ygblog1

2007-04-05T15:42:00.000+08:00

My new blog address: ivyidaong2.blogspot.com

2007-03-31T21:23:00.000+08:00

blessed with good friends

(story about my car battery & air con)

i am so thankful that i have been blessed with good friends. a fortnight ago, i was stranded at woodlands road because my battery went flat. i had parked my car by the roadside. when i was about to drive off, the engine just refused to come to life. i suspected right away that the battery was the cause. my first thought was to contact victor, my former monk's hill colleague, who lives at marsiling.

he told me that he would get help and asked me to contact him again ten minutes later. before the ten minutes was up, the mechanic called me to ascertain my location. i forgot about calling victor, so he called me instead. he told me he would be taking bus service 178 to my location. the mechanic came and jump-started the car. when victor showed up, the engine was already well and running. i drove victor home and declined his invitation for tea.

i then drove to dairy farm road - where i had originally planned to do my nature walk - and parked the car outside the moe adventure camp while i took to the trail. when i returned and tried to start the car, i got this sickening feeling - i would be stranded again. there was no point in calling the mechanic because the solution he could provide would be a temporary one only. i called victor again. he would get the aa man to come with a new battery. i waited nearly an hour because victor had to travel by bus to upper bukit timah road. when the aa man finally got the battery replaced, it was way past 7.00 p.m.

i have been plagued with another car problem. the car air-conditioning system had not been working properly. when the engine was idling at low speed, the air-conditioner would give way or give up. i had to get a car air-conditioner specialist to fix it because my regular mechanic could not rectify the fault.

i mentioned the problem to my friend kok weng, my ex-colleague from balestier hill secondary. he took me to sin ming avenue, to a workshop called king's auto. alex, the owner, checked and told me that the problem was with the water pump. he gave me an option: i could have it replaced - which would cost me $500 plus - or i could settle for a repair job and hope for the best. i decided on the cheaper option.

we left the car at the workshop and went for lunch at jalan pemimpin. after lunch, we browsed at pan west, a speciality shop selling golf equipment. i got a lift from him to junction 8, where i intended to take the mrt home. i ended up browsing at the shopping complex. when alex called me, i was supposed to call kok weng so that he could come and pick me and send me to king's auto. i decided not to trouble him and took a feeder service bus from bishan to sin ming avenue.

2007-03-25T08:13:00.000+08:00

miniature pineapples

pictures of my two miniature pineapples. no picture of other miniatures.

2007-03-24T06:14:00.000+08:00

cheapest driving @ cdans bukit batok

bukit batok cdans has this offer: drive as many balls as you can within one and a half hours for $5.00. at toa payoh driving range, i was paying the same amount to whack 100 balls. this works out to 5 cents per ball. at bukit batok, within the given time, i was able to hit 200 balls. my friend kok weng averages about 100 balls in thirty minutes. so, he hits about 300 balls for $5.00.

although the parking rate is 90 cents per hour, you can redeem the charges for the first two hours. so, parking is literally free.

other driving ranges normally charge about 6 cents per ball during peak hours and 5 cents during non-peak hours. orchid country club charges about 4.5 cents during off peak period. at the executive course at mandai, the rate during non-peak is 3 cents per ball.

i like the golf range at bukit batok because it simulates an actual fairway. you get a nice view of waterfall, flowing streams and undulating landscape. they even have bunkers lined with coconut trees.

2007-03-21T14:15:00.000+08:00

seafood paradise at defu lane 10

i enjoy seeking out makan places in unexpected locations, like the bottle tree village at sembawang and botak jones at tuas. last night, we went to another - the seafood paradise at defu lane 10. this restaurant is tucked away in an industrial area in hougang.

to get there, travel along upper serangoon road till you reach the turning to tampines. turn right onto this road and travel on it, pass hougang avenue 1 before making a right turn into hougang avenue 3. keep left and look out for the turning into defu lane 10. turn right and keep on going until you come to swee hin building.

parking is free within the compound of this industrial building. there were ample lots on a weekday. i would not know the situation on a weekend. you can choose to sit in the air-conditioned room or opt for al fresco in the open. we were there on a tuesday night and i counted at least sixteen tables occupied.

we had the signature butter crab, cheese prawns, tofu, oyster omelette, sambal sweet potato leaves and yam basket.

the butter crab ($28 per kg) is served with fried buns (man tou). made of butter and skimmed milk, the gravy is spiced up by the white pepper that is added for fragrance. do not know if the tofu was the homemade version. anyway, it was good. the sambal sweet potato leaves dish had to be good because we had two plates of it.

2007-03-10T13:48:00.000+08:00

abandoned vehicle near the railway track

this morning, i went back to the moe campsite at dairy farm to walk the disused road that leads to the singapore quarry. i armed myself with a walking stick, just in case i should encounter any dog or any wild creature along the way. it was as quiet and as deserted as the previous time.

however, when i came to a cleared area next to the railway track, i saw this old and dented van. it turned out too be a foreign vehicle, bearing a malaysian number plate. one of the window glasses had been removed. the seats also appeared to have been removed. there was nothing of value left inside the van. a notebook was left on the dashboard.

how did the van end up there? they must have driven it to the spot via jalan asas, just in front of the ramen ramen restaurant. during my last walk, there was a barrier to prevent vehicles from venturing beyond that point. but, that had been taken down. could the vehicle have been used in some clandestine activity?

2007-03-07T12:11:00.000+08:00

waving leaf/plant

i was on my way up to the summit of bukit timah when i came across this phenomenon - a waving plant, or rather a waving leaf. the rest of the leaves were static but this particular one was waving like a pendulum. i stood there for a full ten minutes studying it closely but there was no wavering of its movements. it continued to 'wave' at the same speed, not slowing down a bit at all.

i tried taking some pictures but the images were blur because of the 'waving'. next, i tried using the flash to capture the actions but it was not possible to capture the 'wave'. later, as i was making my descent, i met my fellow retirees. i told them about the waving leaf. when we went back to the spot, it was still waving. my friend, a former science teacher, figured it could be the draught blowing against the leaf that caused it to sway from side to side.

when we looked around the area, we spotted a few other leaves exhibiting similar movements, though not as vigorous as this particular one.

if you look at the three pictures carefully, you will realise that the elongated leaf with a brown patch on it shifts its position in relation to the other leaves. in the first picture, it is partially hidden by the longer leaf. in the second picture, it appears right in the middle of the photograph and in the last picture, it has shifted to the left.

this morning, i went again, to check on the waving leaf...and it was still at it. other leaves sway in the wind but this one is different. its movement seems to be mechanical and the wave is a wide one.

if you want to avoid the fumes from the mini buses and trucks that use the road to the summit, time you walk before 8.30 a.m. or after 9.30 a.m. also avoid the 11.30 a.m. to 12 noon slot because during this period, there is one vehicle making the downhill trip.

2007-03-03T15:13:00.000+08:00

from a "f" to an "a"

to reward ida for her unexpectedly good results in the 2006 gce a level exams, we took her to lek kui (ah hoi) restaurant at mosque street for dinner. the speciality dish of this restaurant is its cold crabs. we also had shark's fin soup, prawn stuffed with yam, ngoh hiang and xiao bai cai.

ida obtained an "a" grade in economics, a subject she had failed in throughout her two jc years at pioneer. her teacher was shocked, and she found it so unbelievable that she checked the detailed results a few times. although satisfied with the overall results, ida was a bit disappointed that she did not get a "b" grade for mathematics.

however, what she achieved was not surprising as she had done the same in the 'o' level exams. for the 'os', she scored distinctions in both elementary maths and additional maths, two subjects which she had failed miserably when she was in secondary three.

i have always said that if she puts her mind to it and puts in the effort, she will be able to realise what she aims for.

2007-02-25T08:46:00.000+08:00

reunion dinner with my indian friends

we had our annual chingay watching get-together at my place. for dinner, we had yu sheng, prawn fritters, combination of shellfish, locus (abalone style shellfish), jelly, century egg and ginger, stewed mushrooms with dried scallops, assorted vegetables, fried spring rolls, bbq pork and chicken parts cooked with chinese chestnuts.

as we aged, we are getting more health conscious, more wary of eating too much meat. so, the amount of vegetables easily exceeded the quantity of meat. in the past, we used to have roast duck and braised pork.

i am glad for my indian friends because of they have all raised successful children.

nara has three daughters, two of them are doctors and the third is a lecturer in dentistry.

victor's younger son is also a doctor and his daughter is also in the medical line. his elder son was the top indian psle performer in his cohort. he is now studying for his masters in performing arts in the united kingdom.

balendra has one son who studied law but ended up as a teacher. his other son, who has a master degree in counselling, is working in the institute of mental health.

rama's son is a qualified dentist with his own practice in melbourne. his daughter, also a graduate, is a very good classical dancer. i was invited to her public performance at jubilee hall.

i do not know much about sethi as he does not talk much about his family but i am sure his children are also doing well. all i do know is that he dotes on his grandchild.

2007-02-21T15:06:00.000+08:00

macritchie reservoir park

this park within the central catchment area is a dream come true for nature lovers. there are walking trails of varying difficulties to cater to the different types of walkers: 3km for the easy ones and 11km for the serious walkers.

just before seven this morning, there was this group of about 20 adults doing qigong, led by a shifu ('master'). there was an even bigger group of students from acs independent who were doing warm-up exercises prior to their canoeing/kayaking session. two cyclists sat by the water edge enjoying the serenity of the placid lake.

at this hour, there are not many joggers and walkers. the fish in the reservoir near the start of the prunus trail are waiting in anticipation for food (bread crumbs).

car-park 'a' was supposed to be closed for upgrading; apparently some people who were not aware of this. car park 'a' will be converted into a two-storey car park and the new car park is expected to be ready in november 2007.

2007-02-20T11:08:00.000+08:00

2nd day of chinese new year gathering

this chinese new year gathering of about ten of my former students with two or three of their teachers has been going on for more than a decade. most of the years, i have been the sole representative for the teachers; it was no different this year.

the group comprises two alberts - albert koh and albert poh, wing choy, seck yeong, hiang kwang, chye kiat, mun wai, see thiam and puay heian. li choo, who lives in chicago, would join us whenever she was back in singapore. hiang kwang could not be with us this year as he is in sydney looking after his restaurant.

this year's gathering was hosted by puay heain who moved into a brand new bungalow house at dunsfold drive in december last year. she had sold her corner terrace at lentor to upgrade to this bigger house.

it has five large bedrooms, with attached bathrooms. on the middle floor are the lounge and dining-room, and a kitchen with direct access to the lap pool. the large rumpus-room or family-room is on the ground floor. she has a pool table and a drum set in the family room. her own personal gym is also located on this level. a roof terrace completes the many features of this attractive home.

when i arrived at the house, there was a lion dance troupe performing at the porch. i did not dare make my entrance lest i was mistaken for the 'big head clown'. when mun wai arrived, albert poh and i joined him on a tour of the whole house.

mun wai, who will be fifty soon and who is a senior education officer, is already contemplating retirement in five years' time.

2007-02-18T18:23:00.000+08:00

the year of the golden pig

as usual, we had two reunion dinners, one to accommodate lay bee's siblings and their families and one for my mother, unmarried sister and my brother's family. in the past, we had the two reunions on the same day - my own side having it at around 5 o'clock and her side, at around 7 o'clock.

at this year's reunion for her siblings, her eldest sister was not around, neither was her sister's husband but her two children, together with her daughter's spouse and new-born child were present. her second brother brought along two uninvited guests, so we ended up with fifteen persons at the dining tables.

we normally do not have the same kind of food for the two reunion dinners. this year, i opted for steam-boat dinner for my side while lay bee bought and prepared prawns, meat balls, vegetables, noodles and soup for her side.

on the first day of the chinese new year, my siblings and their families would visit my mother at my place as she would have stayed over for the lunar new year. this year, i cooked fried bee hoon and a vegetable dish for lunch. there were also kong bak paus and stewed mushrooms. this year's turn-out was almost full; only yew huay's husband and her married daughter did not show up.

the young adults took turns to play mah-jong while the rest sat around and talked. they moved on to geok wei's place in tampines at 3.30 p.m.

2007-02-15T17:04:00.000+08:00

forgoing $100.....hope i did the right thing

this morning i was at fajar wet market when i spied some rolled fifty dollar notes on the floor. there must be at least two notes, which means a sum of one hundred dollars. although there were other people around, they did not seem to notice it. that should say something about the eyesight of an almost senior citizen.

i did not pick up the money. instead i directed the attention of the young man who was helping out at the florist stall to the money. he picked it up without any hesitation.

i was thinking to myself: if i took the money, the person who had lost it would most probably never see the money again. but if the stallholder kept the money, should the person come searching for her money, hopefully, he might return it to her. ( i refer to the person who dropped the money as 'her' because men do not normally rolled the notes in that manner.)

i have lost a fifty dollar note before. of course, i was upset over the loss but i consoled myself by telling myself that at least i would make somebody's day - the person who found it.

when i was in primary two, i found a one-dollar note on my way home from school. i was so happy over the find that i called on my close friend, who lived near the place where i found the money, and shared the princely sum with him.

2007-02-12T21:33:00.000+08:00

birthday celebration at empire cafe

yesterday, the kua clan gathered at raffles hotel's empire cafe to celebrate pei ling's birthday. there were twelve of us altogether as lay bee had this feed-at-raffles voucher which entitled her to half the cost for a dinner for (a maximum of) twelve persons. she had another voucher which entitled her to a complimentary birthday cake.

okay, not the whole clan was there. her elder sister's family was not represented because she is still in the usa. anyway, if they had turned up, the number would have been exceeded. to make up the twelve, tim - ida's friend - and rachel - pei ling's friend - were roped in.

we did not go for the set dinner. instead we ordered from the ala carte menu. the ten orders included pork chops, chicken curry, song fish's head, bean sprouts, stewed beef and curry fish. there were complimentary glasses of lime juice. if you order soya drink at empire cafe, there is free re-fill. for dessert, we had orh nee.

the bill came up to $288, so she paid half of the amount, $142.

incidentally, pei ling is 33 years old.

