Musings of a Virgin

Singapore Trip 2011

2011-02-28T19:51:00.001-08:00

I had an awesome time as usual and instead of yakking about the trip, I decided to post it using photos instead. Be sure to click ON the captions for the photos.

Here's the Slide show of some of the awesome food I had.

Photos of my family on this trip

Photos of our outing to Universal Studios Singapore

Back to Singapore - 2011

2011-01-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

Yep just finished my assignment in Pittsburgh today, hopped on a flight back to the twin cities and have 1 night to pack before I leave for the airport tomorrow at 10am. I'm headed back to Singapore for 3 weeks and in time for Chinese New Year 2011.

Here's my bags partially packed cos I have a few items in the fridge that I'll put in just before I leave. Its way too much work to take a good photo of all the gifts I'm bringing back home so I won't bother.

Now to get some shut eye cos I'm just worn out from all this traveling.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T16:07:00.001-08:00

There's a lot of snow in Minneapolis this year. Here's a picture of the amount of snow that fell when the top of the metro dome fell in.

Here's a picture of the outside of the house on Christmas Eve. Lot of snow.

Here's what I'm having for Christmas Eve, also Christmas Day and the day after. Its a really big Prime Rib with the bone in and took 6 hours in the over to cook. Accompanied with mushrooms and onions and asparagus and its wonderful.

Here's the Prime Rib sliced. Click on the picture for a close up. I think it looks awesome.

And here is the first plate. BTW its really big piece of meat.

And here's my Christmas Gifts for 2010. Actually its what I purchased in the month of December. There's a lot less books than I usually get but that because I download almost all my books into my Kindle nowadays.

Its a Blizzard

2010-12-11T09:34:00.001-08:00

See these photos? There's currently a Blizzard in Minneapolis, supposed to last 24-36 hours. The snow level is so so but, the winds are very very strong about 20-30 mph and the temperature? About 6 degrees F, and will go down to -7 tonight. Not many people will venture out this weekend.

And here's me keeping warm at home. With Seafood stuffed mushrooms from Costco.

And Also playing World of Warcraft: Cataclysm which just came out this week!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

Well its Thanksgiving again. I didn't cook turkey. Instead I just made stuffing. This is a pork or turkey and grape stuffing. I've done both and they both work well. Here's all the components: Egg, bread, cooked pork (Or turkey), and finally celery, grape, onions and green apples cooked together. Mix them well and bake.

I had Duck legs and stuffing for Thanksgiving. The Duck is pre-prepared from Costco. All I had to do as microwave it. Pretty darn good if I do say so my self.

And Here's what it looks like outside. Cold but nothing too bad.

First Snow of 2010

2010-11-13T09:24:00.001-08:00

Its only the 13th of Nov 2010, and we have a sudden snow storm. Its unusual for the first snow to accumulate on the ground but its been snowing the entire night and I guess its cold enough outside.

Good thing I watched the weather and did all my groceries yesterday.

Here's the food for the weekend. Chicken Salad (Pre-made from costco). Broccoli, sauteed onions, tomatoes and avacado. A very tasty and filling salad.

Blizzcon 2010

2010-10-22T10:42:00.001-07:00

1 year ago today I was in California for Blizzcon 2009, but I could not make it out this year. Still I sprung for a virtual ticket and will be spending the next 2 days watching the activities from my home.

After being there last year, its easy to imagine everything that's going on there. Its just a whole lot of fun. And I really think I want to be there in 2011.

Still there are benefits to watching the activities at home. Its comfortable and here's my Blizzcon snack. Wings with a Mozzarella cheese, tomato and salmon salad. Definitely a step up from the hot dogs and other convention foods available there.

Incidentally, here's what the outside of my house looks like today. No a green leaf in sight and lots of dried leafs on the ground.

Fall 2010

2010-10-17T00:16:00.000-07:00

Its fall again. How fast the year has flown by. These pics are actually a week old, the tree are much redder/balder now. Still , it is pretty. As usual, these are the tree from my street.

I made Spaghetti squash noodles again. If you're trying to find them, its shaped like a papaya and yellow. I find it interesting that they are only available 1-2 months out of the year.

This time I have ground turkey and mushrooms. And bought a very expensive bottle of tomato sauce. It was $7 a jar BUT absolutely fresh ingredients, all natural, no paste, puree or added sugar. And I must say, it was quite good.

2 squashes produce a lot of spaghetti. Next time I'll just get one.

Baked Spaghetti Squash

2010-10-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

I read this blog article on Spaghetti Squash and just had to try it out. A healthy version of noodles!

Luckily, I was able to find squash at my local grocery store. But they called it mixed squash so I picked 2 different squashes to see if the yellow one was Spaghetti Squash and if there was a difference from other squash.

Here's the squash after 1 hour in the oven at 375 degrees and cut in half. Note that I put the squash in whole.

And here's the result. The Spaghetti Squash got its name because the flesh literally looks like Spaghetti. The other squash was also fibrous, it tastes and feels enough like Spaghetti, but in the looks department its a huge difference.

The squash has no taste, not sweet or... anything really. Think raw potatoes but much more tender.

I had thin sliced beef in the freezer so decided to use that in the sauce, and of course lots of garlic. I used some butter and olive oil for stir frying the beef.

Added a little wild mushrooms and viola, just add the squash. One thing I did notice is that because this is not flour based, you want to make sure there's not too much liquid. The squash will only absorb a little bit, and since its already cooked, I basically put it in and brought it to a boil and it was done.

Really fast and simple.

Finally the verdict. It tastes pretty good, and it is healthier than regular noodles. Texture wise there is a little crunch from the squash which is actually very nice and the best part is these noodles do not turn soggy like normal noodles. Micro-waving it the next day, and it tasted just as good.

I think I'll be buying quite a few more squashes this fall.

Green Lantern

2010-07-26T19:46:00.001-07:00

ComicCon 2010 was this part weekend and Green Lantern (Ryan Reynolds) was there. I think he's perfect for the role of a super hero and very very excited about him playing Green Lantern.

Check out the awesome video below of him reciting the Green Lantern Oath for a young fan. 2011 can't come soon enough!!!

NYC Weekend - Part 3

2010-07-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

Despite the heat there was a Street Fair on 52nd street that streached 4 blocks.

I got lunch and a $15 pair of sunglasses.

this is the coolest Mc Donalds I've ever been to. Outside its flashing lights, inside there's 12 lanes of high tech ordering and further in its a refurbished theater, 4 stories, a little dark but lots of very cool lights and furniture. It tries to feel like a theater. You have to see it to believe. Sadly the inside was too dark for any good photos.

This was a surprise find. Book Off is a 2nd hand shop. They accept Books, DVD's, CD's, games and will offer you money for them. They resell the items at pretty good prices. I got 3 DVD
s and 2 books, all for $11.

and here's Bryant Park on a hot Saturday afternoon. Lots of sun worshippers. People watching in NYC is in a class by itself.

NYC Weekend - Part 2

2010-07-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

FOOD! Had a craving for some 'local' food so I went to Jaya which has pretty good Singaporean/Malaysian food.

I had the Satay, Roti Chani (excellent), Hailanese chicken rice (so so only), and Oyster Omelette (Pretty good).

Brunch on Saturday. I do so love steak and eggs.

Beef Sukiyaki and wings from a japanese fast food place. The wings were excellent.

And I had to get this HUGE ass bottle of snapple

And what holiday would be it be without an awesome desert? Fresh Fruit over sponge cake with sweet creme filling. This was so damn good.

NYC Weekend

2010-07-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I made another visit to NYC. 2nd and final time for 2010. Since both flight and hotel were FOC, I might as well enjoy it. Perks of traveling all the time.

It was a HOT HUMID weekend. I didn't walk too much because the heat was TERRIBLE!!! I literally took a shower everytime I went back to the hotel room.

I watched 3 shows. Promises Promises, Lend me a Tenor, and American Idiot. Of the 3, Lend me a Tenor was the winner hands down, followed by American Idiot and finally Promises Promises.

4th July Weekend

2010-07-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well the family left about 2 weeks ago but this is my first weekend back home alone. Takes some getting used to, it was really nice to have a full house of people.

And since its a long weekend I decided to cook, something I've not done since Chinese New Year.
I started off with watermelon juice. In Singapore its super easy to get this, just pop by any food court and there's almost always watermelon juice. But in the midwest, I had to cut the watermelon up and put it in a juicer. Not difficult but slightly messy. Still the result is wonderful refreshing watermelon juice. (FYI, that Pitcher holds 1/2 a large watermelon.

Had a craving for chips and dips. So I cooked up onions, ground beef, mushrooms, olives, and mixed up some chilli. It goes really well with chips.

For breakfast/brunch, nothing beats sunny side up eggs, some toast and tater tots. Oh and watermelon juice as well, so refreshing for brunch.

But the main course for this weekend was vegetable beef soup. Just cut up some beef into small cubes, cook it for about 2 hours to get it tender, then add your favorite vegetables. In my case, corn, celery, tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, and carrots. Boil then simmer for about 1 hour and salt to taste. Simple, hearty and very good beef vegetable soup. As you can see I made more then enough for 3 days.

