Let's Toss

This post is inspired by what I had read in the papers recently. The Chinese New Year (CNY) is just two weeks away and the papers are flooded with restaurants offering their CNY goodies and menus.

Lo Hei or Yu Shang, Yee Sang a popular dish served during the CNY. It used to be served with simple indgredients such as shredded carrots, radish, cucumbers, pieces of pomelos, pickled ginger, daun limau perut (kaffir leaves), crackers and slices of raw fish. Peanut oil , five spice powder and plum sauce (dressing) are poured over it. Then it is tossed. This auspicious dish symbolise abundance, prosperity and vigor.

This salad is tossed with families members or friends gathered around the table with auspicious greetings uttered while the tossing is done.

• Long ma jing sun - to have the vitality of dragons and horses
• Poh poh goa seng - scale new heights with every step
• Loi nean hoa wan - Best of luck in the coming year.

According to the papers Yee Sang is created by some Singaporean chefs as an trial and error which became a big hit. But I remembered reading some where that it was invented by some chefs in KL first. Now which is correct ? If any one knows please enlighten me.

Now, the restaurants around town have swapped the slices of raw fish with salmons, tuna, scallops or abalone. The diners make their choice according to their budget.

Wait..... there is more twist to this humble salad. Depending on which restaurants you patronise during the CNY. Singapore being a cosmopolitan country diners don't have to stick to the Chinese restaurants for their Yee Sang fix or reunion dinners.

There is a Thai style Yee Sang with papayas, mangoes, dried cuttle fish, chicken floss, tamarind sauce, fish sauce.

Go to a certain Italian restaurant and you get an Italian twist to the Yee sang. Szechuan restaurant - Szechuan style; most probably comes with chili peppers. Sashimi Yee Sang from a Japanese restaurant

Basically this dish is healthy. But there is another healthier version available to the diners. Olive oil instead of peanut oil or use less pickles.

One dish but comes with many auspicious names; eg, Prosperity Yee Sang or Bountiful Yee Sang.

See, this CNY we are already spoilt for choice and it is only for Yee Sang. Of course, it also depends on how deep are our pockets. In any case, be it a traditional or a 21st century Yee Sang, let's toss/fling, the higher the better and Gong Xi Fa Cai, Man See Yu Yi (Wishing you abundance wealth and whatever you desire will come true ).

Tin Dredge Heritage, Ipoh

Ipoh is located on one of the richest tin mining belts in the world. Malaysia was at one time the world's largest tin producer.

Remember our trip to Tg Tualang for seafood while I was back in ipoh . We stopped here. Of course I had seen them when I was young, very young but I had never been close to one before. Been to the mining pools lots of times though whenever Father goes to collect his fresh water fishes. First view of the dredge as our car was coming in. Entrance is free. There is a guard house on the right of this picture but no one was there. Most probably went out for his lunch.

There is only one dredge here. But there is another pool beside it. Father said it is the same pool. Just that they filled up part of the pool for visitors and bringing us nearer to the dredge.This dredge is floating in a used mine. It is kept a float by pontoons.

As this is my first visit to a tin dredge Father became our tour guide. But this guide of ours wants to escape from the hot sun. So I took pictures of the dredge from all angles. When we got home, in the comfort of our sitting room I asked him this and that. Well he is in a way the expert after all.

The back of the dredge. During its hey days there were lots of those giant machines dotting the land.

Another back view of the dredge. This is where all the unwanted soil and things are spit out after being sorted out by the dredge.

According to our guide there are no workers at all in the dredge. It is all run by machines. Once a while a supervisor will board it to check if it is working properly.

And once the supervisor sees that the output for this part of the pool is low (meaning all the tin had been dredged) they will move it to another part of the pool. And it starts all over again.

Front of the dredge, side view. Those are the cups/buckets that will be lowered down into the water and bring up the soil together with the tin. The size of those cups depends on how deep it is going to. Usually about 30 to 40 meters

Front view. The cups are in the center. This view one can see inside the dredge. Nothing much can be seen though as we are separated by a distance of water. The tin once brought into the interior of the dredge a machine will sort out the tin away from the soil and other unwanted materials. The windows here became targets for some visitors.

Another side view from the front of the dredge. You see, the thin line in the left of this picture. That is the steel rope that anchors the dredge to land.

