28Feb 2022 – War Is Never The Solution

Wed: much to be done with getting the fresh produce cleaned&stored after a big grocery-savings-shopping from Gaint/Tampines. Pleased with the promotional savings of S$20+including 3%SenSav+S$20 vouchers from the HappyDot surveys.

Thu: celebrating Calvin’s Bday@CC, home-made-SeafoodLaksa (fr Iyas), Sushi (fr Helen&Yoshie); home-made lotus-root-salad&coconut-agar+bought-popiah, otar, kuehs are my local-flair-contributions. Bummer to the trick candles for not doing their job and did not relit themselves again after being blown off!

No worries with all that Gins&Tonics from Stephanie, can try to imagine that the candles did relit –  a good yummy time was enjoyed by all.

Fri: TGIF – praying for the ppl in Ukraine. War, aggression&bullying are NEVER the solutions, the innocent ALWAYs suffer – extremely saddened&distrubed by this morning’s news. Both FBcover&profile+HeaderImage here pix will remain until Peace can be restored in Ukraine.

Every war makes our world worse than it was before, war is the failure of politics and humanity, and a shameful capitulation and a devastating defeat in the face of the the forces of evil – PopeFrancis

Sat: continuing with Calvin’sBday celebrations DimSum (fr ChanWaiHang) for Tea-Time and BBQ-meat-galor (fr Calvin&friends) for dinner.

The secret to a good salad – tkx to Wendy for these flower buds of the TorchGinger-BungaKantan/Etlingera elatior. Not only do their fragrance&taste enchance the local SIN Rojak-dish, but also good in western salads. Pix credits to Helen&Wendy.

Friends (Ricky, John&Vin) of Wendy brought this MalaFish which was way too spicy&oily for my taste-buds. If I knew that the sauce is that spicy, (burnt my tongue in everyways!!) would have taken the fish+shellfish before the sauce was added. Have been warned by many about these Mala-dishes and have never ordered any, so now tkx to these ppl for confirming that I will never order or taste another Mala-dish. Thank goodness for Iyas’s coconut-mango-sticky-rice, the perfect neturaliser.

Sun: Tembusu/Cyrtophyllum fragrans (evergreen-tree native to SIN) can last 100+yrs as termites&weevils do not eat this kind of wood. Being a hardwood, often used for chopping-boards  – tkx to Calvin&Wendy this trunk will not to be turned to wood-chip or mulch, but will eventually be beautiful benches, cheese-boards, stools, etc…

One of them has now gone to Leonard as a house-warming-gift, it just needs some drying out before cleaning&sanding.

Appreciations for Thai-dinner@WarmUpCafe.

Mon: appreciations for flowers from Helen and Mark on this last Mon and last day of Feb2022 to chase away the MondayBlues as Russia puts their nuclear force on special alert – praying very hard that it will never be put to action.

These 2 uploaded pix will remain in my FBcover&profile and here in my blog-header until PEACE can be restored in Ukraine.

Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime — Ernest Hemingway

28Feb2022: WorldOmeter of COVID-19 deaths are as follow:

22 Feb 2022 – Happy 2s-Day On This 22-02-2022

Sat: more affordable tasty local foods (only 1dish~S$5) from outdoor Hawkers/MarketFoodCentre (max 5 vac ppl for now!) 20 GhimMohRd Market&FoodCentre, #01-17 九江烧腊 JiuJiangShaoLa RoastDuckBreast+叉燒CharSiew=fork roasted in Cantonese/marinated roasted pork $5.

Must have been nearly 2decades ago since last setting foot in PanPacificHotel and as memory goes, do not remember anything of it! Now with this nice decor with tasteful matching 3Tier-serving-tray for the sweet-dishes might stay in the memory. Dementia/Alzheimer is NOT welcomed into any stage or part of  this life’s journey and will keep diligently working hard mentally&physcially to keep it at bay.

HighT was delightfully presented in the surroundings of a high sky-view-ceiling giving some feeling of space when you look up! Enjoy&like these one-bite size of everything, wish I could say the same for the taste and the service – blame it on the circumstances&consquences of Covid, the other 3Cs! Many family members&friends have now been exposed, infected&recoverd from Covid.

