A day of sports

A great day of F1, Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix at SPA, the best GP on the circuit. It wasn't without base as I was literally glued to the telly from the gun with multiple overtaking, assisted with the super high speeds through the best 'corner' in F1, Eau Rouge, leading up camel straight with 23.5seconds of full throttle. Yes, 23.5 seconds of putting pedal to the metal in a 800bhp 600kg car. Imagine that!! A switching on of DRS and burst of KERS and one can overtake relatively easily. The glue to the TV came off suddenly on the 15th' minute mark as Steve Slater (Star Sports, ESPN commentator) announced that it was time for a break. I literally shouted at the TV a bit 'OUI!!!!'. F1 is one of the sillier sports which has commercials during a 'live' coverage! Imagine that during a BPL match. During the late 90s, F1 was shown on 'Sports City' and the televised F1 was WITHOUT commercials and at the end of the race, the interviews of the drivers were show immediately! (not like now where one needs to wait ~15mins). Enough of ramblings, it was a great race, one where tyre preservation, timing of pit stops and general strategy were important. There're rumours where in future, the Belgian and French GP would alternate like that the Japanese GP is alternating between Suzuka and Fuji speedway. Economics and money getting in the way of great racing action!!

SPA ROCKS!!! *mission to self: To go to SPA one day and watch F1 at the Eau Rouge corner!

The saturday was made memorable with a superb trashing of Arsenal by arch-rivals Manchester United. I'm not a BPL fan but Man U vs Arsenal usually turns up great matches. And watching it on FULL HD via Mio Stadium and a 42" telly was really really soothing on the eyes. Man U had great showing by Rooney and Ashley Young (whom between turn curled in 5 beautiful goals behind the hapless Arsenal defense). Wait, there was no defense, where one is called if the back line was cohesive. Arsenal's 7 non-usual starters look out of sorts and were seen without ideas. Van persie and Walcott had no fire in their eyes and looked plain 'sian' to even play. It was a simply a slaughter house in the Theater of Dreams, the worst showing of Arsenal in it's 115 years with a 2-8 trashing by Man U.

What a memorable day of sports!

Birthday wines!!

It was one of the great dinners, and I had the chance to celebrate with Willy whose birthday was just 10 days apart. Everything worked out nicely, with great wines, company and fantastic food from Imperial Treasure. Cake was from Laurent Bernard, nice blackforest but not the authentic ones which remains elusive! More of the wines commentary on my wine blog at http://whoisdionysus.blogspot.com. And not one who likes to be in front of the camera, I'd prefer to post images with friends at my facebook.

The Cranberries - fulfilment to the MAX

It was a dream come true. I've 'grown up' listening to The Cranberries, learning many of the songs I've grown to play on the guitar back in Junior College days. Songs such as Zombie, Ode to my family, Linger were absolute classics. The chords were simple enough for beginners to pickup, melody was simple and yet not the conventional American pop. The Cranberries had records to the tune of the struggles of the Irish against persecution. I continued playing hits from Cranberries during National Service (At MDC) and our Sab-0 (zero) band during my University days.

In 2003, I did an student exchange in Belfast, and The Cranberries had a concert there but I missed it!! (Due to lack of funds, and non of the Singaporean mates wanted to watch), In July 2011, there was a TV ad which promoted The Cranberries, LIVE in Singapore on the 1st August. So this time, 8 years later, I just HAD to attend the concert. The missed concert of 2003 has been lingering in my mind, as they would have been at their prime and the venue was of that a small hall with possibly no seating (Imagine how it would have rocked!!!).

So when the lights dimmed at 830pm, and the band pumped out a string of his like "Hollywood, I can't be with you, Dreaming my dreams", it was a 'moment' that took my breath away, literally a life time of 'anticipation' and 'fulfilment' was felt. Now I understand why some fans (especially young nubile teens) will fall flat over their idols. I've realised that The Cranberries has touched me no other band has!

