Book: Jodi Picoult - Tenth Circle

Just finished this book... Come across interesting lines and stuffs...

"Dreams, were like soap bubbles. You could look at them from a distance, and they were lovely. It's when you stuck your face too close that your eyes wound up stinging. "

"... the word evil. Scramble it a little, and you get vile and live. Good, on the other hand, is just a command to go do. ... Veil, another anagram for evil; for the things we hide."

".. word was a powerful thing. An insult didn't have to be shouted at you to make you bleed; a vow didn't have to be whispered to you to make you believe. Hold a thought in your head and that was enough to change the actions of anyone and anything that crossed your path."

"language was a force to be reckoned with.... live by three rules. The first was thoughts and deeds were inextrocably linked. ... The second rule was that individual thoughts were less important that the collective knowledge of the elders - in other words, so whatecer you're told and stop complaining. ... The third rule, that idea that words were so powerful they had the ability to change someone else's mind... even if they remained unspoken."

"They were not, as most people believed, a hundred different Eskimos words for snow. ... there are 15: qanuk (snowflake), kanevvluk (fine snow), natquik (drifting snow), nevluk (clinging snow), qanikcaq (snow on the ground), maruaneq (soft, deep snow on the ground), qetrar (crust on top of snow), nutaryuk (fresh fallen snow), qanisqineq (snow floating on water), qengaruk (snowbank), utvak (snow block), navcaq (snow cornice), pirta (snowstorm), cellallir (blizzard), and pirrelvag (severely storming)."

"Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true." - Demosthenes

Book: Nicholas Sparks - Dear John

The story is nice and touching. Reminds me of the times I had last time, similar but not exactly the same of coz.

The book talks about Passion, that I found it very nice ... here it is ...

"Passion is passion. It's the excitement between the tedious spaces, and it doesn't matter where it's directed. Well, most of the time anyway... It can be coins or sports or politics or horses or music or faith.. the saddest people I've ever met in life are the ones who don't care deeply about anything at all. Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last. ....Because that's when you see a person at his best, and I've found someone else's happiness is usually infectious. "

And this other one ...

"... when you are struggling with something, look at all the people around you and realize that every single person you see is struggling with something, and to them, it's just as hard as what you're going through."

And this ...

"I like the surprise of finding a letter in the mailbox and the anxious anticipation I feel when I'm getting ready to open it. I like the fact that I can take it with me to read at my leisure, and that I can lean against a tree and feel the breeze on my face when I see your words on paper. I like to imagine the way you looked when you wrote it: what you we re wearing, your surroundings, the way you help your pen.... It's so much more romantic than reading something on the same machine that you use to download music or research on a paper."

And last one ...

"I finally understood that true love meant .... that love meant that you care for another person's happiness more than your own, no matter how painful the choices you face might be."
Well, this story ... the main characters didn't get to be together in the end but have a closure to it... which is rather sad... I would prefer a happy ending and happy story anyways :)

Dinner - No Signboard Seafood

Had seafood at No Signboard Seafood Restaurant. Hee hee.. Forgot to take the food when it is still full plates... these are the remainings hee
Had White pepper crab, chili crab, cereal prawn, spicy toa dao (a type of shellfish), vege with scallop, green vege, fried baby squid, ngo hiang, and of coz the man tao to go with the chili crab sauce.
The crab is good, especially the white pepper one.. The prawn is fresh too :)

Dinner - Kuishin Bo

Soup
Seafood Paperpot
Baked lobster
Crab leg and prawns
Teppanyaki: select meat (chicken, salmon, and dory fillet in my case) and give it to the chef and they will cook it for us

The pre-cooked dishes have shoft shell crab, fried dou miao ( I like tt one), yakitori stick (I took the bacon wrapped around shitake mushroom) and salmon cheese
Yuzu shorbet and peach ice cream

This is one of my favorite place coz it have the giant crab legs hahaha...
The first line is the appertiser. The baked lobster, its like the limited edition so have to queue for it and one person only entitled to one. Its good though... I like it at least :P. The other one is 2 types of soup ... Not sure what soup is it.. Miso and something like thick soup kind but with meatballs and glass noodle.
The items highlights, the crab meat is very sweet and fresh! Must use a long special fork and sciccors to pry it open and get the meat out. The cold prawn is good too as it is fresh, firm and slippery :) The paperpot, got lotsa types and I choose the seafood one, containing mussel, prawn, salmon , mushroom and veggies... Its kept warm with the fire underneath the pot.

