Tuesday 24 December 2013

Curry Chicken

Cooking curry chicken used to be a daunting task. My late grandma was a nonya and was very good at cooking curry. Whenever she wanted to cook curry, she would put all the spices needed into a motar and pound them to make the curry paste. She would make coconut milk the traditional way by adding water to shredded coconut, placed them in a cloth to squeeze out the coconut milk just like what 蕙娘 Huiniang (played by Joanne Peh) did in the TV drama serial 《信约:唐山到南洋》 ("The Journey: A Voyage"). So basically, everything was freshly made from scratch.

Now, there are so many different brands and types of curry paste. However, I was not satisfied with the end result I had with most of the curry paste that I had tried. So, I had to combine curry powder with some sambal chilli paste and salt to get the taste and colour of the curry gravy that I wanted. 

Recently, I bought the A1 Instant Chicken Curry Sauce for cooking the curry chicken.





This was what I did. 

1. After peeling the potatoes, I put them in a bowl of salt water to prevent them from oxidising and to add a bit of saltiness to them.


2. I heated some oil in a wok and stir fried some garlic in it. 

3. Next, I put in all the chicken pieces (1.2 kg) and potatoes (300 g), then added all of the A1 Instant Chicken Curry Sauce. Mixed well, added water.

4. When the mixture started to boil, I added 2 packets of the Kara UHT Natural Coconut Cream (200 ml each, actually one packet would be good enough). Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes and it was ready to serve.





The taste was just right - spicy and salty enough. I didn't even have to add more seasoning to the curry. Just what I wanted. :)




Sunday 22 December 2013

Quotes from Episode 18 of 《信约:唐山到南洋》"The Journey: A Voyage"

《信约:唐山到南洋》"The Journey: A Voyage" is MediaCorp's blockbuster of the year.  It is currently airing on channel 8 at 9 pm, Monday to Friday. 

Quotes from Episode 18:

善恶都在心。
心正则正,心恶则恶。
所以我们要时时刻刻警惕自己,
要行正道而非歪道。

which was translated as:

It's our intentions that make us good or bad.
We can decide to be good or bad.
So we have to constantly remind ourselves to keep to the right track.


Related Posts:

Last Episode of 《信约:唐山到南洋》"The Journey: A Voyage"
Episode 30 of 《信约:唐山到南洋》"The Journey: A Voyage"



Saturday 14 December 2013

Christmas Decorations and Street Lightings 2013

I really love the season of Christmas. Many shopping malls and streets are beautifully decorated and add more joy to Christmas. 

Below were pictures taken in or near various shopping mall.


Outside Raffles City

In Westgate Mall

The following video were taken at Changi Airport Terminal 3 and along the street near Changi Airport. 




All the pictures below were taken at Changi Airport Terminal 3, level 2.



Santa Claus Village





Related Post:

Christmas Wonderland at City Square Mall


Saturday 7 December 2013

S.E.A. Aquarium and Maritime Experiential Museum in Sentosa



Ardon had a voucher that we could exchange for admission tickets to some attractions in Singapore. After looking through all the options available and with December being the rainy season, we decided on the S.E.A. Aquarium. The S.E.A. Aquarium is an indoor attraction and is located inside Resort World Sentosa. We topped up another $32 to get 2 adult and 2 child tickets. The admission ticket to the S.E.A. Aquarium included admission to the Maritime Experiential Museum.

On 4 December when the weather was better (cloudy most of the time), we drove into Sentosa ($6 per entry from 2 pm to 5 pm on weekdays) and parked at the Beach car park ($3 for 1st 4 hours). 


We took the Sentosa Express (free within Sentosa) from the Beach Station to Waterfront Station. Once out from the Sentosa Express Waterfront Station, we just followed the signboard and it took us about 5 minutes to reach the S.E.A. Aquarium.  We entered the S.E.A. through the entrance of the Maritime Experiential Museum. 


Maritime Experiential Museum

Vietnam Water Puppets

Statue of Zheng He


Ming Dynasty Treasure Fleet Commanded by Zheng He




S.E.A. Aquarium










Beautiful Corals 



Mangrove Forest


The above are just a small part of the photos and videos that we have taken. You will be awed by the large species of marine life in the S.E.A. Aquarium.


Related Post:



Wednesday 4 December 2013

Christmas Wonderland at City Square Mall



We reached City Square Mall just in time to see the "snow" coming down from the second floor of the mall. 

After that, we brought the kids to the park at Level 1. As usual, we took some pictures with the Christmas decorations outside City Square Mall.






There were some games and rides at the park too. Each ride cost $4. For those who have spent more than $200 in City Square Mall, they would get a complimentary ticket.





