Brave - Sara Bareilles

I am loving this song Brave by Sara Bareilles at the moment. Catchy, pop-pish and inspirational.

Be brave! Say what you think or feel. After all, nobody can read your mind.

4-Day Long Weekend

By the quirk of fate, today is the start of the 4 day long weekend. Kicking it off is Hari Raya Puasa (Selamat Hari Raya Puasa to everyone who celebrates it), followed by National Day (48th years old and counting) and the weekend.

I know people who took 3 days leave this week and got to enjoy 9 days of leave, enough for a jaunt across the ocean. A week in Paris and London? A week in Australia traveling down the East Coast or just have a relaxing chilling week on the sunny beaches nearby. Maldvies? Mauritius? Samui?

I decided not to go anywhere and just stay in Singapore, enjoy the better traffic and less crowded buses and trains. With my 21 days of annual leave + whatever is leftover from last year, I no longer need to take advantage of such long weekend to save the leave. In fact I have a hard time using up my leave. So now I rather take my leave during the low season, less people and cheaper flights and hotel accommodations.

What will I be doing this long weekend?

August 8 - lunch with the extended family, followed by a long cycling event in the afternoon. From Pasir Ris Park to Punggol Park. I don't know if I will be up to it but I can always try. It has been a long time since I last went to either place and I have not cycle for hours in a long while. I have always shun cycling (only doing it once in a while) after high school days in Canada where the bicycle was our main mode of transportation. Yes, we cycled everywhere. To school, to the mall, to the grocery store, and even to the "nearest" MacDonalds which was about 45 minutes bike ride away. Needless to say I hardly went there :p

August 9 - likely to the National Museum to view the paintings from the House of Liechtenstein. It will feature works by Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Raphael and Lucas Cranach the Elder, celebrating the period from the late 15th century to the mid 19th century - the High Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-classical and Biedermeier styles.

Nothing much planned for the weekend though we may go to a kelong in Malaysia to chill and fish? We shall see.

Enjoy the long weekend, everyone. There is always the Starhub promotion of free channels the entire period, catch as much TV programs as you can. With Starhub AnywhereTV, you can also watch it on your computer now. Really cool.

Deja Vu: 2003 and 2013

Suddenly this song is so appropriate. "Just A Fool" - Christina Aguilera featuring Blake Shelton.

It happens again. Deja vu. All so familiar.

2003: My heart was broken
2013: My trust was broken

Different strokes, but the same result.

I do not know how this story will pan out or if it is truly the end of another chapter in my life.

Nothing is guaranteed in life. The lesson learnt in 2003, and to repeated again 10 years later.
Promises are just words. They can be dashed. Shattering dreams and hopes.

Another song - Jet Lag by Simple Plan

The song for the moment, which is so apt right now. For anyone who is either in a long distance relationship or whose partner is always flying. I have heard of this song before, but the lyrics never really registered in my mind until now.

Somehow I prefer the French version better. Maybe it is because it just sounds different. Plus they are from Quebec so they do speak French.

Enjoy. I don't want to be jet lag anymore though. Waiting...counting the days, hours and minutes till it will end.

Hmmm...just noticed the lead singer looked a bit like my Canadian pal. It's a common face in Canada :p

Not Quite Nigella Book

It's finally here! I have enjoyed reading the posts on notquitenigella and found it to be entertaining with lots of interesting tidbits. Bacon jam? Alice in Wonderland tea shop? 

Chocolate on a stick was the first recipe I tried based on her blog post and it was a success. I love how her recipes are broken down into simple steps with tips and alternatives along the way.

Can't wait to read the book with recipes to keep. 

You can order her book from Fishpond as I don't think it is available in Singapore yet. 

Homemade Crab Rangoon

I fell in love with Crab Rangoon when I first tried it in Seattle. The crab rangoon from this dingy hole in a wall shop inside Pike Place Market was simply awesome. Freshly made, piping hot, creamy cream cheese mixed with imitation crab meat encased on a crispy wanton skin. Delicious! But only if you like creamy food. 

So I decided to re-create the crab rangoon. It is quite simple to make. 

Ingredients:

- cream cheese

- imitation crab meat or real crab meat

- spring onions, finely chopped

- worchester sauce, a dash or 1 teaspoon

- light soya sauce, 2 teaspoon

- black pepper

Method:

1. Mix them all together.

2. Drop a tablespoon size into wanton skin. Wrap dumpling or parcel style

3. Keep in fridge to let it harden for a while so that the shape will hold when deep frying.

4. Deep fry or bake it in oven (maybe 15-20 mins) 

5. Serve. 

If there are leftover filling, you can add cooked potato and shape them into balls and fry it too. 

