after talking and thinking of putu piring yesterday, i cannot tahan the urge anymore. after dinner at mummy’s place, we decided to pay the putu piring stall at haig road a visit. its been less than a week that we tasted really good putu piring at ar rifai but nothing beats the real mcCoy.

famous for their generous serving of gula melaka in their putu piring, it wasn’t a surprise when we saw a queue at the stall. sold for $1 for 3 pieces, its a small price to pay for that few seconds of sweet nirvana…. ahh…

more of our fantastic voyage to haig road here!

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the joke is always, “you have four, what’s one more?”

and their reply is always, “one IS a lot more, okaaay!” :D

to these abang-abangs, though, they don’t mind at all. he’s like a little interactive, animated, energizer bunny pet for them to play, chase and tumble around with, no batteries required. :)

i think this boy is meant to be in a big family, like his daddy. but too bad, hun, your mummy is already turning 30 and her body can only afford (God-willing), hmm… maybe one more of you? if you’re lucky, who knows, i may strike those twin genes in the family too, ha ha!

till then, i’ll make sure you get to hang out with all your wonderful little cousins and friends as much as possible.

***

PS: GREY’S ANATOMY SEASON THREE 2230HRS CHANNEL 5 MEDIACORP TV MUST WATCH MCDREAMY OR DIE
*end of transmission*

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i always wanted to write about ikan bakar but often the motivation to post the topic diminishes everytime i satisfy my cravings for one! but not today, as i definitely have to share with you guys a place that serves really great ikan bakar… (more of the place later.)

for those who are unfamiliar with ikan bakar, it’s grilled seafood wrapped with banana leaf and laced with sambal.

for myself, i prefer stingray for my ikan bakar. bawal or pomfret is ok, but it’s stingray when covered with lipsmacking sambal and a dash of lime that really sets the mood for a sweating good time. many say it’s the sambal that makes or breaks a good ikan bakar, for me its more the freshness of the fish. ikan pari, if it’s past its due date, would have a really strong fishy smell no matter how much sambal you add to it.

you can generally get good halal ikan bakar at newton, simpang bedok, changi village and bedok corner. i used to go across the causeway to get my ikan bakar fix, usually at pantai lido, but their standard has really dropped, so i prefer to spend money eating in Singapore. although it costs more here, it tastes better and fresher.

my family SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for bbq food during gatherings will definitely include ikan bakar. my late mother made one of the best sambal ikan bakar. she would add grilled coconut flakes in her secret recipe that until today, no one in the family could replicate. well, we DID manage to find a close replica of the sambal during the recent bbq gathering, and it came in a bottle from ntuc. ;)

so, anyway, the mess i would make when preparing the ikan bakar in the kitchen at home usually annoys my wife so much that it’s better to just eat out!

the place that a friend recommended has one of the tastiest sambal without the spicyness overpowering the dish. the stingray is fresh and the serving, generous, $10 can satisfy 3 persons. the grilling is perfect, not burnt nor too watery.

so where is this place? tucked in between geylang serai and the darul aman mosque, is a little eatery at PKMS. don’t let the simple decor fool you. it looks like your normal malay coffeeshop but the dishes there are surprising good. another good dish to try there is the hotplate tofu. topped with generous vegetables and seafood, you can just eat it on its own. simply delicious! 

you guys can check it out at Ar Rifai Seafood Restaurant: 218 Changi Road, PKMS Builiding.

hmm, no need to dress up or spend so much at expensive restaurants for a good hearty meal, eh? :)

ok, talking about food in the middle of the night makes me really hungry now…

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i saw all those people on teevee waving that red and white thing, so i quickly ran to my room and got mine too!

red and, err, yellow flag!

the marching and the guns and the planes were all very exciting, weren’t they??

mummy thinks i have a ‘very high level of testosterone’ in me, whatever that is, coz i like things like that. you know, trucks and cranes and trains and motorbikes. i don’t know why, somehow steel and metal monstrosities are just so… mesmerising. and not to mention nice and noisy! BRRRMMMM BRRMMMM….

so diddy, can you get me a toy crane, pleeeeze??

(a toy gun would be nice too, but i won’t let mummy know ok, shhhh…)

“DOOF! DOOF!”

