What the hell is a 'hot dog test'?

On the Straits Times today:

Mr Philip Yeo recounts an occasion when he and Mr Lim Swee Say - then working with him at the Economic Development Board - were queueing up for their boarding passes at an airline transit counter in Chicago. 

As there would be no food on the plane, he asked the young officer accompanying the to get three hot dogs from the nearest food stand.

"Swee Say and I got our boarding passes in less than 15 minutes, then we went looking for our missing officer," said Mr Yeo.

"We found him at the hot dog stand - patiently putting ketchup, onions, condiments, etc etc onto the three hot dogs! I expected him to bring the three 'naked' hot dogs to us. The officer failed the hot dog test. No more future trips with us."

So what the hell is this 'hot dog test'? Is there anything wrong with a subordinate doing this for his superiors? I pity for the guy for being condemned on Mr Yeo's whim, probably having absolutely no idea why he was not selected for future trips.

Three months without Garfield

Today is the third month of Garfield's death anniversary.

It has only been three months since you left us, but these three months seem so long, so empty, so wrong. Home will never be the same without you. Sometimes, I still expect you to be there when I come home from work, waiting for me at by the front door. Or when I switch on my room lights, I half expect to see you curled up on your bed, your lovespace. 

I dreamt of you several days ago. In the dream, which probably only lasted a few seconds, I recall telling someone - I don't know who - that you were not that skinny anymore. Hopefully it was a sign that you are doing well in the other world. I hope that you are able to run freely there, with no pain, no worries, and no unhappiness.

Sauteed mushrooms

Sauteed mushrooms (serves 1 to 2)

I did this randomly and it turned out quite good.

Ingredients:

1 box of white mushrooms, around 300g, sliced
2 stalks of spring onion, chopped into fine bits, leaving around 5cm unchopped from the bottom
0.5 cup of white wine
3 cloves of garlic, chopped into fine bits
2 teaspoons of butter
Salt

Instructions:

1) Melt the butter in a skillet, then put the garlic.
2) When the garlic starts to turn brown, add the mushrooms and stir.
3) Once the mushrooms become tender, pour the white wine in.
4) Add the spring onion in and stir it for a short while more, then serve.

Chinese Slow-Cooked Chicken

Chinese slow-cooked chicken

Another recipe passed down from my mother. It can be prepared in advance, easy to do, and requires little ingredients. 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

10 slices of ginger

5 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine

Salt

3 stalks of spring onion

3 tablespoons of sesame oil

Instructions:

1) Place the stalks of spring onion at the bottom of the slow-cooker, then put the chicken on top of it.

2) Throw the ginger slices in.

3) Mix the Chinese wine and 2 teaspoons of salt, then pour the mixture in.

4) Add the sesame oil in, followed by one cup of water.

5) Turn on the slow-cooker on high. After around 1.5 hours, add half more cup of water.

6) Chicken is ready after another 2 hours or so.

Simon Trpceski Plays Chopin (28 Jun 2013)

Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall

Conductor: Lan Shui

Pianist: Simon Trpceski

Programme: 

Sergei Rachmaninov - Introduction to Aleko

Sergei Rachmaninov - Men's Dance from Aleko

Sergei Rachmaninov - Prince Rostislav, Symphonic Poem for Orchestra

Frederic Chopin - Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.11

The highlight of the concert was Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, performed by Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski (Macedonia is a country in Southeast Europe). 

The concerto did not start off well. The heavy and bleak starting notes was not accentuated sufficiently by the orchestra, and the tempo was also a bit too fast; not enough emphasis was placed and the orchestra just seemed to rush through it. Fortunately, Trpceski's playing saved the day. He was obviously an experienced pianist from the way he carried himself - he was entirely at ease and enjoying himself. He placed more emphasis on the dynamics of the concerto, and he expressed this through his body too. One amusing thing I noticed was that after every cadenza, Trpceski would turn around to look at the orchestra, as if asking them, "Did you hear that?" and "Is everything fine?"

