Belated Yuletide

So much to blog about, so little time. Christmas barely came and went, and I'm already tucking into the annual Prosperity Burger, from MacDonalds which is a sure herald of Chinese New Year approaching us with the speed of a charging bull.

Nevertheless, since I had so painstakingly edited the pictures from Christmas, I thought I might as well put it up for posterity. I am in the unique position to witness the birth of a family tradition, I think. Not hailing from a Christian family, Christmas Eve dinners were something we only read about in Enid Blyton books, Beano comics, ....and when we were abroad, perhaps the odd Christmas Day lunch, but we ourselves, the FBB family, never really celebrated it in any way.

A number of factors precipitated this change. First, my late grandmother became a Christian a year of so before her demise. That year, my mother said, oh, lets have a Christmas Eve dinner since Poh Poh is a Christian. That was rather shortlived, as she (my grandmother) died the following year, and my folks continued with their annual holidays around the yuletide. Meanwhile, the Christmas tree and its pretty decor was gaining "importance" in the seasonal decorations, as there were the grandchildren slowly popping out of the ovens....

Then my mother herself embraced the Papal religion, and must have decided that London was getting too cold in December, so they stayed put in the equator, hence precipitating the final straw that completed the evolution of the Christmas Eve dinner tradition in our household. It is unanimously agreed that we spare the large bird the slaughter, since it's nice to look at, but no one really can truly say they love turkey.

For starters, we had a duet of pizzas, with a dried tomato pesto sauce as the base, and another one with the normal basil pesto, sprinkled with scallops, funghi and bacon.

Those aren't fishballs. They're scallops.


The smoked salmon platter.









Lovely dunno whatchewcallit, from France. It's something like a cross between a sausage, with the texture more akin to luncheon meat, and didnt require cooking. Delicious!


I often wonder why we don't eat brussel sprouts more often, as I actually belong to that strange category of people who LOVE brussel sprouts.


Quail Eggs and Walnut Salads. Those who frequent my dinner parties would recognise the blue salad bowl instantly, I am sure.




Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. The cut was a Rib Eye, good, but not as good as the Wagyu Rib Eye we had a few weeks ago. It's bad when standards have been set so high.


Satay From Kajang, courtesy of the inlaws.


Observe this manger scene. Birth of another tradition.....






Notice the difference between this manger scene and the previous one? I'll explain later.


Desserts. No Marks & Spencer's Christmas Pudding this year, since we hadn't even finished last year's (2007) one. Sigh. I love Christmas pudding though. We had to make do with my brandy soaked Spencer's Four Seasons Cake.


....and the Durian Cheese Cake....

To answer the question about the manger scene, well, I think its a Roman Catholic practise. Anyway, in the first manger scene, there was no baby.

After doing the reading from the gospels.....

...one of the grandchildren would then place the baby Jesus into the crib. Awwww.....Christmas, is afterall, about the birth of Jesus Christ, not the sales in Mid Valley Megamall featuring Santa Clause.

Then there is the mad scramble to open the presents. No waiting till Christmas morning in this household. Afterall, no one believes in Santa, so the kids aren't gonna be waiting for his sleigh to be flying through the night skies. But the unparalleled look of sheer joy when baby boy opened his present of a transformer toy....sigh, would melt the heart of the greatest cynic.




Poor Santa.....kids becoming too adult for their own good eh! I remember an Ally McBeal episode where a teacher was getting sued for telling the kids there was no such thing as Santa Clause. Roll eyes..... Americans....

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
Though you are Lord
Above all.
(from the Christian song, "Above All")

Jumbo Seafood, Dempsey, Singapore

Whatever differences we may have with our southern neighbours, imaginary or otherwise, there is no denying that as a destination for a short holiday with kids, ignoring the ridiculous exchange rate, Singapore actually has quite a lot to offer in terms of attractions. From whore lined streets, in Geylang, (okay, that wasn't for kids), to large ferris wheels....

Courtesy of my generous uncle, whose son's nuptials we were attending in the island republic, we got to sit in the famous Singapore Flyer....thankfully when we did, for a few days later, the thing konked out, and people were STUCK on it for up to 6 hours. I wonder what it would be like peeing out the window. You'd expect something like that to happen to the Eye of Malaysia, when it was going up and down and around lake titiwangsa, but to their credit, there was no incidences that I am aware of. But Singapore? EFFICIENT old Singapore?

