Pig's organs porridge (Jwee Chup Choke) at Chinatown is so so goood!!!! The place to go is Tiong Shan Porridge at the junction of Eu Tong Sen and Kiong Saik Street (KS). KS is also known for "other" stuff but let's focus on the porridge for now.....
The pig's organs porridge served there is different from your regular fare but very similar to the famous one at the Tiong Bahru market (though my mum says they're getting very stingy over there nowadays). Very generous helpings of pigs organs and cuttlefish (I have no idea what part of the pig that's supposed to be...), especially the fried small intestines! That stuff is so tasty! I think the one at Tiong Bahru market has fried large intestines too though, but considering that Tiong Shan Porridge is so generous with the other organs, I guess that can be forgiven. I finished two bowls, which is really quite a bit for dinner....
I wonder why dubious places like KS and GL are also known for their good food? Guess maybe the original reason was that patrons needed to get some replenishment after their orrr eee orr.... No wonder Joo Chiat, which has some pretty damn good food, is also starting to attract dubious businesses!
Friday, February 17, 2006
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Battalion on alert, so pack it up and go!
It's the time of the year for NS mobilization. The time when everything you are looking for is not where it was the last time you saw it.... And everything you are not looking for suddenly shows up!
Battalion on alert
So pack it up and go
Oh what a way to start another day!
Chorus:
Here we go-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o!
Here we go-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o!
Late at night when we're sleeping
Airborne rangers come on creeping
Round and round, round round
Here we go!
The jump master says
Stand in by the door
The LZ never looked so small
So small before!
Battalion on alert
So pack it up and go
Oh what a way to start another day!
Chorus:
Here we go-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o!
Here we go-o-o o-o-o-o-o-o!
Late at night when we're sleeping
Airborne rangers come on creeping
Round and round, round round
Here we go!
The jump master says
Stand in by the door
The LZ never looked so small
So small before!
Tennis and Ma Maison
Today's after work activities started with tennis and ended with dinner at Ma Maison. I really suck at tennis, but so does my playing partner, so it's all good.... Ma Maison is this chic Japanese-Western restaurant tucked in a corner on the second floor of Bugis Junction. It wasn't the first restaurant we wanted to eat at but "The Olive Tree" was way out of our budget, and this place looked pretty interesting.
Ma Maison serve's Japanese-Western fusion cusine, though its not your typical "fusion" fare. I was expecting the standard duck pasta, curry chicken pasta and stuff, but their food was a little more unique. You'll have to try it to understand. The interior decor looks very western, without much hint of Japanese except for some Japanese flyers pasted on the wall. YW didn't think it looked authentic western though... The music was good 'ol jazz, very nice. We had escargos with garlic and butter, this weird "cheese balls" kinda dish, and seafood paella. The paella was basically Spanish style but with Japanese rice. That just made it seem like seafood fried rice with some shellfish on top haha!
We were gonna finish that last bottle of Sam Adams tonight but I had to go home and sleep early because tomorrow will be another long day at work. Guess that bottle will have to wait till a month later as YW will be going away....
Ma Maison serve's Japanese-Western fusion cusine, though its not your typical "fusion" fare. I was expecting the standard duck pasta, curry chicken pasta and stuff, but their food was a little more unique. You'll have to try it to understand. The interior decor looks very western, without much hint of Japanese except for some Japanese flyers pasted on the wall. YW didn't think it looked authentic western though... The music was good 'ol jazz, very nice. We had escargos with garlic and butter, this weird "cheese balls" kinda dish, and seafood paella. The paella was basically Spanish style but with Japanese rice. That just made it seem like seafood fried rice with some shellfish on top haha!
We were gonna finish that last bottle of Sam Adams tonight but I had to go home and sleep early because tomorrow will be another long day at work. Guess that bottle will have to wait till a month later as YW will be going away....
