Usually Windy

The winds are pretty strong and gusty.  This seems quite different from before.  I do not remember strong winds since living here for 10 years. It is during the thunderstorms that we get strong winds.  Now we have strong winds and dry.  Clear sky and white clouds.  Seems quite peculiar.

Waterway Point

Now that the Waterway Point is open, it is so crowded on the PCN.  We had a hard time navigating as there are plenty of moving obstacles.  People walking and cycling in all directions.  It is not fun to cycle when it is so crowded.  Please avoid the Waterway Point PCN during weekend evenings.  There are simply too many holiday makers there.

Dangerous!

If you watch the clip below, you will hear a woman's voice saying "dangerous".  She is grateful I save her life!   I saw the cobra and stopped to take picture of it.  Before I have the chance, this woman walk straight toward the cobra which was also moving across the PCN.  The woman was engrossed looking into her phone.  I shouted "Cobra" to her but she did not pay attention.  The 2nd time, I shouted louder stopping her in her track.  She then looked me.  By then, the cobra was alarmed and decided to head back in the opposite direction.  This is why I only managed to capture the snake for a few seconds.

I was pointing the snake to her and when she saw she said "dangerous".  I told her not to look at her phone so intently.

Snakes on PCN

PCN is infested!!  Yesterday, it was a long green grass snake.  Today is a cobra.

Strong Winds

The winds are exceptionally strong today.  It is quite unusual since it is first time in our estate.  I remember this kind of wind at Bedok Reservoir many years ago when I was flying gliders.  In December, it is the best time to fly.  Beginners like me can learn as the wind is strong and consistent.  When the wind is gusty then it is difficult to control.  I had flew a couple of times well by myself and enjoys the experience tremendously.  I had stopped flying since I left for Canada.  Now flying model planes is ban in Bedok Reservoir.

Abalone Porridge

We have been watching the Korean drama, Two Sisters at 7pm.  The abalone porridge smells delicious.  So we also cook our own abalone porridge for tonight's dinner.  One can of Chef abalone, duck gizzard, chicken bones and pork bones soup to make the porridge.  Indeed it is a fabulous tasting "chock".  It is more expensive than the dearest porridge available out.  But we enjoyed the premium ingredients.  I still have braised peanuts and salted vegetable as I eat it Teochew style.

Plentiful Fishes

It is a glorious day for fishing.  The fishes are plentiful and I have good harvest.  I had a wonderful time as I caught 4 different species of fishes.  It is great to get variety for my saltwater aquarium.  Hopefully, they live long.  My arowana and goldfishes have good meal as well.  It is a nice start to my morning.

Nuts!

Eldest boy is on healthy diet.  So he is eating very little carbo and feeling hungry all the time.  We ran out of nuts we bought during CNY.  He is requesting to have a supply of Almonds, Cashews and other nuts.  Must be baked and not fried! 

So during lunch today, we went to Fu Lu Shou to get the nuts.  It comes to $50 just on nuts alone.  It is incredibly expensive and the nuts usually last not more than a fortnight.  I am nuts about nuts.  Once I starts, it is hard to stop.  Also I feel I am not losing weight as I tends to crunch on them all the time.  This time I have cashews, almonds, roasted pumkin seeds and California pistachios.  Nuts are healthy snacks but too much of a good thing can also cause problems as they are full of uric acids.

Beautiful Dinner

We have a beautiful homecooked dinner tonight.  Beautiful in Aussie terms mean wonderful and delicious food.  My wife attended fish class in ABC.  Yes, ABC is a Japanese cooking school.  The batam fish filet turns out wonderful.  It is white flaky juicy and not fishy at all.  So fresh and tasty.  She also deep fry french fries turning them crispy and crunchy out and soft and juicy inside. 

I am glad ABC comes to town.

Home is Wet Markets

I am up early in the morning and go to the wet market for my morning tea just after 6am.  Although I have plenty of tea leaves and have both condensed milk and evaporated milk in the fridge, I still like to go the the hawker and have a cup to local tea, sitting and reading yesterday papers.  The regular sights and sounds of hawkers selling food and grocers selling fresh produce makes me feel at home again. 

