Afternoon fun

I spent the morning baking apple crisp. However I made the mistake of taking a shower while it was in the oven and the top burnt. Mom helped me to salvage most of it, but I'm still bummed. I must add that I generally do not leave something uncovered while out of the room, but I was a bit over-optimistic today.

M and I met at Crystal Jade and had lunch. Again they were having a special Chinese New Year menu so the usual stuff wasn't available but we had really yummy tofu as well as a vegetarian bamboo pith-mushroom-veggie dish and of course the spinach with egg.

We also stopped off at NTUC to get - DRUMROLL PLEASE - CHOCOLATE BANANA POCKY. Yes you read that right. It was pretty good though. I found this link and realised how many different kinds there are - so much Pocky, so little time.

We watched the House Bunny something that no one else probably wants to watch, but really should. It's a happy, happy movie - just check your brains at the door. I'm going to miss spending time with M :(

THIS is why we call him Puppy

River on lap
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

When my aunty came over for Chinese New Year, she was amused that we called River "Puppy". I think she thought that with him being an adult dog, the name didn't quite fit.

Hence I give you exhibit A : which self-respecting adult dog still climbs into your lap and plonks down? Mom took this photo of River in my lap.

Knock-off Birds

Mom and I went to Mustafa afterwards to pick up some stuff. One is a Swarovski bird - the other is a Mustafa knock off for all of $9.50. While it's pretty clear I think which is which, you have to say it's a pretty good imitation.

Lunch

Mom and I went for lunch at Lingzhi today. We were hoping to have the Rock and Roll salad which we really enjoyed the last time, but apparently they are only serving a Chinese New Year menu today. It was also incredibly packed and noisy - one wouldn't imagine there was a recession on.

What we did have was the spinach bisque, the homemade tofu and the monkey headed mushrooms with ginger and spinach. The tofu was $7 a piece, but when we bit into it, it was smooth and almost custard-y. Mom wondered how they got the texture so perfectly.

The mushrooms were also delicious - the spinach was blanched perfectly and the mushrooms were gorgeous. It was a fantastic lunch.

Keeping it real

I've got to say - how can you not like a guy who seems to be keeping it real even as he takes over as President? It seems that there's more of an emphasis on substance over style.

Association of Bloggers

How weird. Mom sent me this - some bloggers decided to start up an Association of Singapore bloggers. They registered it and you have to pay a membership fee to join on top of everything else. What next as Association of Singapore Diary Writers?

And all along I thought blogging was about putting across your point of view and maybe even about individuality. Silly me.

This post pretty much says it all.

Scout and Meep at door

Scout and Meep at door
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

This photo just cracks me up :)

Peranakan Museum

Mom and I went to the Peranakan Museum this afternoon. It's the first time I've been since they renovated the place since it was the old Asian Civilisations Museum. I know the museums are usually free on public holidays - but the website made no mention of it, so when we got there, it was actually pretty crowded.

We went mostly to see the Serenity in Stone exhibition. It was really beautiful - definitely worth seeing. Unfortunately there was no photography allowed in that gallery. It was also pretty surprisingly that at least two sets of spotlights over the figurines weren't working at all so the statues were basically sitting in the dark.

Queequeg in her stroller

Queeg in her stroller
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I swear, I put on a kilo today alone - I weighed myself! I went to visit my Dad's older sister, then went to my parents in law's home (where I had a second lunch), then my relatives came. It was a pretty busy day.

Here's Queequeg just after the relatives have left, waiting to go for her walk in the stroller.

Time magazine article on self-publishing

This was a very interesting article about publishing and how self-publishing may no longer be the bastard child of the book world. It was also an eye-opener to read that the book reading audience has actually increased.

Reunion Dinner

Reunion Dinner
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

If you're not about to throw up right now, chances are that's because you haven't just had Reunion Dinner. Ah the joys of Reunion Dinner - it involves stuffing your face and then trying to remind yourself you shouldn't do it again next year, which you will inevitably do anyway. It's kind of like Thanksgiving that way.

So tonight's dinner included a huge vegetarian claypot and the raw fish salad (raw fish, ie salmon, was not added till after I took my portion), and an assortment of meats which Mom and I picked up from Crystal Jade this morning. In addition, N cooked pig trotters for Dad, chicken, prawns, made a chap chye and soup. Then she topped it off with bird's nest for dessert. Let's just say most of the food wasn't finished and we still were so full, we had to practically be rolled away from the table.

Dinner and Wii

D & J were suggesting dinner tonight, and M and WW were to meet us afterward. We decided to have pizza at my place and confirmed details this morning. I was about to call Imp and Planetofsound when the latter called to invite me over for dinner. In the end, we all decided to come over here.

