A note to my dearest friend, Vicki

Dear Vicki,

If I had known this is going to happen I would have tried all means to prevent it from happening. It pains me now seeing you suffer and yet there's nothing I can do to help relieve the pain. If there's anything I could ask for now is for you to talk to me and tell me what you need. You have stopped barking when you see the hamster, but I can tell you are still excited at the sight of her because your tail still wags uncontollably. You no longer walk around the house like you used to, instead, each step is taken with tremendous effort. You have lost your interest in your favourite pastime - eating - because even bah kwa no longer excites you. The best you could do now is to try to make your way to the kitchen for water, and that's all that could excite you for now. But my friend, you need to eat to be strong again, you need food to take your medication. I'm sorry we had to force feed you with milo last night as I needed to get the medication into your system to aid in your recovery. Do you know how much fear there is in me when I know it's time for your injections? I dread the moment, no, I'm not afraid of needles, I'm fearful that you might throw up again after the Vitamin B shot because the nurse told me it should not happen after every shot but twice it happened. I know it hurts a I can tell from your expression. Trust me, I will try to do anything I could to make you feel better.

Don't worry about wetting the bed or not peeing on the designated area. I understand. It happens and we just have to take it one step at a time. Dogs are like humans, your health deteriorates with age but with the right medical care I know you will get well soon. You are a strong girl and we will overcome this together.

Random Thoughts

A friend posted on her FB that the Singapore government thinks there should not be a retirement age. Agree? I watched the discussion on CNA last night and my stand is neutral. Let's just say this topic can be debated from a few angles. Lucky folks who claim their job is their passion - how much truth is there I don't know - may well agree with the statement because if you are indeed happy doing what you're doing then it's no longer a job (or chore) rather it's a joy to wake up to a brand new day pursuing your passion. On the other hand there are folks who work because they have to make ends meet. Case in point, I know of someone who is a late bloomer in the marriage department (not by choice)and with 2 young kids to support, although he's of retirement age there's not one day he would even come close to dreaming of that possibility as yet. Finally I think I belong to the this group of individuals who would argue that as long as the spirit is willing we would still like to stay active by continuing to work. Of course, by then, I probably would have qualified for 'my job is my passion' working class. Woo hoo!

******************************

The header reads, "Food blogger who demands free meal sparks outrage oline." What was he thinking when he started the food blog. Was he expecting to leverage on his blogger status to earn free meals? Come to think of it I don't recall reading any reviews on hawker fare - I may be wrong - since the time I found out about his blog sometime last year. I think one should still pay for their share of food even if it's an invitation from the restaurant. Nothing is for free and if you do accept the kind offer then you're definitely expected to write a positive review in return in order to draw in the crowd, and you would not be doing your blog or the readers justice unless you are sure it's of neutral stand. But how is that possible, right? Well, Mr. Brad Lau, your blogging days are over. Next.

从出江湖

Hello! I'm back. Long time no blog and many things to update, but where should I start...

The last 2 months have been an eventful one. First and foremost I finally made a trip to Seoul to meet up with Sis dearest. We spent a good 8 days in Seoul and Jeju and Andrea joined us for the weekend in Seoul. An advice from yours truly, there's no need to visit all the palaces, all you need is just one ticket to the Grand Palace and it's show hand. The weather was good except in Jeju where it rained for 1.5 days out of the 3-day trip. Nevertheless, I'm happy as I stayed at the Hyatt Regency where BOF shooting took place and, most importantly, I saw the chapel where Goo Jun Pyo almost said his wedding vow..... but the bride wasn't Jandi.... Otherwise food was good and the shopping was even better if not for my limited luggage space. It sounds crazy but I kind of miss Myeongdong - it is truly a shopping paradise day or night.

Next up I joined hubby in HK where I spent 2 days "exploring" the city while he was hard at work. Visited most of the malls and my best purchases are from none other than H&M. I wonder what is it about Singapore that they are not spreading their wings to this part of the globe yet? I'm still waiting. Spent a day in Macau and I'm quite sure I won't be back for a long time. Nothing impressive to say the least. Of course no trip is completed without good food. Sadly, we only got to experience decadent local cuisine at the final hours of our trip, last 4 hours to be exact. On the day of departure we headed out to Central before checking out and chanced upon a roast meat shop that was visited by Anthony Bourdain and so we had to give it a try. The roast meat didn't blow us away but their charsiew roasted to near perfection with the right balance of lean and fatty meat was satisfying. Just when we thought we are kind of contented another HK cafe caught our attention, and glad it did because they are suppose to be a hot favorite among the locals and even our very own Anna (FM 100.3) and Bryan Wong did a feature on their famous milk tea and toast. It was fantabulous!

My professional life has been least interesting until a month ago. I'm not going to elaborate on the details except that I'm glad alls well ends well. Fingers crossed!

Oh yes, this I have to mention. We finally put out act together and gave our walls a much deserved fresh coat of paint. Bade farewell to neutral tones and replaced it with shades of purple and grey. And, no more gold wall, silver reigns.

