Ice Cream

 

Two hot and sweaty girls decided that ice cream at Island Creamery would just hit the spot! We also met C, who is one of the people working there, and he commented on my camera and then showed us his fantastic photos!

More Bukit Brown

 

We got ever so slightly lost - but Imp pulled out her Ipad and navigated us back. We also stopped one of the cars driving by and they gave us directions to get out. The two nice men in it also stopped us at the gate as they passed us by again to check if we were okay.

The grave in the bottom left hand corner is believed to be the oldest Chinese tomb in Singapore. We saw sunbirds, orioles, kingfishers and bulbuls.

Bukit Brown

 

Imp and I went to walk through Bukit Brown. It was a nice day for a walk - not too sunny, though we were both sweaty and hot by the time we were done. A big thanks to Impy for the mosquito patches - I had several mossies landing on me within a few minutes of our walk. If not for the patches, I would have been eaten alive.

Besides the graves, there are beautiful and very old trees. It's such a shame that this place is going to be razed.

Veganburg and NAC

 

Met Imp and ST at Veganburg today. I also bumped into a caregiver as we were having lunch. We noticed that most of the cats outside are sterilised. Someone was also taking very good care of the Royal Enfield :)

Imp went with me to the National Arts Centre to drop off some stuff. It's moved to a nice quiet estate just off Tanjong Katong Road.

Coffee Club rules

 

Simian and I ran some errands today and my parents-in-law also came over for a bit. I made an upside down banana cake (of which I have yet to take a photo) and then we met K & K for dinner. Both of them are friends from University. We went to Coffee Club which has changed their menu since I last went there. Simian and I both had sandwiches and a soup - and they were good! They didn't stinge on the cheese either. Plus it turns out that they are having a 1 for 1 promotion till mid July - so our sandwiches came to $12.60 for two. Coffee Club is my new favourite place.

What is clearly NOT my favourite place is the Cheesecake Cafe. One of our friends suggested we go there. Our friends said that the decor had changed since they last went. It was a mish mash of reproductions of Great Masters in ornate photo frames all over the place. Cherubs were placed all over too, including one that was pouring water into the fountain. The sofas and tables were also pretty baroque. I would have taken a photo, but photos and videos were not allowed. Also not allowed - putting your feet on the tables or sofas. Not that I would have, but I like the sheer number of signs reminding us not to do it. Every patron also had to order at least one item. I didn't try the cheesecake either, but I did have the tea that came at $7.50 a pot, which clearly tells you that it is ONE cup. I guess the concept of free refills passed them by. My tea also came charmingly still in the Dilmah wrapper so I even knew how overpriced it was. One of our friends ordered the 'corn chips' which turned out to be a small bowl of Doritos. Coupled with the Cheese Whiz, I really have no idea how they could charge $12 for it.

Ads and Cooking

 

On the way home from the concert last night, Simian and I spotted this weird ad on the bus. Simian pointed out that "Before" and "After" translates to your left eye becoming your right eye. Also, apparently your eye changes colour.

I also went over to a neighbour's home today - she taught me to make ondeh ondeh! The recipe Mrs C shared with me was a little different - including cooking a small piece of dough and re-incorporating it (a mother dough), but the ingredients were basically the same.

In Each Hand a Cutlass

 

Photos are from both Simian and I.

We went to see In Each Hand a Cutlass last night - Imp got us tickets and we met D there.

The show was great - the visuals were arresting and the band played their hearts out. I got a tshirt and a copy of the CD and lined up like the groupie that I am at the autograph session :)

Lunch and Dinner with friends

 

I had lunch with M and Baby E on Wednesday - Baby E is starting to walk all on her own now! We went to Cedele and I had the tofu salad.

Last night, Simian and I went over to ML's apartment. ML is the daughter of our old neighbour and she has been looking for a job in Singapore. Unfortunately she has been unable to find one and leaves for France next week. We also met one more of their room mates and some houseguests who are biking across Asia. Their houseguests cooked us a lovely meal though they did make cucumbers in sour cream. Simian gamely ate at least half a dozen :)

Snails must die

 

Simian and I went and bought some plants (and repotted the little tomato plants) on Monday. The eggplant we bought was looking lovely - and then yesterday I noticed it had a big chunk bitten out of it. I realised we had snail damage. I woke up at 2:30 am and went to check my plant (and also to see if I could see the lunar eclipse - it was too cloudy) and another chunk was taken out of it. Today Mom and I noticed that the little eggplant was ALSO chewed up. Then we looked closer - the leaves and the stem were also being gnawed on - and some of the lower leaves on my hisbiscus! The original eggplant now looks like latticework. I tried to spray a mixture of dish liquid and water on the plants so that the plants would remain unmolested, but four snails were found munching on the plant this evening. Snails will die for this...... M remined me that I'm supposed to be vegetarian and love all animals - but snails are mean, mean creatures. I used to think that everything had a purpose - then I met thistle, and now have been re-introduced to snails.