Into the 21 Century

2010-06-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

On the left we have the phone I've had since 2004 or 2005. On the right is my new phone (HTC Incredible) which arrived Friday 18th June.

I've loving it so far, especially the web browsing. And when I've confirmed that it can replace my land line, it will be my one and only phone. And of course the very first app I downloaded was a game, WHACK-A-MOLE. Fun and free :)

Here's to at least 2 years with this phone.

RIP : Boo

2010-06-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

A moment of silence for Boo. I came back on Thursday (17th June 2010) to find his food uneaten and him peaceful and stiff.

Guinea Pigs are supposed to live for 5+ years. I think Boo only made it past year 1. I really don't know what happened. He did have lots of food and water. But affection was in short supply because I started traveling for work again in March. Meaning he was left alone for 4-5 days at a time, perhaps more if it was a 2 week deal.

Sigh... I think I'll go back to hamsters. They are MUCH easier to care for and not so finicky in their diets even if they do tend to bite. But overall... I think I'll hold off pet purchases, at least till I stop traveling again.

PS. The Niece and Nephew are still with me and have not found out yet. Wonder if they check my blog.

Summer Vacation 5 - 2010

2010-06-18T22:32:00.001-07:00

I had to return to work the next week but the folks cooked dinner and waited for me on Thursday night when I returned

We went to Alberville Outlet mall.

My dad outside the Calvin Klein store with a real CK bag. Who would have thought!

A final farewell to the folks

Hope they had lots of fun!

Summer Vacation 4 - 2010

2010-06-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Oh and here's the entrance to the Spotted Horse Ranch.

Picture moment after about 2+ hours on horseback.

Meet 3 of the wranglers who took us on the all day ride.

Some scenes from Jackson Hole.

This entire arch is made from deer antlers. Its not cruel, deers shed their antlers every year.

Summer Vacation 3 - 2010

2010-06-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Us, going to Yellowstone National Park which was the main reason I picked a ranch in Wyoming over those in Montana and other States. Also, the Spotted Horse was the only ranch which showcased cabins just beside a river.

Us, going to Yellowstone National Park which was the main reason I picked a ranch in Wyoming over those in Montana and other States. Also, the Spotted Horse was the only ranch which showcased cabins just beside a river.

We stopped for lunch at a perfect spot not far from Old Faithful. And we really were this close to the Bison. This isn't zoom.

A Bison strolled up to the picnic tables. The family sitting at this table ran into their cars in case the Bison got ... too friendly. But we're either brave or too stupid to know better and had to take this picture.
One of the many Geisers we saw at Yellowstone Park.

BTW, old faithfful? Not so impressive. At least not to this jaded city boy.

Summer Vacation 2 - 2010

2010-06-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

Be warned, this entire post is photo filled so if that's not your thing, skip it.

I had this great idea to take the family for a real "american" vacation. Outdoors, horseback riding and all that kind of stuff. Hence, we spent a week in Jackson Hole Wyoming at the Spotted Horse Ranch.

This is the cabin we were in. 4 twin sized beds for the 6 of us, and there was only one other couple at the ranch so the 8 of us had the run of it. It was great!

Is this not gorgeous? This is the view from our cabin walking towards the main lodge house. It was awesome!

This is a picture of the main lodge house from across the river.

Dad feeding a house. And we learnt that horse really like fresh grass to the dried hay.

Summer Vacation 2010

2010-05-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

My Parents, Sister and her kids are visiting me for about 2-3 weeks! I've spent quite a bit of time over the past 2 months getting the house ready and they are finally here.

Its been a slow start. Day 1 (28 May 2010) they arrived and reached home about 3pm. Basically spent the day getting settled in and making a stop to Costco and Walmart for food and minor shopping.

Day 2 was pretty lazy. They all most got up at 4am (Jet Lag) and we spent most of the morning watching Top Chief Masters (I had 3 episodes on DVR). Then to Cheesecake Factory for lunch and a walk around the mall. And finally home again where jet lag has everyone's system Topsy-Turvy.

And tomorrow morning, we are all headed to Jackson Hole Wyoming to visit the Spotted Horse Ranch where we'll spend the week.

Cooking for the Weekend

2010-04-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

This is the first meal I've cooked since I started traveling in March. I'm making Gumbo. Basically a "thick" soup with ocra and rice and some meat, usually shrimp and sausage. Today I'm using Italian spiced turkey (a healthy option).

Its really simple. Cook the turkey, dump everything else (except the soup packet) in, 8 cups of liquid, I used 4 cups chicken stock and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil and whisk in the soup mix and finally simmer for about 20-30 mins.

Serve with some bread and it makes a very filling meal. I bought a loaf of tomato and basil bread which explains the slightly red tinge on the bread, its pretty good. My first choice was focaccia bread but the bakery was out of it.

For desert, strawberries with Splenda instead of sugar :)

NYC 2010 - Day 2

2010-04-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Yep, the photos are about a week late but that's cos I used my camera on Day 2 and forgot to bring the cord to connect it to my PC. Ah well.

Pic of Trumph Tower as I walk to Niketown to get new shoes.

Finally at Nike Town. Spent about an hour here to and tried on about 5 pairs of track shoes.

Here's my new Shoes. I went with the extra cushion, its about double what I would normally spend on for shoes but man does it feel comfortable. I can even skip wearing my "special" insoles.

I went to Chinatown next to buy food and finally to catch Next to Normal at 2pm. I LOVE this musical. Its so powerful and I even teared up. If you read the synopsis of the musical it sounds depressing but like I said the music is so strong and moving. I highly recommend this one.

Something new I noticed since I last visited NYC, they have carts selling fruits now. Healthy living is very in vouge. Still its good that you can purchase these fruits, its a lot healthier than getting a pretzel or hot dog.

And here's the food I bought from Chinatown. Its a lot but this should cover dinner as well as my after musical meal.

After eating I had about 2 hours before my next musical. A little Night Music. This was a pleasant surprise. It was an entertaining musical but I really wish Angela Landsbury was playing her role. Of all 3 musicals that I watched, Next to Normal was hands down the best with A Little Night Music coming in 2nd.

This is breakfast at the hotel on Day 3. It rained Sunday and I had to leave for the airport at 10am so there really wasn't much sight seeing.

And finally a shot of NYC time square at noon on Saturday. Sigh... Good memories.

NYC 2010 - Day 1

2010-04-23T21:56:00.001-07:00

Finally arrived in NYC at about 2pm.

The hotel I'm staying at. This is the 2nd 3rd time I'm staying here I believe. I like it cos its so close to the theaters.

Inside looks quite nice.

First stop... Century 21 for shopping.

Loot from Century 21.

My lunch/tea.

Broadway in the evening, walking to the theater.

La Cage Aux Folles, the highlight of the evening. Its a pretty good musical, not sure if I would rate it 5/5, but there were a few very good numbers. Go borrow the movie Birdcage for the story.

As tradition goes, a little after theater meal, this is take out from a nearby restaurant. I love 24 hour breakfast diners.

The only downside. While walking to the theater, my shoe split. So I see myself going to Nike town to get a new pair of track shoes tomorrow.

A Little Trip

2010-04-20T18:59:00.001-07:00

I'll be in NYC this weekend!!! WOOT! I love to visit NYC, and this time its totally to watch some musicals. My itinerary is to arrive Friday afternoon, pop over to Chinatown, then back to broadway to watch La Cage aux Folles.

Saturday morning I'll rush to 20th Century for a spot of shopping then back to Broadway for the afternoon show of Next to Normal, rest up a little and finally in the evening its A Little Night Music.

And Sunday, I'll play tourist and stroll down 5th Ave, before leaving for the airport. That's my weekend in a nutshell.

I CAN'T WAIT!

La Cage aux Folles

Next to Normal

A Little Night Music

April 2010

2010-04-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I made a post. So here's what's happening in my life right now. I started work with a new client in Pittsburgh so that means I'm traveling every week from Sunday - Thursday to and from Pittsburgh.

Aside from that, found out that the folks and family will be traveling to visit me on Memorial Day weekend this year. So I have a little over 2 months to get the house in order. My extra bedroom/book room has not seen visitors for about 2-3 years now and has turned into a book/dvd storage room. So I've spent the past 2 weeks, clearing out carton after carton stored in that room and filling up my dustbin with trash bags.

And since I only tackle home improvement projects when some one comes to visit me, this is my improvement for 2010.

The book shelf cost about $98 and of course I spent several hours assembling it but I think it looks good, much better than the plastic storage boxes. The ambitious part of me wants to get 1-2 more book shelves for the living room and perhaps several more for my bedroom. The realistic part of me is saying... one shelf at a time boy and I don't feel up to assembling another this weekend.

Since I'm traveling every week now, I don't have much time to cook. Here's some of the weekend meals I've been getting. Costco's prepared food section is my new best friend.

I just had this steak last week. Nuked the broccolini in the microwave for 6 mins, and broiled the steaks for 6 mins each side. Salt and pepper for seasonings and dinner is served in 15 mins. It was so good that I'm doing it again this week. But sub out the broccolini for broccoli and potato salad.

