Happy Birthday, Father!

Day 424

Happy Happy Birthday to my dearest Father!

Although I can't be there to celebrate it with you, I want you to know that you're always in my thoughts! We've been brainstorming about what to get you for your birthday for a week but we can't afford your dream present - Rolex King, yet. You've always said that you love money and so this year, we decided to give you an angbao! It's not much, but we do hope the number will bring you great health, good luck and prosperity. Huat ah!

To those outside of our family, Father is stern, fierce and bad-tempered
But he has never raised your voice at us
Occasionally, he throws a little tantrum, whines a little and shows us a black face
But he's never the fierce one at home, someone else beats him to the crown - Mama Goh

Over the years, Father has worked tirelessly to provide us with the best
He doesn't say he loves us every day, he doesn't hugs us every night
Instead,
He would wake up early in the morning to send us to school everyday
He would wake up in the middle of the night to check on us while we're mugging for exams
He would wait up for us when we're home late
He would secretly give us money when he thinks we're tight
I would say, he's a man of action

During my rebellious teenage years, Father never gave up on me
I quarrelled constantly with Mama
I neglected my studies
I did lots of things behind their backs
Tensions were high at home but Father never lost his temper at me
I was his little girl who just needed some time and patience

All my life, Father has been there for me
It doesn't matter which school I wanted to enter
It doesn't matter which course I wanted to study
It doesn't matter which job I wanted to do
Nothing matters so long as it's my choice
He would back me up and give me his full support

Father, thank you for being my angel..
I love you!

The few days that I hate being a woman

Day 424

Had to miss today's Body Combat class because of cramps. I hate being a woman on days like this. There is medicine out there to help ease the pain but I don't want to rely on them. Mr Tan readily agreed to accompany me to the gym in our apt so that I can do some cycling but when we got there, the bikes were taken. Sigh. I really want to exercise. I can see my double chin. It's tough being a woman.

Work Those Fats Off (5)

Day 422

My third Body Combat lesson - feeling good. :) Trying to get my jabs, hooks and kicks correct. Today's class was very crowded, there was just enough space for everyone to kick without kicking into each other. Anyway, after the class, I asked the counter staff about Thursday's class and he's certain it's an hour class. He looked puzzled when I told him my class last Thursday only lasted for 30 minutes. He said if it occurs again this Thursday, I should inform the staff at the counter. I'm thinking of going for 3 classes next week, or maybe I'll drag Mr Tan to go down to our apartment's gym. Do more, sweat more, lose those fats faster!

Gin's Kitchen - Crispy Salmon (Gordon Ramsay's Recipe)

Day 418

A really quick and easy salmon recipe that's perfect for lazy Sunday nights. The only difficult part of this recipe is having to cut through the salmon skin. Watching the way Gordon Ramsay does it in the Youtube video, I thought it would be effortless. What was I thinking? He's a famous chef, of course he has no problem cutting through a piece of fish. But me? I nearly destroyed the whole fillet!

Ingredients
- 1 salmon fillet
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt 

Directions
1. Round up the salmon fillet, with the skin side facing up
2. Take a very sharp knife to slit parallel lines halfway deep into the fillet, about 1 finger width apart
3. Sprinkle salt into each cut
4. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat
5. Once oil starts to smoke, put the fillet, skin side down, into the pan
6. Sprinkle the top of the fillet with salt and let it cook (don't touch it!) for a few minutes
7. Watch the salmon and flip it only when it's about 2/3 cooked
8. Once flipped, tilt the pan for the remaining olive oil to coat the bottom of the fillet
9. Cook until the whole fillet is cooked and remove pan from heat
10. Flip the salmon back to the skin side, let it rest for another minute and it's done!

Eat Out - Old Town Kopitiam & Sushi Sushi

Day 418

Sometime last week, Mr Tan came home excitedly to say that he has found another place that sells Fish Head Curry - Old Town Kopitiam and it was decided immediately that we're going to head there for it this Saturday. I miss Fish Head Curry dearly, to be specific, the Fish Head Curry from Muthu's Curry. That was the first time I had Fish Head Curry and the rest is history. Ever since we came here last year, we've been trying to find a place that serves decent Fish Head Curry. The problem is, quite a number of places have it on their menu but they actually don't serve it anymore, like Red Bean Kitchen, Jalan Alor and as we found out today, Old Town Kopitiam. The only place we know that stills serves it is Red Hot Wok but its Fish Head Curry is more like fish bones and veggies curry, it just doesn't satisfy me. Mr Tan suggested that I cook it myself, well, I did try the last time but something is lacking. I think it's time to shift the search to Indian restaurants.

 

Anyway, after learning that Old Town doesn't serve Fish Head Curry, we ordered Roasted Chicken and Char Siew Rice and a Chicken Curry Laska. I didn't like the rice, it was flavourful but it was too sticky. There were only 4 miserable pieces of chicken and 6 pieces of char siew (yes, I counted as the serving was a little pathetic) and that means it's almost $1 for each piece of meat. The roasted chicken tasted ok but the char siew was 50% fat. Definitely not something I would order again. The chicken curry laksa was tasty but could be a more satisfying meal if there's more chicken.

After lunch, Mr Tan went for his haircut at Sui2. The appointment was initially set for 6pm but since we were in city, we thought why not? Sui2 was the salon that transformed his centre-parting hair into something young and trendy. It took him a while to get used to it but now he actually blows dry his hair to style it. Of course, I love his new hairstyle, no longer stuck in the eighties - the era of centre-parting hairstyles. I'm so tempted to change my look. I think I'm going to try and ask the hairstylist to cut it short for me again, this time, regardless of what he says.

For some reasons, both of us weren't hungry and decided to have a light dinner. A really light one, 15 pieces of sashimi, 1 seafood salad and 4 pieces of sushi. Sushi and sashimi are already packed in boxes and it caters more for takeaways rather than dine-ins. But there are plenty of tables and chairs if you choose to dine-in, like us. Sushi sushi is the place that we visit for cheap and decent sashimi. Yum!