Fake Persimmons

I have not been able to find out what this plant is. The fruits look like persimmons, but the trees do not look like persimmon trees. The fruits have a very strong fragrant, and are smaller than persimmons.

They are planted in sections along my walk route. One of the fellow walkers told me the fruits are edible. One day, I plucked one to try. It, not being fully ripen, was a bit hard. However, the texture of the fruit is very much like the persimmons. Maybe they are distant cousins.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BLOGGER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you for stopping by. Follow me if you like to read about Life, Humour, and Quotes. If you know of someone who might appreciate these posts, do share the link with them. Cheers!

Chin Chin Restaurant

Chin Chin Restaurant has been around for a while. It is a no frills restaurant known for serving up the best Hainanese chicken rice, one of the national dishes of Singapore. I have been there quite a few times.

Their signature chicken, juicy and tender, never failed to impress. According to a report: “The chicken is prepared in accordance with traditional Hainanese methods, which involve poaching the entire chicken at sub-boiling temperatures. The stock is then skimmed off and some of the fat and liquid, along with ginger, garlic and pandan leaves is used in the cooking of the rice, producing an oily, flavourful rice sometimes known as “oily rice”.

The chicken is drizzled with light fragrant soy sauce, and sesame oil, enhancing the flavours of the chicken before they are served.

Their other signature dish is the Hainanese Pork chop. The rest of the menu consists of an mixture of Hainanese, Singaporean and South East Asian influenced dishes.

Service and finesse is non-existent. So, don’t expect that. But people don’t complain because they know that it is a no frills restaurant, and their prices more than reasonable. The staff are fast to take your orders, and then they disappear. However, the food do arrive quickly.

Chin Chin is definitely a place to get good and cheap food. The place is always busy. You come, you eat, you pay, you go. No hanging around, taking your time, exchanging gossips. They would much prefer your space than your company.

I was there with a friend and these were what we had.

This is their signature chicken dish - juicy and tender chicken.

Hainanese Pork Chop. This is another of the signature dish. I find the pork chop a bit too dry to my liking. The sauce, which I don't really like, did not help.

This is Thai style beancurd. Beancurd served with a sweet spicy sauce, and shreds of cucumber and onion.

This is oily rice. They are cooked with the stock they use in the poaching the chickens. Hence, they have a nice fragrant and are a bit oily.

Our meal.

Chin Chin Restaurant
Tel: 6337 4640

Opening Hours
7am to 9pm daily
19 Purvis Street

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BLOGGER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you for stopping by. Follow me if you like to read about Life, Humour, and Quotes. If you know of someone who might appreciate these posts, do share the link with them. Cheers!

Epiphyllum Oxypetalum / Queen of the Night

Epiphyllum oxypetalum, commonly called ‘Queen of the Night’ is a species of cactus, and one of the most cultivated species in its genus. Epiphyllum oxypetalum rarely blooms. When they do, the blooms are short-lived. They bloom in the early evening, and is in full bloom by midnight. The flower wilts by dawn.

However, when they are in bloom, they are most beautiful. I guess that’s where they get their name from. They have a very nice, strong fragrant.

Epiphyllum oxypetalum is an easily cultivated, fast growing Epiphyllum. Just cut a branch, or leaf and stick it in the pot. They will start growing after they have ‘settled’ down. They like sunlight, and they light water too, although I suspect, they could have easily survive without too much water, since they are actually cactus.

I have a Epiphyllum Oxypetalum plant - for many years now. Last week, it bloomed again – two blooms in one night, and another, the day after. Every time my ‘Queen of the Night’ blooms, I am very pleased. After all, they are not the type of plants that bloom regularly.

Buds a few days old.

This is the wilted flower in the morning.

This one blooms the night after.

This is my 'queen of the night'. Due to space constraint, I had to trim it to grow sideways only.

A new leaf/shoot.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BLOGGER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you for stopping by. Follow me if you like to read about Life, Humour, and Quotes. If you know of someone who might appreciate these posts, do share the link with them. Cheers!

Funny, But True

Laughter is probably the best and cheapest medicine. So, be around people who make you laugh. Laughter is also the shortest distance between two people; laughter between two is sometimes a closer act of love than any other. And it doesn’t matter if you revel in the coarsest puns or the raunchiest jokes.