His body movements were most apparent in the third movement of the concerto, Rondo (Vivace). Based on a traditional Polish dance, a Krakowiak, Trpceski looked, at times, almost like he was dancing as well, clearly delighted in the exuberance of the piece. (The Krakowiak was supposed to mimic the movement of horses.)

Overall, the concerto was quite enjoyable despite being dampened somewhat by the orchestra, whose accompaniment did not match up to Trpceski's playing.

Man of Steel

Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel. Source: forbes.com 

Having watched quite a few Superman movies [ Superman (1978), Superman II (1981), Superman III (1983), Superman IV (1987), Superman Returns (2006) ], I had my reservations in watching this, since the last few were rather disappointing. (I even survived ten seasons of Smallville, by the way.)

My gut reaction to Henry Cavill donning Superman's cape was one of doubt. He just doesn't look like  Superman. Of course, Christopher Reeve was the best there could ever be, but at least Brandon Routh in Superman Returns still looked as if he fit the role well... never mind the plot, of course.

Brandon Routh in Superman Returns. Source: www.g4tv.com

Henry Cavill's costume has undergone a significant change from his predecessors. While everyone has been talking about the removal of his trademark red briefs, I think the bigger change is on the colours. Cavill's costume is now much darker, an indication of how the character and movie will turn out. Superman here is much more troubled and brooding than the previous Supermen, and being conflicted by his desire to help others and the need to keep his powers secret, he sets out on a journey to discover his true heritage.

The opening scene was perhaps a bit long, but nevertheless necessary to give the movie some backing (and perhaps to explain to people who are unfamiliar with Superman's background). We are then brought to some scenes of his childhood, where the movie explains how he got his powers of X-ray vision, super hearing, and heat vision. And of course, on how his parents have managed to instil a rock-solid sense of morality and ethics into their adopted son. Lois Lane then comes into the picture, and accidentally leads General Zod to Earth.

That's around half the movie gone. The other half revolves just around mindless action. The battles between the aliens with super strength involved punches which sent each other hurtling kilometres away and smashing through several buildings in succession, which reminded me very strongly of Dragonball. But despite taking so many hits, Superman didn't look the slightest bit injured. And one amusing observation was that although their battles took place in the sky (and everywhere else), they were always in firm sight of Lois Lane and the rest. The final scene was also coincidentally where Lois Lane could reach in just a few minutes... hmm.

I am not sure if there will be a sequel. But the charming relationship between Clark and Lois - that of a bumbling and clumsy Clark having a crush on the aggressive and confident Lois, who loves Superman while not knowing that Clark is actually Superman - is definitely impossible now, since the whole world seems to know who Superman is. And come on, his disguise is pathetic. Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh are able to pull off the stunt of putting on a pair of big plastic spectacles and transforming into Clark Kent, but Henry Cavill in spectacles just looked like, well, Superman in spectacles.

Man of Steel was a good effort at rebooting the Superman franchise. But to me, Christopher Reeve will always be the true Superman.

Cream of leek and potato soup

Cream of leek and potato soup (serves 6 to 8)

This is not too difficult and can be prepared in advance.

Cream of leek and potato soup

Ingredients:

2 large leeks (preferably Australian), around 400g
450g baby potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1.5 litres chicken stock
150ml sour cream
Salt
Black pepper
Spring onion for garnishing


Instructions:

1) Make a slit along each leek, length-wise. Rinse well, then slice thinly.
2) Pour the chicken stock into a pot, then add the potatoes in. Boil it, then let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
3) Add in the leeks, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and let it simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.
4) Let the mixture cool a bit, then blend it.
5) Heat up the mixture again. Add the cream in and stir it.
6) Serve with some spring onion and a bit of sour cream.

GRUB @ Bishan Park

GRUB opened its doors only recently, and I have heard how long the queues are during mealtimes. My gf and I visited GRUB for breakfast only because my Canopy discount card was missing (forgot who I lent it to). We reached there shortly after 9am and still managed to get a seat indoors.