Filling of crab rangoon

Filling of the square parcel

All wrapped and ready to be fried

Crab Rangoon and potato crab balls

Mixing the filling

Where I have been hiding...

I know I know...I'm still abysmal in blogging. But....I have been posting over at Yelp. Yepper, I'm now a Yelper. Bad pun, I'm aware :p

So if you are interested, you could always read my reviews over there. I will still be blogging here on and off.  The url is under Fave Links.

Music in my Life

The songs for 2012 to now.....

Christina Perri - A Thousand Years

Adele - Someone Like You

Beyonce - Dangerously In Love With You

Beyonce - Halo

Dan Smith - Baby Got Book

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

Justin Bieber - As Long As You Love Me

Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party

Pink - Just Give Me A Reason

Pink - Try

Hmmm....that is about it for now...until more songs inspired my life.

Lemon butter prawns

I actually wanted to grill the prawns but since there was no grill, I improvised with using the Happy Call pan. I figured it will seal in the juices and create a semi-grill or oven atmosphere. After all, you can bake a cake using the Happy Call pan. 

When using fresh prawns, it is always nice to keep it as simple as possible so that the seasoning does not mask the natural sweetness and taste of the prawns. 

Method:

1. clean the prawns by de-veining it.

2. melt butter and add fresh lemon juice. mix them together and leave it.

3. drizzle olive oil over the pan, technically you do not need oil for Happy Call pan but I want a bit of olive oil taste.

4. place prawns on pan and let it sizzle. brush the lemon butter over the prawns. grind black pepper over it. 

5. flip the pan, open and brush the remaining lemon butter on the other side of the prawns and grind more black pepper over it.

6. it takes about 3-5 minutes to cook the prawns. serve when done. 

It is a very quick and easy dish to make. Perfect with mashed potatoes and salad. Or just have it on its own. 

A touch of Spring

I just love bright colors sometimes. I was looking for a pair of shoes to fit the company's D&D theme of Retro Night and this cheery coral wedges just drew my attention. I wanted something loud and fun as I may be wearing a black dress. So I have to rely on the accessories to do the work. Excuses I know :p

I would love a pair of hot pink peep toe heels but it was not available in my size. Then there was a pair of robin egg blue pumps which was very lovely but I wanted to show off my beautiful nail color too. Lol. So this coral peep toe wedges fit the criteria. I get to show my OPI new color "Can't Find My Czech-Book". 

I will be adding a pink and orange head scarf and don't know what else to dress up the outfit. I think that will work.  

Whitley Road Fishball Noodle

 

I happened to be at the old Lavender Food Center this morning and decided to have fish ball noodles for breakfast. There was a bit of a line at 8am at Whitley Road Fishball Noodle and decided to try it. 

Apparently they made their own fishballs which explained the non-uniform shape which was a good sign. Don't you get a bit tired of having those factory made fishballs in most places now?

The fishballs were bouncy and juicy with a bit of sweetness in them. The noodle was a bit dry after a 15 minutes journey but after mixing it with the sauce it was quite ok. I do love that they did not stint on the lard pieces. Sometimes you just need something sinful to slurp up the noodle. 

Another birthday, another year :)

I received this yesterday :) The FedEx guy actually came the day before, on the day of my birthday but alas, our doorbell was not working so nobody heard him. I found the failed delivery notice when I came home and was going to throw it away. Reason was I was not expecting any parcel, plus I received another delivery at about the same time. My friend sent something and the person called my friend when nobody answered the doorbell. So my friend was able to contact me and I called home to get someone to receive that parcel. So I thought maybe the failed delivery notice was from that parcel. 

Luckily I called my friend to check if she used FedEx and if I could throw away that notice. She asked me to check the tracking online or call the customer service as she did not use FedEx. I did and found out it was a parcel from the USA. Phew! 

It was a birthday gift, with a card (birthday and Valentine and CNY wishes) from Harry & David, my favorite store for truffles in the States. A basket full of assorted cookies in a wire-mesh cloth covered basket. Useful. I could use it when the cookies are all gone. 

There are a lot of cookies in there. 

• 6 Blackberry Galettes (0.67 oz. each)
• 2 Apple Raisin Cookies (1 oz. each)
• 2 Giant Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Cookies (3 oz. each)
• 2 Giant Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies (3 oz. each)
• 2 White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies (1 oz. each)
• 2 Macadamia Chocolate Chip Cookies (1.1 oz. each)
• 2 Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies (1.2 oz. each)
• 2 Moose Munch Cookies (1 oz. each)

It has been a wonderful birthday, celebrating it with friends and family on the actual day and days before and after it. 

