my prayer life both through personal prayer time and community prayer ie the mass mainly or some bible sharing sessions but let's see what else comes along. There's always the Rempang project which i've volunteered to go on with my two friends.
And my other resolution was to start going to the gym again to attend Body Pump and Pilates and yoga classes. It's been a good four to five years since I went to a Body Pump class so it took a while for my muscle memory to kick in and I remembered all the old moves, the clean and press etc. It felt very good to have completed the class and I've had lots more energy the rest of today. Now to keep it up for the rest of the year!
My resolution has been to pay more attention to my faith life particularly by nurturing my prayer life both through personal prayer time and community prayer ie the mass mainly or some bible sharing sessions but let's see what else comes along. There's always the Rempang project which i've volunteered to go on with my two friends.
And my other resolution was to start going to the gym again to attend Body Pump and Pilates and yoga classes. It's been a good four to five years since I went to a Body Pump class so it took a while for my muscle memory to kick in and I remembered all the old moves, the clean and press etc. It felt very good to have completed the class and I've had lots more energy the rest of today. Now to keep it up for the rest of the year!
Monday, December 08, 2008
Advent: a Time of Waiting
It's been a while since I wrote. I hurt my thumb four weeks ago and while I could still type as a 9 finger typist, somehow having only one opposable thumb and being a bit of a hypochondriac about it made me slow down a lot of activities in general.
It did make me think though that sometimes it's better just to wait and this is the season of Advent after all. A time of waiting and preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
It's been a good year in some ways but also I have been impatient in the recent few months for things to happen and it always seems to take forever. So like with my thumb, even though there are little signs of improvement and growth and the new pink skin growing underneath and the old skin on top flaking off, I'm still impatient. However I know only too well that trying to pick at the scab or trying to exercise it too vigorously at this stage can only set the healing process back and create more scarring. So sometimes it really is better to do nothing and let nature take its course.
But it's forced me to reflect more about how necessary it is to be sensitive and wait sometimes. Not to intervene or to intervene only very precisely and accurately, almost like a surgeon going in, only to fix that one little thing that's wrong and not do any harm otherwise. Otherwise sometimes the cure can be worse than the disease. Again my thumb has areas of slight numbness and I can't help wondering if it's the internal scar tissue and inflammation that's causing it or was it the injection that harmed the nerve a little. Who knows, but it's so very important to just not do any harm by being as precise and as sensitive as possible when dealing with practically everything in our lives but most especially living things, human beings and relationships whether these are at work, at home or just general dealings with people i don't know so well.
So it was very comforting to me, in this time where I can be frustrated with waiting, to read a passage from a book I have and it quoted Psalm 4:1,3, heading it with the title: "God answers your call" and it went
"Answer me when I call, O God of my right! you gave me room when I was in distress....The Lord hears when I call to Him."
And the reflection was, to Trust that God will provide. I quote, "Have you ever turned a problem over to God, only to take it right back? Maybe you didn't really believe God could help. Maybe you got tired of waiting for a response (God's answers don't always come on our schedule). Whatever the reason, the end result is the same - more stress, right back on your shoulders!
Next time you turn over a problem, really turn it over. Trust God to take care of it. You'll be glad you did. "
It's so important i think sometimes to listen to people, to listen to nature, to hear what is being said in any situation and to give ample room for that intuitive understanding to grow, so that in life we can react more precisely and humanely to people, to do as little harm as possible, and to help as much as we can. And to wait upon each other as Christ did for us.
(excerpted from WWJD series title To Rise Above Stress, by Daniel D Grippo)
It did make me think though that sometimes it's better just to wait and this is the season of Advent after all. A time of waiting and preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas.
It's been a good year in some ways but also I have been impatient in the recent few months for things to happen and it always seems to take forever. So like with my thumb, even though there are little signs of improvement and growth and the new pink skin growing underneath and the old skin on top flaking off, I'm still impatient. However I know only too well that trying to pick at the scab or trying to exercise it too vigorously at this stage can only set the healing process back and create more scarring. So sometimes it really is better to do nothing and let nature take its course.