There are others like prawn tempura etc that I didnt take. I didn't take sushi all these too :P
The dessert: Yuzu sherbet ... its good as dessert as it is sourish in taste and help to clear the palate.. and there is Peach ice cream (Limited edition also) and its nice.. It have a pleasant peach smell but not too overpowering. I didn't take pics of th cakes and jellies hee
There are large selection of drinks too, hot and cold. Hot ones have huge selection of tea bags and cold ones is good too. I had nestea green tea :)

That's all for now!

Dinner - Shin Kushiya @ Suntec

Chawanmushi

Garlic Fried Rice

Soft Shell Crab Sushi (a bit tangy) :)

Curry and plum powder (to go with the skewers) to enhance the taste

Assorted Skewer: plain asparagus, chicken ball, pork asparagus, mushroom with minced chicken, golden mushroom with pork, shishamo, chicken skin, chicken thigh with tako wasabi
Dessert: yuzu sherbet and coconut jelly
Had a great dinner at Shin Kushiya ... Let's see the food and food background...
Kushiyaki means charcoal grilled skewers. Literally, it meant "grilled skewers". The normal terms that we are more used its yakitori, which strictly meant skewers for chicken or chicken parts. In Japan, Kushiyaki is a quick bite or snack kind of food and normally enjoyed with sake.

Total Bill: ~$67... quite good huh :)
Itadakimasu!

Lunch - Bibimbap

Bibimbap, lately seeing it quite commonly everywhere. normally served in hot stone and we supposed to stir all the fillings with rice before eating it. Last time I always see it in the Korean drama show.

From Wikipedia, the word literally means "stirred/mixed rice" or "stirred/mixed meal". The city of Jeonju, the capital of the North Jeolla Province of South Korea (located about two and a half hours' drive south of Seoul), is famous throughout the nation for its version of bibimbap, said to be based on a royal court dish.

Bibimbap is first mentioned in the Siuijeonseo, an anonymous cookbook from the late 19th century. There its name is given as 부븸밥 (bubuimbap).In Korean households, it is frequently prepared from leftover rice, vegetables, and meat.

Ok, that's all for now and the trip down the timeline

Toast and Tea @ Toastbox

A little treat bring great enjoyment ... Just sitting down over a cup of tea and toast with company and chat while sharing the crispy toast and sipping on the hot milk tea.
It may seems like a normal thing to do and there is nothing special about it. But when you have been really busy week ... this might just be the one thing that you can finally feel relaxed, slow down the pace and just sit back to enjoy something for a little while in the weekend ... to gear up for the upcoming busy week again hee...
You can try it too!

Thoughts - Clouds

See the clouds,... So fluffy and white like a cotton ball ... against the blue sky.. looking so grand and majestic. It is a very beautiful day especially when one's is feeling great! Never mind the hot sun shining and the perspiration trickling down the neck as this is much better than the past few days of continuous rain and gray skies.
This particular clouds, .. looks a bit like turtle to me and remind me of the Nemo show. Like this turtle is swimming in the sky and trying to paddle its way to somewhere :)
We are all under the same blue sky, ... the view may differ slightly from place to place but we will be looking at the same sun, same moon and same star formations... So that's why in songs, it is often depicted as something that connects people in different places, regardless of its proximity.

Dreaming of you

Late at night when all the world is sleeping

I stay up and think of you

And I wish on a star that somewhere you are

Thinking of me too

Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight

Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight

And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be

Than here in my room dreaming about you and me

Wonder if you ever see me

And I wonder if you know I'm there

If you looked in my eyes

Would you see what's insideWould you even care?

I just wanna hold you close

But so far all I have are dreams of you

So I wait for the day

And the courage to say how much I love you

Yes I do!

I'll be dreaming of you tonight

Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight

And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be

Than here in my room dreaming about you and me

Late at night when all the world is sleeping

I stay up and think of you

And I still can't believe

That you came up to me and said "I love you"

I love you too!

Now I'm dreaming with you tonight

Till tomorrow and for all of my life

And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be

Than here in my room dreaming with you endlessly

Dreaming of you tonight

Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight

And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be

Than here in my roomI'll be dreaming of you tonight

Endlessly

And I'll be holding you tight

Dreaming...with you...tonight !

