Simply Peranakan

We needed a quick dinner before watching “Chicago”. We walked past this Peranakan restaurant at level two of Esplanade and there was no queue. It was 5.45pm and we were the only customers in the restaurant. There was another couple; they were waiting for their take-away. I was slightly surprised when I saw the menu. Although the name of the restaurant is "Simply Peranakan", they also have other cuisines like Thai pineapple fried rice and cereal prawns. Are these dishes considered Peranakan? The waitress did not give us any recommendations and she looked dazed. We ordered the Peranakan fried rice, Nyonya Ngo Hiang and sambal prawns. This serves well for two persons.  

We gave a thumbs up for the ambience and exquisite decor.

The crackers were deep fried and a tad too oily!

Peranakan fried rice - The two of us only managed to finish 75% of it.

Costs : SGD 12/-

Nyonya Ngo Hiang - dried beancurd skin filled with minced pork, prawns, carrot and big chunks of water chestnuts. This goes well with the sweet sauce.

Costs : SGD8.80

Sambal Prawn - de~shelled prawns stir-fried with chilli, lemon grass, ginger bud and sambal sauce.

Costs : SGD20/- for 4 medium sized prawns. (* "Medium-sized" is defined as one big mouthful or two bites). Given the high rental rates in the city, perhaps some of you may feel this price is reasonable. But we felt that this is over priced because the taste was only average.

I will recommend this restaurant to those who are looking for a quick meal. We did not have to wait long for the food to be served. We finished our dinner at about 6.30pm and the restaurant was then only 70% filled.

First of May

One of my favourite days in the calendar - First of May
One of my favourite songs from Bee Gees - First of May

Another nice video of First of May LIVE! performed by Robin Gibb http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcojIeORo3o

The Lyrics written by Barry Gibb; Maurice Ernest Gibb; Robin Hugh Gibb

When I was small and Christmas trees were tall

We used to love while others used to play

Don't ask me why, but time has passed us by,

Someone else moved in from far away.

Now we are tall and Christmas trees are small,

And you don't ask the time of day.

But you and I, our love will never die,

But guess who'll cry come first of May.

The apple tree that grew for you and me,

I watched the apples falling one by one.

And as I recall the moment of them all,

The day I kissed your cheek and you were gone.

................................

My love hate relationship with White Balance

My second attempt at capturing sunset. This time I used "Cloudy" for the White Balance. This is the closest to the actual sky.

IMG_2061A, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Jurong Bird Park

IMG_1606A, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

The light painters were at the Jurong Bird Park on Saturday. With the exception of the ferocious mosquitoes bites and a sudden downpour during the late afternoon, I had a good photography trip. (Updated - Lest that we get an overdosage of aviary, only the top 32 favourite pictures had been uploaded !)

Hoover Rojak

Whampoa -  a place that holds my childhood memories. Nothing is more therapeutic than my favorite rojak (and braised duck) stalls. And there is always a queue!!

Sun Moon Lake

I have uploaded 262 photos on Flickr! Just merely less than 3 hours at Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village and one morning at Sun Moon Lake. Click click click!!! Snap snap snap!!!

Sun Moon Lake, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

Sun Moon Lake is located in the center of Taiwan and is the island's largest lake. It is a beautiful alpine lake, divided by the Lalu Island; the eastern of the lake is round like the sun and the western of the lake is shaped like a cresent moon, hence the name.

Live Life Light

Since touching down in Singapore on Friday midnight, I have been working non-stop from Saturday. And this evening, as I was working hard in the office, I badly needed a sugar fix for a booster! There! Sipping on a Coke Light, I noticed these words "Live Life Light" on the can which so resembles KK's blog title "Life, Love and Light" :D

And I am dedicating this post to Light Painter KK. Happy Birthday!

Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village, Taiwan

One of the performers selling CDs to the audience after a performance of an Aboriginal dance and song.

Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village was founded in 1986 by its president, Jung-i Chang. Mr.Chang’s vision was to establish a place to both preserve and teach about Taiwan’s aboriginal heritage while, at the same time, provide a spacious venue for people to spend and enjoy their leisure time. His family's history has long been intertwined with those of Taiwan's native aborigine cultures. It was his own ancestor, Da-ching Chang, who negotiated with local tribal representatives to open to cultivation the area around modern Feng-Yuan for Chinese settlers.

We reached Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village at about 2pm and missed quite a number of performances. Nonetheless, I managed to take quite a number of photos which I like very much. 50% of the photos were taken at the European Palace Garden. The European Garden area is a well-manicured feast for the senses. Sprawling over 150 acres, the gardens invite visitors to enjoy a profusion of flowers and plants.