toot! toot!

Saturday 31st January 2009

yes, yes, today i feel like i have many things to toot a horn about...first things first...i'm back! yes, finally i am re-connected to the world wide web after an absence of close to a month! such joy...as i have missed blogging so much...serious withdrawal symptoms!

second bit of news to toot about - i have moved house AGAIN! but this time, fingers (toes and eyes) crossed that this will be the last move for awhile. i finally re-opened boxes today that had been sealed up for months and it was like christmas all over again, opening objects wrapped up in newspaper and re-discovering their contents. my house, which is actually a cottage, is so beautiful and magical, that i have fallen hopelessly in love with it already (and i haven't even spent the first night here yet!) it is made of bamboo (yes - i have made my peace and the stormy love affair continues anew!) and is just so full of character and it gets better...it is walking distance from the beach! photos to follow shortly...

third piece of fabulous news to toot about is that i am finally mobile - i have slowly mastered the art of motorbike riding and life has just not been the same since. i never knew that being able to get myself around would bring me such a sense of freedom and pleasure...but then again, i am destined to be the captain of my own ship - so why not a motorbike too. admittedly it's an automatic and all you have to do is hit the gas or brake...but for any of you who have ever been here and experienced bali roads...well you would know what i mean when i say that every day surviving on the alleys and back roads, is a day to rejoice!

so there you have it, a quick update of all the fantastic things i've been celebrating about these past couple of weeks...and there will be more...2009 is off to a tooting good start!

oh, mee rebus...i have missed you...

Monday 5th January 2009

this trip to Singapore has been a lot about eating many of my favourite dishes...food that i have craved and not always been able to find that easily in Bali. anyway, when i was growing up here there was a food centre called Taman Serasi that served great food. it ended up being closed down - which was such a shame. recently when the botannic gardens were under renovation, they rebuilt a more modern version of a food court and named it Taman Serasi, in the hope of bringing back people.

not so long ago, when visiting the food garden, i discovered an indonesian stall selling mee rebus - an absolute favourite local dish of mine. a little help from wikipedia might be needed here...

Mee rebus (literally boiled noodles in English) is a Malay inspired noodle dish. It is most popular in Indonesia where it is called Mi Celor, Malaysia and Singapore.
The dish is made of yellow egg noodles, with a spicy slightly sweet curry-like gravy. The gravy is made from potatoes, curry powder, water, salted soya beans, dried shrimps, and peanuts. The dish is garnished with a hard boiled egg, calamansi limes, spring onions, Chinese celery, green chillies, fried firm tofu (tau kwa), fried shallots and bean sprouts.

the mee rebus at Taman Serasi is THE best mee rebus i have had in a long time...i have been back a few times during my trip here just to enjoy this dish...the gravy is particularly good...not too thick or thin (as is the case in some places), the noodles done perfectly, lots of fresh green chillies that give bursts of hotness in your mouth...it's so good...truly! and at only $4.50...quite a steal!

another discovery at the same stall, was ayam panggang, which literally translates as roasted chicken. the chicken is roasted with a sauce made of special spices and served with rice, omelette and vegetables. the sauce that the chicken is roasted in is absolutely delicious...a little sweet but perfectly spiced and it has obviously been left to marinate in the sauce for some time, because the chicken is soft and succulent. i could have eaten a few platefuls of this...again at only $4.50, how can you say no?

Taman Serasi Food Garden,

1 Cluny Road,

Singapore.

a lucky rub...

Sunday 4th January 2009

so the christmas decorations are down already on the streets of singapore...and very hastily being replaced with chinese new year lanterns, cherry blossoms and chinese characters...chinese new year comes early this year, on January 26th and so, as it is celebrated in a big way in singapore...decorations are very important. anyway, while walking through the chinese new year market at bugis the other day...i spied this happy, chubby buddha for sale and just had to give his rotund belly a rub...for luck of course - not some deranged fetish of rubbing men's stomachs, ok! i hope my little rub will bring me much luck, prosperity and good things in 2009 and if you feel so inclined...please feel free to rub away...there just might be enough luck to go around!

get fruity!

Saturday 3rd January 2009

one of the greatest things about being in Asia (apart from the beaches, weather, culture, etc...) is of course, the fruit! and what better way to start off the year than getting a little more fruity with life...so i'm here to share some of the fabulous ways i get more fruity...and it's definitely pretty exotic, fantastical and very delicious!

mangosteen

longan

star fruit

guava

custard apple

dragon fruit

New Year...new roads to travel...

Friday 2nd January 2009

i love the start of a new year...it's so full of possibilities, opportunities and just that sense of the unexpected...of what might happen. it's like you are setting out on a new journey...you pack your bag with all the things you think you might need in anticipation, ready yourself for the journey ahead and set off. along the way, you have to expect the unexpected...sometimes it's good, sometimes not...but there are always going to be bumps in the road and you just have to learn to accept them and remember that there'll be plenty of smooth sailing too.

i'm really looking forward to 2009...there are lots of opportunities in the pipeline and it's great to kickstart the year knowing that there's lots to look forward to.

I hope that 2009 brings to one and all lots of exciting opportunities...Happy New Year!