Delicious Chicken Rice

One of our favourite venue for dinner is the Sin Kee Chicken Rice stall at Margaret Drive's Queenstown Food Centre. When we can't decide where to go for a nice dinner, this will usually be on our radar screen.

Our usual order are the well-marinated white chicken and stir-fry caixin with oyster sauce. The chicken meat is tender and succulent. The serving is generous and price is reasonable. We would normally share a plate of rice as we would like to think that it helps reduce our carbo intake. The service is also fast despite the crowd. The stall is located on the 2nd level. Do give the chicken rice a try...

Other then chicken rice, there's also a nice poh piah/kway pie tee stall on the ground floor of the food centre facing the parking lot. The char kway teow stall is supposedly quite famous too, as there's always a long queue when we are there. But we found the char kway teow mediocre and dry. We still prefer the yummy chicken rice.

My Thanksgiving

Well, we don't celebrate thanksgiving here. But I have an item of thanksgiving. Last evening, I had dinner with a colleague at Holland V. We had a great time catching up as we work in different depts and rarely get to meet.

I thank God for her as we could confide in each other on problems we are facing at work and home, and we know that it will stay between us. I cherish this friendship because most of my colleagues are non-believers, and the faith makes a great difference in our views of life and the world. It was through His love that brought us together as friends.
I thank God for giving me a few good friends, enough to help me stay sane in this individualistic corporate world.

The Race

This morning my co had a team building event. I do not look forward to such event, especially since most of my colleagues were not participating in it.

The meeting point was at West Coast Park. The event turned out to be like the amazing race, where we were given clues to each station. The marshals at each station will then give us tasks to perform before we could get our next clue to proceed to the next station. Accompanying the clues were letters of the alphabets that eventually formed the word 'Motivate'.

There were a total of 8 stations. Some of the stations were in the park itself, while we had to take public transport to other places like the Pasir Panjang wholesale market, the NUS Cultural Centre and Hwa Par Villa. Our team came in a tie for the first place, and eventually lost to the other team in a tongue twister contest.

Well, I did not have as much fun cause I did not know most of my team members. And there was a young punk whom I met for the first time ever who snapped at me a couple of times for whatever reason I have no idea. Sheesh. I'm quite sure I won't have to work with him or see him again. Thank God for that. There are really strange people out there and I hope they won't cross my path ever again! Ever! Yes, yes, love thy neighbour...but God, please just let me love them from afar...

Coincidentally, Sam's office also had a similar sort of race yesterday. The difference is that theirs was a whole day event, but they didn't have to sacrifice their weekend! Anyhow, so glad that it's all over!

Ensemble Practice

For the past few Wed, we have been gathering at Mr Ong's home for our small group choir practice for the upcoming concert in KL.

Both of us have been arrowed to sing in 2 different ensemble. My group's singing the complicated version of 'Angels We Have Heard On High'. Sam's group is singing 'Christ was born on Christmas Day' in acapella. Both songs are composed by Alice Parker, not that I know who she is. The 'Angels' song is so complicated that if we lose count of the timing, we would have to struggle through the rest of the song and hopefully find our way back somehow. Fortunately there are 2 of us from each of the SATB section, and I have powerful alto P with me! Yeah!

It has been fun gathering with the folks despite the mad rush from work. Mr Ong would painstakingly prepare dinner for the 20 of us and boast of his culinary skills. He is a contractor by profession, the PCK type. :) Occasionally we would bring along some food/fruits to complement the dishes.

Well, we have recently decided that we are confident enough to sing those songs and will only have practices on Sun before the main choir practice. We have certainly enjoyed Mr Ong's hospitality, the time singing and getting to know one another.

I wonder if it would be possible to get the same kind of dedication and commitment from my peers ...

'Tis the Season

Took a stroll down Orchard Rd today, and managed to do some Christmas shopping.

Shops are getting all decked up with Christmas ornaments. The streets are already lighted with the blue and white lights. And the M&M House is all ready to cash in on the season.

The Fuss Free BBQ

On Sat, we went ahead with our plan to host a BBQ for the family. I had wanted to call it off after my recent unpleasant encounter, but as usual it went against my nature to harbour ill-feelings or to change what has been planned.

So we spent Friday evening after work grocery-shopping. We had pre-ordered some kuey pie tee from a hawker and BBQ food from a wholesaler, and had asked my bros to picked them up on their way over. Our plan was to have a fuss free BBQ.

The weather was nice as the rain has stopped by mid-day and it was not humid. We laid a small table by the poolside with a disposable table cloth over it. Tealights were placed at strategic location, and we brought along our stereo playing soothing jazz/radio music. We had disposable plates, cups and utensils. The food and drinks were all ready according to plan. We had also bought 2 disposable 'BBQ pit' that consists of special charcoal, wire mesh/grid and aluminium container.

Well, the 'BBQ pit' was a disaster as it took us forever to start the fire which did not last very long and we had to use candle wax to get the fire going. The charcoal burnt out within an hour and we had to make use of the other set of charcoal. We spent a long time BBQing which led bro to suggest that maybe we should just microwave the food! Well, he's also Mr Impatient. And Dad got a little bored after sometime cause we were slow to serve the food, and he was missing his soccer game on tv...

The food was alright, the otah and kuay pie tee were most tasty. We had flan for dessert, specially made by Sam. It was a better 2nd attempt for him, and everyone enjoyed it. It was a long evening but good to be able to spend more time with our nephew whom we rarely get to meet.