The kids enjoyed the ride at the carousel. 


The picture below is the spot where the Festive Light Show and Snowy Playtime take place every night at 8 pm and 9 pm from 15 Nov to 29 Dec 2013.





Thursday 14 November 2013

Our Christmas Tree

I have always liked Christmas trees since young. I still remember that my first Christmas tree was a gift from my cousin and was white in colour. Although it was just a small tree, it really made my day.

After Ardon and I got married, we bought a Christmas tree shortly after Lynn was born. The Christmas tree was bought at Cold Storage and it was 6 feet tall. It cost $69.90. The leaves looked sparse when there were few ornaments on it. Through the years, we bought more Christmas tree ornaments and it looked much better with more ornaments on it.  


Subsequently, as we had more and more toys and books, we realized that it was too big for our flat. The leaves also kept falling off and the branches had started to look more brownish. It was time to change to a new Christmas tree.

So, last year, we bought a new Christmas tree from Giant Hypermart. It cost about $20. As this tree was shorter and slimmer that the previous Christmas tree, we had more than enough ornaments to go round the tree.

Last weekend, I set up the Christmas tree and the children had so much fun decorating the Christmas tree. Sera hung the ornaments at the bottom of the tree as she is younger and shorter. Lynn was responsible for hanging the ornaments on the higher part of the tree. This was how our current Christmas tree looked. 


Did you notice that the star at the top of the tree changes colour every few seconds? We bought it from Perth, Australia a few years ago. Glad it is still working. :)


Sunday 10 November 2013

《认识你真好》("It's Good to Know You" )

《认识你真好》("It's Good to Know You" ) was a song sung by Eric Suen (孙耀威) that was released in July 1993. This was also the song that brought fame to Eric Suen (孙耀威).

《认识你真好》("It's Good to Know You" ) is still one of my favourite songs. This song is very lively and never fails to perk me up. I think this song makes people feel happy - The person singing it and the person listening to it. Eric Suen is also one of those singers who looks and sounds good. 





歌词:

想着你的好
不知道何时才能拥你在我的怀抱
也不想预料
能否等到所谓天荒地老
但是我 只要专心地看着你一秒
就听见我的心跳 又在胸口燃烧

我要求不高

只希望每次邀你入梦你不会迟到
要让你知道 
你的欢喜悲伤我都想要
因为我 最爱看到你甜蜜的微笑
小小的一种需要 不会被谁动摇

认识你真好 知不知道

只有你可以让我把烦恼忘掉
认识你真好
一切都变得不重要
你让我觉得骄傲

一生也好一天也好

不担心时间太少
至少我不必再寻找谁的温柔才够好
让我拥抱

hoo...my baby

认识你真好 知不知道

只有你可以让我把烦恼忘掉
认识你真好 一切都变得不重要
是你让我觉得骄傲

which can be translated as:

Thinking of how good you are
Don't know when I can hold you in my arms
Don't want to think about
whether I can wait forever 
But I only need to just concentrate and look at you for one second 
I will hear my heart beating and feel my chest burning

My expectations are not high
Just hope everytime I invite you into my dreams 
you will not be late 
Want to let you know that I want both your joy and sorrow
Because I love to see your sweet smile 
A need that will never waver because of anyone

Do you know that it's good to know you
Only you can make me forget my troubles 
Do you know that it's good to know you
Everything else becomes unimportant 
You make me feel so proud

Be it a lifetime or just a day
I do not worry about having too little time 
At least I no longer need to search for anyone else  
Let me embrace 

Hoo .... My baby 

Only you can make me forget my troubles 
Do you know that it's good to know you
Everything else becomes unimportant 
You make me feel so proud

Saturday 2 November 2013

Metro Expo Sale from 1 Nov - 3 Nov 2013

Metro is currently having its Metro Expo sale at the Singapore Expo from 1 Nov to 3 Nov 2013, at hall 4. 

With only about one hour to shop around yesterday, naturally shopping for clothes was out for us (have to spend time queuing for a fitting room and change). The next thing to look out for were bargains for shoes and other items.

When we were at the right corner (looking in from outside) of hall 4, we saw some ribbons meant for Christmas tree decorations. Metro was selling them at 5 for $15. I didn't want to get five rolls of ribbons, then I realized that we could mix many different items to make up the numbers. After looking around, I finally decided on these 5 items.


Ribbon

Bells for Christmas tree decorations

Accessory holder

Accessory holder


The accessory holders shown in the pictures above were available in 3 colours, two of which I had bought. The other colour was black and light grey. These could hold hook earrings and bracelets on top as well as small stud earrings and rings below. 