But it's forced me to reflect more about how necessary it is to be sensitive and wait sometimes. Not to intervene or to intervene only very precisely and accurately, almost like a surgeon going in, only to fix that one little thing that's wrong and not do any harm otherwise. Otherwise sometimes the cure can be worse than the disease. Again my thumb has areas of slight numbness and I can't help wondering if it's the internal scar tissue and inflammation that's causing it or was it the injection that harmed the nerve a little. Who knows, but it's so very important to just not do any harm by being as precise and as sensitive as possible when dealing with practically everything in our lives but most especially living things, human beings and relationships whether these are at work, at home or just general dealings with people i don't know so well.
So it was very comforting to me, in this time where I can be frustrated with waiting, to read a passage from a book I have and it quoted Psalm 4:1,3, heading it with the title: "God answers your call" and it went
"Answer me when I call, O God of my right! you gave me room when I was in distress....The Lord hears when I call to Him."
And the reflection was, to Trust that God will provide. I quote, "Have you ever turned a problem over to God, only to take it right back? Maybe you didn't really believe God could help. Maybe you got tired of waiting for a response (God's answers don't always come on our schedule). Whatever the reason, the end result is the same - more stress, right back on your shoulders!
Next time you turn over a problem, really turn it over. Trust God to take care of it. You'll be glad you did. "
It's so important i think sometimes to listen to people, to listen to nature, to hear what is being said in any situation and to give ample room for that intuitive understanding to grow, so that in life we can react more precisely and humanely to people, to do as little harm as possible, and to help as much as we can. And to wait upon each other as Christ did for us.
(excerpted from WWJD series title To Rise Above Stress, by Daniel D Grippo)
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Aikido Grading
We recently had a grading in my Aikido Club. As I wasn't grading I decided to steal a shot of the grading in progress. This is a shot of the white belts doing their very first grading. The grading panel is to the right of the picture. It consisted of four men this time around of the senior level dan grades and the chief instructor. It's often tense for the ones being graded especially at the junior levels as it's never easy being scrutinsed.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
The Forest Walk
I took a stroll along the Forest Walk, the elevated section of the Southern Ridges trail from Alexandra Road to the Mount Faber walk today across the Henderson Waves. It turned out to be a very good walk indeed. The Forest Walk for those of you who have not been on it is an elevated walk at a height about 2 storeys off the ground on a metal walkway. It's on a gentle incline with a mesh walkway and is really a bridge built firmly into the ground which takes one at a level where the views of the trees are great. I went with a couple of friends and my two dogs in tow. It was a bit crowded as it was a public holiday at least on the way up.
The Henderson Waves bit is made of wood and curves up on one side and on the otherside of the wide wide walkway, are great views all the way to the sea. The kids I saw there had discovered that it was possible to slide themselves up a quarter way up the "wave" bit that curved up and then let go and slide down quickly. Trust the kids to discover a slide where none was meant.
For anyone who would like a walk and take a different view of the forest, it's a walk well worth doing. I really liked coming down at that incline and jogged practically all the way down as the footing was great even with my dog enthusiastically pulling me along.
The Henderson Waves bit is made of wood and curves up on one side and on the otherside of the wide wide walkway, are great views all the way to the sea. The kids I saw there had discovered that it was possible to slide themselves up a quarter way up the "wave" bit that curved up and then let go and slide down quickly. Trust the kids to discover a slide where none was meant.
For anyone who would like a walk and take a different view of the forest, it's a walk well worth doing. I really liked coming down at that incline and jogged practically all the way down as the footing was great even with my dog enthusiastically pulling me along.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
xi yan
Xi Yan epitomises for me modern Chinese cuisine. Subtle and innovative ways of combining flavours and creating new tastes. And at an affordable price for the non private dining option. Superb. the quality of food and service has certainly been upheld since the last time i dined in Hong Kong more than 13 months ago.
I'm waiting for Xi Yan Singapore to open other than their private dining option. It's fast becoming a must-go dining place for me in Hong Kong. I'll see if they're able to raise mid-priced dining in Singapore to the same culinary heights they did in Hong Kong.
I'm also very happy to see in Hong Kong a very wide range of mid priced Chinese restaurants from their private dining kitchens to normal restaurants and cafes. I think in general the restaurants here somehow don't have the same range. Maybe it's simply a function of the size of the market? I do however like to think it's the demanding Cantonese customer in Hong Kong that keeps the standards high.
