Sunday, August 03, 2008

Closure to Oddlysimple

Life is complicated (not surprisingly), though I have always wanted to keep it simple. To maintain sanity - I will no longer be updating this blog - not that I spend a lot of time on it. Just that I feel bad that friends keep coming back to check on it only to realise that it is not updated, again and again. :-P

I will try to be present in facebook and will post updates there. Look for me there......

Some things in life still remain the same. Friendships are best sustained through actually meeting up with each other. Also that some friends are for life (you know who you are) and that you know you can always count on them as they have stood the test of time, :-). Other stuff, like this blog, is only transient.

Till the day I start another blog or the likes of it, I will keep you informed.

2:30 PM

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Amanda

For those of you who knows Amanda and are curious how she is now. Btw, she is about 2 years old now. She is really cute!

Labels: Kids

12:52 AM

Happy New Year - Reunion Dinner

Every year, reunion dinner at home has always been sumptuous and in "abundance". Above picture shows some of the goodies. Clockwise: glutinous rice, braised duck gnong hiang & barbecue meat, spinach with abalone, steam chicken, fried noodle, sea cucumber with mushrooms and in the centre is the Pen Cai I ordered from Tung Lok.

What you did not see in the picture; pig stomach soup & fried tau kua. My friends, all the above are prepared for a family of four! Yes, it is super exaggerating, and it has been the way we celebrate reunion, year after year.

This year, I ordered Pen Cai from Tung Lok - out of curiosity, as I have always heard about it in the news. It came in a huge claypot and I paid about $200 for it. The portion was for 4-6 pax. The ingredients were impressive; abalone, oyster, abalone mushrooms, raddish, cabbage, scallop, sotong balls, pig's trotters, sea cucumber, mushrooms, black moss & prawns. I cannot remember if there were shark's fin. However, I thought the taste was so - so only. In fact, the white raddish was hard as rock. I was disappointed that I didnt get to eat the raddish as I have always liked raddish.

Next year, my mum will attempt to make "Pen Cai' herself, using the tips given in a newspaper clipping (see above). Basically, the chef said the ingredients in the Pen Cai itself will make the dish very tasty without much seasoning. You only need some oyster sauce and salt to taste.

Labels: Lunar New Year, Pen Cai

12:52 AM

Friday, February 08, 2008

2007 & 2008 Goals

2007 Goals
1) Read at least one management book for enrichment - I think I didnt read any!
2) Read all the books that I have bought or were given since many moons ago - I only read 1 out of 3!
3) Open an investment account and start learning to invest - Account not opened and still dont know how to invest!
4) Stick to an exercise regime - I started only in last quarter of 2007 aerobics lessons every Tuesday.
5) Tidy my room once a month instead of once every six month - Not done!

Sad to say, I hardly accomplish any of the goals......so I shall carry all of them forward! DUH! If I have listed watching Korean dramas as one of the goals, I would have easily exceeded expectations!

Labels: Goals

12:08 AM

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

KL Trip

End of last year, a few of us went over to Malaysia to visit an ex-colleague, Cat, who had shifted back to Malaysia for good. Although it was only a 1-night stay, we felt like we were 18 years old going for a mini pajamas party. This is especially so for the mothers who do not need to worry about the kids and the family for that night.

Tasty "big prawns noodles". No wonder we finished everything!

Taste exactly like those from Donuts Factory - yummy! We suspect they are the same anyways, but they are called JCO. We had them for afternoon tea.

After some shopping, we went for Karaoke at Red Box. Its like our K-box in Singapore, only better. It's better because it is cheaper and it comes with a buffet dinner! We wear a tag on our wrist below to be entitled to the dinner throughout the night. However, we also didnt want to waste too much time eating and not singing - so we end up not eating much. Ha ha.

And then all the 4 of us squeezed into one hotel room and retired for the night. We moved the beds around to accomodate all of us! Fun!

The second day, we went to Cat's place to see her new home and play with her daughter Jean. She has grown so much and is even prettier now!

Labels: ex-colleague, KL, Trip

11:14 PM

Monday, December 24, 2007

Holiday in Japan Nov 2007

I visited Ursweetlullaby in Japan when she worked there for a month. Of course, with her there, the cost of my accommodation would be cheaper. ahem... :-p But the transport cost would be higher as she was staying at the outskirts - Sagamihara, which was nearer to her office.

Day 1: I touched down in Japan at 9 plus at night, and managed to clear immigration just in time to catch the last Narita Express towards Yokohama. By the time I reached Sagamihara, it was about 1am!! Yes, the journey was at least 3 hours!

Anyway, here are some photos to share.

Day 2: Exploring Sagamihara.

Bicycle parking lots categorised by Alphabets. I am amazed that there's so many bicycles around because I didnt see many Japanese cycling though......