Dinner - Hosoi Teppanyaki House @ Suntec

Appertiser - Scallop and salmon (but salmon pic not here)

Main - Pork

Main - Cod Fish
Dessert - Complementary fruits

Try out this new place, ... the serving is not huge as can be seen from the photo... but the food is good. There is one more Salmon appertiser but it arrives so late, even after the main course and I didn't took picture of it.
The chef is nice and gave us complementary fruit :) Look at the decorations of the fruits... It's so innovative!
Total bill: S$~80

Thoughts - Rainbow Sightings

Had a rainbow sightings again... this time is a horizontal and can see almost the full semicircle... It always looks so nice but it only last for a while.
I have seen vertical rainbow before, quarter rainbow... well well... seeing that is many rain in here now... hopefully can see more of them and for longer period :)
Rainbow, is such a beautiful sight, but it only lasted a while. The memories, though, will last forever and that is why rainbow is painted in most of the places; to make it last forever coz it won't ever disappear.
What this is trying to tell you is maybe behind every challenge now, there will be some kind of fruit in the end.. so never give up ... you just need to know what is the direction and how to get there... be determined to stick to the path until the goal is achieved. There maybe the down period but everything should go in a circle, to balance. For every dark, there is light; for every bad, there is good; when there is yin, there is yang; when there is bitter, there is sweet and so, when there is challenge, there will be the winner.
Well, I hope, of course that the beautiful things will last longer, if can forever! And when it is raining, we can see when it will end and see the sun again.

Dinner - Ayam Penyet

Ayam Penyet literally meant flattened chicken. The english translation on the shop is crushed chicken.
Crushed seems more destroyed / shattered than flattened. Actually, they just pound on the chicken a bit to make it easier or more tender to eat, I guess....
Whatever it is ... it tastes good!

Thoughts - Rose Apple

Normally I look at the normal rose apple, its slightly bigger and longer.. So I don't really understand why it is called as such.
But seeing this one here, I know why ... it looked like an apple from the back ... reddish, a bit rounded and the flesh is also white... but from the front, the curled part of the fruit looks like petals and probably that's why it is called Rose Apple!
Just thinking how this name come about hee...

Lunch - Pho24

Finally I am eating this again after about one month plus.
The soup looks really red because I added chili sauce, cut chilies and dark sauce ...
Yummy!

Cooking Time!

Hmm.. feel like cooking something nice.. but not enough ingredients... what to do ... be creative ... So I make this meal for fun, since that have been feeling to eat something that I make myself ...
So there it is, fried rice and tomate filled with pork and prawn! It is very nice... I like it !!

Tomato Pork Recipe:
Ingredients: Shelled tomato Minced pork and prawn Pepper Light soy sauce Knorr
Method: Put everything into the shelled tomato Pan fry till cook

Point to note:
1.) Cook slightly longer coz the meat inside may not be cooked so fast
2.) Choose a thinner skinned tomato / shell more of the flesh out of the tomato so the heat can penetrate the meat better
3.) Can mix a bit of the shelled part of the tomato into the filling also, but be careful that when pan frying, the oil will splash out as there is water
4.) Choose a not-sp-ripe tomato so when frying, it won't be too soft too fast
5.) Can try to bake it too... should taste as good
6.) Maybe can put a cheese layer on top of it

For fried rice, it is anything that you want to eat and can just dump everything in.. hee hee

That's all for now!

Why Worry

Suddenly I remember .. once a friend told me ... just a something that was told to me to cheer me up at the time ... Seems quite long ago.. Let me pen it down... just so that I will still remember and see this as a memory :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why Worry ...
In this life, you only got 2 things to worry about,

Whether you are healthy or you are sick.

If you are healthy then you got nothing to worry about;

If you sick, you got 2 things to worry about,

Whether you are going to be well or not.

If you are going to be well, then you got nothing to worry about;

If not, then you got 2 things to worry about,

Whether you will go to heaven or hell.

If you go to heaven then you got nothing to worry about;

If you are going to hell.....

Then you will be so busy shaking hands with your friends!!

So you always have nothing to worry about!

So always don't worry and be happy! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cute and cheery huh.. :) Yah ... it good to read and sounds nice and funny.
On the deeper thought, this is actually very much simplifying everything into 2 things. In life, we have so many other considerations and things that we want, that is important to us, that we worry about more than just the 2 "branches" of path at each level of worrying...
So, it is just a piece of my thought but of course being a speedy author to the poem, can't be including so many factors into it and I understand the main message that want to be put across to me so thanks for composing this for me!
Cheers!