Living with kids is like living in a frat house ... everything’s broken, nobody sleeps, and there’s a lot of throwing up. - Ray Romano

Twenty-one is the age of responsibility. Give it a few months and you will be wondering why you are in such a hurry to get here. - Unknown

Some mornings I just feel like breaking the damn alarm but then one thing always stops me. I paid hundreds of dollars to buy my phone. - Job Might

If you could read my mind you’d back away slowly then run for your life. - Unknown

There's one thing about baldness; it's neat. - Don Herold

You'll never catch a nudist with his pants down. - David Letterman

Just remember, if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off. - Unknown

Relax? How can anybody relax and play golf? You have to grip the club, don’t you? - Ben Hogan

Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife. - Unknown

Avoid hangovers: stay drunk. - Unknown

If you ever see me getting beaten by the police, put down the video camera and come help me. - Bobcat Goldthwait

Man does not control his own fate. The women in his life do that for him. - Groucho Marx

It’s useless to hold a person to anything they say when they are in love, drunk, or running for office. - Shirley MacLaine

It’s better to be late than to arrive ugly. - Makeup Artists Meet

People say that love is even more important than money; they have never tried paying their bills with a hug. - Unknown

Love... a dangerous disease instantly cured by marriage. - Unknown

Ladies who play with fire must remember that smoke gets in their eyes. - Mae West

Never invest your money in anything that eats or needs repainting. - Billy Rose

Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem. - A. A. Milne

Lord, if I can’t be skinny, please let all my friends be fat. - Unknown

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BLOGGER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you for stopping by. Follow me if you like to read about Life, Humour, and Quotes. If you know of someone who might appreciate these posts, do share the link with them. Cheers! Image created on Canva

Marina Bay Sands

The Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay within the historical and downtown centre district of Singapore. At its opening in 2010, it was billed as the world's most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion (US$6.88 billion), including the land cost. It is owned by the Singaporean subsidiary of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

“Designed by Moshe Safdie, the resort includes a 2,561-room hotel, a 120,000-square-metre convention-exhibition centre, the 74,000-square-metre The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, a museum, a large theatre, "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating crystal pavilions, art-science exhibits, and the world's largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The complex is topped by a 340-metre-long Sky Park with a capacity of 3,902 people and a 150 m infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 7 m.” - Wikipedia

As of 2020, its crystal pavilions are anchored by an Apple Store and the world's largest Louis Vuitton boutique, both located on a floating island at 1,900 m2, which is connected to the Shoppes via an underwater tunnel. Marina Bay Sands is also set to have a fourth tower constructed in the near future.

The round building is the recently opened Apple store.

The very bright building in the water, which is more or less in the center of the picture, is the Louis Vuitton Boutique.

More images of the Marina bay sands from afar.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BLOGGER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you for stopping by. Follow me if you like to read about Life, Humour, and Quotes. If you know of someone who might appreciate these posts, do share the link with them. Cheers!

Facets of Life

Aphorisms motivate, and inspire because they encompass years of wisdom of people who had experienced the same hardship, or undergone the same circumstances. There is power in these words of wisdom. The right aphorism at the right time, at the right place can change a person’s point of view, or in some cases, a person’s life. It is like a key opening the lock to a recess of the mind which we did not know existed.

Lots of times you have to pretend to join a parade in which you’re not really interested in order to get where you’re going. - Christopher Morley

It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labours of peace. - Andre Gide

Much of our unhappiness stems from our tendency to live in the past or future, both of which are illusions. - Leo Buscaglia

There is perhaps no greater joy in life than to find ways of overcoming our weaknesses. - Leo Buscaglia

He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words. - Elbert Hubbard

How many of our daydreams would darken into nightmares, were there a danger of their coming true! - Logan Smith

The easiest thing of all is to deceive one’s self; for what a man wishes he generally believes to be true. - Demosthenes

He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, while he who has one enemy shall meet him everywhere. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The ideal man takes joy in doing favours for others but he feels ashamed to have others to do favours for him. - Aristotle

How often we are offended by not being offered something we do not really want. - Unknown

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. - Frederick Douglass

The principle mark of genius is not perfection but originality, the opening of new frontiers. - Unknown

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BLOGGER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thank you for stopping by. Follow me if you like to read about Life, Humour, and Quotes. If you know of someone who might appreciate these posts, do share the link with them. Cheers!