What I also like is that people there value their own cuisine so highly that these restaurants can survive. Chinese food is most definitely not a cliche there as i suspect sometimes it becomes in Singapore where it's a lot more staid and tried and tested. And i don't even think of myself as a foodie.
I'm waiting for Xi Yan Singapore to open other than their private dining option. It's fast becoming a must-go dining place for me in Hong Kong. I'll see if they're able to raise mid-priced dining in Singapore to the same culinary heights they did in Hong Kong.
I'm also very happy to see in Hong Kong a very wide range of mid priced Chinese restaurants from their private dining kitchens to normal restaurants and cafes. I think in general the restaurants here somehow don't have the same range. Maybe it's simply a function of the size of the market? I do however like to think it's the demanding Cantonese customer in Hong Kong that keeps the standards high.
What I also like is that people there value their own cuisine so highly that these restaurants can survive. Chinese food is most definitely not a cliche there as i suspect sometimes it becomes in Singapore where it's a lot more staid and tried and tested. And i don't even think of myself as a foodie.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Are You Wearing (Under) Pants?
I was carrying my 3 year old nephew out the door the other day while his daddy was putting on his shoes and was surprised to hear my nephew go, "Aunty xxx, are you wearing pants?" Glancing down at my shorts, I figured he didn't mean those and from the slightly embarrassed chortle that came from my brother-in-law I figured the little tyke was actually asking me if I was wearing underwear.
I responded, "You're lucky you're only 3 years old" so my brother in law explained he was trying to train his little boy into wearing underpants which my nephew was none too keen on. So our discussion continued down the driveway on the merits of wearing underwear.
Priceless moments of parenthood....in this case, aunthood.
I responded, "You're lucky you're only 3 years old" so my brother in law explained he was trying to train his little boy into wearing underpants which my nephew was none too keen on. So our discussion continued down the driveway on the merits of wearing underwear.
Priceless moments of parenthood....in this case, aunthood.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Pilates
I feel like I've been getting distinctly flabby over the past year and putting on inches and weight as well. So I really do need to start more muscle building exercise as my favourite form of exercise, aikido, may be great for many other things but it's definitely not a good way to lose weight. That plus since I've just been having a lot of problems with my left knee so I need an exercise regime where I'm in a lot of control over what I do.
So I finally braved a pilates class at Amore again where I'm a member. I have discovered that I like the instructor at the Heartland Mall branch a lot more as he's more patient with beginners like me and will actually adapt the positions/movements etc so that people like me with weak core muscles can still derive some benefit and actually do something as opposed to flopping like a fish out of water.
He was distinctly more encouraging this time as well compared to the last time telling the class at the end that those who are just starting out need to be patient with themselves and the class since it takes a while to build the strength in the core.
Looks like over the next few months I'm going to be a bit more regular and try and make it to pilates once a week. My Saturday yoga class is already part of my regular schedule so now I have to step things up on Sunday.
So I finally braved a pilates class at Amore again where I'm a member. I have discovered that I like the instructor at the Heartland Mall branch a lot more as he's more patient with beginners like me and will actually adapt the positions/movements etc so that people like me with weak core muscles can still derive some benefit and actually do something as opposed to flopping like a fish out of water.
He was distinctly more encouraging this time as well compared to the last time telling the class at the end that those who are just starting out need to be patient with themselves and the class since it takes a while to build the strength in the core.
Looks like over the next few months I'm going to be a bit more regular and try and make it to pilates once a week. My Saturday yoga class is already part of my regular schedule so now I have to step things up on Sunday.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Counter Cultural
I bumped into an old friend at Fr Keane's 50th Jubilee Mass at St Ignatius the other day. And it turned out to be wonderful catching up with her and her husband and four children. Her "socialist" tendencies means that despite her oxford education in law and her husband's being a specialist doctor, they lead a life sans maid, in a HDB apartment in an old estate (albeit newer block) and essentially keep it simple. They live well within their means and she's cheerful and happy as are her husband and children.
They don't preach (at me at any rate) or complain and they said they turned down an offer of a house from her parents because it would mean scaling up their existance to a level which they could not afford ie the house would require a maid and an additional car at the least.
Maybe part of it is sheer rebellion at a life of pretension and status of her parents lifestyle but having seen her through her university days and watched first hand how she interacted with the prisoners in Oxford prison as part of a group of Catholic students helping a priest say mass there, and watched her do other things like go help out with Mother Theresa in the Rome community, etc etc, I'm fairly convinced this is not a youthful rebellion she has yet to grow out of, but a deep seated detachment from material things.
