Petaling Street Hokkien Mee

People always say that a particular dish from their own place of origin is the 'proper and correct version' while the same dish prepared anywhere else in any other way is always wrong, or 'not authentic'. But who has the right to say which was the original version? I suppose its natural to say that, but has the right to say which was the true original? Or maybe both are variations of the true original.

Nevertheless, I'm going to claim, right here and now, that the Hokkien Mee in Malaysia is much better than the one in Australia. And maybe anywhere else in the world. And I'm going even further by saying that every different Hokkien Mee place in Malaysia, regardless of whether they are different from one another, is still better than Hokken Mee in other parts of the world.

So there.

I say this because I was at this Hokkien Mee place in Petaling Street yesterday. The last time I went, it was your basic coffee shop, run down and all. But I was surprised that they actually renovated the place, so that when you head upstairs, it looked like any of your nice cafes in shopping malls (think Old Town Kopitiam style of restaurants).

And you had a nice view overlooking the hustle and bustle of Petaling Street as well.


The drinks came while we were waiting for the food, and surprisingly (which shouldn't be the case, since the place already looks so nice) the cup looked very nice as well.


Its like a cup you would buy for your own apartment, were you to move into one.

And then I fooled around with the sambal container.


It even has the Beijing 2008 mascots on it. ;)

The main event came after a not-so-long wait.


And it was so good. So so so good. Just too good.

We also ordered a bowl of Pan Mee.


For those not in the know, Pan Mee isn't noodles in a pan. Nor were they cooked in a pan either, though I suppose if you had to, you could cook Pan Mee in a pan. However, I don't really know what Pan Mee is made from. I just know that it isn't noodles cooked in a pan. But this is really good as well. Better than others I've eaten.

Although, I suppose being really hungry at that time may have influenced my decision slightly.

But it was still very good.

Merry Christmas

Had an excellent meal cooked by my aunty yesterday with spaghetti bolognese, salad, a turkey-like chicken, ayamas nuggets and drummets, nachos, mushroom soup, pumpkin soup.


Happy Days.

I'm a bit concerned about the lack of updates on my own blog. I guess I only have myself to blame for that. Have been back in KL for about a week already but have been busy configuring this new laptop with Vista that I bought. Its been giving me so many problems, but I'm not sure how many of the problems were Vista related though. Since its been bought, its already been reformatted twice. Lets hope it runs well from now on.

So, what food-related things have I got myself into in the past week?

Well, I finally got to eat nasi lemak after an extended period. Too bad they ran out of curry chicken.



Also, I tried copying Jamie Oliver in his 'Potatoes' episode of his latest series Jamie at Home. Some kind of oven baked frittata. Pity I lacked the right sausages and the right oven, and the herbs that he used.


Doesn't look too bad though I must say.

And this is some salad from Tony Roma's. A massive pile of veges indeed.


Also, I finally got to try out the burgers from Carl's Junior. When I read about RM20 burgers a couple of months ago I was in a state of disbelief that people would actually pay that amount for a set of fries, soft drink, and a burger. I thought Carl's Jr was just taking the opportunity to rip people off, considering that Malaysians nowadays are so taken in by the new restaurants that are popping up in nearly every new wing of every shopping complex. The other thing I can think of is J Co Donuts. I didn't try that but the queue was as long as the line for the MAS check-in at the airport. I mean, are doughnuts really that good?

Anyway, back to Carl's Jr, I must say that you are getting what you pay for though. The burgers are absolutely humongous.


This burger with fries and a soft drink would cost you RM18, if I'm not mistaken. I guess its up to people how much they want to pay for a burger. Its not bad though.

Okay, I'm off for now.

Until next time, may old and new friends get to meet up more often during the holidays.

Villa Romana

When I actually think of it, I've only ever been to one non-Asian place on Lygon Street, Corretto's. And that's a shame. Why? Because, I've never sampled any of the good restaurants on Lygon. Everytime I walk down that street, I look at the ample fare that people are eating, and think how good it would be to actually try some of it, without it ever occurring to me that i actually could very well just eat there myself.


And so, taking steps to remedy the situation (staying so near Lygon Street helps as well), I asked Sherreen to recommend a place, and off we went to Villa Romana.