2007-02-08T18:46:00.000+08:00

adam road food centre stall 7 - zaiton satay

i was having dessert - tau suan - at adam road food centre when i ran into mohd ali. i had been looking out for him since i heard that he was running one of the stalls there. he was there, near stall 7, waiting to interview potential stall helpers whom he would hiring be do the barbequeing (pengang) of the satay.

his first foray into the food business was in woodlands at a place called spectrum 2. he gave that up because the rental was too high. he paid $75 000 for the adam road's stall and the monthly rental is $1500, paid to nea (national environment authority). utilities charges are low - slightly more than $100 a month - because the stall uses charcoal to bbq (pengang) the satay.

he need not have to be at the stall every day. in fact, he cannot because he is a flexi-adjunct teacher at a primary school in woodlands. he has two trustworthy workers to man the place and his wife is there to open and close the stall.

apart from beef, mutton and chicken satays and the ketupat, (ketupat is a savoury rice cake wrapped in woven coconut leaves.) his stall also sells yong tau foo. he sells the satay in a set: 10 sticks plus one ketupat for $6.00.

2007-02-06T12:02:00.000+08:00

valentine day came earlier

this morning, ida surprised us with this food of love at the breakfast table. each of us had a french toast with a small heart-shaped piece on top of the rectangular toast. the table was properly laid out with the eating irons and coasters. there were bottles of kaya and peanut butter on the breakfast table.

basically, you need eggs to make french toast. some people add milk, vanilla and cinnamon to the beaten eggs. older bread is actually better for french toast, as it absorbs the egg better without falling apart.

either she could not wait until february 14 to express her appreciation or she has been deeply inspired by something she had seen at her place of work. ida is working at hog's breath at chijmes. or she could not get to sleep - insomnia.

no wonder i heard knocking sounds coming from the kitchen early this morning, at about five o'clock. i thought she was having one of her usual hunger pangs after watching the hong kong show till the wee hours of the morning.

she must have spent more than one hour preparing and cooking the french toast. when i got up at six, she had just gone to bed.

2007-02-05T18:32:00.000+08:00

patin fish at lam siew leng's
retirement dinner

my 'ccab friend' mr lam siew leng, who retired in december last year, 'threw' a dinner for fifty of his friends, ex-colleagues and family members. the dinner was held at tung lok seafood restaurant at east coast park, just behind the macdonald's.

it looked like a repeat of jim kee's dinner held at furuma in december last year because the guest list was much the same. this time, harry tan was there with his wife jessie. say hian, who joined ccab last year, was also there. did not see elangovan around this time.

dinner started with peking duck. each one of us had two pieces of the crispy skin wrapped in egg popiah skin. it has to be eaten hot with hoisin sauce and garnish with spring onion. other dishes included superior shark's fin, mushroom and sea cucumber, sauted prawns, scallops with cauliflower and noodles. but, the dish that was outstanding was the fish - the patin.

patin, or silver catfish, is a freshwater fish. the most popular variety that is a favourite in chinese restaurants is the patin buah. it is a pretty oily fish and has a fine texture. the patin has no scales on its body. in restaurants, patin can be steamed with soy sauce or prepared lemak or assam curry style. because it loves to graze on muddy bottoms, the patin has that muddy flavour.

you can buy the fish locally. today, i saw them selling the patin fish at sheng siong for $3.50/kg.

mr lam is doing some part-time work. he is helping harry tan supervise some of his nie trainees for which he is paid $125 an hour. he is also coaching some students in the game of softball.

2007-02-02T15:53:00.000+08:00

driving at toa payoh east

had the whole place to myself this morning, at about 9.00 a.m. 88 bays and only one in use. when i drove in, there was one other car in the car park. i thought the place had been abandoned. no one was in sight. the carpets on the range looked like they had been ripped. there was only a patch which looked serviceable, with a marker.

i did a check. the ball dispensing machine was still there. and there were balls in the dispenser. the empty baskets for the balls were all on the floor. the mat at the bay on which you do the driving did not have the holder for the golf ball. anyway, that is not essential. in actual play, the ball is played as it lies. only when you tee off, do you raise the ball on a tee.

anyway, there was this girl, with a filipino accent, manning the card booth. a single card costs $20 and allows you to get balls from the machine four times. in other words, for hitting 100 balls, you pay $5. for me, hitting 100 balls at each session is more than enough.

i think i am ready to go on to play on the course. i am hitting the balls farther and straighter. except for the occasional slice and hook, i am hitting the ball effectively, about 90% of the time. however, these shots are possible only when i am using clubs 7 and 9. i still need to master the other clubs, like 3 and 5, if i want to hit beyond 125m.

2007-01-29T16:16:00.000+08:00

self-drive - perth to melbourne,
across the nullarbor plain

another thing that i had wanted to do when i retire was to drive across the desert in australia. but having done some 'research' and after talking to kok weng, i have decided that it is not something that is worthwhile doing.

i talked to kok weng because he has done it twice. i have also read reviews posted by other travellers who have driven across either way, perth to melbourne and melbourne to perth. one time, kok weng drove from perth to adelaide. the other time, he drove, or rather his son tseng san drove, all the way to melbourne.

according to kok weng, there is no need to stock up on petrol and water. with a full tank at norseman in western australia, they were able to drive the rented new toyota camry all the way to ceduna in south australia, a distance of around 1200 km. they did not do any driving along the desert route at night. however, siew hua, my former colleague at monk's hill, drove at night. with an all women crew, they took turns to drive non-stop from sydney to perth.

it is not advisable to drive at night because of the kangaroos and other nocturnal animals. i asked kok weng if the road trains posed any threat. these gigantic trucks hurtle along at speed in excess of 100km/hr. according to him, these thundering vehicles, which churn up a lot of dust and sand, only cause slight lateral movement to your vehicle as they pass you.

the desert road has the longest stretch of straight road in australia, some 146km. however, it does not mean that there is a chance for you to speed. along the way, they were stopped more than once by the highway patrol for exceeding the speed limit.

why i decided to abort my plan of driving across the nullarbor plain. first, i do not have to stamina to cover 1200km in one day. even if i take a break - by staying overnight at a motel - i still will have to cover 600km in one day, which is still too taxing for me. the other reason is that there is not going to be much sightseeing along the way.

2007-01-28T08:49:00.000+08:00

chinese new year goodies for freddie

kimmy contacted me again. she wanted my help to pass chinese new year goodies like pineapple tarts, love letters and kueh bangkit to freddie kee. this has been going on for several years -since the time freddie left admiralty primary. kimmy told me that she felt indebted to freddie because he was the principal who gave her a second chance to prove herself.

i find this arrangement very awkward. she presents a whole bag of goodies to freddie and i, whom she also considers a friend, does not get any, not even a token. i used to joke with freddie, saying i would impose a 'tax' for my services.

this year, i told kimmy: and i don't get anything? she laughed and said: okay, lah, okay. i'll give you some also. she is doing relief teaching at qihua primary, so i will go to the school to collect the goodies from her and pass them to freddie whom i am meeting on sunday because a mutual friend is giving us a retirement dinner at tung luk.

i still remember how kimmy and her late sister got out of their chartered taxi and asked the driver to take us (my family of four) from jonker's street to hotel renaissance in melaka on a hot and humid day. we had been trying to hail a taxi when this one suddenly stopped in front of us and two ladies stepped out. we were so grateful to them for this kind gesture.

2007-01-27T11:00:00.000+08:00

small group meeting @ jelapang

because of lay bee's restrictive mobility, the farrer park small group - which normally holds its fortnightly bible study sessions at gloucester road - opted to have it at jelapang road. it was also an occasion to celebrate anna's birthday as well as a send-off dinner for colin, grace and their three children, who are migrating to adelaide in february 2007.

as usual, the arrangement for dinner was pot-luck style. each member contributed some food item/s. lay bee bought the peranakan's ang koo kueh from upper thomson road and got me to buy fishballs, fried wanton, swiss rolls and banana cakes from block 15 woodlands loop. sabrina's contributions included roast chicken, small pau and gyoza (chinese dumplings). the indian rojak, pizzas, soon kueh and black glutinous rice porridge (orh bee muay) came from grace. stella bought goreng pisang.

the meeting which started at around 8.00 p.m. ended around 11.00 p.m. it was nearly mid-night when the last family left.

2007-01-26T14:28:00.000+08:00

abc food centre @ bukit merah

i drove lay bee's car to the borneo motor's workshop at leng kee road for its 10 000km servicing. while waiting for the car to be ready, i walked to abc food centre. this upgraded food centre at bukit merah seems to have more than its fair share of award winning food stalls.

one of the first stalls that greets you as you enter the food centre is the boneless chicken rice stall which has earned a string of awards. across it is the crispy roti prata stall manned by an elderly chinese woman. next to it is ong's kitchen curry. opposite the curry stall is guan poh cuisine whose speciality is hor fun. the stall in between the chicken rice and guan poh cuisine is one that sells sugar cane, soya bean and beancurd. it has also garnered some award.

going on to the next row, you have jasons's penang cuisine and swee kee's wanton mee. there is also a branch of chong pang nasi lemak. yong kee fish bee hoon, sin sin porridge and amoy street prawn noodles - all have the word 'famous' in their names.

i did not eat at any of the stalls. instead i bought pan chiang kueh (chinese pancake) from this lady whom i have been buying from for more than ten years. she first had a stall at bendemeer food centre, then she moved to ghim moh food centre and now, she is at abc bukit merah.

2007-01-24T14:54:00.000+08:00

lunch at chinatown temporary food centre

victor had arranged for me to meet his friend patrick who is knowlegeable in financial investment and management. met victor, helen and victor's regular makan kakis for lunch at chinatown temporary food centre which is next to the outram mrt station. according to victor, the outram prison was adjacent to the site of the temporary food centre.

as the renovation of the chinatown food centre and market at smith street has been in progress since 2006, this is the make-shift site of chinatown's wet market, sundry food stalls and food centre.

every wednesday, victor will meet up with this particular group of friends and they will have lunch at a different location each wednesday. for example, next wednesday, they are meeting at amoy street food centre.

today, four members of the group had fish head bee hoon. the other three, including myself, had rice with fish head, bean sprouts and sweet and sour pork.

after the meal, we adjourned to pearl centre level 4 where the yangtze cineplex is located. found out that this cineplex screened ra films. saw a lot of ah peks among the patrons but did not see any female going into the theatres. there are four theatres, each screening a different ra show in a different language, namely, english, mandarin, japanese and filipino (tagalog).

it gives me an idea. i could apply to work as an usher here and get to watch x-rated shows for free.

2007-01-23T13:44:00.000+08:00

can fish think?

i think they are capable of making decisions. my pet goldfish - when i first have them - will disappear every time i approach the bowl. the moment they see my shadow or my shape, they will dash helter skelter and hide themselves among the pebbles. this reaction of theirs will be replayed over a few days. but, once they come to know that i do not pose a threat or a danger, they will stay their ground. in fact, in time, they will look forward to and eagerly await my presence.

when i went to feed the fish in the pond at bukit batok nature park this morning, the tiny ones would nibble at the bread crumbs. as babies, they are still blissfully unaware of the dangers in the real world. after a while, when everything seemed safe, the slightly bigger fish would make their presence felt. they would make loud splashes and snatch the crumbs in one gulp. but, the bigger ones would still stay away, playing a wait and see game.

this behaviour of the bigger fish may be explained in several ways. they are more experienced and therefore, they are more cautious. they do not act rashly; they study the situation carefully before embarking on the proper course of action. or they are more patient. or they are not as hungry as the little ones.

however, there is also this thing called herd instinct. i have also seen shoals of fish attacking, in a frenzied manner, the food that is thrown to them. these are fish that are used to being fed by humans on a regular basis. i witnessed this when i fed the kois at hausmann fish farm in lim chu kang.

incidentally, at hausmann fish farm, you can see a few giant fresh water fish in two huge tanks. one of the arapaimas is about 2.44 metres (8 feet) long.

2007-01-21T09:56:00.000+08:00

bottle tree park @ yishun

dropped in at bottle tree park today. as i was driving, i went in by lorong chencharu, off sembawang road. there are signboards at strategic points to guide you to the place. it's difficult to miss it. if you take the train or bus, it is more convenient to enter by yishun avenue 2.

saw the crowd and made a quick exit. did not even bother to park the car. the prawn pond, the longkang pond and the fishing pond were all bustling with people. the restaurant was also packed.

it would seem, of the three types of fishing, prawn fishing was the most popular. saw a big crowd at the prawn pond. i suppose on weekends, the longkang pond will attract its intended customers - the children.

the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and the park is open until 12.00 midnight. longkang fishing costs $10, prawn fishing, $14.50 for the first hour and in the case of fresh water pond fishing, for $35.00 you can fish from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

saw mr neo, one of the partners/owners, supervising the renovation. work is still going on to add other facilities and attractions to the place. the lease for the park is eight year period.

2007-01-19T14:02:00.000+08:00

forture restaurant @ bukit timah

had dinner at this zhe char restaurant along bukit timah road. it has expanded to include a steamboat section.

this restaurant, with a misspelt word, has been around for quite some time. when the turf club was at bukit timah road, a lot of cars, especially taxis, would be parked along the stretch of road outside the restaurant.

each time i eat there, i will come across a number of expatriates/caucasians having their meals there or buying take-aways. i have often wonder where they come from and how they come to know about the good food at this restaurant.

i did not eat their signature herbal chicken or the thai style fried fish. i had sambal kangkong, tom yam soup and thai style pork knuckles. at this restaurant, you can also order satay from a malay couple who operates a stall at the side of the restaurant.