If you don't have to pay, I would highly recommend the ride. It affords fantastic panoramic views of the island, and rumour has it you can even see Malaysia, Tanah Air Gemilangku, on a clear day. Either the island is damn tiny, OR, they simply point to some under developed part left on the island and label it, "Malaysia". At S$30 per head, or thereabouts, it would have cost me and the brood a small fortune to have gone on the ferris wheel.

The other place of interest that we went (sans relatives) was the Singapore Zoo. It was a toss up between the zoo and underwater world in Sentosa, as MY main objective was to see a dugong. When I heard that you could see your dugong, (actually they were manatees, close relatives of the dugong) and feed it too, at the zoo, I was sold. Actually, I misheard. You can't feed it, but you can watch it being fed.

Apart from being very well nourished, unlike their Malaysian counterparts, (I bet you while queueing in animal heaven, waiting for their respective postings on earth, animals must groan loudly when they get posted to Zoo Negara..... must be like Msians being posted to ....dare I say it? S--------?, the zoo animals are also very well trained. On cue, they would strike a pose for you. Which makes me wonder if they aren't National Service trainees in costume....

When all the rellies arriving for the wedding had arrived, Uncle brought us, after lovely pre dinner drinks with gammon ham and cheeses, at the house, to Jumbo at Dempsey Road. Good thing we didn;t eat at Jumbo the night before with Hairy Berry. The last time I went to Dempsey, it was a few abandoned army barracks, with hints of potential, and a smattering of trendy wine bars. Now, my goodness, its changed beyond recognition!!!

Miraculously managing to find a carpark, and being very wary, having just been fined the previous day for not displaying those ubiquitous coupons, at the dinner place with Hairy Berry, ($30 for no coupon...actually I thought the whole island was controlled electronically via the VEP card, hence didn't occur to me to look for coupons), I made my way through the throngs of expats. Recession? Does that mean party?

All of the above were part of the four seasons platter. I loved the scallops with the yam ring. Rather unique.



Another rather unusual dish was this Pumpkin soup Sharksfin... it seems a waste to have that precious stock to be drowned in pumpkin, but the taste was good, and well, it was different. Lots of fresh crab meat.


Till today, I still don't know how to photograph fish, so I shall just concentrate on the lips. The soon hock, or bamboo fish, was okay, I prefer the ones here, both in size and in preparation. But the maternal side of my family lurves their soon hock, and its almost a must have in any family gathering.


The scallops and asparagus were lovely. Fresh plump scallops, sauteed nicely in aromatic oil, almost like XO sauce...hmm, come to think of it, it might have been.


Mini lobsters steamed with egg white. Lovely, but by this time, we were like exploding already. Again, very fresh and sweet. Firm meat, and the method of preparation preserved the natural taste of the lobster.


The pepper crab again. Not sure if it was white pepper, but it was good.








I somewhat preferred the chilli crab here compared with NO SIGNBOARD's. Tastes more like the Malaysian version. A quick discussion with Queen of Crabs however revealed that we both prefer the plainer sauces that don't kill the natural flavours of the crab. And it was unanimously agreed that the Chinks cook shell fish the best!




Lovely ending to the meal, my favourite noodles. Can't really go wrong with noodles. Comfort food. Although at this point, the best comfort we could derive was to empty our bowels.

While waiting for dessert, we popped over to the gourmet shops in the vicinity, Jones, and Culina. Singaporeans are darn lucky, so much choice.

Overall, a very enjoyable culinary experience..... yum. Thanks Uncle.

Romping in The Republic With Hairy Berry, At No Signboard

The republic referring to that little island mass south of our borders. That amazingly organized colony and even spectacular (at some places) scenery. Anyway, truthfully, with an exchange rate matching that of Australia, Singapore is NOT high on my list of "must visit" places, and if it weren't for the fact that we were there for a cousin's nuptials, we'd probably have continued our cuti cuti Malaysia, and lived like kings, with the kind of prices we were paying in Singapore. However, fortunately, because of the generosity of friends and relatives, the overall bill was pretty reasonable.

