To Mr. Lee

On 23rd March 2015, one of Singapore's really important person passed away.

While I have shunned away from reading political news for some time (a result of studying Political Science and coming across political spin, etc.), I cannot deny the amount of respect I have for this man.

Mr. Lee is like a grandfather. You know he will pass soon, and you are, in a way, glad that he does not have to suffer anymore, but you still feel sad. For that whole week, there was just this tightness in my chest whenever I passed by a billboard, a poster, or a post on social media about this man. In fact, I couldn't bring myself to watch all the tribute shows dedicated to him. It just made it more real.

Many countries, and even some Singaporeans, have this mindset that Singapore was under dictatorship and we have sacrificed our freedom for this peace.

But really?

I feel that despite the wrong decisions that this man and his government seemed to make, he made many right ones, and some wrong decisions that we felt he made were actually the right decisions.

It takes a man with foresight to do what Mr. Lee did. If not for him, Singapore wouldn't know what it is like to be friends with people of different races. If not for him, Singapore would not have developed to where it is today. If not for him, what is education for women in Singapore? If not for him, women would not dare to go out of their homes alone.

I wouldn't even mention the names of the countries, but if Mr. Lee had not been harsh on the people involved in racial riots, we would see ghettos, and we would probably still see fights and news of people being injured or dead as a result. If Mr. Lee had not pushed for multiculturalism, we wouldn't know what harmony is.

And I take this moment to voice my opinion about freedom of speech. Granted, freedom of speech is the freedom to speak anything you are thinking of, and not face legal consequences. But really, take some time to think through what would happen amongst citizens if we spoke freely about our dislike for each others' behaviours or comments about others. What if your protest was about being against the existence of another culture? You are exercising your right to have your freedom of speech, but the social consequences thereafter is what you did not see. Would you rather have your protest be approved before protesting or would you rather having to hide at home because it is too dangerous outside? To be honest, I feel that I have a comfortable level of freedom of speech in Singapore. I can speak to the opposite gender without being judged. I can speak about what I want to speak to with my friends. Isn't that also freedom of speech? If your freedom of speech is going to cause disharmony for no reasonable reason, it probably is because it is unreasonable. Then, you can't exactly blame the law for correcting you.

Like every political leader, some would not like him, and that's absolutely normal. However, if not for all the things he had done, Singapore would not be complaining about the things that the government did which are not in favour for them. They would be contented that they have survived the day. Ultimately, he has done his best for the country, and we should take a moment to appreciate all that he has done. I trust that he made decisions then based on whatever resources he had, to the benefit of Singaporeans.

Thank you Mr. Lee.

Recipe: Sushi

My mom rarely cooked in the past.

And this, is one of the few kinds of that she prepared when I was young. We have this sushi maker that made it so easy to make sushis. Now, Daiso sells various types of sushi makers, and Daiso is pretty much everywhere now, which makes sushi making really easy now!

There's a secret ingredient in the sushi we make at home. Well, I say it's secret because... No one I know actually heard of it till I mention it to them. And the so called secret ingredient is Sakura denbu. Its sweet yet salty at the same time, and all of us love it. The pink from this ingredient actually comes from food colouring. This is so that it resembles Sakura Cherry Blossoms (hence the name too!). You can buy it (which I do), or you can make it on your own. Just Bento has a recipe for it with photos and it looks really easy to make! 

That being said, here's the recipe! (Recipe makes about 8 rolls)

INGREDIENTS

Sushi Rice
3 cups Japanese short grain rice
3 3/4 cups water

Sushi rice seasoning
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Sushi ingredients
Crabsticks
Cucumber, sliced thinly
Seaweed
Sakura denbu (fish floss)
Kanpyo (preserved vegetables)
1 Egg, beaten and lightly seasoned with 1/2 tsp soy sauce

METHOD

1. Cook the 3 cups of rice with 3 3/4 cups of water.
2. Fry the egg in the wok into a thin omelette, then slice it when cooled.
2. Heat the sushi rice seasoning over the fire till the sugar and salt has dissolved.
3. Once rice is cooked, stir in the sushi rice seasoning (does not have to be cooled; I usually do this step after the rice is cooked) and mix well.
4. Make the sushi roll using the traditional bamboo mat, or using a sushi maker. Daiso sells it at $2. It makes sushi a lot easier to make.
5. If using a sushi maker, just line the seaweed in the maker, then put in a layer of rice.
6. Put the other sushi ingredients (crabstick, cucumber, egg, kanpyo), then sprinkle the sakura denbu on the ingredients.
7. Cover with rice and wrap the sushi up.
8. Slice it according to the size you want, or eat it as a roll.