PS. This was the meal I got CNY week.

Also I bought 3 boxes of puff pastry and made lots of curry puffs for my friends, sadly Americans were ok with it but not crazy for it. So guess who ate all the curry puffs? God they were good.

Happy Chinese New Year 2010

2010-02-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

I just ended my last assignment at the end of Jan so I'm at home and had a lot of time to cook for CNY 2010.

Mom sent me a care package. I got it last week and it didn't last past the weekend.

I got adventurous and made curry puffs for the first time. It turned out very well and this first batch lasted all of 1 day. Good thing I've still got plenty left over and 2 more boxes of puff pastry, I'm planning to make them for my friends on Monday.

They really turned out well. But Old Chang Kee still rules (mostly cos its deep fried)

I also made the usual family Ayam Panggang. (Satay Chicken) I like to make it at least 1-2 times a year and always make extra filling for freezing.

I think it turned out quite well. May not look like much but I'm only cooking for one.

Last thing on my list is banana cake. I don't bake very often, hardly ever. This didn't turn out very well. I had the oven set 15 degrees higher and the outside became a little hard, like a cookie shell. Also the taste is so so. Edible but not quite like banana cake. I guess 3 bananas isn't enough. Ah well, it is edible.

And finally, here's who I'm spending CNY with. He's grown quite a bit.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2009 has come and gone and so has my B'day. And now we speed on to the New Year. It has been a pretty good year for me.
- Met my financial goals thanks in large part to my parents
- Went on an Alaskan cruise (With my Folks)
- Spent good quality time with my folks
- No major mishaps or bad news
What more can a person ask for.

Here's what ot looked like outside my house for Christmas. A very White Christmas.

And here's my Christmas Dinner. Its VERY expensive take out from Maggiano's. So far its cost me about $300 and I expect that cost to increase about about $1000 +.

I had an accident driving back from picking up the food and it basically dented my front driver's door. Then on Monday when I had to go into work, it would not start. So a tow bill later, I've found that the car is sound (it was the engine being flooded) and I can open the doors just fine. But I'll probably being it in to get the driver's door fixed. But no real rush there.

It was a good meal. No where close to what it really costs though.

And finally, here's dinner tonight. I bought 1 1/2 dozen eggs so I've got to use them by 18th Jan. Tonight we are having a vegetable frittata.

Christmas Gifts for 2009

2009-12-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

Mostly as a reminder to myself that this is what I got the Niece and Nephew in 2009 so I won't forget and get them again next year :) I'm lucky, they are the only ones that I need to do Christmas shopping for.

This year's gifts are from Thinkgeeks.

For Raiyan I got:
Plush Beating Heart

Mini HoverDrone

And for Sarah:
Magnet Tube Magnetic Field Viewer

Flitter Fariries

And finally a couple of Bloody Brains and gooey eyeballs because all kids like candy.

I am a Wizard!

2009-12-19T19:06:00.000-08:00

I Am A: True Neutral Human Wizard (5th Level)

Ability Scores:

Strength-11

Dexterity-12

Constitution-13

Intelligence-16

Wisdom-16

Charisma-12

Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Thanksgiving till Now

2009-12-18T10:22:00.001-08:00

Here's a little of what's been keeping me busy for the past month or 2, outside of work.

Dragon Age Origins. Perhaps the BEST RPG game ever created to date. I've spent 79 hours on the game so far to complete it my first time through. I'm started another play through now :)

For Thanksgiving this is what I had. Everything was pre-packaged although I did have to cook the mushroom risotto. The panko crusted shrimp was heaven and the Duck was so good. And yes I had 2 desserts, Pumpkin pie and Tiramisu.

Next up is what I had for dinner last night. Korean Noodles (Which are very good) and added some Char Siu (roasted pork) and veggies. Accompanying that is steamed egg with ground turkey.

And I finally put up my Christmas tree. The new Christmas Ornament for 2009 is Santa on a whale which I got from my trip to Alaska with the folks in July. And yes, I have 3 gifts to myself under the tree which I'll open on Christmas day. :)

Straight No Chaser

2009-12-07T21:50:00.000-08:00

I just discovered an awesome new all male acapella group. What's even more awesome is that they are from Indiana University, my Alma Mater. Check out this example of their songs and if you likee it, go buy the cd.

My New Pet

2009-10-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

I decided that after a year of being alone, it was time to get another pet. Of course my first instinct was to get a dog but my situation has not changed. I'm just not home enough to have a dog.

So I was all set to get hamsters again. I went into the pet store and 45mins later walked out with a Guinea Pig.

I'm happy with my new pet. They don't bite, they like to be touched (eventually) and they require slightly more attention than haamsters which is more like a true pet. Heck, the only down side is ... they poop and pee a lot. And I mean A LOT!!!!

Anyway, meet Boo, my new pet Guinea Pig whcih I call my giant hamster.

Early Frost

2009-10-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken just this morning from my living room. Its only early October and there's frost on the ground. Actual snow! Not a whole lot but trust me when I say its freezing cold outside.

You can also see that some of the trees have started to change to their Autumn colors but only just starting, and already there's frost. Looks like it might be a long cold winter ahead because the real snow season usually starts in January.

Monthly Update

2009-10-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yep, it looks like my blog is turning into a monthly updated blog. Not exactly the stuff of legends but it suits my purposes for now. A boring chronicle of my life, still it beats keeping a diary. At least there are pictures with a blog.

Here's some of the foods I've had for the past month:

Lotus Root Soup with Peanuts. I loved this soup, it reminds me of my childhood. The only problem is getting lotus root in USA. Gotta drive ll the way to the asian grocery store.

Here we have the makings of Chicken Laksa! Once in a while this really hits the spot. And instead of turnip (Jícama) that's usually used, daikon makes an excellent substitute.

Sometimes you have a craving for meat and nothing but a big ol' piece of steak will do.

And I've been making a lot of healthy soups since I found my blood sugar was too high. The result is a clear soup of tofu, celery, daikon, peanuts and mushrooms. Delicious and healthy.

I mentioned getting a scare because my blood sugar was too high. (Yes I'm dibetic). The blame is pointed at moon cakes. Its the season and I bought a box of 4 (because no one in Minneapolis sells it alone). And proceeded to eat 1 cake a day. This is probably the first time in 2-3 years that I've eaten moon-cake.

PS. VERY VERY bad idea for dibetics. But it was soooo good.

Blizzcon 2009

2009-09-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

The most noteworthy thing I've done since my Alaska cruise was to go to a convention. It was a gaming convention called Blizzcon 2009. Blizzard is a computer game company that makes the very popular game World of Warcraft.

The convention was on 21-22 of Aug and here are some photos I took. I also got some video of it at the end of the post.

Just a little Souvenir. This is a stuffed Murloc.

And I did have one very good meal at the convention. You're looking at a very expensive piece of steam from Morton's Steakhouse.

The Past Month Plus

2009-09-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since I made a post on the blog, over a month. Well nothing really much to talk about. There was one event worth mentioning but I'll post that later. In the meanwhile here's some of the meals I've wipped up.

Corned Beef over boiled potatoes with a sunny side up egg & toast. Coupled with some strawberry.mango juice and it makes an excellent Sunday brunch.

Same thing as above but on a different Sunday. It was good enough to repeat.

Lamb Stew. Its very simple and easy to make. Lamb, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, corn in a pot with chicken stock, Italian seasonings and just let it boil. Goes excellent with crusty bread.

A very simple meal, porridge with ground turkey meat, and bean sprouts stir fried with salted fish. A fairly light excellent meal that hearkens to my childhood.

Funny Spoof of Dirty Dancing

2009-07-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

LOL!!! Have you ever watched the movie Dirty Dancing? If not, go rent it, then watch this spoof. I was laughing so hard.

Man Dirty Dancing came out in 1987, 10 years before I would start my professional career. I still remember going to watch the show about 4 times in 2 weeks at the old Lido theater by the MPH bookstore at Stamford Road.

The guy is Channing Tatum who will be in the GI Joe movie in a few months. The gal is played by Charlyne Yi who as far as I can tell is an unknown actress.

My first day back home alone

2009-07-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

Being alone again after having the folks for 2 weeks is... lonely. I do miss having them around. I can't believe it but I left home at 21, and since then have not spent this much time with them.

Even when I go home for 2-3 weeks, I don't get to spend all that much time with them. So it was great to see them for so long. And here's the final photo we took at the JFK airport before they left for Singapore.

Here's my first meal back home in Minneapolis. Home made chili and chips

Oh and I've been having a chronic cough, too much phlegm. Mom used to make this home brewed recipe to get rid of phlegm. Its 2-3 slices of ginger, 2 eggs, rock sugar and pour in boiling water to cook the egg.

I've always been prone to coughs and this always seemed to cure my phlegm problem. Thanks Mom!

My final day in NYC and random photos

2009-07-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

So I sent the folks to the airport on Friday and then rushed to catch the 8pm show of Billy Elliot. This year's Tony Award winner for best musical.