Supper - Sakae Sushi @ Airport

Had a very full late dinner... So much food... Here is part of the dinner that we ordered... There are lotsa more ... but didn't remember to snap pics of it... Oh wells... :P

The picture shows part of seafood set for teppanyaki :)

Lyrics - Your Heart Will Lead You Home

This song reminds me of the time that I felt that I am far away from home.. and it consoled me :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Song by Kenny Loggins - Your Heart Will Lead You Home

Sunny days and starry nights lazy afternoons

You count the castles in the clouds and hum little tunes
But somehow right before your eyes the sun fades away

Everything is different and everything has change

If you feel lost and on your own

And far from home

You never alone, you know

Just think of your friends

The ones who care

They all will be waiting there

With love to share

And your heart will lead you home

Funny how a photograph can take you back in time

To places and embraces that you thought you left behind
They're trying to remind you that you're not the only one

That no one is an island when all has said and done

There'll come a day when you're losing your way

And you won't know where you belong

They say that home is where your heart is

So follow your heart know that you can't go wrong

Italian Style Buffet Lunch

Today is the buffet day of the month! It is italian style food.... everything is pasta... lasagna, oglio olio, and tomato based pasta... salad ... and mushroom soup and kueh pie tie hee... Kueh pie tie not exactly italian food tho... but its great! I like that one the most heehee... :)

Lyrics - Forever and Ever

I like this song, it reflects that Pooh is very innocent and naive, but on the other hand, he seems to understand the core of the problem coz he show us what is really important and at the same time cheer Chris up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christopher: Pooh,... I ... have something to tell you
Pooh: Is it something ... nice?
Chris: Not... exactly...
Pooh: Then it can wait
Chris: It can? For how long?
Pooh: For..ever and ever ...

(Song starts)

Forever and ever

Is a very long time, Pooh

Forever isn't long at all when I'm with you

I wanna call your name, forever

And you will always answer, forever

And both of us will be, forever you and me

Forever and ever

I wanna stay like this forever

If only I could promise forever

Then we could just be we

Forever you and me
Forever and ever

Forever and ever

Is a very long time, Pooh

Forever isn't long at all, Christopher

When I'm with you (Chuckles)

I wanna be with you forever

I want you right here beside me forever

One thing you should know

No matter where I go

We'll always be together

Forever and ever.

Lyrics - If You're Not The One

"If You're Not The One"

If you’re not the one then why does my soul feel glad today?

If you’re not the one then why does my hand fit yours this way?

If you are not mine then why does your heart return my call

If you are not mine would I have the strength to stand at all

I'll never know what the future brings

But I know you're here with me now

We’ll make it through

And I hope you are the one I share my life with

I don’t want to run away but I can’t take it, I don’t understand

If I’m not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?

Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

If I don’t need you then why am I crying on my bed?

If I don’t need you then why does your name resound in my head?

If you’re not for me then why does this distance maim my life?

If you’re not for me then why do I dream of you as my wife?

I don’t know why you’re so far away

But I know that this much is true

We’ll make it through

And I hope you are the one I share my life with

And I wish that you could be the one I die with

And I pray in you’re the one I build my home with

I hope I love you all my life

I don’t want to run away but I can’t take it, I don’t understand

If I’m not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am

Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

‘Cause I miss you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away

And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today

‘Cause I love you, whether it’s wrong or right

And though I can’t be with you tonight

You know my heart is by your side

I don’t want to run away but I can’t take it, I don’t understand

If I’m not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am

Is there any way that I could stay in your arms

Great lunch cooked by Ms Pham the Traze

Well well... finally Pham make for me the 5 spice pork that I have been wondering how it taste like... Its nice!! taste like something I have tried before and can't place where from... Maybe coz the 5 spice seasoning tho...

Recipe for that is:
5 Spice powder
3 layer pork
Fish sauce / light soy sauce
Knoor
Method:
Marinate everything and pan fry.
For the tomato pork:
minced pork + pepper + knoor + soy sauce
Shelled tomato
Method:
Put the seasoned pork into tomato and pan fry
Easy enough ? ... :)
Thanks Pham for the food you cooked!