I'm in awe really and greatly heartened. I don't think I could have done the same in her shoes and I'm not necessarily advocating this as a way to live for any of us who have choices otherwise, but I'm awfully glad that she's there as a shining example of how it's possible to not get hung up with the 5Cs and to brush off society's expectations of how it is they should live. Truly some of us really do cut our own paths in this world and she and her husband are doing just that.
They don't preach (at me at any rate) or complain and they said they turned down an offer of a house from her parents because it would mean scaling up their existance to a level which they could not afford ie the house would require a maid and an additional car at the least.
Maybe part of it is sheer rebellion at a life of pretension and status of her parents lifestyle but having seen her through her university days and watched first hand how she interacted with the prisoners in Oxford prison as part of a group of Catholic students helping a priest say mass there, and watched her do other things like go help out with Mother Theresa in the Rome community, etc etc, I'm fairly convinced this is not a youthful rebellion she has yet to grow out of, but a deep seated detachment from material things.
I'm in awe really and greatly heartened. I don't think I could have done the same in her shoes and I'm not necessarily advocating this as a way to live for any of us who have choices otherwise, but I'm awfully glad that she's there as a shining example of how it's possible to not get hung up with the 5Cs and to brush off society's expectations of how it is they should live. Truly some of us really do cut our own paths in this world and she and her husband are doing just that.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Poetry Exercies: Heroic Verse
Here I am, sleepy headed on late Sunday morning after having had wine and barbequed feast the night before. However, I'm determined to try and keep up some semblence of pace on this poetry writing.
So here is the next exercise Stephen Fry set. The instructions were to write in heroic verse ie iambic pentameter rhymed couplets. A contemporary monologue of a guy stoned off his head and trying to explain away a packet of cannabis found in his possession.
Trying to write this while being sleepy and tired gives me some sense of what it must be like to try and string logical thoughts together while in a semi-stupor.
To all you non-Singaporeans/Malaysians out there, this is written in Singlish: the bastardised version of English as she is spoke in my beloved country.
Explaining Away A Packet of Cannabis:
Aiyah! sir ah, this one how can mine one?
I *tole* you al-rea-ddy someone put it in for fun
Like joke like that - into my bag. I know
I know: you don't believe, ah, but it's so.
So suay. My friend, he run away. Lagi
Now worse for me. Aiyah, you search prop'ly
Neh mind neh mind. U don't believe? Is true
You say it's what? kah-na-bis? I no clue
This word I say also cannot. Ear-lier
When he give me, he say curry powder!
Needless to say i'm sure the cops didn't believe his story.
Suay: unlucky
So here is the next exercise Stephen Fry set. The instructions were to write in heroic verse ie iambic pentameter rhymed couplets. A contemporary monologue of a guy stoned off his head and trying to explain away a packet of cannabis found in his possession.
Trying to write this while being sleepy and tired gives me some sense of what it must be like to try and string logical thoughts together while in a semi-stupor.
To all you non-Singaporeans/Malaysians out there, this is written in Singlish: the bastardised version of English as she is spoke in my beloved country.
Explaining Away A Packet of Cannabis:
Aiyah! sir ah, this one how can mine one?
I *tole* you al-rea-ddy someone put it in for fun
Like joke like that - into my bag. I know
I know: you don't believe, ah, but it's so.
So suay. My friend, he run away. Lagi
Now worse for me. Aiyah, you search prop'ly
Neh mind neh mind. U don't believe? Is true
You say it's what? kah-na-bis? I no clue
This word I say also cannot. Ear-lier
When he give me, he say curry powder!
Needless to say i'm sure the cops didn't believe his story.
Suay: unlucky
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Poetry Exercise: the Ballad
I do not like writing ballads. It's a bit like liking country and western music. Maybe I can like a tune or two and it is catchy to hum or sing along. But writing it is a different story. I find it really hard to be that exaggerated with my emotions or that sentimental. However in the name of doing Stephen Fry's exercise poetry exercise number 12, I did at least write a couple of stanzas so I can say I did it.
