shopping queen reinstated

as he held open the door for me, he asked: so what are you going to do for the rest of the afternoon?

i looked at my good-looking oncologist and beamed. having just been declared healthy, i had reason to feel as if i was walking on clouds.

shopping?

he smiled. i smiled even wider.

that was how i went back to the warm embrace of orchard road on tuesday and realised how much i have missed this safe haven of mine. for the longest time (well, since the US trip), i have valiantly ignored its repeated plaintive calls.

 orchard road said: come home to mama and i did just that. and more.

i went back again today.

i could give excuses and say i really have things to buy, accessories to match my cheongsums for both the anniversary celebrations but i really don't need to.

shopping is just so, so therapeutic, so calming, so su.

i walked, i tried on stuff, i cajoled, i preened, and finally, having seen something i liked, i told the lady: i would think about it over lunch.

royal copenhagen tea lounge must be the worst kept secret in takashimaya. located in an obscure corner on the second floor, the regulars, esp the japanese ladies, love to catch up over its set lunches and high tea sets. 

it overlooks orchard road and it's really a lovely place to rest tired feet and clear cluttered minds that cannot decide whether to buy this or that.

it's a little english in its setting yet quite european in its food selection. 

i opted for the 3 course set lunch.

their "appe-teaser" changes everyday. they had baby octopus today. they were juicy and went well with the sliced olives and cherry tomatoes.

there was a choice of pasta with beef salami, jumbo chicken sausage and a trio of open sandwiches for the entree. 

i chose the healthiest of the three.

there's tuna mayo with diced crunchy capsicums, a refreshing change from my usual green apples.

then there's the shrimps. and there's the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs.

very yummy.

yes, i know. i am not a coffee person, not because i don't like coffee. more like coffee doesn't like me. (it gives me palpitations)

but today, the smell in that small tea lounge was just heavenly. so i caved in.

with lotsa milk and sugar, it went so well with the dessert which was some passionfruit cake and icecream.

but being the good girl i am, i took only half a cup.

( no, no palpitations)

good food and ambience put me in an even better mood to continue my shopping. and when you are in your element, suitable merchandise just keep appearing before your eyes ^0^

suffice to say i have bought all that i need and at pretty good discounts too. 

other HAIRIER  issues:

both the girls have new hair cuts.

 

one now has bangs and looks like a 12 year old korean gal.

that was yesterday and today, she claims she's "subconsciously not happy" cos she misses her exposed forehead.

on the other end, xru's shorter than short haircut.

sassy, eh?

btw, the guy in the background is dean. 

all three of us put our hair in his hands.

black pigs can fly

another idyllic morning. sun not fully out, air was fresh and the birds were a-calling.

hot earl grey tea, chicken mayo sandwich (actually leftover bread from sat's dinner) and the daily papers.

ahh, contentment......

esp if you include last night's dinner.

have always been partial to kurobuta aka black pig pork.

given a choice between a wagyu steak and kurobuta steak, i actually will be torn. i love the tenderness and sweetness of the pork. besides, it has little or no 'porky' smell which can be off-putting.

anyway, we were at tampopo at liang court.

it's well known for its kurobuta shabu shabu and kyushu shabu ramen. unfortunately, the latter was unavailable last night :(

you don't say. the black pig has english roots, apparently.

ahahahaha, when i saw this, i had to take a  shot cos it's so ironical. i suppose they wanted to stress (no pun intended) the reason for the meat's " juiciness, flavour and tenderness".

but look where the unstressed pig ended up.

this was the mini kurobuta shabu shabu set. value for money as they were generous with the pork slices.

no kyushu ramen so had to settle for the second best noodles. tampopo flies the noodles in all the way from the land of the rising sun. 

this was hokkaido ramen and it was damn good. notice the blob of butter at the bottom left corner. that plus the superior pork broth which apparently is boiled for days, and the al dente noodles make it a bowl of ramen to die for.

fried salmon skin. very crunchy, very addictive. 

very niiiice.

we also ordered a plate of stir fried bean sprouts with liver but it was a disaster. a lot of taugeh with a few miserable pieces of unevenly cut hard-as-rubber liver. 