Late morning, we sent B3 to Kallang Practise Track for his triple jump competition.  We went to Chinatown Market which is really wet with dirty water on the floor.  We bought minced fish paste and beef to cook stew.  The outcome is quite good as our boys enjoys mummy's cooking.

Random Reflections on Ho Chi Minh

After maybe 20 odd years, I am back to this city.  My colleague, Billy tells me of all the changes.  He has good memories of the past.  Somehow I am not able to recall as much details as him. I do remember there were not many tall buildings.  In fact the highest is 5 or 6 storeys.  The economic progress is clear.  Bicycles are gone.  Only motorbikes and cars.  Tall shiny glass buildings have sprouted but few and far between.  Not so much ongoing construction, the economic advance is at a much slower pace.  The airline offices are in modern offices instead of old colonial buildings in the past.  UOB bank is in the office building attached to my hotel.  So foreign banks are active and helping to finance the companies.

I love the ubiquitous pho by vendors on two baskets in almost every street.  Now, they are only available in the back street.  Even then I saw only a couple right beside the hospital.  The hole in the wall drinks stalls are still around.  Plenty of paintings and souvenirs shops where local craftmen hawked their wares.  Modern consumers goods are available in shopping malls.  Luxury brands are in town.  So there must be a market for the rich who needed ego boost.

US$100

I was in Hanoi last year about this time.  I walk about the streets a lot near the hotel.  There are painting shops around and I asked if they can paint portrait for family.  Yes, they can do it but need a few days to complete the job.  It was too short.  This time in Ho Chi Min, I arrived early and managed to find an artist who is painting in his shop.  He asked for US$100 for family protrait of 5.  I negotiated for 2 million dong as $100 is worth 2.2 million dong.  He agreed with the price and I sent a picture to his email.  He use the picture to paint.  We sealed the deal Monday late afternoon and by this afternoon, Thursday it is ready.  The painting is okay standard.  I am happy with the result but do not know how long it will last.

Fabulous Vietnamese Food

The hotel breakfast is very good.  The Vietnamese resturants here are very good.  It is nice to eat here.  It seems the women are not so good looking except in the bar.  When they dressed up amd put on make-up some looks amazing.

I love the spring rolls, the pho and the coffee.  This is a good place for food.  However, the variety is not as much as Singapore or Malaysia.  Home is still sweeter.

Ho Chi Min

I have not come here for many years.  Seems like a lot has changed yet a lot did not change.  More high building and Starbucks are around.  Maybe I am staying in a different area.  There do not seem to have as many pho stalls, resturants around.  There are more cars.  Motorbikes are still plentiful but not as much before.  A group of Korean men were trying to cross the street but just back to the pavement.  So I showed them how to cross the road.  They are appreciative.

The weather is very humid.  I sweat profusely when walking.  It is quite uncomfortable.

All Malls are Busy During Dinner time

After spending all day preparing food and entertaining relatives, we are so tired that we decided to eat out.  The boss of family always specify "aircond"  which means malls.  It is still early about half past five.  We decided Seletar Mall, there is a long queue to the carpark.  So we decided to try Waterway Point, even worse.  The queue starts from the traffic light before the mall.  So finally, we have to try The Prawning place at the end of Punggol and we managed to get a carpark.  We ate at Popeye's.  The chicken is crispy which is why I like it.  But it is quite salty.  Still we enjoyed our dinner.

Shopping Malls are madhouse on weekends.  Long queues and waiting time in all the eating establishments.  So best to eat at home.

My Wife's Cousin comes A Visiting

The daughter of my mother-in-law's eldest sister come to visit us and stayed for dinner.  She has 4 kids, eldest is a boy in first year Singapore Poly studying common engineering.  The next 3 are girls with the oldest in Secondary 3, 2 and 1 respectively.  My wife's parents also come and she prepared vegetarian dishes for them.  I bbq boneless chicken.  Overall, I will say the dinner is quite successful and the kids had a great time playing games together.  B1 and B3 played host and did their role well. 