It was unfortunate that in the combined excitement of the food arriving and not wanting to appear so Asian in taking pictures of food in an Italian restaurant that I forgot to note down the names of the dishes that we ordered, which looked so good, and tasted so 'D'lish', to quote Jamie Oliver, and whomever else who coined the term.

This was their seafood pizza. It's their last item on their pizza menu. And the most expensive as well. But it was the first time I'm able to appreciate a good pizza, and something not from college or Pizza Hut or Dominoes.

But all that was blown away when I took a taste of the pasta.


This is apparently their house specialty. Its the first time I've seen that type of pasta, and it was tossed with chicken and apple slices and cream, giving it a creamy, sweet, light flavour. When the only pasta in Australia I've ever eaten being Ormond College pasta, this was a real eye-opener. It was just so good.

Oh well, now that I'm staying near Lygon, I'm definitely going to take advantage of the fact that there are just so many more Italian restaurants to sample next year.

Tee hee.

So.

A week and a half into staying at an apartment, and I must say that I'm actually enjoying it.

Well, apart from the fact that I have no internet and have absolutely nothing to do at night. And any other time that I'm at home.

But cooking's alright. Some attempts turned out well, one was a disaster, others were so-so. Managed to take a few pictures of what I've attempted so far, but I just can't access internet on my own laptop, thus, there won't be any pictures here.

And the location of the place is just awesome. A walk to Lygon Street only takes 10 seconds. Well, maybe more. But extremely good for times when I'm feeling lonely and just want to be around people. Even though its people I don't know.

Oh well, its less than a week before I get back.

End of the year

The end of the year is always a poignant time. While its fun and exciting to leave and go back to your family (and your family is always important, no matter how much fun you're having elsewhere), its sad to leave good friends and not see them for 3 months.

Back in early 2005, when I was just going to come over to Melbourne, studying away for the first time in my life, I had to make a decision. A decision between staying at College Square (an apartment), where most of my fellow Malaysian students (whom I did not know yet) were staying, and staying at Ormond College, a residential college of Melbourne University (just like a catered hall) where I knew no one. I did not choose College Square, instead I chose Ormond College. And now, after 3 years, I can proudly declare that I made the right choice.

Although, right now, on hindsight, I can look back and think how much less enriched my life would be had I chosen to stay at College Square, but I'm quite sure that, in an alternate time line, had I chosen to stay at College Square, at this point in time I would also say, "I certainly don't regret making that choice". However, I'm absolutely convinced that choosing Ormond College was the critical difference between 'enjoying my studies in Melbourne' and 'seriously loving my time in Melbourne'.

As much as it feels like a knife into my heart when I say this, I actually enjoy and look forward to leaving KL after the holidays and coming back to Melbourne for the semester. Because I know I'm returning to Ormond College. Where there's friends aplenty to keep you company (that actually rhymed). Where you can sit for one whole hour to a crappy Ormond meal and just chit chat with friends about everything there is to chit chat about and listening to other people rant about their misfortunes then laughing at them, and ranting about your own misfortunes and letting other people laugh at you. And on the days when the food gets really crappy, we'll all just go out and eat and do the same things all over. All very fun.

And we also get to play cards for hours everynight. I'll shoot you with a Bang! I'll play a Missed!

And although I get the same feeling of loss at the end of every year in Ormond, I always try to enjoy the moment, because I know I'll be going back home to my family and spending good quality time there, and then looking forward to the new year in Ormond, where there will be new people coming in, and old people coming back. And I'm always excited to meet new people who are on the same wavelength as the group of us are, and always delighted to welcome new people into our group. So that I can laugh them, and they can laugh at me as well, and there'll be no hard feelings after.

But this year, it'll be different.

Because this year, I'll be one of the last to leave Melbourne amongst my Ormond friends due to my research year being longer than the usual year, as opposed to the last 2 years where my exams usually finish early and I leave first. And leaving last and watching other people leave first for the holidays, one-by-one, is just so different from leaving first, and being back home and knowing that your friends here and having the final eating out dinner of the year without you. And both ways, it hurts.

