Good old KE Hall

Good Old KE Haall

Good Old KE Hall

KE is the bestest Hall

the greatest of them all......

Run that by me again. Bestest? Greatest? wahahahahaha.... Poor old King Edward VII Hall (KE for short), who in my time would come last or second last in IHG (Inter-Hall Games) and the butt of jokes during Orientation Float competition. But what do I care? To me, it is still good old KE hall and yes, I had some of my best times in Uni there.

On hindsight, maybe I should have done more research before choosing a Hall of Residence. Not only did I chose a hostel which was the furthest you can get to the Arts Faculty, it was crammed with Science and Medic students and only a very light sprinkling of Arts students and seniors. But I was seduced by a well put together brochure, you see... a beautiful pic of the buildings at dusk with twinkling lights and a harlot tagline of "All rooms faces the sea".

Little did I know that the nearest bus stop is a good 20 minutes walk down a secluded road, another 20 minutes walk the other way to the Arts Faculty down a scary secluded road and if you want to get to BizAd Faculty, it's a good half hour with a trek through a bit of jungle. There are 127 steps down and up to reach NUH for the internal bus.Yes, all rooms did face the sea but that does not guarantee that all rooms HAVE a sea view! More likely than not, you'll get a lovely view of the weird guy in the next block, scratching his bum on his way to the toilet.

Nevertheless, you don't spend years living at close proximity with other people without forming bonds and harbouring countless memories so I'm going to do some postings on my hall life starting with.....

Freshie Orientation

My introduction to Hall Life was the Orientation Programme; three weeks of relentless planned activities from gotong-royong sessions to 5km. runs to preparing for the Float competition. It was like Army boot camp. Fall in at 7.30am, dismiss for classes, fall in back again at 5pm, more activities, dismiss for dinner, fall back in, more activities, exercises, talk to seniors sessions where they made you do ridiculous things; ending in the wee hours of the night before you can collapse to bed only to wake up again a couple of hours later. They can always tell which ones are hostel students during the first few weeks- we were the ones who were falling asleep at the back of the lecture theatres.

Talk to Senior sessions can either be great bonding/advice sessions or pointless ones if you are unlucky enough to get seniors hell-bent on a power-trip. Not only you have to talk to seniors on allocated evening sessions but during breakfast, tea and dinner and woe betide those who tried to "siam".

The trick is of course, to know which ones are the "good" seniors and to head to them quickly once you are dismissed. Get a garang senior and good luck to you... more than once a poor, too-tired, overwhelmed freshie was reduced to tears. On the other end of the scale is the gatal senior who were keen to check out the "talent"; good-looking freshettes were often singled out and some of these seniors tend to be the good tah-kor (big brother) in order to worm themselves into their affections.

One of the hardest challenge in Orientation is keeping a straight serious face. Points (which later you have to work off during Physical Training sessions) are given to those who laugh or even crack a smile. So seniors will fool around with ridiculous jokes just to make sure you earn bad points. Sadistic right? Who can forget Kuan Chee Keong, dentist senior, coming in full dental regalia which will not look out of place in a Hannibal Lecter movie? You just had to separate yourself from your earthly body to deal with stuff like that.

Points were awarded for latecomers and also if you fail to come back to the hall in PE attire within a sadistic 7 minutes. Woe betide those who leave on the 6th floor (no lift) Block E which is the furthest away. Points were awarded for not being a teamplayer; for putting up your hand to answer a question which no one else know. Better fail as a team rather than being a smart alec. Points are deducted for good team behaviour, of course.

PT sessions run the gamut from calisthentics to runs to Kent Ridge Park cumulating in the final 5km. run from our hall to West Coast Park and back. It was punishing but now recalling it, it was rather funny. The lovebirds making out (some already on top of each other) at West Coast Park didn't know what hit them. There they were canoodling and then some, in the dark when suddenly this mass of 80 joggers ran past, with torchlights and seniors screaming like banshees. Sure mood killer.

An activity they no longer have in Orientation nowadays is the Song Fight. Each hall will have a proud tradition of Hall songs or cheers which any true-blue hall resident would know by heart. Song fights are basically halls shouting these songs to each other until one concede defeat. Sounds easy but it is murder to keep on track as a group with the other hall screaming discordant tunes at you and trying not to faint as you were squashed in a tight mass of sweaty bodies. Once in my year, we had another hall coming stealthily at something like 12am challenging us to a Song Fight but the real event was at the Science Faculty Sports Stadium. Kwang Hsien were hoisted on the shoulders of two tallest freshies as the Time Keeper and we yelled and sang to a respectable second place.

What is Orientation without the Float Competition? Every Hall are required to present a Float and intrepretive dance to the VIP which is usually the President of Singapore. So during my year, it was President Wee Kim Wee. Since Kitaro was so hot that time, we had a dance based on his music. I cannot remember much about the float in our year except that there was a dragon.

Why did I remember the dragon? Because I had to freaking sew that stupid thing night after night. It was not too bad on some nights because we got to chat and most importantly, sit down but running up to the day, our nights were getting later and later. Yoke Yeen and I were yet again sewing countless sequins onto that dastard dragon in the Hall. It was dark and cool and I could not help but fell asleep. I remember being woken up by a sympathetic senior, who dismissed me to bed. Yoke Yeen was also curled up next to the dragon fast asleep.

Harsh though it was, Orientation was a great bonding exercise. Nothing bonds a group faster than a common enemy : the dreaded senior. And we were dying to get to the finishing line because there was going to be a role reversal! For one night and one night only, we will get to be the bullying senior and they will have to take the crap from us. We had secret freshie meetings to think up gleeful reprisal punishments. Oooo..the excitement!

On the last night, after the Backwards Change (you have to put your clothes on inside out and backwards, including tying your ponytail the other way round) and the dreaded Square Meal (you have to time your feeding movements into a square and gobbled up your meal in seconds), we were finally ready.

Dressed in our best, as instructed, we trooped to the Basketball court ready to mete our punishment. The seniors were not listening, however much we shout and then out of nowhere, water bombs started flying. It was nothing but a sham and we had to walk through a tunnel of interlinking arms with well aimed kicks to our rears; just to complete the humiliation. After that, they shook our hands and welcomed us as true blue KEVIIans.

London's famous markets : Camden

Prologue :

It is inevitable that you will get Singaporean mates or friend of a friend coming down to stay for a few days when you are in London. For the past 7 years, we were play hosts to countless friends, bunking on the sofa or inflatable bed. That bed was the honeymoon bed for two couples at least! We don't mind the slighest at the constant parade of guests ~ nay, this was the chance for us to get them to transport essential rempahs or spices from Singapore. My newest project is to document the wonderful places that we enjoyed in London.

What is London without its markets? There are plenty of markets to choose from; some mediocre mostly visited by locals in search of daily essentials while others are that little bit more special and known the world over. Who can forget references to London's famous markets like Portobello, shown in its full glory in films such as Notting Hill or Borough Market, the focal point of gourmands and foodies akin to Melbourne's Victoria Market?

The first ever market that we went to when we came here was Camden. And I was hooked. Gothic clothes stores cheek by jowl with vintage clothes stores, alternative medicine with tatoo and piercings, coffee chains with falafel stores, bean bags sofas and Indonesian carvings next to old antiques. The range of merchandise is staggering and when you mixed it all together, the atmosphere is electric.

On weekends, it can get so crowded that the Tube only allows outgoing passengers. Exit from the station and you are on Camden High Street with shops selling tshirts galore and bongs. Across the road, next to the Superdrug store is The Works, a great discount bookstore worth a nip into.

Walk down Camden High Street and check out the amusing decorations on the store fronts.

Also the famous Electric Ballroom, the infamous venue where bands as diverse as Sid Vicious and the Vicious Kids to Catatonia had played.

.

There are small markets to the left and right but don't be fooled. Go the big Camden Lock Market right at the end. The entrance is right under the bridge as shown in the main picture above - you can't miss it.

Camden Lock market is a warren. I absolutely love exploring the two sides. It has changed a lot from how it looked 7 years ago but what hasn't? From the orange juice stall at the entrance, you can veer to the right - towards the food stalls. Beyond the food stalls are more shops and the "antique" or second hand clothes shops.

Go through this tunnel with its majestic-looking chandelier .....

..and you will find Cyberdog fashion store extraodinaire for the hard partying house music, techno loving groovers out there. With its strobing lights, loud music and smoke machine with a bar right smack at the entrance, I am sure many a tourists would have thought it is nightclub in full swing. Wander it and you'll find a store with many bizarre clothes and fashion accessories that are designed to glow or pulsate in the dark. A black tight t-shirt with a LED display on the chest is the tamest thing you can get.

The range of merchandise available has grown over the years that I have been there. No longer will you find just purveyors of second hand winter coats (cheaper in summer) or German Army uniforms. You'll be hard pressed to find genuine antiques too but there are a growing number of furniture and furnishing stores.



.. so yes, you can get Indonesian and Thailand produced furnishings right in the middle of London. The Thai store is amusingly called Farang, although I do not know how many English people would understand that it is Thai for caucasians.



I simply love this retro looking table and chairs, complete with the fake shrubbery. I wish I can magically teleport this to Singapore, along with a Smeg fridge which I covet so much.

You can spend a good few hours browsing through the shops. Retrace back your steps, stop to have a hot drink, lunch or a quick bite of freshly fried doughnuts and you can explore the other side of Camden. From the entrance, it is the fork to the left, into the courtyard. The stalls here sell anything from new Pop-Art print bags, to Orgasmatron head massager and on hot summer days, they sometimes sell strawberries with cream or chocolate.



Here's the barges that ply along Regent's Canal. Walk up the stairs to the indoor market where again you will find a cornucopia of goods on sale. I personally thought the lovely large prints of London sold at one of the stalls there are a wonderful souvenir but not cheap though.




..view of the shops in the indoor market from the first floor. The strings of fairly lighst are a festive touch for the Christmas season. So have a lovely time in Camden. You may not buy anything in the end but revel in the atmosphere.


Camden Market
Camden tube station on the Northern Line

Tips :

For families, it is advisable to go there earlier in the day to avoid the crush.

For those you wandered in later in the evening, the food stalls will reduced their prices to £1.50 per portion instead of the usual price of £4.50.

I have had mixed results from my visitors when I bring them. I once brought a family with makcik and pakcik (aunt and uncle) who were far more used to clean, sterile Singapore shopping centres. They spent a total of 5 minutes at the second hand clothes stores complaining of the "smell". They were happier in the souvenir shop, buying fake Chelsea and Man Utd beanies and magnets which you could find elsewhere in London. To each its own.

My Favourite Meatballs

I used to hate meatballs. Hard, dry, flavourless balls of meat deepfried. Loathed them. Then I was flipping through Annabel Karmel's Family Meal cook book and there was a recipe for spaghetti and meatballs. Out of the blue, after years and years not eating meatballs, I had a hankering for it.

Annabel Karmel's book is indispensable for mums here. A mother herself, her recipes are tried and tested on her brood. I love the way she presented the food. Smiley face bagels, snake shaped pizza, bee shaped oat biscuits - that woman is a marvel.

So here is how to make these moreish meatballs (adapted from Annabel Karmel's)

lean lamb/beef mince , flat leaf parsley, stock cube (crumbled) , black pepper and finely chopped onion

and the secret ingredient.... grated apples makes the meatball moist!

Shape into mini meatballs. (look at the lovely green flecks of parsley!) and brown them by batches . *You can freeze them at this point

I boiled a large pot of water for the angel hair pasta and prepared the tomato sauce. Just a simple one with lots of chunky vegetables like carrots, red and orange peppers and mushroom. Once the sauce is on the boil, just chuck the meatballs inside and cook until they are done.



Viola!
Spaghetti Meatballs
with lashing of parmagiano

Chefs Galore!

Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is back! I caught the series at the tail end of last season and was totally hooked. What's not to like? Horrible grungy kitchens serving substandard food, hapless restaurant owners running up huge debts and strode in Gordon, like a white knight to their rescue.

Each week, I watched in morbid fascination ~ just waiting for the chef on the receiving end of Gordon vitriolics to stick a knife into Gordon. He swore at them, pulled out his hair, threw food away, swore some more, rubbed his face, swore at the owner, chef, staff, cajoled the chef to cut down the menu, show them whose boss in the kitchen, cheered the staff on and viola, you have the restaurant back on its feet. I love it!

I simply simply adore the cooking shows they have here. Like Ready,Steady, Cook hosted by the irrepressible Ainsley Harriot. two chefs will have two participants working alongside them. With a bag of ingredients (sometimes less than £5-10 of stuff), they whipped out four or five fantastic dishes in about 30 minutes! Fantastic.

The other series I love is by Keith Floyd. He does series where he travel to different countries like Italy and Spain ~ he will cook outdoors most times so that you get an eyeful of both the gorgeous scenery plus the food he is cooking. He did cook in the rain, under an umbrella once in an Italian piazza. He will talked to the cameraman while on the camera "Take a big fat lingering close-up of that" or will speak unscripted dialouge which is often quite funny.

The best of the series is Far Flung Floyd of course since he travelled to South East Asia for this. Sadly, he circumvent Singapore but he made stops in Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong. I especially remember his stop in Malaysia because he cooked rendang in a kampung kitchen and served it to the family. Of course, in front of the mat salleh, the makcik and pakcik were all stiff and formal. The translator who was eating with them had to say in Malay "Sedap ke tak sedap? Kenapa tak cakap apa-apa?" to which the makcik and pakcik automatically said "Sedap..sedap.."

He also talked to another pakcik haji about ayam masak kicap and inevitably asked about how Muslim men can marry up to four. The pakcik said with a straight face "Yes, they can but for me, one already more than enough". Another time, he was demonstrating how to cook sambal crab but somehow he bought rempah curry instead. They only do a re-shoot for the sambal crab which ran during the credits.

In the series where he did HongKong, he did a demo at a small jetty just abutting a few boats. He looked seriously at the camera and said that he had to speak quite loud to drown the arguements the crew is having with one particular boat owner, who demanded payment for them to cook at the jetty.

I am also fascinated by the River Cottage Series by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. He basically moved from the city to the country to see whether he could survive being a smallholder/farmer. You'll see the full whack of country living where he grew his own vegetables and rear his own livestock. Not an inch is wasted which makes very good tv. Not only you see his adventures in being self-sufficient on the farm, you'll see country happenings like jam and cake competition, vegetable growing competition (who has the longer runner bean? that sort of thing).

And who can forget Jamie Oliver's debut as The Naked Chef and his subsequent offerings? He is a phenomenal success now and based on that, there was a Malaysian student chef whom we helped to film a cooking programme ala Jamie Oliver. Let me tell you - filming a cooking show is a lot of hard work so kudos to all the chefs and thank you for making entertaining television.

Disney Colour a Cookie

The plus side of having a day (or two) off work is I get to pick up the little one from school. She was so happy to see me at the school gate and as a special treat, we went to the Disney Store. Just to look, mind.... However, I picked up this :


Disney Colour a Cookie.

A simple cooke with icing. A Mickey Mouse line drawing and various food colouring markers. How ingenius! The markers are flavoured as well ~ red (strawberry), blue (blueberry), yellow (banana) and black (black cherry). They must have taste delicious because Alia was sucking on the markers instead of colouring in the cookie.





She was busy for a good 10 minutes which would be ideal if you are dining out. And you can promise the cookie as desserts for afters. Apparently they do serve this at Disney hotels and resorts in Florida. I didn't find any in Disneyland Paris though. I saved up the markers for future biscuit drawing plus i get to draw smileys on her packed sandwiches. Hehehehe

I'm sick today.....

It's cold. My head hurts. My nose stuffed. Sore throat. Racking cough.
And daytime tv is putrefying my brain.
I only crave this...



Sup kambing.
Hot steamy mutton broth with crusty french bread.
There is no mamak stall round the corner so I had to drag my carcass to get some lamb from the butcher. Arghhhh.... I don't have any Sup Bunjut spice so had to make do with a simple hashed up version with whatever I have in the fridge :

Resepi Sup Kambing Orang Sakit
(Lamb Broth)

Rack of lamb chopped up roughly; with its bones (think rustic!)
**Boil in a large pot with sliced up leeks and a stock cube. Let simmer**

One large onion, 10 cloves of garlic, 2cm. ginger (all whizzed up in a blender)
Cloves, cardomom and cinnamon stick

This is how I did it :

Heat oil in pan. Sautee the blended-up ingredients and the spices till fragrant. Add in the stock and meat. Throw in potatoes and carrots. Bring to boil. Put in oven at 150 deg celcius for about an hour - longer if meat is still not tender and falling of bone. Season with plenty of white pepper and salt. Served steaming, with spring onions, chopped parsley and fried onions (bawang goreng) along with a loaf of crusty baguette

I think I feel better already....

I feel like Chicken Tonight

In case, anyone is wondering ~ why do I suddenly upload recipes on this blog? No, I am not going to turn this into a 100% food blog. It would pale in comparison to the others already in existence (see the food blogs in my sidebar). The care and love they put in their photos and postings! It makes me so hungry just looking at the photos and when they posted wonderful photos of Malaysian/Singapore dishes.... wahhhh.... double whammy for me. Hungry and nostalgic.

I'm a "let's put that in the pot and see what comes out" type of cook so often I would forgot how I cook it. Yesterday, I stumbled upon this recipe Ayam Kicap Pak Said on Suria website. Hmm... sounds good and simple. OK, bought the chicken and was all out to cook this for dinner. Found out I am short of a few of the spices and worst of all, the blender died on me. So... sorry Pak Said, next time I try your chicken. Last night, I cooked Ayam Kicap Blender Rosak instead :


Ayam Kicap Blender Rosak
(Broken Blender Chicken in Spicy Soy Sauce .. hehehe)

One small chicken cut into portions
(seasoned with turmeric powder + salt, browned and set aside)

Ingredients A :
One onion, five garlic cloves, 2 inch ginger
(all sliced thin)
Ingredients B:
1 cinnamom stick
6 cloves , 6 cardomon
4 star anise
1 tablespoon of black pepper
Ingredients C:
100ml dark soy sauce
2 tbspn of oyster sauce
2-3 cups of water
2 tbspn of vinegar

Heat oil in a good sized pot. Fry all of Ingredients A until they smell absolutely yummy. Throw in Ingredients B. Once they are mixed well, carefully add in Ingredients C. Once the concoction bubbles, pop in the chicken, mix it well and cover the pot to cook the chicken. Stir it once a while. Cook it till chicken is done and gravy is thickened. Throw in some sliced spring onions + cubed tomatoes as garnish. Stir it once more time and it's ready to eat with hot white rice.

Chicken cooking in the pot. As you can see, I have a long way to go before I even qualify as an amateur food photojournalist. All that steam coming out of the pot!



I can almost hear Gordon Ramsay screaming "F**king Mucky Plate!" or something like that. The cooking smells had driven MH to distraction and I could only managed one snap before we dug in.

Roti John Recipe

Had another bash at Roti John yesterday and it turned out much better that the one I did on the weekend. Ahhh.. the delights of roti john. This true-blue Singapore Malay dish always hold special memories to me ~ after a rigourous ECA session at RGS in the 80s, we would always trooped down to Taman Serasi Food Centre (now sadly defunct) next to Botanic Gardens for roti john, soursop juice and soto pedas.

The roti john was from Shukor Stall - the birthplace of this dish. Apparently the stallholder's dad created the dish for angmoh customers living/working in the area. Little did he know it would be a legend, with mentions on the Makansutra.

I intended to take photos as I went along but totally forgot to do so. Hope to post some photos later on. So here's my version :

Roti John

Minced meat (about a handful)
Clove of garlic
3- 4 Eggs
2 long Baguette
Salt + Pepper
a tiny bit of curry powder
Chicken stock cube (can omit this)
Spring onions (cut really small)
Chilli (cut small or omit if you don't like it hot)
red onion - sliced
oil (less oil if meat is quite fatty)


Heat oil in pan and throw in garlic. Put the mince in. Season with pepper and fry the mince until quite dry. Set aside. Beat the eggs. Mix in the spring onions, chilli, onion & mince. Season with curry powder, salt, pepper and chicken stock cube.

Sliced the baguette longwise. Once frying pan is hot with a tiny amount of oil, slather the egg-mince mixture onto the baguette and grill them on the pan, egg-mince mixture face down. Press the baguette down so that the egg mixture is well cooked. Flip over to brown the other side of the bread.

Serve hot with sliced cucumber, a slice of cheese in between, sweet chilli sauce or ketchup. It keeps well for a few hours and just need crisping in a hot oven. Sedap!!!!

Primrose Hill

We had no plans last Saturday but didn't want Alia to watch tv all day long. A quick call to my mate and we planned to go to Primrose Hill; just behind Regent's Park. It had been touted as having the finest view of London but I wasn't overly impressed by it the first time I've been. It was only after a few years, we visited it again with our brand new kite and we totally fell in love with it.

There's a fab children's playground at the foot of the hill which was ideal for Alia and her friends to burn off some energy. We parents just parked ourselves on the picnic table and enjoy the little picnic we brought along.

We could have spent some more time there but decided to go up the hill before sundown. It is not a high hill but believe me you would be puffing by the time you get up. (..or maybe I was terribly unfit?)



The walk up to the peak....



People already on top looking at the view...




A poor picture of the view - you can actually see a number of London famous landmarks like the London Eye, The Gherkin, St. Pauls Cathedral and a tiny bit of Palace of Westminster.

We spread some canvas on the ground and enjoyed the view while the children ran up and down the slope (...ngeri sikit I.. takut they all jatuh tergolek..)



MH brought along his board which was a source of fun for the kids. They just love rolling down the hill with it. I voted to stay put because cannot tahan going down and coming back up again.




Sunset is much earlier nowadays so you can see the moon rising on the east while the sun goes down on the west. This is a picture of the moon, I kid you not.

This would be a perfect vantage point to see the fireworks tonight but that means that we would have to stay out in the cold for another 3 hours! so here's R's family packing up to go home.



We adjourned at R's house later for Madu Tiga, roti john and grilled chicken while the kids have fun playing sparklers and eating hot dogs.

Another disastrous audition...

this one cracks me up everytime

Lost!

We were in a hurry that day. It was raining hard outside Harvey Nicks and I just managed to hail a cab, got everyone in and pushed the pram in. It was not until much later when the little one asked "Where's Tigger?" did we realised that Tigger was lost.

Tigger had been with us since the little one was about 1+. Besides being a toy, he was an occasionable bed companion, been with us for a few trips and took over many disguises when she is playing. I never thought she is very much attached to him ~ she never really insisted to have Tigger for bedtime nor requested to have him specially. How wrong was I!

When she realised Tigger was lost, the waterworks started. I think it is coupled with being so tired after rushing around the whole day and the horrible thoughts of Tigger being LOST and ALONE. She cried and cried and no amount of cajoling, kisses and cuddles can abate her tears. It was heart-rending hearing her say "Tigger really misses me. Tigger is all alone. I miss Tigger"

Went to the place we stopped the cab to look around, called the cab company in the off-chance it might be there and even resort to half fib by telling that Tigger is looking after another little girl with no toys. No, it didn't work.

We went home and the little one insisted that we make a "Lost" poster. I never knew so many details of Tigger were in her head. Here is the poster, which we hung outside our front door :

the curly tail, the stripes, the little tuft of black at the end of the tail. Even Tigger's funny ears. It's all there. She carefully wrote her name and burst into tears again. In a broken voice, she whispered she wants to kiss Tigger so that's why there is a lipstick mark just there.

We went to the Disney store the next day and yes, I got her another Tigger. It is a little bigger than the old one and I said since she is a big girl, she needed a bigger Tigger. She was pleased with the new one and the Cinderella cushion that I bought as well but until now, if she is feeling a little sad, she would crawled onto my lap and whisper "I miss my old Tigger..."

I'm still alive....

....except I am totally consumed with my Malay blog. It's like greeting a long lost lover - my love affair with Bahasa Melayu. From crooning old Malay songs to watching old Malay movies, I'm doing them all now.

What an irony! I was so entwined with my Malay culture when I was growing up - taking part in endless cultural activity after another - be it traditional malay dance, dikir barat, Malay debate. Straight into hostel at Uni, I was the only Malay girl in the whole place. I hardly listen to Malay radio, Malay tv programmes bore me and I just noticed how thin and insubstantial Berita Harian looks besides the other national papers. Malay films of that era with all their slapstick and low production values grated my nerves. Imagine this ~ a scene in one of the Malay programmes.. one doctor telling his patient's husband "Isteri awak mendapat tonsilitis - Barah tekak" (Your wife has got tonsilities i.e. throat cancer).

I got sick of the misconception some have of Malays and I was sick of some of the world views held by some Malays. In other words, I became alienated. Don't get me wrong ~ it's not like I am ashamed of being Malay. It's just become a minor part of me. And when I started my travels here to London, it became dormant. Other than speaking Malay and craving malay food, I speak and breathe English.

It was not a big thing - just two of my old friends encouraging me to write in Malay. A tiny spark that rekindled my love in my heritage. It spawned my malay blog and for quite a while, I'm totally obsessed; seeking malay songs on youtube, finding out who is Mawi, caring about siti nurhaliza's wedding and finally in a long long while, I decided to foray to the wilderness and bought two new Malay films . One was not bad at all and the other was totally enjoyable.

So forgive me, my dear sriperwira blog. It is not that I have forgotten you. :)

Happy National Day, Singapore!

The last time I celebrated National Day in Singapore was some seven years ago. I knew I would be away the year after and had bagged seats to watch the NDP at the Stadium. The best bit is always the fireworks at the end. There's something magical about fireworks.

Nothing much happened at the Singapore High Commission in London for National Day. No open house or celebration. Maybe just a dinner for invited guests only. So here's my bit to celebrate National Day. Also on talkingcock.com, they revisited an old National Day special "60 Signs You are a True Singaporean"

Blogging in Malay

My two cyber frens IU and Nani had roped me in to blog in Malay. Now why i never thought of that. Brain workout out now - hard to blog in malay, have to translate my thoughts. what kind of malay am I?

Our last day in Paris

We checked out early on our last day to Paris. After leaving our bags at concierge, we made our way to Galeries Lafayette and Printemps; two names which were famous in Singapore at one point but sadly now defunct. These two rivals are very much alive in Paris with lavish stores along . Galeries Lafayette has a dedicated Home section in a separate building on the road opposite to its main building. It is stores like this that made me wish I have my own flat! Gorgeous quirky furnishings including bright coloured 50’s style electric fans and over-the-top wooden frames in bright pink and acid green.

We bought lunches from Galeries Lafayette’s and ate our lunch off the steps of Opera Garnier, the opera house made famous by Phantom of the Opera. A quick bus ride and we were at the South Bank, on our way to Notre Dame.


Notre Dame

It was another hot, hot day. Notre Dame’s forecourt was awashed with tourists like us. Nevetheless, the way it rears up the sky is impressive in the afternoon sun. For a fee, you can climb up to the top where the gargoyles are. I had fun telling the little one about the gargoyles – that they are for funnelling rain water and since the noise it makes sounds like they are gargling, that’s why they are called gargoyles! We sat in the shade in the restive rear court. In this heat, with the wind blowing from the River Seine and a Jazz band busking at the background, it was easy to nod off to sleep.

After half an hour rest, we walked through the narrow lanes towards the metro with a pitstop at Berthillon, Paris’ best icecream. The queues for Berthillon’s icecream is long as always. We still think Amorino is the best icecream in Paris but it is so refreshining to have a cold sorbet in this heat.

We went back to the hotel, collect our bags and since we have about two hours, we sat at Leon, at Plaza de la Republique. I was extremely surprised that we did not discover this place sooner. They serve mussels and frites!! Yum yum! what could be a better finish to our Paris holiday than to guzzle mussels and fries? It is distinctly Brussels food but I don’t care. We ordered a large pot of mixed seafood with squid, prawns and mussels to share. The mussels were small, tender and absolutely delicious!

Before long, it was time to go to Gare Du Nord and head back to London. It has been a wonderful trip and I want to go back to Paris again.

Maison La Duree

*Photo Credit : www.laduree.fr

I emerged from the Louvre, blinking in the bright afternoon sun. Our next stop would be a walk up the Champ Elysee, towards the Arch de Triomphe. Champ Elysee is very much a tourist spot now although not as bad as Oxford Circus in London. There are still some smart boutiques about like Louis Vuitton.

It was an unbearably hot afternoon and we took care to walk in the shady side of the street. Nearer to the Arch, I found what I was looking for – La Maison La Duree! The infamous tea room which sells the most delectable pastries and macaroons. NYF once bought me a whole box from Paris and I cannot forget the taste ever since.

The pistachio walls outside with its elegant confections on display hides a huge queue for its famous macaroons. I joined the queue with some 50 people before me. The inside was all gilt and glass, muted colours and light. Very posh!


The interior of La Duree

Only a few people buy their delectable pastries – most people in the queue are for the macaroons. And what macaroons they are! Not the coconut hard biscuit type but small light round biscuits sandwiched together with a specially flavoured filling. The colours and the flavours they came in are amazing – ranging from black for liquorice to light pink for apricot ginger to chocolate to mango. There are 14 flavours altogether.

30 minutes later, it was my turn and I asked for one in each flavour. Emerged from the dim interior triumphant and showed Jenol, MH and little one the light green box, with its beautifully tied ribbon. Each small delight is 1.30 euros ($2.60!) so we sat down to savour them.



Jenol tried to find an equivalent in terms of taste and in his limited praise said “Macam Suji lah!”… Oh no darling, it is nowhere like suji! Not in its lovely colour, the delicate biscuit which is crunchy at the first bite but gets chewy as you bite into the filling. The whole box was demolished in about 5 minutes with Jenol saying “Ni apa resepi ni? kalau bukak kedai kat Singapore, mesti laku.”

It was not until I did a search on the internet that I found LaDuree has a branch at Harrods but at £24 for 18 pcs, it must be for very special occasions only. Apparently according to NYF, Bakerzin in Singapore might sell something similar but I cannot vouch for it. So if anyone wants to be in my good books, they’ll know what to do. Harrods do delivery. hehehehe

Paris : 15 June 2006

I simply love Paris. It was so beautiful when we were here in Sept 2002, when little one was only 9 months old. It was also a short trip then and I’ve missed many “must do” like visiting Louvre, Musee D’Orsay and Versailles. Unfortunately, we would technically have only 2.1/2 days for this trip so I am determined to squeeze as much in as possible.

We walked down towards Rue Rivoli and had the most delicious Italian gelato on the way. It is from Amorino and is very similar to the ones they sell in Odono’s in U.K. and that shop in Takashimaya basement. However, for a small cone, Odonos only let us have one flavour but here, oh la la! They scraped one flavour in the middle and artfully arranged the other flavour like petals around the rim of the cone. It looks like a little flower – a cool and delicious little flower which we devoured in less than 5 minutes. Thus refreshed, we walked to the bus stop along Rue Rivoli for no. 69.

We had taken this service before all the way to Champ de Mars where Eiffel Tower is. Along the way, the bus will stop by the middle of the road, execute a 90 deg left turn and squeeze through Entrance Rivoli of the Louvre, which are columns about 2m. wide. Look left as the bus enter through the columns and you will see the inner courtyard of the Louvre with I.M Pei’s glass Pyramid. The first time I saw it the sun was shining bright and the Louvre lighted up in gorgeous honeycomb gold with the glass pyramid glittering in the sun.

The bus terminated service before we could get to Champ de Mars so we walked the rest of the way. It was some 30min. later before we are staring up at the Iron Lady herself, La Tour Eiffel. From the distance, it looks slender and elegant but when you are right underneath it, with its four pillars astride, you would realise how huge the tower is.


You don't realise how massive the Eiffel Tower is until you are right underneath her!


The Eiffel Tower again.



The last visit we had opted to go all the way up – not recommended really since the queues for the lifts to ascend are horrible. I’ve never waited so long for a lift before. Best to just go up to the first floor where not only can you walk round the perimeter and see the whole of Paris, you can dine at the restaurant, buy souvenirs, watch good historical films of the tower at Cine Eiffel and also send a postcard from La Poste, complete with Tour Eiffel postmark.

Jenol, being a lift engineer, was absolutely fascinated with all the pulleys and mechanism working the lifts. The lift goes in a slope up each foot of the Eiffel Tower and at the bottom of each lift, they actually have a wooden guy to depict how the lifts were operated in the olden days. We decided to go down the steps rather than wait for the lift. I didn’t realise how high up we were, even on the first floor, until I looked down. Gayat you! Had to keep my eyes on the horizon to calm my nerves. By the time, we arrived back it was getting rather chilly so we headed straight back to the hotel to look for food and rest

Paris : 16 June 2006

After a hasty breakfast of tarte pommes (apple tart lah..), we are off to Montmatre. I missed this one from the last trip; only managed to see it from a distance. We alighted at Anvers and followed the crowd. Before long, you can see the magnificient Basilique du Sacre Coeur (Basilic of the Sacred Heart). It stands on the highest point in Paris, all arches and domes, gleaming white against a perfect blue sky.


The Basilic of the Sacred Heart (Sacre Couer), all gleaming white domes and turrets piercing the blue sky.

You can walk up the steep steps or opt for the funicular. It’s another queue for the funicular but thankfully it is a very short journey. The view of Paris from the steps of Sacre Coueur is better than from Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly. An old man played a violin and with the muted sounds of the carousel, you feel as if you are on the set of Amelie.

We walked down via the steps, stopped by the discount stores for cheap tshirts and turned right towards Pigalle and Moulin Rouge. It is the red light district with neon lights, girls in suggestive poses with bits coyly covered and almost every other shop screamed Sex.


The Art Deco sign of the Metropolitan, Paris' underground trains, framing the infamous Moulin Rouge. Perhaps a leeetle more glamorous at night, no?

We stopped to take a photo of the famous Moulin Rouge before taking the metro to Palais du Royal – Musee Louvre. In the bright afternoon sun, it does not look remotely sexy or seedy although I cannot vouch for how it looks at night. It is definitely longer than the infamous Red Light district in Amsterdam although Amsterdam would still be special because of its “beckoning” windows. Hmm.. bila lah Geylang RLD boleh jadi tourist attraction?

Musee Louvre

It is a little known fact that the entrance via the metro station, at the Galerie du Caroussel is much quicker route into the Louvre than the entrance from the pyramid. Yes, finally I get to go to the Louvre! MH and Jenol are not too interested to look at paintings but there are enough shops, cafes and restaurant at the lower ground floor to occupy them while I went inside.

They have installed automatic ticket machines which had cut down the queues dramatically. I bought mine at the Tabac (tobacconist) just outside. (lagi no queue) There is a lovely shop selling art books for kids and pretty antique-style French gowns. Would love to get one for the little one cos she would look like a princess but at 125 euros? I don’t think MH will be amused. I spotted a Post Office! Quickly dashed in, bought a Mona Lisa postcard and mailed it back to U.K.


Underneath I.M Pei's iconic glass pyramid. The column on the left has a platform that acts like a lift for buggies and wheelchairs

From the post office, you walked through to the Inverse Pyramid with it’s miniature pyramid underneath it, made famous by The Da Vinci Code. Follow the crowd and there you are, underneath the big glass pyramid with the three entrances to each wing. The old style buildings outside looked superb framed through the controversial pyramid.

Of course, like 90% of the tourists there, I was looking for Mona Lisa so I headed towards the Denon Wing. The way to this beautiful lady is very well signposted with paper images of her along the way. If you miss the signposts, just followed the crowd. Almost all of them were paying homage to the great painting.

If you turn into Galerie Daru, over the heads of the throng of people, in all its glory, the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It is placed so dramatically by the upward climbing stairs that with its outstretched wings and wind-whipped clothes, it looked like it is about to take flight.


The famed Winged Victory of Samothrace


From another angle. Isn't she beautiful?

According to the guides, it is a sculpture of Nike (Victory) from the Hellenistic period, dated 208 BC, which made it over 2000 years old. Found off the island of Samothrace, it was perhaps sculpted to celebrate a famous naval victory. I simply marvelled at the beatiful way its garments were sculpted. You can almost feel the sea winds whipping away at its clothes, feel the wetness from the sea sprays and smell the briny sea.


My pathetic attempt of immortalising the Mona Lisa. She smiles just for you

Follow the crowd towards the Italian Paintings and there she is. La Gioconda. The one with the mysterious smile. Mona Lisa herself. The crowds are kept back with a divider and she sits secure behind a darkened bulletproof glass. The sign which the guard desperately waved at the crowd said “No photography” but I could not resist She sits shyly with her folded arms, a thin black veil over her head, with her knowing smile. Perhaps smiling with mirth at the miling throng before her, paying homage to her beauty and her secrets. .

