Laughter translates into any language and is contagious. I am sure you have smiled involuntarily after seeing people laugh, or you feel more relaxed when you see people laughing. So, laugh, your laughter might be the only ray of sunshine some people see for the day.
Have a great weekend. May it be filled with laughter.
Alcohol removes inhibitions – like that scared little mouse who got drunk and shook his whiskers and shouted: “Now bring on that damn cat!” - Eleanor Early
Sometimes, I lie awake at night, and ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, ‘This is going to take more than one night. - Charles M. Schulz
A foolish man tells a woman to stop talking, but a wise man tells her that her mouth is extremely beautiful when her lips are closed. - Unknown
Some people claim that marriage interferes with romance. There’s no doubt about it. Anytime you have a romance, your wife is bound to interfere. - Groucho Marx
At my age I do what Mark Twain did. I get my daily paper, look at the obituaries page and if I'm not there I carry on as usual. - Patrick Moore
I was born at home on newspapers ... I still have a story on my butt, although now the print is much larger. - Phyllis Diller
Save a boyfriend for a rainy day – and another, in case it doesn’t rain. - Mae West
The Post Office just recalled their newest stamps: They had a picture of lawyers on them ... and people couldn't figure out which side to spit on. - Marvin Lebman
At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, “Aren’t you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?” The other replied, “Yes, I am, I married the wrong man.”
Feeling cold? Stand in the corner for a bit. They’re usually 90 degrees. - Unknown
Once I pulled a job, I was so stupid. I picked a guy’s pocket on an airplane and made a run for it. - Rodney Dangerfield
I want to get the words “Courage” and “Bravery” tattooed across my back, so people could associate me with those things as they read them while they chase me. - Jarod Kintz
Our lives might not have come with a manual, or an instruction booklet to tell us what to do, or how to live our lives. But if we are willing to listen to our elders, to learn from the sages, and wise men before us, we will be able to get a pretty good start on life, avoiding all the portholes that are dotted along life’s journey.
The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism. - Norman Vincent Peale
When the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be that they take better care of it there. - Cecil Selig
Everything of importance has been said before by somebody who did not discover it. - Alfred Whitehead
The truly innocent are those who not only are guiltless themselves, but who think others are. - Josh Billings
A man’s felicity consists not in the outward and visible blessing of fortune, but in the inward and unseen perfections and riches of the mind. - Thomas Carlyle
There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same. - Confucius
We need not worry so much about what man descends from – it’s what he descends to that shames the human race. - Hal Boyle
You can‘t have an omelet without breaking the egg. - Unknown
We need society, and we need solitude also, as we need summer and winter, day and night, exercise and rest. - Philip Gilbert Hamerton
Brevity is a great charm of eloquence. - Marcus Tullius Cicero
There are many sides to almost every story – you can never get the full picture from just one party to the problem. - Unknown
Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it. - Publilius Syrus
My friend and I were out wandering when we chanced upon this place called Bristo @ Duo. Their menu looks interesting, so we thought we would give it a try.
Bristo @ Duo offers Western cuisine serving a tantalising selection of dishes. The restaurant is quite big and therefore suitable for family, or large groups. They also accept corporate bookings.
We tried the...
Kurobuta Pork Sampler - it is marinated and grilled pork. This was very nice. I enjoyed it very much.
Nachos Con Carne - Nachos topped with minced chicken, melted mozzarella cheese, jalapeno and homemade salsa on the side.
Crispy chicken with sour cream and chives.
The restaurant also has a pool table, and karaoke services.
And it's Happy Hour all day!
For a restaurant in a place like 'Duo', I guess their prices are reasonable. DUO is a two-tower project which contains a residential part (DUO Residences), and offices (DUO Tower). It is a very upmarket project in a upmarket part of town.
Little India Station. You come out of the train station, and you are in Little India.
Little India is a buzzing ethnic district and historic area that shows off the best of Singapore’s Indian community, from vibrant culture to incredible shopping.
Little India starts at the Tekka Centre, a traditional wet market and food court where fresh meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits and dry goods are sold.