After the show I took this next photo of time square. Dad made a comment about how crowded it get's in Time Square even compared to Orchard road, but all we saw didn't compare to Time Square on a Friday night. The photo was taken at 11pm and it was literally shoulder to shoulder people.

And a picture of a stretch limo that dad wanted to get.

Here's the picture of Rockefeller center. Its a restaurant in the summer but in the winter they make this entire spot a skating rink.

Finally, a great photo of time square and the new M&M store. I visited the store on my last day there and that was a mistake because I came away with 3 new shirts, on the 2nd photo below. The orange is mine, green is mom's and red is dad's. A final souvenir of their NYC trip from me.

Alaska Trip - Day 17 (In NYC)

2009-07-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

Its Friday. This is the folk's last day in New York and they are flying out at 9:15pm.

Although not much happened it was a fun day. We went to central park, took a horse carriage ride which you HAVE to watch on the video. And walked down 5th Avenue.

A great shot of central park.

The horse carriage we rode on.

The folks on the carriage.

And again sitting on a bench in central park

Lots of squirrels in central park.

Alaska Trip - Day 16 (In NYC)

2009-07-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

We got out of the hotel a little late today, about 10+am. I had to do some work on the laptop. But then we hopped on the red bus and went to Century 21. An awesome place to clothes shop. I always buy underware and socks here, and perhaps a shirt or 2.

Then we had lunch at the harbor and even managed to catch a fun street show. Then at night, we all went to watch Jersey Boys, a broadway musical. I never thought that my dad would actually sit through the entire show but he did! And I think he even enjoyed it.

Alaska Trip - Day 15 (In NYC)

2009-07-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Its Wednesday and our first full day in New York City. Its so easy to forget just how crowded this city can get, its very unique and all the people and the huge billboards and its simply perfect for people watching.

This is also the first time that I have ever tried going on the red double decker buses. Its actually a very good way to see the entire city and it goes to all the major tourist spots.

The next 2 videos are mostly just snatches of the bus sight seeing. So feel free to skip if it get's boring.

We mainly saw some sights from the bus and then spent the day at the Metropolitian Museum. This place is huge and its always fun to spend a few hours, besides I never knew that my dad was interested in seeing art.

PS. All video footage was taken illegally. Seems you can take all the photos you want (without flash), but no videos. Which is yet another reason the Vado which looks like a phone is so awesome.

After the Museum, we took a cab to Chinatown and had an early dinner. There's a nice short video of a lady making wantons. We also decide to turn in early.

Here are some choice photos from the museum and the 2nd last one is mom posing in the re-created chinese scholar garden in the museum itself.

Alaska Trip - Day 14 (In NYC)

2009-07-07T05:26:00.000-07:00

OK I know the title of the post is misleading since we're not in Alaska anymore but hey it follows the entire theme. Anyway today we fly to the Big Apple.

There simply nothing quite like New York. And best of all, the hotel we're staying in is right the the heart of Time Square. You simply can't beat the location. My only advice is to fly into LaGuardia Airport instead of JFK airport if you can manage it.

Picture from Victoria

2009-07-07T00:36:00.001-07:00

Victoria was a fun place to visit for a very short while. But the videos do it more justice. Trying to take a picture of a whale that only surfaces a second in random spots is a futile effort without a very expensive camera.

Pictures from Ketchikan

2009-07-07T00:32:00.000-07:00

Ketchikan is a wonderful place to visit (but not stay - they don't have cable internet). If you like the outdoors its definitely a great place to visit.

We saw lots of Bald Eagles, some totems and a lighthouse, just like the tour promised.

Pictures from Glacier Bay

2009-07-07T00:29:00.001-07:00

While the Videos of Glacier Bay were ok, I think its best suited for photos. Here are some of the better shots I got.

Sunset is about 9+pm, and as you can see, gorgeous.

Pictures from Skagway

2009-07-07T00:27:00.000-07:00

You have to watch the videos of the Davidson Glacier in Skagway. There are about 3000 glaciers and only about 600 are named.

Pictures from Juneau

2009-07-07T00:21:00.000-07:00

Watch the video post on Juneau and match them with these pictures.

The first 3 pictures were all taken in front of the Glacier. The final picture of the seals was from the catamaran.

Alaska Trip - Day 13

2009-07-06T23:45:00.000-07:00

The first day back in Minneapolis and we are taking it easy and getting last minute shopping done. Tomorrow, we fly to New York City (The Bog Apple) till the folks fly out on Friday night.

Sadly, I think the internet connection at the hotel will be slow so, I can't guarantee anymore videos till I get back in town on Saturday.

Alaska Trip - Day 12/Ship 8

2009-07-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

This is the last day on board the ship. We are getting off in the morning and returning back to my home in Minneapolis.

Not too much to tell so there's only one video.

Alaska Trip - Day 11/Ship 7

2009-07-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

Day 7 on the ship, its also 4th of July and we are in Canada. Our final stop of the cruise is in Victoria, British Columbia. A town of about 300,000 people.

We spent most of the day on board the ship, arriving in Victoria only about 6pm. We went for our final excursion to see Killer whales, also known as Orca. The tour guarantees Orca sighting or it will refund $100 of the fee. And yes we did see Killer Whales. Watch the 2nd video, about 1 min into the video is some great footage.

Victoria is a very lovely town, especially at night.

Alaska Trip - Day 10/Ship 6

2009-07-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

Day 6 on the ship and we are at our 3rd port of call. The very picturesque town of Ketchikan. Here we are signed up for a tour to see Bald eagles, totems and a lighthouse.

You'll notice the amazing view of the sea and the surrounding. It was a beautiful day. Ketchikan usually has about 15 feet of rain a year so its almost always raining year round or snowing. Today was one of the rare days of sunshine. In fact this was the 4th day in a row with no rain and they are close to calling it a drought. Seriously.

This video is a must watch if you like dogs. Especially a not so bright one swimming in very cold waters.

The final video shows the town of Ketchikan and the rest of day 6 on the ship.

Alaska Trip - Day 9/Ship 5

2009-07-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Almost all the video today is of the scenery as we pass by on ship. No ports of call, but the ship is going through the Bay of Glaciers and it is very scenic.

As you go through the video you'll notice some scenes are clearer than others. Sunlight factors a lot into the VadoHD. The more natural lighting you have the clearer the picture will be.

Most of the rest of the videos are our food schedule and some more scenic views along the day.

And a little late night stroll before getting ready for bed. I actually did 6+ laps which is a little over a mile.
(They showed that 5 1/2 laps on deck13 = 1 mile)

Alaska Trip - Day 8/Ship 4

2009-07-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

Our 2nd Port of call is Skagway. Its a small town of only 700 in the winter but swells to about 2k in the summer because of the tourism.

Bewarned that day 8 has got a ton of video!!!

We arrived about 7am and we're off on our Safari to see a glacier!

You can fast forward the next 3 videos. Benji, our guide is one of the BEST guides I've ever had. He's very informative and can field any question you ask. Initially I thought he might be a grad student just because of the explainations and terms he was throwing about. But as we went on he and the other 11 guides are just people who are very interested and passionate about the subject.

The next 3 videos was just on the bus from the beach shore to the site where we would start our safari adventure.

And here the real fun starts. Wearing boots, raingear and lifevest, short hike, getting in a canoe and see the glacier up close!

The final video with Benji I promise. Lunch and the trip back to shore and Skagway. And finally dinner at the fancy french restaurant.

Alaska Trip - Day 7/Ship 3

2009-06-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

3rd day on board the NCL Pearl.

Today, we make our first stop in the Alaska capital of Juneau. We don't dock till 1pm so the morning is on the ship.

And now we finally reach Juneau. Now we get off the ship, an adventure in itself and on the tourbus to see our first Glacier.

For the 2nd part of the tour, we are going whale watching. Mostly for humpback whales only and we also see some seals.

Finally, only 45mins to see the actual town of juneau which has a population of 30,000 but is also the largest city in the US. Which means, everyone stays very very far apart. Oh and in a town of 30,000 they have about 31,000 cars.

Alaska Trip - Day 6/Ship 2

2009-06-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Day 6 was spent on board the ship, our first full day on the ship. Lots of eating and exploring mostly. Only 2 videos cos not much happening, I finished one of the 5 books I brought along.

Gay Pride Seattle 2009

2009-06-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

I debated weather or not to post this but decided to go ahead and do it. Be warned some of the footage is a little risque, it is gay pride after all.

I only stayed for about an hour of the parade before I had to rush back to the hotel to catch the shuttle to the ship. But it was a fun 1 hour.

Alaska Trip - Day 5/Ship 1

2009-06-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

We're boarding the Ship (NCL Pearl) by 2pm, but before then we went to another Seattle must visit place, Pike Place Market.

We got there just a little early and the stalls were only just setting up by we did get to see quite a bit that way too and also lots of dogs.

This next video is more of Pike Place Mkt but also there's a long segment where we went to the park where people were dog walking.

The next video is of us going back to the hotel and waiting till the shuttle comes to take us to the NCL Pearl, and our first day on the ship.

