All Hail KL

This the story to tell. I found that Malaysia airlines uses Linux as it's OS on the plane's little TV. We discovered that our favourite Hainanese coffeeshop in KL, actually the only one we know, Yut Kee, sells "gwailo roast pork". It was awesome and came with, get this, white wine apple sauce. The moment the loaves of roast pork appeared from the back of the coffeeshop, all eyes were on the juicy meat. Yum. We still eat too much, all the time. I could feel my chest straining sitting down at the coffeeshop. We need to go back soon.

The Mickey perversion is the logo of our other favourite Jalan Alor makan haunt, famous for its barbequed chicken wings and hoards of Japanese tourists. Beach Hut was a crowded bar we passed bar in search of cheap thirst quenchers. Noisy with working women, and worst of all, a cover charge.

The smoggy pix is of Singapore. Only up in the air one realises how miniscule lalaland is. Last discovery pix - Rocky. In Singapore, we know this snack as Pocky. Up north, it's altered to protect the innocent and prevent embarrassment of women, we suspect.

Cational Day

Unplanned, I showed with a few friends I was watching a movie with at Jason's apartment in an interesting part of town to celebrate his cat's birthday and watch the National Day Parade on TV. It's a nice cosy apartment done up to reflect Jason's creative designer status. Lots of black. The creepy bit were the windows that slid open, exposing me slightly more than waist up. It was tricky taking some of shots I took (see my Flickr). We had impressive lychee lemongrass cocktail to enjoy.

The cat is Socks and was involved in the cat toys bought for him. Then he started to sniff my armipits quite a bit. I dunno, maybe I have some chemicals I exude that pique a cat's interest. It was quite ticklish and I often had to stifle laughter.

822pm came and about 2/5 of the people there stood in front of the TV with their fist at their hearts. I had my fist there but wasn't saying anything - I can't remember what I was distracted by. Was I trying to take a picture of the loyalists?

The fireworks didn't really impress me this year, and the RSAF didn't make more than one thundering pass over the city. Tough times, costs cut?

And President Nathan didn't sing the anthem, again. Wazzup with that?

Unwitting Facelift 2

I didn't even last a day. But that's ok. This one was more fun to make.

Thanks Sisilia for the Flickr mosaic maker link. :)

Unwitting Facelift

This is my new Twitter background. I was a little bored. I discovered that it was easier to put this together with PowerPoint than a photoediting software. Hence the nasty white lines. Do you need a intro to the images?

Top left corner is Calico, ex-resident of ex-place of work. She was exiled then banished after the ex-CD complained of asthma.

Top right corner is graffiti under my block I think. Or was it Bali Lane?

Bottom left corner is a shot of ships docked at Sembawang Shipyard. I sometimes end up at Sembawang Beach on my long walks on Sunday, adjacent to the magnificent giants of the sea.

Bottom right is an umbrella. I forget where I took this. I suspect it was Mustajab at Tras Street.

I think I'll go back to Twitter basic backgrounds in a few weeks. Time to sleep.

A Look At Hard Surfaces

I think the pink flamingoes have always been there.

The boxed-in approach houses 80% of the population. We add colour where we can.

I reduced the exposure to get this shot of Capital Square in Church St. Citibank is there. Looks aptly moodier now.

All the little people who make things happen.

More buildings under Singapore Thru My Lens >>

Recent Snaps

The Year End series at my Flickr

Intro Shots

Resistance is futile when faced with such odds. $1 for a hotdog in a soft bun in this day and age is an ok deal. Many people now solely go to Ikea to eat and not to buy furniture. They generally attest to the scrumptiousness of the chicken wings. I also fall victim to the kid's fish and chips.













Stars in a star. It's the little touches that make the difference eh. Maybe they should get Ikea to decorate Orchard Road one year for Xmas.

















How can I resist such pretty stackage? The colours are joyous if not a little Mardi Gras. They are stacks of plastic watering kettles (they are not cans, and containers would not do justice, and there's a long spout!) from Ikea.





Well, well, well, some people must have had a good time in Ikea. It's the season after all.

















I know this is a very boring looking picture. But can you tell me what's so combined about dental surgery? Is this a case of badly transliterated Chinese? Maybe the dentist does Botox on the side. Check out Wilhem Tell too.




You really have to maintain appearances to keep up a certain image. The drooping E, not so high-tech, and so might be low-down.

















