Loot

Loot
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

19 books for $97 - a day well spent :)

Book Sale

Book Sale
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Since Mom was holding the fort down with Poopie, I managed to go to the book warehouse sale at the Singapore Expo.

Whampoa Market

Whampoa Market
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Thanks Suntaneye for emailing about Poopie.

Poopie was doing a bit better - but threw up his food, so we went down to the vet to pick up some meds for him. While Mom was in the vet, I went to Whampoa Market to pick up some nice ice cold dessert like ice kachang!

Weird Bug

Weird Bug
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

A weird bug I found in Mom's room. It's just been sitting there for days - but it's still alive.

Poopie looking bright

Poopie looking bright
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Thanks to M and J for calling to ask how Poopie was doing - and to D for her good advice with the supplements.

This was Poopie doing a particularly good moment today - he lay down and went back to sleep right after I took this.

Ariel and Scout

Ariel and Scout
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's Ariel looking apprehensive because she went to the vet too to do bloodwork. Scout was being nosy and trying to sniff her. Poor Ariel was so stressed on the way back that she started hyperventilating (also it was very hot!).

Grilled vegetables

Grilled vegetables
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Portobello Mushroom with crab

Portobello Mushroom with crab
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Seafood Soup

Seafood Soup
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom had the seafood soup.

Minestrone

Minestrone
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom and I have been running back and forth from the vet for the last few days, but we did manage to go for lunch. This is the minestrone I had at Buono.

Poopie sleeping

Poopie sleeping
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's Poopie asleep. Mom and I were given bad news about his prognosis but he seems to be a bit better today. He certainly didn't want to go to the vet!

Poopie

Poopie
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Poopie is Mom's favourite cat. He's 13 and one of the first cats that we got - M, said once that he was one of the cats she DID remember before the numbers got too overwhelming.

Please pray for him, cross your fingers for him or do whatever it is you do. We're all hoping he pulls through. He's a fighter and has come through operations for his nose cancer when the prognosis was not good - that was two years ago.

Mom and I will be going down to visit again tonight.

Poopie at the vet

Poopie at the vet
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Poopie is in the ICU at the vet right now. He's not doing so well because his creatinine levels are very high and he can't seem to urinate. Poopie as some of you know, has diabetes, cancer and now a heart murmur as well.

Mohican Pub

Mohican Pub
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I've walked by this pub in the day and wondered why it had a man in a feathered headdress on top of the door. Today in all its neon glory I saw that it's called the Mohican Pub. I had to snap a photo fast to catch the red glowing eyes of the head over the door (which blink on and off) but I realise the photo is pretty grainy now.

Brown rice and Tofu

Brown rice and Tofu
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

J got in touch today to say that she couldn't make dinner tomorrow after all so dinner was changed to this evening. Unfortunately M had too much work and couldn't make it. However got to catch up with J, S and D over the excellent food at Seven Sensations. We had brown rice with petai beans and olive rice along with this lovely tofu dish. We also of course had the yam soup and ayam buah keluak.

Vegetable stall

Vegetable stall
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I love these brightly lit vegetable stalls that open in Little India all night, selling all manner of vegetables. This particular stall actually extended down an entire row.

Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I also made some pasta salad, incorporating steamed veggies that had been put into the steamer!

Gazpacho

Gazpacho
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I decided to make some gazpacho for dinner - the first time I've ever tried it.

Steamer

Steamer
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom bought a steamer while I was away to steam vegetables and I wanted to try it. The veggies came out sweet and lovely but a note to myself - don't try to steam pasta in it again. It took so long that boiling it would have been much faster.

Another plus point - you can steam your face over the contraption!

Fried Bean Curd skin

Fried Bean Curd skin
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

The garlic bits give this dish the extra kick that I like. The fried bean curd skin of course go beautifully when paired with the famous Crystal Jade chilli.

Chee Cheong Fun

Chee Cheong Fun
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I love this. Obviously I had the dough fritter version, as it's the only vegetarian version of this. Somehow the peanut butter and plum sauces that come with it do go extremely well, but I just ate tons of the famous chilli with it instead :)

Spinach with two kinds of egg

Spinach with two kinds of egg
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom and I went to Crystal Jade and had this for lunch - it's Simian's favourite.

Church of the Sacred Heart

Church of the Sacred Heart
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I was talking to Simian about this Church, but he couldn't remember what it looked like. Somehow the fact that there are neon lights emanating from Jesus' hands is just kind of freaky.

Vegetarian curry

Vegetarian curry
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

D also made a gorgeous curry with pumpkin, tofu and two different kinds of mini eggplants. The potato in it was perfect as well - soft but without being crumbly.

D, Imp and I then had cheesecake and watched Gone Baby Gone which was really good but pretty depressing.

Stuffed Falafael

Stuffed Falafael
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

D made a gorgeous falafael which he stuffed with potatoes and corn among other things.

London Cheesecake

London Cheesecake
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I also made a London Cheesecake with a sour cream topping. One of the tubs of cream cheese that I opened to use in the cheesecake happened to have a torn seal and when I opened what I thought was a new tub, I was confronted with a sea of green mould. Yuck.

The cheesecake however fortunately turned out much better. When I spread the sour cream on top, the cream and the baked brown top of the cheesecake clashed in terms of colour though and gave it an unsightly green tinge in some spots. Imp joked that it must have been mould!

Cranberry Pecan Bread

Cranberry Pecan Bread
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I baked today and made cranberry pecan bread.

