Popiah obsession

Help! My dear amore L is obsessed with popiah and I can't stop him! So I figured if I can't stop him I might as well join in. Heehee. I swear he must have tried almost every popiah joint in town and was particularly inspired when he saw this current local food documentary hosted by Mark Lee on tracing the origins of local Chinese cuisine. That episode showed how popiah (meaning 'thin wafer' in hokkien) came about from the Fujian province of China - usually in Xiamen and its neighbouring Chaoshan area during the Qing Ming Festival.

So 2 weekends ago, Fifi and I brought him to reputedly the best popiah skin maker in S'pore - Kway Guan Huat at the Joo Chiat area (est since 1938). He could understand why it's so popular - the popiah skin is made by hand next door on seasoned black skillets and it's strong yet soft, embracing a delizioso mix of ingredienti. Ahhh... Incidentally the shop also offers some kick-arse beef dry/soup noodles. I slurped down a $5 bowl and fed L the handmade beef balls.

Last weekend, I also surprised L with the combo 5 durian platter from Goodwood Park Hotel - showcasing 5 different durian sweets including the puff, hazelnut tart, Oreo cake, pandan coconut cake and strudel. L went matto and he relished everything slowly in 3 days while grudgingly wondered aloud why he couldn't shed more weight. Non e' copla mia!

We also visited J & A's newborn girl at KK and I almost cried in joy at the sight of the panzarottina (L nicknamed her 'the little croquette'). Just over 2kg, she's a little pink bundle and her perfectly round head full of hair is the size of a big Fuji apple. Big pat on the back to J who's so brave all these 7 years and had to endure rounds of expensive and painful treatments, but they never gave up and remained hopeful and cheery! A real inspiration to all.

Since we were near Newton Circus hawker centre, we decided to brave the throat-ripping seafood touts there and see if it is a worthwhile food destination. Not according to us. The touts were still in full force and it was crowded and warm. We didn't know who to trust there. The only popiah stall was crap (ugliest popiah ever) and the bbq stingray was miserable at $10 but the rojak stall next to DBS atm was quite good and left us with a nice salty finish on the palate.

Creativity and Creation

I've just finished two inspirational books which I'd recommend to anyone. The 1st is "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz who was born into a family of healers in Mexico and through his simple 'four agreements', he shows the way to self awareness and ultimately personal freedom. Freedom from self inflicted pain, guilt, victimisation, blame, etc which arised from ourselves and others, even your loved ones unwittingly. We can start anew and change our personal rules and make these new agreements for a better life.

These four agreements are:
- Be impeccable with your words
Think before speaking as our words carry a lot of power, it can create joy as well as poison. Have you ever wondered why we humans are the only animals on earth that can speak? So before you say something to hurt someone in a fit of anger, come back to this agreement and be aware of your words.
- Don't take anything personally
Whatever happens to you or is said to you by someone is no fault of yours. It is not you, but them. If you can set this agreement, I think you'll be untouchable.
- Don't make assumptions
Seek the truth, as assumptions often lead to miscommunications and misunderstandings, then we end up taking it personally and say hurtful stuff. Very common, couples say things like 'You should have known or you should know me by now'.
- Always do your best
Last but not least, if you do your best - no more, no less - you'll live a meaningful productive life, guided by your own awareness of what you can achieve. If you know you can do better, do it and you won't judge yourself, feel guilty when people accuse you, or punish yourself even if you didn't meet the target.

And I've come up with my 5th agreement based on my own experience - "Forgive yourself and others". Learn from your mistakes and have the balls to say sorry and mean it. Forgiveness not just apply to yourself but also others who have caused you grief and harm. With forgiveness in your heart, you have nothing to fear.

The 2nd book is "How To Be Free" by best selling author Tom Hodgkinson who escaped from the city and its industrialised evils to set up a simple and happier life with his family in the countryside. This is a follow up to his first book "How To Be Idle" - which is not only hilarious but makes great sense. "How To Be Free" is equally witty and addresses topics like 'Break the bonds of boredom', 'The tyranny of bills and freedom of simplicity', 'Stop competing' and 'Stop working, start living'.

Some passages from his book read: "Today we are imprisoned by our desires, shackled by shopping. The will to shop is a corroding and enfeebling force...This is not to say that one can't enjoy luxuries, it's just that we shouldn't take them seriously as a kind of goal in life. Don't make luxury into a meaning.' Hear ye, hear ye. It's scary how a friend recently racked up $30,000++ of debts on her 10 credit cards, and she confessed she has no savings at all. God knows what she spent on?! All I can say is - if you can't afford it, don't buy it! Life shouldn't be on credit.

After some deliberation, I made a conscious decision to cancel my cable TV. In any case I don't watch cable often (reading is so enriching and free!) and most of the contents these days are crap, so it's a waste of money ($38 to be exact). I also went back to 'creativity and creation' and sew myself a pinstriped 'casino' totebag with 4 Aces embellishments (inspired by L's obession with the IRs)!