A new life

Received a jovial sms from WK while I was in HK last wkend that J has finally given birth to baby G, aka my sis's godson. Really really happy for them that everything is going so well now, in view that they went through some difficult times earlier in the year....

When WK shared with us the photo of the process from admitting to hospital, to injection of epidural and finally to the important moment when G is born, I felt deeply how much "hardship" all our mummies went throught!! But I guess when one sees the baby growing day by day, instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, most mummies will choose to cherish every moment the wonderment is growing inside her. This must be the reason why so many people have more than 1 child. hahaha.....But *cough cough*, there will of coz be others who find that babies are smelly and they'd rather buy more branded bags than have babies. =)

Anyway, congratulations once again to WK and J. May their love for each other grow stronger together with the baby....

At Singapore Flyer with the AMK folks

When my Navy friend Lia approached me to take photo for a charity event at the Singapore Flyer, I agreed immediately for a selfish reason...i.e. I can finally go to the flyer for free! Never did I expect my "good" friend to fly aeroplane at the last minute, leaving me all alone to handle this unknown activity, among a group of strangers. Luckily for me, my cute HTB agreed to help me out out of sympathy. 2 thumbs up for him!

Although it was with a slight dread/ shyness when we reached AMK Ave 4 Blk 257 on this rainy Saturday afternoon, the negative feelings quickly disappeared after we were immediately greeted enthusiastically by the AMK Carers. We found out that the AMK Carers organised activities, e.g. makan or exercise sessions, for the old folks staying around the area twice a week. Once every 3 mnths, they will plan an outing together with the People's Associate Youth Executive Committee (YEC). Today's outing with about 70 old folks and volunteers materialised as a courtesy of Eunice Olsen, Motorola and members of the YEC.

For me, it was a very fun experience. Not only because it's my first trip to the flyer, but also because the old folks were so friendly and cheerful. We saw a few aunties who were scared of heights, but were still sporting enough to join in. Some couples held hands while they explored the area together, which made me soo envious. If only Richard and myself can be as lovey when we grow old!!

Once again, I felt silly to be scared of a new adventure. Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.What if they are a little course, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice. Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.

美食在东瀛之京都篇

It's been almost 3 weeks since I was back from Japan and several times, I wanted to blog about our superbly fun trip. Each time, I chickened out. haha....There really is too much to blog about and I don't know where to start! Luckily, Huilin and Vivian are more hardworking than me.....So if you are keen to read about our daily dose of adventure in Japan, pls go to either http://charly906.multiply.com/ or http://lunchbox009.blogspot.com/. Since one writes in English and the other in Chinese, it really caters to all sorts of readers. Heehee...So what you will read in my blog is a review of all the yummiest food we had, which to me, is the essence to making this trip such a success.

京都篇：

If you want to experience traditional and cultural Japan, Kyoto is definitely the place to go. The stunning Kiyomizi built on stilts and surrounded by a burst of color of the surrounding forest, the golden Kinkakuji standing on tranquil water, the peaceful garden of Ryoanji Temple and the elegant geishas strolling along the streets of Gion mark a wondrous beginning to our 9 day tour. It really made me regret not bringing my Alpha 700..but I suppose that is a motivation for me to return there one day. On to the main topic of interest....

1) 豆水楼（Tousuiro):

I've always loved tofu and hence, one of my top priorities was to find this highly recommended restaurant in Kyoto - Tousuiro. The main restaurant is located at Kiyamach nearby Sanjo-Ohashi and faced Kamogawa River. They have one branch restaurant at Gion, which we chanced upon while trying to find Gion Corner and naturally, that was the one we patronised.

Tousuiro has a Lunch-time special menu and 2 fine course menus. Because of our budget, we ordered the slightly cheaper Higashiyama course (東山コース). The course consisted of some fine seasonal dishes and Yudoufu (湯豆腐) made by Oboro-dofu (おぼろ豆腐 made by 100% domestic soybeans). Yudoufu is served steamboat-style, in a cute wooden tub made by Sugi (Japanese ceder) wood. As the yudofu was free flow, we ordered 2 rounds of it and by the end of dinner, our stomach was filled with the sweet and rich taste of the finest tofu of Kyoto.

2) 红豆婆婆的小店：

In 阿信's《浪漫的逃亡》, he recommended this small dessert shop in Ninenzaka (二年坂, which is a very very "evil" street as we spent so much time and money here, both on food and shopping) and this was written:「一生懸命，意思就是用一生的承諾來做一件事。都用命來熬紅豆了，還能不好吃嗎？一口熱茶，一口紅豆湯，一口麻糬，從每一樣食物不同的口感中，你能感覺到微妙的用心。一生懸命的賭注。我們通通吞到胃裡帶走。茶香的溫熱、紅豆的甜蜜，糯米的纏綿，二年坂上不起眼的小店，紅豆婆婆用一顆一顆的紅豆，為無數的人編織著小小的華麗回憶。有機會慢遊二年坂，別忘了走近小店中，吃一個婆婆78萬分之一的手製麻糬喔。」

When we saw this raving review, we could not resist trying to find the shop and with our limited knowledge of Jap, we finally located this little shop after 2 hrs. The steaming red bean desserts and mochi served in this shop really warmed us up in this cold autumny day. I guess the only complaint was that every customer in the shop has to order at least 1 item, and so we had 4 big desserts to eat. There goes our waistline.....

Besides the above 2 recommended restaurants, we also tried alot of yummy food along ninezaka and sannensaka such as the flavourful fishcake, macha mochi-like kuey and gigantic cream puff. If you ever go to Kyoto, take some time to explore it. I'm sure you'll find many treasures...

Christmas Kettling

贤君 and myself volunteered with the Salvation Army as a Christmas Kettler at the Heerens last Saturday! It was 2 yrs since I last volunteered, and when we saw the appeal for more volunteers in Today, we could not resist helping, albeit in a small small way. After all, it was a great chance to bond with my HTB and to gather good karma for the new year!!!

During the 2 hr shift (which is very short, I know I know), we truly felt the inherent kindness in people. For example, a couple of permanent helpers from Salvation Army dropped by and helped us 'solicit business' proactively from the passer-bys despite the rain and the fact that it was not their shift yet! I was also deeply touched by some children who shyly dug out coins from their pockets or dragged their parents to our red pot to make a donation. What was perhaps more surprising was that there were actually quite a few tourists who approached us and smiled, saying that they simply could not ignore our ringing bells.

From what I understand, the proceeds will go to a nursing home, 2 children homes and prison programmes to help families of the incarcerated. With the season of giving and cheers just around the corner, let's not doubt whether SA will be another NKF, but do our best to help the needy while we are physically or financially able to do so. What say you?