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so we ended up in town.

we brought his oma along in my little ‘mission’.

she isn’t used to bringing babies/toddlers out alone, not even when my brother and i were small ourselves, always saying it’s too much of a hassle. she’d always been dependent on my dad to go anywhere, since he’d always chauffered her around (don’t think they even had strollers back then, we were simply carried, especially the fat potato of a child that was me).

plus, despite her otherwise super-efficient ways in the house, when outside, she can get flustered and ‘gan cheong’ easily! like, when aniq choked on his koko crunch and spewed up part of his lunch during our little trip, i had to tell her to keep calm and giggled as she nagged at the little bub who was hardly remorseful as we stripped him and wiped up his lovingly-stained quinny, hehe. (then again, i’ve had plenty ‘practice’ with this fella’s untimely spewing and other disgusting adventures…)

only lately, since dad’s taken ill, that she’s had to undertake a lot of things herself that she didn’t need to bother with before, on top of her usual domestic duties. ‘administrative’ things like paying the bills, calling for air-con servicing or the plumber, going out to get medical supplies… of course, we try to help wherever we can, and this is where izad the handyman comes in, err, handy, changing lightbulbs or fixing power trips. such circumstances just magnifies how women need men to do certain things, and, seeing how my dad now depends on almost everything on his wife, how men need women to do certain things too. there’s like this demarcation of tasks that each gender takes up naturally as they become spouses in a household, whether they want to or not. and sometimes, when one fails, the other rises to the task out of sheer necessity.

i’ve always been wary of being too dependent on a husband, right from the beginning, having seen on occasions, the pitfalls of doing so, not just within the family, but from others as well. i definitely think i take too much for granted having a man around the house to do the ‘dirty’ jobs, so sometimes i remind myself that i’m going to have to learn how to change the lightbulbs, repair broken things, send the car for servicing, and other ‘manly’ jobs… some day. (and at the same time, he too would have to learn how to change the bedsheets, wipe the dishes, and all those tedious ‘womanly’ chores, lol!)

oh, but let’s not get started on that whole ‘cooking’ thing… this one, i surrender first. whoops! pbfftt. :p (aww, c’mon, surely we’re all allowed one tiny little achilles’ heel…)

anyway, back to our little town trip.

bapaknye aniq, man of the house, he who taught me how to plumb the toilet bowl that refused to flush and installed all the fancy-schmancy techie things so that we’re all happily wireless and connected, thank you for the ‘advanced anniversary gift’ you got for me, hor, which i bought first on your behalf, being the, ahem, ‘proactive’ wife that i am, and will later claim from you, thank you very many.

and don’t worry, you didnt waste your money on expensive overpriced chocolates. ;)

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has everyone uploaded their versions of ndp and the bay from all different angles already?

yes?

good, well done! you survived the red sea which flooded the marina and esplanade area on thursday! it’s a miracle you live to tell the tale!

heck, we were almost caught in a stampede ourselves, lol!

but i’ve always liked the challenge of crowds, even though, as we trudged and elbowed our way along the bridge to our destination, a number of curses flew out of my mouth. oops, how un-singapore courtesy campaign of me.

our destination was one fullerton, where my brother had gotten us access to his company’s office, and it’s across the river from where the action is so we had a reasonably good view of the water displays and fireworks, and more importantly, stayed seated and cool in the air-conditioned space throughout.

typical sporean huh, always seeking maximum comfort for ourselves… ;P

the little one covered his face with his hands upon the first bursts of fireworks in the sky, then his curiosity got the better of him and he gaped, hands gone, going ‘waah!!’ while dadam shrieked in high pitch every five seconds from the excitement. ahhh, that’s enough to make me whoop like a lil kid mahself.

oh, and izad had forsaken his oly this time round since my, ahem, canny was so convenient. (ok, does that just sound perverse or what…)

tak payah susah-susah set up tripod sumer eh.

whee~!

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not much time to write, am babysitting the little fella today (bringing him to town later, yey!), so just a few favourite shots izad and i took over the two-day celebrations which tell their own stories. :)

aniq enjoyed himself tremendously, of course, with all his other little cousins to run around with, and uncles and aunties to layan him. and i think now they get the gist of the kind of energy level he has, haha. :)

thanks to the ibu of this little one who organised the gathering.

smile laah! hehee!

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ok, ok, i succumbed. to pure evil consumerism.

the thought just popped into my head that morning, and the moment the intention came pouring out of my mouth, the Husband perked his ears like a cat at the sound of a sardine tin being opened, the (gadget) opportunist that he is. i think he secretly bewitched me while i was sleeping, what do you think…?

in any case, he immediately dragged us to the store, probably afraid that i’d change my mind as suddenly, as i’m sometimes wont to do when it comes to electronic goods, and promptly picked this fella out of the crowd.

and so we have now a family of three – daddy oly, mommy canny, and err, pink baby lumixette.

i swear i don’t know what’s gotten into me.

ok, ok, consider this, ie. the OCCASIONAL custody of the above, as an early anniversary gift for you, eh, Husband.

now, you KNOW what i want, right? pls refer to my email to you dated 06/08/07.