Now gather round and let me tell
The tale of Danny Wise
And how his sweet wife Annabelle
Did suck out both his eyes
And if I tell the story true
And if I tell it clear
There's not a mortal one of you
Won't shriek in mortal fear
Sweet Annabelle and Dany Wise
Did love each other so
But late one night he heard some cries
And ran to her too slow
By then the vampire bit her neck
And though he chased it far away
His wife was white and sick
Next moon, she turned. And well, the rest is history
Now gather round and let me tell
The tale of Danny Wise
And how his sweet wife Annabelle
Did suck out both his eyes
And if I tell the story true
And if I tell it clear
There's not a mortal one of you
Won't shriek in mortal fear
Sweet Annabelle and Dany Wise
Did love each other so
But late one night he heard some cries
And ran to her too slow
By then the vampire bit her neck
And though he chased it far away
His wife was white and sick
Next moon, she turned. And well, the rest is history
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Kungfu Panda - Go Watch!
Today I decided despite the busy-ness of work, to take time out to watch Kungfu Panda with my aikido mates. It was a good choice. Huge amount of fun and I was laughing out loud throughout much of the movie. Po, the main character, is of the bumbling hero lineage and one of the funniest scenes is when he is trying to get into the training grounds where everyone has gone to watch the martial arts display before the next Dragon Warrier is chosen.
What i really liked were the fight scenes which are so reminiscent of the kungfu movies and the magical way in which the martial artists often do the gravity defying huge leaps and bounds. I always find that only in animation does this ever seem real to me. Flesh and blood would represent too much reality. I'm too much of a realist to be able to suspend belief for real flesh and blood actors but am quite happy to suspend normal laws of gravity and live in my imagination with animated movies. The animation world can almost perfectly represent for me the platonic ideal plausibly.
I won't say too much more as I don't want to spoil the show for anyone who watches it but I have to say it's the best movie I've seen in this genre for a long long time. It's great for any age.
Oh and I totally identify with Po's "I eat when I'm stressed" line :).
What i really liked were the fight scenes which are so reminiscent of the kungfu movies and the magical way in which the martial artists often do the gravity defying huge leaps and bounds. I always find that only in animation does this ever seem real to me. Flesh and blood would represent too much reality. I'm too much of a realist to be able to suspend belief for real flesh and blood actors but am quite happy to suspend normal laws of gravity and live in my imagination with animated movies. The animation world can almost perfectly represent for me the platonic ideal plausibly.
I won't say too much more as I don't want to spoil the show for anyone who watches it but I have to say it's the best movie I've seen in this genre for a long long time. It's great for any age.
Oh and I totally identify with Po's "I eat when I'm stressed" line :).
Friday, June 20, 2008
Akan Datang
Sorry to the regular readers of this blog as its been a while since I posted. i've been overwhelmed by work, my brother's family visiting, a short holiday, and nursing one of my doggies (who had to have stiches so mainly i had to make sure she didn't chew them off). Just a notice to say i'll be back blogging in about a week and that I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Poetry Exercise: Spenserian Stanza
The last of the open forms: the Spenserian Stanza is a 9 line stanza of which the first 8 lines are iambic pentameter and the last line an alexandrine ie iambic hexameter. The rhyme scheme is ababbcbcc.
This form of verse the poet Spenser took.
Immortalised "The Faerie Queen" he did.
From then the form took life and shook
Our senses in "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"
"St Agnes Eve" - the cold crept in, it slid
By Keat's genius the fluttering owl's wing
Enshrined this form forever: iamb feet
Lord Tennyson, his "Lotos-Eaters" sing
Same tune and ends too with the alexandrine.
*Finally* I've completed Exercise 11 in Stephen Fry's book, "The Ode Less Travelled". It's been a long stretch of just composing self-referential poems describing these open forms.
This form of verse the poet Spenser took.
Immortalised "The Faerie Queen" he did.
From then the form took life and shook
Our senses in "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"
"St Agnes Eve" - the cold crept in, it slid
By Keat's genius the fluttering owl's wing
Enshrined this form forever: iamb feet
Lord Tennyson, his "Lotos-Eaters" sing
Same tune and ends too with the alexandrine.
*Finally* I've completed Exercise 11 in Stephen Fry's book, "The Ode Less Travelled". It's been a long stretch of just composing self-referential poems describing these open forms.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Poetry Exercise: Ottava Rima
Here's the next self-referential open form poem. One of the poetry exercises set by Stephen Fry.