Before I forget. Note to Mr. Goh Cher Chay; I look forward to receiving your comment(s). Having difficulties locating the source? It's on the left bottom of each blog entry. Give me a call if you still can't find. I'll be more than happy to assist you my dear friend : )

Sepang Grand Prix

Long time no blog! Not that I've run out of topics but dear PC has been cranky of late, and, of course, laziness got the better of me. What have I been up to? Lots actually. There's too much to talk about if I were to start extracting my memory board from March 9th (last date of blog entry was the 8th) so I'll just pen down the best event thus far.

To start with, Hubby and I made our way to Sepang (KL) during the Labour Day weekend for our first Grand Prix race. It was a last minute decision and all it took was 2 nights of planning and off we went. The supposedly 5-hour journey with 1 stopover took close to 7 hours to complete, coupled with wet weather. I used to think my Sister was crazy to travel the distance but I will now officially take back my words because it was all worth the trouble. Yes, the hour long of travelling from hotel to Sepang is not what I would have enjoyed doing but the moment when you set foot in Sepang circuit nothing else matters, not even the sweltering hot weather or the grey skies could dampen thy spirits.

This is the closest we got to Lewis Hamilton - my favourite driver - when his car skidded during the qualifying round. I was disappointed he didn't make it through Q1 but his superb and opportunistic driving skills saw him racing from position 22 to 6 at the end of the race, notwithstanding pit stops. Call him a brat but he surely is God on the race circuit, just like how he did it at Shanghai GP last weekend.

What's next? I'm 3 days away from Seoul trip with Sister. I've put together a list of Seoul Eats from restaurants to tent food to street food and will try to devour as much as I can. If all fails, I will go back for more, this time with Hubby in tow. I will make sure to update my blog soonest.

下一站幸福终于播完了。。。 这部戏真的很感动。每一次看了就哭，不过还是很想看因为故事内容真的很好。 现在只能等买DVD 还有Soundtrack. 总之是百看和百听不厌。也因为这部戏让我发现到吴建浩的演技进步了很多 （他在戏里的造型，帅！）而且也让我发现了安仪轩这个演员的存在。 当让，还有可爱的小小彬 - 他的出现让剧情更加精彩。

现在的感觉很怪。好象是少了一样东西， 应该是 withdrawal syndrom 吧。

*****************************

What's with the men these days? First it was 陈建彬 whom divorced his wife of many years to marry someone much younger; and now the recent buzz is on Jack Neo's affair with a girl at least 30 years younger... Yes, I deem her a girl as she's only 22 and 3 years older than his eldest son, so I wonder what went through his mind when he was with her? Doesn't it feel like sleeping with the daughter? Although all eyes are on them now but I think the losing party may not necessarily be Jack - all thanks to his wife who made a comment to the press saying, "aren't men all like that, and it's no big deal." Hey, lady, you may have shown the magnanimous side of you to the nation but what's with that comment? Are you instigating that it's okay for men to stray? Well, if that's her mentality then it's hardly any surprise that husband dearie did what she thinks is common and okay. Alright, I do pity her but her cool as cucumber attitude is just too good to be true. No?

This Wendy person, though she may be young but her bold actions were hardly that of a 22 year-old. The papers wrote she waited for him outside his house till wee hours of the morning and actually went into his house when he dared her to show up during their exchange of SMS. Maybe when one is in love, as she claims, one loses their mind. I'm not sure if she has thought of the repurcussion of her doings but it sure doesn't look like she's regretting it. Finally had a good look of her at today's New Paper. All I can say is, could be better *LOL*

So with this episode, I wonder if parents will hesitate to let their girl participate in movie acting lest another Jack Neo is on the prowl...

Epicurious

Dined at Eipicurious today. It's funny that for the many times I've been to Robertson Quay I've never really noticed the existence of this cosy little restaurant until now; but it's never too late. We chose alfresco dining overlooking the Singapore River, and since it's weekday night, there's hardly any crowd except for a few Japanese kids practising their skateboarding and a handful of joggers. Otherwise it's a nice place to spend the evening and end the day with a hearty meal, homecooked style. Comfortable and unpretentious is how I would describe them to be. One can drop in anytime - apparently reservation is not necessary - in their most causual outfit and never feel left out. Also, they pride themselves for using the freshest ingredients they can afford and all preparations are done from scratch - good to know. I also want to commend on the excellent service, Darren, who attended to us is one of the friendliest service staff I've come across. Just like the setting of the restaurant he is warm and unpretentious. Actually I thought he has slight resemblance to Jordan Chan aka 陈小春.

Their mushroom soup made of button and shitake mushrooms is a meal on its own, thick, creamy, yet smooth. And the slice of country loaf garlic bread toasted with cheese on the side (I'm guessing it's Cheddar)... had me yearning for second helping but was too shy to ask ; ) At $5 a bowl this is a steal.