as usual, ice cold beer to bring up that satisfied burp. *

oktoberfest.not

it's been a while since we dined out on the deck.

there have been a few rainy sat nights lately. and we have been eating out on too many good sat nights.

last night we took out the table and the candles and the chairs from the shed and ate in the poor light  '-)

poor light + lousy photography skills = above

i  could try to pass it off as artistic licence, as my attempt to capture the ambience of the dinner but even i am unconvinced. *wink*

i have always enjoyed sausages with ice cold beer, once in a while.

dunno if it's got anything to do with oktoberfest but i had this craving for sausages yesterday afternoon.

since i have been trying to reduce the amount of processed foods in our diet, the best i could do to cut down nitrites which are in abundance in cooked sausages was to buy uncooked ones.

the listed ingredients:

pork, salt, phosphate, lactate, spices, antioxidant (???)

sounds a little fishy if you ask me. besides, the american pork and italian spicy sausages and the german bratwurst all had the same list of ingredients.

however, since we don't eat this everyday, once in a while won't hurt.

i also had a salad made up of greens, apples, cherry tomatoes and cashew nuts tossed in a homemade dressing of mayo, wholegrain mustard and lemon juice.

for carbs, there's homemade bread and smashed new potatoes baked with olive oil and mixed herbs.

but of course, there's ice cold corona beer :)

initiation

that's it.

i have arrived at auntie-dom.

that was my thought this morning as i stood and watched this lovely sunrise at the east coast park, waiting for the rest of the ladies to turn up for our first exercise class by the beach.

you know, you see those groupies of geriatrics exercising tai-chi, qi-gong and what-not in the mornings? by the sea, in the park, the botanics and you tell yourself, no, no, no, it's really not for me. 

it's for the middle-aged, the has-beens, the not-so-cool aunties and uncles.

after all, you are the gym-rat, the new age pilates sort who cavort in nike dri-fit ensembles and sip isotonic drinks.

but as you watch that lone sweeper going about his work so serenely, so methodically, you tell yourself: hey, it's not so bad. if breathing in fresh air and getting my qi to flow once a week means more sea and sun, i really don't mind.

after all, who am i kidding? an auntie oredi, just donwannaadmitit.

{a little diversion: have been addressed as xiao jie, da jie and auntie by salespersons, esp those at the wet markets. no prizes for guessing who gets my business :)

but one cheeky fella who sells veg who thinks he knows how the minds of aunties work takes it a little too far: he addresses everyone as xiao mei mei.

every female, mind you. 

until one day, i heard this very annoyed, wrinkly granny hiss at him: blind ah? no big no small

haha......}

it all started yesterday before pilates class. PH was saying that the type of exercise she has been doing, which originated from hong kong, works up a sweat for her. she demonstrated a few moves -hey, easy-peasy we all said - and one by one, we agreed to try it out.

turns out that most of us are east-coasters so that's convenient.

anyway, how did the session go?

'nuff to say we were inspired to want to meet again next week at the same time and place.

so that's it. my membership into auntie-dom is sealed :)

you would have thought that would be enough sun for me, this puteri lilin, for the day, no?

once every few months, nora and i get into this fierce gardening upheaval where pots are moved around and plants re-potted.

this morning was another such day.

the dragon pot in the middle has a leak so the thalia had to go into the new blue pot in the background. 

the heaving and the yanking were not as bad as the digging of our hands into the muddy and smelly roots of the plants. 

boy, was the plant heavy.

finally, the thalia in its new home.

viva spontaneity!

it was the asahi superdry beer that did it.  ^0^

our fave japanese beer completed our wonderful dinner of ramen, braised pork belly and gyoza.

uhmm, oishiii

we were at marutama ramen at The Central last night. the queues are no longer there though the turnover was high during the 20mins we took to ravish our meal.

true to its reputation, the ramen was gooood. the noodles were very springy, very 'Q' yet not too fine. its broth was not of pork bones base as we tend to associate ramen with but of chicken bones. that's what makes it different and so popular, i guess.

