Impromptu 3 - Deja Vu

This was decided at lunch time. It's fortunate that I now have help to set these things up.

Definitely putting this bar to good use. Make sure you invite 'bartenders' and you will always be able to keep the area well populated.

Was desperately trying to come up with something different to order. Unfortunately, Nanking wasn't ready to do home delivery, so when I picked up the phone to ring Chung Wah, the same dishes sprang out of my mouth.

Terna returned from Bangkok with no juicy stories but these lychees and rambutans made an excellent dessert.

Then it came time to distribute the spoils. Spoils is right. Some have gone past their sell-by date; result of culinary ambition that lacked the follow-through. Most popular? Instant noodles and 'paper products'.

B-B-Q

Quite a few birthdays amongst the Singaloreans to celebrate in June, and that's not including some people who were travelling or left Bangalore.

With the help of TC marinating everything for the barbie, HL hosted the small gathering. As he started the trend, once again, he arranged for some live entertainment. Margaret brought us some great mee siam, possibly for the last time in Bangalore. Diya treated us to nasi goreng and ox tail. Sharon provided the salad and Geraldine turned up later with a whole bunch of mangoes. As you can imagine, we had a lot to put away. But who's complaining.

Bountiful Harvest

The Chias went on a short trip to Singapore and look what they brought back for us last Sunday. Familiar favourites all. Quite a few of the Singaloreans were not in town, so the more for the rest of us who were.

Housecooling?

Probably the last party I will have here before moving to a new apartment at the end of the month. Ordered the food from Saigon again, this time minus all the frills. The fried rice and pork were excellent. And I made sure we had some of the chicken winglets and momos (Tibetan xiao long bao?) which most of us like.

Another wonderful thing about Bangalore is how reasonable the flowers are. I believe a lot of it comes from the hill station of Ooty. That's like Cameron Highlands to Singapore. It's amazing that you still find imported artificial ones when all this fresh stuff is so easily available.

I will miss the large balcony on this duplex on the sixth floor. The view and the memories.

2-in-1

Two celebrations together or it could also mean two people (Sam ans Raymond) sharing an apartment, who were our hosts for the evening.

This was also the last day of the Chinese New Year festivities. As you can see, everyone who was a cook in Bangalore contributed something. The earlier ambition of having auspicious dishes kinda fell by the wayside. Abalone yu-sheng was abandoned as TC heard from Joseph that it sounded like 'guaranteed not to prosper'. Sharon and Neo did not manage to bring in the duck. Nevertheless, it was still an excellent menu. No pics, but Jonathan brought charsiew and 'kong ba' paus as well. There was also a dessert soup made by chef JT. Yes, compared to me, they are all chefs. Kudos to all of them.

And what would new year celebrations be without a bit of gambling. A mahjong game was ongoing while we started on an exciting game of 'polish'. After dinner, black jack was the order of the day. It didn't matter if one won or lost since the stakes were hardly significant. It just added to the atmosphere.

I think hardly anyone of us would still be here in Bangalore next year. Treasure the moment, eh?

Back in Bangalore

I just returned to Bangalore late last night and the feasting hasn't stopped. I had the pleasure of joining the Chia's for their own Chinese New Year steamboat. Sari and Sharath were supposed to join us but couldn't; so I ended up eating their share. Just kidding, I was close on bursting at the end of just eating my own share.

Margaret started us off with pai tee. The stock she used was so rich after the goodness of a whole chicken and some pork was added to it. Interesting tip that was shared by Marge: keep prawn fresh by sprinkling sugar on them before freezing. What I tasted would certainly attest to the trick working. And she actually managed to get all those lovely greens from Russell Market.

All through dinner, we had the wonder of American pop culture airing on the tele. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, we were tuned in to "American Idol". Gong Xi Fa Cai indeed!

Wie gehts Dir heute?

Our little exposure to the German culture on a Saturday afternoon. Lazy afternoon lunch at the Max Meuller Bhavan. I can never quite recall if the restaurant there actually has a name. The buffets on Wednesdays are quite good but since they moved to CMH Road, we only manage to go there on the weekends. As usual, we all had the escalope in it's various guises; plain, topped with egg and topped with egg, ham & cheese. Guess which one I had?

The Goethe Institut would usually hold some exhibition or other. This time it was the works of Georg Baselitz. Don't know anything about the artist but it was great to do something different.

Spur of the Moment

Beast was supposed to be busy right up to the time he goes to the airport to check-in for his flight. Suddenly he called and he was free for dinner. I was all ready to have my egg appam with Thai green curry but then TC, the most picky eater amongst the Singaloreans decided that she wanted to eat at italia and everyone happily obliged.

italia's service remained impeccable because the staff are well trained and the staff to customer ratio is really high. Arguably, they serve the best breads in town. You can actually smell the fresh aroma when they bring the basket to the table. I thought the quality of the food was down somewhat since the last time I was there but then it's still probably one of the best in town.

