Finally something relevant after studying BS203...

Finally, something useful...at least I managed to appreciate this process. Our lovely apoptosis in action with the TNF-alpha and Nf-kB.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040526065457.htm

Supper @ Gluttons' Bay

Gluttons' Bay @ the Esplanade, not exactly my favourite haunt to satisfy a grumbling tummy late at night. But owing to Eio's ingenius planning, the initial 5, dwindling to a pathetic 3, ended up having supper there.

So here we have it, my virgin step into Gluttons' Bay...

Fried Oyster Omelette. The oysters were distinctly detached from the dough but the dough was well-fried though.
BBQ Chicken Wings...definitely not the best I have eaten.
Satay satay...I'm in love with Surabaya's now....

There was a BBQ Stingray...but we emptied the plate too fast for photos to be taken.

Anyway, here's the lovely duo, Eio and Mark.

Life after death

Prosthetic legs don't occur on humans or animals alike. The relatively new chair which apparently was broken by yours truly just got a fix. Metal plates and rivets now constitute a main portion of the leg.

So dear friends, rocking chairs aren't meant to be rocked. Please stop rocking yours if you don't wish to spoil the chair, get a scolding, break your piggy bank to buy another or get a painful butt from the fall!!

See no evil

Happy Retirement!

The greatest teacher doesn't need to proclaim he/she is one; People will acknowledge you.

The lousiest doesn't need to take much effort to know that he/she is one; It's obvious.

24 October 2007: The best biology teacher finally retired.

Time really flies, it's an old phrase but it brings out the aptness best. I can still remember the days when she used to complain about MOE refusing to allow her an early retirement. 6 years down the road, finally all of us students old and current were there to witness her final words in BPGHS. I believe in any trade, your final report card is how people see and respond to you the day you leave. And I suppose Mdm. Quek scored a well-expected A* with distinction.

Pupils will miss her presence in the school...at least I will.

The graduate batch of 2001:

Blend of 401 & 402. And where are the 02 girls??

The chairman of 402 presenting a token of appreciation to Mdm Quek

(a framed photo of us taken with Mdm Quek back in 2001)

All the appreciations presented by current and ex-students. 02's on the right!

Spring cleaning

Spring cleaning done on some unknown part of my house, not by me of course. I wish I had the time to get rid of those bacteria colonies all over my room. My mother did...and somehow a childhood toy was discovered hidden in a box.

Ahhh....sweet childhood...days of no work and all play. Highly nostalgic to those days...

Till then.

Neglect

This blog is so neglected i nearly forgot I own one. Anyway, i'm still lacking the the important thing called 'time' so don't expect anything fanciful. School work is strangling me...

On a more relaxing note, the submission of 2 assignments last Friday gave us a real good reason to unwind with this:

A nice fragrant piece of waffle with a generous scoop of cookies and cream at Haato. The waffle's real nice, I love it! I suppose Gelare's should stand aside for this. Price is reasonable at S$6.50 too. Man, I should start baking waffles....recipes anyone?

Till then.

Dim Sum @ Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant

I need elaborate no further. It's the much anticipated dim sum lunch gathering @ Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant, Turf City. Second visit to this ulu place located on a peaceful area of Singapore. It used to be rowdy on the weekends, at least from my memories of the place. One can hardly squeeze up the buses that pass through Bukit Timah with all the gamblers rushing to make their killings(or get killed) at the racecourse. The process of event organisation is a mental torture. Especially true when you see the attendance dwindling...from 7 to 6 and finally 4: Garrie, Michelle, her bf and me.

Anyway, dim sum at 50% discount on weekdays at a high-class restaurant, what else to ask for? Look at the pictures:

The eggtarts. Michelle was demanding eggtarts on the way there, we were thinking "eggtarts for dim sum? Since when did eggtarts originate from China?". Got stumped when we saw it on the menu. Honestly, not the best, just normal, better than those at bakeries though. I still prefer the ones from Crystal Jade.

Forgot the name for this. But supposedly it's Chee Cheong Fun with either shrimp or Char Siew wrapped in it. A big serving of both. The shrimp's fresh and the char siew's good. But one complain though, the skin's too thick...i prefer mine thin and slippery so it glides in well. And once again, CJ offers better quality.

The must-have dish, Steamed Shrimp Dumpling. My favourite at every dim sum affair. Disappointing dish though, I had high expectations for it. The skin's too think and the fillings aren't juicy enough! Not fantastic but I suppose it isn't that bad either.

Deep-fried Beancurd Roll with Shrimp. Oh I quite like this, the beancurd skin's well-fried to a golden crisp and the shrimp filling inside is substantial. Finally something I don't have much complaints on.

The Char Siew bun. Common dish to occupy some space in the stomach. Sorry but i'm not a particular fanatic of buns or bread. The char siew inside was nice and juicy though. Worth a try.

Halfway through the affair. How could I have forgotten about the carrot cake on the right? This, my dears, is a very nice carrot cake. Slight crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with the occasion fragrant shrimp. You won't regret trying this. Give the dumpling rice with abalone a miss though, heard it's not really palatable. A plain space filler.

