D-man and I celebrated our 5th year wedding anniversary last week. Well, sort of….if that’s a celebration by anyone’s means. There were no fancy schmancy restaurants, no flower power, and nope, no candle dandle either. Fortunately, there were no short of sparks either. We scooted around under the stars, had pizzas and chocolate cake at a friend’s pizzeria, and had talked over a cuppa till late. Might not be anybody’s idea of a romance novel but to us, it sure was enough.

Looking back, in the 5 years of marriage, that was probably one of the attributes that bonded us so closely all this while. Being contented with having just enough.

We are not wealthy by any means, in fact, we just get by. We don’t do lavish, for “budget” is our best buddy. Home is a modest matchbox apartment and no yuppified hobbies either. We get our kicks (sorry couldn’t resist!) by just kicking bags at the same old gym with the same old good fellows.

If you ask me, that’s not boring either. Perhaps D-man and I both have a high threshold for doing the same stuff over and over again, but one thing’s for sure, we love doing what we love doing. Perhaps that’s how we are happy, for contentment is being unafraid to keep doing what you like to do.

Sometimes, having just enough is really enough.

was an inspiring and refreshing platform which showcased a variety of our very own home-grown talents. Throughout the 2 hour show, we were mesmerized by singers, dancers, musicians and even a theater performing artisan.  The program was well organized without being overly stifling, the MC was captivatingly humourous without being too corny, and even the audience were engaging and spontaneous. The entire set-up was simple, and yet sufficiently charming.

I have to thank Carmen for inviting us there. Her exotic dance stint sent my heart racing and nose bleeding.

I hope D-man didn’t see that.

Some people say Haji Lane is not what it used to be. The once sleepy, sparsely inhibited part of town that used to be the Muslim quarters is now the “indie” fashion hub to hip young-lings, artistes and adventurous entrepreneurs. It is now funkier, edgier, definitely more commercial. Various artforms are evidential on fashionable clothes rack, designer furniture and alley walls. It’s the place to get the most authentic Middle Eastern cuisine in Singapore and maybe the only area to get Hookah (more commonly known here as Shisha) in our little island city.
Some of the shophouses are oozing with character. You just need to step back, take a moment and look closely.



And some others are filled with such gorgeous, delightful knick-knacks that I would have spent every cent of my savings if D-man had not been there. All $1.78 cents of it.

You absolutely must check out Soon Lee when you’re there. It made my heart flutter and my knees wobbly.

I can’t remember the name of this shop but it had a good collection of vintage stuff. I can almost see my mum in there.

Except that she’s more modern than me.

We can’t stop things from changing. It’s the only constant in life.
We can however, choose to enjoy the bits and pieces that came out of change.

This multiple concept Japanese food outlet was the only shop at Iluma which I found pretty interesting, other than the artists’ displayed works which dotted the entire mall. Most items on the menu were very value for money, and service was decent. Highly recommended if you long to check out girls trotting around in a French maid get-up. D-man seemed pretty intrigued, although he’ll rather be bitten by a vampire than to admit it. I had the pork belly ramen and it was really lip-smacking, fat-oozingly good.

Having said that you need some wits to actually get anything to eat. First there are 3 different areas of the restaurant you can choose from. One’s a Robotayaki counter, the other’s a hotpot corner and the one we went to was the main market where variety is the best. Apparently too good because we found out there are 5 menus to choose from.

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Reunited through Wii. Awww…

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If you love Thai/Laotian food and vegetables, you’ll find a little piece of healthy heaven in this one. I used fresh lettuce for this but you can also use “rice paper”, which are essentially spring roll skins made with rice flour.
Prepare the following vegetables and plain rice noodles.

Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing fish sauce, lime juice, chopped chillies, minced garlic, coriander, sugar, water and chopped peanuts.

Wash the lettuce without breaking it. You need a whole piece like this.

