Tuesday 26 May 2009

Kare Raisu

What happens when you are craving for some Japanese curry??

I made my own kare raisu with tonkatsu! Not bad leh, I even have a salad with wafu dressing. Beats eating out for this all the time since it is easy to make, plus it is a lot cheaper too. Too bad I have no udon at home... or I would have had curry udon with the leftover curry for lunch. Japanese curry doesn't taste much like the curry that we are used to eating. It is sweet, even the hottest curry paste that supermarkets are selling are sweet. To me, that is the point of eating Japanese curry, because it is different. Sometimes, you crave for the spicy chicken curry that your mum makes, sometimes the fish head curry from the Indian stalls and sometimes Japanese curry. Even prata curries are different. I just treat all of them as totally different dishes.

We just need to clean up after that, which can be quite a chore for The Husband. He did comment that the cleaning up part doesn't feel too much of a chore now... and that is after cleaning up for 2 1/2 years. Yep, that is how long it took him to get used to cleaning up. Can't really blame him though, because MY cleaning up after cooking every meal, can be pretty tedious - apart from washing up the pots and the pans, my cleaning involves giving the stove area a good thorough clean down, remove most things off the work station, and wipe it with a disinfectant, I hose down the sink area and scrub the sink. Then I will proceed to sweep and mop the kitchen floor. I will soak all the kitchen cloth in some detergent and some bleach.

I do this after cooking one single meal. If I cook like 4 nights a week, I will do this cleaning ritual 4 times a week. Some will think it is a little too much, but this is how I do it, or I will not feel that the kitchen is clean enough. I do make exceptions though. Like if I just use the oven to bake, then I might skip the mopping, and of course, there aren't stoves to clean if I just use the oven.

Friday 22 May 2009

Rhythmic Painting

We went for a stroll around the Esplanade area after dinner and chanced upon this artist - Yukinko Akira performing. He paints while he dances to trance and in between he will deejay on that thing he has sling on his shoulder. It is some kind of console or something and he will start scratching the record.



Talk about the efficiency of the Japanese....
I googled him and found more photos...

Happiness

is spending Monday with one of your best buds out around town, have a hair cut, have lunch, then have tea and walk around town the whole day before ending with a dinner. Oh then we proceed on to have another drink again!

It has been a long time since I do anything like this. It's been a while since I have been to Orchard. Very pleasant without the weekend crowd. I didn't buy anything other than 2 pairs of earrings.

See, not a shoppy shoppy person.

Concert at the Park

Sure beats being in a mall on a Sunday!

The youth philharmonic wind band is pretty decent, too bad we had to leave before SSO came on. We have a dinner appointment. Wouldn't it be great if we can just pack a picnic basket, have a mat and spend a nice 2 hours there? :) Next time!






Dinner




The Husband is very obliging with the photos that day. Some more can pose! I think it is the very good hamachi that keeps him so happy. It is true, way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Indeed too, that a hungry man is an angry man. He gets all grouchy when he is too hungry.

Friday 15 May 2009

Remember Nargis?

Do you know that Cyclone Nargis killed more people and left more people missing than the Sichuan earthquake?

Seems like most people here in Singapore only remember the quake.

Sigh.

Wednesday 13 May 2009

Singapore Arts Festival

I am deciding if I should get down to Marina Barrage for the festival opening of the Singapore Arts Festival.

I remembered going last year and was so overwhelmed by the crowd. Can hardly see a thing, but good thing that there were fireworks after that. The closing act looks really good too. Actually all the outreach events look good. Maybe for once, I shall not be lazy and take the effort to attend them all.

Tuesday 12 May 2009

Test Shots


Photos from the LX3. Unfortunately, it has been raining the past 2 days, can't go out to take photos
Night Shot mode - not too bad ah, considering that no tripod was used. Good for lazy people like me. I don't take a lot of shots at night shots because shots always turn out shaky without a tripod, unless I use my prime lens. Sometimes when you are out, impossible to always have a tripod with you.

