Kiddo Pics & Talk Nov 2023

 

Cracking Ceilings

The unit right above us started overhaul renovation the past week. We had to endure constant drilling and hacking. We had to 'evacuate' to 406 to escape the horrible noise. The resulting outcome of all the hacking are cracked ceiling in the kitchen and both bathrooms. It was pretty bad at the kitchen with big chunks failing down.

What made it worst is that this is the bastard neighbour who came into our place without permission. The bloody asshole dick-less fool that I would like to bang his head into the wall. Damn irritating... 

We contacted the contractor and they would come repair it but at a later time when their painter is available. So in the meantime we need to hope that nothing else falls on our heads. Phhhhfff!

Hangry

I've always thought it was a made up word that Meimei uses whenever she likes to poke fun at me for being grouchy. She also likes to call me a 小老虎 and uses it interchangeably. Today I realised it's such a common occurrence with others that the word 'Hangry' is a thing.

Taking The Train At Kallang Wave Mall

If only they had this in the malls when we were young. I cannot imagine any kids not excited to ride on a choo-choo train around the mall. Glad to see the kids enjoying this experience. 

New Noise Cancelling Headphones - Sony WH-1000XM5

Been shopping around for headphones since the work trip last month where I was partially deaf on my left ear throughout the whole time there. I made the mistake of using the SQ earplug to catch a movie and the noise from the airplane engine probably affect my ear drums such that it shut down after that.

Good thing it recovered now that I am back in Singapore. Hmm maybe it's allergic to Bangalore hahahah. Whatever it is I have to travel there again next time so I thought I might as well invest in a good noise cancellation headphones. Though I have the AirPods Pro but those tend to come off when I lean a side of my head against the head rest.

So after some research I eventually went with the Sony WH-1000XM5. Still testing it out but on the initial use of 4 hours straight it does not feel heavy on the head. The noise cancellation is pretty good and sound is clear and crisp. Definitely a thumbs up for price to quality. 

Kiddo Pics & Talk Oct 2023

If you can do it, I can too

萱萱: mama why your leg is up when eating fruits?

萱萱: 阳阳 also has his leg up

Meimei: Justin, why do you have your leg up?

阳阳 looks at Meimei’s leg: if you can do it I can do it too!

Turning 45

You know life is good when you have family by you on special days. Turning 45, surely the 50%-60% way mark depending on how far I get in life haha. I owe to Meimei to make it all happen so here's to another 45 together! 

Bday Lunch At Otmore Novena Square

We didn't deliberately come here for a Bday lunch. It happens we were at Novena so Meimei brought me to Otmore. On first glance at the deco, tables and chairs, one would be forgiven for thinking that it is a hole in the wall type of sushi place with rice bowls. But it turns out to be a fancy restaurant with a fancy price tag to go with it.

Unlike Sushi Bar, their sashimi are heavily marinated such that they are flavourful but also too salty for my taste. Meimei and I were turned off halfway through the meal due to the amount of seasoning on every piece of raw fish. The only one that didn't turn out half as bad was the beef. Sashimi should be lightly seasoned such that it still has that fresh raw fish taste. If it's not fresh, that's when you marinate it to mask the fishiness ... so is that what this is?

Anyways its not all that bad, just that I would not spend the kind of $$ for this meal vs the same at Sushi Bar.

At The Beach For Sand & Water

A fun outing at the beach again, this time with xy joining in. She has a little 洁癖 and refuses to step on the sand with her bare feet. Haha she has a lot to learn from our Kampong girl 萱萱.

Sashimi Galore At Sushi Bar Takashimaya

OMG ... food coma from having so much salmon sashimi!! The pictures speak for themselves ... look at those thick slices of salmon! 

Absolutely amazing lunch at Sushi Bar Takashimaya. They had a promotion for salmon sashimi and we didn't hold back. It was meant as a birthday treat for me so we went all out. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Team Building At Kitchen Showdown Boat Quay Singapore

The Component Repair Finance leadership are all here in Singapore for a Labour Productivity workout. For team building we are at Kitchen Showdown Boat Quay for a cooking competition. We are assigned to teams of 7-8 pax and have to cook 3 dishes, Hokkien mee, Cereal Prawns and Ondei-ondei.

Cooking is obviously not a familiar skillset for most of the team so everyone had a bit of a struggle getting the dishes done, even with the recipe and steps. I was in the sub-team making the cereal prawns and made a bad boo-boo coating the prawns with the egg and cereal before cooking it. So everything was wet and sticky and we had to start over. Fail hahahah

Overall it was clean fun but it kinda limited interaction to the sub-teams. Plus everyone was focused on completing the task that there was not more chatter or relationship building. That said, kudos to the organisers for setting this up. I would never be able to organise any team building like this. 

Lunch At Origin Grill Shangri-La Singapore

Lunch at Origin Grill Shangri-La Singapore with Meimei and YeeYee. It was meant as a belated birthday treat for YeeYee but I tagged along since I was available and could drive us there hehe.

We had the 3 course set lunch. I had the salmon while Meimei and YeeYee went for the beef. I had a salad which was passable but wasn't impressed so didn't took any photos. Meimei and YeeYee had the grilled octopus which looked much better. The only thing that made me sit up was dessert. The melting chocolate tart was very rich.

Overall it's a very good lunch set at a restaurant for the price. Would come again occasionally when I feel like pampering Meimei.

Elixir Haul #14

 

Fancier But Still As Slow

Arrived and left Bengaluru via Terminal 2 this trip. It's a whole lot fancier than Terminal 1 since its new. Arriving was much easier as they have more manned counters to clear the crowd. Leaving is just as bad as before. You can change the coat of paint but you cannot change the people. It's still a horrible exercise to clear the customs bag check. They need to get more sophisticated X-ray machines ... this is the only place I had to dump out everything in my bag to clear the checks. And when everyone needs to do that, it slows the whole process down considerably.

Simpler Breakfast At Marriott

Breakfast at the Marriott Bengaluru feels different from the Sheraton. The place is busier and the open air sitting is more cramped with many tables put side by side. The only thing it has going its way is the Asian styled fried noodles. I do get sick of it having it everyday but its better than other options (or lack of).