Truffled egg cocotte, $7

Two soft boiled eggs, with bacon bits, spring onion, and some truffle oil. And focaccia bread for dipping. The eggs were done quite well, and the saltiness of the bacon means that no dark soy sauce is required. 

While this didn't cost much in absolute terms, when it comes to soft boiled eggs, I would still prefer our local version with dark soy sauce and pepper. And the small portion means that this is almost certainly not enough for most people. Which was why we ended up ordering another cheeseburger to share.

GRUB Breakfast Set, $15

Their "big breakfast" set, which comes with tomato chutney, garlic pork sausage (can also opt for beef), mushroom, salad, scrambled eggs, and focaccia bread. I found the scrambled eggs unsatisfactory; it was dry and not fluffy at all. In fact, I think the tomato chutney was the best in this plate.

GRUB Cheeseburger, $11

The fries impressed me more than the burger, whose beef patty was a bit tough and lacking of beef flavour. 

To sum up, I like GRUB's design and ambience more than its food. There is something about it being a lone building located amongst the greenery of Bishan Park. Average-only food, reasonable prices, but portions on the small side. They welcome dogs too, so this is another place for dog owners.

Hippopotamus @ Marina Square

I have passed by Hippopotamus several times and made a note to myself to visit it some day, and the day came when I saw it on the Palate program. Visited here for dinner on a weekday.

French onion soup, $8.90

Normal french onion soup. Nothing special, but nothing really wrong with it either.

Fried calamari, $3

This was a promotional item. At $3, it would appear to be a real steal. But don't order it. The calamari was not fresh and tasted a bit fishy and odd.

Classic ribeye, 220g, $24.90

Their menus had two different categories of steaks - the premium and the normal ones. I ordered the normal one. It is probably NZ beef, which is cheaper (and less tasty). I found the beef lacking in beef flavour. And I asked for it to be done medium rare... but it came out closer to rare.

This isn't medium rare.

Hippo Bacon Burger, $17.90

We decided to "diversify" our orders and not focus on steaks only. So we chose one of their burgers. This was so-so only too. But the sides that we selected were quite a let-down. The potato gratin was practically tasteless and we discarded more than half of it, while the ratatouille was also too bland.

After I asked for the bill, I noticed that the shop name written on the bill was "Swensen's". So they are both under the same holding company, ABR Holdings Limited! Interesting.

Tonkotsu King Four Seasons @ Bugis Village

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King Four Seasons (what a mouthful!) is the newest ramen outlet opened by Keisuke Takeda, on top of the existing Tonkotsu King, Tori King, and Ramen Keisuke Dining. Each one features a unique theme, and as the name suggests, the theme of this outlet is the four seasons. Even the interior of the restaurant had been designed to fit the theme; my friend and I passed through all four seasons as we walked through. In order, it was spring, summer, autumn, and finally winter. We sat at the winter section.

Winter section

It was certainly comforting to see the usual free-flow bean sprouts and hard boiled eggs on the table! Being a big fan of bean sprouts, I never had to worry about not having enough food at any of the Keisuke outlets. Because whatever empty space in my stomach could always be filled with bean sprouts.

As I came here with only one friend, we only managed to try two seasons - autumn and summer.

Autumn ramen with egg, $14.90

Autumn ramen comes with a mixture of three different types of mushrooms - eringi, shimeiji, and shiitake - and these were stir-fried before blending into a fine paste along with some bonito. I took a sip of the soup first before mixing the paste in. It was quite thick and rich, but a little on the salty side. I actually thought it tasted like chicken broth, but the menu said the soup was tonkotsu... hmm. But I learned later that it was a mixture of chicken and pork bones.

After mixing, the resultant broth was one that was just right, as the mushrooms helped to neutralise a bit of the salty taste. This was delicious! And the soup wasn't too oily, maybe due to the presence of chicken broth in it. Compared to Menya Musashi's, I think this should be considerably less oily, also because I wrote "no oil" on my order sheet. 

The char siew was also excellent, much better than their other outlets. It was tender and juicy, and yet not too fat. I am not sure which part of the pig they used - I suspect it was the cheeks. I hope they still use this during my next visit.