The accessory holder above was in the shape of a lady's body. This could hold necklaces, bracelets, bangles, rings, hair ties and hook earrings.

I think this was a good deal. Normally, such accessory holders would cost about $10 each. 

Other items that were sold at 5 for $15 were piggy banks of various shapes, party masks, party hats and other Christmas tree decorations.  

The pictures below shows the accessory holders with accessories on them.







Tuesday 29 October 2013

Remico Double Grill Frying Pan - Part 2

I had previously written a post on the Remico Double Grill Frying Pan on our Ace Swan Blog. I had used the pan several other times to cook other dishes but I did not take any pictures then.

Yesterday, I used the Remico Double Grill Frying Pan to fry some fish. As Remico Double Grill Frying Pan had non-stick surfaces, I did not need to put a lot of oil. I was glad the fish turned out just the way I wanted it - crispy on the outside. See the picture below.


I also used it to cook my vegetables instead of the wok that I normally used.  I didn't want the hassle of having to wash the wok as well. I was glad I was able to put all the vegetables in the pan to cook.



I also noticed that by using this Remico Double Grill Frying Pan, my kitchen wasn't as oily as when using a wok for cooking/frying. It should be due to the fact that less oil was used and covering the food during the cooking/frying process.


Related post:



Saturday 26 October 2013

Final Episode of 《小小传奇》("Gonna Make It")

Oscar was accused of putting "Black and White" company's benefits at risk by the shareholders and was relieved of his duties as CEO. Wenya was chosen as the new CEO. 

As soon as she became the CEO of "Black and White", she thwarted the expansion plans of Black and White in Beijing in order to spite Oscar. Mei Na (played by Lin Meijiao), together with 2 more shareholders decided to get Oscar back as CEO of Black and White. She said Wenya was not suitable to be the CEO of Black and White because the things Wenya did was not in the benefits of the company. Oscar, on the other hand, did not do anything to harm the company. Oscar then resumed his post as the CEO of Black and White.

After Xiao Xiao got her right hand injured as a result of trying to save Wenya, she had to go for physiotherapy to regain the use of her right hand. During one of the physiotherapy session, she met Ning Jing, a celebrity and had a little chat with her. Xiao Xiao then commented that Ning Jing's new hairstyle made her look much older. Ning Jing was offended and made an excuse to go.

Some time later, Ning Jing appeared for a charity show and received very good response on her new image styling. She revealed that Xiao Xiao was her new hair stylist. From then on, Xiao Xiao received good publicity and finally made it!

Wenya flew to Florence, Italy alone. She met a hairstylist and intend to open a hair salon there.

Xiao Xiao's father came to her every month for a haircut. His wife did not say anything about divorcing him anymore so long as Xiao Xiao did not call him "Daddy".  

Feilong was employed by Oscar to work at Black and White to do sales/promotions. He said some of Feilong's ideas actually can work. Feilong's two friends worked at Star salon. One was good at washing hair and the other was good at making latte for customers.

So, as long as one is willing to change and learn, with determination, passion and the right opportunity, one can make it!


Related posts:


Episode 17 of 《小小传奇》("Gonna Make It")


Wednesday 23 October 2013

Episode 17 of 《小小传奇》("Gonna Make It")

小小传奇》("Gonna Make It") is a MediaCorp drama that had started airing on Channel 8, on 30 September 2013, every Monday to Friday at 9 pm. Last night was episode 17, which was the 4th last episode.

Below were what Xiao Xiao (played by 陈欣淇 Julie Tan) said to Liu A'man (played by 王禄江 Bryan Wong) in episode 17 which were quite touching.

...不过我从来没有忘记,当初你是怎么栽培我的。当全世界都放弃我的时候,是你,你给我机会。你没有放弃我。所以现在,我也不会放弃你。

which was translated as :

"... but I've never forgotten how you groomed me back then. When the world world turned its back on me, you gave me a chance. You didn't give up on me. So I'm not giving up on you either"

There were also many other touching moments in this episode.

Xiao Xiao also went to persuade Bao'er (a celebrity played by 郑秀珍 Jacelyn Tay) to continue using A'man as her hairstylist for the upcoming Star Awards. 

A'man also told Xiao Xiao many things that sounded very pessimistic yet realistic.

A'man had a wife named Monica (played by 许美珍 Cynthia Koh). However, Monica had long left him for another man (who was serving a jail term). However, A'man did not divorce her. I believed A'man till loved Monica and regretted neglecting her when he first started his career/business.