Our tour guide (Father) seeking shelter from the hot sun. Sharing the pavilion with an angler. Knowing Father he will strike up a conversation with him.

This guy's story is - he comes here to cool off after fishing the whole morning at the near by river and selling his catch.

This guy also told us that in future fees will be collected from visitors. And maybe an inside tour of the dredge too. That will be nice.

What are those black dots on that piece of paper ?

Flies !!!!!!! The brown paper was a sticky paper to trap flies.

Yup, there are LOTS of them flying around in this pavilion, only. Thank goodness for that. The other pavilions that surrounds the mining pool are flies free. You can escape from the sun in peace here. Nice view isn't it ? I managed to take some nice pictures of the mining pool next to it.

Those abandon mining pools used to be playground for some of the kids who live near by. They will dive into the water. It looks calm and harmless but it is very very deep and at certain spots there are shafts sticking out from the ground but submerged by the water. There had been cases of drowning from those calm looking mining pools. Since young our parents had warned us about those hidden danger.

The water is so still and calm....until by boys and H started throwing stones into them.

After the value of tin has dropped those mines are left redundant. Some are turned into fresh water fish farms and lately they have been filled and low cost houses are built over them.

A very informative stop although all the info came later on. I will definitely make another stop if they allow visitors into the dredge.

More Kaypohing....

I know, I know I just said I will blog less and here I am with another post. My only excuse is that I just finished kaypohing from twocrazydogs. Saw the pictures she put up for her Photo Hunt; subject - Skinny. And I can't resist posting another post
Well I have my own skinny picture to post.


#3. Skinny isn't he for a 7 years old ?


Then she put up her foot up for the whole world to see too.
I got one too.

Hahahahaaaa........

Do they resemble chicken drumsticks to you ?

Have a nice weekend.

Kaypoh Any One ????

OK, enough of my kaypohness (nosy). Now is time for you to be kaypoh !

I will update you on what I have been doing the last few days. I have not been updating as much as I used too. Reason mainly I have been spending a bit more time with my family. I decided to blog less this year and spend time with my family and other pursuits of mine.

Since #1 entered Secondary school I have more time on my hands. Reason being longer school hours for him. Less one person for me to go after. So far he does his homework with out me nagging him ( which I personally don't like to do) . Previously he had to be reminded to do them. I don't know if this will last but I surely hope he will be more responsible from now.

The most surprising thing of all is that I find that I miss having him around.
I see him off to school early in the mornings ( 7.15 am) and he will be back from school the most by 6.30 pm on certain days. Those days are the time he had to stay back for his CCAs (Core Curriculum Activities). On Saturday he has another CCA - he joined the NPCC ( National Police Cadet Corps ). I think he wants to be a police. He had to be in school by 7.15 am and it ends at 1 pm.

Here I was looking forward for some free time for myself, can't wait for him to grow up and so forth. Of all the things I never thought I would find myself missing him. Funny isn't it ?
Hence my reason for blogging less. Now I want to have more time with the boys.


Next, Chinese New Year is less than a month away. This year I will be celebrating it with my parents in Ipoh. The first time after many, many years. It will be a very quiet New Year. Most of our relatives have either moved away, going some where or not around anymore. Still I look forward to it. Not because there will be less angpows to give but my friends will be around in Ipoh then. Lots of catching up and girls talk.


Yes Pearly, I know you are making a trip back this time of the year too. Maybe we can meet up, if time permits. We will be driving up again.


Even though I will not be around for the CNY, there is still some baking to do. Mother had asked me to do the cookies and cakes while she will settle the rest of the menu. Another reason for less blogging - what to bake ?????


Yesterday we spent some time at the library.
#3 went for his Chinese tuition class in the mall near our home. So while waiting for him we all trooped to the Library. H reading the papers, the boys to the kids section, me to the adults - cookery books, novels.

In the library the first thing they did were head straight to the shelves that house the Tin Tin and Astrix's books. Those are their favourite. They can spent hours on them. Read and re read them uncountable times and they still find them amusing.
Next they will go for Roald Dahl but those books are hard to find; being very popular books. Other than that they will pick up any books that they fancy. Here are some of the books they borrowed.



Their interest are anything that is disgusting, funny and nonsense. At least they are reading. Enid Blytons, Hardy Boys ........ " Lame ".


The other pursuits of mine I have been pursuing; other than my cross stitch is baking.