2007-01-18T22:55:00.000+08:00

bunion operation

lay bee went for a bunion removal operation on the day that ivy was returning to melbourne. her operation was originally scheduled at 11.00 a.m. but was postponed to 3.00 p.m. as her orthopedic surgeon had to attend to an emergency.

when the joint between the big toe and the foot sticks out abnormally, it is often described as a bunion. the soft tissues around this affected joint can become inflamed, leading to 'bursitis'.

bunions are generally preventable and treated by wearing more appropriate footwear, and rarely require surgery.

a bunion occurs as a result of a deformity in the big toe known as hallux valgus, where hallux means the big toe and valgus means abnormal bending towards the other toes.

hallux valgus occurs when the foot bone that joins with the big toe (the metatarsal) becomes displaced inwards (towards the centre of the body). this tends to force the joint out against the inside of footwear. the sac, or bursa, that lies over the joint is irritated as a result. inflammation of the bursa (bursititis) contributes to the swelling of a bunion.

hallux valgus, resulting in bunions, affects 10 women to every one man. this may be because genetic and anatomical factors predispose women to developing the condition. but the main reason appears to be that women are more likely than men to wear ill-fitting shoes. the chance of having bunions is greater if one or more parents had them too.

high-heeled shoes, in particular, put abnormal strains on the bones and muscles of the foot. and shoes that push the toes together, force the big toe into a hallux valgus position.

hallux valgus and bunions are much more common with increasing age.

an operation on the toes can be uncomfortable for a time, and there is a risk of experiencing pain in the long term. but recovery from the operation is generally rapid and there is a very good chance that the symptoms of the bunion will be completely relieved.

2007-01-17T10:36:00.000+08:00

milkfish

i was at lim chu kang jetty when i saw some people loading about twenty crates of milkfish onto a lorry. lim chu kang jetty is located at the end of lim chu kang road. the jetty is for offshore kelong (fishing traps) and several fish farms to transfer caged culture fish to lorries on the mainland.

the milkfish came from the nearby fish-farms. the buyer was teaching someone how to cook the fish. according to him, you should bend the body of the fish a few times before you steam it with cut ginger and a bit of light soya sauce. he mentioned that this was the same fish that was being sold as ikan bakar in batam for $2 a fish.

the milkfish is very popular with the filipinos. the fish is called bangus in the philippines. because the milkfish is notorious for being much too bony compared to other food fish, deboned milkfish or "boneless bangus" has become popular and they are common in stores and markets.

the milkfish is comparable to a herring or a grey mullet in size. it is a plankton eater with metallic-silvery basic colouring and blue-green markings on top and under. fine small scales dress the streamlined body. it has big eyes and a long fork-shaped tail fin. in markets, the milkfish is normally offered in a size of 10 -15 cm length and a weight of 75–500 grams. however as a fish in natural habitat, it can reach a weight of 22.6kg, a length of 180 centimetres (!) and a maximum-age of 15 years.

a biologist once determined that a milkfish has 66 bigger and smaller bones. removal of the bones can be a problem. but there are reports that the bones lose their risks when they are cooked in vinegar-water. the milkfish eats primarily algae and other micro-plankton. sometimes they also feed on worms and fish-eggs. therefore it is not necessary for the fish to have teeth but they do need longer intestines.

2007-01-15T14:37:00.000+08:00

ida, the navigator

ida was the navigator during my drive in and around kuala lumpur. i have this phobia of getting lost in kl. that's why every time we are in kl, we will leave the car parked in the hotel and rely on public transport to move around. this has been the case ever since we started driving to the malaysian capital in the 80s. once, we got so hopelessly lost that we had to pay a taxi driver to lead us to our destination.

she can read the map much better than ivy. ivy claimed that she was inept at map reading. when i made a wrong turn and got onto another road, ida was able to redirect me to the correct road. she was also able to point out to me the shortest route to take to our destination.

i think her visual-spatial intelligence is superior to ivy's.

spatial intelligence manifests in a variety of ways. transforming mental images is a spatial skill that engineers and designers depend on. when a hiker pauses with map and compass, it is the spatial intelligence that conceptualizes the path. through the spatial sense, a painter "feels" the tension, balance and composition of a painting. spatial ability is also "the more abstract intelligence of a chess master, a battle commander or a theoretical physicist" , as well as the familiar ability to recognize objects, faces, and details.

spatial intelligence is easy to find in any community--architects, contractors, and engineers have it. so do most carpenters and many other trades people.

2007-01-14T20:08:00.000+08:00

weekend trip -
kuala lumpur

over the weekend (13 & 14 jan) drove up to kl on saturday and returned to singapore on sunday. ostensibly, it was to do some shopping in kl but i think ivy had another objective - to give her friend ian ,who was in kl, a lift back to s'pore.

we set off at 7.30 a.m. stopped at machap for breakfast. it rained all the way, up to melaka. the highway was not affected by the floodwater but the low-lying areas on both sides of the highway in johor were under water. kl was dry throughout; not a drop of rain fell during our two days there.

we made our 'compulsory' stop at pagoh, a place where we always stopped when we drove upcountry ever since the north-south highway was opened. pagoh was the southern most toll plaza when the highway was first ready. after that, came yong peng, before the whole length of the north south highway was fully open.

i had booked online the federal hotel. all those silly talks about the place being haunted did not affect my choice. paid rm$240 for the deluxe room. we added another bed, paying rm$80 for it. i had indicated that we would arrive at 3.00 p.m which was the check-in time. however, we arrived earlier than expected. we reached there at 12.30 p.m. after leaving our bags with the hotel people, we walked to lot10 for lunch.

did some shopping at lot10 and sungei wang before returning to the hotel to get the key to our room. had to wait another forty minutes before we could enjoy the comfort of our room. took a cab to mid valley. metered fare there was rm$6.40. return fare was rm$8.10. had dinner of bbq stingray, oyster omelette and dried chilli chicken at jalan aloy. bought cakes from secret recipe for supper.

on sunday morning, i got up at 6.40 a.m. and walked to puduraya, the bus interchange, to have breakfast. i was to walk there again later with ida. after her breakfast, we walked on to petaling street, china town. ivy went to attend a church service at petaling jaya (pj) with her melbourne friends.

there was the usual jam at the causeway. had a battle of nerves with the driver of a mercedes benz. he was trying his utmost to squeeze me out of my place. i refused to budge; in the end, he had to concede and allow me have my rightful place in the queue.

2007-01-12T19:10:00.000+08:00

defensive driving

almost got into a disagreement with a car coming in the opposite direction as i rounded a bend. put the total blame on the vehicle that had been ahead of me. i was behind this vehicle when it started to slow down. it slowed to a crawl and hesitated about halting. then further ahead, it slowed down again and this time, activated the hazard lights. naturally, i filtered right to move ahead and overtake. it then decided to move on as i was abreast with 'his' vehicle. i did not get the chance to see the nut who was driving, so i assumed it was a male driver.

the driver of the car that was coming towards me in the opposite direction had to be cursing me for being so reckless as i accelerated to move out of his path. i did not have the chance to stop to explain the situation to him as it was raining quite heavily.

one of the first thing you learning in defensive driving is to regard every motorist on the road as an idiot. if you accept that everyone makes driving errors, the logical thing to do is to drive with a wary attitude. be careful of approaching red lights, because you know a light by itself never stopped anyone. watch out for folks getting ready to pull out from parking beside the road. look for gaps in lines of traffic which might be the result of someone pausing to let another vehicle cross in front of them.

there are others: failure to signal a lane change or turn, or tailgating someone when they are poking along because they need to make a turn—a turn they suddenly will make when they see it at the last second. you can think of dozens of others. be alert to the possibilities and have a strategy in mind for dealing with them.

2007-01-11T21:06:00.000+08:00

swedish sailing ship - gotheborg

we took pictures with the gotheborg in the background.

the gotheborg is a full-scale replica of an 18th century swedish sailing ship. it has been moored next to vivocity since 30 december 2006.

the gotheborg is rebuilt mostly by hand with the same techniques, materials and building methods based on drawings and the excavated wreckage of the forerunner that sank in 1745.

it took more than 10 years to build new gotheborg before it set out to her expedition to china.

the gotheborg has visited spain, brazil, south africa, australia, indonesia and china. it is due to return to sweden in june 2007.

2007-01-11T20:58:00.000+08:00

vivo city, at last

after all the hype, i finally made it to the much talked about and written about shopping complex in singapore, vivocity. seemed like i had to wait until ivy came back from melbourne to find the excuse to go there.

vivocity was built on the site of the exhibition halls of the former world trade centre, now known as harbourfront. it was officially opened on 1 december 2006 by mr dhanabalan.

as it was lunch time, we headed straight for level 3 where food republic is located. it has a retro ambience, much like the one at wisma atria. on a weekday, there is no problem finding a place to sit. as i paid for the food, i could understand why people were not crowding the food court.

a bowl of kway chap (blanco court's) cost $4.20, 30% more than normal. the kway chap's soup was salty and the intestines did not taste as good as those from the blanco court's days. ivy had chong pang's nasi lemak, also $4.20, and ida had chicken rice and some tim sum. i find the food so-so but i feel the prices have been jacked up a bit too high.

we spent about two hours at vivocity, visiting shops like gap, mango, g2000 and tangs. ivy bought 2 pairs of pants and a blouse.

2007-01-10T21:04:00.000+08:00

krispy kreme doughnuts from australia

ivy hand carried 2 boxes of krispy kreme doughnuts (24 pieces) and one box (5 kg) of tasmanian cherries when she came back from melbourne for her one week stay in singapore. ida had asked for the doughnuts and lay bee, the cherries.

krispy kreme originated in the usa in 1937, about 70 years ago. in 2001, it started its first store outside the usa, in canada. besides the stores that krispy kreme operate in the united states and canada, there are also franchised stores in the united kingdom, australia, kuwait, mexico, south korea, hong kong, indonesia, the philippines and japan.

the first krispy kreme store in australia opened in sydney in 2003. in the state of victoria, australia, when the store first opened in june 2006, people had waited for three days creating a drive through line over two kilometres long. the drive through line did not stop until about three weeks after the opening and the internal store was constantly forced to remove people from the building after closing hours.

the signature doughtnut is the original glazed (top picture). it is best that you eat it hot. other varieties include glazed cinnamon, glazed lemon filled, glazed crueller, glazed blueberry, glazed sour cream, glazed creme filled, cinnamon apple filled, chocolate iced glazed, chocolate iced with sprinkles, chocolate iced kreme filled, chocolate iced grazed crueller, chocolate iced custard filled and the dulce de leche.

according to lay bee, her nephew in los angeles has five original glazed doughnuts for breakfast each time. many visitors to the states buy back the krispy kreme doughnuts as 'food souvenirs'.

2007-01-08T11:21:00.000+08:00

fun with video camera & tripod stand

like i told some of my ex-colleagues, if i should feel bored with too much time on my hand, i could always create some fun and excitement by using my video camera with a tripod stand. i could set this equipment up at any overhead bridge and direct the camera on oncoming traffic. it would be interesting to watch the reactions, especially of speedsters and reckless drivers.

another way of having fun would be to position myself with my digital camera near some pedestrian crossing and train the camera at vehicles approaching the crossing. like i told diana, no one could stop you from taking pictures in a public place. drivers, who think they own the roads, will fall in place when they see the camera/camera-man.

i read in the papers of people who objected to the photographying of people committing traffic offences or manifesting inconsiderate behaviour and exposing these misdeeds by publishing the pictures. those against this practice, proffered the opinion that education was the way to change things. how many years of education do these recalcitrant people need! these are adults who have had, maybe, ten years or more of education!

if you can recall there was, many years ago, this picture of the wife of a well-known restaurant chain owner who parked her prestigious car in a lot reserved for handicapped people. immediately after this 'public shaming' and an ensuing outcry over her actions, motorists, who were aware of the incident, avoided using lots meant for disadvantaged people.

this little shaming did go a long way. even up to today, people are wary of parking their vehicles in a lot marked with a wheel chair logo.

2007-01-07T05:49:00.000+08:00

pongal - the harvest festival

not many non-indians in singapore know much about this festival celebrated by the indian community. most of us know about deepavali and thaipusam and some may know about thimithi.

pongal is celebrated in january each year. the exact day is 14 january. this festival has its origin in south india where farming is a major activity. pongal is the celebration of a good harvest. in singapore, pongal is also celebrated as the commencement of the auspicious tamil month of thai.

during pongal, there is a lively street bazaar (complete with cows!) and nightly cultural performances along campbell lane. this year, the cattle parade will be held on 16 january at 6.30 p.m.

pongal is celebrated over four days. however, over at campbell lane, the festival will last from 6 january to 16 january. from the 8 to the 13, there will be a cultural performance by a different group each night, from 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. on 14 january, there is a talentime and variety show.

2007-01-06T20:36:00.000+08:00

langsat - little known tropical fruit

if you are into exploring the lim chu kang farm area, you will come across the langsat trees lining both sides of the road, along certain lanes (roads).

the langsat originated in west malaysia and is common both wild and cultivated throughout the archipelago. on the island of luzon in the philippines where the fruit is very popular, the tree is being utilised in reforestation of hilly areas. it is much grown, too, in southern thailand and vietnam and flourishes in the nilgiris and other humid areas of south india where the fruit is plentiful in local markets.

langsats in malaysia generally bear fruit twice a year- in june and july and again in december and january or even until february. in india, the fruit ripens from april to september but in the philippines the season is short and most of the fruit is off the market in less than one month.

langsats are perishable and spoil after four days at room temperature. they can be kept in cold storage for two weeks at 11.11º-12.78º c and relative humidity of 85-90%. sugar content increases over this period, while acidity rises only up to the 7th day and then gradually declines

the peel of the langsat is easily removed and the flesh is commonly eaten out-of-hand or served as dessert, and may be cooked in various ways.

2007-01-05T20:14:00.000+08:00

singapore police force's
car decal on windscreen

in singapore, it is not uncommon to see ordinary vehicles bearing the s'pore police force sticker or decal on the windscreen. sometimes, i wonder if the owners of all such vehicles are members of the police force. or are these simple-minded singaporeans who think that just because they display a police force sticker, they can get away with traffic offences like illegal parking and other infringements of the law? or do they think that the parking wardens will overlook their offence because they are or related to law enforcement officers?

if these vehicles belong to undercover agents, the sticker would easily blow away their cover. which means that some taxi drivers are policemen in disguise because i have seen this decal on some taxis.

do these people think that they can obtain preferential treatment by their association? i am reminded of my friend, who was a assistant superintendent in the police cadet corp. each time, he drove into malaysia, he would leave his police cap on the back dashboard of his car. he told me that he had been waved on at police stops. at the customs, he also enjoyed faster clearance.

a muslim friend of mine used to leave his prayer mat in a conspicious position in the boot of his car. according to him, each time the officer asked him to open the boot and on seeing the mat, he would stop asking further questions.

