S.L.A.P.

I've attended my first lap dance class (-.-) lol. There's always something new to learn every day.... Regardless of its nature. Plus it's a really fun class with a charismatic, and really funny instructor. Might even consider pole dancing after this, who knows ;) ;) . My future husband is a very lucky guy indeed.

The last time I'd document a lesson, it was for swimming classes. Well, well.... Things have moved at a faster pace :P Hopefully I can still remember the moves and choreograph.

***

Song: Right There (Nicole Scherzinger)

***

Stroke, walk around to back.

Tie, stroke, open legs. Walk back, facing man.

Hip roll half circle, back facing man.

Feet apart, bend forward (hands back down).

Head flip, roll back up.

Bend forward, gyrate (4x lol).

Close feet, turn towards man.

Bend, left knee down, right knee down. V with base at heels.

Chest roll (2x)

Bend back, shin flat, hip circular (4x)

Rise, left feet, right feet, feet opened, squat position (thighs parallel)

Hip roll (pencil drawing circles) (4x)

Head roll.

Feet closed, rise.

Alternate knees switch to front (4x)

Head roll.

Bend forward & amp; rise to top.

***

I aint never gonna let no girl take him from me  

Never gonna let no girl steal him from me  

Never gonna let no girl get that close now  

I tell'em hey hey you're too close now

Come here baby eh be my baby 

Eh be my baby oh oh oh 

Come here baby put your hands on my body  

Hands on my body oh oh oh  

Right there keep it right there  

I love when you put it right there yeah  

Oh oh oh yeah yeah yeah oh oh oh  

Yeah yeah

*** 

 My knees are badly bruised now -.-

Home Again

***

Almost contemplated closing down the blog but realized my 6 years' worth of memories embedded in this platform.... just don't have the heart to do so.......

***

Back in SP for a few days cos Mum complained the last time I was back, spent less than 24 hours before scooting off again. Mostly pictures of comfort food, familiar people (and dog).

Flourishing new garden in front of house.

Mint leaves, passion fruit plant, serai, and miscellaneous aesthetic plants...

A whole basket full of organic goodies from the garden! That's the huan cu hiok (potato leaves) right on top of the pile.

Mum's parappu. It's a lot like dahl but a healthier version - loads of vegetables included. Love this one. Got the recipe and can't wait to try it out :)

Chai boey.

Pickles looking very sad...... I can't believe she's already 9 years old. That's ancient in human years.... older than Mum and Dad -.-

The stir fried potato leaves from the garden...

And an assortment of other dishes as well... clockwise from 3oc steamed fish Thai style (garnished with mint leaves from the garden), ayam kicap (cheat one buy from mamak), Tua Ee's fried fish and chicken feet combo and the stir fried huan cu hiok.

Si tham ciak still waiting for food even after everyone has finished eating, cleared and washed plates, cows gone home and she's still patiently there.

Poor Pickles looking like the saddest dog in the world after her extreme fur cut (confidence loss).

My absolute favourite sambal petai. Tua Ee's version. I still prefer the Ah Ma version with heh bi though.

Clockwise from 6oc, sambal petai, sambal for the jiu hu char, otak-otak, jiu hu char, herbal soup, stir fried aubergine with chillis.

Another fave - tu tor th'ng.

Another fave - chicken stew. Yummy.

Pickles manja-ing on my side in the car on the way back. Please ignore the chicken with reindeer PJs :\

Last dinner before I leave for Singapore - from bottom see yong chai th'ng, chopped chilis, stir fried cauliflowers and broccoli, and steamed fish again -.-

K, that's all, bai.

Karma's a Bitch

Closing Chapter 4: The Rat Race

Everyone has some form of goal they want to achieve in their lifetime. A million dollars in the bank, a swanky mansion, a cool car.... some have simpler dreams... a decent house, maybe 3 kids, the list goes on. In their effort to chase their dreams for more money, power, status, the rat race is inevitable.

There is no end to the hamster on the wheel. They all started out full of hope, with a light in their eyes, expectations of great things with good and hard work. The light slowly dims as their bodies shift to auto pilot. We move on with our daily routine without passion. I've seen people in their 40s or 50s just going about their jobs without a trace of a smile, pre-programmed beings just showing up to collect their monthly pay cheques to put food on the table.