The Beast is Back

Something started by the Singalorean ladies that still has a lingering effect - calling everyone by the name of an X-men character. TC was Beast and that stuck. Storm, Rogue, Jubilee...

Beast was in India on another one of his whirlwind tours of duty. He would have stayed another day had the bandh not been called off.

We were back at one of our fave hangouts. Tom Yum soup, Phad Thai and hot chilli lamb curry, we order these each time we are there. Can't go wrong.

Entertainment was pretty much at the expense of TC. Thomas Chan, not a chance. Of course it was Poohbearie's successor here in Bangalore.

Weekends...

...tend to be quite a lot about food. We haven't been back to Soo Ra Sang in a while, so quite readily agreed to go there. I'm sure the suggestion was Ternasser's as Ms. Eom, the Korean proprietress, would always remember her favourite dishes. The only trouble about this restaurant is its location all the way out in Koramangala. Otherwise I'm sure we would be there all the time.

Something that's always amused us were these towels that they use at the restaurant. Thomas compared them to ------s. It can be served hot or cold. Quite clever actually. What do you think?

The Neo's issued an impromptu invite on Sunday. Maybe it was in part-celebration that they have finally bought their entertainment system.

We are not accepting it as the official housewarming though, as most of the Singaloreans were not in town, not that they intended it that way anyway. Since they do such a great job of cooking, there will definitely be a lot more to come.

A Revisit

I first visited the club on it's opening night just over a month ago, which gives them enough time to iron out all the teething problems. Yes, the lift worked. I still like the idea that even though we were in the heart of town, it felt as if we might be out somewhere in the country.

My favourite area is still the open space with the island bar. The Bangalore winter is perfect for the outdoors in the evenings, even though it could get a little nippy later into the night. The VIP area has yet to win me over. The very stark white is still hard to take. And the changing colours? You'd probably need to be on some trip to really enjoy it. Maybe that's the point.

The choice of music was a little strange. A CD that was being repeated ad nauseum was playing music from the 80's. That was fine, except for the fact that it was of bad cover versions of hits by Madonna and George Michael etc. Thank heaven the DJ finally arrived to play some real music.

With the exception of the beef escalope, which was too dry, the food was pretty good. But they all appeared a little similar. Grilled beef, chicken or fish sitting on a bed of salsa and vegetable. Maybe it was what we ordered. Must remember to try something else next time.

Overall, not a bad way to spend an evening out. Where to next?

First Singalorean Gathering of 2007

I've often wondered if it was only Singaporeans who were continuously obsessed with food or were people around the world the same. We could be having a meal and the conversation would be where the best food could be found.

Kah Ming hosted the first Singalorean gathering this year. It was kinda like his housewarming i.e. he gets to do all the work while we enjoy ourselves. Why? Just like that. (For the uninitiated, that's Indian speak.) Margaret chipped in with sayur lodeh and Raymond and Sam presented us with their not quite virgin but rather successful attempt at making char siew.

With half the group football mad, it was inevitable that that's how the evening would end, with all in front of the telly, cheering on Manchester United. It was just as well that Solskjaer scored the winning goal in stoppage time, ending our evening on a high note.

Pre-NY Party

The Chan family graciously hosted the Singaloreans in their home in Singapore on 30Dec. Their made the effort at decorating and getting dressed. You'll have to judge for yourself how well the rest of us did. More pics on Poohbearie's blog.

At least we were more in step when it came to the belated celebration of Flo, aka Storm's birthday. With drink in hand, she decided that the fire on the cake was going out, one way or another.

Have Youself A Merry Little...

Before everyone headed off for the holidays, the Singaloreans got together at Margaret and Chris' place for possibly the last major get together for 2006. Theme: Christmas. Gift exchange being part of the programme, a tradition here for a while now.

And what a feast we had! Almost everyone who could cook made something. Marge was the chief contributor, with the soup, o-cha chicken, ginger pork and veg. Neo braised the pork belly (there is now a running joke that the pork is never fat enough). Kah Ming samballed the prawns and Saritha curried the pomfret. Ser Joo ching'd the tng. This was arguably the best food at our parties thus far.

Those of us that are challenged in the culinary department took care of the 'more important' aspect of any successful party i.e. the various elixirs of life. What's Christmas without eggnog and Bacardi Breezers... hahaha or should that be hohoho?