Alaska Trip - Day 4 - Part 2

2009-06-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

Finally. I'm back online. Its the 6th of July but I'm gonna post all the videos on a daily basis as of when they happened. Hope you enjoy them!!! And trust me there's a lot of video!

Here's me continuing me adventures in Seattle on Saturday, we just arrived in Seattle and the folks are pooped and sleeping at the hotel. I however went out exploring.

The folks are finnally awake and off we go to Seattle's Space Needle.

And finally dinner to cap off this day.

Alaska Trip - Day 4 - Part 1

2009-06-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

This first video is basically getting on the plane to Seattle.

The second is all we've done since getting here up till the folk's afternoon nap. Seattle is booked solid this weekend, which explains why our room only has 1 bed. This weekend there are 2 major events happening. One is Rock 'n' Roll Seattle which is a huge marathon and Seattle Out and Proud, which is the Gay Pride Parade.

My videos are getting longer I think, either that or there's just more content to record. Either way, I refuse to edit the videos I'm taking because it just takes too much time. So obviously these videos you're watching will be rough with some being a little too long or some such.

Anyway, Day 4 is split into 2 parts because I have so much more video recording. You'll see it soon, although things might be slow going depending on how fast or slow the ship's satellite internet is.

Temporary Suspension of Holiday Video

2009-06-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Soooo sorry but here's the problem, the ship charges $100 for 250mins of internet. But the upload rate is terrible! I can usually upload a 100MB file to youtube in 5+mins at home. Its taking about 1hr on the ship and each video is about 100-200mb in size. Hence, I will keep making the videos but will upload them at once when we get back to Minneapolis.

but quick update. We did get on the ship, all is going good and day 2 on the ship today, I'm mostly reading in the cabin and the folks are doing the casino thingy.

Alaska Trip - Day 3

2009-06-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

All I can say right now is that blogging about anything using video takes a lot more planning and thought that I had originally expected. Its almost like making a documentary.

I won't add too much to the commentary, but it was a long day. Left the house at 10am, spent about 4 hours walking the mall then some small stops along the way like Target and finally at the casino to pick Papa up and have dinner. We got back about 10pm and started packing for the cruise.

Dad did win at the casino in case you were wondering but... let's say that I'm not comfortable stating the amount. It was for a large amount. I'm just happy both had a good day. Mom bought quite a bit of stuff, and a few of them were even for herself, dad spent several hours being entertained, what more can you ask for.

Alaska Trip - Day 2

2009-06-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

Still at my place, I've got to work today so we only went out in the evening. Parents spent the day at home mostly jet lagged although they did get to walk around the neighborhood.

Evening was at a Brazilian restaurant which was very good. The waiters (all from Brazil) cook the meat and serve it. 25 different types of meat, most are excellent and the salad bar was very impressive too. Huge stalks of asparagus, beefsteak tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms etc.

After dinner, I asked where they might want to go and the answer was the Casino. It was a fun night out.

Alaska Trip - 01 - Arrival

2009-06-24T21:13:00.000-07:00

(This video is best watched in HD quality, just click play and then the HD button on the bottom right corner)

That's it in a nutshell, Day 1. Both were very tired, Pa went to sleep after dinner at about 7+pm and mom watched The Lake House and went to bed about 11pm. I spent about 3-4 hours trying to piece together several videos into a single video and finally uploaded the darn thing.

I'm working tomorrow so they are on their own. Lots of food in the house and list of cab numbers if they feel up to going to the Mall of America. More videos to come.

PS. Cos I know I'll get flack for this, I was not late in picking them up, I was waiting for 20+mins. But like I said, 3 ways to exits the airport and I was at the wrong one. :p

Home Improvement 2009

2009-06-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

Before the Improvements

After the Improvements

My New Toy

2009-06-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

I'm cheap. That's why although I love technology, I don't always own the most up to date tech toys and why my phone is a relic of 2004.

But in liew of my upcoming trip to Alaska, I figured why not splurge. I'm always always always wanted a camcorder. But back when it was fashionable, they were super expensive and bulky. Plus, I don't exactly lead the kind of lifestyle where it would get a lot of use.

Let me know introduce the Vado HD. I've had it about 3 days now and I LOVE it.

In my next post you'll see just how awesome it is. Sadly the battery only lasts 2 hours. But that's 2 hours of video. I figure that should be more than enough for a day. My camera is the Cannon Powershot SD550 which takes great pictures and can also record video but no where close to the quality of the Vado HD.

So expect lots of videos of the upcoming vacation. And besides I'm also lugging my camera with me just in case things don't go as planned.

What's Happening

2009-06-10T07:03:00.001-07:00

So its been a while since I posted any personal info on my blog and honestly, I'm not even sure I'll continue updating the blog on a regular basis except for periodic updates as and when it strikes me.

2 main things have occurred. My best friend Eins is leaving me!!! She's being shipped off to Shanghai for 3 years. (The bitch!) Ah well... guess that means I'll be visiting China sometime in the next 3 years. Sadly it also leaves me with no emergency contact in the States. Sucks to be a hermit.

And the second piece of news is that my folks are visiting me in less than 2 weeks! I always make the offer but was very surprised when they took me up on it. Mostly my dad cos he doesn't do vacations so well.

Anyway, we're doing 2 main places, Alaska and New York. The Alaskan cruise is 7 days long and going to be soooooo fun I think. We're on the ship Norwegian Pearl, and going to make 4 ports of calls. This will be the 2nd cruse that I've even been on. The first one was wayy back when I was about 6 or 8 I think, on a ship called the Rasa Sayang, I think it was a cruise to nowhere sailing Malaysia's waters but my memory's very hazy on that.

The ship is loaded with stuff, pools, a bowling alley, internet cafe, 10 restaurants, a spa, 24 hour gym, and even a rock climbing wall. (Not that I'll use that perk) I'm actually quite jazzed to go on the cruise, and want to visit 3 specific restaurants Teppanyaki Summer Palace (Russian food I think) and Le Bistro (French of Course).

We're booked into a Mini-Suite which is essentially a balcony room with more sq feet and a bath tub. Yep, on a cruise the tub seems to be a luxury item. Something new to me was the concept of Shore excursions, each time the ship docks there are tons of packages you can purchase that essentially takes you on a tour of ... something. I've got us booked on a different tour at each port and let me tell you, the cost is quite substantial. Its costing slightly more than 1/2 the cruise just for these excursions. But since I don't think I'll be back anytime soon and the folks probably won't ever, its worth the money I think.

Finally, it seems that the only time I ever do home improvement is when I expect visitors. For example putting up pictures in my house, or buying a new bed, etc all came about because someone was coming to visit me.

I have a nice little balcony beside my kitchen that I've been meaning to decorate for a while now but never quite got around to it. It sits bare while some neighbors have flowers and deck chairs etc. So I'm buying 2 items, a 3-Piece Nesting Table and a Sectional Corner Lounge Chair. Oh and of course I'll buy a potted plant or 2 a few days before the parents arrive, just cos.

That should take care of home improvement items for 2009.

Movie Review: UP

2009-06-02T06:33:00.001-07:00

I'll be honest, I love Pixar movies (who doesn't) but after watching the trailers for this latest one I was not so thrilled. Still because of the amazing reviews it got, I took a chance.

OMG! Its perhaps one of the best that pixar has come up with. I don't say this lightly either. The trailers for UP did not do it justice. This show is funny and yet its depiction of an old man and his life is so enduring its tear jerking. That's right there are several spots around the show where you could tear up. I'm glad to say that I didn't give in till the end of the movie to shed a tear or 2.

Notice that I'm not giving any details on the show itself except to say its good very very good. Kiddies will love it and even better, adults will too and not feel as if they are watching a cartoon. Run, don't walk to watch this one. UP get's a very very solid 10/10 in my opinion.

Cat Flushing the Toilet

2009-05-28T04:55:00.001-07:00

New TV Series: Merlin

2009-05-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a great new TV series to get lost in and Hollywood just isn't doing it for you, just remember that England has come up with some gems. Well, whenever the studio's in USA are being so damn slow with DVD releases, I got to Amazon UK and start looking for DVD's.

And I'm so glad to report that I've found an absolute gem! MERLIN is a retelling of the whole Arthurian legend. What Smallville did for Superman, MERLIN is doing for the Arthurian legend.

Its told from the perspective of 4 main characters, Merlin, Aruthur, Morgana and Gwen, before they became legends. Its actually very good, the chemistry between them is excellent and the plot is very solid. Yes there are significant differences from the usual plotlines but hey, Smallville isn't exactly a good history textbook either.

Oh and since each season is only 13 episodes for the BBC, there's none of those filler episodes like Buffy the musical episodes. Its all about character building and plot progression and keeps you glued to your TV.

I gobbled all 13 episodes in a single weekend and now I'm sadly hooked and can't wait for season 2 which hasn't started filming yet.

Movie Review: Star Trek

2009-05-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a very short review. Almost anything I say about the plot might give some thing away and spoil it for those who have not seen the movie. So I'll keep it simple. THE BEST STAR TREK EVER!!! Be it Movie or TV, this is the absolute best.