I've grown tired of the rat race, weary like butter spread over too thin on toast... Heck, I'm only 27 this year! I used to enjoy the fast pace of the cities, maybe I was young then. Well, not that I'm old now but I think I have re-evaluated my priorities. Eventually I find it ironic that we rush like mad to work, then work, work, work, work, work, work, work, then rush like mad again back home only to repeat the same cycle day after day.

Which begs the question, these people so engrossed in their pursuits, do they understand that money can only get you so much? They get work to overwhelm them. Sleep less. Eat at their desks. Negligible recreation. Exercise nil. Some to the point of isolating their family, loved ones. Loved ones who care so much but are less prioritized. People who should matter the most gets the leftover time and attention.

Do they honestly think that more money can solve everything? More power to step on people can make you highly respectable? In case any one forgets, it's lonely at the top..... You can have all the money in the world but if there's no warm sincere love to share it with you, what's the point? The higher you go, the more fakers you meet. Everyone else around you is just waiting for that opportunity to strike. For you to trip before the stampede ensues as they scramble to take over your place...

Just like the old adage says, money does not buy happiness. True but one may argue that on the other hand, money can certainly buy you a lot of things that can make you happy. But how many of us realize that that's only a temporary solution to fill a gap that grows wider and bigger with every purchase.

Sometimes it takes a life-changing event to take place before we realize that maybe we've been doing it wrong all this while. For me, it was the demise of Ah Ma. It hit me hard like a splash of cold water. We think we are so different from others. On default, we assume that we will live to a ripe old age. Now, really, we are such fragile creatures. At any point, any time and any where our lives can just be ripped away from us.

What I'm trying to say is that we should all strive to be content, to be grateful with what we already have. Treasure the people around us, our family, loved ones. We need to try and un-complicate our lives. Life is meant to be simple. Why do we need to introduce more complexities into our lives? Brings nothing but pain and pressure.

Else, it will always be a struggle.

花: Gardens by the Bay

 Visited the highly hyped Gardens by the Bay not-so-recently. Snapped a multitude of photos and for the sake of blogging and then sun pian fish for compliments, here is a truckload of nature.

First conservatory is called Forest Cloud (or some random fancy sounding name).

Seriously, I don't know how tourists in Singapore survive. Entry to the conservatories are $25. Big kachings Tourism Singapore is making.

 I obviously do not know the names of the plants, much less the scientific names. So I'll just caption them the way a layperson would :D

 Super cute alien with gigantic brains orchid.

 Batik preen orchids.

Look like evil baby (hands cupped in glee type) nested in cot flower something.

Man-made waterfalls that greet you as you enter the conservatory. This one is supposed to mimic a higher ground/montane plants. So flowers you usually oooh and aaah in Cameron Highlands, now no need to travel all the way up (and risking your lives if you're taking a bus) liaw.

 Singapore is really amazing. Anything and everything they can come up with something man-made. Man-made waterfalls, man-made mountains, man-made beaches, the list goes on and on....

 Beautiful rose gardens. In all shapes and shades.

 Fascinating leaves with a suede-like texture.

Then into the second conservatory, Flower Dome, which admittedly has more stuff to see (but my camera started dying out, so only a handful of photos).

 Cute little flower buds facing all directions.

 Massive display of beautiful flowers.

 Towering supertrees around the gardens

 View of the two conservatories from atop the super tree.

See, in a garden also die die must have man-made trees ;)

***

Digressing, without intent to insult/taunt anyone, I have lost some weight, 2kgs to be exact. My waist reached an all-new low 25". Don't know whether to feel happy or worried. Hmm. 

Dean & DeLuca Coffee

In an effort to rid of all negative vibes in this blog, I shall write about meaningless mediocre happenings :P

 

I'm always game for a good cuppa; I love coffee! No longer out of necessity though (well, applicable sometimes only -.-)

A good friend recommended Dean & Deluca, a sort of atas gourmet cafe, where all day breakfast and desserts are served. So a couple of friends decided to grab a bite before heading for a movie (I think it was Brave, that Pixar cartoon. The short story La Luna was awesome).

