DRIED 'WHATCHAMACALLIT' SEAFOOD VARIETY

This TCM (traditional chinese medicine) shop was a curious stopover after a family lunch. On top of the usual, conventional stuff like mushrooms, medicinal herbs, dried prawns, anchovies and scallops, on display were also heaps of weird-looking dried chinese medicines and sea products, some of which I didn't even have names for... here are just a handful of what was available, Most of the stuff sold were known for their medicinal value for health. Dried seahorses -known as a fertility booster.

Dried Seadragons, Shark's fins, sea cucumbers and whatnots..

Oh well, as they say: "The chinese will eat just about anything that lives, breathes, crawls and moves..."

PINEAPPLE TARTS

During the trip to Singapore, my sis decided let's make some pineapple tarts-great for alleviating the boredom of her two girls at home and munching on for the whole family, ..plus it gives my mum an assignment for the day... to transfer her skills. Well, found out if you knead the dough too hard, the pastry actually becomes too hard as well. The trick is to keep pinching the flour and rubbing them with your fingers into the butter...not a skill the impatient will master. My niece complained of sore arms after having to stir the pineapple paste for too long. We were afraid the pineapple filling wasn't enough for the pastry so the 1st few trays were rather stingy on filling. Then too much filling at the end, so my nieces resorted to making 'Dolly partons' to use them up- fillings with generous proportions....

Jordie tried his hand at 'painting' on the egg white coating. He loves those pineapple tarts.

Well, it was a nice girls' bonding session between me, my sis, my mum and my two nieces. The boys were just waiting to gobble them down, that's all.....Sad to say, I don't think I shall attempt this in Australia because it is just too much work and not enough mouths around to enjoy them. Pineapple tarts don't keep very well and get mouldy very quickly especially in humid weather.

REUNION WITH COUSINS, FOLKS AND FRIENDS.. & FOOD.

Enjoyed our short but nice trip bk to KL and Singapore. We spent most of the time catching up with family and some friends. Jordie had the chance to rekindle old bonds with some close friends and cousins from both sides of the family. He has a total of 14 cousins so he found it great fun catching up with all of them, both young and old... with the exception of Matthew and Jonathan, my sis's kids from USA,.. oh well,, maybe next year??

Definitely, food was up on the list of faves this trip. He wanted to taste all the foods he had missed i.e. yau char kwai, Rotiboy's famous coffee buns, Auntie Annie's seaweed pretzel, fishballs, Beard Papa's cream puffs, kuih lapis, wantan mee... & the list is pretty long... but certainly Jordie knows what he prefers..

I was wondering if he could fit in his uniform when school reopens. "All I can say is, I've gotta enjoy all this while I can!" is his favourite quip. When we first arrived in Singapore, I found it hilarious that his cousin Yang was wearing exactly the same shirt that Jordie was wearing... sooo cute-cidental.

Most of his cousins are at least 4 years older than him with the exception of little Isaac & Isabel, kids of his youngest uncle.