Because this year, after 3 years, I'll be leaving. Leaving Ormond College to stay at an apartment next year. Leaving all the friends. Leaving the evenings of playing basketball in the college courts. Leaving the nights of card playing, which distracts everyone from their studies for their exams, but not from mine, because I don't have any exams! Leaving everyone that make Ormond College what it is.

But then again, I'm excited. I'm looking forward to moving into the new apartment, which I think just looks awesome. Looking forward to living in a new environment. Looking forward to getting people to the apartment to play cards! Looking forward to coming back to Ormond once in a while.

And I hope that all of us will remember the times in Ormond fondly, and never let it just become a footnote to our lives. Because realistically, some of us just won't see each other that often anymore. Thus, I'll say it now that Ormond is what it is because of all of you guys, and you guys know who you are, and may you all not forget what it was like to be an Ormondian.

And finally, because this year, I just lost my mum to ovarian cancer. And I'll be going home to my family, but with the knowledge that I will not be able to see my mum again.

Ever.

And knowing that I will not be able to share with my mum about how much I'm enjoying my life right now, being surrounded by so many good friends. That I will not be able to tell her how much I'm looking forward to each coming day. That she will not be able to share my joy in telling her how much I appreciate her helping me decide and then supporting my decision to stay at Ormond way back, 3 years ago. That I do not have the chance, and will not ever get the chance, to show her around Melbourne when she comes visiting, to show her around Melbourne, to show her the new apartment.

To show her Ormond College.

But what can I do, apart from doing the best I can with the cards that I've been dealt. I suppose that that's the best anyone can do. No 'what if's.

Enjoy the moment, look forward to tomorrow, cherish the past.

Que sera sera.

I found out that running with proper running shoes gives you a much better 'feel' than running with crappy badminton court shoes. Proper running shoes are just more bouncy. Maybe that's why I've been struggling to run lately.

Anyway, when I was back in KL I went to this Hong Kong style cafe in Mid Valley. Can't remember what it's called but its on the LG floor and it has a green signboard and lots of roast meats hanging on display in the window.

Two of the dishes that we had were both very similar, one with pork, the other with chicken.




And washed down with a cup of milk tea.


I thought the dishes looked absolutely delicate, no?

Hopefully cooking that rice with pork ribs black bean wouldn't be too difficult, seeing that I'm going to move out of college soon, and am going to try my hand at cooking.

Lol.

Today I ate a burger for dinner.

It was so bad I shall only mention its name.

It was called Mexican Burger.

After much consideration, I felt that this is something that I needed to do.

So here goes.

This is a reflection on the past year, and also a tribute to my mum, who took her final breath on Sunday the 4th of November at 2.15pm, after a year-long struggle with ovarian cancer. Today is one year to the day that she was diagnosed with stage 3b ovarian cancer.

It has been a difficult year for my family, from the moment she was first diagnosed and not telling me as I was still having my exams at the end of last year, then steadily seeing her decline in the way that she did, seeing her suffer, day-to-day, yet, without a single complaint. The first few months, which coincided with me being back for the summer holidays, were, on hindsight, the best months of the lot, when she was still up and about, albeit in constant pain, but since she was at home more often, I was able to spend some good mother-son time with her, time that was very limited before that, as she was always working, and I'm very glad for that.

Going back to Melbourne for semester 5 was in a way, a curse, but also a blessing for me. Being surrounded by friends from uni and from college, I was able to take my mind away from the problem at hand. But not thinking about the problem does not make the problem go away, and the worry was always there, eating away inside me. And it also was difficult for me knowing that I wasn't at home with her as she went through all the suffering.

The midyear break was another chance to spend some time with her, accompanying her to Singapore to see a specialist, accompanying her when she was around the house.

And then I had to leave for my AMS year. And it was then that her condition really deteriorated so much in so short a time. The last few months of the life was spent in the hospital, and apparently she only returned home once every 2 or so weeks, as she was very weak, and very vulnerable to infection.

I did get to return for 2 weeks sometime during the midsemester break, and in hindsight, it was a very good decision, as it was the last time I actually spoke to her. After that, when I was in Melbourne, and was calling back every 2 days or so, I only got to speak a few words with her every time, as she was always tired and talking on the phone was difficult for her as well. I remember the last time that I spoke to her was on Tuesday last week, and I only spoke to her for about 10 seconds, as she had mouth ulcer and couldn't really speak.