Nice round-about-detour-stroll to RafflesCity to pick up some plain dark RoyceChocolateS$15, a special treat for the memory. Know of someone who does not like chocolate and his memory is questionable?

Asides from boosting the blood flow to the brain, the flavonoids found in chocolate have been proven to infiltrate and improve the functionality of the areas of the brain equipped with memory and learning functions. Chocolate also contains a little dosage of caffeine.

http://canada1.national.edu/why-eating-chocolate-while-you-study-is-good-for-you/

Sun: tkx to DaisyL for having me over to their family-lunch – strange to be there without Darryl but he is certainly in our thoughts.

Coffee for Clement&Stanley, cold chocolate drink for me@Alchemist/The Mill, 1st visit. https://thesmartlocal.com/read/the-mill-singapore/

Tkx to Leonard for dinner@BritishHainan/PurvisSt, 1st visit – good food&service, highly recommended.

PrawnCakes, OxTailStew, PorkChop,

interesting&tasty dessert 薏粑 YiBuaKueh, 1st time tasting this – will return. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=560876977601679 

Another round-about-detour-stroll thru’ RafflesHotel where none of these foods on this poster are familiar to 2nd-born or me! And according to her, its probably lost in translation and that they do eat a lot of foreign food in OSL, so they did get that part right! nice try there RafflesHotel – hahaha. So here is where the GhostTiger is located; an interesting AC-packed back alley, honestly is it not possible to reduce these to just a few bigger units???

Liked&enjoyed these displays@OdeToArt/RafflesCity

Mon: quiet day to get some rest and to get my thoughts together. The end of 2022WinterOlympics and Norway top the medals with 16/Gold, 8/Silver, 13/Bronze – 37total. Norway never fail to amaze&impress me with their winter sports, especially when their pop is about 5+mil, like SIN&SC/USA, places where I visit and stay for longer periods. Having lived in Norway for over a decade, do understand their connection with winter and the snow. #6 (now 10) who is born&bred there was probably given his 1st pair of ski when he started to walk!

Received this from cousin YatSoon/London – so excited&glad to know that niece Merla, his 1st-born has an interest in the family history. Hope that we all will be able to travel to Jiangmen, Guangdong/China oneday when the restoration of the LAM-ancestral-hall is completed.

Merle has completed a school homework on family history. She chose to focus on her two grandmothers. Lam Po Kui (Madam Yeo) and Kate Vickery (née Mandale). Such extraordinarily contrasting lives and backgrounds… from Guangzhou in south China and Cumbria in north England. Different languages, cultures, outlooks… separated by continents, yet by the twist of fate touching at the congruence of Merle… for her to continue with another link in the unbroken chain of inheritance. Merle has been so lucky to share her life so far with Granny Kate Vickery. Granny Po Kui will be beaming on her with love and pride today as well! Thanks to cousin Amy Lam SG for her website on Lam family history… Amy, please note that Merle has acknowledged you in her bibliography… the inner historian in me made sure she did her footnotes properly!

Tue22022022: on this 2s-Day its also exactly 2yrs ago since I last saw 1st & 2nd-born+#2 & #6. Hope that some of them can visit me sometime this year as it will not be advisable for me to travel yet! Aupicious day on this 2ndDay of the week for couples to get married today.

I don’t want to be married just to be married. I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t be silent with ― Mary Ann Shaffer

18 Feb 2022 – Enjoying Moments Whenever Possible

Tue: tkx to DaisyC for sharing a bowl of HKG-noodle – a new taste for me@ARC380 LavenderSt/JinBesar, former LavenderFoodCourt.

Walking around Lavender+JalanBesar to ensure that the Tiger has leaped fully in this area and was hoping to catch some lion/dragon dance, but none. Stopping by CitySqMall, decided to watch DeathOnTheNile

Continuing to Chinatown for 湯圓TangYuen@MeiHeongYuen. On to Hill&VictoriaSts, still no lion/dragan dance. Too cloudy to see the moon then – but tomorrow night is more the night for a full-moon ie if the sky clears up!! Nice night views of CHIJMES, former CHIJ my alma mater taken on VictoriaSt, SultanMosque from VictoriaSt/JinPinang, Concourse from VictoriaSt/JinSultan.