Through out the show there are nuggets of gold for those familiar with the original Star Trek crew. For the uninitiated, its a good solid fun sci-fi action movie, for those who are more immersed in Star Trek lore this is the Holy Grail we've been waiting for. Trust me there will be a sequel.

Love live the Federation and J J Abrams. He is now officially my new idol. Every TV series or movie he's done is absolute gold. He was the original executive producer for Alias, he was responsible for Lost, and currently for Fringe which is the BEST new TV series this year. And now he's responsible for STAR TREK.

This movie earns a perfect 10/10.

What I'm excited about this week

2009-05-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

Want to make a guess what it is?

Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2009-05-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

Its good. How good? If you like any of the X-men movies and you also liked the character Wolverine (Which is just about everyone) you'll like this movie.

Ignore the ignorant dumb-ass critics and watch this. No its not deep, no there are no surprises. This is an origin movie, translated its about how Wolverine became the person you saw in previous 3 X-Men movies.

So if you didn't enjoy the X-Men shows, or Wolverine himself, obviously you're not going to like this show. The rest of us are in heaven.

I like how after watching this show, it made me want to watch X-Men again because the story just picks up from there. Its literally like the same show. Awesome.

Hugh Jackman is in superb form (I mean that in every way possible). I was concerned with the show having so many stars in it, but fear not. The focus is on Wolverine and instead of hiring no-bodies for the secondary characters, they were able to get stars. That's it. If anything else it adds to the movie.

The ONLY fans who might be disappointed with the show are hard-core comic book readers who adhere religiously to the cannon and can quote line and verse from the comics. The director did take significant liberties with some aspects of the history and other characters but only the really hard-core will notice.

I do hope it does very very well. $90 million weekend well, because if you stay all the way till the end of the credits, there's a 10 sec shot of Wolverine in Japan. AWESOME!!!!

A great start to the summer movie season. I rate X-Men Origins: Wolverine a 9.5/10

How could it get that extra 0.5? Well... its a personal preference but someone other than Liev Schreiber as Sabertooth and much more scenes with Hugh and Ryan Reynolds topless.

New Find - Shrimp Wonton Soup

2009-04-06T05:20:00.001-07:00

I saw this new item at Costco about a month ago but never bothered to try it until they had a special offer on it. Now I'm hooked.

Each box has 6 containers of Shrimp Wonton and each bowl has 5 wontons. Just add water, nuke it for 3 mins and you have pretty good Shrimp Wonton soup.

The whole boxis about $11 and that works out to be $1.83 per bowl. I think that's a pretty good deal for good hot wonton soup. It especially goes down well in the cold weather.

Fave Breakfasts: Instant Noodles

2009-03-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Many people love Instant Noodles. Not only are they cheap but more importantly, they are quite good. And while its a relatively "new" thing to the western world (10+ years) its been in the Asian culture for closer to 30+ years.

The problem is that there are so many different kinds of instant noodles and I'm sure everyone has their favorites. Noodles from China, from east asia, from Korea, from Japan the list goes on.

The kind of noodles that I'm addicted to are called Mi-Goreng (Fired Noodles). Instead of soup its served dry or as close to fried as instant noodles can get. Just boil the noodles, put all the additives and spices that come with it in a bowl, drain the noodles and put it in the bowl with the dry stuff and mix. Viola. Its ready to eat.

If you're in the United States then chances are none of the major grocery stores carry this brand of noodles. Check out United Noodles, its a major asian grocery store in Minneapolis and you can order it online.

2 Packets of Instant Noodles and 2 three minute eggs on top and I'm in nostalgia heaven. The perfect midnight snack or early morning breakfast.

Movie Review: Monsters vs Aliens

2009-03-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Watched this today and I was pretty excited. The trailer made it look awesome and the thought of monsters saving the day had lots of potential.

Its no secret that Pixar has been the company to beat in the animation scene. No one makes an animated movie like Pixar does. Although effort by other companies were getting very good and the first non-Pixar animation movie that blew my mind was King Fu Panda last year by Dreamworks. And now they are releasing Monsters vs Aliens.

I won't go into specifics or detail the plot, you can get there anywhere on the web or at the wiki page.

Is the movie good? Yes. If you have a kid, go watch this its gonna be tons of fun.

Is the movie great? No. Its a good animation movie, but its not quite Pixar or Kung Fu Panda level. The reason might be the story, there are some parts that drag a little too long. And as for the voice acting, it was again good but not great.

The real acting in an animation has be the cohesion of both the actor's voice and on screen cartoon personality. We saw this first hand in Kung Fu Panda where Jack Black WAS the Panda. Reese Witherspoon just doesn't have that kind of a voice. In fact the best character in the whole show was B.O.B aka The Blob aka Seth Rogen. I dare you not to laugh when he opens his mouth.

All that aside its worth watching at the cinema, and definitely a dvd rental or purchase. Oh and there's an added benefit that some cinema's are showing this in 3D. Personally, I've never been impressed with 3D technology so its not a huge thing for me.

I rate Monsters vs Aliens an 8/10. Good but not great.

The Economy is finally hitting home

2009-03-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

For all the talk out there about how bad the economy is, it's never quite as true until it hits you personally. Well, I found out today that all employees in my company will be taking a slight pay cut effective April 1st.

I work for a very large Indian corporation, actually I work for an american company that was bought over by an Indian corporation. And as far as I know its affecting everyone.

My own pay will be lighter by 5%. Its not much and its a heck of lot better than being laid off. But it just might be time to cut down those daily coffee trips to the caribou coffee.

Weekend Recipe: Beef Sukiyaki

2009-03-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

I had a hankering to eat Beef Sukiyaki last week. In case you don't know Beef Sukiyaki is essentially a slightly sweet savoury stew of very thinly sliced beef and onions. And it goes so well over rice.

I made this dish before but it just wasn't right. The real trick is making sure the beef is thinly sliced. As thin as you can manage, and the trick to that is to put the beef in the freezer for about 2 hours then slicing it.

This try turned out very well. Its still not quite as thin as japanese shops have it but then again they might use a machine to cut the beef and I'm not spending $100+ on a slicing machine.

Ingredients:
1-2 pound Beef (thinly sliced beef)
1 Large Onion (Thinly sliced)
15+ Chinese Mushrooms

For sukiyaki sauce:
1/3 Mirin Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Chinese cooking wine
1/4-1/2 cup water

2-3 cups Rice

I bought Flank Steak cut of beef and put it in the Freezer for 2 hours. So its cold and holds its shape without being even close to frozen. This made cutting thin slices much much easier.

The good news is that cutting the beef is the hardest part of the job. I next fried the thinly sliced beef in batches to ensure that they were all cooked properly. I used olive oil for frying, and pan fried them to about slightly pink and releasing some of its juice and put the cooked beef in a bowl.

After about 3-4 batches (all beef slices cooked), I cooked the onions till yellow and soft (about 5 mins), Add in mushrooms, then added all the cooked beef and all the liquid into the pot. Next bring to a bowl and taste. If there is too much liquid, you can simmer it down.

The Mirin sauce removes the need to add sugar. Beef-Sukiyaki is slightly sweet. The ending sauce might be a bit salty but that's ok. When poured over steamed rice its excellent! Japanese Sticky rice would be best for Beef-Sukiyaki but jasmine rice works just as well.

1. Put Beef in Freezer for 2 hours
2. Slice Beef thinly
3. Slice Onions thinly
4. Slice mushrooms
5. Fry beef in batches till slightly pink (Retain Liquid)
6. Fry Onions till yellow (Cook for 3mins)
7. Add in Mushroms (Cook for 3mins)
8. Add in the Beef
9. Add in all the liquids
10. Bring to a bowl
11. Simmer till cooked and liquid slightly

Momma Mia Spoof

2009-03-25T04:13:00.000-07:00

Mamma Mia by Dawn French as Julie Walters, Jennifer Saunders as Meryl Streep (hilarious) and Joanna Lumley aka Patsy as Christine Baranski with Sienna Miller as the daughter!

I think its funny as heck, the comics are from the hit british comedy Ab Fab.

Cute Break

2009-03-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

Stressed? Just watch this clip of a cat cleaning a fox while holding him in a headlock.

Notable New TV Shows

2009-03-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not talking about new TV series shows, that usually happens in the fall. But this weekend end we have a treat, popular novels are being made into TV shows.

Terry Pratchett's The Color of Magic will air this Sunday.

Should be fun, its a Discworld book. If you don't know that world, its full of magic and witch's and dragons. Also, Discworld is a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle. And if that brand of humor appeals to you (which it does to millions of readers) we should be in for a treat.

Actually this was created in the UK and was shown there in 2008, so there's a chance it might be on DVD in some parts of the world.

Check out the trailer:

4 of Nora Robert's books got turned into Made for TV movies in 2007. Carolina Moon, Blue Smoke, Montana Sky, and Angels Fall. For 2009, we are getting another 4 books turned into movies, Tribute, High Noon, Midnight Bayou, and Northern Lights.

Nora's books are almost always on the bestseller list. They are always more about character studies, and focus on people which make them very suited for a TV movie.

Tonight is the premiere of Northern Lights on Lifetime starring Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes.