On his deathbed, A'man still hoped to see Monica. Xiao Xiao rushed to get Monica and got into a fight with Monica because Monica refused to go with her. They ended up in the police station and Oscar (Xiao Xiao's boyfriend, played by 徐彬 Xu Bin) had to bail Xiao Xiao out. Xiao Xiao and Oscar then went to the hospital just in time to see A'man for the last time.

At the end of this episode, this song 《落幕的心情》was played. This was also the theme song of 《舞榭歌台》, a TV drama produced by SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, now called MediaCorp) in 1988. This drama and song used to be popular too. 


Related posts:

Final Episode of 《小小传奇》("Gonna Make It")


Tuesday 22 October 2013

Yoei Egg Boiler - Part 4 (Heating Up of Dim Sum)

I bought some dim sum yesterday and kept it in the fridge overnight.

Today, I used the Yoei Egg Boiler to heat up these dim sum. I put 80 ml of water onto the heating plate. Then I placed the dim sum on the stainless steel bowl that came with the Yoei Egg Boiler and switch on the Yoei Egg Boiler.


After about 10 minutes, the dim sum were fully heated up and was ready to eat. Although the skin of one of the them did break a little, on the whole, they still turned out ok. Maybe next time I shall try with slightly less water.

Part 1     Part 2     Part 3


Saturday 19 October 2013

Dining Chair from Giant Hypermart

Yesterday, we went to Giant Hypermart and saw that there were some furniture on offer. As we needed some chairs, we tried on some of chairs. In the end, we settled on the black dining chair with cushions below and behind. It was quite comfortable, and looked easy to fix. It was also quite light weight and was selling at $12.98. The cushion was probably made of faux leather. We bought two of these chairs.

After we bought the chairs, we fixed them with the screws and tool given. Ardon had difficulty tightening one of the screws for the first chair that we did. It seemed that the holes were not done as well as Ikea's furniture for DIY purposes. Nevertheless, it could still hold the parts in place. We were then surprised to find that there were no holes on the bottom of the chair cushion (not the metal support). Then we realized that we need to drill the 4 small screws from the bottom of the chair's metal support where there were holes to the bottom of the chair cushion to fix it. 


Screw drilled in from metal support to bottom of chair cushion

After Ardon drilled the 4 small screws into the holes, the chair was done and ready to use. This was how the chair looked.


The weird thing was, this chair seemed uneven and slightly shaky when no one was sitting on it. Once I sat on it, I could not feel that the chair was uneven. It did not shake like when it was empty. We had better luck for the second chair that we fixed. At least no problem with tightening of the screws.

Apart from the minor grouses and mishaps while fixing the chairs, I would think it was still a good buy at $12.98. It is not easy to find a chair with cushion at such an attractive price.



Monday 14 October 2013

《好难得》 (“It's so rare”)

《好难得》 (It's so rare) is a very nice song sung by Ding Dang. I first took notice of this song when it was played in the MediaCorp drama serial, 《微笑正义》("Poetic Justice") which starred Rui'en, Rebecca Lim, Dai Yangtian and Desmond Tan《微笑正义》("Poetic Justice") was telecast on Channel 8 in September 2012. This was also a drama that I had enjoyed watching very much.

Simply loved this song. 



歌词:

爱让我们变得比单身愚笨 
也让我们拥有从未的完整
问也不问就越陷越深
如果不是那个吻 

那年会更冷
相信变成了某种特殊天分 

缘分只是自欺欺人的天真
想念总是在夜里狂奔 

特别想他着魔的眼神

好难得你遇见了对的人
难得你很认真
不想太多去奋不顾身
好难得你爱上了对的人
可惜他不是你的可能


我们都曾以为爱就像清晨 

原来最难挨过的竟是黄昏
我们都爱过某个诗人 

可是诗人也是平凡人

好难得你遇见了对的人 

难得你很认真
不想太多去奋不顾身
好难得你爱上了对的人 

可惜他不是你的可能

好难得我们遇见了对的人 

难得好几辈子的好运才有机会完成
好难得我们爱上了对的人 

就算他不是到最后的人
也祝他更勇敢爱别人


which can be translated as:

Love makes us become more foolish than when we were single. 
It also makes us more complete.
Without asking, we fell deeper and deeper.
If not for that kiss, 
that year would have been much colder. 

Belief becomes some special talent.

Fate is just a naive self deception. 
Always missing him a lot at night,
especially his expressions in the eyes.

It's so rare that you meet the right person.

It's rare to see you so serious, 
not consider too much and just plunge into it.
It's so rare that you love the right person.
Unfortunately he's not your possibility.

We used to think love is like dawn. 

Actually dusk is the most difficult to survive.  
We used to love a certain poet but poets are also ordinary people.

It's so rare that you meet the right person

It's rare to see you so serious, 
not consider too much and just take the risk.
It's so rare that you love the right person.
Unfortunately he's not your possibility.

It's so rare that we meet the right person

It must have taken several lifetimes of good fortune to have the chance to complete.
It's so rare that we love the right person
Even if he's not the person to walk with you till the end.
Also wish him more courage to love another person 

Wednesday 2 October 2013

《情话》("Different Types of Love")

《情话 》("Different Types of Love") was one of the songs used in the Drama Serial 《最后一个大侠》("The Last Swordman"), which was shown on channel 8 in 1991. This song was sung by Beyond. The music was composed by 李伟菘 (Paul Lee Wei Shiong) and 李偲菘 (Lee Shih Shiong). Lyrics were written by 姜宁.

To sidetrack a bit, 《最后一个大侠》("The Last Swordman") was one of those drama serials that I had enjoyed watching in those days. The leading actor and actress were 周初明 (Chew Chor Meng) and (郑惠玉) (Zoe Tay) respectively - two of my favourite artistes. If I remembered correctly,《最后一个大侠》("The Last Swordman") was the first period drama that 周初明 (Chew Chor Meng) and (郑惠玉) (Zoe Tay)《最后一个大侠》("The Last Swordman") had acted in. Both of them looked so cute in the drama. Chew Chor Meng's character grew up in the jungle and when he first appeared in the show, he looked like an orangutan.

《情话》("Different Types of Love") had another version in which the lyrics were different but I preferred the version used for this show. The lyrics were so cute, talking about different types of love (with so many 情). 




歌词:

人间有 兄弟之情 手足之情
朋友之情 患难真情
父母之情 冷暖亲情
男女之情 款款深情

有人多情 有人无情

有人风情 有人豪情
自作多情 欺骗感情
一见钟情 反目无情

哦哦哦 欢情 苦情 情情情

激情 伪情 情情情

问世间 情为何物

问世间 情归何处
我不知情 我不知情

问世间 情为何物

问世间 情归何处
只知做人要有真情

Which can be translated as:

In this world, there is love between brothers, siblings's love,
love between friends, true friends in adversity,
parents' love,  family love,
love between a man and woman, true deep love.

Some people are affectionate, some are heartless,

some people are romantic, some are lofty,
unrequited love, deceive other's feelings,
love at first sight,  love turned into hatred.

Wo wo wo, happy love, tragic love, love, love, love.

Passionate love, pseudo-love,  love, love, love

What is love?

Where will my love be?
I don't know, I don't know

What is love?

Where will my love be?
I only know that we have to be true to people.

Monday 30 September 2013

《没有人可以像你》("There's No One Who Can be Like You")

刘德华 Andy Lau was the singer of this song《没有人可以像你》("There's No One Who Can be Like You"). This song probably was not any of the title songs that he promoted. Nevertheless, it was one of my favourite songs.

The music of《没有人可以像你("There's No One Who Can be Like You") was composed by 邱福兴 and lyrics were written by 林秋离 (Eric Lin). I liked to sing this song and in particular, the chorus.





作曲:邱福兴
作词:林秋离

歌词:

走到那里 都有人很像你
只是可惜 越看就越有距离
我开始怀疑 少了什么东西
是你的灵魂 还是我太想你

梦一开始 隐约是在冬季
他们故意 从不和我谈到你
我觉得忧郁 用心灵感应你
而你的身影 被吹散北风里

你的人 忽远忽近忽没 
忽明忽暗忽走 忽然牵住我的手
我的心 悲又累
麻又冷
又被情感左右
没有人可以像你 在我的感觉里
于是我闭上了双眼
就只能看见你

你独占我的忧
你收藏我的愁
我见过千万人 
像你的发 像你的眼
却不是你的脸

Which can be translated as:


Wherever I went, there's always someone who looked like you.
But the more I looked at them, the more the differences.
I began to suspect something was missing
Was it your soul, or was it because I missed you too much?

The dream first began roughly in winter.

They always avoided talking about you.
I felt gloomy, I used my heart to feel you.
However your image was blown away by the north wind.

At times you appeared far, at times near and at times you disappeared.

At times bright, at times dim and at times you walked away.
At times you hold on to my hands.
I felt happy, yet sad and tired.
Painful, yet numb and cold.
I was emotional.
There's no one who can be like you, in my world.
So whenever I closed my eyes, I could only see you.

Only you could make me worried, my worries are your collection.
I have seen millions of people, whose hair looked like yours, whose eyes looked like yours but the face is not like yours.

I always wonder what 林秋离 had in mind when he wrote the lyrics. Did the girl in the song simply break off with the guy or has passed away?