Saturday, June 03, 2006
Went to Orchard with zh yesterday. He has just returned from his one-month long backpacking trip to Europe. At the Food Republic at Wisma we sat, me listening to his experiences in Europe.The trip consisted of visits to cities like Amsterdam, London, Nice, Rome, Bern, Monaco etcetera etcetera. There was much 'hardship' involved, but this no doubt had contributed to the unique and memorable experiences gained. There was once when a 'slacker' looking policeman who was corrupted and had nothing better to do strip-searched him and his friend just to make things difficult and to extort money from them, causing the pair to be stranded at the train station in Rome for almost two hours. And there was once in Paris where a few thugs approached him and demanded money from him for taking photos of the street-performers, whom they claimed were their friends. zh pretended not to understand their language, replying in Chinese and interestingly, those thugs took great pains to explain what they wanted from him, gesturing and repeating "Memorry sticck" (they wanted the memory stick from his digicam). Then he took a chance by exclaiming some nonsensical stuff at them and while they were taken aback, rushed off to one of the street performers where he stood at the centre of the crowd and talked to the performer. This was to make himself the centre of attention and thus avoid any chance of being cornered by the thugs. I was impressed by his wit and courage.
The people from some cities were not exactly polite, but some, on knowing you better and accepting you, can be very open and truthful towards you, zh told me. They were very frank with their opinions and show their like and dislike towards you very openly, unlike our culture whereby we are taught to be polite and behave even so when we talk to somebody we do not like.
Another thing noteworthy would be the exorbitant prices that you pay there for the food which ironically is far worse than the hawker fare here. A basic (and more often than not poor quality) meal would set one back by about 12 to 16 bucks, which can get him or her a luxurious, gastronomic delight in some of the mid-range restaurants here. For example, pizza, despite being a common dish there, pales a lot in comparison to Pizza Hut fare --- tomato sauce spread over a chewy cicrular-shaped bread, with a sprinke of onions and cheese would constitute what is considered a pizza, and don't even bother to think of ham or pineapples. Asian dishes are rare, and "Chinese fast food" which is essentially the ubiquitous mixed vegetable rice here, is nowhere near the standard of any hawker or food court stall here. And to add to the already unpalatable facts would be the discovery of a considerable amount of chicken feathers on the chicken wings served there and that the food is only cooked once daily, being reheated for sale during dinner time. Wa.. deappetizing siah.....
The above are the more exciting parts of what zh had told me. And though I did not go for the trip, I was deeply impressed. :)
Then we went Taka.
Saw this: (guys, does this look familiar?)
"SFI" pineapple tarts @ 80c/pc , anyone?
There are many other gastronomic delights offered at Taka food village. And yes, zh said that the variety of food offered in Singapore is much wider than in Europe. Looks like food here (plus many other Asian cities) is still the best and most affordable!!
So why not head now to your friendly local food stalls and restaurants to enjoy a meal and at the same time join in the festivities of the Great Singapore Sale? And maybe you might win some prizes home?
Bon Appetit! =P
Posted by charles at 8:46 PM
Thursday, June 01, 2006
The World Cup is taking the world by storm again. And with it comes the bets on soccer matches, possible addictions to gambling and mindless pursuits of easy money. Now,I'm not going to delve into the issue of football gambling or the World Cup, but rather on something that has always been true since the existence of human beings.Since Day 1, there has always been wants and the pursuit of material wealth, power and fame. And of course the more noble pursuit of knowledge which has led to science, technology and inventions.
In order for man to satisfy his wants, he would go about searching and racking his brains and coming up with solutions accordingly, much in a question-and-answer manner. But since humans are not perfect, the solutions they come up with work to varying extents or in other words, are all naturally flawed to varying extents. However, this is not our fault as very often these are already the best solutions that we could offer so far.
Yet however, and inevitably, there would be drawbacks(or flaws) to those solutions, and consequentially there would also be those people who are sacrificed in the various pursuits:
The discovery of alcohol and tobacco and the want of getting satisfaction from drinking and smoking has led to people getting 'high' or reprieve from their troubles but also people dying from liver cirrhossis and lung-cancer;
the propagation of gambling has led to wealth for some but left many bankrupt and tore apart happy families;
the pursuit of wealth, fame and power has led to many successful people and perhaps more backstabbing, boot-licking, corruption and miserable people who had suffered the tyrannies of those who misuse their power;
the invention of automobiles and aircraft no doubt has brought about convenience, globalisation and new frontiers but may I ask how many accidents have already happened and how many have been killed in the process to date?
Surely someone in this world has to suffer in the process of these pursuits and technological advancements (also a pursuit-- the pursuit of knowledge). I'm not saying that we should stop having these pursuits now. I'm merely stating a fact, which sadly means that some of our counterparts in this world would be sacrificed in the process of pursuing these material or immaterial wants. There would always be the ones who emerge winning, but there are also those who unfortunately fall out in the process.
So, as you enjoy your fruits of labour, the prizes from your pursuits, please do not forget about those who have been sacrificed in the process, those who shared the same dreams as you but could not make it with you through the whole journey.