Cruising down the road one finds more groceries, restaurants, teahouses, tailors... and then there is Mustafa Centre, a massive 24-hour shopping mall that offers almost anything and everything.
In the early days, Little India had a racecourse, cattle herders and brick kilns. But while these places and people are gone, time stands still in pockets of this historic district. In the 1840s, Europeans lived here mainly for the racecourse, where they met and mingled. That is why there is a Racecourse Road.
When cattle trading took root, it became a mostly Indian trade, as traders hired Indian migrant workers. Certain goods and services took off, and mosques and Hindu temples were built.
The central streets of Little India are packed with stalls selling all sorts of Indian goods. Olden-day trades sit next to newer businesses: flower-garland vendors, goldsmith shops, sari stores, and modern eateries.
When it comes to food, the thing to eat in Little India is obviously Indian food. Both southern and northern cuisines are well represented. I didn’t realize there are many vegetarian restaurants.
There are also many backpacker hostels, as well as some of the most affordable hotels in town. There are also many boutique hotels.
Little India today is one of Singapore’s most vibrant districts. It has a colourful past, and a buzzing culture. As you wander along you will find a mix of Hindu and Chinese temples, mosques and churches. With its close proximity to the city and a bohemian vibe, many artists also call Little India home.
Yesterday is past. It is over, finished. You cannot go back. But you can put what you learned yesterday to good use today. You can make your life from this point on, the best that it can be. Let go of yesterday, because it has let go of you.
Tomorrow is not here yet. Who knows if there is a tomorrow. Will the world, or rather, your world end tonight while you sleep? Nobody knows anything about tomorrow, because tomorrow is yet to come. So, don’t worry about something you have no control over, something which you don’t even know will happen. Save tomorrow's troubles for tomorrow. You can deal with it when it comes. Today, we enjoy. Tomorrow will be a new day.
All you have is today. Today is all there is. Today is a new day with new possibilities – more possibilities than any day that you’ve ever known in the past. Today is your opportunity, here and now, real and ready. You are in the right spot, at the right time, to make a real, positive difference in your life, and in the world around you. Today is when you make your mark. Make it the best day ever!
Never let yesterday use up too much of today. What happens today is up to you. Today, you make your tomorrow.
Tomorrows come unnoticed. Todays slip by unheeded. More and more you become a creature of Yesterdays. - Frank Crane
Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose. - Lyndon B. Johnson
You cannot rewrite yesterday’s news, but you can create tomorrow’s headline. - Unknown
Our achievements of today are but the sum total of our thoughts of yesterday. - Blaise Pascal
Today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness. - Kalidasa
Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. - Unknown
Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day. - Samuel Butler
The man least dependent upon the morrow goes to meet the morrow most cheerfully. - Epicurus
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith. - Franklin Roosevelt
You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time. - Charles F. Kettering
Life is a moment in time. Nothing can be truer than that. Think about it. You were born, you grew up, and before you understand the whole significance of your life, you are at the death bed, fighting for your last breath.
You have this one life. How do you want to spend it? Apologising? Regretting? Questioning? Hating yourself? Running after people who don’t want to have anything to do with you? Wondering what could have been? Wondering if only... ? No, that is not the way to live your life.
Be brave. Believe in yourself. Do what feels good. Life is so much simpler when you stop explaining yourself to people, and just do what works for you. If you do the best you can with what you know and what you have, it would be all right. No one can ask for more of you.
You have this one life. Make yourself proud. Live meaningfully.