2007-01-04T11:51:00.000+08:00

breakfast with shamini
on day 2 of my retirement

my former colleague from balestier hill secondary, who retired at the same time, kept asking me how i was going to spend the first day of my retirement. i did not look upon this first day as a momentous day. to me, it was just like any other day. i got up early, at 5.30 a.m., and after lay bee had left for school, i went for a walk around the estate.

coming back from the walk, i did what i routinely do on a weekend or during the school holidays. i watered the plants, swept and mopped the floor, cleared the trash and cleaned up the dog's mess. did some marketing at ntuc because i was cooking lunch and dinner. drove ida to holland village in the evening.

on day 2, i met up with shamini for breakfast. picked her from her place at blk 153 bishan st 13. took her to this coffee shop at blk 21 sin ming drive. this coffee shop is also home to an award winning hainanese chicken rice stall. had two plain pratas with fish curry.

she had to be at admiralty at 11.30 a.m. to help out with the primary one pupils. as it was still too early for her, decided to show her some of the nature spots in that area. drove past lower peirce and headed for upper peirce. she vaguely remember having been there many years ago.

she was so fascinated by the long tailed macaques, especially the tiny ones clinging to their mothers. took some pictures of them with her mobile phone. in spite of all the exhortations, people are still feeding the monkeys. we saw a number of them eating oranges. the fruit could not have come from our forests.

2007-01-02T08:48:00.001+08:00

adjusting running style

i started running seriously when i joined the teachers' training college in 1968. prior to that, i had taken part in a cross-country race when i was in pre-university. i was more into middle distance events. i helped to organise and i took part in the cross country and road relay events. on the track, i participated in the 1500 metres, 2000m steeplechase, 3000m and the 5000m.

when i picked up the sports, i did not know anything about pacing, arm movements, leg movements, stride length, forward lean and so on. i just ran. in time i realised that my running style was not very efficient. i ran with my feet sprayed; in other words, the feet were pointing outwards instead of pointing straight ahead.

my colleague, who was a state runner, pointed out my fault to me. i set about to rectify my uneconomical style of running. i made a conscious effort to walk with my feet pointing right ahead. and, over time, it became second nature to me. today, when i walk, i do not have my feet pointing to the side.

2007-01-02T08:48:00.000+08:00

crew cut is not botak (bald)

ida paid $136 for a haircut with tinting at a neighbourhood beauty salon and came off regretting the outcome. reminded me of a similar experience i had when i was in primary school. my mother had asked me to have my hair cut very short.

i went to this malay barber who operated his barber stand under a tree near the former rangoon road primary school. i paid fifty cents for the haircut. i did not know how to convey to him what i had wanted. i needed a crew cut. instead, i told him i wanted a 'botak' cut.

had to be one of the easiest styles of haircut for the barber to execute. in fact, there was no style and no technique involved. the barber just razed the hair off the head. it was over in no time. i was in a daze because i had not expected the result.

when i got home, i became the laughing stock of the whole village. just like when i saw ida outside the salon, i could not help suppressing a laugh. she looked so 'lian' with the dyed hair and sparse fringe. for me, i tried to hide the look by wearing a large handkerchief, knotted at the four corners, on my head. it did not help much, but at least i did not feel 'naked'.

i had to go to school in my new look and had to bear the brunt of tauntings and jokes for nearly a month.

2007-01-01T08:02:00.000+08:00

fireworks @ the esplanade

wow! what a start to the new year 2007 and a new milestone in my life! i am so glad that i made my way to marina south to watch the fireworks. previously, the crowds, the wait and the jams after the event would have put me off.

after dropping ida at leonie hills, i drove to marina south to where i figured was the vantage point to catch the firework display. already, at 10.45 p.m. a long line of vehicles was making its way to the car parks. there was a slight drizzle but the crowd was not deterred.

i walked towards the waterfront but eventually ended up at the side of the east coast parkway, the same road i had taken enroute to marina south. the police were doing a good job, keeping everyone in line. across the road, on the other side, vehicles were deliberately slowingly down as the bewitching hour drew nearer.

i could see the two buildings - one raffles quay and ntuc centre - from which some of the fireworks would be launched. at 11.30 p.m., we were teased with small, short spurts launched from around the two buildings.

we had to wait until about two minutes past midnight before the actual display came into effect. the sky was illuminated with colourful sprays for the next ten minutes. initially, i was snapping away with my digital camera but after a while, i decided that i should enjoy the exhilarating performance instead. like all firework displays, the climax was the best, almost earth shattering!

2006-12-31T20:39:00.000+08:00

dinner at dawson place

had dinner with lay bee's siblings at dawson place, along alexandria road. there were twelve of us crammed at a table that is meant for eight persons. the food court is on the second level. ate at one of the hong kong street outlets. either this place is new or the food is good because the place was packed and one of the channel 8 media corp actors was seen patronising the place.

hong kong street has outlets at ang mo kio avenue 10, bedok north street 3, boon lay shopping centre, bukit merah central and dawson place. this outlet is open between 11.00 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. and between 5.00 p.m. and 10.00 p.m. daily. some outlets close a bit later, at 11.00 p.m.

we had steamed fish head with black bean sauce, sweet and sour pork, fried rice, yam basket, dried sliced fish hor fun and spinach. we also ordered some dishes from the dim sum section. we had chee cheong fun and xiao long pau.

the sweet and sour pork and the dried sliced fish hor fun were finished very quickly. the steamed fish was nice but you had to be careful because of the many bones. restaurant food at hawker centre prices; it was worth the money.

2006-12-29T14:59:00.000+08:00

the newly reopened
s'pore botanic gardens

you can pay $5.00 to re-discover the singapore botanic gardens. you get to tour the newly re-opened and re-developed gardens in this one-hour walk through the tanglin/heritage core. highlights of this tour include the new main gate, the heritage trees, the saraca stream walk and the new public reference centre.

i was at the botanic gardens this morning to do my own self-discovery tour. parking for the 1st hour, between 11.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m., is free. after the complimentary one hour, you pay two cents for every minute your car is parked there.

saw more tourists than locals around the gardens but at the food court, it was the other way round: more locals than visitors. the 19th century tembusu tree, not far from the swan pond, is still hanging in there. people, especially children, still climb onto its overhanging branch.

in the vicinity is a huge kapok tree with its spreading buttress roots. this reminds me of the kapok tree near the old monk's hill secondary school. when it was in bloom, the kapok would fly all over the place.

2006-12-28T10:09:00.000+08:00

2 sri bistari's ayam penyet
outlets at changi village

having tried the ayam penyet at joo chiat road and at the malay village at geylang serai, i decided to check out the one at changi village.

found out that sri bistari actually has two stalls at changi village - one within the food centre, not far from the very popular international nasi lemak stall and another among a row of stalls in the wet market, which is just next to the food centre.

tried both the fish and the chicken. the chicken was quite ordinary but the fish was truly crispy and nice. if you order the item 'solo', which means the fish or chicken without the rice, the price is $3.00.

if you are at changi village food centre, you should try the hor fun wanton mee. the wanton is really good. after eating there with me, diana decided to take her parents there to try that dish. apart from the famous changi nasi lemak, there are a few stalls selling bbq food which is also popular. the beef kway teow and the prawn mee stalls are also well rated.

for actions at changi village, you have to go there after 11.00 p.m. that is when the beautiful woman-men make their appearance.

2006-12-25T17:52:00.000+08:00

eurasian xmas lunch
@ jalan mak'mor

every year, without fail, for the past two decades or so, we have been attending this christmas lunch hosted by magdalene and michael. magdalene is a eurasian and michael is chinese. magdalene's sister, mary gomes, is the author of 'the eurasian cookbook'. she - mary - prepares some of the dishes for the christmas lunch.

there is always a good spread of mouth-watering food which includes the eurasian chicken pie, chicken chilli garam, fried chicken wing, meat ball, stewed beef, prawns, turkey, ham, sausages, salad, cakes, tarts and agar-agar.

eurasian food is an exotic blend of east and west. eurasian have spiced up much of their food with both fresh and dried chillies, and given many of their dishes a typical piquancy by adding tamarind or vinegar.

the crowd comprises friends and colleagues of michael, magdalene and another of her sister, doris. i am with the group from the former may primary school. this group includes people like mdm huang, lilian, kay poh, christmas, mary and mrs yanis.

at this party, i always meet one of my former students and his sister margaret who was, until her retirement this year, with qihua primary school. i used to meet another of my former students, lian seng, but i have not seen him for quite sometime. another person i have missed seeing at this gathering is a former neighbour of mine, eng tuan.

2006-12-25T09:14:00.000+08:00

yin yang hotpot @
furama city centre

last night, my friend chan jim kee had a big bang at furama city centre. he had steamboat dinner for about fifty of his friends, colleagues and relatives to celebrate his fifty-fifth birthday. at age 55, you can withdraw part of your money in the cpf (central provident fund).

normally, he would celebrate with a home dinner at his place in sembawang. however, for the past two years, he had been hosting it at the seletar base golf club. at seletar, we were treated to buffet style dinner.

the steamboat at furama dinner features a yin-yang style wok. this means that you can savour two kinds of soup bases at the same time. on one side is the mild, milky soup while the other side is the spicy, mala soup.

what was special was the ingredients for the steamboat. we started with lobster and geoduck clam. it was the first time i was eating this clam. you could have it in two ways: raw or dipped in the hotpot soup. most of us chose to eat it the shasimi style, dipped in wasabi sauce. likewise, for the lobster. (the geoduck is the obscene looking thing on top right)

we had fried salmon skin, tau kee, shui kau, yam, raw salmon, canadian oyster and turkey. for desert, there was ang koo kueh, kueh salat and orh nee.

among the guests were his ccab colleagues mc wong, lam, ismail and hshieh; members of his outdoor education team; victoria school colleagues like harry, elango, kiat chong and santokh singh; his rangoon road secondary school classmates; and friends like myself, harry tan (of nie) and virabhak.

2006-12-23T05:46:00.000+08:00

express bus service to kuala lumpur

ivy called me early in the morning and asked me to help her get a bus ticket for one of her melbourne friends who was returning to kuching, sarawak. but, first he had to get to kuala lumpur to get his connecting flight.

found out there are at least ten bus or tour companies offering this service and prices for a one-way ticket range from about $28 to $56. the cheapest ticket is called the economy in which he passengers travel in a standard forty-seater bus. however, the cheapest tickets are usually sold out very fast.

if you are willing to pay more, you travel in comfort, in a 16-seater or 25-seater, with more leg room and airplane kind of seat. the travel time is also shorter and you are more likely to reach your destination at the appointed time.

most of the buses depart from golden mile along beach road and the end point is usually pudu bus interchange in k.l. however, some terminate at the old ktm railway station and some, the imbi bus terminal.

i managed to get a 8.00 p.m ticket at the cost of $55.00 on nice2. it departed from orchid copthorne hotel along dunearn road and was expected to arrive at the old ktm station at 1.00 a.m.

if you fail to get any seat on a bus from here, the alternative is to go to larkin in johor bahru to catch an inter-state bus. the fare is a fraction of what you have to pay in singapore.

2006-12-18T22:59:00.000+08:00

not knowing that i was eating in the
famous beef kway teow coffeeshop

if you go to geylang, you will come across more than one food stall selling frog porridge. one is eminent frog porridge at lorong 19 and the other is the original claypot frog porridge at lorong 9. you cannot miss the one at lorong 9 as it is the first shop on the left as you turn - if you are driving - into lorong 9.

at this junction of lorong 9 and geylang road, there are two coffeeshops. the one on your right - again, if you drive - is the famous beef kway teow (fried chinese, flat, rice noodles served with tender slices of beef in black bean sauce).

as it was raining heavily and there were no more dry seats at the frog porridge shop, i asked one of the stall attendants where i could get a seat. she directed me to the shop opposite. she told me that it was no problem for me to be at the other shop as she would send the food over, to the other side of the road. there seems to be an understanding between the two shops that their patrons may sit at either shop.

i was totally ignorant of the fact that i was in the shop which i had heard so much about. the famous geylang beef kway teow at lorong 9. as i was all focussed on trying the frog porridge, i did not order any food from the shop except a hot drink (milo).

i find the balestier road's frog porridge better than the original at geylang. the sauce was more and thicker at the balestier shop and the porridge was more gluey; the porridge at geylang was comparatively more watery. the prices are the same, at geylang and at balestier.

2006-12-17T22:08:00.000+08:00

cooking spaghetti
for a xmas party

ida's church small group held a christmas masquerade party on 17 december from 6.00 p.m. at 28 leonie hill, the home of one of the group's members .

expectedly, ida handled the creative part of the party, designing the invitation cards and looking into the decoration for the party.

i think the food part was organised on a pot luck basis, each of them was supposed to contribute a dish. so, when one of them could not fulfilled her part of cooking spaghetti for the merry-makers, i was roped in to help out.

actually, it is one of the easier dishes to prepare and cook. the ingredients are few: minced beef, button mushrooms, sliced sausages and spaghetti. of course, you need the spaghetti sauce.

i follow the directions on the pack - boil a pot of water, add two teaspoons of salt and one teaspoon of olive oil. add the pasta (spaghetti) and boil for six minutes, stir frequently. drain and soak pasta in tap water twice.

after that i fry the chopped onions and finely chopped garlic in olive oil before adding the ingredients. finally, i add the spaghetti and then the spaghetti sauce. add one scoup of water.

anyway, they had so much food at the party that the spaghetti was only half finished.