Planetofsound brought the wonderful mushroom pasta and the thai salad in the upper right hand corner - you wrap it in the lettuce and pop it in your mouth, absolutely beautiful! I made biscotti for D as she had put in a request a while ago for some, and made a fruit fall crumble.

M and WW brought over their Wii with their House of the Dead game - they had House of the Dead 2 and 3 for Wii. I have spent many hours (not to mention money) over the years in arcades playing House of the Dead 2. It was awesome. Now I realise they have Ghost Squad for Wii which Simian and I loooove - must resist the temptation to get a Wii. Must resissssst.

Everyone had a go except J, but everyone nicely let me hog the game. It was way fun. It was a great evening, spent with friends.

HJ - I'm sure the Fragmaster already has House of the Dead on Wii, but if he doesn't you have to get this for him. He'll love it.

Birthday Cake

It's my Dad's birthday today - here's the birthday cake I baked for him. Dad doesn't take dairy products or dessert in general, so it had to be a healthy cake. It's the same apple cake I made for Thanksgiving dinner, but sans the walnuts because I realised today that I was out of walnuts. The walnuts were optional anyway - but I think they do add a lot to the cake.

Big D's

Arrrrgh! I was just mentioning the now closed down Soul Kitchen to my Mom two days ago and saying how much I had enjoyed the food there. Of course I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant, but I remembered the chef - and Mom sent me this blog post where coincidentally they mentioned that he had opened a hawker store!

Now the bummer - the store is closed as he is moving, and he's re-opening 2nd February, which means I won't be here to try it out! Guess it'll need to wait till I'm next home! Someone try it out and tell me how it is - Imp it's just down the road from you.

Triple Ginger Cookies

Triple Ginger Cookies
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I've always secretly believed that there are basically two kinds of people in the world - garlic people or ginger people, just as apparently people are either Dostoevsky people or Tolstoy people. You can like both, but when push comes to shove, and you have to pick one - which would you pick?

For example, I like both writers but I'd pick Dostoevsky any day if I had to - in Tolstoy, if you're a woman, you're either slutty or stupid, at least with Dostoevsky, if you're a woman, you have a fair chance of being saintly and the path to redemption for some wayward man.

In the same way, I'd take garlic over ginger anytime. In my family though, Mom absolutely loves ginger (as does Simian). So when I saw this recipe care of the excellent Ms Heidi Swanson, I knew I had to try it out.

Warning : this recipe is not for the faint of ginger heart. Also, it's not the cheapest thing to bake, because it calls for crystallised ginger. It also took a little longer than I expected because of all the grating, peeling and mincing (but nothing too terrible).

Mom said it was very good - and when I took the first bite, I thought there was too much ginger for me. On the second bite though, I changed my mind, and I have to say that I might just become a ginger convert :)

Upside down Pinny

Upside down Pinny
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

How silly does Pinball look? :)

Sunshine

Sunshine
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

It's been very, very hot of late. M and I were having a discussion on whether we prefer it hot or cold. I think I still prefer the heat though I realise that if it's very warm or very cold, you're still less inclined to go out!

I have realised however how much I miss the sun when it's winter in Maryland :)

Vegetarian Food

There's a vegetarian restaurant on the top floor of Orchard Towers and the food there is always good. Today they had Mee Tai Muk which I was just saying the other day I hadn't seen in ages. I had vegetarian kway chap - I have always loved the soup, but never ate the innards even when I did eat meat, so was glad that they have a vegetarian version. We also had mock duck and mock barbecued pork. We also had barley drinks. Yum.

The lady at the stall is perennially cheerful and she even gave me a free dish of mee tai muk. She always asks me where I've been when I come back from the US.

Jason's

Jason's
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom and I went by Jason's at Orchards Towers today - and they had completely renovated the place. If you go by and need to find something, there's a middle aged lady who wears glasses - she knows where everything is. Do not ask one of the younger guys :)

Scout and Meep shadow

Scout and Meep shadow
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's Scout and her big Meep shadow in the background :)

Thinner Almond Crisps

Thinner Almond Crisps
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I made these today - they were closer in terms of crispiness but still not right. Mom mentioned butter and I realised there was no butter in the recipe I used - back to the drawing board. Also 10 minutes was too long - the crisps started to burn.

M at Arab Street

M at Arab Street
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

M and I went to Arab Street afterward. I bought two pairs of sandals. If I could sew, I'd be buying tons of fabric - there were so many beautiful kinds.

Different kinds of ginger

Different kinds of ginger
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here they are - the different types of ginger. There was mango ginger, lesser ginger (which makes you wonder if the other gingers laugh at it), tumeric and other roots.

M arranging the ginger

M arranging the ginger
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I had my own personal set decorator today - when we wanted to take a photo of all the different kinds of ginger on display, M arranged them nicely in a row for me!