;D

***

and today, as much as i was tempted to deck myself in all-black and go against the grain of pure evil conformity, i succumbed to the ubiquitous red-and-white combo befitting the current celebrations.

i just tell myself it’s not out of sheer patriotism, but err, an excuse to put together a fabulous red and white outfit without being sneered at for looking like a walking national flag. (it’s not often we get to do this you know.)

well ok, ok, sneer away, but at least there are no stars on my shirt. hmph.

i wonder what the lil bub is up to at this time, he’s supposed to celebrate national day with the rest of his playgroup. i had a chuckle on my way to work as i conjured an image of him waving a flag, decked in his red tshirt.

ahh, brainwashing at such a tender age. we’ll see how that works out.

now, excuse me while i continue to hide myself at my desk while the rest of the workhorses are downstairs singing along to some cheesy nationalistic songs and kowtowing to the flagpoles or whatever it is they do to show allegiance to the country…

;p

***

ok i succumbed. i went downstairs… for the FREE food and goody bag!

how’s that for being a true-bluered-and-white s’porean??

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i was tickled when i got hold of this last week, and i think i’ve just about gotten over it. hehe.

it doesn’t look like much to you veteran parents whose children have probably brought home a hundred of such things home, but it’s one of those milestones which i never expected, it kinda sneaks up on you like a pleasant surprise and leaves a grin on your face despite yourself.

i mean, my toddler, who not so long ago was a tiny little bundle whose chief concerns were being fed and dry, now being sent home his artwork (or whatever small scribbly part that was his own doing anyway!) AND a progress report – that’s just… SURREAL, to say the least.

i guess there’s also this sense of wonder that he can do all that – and who knows what else – in the hours we’re apart, being his own separate person, creating his own experiences, that i don’t have the luxury to share with or witness. (i’m still quite amused by the ‘skinnamarinky-dinky-dink-i-love-you’ thing, wuahuahaa. i admit, i is so the jakun, i am, i’m sorry.)

i showed his handiwork to him and asked what he did, and he zigzaged the air vigorously to indicate he’d coloured it, all the while trying to earnestly explain to me in his own ‘foreign language’.

and i get that. you know how only mothers can incredulously ‘translate’ and make sense of their children’s gibberish and seemingly random actions to others?

well, that’s me now.

most of the times, anyway.

:D

ps: ouh, for all those enthusiasts and militants out there, recently recruited or otherwise, here’s the latest attempt at beating the record for simultaneous b/feeding. hope the turnout’s better this time round… ;)

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on saturday, i got the opportunity to see the nature side of singapore rarely seen by many of us. i signed up for a guided tour of pulau semakau which was organised by the raffles museum of biodiversity research.

a little info on pulau semakau. in the year 1999, when the last remaining landfill on Singapore’s mainland was exhausted, the semakau landfill was created by enclosing pulau semakau and a small adjacent island (pulau sakeng) with a rock bund. so now, all our waste ends up at semakau, i.e. ash from the incineration plants and all non-incinerable waste. during the construction of the landfill, effort was made to protect the marine ecosystem, especially mangroves and corals. 13 hectares of mangrove were replanted to replace those removed during the construction of the bund. thus wildlife continues to thrive on pulau semakau.

i left marina south pier at around 710am and reached the southern island of semakau in 30 mins. on first impression, the island looked rather bare. other than the jetty, the NEA building and the mini wharve, there was absolutely nothing to see.

we had to take a 5-minute bus ride to the inner part of the island to reach the mangrove area. from there, we had to bash through a mini forest which had a fair share of mosquitoes. but i guess the bashing was worth it, as what lay ahead was a rather pristine intertidal area of semakau.

my guides, july, who is a very enthusiastic guy, together with his coral expert, angie provided us with lots of interesting anecdotes and facts regarding the area and the discoveries found on the beach. we had a fruitful morning at the beach, finding interesting creatures and plants to photograph and admire. these things are definitely rare or non-existent on the beaches found on mainland singapore.

to see more of the pictures, please check out my flickr -> here!

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“it’s a perfect day for doing the unstuck
for dancing like you can’t hear the beat
and you don’t give a further thought to things like feet
let’s get happy!”

and that was exactly how i felt at the cure concert on wednesday – a rip-zipping, button-popping kind of happy!

the air pulsated with electrifying energy the moment we stepped into the dark and cool caverns of the indoor stadium. the band was already on stage (by rock concert standards, 8.15pm is VERY punctual!), their distinctively familiar riffs rippled through my soul as i bounced uncontrollably like a bunny gone mental to our seats. (hey, it’s been a while since the last time we went to one of these ok, and i have to say i was more excited now than when we saw coldplay!)