The rocking went on, Dolores showed signs of aging though her voice was a strong and crystal clear as any of their 5 albums so far. The 'du-du-du' of several songs including Ode to my family was airy and pitch perfect.

The hits kept on coming, Zombie, When you're Gone, I practically knew every single song which they performed!! The fastest song they played was Salvation, though I'd like to hear them play Forever Yellow Skies 'live' (A practically 2-chord song!! with slamming drums...great for moshing). After a short break with Zombie, The Cranberries came back with another slew of hits Free to decide, Promises and finally one of their biggest hits, Dreams as a fitting Finale!

Thank you The Cranberries for the music!!!

M9P: A10pointer!

Having had my first DSLR in 2004 and tried several brands/models, it was 'another day at the office' for me when I picked up the Leica M9P last week. Leica is known for having excellent sharpness, top grade materials, precise German engineering, and the camera system for any serious photography to own one. I've never liked the 'non-mainstream', ie: Lomography, rangefinders, medium-format cameras, preferring to use tried and tested Japanese brands and the power of photoshop to tweak my images the way I see fit.

I've tried a M8 or M8.2 with a 21mm (either a f/1.4 or f/2.5) a few years back, and the handling nor images didn't impress me. It could have been my lack of skill!

This time, I had the luxury and honour of really 'powering' the M9P and one of the most sort-after lenses in production - the Noctilux 50mm f/0.95. Coupled with the full frame sensor of the M9P, the HUGE aperture of 0.95 is massive!

The M9P comes with a CCD sensor, which is known for rich colours but poor noise performance. Hence a fast lens is good. With the Noctilux, nothing is too dark to shoot! Street lamp provides ample illumination for subjects.

Subject-background separation never felt so smooth.

At f/0.95, focusing is practically paper thin, a mis-step or too heavy a breath, the focus plane is off. An 'arty' image can be made this way, with emphasis placed on shapes, composition, colour rather than on how sharp an image is.

Oh yeah, street-shooting with Fireworks !!!

I really love how the colours turn out, this shot without any editing at all, panning in practically the dead of the night with only the street lamps watching above.

An addicted man, this is, now....

General Election 2011 - Personal thoughts

Here're my personal thoughts on this GE.

Right to vote:
For the first time, I'm able to vote, and I'm in the Marine Parade GRC. It has helmed by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and it was considered suicidal for any opposition party to go against the PAP. Due to heightened political awareness, most of the seats (82 out of 87) were contested and the majority of Singaporeans are able to vote. (2.2million eligible voters!)

Nicole Seah versus Tin Pei Ling
Tin 'Kate Spade' Pei Ling is perhaps the most famous topic in this election other than Workers' Party win in Aljunied GRC. I don't subscribe to slamming her like many netizens did. Standing out as a candidate takes courage, even if it's tagging onto SM / PAP, or 'connected husband', or a dangling $15k/mth paycheck. It's a lesson for everyone (including Pei Ling) and quitting now or over the next 5 years will be a mistake on her part. If she does fail in the duties, I'm sure PAP will drop her anyway. In the 'pink' corner, we have a 24 year old Nicole Seah of the NSP, who speaks and presents herself well and has won over the hearts of many netizens. Overall I'd say TPL's appearance is a good overall event for Singapore in general, as it brings out what a percentage of the public wants to hear, and PAP as well as everyone else will learn a lot from this, that a politician's background needs to be squeaky clean (one can't been seen with branded products). TPL in government is a good thing, to see if the young can lead, and this will further make PAP thing deeper and create better policies in future. Nicole is the example of what other Singaporeans can do, that we do need people (especially the young) to step forward to take the lead, instead of simply venting off online. Nicole is a fine example Charisma, (Lacking in Pei Ling). This point is not brought up, but rather her string of materialistic persona which was constantly under attack. Charisma, heart to lead, squeaky clean backgrounds are the key factors in to be a successful politician. Ivy league certs, generals from Government and a ton of PSC scholars might not guarantee the Singapore's future

Future of Singapore
Can Singapore take a two-party/coalition government like the US/UK? Can people seriously imagine that the WP wins say 20 seats in 2016? Will Singapore be seriously a 'better' place? Personally I doubt it. I do agree that the many policies (such as liberal immigration policies especially to attract foreigners to take up tertiary education) are over-zealous and needs to be re-looked. Change is happening too fast and I doubt that Singaporeans can adapt fast enough in terms of to the policies on the ground as well as the changes in government. Hence the verdict is out, that Singaporeans want a slower rate of growth with feet more firmly planted to the ground.