Nobody greets you at the entrance, you just pick your seat and park your butt yourself, then shuffle over to the counter to order and pay for your food.

 Coffee ranges from $4-8 I think. I ordered a flat white myself. And they only serve them in take-away cups. Why??? That's a lot of waste going on there....

 Their bread and pastries are pretty good! We ordered this cinnamon almond bread thingie with caramel on top which is quite good. Well, I have a sweet tooth... so....

 Apple pie! Goodness! I've never been one to fancy apple pie but this is an exception.

I'm a hugeee fan of carrot cakes! Even now every time we pop into a cafe, bunch of friends will ask if I want carrot cake lol -.- D&D carrot cakes are average only, not that great, but at a whopping $7. But I guess that's the kind of price you pay dining at places like these. Just a thin slice nia, not really worth the value lah.

K that's all, Dean & Deluca quite shiok, if got nothing better to do, can go there drink kopi n eat cakes. 

Sudden end of post :D

Dean & Deluca

#04-23/24 Orchard Central

181 Orchard Road, 

Singapore

Untimely Depression Wave 2

A sudden wave of nostalgia strikes me and I was going through all my older posts (waaaay back in '07) and came across this post that strangely reflects my current mood.

Depression

Four years down the road... And I am still debating. Except that now I feel probably ten times worse.

I need strength.
I need a heart of stone.
I need help.

Otak-Otak and Sambal Udang Sukses

Cookout @ MCC place on Singapore's National Day. Super auntie post ok.

A many firsts of DIYs. 

 MCC's dry curry chicken paste. She refused to let me know what the ingredients are. Hmmph. I said I'll somehow dig out from Mum but she said hers nicer. Meh.

 I tried a couple of recipes- sambal udang and otak-otak!

Blend to a smooth consistency. I can't completely remember the recipe, but it's something liddis la hor.

Sambal udang-
Belachan
Shallots
Dried red chillies
Turmeric
Red chillies
Shrimps
Tamarind juice

Otak-otak -
Shallots
Dried red chillies
Turmeric
Red chillies
Tamarind juice
Galangal
Coconut milk
Eggs
Daun kaduk
Banana leaves
Fish fillet

 The outcome from the two not-so-different mixtures. The sambal udang one on the left is almost like sambal belachan, whereas for otak-otak it has a similar consistency to Thai style chili sauce.

 Making coconut milk ourselves! Added water to grated old coconuts and press for juice :D I told MCC that this is great stuff - can get to moisturize hands while at it heheheh. She just made a face hahahaha. This goes into the otak-otak as well.

 I like posting unflattering shots of her :D

 We had the utmost difficulty balancing the sweet-sour-salty ratio for the sambal udang!! As the paste itself contains belachan, which is already incredibly salty to begin with, MCC further added in like almost a fistful of sea salt before tasting it! LOL. The paste turns out sibeh salty can almost dehydrate right away kekekeke. We both scrambled to add in sugar, more tamarind juice, water, simmer, simmer ... luckily still salvage-able :\

 Combining the otak-otak mixture.

 Trying to put the custard mixture into the banana leaves along with the daun kaduks is a pain in the a$$!!!!! The mixture is still very runny and it's a complete herculean task to shape the banana leaves while making sure the mixture doesn't spill and the leaves don't tear.

End results: misshapen, odd but still passable looking otak-otaks.

 Just the remainders of the mixture into a bowl lolz. Btw, daun kaduks are freshly picked from one of the bushes downstairs by the HDB blocks kekekeke.

Rice cooked in coconut milk but I guess MCC must have miscalculated the amount of water to be used, cause the rice is as dead hard as uncooked rice kernels! ROFL.... but we just quietly eat la hor.... unless you want to die early...

 Otak-otak verdict: I am very pleasantly surprised by how good it turns out! May need more salt, but otherwise as good as any. One of IKK's friend who joined us for dinner said if we do otak-otak business sure chaplap cos of the heaping amount of fish fillet and the otak size is darn huge! lol... of course lor, this is what we call homemade ;)

 And MCC's jealously guarded dry curry chicken. Was superb! Must have loads of curry leaves for the extra oomph.

:)