Stuffed tiger decoration

The Chinese lunar calendar doesn’t always seem to be fair. That is, at least when it comes to the animal zodiac associations.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with the ox.

But, how much more awesome is the tiger?

A lot more.

Tiger may be my second favorite zodiac animal.

But, what could be better tiger?

Dragon.

For sure, dragon beats tiger.

Chinese Lunar New Year is just around the corner. And that means Chinatown is all decked out with fancy decorations.

Welcome, Year of the Tiger!

Old colonial building behind hanging lanterns

Festive items & food sold in Chinatown

Dried fruits

Liquorice-flavored melon seeds

Old man singing

Sometimes the queues can be a bit frustrating.

Why?

Because they’re often long and move very slowly. Especially the taxi queues.

And there’s no reason for it.

Long taxi queue at Takashimaya

Instead of allowing multiple people to board multiple taxis simultaneously, the taxi queue directors only allow passengers to board one car at a time.

Argh.

It drives me crazy!

The queue can be a hundred people long, like at Takashimaya tonight… but, everyone still boards one car at a time.

Am I the ONLY person who notices the queue could move five times faster with a minor process change?

I miss lines. Queues are too slow.

After two weeks on my new ‘get fit’ diet, I haven’t fallen off the wagon. Yet.

Although, I am finding cooking healthy takes a bit more effort than, say, take-out.

Like the chicken teriyaki stir-fry I made tonight. About thirty minutes to make, versus… mmm, zero for take-out.

Anyway…

The recipe only requires 3 teaspoons of oil. So, it’s pretty low fat.

Start by preparing all the ingredients:

Cut two chicken breasts into bit-sizes pieces and marinade with 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce and 1 tbsp sherry cooking wine.

Dice 1 medium sized onion and press 4 cloves garlic and a 1 inch, peeled ginger root.

Slice 1 green pepper, a half carton of mushrooms, several baby carrots and a few pineapple rings (dried with a paper towel).

Takes about 15 minutes to prepare everything

Warm 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil on medium heat, until it shimmers.

Put the chicken into the pan. Don’t stir. Let the meat brown on one side. Then use tongs to turn each piece and brown the opposite side.

Brown both sides for extra flavor

Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside. Rinse the pan.

Warm 1 teaspoon of oil, until shimmering. Then sauté the onion, ginger and carrots in the pan for several minutes, stirring occasionally until brown.

Smells really good, especially the ginger

Clear the center of the pan and add the garlic. Press flat. Cook until fragrant.

Next, throw in the green peppers and mushrooms. Pour in a bit of water, if things are sticking to the pan.

Fry until the vegetables are cooked.

Add the pineapple and sauté for two minutes.

Lower the heat to medium-low.

Add the chicken and pour ⅓ cup teriyaki sauce into the pan. Stir until all the ingredients are coated with sauce.

Serve with rice.

As Rachael Ray would say... YUMMO!

Welcome to 2010. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year's Eve fireworks from the apartment

Especially for cherries.

Why must my favorite fruit cost so much!

Expensive cherries @ Singapore Paragon Marketplace

A conversion for those who need it:

1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds.

$47.90 Singapore dollars = $34.03 US dollars

Do the math.

Rainier Cherries cost nearly $15.50 USD a pound!

That’s a lot, especially considering cherries are in-season in Australia right now.

By my calculations, that’s about $13.50 a pound more than I’m used to paying.

That’s the pits.

And, then paid the price.

Holy smokes!

I’ve never seen anything like it before. Literally, the Wisma Atria Mall walkways were jam-packed with people. Wall-to-wall. Front-to-back.

Apparently, the traditional “day after Christmas, rush the mall” activity common in America starts a day early here.

Or, perhaps it has something to do with stores offering great sales.

But, the only special deal I noticed was for huge crowds.

Christmas Day crowds @ Wisma Atria Mall

Three guys wondering why they didn't stay home

Every Christmas season Singapore gets iced out. In a big way.

It’s flashy, over-the-top and beautiful all at the same time. And, you can almost hear that stereotypical sound as you roll down Orchard Road.

You need to see it to believe it. Hope this helps a bit…

Electric blue snowflake above Orchard Road

Electric blue snowflakes across Orchard Road (west)

Orchard ION shopping mall & Christmas tree

Thousands of blue orbs along Orchard Road

Christmas tree across Orchard Road (central)

Red stars across Orchard Road (east)

Thousands of red & white orbs along Orchard Road

Snowman orchestra - one of many carousels along Orchard Road

That last part provided the most excitement. Not dropping anything.

How could that be?

So, a routine developed.

After spotting a medium-sized pebble, or other suitable debris, I would zone-in on that and hope for contact… and a resulting ’unfortunate accident’.

I wanted a crash. A big one with food flying everywhere!

Why? I have no idea. It’s probably related to watching too many Saturday morning cartoons. It was the 70s, and slapstick comedy ruled the airwaves. Plus, I had big hair – most likely accompanied by brown corduroy pants and an Incredible Hulk t-shirt. What did I know?

It just seemed like good entertainment.

But, it never happened. Ever.

So, I enjoyed my chocolate-dipped ice cream cone and saved my hatched notion for our next visit.

[flash forward to present day]

Last night, at the new 313@Sommerset Food Republic, those childhood memories resurfaced.

But, the game had changed. Good-bye roller skates. Hello Segway!

Food Republic beverage delivery girl

Like a learned behavior, I quickly scanned the environment looking for a weak link. A possible disruption. Anything.

But, being Singapore, there was nothing. Well, almost nothing.

I eyed the escalator nearby. The loooooong, moving escalator.

But, that would just be mean.

Right?

It’s a classic case of older being better, considering their current slogan is, “You know when it’s real”. Blah.

Anyway, this week when the inaugural Wendy’s opened in Singapore, the more famous phrase entered my mind – especially when I stopped by for a snack.

More later on why the doors were open

It’s been nearly two years since I’ve eaten a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and a chocolate FROSTY!

Too bad I didn’t get either one.

Quarter pounder and mini vanilla Frosty

I left the restaurant thinking of several variations of “Where’s the —-“.

Where’s the chocolate?
How could they run out of chocolate for the Frosty’s? Seriously. That’s the most important item on the menu.

Where’s the rest of the Frosty?
A small really means small. They should just call it a Frosty Shot.

Where’s the spoon?
How can you eat Frosty without a spoon? Not right.

Where’s the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger?
Not on the menu. The best burger Wendy’s makes. Not on the menu.

Where’s’ the dollar menu?
Okay, I get this one. Exchange rates, etc.

Where’s the air conditioning?
Broken A/C. 90 degrees, high humidity, no fans. And heat pouring across the counter from the kitchen. Oh ya, and profusely sweating employees.

A little sweat with your food?

Where’s Wendy’s? Not in Singapore.

Just not quite as much.

Why’s that?

Because the milk in Asia just doesn’t taste right. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but to generalize… it’s sour. In the “the expiration date is nearing” kind of sour.

We’ve tried all the brands. Same problem. Even the more expensive Australian imports.

All sour.

So, when I noticed a new brand at the Cold Storage grocery store, I nearly moo’d myself.

California Sunshine Ultrafresh.

Got (California) Milk?

The name says it all.

What a great branding strategy. No fancy names. No gimmicks. Just let everyone know the milk is from California. That’s enough.

And, the price is about the same as the Indonesian milk down the shelf.

Did I mention they make chocolate milk too? They do. And, it’s fabulous.

I think it all has something to do with the California “Happy Cows”. They do make better milk.

Correct that. The best milk (at least in Singapore).