It was a journey, of sorts, for me, from the time that my dad smsed me on Friday morning to tell me to book a flight back asap; arriving in KL on Saturday morning; reaching Hospital Selayang slightly after that and seeing her breathing through the oxygen mask, unconscious; my dad making the decision that we would bring her home the day after and letting her rest at home, seeing that we thought that she wasn't going to be able to make it; to her finally taking her last breath on her own bed at home.

It is in this last year that I learnt the importants of small victories in the face of a big disaster, which is a way of helping you cope with dealing with the pain. We all hoped for days that she felt better, and then we would all too feel happier.

Now that she is gone, I would like that she be remembered in our hearts always, for all the good times and also the bad times. How she was a mother, wife, sister, daughter, to everyone of us.

And I would just like to end this with the last words that I said to her on Tuesday.

Take care mummy, I love you.

Burgers, burgers, burgers

Scene from the movie Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle:

After a night of crazy adventure, Harold and Kumar finally make it to White Castle. They walk into the restaurant, Kumar touches the counter, then brings his finger to his lips.

Guy at counter: Looks like you guys had some night, huh?

Harold: I want 30 Slyders, 5 french fries, and 4 large Cherry Cokes.

Kumar: I want the same, except make mine Diet Cokes, Chuck.

Chuck (Guy at counter): Wow, well that comes to $46.75.

End scene.

I think most people, after watching that movie, had a craving for White Castle Slyders. Just watching those 2 guys stuff 30 burgers each into their mouths and drinking coke while eating fries is enough to drive anyone who loves food crazy. And its 47 USD for 30 burgers!

Well, I had a craving for burgers a few days ago. The problem is, White Castle restaurants are only available in the US. And the burgers you get at McDonald's or Hungry Jacks are too large. I wanted something small and tiny, so I could eat a lot of them. The most similar burger that I could think of was the KFC Colonel Burger in Malaysia. Too bad they don't have that here either.

But too bad, beggars can't be choosers. Off I went to McDonald's and got myself 3 burgers. And a coke. And some fries. Might be overkill, but I had to satisfy my craving.




And it was awesome. Just awesome. Eating it in front of the computer while watching Veronica Mars with no one around to bother you was truly, satisfyingly, awesome.

It is something that I would like to do again. Perhaps with some other burgers. McDonald's burgers just do not cut it.

Anyone has any recommendation for small burgers, which are cheap, around Melbourne?

Laksa King

You know a restaurant must be good when you see a huge crowd of people waiting outside just to go in. But what's surprising is when the restaurant actually looks like any other random chinese restaurant around and there's a huge crowd of people waiting outside.

And thus it was (and still is) at Laksa King, where Jian Ming, Yi Wen, Renata, Steph went for dinner the other night.


Situated along Racecourse Road in Flemingon (just take the 57 tram and look on the right when you pass a brightly lit row of shops), the restaurant does not directly face the main road, but is located inside an alleyway of sorts. The entrance to the restaurant is situated just slightly to the right of this picture (beside the yellow wall) and this open counter is for patrons to order take away. Considering they have a special counter for take away, you must suspect that they expect a fair amount of people to order take away, which leads us to conclude that their food must be good.

Their menu ranged from main dishes which you could order to share, or individual hawker malaysian food, like a variety of laksa, cantonese fried noodles, hokkien noodles, and what-not.

We first ordered a Kangkung Belacan to share.


This was good. Tasted exactly like what kangkung belacan tastes like back in Malaysia. Maybe if I go alone, I could order some rice, the kangkung belacan, and somehow ask them whether they can add a few pieces of meat into the vegetables. Haha.

Anyway, being called Laksa King, Jian Ming and Renata ordered the curry laksa.


Jian Ming claims that the only dishes worth ordering in Laksa King are their laksas.

They also have a Fish Head Curry Laksa as well, which Yi Wen ordered.


I thought its usually fish head noodles, without the curry. Hmm, interesting. But $8.80 for that bowl of meehoon with that amount of fish is a mightily good deal I must say.