Majulah Singapore!

Ramen, Bendict, Leek & Tomato

Breakfast with dishes as before, with the added boil min-asparagus tips and runny eggs. Simple to cook. Healthy!

First attempt at Ramen.

Target: 4 servings

Broth or 'Dashi':
Shiitake (China) fresh mushrooms: 1 pack, $1.95, wash soak 10mins water, dump in ~1L boiling water for 1hr (way too long, suggest 10mins next time). Limpy mushrooms were added before final stock onto the noodles
Honshimeiji, dried Sardines, 1 small pack $3.90. Added to boil for continuously heated broth. 1 Teaspoon of Miso. Tasted excellent, till I realised the broth wasn't enough for 4 pax. (<1L already). Added more water, slightly miso, but turned too plain. Should have added some shoyu directly at the end.

Shogayaki , pork slices from Canada, 7 slices for $8.95. Marinated with 2 part Shuyo, 1 part sake,1 part mirin, drain of marinate, put in plastic bag, refrigerated for 2hours, pan fried, absolutely yummy though it doesn't look like the regular japanese 'char siew' though it is the 'correct' cut.

Eggs, Meidi-ya Fresh Eggs 350G, 6 for $4.60 (super ex!!!), Seng Choon farm fresh eggs 360G,6 for $1.80. (Just as good!). As a fan of eggs, I wanted a side experiement to see/taste if 'branded' eggs are different from 'regular ones'. Seng Choon had markings on the eggs and Medi-ya's didn't and I thought that should do. Upon boiling, all the markets were gone and I couldn't tell what from what! Recipe: Try to get eggs to room temperature as much as possible. Put eggs into water, heat water to boil, time 4 mins, take out eggs and dunk into ice cold water. Peel shells carefully (eggs are fragile!). Prepare small amount of (shoyu, sake, mirin,2:1:1), heat it and pour into a plastic bag, put eggs into plastic bag, store in fridge. Dice eggs into half before serving.

Spinach, China. $2.0 for ~6 bunches. Cut away root, cut into two as my pot was small. Put veg into boiling water, ~2-3mins (should have put longer), take out veg and dunk into ice water (yes..u know...ice water bucket is aways good). (Added crunch to the veg,...which my dad wasn't a fan)

Ramen: Ryushobo fresh frozen ramen. $2.75 (Serving for 4). Didn't expect a touch time dealing with this! Boil water (simple enough!), throw Ramen in, (big mistake: dumped 4 packs in), pot was big, but the whole noodle/boiling water got into a big tangle, the smell of 'gee1', (the yellow colouring chemical on noodles), was overpowering and causing a yellow froth to float around. Noodles were sticking to each other and were getting soft after ~3mins and emergency solution solution was to take all out, flush tap water, mixed with ice to stablise the noodles and rid the 'gee1' smell. Noodles were pretty much salvaged in the end, an unforgettable battle well worth fighting to taste fresh ramen.

Leek (China) $4.50 for a pair. Dump ~2cm of the lowest portion, cut the next lowest 3cm, use the outermost 2-3 layers, cut into strips longitudinally. Soak in water for 1hr before serving. This is for a garnish purpose. I think spring onions will do too, as leek is very expensive! (Side note, the rest of the leek were cut/chopped with 4 small potatoes, boiled in water for ~30mins, drained of water, blended with ~300ml of milk, added grated Parmesan, salt, pepper to taste for a very vegetal, fresh, thick leek/potatoe soup!)