2006-12-17T10:26:00.000+08:00

mud crabs from
ntuc supermarket

when i cook black or white pepper crabs, i normally buy the crabs from ntuc supermarket. i find the meat of the crabs fresher, firmer and bulkier than the ones that i buy from sheng siong. each time, i would buy two $13.90/kg mud crabs. you can call them mud crabs, swamp crabs or mangrove crabs. they are all land crabs as opposed to flower crabs.

choose crabs that are lively and move about. they should smell fresh and salty, without any smell of fish and especially not ammonia. never buy crabs that are dead, as the meat goes off really quickly and will most definitely be bad when you cook it.

if you are planning on preparing a crab dish following a recipe, check to see whether it specifies a male or female crab, as some recipes do. it is quite simple to differentiate between a male and female crab. the female crab has a triangle shaped area on the underneath part of the shell.

you are advised to kill the crabs by placing them in the freezer compartment of your fridge or soak them in ice cold water; i do not do that. i murder the crabs. i turn each over and plunge the knife into its body. i will ascertain that they are really dead before i clean the crabs. after cleaning it, i will remove the shell and cut the crab into two parts.

i will smash the pincers before deep frying the crabs in very hot oil.

to cook the sauce, i use oyster sauce, light soya sauce, black soya sauce, sugar, chopped chilli, garlic and ginger. the black pepper is added last.

2006-12-15T09:16:00.000+08:00

scorpions and centipedes
in urban singapore

children these days do not have the kind of encounter with these fearsome creatures in our urban environment. those days when we were living in kampongs or when we camped at rural areas, the centipede was not an uncommon sight unlike the scorpion. we hardly saw scorpions.

some days, when it rained heavily, the centipede - about 15cm long - would drop fom the roof of our attap hut. when we had camps at pulau tekong, we would always remind the campers to check before putting on their shoes. a few of them had been stung by centipedes which had crawled into their shoes during the night.

centipedes may be found in a variety of habitats but prefer moist, protected places such as under stones, rotted logs, leaves or bark. centipedes feed on live insects and other small animals. they do not damage plants.

scorpions are carnivores. they eat insects, spiders, lizards and small rodents. most scorpions are nocturnal, resting under rocks, in crevices or in burrows during the day.

in all my years living in a kampong, i had never come across a scorpion. have seen centipedes, poisonous coral snakes, pythons and an ant-eater but not the scorpion.

2006-12-14T16:08:00.000+08:00

hsbc tree top walk at macritchie

finally made it across the tree top walk today. surprisingly, quite a few hikers are solo hikers like myself. i suppose those of us who enjoy being close to nature also tend to be loners. met a family of five, with their maid in tow, who acceded to my request to take this picture.

i started from the car park at venus drive. you walk along a well marked track which follows a stream for part of the way. then you come to what remains of a former village house with concrete steps. after that you will be walking along a path running next to a service road within the singapore island country club.

about 100m from the ranger station, i met this family of five. they were studying something on the damp ground closely. the little girl then volunteered the information that there was a scorpion among the dead leaves. the maid used a stick to prod the scorpion, which raised its curved tail as it started moving off. this is not the first time i have seen a scorpion in our nature reserve. i saw one crossing the road at upper peirce nature park a few years ago and another time, one in the undergrowth at labrador nature park.

the hsbc tree top walk is a 250-metre suspension walkway between the two highest points at macritchie. at its highest, the walkway is about 25m above the forest floor. for one who has a fear of height, it was an achievement to walk across it. the flow on the tree-top trail is one direction only. you enter from the ranger post via peirce track and exit through the gate at the end of the walkway to continue your hike on the petaling trail.

the tree top walk is closed on mondays. the opening hours for tueday to friday are 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. on saturday, sunday and public holiday, it opens half an hour earlier, at 8.30 a.m.

the hike from venus drive to the tree top walk and back is a distance of about 7 km and can be covered within 2 hours.

2006-12-13T21:42:00.000+08:00

frog porridge at balestier road

went with ida to wan lee food court at 567 balestier road for frog porridge. this stall is a branch of the one at lorong 9, geylang. the food court is located at the base of balestier hill, nearer to the balestier hill primary school, not far from the popular bak chor mee stall at jalan datoh.

i had actually cooked chap chye curry for dinner. as she had been clamouring to try the frog porridge, i decided on this place in balestier. this stall is next to the chicken rice stall operated by the cook who used to prepare the same dish at mandarin's chatter box.

there are three versions to choose from: one is non-spicy, one comes with dried chilli and the third is cooked with spring onion. we opted for the spicy version. it gets progressively cheaper if you order more: one frog costs $8, two cost $16 and three cost $22. we went for the medium portion - 2 frogs for $16.

ida liked the frog porridge so much that she was thinking of eating it again the following day. told her not to have too much of a good thing at one go. she finds the frog meat more tender and tastier than chicken meat. although the porridge is plain, when you add the sauce used for cooking the frogs to it, it tasted very good.

2006-12-12T10:41:00.000+08:00

blk 127 toa payoh lorong 1
food centre above market

the food centre that sits above the lorong 1 toa payoh market houses a few good food stalls. a number of these stalls used to be located at blk 135 before the upgrading.

the teochew hand-made pau is one of them. the paus are bite-size and each costs fifty cents. i like the char siew and the kong bak paus. other varieties they have include the pork pau, the lotus paste pau, the chicken pau and the red bean pau. they also sell siew mai and lo mai kai.
on sunday when i was there, the paus were sold out before noon. the stall is closed on mondays.

the teochew hand-made pau stall also take orders for shou tao - chinese birthday pau - with a minimum order of 30 pieces at 50 cents each.

nowadays, it helps when stall holders display their culinary awards. did not know that the noodle was good but based on the awards on display, decided to give the food a try. it turned out that the fishball noodles from 135 fishball noodles were very delicious.

another stall from blk 135 is the come daily fried hokkien prawn mee stall. this stall has a long history; it has been in existence for more than thirty years. if the order is a large one, the noodles will be placed on nipah bark, which is believed to retain the flavour of the food. this stall also garnered the largest number of awards - twelve.

another well-rated stall is at #02-29, the congee stall. it sells hong kong style porridge, mee suah and raw fish.

2006-12-09T23:39:00.000+08:00

rojak @ dunman food centre

did not know that joo chiat has become so colourful after sunset. the neon lights, the many food shops and the restored building that is now hotel 81 make it an interesting place. discovered a number of good eating places, like canton wok, teck's teochew porridge, emperor's soup and more than one vietnamese restaurants. the ria ayam penyet had only about four customers on a saturday night.

but did not eat at any of these places. instead, went to have rojak at dunman food centre. those who live in the east, especially those in siglap, joo chiat and telok kurau will know that the dunman food centre abounds in good food. there is a small car park which is grossly inadequate for the kind of crowd that it attracts. i was told you could park at certain lots at the police station across the road.

apart from makan legend's lau hong ser rojak, there are the two popular wanton mee stalls - eng & seng, heng heng prawn mee stall, a frog porridge stall and the stall that sells soon kueh. these are the more popular stalls at dunman food centre. tekong stall sells beancurd at 80 cents a bowl but if you have tasted beancurd city's, you know that this one is not its match.

to order the rojak, you have to go right up to the owner and give him your order. he will then let you know how long the wait will be. if you order the crunchy tau pok, the wait is usually shorter. you can actually call up to place your order. while i was there, i saw him take two calls.

found it as good as the hoover's rojak at whampoa food centre. have not tried the one at old airport road and the clementi brother's.

2006-12-07T07:58:00.000+08:00

kota tinggi waterfalls

the admission charges for kota tinggi waterfalls were rm$2.50 for an adult and rm$1.00 for a child in 2004. it has since been raised to rm$9.00 for an adult and rm$5.00 for a child. you also need to pay rm3.00 parking charges if you drive.

located about 60km north-east of johor baru, kota tinggi waterfalls is a favourite destination for both local and singaporeans. there are facilities like chalets, restaurants, food stalls and camping sites. on weekends, it can get quite crowded.

you can actually stay overnight at the kota tinggi waterfall resort. after day-trippers have packed up and gone, darkness falls and the waterfalls take on an ethereal feel. the night comes alive with the soothing symphony of rushing waters accompanied by the singing of crickets and beetles, the tapping of woodpeckers and the occasional hooting of owls.

frothy white water cascading 34 metres down gunung muntahak into three natural pools is the main attraction of the kota tinggi waterfalls.

get under the falls and let refreshing jets of hydro massage you as you relax in the natural spa. concrete slides and water steps have been creatively incorporated into the landscape to produce more ways that visitors can enjoy the water.

in addition, a tower slide has been built at the lower pool for a thrilling swirl and slide down to a splashing finale. a steep climb up a flight of concrete steps will take you to the top of the waterfalls where you can stand on a viewing platform to observe the magnificent upper falls. however, this will incur extra spending as you will have to rent a tube to ride down the slide.

2006-12-07T07:28:00.000+08:00

diamond earring
in 3-seater sofa

we had these 2 pieces of sofa - one is a two seater and the other, a three seater - bought from casa italy more than 8 years ago. recently, we decided to replace them. but before we discarded the two items, i had to strip the sofas of the cloth at the base because my wife had dropped one of her diamond earrings into it.

you would not know what could have slipped inside the sofa over the years. anyway, apart from the diamond, i found a one-dollar coin.

the lesson to be learnt is: do not throw away your sofa set before strippping the base to check if precious items have slipped into the sofa knowingly or unknowingly.

2006-12-06T16:17:00.001+08:00

golfing @ desaru

drove up to desaru on 5 dec with three of my golf kakis and stayed at pulai desaru resort. paid rm$125 for a garden view room. worth the money as it was a big room on the fifth level and it came with complimentary breakfast for two persons.

had lunch at jade garden restaurant at sungai rengit. seemed to be the most popular eating place in that coastal township. of course, we had lobsters. we also had buttered prawns and chicken. the last time i was at sungai rengit, i ate at the other restaurant, the one across the road from jade garden.

on the road to sungai rengit, we came across a big group of about thirty cyclists. they appear to be singaporeans. they also ended up at the same restaurant for their lunch. reminded me of the time when we cycled from the pier at tanjong pengileh to sungai rengit. then, there were only four of us.

for our dinner, we drove to telok sangat, which is about 28km from desaru. telok sangat is a quaint and quiet village beside the johor river. i have been to telok sengat several times in the past and i have always liked the place. it has the 'kampong feel of the days gone by'. life goes on at a leisurely pace.

the next day, on our way home, we stopped at the desaru fruit farm to pick up some fruit. a tour of the farm would cost about rm$15. we bought a bunch of bananas for rm$1.30.

2006-12-03T10:38:00.000+08:00

the almost great search

in our own house, we do stash things or cache small but valuable items in secret places. sometimes, this stashing or hiding is not made known to the others in the family and sometimes, even the whereabout of it is kept from the other members of the household.

i have heard of an old lady who kept a bundle of money (notes) in a shoe box. the rest of the family members only came to know about it after the box had been thrown away. some people do not keep their money in the house; they hide it under the floor mat of their car. a colleague of mine who bought a used car found about $600 under the floor mat.

this is my own story. my wife used my brown civil defence uniform to safe-keep her diamond ring. i was totally in the dark about it. after ten years of volunteer service, i was told that my unit was being disbanded and that i had to return my uniform, including my belt and beret. in fact, the whole cohort, which numbered a few hundred, had to do it.

you can guess what happened. after i had surrended my uniform to the store, my wife suddenly realised that the ring was still in the shirt pocket. when we went to the store that same night, a mountain of brown shirts met our eyes. daunting as the task seemed, we had to face the fact that we might have to search the whole night for the treasured item.

fortunately for us, i had returned the uniform only the night before. so, 'my shirt' should be somewhere at the beginning of the pile. as luck would have it, we struck pay dirt with the first lot of shirts. we found it in the first pile of about ten shirts.

2006-12-02T21:35:00.000+08:00

ida's prom nite - 30 nov (thu)

2006-12-02T06:51:00.000+08:00

family store at praisehaven

although i am aware that the salvation army operates thrift stores all over the island, i have not stepped into one until yesterday. i went to the family store at praisehaven which is located at upper bukit timah road, next to the methodist trinity centre.

it is like one of those second-hand stores you find in australia where foreign students, especially, go and hunt for furniture, appliances, pots and pans for use during their two or three year stay in the country. after that, they sell back the useable ones to the same store or similar store. i went with ivy to buy a heater from one such store.

the family store at praisehaven is located on two levels. the furniture and some electrical appliances are found on the ground level. there is even a section for books on this level. clothing, kitchen utensils, crockery, art pieces, musical instruments, compact disc and toys are available on the second level. you can even find used wedding gowns on level 2.

there is the possibility of uncovering some great bargains and even one-of-a-kind stuff, never mind that most things you purchase probably need a good wash and scrub and there is absolutely no after-sales service, let alone a 7-day refund guarantee on the product.

the family store at upper serangoon boasts of a larger range of merchandise. there's one whole level of furniture. they even offer discount on the items on sale. when i was there this afternoon, at around 4.00 p.m., there was even free food and refreshment for browsers and shoppers.

2006-11-30T22:59:00.000+08:00

bbq for exco & office staff at mesrc,
evans rd 30 nov 06 (thu) 6 - 10 p.m.

2006-11-29T20:23:00.000+08:00

jurong fishery port

last night, or rather early this morning, i made my way to jurong fishery port to look into one of my options after retirement.

it is actually quite easy to get to this fishery. once you are on the kje to tuas, look out for the exit to corporation road. follow this road to the end and you will arrive at your destination.

jurong fishery port is one of the two fishery ports operated by ava. the other one is at senoko. they provide 24-hour service daily to foreign and local fishing vessels for bunkering, discharging and transshipment of fish. the port also houses the wholesale fish market where buyers can make bulk purchases.

you need to have some identification document on you, either your identity card, passport or driving licence to gain access to the fishery. you have to surrrender one of these to exchange for a pass.

parking charges are quite high; for a slightly more than hour stay, i paid $2.70 for parking. there is ample parking space within the fishery.

i met up with my former colleague's husband who is a fish merchant. i used to disturb my ex-colleague with this jibe: oh, so your husband goes around in rolled up singlet, wears a thick gold chain around his neck and spout colourful teochew expletives. the truth is far from this. her husband is an honours graduate who used to teach in one of the premier junior colleges in singapore.

mr lee told me he was in semi-retirement. he had actually rented out half of the space allotted to him to someone else. in the past, he stopped work only for a couple of days, during the chinese new year holidays. but, this year, he went with mrs lee - my former colleague -to visit their son in england and they stayed there for more than two weeks. as he was rather occupied, i did not get a chance to chat with him.

the actions at the fishery become fast and furious from 2.00 a.m. onwards. by 6.00 a.m. most of the transactions will have been completed and the place becomes quiet again.