The Lalang-looking plant that I saw in Hakone was sprouting up here too!

This place is in Yokohama - Motomachi

Cool dog! When it wasn't moving, we thought it was a stuffed toy!

Then along came another well-dressed friend......

Christmas decors were up early.

At Chinatown in Yokohama; the paos were the size of my palm!

At the Ramen Museum.

See the stalls downstairs?

Our 3rd bowl of Ramen! We tried to order small bowls and share if the stalls allow us; some are quite strict and they dont allow. The objective was to try as many different types of famous ramen as possible!

Day 3 was purely shopping, so didn't take any photos.

Fast forward to Day 4.

Sensoji Temple again.

Revisited this place as there's a lot of nice little shops along the way.

Rainbow bridge. The last time I was here, I could not take a nice picture because it was pouring. Finally a decent photo!

Statue of liberty; dont ask me what it is doing in Japan.

Day 5: Moving to Osaka

Shinkansen - this is the Hikari.

Scenes along the way to Osaka.

And 4 hours later, I finally reached my destination!

This is the 'American Street' just behind my hotel! Think hip-hop style, leather jackets and studs......

Huge Adidas store! But very little variety of shoes.

My hotel room!

Comes with a microwave oven too!

Was walking around this stretch of underground shopping belt before coming to the ground level. Saw Osaka's Takashimaya. I lost my way searching for 'Dotombori-dori'.

Famous crab fixture infront of a restaurant selling crabs......
Neo lights along 'Dotombori-dori'.

I cannot remember what restaurant this was!

Puffer fish shop!

More neo lights and the famous Glico man!

Nice river scenery taken at the same place. Saw another ferris wheel at the side.

Bewulf movie posters. I didnt realise it until I saw the English worded version in Singapore.

Glico Man again. This time it's a smaller version outside a shop selling all the Glico stuff.

Pork cutlet curry soup!? Probably it is a new creation but it's quite welcoming on a cold day. The soup has added cheese in it. It is a strange combination but the taste is quite good!

Day 6: Hang around Osaka in AM and Kobe in PM

Hep 5 and ferris wheel. Read about it but didnt find this place that great to shop. Also, it is an entertainment belt so this place is full of Pakincho centres!

Crepe stall somewhere near Hep 5. I didnt get to eat any this trip! Only took a photo!

Shin-Kobe station!

Nunobikinotaki - not sure what it meant but I think it's the name of the place with the waterfalls. I am going to trek up the hills to see the waterfalls.

Map of the trail....... Looks daunting. But I went through a few rounds of aerobics classes back in Singapore, so I hoped I have built up sufficient stamina.

Passing by some residential area, I suppose.

This is pretty easy to manage.

The biggest waterfall among the 3.

This was harder to manage. Anyway, I had to stop every now and then to pant! So unhealthy!

Look, the maple leaves were still green! They were taking too slow to 'warm' up. It's already November!

The only sign of autumn......

Beware of wild boars! But I did not see any...... heng!

View from the top of the hill.

I went to this restaurant (Wakkoqu) recommended in one of the guidebooks. This restaurant is located just opposite Shin-Kobe Station at Oriental Building.

This huge plate is placed in front of me with 3 times of seasoning; salt, pepper and mustard. They are used to taste the beef with later.

Salad that goes with the beef - tangy...... really opens up your appetite!

My 100g of Kobe tenderloin. Looks big but actually after cooking, there's only 5 bite sizes. I paid S$86 for the beef, salad and a glass of Wulong tea! Expensive, but it's a once in a life time experience. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the cooked beef because I wasted no time eating it hot......haha. I won't describe it as melt in the mouth...... the texture is just so different from other beef that I have tasted. It is much smoother......and tasted very fresh. The chef recommended that I taste the beef first without any seasoning, followed by tasting with the various seasoning. I like them all! Oh, an interesting thing was that the fatty bits were pan fried till very crispy and slightly burnt. You dip it into a Japanese vinegar sauce. I finished them up! Tasted good! Friends who know me know that I don't eat the fatty parts of red meat but the way the fats were prepared were exceptionally good!

Day 7: Shopping + Tokyo Tower

At the base of Tokyo Tower. It's so giantic that it could not fit into the frames of my camera!

Christmas decos at the base of Tokyo Tower.

Day 8: Shopping and Shopping

I am off to an Outlet Mall located at a seaside marina in Yokohama. It's about 15 minutes walk from the station.

This is how the Outlet Mall looks like. Very pretty!

Fast food at one of the restaurant at the Outlet mall. The set definitely looks good! The portion is quite good too. Taste wise so-so only though.

Ya' know a Singaporean just finished her meal by looking at the remains...... Mac Donald's chilli packet all the way from Singapore...... and it's a habit to have chilli with the food!

Japan Trivias