Monthly Archive for February, 2009

It will be a while before we start embracing organic food

Published on February 17, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 10 Comments Tags: organic food.

It was during the second day of Chinese (or Lunar) New Year when Lyn (my boo) and I popped over to the NTUC Finest at Thomson Plaza. Taking a nice stroll down the brightly lit organic food section, we were suprised to discover that the cost of organic food is something perhaps only the rich can afford. Don’t get me wrong, we have long known that the prices of these environmentally friendly goodness are expensive but we didn’t know they were THAT astronomical.

Left: A bag of red onions for $11.20 | Right: Half a kg of New York steak for $62

Left: A box of cherry tomatoes for $5.10 | Right: Four bratwurst for $15.90

Left: Flower salt at $15.00 | Right: Lettuce salad for $7.00

Of course being the environmentally-friendly person I try to be, I do try encourage people to go green. However if you allow me to be honest and realistic, the current economic climate forces me to save and these are food I will deem as luxurious and thus, can wait. Until I get the bonuses of bankers, I will stick to the ‘ol fresh food at our nearby market…

Our frugal Valentine’s Day dinner

Published on February 15, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 5 Comments Tags: dinner, valentine's day.

Lyn (my boo) and I are currently on an austerity drive now given the current economic situation and our efforts to save for that impending wedding (its going to rock) and house hunting. Still wanting to keep to our very few traditions which include the yearly Valentine’s Day dinner indulgence but keeping it economical, we decided to cook our own dinner instead of going out.

This way, in addition to saving money from overpriced food and avoiding the crowd, we are also spared from witnessing the many young couples hand-in-hand carrying that huge bouquet of flowers, teddy bears, chocolates, presents (and other what have yous) looking lost in each others’ eyes as they slowly stroll down the busy Orchard Road. Call us unromantic but seriously…come on now!! Or is it that I am getting too old?

Now back to the subject proper. Keeping to a modest budget of about $40 (its cheap if you compare it with the prices at posh restaurants on a Valentine’s Day), we popped over to NTUC Finest at Thomson Plaza and did a little grocery shopping. We headed back home in quick time and an hour later, dinner was served. Needless to say, Lyn did all the cooking and I did my best by helping out and kept the kitchen clean at the same time, our usual cooking routine. Dinner was great and the company can’t get any better.. .

Left: Portobello mushrooms with garlic | Right: Yeah that’s right…oysters

Right: Mash potatoes and sauce made from scratch | Right: Tomato salad (Both the sauce and salad were from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook)

Left: Sirlon steak | Right: Pan-fried red snapper and garlic prawns

Left: Brussels Sprouts | Right: Our dinner table setting with an unglamorous newspaper mat

Chocolates and gummi bears

Published on February 14, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments

Thanks to Lyn (my boo) for the lovely Valentine’s Day surprise yesterday. And just in case you are wondering..yes yes, I got her flowers and cupcakes.. .

Bracing for the OX at work

Published on February 11, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments

My department and I popped over to Bao Gong XO Fish Head Bee Hoon at Clementi Ave 2 a week back for a nice new year lunch and lo hei. Good food aside, I must admit that I am looking forward to what the year lies ahead of us. After some re-organisation at work leading to a change in portfolio (or at least I think so), we foresee a number facing alot more work.

This would probably mean more pain, more hours put in and other factors that could very well lead to frustration. However, putting a positive spin on our future, it will also mean garnering more experience thus giving a boost to my market value (~crosses fingers~). Whatever it is, life is going to get alot more interesting. All the best for the year of the Ox everyone!!

Left and right: You guys should really give their food a try…mmmm..

Some herbal goodness

Published on February 8, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 4 Comments Tags: chinatown, cooling tea, herbal tea.

Here’s another walk down memory lane. I was not feeling too well this afternoon after playing basketball in the sun and perhaps might have gotten a tad bit dehydrated. My body was really warm and I had this nagging headache that refused to go away. Lyn (my boo) suggested that we head to a herbal shop at Chinatown after dinner to drink some cooling tea. There we approached one of the many shops serving such teas and we chose the American Ginseng and Chrysanthemum tea.

The mobile store which serves up such herbal teas in front of the herbal shop kept to their traditional feel with about three huge metal flasks storing the teas. Keeping up with the times they have bottled the teas and served from Styrofoam cups, which I am guessing its for hygiene reasons. This is of course in addition to the bowl they usually serve from back in the days of yore. For nostalgia reasons, we decided to drink from a bowl instead of a bottle or from a cup. Yeap, that was how we did it back then and I’m loving it . The tea was good though, but I had a hard time trying to quickly drink the hot tea for maximum effect, something Lyn advised me to do .

Left: The three huge metal flasks at the mobile stall | Right: Our herbal tea

The Four Lavan

Published on February 5, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 4 Comments Tags: four lavan, sikh wedding.

I was honoured to be invited to witness the traditional Sikh wedding of Prabs (aka P-Lord, Prab-master, Bombay Bombshell and many other embarrassing nicknames) and Kiran (that’s her real name). Held last Saturday morning at the Central Sikh Temple, Towner Road, the wedding in addition to several prayers and blessings consisted of the Four Lavan. It is basically where the couple had to make the four wedding rounds, circumambulating the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

Now to be honest, I know next to nothing about the Four Lavan although it was quite an eye opener, but you can refer to this page to find out what each round means. Meanwhile, here are some photos I captured during the day.

Left: Prabs turning up in a turban..yeah!! | Right: Some prayers before heading to the temple

Left: After breakfast, Prabs and family heads into the huge hall | Right: Ritual leaders (I think)

Left: Prabs awaiting for the bride | Right: In comes Kiran

Left: A closer look at the bride and the entourage | Right: One of the four rounds after some prayers

Left: More blessings… | Right: …while the prayers continue

The event took about a good half hour or so and before we knew it, family members were whipping out their cameras and started snapping away. Of course being new to wearing a kurta, bandanna and in a Sikh temple, I had to do the usual camera whoring with Prabs during lunch.

Left: With some friends | Right: I still think I look funny

After some vegeterian lunch, we headed to Kiran’s home and witnessed the signing ceremony. Being one of his ‘brother’ in the entourage, I was told that it is customary for people like me to be ragged while all the groom needs to do is to fork out cash. Needless to say, the lesser he forks our, the more I have to be ragged. Prabs was pretty generous with the first ‘ang pow’ and we were let off rather easily. However I learnt that there is a round two where in order to get his shoes back, it would have to cost us…alot more.

Little did he know that I needed to head to the hospital to visit my nephew and it was his brother-in-law who got ragged in the end. As a reward for wearing a Saree, he got a big fat ‘ang pow’ which made me wonder if I should have stayed just a while longer. It was one heck of a day and truly memorable… . Congrats buddy, we are happy for you.

Hello baby Isaac

Published on February 1, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 4 Comments

My eldest sis gave birth to a baby boy on Friday to the delight of the entire family. First grandson for my parents and I am finally an uncle of a newphew. Don’t get me wrong, I love my three neices to bits. Welcome baby Isaac!!

Left: Baby Isaac resting | Right: My sis carrying baby Isaac