One of my main benefactors during this visit was the inimitable Hairy Berry. After putting him through much stress to find a suitable venue that was fairly near to me, had easy parking, and is child friendly, he suggested NO SIGNBOARD at the Eastcoast Seafood Centre, just off the ECP. I have never quite gotten used to the abbreviations of the Singapore highways. BKE for Bukit Timah Expressway, AYE for Ayer Rajah, SLE for .... whatever.

Driving in Singapore is a breeze. Everything is so well sign posted, and maps are good, you don't even need a GPS. Found our way to East Coast Seafood Centre in good time, and was actually the first to arrive. Sai Low was also joining us for dinner.

Nothing like a frosted beer glass with icy cold draught to calm the nerves, of having to navigate through a strange land, with 4 kids in the car constantly playing and singing along to Mamma Mia soundtrack.

I wasn't quite accustomed to seeing Hairy Berry in office garb, as the only times I've seen him was when he's back for the weekends. It's like after a scuba diving trip, when you suddenly bump into a fellow diver in the mall, and say, "oh, I've never seen you with clothes on, I almost didn't recognise you". (Real life story).

The claim to fame for most of the Singapore seafood joints are the white pepper crab. Starting at S$40 per kg for Sri Lankan crab, it goes into the hundreds for crabs from white countries. In fact, the next tier up after the Sri lankan crab was the Australian Snow Crab at S$140. Hairy kept assuring me that if you dont convert, the prices are quite reasonable. True, they actually have it good, these Singies. Dollar for dollar, they go a much further distance. A kopi ping in kopitiam is only $0.70, as opposed to our RM1.70. And a noodle in kopitiams are about $3.

I can't believe how green the vegetables are. Just like the zoo. All the animals so perfectly manicured. Everything is perfect in the little island. Penguins dive on cue, tigers pose for photographs, and in case they don't, there's a plastic replica for you to pose with outside most of the exhibits.

Choy tam, fried with garlic. Hard to go wrong here.

Marmite ribs. Oh dear, this is what happens when you blog about events after more than two weeks. Especially if the three weeks that have elapsed are filled with food and more food, everything becomes one big blur, with the help of alcohol. AS FAR as I recall, the ribs were good.

I love deep fried mantous, because they're sinfully unhealthy. These were ordered for the purpose of soaking up the gravy from the chilli crabs.

I think we all unanimously agreed that our Malaysian Chilli Crabs are far better than this particular offering. However, the Sri Lankan Crabs are fleshy, and rather meaty. I remember at one stage they were all the craze here. Huge mothers of crabs, which were then rumoured to have been fed on human carcasses floating off the Ganges. Is the Ganges near Sri Lanka? I lurve Sri Lankan crabs, whether or not they've been fed on human meat. After all, as the song goes, in Lion King, it's the Circle of Life. As long as it wasn't my direct ancestors they were feeding on....Oh, my mistake, I coulda sworn the Circle of Life lyrics were about the food chain....but I just googled it and its not. It's about sapphire skies.

Ah, the white pepper crab. Rather good, I have to say. I love the peppery assault on the palate, and the strands of spring onion. A very delectable dish indeed, I have to say. Brings out the flavour of the crab, unlike the chilli crab which was drowned in the that starchy gravy. Hmmm, I kinda feel like having some now. KL got ah? Sure must have one leh. Calling out to the Queen of Crabs, Precious Pea.....oh knowledgeable Regina Crabus, where can we get White Pepper Crab in KL?

Wat Tan Hor Fun. Mainly ordered for the kiddos. But tasty enough, and was our main carbs for the night.


I am sure the pro-life people would be appalled at the amount of roe that was prematurely killed along with this mother crab. But heck, it was DEEEEELICIOUS!!!! Just look at that that!!! I can almost hear my pharmacist (Ciki, help, help!) stocking up on a year's supply of Lipitor for me, in anticipation.....

Actually Hairy Berry did a very very naughty thing, and PAID!!!! ARGH!!! My Sai Low, who has been working in Singapore for years now, made a feeble attempt to fight for the bill, (that Chinese game, of Quick Draw Credit card mcgraw)..... The bill in ringgit terms is staggering, but Hairy Berry assured us that it was okay as long as you don't convert. Hey Hairy, thanks heaps, owe you a big big dinner in KL okay.

Happy New Year everyone, welcome back all my dear friends from London, Krabi, Sydney, (in order of their arrival dates)....and here's to a gluttonous, culinefarious, 2009.