Durian Party 1

First durian party of the year and we went back to Ah Loon & Ah Teck of East Coast Road fame.
atering fart and burp inducing wallop of a fruit. And buffet no less! At $25.00 per head, it was a steal considering that each type of durian at the stall sells at an average o$12.00 - $15.00 per kg.

At first we were quite apprehensive about the buffet. Will we be gettif ng our $25.00 worth or the flow of durian be a trickle? The 2 kind gentlemen started us off first with the Red Prawn. 4 of them for 12 of us? Like not enough. But they some came round with another 4. And then it was on to the Golden Phoenix. These 2 small breed durian were superb. Each with its unique taste, it was just the beginning of more good things to come.

Because their fresh stock of durian had not yet arrived, we were next given the giant of a whopper – the Mao Shan Wang. These came with big whooping soft and pungent flesh and we were soon stuffed and couldn’t quite finish off the whole lot.

Then the lorry came and the first fresh batch of D24 landed on our table. Actually, we were quite stuff already but nevertheless you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth so down it went.

This was immediately followed by the Black Pearl, and in many of our opinion, the best of the whole lot. But not to the sellers though – they claimed they reserved the best for us – the XO durian. But seriously most of us were so full that nice as it is, we really had no more space in our stomach for more and had to wave the white flag.

And on a scale of 1 – 10, this has to be the best durian feasting ever and I shall rate it a 12. Go and try before the durian season end!

The Princess' Creation

The Princess latest creation:

First a layer of butter cake

Next top it up with cream and strawberries

Add more layer on top

Of course must have the chocolate

And finally throw on more strawberries and volia:

Of course, the proof of the pudding er cake is in the eating, and in this case, speaking from a strictly biased point of view, can pass lah. Not exactly "Awfully Choc" or even Temptation standard but certainly can match up to those of the neighbourhood confectionery.

Ter Kar's Lovers Rejoice

For all of us ter kar or pig trotter's lovers out there, rejoice. The ugly, unhygienic and sinfully looking pig trotters is not as taboo as it seems. And this is good news for those who is looking for the proverbial fountain of youth.

Look no more. According to a Japanese restaurateur in New York, quote: " Collagen helps your body retain moisture," says Okajima, who has introduced a chain of restaurants specialising in collagen cuisine in Japan. "Your hair and skin will look better, but it's not just for looking beautiful now. If you begin eating collagen in your thirties, you will look younger in your forties.".



Yes apparently, pig trotter with the folds of skins and fats have a lot of collagen. So forget about expensive SK-II or Royal Jellies. Just go to your friendly neighbourhood Bak Kut Teh stall or Teochew Porridge stall and tucked away. Remember, the more skin you eat, the more collagen you ingest, the more younger you get!

Distance Related Fare

I haven't actually worked out whether I am paying more or less with this new distance related fare.According to the PTC, only 31% of commuters will have increased fare.  Yet practically everyone I spoke to said their fare have got up. Why?

Seems like prior to this, there was inequality in the fare with passengers having to do transfer paying more than those taking direct journey. So through no fault of them, they had to pay more. To correct his anomaly, the fares have now been tweaked so that anybody travelling the same distance (be it direct or via transfer) will pay the same fare. Sounds good? Yes, if nothing else has changed but in the process, transfer rebates were removed, fares were tweaked if I am not wrong and those who are taking longer direct journey now pays more! To make it worse, concession for senior citizens and students were also tweaked and yes, of course majority now pays more - unless they go the indirect route.

So people, in order to save on fare now, you have to transfer and transfer. Forget about walking from home to the MRT. Take a shuttle bus to the MRT. Forget about taking a direct bus from East Coast Road to World Trade Centre. Take a bus, transfer at Paya Lebar MRT, take Circle line and transfer to again to North East line to Harbourfront station. It saves you money!

One *&#) minister even had the gall to say that commuters should plan their journey on a weekly basis and not on a daily basis. How? Next, are we supposed to have 5 years plan for our transportation need? And of course, we hear the oft repeated mantra - big picture and for the country's long term good! Good my foot. They should just come outright and said good for the shareholders of the transport companies!