Beef and Vegetable roll served on a bed of coleslaw and mashed potato with sesame on the side. The paper thin beef wrapped around the french beans would have tasted a bit bland but the tomato dressing was the saving grace. I hardly fancy coleslaw until I tried theirs. Finely shredded mixture of cabbage ad carrots with a light drizzle of mayonnaise did the trick. So instead of your usual mayo soaked salad this had a lot more crunch. Not forgetting the mashed potato, nicely done up with a hint of toasted sesame. The sesame was probably toasted and grinded before mixing it with the potatoes. Unique.

The lamb cutlet was acceptable for me as it's slightly gamey so it may not work for some. The mustard dressing on the side is a bit too salty which I can do without. This dish didn't excite me but it's edible.

Epicurious
60 Robertson Quay
#01-02, The Quayside
Tel: 6734 7720

Currently watching

爱他就要他幸福。。。 下一站幸福，你看了吗？

Pineapple Tarts

What is it I like most about CNY? Feast and Binge time! It has to be me eating lotsa pineapple tarts and love letters. These are my all-time favourites. Last year we bought a bottle of pineapple tarts from The Hiding Place and just when we're deciding which ones to sample this year my neighbour came a knocking and we got a bottle of enomous looking round shaped pineapple tarts. We were told these tarts are pretty popular and our dear neighbour, trying them for the first time, decided we may like them too and, yes, they were right indeed. The first thought that came to mind was, 'what a massive sized tart!" But boy, I grinned after the first bite... the pastry melts in your mouth but as it's made so thin you immediately come in contact with the overly generous serving of pineapple jam that has a good balance of sweetness and sourness to it so every chew just got better and better. And because it's the size of a tennis ball all you need is one helping to keep one satisfied. Rating: 4.5/5

Le Cafe Confectionary & Pastry

264 Middle Road

Tel: 6337 2417

Resort World Sentosa

Last weekend I had the pleasure of a sneak preview of one of the two of our nation's newest addition, RWS (Resort World Sentosa). Here we go...

Hard Rock Hotel

The hotel launched a soft opening last weekend; staff and guests were invited to stay over for at special rates in exchange for their feedback post stay. I wasn't keen as non of the hotel's facility was ready and of course it was a definite no-no for Hubby as he already has clocked enough visits (7 days a week to be exact) to qualify for sentosa residency if there's ever one.

Hotel Reception

Hotel Lobby. The seats are uber cool and comfortable too.

The bar counter is conveniently located in the centre of the lobby so no one can miss it. There'll always be waiting staff around to take orders and if they do spot you they'll come up to you without you gesturing to them. Tried their mojito and it was quite refreshing for a Saturday afternoon.

In case you can't see the it clearly, this is the Rock Shop

Need I introduce this place? Go there if you have money to roll and maybe you'll end up on the prestige list to quality for free room nights at the Crawford Hotel.

Entrance to the casino. Come to mama... put money, win money? Pray hard lady luck is with you.

See the gantries? Due to tight security I was not able to get in for a quick tour. But do I want to pay $100? Hmm... not sure but unlikely

If you have the money to roll but averse to risk then go to the Galleria for some retail therapy. There's Cartier, Bvlgari, Chopard, Bally, Shanghai Tang, Swavroski, you name it they should it.

Universal Studio

(Verdict: It's worth the $70 entrance fee)

The Revenge of The Mummy

One of my favourites - Far Far Away Land

Another angle of Far Far Away Land

Magadascar

Ah ha! This one I like. This roller coaster is going to make your world go round...

What Is Your Race?

Hi, I'm Chinese-Chinese, what's yours?

Yes, that is the question that people should ask when meeting someone for the first time rather than what is your name. When the government announced end 2009 that children of mixed parentage are allowed to pick their choice of dominant race between the two, I was a little surprised by the new Act. Shortly after came the inclusion of double-barrel race.... but is it really necessary and is it that important? Not that I cannot appreciate the implication (I try to) but why complicate matters when all these while Father's race has always been the dominant one and I don't think we have that many unhappy folks out there or am I missing something here?

I do not deny that Singapore despite being a multi-racial country, pledge ourselves as one united nation regardless of race, language or religion... sadly racism exists. I think the government's move is to try to eliminate that issue but I doubt it will help much, rather, it is underscoring the subject of concern. Must we really segregate ourselves by race and is that the only way to identify each other? IMO, we cannot afford to have race separating us. In fact because of race, we are divided somewhat. We should be proud of who we are and not what we are.

Soon guessing the race of someone of mixed parentage is akin to picking Toto or 4D numbers as there will be many permutations. Let me think..... Chinese-Indian; Malay-Indian; Chinese-Malay; Javanese-Chinese; Indian-Malay and the list goes on. Oh, I think the other issue raised is that Eurasians are currently classified under Others for their race but with this new policy the issue is somewhat not totally ironed out, because on application forms under Race, it shows Chinese, Malay, Indian, Others and with many - I assume - choosing to go with the double-barrel race will still have to tick that choice. So, are we changing for the better or worse? And with this we surely live up to being a MULTI-racial society.