There a chocolate cake and fruit cake for tea.

Two cakes in a day. Lucky I have the boys and H to help me finish them.

Yes, I am in that baking mood now a days. In this mood of mine I have this urge to bake more than one cake. Once ready I would like to serve them together with tea or coffee. And make everyone finish them. :))

Hah...... I am sure my Sis can't resist commenting that I made her eat all by tryings/baking's years ago and made her fat. :))

I have not been practicing for many years. I was so rusty that most of the cakes turn out not as good as I would like them to be. Then I was never any good/expert in the first place. But still better than my Sis. That is what I have been doing these few weeks - practising and practising.

Dear folks, have a nice weekend and enjoy some tea and cakes with me while you are kaypohing.


And my Sis will be sure glad that this is only virtual sharing and not the real thing.

Loos

This weekend I am going to talk about loos, toilets, restrooms, the heads, johns......
What ever they are known as the function is the same. Right ?
This title came about because I was reading Sunday's papers and they mentioned that the aunties (ladies) collecting toilet entry fees are now more or less phase out in Singapore. Over here the fees per entry range from 10 cents to 20 cents.

It reminded me of the toilets I saw in Kuala Lumpur.

Premier toilets ! In KLCC. A very posh toilet.

And...Public toilets along Bintang Walk.

Yup, this toilet is right on the walkway . I wonder if my Sis saw this while she was there ? If she did she would have told us about it, since she was our a mini tour guide in KL. Just because she was there earlier a few days then us ! :)

So, dear Sis if you have not seen it, it is situated along Jalan Bukit Bintang, near the the place where we bought the umbrellas.

What so special about this toilet, other than it being right on the side walk. It seems the doors are made of glass. The pedestrian passing by can't see inside but the toilet user are able to see the outside. I wonder if the user is able to go about their business with people passing by outside, or peering at the doors. Or worst still, people like me snapping pictures. ! But then I did not know about those glass doors then.

There is a lady sitting under the sign collecting the entrance fees. I think that what she is there for.

Now, I saw this toilet and snapped a picture of it but I did not know about the glass doors. It is only after our return to Ipoh that my Sis's friend told us about it.

Wasted.... I don't mind just paying to be nosy. :)

Ha ! ... See how nosy I am.

Next is a picture Mother wants to show my Sis. It is taken at the Pavilion. There was a performance while we were there but my Sis missed it when she was there earlier.

My New Fridge.

My Sis asked to see my new fridge. Long due. So here it is.

A Toshiba. With glass doors.
She must be wondering where are all the magnets.
So where did I put my collection of magnets ?

At the side of the fridge.

It is a bit crowded. Not everything managed to be placed here. Those are the few I like very much.

Cool Days

Good Morning. Good Morning.



The weather man's report - " to expect more showers today" .



Yesterday it rained most of the day right up to the night.



Last night was a very cool night. Snuggled under my blanket. So warm and toasty, makes waking up this morning difficult. But duty calls (the irritating alarm), got the boys ready to school and here I am in front of the computer with my breakfast.



Talking about cool weathers, it was so cold here that....... icicles formed. If you don't believe me see the following picture.

Icicles forming outside my boys room's window.

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Gotcha !

Those icicles looking thing is real but it is not formed due to the cold.

Remember I once told you that my the wall above my room window was leaking. This time it effects my boys room too which is just next to mine. It is not only leaking water bit by bit but this icicle thingy is formed outside the window.

Of course we called up the housing broad and the same guy came (he is in charge of this area). Snapped some pictures. He thinks water is seeping in from some where.

Duh I know that. Don't need a genius to figure that out.

And those icicles were formed due to the rain water dripping and chemical reaction with the paste they used to patch up the wall the last time. Some thing like the stalactite you find in those lime stone caves. This is the wall above the room's window. The paint had been washed off. Not peeled off because we did not find any paint peels on the floor.

OK, I got to go. Finished my breakfast and the housework is calling. Groan !!!

The Perfect Couple

Received this in my mail from a friend and I can't resist sharing this with you all.

Just click on this link for the perfect couple.

Ipoh's General Market.

The other day I was talking about the Tiong Bahru market; how clean and airy it is. Today I will post some pictures from the General Market (Pasar Besar) in Ipoh. It was under renovation while I was last back in Ipoh and it is still going on.

