Railway

 

Mom and I went to have ice cream at Wishbone while I got my glasses fixed. As the railway track closes for good this weekend, we went for a short walk. Mom didn't have the right footware so she turned back and I went up to the Bukit Timah railway station, but it has been cordoned off so you couldn't see very much.

Imp - I took another photo of a sole on the track for you :)

Must Get Noodle

Must Get Noodle
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

M, Baby E and I had lunch out today. Here's Baby E trying to get the one strand of noodle stuck to the bowl :)

Singapore - Malaysia Match

 

Simian and I went to the Singapore-Malaysia World Cup Qualifier tonight. Simian has never been to a football game live (and we're still arguing if it's like baseball - no it's not!) and I haven't been to one since we withdrew from the Malaysia Cup.

Even though tonight's match was at the much smaller Jalan Besar Stadium, it was still very fun. Clearly it was a grudge match - it's been years since Singapore has faced off against Malaysia.

Most of the fans were not as familiar with this team. Not many people seemed to be know the players by name. Instead I heard people call out jersey numbers of refer to a new substitute as "New Guy".

We won by 5-3. Malaysia scored first, we equalised quickly after and then we were 4-1. However through fumbling, we lost two balls. Fortunately we were able to add one more goal before the end of the game. People went home very happy :)

Laksania

 

Simian and I went to Laksania for dinner - the vegetarian Laksa was awesome! Simian enjoyed it so much he had the rest of my laksa soup which I couldn't finish. The smoothie was terrible though.

Lunch with M

 

I met M for lunch today and then a trip to Mustafa. We wanted to try the new restaurant at Mustafa, Kebabs and Curries (no one seems to have actually been there so this is the only website I could find), but they didn't open till 5!

We headed to Khansama instead - Fortunately Imp had gotten me the right name yesterday! After eating at the Science Park outlet last week, we decided to go to the one at Little India. The food was just as good though the decor was not quite as exciting at the one at Science Park. Apparently that one is the 'Village' and this one was the 'Restaurant'. There is one more which is the 'Castle'. We have to go to that one just to see the decor.

After trapsing around the new wing of the supermarket in Mustafa, where we found a whole bunch of cheap things, we went to Bombay Cafe for the Faloodas. They were yummy though mine had rose syrup and was much sweeter than M's. As a result, hers tasted completely tasteless to me, but she told me it was understated but good.

Also, of course as I told M, running after Indian food is usually a big mistake. I thought the food had mostly digested. I was wrong. The food sat like a lead weight in my tummy - and towards the end of the run, I was ready to hurl. No more Indian Food at lunch on running days.

Dali and Van Gogh

 

All Photos c/o Imp

The ArtScience Museum got progressively colder and colder. Strangely enough it seemed colder upstairs than it did in the basement (perhaps it was those lovely airvents on the floor as well). I felt warm enough but my hands didn't agree. I had to put my gloves on after we left the Shipwrecked exhibition, and Imp took my camera. She also handed me my heat pack (and warmed it up first).

For some strange reason, none of it helped. My hands became gigantic frozen blocks of ice. Eventually, I left the museum because there was nowhere I could just nip outside for a second for. Everything was sealed up and there were no other available exits. At the same time, the stupid museum has a single admission policy - ie the minute you go out, that's it. I walked quickly though the Dali exhibition (which was nice) and got out of there. The Van Gogh one was a huge rip-off - it was basically a sound and light show with no actual artworks.

Just as I opened the door to outside, my tongue went numb - first time that's happened.

ArtScience Museum

 

Imp and I decided to go check out the ArtScience Museum. I've been in half a mind about going because (1) it's expensive (2) I wasn't sure if the exhibitions were any good and (3) the exhibition has been poo-poohed because of the way the wreck was salvaged. I can see that there is little funding for a huge salvage operation and there was a time factor at play. On the other hand, one wonders if it was done in the best possible way. It's hard to say seeing as to how I'm not familiar with all the facts.

At any rate, we went this morning. Thanks to Imp's credit card, we got in for $25 each. Both of us agreed that the admission price to the museum should have been much less - at the very least make it cheaper (or even free) for Singaporeans.

The collection was pretty large, and there were some really beautiful pieces? Others were clearly meant for trade and weren't the finest pieces around. I told Imp that if they were selling them at $2 a pop at Daiso, I wouldn't have blinked.

Food

 

I went to see M and Baby E yesterday. I brought lunch over and we played with Baby E. I came home and made bread and butter pudding with the leftover challah, with a creme anglais sauce.

I made chocolate banana cake today as we were having A over for dinner. I also made ricotta cheese and more challah. Mom and I went out to buy Nasi Padang at Arab Street. We first went to this place on Kandahar Street which turned out to be a huge rip-off. We then headed to Hajah Maimunah and the nasi padang there was both cheap and turned out awesome. The tahu telor was fantastic. Imp - it's all your fault btw. You planted the nasi padang idea in our minds.