Our resident Hongkie, Stephanie Wong, ordered Char Kuay Teow.


Doesn't look too bad wat.

I, mainly because I just wanted to be different, but also because I didn't really like laksa anyway, ordered Loh Mee. The only problem was, I don't really like Loh Mee either. Lol!


And I paid for that. Loh Mee usually has more sauce than that, and the sauce is usually not that thick, its more like a soup. But while all that's fine and dandy, this bowl of noodles was bland. I think they forgot a crucial ingredient, salt. Or maybe MSG. But I had to add 2 spoonfuls of soya sauce to make it edible.

I was very dissatisfied after the meal, and was contemplating ordering another one. Go that far already at least must eat until satisfied right? But I was saved by Yi Wen who said she couldn't finish her fish head curry beehoon, and then proceeded to pass her bowl over to me. So good. Terima kasih ya. Best thing was, the laksa was actually good, and the fish was good as well, without too many bones.

I ended up ordering some fried banana fritters for dessert instead.


And Jian Ming made a random comment when the plate arrived. He said:

The banana looks curved. If you have more of those you might be able to form a circle with it.

Anyway, the pisang goreng and ice cream goes really well together. Its so good that it could be a winning dish on Top Chef, had any of the contestants deigned to make it. And that's enough about bananas, I shall not entertain any more comments on it.

Yi Wen also ordered some sago.


In conclusion, I think this is a good place to go to. The feeling of waltzing pass all the people standing outside the restaurant waiting to go because we had booked a place already was awesome.

Its not in the city though, but I think taking a 57 tram from Elizabeth Street would get you there soon enough. Address is 320 Racecourse Road, Flemington.

And next time, I shall order the laksa, and force my friends to order other things, just because I want to be different ;p

Kobe Jones

The good thing about staying in college is you get to meet a wide range of unique personalities which are distinctly individual. One such individual is Charles Sow, who had his birthday celebration at Kobe Jones last Saturday, to which I had, together with the rest of my college mates, the privilege of being invited to. What's so different about this birthday celebration is that Kobe Jones isn't your average run-of-the-mill restaurant you get in Chinatown. Its more than that. For one, its not located in Chinatown, but somewhere in Docklands.

And the food was just exquisite.

What follows here is (nearly) every dish that appeared in front of our table that night. The menu was already picked for us before we arrived.

Here we go.

Oh ya, these are not my pictures. They were taken by Supa. That's why they aren't marked with my name. Copyright issues mar.


So we started off with either cocktails or mocktails. This here was called Sweet Life, I think. Apparently, it tastes better if you use both straws while drinking.

Next up was this, an amuse-bouche of sorts, I think, but none of us had any idea what it was called.


Filled with the fake crab meat thingies, layered with seaweed, and somehow, they made the outside look like what it is. I honestly have no idea how to describe it. We each got one to savour (there were 15 of us).

And then we had a salad.


I love they vinaigrette sauce that the Japanese use for salads. If anyone can tell me what the sauce is, I'd love to know. Its sourish, salty, and tangy at the same time. Very refreshing. Shared this plate between 3 of us.


My least favourite dish of the night. If I were a Top Chef judge, I'd vote the fella who made this dish off. Its basically a tuna, avocado, and cheese roll. And the damn cheese overpowered the whole thing. So you'd basically taste cheese and rice. No good.




Two pictures of the same dish. I love it. What can be better than raw meat? Lol. I think they use a similar sauce to the one that they used for the salad.


Did you know, that normal, plain food, when presented nicely, in an upper class restaurant, seems to taste nicer than it actually does haha? This here, is deep fried tofu. Still good, nevertheless.


This may have been my favourite dish of the night. Unfortunately, just like the previous dishes, we had to share this plate between the 3 of us again :( Boo hoo.


The last of the main dishes, some teriyaki chicken (or was it pork). Had this with rice. Nothing much to shout about.


And a dessert platter to complete the set. The best thing on this plate is the 2 sticks of chocolate there. For your information, they are not hollow.

The service wasn't too good though, at Kobe Jones, but an awesome night, to say the least.