well, oz and i are loyalists - we prefer the thick, white pork-based broth so while we gave two thumbs up for the ramen, we can't say the same abt the broth.  

as i said, the asahi completed the meal and as it made me a little flushed and happy as i always am after good food and beer, i suddenly had this idea of a walk down by the esplanade just as the car made its way round raffles place.

so it was  how we ended up here.

admiring the skyline again, without the F1 crowd. 

across the river, we can see the construction of the IR (integrated resort) where one of the two casinos will be. even at this unfinished stage, it looks pretty at night. you could say i am biased, i don't care.

well, the walk was pleasant. but what took the cake was that we had walked right into the fringe performances of the ongoing dan:s festival 2008.

the outdoor theatre was a sight to behold. situated on the river bank, it looks out into the night skyline.

we stood around watching the cambodian theatre group putting up its version of the ramayana.

later, as we made our way out, we came across the central asian dance performances at the forecourt.

we caught the tail end of a chinese dance by a pair of dancers from xinjiang. it was followed by a mongolian dancer later (above).

as we walked to the carpark, happy with the unexpected turn of events, i told myself i must stop being a control freak,

and make more room for spontaneity :)

interview

the daffodil is a symbol of hope adopted by the singapore cancer soc. also by the canadian cancer soc. 

it hopes for a cancer-free future.

on thurs, i had a call from cindy of the cancer soc, asking if i would agree to an interview by the new paper. 

they wanted cancer survivors' views on whether celebrities' purpose of coming forward with their cancer was altruistic or for personal gains.

don't worry, no name, no photo, just your views.

if that's the case, why not a phone interview, i asked.

since the reporter wanted to interview a group of cancer survivors at the cancer soc office, i was afraid i might end up being more of a hindrance and an embarrassment than anything else. after all, i can't trust my tear glands which have a life of their own.

so, i had my first interview with a real newspaper reporter-over the phone.

no, it wasn't daunting. no, i didn't cry. though i could have.  from frustration.

 honestly, i wasn't impressed. 

you would have thought that a reporter would have his questions ready and all, whether it's a face-to-face or phone interview.

but this fellow, he hemmed and hawed so much i almost wondered aloud if he knew what he was doing.

and his questions, obviously not given any previous thoughts, were painfully convoluted. 

or repetitive.

it's as if he didn't know how to zero in on the topic. 

in the end, i must have said something he thought he could use cos he asked if he could use my name to quote me.

i said ok.

back to my views on the topic: 

to me, any form of publicity, whether from celebs or layman, serves as a form of public education about cancer.

society needs to know that contracting cancer is not a death sentence, and that the earlier they seek treatment, the better.

such publicity also heightens the need for regular checks and self-examination.

and if these celebs were actually pushing for self-publicity, well, good for them if it works. i don't care.

for me, it's the bigger picture that counts. 

actually made this wish on mothers' day this year.

wei bought me three balloons and asked me to write down three wishes. 

balloons were later released.

not environmentally friendly at all, i am afraid.

quickie zippy brekkie

PANCAKES for breakfast this morning :)

every school morning, i basically have 30 minutes to whip up breakfast for all. 

no, nora does her stuff like mopping the floor and dusting the furniture while i get the first meal of the day.

and i enjoy the challenge of coming up with something different every morning. that requires some planning the night before as i do not have that much time. 

this morning was pancakes.

i do not use pre-mixes as i want to cut down on preservatives and artificial flavouring. wherever possible, i try to minimise all these unnecessary additives. 

besides, i found this recipe on the internet a couple of years ago and have  found it to be idiot-proof. 

batter consists of 150g self-raising flour with a  pinch of salt.  two eggs are whisked in.

add enough milk to get the correct consistency.( should drip off back of ladle)

threw in sliced bananas for fibre :)

in between flipping pancakes, i also used the soy milk machine to make soy bean milk. definitely fresh and no preservatives cos it's only soaked soy beans and water.

30 mins later, banana pancakes with butter and maple syrup, and fresh soy bean milk.