Inadvertent nstallation art. I call this piece Woman, Her Needs, With Protection. I got rave reviews among 2 people. Of course, the piece was dismantled once we left the Collectors Gallery.

Dunlop Street Snaps & Zsofi's Tapas Delights

It's always good to shake things up a bit, break off from the routine. Most people my age quite likely live a "wake up - go to work - go home" life most of the week. Take a detour man, it'll do you some good.

I ended up at Dunlop Street on the shophouse fringes of Little India. The street is a surprise. I started at Serangoon Road and cross over at the lights - indoctrinated procedure for Singaporeans - while throngs of others simply dodged traffic in a lane by lane approach to jaywalking. No chicken would make it across this road safely.

Dunlop Street has shops galore, filled with Indian spices, saris, cloth, religious ornaments, food, electronics, mobile phones, CDs, VCDs, DVDs and many other things. Komala vegetable market was a sight to behold. All the greens and beans an Indian chef would need lay in crates displayed across one side of a no-signal junction. Beautiful.

Further down, lay one reason why Dunlop Street shot back to fame - The Prince of Wales. Pub and backpackers' inn, the POW, as its term of endearment goes, has given a interesting lifeline to the area. Backpackers from all over now stay in the area and more such hostels have opened up to cater for the budget traveller who doesn't mind sharing. The angmohs trawling the street are an interesting contrast to the overwhelming number of Indian and Bangladeshi workers who do the same.

Opposite the POW lay my endpoint. Zsofi, a tapas bar, opened about a month ago and Ashlynn, recommended meeting up there with Farah (author from previous post) and Ravi. I got there early and was the only one being served at the first floor bar. Armed with my Ixus and not much else to do with my hands, I went around snapping. Soon, company arrived and we moved upstairs to the 2nd floor rooftop, a horizontal plane shared by all the adjoining shophouses, partitioned only by low walls and zinc roofing. How cool. Thankfully, the weather was too. Next door, Filipino ladies were singing real bad karaoke. We beared with their rants and made good conversation.

Turns out that down the street towards Jalan Besar, many Thai massage parlours had come to be. They, ahem, provided reasonably priced services. I think the prophylactics come per entry.

Well, go check out Zsofi. You get a small plate of excellently crafted tapas item for each alkie ordered. And the quality of the produce is amazing. Seriously, the chicken wings, prawns, mushrooms, salad, potato frittata, sundried tomatoes, tomato poppers and salad will have you raving (They've got a really experienced chef apparently). Perhaps even ordering larger portions from the menu. The alkie is cheap too, a pint of Heiny from the tap is $10, no taxes. Check out Zsofi's online presence at www.tapasbar.com.sg. Go make an evening, and a friend or two, at the place.

Got home way past midnight, too tired but happy.

Are You Trying To Make An Impression?

One thing that may "define" our lives is the ability to leave a mark in/on the world. Well, I could be talking about graffiti, where one's creative use of language and paint could leave an impression worth making the papers with, and landing in jail for a few weeks, rotan lashes thrown in for free.

Perhaps I should have started out softer, more whimsical and romantic. Did you ever dream of making it big? Like when you turned 21 and thought the world was yours for the taking? Ok, that's like crap. (Unless you live in California). We dream of writing books, making a film, buying big houses with (insert name here) Estate on the front gate, playing a piano concerto in front of 2000 tuxedo-ed and gowned snooty people. Others may envision planting a flag on Everest, or replanting the Sahara or making a scientific breakthrough to save the worsening world. That's the really big stuff.

I think, or rather I know, some of us have discovered that one way to put your mark on the world is through our children. I don't have any, yet, but have been looking after my nephew (6 months old) on and off. Beyond the genetics, I can see how a parent would want to shape his/her kids life. To mould this fresh, clean slate into a bright, gleaming human entity. That's a permanent impression, from the ABCs to what your kid does when he/she sees someone steal.

You hear it on TV all the time - parents want to live their dreams through their kids. That's up to you when the time comes.

So are you making an impression with your existence? Or what have you done? More importantly, how important is that to you? I bet some, maybe most of us, don't even care. Or you could just look out for some fresh concrete and take a hands on approach.