And it all wouldn't have been possible without the birthday 'man', Charles.


We actually bought him a cake, but ate it before we got there. Lol.

Well, not actually.

But everyone forgot to take a picture of the cake that we got, Mango Gateau from Bread Top.

How unfortunate.

Good day.

Rice Bar (The other one)

When I talked about Rice Bar the other time, I mentioned that there were 2 different Rice Bars close to each other, but they each have different menus. The one on Swanston has a more, refined, menu I should say, while the older one on Grattan sells what a basic chinese restaurant would sell, with roast meats and what-not.

So last Saturday, I went to the Rice Bar on Grattan for lunch. Missed lunch in college, so had to get food from somewhere else. Wasn't feeling very adventurous, so went with what I knew was good.


Big fat noodles, big far prawns, big fat veges, big fat pieces of beef, and lots of sauce with ajinomoto. What's there not to like?

And Jian Ming had a porridge.

Lamb Pizza

How many of you have heard of Lamb Pizza?

I can honestly tell you that I haven't heard of it until Yi Wen mentioned it that day, and although I am not a big pizza fan, I knew I had to have a taste of the Lamb Pizza from the moment I heard of it.

So I stopped by Intersection on Lygon on Wednesday night just before heading back to college.


This Is Lamb Pizzaaaaa!!!!!

The taste was so unlike any other pizza that I have ever tasted before. Even though they only had lamb, cheese, and pineapples as ingredients (I originally thought that with 3 ingredients it couldn't be very good), but for whatever reason, the unique flavour of the lamb really makes the pizza what it is.

And I imagine how much better it would've tasted had I eaten it on the spot, when it just came out piping hot from the oven, instead of carrying it through the cold and windy night back to my room in college.

Pizza is pretty much a staple dish in Australia. Its like you walk into a coffee shop in Malaysia and order Chicken Rice, or Char Kuay Teow. Which was why it came as a shock to me when I saw people ordering a pizza and eating it all by themselves. And up till now I still can't come to terms with people eating a whole pizza alone. For me, pizza has always been a party dish. You order it when you have people coming over to your house for a party or a get-together of some kind.

That Lamb Pizza up there was a medium sized one. Towards the last few slices, it just became difficult to finish the thing, because every mouthful of the pizza tasted exactly like the last 20 bites. While waiting for the pizza to be ready, I actually observed 2 guys, each eating one large pizza by themselves, and sharing a small pizza between them.

Goodness.

Pacific Seafood BBQ House

"Roasted meats and ducks hang in the window, and live seafood is brought over from the fishmonger next door. There is a menu, but few order from it. The multicolored pieces of poster board on the wall—in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese—tell you all you need to know ... They offered me steamed prawns, which were brought over still twitching, and we ordered clay-pot eel with pork and tofu skin in XO sauce, along with any and all of the roast meats from the window. The seafood was indeed impeccably fresh and tasty, the meats as sticky delicious as promised. I was in heaven, stuffing my face and talking food with my new friends for hours."

So said Anthony Bourdain about Pacific House, when he was in Melbourne a couple of years back.


I've heard of Pacific House being mentioned by my friends a few times already, but just never had the chance to go there. Just like Bourdain said, its famous for the seafood. Stuff like Lobster or Mud Crab fried with a noodle base.

And so when the opportunity to go came along last Saturday, I grabbed it. Got into the car, and drove to Victoria Street.


Although the place looks like any other chinese restaurant that you can find in Chinatown, the first thing that struck me about the place was that it seemed alive. For some reason that I cannot articulate, the patrons there just seemed so much more into eating, than patrons in any other chinese restaurant that I've seen. As in, the patrons that were there, seemed to be there because they chose to be there. They did not happen to walk by the restaurant and say, "Hey this looks like a nice place to eat, lets try it."

No.

It seemed like they actually chose to go specifically to the restaurant.

Because it was that damn good.

Anyway, we got in and sat down, and looked at the signs on the walls with all their special stuff. Unfortunately and disappointingly though, we did not have the monetary funds to eat seafood. Which means, no lobster or mudcrab for us. We reverted back to the usual fare of roast meats and rice. How disappointing.




Just basic stuff.

