Halloween

At Bossini, there were little tops for little tots to celebrate Halloween. Seen was this sweatshirt with a skeleton design and a hood with a skull design!




I first heard of Halloween in America. Then years ago, some children came by for trick-or-treat. In recent years, house gates (of those participating in the neighbourhood celebrations) would be covered with cobwebs. (Fake ones lah! These made of cotton wool.) And after the party, we'd see little witches and wizards walking by with brooms and all!

What is Halloween? Wikipedia has some info.

red, white and yellow ... :P

A red "mountain", upright and deliciously sweet;

A rounded mount, sprinkled with flakes of white;

A cup of yellow, bright and cheery;

A patch of green, fresh as kiwi.

beancurd of nostalgia

Beancurd, smooth and smooth,
deliciously tempting.
The focus of a show over Channel 8 (or was it U),
about a family in Hongkong Kowloon,
toiling day after day,
morning till night,
over the production of delicious off-white soya beancurd.

So deliciously tempting

that we felt like flying off in the next flight to Kowloon!

(What's the address of the shop again?)

A reminder, harking back to childhood days,
of trips to Chinatown's then famous Yick Seng,
an eatery selling stewed beef noodle, mouth-watering shrimp dumplings,
and of course, the delicious beancurd, with almond essence.

So tempting.
Such a strong reminder
that I had to get some beancurd from modern stalls. :D

flowering buds

"See my neighbours - the buds.

The buds are unfolding; they are opening!

See the pretty deep pink petals,

"furry" and soft."

Bu Lao

Are they harbingers of cheer in this time of economic gloom?

cute kids

DBS has a set of ads showing heart-warming pictures of families with cute kids.

Like this one of Brian Richmond with his grandson ...

家常菜

Mediacorp Channel 8 has this programme " 家常菜 " about the home-cooked meals and how meaningful they are to the people and families concerned.

It's a heart-warming programme. So touching to hear that simple dishes have special meaning because of who cooked them.

buds and flowers

" The plants with the green foliage have toppled over again. When they grow tall, at some point, their stems will snap and break off. They look so decently strong, yet they are so weak at core. Tsk tsk! Not resilient! They'd better go learn from the weeds how to be resilient and sturdy.

It rained today. With thunder too. But it didn't dampen my spirits.

For my neighbour has blossomed into a beautiful flower. With little buds nearby - hopefully they fulfill their estimated potential.

And my other neighbour has 5 buds of orchid! Its cousin, which lives next to the garden wall, is also with buds.

So happy for them!"

Bu Lao

durian ... etc ...

Off to feed hungry stomachs,

of those with high metabolic rates.

Food, important food.

Round off with dessert, of course.

Pomelo mango with sago,

and

durian glutinous rice ball !

Durian glutinous rice ball, anyone?

planes, planes, planes

To the airport, the airport, the airport,

Terminal 3 it was.

Long long road to the airport,

long long road to the car park

- on the wrong path, we wondered?

Luckily a lot next to the lobby.

How vast the Terminal 3 was

- long long stretch of space before the escalator marked "Arrival".

We spied a student with papers, presumably mugging away.

Well, a quiet place indeed to mug.

Another long long wide wide space at the arrival hall.

Spacious indeed.

But a long long wait, till the neck "long long"!

Finally, off we went,

past the Control Tower and back to town.

But wait, where were the planes?

Went to the airport, but didn't see any planes!

Festival of Lights

Today's Deepavali, the Festival of Lights.

Here's some info ...

Deepavali also known as Diwali, literally means "row or garland of lights". Locally, it has been called "The Festival of Lights". It is symbolic of victory of good over evil, celebrated by most Hindus the world over. It highlights the victory of Lord Krishna, one of the deities of the Hindu pantheon, over the Demon King, Narakasura. It usually falls around late October or early November on the new moon day. Deepavali also known as Diwali, literally means "row or garland of lights". Locally, it has been called "The Festival of Lights". It is symbolic of victory of good over evil, celebrated by most Hindus the world over. It highlights the victory of Lord Krishna, one of the deities of the Hindu pantheon, over the Demon King, Narakasura. It usually falls around late October or early November on the new moon day.