Tkx to Clement for late dinner/supper at TheHainanStory/ChapterOne@Hotel Boss, one of the few 24hr joints I know of.

Wed: appreciations to DaisyC for arranging with cousinJohnWONG to catch up. Tkx for lunch at ChuanJi@MacphersonMall, a dead mall with only a few places opened – decent wholesome home-cooked-style-food. A short visit with sisJo who was delighted to see our cousin too.

Also my first visit to HockSiong&Co, an interesting place to find all kinds of 2nd-hand-stuff. What would this Raffles here think of his discovery of the SIN of today??? Not only can he be found at SIN-River, he is with a family of KarungGuni (Origin: Malay – It means gunny sack but is more popular as a reference to our local Rag-and-Bone Man) and Raffles is even for sale here! https://www.facebook.com/hocksiongco

Thu: movies with pre-meditated murders – watched 3movies (2 on the big-screens and 1Netflix) with the subject of murders the past 2 weeks and here are my thoughts for whatever it is worth! Of the 3, only knew that DeathOnTheNile is a murder-flick and a very vague memory of the old movie made in 1979. LIke any of the AgathaChristie’s murder-mystery, this one with 5murders commited, will keep you guessing who did it? Motive – greed! HouseOfGucci – jealousy. PowerOfTheDog, probably not considered a murder, but for me here is a perfect murder! – motive, revenge&protection. Will not be a spoiler to go into details but all 3 movies are worth watching.

Fri: TGIF and a good weekend to all. Does anyone know where one can buy these TigerBeers? Did not even know that they existed, but then not a beer drinker – nice to have a label of your own neighbourhood, enjoy your beer with this beautiful full-moon tonight.

An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger, or a beer – Confucius

Edited: 2019-Special-Edition TigerBeer, tkx for that info Alvin. Was away from SIN most of 2019, returned Nov2019 and did not know about these nor the chance to get any.

Tkx to niece DaisyL for catching up, enjoying the exhibits@i12/Sound of Art and hearing about her trip to Sydney where Darrly will be for the next 2yrs. She now has to learn to deal with the EmptyNestSyndrome, a new chapter in her life.

If she is half as much of an adventurous person as I am, she will be OK – hahaha!

14 Feb 2022: ♥Happy♥Valentine’s♥Day♥

Thu: 10thCNY-day and it has been raining the past few days. Sharing 2amusing rainy pixs, one here on a StPatrick’sDay many years ago! and the other from Chicago/USA. The simple&repetitive sounds of raindrops are peaceful&restful for the overstimulated body&mind, am enjoying the lovely cool-wet weathers. Has been a long while since I had a cover (just a sheet) on in my sleep.

Fri: TGIF on this 11thCNY-day where the line was snaking around the food stalls here. Good luck to all who have bought or who are going to stand in lines to buy tickets for this TOTO$16M-Grand-Draw. A good one from nephew Jay about TOTO – hahaha.

Passing by one of the neighbourhood fruitstalls and thought this might be an interesting fruit to share, especially for my overseas friends! Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world (messy to dissect but yummy to eat), wonder how many seeds are there in a fruit? Supposedly a healthy fruit&seed.  https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/…/SIP_870_2005-01-11.html

9 Feb 2022: Or Gluttony???

Sun: 6thCNY-day, appreciations 18thUncleTL&Auntie+cousinSara for lunch (seafood soupS$12.50) in the Woodlands area,

a new territory for me to explore walking on well-maintained paved walkways on this cool lovely wet day between MarsilingMall and

CausewayPoint passing by this beautiful pefectly-shaped tree.

WoodsSquare – completely new to me, 1st time seeing&being in this building,

with trendy tipsy joints – hahaha. Today concludes the CNY-visits with the BlueGeneration.

Mon: 7thCNY-day人日JanJat=human day was the day human beings were created and viewed as the common birthday of all human beings. Happy Birthday to ALL on this nice cool day.

3Nov2021: Helen&I were caught in action by SG FoodBuzz 0:33, a video by Hawker Foods in Singapore 20mit8Spnsmago1145eh1d7 This stall allows you to customise your own version of chee cheong fun! CCF here is highly recommended – 0530hrs Bfast this morning before walking EC Pk.