I'll admit that the first 4 movies in 2007 were ok. They were made for TV and as such quality/acting etc was so so. This time round however, I think much more money is being poured into the movies as evidenced by the cast, some of whom are almost A list stars. Like Eddie Cibrian, Jason Lewis, and Brittany Murphy.

So for fans of romance and Nora Robert's, its gonna be a great 4 weeks.
PS. Did I mention that I absolutely love their choices for leading men for these 4 movies?

Check out the trailer for Northern Lights

Check out the trailer for Midnight Bayou

Check out the trailer for High Noon

Check out the trailer for Tribute

1st Day of work in 2009

2009-03-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well its not news that many people are out of work, but as a consultant, having some months of the year off between assignments is fairly common.

I finished up my last assignment in Pittsburgh the day after New Years, took about a month to visit family in Singapore and have been 'on the bench' for the past month. So I started work with my new client today which is great. Even better, its an in town assignment so no traveling is involved. The only real down side? The company requires a formal dress code. That means long sleeve shirts and ties.

I've not worn a tie in years and it took me a full hour to remember how to knot a tie correctly. Also, I own exactly 2 suit, both of which don't quite fit anymore and since I'm not willing to purchase a new one, I'm not wearing a suit. Only a tie to work. Which works out because even with formal wear, only about 50% of the folks actually wear a proper suit.

Although I'm gay, I'm not fashionable or much into clothes. But thankfully I do have about 3 brand new dress shoes that I bought previously. Just never got the chance to wear them. Below, are a pair of low rise leather boots which I fell in love with about 3 years ago. I'm finally taking them out of the box.

Why We're Fat

2009-03-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting website. Basically its called This is why You're fat. Below are some choice pictures.

The Gastronomic Surprise Maxi Rainbow 24 Scoop Ice Cream SundaeThe Double Bacon Hamburger Fatty Melt
Three bacon-stuffed grilled cheese sandwichs for buns, cheese, bacon and two four-ounce beefs patties.

Meat Cake
Meatloaf with potatoes and ketchup for icing.

Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburgers

Heart Attack Sandwich
Chicken fried steak, chicken-fried bacon, a country sausage, a fried egg, a fried green tomato topped with cheddar cheese and sandwiched between buns toasted in bacon fat, all served with a gravy dipping sauce.

Deep-fried Twinkie On A Stick Dipped In Chocolate Syrup

Movie Review: Watchman

2009-03-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is a very difficult show to review. Why? Because it depends on the viewer. If you've never had an interest in superheroes or comics or manga, I would highly recommend that you skip this show, it's just not for you.

However, if you like comics then you probably already watched this movie. The director was very true to the 1980's comic book story and it is a very good story for a comic/graphic novel especially since it was written in the 1980's.

The show is a little long, and don't expect a rip roaring action packed movie like Ironman. This is a cerebral comic book, for the intelligent geek. Personally, I liked it enough to give it a 8.5/10.

PS. It is rated R because of the violence and nudity. There's actually a lot of nudity. Specifically of one person. Who is blue. But does fit the story :)

Notable Food Photos for the Past Month

2009-03-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the house when I arrived back from Singapore.

This is the first meal I had after I arrived back in Minneapolis. Pasta, sausage, and sauce.

Here's some noodles with cabbage, mushrooms, stewed pork and ground turkey.

I'm currently in love with Fresh mozzarella with grape tomatoes.

I love a western breakfast. Sunny side up eggs, sausage and tomatoes.

And here's when I made corned beef and cabbage.

Here a frozen chicken pie, it was from costco and actually quite good.

My S'pore Trip - Final Day

2009-02-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

I know this final post of my holiday is over a month late but better late than never.

My flight to the US is at 6am so I had to wake up at about 3:30 am. At the airport I had a little snack.

Here are the folks sending me off at the airport. At 5+am its no wonder they look sleepy.

Oh and AWESOME news, I'm a gold elite member on NWA and got bumped up to business class!!! Here's a picture of the seats. Its so spacious, such a diff from economy class.
With my legs stretched out I still have so much leg room left. Its certainly a huge upgrade from economy.

Ahhh and here's the menu on the flight from Singapore to Tokyo
Notice the table cloth even! That's the illusion of class, also the presentation is simply gorgeous. Here we have poached wonton and char siu noodles. Don't you just love the fruit bowl as well? Heck its got dragon fruit in it.
And just before landing we have Chicken satay, curry puff and sugar cane prawn.

At Narita airport I got a bottle of green tea and some cute little crustless sandwiches. Its almost like the delicate cucumber sandwiches that the british enjoy.

Ahhh and on to the flight from Narita to Minneapolis. The menu looks good. And trust me it does deliver.

A little pre-lunch snack of assorted salted nuts

Ahhh this was a first for me. A 3 course meal on a plane. Here's the appetizer, salad and Crab meat/scallops/chicken.

Main Course, which was pretty good. Chicken and mashed potatoes.

Finally desert, cheese, fruit, and choc cake.

Here's the snack cart that was available through out the flight.

here's the breakfast menu before landing.

Quite substantial, this was the frittata with canadian bacon and hash browns.

Oh yes, business class is definitely a cut above, but enough for the additional $5k? Probably not.

My S'pore Trip - Reflections

2009-01-29T06:36:00.000-08:00

This was an excellent trip for me. It was great knowing that the folks are financially and physically secure and still hale and hardy in their early 60's.

I'm also glad I spent quite a bit of time with the niece and nephew. After all, very soon they will have their own lives and I'll just be 'that' uncle that lives in the States.

I also like the new condo that the folks moved into. The house itself is nice, but the real gem is the pool area. I swam almost every day that I was in Singapore. This is very amazing because its been over 5-8 years since I've swam. Part of it was physical insecurities, the other part was simply not having a pool readily available.

Heck I even got sun burn after my first day swimming and was peeling the next day. That's just how fair my skin was and now I'm tanned!

And now for the final post before I log off and finish packing. Most of the loot that I'm lugging back with me. Lots of DVD's and pre-mix spices.

My S'pore Trip - Day 22

2009-01-29T06:12:00.000-08:00

This morning for the 4th day of the New Year and the last day of my holiday, we drove to Whampoa Market yet again, but this time the curry store was open for breakfast.

This whole feast only cost $16 for the 3 of us.

After breakfast we had to rush home as we were expecting guests for lunch.
I won't list everything but I will say that the Satay Chicken (fried this time), the Chilli Prawns, and the Pong Tau Hu, were exceptional.

And for desert, we had Pulot Hitam (Black rice) with coconut milk. It was not a fave of mine, and my mom cooked it salty but I prefer mine sweet, after all it is a desert.
You might not be able to see it, but the dishes and spoons for the Pulot Hitam are the antique Nonya dishes passed down from my grandmother's mother. Mom really pulled out all the stops.

Dinner was a special affair. Not only is it my last night in Singapore, but we're also celebrating my Dad's birthday which is less than a week away.

My sister suggested Straits Kitchen at the Grand Hyatt Singapore, and it turned out to be a fabulous choice. It might be on the pricy side, but the theme was upper class hawker food and it was excellent!!!

Here are some shots of the various food stations (its a buffet) before I was told no photos allowed.

And here's what I had. I started off with Chicken rice, both steamed and roasted, it was soooo good.

Poh Piah which I shared with my Mom

Satay. I know I had satay at the family reunion BBQ but professionally cooked satay beats irregular heat cooked satay any day.

An assortment of items, the fish with blachan was damn good.

This round I had Ayam Bua Kulek which was good, and a side of soy sauce chicken.

For desert, it was almond jelly and logang with a variety of nonya cakes.

My niece also got Ice Kachang.

There were some tears at the start of the meal, but by the time everyone was on their first course, the water works had stopped.

And finally the family portrait. (29 Jan 2009)

My S'pore Trip - Day 21

2009-01-28T01:51:00.000-08:00

The folks took the week off, so I'm spending lots of time with them. We went back to Whampoa Market to try and get Curry Rice since it was so good, but it was closed so we had noodles instead which was also very good.

The main reason it was so tasty. Lard.

Oh and some carrot cake too.

We popped by NTUC and I had to shoot this. They sell fish in a super market much like a wet market. This must be a recent thing cos It was not here when I came back about 15 months ago. There's even a basin for you to wash your hands after selecting the perfect fish. This seems to me the eventual death of wet markets.

Oh and Pomfret. A fave fish in Singapore but practically unheard of in the States.

had to take a picture of this. The Four Seasons Durian store at Ang Mo Kio HUB. Its soooo good. $12 for a box of 4, its a pancake with real durian in the center. Soooooooooo good.

This is another product they sell, Durian Mochi.

Lunch was eaten by the pool. We had Wanton noodles and Hokkien Mee.

Here's the old folks joining me for a swim.

And here's a fun and relaxing past-time. Feeding the fishes in the pond.

Evidently my dad likes to to this every morning. So he bought the fish food in bulk and stores them in the trunk of his car for easy access and grabs a bag each morning.

And now on to Dinner. We went to a neighbor stall near Sengkang, and I have to admit the food was very good.