Pakora and Rose Milk

Pakora and Rose Milk
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We weren't hungry but decided to have pakora anyway. I also decided to have rose milk (bandung) which I literally haven't had in years. M had a sweet lassi.

Raj

Raj
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

M and I stopped for tea at Raj - another favourite.

Mustafa

Mustafa
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

M and I then spent the rest of the afternoon in Mustafa - probably my favourite place to shop in Singapore. Everything you could want under one roof and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!

Diabetic Foot

Diabetic Foot
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

There's a campaign on to bring awareness to diabetes at the moment. Here's a model of a foot with the toe rotting off due to diabetes. M said it looks like something out of Haw Par Villa. For those of you non-Singaporeans, it's basically a very kitschy place to visit - a theme park with decidedly non-kiddy themes.

Fortune teller

Fortune teller
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

This was the first time I've ever seen this done. M paid the guy $3 for her fortune - the man opens the cage and the little green bird (which you can't see in the photo) comes out and picks a packet from the table. In the packet lies your fortune :) The bird was adorable. I noticed the bird had nice fruits to eat.

Snacks

Snacks
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

M and I stopped by this store to buy Masala Peanuts and Pakora which I immediately tore into despite being stuffed.

Shop

Shop
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

One of the shops in Little India - M and I were remarking anew how much we love the place. This shop sells garlands of flowers and other items.

Brown Rice

Brown Rice
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I never thought that I'd write a post about rice - not being a big fan of it in general. Seven Sensations' rice is crunchy, has a lovely flavour and I finished a whole bowl by myself - which is very, very rare.

Ayam Buakeluak

Ayam Buakeluak
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

This is the only place I know that makes vegetarian ayam buakeluak and it is awesome.

Yam soup

Yam soup
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Before I got back to Singapore, I was planning to meet with M, D and J. Unfortunately D and J couldn't make it for lunch today - so we're going out on Wednesday instead. M and I decided to go ahead anyway and we went to Seven Sensations where I had the yam soup which is practically a meal on its own! The food here is always amazing.

Seven Sensations is a relatively new find (a recommendation by D and Imp) and has quickly become a favourite!

The Princess and her Parents

The Princess and her Parents
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

The interesting thing about this opera is that it's about a very spunky heroine. She fights, she pursues the guy - and she even saves his butt in the end!

The Hero

The Hero
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Apparently we were watching an opera called "Di Qing seizes the Pearl Flag" by the Wuchaun City Cantonese Opera Troupe. Unfortunately it was in Cantonese and the subtitles in Mandarin often flashed by too fast for me to read them. Even Mom had trouble understanding some of it and her Cantonese is MUCH better than mine. The costumes were extremely elaborate.

I still am not sure what certain movements signify - for example, when the hero twirls the thing on top of his head (which incidentally reminds me a little of the dancing girl in Return of the Jedi).

Kreta Ayer People's Theatre

Kreta Ayer People's Theatre
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom read about a Chinese Opera performance in the papers and decided to go. I went along. It turns out that Kreta Ayer People's Theatre is going to be 40 years old next year - which is not really a surprise since it seems to have been there forever.

Dragon Beard Candy

Dragon Beard Candy
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

It's very difficult to find Dragon Beard Candy worth its salt (or in this case, sugar :)). I managed to buy some today though that was yummy - it really melted in your mouth and was everything dragon beard candy should be.

Sushi Teh

Sushi Teh
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Suntaneye, I ate at Sushi Teh today and thought of you :)

Scout

Scout
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

It was great to come home to see my family, get SMSes and emails from you guys to say welcome home. It was also wonderful to see the cats and dogs, including this little face.

There's something about plane travel that makes you smell unlike yourself I'm convinced. When I first get home (or Simian does) the cats and dogs aren't sure it's us, then we shower and change and they're fine. Scout was the same - cautious and a bit uncertain then back to her usual self this evening :)

Ipod on plane

Ipod on plane
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

So I just touched down a few hours ago and will be catching a nap sometime today because they woke us at 2:30 am for breakfast :)

The plane was super comfortable - they changed the format and now the chairs fold down into beds. Also this was super neat - you can plug your Ipod in and it will charge your Ipod as well as allow you to listen to stuff or watch things on your Ipod from the in seat console.

Mount Washington Subs

Mount Washington Subs
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Ended up eating at this place which had Indian and Italian food and then back home to pack as I'm leaving in a few hours and there's still a long drive to Newark.

Bye B-more friends and I'll be seeing you guys soon - and everyone in Singapore, I'm on my way home :) See you really soon!

No Parking

No Parking
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I love this sign!

Mount Washington 1

Mount Washington 1
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

This place was closed too :(

Mount Washington

Mount Washington
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

We headed out for a very late lunch but all the restaurants were closed along this cute row in Mount Washington.

Nest

Nest
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian and I went to the house this morning as the water guy was coming as well as the guy delivering the wood. We waited from 8 to noon and no one came so we called. We finally got hold of someone and the flooring people said the suppliers who were delivering the wood said they couldn't make it today!

Wasted an entire morning plus had to wake up at 6 to get there on time.

Shopping with Suntaneye

Went shopping with Suntaneye at Towson Town Centre today. Simian went out at noon to help a friend move and I went out pick up some last minute things with Suntaneye. Her husby declined the offer to come shopping - wonder why! :)

We managed to get some nice stuff and then Simian called past 4 pm so I went to pick him up. We went to Pitango's to have some gelato and then it was a bit too late to do anything else so we came home.

Thanks for coming shopping with me Suntaneye!

Vegetarian Roll

Vegetarian Roll
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's the vegetarian roll I had.