Obviously the construction noise did nothing for the 8 lectures of pharmacotherapy I had to plow through, so I self-evicted myself to the AMK library where the racket wasn’t going to drill the therapeutic options out of my head. Distracted, however, I ventured to the books section and borrowed three books to nourish my infertile mind this long weekend once I’m done with this week’s tests and assignments.

Another delight was dinner at a very understated, simple, humble kopitiam at AMK central. Mom and I visited Aston’s. You may call it the heartland-wannabe-steakhouse for all you want but I call this the real DEAL. Like a really GOOD deal. As opposed to a rip-off at other fancy places in town, one of which doesn’t know how a medium steak is done. So it’s not your wagyu or filet mignon… doesn’t matter. I love my hardy new york striploin…that’s how I figure I’m eating a steak! Potato salad well coated with dressing and generous amounts of beans, for under $30 for 2 diners.

Oh yes, that includes beer for two as well. Good ol’ Singha. When I ordered Singha from the kopi-soh, she was visibly stunned for awhile. “你要 Singha?” “你要 Singha beer??” “你要喝酒??!?!”*with very pronounced astonishment* My Mom and I broke out in guffaws and Mom explained to her that I was, in fact, above 21 years of age. But we figured the reason for her bewilderment was because this friendly kopi-soh must never have had a lady order beer in the kopitiam…and Singha beer, no less. There were more appropriate options, I guess, for a 20+ female in my semblance. Maybe Heineken would not have surprised her that much. Anyway, the Singha was cheap, and HUGE. $5 for a 630ml bottle. When it was delivered to our table we were controlling our chuckle…all of a sudden I felt like some uncle discussing the weather with a good old friend. As my dear gong-gong would have. (maybe I inherited that good spirit from him)

But really, isn’t this our version of a neighborhood bar in any other Western city? A place to get good and inexpensive comfort food, kick back with a glass of beer, catch the latest news or sports (just soccer for us, here) on tv, and talk shop with our pals or the waiter. In fact, the endearing kopi-soh lingered around to watch me pour my own beer, which was oddly funny. She told us Singha was the cheapest beer they had (hurray!) and gave props to us for being able to down the very bitter tasting liquid…though we assured her it was probably the lightest of all beers (and hence, my preference for it).

It was a really nice dinner though, all things considered. Glad to know there’s a convenient and inexpensive alternative, and may I add, very local way, to get the same chill-out vibe I had in the many pubs and bars of our Western counterparts.

Now on to the main show – the burger. Going to a burger joint, the right thing to do is to order the most bad-ass burger on the menu, usually the one that also seems to have EVERYTHING loaded on it (and if that includes cheese, bacon and barbeque sauce, all the merrier). In this shop, it’s the Fat Basterd burger. Needless to say, I ordered that, and no way was I going to order the optional smaller version, which they call the “wimpy” version – for those who can’t stomach the full basterd. After all, I thought, this was Singapore…how big could a burger get?

Oh I was so wrong. Their Fat Basterd comes in Le Grand US-sized portion. I should have admitted to being a wimp and resigned to ordering the single version. But how could you resist doubling up those things? Well, now I will… cause I have one third of a burger sitting in my fridge in a leftover tray.

Pepe had the Elvis, which came with peanut butter and grilled bananas…if you like those queer combinations, go ahead. They also have Caesar, chicken with peanut gravy and a poshed-up one with beet, arugula and emmental. You can even create your own burger with the ingredient list they have. But I’m sticking with the conventional.

I thought it was legit. Real ground beef patty – check. Fresh, gleaming burger bun – check. Fried egg – bonus. But it could have been so much more unhealthier…and thus better. But I think as far as Singapore-standard healthy-living burger goes…this is what you’ll get. Maybe they couldn’t risk scaring customers away with full-blown greasiness. Healthy eaters, look away now… but I’d appreciate if the bun was fried, the beef patty more juicy and moist (and yes, maybe oily), MORE (more more more!!!) barbeque sauce and with more OOOMPH, and streaky bacon in place of back bacon (more sodium! yum!). Basically, if I could have my way I’d like it more oily and more salty. This just seemed too tame after my burger epiphany at a joint called Stoney’s in Washington DC.

It’s worth heading back though, for the beer, the very pleasant and comfy ambience, and unobtrusive yet attentive service. It’s a perfect place to chill out with a small group of friends. Well, the burger…while it has not been anything close to a burger-lover’s wet dream…it may deserve another shot.