Legend

Legend has it that Narakasura, the king of demons, had tortured the common folk. After many years of hardship, the people, unable to bear the suffering, appealed to Lord Krishna who then declared war against the demon king. As he lay dying, the demon king begged for mercy from Lord Krishna and he asked that the people rejoice and be merry at the anniversary of his death as a reminder that ultimately evil will never triumph. Little clay lamps were then lighted as a sign of gratitude to Lord Krishna.Some Hindus believe that Deepavali is celebrated to mark the return of Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana after being banished from Ayodhya by his stepmother for a period of 14 years.

An important reminder is that Deepavali is not the Indian or Hindu new year. The Tamil New Year falls on either 13 or 14 April every year.

A Crab-by Meal

It is billed as the Crab Specialist - wow! We dined there on Sat, in the heartlands, under the twinking stars and night sky.

A bit cramped, and sitting on not-so-elegant plastic stools, surrounded by the shouts and chatter of a eating place. The crab's not bad and I liked the yolk all over it, though it was a bit too much.

over the weekend

Some pictures over the weekend ...

Tucking into Subway at Bukit Panjang Plaza before heading off to a campfire ...

Pretty flowers in Marina Mandarin ...

... and then out and about, coming across our famous "durian", its spikes looking so elegant in the sunshine!

不老的青春 Spring

I decided to come out, and blog, after I read the ST report below. About Midori-san, a plant way way away in Japan, that blogs. Yes, blogs!

Yeh, blogs united, plants united! We can form a PlantBook social networking site soon!

Hi. I am Spring. My Chinese name is 不老的青春 - or you can call me Bu Lao. My name signifies the youngness of my plant heart! :)

Today, I didn't get much cholorophyll manufactured. :( There wasn't enough sunlight. It kept raining and raining, oh so heavily. Good for the roots - won't suffer from heatstroke. But not so good for the leaves, and food for me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Thanks to The Straits Times)
Oct 22, 2008
Plant lets its blog do the talking

IT HAS long been accepted that talking to plants can help them flourish, but have you ever wondered what they would say in response? Well, a plant in Japan has its own blog that may help you understand.
Midori-san is a 40cm potted 'sweetheart plant' sitting on a cafe counter in Kamakura, near Tokyo. Midori means green in Japanese.
It blogs every day with the help of a sensor that measures the electric signals on the surface of its heart-shaped leaves. The signals are sent to a computer, which uses an algorithm to translate the data and other factors such as weather and temperature into Japanese.
The words are automatically posted on Midori-san's blog (http://plant.bowls-cafe.jp/index.php)
A posting on Oct 16 read: 'Today was a sunny day and I was able to sunbathe a lot... I had quite a bit of fun today.'
....

cold by the fire

Little Cynda Ellah sat at the fireside, tendering to the fire, keeping it to a manageable warming source. Poke and superpoke she did, to the firewood in the fireplace, as she coaxed it for warmth.

Nearby in the main hall, came sounds of hollering as the Knights cheered their respective beetles on, in the knight-wide race for one-up-knight-ship. May the loudest Knight - and his beetle - win.

Little Cynda Ellah - she sat by the fireside, but cold she felt. Left out in the cold, outside of the closed doors.

But how much warmth could the race within closed doors bring?.

mist mist misty end to weekend

Tis the night before the beginning of another week.

The roads were quieter - perhaps people were getting ready for the new week; some busy studying for exams; others mentally preparing for the Monday's work ...

Even the canopy of trees seemed misty,

reminiscent of how midsummer's night might look like,

like how the woods around Hogwarts would be the night before a new term ...

a beary spa

Shades of black, on the pink arms,

some on the white white belly too.

And the white furry ears are turning grey.