I didn't even know Harry & David delivers internationally. Apparently it is limited selection for International delivery though. I guess it is due to the delicate nature of foodstuff. But I am very happy with the cookies and the thought behind it. Plus it was delivered on my birthday even though the expected date given by the company was much later. 

Goodbye Fire Dragon, Hello Water Snake

Happy Chinese new year! Another new year. Another opportunity for new beginnings.

Christmas Eve Dinner - 24 December 2012

I touched down in Vancouver on Dec 23 and spent Christmas in Canada. My friend celebrated Christmas with a dinner on Christmas Eve. It was a simple affair, with a hearty home cooked food, with a touch of Romanian dishes.

It was a wonderful Christmas eve dinner with old friends and new friends. Just a cozy evening in a cold country and Christmas lights all around. Being back in Canada was still like going home. I guess Canada will always be a home to me, it is where I grew up to being an adult. A place which taught me to be independent, to drive, to analyze, to vote, to drink, to know every little bit counts.

Store bought apple pie which was delicious, and I hardly buy pies from the grocery store.

Another store bought dessert - baklava

My favorite dish of the night - Cabbage rolls. Minced meat and veggies stuffed into cabbage leaves and then boiled in a tomato infused soup.

The turkey!

Black forest cake from Superstore which was also pretty good.

Romanian soup - meatball soup which was great for the cold weather.

My dinner plate. Stuffed from all the food.

Chinese New Year Eve

Since I missed posting on 1 January 2013 or on 31 December 2012, I decided to make up for lost time by doing it for the Lunar calendar. I do have a very good excuse for the no posts. I was traveling and up in the air :p

Okay, okay, technically I was not in the air the entire time crossing numerous time zones though I could be. Instead I only crossed a couple of time zones. From PST to EST, and I traveled on Dec 30, 2012 from Vancouver and arriving in Toronto on Dec 31, 2012 and then to New York City still on Dec 31, 2012. But as I was too tired from all the traveling, I was actually sleeping the afternoon away upon reaching my destination. As that was followed by a night of partying, New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York City, I think I deserve some slack :p

Reflecting on 2012, I do think it has been a good year for me. I fulfilled many of my dreams, wishes or whatever you call it.

1. Visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia, my birthday wish and trip
2. Went back to Canada and even to the States (Vancouver, Seattle, NYC, Orlando, Washington, DC and many more) for a holiday
3. Found all Canadian documents and stuff a few months before my trip (God is really good, I found them just before and I started my search a couple of years back)
4. Had a relaxing and wonderful vacation in Phuket, still my favorite beach holiday in SE Asia
5. Met someone whom I like and the feeling is mutual :)

What did not happen:
1. No wedding for me :p
2. Weight remained the same, no loss or gain (maybe I should be grateful there is no gain)
3. No big fat bonus

That was my 2012. It was filled with ups and downs. A tension and worry filled mid year when my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It has been arrested and thank God he does not need to undergo chemotherapy. It is a wake up call to everyone that health is precious and hospital bills are astronomical!!! Again, thank God we are able to shoulder it.

Dental bills are also crazy when I went through my dental implant. Just 1 implant plus a gum flap extraction surgery cost about $8k! I spent most of 2012 visiting my dentists because of the implant. I became very well acquainted with needles and anesthesia.

I also did a thorough eye check up in 2012 but only got new lenses for my eyeglasses last month. I finally found a good and experienced optometrist. I will be getting new contact lenses after CNY. So I shall be all set for the Snake year.

The upside of 2012 was of course most of my wishes/dreams came true. I am always thankful to God for his grace and love to me. Even if I do not talk much about it or attend church every Sunday, God is very much in my life, every minute, every hour and every day. That is the beauty of having God in my life. I can talk to him anytime, anywhere. I do not need a physical building to find Him.

As the Dragon year closes with a bang and a roar, I find myself looking forward to the year of the Snake. I never really like the snake when I was young but now that I am older, I find myself identifying much with the attributes of the Snake. Maybe I am just a confused child or maybe I am lucky to have both Dragon and Snake elements in my sign, being born in the Snake year but before CNY, so technically a Dragon, but then it was after 4 February and some said it is still a Snake. So what the hell, I shall just embrace both Dragon and Snake attributes wherever applicable :p

Enjoy the last of the Dragon year and the reunion dinner for those who celebrate and observe such traditions :)

MIA

I know I have not been actively posting on here. It is just plain laziness :p Or I could always blame the smartphone. Why? Because I hardly bring my camera out now and all my food pictures or any pictures are shot using my phone camera. I dislike tapping on the touchscreen so it does take a while to coordinate the pictures and the text.

