Valentine 2009

We went to Nanjya Monjya, a Japanese restaurant that specialises in okonomiyaki, and is located at Grand Copthorne hotel. Jane suggested this place some time ago, and raved about the food.  Curious, I decided this would be the place that Ivan and I would visit this Valentine’s day.

This Valentine’s day took place on a Saturday, so the restaurant was especially crowded.  Luckily we made reservations; I felt quite sorry for the guests who walked in and had to wait for some time outside the restaurant.  Anyway, Ivan thought it would be interesting if we could cook our own okonomiyaki, and reserved one of the tables in the restaurant that has a hot stove. After looking through the handwritten menu, we decided to try a mix dama  ($20) and a buta monjya ($12). We also ordered a maguro ayo salad ($10), a gyutan shioyaki ($16; this is beef, so I did not try), a horumon yaki ($12; another beef dish), and a yuzu shabert ($8).

Stage 1: The raw"Mix Dama" Okonomiyaki

Actually cooking the okonomyaki was quite an interesting process. We were first given the bowl of raw ingredients (see left).  We were happy to have a waitress, who was usually helping out in the kitchen, to help us with our first first okonomyaki.

Stage 2: Creating the okonomyaki.

She first put the seafood and meat aside at one side of the stove(as these take longer to cook) and poured the remaining contents slowly on the other (see Stage 2 right). When the meat and seafood are almost done, she placed them on top of the patty and told us to leave the  pancake on the stove for about 10 mins.She said that this will ensure that the bottom layer of the pancake is crispy.

Stage 3: Cooking the other side

She returned promptly after 10 minutes, and flipped the pancake around (see Stage 3 left). This time the aroma from the pancake was really irresistable, but  we still had to wait, as we let the other side cook. I was quite hungry, as I didn’t really have lunch, but since the expert advised that we should wait,  I obediently did so.

Stage 4: The final okonomyaki (without the onion shavings)

After around 8 minutes or so, she came by and asked whether we were fine with mayonaise and toppings.  We were fine with those and she began to the final touches for our mix dama okonomyaki (see Stage 4 right).

Me with a piece of the yummy okonomyaki

Finally! The pancake was indeed delicious. It was not too dry and you can taste the generous servings of cruchy vegetable fillings (I believe there was radish and onions) and the seafood. (As I am writing here, I can still imagine the lovely taste of the okonomyaki).

After our okonomyaki, we tried to cook the buta (pork) monjyaki.   The monjyaki is a “wetter” and more melted version of the pancake.

Me eating the monjayaki

The waitress mentioned that the monjyaki originated from Tokyo, and the dough used for it is more liquid than that of the okomyaki.  When cooked,  the monjayaki would then eaten directly off the grill using a small metal spatula (see me demonstrating on right). The monjayaki also tasted nice, but between the two, I think I still prefer the okonomyaki.  I also think the next time when I visit the place, I will try only one pancake. Ivan and I were really stuffed after half an okonomyaki and half the monjayaki.

Thanks darling for being my valentine this 2009.  May we still love each other very much  for  a  long time to come!

Nitaboh

Scene from "Nitaboh": Nitaro and his shamisen

I caught Nitaboh yesterday. This is an anime movie that traced the life of a Japanese shamisen player, Nitaroh, who went blind at a young age.  He inherited a shamisen that was left by his mother, who died a year after he was born, and was taught by Tamana,  a blind female shamisen player.  His father’s death later spurred him to devote his life as a musician.  A combination of his determination and help from his friends, both old and new, not only helped Nitaroh to perfect his art, but also developed the Tsuguru style of shamisen play.  Set against the turbulent political backdrop of the Meiji Restoration period, Nitaboh shows us that with determination, we will be able to fulfill our dreams despite  all odds.

Scenes from "Nitaboh"

I chanced upon this anime while researching for music animes, and I was very glad to have seen it. It is not only an anime that relays the touching tale of the indomitable human spirit, but also one with great cinematography. I am always fascinated by period films, as they often show great levels of details. This “period anime” is as good as any period film, given the attention the animation team gave on the beautiful backdrop. The music was the other highlight; indeed the melody of the main theme  “Shinsei” kept ringing in my ears even as I write this entry.

A very beautiful anime movie; a must watch indeed. I caught it online, but I would be very keen if the DVD is on sale.  I just hope that it  is not very expensive.

