Kueh Lapis

As a little girl, I loved kueh lapis. I grew up with the rainbow coloured sticky version as a breakfast or tea time treat.  It was a game to me, peeling layer after layer of the soft, stretchy sweet dessert, folding each layer to bite holes in the centre creating patterns. Yeah, I played with my food more than I ate it as a kid.

As I grew older, the nonya version appealed more to my tastes. Each in typical, elaborate nonya style comprised of fine layers of cake baked one on top of the other. The composite cake is sliced to expose the thin yellow and brown layers of cake.

At a reunion dinner, an old friend brought the nonya version of kueh lapis. Tried it, loved it.

Happy Birthday Singapore

I'm a 6th generation Singapore. This country is the only home I know. My family's history is entwined with this city we live in.

It's National Day today. It brings back fond memories of my younger days in Bedok living with mom and dad. We'd watch the festivities on TV, then rush off at the end of it all to the balcony and watch the stunning fireworks display from afar. I still remember my late father's excitement, year after year, watching fireworks in the comfort of our own home.

 My late grandpa and father told me stories of Singapore's past.

Grandpa went from serving Singapore in the British army during colonial days, taking care of the army stores, to a prisoner of the Japanese during the Japanese Occupation.

He was herded with the rest of the selected Singapore men to be shot into their graves, but he prayed, then fled unseen by sentry after sentry of Japanese soldiers, to the family home, gathered his wife and eight kids and fled for their lives, leaving all their belongings behind.

 A Japanese hired my grandpa to take care of his farm, and through that, supported my family through those trying years.

Then came freedom from the Japanese rule, Singapore's independence and then the racial riots. My family, being Peranakan, Chinese who adopt the Malay culture was caught in the middle of the insanity. The Chinese hated my dad and his brothers because they spoke Malay while the Malays regarded them as enemies because of race. It was something no one ever wants to see repeated in this country again. The words in the Singapore pledge "regardless of race, language or religion" strike home.

We have come a long way. May Singapore continue to experience peace and prosperity for generations to come.

My Daddy

My dad passed away but the precious  lessons in life that he taught me will stay with me always.

I'll miss those long father and daughter chats we had. He was the only one who understood . 

Yeah I always talked back and am as stubborn as he was. He once said I should have been a lawyer as I loved those debates and had to always get the last word. He got the last word in out final conversation due to his very strong insistence and I was planning to continue our conversation when we next meet. Never did get the chance. Not on  this lifetime anyway. I look forward to seeing him again in the after life where we can continue our chats. 

Daddy was the eldest of 8 siblings. As a child,growing up in Katong, he already went out to work selling epok epok and taking on jobs to support his siblings. He hardly talked much about himself but shared with me our family history, the achievements of his dad , how amazing my mom is and positive things about everyone else . 

He saw my pain during the trying times in my life and shared his very personal experiences too, which encouraged me and reminded me that I was not alone.

In our last few chats, he taught me that people can change. He saw so many changed lives because of Jesus that he had lost count. He told me to pray for those who hurt me so that they may change and stop the damage.

He told me about his own mistakes and how God rescued him each time

He told me never to forget that I have a great God. To turn to God whenever I am I trouble as God will always come through. All this he shared with me so urgently and insistently as if he knew his time here was almost up. 

When he turned 70, he said that man has a life span of 4 score and 10 or something along that line, which translates to 70 years. Every year beyond that is a bonus year.

He had visited the places he wanted to go, done what he wanted to do. At the start of the year he told mom he wanted to me up with a whole list of people.

In his last 2 weeks he suddenly had the energy to dance on and on with mom. The year end party his friends organise was somehow brought forward then. On his last day he hada enormous appetite to eat his favorite food with his buddies. It seemed to me that God took care if his servant all the way to the end, giving him his heart's desires before taking him home. The bits and pieces I heard from mourning friends and family point in that direction. 

His body was cremated. When it came to the time to choose the I he for his urn, even that was taken care of. As we stepped into the first of 25 blocks, the first thing we saw was a vacant lot beside a deceased good family friend. We knew that was the best spot for him. Mom already decided a sea burial for both of them when the time comes so it was a single lot for dad until then.

God took care of every detail.

Mysterious Abdominal Pain

Cramping in my belly alarmed me. The pain came suddenly and left just as quickly. I felt totally fine was second and bent over in pain the next . 