On a more pleasant note, I did get to go to Daiso today to get gardening stuff - and Simian would have liked the collection of drill bits.

Mustafa and food

 

Ah the new Mustafa supermarket - shelves of spices and gorgeous amounts of food! There were dips such as harissa and dukkah all for $5.50 and a lot of space to walk. Simian and I went with Suntaneye and her husby on their last evening in Singapore. We also looked for the best Merlion gifts ever - I think all of us (and M) agree that the singing Merlion and the Merlion tissue roll (sadly NOT stocked at Mustafa) win. Suntaneye did come close to finding some other items that were close though.

M and I had lunch today with Baby E. We went to Chilli's as the Indian place we wanted to try was full. The free brownie we had (care of a coupon from an ealier visit) was surprisingly good. Service was polite and efficient - only glitch, I was told the salad was vegetarian and it came with a pile of chicken.

Cats and the new toy!

 

K - thank you for the present for the cats! Scout learnt how to take food out of the glass bowl almost immediately. I can't believe you mailed such a huge parcel!

Ice Kachang

 

We had ice kachang with Suntaneye's husby on Sunday at Serangoon Gardens Market. There is a new curry puff store with an incredibly long line - the fact that they make the curry puffs from scratch probably doesn't help. It seems like a pretty inefficient business model.

Food

 

Simian and I had a busy day yesterday. First we went to the book sale at Singapore Expo, then we headed down for lunch at Double Bay with M, WW & Baby E, D and J. It rained so traffic in town was a nightmare.

In the evening, we went to Adam Road Food Centre, where we met Suntaneye's husby - Suntaneye is with her family out of Singapore at the moment. I had Roti John for the first time and it was delicious! It comes with really weird sides - mayo, some strangely coloured chilli sauce and baked beans ! - but it was good.

Dinner with Suntaneye and her husby

 

Simian and I met with Suntaneye and her husby for dinner and it was fun to hang out with them as always. First they visited Simian's lab to check it out. We then went to Wishbone and of course had ice creams, then went back to Suntaneye's grandmother's home to cut a chocolate banana cake that I baked today (I also made these muffins). Wishbone was playing the most retro 80s music - it's one of the places that has remained the same in ever-changing Singapore.

On another note - check out the tomato plants! If anyone would like some shoots, let me know!

Summer Berry Cake and Food

 

I made this summer berry cake today which turned out to be a nice dessert for when Suntaneye's husby came over. Unfortunately Suntaneye is away but we'll see her on Thursday! In the meantime, Simian, her husby and I went for dinner at Grandma's at Nex and then came back for some cake!

Busy Saturday

 

Simian and I took his summer student (who just arrived this week) out for lunch at Raj. Then we took him to Sri Mariamman Temple, before dropping him back at his residence. The heat was pretty brutal today but it was an interesting walk. Unfortunately I didn't have the 'good' camera with me - these photos all came from my little compact.

Simian and I then went to run several errands. We even found time to drop by the pasar malam near here and get several cool things! There was also a strange childrens' playground with funny bouncy castles!

Far East Flora

 

In between running errands, Mom and I stopped by Far East Flora. They had a whole section of fruit trees and also little eggplant and chilli plants!

Presents and Tiramisu

Presents and Tiramisu
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

It's been a busy few days. Combined with our jet lag, I'm usually asleep pretty early and haven't been updating the blog.

I met with M, WW and Baby E - Baby E's birthday was yesterday. She's already a year old! Happy Birthday Baby E! Those Red Fish blocks were one of her birthday presents.

M and I also went out with Baby E on Monday to celebrate her birthday. The birthday girl didn't get to eat anything, but we did :)

I met Imp and PlanetofSound for lunch at Whole Earth today. The food was lovely as always. Imp and I then adjourned for milkshakes at Once Upon a Milkshake. I brought some of the tiramisu that I made this morning.

Imp got me a lovely book and a photo spread on the General Elections. Thanks Imp!