Each man has to seek out his own special aptitude for a higher life in the midst of the humble and inevitable reality of daily existence. Than this, there can be no nobler aim in life. - Count Maurice Maeterlinck
This life is what you make it. No matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes, it’s a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up. - Marilyn Monroe
If there is any point at all to life, surely it is to live out our dreams, to serve, to follow our bliss, to release the music within us, play it with joy and to share it with others? Surely we have a responsibility to finally listen to – and honour – the siren calls of our souls, which have been silenced by our egos throughout our lives? How else can we connect with our essence, the source of our calling? - Lance Secretan
Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative is the place where no-one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself. - Alan Alda
Life meaning is always a derivative phenomenon that materializes when we have transcended ourselves, when we have forgotten ourselves and become absorbed in someone (or something) outside ourselves. - Irvin D. Yalom
Know where you are going in life. Purpose is what gives life a meaning. A life that has not a definite plan is likely to become driftwood. - Unknown
Chinese New Year festivities often involve the practice of many traditions – one of which is the tossing of the ‘Yu Sheng’ for good fortune. It is called 'Lo Hei' in Cantonese, which literally translates to 'tossing up good fortune'. This refers to the ritual adopted in Singapore of tossing the 'Yu Sheng’, while saying auspicious phrases before eating it. It is popularly believed that the higher the toss, the better your prospects and fortune in the year ahead.
‘Yu Sheng’, (Chinese: 魚生), or Prosperity Toss, is a Cantonese-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish (sometimes salmon), mixed with julienne of cucumber, carrot, radish and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients.
Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (魚)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (魚生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor. - Wikipedia
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A homophone may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, such as rose (flower) an rose (past tense of "rise"), or differently, such as carat, and carrot, or to, two, and too. - Wikipedia
Yusheng is often served as part of a multi-dish dinner, usually as the appetizer due to its symbolism of "good luck" for the new year. It may be eaten on any convenient day during the Chinese New Year period (the first to the 15th day of the first lunar month).
A prepacked dish of Yu Sheng. The Salmon is additional. Most people replaced the raw fish with salmon now, after a scare some years back, when people fell sick after eating raw fish. You can also be creative and make your own version of Yu Sheng by changing the base ingredients to whatever you like.
The base ingredients are put into a big plate first. The leader or host of the table, or the restaurant server proceeds to add ingredients such as the fish, the crackers and the sauces while saying “auspicious wishes” (吉祥话) as each ingredient is added, typically related to the specific ingredient being added.
All diners at the table then stand up, and proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying various "auspicious wishes" out loud. It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the diners' growth in fortunes, thus diners are expected to toss enthusiastically.
Of course, the higher you toss the yusheng, the messier the table will be. But when your one year of good luck, and prosperity depends on the height of the toss, I guess a little mess is nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the preparation of tossing for good luck, or prosperity.
Diners gather around the table – each with a pair of chopsticks. The host or whoever is most familiar with the process will prepare the dish. In the restaurant, it is usually the server for that table. At home, it could be anybody. But in most cases, everyone around the table will want to have a piece of the action.
There are 12 steps in all.
1. Empty basic ingredients - julienne of carrots, cucumber and radish, or whatever is used to replace the base ingredients onto the plate. At the same time, wishes of luck and prosperity evoked by the names of the ingredients were mentioned out loud.
恭喜发财 (Gong Xi Fa Cai) meaning “Congratulations for your wealth”; 万事如意 (Wan Shi Ru Yi) meaning, “May all your wishes be fulfilled”.
2. Raw fish, or salmon is added, symbolising abundance throughout the year.
年年有余 (Nian Nian You Yu) meaning, “Every year got more” which plays on the Mandarin word for fish sounding like ‘abundance’.
3. Shredded red carrot is added.
鸿运当头 (Hong Yun Dang Tou) translating to, “Good luck is approaching”.
4. Green radish is added.
青春常驻 (Qing Chun Chang Zhu) meaning, “Forever young”.
5. Shredded white radish added.
风生水起 (Feng Sheng Shui Qi) meaning, “Progress at a fast pace”; 步步高升 (Bu Bu Gao Sheng) which means, “Reaching higher level with each step”.
6. The flesh of pomelo is added, or sometimes the juice of a couple of limes are squeezed over the ingredients.
大吉大利 (Da Ji Da Li) translating to, “good luck and great prosperity”
7. Spices added to symbolise greater prosperity and fortune.
招财进宝 (Zhao Cai Jin Bao) meaning, “May you attract wealth and treasures”.
8. Oil and plum sauce are poured over ingredients, symbolising an increase in profits and a flow of money in all directions.