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I hope you are not sick of Thai food recipes yet because I really like this curry in a hurry. D-man would starve an entire day for this too. I bought the vegetables from a Thai supermarket but if you have no such luck finding one, don’t be afraid to substitute the vegetables for whatever you can get. I know everyone has their own mantra to cooking and baking. Some people need to get the perfect ingredients in perfect quantities but for me, I take food preparation as an enjoyment and am pretty much relaxed about most things. That’s one of the reason why I always choose easy-to-make recipes that incorporates maximum impact with minimal fuss. (pretty good tagline for cleaning detergent?)

I looooove Thai vegetables. The Thais seem to have a stringent beauty contest which they put their vegetables through before being sold. Their vegetables are glossy, comes in cute little sizes and are always pack full of natural sweetness.

The Thai’s make their own green curry paste but if you’re not lucky enough to be one of those super Thai cooks, you can consider the easier alternative.

There you go. Thanks for viewing. Bye bye.

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The food kept on coming and the drinks kept flowing. S-bird showed us what German hospitality is really like. Plus her place really looked like a tropical resort.

I’ve come a long way. We’ve come a long way. It’s the 100th post on The Peonies! Let’s rock the house and pop the champagne!

This reminds me of the New Year’s resolutions I set for 2009. More than 3 quarters of the year has passed and I have completed some of the things I set out to do, but along the way I did lots more that I never thought possible. Like documenting my silly, sometimes boring life on a website.  Life is always throwing us with surprises.

Like finding this really old photo on an old hard drive.

How could anyone know at that time this chubby little thing would grow up to be one of the most fantabulous person in the world.

Like I said, life is so full of surprises.

Pipin (a real person, not a hobbit) taught me this dish when I was training in Thailand. She’s a talented cook with a big, kind heart. In fact she’s so nice I wanted to pack her into my suitcase and bring her home.

Having said that, she is also the cause of my typical weekend evening:

me: What shall we have for dinner?
D-man: I don’t know. What do you think?
me: hmm..how about pasta?
D-man: ‘pose we can……
me: you don’t sound excited. how about sushi?
D-man: hmmmm….
me: what about curry?
D-man: *silence accessorized with a face furrowed deep in thoughts*
me: salad?
D-man: *checks his fingernails*
me: pizza?
D-man: *crickets*
me: ok ok, cashew nut chicken?
D-man: YES! Let’s go to the supermart now!

That pretty much sums up how much he like this dish, and my feeding duties.

Ingredients (serves 2 very hungry, very greedy persons)
2 chicken thighs, deboned & cut into chunky bite size
80gm sugar beans, cut into 3′s or 4′s if 3 ain’t your lucky number
1 cup brocolli, cut into bite size
1 cup cauliflower, cut into bite size
1 cup carrots, sliced into thins
1/2 onion, diced into chips
2 gloves of garlic, minced
handful of shitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 – 1 chilli, thinly sliced
handful of raw cashew nuts
Condiments
3 tbsp cooking oil (I use veggie oil)
2 tbsp Oyster sauce
Dash of fish sauce (depends on how much you like the stuff)
1/2 tbsp sugar
Pinch of sea salt
Dash of sesame oil (optional)

I’m tabling the ingredients & condiments very loosely cos you should customize the dish to your very own liking. I.e. you don’t have to add cauliflower if it puts you off your mojo.

First heat up a wok and add cooking oil but do not overheat oil (oil must not smoke). With medium heat, lightly fry cashew nuts. They cook real quick so just give it a few toss & dish them up onto blotting serviettes when they get a slight tan.

Using the same heated work, fry garlic and onions till garlic turns golden and onion chips are slightly soft, and add chicken. When chicken turns pale, throw in mushrooms and all other vegetables. Give everything a good stir & wok out those arms! (wok up! Geddit? Geddit??)

When veggies start to wilt & soften (do not overcook veggies or I’ll spank your bottom!), add in all condiments except sesame oil & taste to adjust, or adjust to taste, whichever you fancy. Once everything is perfect, dash in the sesame oil (optional) & serve the wonderful deliciousness with warm rice.

Then be prepared to get demanding request to cook this awesome dish every night.