a prayer: the truthful hypocrite

"Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!
Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands."
Ps 119:5, 6

LORD, I come before you and admit that my actions, words and thoughts have not been consistently reflecting your decrees. I lay my life before you, everything seen and unseen, and I surrender it to you, O God. Mold me and change me as you please. Give me endurance to stand strong during this time. LORD, may our actions consistently reflect your decrees, that we not be ashamed when we compare our lives to your commands.


A prayer from 15 January 2013

Wild Rocket, Singapore

On our final night in Singapore, we were brought to Wild Rocket, a fine dining establishment well-known for its Mod Sin (Modern Singaporean) cuisine. Wild Rocket occupies a small space on the ground floor of a backpacker’s lodge/hostel/hotel, Hangout on Mount Emily. It’s a small but pretty space! Helmed by former lawyer-turned chef Willin Low, this eatery has been making waves among diners and was even shortlisted for the Miele food guide! 

It’s also interesting to note that their menu changes every three months, giving diners a surprise and a new discovery on their every visit. Judging by our dinner that night, I would say a second visit would be worth it.

On that day, we had...

Adobo Duck with Truffled Mash

This dish was mainly stringy, chewy, tender and tasty duck meat marinated in sweet soy sauce (adobo is a Philippine specialty). Lovely! It’s paired with a runny quail’s egg sitting atop a small mountain of mashed potatoes that’s been seasoned with truffle oil. Sublime is the word for this pairing. 

Chiang Mai Style Sausage Pattie with Rose Apple

Chef Willin came out of the kitchen himself to explain this dish to us. Inspired by a pork sausage you can find in southern Thailand, this crumbly pork patty is seasoned with lemongrass and some coconut shavings. It was absolutely delicious! The tartness of the rose apple salad it came on brought a sweet note to the pork dish.

Arabian White Prawn Hokkien-Mee style Spaghettini

The inspiration behind this dish is the Singaporean hokkien noodles, a local one-dish meal that comes with prawns. In this modern take of the local dish, Chef Willin went one up on the crustacean with an Arabian white prawn and added some chewy squid and tender pork belly bits to the noodles. This dish is a treat!

Iberico pork shoulder

The. Best. The pork shoulder, which was cooked or marinated iberico-style (a Spanish method of curing ham), was soft to the touch and absolutely aromatic. Eating this felt like a beautiful dragon riding a golden rainbow into the sunset. The sweet corn mash it’s sitting on wasn’t half bad, either. And the golden medallion you see in the back is a deep-fried piece of tomato. That fruit/veggie thing has never tasted so weird and so cute! (Yes, food can look AND taste cute)

Sugee Cake with Burnt Gula Melaka & Coconut Ice Cream

This dish looks boring. But appearances are deceiving, because we were all in love by the first bite! The spongy sugee cake (a Portuguese dessert served at weddings) was perfect with the burnt gula melaka, and the mellow coconut ice cream gave the warm cake something soft, cold and sweet to absorb. So delicious, like eating pillows of candy-soaked clouds. A lovely end for the dinner!

Wild Rocket @ Mount Emily

Hangout Hotel

10A Upper Wilkie Road

S(228119)

http://www.wildrocket.com.sg/

https://www.facebook.com/wildrocket.sg

Bastille's daniel in the den

I saw Bastille as MTV's Push artist of the month and I thought, oh great, another man-band. They're gonna be swept off the scene as quickly as they appear!

But...this song isn't half bad. Try it! I love it. 

*

On another note, I had one of the best lamb in a while.

It was cold, came without sauce and I had to eat it with my fingers. Passover lamb at church, possibly the most meaningful meal yet. Thank you Jesus. You always seem to have more love for me than I can imagine and ask for, and for that, my soul is forever grateful!


*

Be experimental. Don't stay average. Do more than is expected of you, because you want to. That's what sets people apart from the rest.

#BTinSg summary

I just got back from my first (and hopefully not last!) working holiday to Singapore. It was a whirlwind tour of the best of Singapore, plus a few hidden gems here and there. Definitely one to remember, as me and a colleague went around sampling the little bits of what makes Singapore the place to be at the moment. 

In terms of culture, we were given a crash course through the cultural precincts of the city state - Kampong Glam, Chinatown and Little India, plus an enriching river cruise. 

Food-wise, we tasted the diverse palatable offerings Singapore has to offer. My favorite has to be the biggest and baddest Asian lunch buffet at the Straits Kitchen in Hyatt Hotel. Bad as in, top form, real good; like if the buffet wore clothes, it was wearing skinny jeans and muscle tee with a leather jacket. 

We were spoilt for choice at entertainment. Universal Studios Singapore, Marine Life Park and my personal favorite, the indie/chill Timbre Rock & Roots music festival! I enjoyed myself so much that night. 

Once I compile all the photos and find a suitable category, I hope to be able to document this trip. So...stay tuned! :) 

thoughts before Tuesday morning

I am so happy and excited, I've started talking more fast than usual and with more hand gestures. I suddenly feel like a hyperactive cast on a kid's show.

Bags are packed. Nails are painted. Shoes have been put away. Now all that's done is to get some sleep. PHEW! Thank You Jesus :D

BTW Joyce Shamini if you're reading this I WON THE CosmoBox! :P Show you when it comes!

just a sunday

unknown

BFM plays...

...Tame Impala's Solitude is Bliss.

The only radio station that plays real music is BFM. 

"i used to think everybody wanted a piece of me
until i found out people like me were a dime a dozen"

maroon clouds

Earlier this evening, as I drove home, I used the route I had always used - out the T-junction unto the main road.

It was tonight that the streetlamps throughout this stretch of road decided not to work. As I looked to my right for oncoming traffic, I caught a glimpse of a spectacularly made night sky. It was so beautiful I have to blog about it! (Since I was driving, Instagram is not an option)

If you could visualize this, it was as if magnificent mountains descended out of nowhere upon the sky above me. They were giant velvety-maroon clouds looming over the darkened road, seemingly oblivious to its own ridiculous size compared to the tiny cars below. The lack of better lighting only accentuated the gorgeous night sky.

I saw it for only less than two seconds and the sight was soon behind me. But it was so pretty!

the thing i want most is...

..the Stage Kohl Intense Pencil <3
I want CosmoBox!

now reading: game of thrones

I am now reading this book.

(Did you know that the series isn't actually Game of Thrones, it's called A Song of Ice and Fire? Game of Thrones is just the name of the first book! Somehow somewhere, someone thought the series would be way cooler if called A Game of Thrones. And it is. Also, it's not "Game of Thrones" as you would think, it's "A Game of Thrones". Thanks to Sam who pointed it out! LOL)

Before I read this book, I did not have any interest in the series whatsoever. The only thing I heard (that was constant) from my friends is that "There's a lot of sex scenes in the show!" like that was the only thing the show was about! Hahaha.

On the book: I like reading this book. It may seem thick and daunting, and the sentences long and winding, but it's a relatively easy read (I believe this would fall under the young adult/sci-fi genre) and you'll be flipping through the pages quick enough. Some may say there are too many characters to remember, but once you get to know everyone, you'll be able to differentiate them well enough. (Except fight scenes where squires and random Sers appear, hah!)

I have a particular liking of taking note of the food and beverages of any literature - and the ones in this series, no less! Honeyed wine, meats on skewers and the particular use of the phrase "meat and mead" - it's not long before someone writes a review about it. (Did you know that The Hunger Games even has its own spin-off recipe book?)


It's also interesting to read the book, get to know the character, and then do a Google image search of what the characters look like! I can't wait to watch the series :)