一本万利 (Yi Ben Wan Li) meaning “Make 10,000 times of profit with your capital”; 财源广进 (Cai Yuan Guang Jin) meaning, “May you have numerous sources of wealth”.
9. Peanut crumbs are poured over.
金银满屋 (Jin Yin Man Wu) meaning, “I hope that your house will be filled with gold and silver.”
10. Sesame seeds sprinkled over.
生意兴隆 (Sheng Yi Xing Long) translates to, “Wishing you prosperity for the business.”
11. Deep-fried flour crisps in the shape of golden pillows are then added.
满地黄金 (Man Di Huang Jin) literally translating to, “May the whole floor be filled with gold.”
12. All diners at the table then proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks whilst saying wishes out loud.
The order of adding the ingredients is not important, but it make sense to have the bigger items at the bottom, so that when you toss the salad, it will mix well.
From its origins as a simple raw fish dish, the recipe has gone through a series of transformations since the 1930s, when emigrants from China brought the dish to Singapore.
As people are more affluent, and health conscious, there are now vegetarian yu sheng, and sometimes, the based ingredients for the dish are changed. For example raw fish is replaced with salmon, and the Julienne of vegetables root vegetables to some other leafy vegetables like lettuce and Garland chrysanthemum, making the dish looks more like a salad. At the end of the day, it is up to the creativity of the diners and the ingredients they prefer.
Between the first day and the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year, all restaurants will have this dish in their menus. At every meal, there will be some tables doing the Prosperity Toss. Usually, people will have a few Prosperity Toss within the fortnight. And if you are very social, you will have more than you care for. But I guess when it comes to luck, everyone would love some. And better more than less.
Life can be stressful. We constantly have to deal with our problems, frustrations, irritations and our fears of what tomorrow might bring, what the future holds for us. That is why we have to, once in a while put aside our worries, and have a laugh – at ourselves, at our troubles, and at Life. Laugh and be happy, come what may!
Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night - Dave Barry
Ever wonder why there is a stairway to heaven and a highway to hell? Apparently, there is more traffic going to hell. - Unknown
A quarrel is like buttermilk: once it's out of the churn, the more you shake it, the more sour it grows. - Unknown
Everything comes to him who waits – if he waits till it comes. - Evan Esar
People always say that pregnant women have a glow. And I say it’s because you’re sweating to death. - Jessica Simpson
Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. - Kinky Friedman
A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country. - Mary Louise Cecilia
Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms; one of them is making a poop, the other one’s carrying it for him – who would you assume is in charge. - Jerry Seinfeld
Even though a number of people have tried, no one has yet found a way to drink for a living. - Jean Kerr
Abandon the search for truth, settle for a good fantasy. - Unknown
Divorce is the key that opens the strongbox where the bonds of matrimony are kept under wedlock. - Evan Esar
Doctors are the same as lawyers, the sole difference being that lawyers only rob you, but doctors rob you and kill you too. - Anton Chekhov
Last Sunday, I went to a gathering organised by my artist friend Ernest. Some of you will remember, we had a birthday party at his place recently, and he cooked up a delicious meal for us. Last Sunday, his treat to us was a ‘poon choi.’
This was what Ernest cooked.
Eight of us managed to finished the whole ‘poon choi’. The quantity was just nice. The food was of course simply divine. I think it is one of the best meals I have tasted. I love all the ingredients/dishes in the ‘poon choi’, and I enjoyed every mouthful of it.
Ingredients – braised belly pork, abalone, fish maw, prawn, mushroom, scallop, white radish, meatball. Some rice at the bottom to soak up the gravy. Just a small sample of what we had.
Before dinner, there was the ‘prosperity toss’ for appetizer. - That will be another post. Stay tuned. And there was soup. I completely forgot to take a picture of the soup. It was lotus roots with pork ribs, dates, wolfberry... Delicious!
After dinner, there were fruits. Soursop, jack fruit and prunes.
Now a little on ‘Poon choi’ and the story/history behind it.
