Christmas eve dinner

My sister-in-law is a great cook. She invited us to Christmas eve dinner at her place. She does it every year and also on Chinese New Year eve. Her cooking is excellent as usual.

Oh oh Carol you are but a .........

It was about 2 months later that I managed to get in touch with Carol. She apologized profusely for disappearing from my sight. Carol then explained to me the reason for her disappearance.
The following was her story:

Carol had a rich elderly boy friend. He was so very rich that he could afford almost anything that Carol wanted, expensive apartment, cars, jewelries, cash etc etc. He loved Carol but could not marry her as he was already married. At the same time, he was an extremely jealous man.
Carol was a beautiful and gorgeous lady and one whom most men would want to love. Carol was, pardon my expression, being kept as a mistress (If she ever read my blog, I hope she will forgive me).
Carol had some feelings for her lover but in my opinion her strongest "feelings" was for his wealth.
Carol told me she avoided me because she was attracted to me and was afraid we might be "involved" with each other. She told me she had "a lot to lose" should her lover find out about us. Therefore, for the love of $$$, Carol told me she would not want to carry on our relationship.
I respected Carol's decision and we bade each other goodbye. We never called each other since that day. Sometimes, I wondered what has happened to her. Is she still with her lover? Is she still as happy as ever with all the $$$ ? Hmmmm....."Oh oh Carol, you are but a ......." so goes the song.

Lunch @ Saizeriya again

We were so satisfied with the food,pricing and service that we returned to Saizeriya again this afternoon. This time, I ordered the Spaghetti Oglio Olio with bacon and broccoli with lots of cheese (bottom pic $7.90). It was yummy as usual. My wife had the Chicken Doria set ($6.90). The salad came with the meals and we also had the hot milo (free flow). Enjoy isn't just the description. In fact, we loved everything about Saizeriya, ambience and all!

Lunch @ Saizeriya

Saizeriya is a chain of pasta and western food restaurants owned by a Japanese. The food is good and prices are affordable. The set lunch my wife and I had was a reasonable $14.80 nett. It also offers free flow of hot beverages and cold drinks for the set lunch plus a plate of chilled fresh salad. It has a ala carte menu as well as student and kids menu. We visited the Saizeriya at Hougang One mall.

Lunch and Marina Bay Sands

Had the Lim's curry yong tau foo for lunch. It is only $5 for 6 pieces + noodles. Without the curry gravy it's $4 for the lot. The YTF + curry is the best. This dish is better than the one I had for dinner at Marina Bay's Caffe B which cost 6x more. Sometimes, hawkers' food can be tastier than those from fanciful restaurants.
After lunch, I ordered the YaKun Kaya toast set ($4.80). The kaya butter toasts are crispy and tasted better than those from Toast Box.

At Marina Bay Sands last night

We were at the MBS last night. The place was very crowded as it was a Sunday night. There were many tourists. I had the opportunity to video the "Waterfall" and took photos of some of the shops selling well known/branded stuff. The basement carpark was fully occupied and had to wait for a couple of minutes to find an empty lot. Hope my readers would like the pictures and the video I've posted.

An evening at Changi Beach and dinner at Caffe B

                                                 
Dinner at Marina Bay's Caffe B

We spent the evening at Changi Beach. The sea breeze was refreshing and cool. We parked our vehicle near the Changi Ferry Terminal (free parking on Sunday and public holidays). The place wasn't as crowded as expected as tomorrow is a working day.
Changi Beach is popular among locals as a hangout for overnight family picnics, especially on weekends. Some individuals enjoy fishing, watching landing airplanes, jogging and watching the sunrise or sunset here. Sunrise can be viewed from the SAF Changi Ferry Terminal on the eastern end of the park and sunsets can be viewed from Changi Point. Barbecue parties, camping and watersports are some common activities. In addition, food lovers visit Changi Beach for seafood at the nearby Bistro@Changi, or for different food options at Changi Village.
For dinner, we took a drive to Marina Bay, 30 minutes away. We visited the Japanese Italian restaurant named Caffe B. It was our first visit. My wife ordered the Cordon Blue and myself the Wagyu Bolognese. The food was average and a bit costly. Total bill was $84 as shown in the receipt above. Won't recommend anyone there.

My kampong house and swimming lessons

Image courtesy of Grps at English Wikipedia

Image courtesy of http://kampongpreah.blogspot.sg/

Whenever I see little boys learning how to swim from their coaches in the swimming pools, it will bring back memories of my swimming "lessons" when I was a kid. Back then, my friends and I learned how to swim by ourselves. Sometimes, we would quietly sneak into a farm pond and "swim". Often, the farmers would get furious and chased us away. Somehow, after many such "lessons" we were be able to swim effortlessly.
My kampong house looked like the one above but less colourful. It was owned by an Arab family. I think my grandmother paid about $30 a month for the rental of 4 such houses. She sublet the other 3 and we lived in one. My grandma charged $15 for a unit which meant she collected a total of $45 and pocketed $15 a month.
I will talk more about my late grandma when I have the time.

Been busy with work

We brought the mongrel for his medical checkup before relocating him overseas. Reason he wore a muzzle is because he may bite the vet or any dogs around him in the clinic.
The 2 cute cats were relocated to Singapore as their owners are posted to work here.
We do the above once in a while to pay our bills and be self-sufficient in our retirement.

Beef, sushi, sashimi, seafood at a Japanese supermarket