Oh, I almost forgot.  My youngest sister-in-law came with her family.  So we had a good time.  It is a long day for her as she prepares and cook.  After the meal, she clear and prepares the dishes for the dishwasher.  I only bbq the chicken and mop the floor.

I feel today is a good day.

Terrible Market

I just saw the news that DJIA or Dow Jones Industrial Index just dropped to 15 thousand plus.  My stock portfolio is doing so badly now.  I have to work for as long as possible.  Luckily, the year of Monkey is supposed to be good for me.  I hope the forecast turns into reality.

Lunar New Year usually means stock market go up.  This year it is going down instead.  Thinking positively, I have to start looking for good stocks at a bargain.

My wife cooks ginger chicken yesterday and we sent the food to my niece so that she can try our cooking.  While there, I enjoyed carrying my grandnephew in my arms. He is very adorable.

Sore Low Back

I stopped doing the exercise to strengthen my core muscles and now I am suffering from low back pain.  I need to exercise daily to maintain core strength and once I stopped for a week or two, my backache happen again.  I need to get into the habit.  I always get lazy when I am painfree for a few weeks.  Thinking my backache has gone for good, I stop exercising and in about the week, my back starts to feel sore.  It creeps in slowly like a dull ache and then it get worse and worse.  It is inevitable.  Sigh! 

Backache has plague me for decades since I sprained during army time.  No orthopedic surgeon will be able to solve this ailment.  Only Chinese tieh da or bone manipulation and core muscle exercise can eliminate the pain.  Physiotherapy helps slightly.  Actually yoga also works for me.

CNY Price in Crystal Jade

It is B2's 21st birthday.  He is meeting with his girlfriend in Plaza Singapura.  So we decided to drop him off and have lunch there.  It works out well as B1 has to go to work in Singapore Shopping Center.  I am quite full so I thought dim sum is ok.  So we settle on Crystal Jade.  B1 noticed the order form has no price.  I told him the price is up due to CNY.  Looking at the menu, the price is up by about 30%. 

A few tables order Yusheng.  So they will chant the "good phrases".  One was so loud and to me is quite embarassing.  Our next table did the same but not as loud.  My next table request to win $10million Toto. 

We are in a society of chasing after money and wealth.

Visiting Family

Yesterday was Day 1 of Chinese New Year.  We woke up late or rather the boys woke up late as they must be up late.  Then they give CNY greetings to us first and get their biggest ang pow before we set off to pay respect to their maternal grandparents.  We have breakfast there as well and then back home to host my brother and sisters with their kids i.e. my nieces and nephews.

We cooked a big pot of curry chicken with potatoes.  My nephew-in-law says the potato is very good!  Our boys love any potato based food, french fries, hash brown, baked potatoes, potato chips, potato salad.  So we become expert in cooking potatoes!  We chatted and talk about everything and nothing.  It is good to see my extended family. 

Today, we brought porridge to my niece who just gave birth.  She like our porridge.  We are very happy to carry the sleeping baby.  I love the baby!  He is so adorable. 

Simple Warm and Close

We decided to cook up our super expensive fishballs from the market for reunion dinner.  Instead of having steamboat which requires a lot of preparation and clean up after finishing, we have a pot of soup with sliced fish, scallops, chicken, meatballs and vegetables. 

We had nice conversations with our 3 boys.  Talk about their time as a baby since my niece just had her baby boy.  It is a leisurely dinner.  Usually our boys will leave the table and do their own things after dinner but this time they stayed.  After dinner, we enjoys the movie on channel 8.  Chow Yun Fatt is the God of Gambling.  He has "magic hands" and the movie has lots of outrageous effects and copied Laura Croft's jumping about.  The show holds my attention.  I enjoy this fantasy escapade with my family.