‘Poon choi’ literally translated means a ‘basin vegetables’ or a basin of food. This is a traditional Cantonese dish served in the olden days in large wooden, porcelain or metal basins due to the communal style of consumption. The name ‘Poon Choi’, has been variously translated as ‘big bowl feast’, ‘basin feast’ or ‘Chinese casserole’. These days, there are all sorts of nice looking pots for the dish. People are also more affluent and creative now. They tend to create their own ‘poon choi’.
In the olden days, people will eat ‘poon choi’ during the Chinese New Year, and other celebrations, ceremonies, or major events. Nowadays, people can also purchase ‘poon choi’ in some specialised stores, or restaurants any time of the year. Therefore, ‘poon choi’ has become a meal that people can enjoy anywhere and anytime. Hosts might just do a ‘poon choi’ meal instead of the regular dishes.
Apparently, ‘poon choi’ was invented during the Song dynasty. Story has it that at that time, Song China was under attack by the Mongols, and the fleeing young Emperor ended up in Hong Kong. To serve the Emperor, as well as his army, the locals collected their best food available, cooked them, and, because there were not enough serving containers, they put the meal in large wooden washbasins.
I am sure that no matter how poor the villages are, the young Emperor didn’t have to eat out of the washbasin. But his men would have to. They wouldn’t have minded. They were pursued by their enemies, and were probably starving. To be alive and to have something to eat beats the alternative of being died.
Anyway, moving on... From that time onwards, ‘poon choi’ is served whenever there are celebrations connected with rituals, weddings, festivals and other local events as an expression of village dining culture.
Out of respect for their guests, the hosts put only a relatively small amount of vegetables in ‘poon choi’. The reason being, vegetables are not highly valued ingredients. In order to offer the best food during important annual events, villagers prefer to include mostly meat and seafood in ‘poon choi’.
At first glance, ‘poon choi’ might look easy to prepare. Some might think it is easy work for the host. Dump everything into the pot and serve. That is not how it is done. There are eight to ten ingredients in the dish. Each ingredient is a dish itself. So, you have to prepare the ingredients individually.
In days gone by, the ‘poon choi’ was layered – meaning one dish was heap on top of the other. The chef would decide which dish went on top and which to the bottom. Of course, the dish that took a longer time to cook would be at the bottom, while the easier to cook ones would be on top. Guests ate the food, layer by layer. The softer layers on top first. By the time they reached the bottom layer, the dish at the bottom would be tender by then.
Nowadays, the dishes are compartmentalized, and a electric cooker can be used to keep the ‘poon choi’ warm, while guests dine and talked.
In the restaurants, ‘poon choi’ comes in a variety of price categories. This allows people to choose the diversity of delicacies which they can afford. Relatively high priced ‘poon choi’ includes luxury food such as abalones, oyster, which people may select to gain prestige by showing that they are generous and wealthy. Those who prefer a reasonable price can have a tasty meal with more common ingredients.
Quotes made us think. When we think, we analyse the truth contain therein, and we learn the wisdom in them. Quotes can serve as our signposts on our journey through life. They can be our teachers, guardians, and friends … always there to patiently motivate, encourage, advice, counsel, console, enlighten, educate, and at times to egg us on when we are feeling down, discouraged or disillusioned. Some of these teachers are centuries old. But their words of wisdom are still as applicable today as when they were first said, centuries ago.
A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that’s unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push. - Ludwig Wittgenstein
Who never walks save where he sees men’s tracks makes no discoveries. - J. G. Holland
Every decision we make and action we take is a statement of exactly how much we love and value our life. - Unknown
You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic. - Robert A. Heinlein
He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea. - Thomas Fuller
By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation. - Edmund Burke
The practice of staying present will heal you. Obsessing about how the future will turn out creates anxiety. Replaying broken scenarios from the past causes anger or sadness. Stay here, in this moment. - S. Mcnutt
Happy are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting. - Unknown
We cannot always assure the future of our friends; we have a better chance of assuring our future if we remember who our friends are. - Henry A. Kissinger
You can’t change the people around you, but you can change the people around you (sic). - Unknown
A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience. - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Kids don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are. - Jim Henson