Summer ramen with egg, $15.90

My friend ordered this, their Summer ramen. Although I love spicy food, I tend to avoid spicy ramen, as I think the spice spoils the natural flavour of the soup. The soup base is the same, except that they added a special powdered mixture that consists of cayenne pepper, Szechuan pepper, and ground pork. I think there was some miso too, but I wasn't too sure. It wasn't as spicy as it looks though. I still prefer the Autumn bowl over this.

Other than Autumn and Summer, they still have Spring (with basil and parmesan cheese), Winter (plain tonkotsu broth), and King (topped with ginger stir-fried pork). I wonder what I will try next?

Where's my car emblem

My mother and I had just parked our car at Serene Centre this morning when I noticed something odd about our car emblem. My first thought was, "is there a sticker over the car emblem?"

Then I took a closer look and started cursing. Some fucker had ripped it off.

We had no idea when or where the incident happened. It could be yesterday, when my younger brother parked at the Pasir Ris jetty car park meant for army personnel. Or the day before, when my mother parked at a public car park in Bishan. 

The irony is that today the Straits Times reported that "Two charged with tearing emblems from cars". It mentioned that the two were each charged with 15 counts of mischief after they allegedly removed the car emblems from a condo and hotel carpark. Their targets were BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Fiat.

Maybe it's time I install a video camera in the car. Or better still, run an electric current over the replacement emblem so that anyone touching it will get a nasty electric shock. 

Clearing emails

After neglecting to archive and arrange my office mail box for around three years, I decided that I had better do so before it gets even worse. This was also partially triggered by some additional job responsibilities I got this week, which I really need to be very organised in. So I brought my laptop back over the weekend, something which I haven't done in the past few months. 

Number of emails on my mailbox = 11,785. I spent two hours last night on it and only cleared around 1,300. And these are the straightforward ones - mostly deleted instead of archiving.

I am so screwed. 10,456 more to go.

Update as of 2nd June 2013, 1129pm:

After spending practically the whole weekend (from Friday night till Sunday night), I am finally down to 2,189. I swear that I will tidy up my emails regularly from now on.

Koh Samui (May 2013)

My first visit to Koh Samui, from 9th May to 13th May. It was triggered by my expiring Krisflyer miles, so I had redeemed the miles hurriedly for this trip in January. It turned out to be extremely worth it, because the Krisflyer miles go by mileage instead of fare price. A flight to Koh Samui can be expensive for that distance; I think Silkair charges between $500 to $800 for a return ticket... for a 1 hour 50 minutes flight to Thailand! Bangkok Airways flies there too, but the prices are not much lower.

Day 1

We reached our hotel, Code, rather uneventfully, especially since we had arranged for an airport transfer beforehand. It cost us THB800 (S$33.78) for a half-hour ride, which I felt was a bit expensive (akin to paying Singapore cab fare prices in Thailand). But considering that Code was located in a rather ulu place - around five minutes drive away from the main road, and up a very steep hill at that - the price was still reasonable. Because we learned later that cab drivers in Koh Samui would always insist on a hefty mark-up on the cab fare for just those five minutes.

Code was located at the northwest part of the island, a distance away from Chaweng, where most of the restaurants and shops are at (the east). The hotel was quite impressive. Not for being posh or luxurious, but because of its design and openness. The room was like a studio apartment - it was basically just one big room, with the living room, kitchen and bedroom all in one. Here are some pictures:

The "fully-equipped" kitchen, which was small but handy

The comfortable sofa, with the television (bottom left)

The bedroom, which could be separated by a sliding glass screen

The view from our balcony

Instead of having a fixed phone line in the room, they issued us a local mobile phone, which came with their reception and manager's numbers. I thought it was brilliant, as we could bring the phone out and use it to call back the hotel in case we need transport or something else. We were not charged on the local calls we made while in Koh Samui, by the way.

A Nokia phone which lasted us for three full days without charging. Can our smartphones do that now?

The gym was small, but suited our needs. And we had the whole gym to ourselves today too.

Some basic gym equipment

Free weights

For dinner, we took the hotel transport down to Bang Por, which was just five minutes away. We chose a restaurant which many locals seemed to frequent. The food was quite reasonably priced and tasted all right too. 

Outdoor seating by the beach

"Indoor" seats

Clockwise from top left: chilli served on coconut husks, grilled pomfret, kangkong, grilled squid

Day 2

We decided to try the breakfast at the hotel's only restaurant, Vanilla Restaurant. Topped up THB500 (S$21.11) to our room charges to include breakfast for two of us, which was quite worth it as the food was quite good. It was certainly quite relaxing to chill and take in the sun and greenery, though it became a bit warm after a while; the place was not air-conditioned and only had some standing fans.

Enjoying the scenery

European Breakfast

Poached eggs with smoked salmon

After breakfast, we went to their pool to tan. It was those kind of "infinity" pools, where the edge seems to extend to the ocean. The turn-off was that the pool was full of insects! They were probably from the night before, when the pool was well-lit and the insects just flocked in... so we had to spend some time splashing the insects over the edge to "clean" the pool.

Taken from our room balcony

Enjoying a suntan at the infinity pool

Next stop was at Chaweng for lunch. Chaweng is Koh Samui's biggest and busiest town, and is rife with hotels, restaurants, and bars. Hotel transport to Chaweng was not cheap, at THB800 (S$33.78), so we took the more affordable (and troublesome) option, which was to take the hotel transport down to the main road at THB100 (S$4.22) before flagging a common pick-up taxi at THB100 per pax. So the trip cost us only THB300 ($12.66)... but took us perhaps twice the time (and half the comfort).

From the back of the pick-up taxi

The weather was scorching. By the time we reached our destination, a restaurant called Spago, we were hot and thirsty. And the place wasn't air-conditioned, to our dismay. But fortunately, the food was pretty good.

Soft-shelled crab salad, tuna loin, pasta with asparagus and crab cream

The main courses were quite good, but the salad had way too much mustard in it. If they could reduce the amount of mustard by half or even to a third, it should be much better.

It was back to the unrelenting heat again after lunch, so we walked for a short while before seeking refuge at a Movenpick cafe for ice cream (and air-con). Stayed there for quite some time, then went for a foot + neck + shoulder massage that was ridiculously cheap at THB180 (S$7.60) each. But their massage skills and service standards were quite poor; both of us didn't really feel the "shiok" factor during the massage, and the two guys attending to us kept on talking to each other and giggling.

Dinner was at Duomo, an Italian restaurant recommended by a friend.

Ristorante Pizzeria Duomo

Squid ink pasta with salmon

We were not that hungry yet, so we just ordered a salad and a pasta to share. The pasta was definitely one of the best that I have tried so far - just the right amount of cream so that it is not too thick, pasta done just right, salmon was quite fresh, and the overall taste just blended in very nicely. This was the best meal we had while in Koh Samui.

Restaurant name: Duomo
Address: Chaweng Beach 60/33 60'34, Chaweng Beach Road

Day 3

Lunch in our room + movie on iPad

A rather simple lunch in our room - pan fried chicken thighs, smoked snowfish, canned tuna, and canned lobster bisque. We bought the chicken and snowfish from Tops Supermarket the day before, while the tuna and soup were brought from Singapore.

Dinner was at Fisherman's Village. The general manager of Code had recommended Starfish and Coffee for seafood, so we decided to give it a try. It was disappointing in many aspects: the place was full of insects and poorly ventilated, service was poor, food was only decent, and prices were higher than we thought. Highly not recommended.

Entrance of Fisherman's Village

View of Fisherman's Village from the jetty

Day 4

Our flight was at 955am, so we had breakfast at the cafe again once it opened (7am). The standards seemed to be deteriorating day by day! Our first breakfast here was excellent. On the second day, the mushrooms were sour and one out of our four poached eggs were overcooked. And today, the mushrooms were sour and all our poached eggs were overcooked! As we had to leave by 745am, there was no time to send it back to the kitchen. Pfft.

When we reached Koh Samui on the first day, we didn't get to see this part of the airport, which we did today. The airport's design was quite unique; it was a rather open and outdoor concept, and had shops lining the pavements. 

Shops lining the pavements at Koh Samui airport

For people to chill and relax

Spot the two cats in this picture!

Koh Samui turned out to be better than we thought, but it definitely does not justify a $600 to $800 plane ticket there. I would consider going again... but only when I clock enough miles on my Krisflyer card.

La Nonna @ Namly Place

Had an appointment at the west today, so we decided to try a restaurant on the Palate list that was as far as possible. Roast at Rochester was closed for a private event, and I didn't want to go to Tunglok Seafood at Jurong, so we settled for La Nonna at Namly Place.

Spinaci, $18

I thought this dish was not really well presented. The smoked duck looked dry, tough and unrelenting, for one thing. Other than that, the dish could do with more cheese, more Balsamic dressing, more tomatoes, more olives (I think we counted three tiny ones?), and can afford to have a bit less of baby spinach.

Spinach Fettucine with Clams and Mushrooms and Saffron Cream, $22

This was under their "Special Pasta" list. My first thought was... isn't spinach fettucine supposed to be green in colour? This dish was a let-down. The sweet taste of clams was noticeably missing from the sauce, and the overall taste did not blend well.

Rigatoni, $19

Fortunately we had this dish to make up for the spinach fettucine! The rigatoni pasta was served with braised oxtail ragout, which was juicy and soaked full with flavour. The ragout was also seasoned with truffle oil, but I had that they could have held back a bit on that, as it was a bit overpowering. Still, this dish was pretty good.

Tiramisu, $12

The tiramisu did not disappoint; it was rich with flavour (especially alcohol) but was not overly creamy.

After a 50% discount, the bill came to $41, which was really cheap. While there were no fantastic dishes here, I wouldn't mind coming here again to try their baked pasta or pizzas as the prices are very reasonable.

Oenotheque by Wine Universe @ Millennia Walk

Brought my mother here for lunch today, and learnt that they had totally removed their a la carte menu and replaced it with set menus only... permanently. The set menu had a choice of one to three courses, but the Palate discount only applies for three courses. It costs $44++ per pax (before discount).

Eggs Slow Cooking

I haven't had such a good starter in ages. As shown from the picture, the white puffed up ring is actually parmesan cheese, probably mixed with some egg whites to give it that fluffy texture. In the middle, bacon. Under this layer was a beautifully and perfectly poached egg, and beneath the egg, a spread of beef oxtail. This was so... darn... good. I even asked the manager if they have this for dinner, and was told that they would change their set menu every week. I hope this would still be here during my next visit!

Mackerel

Another starter. Although this was not as good as the previous starter, it was still quite impressive. A fresh piece of mackerel surrounded by pieces of zucchini, carrots, and pear. I am not sure what the green sauce is though.

Cod Fish

This required a top-up of $5. According to my mother, good-quality cod fish is more firm and has a less oily texture. If this is true, then Oenotheque's cod fish is really good. I thought the cucumber didn't go well with the cod fish at first, but after a while I got used to it. The beetroot and apple also went quite well with the fish.

Kurobuta Pork

$12 more for this dish. It came with pomelo, corn, and aubergine. This was relatively disappointing, actually. I found the natural pork taste to be a bit lacking, and the sauce (I think it's port wine sauce?) to be too overpowering. I could only dab a bit of it, or else the pork taste would be drowned in the sauce.

Riz Au Lait

This is actually rice pudding with vanilla ice cream, berries, and mango. Quite an odd combination to me, but it didn't really make an impression on me.

Although their a la carte menu has been removed, their set meals still show a considerable level of quality. My guess is that they streamlined their menu to manage their resources better - the restaurant was obviously under-staffed. We spent two full hours there, and had to wait quite a long time for our food. Our desserts took the longest time - 20 minutes. And I had to ask for the bill three times in ten minutes before I got it.

Past visit:
10th April 2013