We started off with Yu Sheng

Shark's Fin with Crab meat.

Fish stir fried with black bean sauce

The vege dish (which instead of just being a token green dish was actually tasty)

Ha Cheong Kai (Shrimp paste fried wings)

And because I'm such a greedy bastard, we also ordered Fish Bee Hoon and Hor Fun for supper.

And so ends the 3rd day of the New Year.

My S'pore Trip - Day 19 - New Years Day

2009-01-26T01:35:00.000-08:00

For New Year's day, it started off with a big breakfast, and the family coming over and red packets and oranges being exchanged.

My parents are vegetarians on the first day of the New Year, hence there's only one dish with meat.

Here are the Folks

My sister and her family

My Aunt and her family

This is my father's second brother. Oh the guy on the left is my cousin who is a year younger and this was the first time I've seen him in 15 years.

This i my Dad's oldest sister who is pushing 76 and going strong.

And that's me stuffing my face wich a dish I've not had for over 15 years. Its basically Ha bee (Dried Chilli Shrimp) with large pieces of pork.

All in, we were out for about 5-6 hours visiting. Sadly I neglected to take copious amount of pictures.

Dinner was another feast. The new dish is called Pong Tau Hu which I had a hand in helping make. The balls are chicken, shrimp and tofu, cooked in prawn stock and chinese turnip. Its sooo good.

And even a little cake for after dinner.

My S'pore Trip - Day 18

2009-01-25T01:15:00.000-08:00

25th Jan - New Year's Eve.

Breakfast again is noodles with lots of food.

Lunch was a simple affair of porridge of chicken and fried tofu.

Finally, the evening meal. Its reunion dinner and the whole family got together for a BBQ. We spent a lot of time preparing all the food. enjoy the pics.

First we had Satay Ayam, nonya style. Its my family's signature dish.

That white stuff on top is Coconut milk.

And now Pics of the people.

After dinner I took in a swim and most went upstairs to watch Mamma Mia. But as with all fun times, it came to an end.

There were tons of left overs which is pretty common during my family gatherings. Here's a little plate of left overs I put together for a late night snack.

My S'pore Trip - Day 17

2009-01-24T00:58:00.000-08:00

24th Jan, Saturday

Dad bought breakfast from a hawker center, this is the chinese version of Nasi Lemak. Actually its just lots of food and rice :)

Watched the show Ip Man starring Donnie Yen with the rug rats and then we stopped by Ben & Jerry's for a late lunch.

This is what I had. Steak and eggs open faced sandwich. It was... passable. Would you believe I didn't get any ice cream for myself? Is that will power or what?

And of course the 2 Rug Rats.

The 24th is also the eve of the eve of Chinese New Year, so everyone is busy buying shit for the reunion dinner tomorrow. We went to collect Satay and Otak Otak at a shop in Eunos, and I found tons and tons of duck, Goose, Pork all ready to be bought.

Here is a huge pot of Chicken Chin. Its essentially a variation of the original Babi Chin and is kind of a tradition at our house to cook this for New Year's.

Dinnner on Saturday was a simple affair. Some duck, some leeks with shrimp, chicken Neo Hiang, and of course Chicken Chin.

My S'pore Trip - Day 16

2009-01-23T03:04:00.000-08:00

Friday I had an appointment at Bishan Junction 8 and since I was early, I visited MOS Burger. Its a Japanese fast food franchise.

I tried one of their rice burgers and was less than impressed. The chain had come to Singapore a few years before I left for the States, but I also remember being less than impressed with the offerings.

Lunch was spent with my mom eating Kway Chap. This was the SHIT! It was very good.

Here's a picture of Junction 8 from above. Lots of Chinese New Year Goodies being sold, but not many people buying. Looks like the recession is being felt.

Oh and I also spent some time making the red packets. I love that there are so many different kinds of red packets. So pretty and the banks give them away for free.

Friday night I went out with a another long time pal and his wife. This is Wei Kiat and Carol.

We went to the Ang Mo Kio Hub mall for dinner. The dinner was a set meal so it saved us the trouble or deciding what to order.

It started out with Yu Sheng. This one used Salmon. It was fun because the waiter would explain and wish us good luck with every item that was mixed into the Yu Sheng.
And of course, this is what it looks like after we did the "Lol Hey".

Potatoes, mushrooms and Chinese sasuage in some kind of stew.

Broccoli with abalone and mushrooms.

Shark's fin

Fried fish

And roast duck which is supposed to be their signature dish.

My S'pore Trip - Day 14 - 15

2009-01-21T02:32:00.000-08:00

On Wed, 21st jan, I met an Poh Kok, old buddy for lunch at an Indian restaurant at Vivo City. It was a buffet lunch and pretty good.

This is Poh Kok. He's looking good, he's also turned into a gym rat of sorts.

The nun was good.

I won't mention all the dishes they had but I did 2 rounds of the buffet and was pretty happy after.

The desert surprised me. I don't typically like Indian deserts but aside from the Ice Cream and fruit, that orangy blog is a sweet warm Indian desert which I did enjoy.

After lunch, I walked a little on Orchard road. Here's a shot of it. C K Tang's is still prominent after over 20 years.

Dinner was again with some friends, this time from JC. Chan Wee and Ian.

We went to a fairly new roadside stall that does seafood, near Serangoon Gardens.

Black Pepper Crab was the main dish, and I have to admit, I'm usually too lazy to bother with crabs, its a hassle to eat but this was quite good. I especially liked the crab roe, its been a while since I've had the pleasure.

Fried Tofu with Pork floss on it.

Fish slices stir fried with spring onions.

Sambal Kangkong.

Over all a decent meal, the crabs were excellent, and the conversation good.

Dinner on Thursday was Teo Chew Porridge (except we had rice).

There was so much variety to choose from. and everything looked good.

I won't list everything we ordered, you either know it on sight or your don't. I will say that the Pig Innerds and Chicken Curry were especially good.

My S'pore Trip - Snacks

2009-01-21T02:11:00.000-08:00

This is a sampling of the snacks I've also eaten while on vacation. Yup, I'm eating a whole ton.

This is Ha Bee. Dried Shrimp with chilli. It goes so damn well with bread and butter.

If you can't tell, I love Old Chang Kee. I've spent no less than $80, probably over that just on fishballs and curry puffs.

Ahhh colorful nonya cakes from Bengawan Solo.

Its been forever since I had Soon Kuey and the pink triangle cake. (Ps. We call it cake but its actually rice inside)

Papadum. I can get this in the US but this was readily available and so cheap from just about any neighbor hood snack shop.

My S'pore Trip - Day 13

2009-01-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday night (20th Jan - Day 13) me and the folks went out for Peranakan food. We went to IVIN'S which is supposed to serve decent food, but to me horror, it was one of the worst dining experiences I've had since being back in Singapore.

The service was terrible, the waiters took over 30mins to bring out the food, the couple at the table beside us, walked out because they had been waiting over 45mins.

When you order several dishes to be eaten with rice, you expect all the dishes to be served with the rice. But no. We got some dishes first, several dishes about 15mins later and yet another 10 mins later and we also canceled the Itek tim (Duck with salted Veg) because we had already finished the meal and despite reminding the waiters to check on our order on 3 separate occasions, it still had not come out.

On top of that, none of the waiters seemed to communicate with each other. We ordered an extra bowl of rice and had to ask 3 different waiters before one finally came to us.

Finally, the worst offense was the food. Bad service is forgivable if the food is at least decent. This was not the case. IVIN'S serves very TINY portions (although at cheaper prices) but there was not a single dish that was passable. Let's take the simplest dish we ordered, Bean sprouts fried with salted fish. How the hell do you screw up that dish? What we got was very oily Bean sprouts with pieces of salted fish added in. The taste of salted fish was not cooked into the dish, it was only present in the actual pieces of fish.

I'll be frank, it will be a COLD DAY in HADES before I ever go back there, and I highly recommend that no one bother with that sad excuse for a restaurant, especially in the food paradise that is Singapore.

IVIN'S. See it and run.

This was Chai Poh Omelet. It was decent. Perhaps the only decent dish.

Ayam Bua Keluk. I don't expect restaurants to excel at this dish but most give a fairly decent attempt. In this dish, there was hardly any taste of Bua Keluk, and wayyy too much asam (sour) cooked into a dish which should not have any asam. Worst of all, there were 2 Bua Keluk seeds. One of them contained a whole Bua Keluk. If you're not familiar with the dish, you're supposed to dig out the flesh in the seed and pound it, cook it, then restuff it back into the seed. This was a whole Bua Keluk fruit, it was whole. And let me tell you, that is some bitter shit if its not pounded and cooked.

We had Neo Hiang that looked like it was re-fried several times, not to mention dry and .... just not pleasant.

On the right we have the Bean Sprout with salted fish (which I already complained about) and on the left we have Ayam Rempah Goreng. Look, if you order anything with the word Rempah in it, you expect sauce. Savoury sauce. Some dumb shit basically gave us fried chicken coated in a sweetish batter. There was NO Rempah.

Wednesday I went out for some hawker food. Here's a good old fashioned Mee Poh.