Review: Kombi Rocks

This is an ultimate throwback post. I was looking at my phone for old photos and happen to come across photos taken at Kombi Rocks - as part of my birthday celebrations... last year.

I think I literally bring procrastination to another level. 

Kombi Rocks Diner has quite a long history behind it, with the present owner taking over from his parents, serving dishes thought by them. It was founded in 1971. Today, it not only serves Thai and Chinese food passed down from 3 generations, it sells vintage collectibles and rents vintage vehicles too. (From their name, it's pretty obvious what kind of vintage vehicles they rent right?) To be honest, that was the main reason my sister wanted to bring me there. 

I have an obsession over Volkswagen. I get happy when I see this brand on the road, especially if the make I saw was a beetle or a kombi van. *Fun fact: I never knew the van was called the kombi van till a friend told me a year ago - I always just called it the volkswagen van*

When we arrived at the diner, I have to be honest and say I was in awe of the amount of kombi vans they had; they were so nicely decorated too! They certainly named their diner well. When I got in though, I felt a little confused. On the right was a display of vintage collectibles, ranging from vintage cars to vintage biscuit tins and  mason jars (ok i dont really get the mason jars, but yeah haha). On the left was a pretty imposing character, the Hulk. I have to admit I took photos with the huge sized sculpture, BUT I was super confused at the same time. Why was there a Hulk in the middle of nowhere? It didn't really make sense to me. Hulk wasn't even vintage. And I wish they would do something about their ice cream booth. I digress - I was quite distracted by the overall decor. The place didn't have air-con and did not have sufficient fans to combat the hot weather. 

On to the food. We had 

Thai Basil Minced Pork Set (with egg and rice) - $13
Wok Hei Seafood Horfun - $6.50
Koon Kee Mee Goreng - $6.50
Wok hei Beef Horfun - $8.50
Shrimp and Charsiew Fried Rice - $6.50

The food was average. I had the Mee Goreng, which I find a little bit too oily. That aside, mee gorengs are usually quite oily. On average, their food is a little on the salty side.
Why the 5 dishes when there were 4 of us? My (rather suay) sister ate her dish halfway and found an insect in her dish (we later found out it was a flying ant). Apparently, it is quite common because of outdoor cooking. I cringed internally when I heard one of the staff say that.

Now, I believe in service recovery. We tried to get the attention of the staff. I was a little irritated that the staff took a while before deciding to attend to us. They then told us they would check and get back to us. And so, they came back and told us they would change a dish for us at no charge. At this point, my sister was a little unnerved and she was really worried the next dish would have some sort of insect again. Still, we ordered a fried rice.

I know I should not expect so much at coffee shops, but this wasn't exactly a coffee shop. It was a non-air-conditioned theme cafe. I don't think I am expecting too much when I expect my sister's dish to be waived. Heck, even a cup of coffee or tea as a form of apology is good for me. It's not that much about the cost. It's about service recovery. I was a little disappointed at their service recovery because it seemed like a common problem they have. It must be so common that they think they need not do much. Alright, if I were to view it as a coffee shop then I wouldn't expect so much.

If your main aim is to take photos with the kombi vans and catch a glimpse of couples taking wedding photos (which we did see!), go ahead and try this place. The food is average though, don't expect too much.

Recipe: Fried Bee Hoon

Whenever I cook this dish, I think of my grandma. 

For as long as I can remember, my grandma has been cooking almost every meal. The only time she doesn't cook is when we go out for dinner. 

Once, I arranged for my friends to come over for a BBQ and borrowed her kitchen to cook this dish because her kitchen was equipped with huge woks and pans. 

I regretted borrowing her kitchen. 

While grandma didn't know how to drive, she sure knew what backseat drivers, or in this case, backseat chefs, do. She stood by me in the kitchen, telling me my bee hoon would not taste nice because there was not enough oil and that she was sure it wouldn't taste nice without the oil. Countless times, she asked if she could take over. 

I was sooooo frustrated. 

I mean, I wasn't stepping into the kitchen as often as I do now, but I was pretty sure I knew how to cook beehoon, using water instead of oil. 

And so, I ignored her and kept telling her to go out of the kitchen. I knew what I was doing. 

At the end, she ate my beehoon and said she didn't actually think it would taste nice, but it was actually alright in taste. I had to resist the urge to tell her that fried beehoon can be cooked in a healthy yet tasty way too. *She never told me, but I know that she still felt that hers tasted better though, I just know it. She was politically correct that way.* I'll have you know that my friends enjoyed it, grandma! 

And so, in tribute to my grandmother, a woman who loved cooking, here's my own rendition of the fried beehoon - the healthy version.