2006-11-24T05:03:00.000+08:00

jamming away at the
n5 kp retreat at seletar
country club on 20 nov

2006-11-23T19:02:00.000+08:00

glam rock - end of the year get-together

the school year for the teachers closed with the event called glam rock. because of the problem of getting a place to meet our needs, the staff welfare committee decided on holding it in school, in the school hall.

as we signed in, we received our door gift - a stylish watch in a metal casing. the food was catered and the same event organiser for 2005 was there to get things moving.

kavitha's eye popping dress was rivetting. i was not prepared for the treat to my eyes when i approached the table. when diana suggested that we -kavitha and i - posed for a picture, i did not dare turn to look her way, much as i would have liked to.

shamini, her good friend and our former colleague, tried to sneak into the hall but the sneakiness did not escape my eyes. i did not expect to see her as i have been under the impression that she would be back only in december.

the curry sisters, the vampires and the thunderbirds were hilarous and comical. for a moment, everyone did not mind the school hall being the venue for such a glamorous occasion. the spontaniety and the sporting attitude of the people involved carried it off well.

many thanks to bernice and her committee for their effort and hard work in making the best of what was available.

2006-11-23T18:41:00.000+08:00

my thoughts on retirement

now that i am officially retiring at the end of 2006, i like to share my thoughts on it. i had contemplated my retirement for sometime and came to a decision in august. i handed in my letter to apply for optional retirement after the teacher's day rally.

i am actually ambivalent about the whole thing. on the one hand, i will relish the sense of freedom. i can get up when i want to and choose how to spend the days. i can take the time to do the things i want to, instead of rushing from one demand to another. with retirement, the locus of control comes back to myself and i will no longer be driven from outside.

on the other hand, there will also be this sense of loss. i may feel disconnected and may experience this lack of purposefulness. when you have worked together with a group of people, sharing the same anguish, anxiety and frustrations, you end up having a common purpose in what you are doing. being removed from this situation may mean you do not feel connected and that can lead to feeling of loneliness.

nevertheless, i have to moved on. i must see life as a continuous journey with never ending opportunities for me to learn, give and grow. i do not have a definite plan at the moment but i do not see myself shaking legs at home and wasting my time away.

each time i am congratulated on my retirement, i feel strange. i am being congratulated for not having a job anymore and for no longer receiving a pay check each month.

i could have chosen to plod on for another two years, till i reach the standard retirement age of 60 but i think that will be detrimental to my mental health. i want to retire when i am still physically and mentally fit and i can take care of myself.

2006-11-22T20:42:00.000+08:00

low-key birthday celebration

this being my 59th birthday - according to the chinese way of calculating ages - i was told to keep it a low-key event or better still, a non-event. my chronological age is actually 58. what we had was a small, family celebration with a durian cake from emicakes and some bought foodstuff.

so, unlike in past years, when i would invite members of the exco to my place for a makan, i did not have a big do this year. neither did i buy food for the office staff to eat for lunch. for the past two years. diana, in 'cahoots' with my wife lay bee, had surprised me with a birthday function. they were not so thrilled when i did not seem very surprised.

a day before that, we went to the teochew cuisine restuarant at bukit batok for a family meal. ordered the teochew imperial set, steamed squids and fried spring rolls. ida, who was at wheelock in the afternoon, bought a ralph lauren wallet for me. she insisted that i started using the wallet right away. had to empty the content from my old wallet to put them all into the new one.

personally, i do not attach much significance to birthdays, either mine or others. i did not celebrate when i was younger, not until i was way past my twenties did i have any celebration. and that also because others insisted on celebrating for me.

2006-11-17T18:07:00.000+08:00

gipsy moth iv, the most famous yacht
in maritime history

i had lunch today at 'the wharf' at the republic of singapore yacht club. the oldest yacht club in singapore, it is located at west coast ferry road. the club was marked a historic site by the national heritage board in 2000.

after lunch, i decided to take a walk to the marina to have a look at the clipper boats that were moored there. was i surprised to see the world's most famous yacht docked by the side!

gipsy moth iv is a 54ft ketch that sir francis chichester commissioned specifically to race single handed around the globe racing against the times set by the clipper ships in the 19th century.

gipsy moth iv made maritime history in 1966-67 when sir francis chichester completed the fastest solo circumnavigation in a small vessel, sailing from plymouth to a stop-over in sydney and back via cape horn in just 274 days (226 days actual sailing time).

gipsy moth iv remained undisturbed but slowly and surely rotting away until in 2004 she was purchased by the united kingdom sailing academy for the sum of £1 and a glass of gin & tonic (sir francis' favourite tipple) and taken to the famous camper & nicholson yard for restoration.

it was reported in the straits times on thursday that singapore sailor elaine chua will be part of a six-member crew that will sail it on nov 21 to phuket. for this second voyage, which started in september 2005, the overall journey will take 22 months, incorporating 25 countries and 32 official stopovers.

2006-11-17T11:13:00.000+08:00

something on the haze

when the smell of burnt ash assails my nostrils
the moment i push the wooden door of my flat ajar
it signals to me the advent of the enveloping haze
that wrecks havoc on the young and not so healthy

as it usually coincides with the seventh lunar month
i am apt to think that the burning of incense papers
may have added to the amount of matter in suspension
with visibilty reduced all-round by the air-borne particles

i feel for those who suffer from chronic respiratory ills
they just don't have the armour to fight this aerial spill
in schools, physical activities oudoors are curtailed
in parks and fields, active people choose to stay away

we seem impotent when it comes to combating the haze
doesn't seem to have an effective way to kill the blaze
we are at the mercy of the ever changing wind direction
and find some relief only when heavy rain comes a pouring

at the source the people continue slashing and burning
with no regard for all the harms that they are causing
the government hands appear to be tied and bound
as they are not able to apprehend all the fire starters

2006-11-16T23:00:00.000+08:00

near drowning at
farrer park swimming pool

it is the right thing for the authorities to ban the use of certain floatation devices in public swimming pools. i had a near death experience when i used one of these now banned devices at farrer park swimming pool long ago.

farrer park had two pools - a shallow one meant for beginners and non-swimmers and a deep one meant for swimmers. i started off by using the tube at the shallow pool. then, wanting to have more excitement, i decided to use it at the deep pool. the lifeguards on duty did not stop me to check my proficiency in swimming when i went to the deep pool.

standing by the edge, i threw the tube into the pool. then i dived into the water. foolishly, i had thought that as i dived through the tube, i would be able to grab it. i dived through and down into trouble. i panicked when i realised that the water level was way over my head and i could not touch the bottom with my feet.

as i struggled to reach the side of the pool, it dawned on me that i was drowning. as my life was ebbing away, thoughts of how my mother would react to my demise went through my mind. just when i was about to give up the struggle, i felt someone push me to the side of the pool.

i like to think that my life was returned to me because of some guardian angel who has been looking after me. there were a few other instances when my guardian angel came to my rescue: once in mlaysia, once in new zealand and two other times, in singapore.

2006-11-13T19:15:00.000+08:00

sri bistari's ayam penyet

a fortnight ago, we were eating ayam penyet at joo chiat. today, we ate ayam penyet (smashed chicken) at sedapura foodcity, malay village. the stall, which has its origin in changi village, is called sri bistari.

comparatively cheaper, at $3.50, it is $2.00 cheaper than the ayam penyet at ria in joo chiat which sells for $5.50. however, the indonesian version has more ingredients. this one comes with sambal, tomato and slices of cucumber as well as a bowl of soup shared by three persons. jameela ordered one with sambal fish (pomfret).

sri bistari claims to be the first and original ayam penyet in singapore. aside from ayam penyet, other dishes on their menu include mee bakso (beef) and pecel ikan. all are priced at $3.50 each. for takeaway, you have to pay 30 cents more, $3.80. jameela took away one pack of pecel ikan while normala packed four ayam penyet for her parents and two children.

jameela and normala have tried the ayam penyet at both joo chiat and the malay village. normala prefers the cheaper one at malay village while jameela likes the joo chiat one more. like i always say, it all boils down to a matter of preference and taste.

one the way back to school, i stopped at geylang to buy the tanjong rhu pau. the three ladies in my car were excited by the sight of some mainland china women 'pushing up and out their paus' to entice the local men.

2006-11-12T11:10:00.000+08:00

seng kitchen @ 45 quality road

went to look for seng kitchen at 45 quality road. this place is not difficult to locate, if you drive. take the kje and exit at jahar bahar. turn left to jurong west. keep on this road until you go past the mrt track and come to chin bee drive. turn left into chin bee drive and the next right is quality road. blk 45 is on the left side of the road. there are ample parking lots by the roadside as well as at the food centre itself.

seng kitchen is the second stall. if you go after office working hours, seng kitchen is one of the few that remain open up to 8.30 p.m. its customers at night are regulars from all over singapore and some workers from nearby workshops and factories.

the higlighted dishes are fish-head curry , teochew steamed fish, prawn paste fried chicken, 5-spice hakka pork chop, kongpo (dried chilli) cuttle-fish, chicken and prawn and oyster sauce vegetable. there are many other dishes on the menu. the menu is in chinese, so i do not know what the other dishes are.

like all good curry fish-head, the fish was fresh and the flavour was nice. the prawn paste fried chicken was fragrant and the meat was crispy. so was the hakka pork chop. the cost is kopitiam price, reasonable.

i enjoy seeking out all these makan places in the outlying areas. provided you are not there during lunch hours, there is no crowd, so you do not have to fight for seats or wait beside a table while the occupiers are still trying to finish their meal.

2006-11-08T09:05:00.000+08:00

mt ophir

i have climbed mt ophir only once, and that was done some thirty years ago, but the wonderful memories of the trip linger. i can well understand why some people go back again and again, climbing the mountain 30 times.

our group that made the climb comprised eight teachers and some 32 students from four schools. we brought along six-man tents, cooking stoves and provisions. it was not physically tiring for us as we were well prepared for it. the only part that presented some problem was the steep rock face near the summit.

from the top, on a clear day, you can see the straits of malacca. in the night, you can see the simmering lights of the coastal towns. we stayed long enough to see all these and the sunrise in the morning.

the johor parks which now takes charge of the climbing at mt ophir has made the trip much safer and less stressful (you certainly won't get lost any more!) by making it compulsory to have guides. they charge rm$150 for a group of up to 10 people. the johor parks authority has also cleaned up the trial and the campsite from the decades of trash thrown by inconsiderate campers, so it is a much more pleasant experience these days.

it is best that you book the guide first by calling them or e-mailing them. this is because sometimes the mountain is crowded and there may be no place to camp at the campsite of your choice, especially on the popular air panas/sagil route from johor.

more people have climbed mt ophir than any other mountain in west malaysia. located at the border of johor and melaka states, it can be climbed from either side of these two states. from melaka, the trail starts at the asahan village near a waterworks and is more straight forward and easier than from johor side. the trail from johor starts near the sagil village beside a cascade of waterfalls within the grounds of the gunong ledang resort.

2006-11-08T08:52:00.000+08:00

mt kinabalu in sabah

one of the things i will like to do upon my retirement is to scale mt kinabalu in sabah. i will have to prepare myself for it so that i can enjoy the climb. i do not see it as something formidable. i know myself. i will be able to make it to the summit.

the climb up kinabalu is one reason why many visitors go to kinabalu national park. despite its intimidating size, kinabalu is one of the easiest mountains in the world to climb. no special skills or equipment is needed, and each year thousands of visitors undertake the expedition, which takes two to three days. accommodation is available all along the climb, the highest lodging being the sayat hut at 12,500 feet/3 810m.

though the kinabalu park is famous largely for the climb, the climb is in turn as famous for the beauty of its route as for the view from the top. kinabalu's slopes possess a wealth of plant growth and a large variety of birds, and much of the climb's interest and beauty lies in tracing the transitions from one ecosystem to the next as one reaches ever higher altitude.

the first 6km of the 14km summit trail, from the timpohon gate up to the laban rata hut, where climbers spend a compulsory night, are straightforward steps following a clear path. the effects of the altitude can be perceived from early on - once out of breath it is difficult to get it back- so the key is to take the ascent slowly and steadily. there are six shelters on this first stretch, so it is possible to take regular breaks. the climb to laban rata is estimated to take four to five hours.

usually, at 3am, the following day, the final ascent to low's peak will begin. this normally takes about three hours, the idea being to watch the sun rise from the summit. this final 3km of the climb is much steeper and more technically difficult, and a pretty daunting prospect in the dark.

i remember my friend tsung kok weng and his wife doris made the climb many years ago without much hard training or serious preparation. from his description of things, it should not pose a big problem for me.

2006-11-06T18:42:00.000+08:00

alkaff mansion & garden terrace @ telok blangah hill park

yesterday, i made a shocked discovery: the alkaff mansion that sat atop telok blangah hill was hoarded up and without any sign of life. according to a report, the restaurant ceased operation in august 2004.

i had been there for a birthday celebration many years ago and had attended a wedding banquet there in the 80s. although it was not air-conditioned, it had a certain class of its own.

originally known as mount washington, alkaff mansion was the home of a wealthy arab family in the 1920s. it opened as a restaurant in 1990. the rijsttaffels - buffet, indonesian style with dutch influence - was very popular. so was the western food.

later, i made my way to the garden terrace. climbed right up to the top to catch a panoramic view of the surroundings. could see mt faber with its cable cars in the distance. by 2009, when the pedestrian bridge is ready, park visitors can walk from telok blangah hill to mt faber and also to kent ridge.

