So This Is Christmas

And what have you done?

Another day over

And another day began

And so this is Christmas ?

I hope you had fun

 Mine was dull and boring

The old and the young

A merry day Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Let's hope for a good one

Without any fear

And so this is Christmas

A log cake will do

today and tomorrow

Will bring me some cheer

That's 2017 For Me

----- o O o ----

Coffee, Tea . . or STEAK ?

Hello, once again. Been busy learning how to create patterns on the computer. I manage to do this poster with the help from Skillshare but struggling to get a pattern out. It seem like a long process for me from idea to design and the technicalities with the design program. My previous job experience teaching pre-school kids to draw on the computer has egged me to give Illustrator a try. It's about time to learn more and come out with something after seeing other artists' lovely works has inspired me. Who knows, maybe in the near future I can roll out some prints and patterns to sell.

Shop Facade

So I have shifted my focus to more important priorties like learning this Illustrator. I still have to break my resistance to draw. I should be drawing more but I lack the push to do it. I am here for an update, we had been going to this place for lunch after our first visit on Father's Day. The steak has us returning for more. Each time I was there I'll sneak a photo of the place. The shopfront looks spiffy and has menu for passerbys to decide over what to order.

Menu

Order At Counter

We usually have to wait a while for an empty table while the Dad will be in the queue to place our order. It's a no frills restaurant and we have to help ourselves to the cutlery, serviettes and sauces.

Barn Roof Ceiling

 I like the nondescript interior. Though stark, the trussed roof evoked a feeling of being in a barn at this restaurant in Holland Village. We still have not gone to other outlet.

Pared Down Interior

The AU wagyu D-rump is what we always order for our family five. It most worth it because it is WAGYU. It cost $99 and comes with four sides. We add on other favourites and it comes with two gravy. Don't forget the mustard and ketchup. Nothing taste better with a pat of Djion mustard and tomato ketchup on the steak for an added oommph.

 

Sides

On our first visit, we were amazed at the size of the steak and the way it was served. I guess you will too, if you see this. Wait till you taste the morsel of beef on your palate. It's so full of flavor and I am salivating just thinking about it. So, bye for now. Enjoy the weekend & the steak.

Wala !!!  Bon Appetit

Hey, What's Cookin'

Hi all, after the Great Singapore Sale in June, we will be celebrating diversity and gastronomic taste at Singapore's Annual Food Festival 2017 happening from 14 - 30 July. Presently Heritage Town Festival, a prelude to this Food Festival is held in the precinct of Katong and Joo Chiat. SgEatsWithUs and other community partners like Singapore Kindness Movement, People's Association & NTUC-U heart are collaborating with Kim Choo Kueh Chang to organise this cooking demonstration at 106 Artiste Residency, in Joo Chiat Road. This was the address of the old kampong house of the late Ng Eng Teng, (a well known sculptor) where it once stood. It was torn down and rebuilt.

I was unaware about this event until my friend, Maya Tekwani told me about her forthcoming cooking demonstration. The event opened to the public, is fully booked so I asked Maya whether they would allow me to join the activity on Saturday morning. 

Together with her cousin, Seema Melwani, each will be dishing out their specialty Shepherd's Pie and Biscuit Pudding. Both are SgHomeChefs and another commercial chef, Eric Low from Lush Epicurean are invited to share their recipes with the participants. Here is Maya busy mashing Russet potatoes for her pie and Seema Melwani, her pudding almost done and ready to be chilled.

You may asked what is this SgEatWithUs. Well, it started in 2015 when we were celebrating our country's 50th birthday. It is a ground up movement set up with the help from SG50 Celebration fund by three friends to bring communities together through home cooked food done by home chefs. It had organised a few Pop-Up Food Carnivals that year and Maya participated at the ones held at Singapore Arts Museum.

That Jubilee weekend, SgEatWithUs food carnival was held at Waterfront Promenade. The event introduced a whole new lot of foods which we don't usually find at hawker stalls and restaurants. Local caterers were called in to help home chefs mass produce food for the public. This food movement is great for those who loves to cook and eat. I was there to participate in the biggest popiah party with Maya by rolling out spring rolls with her ingredients. There were many tables with different popiah fillings by different chefs. Since it was grand event, there were photographers and camera crew. Locals from different parts of society were there to take part in this popiah eating party. Quite an awesome and fulfilling experience it was.

Oh, it must be a dream come true for Maya and we are happy for her, to see . . .