Love her not just for her music, but also the quirkiness, the tastefully strange wardrobe, the fantastically “staged” effect of her performance and the fact that she, unlike other female artistes, doesn’t let it “all hang out”. Someone smart and skillful enough to work us like a maestro, while we fall for her art and act – a tantalizing treat amidst the staple of tabloid and reality freak shows.

About a week ago, on one of the many rainy evenings we’ve had recently, we made ginseng chicken soup. Yumma! :) Mom almost dropped the idea because she thought she couldn’t get one done in time for dinner, but I couldn’t resist cooking that nice fresh chicken she bought on the same day from the market… and so I did.

It turned out to a real quick fix meal! (Well, relative to the 3-4 hours I’ve been known to slave in the kitchen.) Made some chow mein to go with it. Nothing fancy because it’s all about the Ginseng Chicken!

The story was like this… I was running low on my Coco Chanel…

So Mom texted Dad to ask him to get a Coco for me when he visits the Duty Free…although she had recently bought me a No. 5 on my birthday…

But No. 5 is No. 5 and Coco is Coco… and though I didn’t think seriously about really getting a new Coco, especially since No. 5 was pretty fine as well, Dad popped a surprise when he got back (and Mom gets huge credit for this too!)…

And so now…

I end up with these… I’m not terribly proud of myself in this respect, because that’s just over $400 worth in perfume right there, and it’s not exactly healthy, is it? But that’s about the only thing I indulge in (the others being wine and food). (This is obviously self-consolation, but just once! Just once!)

And Mom and I picked up a gem from Dad’s outlets shopping loot… :) I don’t think he bought it for us… he just bought a few watches since they were such a steal… so Mom and I helped ourselves. One each.

(Err…WP doesn’t seem to allow me to rotate pictures so here…) Some fancy watch from Unlimited by Kenneth Cole. Which is my 1st watch in like 3, 4 years?

Oh well, another time though…just a short post today.

Getting started again soon, though. =)

Artsy shops along Royal and Chartres Streets

Carriage ride at Jackson Square

St Louis Cathedral

Buskers playing right outside the Cathedral

For Mom

Beignets!

Topsy Chapman Live!

Day 2

Johnny’s Po-Boys!

Louis Armstrong Statue

The Cemetery

Bourbon Street comes alive! well…it’s kinda early though, gets more crowded later in the night…

A horse peeking into a Daiquiri shop

Day 3

Almond Croissant and Chai

The morning fog…

Hush puppies (fried cornbread balls) at Ralph’s and Kacoo’s. :)

Seafood Platter which was impossible to finish! Quite a pity though, it was real fresh.

Day 4

This made my day… a cellist on Royal Street playing Prelude. =) Best way to close the beautiful time in New Orleans.

Pardon the disjuncture between the image and what I’m about to write. But there is sort of a relation, even if vague, between how that simple snow appeared so beautiful and me being in love. 

So yes, I’m in a new phase of my life which is called being in love. Doesn’t happen too often to me actually. Well, far from often I should say. A few times you just knew it wasn’t love, other times you thought it could be and yet some other times you thought it might just be. Well, when you finally find it, you will realize that every single one of those didn’t count or even come close to what you now have. Call it a quantum leap in your emotional consciousness of love, if you like. Or an awakening, or the revelation, or… it doesn’t matter. You would just feel like crushing all your history of would-be-love episodes like a trash paper and discard it nonchalantly… and begin writing on a new page. 

Never imagined I would say it but I’ll say it now because I believe it. Love changes everything. Really. Snow that is snow is not really just snow when you’re in love because it’s beautiful snow now. Sleep that you need is not just closing your eyes and slipping into unconsciousness because there is that flash of conscious knowing that you love someone just before you remember the next day when you wake that you had slept soundly because you love.

Can’t wait till the day you take my hand in yours again.

I have no idea why I wanted this photo taken.

Mmm…hands in the turkey looks a bit obscene but, oh well, that’s cooking for you.

40th Street near Market St. A beautiful sight.

Mr Joe the Birthday Boy was sleeping…well, pretending to sleep.

The magical walk on Ben Franklin Parkway.

Couldn’t resist a warm pretzel in the cold winter afternoon. =)

My lovely dish of Broccoli Rabe and Caramelized Baby Carrots in Pesto Cream.

I ADORE THIS!

Peirong had this really innovative dish! Of spaghetti in clam chowder…very smart, takes so little time to cook too! But the most fascinating thing was the hard boiled egg in it, I’ve never seen such a thing before!

Here comes my white sangria. Well, not really but quite close lar. White wine and orange juice. 

And here’s where the other part of my dinner is…this fills me up all the time.