The ottava rima as its name suggests
Was borrowed from Italian epic form
Too use in jest as with Lord Byron's epics
Best: Don Juan - the romantic satire long.
Later though, its mocking roots it left
And so his "Among School Children" was born
WB Yeats' philosophical anguish at ending years
End in perfect square of words that sear.
The rhyme scheme is abababcc. For those of you who saw the earlier draft, please erase the thought. I made horrendous mistakes in that rhyme scheme. As you can see I'm getting a bit too careless!
The ottava rima as its name suggests
Was borrowed from Italian epic form
Too use in jest as with Lord Byron's epics
Best: Don Juan - the romantic satire long.
Later though, its mocking roots it left
And so his "Among School Children" was born
WB Yeats' philosophical anguish at ending years
End in perfect square of words that sear.
The rhyme scheme is abababcc. For those of you who saw the earlier draft, please erase the thought. I made horrendous mistakes in that rhyme scheme. As you can see I'm getting a bit too careless!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Bishan Dog Run Outing
Lookeee the doggeee in the yellooww booties!
I finally made it to the Bishan dog run with my dogs in tow last Vesak Day. I say "finally" because the last two times I tried, the carpark was chocablock and I wasn't able to get a parking lot despite waiting around a bit. Had the usual good chats with fellow dog lovers, met a gorgeous, gentle German Shephard, rescued at the 11th hour from being put down at the SPCA by his new adoptee owners. Also saw the cutsy dog above just as I was leaving and couldn't resist taking a snap.
And as always this sense of peace from being amidst the greenery slowly seeped in as I ran with my dogs and hung around in the dog run. Life always seems a lot easier to face after being out in this park, more settled, more in perspective. It's like recharging the soul.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Best Little Japanese Restaurant
Warning it's expensive enough that I'd only recommend it on a corporate expense account...having said that, it's superb and if you like Japanese food, go!
Shiraishi is a tiny restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton, Singapore, with barely enough seating space at the tables for 10 people and a little counter that sits maybe another 10. So even though we went late, it was still crowded. The service was good and they had held our table though we were slightly late and had shifted us from the counter to the table at our request.
The crockery is lovely and so is the menu. With typical Japanese attention to detail, each piece of porcelain/pottery was designed to match the food served. I especially liked the watercolour paintings on the menu which was made from handmade Japanese paper so has this rough textured finish to it.
What we had: a sampling of sashimi then we ordered a couple more dishes such as sea urchin, salt baked fish head, summer vegetables and desert. All were exquisitely laid out and tasted very fine.
My favourites though were the seasonal vegetables and the sea urchin. The vegetables each came a little carved and artistically arranged into a medly of colours and tastes. The sea urchin was so fresh and soft and full of flavour I think it beat even the one I had in Japan many years ago at a very expensive Japanese corporate dinner. The salt baked fish head turned out to be the cheek rather than the whole head. 
What I was also very impressed by was that all the wasabi and other condiments were obviously made from scratch. The sushi leaves were imported from Japan and tasted amazing. I could have just gone there for the freshly grated wasabi alone.
We didn't eat a lot and our bill ended up at over S$200. She'd decided since we were both so very full still from our buffet dinner the night before (me) and her indian lunch (her) we could only take nibbles for dinner. Hence a good time to try out an expensive sushi restaurant. Overall, I'd say despite the price, if you treasure good sushi, this is the place to go to, after saving up of course and not going ravenous.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Poetry Exercise: Rhyme Royal
This classic English poem from old
Has iamb feet in pentameter lines
From Chaucer's time till present day it's mould
Not changed. But now its language modern is fine.
To not update it would be a shame, a crime.
With refurbished words, a new lease of life is given
The form can live again in modern times.
Has iamb feet in pentameter lines
From Chaucer's time till present day it's mould
Not changed. But now its language modern is fine.
To not update it would be a shame, a crime.
With refurbished words, a new lease of life is given
The form can live again in modern times.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Aikido Bag
My aikido sensei gave me a bag! I was quite taken by surprise and it was actually very nice of him to do so. I think it's meant to be a sign of appreciation for helping out here and there with classes ie showing up regularly, helping with mats, adminstrative work on Fridays etc. Still, I don't really do that much actual work so it's kinda nice of him to do that.
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