This happened 3 times in my life and always in the O&G ward of a hospital. Twice in labour and once when I had a major infection near an ovary which could have cost me my life.

The next morning, I felt fine and went to work as usual. The pain hit once. I ignored it. It returned with a vengeance, so I gave in and called the hospital to fix an appointment . I was lucky. They had a slot that very afternoon .

The gynae examined me and ordered an ultrasound scan. The results were clear . The problem didn't reside in this department but as the area was clearly tender she referred me to the A&E department to see a general doctor . 

When I saw the price to go through A&E I balked. If I could bear the pain a little longer it might go away.

The next day, I saw my family doctor who also couldn't trace the problem without the proper tests. I needed endoscopy and x-ray.

Today,  as both doctors strongly advised, I went to A&E and had the full suite of tests done .

The X-ray showed my colon was too full if shit. So it's 2 days of laxatives and stuff to clean out the gunk , before another appointment for a scope to ensure there's no growth inside. 

In other words , once I'm home I'll take me media and camp in the loo.

Looking back in our traditional diet. We hardly eat any veggies. All our dishes are meat based, eaten with white rice and possibly a small dish of sambal kang kong hardly anyone touches . We have chap chye at best which is mainly vermicelli and a few slices if carrots and cabbage .

The nonya diet is a low fiber one .

So it's payback time.

 

I eat more veggies these days so I'll take this as cleaning out the past gunk for a healthier future.

Memories of a world of books

When I was a little girl, I loved reading. Mom and dad were teachers and dad was both the school and church librarian.



My early memories were of pure delight when dad got home with huge brown boxes packed with books, each telling a wonderful story which would transport me to a fantasy world.


Yes, there was lots of work to be done. Each book had to be processed for the library. Pockets were stuck on each book. Cards had to be prepared to go into the pockets. Slips of paper stuck to each book to record the due dates. All that was necessary so that the books could be loaned out. We all pitched in . The best part was we got first pick of the best books.

That was in the seventies.

In 1996, I married a fellow book lover. We lined our home with shelves to hold our combined book collections.



We have kids. Our favourite place for family hang outs was Borders. We'd park the kids at the children's books section where they can browse and read. If they're good, they get to choose a book each which we'd buy to add to their collection.


We grown ups pick our books and read near them.


Those were the days I worked from home. My Internet business paid our bills so both parents were always there for our kids.
I miss those good old days.

Yesterday, my hubby brought me out on a Friday night date. We went to Kenny Rogers at holland. I love their chicken .


It's a cosy place. What I liked best was the shelf of books, holding entire series with different series to satisfy various literary tastes. Especially for kids.


It felt like home.

Natures Home Spa: Fruit Facials / Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) Masks Recipes

I used to make my own skin care when my kids were little and I was paranoid about using anything artificial. Back then, I'd make my own face masks from fruits.

Lots of the hot beauty ingredients originated from nature. AHAs are naturally occuring acids found in fruits, sour milk while BHA can be extracted from sugarcane. These have been used for ages to slough off dead skin cells, unclogging pores, treating acne and revealing the soft young skin hidden underneath.

Found this blog by Anna which brings back fond old memories.

Natures Home Spa: Fruit Facials / Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) Masks Recipes

Here's an article I wrote too on the different fruit facials for your skin type, be it oily with acne or dry and delicate.

Nonya chap chye recipe

I must confess. Mom made this dish , not me.

I remember how my late grandpa used to share his recipes with me. Though we spoke English , when it came to food, he'd explain it all in Malay . Typically the amounts were estimated , like a pinch of the, a handful of that , just enough of this etc.

The secret to great food was always stir frying pounded shallots and garlic or rempah in oil til brown then adding in the meat, then everything else.

Here's a simple way to prepare chap chye.

1. Soak dried black fungus , rice vermicelli and dried tau kee on water to hydrate these.


2. Dry with a paper towel.


3. Peel fresh prawn


4. Slice belly pork finely


5. Peel and slice a carrot or two


6. Slice a cabbage


7. Peel and Pound a clove of garlic and five shallots.


8. Stir fry the garlic and shallots til brown


9. Add the pork and prawns and let it cook


10. Add in the cabbage, carrots, black fungus, tau kee and vermicelli


11. Season with sea salt


12. Serve hot