Some parts of the anime that can be found at Youtube:

(1) Tamana’s song , “Shinsei”

(2) Nitaro’s solo

Scene from "Nitaboh": Nitaro and Tamana

Happy Niu Year

It’s been a long time since I posted, because I was really busy with events for the past two months. In December last year, I took a holiday with Ivan’s family (which was really not the best holiday that I have taken), carolled in an old folk’s home, and was trying to finish work. With the start of the new year, apart from trying to complete work, I helped out in Jason’s wedding, started work at ballet, and was hunting for the very important rings with Ivan (yes, will start another separate blog on this!!).

It’s the first day of the Chinese New Year today, and as usual, I was just relieved that the house is neater today. I hope that the Ox Year will be a good one for me – lots of love and money. The start of this year wasn’t too good for everyone so far, with the financial crisis looming near. Just hope that we can all pull through this year somehow.

Happy Niu Year to you too!

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Sergio Mendes Concert

Sergio Mendes (Picture taken from the Singapore Sun Festival website)

I just caught the Sergio Mendes concert (“Infectious Rhythms, Irresistible Melodies“) that was brought by the Singapore Sun Festival. Ivan’s dad had tickets that were sponsored by DBS, and invited me to catch it with him, his wife, and Ivan. Although I don’t often listen to samba bossa nova music, I thought it would be good to watch this Grammy Award-winning music legend live in concert, and learn more about his music.

The concert took place at the Esplanade Concert Hall, and lasted for about 1.5 hours (there was no intermission). We were lucky to get stall seats that usually cost $128 each, so we got a good view of Sergio and his band. Sergio was accompanied by a cast of singers and percussionists, and he brought us through a musical journey filled with Brazilian bossa nova pieces (e.g., “Girl of Ipanema”), popular songs arranged in bossa nova styles (e.g., The Beatles’ “Fool on the Hill” and Burt Bucharach’s “The Look of Love”),and a show case of instrumental Brazillian samba music. Of course, the concert was not complete without “Mas Que Nada”, Sergio’s most well known piece, and that was sung as an encore piece.

Sergio’s music is very rich with syncopated rhythms, and I found myself tapping along with his arrangements. The singers were well chosen, but I did feel that their voices were drowned by the drums and percussion instruments. Sergio also introduced some rap elements in his concert, which i didn’t quite enjoy that (but then again, that’s me, because I don’t like rap music). Somehow, I found the Esplanade hall unsuitable for his music. For one, the acoustics of the place seemed to accentuate loud sounds and drown softer ones. The other thing I felt was that Sergio’s music was meant for people to dance along to, and I think the environment in the Esplanade is just too stiff and enclosed for this to happen. Perhaps somewhere bigger like the Singapore Indoor Stadium might be more suitable for Sergio’s music.

Visit to HDB

Okay, I know this sounds very unromantic. He hasn’t proposed formally, but I thought it will be good to start looking for a house first. I am just very worried that houses get so expensive that by the time he did, we wouldn’t have enough money to own a house. Recently, there were some left over units from Strathmore avenue in Queenstown, and we went to e-ballot for it. Not sure when the results will be out. I also thought it will be good to take a look at how new HDB flats look like now, and both of us just went to the HDB hub to have a look. There were some sample designs of 2 to 5 room apartments. I took some photos, and these can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos.

I was disappointed with the sizes of the apartments. I dont mind the small kitchen areas, but It seems that the master bedrooms,living areas and balconies were downsized. Flats have shrunk. Sigh.

Holiday: Siem Reap Cambodia

I went to Siem Reap for a holiday with Claire, Huiling, and Phil. Details of the vacation can be found in my new blog site here!

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Dark Knight

Dark Knight Poster (taken from wikipedia)

Ivan had discounts to watch movie at Cathay Cinemas, so we went to catch “Dark Knight”, starring Christian Bale (Batman), Gary Oldman (James Gordon) , Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent), Maggie Gallenhaal (Rachel Dawes) and the late Heath Ledger (the Joker). We caught the 425 pm show.

I wasn’t a comic book fan, and I went to watch this show as Ivan’s companion. I had read reviews that Ledger’s version of the Joker was the most chilling so far, so I was curious about the actor’s performance before his death this year.

I wouldn’t say the show wowed me, perhaps because I did not really find anything new about the plot. I mean for most action hero movie, it’s always good guy meet bad guy, bad guy has the lead over bad guy, and the good guy later wins. Okay, Batman’s girlfriend died in the end, but I am not sure why, I didn’t really feel that it was a pity.  Ledger’s performance was chilling indeed, but according to Ivan (who read the comic books), the Joker’s explanation for his scars and his madness did not match the accounts in the comic books.  This was, I am sorry to say, just another movie.

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