Sorry for the following blurry pictures because it was taken with my mobile using one hand. The other hand was carrying our marketing. Mother was not amused that I kept on taking pictures. She continued walking, so I had to quickly snap a shot and follow her round the market.

This market was a big failure when it was rebuilt over the old market. It was built with no proper ventilation and lighting. It was so stuffy that the live chickens on the ground level of the market got suffocated and died. The hawker centre upstairs with all the Chinese frying and cooking; it was filled with smoke. In the end they had to move the chickens to the old market beside it and break the honey comb walls at the food centre. Proper ventilation was installed.

Now after so many years they are going to redo the interior - hopefully for the better.

The seafood section with its extra wet floors. It was worst before they redo it the first time.

They are doing the renovation in phases. The whole market did not move out .

Only the vegetable section moved out. All empty and waiting for work to start. Those stalls were moved to the side of the market; taking up some of the road. Just like the first time they rebuilt the market years ago.

The street level vendors were still operating in the market when I took these pictures.

Such as the spice stalls
And the beef and mutton butchers. See, it was a bright and sunny day outside and the butchers had to have their own lights on to work.

The same condition with the pork section. Always dark and with oily floors.

This is the temporary market. Located along the main entrance of the defunct Super Kinta; starting from next to Telekoms to the other side of the street and along the road where Yik Foong is.

The vegetables vendors were relocated here.

The noodles vendors were re located to the corridors of the market's courtyard.

Taugehs (Beans sprouts) with their big tubs, at the back of the chicken stalls - in the open under the hot sun. Tents were built for them.

Next stop for Mother and I - to a shop that sells plates and what nots. They are not located in the market but a row of shop lots near the market.

The corridor along the row of shops with their plastic wares, all lined up. This picture was taken from a particular shop that my Mother patronize. I am sure my Sis will know which shop it is.

This shop is a real fire trap/hazard !!!! This is the entrance of the shop. The green checked cloth is as far as one can get into the store. Definitely no swinging of arms and bags here. It is packed/cramped with plates, cups, pots and pans and all types of cooking necessities. Usually we will just tell the shopkeeper what we want , standing in the corridor and she will manage to find the things for you in that mess. I always find it a wonder how they manage to do that. Guess they know their wares very well.

A few shops down is where the lion heads are made. Those heads are used for the Lion Dance.

Lastly, this burnt building near the market. If I am not wrong the first Emporium was located in this building. Beside it was the shops that use to sell school uniforms, bags, school shoes. And in between the shops was a staircase leading to the Emporium.

All gone now but only memories.

Malaysia-Ministers-Scandal

The cartoon says it all.

According to Mother it is a pity he had to resign. He did a very good job since he took over this post. Speed up the queueing time in the hospitals from nearly the whole day to half a day or shorter.

My Boring Weekend

Kinda boring. Did nothing much. Stayed home. The usual things, nothing exciting.

#3 went for his swimming test today and he passed it. Forgot to bring the camera there. Can you imagine the skinny boy had to do four laps of breast stroke, straddle jump and tread water, wear his Pj's jump into the water, remove the pants and make a knot (part of the water survival thingy) all the time in the water.

There is no time limit to all the above. He came in second last.

The next test there will be a time limit to all those actions. Wonder how he will do ? Guess he have to train hard with his coach.

Worked on my sewing all weekend.

Watched my #1 struggled with his tie. He was all red and sweating and ##### over it. But once he got the hang of it he was all smiles and allowed a picture to be taken. So proud of him. Maybe it was because he managed to tie it and he is wearing a tie. Makes him so grown up. Where was the little monster that super stressed me out during the exams ?

After all his hard work he is not going to untie the tie but left it partly tied up so that he can just tighten it in the morning.

Smart looking ? This is his full uniform. Only the upper Secondaries wear trousers.

Today turned the cake I baked earlier this week into cookies. No one wants to finished the last few slices of the cake. So, I decided to toast them in the oven. Became something different and the boys cleaned up the plate.

Lastly I would like to share my tea with all of you. :))

Have a nice week ahead.

Tiong Bahru

Tiong Bahru is one of the oldest housing estate in Singapore. It is also have a very popular hawker center, with lots of yummy food. Today I won't be talking about the food but the unique buildings here. They are contrasted markedly with the rest of the housing estates.

