SG So Lit

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When you walk through the night,
You got to let your light shine, burn bright.
Hold on strongly to hope, to happiness.
Try your best not to give in to the darkness.
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I'm not one for crowds so I usually avoid festivals and carnivals, but we wanted to try something different, so headed out to check out this year's Light The Night festival.

Despite it having started on a rainy evening, there was a pretty big crowd walking around once the rain stopped.

Colourful durian building from afar....

 

We didn't go to the night market as we had already had dinner and didn't feel like shopping, so we just walked around checking out the beautifully lit and dynamic light projections on the various museums and galleries in the area.

 

Ever changing...

 

There was even an interesting interactive projection happening at the National Gallery, where participants could "compete" with each others via several stomp pads placed opposite it, on the Padang area.

Hello Mr Raffles.. 'Sup

 

 

What I found particularly cool was that the museums and galleries were having sort of an "open house" till late - the public could just walk in and check out all the exhibits. There were really a LOT of people in the National Gallery though so I didn't walk around in there.

I did enjoy walking around in the Asian Civilization Museum, which was far less crowded and I had never been to before.

 

Very creative way to display plates from the Tang wreckage...

We ended the night with a "picnic", chilling on the lawn near the Victoria Theatre, which was a nice spot to see the changing display loop on the building façade.

I'm sad that I'm not around this coming Friday/weekend to go check it out again (it's on till next Sunday) but will definitely look out for this event next year. :)


Details:
Starting: Fri 19 Jan 2018 till Sunday 28 Jan 2018
What's going on?:
- Extended hours at galleries and museums in the Art/ Civic District
- Special installations and exhibitions
- Music and artistic performances
- Art Skins on Monuments, Chromascope Interactive Facade and Colourscape Tunnel
- Art X Social Night market

Most of the above is happening on Friday to Sunday only. You can find more details at the official website:
https://www.lighttonight.sg/

Goodbye, Friend.

When did we meet?
I cannot remember exactly. It certainly was many years ago, through some common blogging friends.

You always characterized yourself as eccentric, introverted, and adverse to crowds but beneath that self professed allergy to humans, you were one of the most kind, authentic people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Your laughter, unbridled and straight from the heart, could warm up the coldest room. Your words, wise and honest but without malice, were always shared with no hidden agenda.

My regret? We never got to catch up as often as I would have liked. We are both workaholics, and certainly the physical distance did not help. Then came more work, family, and for me, my little monster. Life just gets in the way, doesn't it? And cruelly, it also takes everything  away with no warning.

I'm still stunned.
When I saw the news on FB, my only thought was, "It has to be a mistake"... but when I saw the news article, and the photo of your car, I was filled with a darkness and dread I cannot explain.

I'm still angry.
Why you? Why? It's not fair. You are the last person who deserved this.

I don't pray. I have never been the Godly, pious type... but I do hope you have found peace, and that heaven is a place where you have access to library filled with amazing books, a cosy nook all to yourself, with an amazing view, a record player, an endless selection of your favourite music and all the most delicious foods available 24/7.

RIP Gregory. You will be so very, very dearly missed.


Goodbye for now, Till I see you again,
J

Blog Birthday #12

Wow.

12 years!

Ok, to be fair: It probably shouldn't be counted as 12 full years, given that I haven't been consistently blogging (there were certainly some LONG lapses when my day job took over my life*),... but still, it's gotta count for something, right? :)

This blog has been with me from my first job to my N-th job, from my single days to my married days, my pre-baby days to my sleep deprived mama days, through good days and bad days, through heartbreak and love, through (relative) thin-ness and fatness.

If you're reading, thanks for humouring and supporting me.
If you're not reading, (especially to all the friends and bloggers I used to meet up with all the time): Know that I miss you. Well, not ALL of you. :P But there certainly are a few which I miss so much.


Hugs,
J

* What can I say?: I've got bills to pay lah...

All The Myo @ Everton Park, Singapore

Lovely local fusion...

Recent events had me thinking:
I'm really thankful that in my current job, I work in a team of people who are from diverse cultures, but actually get along, AND are further united by our love of food. :)
(So much time, 5 out of 7 days, is spent at work: so this is really such a major contributor to happiness, I think)

One day we ventured out to try All The Myo (by Sebastian Fusion Cuisine), hidden at the base of a HDB block (Everton Park) near the Outram Park/ Chinatown area:

Simple, but comfortable café setting...

Seating is very limited, so we were lucky we got there just before the lunch crowd (wow it got packed really quickly!), but even then, there was some confusion with the servers on what we had ordered. =_='
(Luckily, it didn't take too long to sort out, and we received our food)

That day, we tried one of the signature fusion dishes there: the Bacon Hae Bee Hiam Linguini (S $12). While it was just a tad too oily, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the mix of spicy, salty, umami flavours - never knew bacon would go well with hae bee hiam (spicy dried shrimp sambal) but I guess, as they say, "bacon makes everything better".

Fusion pasta...

If pasta is not your thing, there is also the Bacon Hae Bee Hiam Fried Rice (S $12).