And of course some were there early enough to in indulge in one of the favourite past times of the far east, mahjong. There was so much food left over that a marathon MJ session was held so that the food could be consumed as supper. These revellers apparently only called it a 'night' at 5.30am. Needless to say, a good time was had by one and all.

A Singalorean Hi-Tea

Singalorean parties are usually the easiest to organise. With the good chefs ready to contribute, all one usually has to do is get enough ice and Barcardi Breezers. On this occasion, Ser Joo and Margaret were on hand to provide glutinous rice, chinese 'tong sui' (soupy dessert) and mee goreng. Ternasser brought sin in the form of the Colonel's favourite.

Thomas had extended his stay by a day so it was perfect for a get-together. Festivities were interrupted. Not by the cops, but the Singalorean passion to shop. Excuse this time? Christmas. More than half the party trooped down to Safina Plaza to patronise Mr. Singh's stall, where we had all bought numerous wall hangings and handbags. Christmas must be good for Mr. Singh.

The weather was pretty perfect this time of year but it did get nippy by evening. We ordered some Chung Wah takeaway. Before we knew it, it was time for Thomas to be on his way.

Until the next time at Woodsville for a Singalorean Christmas and then the Chan's will be hosting us in Singapore on the 30th. As you can see, we plan very much ahead.

Quiet Night Out

After the surprise of the previous, a quiet evening felt like the perfect antidote. I guess that's how it always starts. Dinner at Cosmo's was only for four of us as most of the Keppelites were tied up with people from headoffice. Everyone just loves the new terrace. And I love the kick that has been reinstated into the tom yam.

After dinner, JT joined us and we headed out to another chill-out place, Blue Bar. Managed to get a table outside, which was lovely in the Bangalore weather this time of year. I surprised everyone by ordering a Long Island Iced Tea. Hey, what's wrong with a change every now and then.

After the bar closed, we actually adjourned to Mynt for a cuppa. Not a bad way to end an evening if you ask me. Ternasser made some new blunders which cracked us up. She actually thought doctors slap new-borns in the face to make them cry. Thomas chipped in, "That's only if your face looks like an ass."

Saigon-Taika Combo

This appears to have become a routine for the Singaloreans. Due to the proximity of two of our favourite places, it has become a routine that we first have dinner at Saigon and then drinks at Taika. And since Thomas is back in town for a visit and he has never been to Saigon or the refurbished Taika, it seemed the natural thing to do.

Just Another Sunday Get Together?

...rather it was Ternasser's turn to host. She decided to do it the hard way and cook for us. With some help from Margaret (ginger pork) and Sharon (cheng ting). Needless to say, home-cooked food? Nothing like it. Soup that has been boiled for so long to extract all the essence, plenty of veg, mushrooms with scallops and mussels and stewed pork ribs... The host should do this more often. Afterall, she needs more practice; actually forgetting to cook the rice until almost all the dishes were cooked.

She had actually decided that the theme should be pyjamas and not too conservative ones. Some of us had threatened to arrive just wrapped in sheets since we go to bed in our birthday suits. In the end, almost everyone copped out and were wearing the 'Singapore pyjama' i.e. shorts and t-shirt. Only yours truly was dressed correctly and Margaret had pyjama pants on...

It was also five days to my birthday, so I was 'surprised' with a cake. Chocolate brownie and cheese cake. Hmmm, I wonder who chose it?

I was however surprised by the gift, which had been 'lovingly' put together. Very artistic indeed. See how the colours are arranged? Unfortunately, the gift was of no pratical value, not that I have no use for them; just that needle holes are in each and every one of those rubbers!

Thank you Singaloreans for a wonderful evening.

P.S. I had forgotten one more bit of info... the number of adornments on the necklace is actually reflective of my age. How thoughtful is that?!

Trimming the Tree

It's that time of year again... Bring out the tree and dust off the ornaments and lights. In my case, I'm fortunate that my driver is able to do all that so that all we had to do was to trim the tree. Since not everyone from the Singalorean family would be around in Bangalore for Christmas, I just thought why not make the trimming an occasion as well.

I made everyone bring some ornaments to add to what I already had. Many hands make quick work and we were done in no time at all. The theme this year is going to be rich and opulent. So I've still got some ways to go before I'm done.

We had pizzas for dinner. Margaret decided to also treat us with a homemade apple pie and ice cream. As of late, the beverage of choice? Barcardi Breezers. Jamaican Passion ahs clearly become a favourite of ours.

We then sat down for a movie some of us have been trying to catch for a long time, "龙虎门" or "Gragon Tiger Gate". The action sequences were excellent and the special effects really brought to life all the 'kapow' and such that you would see in the comic books. I am not familiar with the comic book series on which this movie was based. Perhaps that was the reason I was able to enjoy it even more for the pure fantasy and escapism.