We were there last weekend. The boys and I took the train to Outram MRT Station and walked from there to this estate. H was on duty the night before. So he met us there after he handed over his shift.

Along the way we walked past this row of fence. It is a very old fence that is part of the Singapore General Hospital. You don't see much of those fencing anymore.

And a landmark. A horse shoe block of apartments.

The apartments here are very different from the rest in Singapore. There are spiral stair cases in some of the apartments.

The highest are about 5 floors only. Some of them have been pulled down and high rise apartments are built instead. But those apartments surrounding the market still retain their unique features.

This is the Tiong Bahru market. It recently went for a major face lift. Gone are the dark enclosed market. Instead it is very airy and bright now. Parking use to be a nightmare here. But no more. The roof top is where the car park is located. Not much parking space here though. Vehicles are allowed to park outside the market along the roads. But if you go later in the morning, especially on the weekends, the narrow roads are jammed packed with cars.

Down stairs holds the market. Upstairs is where one of the best hawker center in Singapore is located. This hawker center is famous for its quality and wide range of local food. Every time I go there we always have a problem deciding what to eat.

Another thing Tiong Bahru used to be famous for it bird-singing aviaries. But I have not seen it around anymore. Wonder where it went ?

They Did It Again !!!

The thieves strikes again in Mother's house .

OK this is the report from Mother herself.

Today they left the house early for their medical appointments. Passed the house again at 11 am on their way to the supermarket. Every thing was OK then.
When they came back at 1.30 pm the gate was open. They knew instantly there was something wrong. They walked round outside the house to see where they entered the house from.

All they saw was water everywhere !!! The thieves stole the copper and brass water pipes surrounding the house.

It all starts from here. From the air con unit to......

This is a old picture where my boys were playing water outside Mother's house.

See those pipes running along the side of the house. All those were gone.

This is a sink out side the kitchen.

Right up to the kitchen window. See all those pipes and the silver coloured thing below the sink. They were gone too. They left all the taps intact. The pipes from the mains (front of the house) were intact too. Most probably they were partly buried in the ground.

They asked the workman lay new plastic (PVC) pipes immediately. Luckily the guy was free. He said this is the first time he has seen pipes being stolen from the house compound. It usually happens outside the house. Looks like this thief is very familiar with this house or very daring to do in the board day light.

My parents are just glad they did not enter the house this time round.

Rossini 's Duet For Two Cats

Heard this from our local classical radio station. Checked out YouTube for a video clip. And I just can't resist sharing it with you.

I am in a very catty mood.

Meow !!!!

So, here it is.....



Great for cat lovers out there.

Meowwwwwwww......... !

First Day

" Welcome, welcome. To the first official WORK Day of the year. "

Lots of groaning and moaning......After all the holidays and festivities. It makes going back to the grind stone real hard.

To cheer my fellow buddies up, I messaged them with the same message as above. Bet you there are lots of ##### !!!! from them. Hahahaha......

Aiyah, just doing my part to cheer them up.

Not only does it affect the adults. It is the same for my boys too. Today is the first day of the school year. This morning there are lots of shakes (by me ) and groans (from them ). At last, with blurry eyes and lots of yawning they manage to get ready to school in time.

H ( still on leave ) took #1 to school for today. They have to walk to the next street to catch the bus that will drop him off in front of his new school. After today #1 will have to go on his own.
Ah..... my boy is all grown up but still so childish and playful. Can't help thinking of his first day in Primary school. Where have all the years gone ?
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OK enough of reminiscing............In fact I am looking forward to some peace and quiet. After having all three of them in the house at the same time for more than a month. There are times they really drive me up the wall with the racket they can make.

Happy 2008 !!!!

Hey, it is the the New Year. I am still awake.

Just to wish everyone

A Happy New Year !!!!

H is awake too. Poor thing he can't sleep with a stuffed nose. #1 and #2 stayed up to welcome in the New Year with a Cola and wine for us. H is now watching a Hong Kong drama on the DVD. And I am still messing around with the iPod. Some how I deleted everything in my iPod / iTunes. Now I am synchronising it all over again !

Duh, Duh.......Hear a knocking sound ?

That is me knocking my head on the screen.

OK, enough of my blurness.

Here's wishing everyone a wonderful year ahead.

Wishing you good health, good luck and

Happy 2008 !!!!