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Das Wunder Von Bern
Das Wunder Von Bern is a wonderful story about how a little boy helped Germany win the 1954 World Cup by traveling all the way to Switzerland to support his favorite soccer star. I found it a very touching story of the lives of a post-WWII family of an ex-Nazi soldier. Especially since most movies focus on people on the other side of the war.
But what makes the 1954 World Cup such a significant event (at least according to The Economist) was that nobody expected post-war Germany to win the World Cup, and winning the World Cup actually led a nationalistic fervour that resulted in a post-war economic miracle (Wirtschaftswunder)! It could be that this was only a coincidence, but now it starts to make some sense why Singapore wanted to make it to the World Cup finals in 2010. I wonder if Germany achieved its "Wunder" with any foreign talent though....
But what makes the 1954 World Cup such a significant event (at least according to The Economist) was that nobody expected post-war Germany to win the World Cup, and winning the World Cup actually led a nationalistic fervour that resulted in a post-war economic miracle (Wirtschaftswunder)! It could be that this was only a coincidence, but now it starts to make some sense why Singapore wanted to make it to the World Cup finals in 2010. I wonder if Germany achieved its "Wunder" with any foreign talent though....
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Quote for the week
"If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
I attended a talk recently by a guy who has studied human behavior for 12 years. He said that people today can be broadly grouped into three generations: baby boomers, generation X and generation Y.
Baby boomers grew up during the second world war and are probably around late 40s and 50s today. They experienced hardship and therefore treasure loyalty. You can see them stay loyal to one company, one boss for many years even if it may mean forgoing better opportunities.
The next group to come about is generation X, which comprises people who are in their late 30s or so. These guys came out of the post war era, but were taught good values by their elders. They want more benefits and good stuff in life, but are willing to be patient and work hard for it, though seizing the opportunity if there is one.
Generation Y defines myself and others around my age (and younger). Generation Y people want instant benefits. They do reckless things, job hop and all that in order to get the maximum benefit in terms of social status and monetary gains in the shortest times. They squander money on clubbing and having the latest products to show the world that they have "arrived". You routinely see such people racking up huge credit card debts and losing all their life savings when the stock market crashes.
The conflict that young employees have today is that they work with seniors/mentors from generation X and are managed by baby boomer bosses who cannot understand why they are so restless and cannot treasure loyalty, hard work, patience and thrift. Instant benefits for the gen Y often means skipping the hard work part and getting burnt instead. Just look at the way they trade their stocks (I am sometimes guilty of that too, just can't resist the urge)! Maybe we need take a step back and learn from the elders. "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
I attended a talk recently by a guy who has studied human behavior for 12 years. He said that people today can be broadly grouped into three generations: baby boomers, generation X and generation Y.
Baby boomers grew up during the second world war and are probably around late 40s and 50s today. They experienced hardship and therefore treasure loyalty. You can see them stay loyal to one company, one boss for many years even if it may mean forgoing better opportunities.
The next group to come about is generation X, which comprises people who are in their late 30s or so. These guys came out of the post war era, but were taught good values by their elders. They want more benefits and good stuff in life, but are willing to be patient and work hard for it, though seizing the opportunity if there is one.
Generation Y defines myself and others around my age (and younger). Generation Y people want instant benefits. They do reckless things, job hop and all that in order to get the maximum benefit in terms of social status and monetary gains in the shortest times. They squander money on clubbing and having the latest products to show the world that they have "arrived". You routinely see such people racking up huge credit card debts and losing all their life savings when the stock market crashes.
The conflict that young employees have today is that they work with seniors/mentors from generation X and are managed by baby boomer bosses who cannot understand why they are so restless and cannot treasure loyalty, hard work, patience and thrift. Instant benefits for the gen Y often means skipping the hard work part and getting burnt instead. Just look at the way they trade their stocks (I am sometimes guilty of that too, just can't resist the urge)! Maybe we need take a step back and learn from the elders. "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
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