Mustafa vegetables

Ah how we love Mustafa- as if you guys didn't already know that :)

We went to the vegetable section where they had Indian avocados, see the Indian avocado above next to its Australian cousin. We also bought some paradise pears - which were expensive. M and I bought six to share - they were sweet but weren't really as great as we had hoped for!

Raj

M and I went to Raj for lunch today. We decided to be adventurous and try new dishes - so we tried the chilli milli (grilled paneer - very nice) and some vegetables in a cashew nut curry. That sounded better than it tasted because it wasn't spicy and was in fact rather sweet. Also oddly enough, there was pineapple in it. The pakoras were yummy as always!

Almond Crisps

Almond Crisps
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

The crisps still didn't turn out right. They were thin enough, but not quite as brown, and not crispy enough - have to find a new recipe!

Ikea Almond Crisps

Ikea Almond Crisps
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

These taste so good - but I am determined to reproduce it at home.

Lunch at Domvs

Planetofsound took me to Domvs for lunch. Imp had a course and couldn't join us. It was a lovely lunch - the soup and pasta were extremely good and they have really fresh tomatoes. I have to say though that I think Planetofsound's own pastas actually surpass these - his mushroom pasta for Christmas dinner was out of this world. Seriously. He should start a restaurant already.

Planetofsound was BAD though - we were supposed to go dutch, and he did the whole sneaking the credit card trick. The restaurant was absolutely empty - I wonder if it's a sign of the bad economy or that everyone is already away for Chinese New Year.

Scout in the sun

Scout in the sun
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Here's Scout toasting herself in the sun this morning - how cute is she?

Roosting Box

Roosting Box
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

It's been so cold that Simian built a roosting box and put it up for the birds to use two days ago. It was so cold out that when he hammered the nail into the wood, the nail kept breaking.

The Inaguration

The last time I saw so many people on tv at the National Mall, was Forest Gump, and they weren't even REAL people :) Plus it was a frigid 17 degrees out.

This pretty much sums up the difference in administrations. The inaugural address was as good as everyone expected and you couldn't help but be moved when you saw how people reacted. It's a day that everyone is going to tell their kids and grandkids about.

Holter

I went to see my cardiologist today. Apparently while my ectopics seem okay, my heart rate seems kind of slow. It's been a while since I used a holter - so I got strapped up to one this morning. I hate holters because obviously you can't bathe for the duration. That means no jog for me today. The good news though is that the new holter is really small. The old one was at least five times bigger and once earned me worried stares from someone who was taking the lift with me.

Soup Spoon

Soup Spoon
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I bought lunch home after going to see the doctor - I do like the Soup Spoon's many different soup varieties.

Canele

Canele
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Seriously - I have no canele luck. I went by to Canele at noon and it was sold out for the day. This happened the last two times I went by too.

I did manage to get cranberries at the supermarket though they didn't come cheap!

Cross-eyed Brad

Cross-eyed Brad
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom wanted me to take a photo of her cat, Brad - doesn't he look silly? :)

Ug in car

Ug in car
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Mom and I went to the vet with Ug. Ug was a really good dog the entire time!

Cornflake Cookies

It's criminal what they're charging for Chinese New Year cookies - especially when you see how easy it is to make these. One box of cornflakes, a little butter, honey and sugar later and we had these. Easy Peasy.

Serangoon Gardens Village

Serangoon Gardens Village
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I met an ex-colleague for lunch today and we were in Serangoon Gardens. They're pulling down the building in the photo - it's been here through several incarnations and now it seems that it's going to make way for a new mall - just what we need because it's not like we don't have a mall within spitting distance everywhere in Singapore!

Simian, Mitchy and I used to spend many happy hours in the arcade here during Uni.

Pakora

Pakora
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Had a quiet day at home, but went for dinner with Mom and had yummy pakora!

A great artist is dead

Andrew Wyeth passed away on Friday at age 91. He was probably one of my favourite artists (I'm just a populist). Simian, D and I last visited the Brandywine Museum, back in June and Wyeth was still painting at the time. His granddaugher was giving museum tours, and apparently he still popped into the museum from time to time. If you ever have a chance, don't miss this museum.

Gore tex jacket

Gore tex jacket
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Planetofsound and Imp got me this great jacket. it'll definitely keep me warm in the spring. You know this jacket means business when it comes with its own guarantee card! Thanks a bunch guys!

I am also super impressed that planetofsound went into the shop and bought the jacket, all by himself!

Hummingbird

Hummingbird
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

M got me this! I love this - am going to get a charm bracellet to hang this and other charms on. She also got me envirosacks - I needed a new one since I loaned mine to Simian.

D got me a Monty Python live DVD (including the Lumberjack song!), a CD and a sleep mask.. Can't wait to watch the DVD! :)

Thanks guys for my cool presents!!!

Breaded garlic mushroom

My main course - breaded garlic mushroom. It was good - in a nice creamy sauce.