We confess, it was a trial BBQ for us so we would know what to expect next time if we were to have another one with 'real' guests. We learnt that it is important to have some cooked food just in case the BBQ fail. And yes, we will definitely buy the conventional charcoal and starter, and not rely on the disposable version. Better still, if someone would bring along their gas grill...

Holiday that came and gone

Been looking forward to winding down, relaxing and catching up with sleep.

Thur was a public holiday. We spent much of the day doing a thorough house cleaning as we were expecting guests on Sat. It's one of those days when we dished out the most anal side of us to ensure that the house is sparkling clean (almost).

In the evening, we attended the Choos' housewarming party. The party was a simple affair and a gathering of a few very old friends. SW led in the worship. Wilfred gave a short homily and prayed for the family. Indeed, we were reminded that it's not the house that makes the home but the family that lives in it.

For me the meeting of these old friends brought back memories of the MYF days, the much time we spent together serving, and growing in knowledge and fellowship with one another. How time flies. I have certainly changed as I am no longer the gregarious extrovert I used to be, no longer have the energy to keep up with the many friends that have in one subtle way or another made me who I am today.

'Twas quiet holiday that came and gone...

Barclays Open

This afternoon, we attended the Barclays SG Open at Sentosa Golf Club. When we arrived on the island, the roads were already packed with cars parked along the side streets and car park. We parked our car at the sheltered parking lot at Sentosa Cove and took a free shuttle bus to the golf course.

Our first venue was the WSG hospitality lounge for patrons. We got ourselves a perfect spot inside the air-conditioned marquee, which overlooked the 9th and 18th hole of the Serapong Course. We then helped ourselves to the nice buffet spread consisting of steam cod fish, curry prawns, braised lamb, pasta with sun dried tomatoes, sushi, desserts etc. There were also free flow of soft drinks, beers and wines.

From the lounge, we saw legendary greats like Angel Cabrera, Lee Westwood and Adam Scott (defending champion) doing their 9th hole putts on the green. They played in 3-ball fully escorted by an entourage of caddies, marshalls, spectators and media.

To get closer to the players, we decided to walk down the 18th hole. That's when we caught up with Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson and K J Choi at the 17th hole Par 3 course. All 3 players scored a birdie for that hole with ease. Mickelson almost scored a hole-in-one but the ball bounced off the flag. There was a large group of spectators following the threesome and it was almost impossible to get a close-up view of the players and their swing. The last time we watched the Lexus Cup, we were able to get closer to the players like Annika Sorenstam and Grace Park.

On the last teeing box, the players gave their most powerful and accurate swing with the balls landing on the fairway some 280m away, avoiding the many big bunkers and water hazard. How do we know that it was that far? 'Cause we had to trudge a very long way to get to where the ball landed! The group finished the Par 5 with Singh and Choi both scoring a par and Mickelson, a birdie.

It seems that the players didn't do so well today due to the scorching heat and the challenging course. After 3 rounds, Cabrera is leading the game with a -9 to par, with Jin Park in 2nd place (-5) and Westwood in 3rd (-4). Singh and Scott are in 4th position with -3 to par. We shall see who will take home the title and US$634k of the US$4mil prize money tomorrow.

After watching the 3 play, we headed to the VIP lounge hoping to get a close up of the players. The media was stationed outside to interview them, and Quincy Quek (an amateur player from SG) was one of those who gamely obliged to the request. He played pretty well for an amateur.

We caught some players leaving and fans begging for autograph. And all we wanted were closeup shots of them. Were a little disappointed that we did not catch some of them leaving as they went via a different exit, and Cabrera did not stop for autograph and with the bodyguards surrounding him it was impossible to take any pix. How unfriendly!

It was great to re-acquaint with the game and see the world's famous players in action for this world class event. It's unfortunate that we did not get to see Ernie Els play as he didn't make the cut yesterday. He is the World's no. 4 though. I wonder if we would get to see Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia play in SG some day...

Suppertime

Went out for supper tonight at the Happy Valley HK Cafe at Tiong Bahru. It's open 24 hrs and serves authentic HK food (what else). It is strategically located at a corner of a row of shop houses by the road side visible to all vehicles passing by, which is how we discovered the place.

We have been there a couple of times and the food is interesting if not tasty. But so far the unadventurous me have ordered the same dishes: zhajiang mian and mango pomelo sago dessert. The cafe ambiance does remind me of the HK nightlife. It's worth a try if you have no idea where to go for late-night supper!

Traditional Mindset

Had a lousy evening.

You see, I come from a family whose parents have very traditional mindset and values. Most people would assume that being the youngest and only girl in the family means that I am a pampered child.

Well, I grew up in a family where only boys get to go out to play, and the girl has to stay home to help with chores. The boys get the freedom while the girl is often under house arrest in the name of 'protecting' her. The girl gets bullied by the boys and treated like a pest. The girl is not expected to excel in her studies or be placed in good schools. At the end of the day, she is to be married off and leave the family.

Unfortunately to this day, I am still confined to such stereotype. Over the week, the boys snapped at me while I was trying to organise a family get together. This evening at mum's place for dinner, she prepared a big feast which we only get to enjoy when the boys are around. Mum announced that a relative's daughter will be getting married. One invitation was addressed to the whole family (parents, the boys and spouse) and another was addressed just to us. And mum affirmed that that is the way it should be, as I have been married off and belonged to a different family. Tears welled in my eyes.

Of late, activists are contending for gay rights and woman rights in society, but gender discrimination is already prevalent at home. Such prejudice is reaching an alarming level in many Asian society, which explains the growing imbalance in gender ratio. Is anything being done to address this?

I often admire those close knitted families, caring doting brothers, and sisterly bond. And I thank God for friends who took their place, and for Sam.