I took some of these photos at Golden Landmark. The shop is always closed but is crammed full of exciting stuff (some would say junk).

Wine Fridge

 

Simian and I (mostly Simian) moved the wines to Dad's new fridge. We managed to fit almost everything in, but it took a few hours. Simian took photos of each label and we tried to sort them out by country and also whether they were good bottles or not. We really need to start drinking the stuff up before it all turns to vinegar - Alkies, we need your help (yes Imp, there's no point pretending 'm not referring to you not you).

We went to Seven Sensations to meet Simian's parents for dinner. Tney've moved to a new wing of Millenia Walk. We then stopped in for a quick beer at Archipelago Brewery. Simian says it's one of the better beers but it's almost impossible to buy in the stores!

Saturday

 

Simian and I had a busy day. For starters, we took River on his very first walk, and River was excited. He ran all the way down the street. On coming back from our jog, we took him out again, and he was busy sniffing at everything. He seemed to really enjoy it, which was both good and surprising.

We went for lunch at North South East West Fusion Vegetarian Restaurant. The name sounded dubious but we read good things about it. Simian's Hainese Beef Noodles were especially good. My Bak Kut Teh was tasty but wasn't much like Bak Kut Teh. Prices were also reasonable.

We heard about a short film called Baltimore that was showing at 8Q at SAM. I haven't been there since it opened - Simian is intimately familiar with is since he used to go to school in the building. Simian noted that there was no AC when he was there, but now they have full AC for the paintings :) The film was shot in parts of Bmore that we recognised - look it's 83! Look Walters! Peabody! - but I still have no idea what it was supposed to be about apart from the obvious Blaxplotation look and feel. We did love the piece next door by Pierre Huyghe - The Third Memory. We still had errands to run, so we stopped in the main building for one or two more films and looked for Walter (who is torn and has been taken down for now!).

We went to Sim Lim Towers, and then stopped by Thieves Market at Sungei Road. It looks like some of the roads may be closed off soon for re-development - there were signs up but I couldn't get close enough to read them. Another piece of history may soon be lost :(

Bidadari Gardens

 

Simian and I did one of our 'exploratory runs' today. We haven't done one in ages (since we were in Finksburg really) and because it rained heavily in the night and was still very cloudy, it seemed a good time to go. The idea of an exploratory run is basically to run to a new area and to do a longer distance but at a manageable pace. We also stop to look at things as the spirit moves us. I had been thinking of doing a run in Bidadari Cemetery. The place is smaller than it looks from the outside, and no graves remain inside it. Some of them however moved to Mount Vernon Road, near the Gurkha Camp. There is a tiny garden called Bidadari Garden, and we saw these tombstones inside.

We also met a friendly cat who was clearly waiting for someone - there must be a feeder around.

Ricotta

 

I decided to try my hand at making Ricotta Cheese and Challah today. The candy thermometer which I borrowed from M didn't quite work for me, so I just kind of eyeballed it. It is VERY creamy but I might add a little more salt the next time - will see how it tastes at dinner.

Simian's Lab trip

 

Simian and I went out with his lab last night, first to Khazana at Science Park (which has no website that I can find) and then to the Night Safari. I didn't take any photos at the Night Safari because it was to dark, but here are photos from dinner. The decor was almost as good as the food (which was very good indeed!).

Spruce Taqueria

 

I had lunch with M and Baby E. M and I went to get lunch at Spruce Taqueria. The tacos were in a soft shell, not the hard-shelled Tex Mex ones I am used to. The nachos were good, as was the salsa. The rice bowl was a little bland and I barely spied any guacamole in it, but the quesadillas were good! M and I were just wondering why Mexican food is so expensive here - it's just about the cheapest thing you can make.

Baby E let me carry her today and she let me read to her as well :)

More plants we don't know

 

Imp and I were so ashamed by our lack of any kind of knowledge of local flora that we went to the bookstore at Bukit Timah Plaza to look for a book. Unfortunately the only book they had seemed to be about local garden plants. I did just find this website which seems very informative.

We also saw a brilliant red bird fly by, but it went by so quickly, we didn't get a good look.

We went to Wishbone for lunch and we had ice cream to finish our meals. Imp had the Black Glory and I had the gula melacca sundae. Imp left some of her ice cream and said it was 'just ice cream'. The horror!

Imp also came home and tried my Vibram Komodos - it does seem that they are sized smaller than usual because Imp wears a smaller size than I do, and these fit her perfectly! She seemed quite please with them and I am glad that they are now going to be put to good use.

Tracks

 

We expected to see wood of some kind on the rails but we only saw concrete. I wonder if it was already removed? Thast seems really fast though. It does seem that concrete is used as a ballast but that timber or metal is still used on top.

There were also old traffic lights which are no longer operational on the track. What started out as a cooler morning, rapidly started getting very hot, so Imp and I left around 10:45 am.

Graffiti

 

Some of the really lovely graffiti we saw along the route.

Vegetation

 

Imp and I realise neither of us know anything about trees and vegetation.