Of Eager Tongue And Growling Tummy

Two fridays ago, I made a trip to Geylang Serai with some fine folks to immerse in the scents and sights that are Hari Raya Puasa. Kim, Andy, Zul and Wendy met me among the throngs of Paya Lebarese and quickly got lost in the pasar malam next door to the MRT station. There were many things to eat albeit fried things. We in fact wanted to partake upon the best fried chicken in Singapore but the queues at Arnolds were off-putting. We should have known hungry people breaking fast on a Friday would want to placate their pangs in a manner worthy of kings and colonels. So Zul took us to the hawker centre in the middle of Haig estate. This shot sees him consuming his mee goreng putih while I had the nasi goreng ikan bilis. And goodness they were good. No regrets not having chicken. Check out the Flickr set.

I came home one night and saw 5 apples neatly arranged in a curious pyramid on a tea-towel in the kitchen. I hesitated for a moment before the photographer adage of 'Take now or forever hold the memory' popped in my head. So I turned on the light from the cooker head, a deep yellow-orange glow that's more convenient to activate than the actual kitchen lighting on the ceiling (ask me about that later), to capture the fruit formation. The apple shots are at the end of my Misc set in Flickr. Images aside, it turns out that old saying of 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' holds some truth. Sailors took apples with on voyages as a source of Vit C to prevent scurvy. There are rich in certain antioxidants and phytochemicals. These things help to prevent some cancers, combat ageing, lower bad cholesterol levels and aid digestion. So go bite into some juicy appley goodness today and every other day too.

Last Friday, my weird friends and I (aw, you guys know who you are...) had ciders at Dirty Nelly's (see more apple related stuff) and then proceeded to have a feast at Por Kee. If I haven't mentioned this before, it is the duty of all Singaporeans, ready and able to partake upon Chinese cuisine, to visit Por Kee for a meal. Located in a carpark in the heart of old Tiong Bahru, this place has already made a name for itself by just being quaint with rather mature folk running the joint. The food you order need not be epic but it will make an impression. From the photo, you may be able to pick out asparagus sauteed in garlic, sweet potato leaves in sambal, the tom yum tilapia, the house specialty braised tofu with sea cucumber and snow peas, and champagne pork ribs. Mammma mia! And we topped off the meal with mango pudding but that wasn't so good. There are many other dishes to revel over at Por Kee. I have tried the cereal prawns, yam basket and yam paste (orh ni) there and no complaints from this makan lover.

Go eat go.

Cat-a-tonic

Cats like you for a reason. If you happen to be the one who feeds them, scratches them, gives them a warm place to sleep, they give you some attention. Not 100% but whatever they think you deserve. A cat might tempt you into treating her right by sliding up to your leg as you sit in a stranger's home for dinner. Back arched, fur at its snuggliest, face at its cutest, the cat wants you to treat her right in the guise of hospitality. Once nudged, massaged and fed, she scuttles off to the next best entertainment, no longer you.

This cat is Saffi. I have mentioned her in some blog post some time ago, perhaps more than once (more attention that she deserves? debatable). She is a long-haired Siamese something. She scratched me once before. Claws and teeth bother me. Dogs just have teeth.

I had recently visited this pretty kitty at her new home. This time I had the opportunity to scratch her almost all over as she lay sprawled on her owner's bed. "She likes it under the chin" came the suggested and the cat promptly submitted to the rapture of a foreign scratching hand.

I left and came back with the camera, she was all non-chalant. "What, another picture? Aren't there enough of me already? No. Just no." was the animal vibe being sent out in all directions. Hence the not-so-great photo, slightly miffed expression on the feline.

Sigh. We, the humans, proceeded to play normal mahjong, 3-person mahjong, then back to normal 4-person rounds. The cat appeared early on and allowed me to capture this next shot. After that, she snuggled with my pullover and jumped on top of the TV. That was it. It hid later and I didn't get to scratch it goodbye. I think Saffi doesn't like me.

Party Hearty

This pix about sums it up. It was Carolyn's birthday (the damsel in the middle) and she set up this shindig, ho-down, shebang, rocker rave at Wala Wala. On a Thursday no less. We had the good time, the band was excellent and there was cake to boot. Who could ask for more?

The rest of madness exposed at my Flickr.

NDP Rainbow

Guess what my mother spotted out the window just before the NDP started on TV? I had to capture it on camera and share the multicolour joy.

Don't Be Afraid - It's Just A Colour

Carolina has a fetish. Well two actually. The colour pink and Hello Kitty.

So her XX birthday celebration was centered around these two elements of desire. And of course, the rest of us paid the price of friendship. The following pics are evidence of our gargantuan sacrifice.

And feather boas itch! To think all these years, all these cabaret people couldn't solve that problem.

The rest of the sordid images are at my Flickr.