Shutter mode. We were in the car when we took it. Seldom do I use this mode.

Auto mode - They call this mode iA (intelligent auto) Tell you, the auto is really good, just sometimes the white balance is a little off. This is taken on a moving escalator.

Macro mode - I haven't had the time to fully explore this yet. Can't find any suitable subjects.

Auto Mode again. I like it. Very fast and sharp. No worries about shake at all.

Aperature Mode - My favourite mode. Maybe I am very used to taking with this mode. Since Powershot days. I was fiddling with my camera one fine day in HK and decided to used the AV mode. Just like that, I was in love with using it. Check out the depth of field, I like! I love love big aperatures!

Food Mode - This camera comes with wacky wacky modes under the SCN mode. I wonder if SCN stands for scenery? There is one film grain mode, there is a fireworks mode, night mode, soft skin mode, portrait mode, even baby modes and pet modes. I dunno what food mode is suppose to do. Haven't read the manual yet. I read 2 pages and it made me sleepy. Info manuals are great cures to insomnia.


Pinhole mode - another one of those special effects mode. I like this one, it makes photos look a little retro.

I want Jelly in my Belly

Suddenly I wanna eat jelly. But I have no jelly powder at home. I have konnyaku powder though, but it is not the same.

Thinking about wine jelly too. SO YUM!

Sigh~

Sunday 10 May 2009

Happiness

is going for prata supper with my 2 sisters and cousin.

Wah lau, dunno when was the last time we suppered. Don't remember the last time we had prata. It was fun, makes me remember why we used to supper so often. Now as we get older, we need to stop all those things. Really bad for health I tell you.

New Toy

The Husband bought me a Mother's Day/Birthday/Anniversary/Christmas/next CNY/next V day pressie!
It is very very chio.
It is very very sexy.
It is the Panasonic Lumix LX 3.
I am in love!

This shot comes from the LX3. Unedited. Cool right? So nice, the auto function is very shiok. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Will go out with this camera tomorrow and take more photos. Let me get this straight though, I am not abandoning my 350D. No, that will still be my first 'serious' camera. It is the first that The Husband bought for me to encourage me to get into the hobby a little more seriously. Yah, I am expecting him to be buying me more cameras or at least accessories for years and years to come. He got me into this so he needs to be responsible! Photography is an expensive hobby! A DSLR breeds want!

There is a strong sentimental attachment to that camera and I will still be taking it out for walkabouts. This LX3 will be for parties, travels and gatherings. There are certainly times when I do not need to be lugging around a heavy camera.

Tuesday 5 May 2009

Book Shelves

I need a wall to wall bookcase because I am running out of shelf space and also I need to convert the study room soon. I think I have given all the books I need to give away, I have not been really buying books, for fear of not knowing where to keep them. I might use a wall in the TV room to install the case. Would the wall in the dining room be better?

More shelves means more books! Oh wait a minute, still have magazines lor. CHIA LAT.

Friday 1 May 2009

This makes me Smile


Happiness


is when The Husband lovingly prepares some noodles in the middle of the night for me when I suddenly had a noodle attack :)
Note: He seldom ever cook anything, so this really is a bonus!

Sometimes An Impromptu Do isn't my Thang

There is a last minute steamboat dinner gathering at Em's this Saturday. I hate that I do not have time to do my fruit tarts.

Argh.

But but, I get to see some people whom I have not seem for ages!

Happiness


is wearing off the tiredness.

I am getting up before 9am again! No more feeling too tired and sleeping to noon now! As much as I love my sleep, it was way way too much for me. I feel like I wasted so much time just sleeping so many hours the past weeks! Sometimes when I was able to wake up in time for breakfast, I would have a long nap in the afternoon. Now, I may still need naps, but at least they are short ones, not epic 3 hour naps. When is a nap a nap and when does it becomes a sleep?