Absolutely the most pretty tomatoes, from Thailand, $5.65 for 8 crunchy, so-good-you-must-eat-on-its-own-only tomatoes! Superb as appetizer.

Emerging city

During a four-year course of graduate studies, countless samples of wafers, glass and other types of substrates are used for experiments. Here is a glimpse of a portion of author’s ‘stash’ for four years. Dealing with organic materials, a portion of the work was dealt with luminescent polymers. Towers of light rise against the ‘pit’ of other substrates, creating the ‘emerging city’, from the old-world lit in red and blue. - Perq Jon CHIA, NUS 2000-2009

Breakfast!

It was a sudden surge of interest, that got me going to prepare this breakfast. Having tried to do 'Ramen' eggs previously, a friend of mine got me interested to cook potatoes (another one of my favourite 'comfort' food). Here it is, my official first full set of breakfast (other than instant noodles).

items and brief description

• Small baked potatoes, boiled for ~10mins, stabbed 5-6 times, olive oil+salt, in a pre-heated 210C oven, bake for 45mins. Crush potato with a smooth, butter, pepper to taste.
• Small hasselback potatoes, boiled for ~10mins, cut into 3-4mm thicknesses, olive oil, in a pre-heated 210C oven, bake for 45mins. Pepper to taste.
  
• Tomato, slice into 2, shredded Parmesan cheese onto it, bake in pre-heated 210C oven, 15mins.
  
• Egg, prepare hot water, put in egg, fully submerge, heat to boil, take egg out by 4-5th minute. Cool eg in room temperature water. Pepper to taste.
• Bread: Brandless wholemeal

Reference: http://www.seasaltwithfood.com/2010/05/crash-hot-potatoes.html

Next attempt: Asparagus, Benedict, ref: http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2007/05/asparagus-eggs-benedict.html

Valentines day no. 11

Valentine's day no. 11: Sushi Tei (East Coast at former big splash) missed out on our business as they don't have reservations. We changed venue to this Ramen eatery Yoshimaru, with very decent Ramen. Great noodles, not-too-salty broth and fantastic pork, this was fantastic value for money!

Present from wifey, a potted plant without the need for sunlight nor water ( it feeds on ice!! )

The old and new and a present (or two?)

three grandmothers during chinese lunar new year 2011

It is the time of the year for those who celebrate the Chinese (or Lunar) New year. The exchange of mandarin oranges is the custom of Chinese. The oranges stand for 'gold', and is exchange with greetings of abundance, good fortune, health and prosperity. It is the only time the year perhaps for many of us to visit our relatives. And this post serves to freeze the moment in time, for my three 'grandmothers', as I only visit them once a year.


This is my maternal grand mother. Visibly aged, she has shrunk a lot in the previous years, and has great difficulty in walking. My maternal grand father has passed away more than twenty years ago and my grand mother has soldiered on with seven children and sixteen grand children. Barely able to converse in my limited command of Hokkien, she gamely smiled at me when I whipped out my camera and took a few snaps. This is the first year that she wasn't able to attend the yearly family gathering as she is practically wheelchair bound and has no lift access in her flat.


This is my paternal grand mother, with six children, eleven grand children and three great grand children. My paternal grand father just passed away three years ago. I can barely speak Teochew and could not really converse with her. She hardly smiles, and this shot was blur due to hand shake but her smile was captured.


This is my 'ah um', my babysitter when I was a baby. When I could remember at five years old, I was visiting her and staying with her periodically. I've always looked forward to stay with her as she would bring me to playground at void decks and I could have as much fun and time without any curfews from my parents. I would remember that my feet were completely black after each session at the sand-filled play grounds in the 1980s! I would also remember that she cooked the best pig kidney's soup, with generous amounts of ginger and kidney. It was a delicacy and pricey item before the health chants on good and bad cholesterol. Now, she's at a nursing home, and this is my first visit in two years and she has almost could not recognise me. She still hasl good mobility and amazing lungs (the entire floor of twenty plus occupants can hear her speak!).