INGREDIENTS

1 package 400 g rice vermicelli

2 tbsp. chicken stock

3 eggs, beaten and seasoned with pepper and ½ tbsp. soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, julienned

10 pieces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

½ cabbage, sliced 

200 g diced meat, marinated with 2 tbsp. sesame oil, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. rice wine, 1 tsp. sugar

2-3 tbsp. Oyster sauce

2 tbsp. Soy sauce

Pepper to taste

Spring onions, for garnishing 

METHOD

1. Soak rice vermicelli in water for 20-30 minutes. In the water, add 2 tbsp. chicken stock. Drain, but keep the stock.

2. Heat wok with some oil, then fry egg till both sides are cooked. When cooled, cut omelette into thin slices and set aside.

3. Heat wok with 1 tbsp. oil (I use sesame oil) and fry the garlic. When fragrant, add carrots (~1 min). Season with pepper and some stock.

4. Then, add the mushrooms, frying for a while (~2 min) before adding cabbage. Simmer ingredients for about 5 minutes. 

5. Add in the marinated meat and mix well in wok.

6. Add in the vermicelli, and mix well to combine. 

7. Pour in 2-3 cups of the stock, then season with 2-3 tbsp. oyster sauce, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, and pepper to taste. Adjust taste accordingly, by adding more soy sauce if not salty enough.

8. Allow the vermicelli to absorb stock and cook till stock has been absorbed, mixing now and then to ensure that stock is evenly absorbed.

9. Mix in the cut egg strips and serve, garnished with spring onions. 

Enjoy!

Something I learnt from this - there is no hard and fast rule with this dish. 

Love, Rosie

And so I caught this show a while back.

I was slightly disappointed.

There was a redeeming scene in the movie which the book never mentioned.

I, however, was soooo disappointed that the whole movie NEVER mentioned about the silence, apart from once, only in passing.

No, I mean, seriously? The silence is such a big aspect of Alex's and Rosie's love life. It was also the silence that brought Toby and Katie together.
How on earth can they not talk about it?!

I was so sad that was literally the first thing I talked about when I left the theatre. The other scenes were sooooo irrelevant to me.

Why oh why, what a terrible thing to do to me.
And where is Randy Andy? HAHAHA that guy was a joke.

But I really liked the part where Alex told Rosie she was perfect for him (well kinda hinted), and it was because he thought he didn't have a chance with her, that he went on from one girl to another, trying to find someone who would at least match up with her, but none has ever been able to meet up to what she is. It was quite a silly place to do it though, at his wedding with Bethany, but it is just so typical of the two of them - doing the right things at the wrong times.

Please don't let If you could see me now suffer the same fate. Please capitalise on the last scene, when Elizabeth paints that room, what the room looks like, and her smile. Please show Opal's love story. Is that film even coming out? I've been waiting for years now. It's taking forever. In fact, how can Love, Rosie be out before If you could see me now. The talks about If you could see me now being made into a movie was so much earlier!

The Year of 2015

It was beautiful.

When clock struck 12 on New Year's day, the fireworks went off one after another, again and again for almost 5 minutes. It was so close. It is the closest I have ever been to fireworks, and I think it's the closest I would ever be.

Singapore sure knows how to throw a party.

And that is one short snippet of the really long fireworks show (not that I am complaining).

I realised that I have really grown up then.
Gone were the days where I go crazy looking forward to countdowns and having fun with my friends.
But maybe I already grew out from these a long time ago. Well.
I actually envisioned myself sitting on the couch watching fireworks and sipping wine (not literally though, i'm not that big a fan of wine). But my point is, I rather spend it quietly with the one I love. This year, we went to Melv's place cos his mom feels a little down. I'm really glad we didn't go out and just stayed in the end, because I wouldn't have been able to see such an awesome fireworks show if we went out.

And with all new years come new changes.
I want changes this year, I really do.
And I'm talking about all aspects of my life.
Can you believe I've never sat down and thought about my New Year Resolutions?
For a thinker who likes to think, I sure didn't think much.
But I resolved to do that this year! (haha I think I'm funny; resolving to do resolution)

• Health

• Exercising at least twice a week

• Eating Healthier - more fruits and vegetables and more home cooked healthy meals

• Wealth

• Take up the 52 Weeks Challenge (in my own manner)

• Social and Family Life

• Cooking at least 2 meals a month for my family 

• Volunteering for something 

• Being more involved emotionally

• Self

• Going back to reading - a book a month doesn't sound too difficult yes?

• Finish Taylor's Gift 

• Spend a day a month to clear the clutter - literally a whole day

• Knowing more about Him.

And I'm going to do it! 

Let's go!

Thought of the day

Because sometimes you realise that you two aren't together because you two were never meant to be.