Lunched with Clement@GoldenMileFoodCentre – MincedMeatNoodles/ShenBakmie, BabiTulangBuak Keluak/Charlie’s, TruffleFries&Coleslaw/Ashes. Being人日had to have a taste of one! TangYuan/75 AhBallingTangYuan. Does Gastronome defines a person who enjoys food for pleasure???

Ongoing action@TheVadaiShop where SPH was filming there – quite a bunch of crew+equipments and again like last week’s bus action, do not have a clue if this is for a commercial or movie??

Another nice cool walk with Clement (he is the only one in my SIN-family who enjoys exploring&walking like I do) in this area/pix downloaded – along RochorRiver-CrawfordSt/NBridgeRd-crossing MerdekaBridge-NicollHighway–WaterwaysWatchSociety a detour-round-about to bus-stop80211 opp NationalStadium. Memories from this bus-stop 10yrs ago – due to a few hiccups, the initial planned completion date of 2011 for the SIN SportsHub has come and gone. However, after construction finally got underway in 2011, the 35hectare sports complex is on track to open its doors in 2014 – https://amylamsg.com/2014/07/30/worlds-largest/

Tue: 8thCNY-day, another lovely cool wet day to enjoy while it last. Where CNYfoods are concerned, what I miss most is Jessic&Frank’s 28ingredients YueShang/魚生 with IkanParang/WolfHerring. Posted Mar2013 but worth reposting here again.

Preserved ingredients: 1.Vegetable  2.Cucumber 3.Red sweetened ginger  4.White sour ginger 5.Brown melon 6.White melon 7.Leeks. These 7 preserved ingredients can be bought at: Sin Hwa Foodstuff/Senoko South Rd/SIN

Dried candied ingredients: 8.Winter melon 9.Chinese mandarin orange.

Fresh ingredients thinly cut: 10. Two varieties of lettuce/iceberg&romaine 11.carrots 12.Large celery 13.Spring onions 14.Coriander, also known as cilantro, Chinese parsley 15.Red chillies, remove seeds 16.Fish IkanParang is Malay for WolfHerring/brandy for seasoning, optional.

Fried crisp ingredients: 17.Wonton skin 18.Pillow-shaped crispies/pok chui 19.rice vermicelli/mei fun

Sauces & Seasoning: 20.Five spice power 21.Ground white pepper 22.Thinly sliced fresh ginger 23.Light soya sauce 24.Calamansi juice 25.Finely cut scallions fried till crispy 26.Sesame oil and oils from the deep-fried scallions 27.White sesame seeds 28.Pounded roasted peanuts.

Tossing and mixing this salad with auspicious phrases and sayings – beyond any doubt for me, this is my favourite YueShang/魚生 and CNY-dish. https://amylamsg.com/2013/03/03/28-ingredients/

Wed: 9thCNY-day, tkx to HS for an excellent 8-course-dinner at TangYunCantoneseRestaurant in TanglinClub where it was such pleasure for the mouth and pleasant to the ears to hear good Cantonese spoken by the chef&servers.

Hamachi/YellowTailYueShang, AbaloneSoup, SteamedSoonHock,

BraisedChicken, SauteedScallop, StewedPorkTrotter,

GlutinousRice, NianGao&TangYuan – details of dishes in the menu.

Abundance of the best CNY-food to start the Year of the Tiger with old&new friends where a good time was had by all, leaving with happy-full-bellies. Appreciations to Wil for the ride back to the EastSide on this lovely wet evening.

https://www.tanglinclub.org.sg/dining/tang-yun.html

Gastronome or Gluttony?? Gastronome when savouring and enjoying every bite, but Gluttony when eating well past the point where hunger is satisfied – we all need to be aware and to be honest with ourselves to find the balance in our world of overindulgence!

5 Feb 2022 – Lunar/CNY Visits

Tue:  恭喜發財 KungHeiFattChoy=wishing you great happiness&prosperity in Cantonese. and since I am Cantonese, these are the phrases I would be wishing my family with:

l新年快樂 SunNinFaiLok=Happy New Year
身體健康SunTaeGeenHong= Good Health
出入平安ChutYupPingOn=Peace be with you