I'd have to say, out of the 2, if I had to choose, I preferred the fried rice. Unfortunately it was also a bit oily, but I enjoyed that it was spicier, with the same delicious mix of  mix of salty, umami flavours, and came topped with a runny fried egg.

Carbs - my ultimate weakness...

If fusion isn't your thing, then there are classic dishes such as the Bacon carbonara pasta (S $12.50) instead. It didn't knock my socks off, but was enjoyable, with the spaghetti al dente and coated with a generous amount of creamy sauce and bacon.

Carbs + Cream = Indulgence...

The food was really filling so we didn't manage to try any desserts, but looking at other online reviews, I'm looking forward to going back soon to try their Onde Onde Crème Brulee...

Note: All The Myo is located right next to the excellent Nylon Coffee Roasters! So you have the perfect place to pop over to after your meal, for a great coffee.

Nice garden area just outside the restaurant...

So, it's: Good food at affordable prices, (fairly) convenient location BUT service levels can drop at peak hours....

Summary Information:
All The Myo @ Everton Park, Singapore
Website: CLICK HERE

Opening Hours:
Sunday to Friday 12pm-9pm
CLOSED SATURDAY

Phone: +65 8126 0646

Address: 4 Everton Park, #01-42, Block 4, 080004

NOT HALAL

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow
- jiaksimi png . eatwhat rice

Man Man Unagi @ Kheong Saik Road, Singapore

Good food in Singapore = Lining Up...

I've found the unfortunate fact about good food in Singapore is that it's likely there'll be a long line up involved (unless it's also very expensive/ unaffordable).

Many people don't seem to mind though, as evidenced by the long lines,... but me?
I hate lining up. HATE it.
Most of the time, it's not that the food isn't nice. It just ends up not being worth the (for example) 1 hour time spent lining up to get in/ buy it.

Man Man is yet another one of those uber popular places with long lines, but it was a rare occasion where we were out in the Chinatown area early on a weekday... So, we decided to give it a try. No surprise though: It was around 11.15am and there was already a line outside the restaurant (which opens at 11.30am).

Dreaded line up for weekday lunch...

Unfortunately for us, as we missed the "first batch" when they finally opened their doors*, we had to wait outside for a further 25 minutes before we got in.
(* They started letting people in, and by the time they reached about one party before us, the restaurant was full - argh...)

WARNING:
The restaurant is ridiculously strict about seating - they don't take reservations, and they absolutely will not seat you unless you have a full party.
(None of that "Oh my friend is just parking the car and on the way", stuff - they'll just skip you and seat the next party in line while you wait for your friend to arrive)

Interior of Man Man...
The interior of the restaurant is a bit cramped, but still fairly comfortable. Food options are pretty limited though - just their signature unagi (eel) with varying combinations of rice/side dishes, one kind of pork and one kind of beef, and some side dishes like Japanese style egg omelet.

Once we decided what we wanted, we ordered and received our meal really quickly (within 10 minutes of ordering).

I decided to try their signature Hitsumabushi (S $26.80+) as it was my first visit. It comes with their signature Unagi kabayaki, served on top of rice, with soup, Japanese pickles, chopped spring onions, nori (seaweed), fresh wasabi and a teapot of dashi broth.

Bird's eye view of the Hitsumabushi...
While I like unagi, it's often clammy, overly sweet and with a fishy aftertaste... but not at Man Man.
The Unagi there was amazing - tender sweet flesh, not overpowered by the sweet glaze, with a slightly crisp texture on the edges and delicious smokiness from the skillful barbequing.

Close up of the charcoal grilled eel...
Another highlight was the fresh wasabi served on the side...
It took a bit of effort to scrape it to an edible state but was totally worth it. The fresh wasabi was  mildly "spicy" and fragrant - not like the processed wasabi which is usually just hella spicy and nothing else.

Fresh wasabi...

Scrape, scrape, scrape...
They recommend that the Hitsumabushi be eaten in stages:
1) First quarter: Just the rice and the unagi,
2) Second quarter: Sprinkle with the unagi with nori and spring onions,
3) Third quarter: Eat the unagi with wasabi, and/or the variety of sweet, normal and spicy sauces, and
4) Lastly: Drown the rice and unagi, with the dashi broth and tadah you have a delicious ochazuke.

... but you just should just eat it however you like lah. :)

Chefs hard at work in the open kitchen...
It was such a good meal! Unfortunately, I'm still highly averse to lines, so I really don't know when I would go back there again. :(

So, it's: Good food, convenient location (near Outram Park MRT), fast service (once you get in the restaurant) BUT inhibitively long lines (up to 2 hours if you're unlucky!)....

Summary Information:
Man Man Unagi @ Kheong Saik Road, Singapore
Website: CLICK HERE

Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 11:30 - 15:00, 18:00 - 22:30
PH: 11:30 - 15:00, 18:00 - 22:30
Closed: Sun

Phone: +65 6222 0678

Address: #01-01, 1 Keong Saik Road, 089109 Singapore
Map: CLICK HERE

NOT HALAL

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Seth Lui
- Daniel Food Diary
- mitsueki ♥ | Singapore Lifestyle Blogger – Food, Fashion, Travel & Random News