I will try to be better but for now, it will be quite sporadic.

Continued Chiropractic Treatment

After a couple of months of stopping my chiropractic treatments, I finally went back to getting adjusted. I stopped after my regular chiropractor left the place and I did not feel comfortable with the new chiropractor at Infinity Chiropractic. I still have a few sessions left there and I will probably convert it into massages or something.

So where did I go to get adjusted? Nowhere. I was waiting for my regular chiropractor to set up his own practice and he finally did. Then I was busy with stuff and it was about a month before I visited him at his new place ~ Concierge Chiropractic & Rehabilitation.

Dr Dylan Altfeld has been treating me since July 2009 and there is a rapport between us. I trust him to adjust my spine and this is crucial. You do want to feel comfortable with the person and know that your spine will be well taken care of. I am delighted for him that he has his own practice.

Because my body actually felt bad (it was achy from not being adjusted but the body forgot and sort of adapted to the bad shape so I was not in pain at all), we decided to go with once a week instead of my once every 3 weeks treatment. But after being adjusted...ahhhh...relief from the body....the body decided it wanted more adjustments :p I could feel the body protesting a few days after the treatment that it wanted more.

So I told Dylan that I want to do twice a week for a while until the body is back on track again. I only did twice a week for about 2 weeks when the body got better. So now I am trying out once a week treatment. Hopefully I will soon progress back to alternate week and to the once every 3 weeks again.

I do hope Dylan will stay in Singapore for a while since it will be a huge pain to look for a new chiropractor if he decides to move back to the States.

Through this experience of not being adjusted for a while and then being adjusted again, I could definitely feel the difference in my body. I still do not get much migraines/tension headaches which is a good thing. Massages are a thing to enjoy now.

Note:
I understand that those who are still with Infinity Chiropractic can actually transfer the remaining treatment sessions to Dylan's new practice. But do check with them on the procedures as I have not gone back after my consultation with Dr Alex, the new chiropractor over there. 

Chiropractic...love it or scoff it

Just another update on my chiropractic treatment. I have mentioned it can be a lifelong affair (if you want it to be) as it is so similar to doing to the dentist or gym. I started reading up on chiropractic treatment after my first encounter with it in 2007. I was aware of the risks involved (yes, you could be paralyzed if the chiropractor did not do a good job) but I wanted to give it a try since conventional methods did not work much.

I used to suffer from migraines and tension headaches frequently. When the attacks came, I just could not do much to alleviate the pain. Regular painkillers did not work for me, plus I am allergic to many other painkillers so my options were very limited. My doctor prescribed Naramig for my migraine. At $9+ per pill, it was a costly affair.

My shoulders, neck and upper back were also very achy and sore all the time. Regular massage (sometimes 3x a week) did not work either. I would feel good for the first few hours but the ache and pain would be back the next day. This is apparently a very common problem for office workers, those who are desk bound, due to staring at the computer screens for hours on end with no break.

So I was at a fair and met a chiropractor in Vancouver. I paid for the trial and went to his clinic to learn more about it. There was an X-ray machine and he took X-ray of my spine. After which he went through my X-ray and told me how my spine was faring. Seriously if you ever see your own X-ray and the shape it is in, you may be more receptive to chiropractic treatment.

Chiropractors believe the body has the ability to heal itself when everything is working properly. That includes a healthy spine where messages can be passed from the brain to various parts of the body sent via the spine. When the spine is compressed or out of shape, the messages may get lost or delayed, resulting in a less than healthy body. So the chiropractor tries to adjust the spine back to its original healthy position. This takes time and so one needs to persevere to see results. This is my crude interpretation of what chiropractic treatment can do :p

I believe it and I also do not want to keep popping pills which are chemical and only mask the problems. I only completed a couple of months of chiropractic treatment before I left Vancouver. It took me a while before I finally found a chiropractor in Singapore who is similar to the chiropractor I saw in Vancouver.

So I went back to regular adjustments. I started with 3x a week for 2-3 months before dropping to twice a week, and then once a week to alternate week and finally once every 3 weeks. My chiropractic journey in Singapore started in July 2009 and is still going on. I must state that for most of last year and this year, I was already on once every 3 weeks treatment and I thought that was pretty good for me.