The Night Before NY's Eve

The markets, hawker centers and supermarkets are going crazy.  The queues are long and the wait is longer.  Many are laden with huge amount of stuff.  Everyone is celebrating and welcoming the Year of Monkey.  B1 is born in the year of Monkey.  I did not know it is a popular year to have babies. 

I bought chicken yesterday and I used the bones to boil soup using my cast iron pot.  The bones were simmered for hours yesterday and today.  It is actually quite tasteless but the soup is thick!  I added a can of abalone, a few Canadian scallops and a pack of shark fins.  The soup tastes heavenly.  No shame to boast my own cooking.  B3 was telling us during dinner how his classmate, best friend and strong competitor in class had Buddha Jumps over the Wall for lunch and dinner.  Mummy immediately told him the soup he is drinking is Buddha Jumps over the Wall.

It is so easy to make soup.  Only thing is I am not like my wife, she will filter out all the sediments and clear the flotsam.  So her soup is very clean and clean tasting.  I like cook mine with all the oil, floating bits and meat that sticks to the bone boiled tender left in the soup.  I have a super thick soup that you can eat rather than a strong broth.  My boys think the soup is good or okay.  I love the positive feedback.

Time to Break

It is almost midnight and I am yawning my head off.  I was up early to prepare B3's recess.  After that I went to market for tea.  I only bought chicken and one head of Chinese cabbage.  Everyone is going crazy buying and buying.  My fridge is full as well, but it is mostly junk food or butter or fruits.  The freezer is filled with frozen meat like my smoked duck breasts.  We did not stock much CNY goodies.  It is eat as we go.  They are quite heaty and high cal.  I also have bak kwa in the freezer because I bought them during sales last month.  So I save some money on my new year goodies.

I am working late.  Tomorrow I shall break to prepare for new year.

Buddhaland Brooklyn

I enjoy the story so much.  It is so realistic and I had a hard time pausing the story.  This story is about a Japanese villager who became a monk at the age 11.  12 days after he enters the temple of Everlasting Prayers, his family died in a fire of their family inn and home.  He loves to paint and teach painting in the temple.  He was asked to go to American and fell in love with his assistant who is like a hippie and has a PhD.  He asked her to marry him but she refused and ask him to take her in as a nun.  By the way, they are lovers too.  So the story is a little complicated yet has the sublime of Buddhism.  I like this story!

Busy Day

It is extremely busy day with lots to do at work but unable to move easily as I am dependent on other people to do but everyone is busy with their own priorities.  It is just so stressful to work and work but now getting anywhere and people questions and questions.  Such is life in a large complex matrix organisation.

Good thing is I had a good dinner with my boss in Hua Ting Resturant.  The food is fabulous.

Life Without a Maid

Now that we no longer have a maid, I feel like I am living in Canada.  Maid is a luxury in Canada.  It is possible but very expensive.  At income tax of nearly 50% and GST plus PST of 14%, there is very little money to spend.  There is social security and social insurance.  Take home is about 50%.  So most families live without a maid unlike in Singapore most working couples with kids will have a maid. 

Our boys are grown and need to learn some basic housekeeping skills.  So now, they are doing their own laundry.  They clear their cups and plates but still not not wash them consistently.  We have a dishwasher and used it after dinner.  It is a great help.  The pots and other cookwares are cleaned and dry.  We still have to do pre-washing but it is nice to keep all the knives, forks, spoons, cups, bowls, plates right into the dresser or cupboard as they will be dry and clean.

I also feel the satisfaction of doing a good clean up job.  Physical work is instant gratification and a great feeling of accomplishment.  I do enjoy this despite having to spend the time on household chores including mopping the floor and clearing the rubbish.

Promfret Lookalike

Late afternoon, I ride to Punggol Point to catch some small fishes for my tank.  I saw that my fish buddy caught what look like promfret from far.  I went to him and ask if it is promfret.  He said it is another type of fish.  He is very happy to catch this fish.  He caught 4 so far.  He was there for more than 6 hours.  I guess the fun is the prize and this time the prize is good.  I got lucky too to catch some baby fishes for my tank.  They are food for other fishes.