Maya's pop-up stall. Selling dhokla. It is a soft and spongy Gujerati vegetarian
appetizer served with green chutney. If you google Maya Tekwani's dhokla,
you'll be able see her recipe.

Yums  : P

Wow  : D

My dear friend is very passionate about food. She cooks, bakes and dishes out delicious food. She makes curries, cakes, mitha lola . . She is so capable, seems like she can cook anything and enjoys every minute of it. I am glad to have a friend like her because of her enthusiasm, I am encourage to cook.

Bye for now. Hope to be back soon. If you want to try Maya's food,

you can check out her Facebook page, Maya's Kitchen Escapade.
We'll be back !

National Orchid Garden

Singapore Botanic Gardens is our first UNESCO World Heritage Site was awarded this coveted status in 2015. Welcome to The Orchid Garden, opened on 20th October 
1995 by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, then a senior minister.

This garden is the jewel of the park spans over 3 hectares of land on the highest hill

of Botanic Garden.  It has over 1,000 species of orchids and 2,000 hybrids. The lovely

blooms on display are arranged into four different seasons base on their colours.

Hi, I pop into the Orchid Garden on Thursday late afternoon because entrance

fee is waived because of the one-week school holidays. This is my first time here.

Believe it or not ?!  I had always thought it was pretty expensive to come here.

Well, this is far cheaper then Gardens by the Bay, $5 ! I am fascinated to see so

many blooms under the open sky though I was hoping it would not rain. It turned

out that overcast sky was good for my picture taking. A new discovery for me.

Arnada Super Yellow

Burkill Hall, an anglo-malay plantation style house built in 1868 is hoarded up and undergoing maintenance until the end of the year. Here is the garden in front of it.

Beside the bungalow is the VIP Orchid Garden, hybrid orchids are named after

visiting dignitaries.

Papilionanda William Catherine

England

Do you know why this willow is weeping ? Well, I think it is

because visitors carved their names on the bark of the tree.

Permanently scarred. I see the top layer of bark is also peeling

off, so no worries but stop this vandalism.

Dendrobim Michael Jeffreyali

Australia

Dendrbium Michiko

Japan

Dendrobium Islam A Karimov

Uzbekistan

Very Interesting hard leaves.

The garden is so lovely and we had to head back to the exit soon as it

was close to closing time at 7.00pm. We skipped the Celebrity Garden

 Didn't bother to look at the map so didn't expect there is a Mist House,

Bromeliad Enclosure & Cool House. If you have been to Cloud Forest at

Marina Bay, you'll experience all three in one.

Just as are about to leave, we noticed this walkway of leafy arbors so

we decided to walked through them to see what was at the other end.

This looks magical at the other end. I was spellbound by the ethereal

glow coming from the leaves on the top of each arch. Surely it must

be twilight bringing about this utterly compelling view.

 This is so beautiful. This completes my day

and made this visit so worthwhile.

Bye for now . . this got me so excited that I had to share it with you.

Have a great weekend.

A Weekend Getaway

   

Hello there, welcome to a New Year.
Welcome to this place at D'Resort at Pasir Ris.

  

So happy to see the chalet room as good as a hotel. Comes with 
microwave oven to warm up our food. A good size fridge to keep
our perishables cool and the drinks ice cold.

  

A spacious room with two queen size beds and a wide flat screen TV to enjoy.

Outside the room, are barbecue pits and beautiful lush greenery.

The rain cleared, just nice to barbecue some otah and satay for

our relatives at this family reunion get-to-gather.

Woke up to a bright sunny morning. It is time for some exploring at the

Pasir Ris Beach Park right in front of our chalet on my own.

Sat down for a while to enjoy the lovely sea view in front of me.

I could see two hills in the horizon on my right.  I love the beach

alot but I don't go as often as I would like to. Felt quite surreal.

I saw birds flying about, looking skywards closely, there were

many nests belonging to grey herons atop of the taller trees.

Woah, it's high tide. These must be the mangrove trees.

Saw this man walking along the shore casting net. Waited
for the perfect moment to catch him in action, complete

with waves too. Wouldn't that make an interesting shot.

Spotted a torch ginger flower by chance. I love the torch ginger flower
for their big unusual exotic blooms. It comes in pastel pink or bright
red. The petals are waxy and stiff. I haven't come close to smelling it.

Time to leave and so soon. We enjoyed this short getaway.

Hope to have a wholesome barbecue meal next time round.
On second thought, to relax or cook that's the question.

Bye . . . for now.