Results: Drastically reduced migraines or tension headaches attacks. I think I only get it 1-3x a year and only when I am very tired or ill. I don't need massages anymore. If I go for massages, now I only go for swedish or relaxing style as I don't need the hard stuff to remove the knots on my shoulders and neck. 

Everything was fine until my chiropractor stopped practising at Chiropractic Infinity. So for about 2 months I was not adjusted and I could sooooo feel the difference. The body was uncomfortable for the first few days but after a week or so, it got used to the ache and pain so I did not feel so bad. That is really how the body cope with pain. Someone once told me when you feel pain, it means the body could not bear it anymore. The body can actually absorbs 90% of the pain.

There is a new chiropractor at Chiropractic Infinity ~ Dr Alex. I am not sure I would be comfortable letting him adjust me, so I arranged for a consultation. As the treatment of the spine is very important with serious repercussions, I want to be sure I would be ok with the person first.

I found out Dr Alex is originally from Greece and moved to the States when young and graduated from a chiropractic school in Chicago (not Palmer which is where both my chiropractors graduated from and Palmer was the guy who invented or originated with chiropractic treatment). Dr Alex examined me and was able to tell me which were the problem areas and advised me to add some exercises to strengthen my core besides chiropractic treatment. I found his style to be similar to an osteopath. Osteopathy is a cross between chiropractic and physiotherapy (again, my own meaning) and osteopath believes in strengthening the core and exercises to build the body.

In any case, I was not comfortable with Dr Alex to adjust me so I did not get any treatment from him.

Luckily my usual chiropractor (Dr Dylan Altfeld) has set up his own practice and so I am able to get adjusted again. Yay!

Wang Cafe @ Changi Airport Terminal 3

Sometimes the simple things in life are the best life has to offer. In pursuing endless wants, we may forget what is important to us.

So I was at the airport late at night, waiting for the arrival of a flight, when hunger pangs struck. Most restaurants had closed by then, not much choices after 10pm. Meandering the vastness of Terminal 3, I chanced upon Wang Cafe and Coffee Bean. I decided to go for traditional fare of coffee, soft boiled eggs and kaya butter toast.

Look at the eggy goodness. The eggs were nicely done, the yolks were not too soft or hard and actually maintained its shape when I tried to balance it on the tiny teaspoon. They just hit the spot with dashes of pepper and dribbles of dark soya sauce.

The kaya butter toast were decent. Crispy and warm with the right amount of kaya and thin slabs of cold butter.

The coffee was alright, not too sweet or thick. Just a simple snack food to keep my stomach from growling. It was a good thing I ate something as the flight was delayed and it was after 1am when the plane finally landed.

Adam Road Food Centre

I recently found out how close Adam Road Food Centre is from Botanic Gardens MRT. Needless to say, it has been quite routine (well, twice so far) for me to head there for a late lunch after a pedicure session at Cluny Court. I love Cluny Court for the quiet and cozy vibe it exudes. Sometimes you just do not need to have the glitz and hustle bustle of a huge shopping mall. It is enough to just have the basic ~ decent supermarket, cafes, nail parlor, hair salon, bakeries and some small shops to satisfy a bit of browsing.

Adam Road Food Centre...I mostly know it for the 'famous' nasi lemak. Since I rarely went to Adam Road FC, I only had the nasi lemak as take-away and frankly I did not find it that awe-inspiring. I think last year was the very first time I actually ate at Adam Road FC (yes, I am a pretty much deprived child :p) and I had the bee hoon soto which was pretty good.

This year I have been to Adam Road FC twice, and we pretty much ordered the same thing. Beehoon goreng (Indian style with the orange colored bee hoon and ketchup), mee soto (bee hoon had sold out) and Indian rojak. We did not get the teh tarik this time as the stall was a bit far from where we were sitting.

The bee hoon goreng (near the 2 nasi lemak stalls) was to die for. Charred crispy bits of bee hoon with fragrant small pieces of ground mutton with a fried runny yolk egg, plus ketchup squirted on the side. It was simply delicious.

The mee soto was served with a tasty and slightly starchy broth and topped with bergedil. It was absolutely unami.

The Indian rojak was fresh and the potato was my favorite. Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Just perfect for me. Most items are $0.70 each and you will need to have a min of $3-$4 (I think) worth of items.

Thank goodness I only go to Cluny Court like once every 6-8 weeks now, otherwise I will be dining at Adam Road FC every weekend. If there is room for dessert after Adam Road FC, I think I will either get my favorite ice cream from Island Creamery at Serene Centre or a cupcake from Cupcake Engineer at Cluny Court.

What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday.