A prelude to goodbye..

I'm surrounded with the detritus of 8 years in London.
All that means something are packed away in boxes, hopefully to reach our warm shores in one piece. How could one accumulate so much? Especially since we only came with a pack on our backs and the clothes that we wore.

I left my heart in Melaka

Was browsing through my favourite food blog, Eating Asia. Two foreigners who loved South East Asian cuisine so much, their writing and photos on their blog are sheer poetry. Lo and behold, they posted about Melaka's famous Chicken Rice Balls. I haven't seen these for years! Coincidentally, was chatting with KC the other day and both of us were torturing each other with googled Chicken Rice Balls pics.

Back in the hall days, we sometimes do makan trips up to Melaka and none will be complete without partaking some of these Chicken Rice balls.

Once, there must be 10-12 of us who made the trip up to Melaka for a huge makan trip. Days passed in a haze of roti canai breakfast, mid-morning break, lunch, tea-time culminating in dinner. Of course, durians must be consumed.

Highlights includes a delectable Peranakan meal at Mako, with it's crispy fried fish slattered in moreish sambal, satay celup where we were almost frightened to touch the sides of the pot and of course, those chicken rice balls.

After Melaka, it was off to Genting Highlands for the few of us and for me, a stopover alone in KL, which is another story altogether.....

Birthday Tea at La Duree

Yet another year and another milestone. When I was 25, I never thought I would be in London expecting a 2nd child when I am 35. I am not the type to have plan my life very much i.e. engaged by 25, married 27 that sort of thing so it has all been a pleasant surprise.

What did I do on my birthday? Took a day's leave and walked around town with MH, like a couple. Dipped in and out of shops, looking at sale things, testing strollers and finally ending up at Selfridges eating tosei.

After a quick post-lunch nap, we headed out to Harrods for tea at La Duree. Alas, no need to travel all the way to Paris for my favourite macaroons.

How pretty is the entrance from the street! There is another entrance via the Food Hall in Harrods ~ right next to Krispy Kreme of all things.

The salon is split into three areas with this impressive looking counter filled with delicious goodies. I am such a sucker for pretty displays like this. Pastel colours, beautifully wrapped boxes, pastries shaped and iced to perfection and the creme de la creme, macaroons in all colours of the rainbows with intriguing flavours like caramel with fine salt, rose petal and liquorice. No photography allowed unfortunately and I took these images from their website.

We sat at a rather utilitarian section with marble top tables. On hindsight, it might have been better to opt for the seating above. There is a full afternoon tea with sandwiches for £21 per pax but we opted for just tea and coffee with some macaroons. It was all very civilised. And of course I didn't leave the place until I bagged a box of macaroons one in each flavour.

Following a car bomb threat in Piccadilly and later on Park Lane, our bus was diverted and we ended up at High Street Kensington. Oh well.... when you have lemons, make lemonade. We went to the new Whole Foods supermarket at High Stree Kensington, at the former Barkers Building.

I was gobsmacked! It was previously a quaint shopping mall; not very ritzy at all. But now, it is a giant organic supermarket. Three floors of organic or natural produce and food! Used to the spartan selection we get at supermarkets or small stalls at various farmers' market, we are not ready for the huge selection of products; from cheese to seafood to clothes and baby diapers.

The basement is the main supermarket and I was amused to see Red bananas on sale all the way from Costa Rica. Have to show it to the little one ~ we talked about red bananas before and she could not believe that bananas come it other colours than yellow.

There is a muesli bar where you can mix all the dried fruits including dried bananas similar to pisang salai (very delicious and not very smoky) and a nut butter churn where you can buy peanut/cashew/almond nut butter, freshly churned.

Up to the ground floor, where the ready-to eat foods like cheese and breads are. There are three massive takeaway bars with salads, rice, cooked curries and other dishes to purchase. A long bar for hot soups. You can buy these and adjourn to the 1st floor where there are seating as well as other stalls to buy food from.

All in all, a lovely experience. It was not too crowded when we went but I should imagine it will be heaving on the weekends

KE VII as I remember it

Was browsing through the KE VII website when lo and behold, there is a gallery of the facilities available onsite. Ahhhh a picture says a thousand words. Nothing like a photograph to bring a rush of memories. Like this shot of the communal hall......



....where hostellites are initiated to the family during Orientation week. The place where I fell asleep while sewing that stupid dragon for the Float, where we celebrated Malaysian Night, Deepavali Night and other what nots, where we painted scenes for Faust and other Hall productions. Scenes of comedies and tragedies for actors and dancers alike. Wushu, badminton, choir, they all congregate here after dinner.



The dance club has the other option of practicing here, the Dance Room with mirrors. This was also the room where we made up and transform plain hostelites to gorgoeus mythical beings for the annual Float. I had the distinct memory of painting one of the freshies' body with blue food dye for his role as Genie. Sigh... sadly, he did not have a fab body and has hairy armpits to boot. What luck...

Of course, there are sports facilities, like tennis courts beside F and G block...



where after 5pm, you can make out the pok! pok! pok! of the tennis ball being served back and forth. Incidentally, years ago the Astronomers Club met here regularly, late nights equipped with their huge telescope. SC, CY and I went down out of curiousity one night. In the hush surroundings with the trees blocking any light pollution, we spent the night, peering at Jupiter through the telescope and lying on our backs with the night sky spread before us, trying to spot satellites. Apparently, they move really fast in an arc like a shooting star.



The basketball/handball/netball courts behind Block H. There were no bleachers when I was there and the surface certainly did not look as nice as this. Not being remotely interested in either of the games, I would only remember this as the place of final humiliation from the seniors before the end of Orientation. And the rather good satay and chicken curry party we had for Kwang Hsien and Fook Wei before they left for Australia.



The squash courts were placed in a funny corner. You have to climb a short flight of stairs to get to them. Again, not being a sports person, I never had any dealing with this obscure corner of KE. Just the incident where YF was smashed in the face with Karen's racquet. He was wearing glasses which neccessitate a trip to the A&E (down those 127 steps again) and wearing an eye patch afterwards.

Ahhh here's the creme de la creme... the TV Lounge



where everynight at 8pm we have the Channel 5 "The Simpsons" and the Channel 8 drama competing against one another. Thankfully with two tv sets, no bloody fistfights broke out. Also the place where bootleg, pirate VCDs were shown and karaoke contests were sung. Yes, there will always be someone who wants to sing the latest Cantopop or "My Way" everytime.

Besides the canteen, the lounge has the nicest view to the sea. Airconditioned with comfy seats (although then the sofa sets were not as nice), this was where we retire just after tea to read the papers or just to chill out before heading back to our rooms.

Of Maggi Mee and Nasi Lemak

picture courtesy of KEVII website

Was chatting to YF, an old KE mate on MSN. He's going to Harvard in August and lamenting it's back to hostel life for him.

Oh fond memories! Communal showers and toilets, where you can be "serenaded" by popstars wannabes. Queueing up for mediocre food at the canteen while trying to work out what kind of suspicious meat was used. Queueing up for a turn at the washing machines and dryers. There is no funnier sight than a row of plastic buckets with wet clothes and it is an understanding that the person who empty the dryers would courteously put the next bucket into the dryer. Woe betide the ones who "jump" queue!

I have no idea how hostel living is like at Harvard. At the prices they are charging, obviously it would be of better quality than dingy dear ol' KE hall and I'll bet it is more scenic and atmospheric than the concrete monster that I called home for a good 4 years!

Well, one thing that KE hall has that Harvard won't have. Fong Seng Nasi Lemak! Mention that to any true-blue hostellite and you can see how misty eye they get (plus possible dribbling and drooling).

Come 11.30, a series of knocking on doors and "Oi fong seng! want or not?" A list of orders later and the hostellite lucky enough to have a car will make the journey to Pasir Panjang, next to the bus terminus. Hot from the back kitchen, lovely fluffy fragrant nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaves. Want something more substantial? Just add anything from the spread available - from chicken wings and otak-otak to sotong balls. I once had stir fry green beans so fresh and sweet it has to be plucked fresh 3 seconds ago.

One of my fondest memory is a whole big group of us walking all the way from KEVII to Fong Seng just to eat the nasi lemak in the middle of the night, with the would-be doctors and dentists in their blue scrubs and the rest of us in shorts and t-shirts. An 30min stroll there and back but what fun!

Well, it is not every night we go for Fong Seng. Most of the time, it is the trusted maggi mee embellished with fishballs and seafood sticks. If feeling a bit flush, it would be the cafe down at NUH (with all that 127 steps there and back) or Pasir Panjang Hawker Centre where my Chinese friends will partake in the Teochew Muay there. Once we saw Channel 8 artistes gulping down supper dressed up in Chinese period costumes - they must have done some flying- in-the-air kungfu style filming nearby.

Fuelled with supper, it is usually time to hit the books but most of the time (well, for me at least), supper continues with chatting to the early hours of the morning.

Of Bell Ringing amd Marilyn Monroe

TV in UK can be mediocre. What with all the reality tv programmes nowadays. Sometimes watching the upteenth Pop Extra/Pop Idol/Castaway/Celebrity BB, I can cheerfully strangle the person who germinate this idea. Most probably the said person is sleeping in a pile of cash by now.

Now with the success of "How to solve a problem like Maria?", where they search for the singer to sing Maria on stage, we have the show to look for the next Jason and the show to look for the next Danny and Sandy for Grease. Argghhhh... stop it already! Don't let me get started on the search for the next Pussycat Doll.

But I digress.....

Really this post is about the gems you can find in midst of all this tat. I love BBC documentary for its weird and quirky subject matter. The other night I watched a reporter interviewing people who 100% believe they were re-incarnations of famous figures in the past. There was a Merlin magician, dressed in the most outlandish costumes and one who believed he is Father Time, re-incarnated to lead humans to a new dawn in the humankind. So desperate was his belief that he rage and rant against family and the mental health service who was trying to help.

Of course no reincarnation story is complete without one believing she is Marilyn Monroe re-incarnated. As opposed to the other cases, this one was in U.S. and her psychiatrist is more than happy to believe her. To the extent of putting her under trance so that the reporter can witness Marilyn Monroe incarnate. Hmmm.. the fact that the psychiatrist shared the same hotel room + wearing a Hugh Heffner like robe made it so sleazy somehow.

The other programme was all about 2006 Bell Ringing compeition. Who would have thought that Bell Ringing could be a sport? but then if you have climb hundreds of stairs up to the bell tower, jerk a 1/2 tonne bell about and emerge with armpits drenched in sweat, why not?

What struck me is how competitive it was! The lady from the College Youth really wanted to win so bad, you can taste it. And the intense wait for the results and polite bravado at tasting defeat. Oh well... there is still the real ale tent for winners to toast their wins and for the losers to drown their sorrows.

New York : For the first time.

Hate it or love it, you have to be there at least once. How can a place be disappointing and amazing at the same time? NY is definitely on my list of “must go”. Especially with all that TV diet of Friends, Sex and the City, David Letterman and countless American films, who does not want to take a bite of the Big Apple?

So it was a cold Tuesday night that we landed at the horror which is Terminal 8, JFK (thank goodness they are renovating it) and waited for the handy free shuttle bus from Pan American Hotel.

We were psyched about the hotel after reading all the online reviews and were pleasantly surprised. By no means is it a high end hotel but the room was big and comfortable with a good satellite TV and decent bathroom. At a price half that those in Manhattan, it was a good buy. The only thing to do is to catch a good night’s sleep before starting our trip proper the next day

NY Day 2 : Wednesday

As recommended by Tripadvisor, we had breakfast at Pop Diner, just 5 minutes walk. With jukeboxes, a large menu with All-Day breakfast and friendly staff, it was a dream of a diner. We had breakfast there almost everyday and these silver dollar pancakes, served with maple syrup, butter and preserves became a favourite.


Silver dollar pancakes


Lemon meringue pie

With full tummies, we made our way to the subway which is 15min walk away. Oh my goodness! After coming from Singapore, I thought the London Tube was a nightmare but compared to NY, London Tube looks like paradise. Nevertheless, the Subway is the best way to get around and we bought the 7-day pass, which is a steal at $24 per person.

The plan was to cover Lower Manhattan so we took the R line all the way to Whitehall Street. A short walk away brought us to Staten Island Ferry Terminal for the free ferry that passes by the Statue of Liberty. The Terminal is brand-spanking new and already there was a ready queue.

Masses of people surged to the sides to take photos of the Statue of Liberty.


Here is a much zoomed in and edited pic

The ferry did pass by the Statue of Liberty but perhaps, not close enough. We did get a few snaps but at that distance, the iconic statue did not inspire much awe. Perhaps a proper paid trip to Liberty Island with a climb up the statue would be more awe-inspiring but we decided to take a pass.



Views of Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry

A quick ride on the bus brought us to South Street Seaport. It is easy to forget New York’s nautical past when you are caught up in the middle of the tall buildings in Manhattan.

South Street Seaport

Tall ships!


....and Ambrose

It was wonderful to walk about this bustling place with the tall ships framed against a background of skyscrapers. There are plenty of shopping and restaurants that we grazed instead of eating a proper lunch. We tried the cinnamon sugar covered pretzels from Mrs Fields which were yummy.

A version of SOL at South Street

From Pier 17, you get an elegant view of the famous Brooklyn bridge


The famous Nathan’s hotdogs, proud sponsor of the hotdog eating contest every year.


A walk down Fulton Street and we were at World Trade Centre, Ground Zero. It is very much a construction site although there is a very moving tribute display at the nearby St. Paul’s cathedral, which we missed.

Emotional tributes at Ground Zero

What I wasn’t bargaining for is how emotional I felt at that location. The fences were adorned with various photographs of people of all race and religion in tears and a list of names of those who perished and I could not help but cry.



A quick trip on the A line from Nassau Street brought us to High Street subway at Brooklyn. We walked to Grimaldi’s for one of the best pizza in New York. I was hoping to miss the lunch time crowd but even at 3pm, it was really full. l Thankfully there was a couple of tables free – there was a queue of people waiting for a table 5 minutes after we sat down.



Here’s a slice of pizza we ordered ~ sweet red peppers, mushrooms and ½ anchovies. Pizzas here are crispy base (just the way we like it) and baked in a coal oven. What a sensation! Almost as good as the ones in Italy. What I love is how fresh the ingredients are. Tangy tomato base, complemented by the red peppers. Fragrant fresh basil and creamy mozzarella cheese with the salty anchovies to set the tastebuds tingling. It was unfortunate that we did not have a chance to try Lombardi’s at Spring Street for comparison. Delicious as it is, even the small pizza is a struggle for the three of us to finish.


We headed towards Brooklyn Bridge for the walk across to Manhattan. It was an amazing walk. Elegant from far, it was a fascinating structure to see up close and the pedestrians walkway is above the traffic. Views of Manhattan is wonderful although you do have to take care to be at the pedestrian track and not stray into the bicycle lane

Views of Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge

Traffic beneath our feet. The infamous NY taxi and yellow Schoolbus

View of Pier 17 from the bridge

On the way, we met this group complete with protest banners. Was 9-11 an inside job? I cannot resist asking for a photo as a flipside to the emotional trip to Ground Zero earlier.

From Chambers St, we took the subway to Grand Central station. It was busy as you would expect but the wonderful, spacious interior was definitely a must-see. It was rest stop for us and we wandered down to the excellent food court for a quick drink.



Spotted a Junior’s concessionaire. I know they have a proper shop at Times Square but why not get one here?

This is the best cheesecake I have ever tasted! Much better than the ones they have at NYDC in Singapore or the poor excuse of a cheesecake in London. At $5.95 a slice, it's huge and enough to share. Worth every crumb.


We left Grand Central Station and walked along 42nd Street to Times Square. It is as busy and crazy and bright, as we know it. Flashing neons, zooming traffic, tourists galore.

We made our way to the huge Toys R’Us as a treat to the little one. Yes, there is a sizeable ferris wheel inside, with carts fashioned after cartoon characters. A quick ticket purchase ($4) and the little one and MH queued for a good 20 minutes for a ride. Worth it because it was the highlight of the day for the little one.

Once we emerged from Toys R’Us, the sun was setting and we witnessed the full effect of Times Square. I love all the lights and the buzz.

A short walk away is the M&M store and we were simply blown away. Who would have thought there is so much merchandise for a simple chocolate candy? I love the multi-coloured displays. Next to it is the Hershey’s store. While it stocks more type of chocolates than M&Ms, the store is a poor cousin to the razzmatazz that is the M&M store. We had aching feet by now and went back to the hotel.

Displays outside the store

Green M&Ms are always a lady.

A John Travolta Saturday Night Fever M&M?

NY Day 3 : Thursday

It rained and rained and rained. I forgot how a proper rainstorm is after the piddling rain we get in London. Even the 5-minute walk to the bus stop got us drenched. The day was mainly spent in the nearby Queens Mall – a large indoor shopping mall with a Macy’s and JC Penney branch. Plenty of clothes shops and a good food court. We popped into the Target store next door and I went mad shopping for Reese and other candies not found in U.K. It was an eventful day but perhaps necessary after the long day we had on Wednesday.

NY Day 4 : Friday

We intended to get to the American Natural History Museum but took the wrong Express train. Nevertheless, it worked out fine because the train stopped at Rockefeller Centre where I was absolutely dying to visit for the Top of the Rock Observation Deck.


Sign for TOTR at the subway

The iconic photo of lunching workers on a beam

The 70th floor of the TOTR (for short) is recently opened after closing in the 1980s and a visit here came highly recommended. Even better views and shorter queues than Empire State Building they said. After a quick ticket buy ($17.50 per adult, kids free), we joined the security queue. There is a photo opportunity to sit on the beam like the iconic photo of workers taking lunch on a high beam before you join the crowd, watching a good short film on Rockefeller centre.

We were then moved to the queue for the lift. The lift itself is amazing. Besides moving 60 odd floors in mere minutes, the roof is made of glass. There is another short film projected on the glass ceiling which just force your eyes to look nowhere but up and you can actually see the lift moving up the shaft.




Views of Central Park with the Hudson River at a distance





Views on the other side with the Empire State Building. Now this a view you won't get in you are in the ESB itself!

We left TOTR on Sixth Avenue and passed by Radio City Music Hall. They had a Dora show that day hence the proliferation of Dora balloons and kids waving light sticks.

Nintendo World

Inside the shop


Pikachu!

A short walk away and we were at the Nintendo World store. We had fun pointing out the old Game and Watch game to the little one. She does not look very impressed, what with Nintendo DS and PSP available now. Sigh!

Entrance to Sony Wonderlab. The Robot reacts to the people in the queue and later we found out that it is operated by a staff member with headphones and mic.

Spiderman on the other side.

We went to the Sony Wonderlab next. They recommended booking the free tickets beforehand but I was not sure what time we can fit it in. A quick question to the staff and we found we could get tickets in the next half hour. Was wondering what was the fuss with the timed entrance but once we were on the entrance at the 4th floor, it became clear.

Each guest was given a pass with a barcode strip to personalise with photograph and voice. You can swipe the card at the various exhibits to switch them on and collect more data. The little one was ecstatic. We had a go at musical composition, sitting in a real audio booth that mixes the sounds that we chose. There were exhibits so that you can pretend to be a Surgical Imaging Specialist guiding a tiny camera down the throat to the stomach. You can also have a hand a games design or TV production or train a computer to say your name.

We did as much as we could. It was certainly the highlight of the little one’s trip and her ultimate favourite. At the exit, you can swiped your card and certificate is printed out with your photo and all the things that you did.

Strolling on a street in NY

Giant pretzel bought from a street vendor. They are everywhere. We dusted off most of the salt particles (the white stuff) because it's too salty.

Display in Disney Store

A stroll up Fifth Avenue is a must and we visited the fabulous Disney Store. Four storeys of Disney stuff, with a whole section dedicated to New York merchandise.


Buzz Lightyear!

A quick read of the directory and we found out that Disney characters make appearances for photos and autographs on the 3rd floor. It was Woody and Buzz Lightyear that day. No queues and we had a wonderful time. We can use our own camera but the staff gave us a photocard so that we can view and share the official photographs on the Disney website. Buying the photo online is optional.

Outside the store... closer look...

Hmm... he looks familiar. Didn't he play for Man Utd once?

The display outside the store. Who is the prince? Closer look. None other than Beckham. The U.S. sports news have been abuzz about his impending move to U.S. soccer club, LA Galaxy.





We turned into 58th street and walked to the Apple Store. MH had been waiting for this. The store is actually in the basement with an impressive glass structure roof. Disappointingly, it is not as big as the one in London, Regent’s Street and the range is limited but with the strong £, prices are definitely cheaper.

The legendary FAO Schwarz is just next door. We cannot resist taking a photo with the soldier dressed doorman before going into the store. All manner of soft toys in varying sizes dominate the ground floor. We headed up the second floor to see other toys and the little one had fun at the painting session with very friendly sale assistants.

Inside FAO Schwarz

Newborn Nursery on 2nd floor. The sale assistant is dressed like a nurse.

The other thing I have to say, we are amazed by how friendly everyone is. A few of my friends had told me of snobbish New Yorkers but the people we met throughout our trip have been so friendly and helpful. The little one were fussed over on countless times.

After a quick break, we walked toward Columbus Circle to catch a direct train to the American Natural History Museum. Somehow, we took the Express instead of the local train and had to track back. The guide book said the museum close at 8.45pm on Friday but apparently it was only on certain holidays. It was closing at 5.45pm that day and we had 13 minutes. Argghhh!

The little one was so disappointed not to see the dinosaurs and burst into tears. The guard felt so bad and let us in for free and advised we go up to the 2nd floor. We missed the real dinosaur exhibition on the 4th floor but the free standing dinosaur display on the 2nd floor was amazing. So is the mammal dioramas. The lighted displays in a darkened room were very effective. A whirlwind stop at the Museum shop for souvenirs and the little one was happy. We sat at the steps for a while before heading home