[on 6 november 1989, it was announced in the straits times and business times, of the government's plans to construct a 140 m long and 4 m wide suspension bridge linking mt faber park and telok blangah hill park. estimated to cost $5m, the approximately 27 m, about nine-storey high "mt faber-telok blangah hill bridge", will be built across henderson road at telok blangah green. in future nature-lovers will be able to jog or walk from mt faber to telok blangah hill when singapore's tallest "pedestrian suspension bridge" is built to link these two parks.]

the bougainvilleas planted on the terraces did not appear to have been getting the due attention. in fact, they looked a bit neglected. some pruning had been done recently but the leaves and the cut stems were not removed.

2006-11-05T19:29:00.000+08:00

staghorn ferns @ canopy walk, kent ridge park

these days, if you are at the canopy walk, you will come across a lot of staghorn ferns. they have been physically attached to the trees by the park people. you can see the thin, colour wires which they used to tie the plants to the trunks of the trees.

staghorn ferns are epiphytic perennials or 'air' plants. they can be found high in tall trees attached to, but not growing 'in' the bark. staghorn ferns do not need or use soil. they get their nutrition substantially from the air. stags are in the same class as orchids, which also grow on trees with no soil.

the staghorn fern has two types of fronds. the sterile fronds, located near the base of the plant, are round and flat. they begin pale green but turn brown and papery with age. the fertile fronds are also pale green. they are the fronds that look like a stag's horns, and they hang down from the plant. on the tips of the fertile fronds are the brown masses of spores.

bright light but no direct sun is ideal for stags. stags do not like windy conditions.

(when i took the pics, i was not close enough because i have this fear of height - acrophobia.)

2006-11-05T11:21:00.000+08:00

st george's church @ minden road

located at minden road, near dempsey road and opposite the botanic gardens. built of red brick and featuring a beautiful stained glass window above the altar, st george’s has been the place of worship for many people of different races and nationalities throughout the years. it is a haven for those seeking peace and solace amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.

today, i attended the 8.00 a.m. service in this splendid, old colonial style building with no air-conditioning. this church conducts traditional anglican worship with 3 services on sundays. built in 1911, it did not become a civilian church until 1971. it has since been gazetted as a national monument.

the church has a seating capacity of 650. at this morning service, i estimated there were about one hundred people in the congregation. for a moment, i thought it was a catholic church because there are cushions for those who need to kneel to pray.

after the service, there was free breakfast for everyone at the back of the church. they provided cakes, sandwiches and biscuits. there were even chwee kueh. i did not help myself to the food. instead, i went to ghim moh market for my favourite chwee kueh.

2006-11-04T14:03:00.000+08:00

makan trial in johor bahru

told diana i would pick her at 7.45 a.m. ten minutes before the appointed time, she was already waiting for me. must have been looking forward very much to the makan trip to jb. picked shin huat and luca from the bus-stop along avenue 7 at 8.00 a.m. clearing singapore's side took a bit longer than clearing the malaysian side, which was a breeze.

our first makan stop was the famous beef noodles stall at jalan kuda lumba. missed a turn in the road and got lost for a while. but like i always say 'you cannot get lost for long in jb'. reached the crowded shop at 8.45 a.m. managed to get a table. while we were finishing the beef noodle, we decided to order a plate of braised duck.

our next stop was supposed to be a fish head curry shop along jalan wong ah fook. either it was a non-existent shop or the building in which the shop was located has been demolished. shin huat told us that the herbal roast duck in hoppy restaurant was good. tried the tong gui duck and it was really good.

went back to city square where we had parked the car. bought slices of secret recipe cakes. although the price is slightly higher than s'pore's, it is still cheaper. for example, a whole cake costs s$55 here. in johor bahru, it costs rm$65 ( in s'pore dollars, $29.25).

shin huat is right. secret recipe started in malaysia. they have 35 outlets in malaysia compared to 2 in singapore.

2006-11-04T06:47:00.000+08:00

flying electric rc airplane @ woodlands

was on my way home after buying banana cakes at blk 15 woodlands loop when i decided to make a detour to the road leading to christ church secondary school. saw a few vans parked by the side of the road and some grown-up men flying model airplanes at the open field.

when i approached them, i recognise one of them as someone i know. coincidentally, i had spoken to him that morning. rolan told me he picked up this hobby about six months ago.

the 6-volt nimh battery that powered the rc airplane costs more than a car battery. with the help of a friend, the plane was launched into the air. it was not as noisy as a fuel powered model plane. he told me that a battery powered rc plane's flight time was rather short, about twenty minutes at the most. however, it was easier to fly and also easier to fix and replace parts.

he then demonstrated to me that the plane could climb quite high, around 600m above the ground. according to him, beginners tend to push the plane to a greater height because it gives them more time to manipulate the controls. it cannot be flown for too long, otherwise the engine will overheat and fail and that will result in a crash. other factors like the wind, mechanical problems and poor control can also cause the plane to crash.

2006-11-01T11:20:00.000+08:00

swimming pool at mt emily

the very first public swimming complex in singapore was the mt emily swimming complex which opened sometime in 1930s (no specific date was recorded). this complex was converted from an old reservoir which supplied water to the kandang kerbau hospital. however, the swimming complex was demolished in 1983.

so, up to the early eighties, there was still a public swimming pool at mt emily. i preferred mt emily swimming pool to farrer park swimming pool because the former was not so crowded. although the pools at mt emily were not the standard olympic size type, we had a lot of fun swimming there. it was easier to swim the breadth as well as the length of the pools.

there was something else that was unique about mt emily swimming complex. they set aside different days of the week for males and females swimmers. there were also days when mixed swimming was allowed. so, if you turned up on the wrong day, you would not be allowed admission to the complex.

after a swim at mt emily, we would walk down the hill to the lane next to the rex cinema for our food and drinks. there were stalls selling indian rojak, satay, mee and the ice kachang and chendol.

(the crest was on the wall of the entrance to mt emily park)

2006-10-31T11:53:00.000+08:00

ria ayam penyet at joo chiat

today, soon after the workplan session ended, we made a quick trip to joo chiat to eat at ria ayam penyet. because of the heavy downpour, i managed to find a space near the restaurant to park my car. opposite 350 joo chiat is this other place called farmland steamboat porridge which hailed from jalan pudu, k.l. further down the road is another eating place named my mom's place. looks like joo chiat road is a cluster of good food joints.

we were the only three customers in the shop. each of us ordered an ayam penyet and for the common pool, we had a plate of gado-gado. according to jameela who has eaten other version of the same dish, this one was better than the one at changi and geylang serai. the meat was softer and the sambal was tastier.

ria ayam penyet is an indonesian franchised restaurant. they have another outlet at the 4th level of lucky plaza. in indonesia, ria ayam penyet outlets are found in surabaya, medan, batam and jakarta. this one at joo chiat is open from 12 noon to 9.00 p.m. the lucky plaza opens one hour earlier, at 11.00 a.m.

at $5.50, the ayam penyet dish came with white rice. together with the chicken drumstick, you get tahu, tempeh, kangkong, cabbage and some crispy bits of batter. the ladies liked the gado-gado; i ate only the crackers as i am not a gado-gado man.

shidah was the one who got us all excited about the food. she raved so much about it that we could not wait to rush down to joo chiat to devour the smashed chicken. we actually suggested to her to split her class so that she could join us on this learning journey to geylang/joo chiat.

2006-10-30T17:17:00.000+08:00

matilda house in ponggol

today, we had a pot-luck deeparaya lunch at mdm chia's work station. sabiah provided the bulk of the food which was prepared by her maid. masnie and rashida contributed one dish each. chan joo brought meiji yogurt, wee kiat bought some chocolates and bernice bought drinks from linda's stall. i only came to know about it at about 7.15 a.m.

wee kiat talked about his experience at siling primary school recording centre. he was regaling us with 'stories' about this very yakkity man from wellington primary. sabiah said that they told ghost stories at their centre . that was when someone mentioned this house in punggol which stood out like a sore thumb in punggol 21. i was so intrigued by the tales that they told that i decided to find out more about this place.

[if you have been to punggol by mrt, you would have noticed something really strange. a deserted bungalow standing all alone in an open field in a modern place where you can see lrt and lots of hdb flats. rumour has it that those who try to pull the house down would die. i heard rumours saying that two persons had died so far. one died of a heart attack, the other died of an unatural death in a freak car accident. both of them were contractors, and so no one dared to disturb the building.]

matilda house is a fine example of an early style tropical bungalow. the tropical style of the building is accentuated through its architectural features such as open verandahs, raised floors and the use of timber framed lattice and louvres to permit cross breezes. as the only remaining historical bungalow in punggol, the conservation of matilda house will serve as a significant landmark for the future punggol new town and as a reminder of "old punggol".

in the early 1970s, the government under the land acquisition act acquired maltida house aka punggol kampong house from mr howard cashin. mr cashin, an eminent lawyer and a epitome on the singapore rugby scene for decades, spent many happy holidays in and around it.

it is called matilda house, named after his paternal grandmother and built by his father, mr alexander cashin, as a present for his wife. the punggol seaside bungalow, built as a weekend retreat for the cashin family, will be restored and conserved as a landmark and put to community use in punggol new town.

2006-10-29T22:01:00.000+08:00

where, in singapore, can you find the lotus plant growing?

the lotus flowers have colours from red, pink, pale yellow to creamy white. each flower has 15 or more oval petals and a flat seedcase at its centre.

seeded in muddy water, the lotus rises above the mud and produces beautiful and fragrant flowers. the big showy bloom may be 20 - 30cm in diameter. the flowers open for just three days. then each petal falls silently into the water, one by one, during a short period.

the lotus grows in muddy waters, emerging from them unblemished and untouched by pollution.
"the white lotus, born in the water and grown in the water, rises above the water and remained unsoiled by the water."

so, where in singapore, can you go to appreciate these beautiful flowers. the best time to view them is in the morning.

there are some in one of the ponds at the botanic gardens. one of the biggest ponds where you find lotuses is at halifax road, just outside the kandang kerbau hospital. the pond at bishan park i, the smaller of the two parks in bishan, are growing very well. lotuses are also found in the pond at the entrance to the sungei buloh wetlands. at the mandai orchid garden, the lotus plants can be found growing in the pond.

the only place where lotus grows in the wild is this secluded spot in kranji.

(the two pictures show the lotus plants at bishan park i)

2006-10-29T12:56:00.000+08:00

red whiskered bulbul at bishan park

was at bishan park ii, near the inline skating rink, when i saw this bird on the ground. recognise this species as one which bird lovers in the kampong liked to keep. a well-trained one can whistle or sing very melodiously.

the bird is a red whiskered bulbul, the one that appears on the singapore $5 note of the bird series. the bird gets its name from the red whisker patch located below its eye.

this bird feeds on fruit, nectar and small insects. the loud and evocative call is a sharp kink-a-joo, and the song is a scolding chatter. its voice is similar to a cheerful human whistling.

this one appears to be a young bird that is still not very adept at flying. i tried shooing it to fly away but it just hopped or flew a short distance. i could have captured it but i would not know how to look after it properly. eventually i chased it into the shrub so that it would be seen and taken away to become a prisoner in a cage .

2006-10-29T07:57:00.000+08:00

bak chor mee @ crawford lane

i seem to be re-visiting places. tai wah minced pork noodles is at blk 46 crawford lane. i used to drive ivy and, some years later, ida to this block for their chinese tuition. across the canal from this place is the ica building.

to get to crawford lane, if you are driving, you have to approach from either lavendar street, geylang road or beach road, depending on which direction you are coming from. if you take the train, there is a bridge across the canal.

this bak chor mee stall was featured in the programme ' makan places - lost and found'. in the same coffee shop is another well-rated stall - the happy chef western food. i have not tried the western food but have eaten the dried noodles from tai wah twice.

i am convinced that the bak chor mee must be really nice because well-known local chefs, foreign visitors, including actors and singers, and confectioners have testified to the goodness of the food. each time i visit the place, there is a queue. last sunday, there were twelve people ahead of me and i had to wait about forty minutes for my turn to be served.

everything about the food is nice - the ingredients, the soup and the noodles. however, i feel that the first time i ate there, the food was nicer because it was prepared by the owner himself. on the second visit, it was prepared by one of his assistants and it did not come up to his standard.

the place is open from 9.30 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. it is closed on every 1st and 3rd mondays of the month.

2006-10-28T21:53:00.000+08:00

television and the kampong days

today in singapore, the vast majority of all families have two or more television sets, and a large number of children have a television set in their own bedrooms. we have three sets in the flat, one in the dining area, one in the living area and one in my bedroom.

back in the 60s not many households could boast of a television set in the house. it was a luxury item which not many families could afford. we did not have one. neither did most of our neighbours. whenever i wanted to watch television - in black and white, in those days - i would visit one of my better-off neighbours. but it was not so convenient because sometimes the show would end way past their bedtime.

i remember this kind malay neighbour - not exactly a neighbour because he lived on the other side of the kampong - who had a set and who made it a point to leave his door wide open so that the disadavantaged ones like us could enjoy a free show, standing there outside his house. his family did not go to bed till the end of the last programme of the day and the national anthem was played.

i am still able to list some of the programmes that i watched, standing outside the threshold of his house: bonanza, have gun will travel, what's my line?, jack benny show, 77 sunset strip and candid camera. yes, candid camera went back more than 45 years.