Sample conversation :

What's that?

I don't know! White flowers?

We saw weird plants that we had never seen before. We were busy photographing this fruit (the photo with my hands holding the fruit is care of Imp) when these two gentlemen came up and told us that we could eat it. They split it open and we tried it. Apparently it turns yellow when ripe. Does anyone know what they are?

Also, we both discovered that mimosa is actually a tree!

KTM Railway

 

Imp and I went down part of the old KTM Railway this morning. It rained on and off through the night and it rained after I woke up this morning. We decided to wait a little, and the weather cleared. Simian dropped me off at Commonwealth and Imp and I walked from there to Holland Road. The maps from Green Corridor were fantastic - they were very detailed and we saw most of the interesting things they noted, including the road kill.

The track was covered in stones so the walk can be difficult for your shoes. Simian had warned me to wear proper covered shoes but I whined about it and wore my Vibrams instead. When I started seeing what was the first of what was to be many pieces of soles (and entire shoes) left on the track, I felt vindicated. Imp was worse - she wore sandals :)

Happy Birthday Simian!

 

It's Simian's birthday today and after a busy weekend (Simian ran the Run for Cancer yesterday with his lab), it was time to get cooking :)

I made PlanetofSound's famous Mushroom Pasta and a Strawberry Shortcake (I halved the sugar in this recipe). I tried to decorate the cake but my fantastic looking edible roll on Happy Birthday sign would not come off the backing without breaking. Also, I tried to make chocolate bunnies but realised that pudding really isn't hard enough. Oh well, live and learn :) Here's River also getting in on the cake action!

Happy Birthday Simian and I hope you had a good one and that you have a wonderful year ahead. Love you!

Baking and Food

 

I made a key lime pie on Monday with the lime juice that PlanetofSound squeezed - Planetofsound and Imp got the other one, though Imp (and my Mom) found it a little sweet. I can perhaps cut the sugar out of the crust or the filling next time, though there was really very little sugar (two tablespoons in each) and the juice was VERY sour.

I also made nutella cupcakes (and ORCS)on Friday.

Went for lunch with M and Baby E today - Baby E is already learning how to walk!!

Marina Bay Sands

 

Simian and I went out with his visiting student yesterday. We took him to Marina Bay Sands which neither Simian or I had ever been to but his student had heard a lot about. After first finding parking to be almost impossible (the electronic sign told us there were 531 slots but when we went in, it was completely full), we headed into the glitzy building. When the lift took us to the level of the mall, it was sufficiently awe-inspiring. The mall is huge and widely spaced out - then you realise it is just another mall. True, the shops are different, but almost none of them sell anything that I would want (a giant cartoon pig gold necklace anyone? When I say giant, I do mean giant - it was the size of someone's hand).

I did like the area around Marina Bay - we walked to Merlion Park and the whole area looked entirely different. Simian and I could hardly believe how different it looked. It reminded me of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires (Imp agreed). The planning that went into the area was impressive. I liked the touches like sun shades with giant motion-sensor activated fans that are solar powered. Ayn Rand would have been proud of the buildings - they are huge monuments to Capitalism. They are awe-inspiring in scale and you can't help but have your breath taken away momentarily.

We took P, Simian's student, on a river cruise which he seemed to enjoy. Since the National Day Parade rehearsals were on, he got to see the helicopters do a fly-over and the fireworks over the Singapore River.

We also tried to take him up to the Skypark - thankfully I had called the ever-knowledgeable Imp for advice first and she said not to eat in the building if we could help it. She also said you needed a ticket to go up, which I didn't know. Alternatively you could go up to one of the bars to get a drink. They wouldn't let Simian up because he wasn't dressed for it (it was such a scorcher yesterday he was wearing shorts) and there was a long queue to get tickets to go up.

In the end I took Simian's student up. We had a drink (my martini was so diluted, it was almost homeopathic in terms of alcohol concentration). Unfortunately the bar was further away from the observation deck (which a ticket would get you in to) so P didn't even get a good view. I made use of the toilet, where the very nice lady who cleaned it told me that they are not allowed out of the toilet at all during their shift. P took photos and then we got out of there.

Lunch at the Garden Slug

 

I went for lunch with Imp, Coboypb and Lingcat yesterday at the Garden Slug. Imp got there first and apparently they tried to squeeze four of us at a tiny table, so she asked for a change in table. The food started out well at first - my soup was very good, and the onion rings. The mains were odd though - my warm rice salad came with a mix of vegetables and looked very good. I could also see lemon zest on it. The only problem? It was really bland. Imp had a tofu and veggie melt. We all thought it'd be some kind of sandwich - in fact it turned out to be a tofu and veggies melted in cheese and in some kind of soup. The veggies were also identical to the ones used in my salad - zucchini, eggpland and peppers. The servings were almost American sized though - probably the largest ones I've seen here. Also Coboypb's burger looked fairly good and Lingcat said her pasta was tasty, so I don't know if we just lucked out.