I think, to truly find out what Pacific House is all about, we needed to order seafood. Perhaps, sometime in the near future, I'll get a chance to find out.

Let's return to more familiar grounds, food.

Before I begin, I wish to declare that this post is a parody of Ironeaters' post on Lim's Nyonya Hut, and since I do not know each of them personally (no, the 'JW' mentioned in that post is not me), I apologise for parodying their stuff.

So.

Just how far am I willing to go for Char Kuay Teow? Approximately 6372 km actually.

Lol.


Look, there's a huge ass prawn there too. Its camouflaged, though, have to strain your eyes a bit.

There was also Wan Tan Mee. Not really my favourite, but I'll just put it here anyway. As long as it looks nice ya?


Looking at the picture again, I must say it looks rather appealing, this plate of noodles. Even the Char Siew looks very clean and fresh, if 'clean and fresh' could ever be adjectives for Char Siew.

And look! A Dead Fish Head.


I guess the only animals I like are dead ones. On a plate. And this one was particularly delicious. Especially the eyeballs. Oh, yes, the eyeballs. And the cheeks. And lips. Oooh. So succulent and juicy.

But I'm not a cruel person, really, I'm not.

Have you ever heard of the saying "Can't see the forest for the trees"?

I have.

It means that people can be too caught up in the details of a problem that they are unable to see the problem as a whole. It might mean that you're stuck at question 2 of your 100 question paper, and spend 2 hours trying to figure out question 2 that you forgot you have 98 more questions to go. It might also be the reason why people are unable to comprehend why Rafa Benitez did not play Fernando Torres against Birmingham at Anfield last week, a match in which Liverpool failed to win. It is also the reason why I am unable to comprehend why Rafa did not play Torres last week. But I digress.

Its a common saying, well accepted in the proper English speaking world.

However, how about a reverse of the same saying.

How about, "Can't see the trees for the forest"?

I suppose this is when you're unable to see the details due to the sheer enormity of the problem itself. When you are paralysed by the size of the problem, and are unable to take the first step to solve the problem.

Because everything that you do requires you to actually start doing it first.

And I suppose I'm wondering myself, what's the point of this whole post. And I don't have an answer.

I remember English in Form 5. My teacher Mrs Chandra (I think) asked of us to write one article every week. It was called 'free writing' where we could write anything we wanted, and just generally be expressive. I always had no idea what to write. There was once when I even lifted a whole article from a writer that I read on the internet. Of course, I quoted him, but then again, I didn't write anything of my own.

And this is where I shall end this time.

Good day.

I had a dream yesterday.

I saw this ad in the newspaper, claiming that a certain celebrity whom I can't remember was to be performing at this certain shop, which I also cannot remember, on that day.

So off I went rushing to the shop, only to discover a notice on the door of the shop saying: "You have been April Fooled!" I then suddenly remembered that the day was indeed, the first of April, and I chided myself for falling for such a cheap trick.

But I had 2 burning questions in my mind then.
Is today really the first of April?
If it is, is the first of April really April's Fools Day?

What is intelligence?

In his book 'More Games for the Super-Intelligent', James F. Fixx has this to say about intelligence:

... We can agree, too, on at least one other thing: intelligence is well worth having. Intelligence has, to be sure, landed more than a few of its possessors in deep trouble. One thinks, for example, of the student who on a physics examination was asked to describe a method for determining the height of a building by using a barometer. Finding the expected answer obvious and uninteresting, he outraged the educational authorities by giving the two alternate methods: (1) drop the barometer off the building's roof and time the interval until it smashes on the ground; (2) find the owner of the building and say to him, "If you tell me how tall your building is, I will give you a good barometer." ...

There was also a third method proposed: find the owner of the building and say to him, "If you don't tell me how tall your building is, I'll break this barometer over your head."

Haha.

OCSC Dinner

Friday night was Ormond College Student's Club Dinner.


It was a night where the students get to dress up and the members of the Senior Common Room (the Master, tutors, and staff of Ormond College) actually serve us dinner.

What follows is just a series of random pictures of the night, not all of which were taken by me.
















For many of us, it may be our last year in Ormond College.

May all the accumulated memories be cherished and not forgotten.