2006-10-27T15:42:00.000+08:00

cathay beef noodles in johor bahru

this very popular and well-known beef noodles stall is found in a coffee shop at 149 jalan lumba kuda, near the lorry customs and immigration complex. the name of the coffee shop is ang kim chwee. there are two other stalls sharing space in this shop. they are a braised 'lor arh' duck stall and a laksa stall.

i think the name cathay is attached to it because, in the 60s, there was a cathay cinema across the road. i remember, as a student, i watched a japanese adult movie in the cinema with some of my pre-university classmates.

the man who owns this stall is mr ngo. he is assisted by his wife and a hired help. he has done so well that he could afford to send all his children overseas for their tertiary education. the second of three brothers, he is the only one who struck out to johor bahru from kluang. his younger brother and a sister-in-law continue to operate their own beef noodles stalls in kluang. they have been in this business for more than a quarter of a century.

at rm$5 for a small bowl, it is not cheap by malaysian or any standard. still, he manages to draw crowds of locals and singaporeans to his stall. the goo bak hoon is like the noodles used for bee thye bak. his stewed beef is soft and tasty, san the smell that you associate with beef. if you are lucky, sometimes you get the 'dry meat' in your noodles.

it used to be much easier getting to the coffee shop from the causeway when there was a fly-over at the end of jalan ibrahim. with the closure of the fly-over, now you have to go in a roundabout way via taman pelangi to get there.

2006-10-27T12:42:00.000+08:00

prata shop @ blk 150 bishan, st 11

shamini in brisbane sent me this email:

hello mr ong,

was looking at your blog the other day and all those food reviews and pics jus make me wanna come home.... i dont know if i told you but there is a really good prata shop near my place. its bishan st 13. i am not sure of the blk but its just a short walk from my blk 153. there will be two coffeeshops facing each other. if u drive through the cte and take the toa payoh flyover and turn left into bishan, its on the first left turn before the 7-11. the best time to go is on sunday when they have really nice mutton curry. its sardine curry the rest of the week. the pratas are usually sold before lunchtime so try to go ard 9am if thats not too early. hope you like the prata as much as i do! take care of yourself and have a great weekend! love, shamini

today, at about 9.45 a.m. i went looking for the prata stall that shamini raved about. it is not in blk 153; it's in blk 150, street 11, bishan. the name of the stall is maya's prata. there were about eight people in the queue. i checked with the last person in the line to find out if i was going to wait for the right stuff. yes, they were all queueing for the prata and the mutton curry. there were three persons manning the stall, two of them making the pratas and one taking the orders.

finished the two kosong pratas. i do not quite like egg prata. the curry was really good stuff.

2006-10-26T20:38:00.000+08:00

the buah cheri tree

in our kampong days, the buah cheri tree was a source of nourishment as well as a means to boyhood fun. the buah cheri tree is not as sturdy as the guava tree. the buah cheri is a small, evergreen spreading tree that seldom grows taller than 9m. its branches are rather feeble and we normally would not climb up the tree to pick the fruit.

the bark is stringy and the branches appear to be in layers; old twigs are reddish-brown and new ones are hairy. the round berries, about 1 cm across, are green ripening to red. they are fleshy and filled with many tiny, pale seeds and are quite sweet and pleasant to eat. they attract birds and fruit bats as well as children. growing rapidly, the buah cheri tree makes good temporary shade for new gardens.

the fruit, when unripe, is green and hard and it serves as very good ammunition for the wooden gun or rifle which we boys fashioned and made ourselves. the wooden gun has a clip to hold the stalk of the fruit. one end of a rubber band is hooked over the round berry. when the lever is triggered, it will release the rubber band and the berry will be propelled towards its target.

nowadays, you do not see the buah cheri tree grown in a man-made environment. however, you can still find them growing in the wild. when i walked through the kranji trail, i saw a couple of these trees at the edge of the secondary forest.

2006-10-24T13:31:00.000+08:00

ultimate frisbee @ singapore polo club

had lunch at singapore polo club today. the other day when diana gave me a treat at the same restaurant, i had half a german pork knuckle. she had ox tail stew. today, i had fish and chips while lay bee had hainanese pork chops.

while having lunch, we were entertained by some of the youthful members playing a game of ultimate frisbee. there was also a side-show: a bull terrier on the field showing off its uncanny canine ability at catching the frisbee in its mouth.

for those of you who like to play this game, here are the basic rules:

each point begins with both teams lining up on the front of their respective endzone line. the defence throws the disc to the offence. a regulation game has seven players per team.

a point is scored when the offence completes a pass in the defence's endzone.

the disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. players may not run with the disc. the person with the disc has ten seconds to throw the disc. the defender guarding the thrower (marker) counts out the stall count.

when a pass is not completed (e.g. out of bounds, drop, block, interception), the defence immediately takes possession of the disc and becomes the offence.

when a player initiates contact on another player, a foul occurs. when a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if possession was retained. if the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.

players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. players resolve their own disputes. in other words, there is no referee or umpire on the field.

2006-10-24T08:37:00.000+08:00

feng shui - eight red and one black goldfish

i was at my sister's place in tampines when i came across this book on feng shui by lillian too. somewhere in the book there was mention that keeping goldfish in the house is a good feng shui practice.

feng shui literally means 'wind and water'. it is steeped in philosophy based on the benefits to be derived from creating harmony and balance in our environment.

i have a big, round bowl into which i placed about twenty small goldfish. the population eventually decreased to nine and has stabilised at that. now i am left with eight red and one black goldfish. coincidentally, i have the right number and right combination of gold fish. eight gold and one black is considered an auspicious combination.

the black one absorbs all that is negative and undesirable. i suppose that red or gold ones attract all that is positive and desirable to the occupants of the house.

you should not keep the goldfish in the bedroom, bathroom or kitchen. they will create material loss. the best location is in the part of your house facing the north.

2006-10-23T17:59:00.000+08:00

eggs of the apple snail

each time i visited this pond at kranji i would be somewhat put off by the sight of these pink clumps clinging to the stalks of the lotus leaves. some of them stick to the sides of the nearby monsoon drains. i have often wondered what they were. i thought they were some kind of caterpillars that gave the colour to the lotus flowers.

today, i found out what they were when i was browsing for more information on bollywood. i saw pictures of this pink stuff on the wild singapore website. the pink clumps are actually the eggs of the apple snails which are found in tropical and sub-tropical countries.

apple snails deposit their eggs above the waterline in a calcareous clutch. this remarkable strategy of these aquatic snails protect their eggs against predation by fish and other inhabitants of the water.

apple snails inhabit various ecosystems: ponds, swamps and rivers. although they occasionally leave the water, they remain submerged most of the time.

the snails are most active at night. in the dark, they come out to forage for food. they are voracious feeders on natural vegetation. they will eat most aquatic plants. surprisingly, they will not eat water hyacinth.

i used to keep two of these snails with my goldfish. bought them from an aquarium at 50 cents each. they did not survive long because there was no algae or plants to sustain them.

2006-10-22T18:36:00.000+08:00

organic farms in lim chu kang

after visiting kok fah technology farm at sungei tengah, i took lay bee and her friends to lim chu kang. the friends wanted to buy organic vegetables. told them i know of three farms that have organic produce and they are aero green, fire flies health farm and ivy singh's bollywood.

found out that aero green is not a true blue organic farm. aero green uses aeroponics specially adapted to the tropics. the farm grows about 500 kg of pesticide-free vegetables a day. (for information: organic farming is farming without synthetic fertilisers or pesticides.) aero green is just opposite the entrance to the sungei buloh wetland. it has a large compound and i have seen bus-load of visitors at the farm. bought some pak choy, chye sim and a pumpkin at aero green.

next, we visited the fire flies health farm at 75 lim chu kang lane 2. it is a large farm and you can see vegetables like spinach, cabbage, radish, long beans and ladies' fingers growing on the farm. this farm uses fermented compose and no pesticide. the compose consists of rock dust, seaweed, molasses, sawdust and beans. we bought vegetables and fruit at this farm. four organic oranges cost $10. the price of the vegetables is 2 or 3 times that of conventional vegetables.

took them to ivy singh's bollywood but we did not go in because it was lunch time and there was a crowd. there was no place to park the car. bollywood is at 100 neo tiew road. its restaurant is called poison ivy. they do not sell a lot of vegetables.

2006-10-21T18:45:00.000+08:00

aloe vera - its uses & benefits

this morning, i acted as a tourist guide of sort. took lay bee's friend arthur and his wife ann to kok fah technology farm to buy freshly cut aloe vera. they were so fascinated by the gourds and other plants they saw on the farm and they ended up buying more than aloe vera.

aloe vera is a plant that looks like a cactus, but is actually a member of the lily family. the particular kind of aloe vera used for natural remedies has the latin name aloe barbadensis and its leaves contain a gel that is rich in therapeutic properties.

the benefits of aloe vera include:

* healing small cuts, insect stings, grazes and wounds.

* healing and repairing skin tissue after burns, including sunburn.

* healing skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, acne, general itching.

* cosmetic uses such as moisturising and improving the elasticity of the skin.

the best source of aloe vera is a live potted plant - you can buy it from kok fah farm. using the gel straight from the plant ensures that it is fresh and its active ingredients are at their full strength. it is best to use it within four hours from the moment you harvest the leaf.

the man who sold us the aloe vera at $2 a piece also showed us how to get the gel out of an aloe vera leaf. first, cut off a plump lower leaf near the central stalk. next, cut off any spines along the edges. after that, slit the leaf lengthwise. finally, squeeze out the gel from the centre of the leaf (you can use the tip of a butter knife to do this.)

2006-10-21T08:00:00.000+08:00

kelantan lane khaik sng kio food centre - less known fc (3)

soo chin, my former colleague at monk's hill, was the one who introduced me to the sungei road laksa stall that is found in this food centre at 31 kelantan lane. at that time, a bowl of laksa cost $1.50. today, it is $2 a bowl.

the word 'laksa' is said to have come from the sanskrit word meaning 'many', referring to the many ingredients that go into the making of this dish.

the many ingredients include fresh cockles, slices of fish cake, beehoon noodles in coconut milk and seasoned with garlic, chillies, belacan, lemongrass, galangal root and tumeric.

the unique thing about this laksa stall is that they serve the laksa in a porcelain bowl - which is the traditional way of serving laksa - and provide you with a porcelain spoon only. that's the unique thing. no chopsticks or fork to go with the spoon. the gravy is brewed over a charcoal fire.

the other stall here that is supposed to be good is the one selling ngor hiang - '5 spices'. ngor hiang is deep fried stuffed marinated 5 spice meat with beancurd skin.

the kelantan lane food centre is just behind the jalan berseh food centre.

2006-10-14T16:05:00.000+08:00

botak jones @ clementi

the other day, when i gave daniel a lift home, he mentioned that there was a botak jones outlet near his place, at block 325 clementi avenue 5. he gave the location as somewhere near pei tong primary school.

botak jones started at tuas, at sungei kadut eating house located at the junction of pioneer sector 1 and sector 2. it catered to the workers in the pioneer road area but soon attracted foodies from all over the island. it is closed on sundays. to avoid the crowd, visit the place on a saturday. the supervisor of the place is a former monk's hill student.

the other outlet is at ang mo kio. both the ang mo kio and clementi outlets are closed on mondays. the ang mo kio's botak jones is at yue hua food place, block 605 ang mo kio avenue 5. the clementi's one is in a kopitiam. both outlets are open from 12 noon to 10 p.m. the original botak jones at tuas closes at 8 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on saturdays.

tried the lamb chop. it comes with sliced button mushrooms, lots of fries, coleslaw and cabbage and mint. still prefer the one i had at werner's oven.

2006-10-14T09:42:00.000+08:00

buying property is not a sure money making investment

my wife, together with her two brothers, shared a condominium unit at anjung seri. the eldest brother was the initial owner but when he found himself cash-strapped, he roped in his two siblings to help manage the payment.

i think the cost of the unit was in excess of rm$300 000. the monthly conservancy charge was about rm$140. they paid these charges for a few years. it was a nice, two-room unit that overlooked the greens of the octville golf and country club. it was about an hour's drive from singapore. it was after johor jaya and was near to the giant hypermarket.

as it served as a weekend getaway, the furnishing was rather spartan. there were a fridge, a stove, a dining set, a single bed and some mattresses.

i remember going to the place twice and both times we did not stay overnight.

sometime last year they found out that they had no more condo unit to go back to. the whole resort had been stripped of practically everything. all their belongings and furnishings had been removed and taken away. the air conditioners, doors, windows and grills had been stripped. the whole unit was bare. it seemed that all these lootings were carried out in broad daylight.

i still have the label on car windscreen. it serves as a reminder and a souvenir.

2006-10-10T20:29:00.000+08:00

the osim uzap - the belt massager

i have four osim products in the house - a thermometer - this was a gift, a blood pressure meter, a belt massager and a vaccum cleaner.

i bought the uzap for s$268. although the feedback i get is that the oto is more popular, i still go for the uzap because i hold osim shares.

bought the uzap for my wife but these days i am the one who is making sure that the money spent does not go to waste. i use it at least once a day, zapping away at my waist for the regulated ten minutes. the sensation you get is like when you have been riding a rattling bus for a long time and when it stops (at the end of ten minutes) suddenly, you feel like something has been taken away from you.

this oscillating belt is now sold in the usa for us$200. when used regularly, it helps to tone the areas around the tummy, buttocks and thigh areas. according to a colleague of mine, it helps to loosen the content in your intestines, so you do not end up with constipation.

the manufacturer claims that it loosens muscles, releases tension and improves circulation.

2006-10-10T07:08:00.000+08:00

jambu mawar - rose apple

my former neighbour who lived in a grand old house had a jambu mawar in her garden. it was a tall tree growing at the fringe of her sprawling garden. the grand old lady would inspect the garden at about eight every morning. i would time my fruit gathering session before her inspection time. if the ripened fruit was hanging low, i would pluck it. those that were beyond my arm's reach, i would use a projectile and tried to bring them down. sometimes the noise would bring the old lady out of the house. then i would disappear hastily.

rose apple or jambu mawar may be a shrub but generally a tree reaching 7.5m to 12m in height, and has a dense crown of slender, wide-spreading branches.

the fruit is nearly round, oval or slightly pear-shaped, 4-5cm long with smooth, thin, pale yellow or whitish skin, covering a crisp, mealy, dry to juicy layer of yellowish flesh, sweet and resembling the scent of rose in flavour.

rose apples bruise easily and are highly perishable. they have to be freshly picked to be crisp. the birds will usually get to them before humans.

rose apples are eaten out-of-hand by children. they are seldom marketed.