As time goes back to normal on Monday, we will be busy with our lives, it'll be fast-forward another year before we visit these important figures in our lives. Cherish your loved ones!

Melvyn Tan plays Mozart Piano Sonata in C

What a night, Melvyn Tan played Schumann, Debussy and Chopin. This was his first concert in Singapore in around 30 years? Due to his 'exile' as he was deemed to have 'escaped' national service, he didn't have the opportunity to visit the place he was born.

Anyhow, the playing was great, though I fell asleep thru the entire first piece. I was somehow exhausted, perhaps due to the great meal at Tomo Izakaya (fantastic Sashimi!!) I was awoken to rapturous applause.

The second half was great, through Chopin's Polonaise and Sonata. But as someone who is not 'hardcore' about classical music, my favourite section in recitals is always the encore. The first was a Chopin's Etude, and the 3rd and last piece was also another Etude (The 'Revolutionary', a decent way to end the night. But to me, the show stopper was when he played Mozart's Sonata in C, 2nd movement. And it was the only time Melvyn spoke during the show, that he last played this piece when he was eight years old at the Victoria theater. What strikes me in the simplistic music of Mozart Sonata is in the masterful playing by Melvyn of this ''children's piece.

Simplicity is sometimes best in our ever chaotic world, and with a maestro helming the Steinway & Sons concert grand, Mozart's music was ringing again, from the about-to-be-refurbished Victoria hall, through the 21st century Esplanade Concert Hall. What a generation!

01-01-11 Reckoning of 2010

Another yr has flashed past. Glancing briefly at my year end post of 2009, it's another year gone!! 2010 is over...just like that! This blog hasn't been updated often enough, as the world has gone hyper pace with IT, and blogspot is so '2009', and 2010 is all about Facebook.
I'll still like to reflect on 2010 over at this post.
Back in March, Wenhui and I went to Sepang for the 3rd or 4th time, with some waning in interest.
Year of wines:
I've been lucky enough to have a great team of wine comrades, meeting occasionally to enjoy the tippings from grape juice, climaxing this year with a 1982 DRC Richebourg Magnum bottle during christmas eve.
Roadshows, I've been part of all the major roadshows + some misc shows this year, 6 of them!

Trip of the year, Germany!! It was a list of 'things to do before I die', not quite, but you get the picture with things like driving 220kmh in BMW on the Autobahn, drinking beer from 1L mugs at Oktober Fest, going to roman-type spa at Baden-Baden, visiting Mercedes and Porsche museums in Stuttgart and visiting the largest photography fair in the world, Photokina, was simply unforgettable.
YOG, the opening fell on my birthday, 14th August, and Wenhui got a room at MBS, and the bay view from the 'top of Singapore' was simply spectacular!!

Sushi Jiro - Yummy

It was wifey's birthday and we went to this little joint at Siglap (near cheescake cafe), called Sushi jiro. Superbly fresh sashimi, here's the medium set, with seabream, fat yellowtail (it's...dripping with fat), flounder (damn sweet tasting!), deep red tuna (never seen such red fish before), and one more I can't recall now! One will never even go near the soya source as the fish is so heavenly good and the freshly grated wasabi is delicious on it's own!

The impeccably made Sushi Moriwase.

The famous Yellow tail cheek, grilled. Wasn't to my liking on this day.

Had the Hananomai Chyo Karakuchi, dry and sweet.

Some mucus-like egg + Yam which the wife loves...

Aromatic, balanced, and a perfect way to end a dinner, the soup in a teapot!

Marina Bay Sands, 'on top of the world'!

A memorable weekend. 5hour wait to get the room. A huge relief. Great dinner at Imperial Treasure with friends and relatives. Perfect view of the Youth Olympic Games event. Fireworks right at your eyeball level. Good wine. Great companionship. Swimming at the top of the Singapore.

Happy birthday to me. ;)