No wonder she is smiling – the antics of the people crowded in front of her is enough to make anyone smile. An old couple spent a long time in front of her, not even giving anyone behind them a chance to take a look. A few people pushed to the front, took one look and then turned away with a “Is that all? What is the fuss all about?”. A young mother carrying a baby in her arms bypassed the divider and went really close to the photo. Another put her hand out, perhaps to cover one side of the face and then tried covering the other. The funny thing is another girl followed her example as well. A few loud Americans including one who said “Whassamadder with these people? Can’t they read no photographs?”

As for me, I stood there staring at the masterpiece. She is more beautiful in the “flesh” than the dozens reproductions I’ve seen; definitely more beautiful than the cheap 1 euro postcard I’ve bought. The darkened glass serves to throw shadows on that exquisitely painted face. With her veiled eyes and her secret smile, I felt that she is looking right through me and that we are sharing a private joke. For a moment, I felt that she is smiling just for me. I had tears in my eyes and moved away before I could be caught blubbing in front of this extraordinary painting. No wonder Leonardo Da Vinci said she is his finest work.


My favourite angle of Eros and Psyche. Eros looks like so light - like he is about to take flight.


A gentle cradle


..and kiss...

Away from the Mona Lisa, the Louvre is much quieter and more reflective. Oh the treasures they have in there! There is Venus de Milo, another iconic artwork of the lady without arms. I feel she is not as dynamic as the Winged Victory but it is unusual how she was sculpted with a twisting torso. My favourite sculpture is the statue of Eros and Psyche (above). I love the gentle way he cradles the sleeping Psyche and the tenderness in their entwined arms.


The lavish Napoleon apartments


Details on one of the chandeliers

I went to the Napoleon apartments over at the Richelieu wings. Gorgoeous deep burgundy colours on the walls with dripping chandaliers. The windows are drawn close and the colours are muted in the dark – of course they were trying to protect these precious furnishings from the bleaching effects of the sun. On the way here, I bypassed the large format painting of Napoleon’s coronation with Napoleon placing a crown on a kneeling Josephine. With their sumptous ermine trimmed scarlet robes, with diamonds dripping from their clothes, they would not looked out of place in the Louvre.

Disneyland Paris - 13 June 2006

When you wish upon a star….

In my childhood years, I’m often glued to the tv, watching Mickey Mouse Club and it was my fervent wish to go to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth. Disneyland Paris is near to us now and several years ago, I was in Paris but I always wanted to go to the one in Florida. However, spotted a really sweet deal in the papers and after a hurried consultation with hubby and Jenol, we are off to Parc Disneyland.

It was such an early start, catching the underground to Waterloo for the Eurostar. The little one is beyond excitement. We had done a sticker chart thingy for her where if she does well, she get a sticker and when it reaches the top, we will go to Disneyland. It is very effective!! Many a tantrum had been averted with threats to remove a sticker.

After arriving at Gare du Nord, we changed to the RER train to Val d’Europe. The Hotel Elysee where we would be staying for 2 nights is absolutely fab! A very good 3-star with spacious rooms and right across a shopping mall and factory outlet. We should have really taken the day easy; perhaps as a rest day before tackling Disneyland but we were far too excited!

There is a free shuttle service to Disneyland. I excitedly pointed out the large Mickey Mouse ears in the distance to the little one and before long we are at the gates of Disneyland. Went through the ticket barrier and we found ourselves on Main Street USA. It was 3.30pm (about 30min. away from the Disney Parade) and already people were plonking themselves by the rope barrier.

We dashed into one of the stores and grabbed a Minnie Mouse hat (complete with ears and bow) for the little one and stood by the rope barrier. Mickey Mouse himself was driven past in a little golf buggy. I waved till my arm was about to fall off and had tears in my eyes. Dahsyat you! 15 minutes later, music blared out of the speakers and the first float, Steamboat Willie complete with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and the whole gang passed by. It was amazing! One after another, each Disney character pass by in gorgeous floats – Cinderella with her prince in a pumpkin coach, Belle with the huge glowering Beast, Princess Aurora with her price and the Maleficient dragon, Ariel the little mermaid; they were all there.


Details on the Aladdin's float as seen during the Parade.


Dumbo's train in the Parade


Alaadin and Jasmine on the magic carpet


First in the Parade, Steamboat Willie! (Mickey Mouse first appearance as a cartoon)



Hmm.. who cannot guess what is this float about?


Beast and Lumiere, the talking candlestick who speaks with an outrageous French accent.


Another of the Beauty and the Beast float with Belle standing on top of a cake


After the parade, we went to Fantasyland. The Sleeping Beauty castle is as beautiful as in the pictures and it was a gateway to more kiddies ride. Despite the searing heat, the queues are phenomenal. We went on the carousel and Dumbo, the flying elephant. By the time, little one and I were done with Dumbo, it was time to wake up Jenol and MH.

The queue to It’s a Small World is definitely more manageable.I had been telling the little one about this ride; that there are dancing dolls and they are all singing. Even sang the song to her a few times. So she was raring to go. I was expecting some tacky ride and was pleasantly surprised. Yes, there are dancing dolls and wooden cutouts but all so very well done. The lighting and the animation were all first class and I could go on again.


A Thai representation in Disneyland's It's a Small World. I love the shadow puppet.


And of London with the Tower Bridge, Beefeaters and double decker bus


Here's another of the It's a Small World ride

Instead we went on the Disney Railroad Train, just to get our bearings for tomorrow all-day trip. The train went round to the five lands and I was pointing out the rides that we would take tomorrow to the little one. We squeezed in a few more sightseeing on foot and a quick recce at the shops before MH pleaded exhaustion and we had to go home.