Time for a bath, Pink Bear.

So Pink Bear went, this hot sunny day.
No hot spring dip, as advertised of the Taiwan tours,
but a cold tap dip in the sink,
just big enough to fit Pink Bear.

A soapy scrub on the ears,

a-scrub scrub the belly, and

scrub scrub all around.

Wah, what a beary spa!

Then a spin and a sun bath.

*content* Umm...

... and then ...

all pink and white! :)

Yummy Desserts

I always have a problem when it comes to choosing the desserts ... I like almost all of them!

Like the almond cream with gingko nuts and white fungus. My favourite. Then there's the mango pudding. The red bean pancake. And the mango pomelo sago ... Perhaps can forego the main course and have dessert only? :)

http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/zhou_s_kitchen_square_2/

A pet for a kind soul

A pet, a pet,

plastic though it be,

buoyant and pure white,

with fragile yellow feet of web.

A pet, a duck,

a toy or balloon as you see it,

given with care and heartfelt friendship

for a kind soul that brimmith over with care for others.

love for kaya toast

Kaya toast, kaya toast.

So crispy the toast,

bread toasted to crispy tastiness.

So delicious the filling

of kaya and rich butter that melt in the mouth.

Many types of kaya toasts we have

- Killiney, Yakun, and lesser known names.

Pek Kio we tried today, market though it be in,

the toasts, with crispy sides and delicious kaya inside,

as mouth-watering as they came.

Kaya toast kaki, let's go.

Try the kaya toast from coast to coast,

East to West, and the Centre.

Yummy yum! Oh for kaya toast and teh (tea)!

tai tai enjoyment

Coming together, after a long while.

Friends, working together side by side, in years past.

Friendship that endured

through years.

Morsels of mushroom-ed pastry snacks,

spoonfuls of cheesed beef on tofu,

greened but tasty spaghetti

- sharing of delicious food, over tete te tete,

gentle laughter, like Jane Austen's genteel ladies.

Then sipping of the famous coffees,

selected with difficulty from the myriad types of coffees,

selections not seen in the days of Liz and Darcy's gentrified living room.

Goose out of water

A new team member, a new team member, fretted MaMa Pelican.

For Schol Lah Pelican had been handpicked by Oxbridge to catch fish in its rivers.

Quick, quick, we must find a new member, or Fah Mah CEO will give the place to another team, fluttered MaMa Pelican in great anxiety.

So the Ace Pelican team got to work, persuaded the Hedge Arre team to cooperate, and web (feet) in web (feet), together they got the search process going. They went through resume after resume. Finally shortlisted a few. Two efficient self-confident Pelicans that had impressive resumes. Then there was Gday Goose - young, chirpy, with unusual resume of unconventional gosling experience.

MaMa Pelican looked at Dee Dee Pelican and Lee Lee Pelican. Great minds thought alike - they wanted someone different as tis was the season to think out of the box.

The great minds, however, forgot one key practical point: geese are genetically different from pelicans! And they didn't set the fishing test - how would they know the Goose could catch fish, the core duty of the Pelicans?

Gday Goose started work chirpily. But try as it might, it just could not catch fish. It could not fly up and swoop down swiftly to catch fish underwater. It could not even hold more than two fishes in its beak. This was not the niche for GG.

But GG persisted. Under any other circumstances, such determination would have been admirable. But in this case, it was like banging one's head against the wall. It was not to be. One couldn't change one's DNA. Many niches, especially with globalisation. MaMa Pelican, Dee Dee and Lee Lee advised GG time and again.

Eventually GG saw the light, and left the Pelican team, waddling with a proud upright back, but with a saddened heart, walking away from the coast of the Pelicans.

Somewhere over the rainbow, GG would find its niche, among other geese. Hopefully.

Pera ...makan?

Tis a trip back to Keppel Club, that we used to venture to for the buffet at Kippo restaurant. The latter's no longer there.