I remember this name. Something like Fried Banana balls with red bean paste. I wouldn't try it a second time though. Taste exactly like the Goreng Pisang from the hawker centers, no taste of the red bean paste. Money-waster, try others instead.

Here comes the finale, Deep-fried Seafood Roll. This is the best dim sum of the day. Something unique that i've never eaten before and it's fantastic. I can really just order a whole table of it for dim sum. I suppose it takes quite a bit of effort for this dish, crispy outer layer with an intricate blend of seafood paste in the middle. I tasted lots of shrimp and others which I still can't figure out. This is really good, a must-have for the affair.

For such quality and a 50% discount, the 4 of us chalked up a bill of merely 46 bucks. I suppose this is a cheap price to pay. Some hits and misses but overall worth the amount we're paying for a fulfillng meal. One thing to note, especially for people allergic to seafood, is that most of the dim sum uses prawns and I mean lots of prawns as the main ingredient. A distinct difference from many others who use the cheaper alternative that is pork. A thumbs-up for seafood lovers but no-no for seafood allergic poor souls.

Till then.

Dinner @ Essential Brews

Long absence from the blogging arena and especially so for my own space. Welcome my re-entry with posts on more food.

Finding a cosy corner for a good chat with friends is not an easy chore, active organisers should empathise with me on this issue. Seeked high and low, had decided to take a break from Holland Village but it's hard...really hard. So many delicate eateries amalgamated into a quiet corner away from the bustling city. I just can't seem to steer away from this area...just yet.

Anyway, ended up making reservations @ Essential Brews on a stagnant Wednesday evening for a chit-chat session cum belated birthday celeration with Jiawen. Essential Brews, a 2-storeys restaurant, but somewhat more inclined towards a cafe. The 1st storey's quite non-happening as few can be seen at the ground level but it's a different story altogether once you get to the upper level. Over here, there're no hard wooden chairs. Just an elevated wooden platform with low tables and guess what? Plenty of cushions to go round for comfort...perfect place for lazing around on a passive evening. Besides that, I managed to reserve a seat just by the windows, ensuring us of a sumptous night scene.

Food pictures coming right up!

My salmon...I should say this isn't bad at all. In fact I like the taste of it. A generous thick chunk of pan-fried salmon with some 'tea-extract' sauce. The sauce's on the rice too. I love salmon! Was it $14.50?? Can't seem to remember but should be near.

Ah...the much awaited Green Tea Creme Brulee. LC this is for you!! A daring venture but with all honesty I declare mine as the preferred choice. This creme brulee isn't what i'll call 'smooth'. Maybe just for the green tea flavour. $4.50 for this 'moss-lookalike thing'.

Our Tiramisu...think it's the first time I tried this so can't really comment. Supposed it's normal. Anyway, as per the Creme Brulee, it's a shared dessert between Jiawen and me. $4.95 for this.

Essential Brews as the name suggests, should be a place for drinking tea right? So definitely we ordered a brew. Can't decide on any so we saw this "Chef's hat" icon beside this "Camomile Tea". Greatest regret of this meal....and I finally realised the function of the bottle of honey that comes together with the tea. The camomile tea is simply just not my taste and I ended up adding so much honey it became a hot honey beverage.

Well, it's the company that matters most.

Till then.

Another new school year

Time flies. It really does seem that way. 3 months of 24 hours definitely aren't enough. Working really saps most of my precious time and energy away too. Finally the new school year kicks in on monday and there I was happily still thinking school starts next monday!

Anyway, school began with a gentle pace. Just nice to remind me of the impending workload and allowing me to re-adapt to life as a student.

Ziping came to crash my lecture yesterday. And of all lectures I had to let him see one of the worst scenes in Bioscience. He had to come for the lecture by Dr. K.

By the way, this Sony Ericsson's latest phone W660i is my new toy. I can even blog direct from the phone!

Check things out
http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?cc=sg&lc=en&ver=4000&template=pip1&zone=pp&pid=10867

Some updates from last week.
An urgent exit from the workplace on Friday, my colleagues gave me a sumptous treat at Botak Jones, Ang Mo Kio Branch. Work can get stagnant and boring but these agents and of course the secretaries' company definitely livens up the mood! Sorry to Alvin and the others for not attending your dinner cum movie at Vivo ok! I'll not be seeing these nice people for a long while.

Ok, this is my 'Double Botaks'. 300grams of hand-pounded beef. I would rate it as rather good but not excellent. Honestly, I prefer a little blood in my meat. This is too dry for my liking. But the serving is really huge for the pricing.

Bianca had her beef coated in cheese.

While the rest had 'Cajun Chicken'. Check their website for the pricing etc.

For every event, it's always the company that matters. That night, the food and ambience were exceptionally good. And we chatted away late into the night. Reallt hope to meet up with these people again soon. Insurance anyone?

Till then.