of course, since we were at the seating area, we could barely make out the band’s faces, but you could not miss the revered and venerated robert smith. he, an institution by himself, synonymous with the grand bands of the 80s, with his wild mad-scientist mess of hair, prowling the stage like a large black grizzly bear. a shy one though – you could tell from his polite thank yous punctuating the end of each song, saying little else otherwise, and the way he shuffled off stage, almost overwhelmed by our cheering and demands for encores.

and they did not disappoint! two encores, and the set list consisted of almost all the best and much-loved hits and singles, from pictures of you, to lullaby, to lovesong, to just like heaven, to close to me, and yes, of course, friday i’m in love! that brought the house down, no doubt, everyone around us just went mad (as did us, ha ha). <3

the music was, as Is said, "too loud", numbing our eardrums, the vibrations from our seats thumping along with our heartbeat, but what the heck! it wasn't long before we were on our feet, jiggling along with the other fans. yes, jiggling and jabbing and jumping, but please, don't try to imagine this. the mental image of izadnhana attempting such ungainly body movements might just kill you...

it was a solid three-hour show, again by any rock standards, very long! in between, they did some self-indulgent guitar 'gentels', and some of the newer songs, but the crowd was really more interested in the old stuff, heh. we're nostalgic like that. but overall, we had a fantastic time, and it's two days later but my head's still ringing with good ol' bob's voice (which, by the way, has not aged an iota).

the crowd, i have to say, is nearer to our age group so we didn't feel too young or too old, haha! but i'd really like to know, just how DO these old geezers (coz i'm quite sure they're well in their forties by now) have the stamina and energy to perform three hours like that (and it really looked like hard work what they were doing on stage), for so many days during a tour. and it's not like they look like the kind that work out in the gym, mind! :D

anyway, the order of the day was black outfits, of course. but no, we did not dress up for a goth halloween party.

there was girly-girl fangirl hana, who, of all people, found this other girly girl in the crowd, hailing all the way from KL and taking three days off from her doctor duties just to watch the band! it's funny coz we'd never met or been in touch much, but just one look at each other and we knew who the other was, lol! and in true blogger style, we HAD to take pictures, for posterity. :)

there was nerd fanboy izad, who caused a number of people to shout “VOTE FOR PEDRO! YEAH!” or well, at least mumble it out loud enough for us to hear. *chuckles*

skulking around outside the venue, trying not to inhale the cloud of nicotine in the air, we tried to look for thom yorke’s signature. ha ha, of course, we can only wish. we found travis though. well, alright, that’ll do. we did see them in 2001 with a then-new coldplay whose then-chris martin was so shy he barely looked up from his keyboard.

and since the kid was already fast asleep at my mum’s, we had the option of checking out the ‘official unofficial after party’, of which the flyer i was holding in my hands. sounded a bit dodgy though. and erm, we’d rather go home and sleep, being the old bores that we are. wuaahaha.

izad’s keen on the singfest later this month, but i’m iffy. the brett anderson show had been cancelled, so we’d just saved ourselves a hundred bucks. urm… i dunno… i mean, cyndi lauper??

i’d have to dig up some fishnet stockings and hair bands then.

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whenever we have to leave him behind for an event at night (which is a very very rare thing), i’d take the whole day off from work. i reckon it’s only fair, since we wouldn’t see each other otherwise, and since his babysitter, ie. his oma would be taking care of him in the evening, i try to do my part by keeping him out of her hair in the daytime.

so, my strategy is, as always, to keep him as occupied and make him as tired as possible in the day, so he’d retire early and sleep like a log at night, to minimise his presence as, it is, by right, his oma’s ‘off-duty’ hours and we were encroaching on her personal time. we couldn’t help but feel guilty, in any case. :S

anyway, back to my mission. since dempsey road was too far away, i brought him to a nearby ‘heartlander’ version of go go bambini – the eXplorerkid @ downtown east. can use ntuc link card, got discount ok!

…

the play structure here is not as high and not as challenging as GGB (though pretty slippery and holey!), but fun nonetheless. also, easier to manage with young toddlers like ours. the ball pits are equally big, but the one here is more open and the highlight of the place. kids would peer directly into it through the window display from outside, go mental, beg their parents, make a beeline for it, and not leave it for the entire hour. don’t ask me what the big deal is with ball pits! i’ve been tempted to get one for the house myself, but the thought of picking up a hundred balls under sofas, tables and every possible crack and crevice around the house… er, let’s stick to that $3.90, made in china, plastic bowling set we bought from the neighbourhood shop, eh?

so, sufficiently tired out (and i’m talking about myself here), i said goodbye to (a clueless) him and got ready to go to SIS (that’s the Singapore Indoor Stadium to you, ha ha)…

(to be continued)

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