*a wholesome breakfast cooked with love*

driving companion

meet this thingamajig-with-no-name.

it's another of xru's creations and it now sits next to me in my car.

we have tried naming it, xru and i  but we couldn't agree.

xru says peace cos it looks peaceful. i say punch cos it looks as pleased as punch.

so it's just it.

isn't it the cutest thing?

relaxing as we cruise along

in repose

and standing tall ^0^

it's when you have niggling fears about certain issues that you look to small meaningful things to focus on.

maybe i shall name it ohmmm...........

in the name of cancer research....

woke up early this morning for a good cause.

it's run for hope 2008, formerly known as the terry fox run.

all donations will be channelled to cancer research. the family has been doing this since 2006. and will continue to support it for as long as we can.

xru skipped it this year becos of her exams prep so mom came along.

like-minded people who sacrificed a sunday sleep-in for a warm-up leading up to the start of either the 10km or 4km run.

we opted for the 4km.

met C there, as well as a few other familiar faces.

it was a little humid but a lovely morning, nonetheless.

after it was over, we went for a prata breakfast. with teh halia, it can't get any better ^0^

knowing that i might not have enough time or energy to cook lunch today, i prepared a beef stew yesterday. stuck it in the fridge and warmed it up today.

served with spaghetti noodles.

fave restaurant

last night, we went back to the family's fave restaurant.

it's called sangkokushi at riverside walk, robertson quay. it's a small corner shop, specialising in taiwanese-japanese food. the food is cooked after orders are placed so you could say it's a zhi-char place, except that you can't find the ubiquitious sweet and sour pork or steamed fish, teochew style.

it's the taiwanese-japanese twist that gives it the unique and winning taste.

this is boiled pork with garlic sauce. its  name literally translated: cloud white pork. 

the cloud reference could be the colour of the pork slivers or the melt-in-your mouth quality.

whatever.

we all just love it.

stir fried liver with bean sprouts and chives. 

liver is sliced just right and never too well done. comfort food at its best.

its name means three cups chicken in chinese (san bei ji).

have looked up recipe: 3 cups refer to 1 cup sesame oil, 1 cup rice wine and 1 cup soya sauce.

here, they cook it really well, never too oily and the fresh basil lends this lovely flavour. they are also generous with succulent morsels of garlic, so powdery yet nutty, we swear they have got to be japanese garlic.

you know those garlic you see in meidi-ya? expensive like anything. 

egg plant in mapo sauce. right balance of spiciness and oil. and the egg plant never too mushy.

a common dish in chinese restaurants: stir fried french beans with minced pork. 

the veg is first very quickly deep fried, hence the crunch and stir fried in pork. 

very delish.

tried this for the first time - seasoned sliced gizzard with julienne leeks.

not bad.

must say something about the rice they serve here. it's short grain japanese rice, a little sticky, whole perfect grains and very yummy. goes very well with what we have ordered.

ahh, ice-cold taiwanese beer to wash all that down.

bliss.

gifts

this was the view from the treadmill in the gym this morning. that's sentosa island on the left.

beautiful day :)

walked 5.4 km to the music of pet shop boys. i have always liked the english duo, from way back in the early nineties. i found them different from the cookie cutter bands. for one, they have this really sexy english accent and second, they have intelligent lyrics. and their electronic dance music does not give me a headache unlike those techno mind numbing ones.

then it hit me that i have had this CD, a complete singles collection for more than 17 years and it was ming who gave it to me!

we had visited ming and angela end 1991. they were living in oklahoma city then. i remember mentioning to him that i liked pet shop boys and the next thing i knew, i was given this CD just before we left. 

i wonder if he remembers after all these years?

however, i am sure angela will remember the three craft books i kinda 'pilfered' from her last march. "-)

seeing how i was ga-ga-ing over the contents and how i thought they were so easy, she very generously gave those books to me. she said she could always order them from amazon.com. again.

well, sorry, i haven't made good use of them so far  but xru has.

she must have been very stressed out over her exams these few weeks so she took some time off to sew.

and did a pretty good job, too.

that's crafted out of an old tee. 

while this shocking pink fella is made of felt.

btw, the male manny is back to his pink underwear again. wei needed her skirt for school, haha....