Now one floor above, is Peramakan , a pleasant place with good ambience, and a glimpse of the waters and of Sentosa. Of interest would be the ayam buah keluak. Think it takes some getting used to, eating this. Though I know some do like this.

The pork ribs were good. So were the sotong, the achar (with nuts), and the soup with the meatballs.

Then the dessert. There were durian desserts - some in mousse, some over chendol. Delicious sago gula melaka. The apom looked good - must try next time! :D

diamonds are a girl's best ...

... morale-booster.

When the spirits are down,

when the downs are more than ups,

the sparkle from the diamond

turns the morale index up.

When one is fretful and frustrated,

when the world looks grey,

the sparkle from the diamond,

however small,

sparks off the hope from within.

Diamonds, diamonds, a girl's best friend.

a 45-minute wait ... :(

It was barely 6 pm, but we were told it'd be a 45-minute wait for that pot of claypot chicken rice! Sigh. But waited we did anyway, at the Margaret Drive food centre ... perhaps we can eat something else next time ...

We heard that some had called to order in advance ... hmm, perhaps we could next time too.

Clouds nestling in the Sky

Cruising along the roads this Saturday afternoon, we went from stretches with white clouds to stretches with looming grey clouds and back. Some sky pictures here ...

running taps ...

... what a "sin" in water-scarce Singapore!

Sunset after day of "su"

We saw the Sun set again today. The rays glimmering through the white fluffy clouds, and on the clear blue sky. All serene up there as the Friday evening traffic built up beneath.

A fruitful day it was. A simple but elegantly good vegetarian lunch topped with rich ice-cream at tea-time. Topped even more by the company and the comfortable conversation.

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Which Flavour to Choose?

Look left, look right, look down the whole row of boxes,

boxes full of ice-cream, Haagen Dazs no less!

Tiramisu, macadamia nut, belgian chocolate, cookies and cream, strawberry shortcake ...

Yummy yum!

Ice-cream lovers thronged the place, selecting their favourite flavours,

or trying to choose among the tempting flavours!

Perhaps we should do this more often? :P

how safe to eat?

First M&M's, certain brands of chocolate and milk. Now Cadbury Choclairs have been found to contain melamine too.

So what's safe to eat?

( www.ava.gov.sg )

my favourite sweets

Our favourite White Rabbit sweets! :P

focus on Food

It was spilling over with diners. A restaurant in an old-fashioned shophouse, a long-standing name in a once-bustling neighbourhood.

Manhill the name. Strange-sounding in English, but meaningful in Chinese ( 喜临们 ). A restaurant with an enduring reputation for good Cantonese food.

My favourite's the beef stew.

The other being the paper-wrapped chicken. Oily yes, but yummy like the rest. :D

A place that holds memories. Memories of hot piping tasty "hor fun", of delicious fried rice. Better than food in some famous upmarket restaurant, an appreciative diner says.

A place across from Pepys Road, where a good "kway chap" stall resides in a coffee shop. :D

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Good eggs, bad eggs, which is which?

Eggs and eggs, brown or white,

with Vitamin E or lower cholestrol,

but all oval; and all eggs with yolk and white.

Eggs and eggs - which is good, which bad?

How to tell from the outer shape and shade?

Ask it to twirl around to see if its yolk within remains intact?

Ask it to stand on its head to see if it'd break?

Eggs and eggs,

how to know if the egg makes good omelette till we try?

How to know if the egg is bad till we break it open?

How to know from mere appearance, mi dear lords?

Eggs and eggs.

How to know if the egg will give good chick

that grows into good chicken that lays good eggs?

How to know if the egg will give good chick

that grows into good chicken with tender meat?

How to know mi lords?

Eggs and eggs.

How easy it is to pass one bad egg

for it's not easy to tell bad from good.

Pass, pass, pass it - they all look the same,

so innocently fresh, so cleanly packaged.

Pass, pass, till it gets packed;

leave it to others to find,

then one won't be blamed for raising the alarm

about one bad egg.