Thursday, 23 September 2010

The Story of J (Introduction)

Beginnings

It all began with a book.

Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and his ideas on how to remove yourself from the "Rat Race". It never occurred to this individual that his ideas applied to real estate and the laws governing this apllies only in USA.
It also never occurred to this individual that life will bring about lots of distractions and problems to hinder his progress to attain "Financial Freedom".

So it was thus that J was recommended to read this book and so it was on this fine day,  his goals in life were established and changed.

And he was happy, inspired and very much excited for what lay before him.

Getting to know J

Simple best describes J.

There is nothing at all interesting about him. He lives a simple and subdued existence and as the beginning of this story, is 23 years old and is serving National Service in Singapore.

His life has been one simple brainless ride all the way up till this point. He's dropped out of polytechnic after 2 years, not able to make it in a course decided by a coin toss between interest and security. Enrolled into National Service soon after and has always sided with the outcasts in school.

He doesn't smoke, drinks a little and at this juncture, is inspired to write a fictional high fantasy novel during his free time in the service. He loves video games and comic books, can live for extended periods of time away from social activities and is currently in his prime in terms of health and weight.

Looks wise, he's also just a regular Joe. You won't notice him in a crowd and you certainly won't want to flirt with him if given a chance. He doesn't have the aptitude to be particularly witty nor the charisma of a well bred noble. He does not have a great singing voice nor particular superiority in sports. He's just J....

His Friends

At this juncture, he has 3 long time friends.

M - A most irritating person who revels in sophistication, philosophy and delights in sounding high bred to the uninformed. In reality, he's a wonderful person who craves companionship and true friendship above all else. Despite meeting J in less then amicable situations and being treated with outright hostility, has somehow decided that J is a worthwhile friend to have. Maybe M's just a sadomasochist but that's difficult to tell. He's recently earned his Masters and will be moving on to greater things.

Al - Absolutely brilliant and smart. Al has been friends with J for the better part of 13 years at this time. Al is an enigma who obviously went through alot during his University life in Australia but came back changed and forever inspiring. The initial years of friendship were tumultuous with plenty animosity to go around but life has a sense of humor. He's always been there for J when it counts and J never forgets. AL is currently in the final stages of getting his PHD and is now officially an Australian.

AN - Another chance encounter that had lasted many years. Essentially from a completely different spectrum from J, AN belonged with the popular crowd in school but fate brought the 2 together and through repeated castings, forged a strong friendship based on many untold similarities. Another unlikely friendship from an unlikely time. AN currently works for a huge company and has a first class honors from a local institute. Great things await this person.

So how does a simple person like J get such high achieving friends?

How does this all play out and what is the purpose of this story?

That will be revealed with the next post for stories on The Story of J  (Revelation and Reality)

Wednesday, 1 September 2010

Club Med Bintan Pt 1 (Pictures and Captions)

Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal

Melancholy of Travel
Bintan Resort Pool
Bintan Resort Pool View 2
Outstretched Pavilion and Boundless Ocean
Watering Hole (Beers, Cocktails and Mocktails)



Pathway to Room
Our Room!!!
Simple and all encompassing
Seaview Bed
Television, Stereo and a Relax Coach
Coach with Seaview
Balcony
Flying trapeze (Yes, you can do it too)
The charming night view
Pre Buffet Buffet
Buffet with Singaporeans all around
Ocean
Spent hours just lazing around....seriously

Pu Tien Pt 2

I've previously reviewed this restaurant before and you can find my thoughts on it here.  The address and branch visited is exactly the same but i must admit this post is long overdue. The impression it left remains as it was a rather important day that i chose this place for. To be precise, i chose it for my future-in-laws and my family to meet and give their blessings for the marriage to come.

Since i've reviewed this place before, i guess i'll just go right into the food. To be honest, most of the stuff is above average with some just missing the mark. 

Notable positive mentions include the squirrel fish with its sweet and fresh meat which somehow managed to retain its texture despite frying, the sweet and sour pork which had adequate crunch and tenderness of the meat. The downside here is, if you have both dishes in one meal, the sweetness overwhelms so food combination is very important.

The honey glazed pork got great fans that day. Equal parts fat and lean meat, its braised to melt in your mouth tenderness without being overly dry. Again, as this was all in one meal, this sweetness really began to get to the guests.

The shredded pork meat bun retained its previous quality but i do wonder if its overly tenderized due to the rubbery texture. Still, this is a worthwhile dish to try.

The homemade beancurd had a nice soft quivery texture hidden within a thin beancurd covering. Melts in your mouth, not on your chopsticks while the final worthy dish went to the deep fried yam with duck which was a little salty but had a fragrant combination of yam and duck. The yam did overshadow the taste of the duck in this case though.

Seafood fried rice turned out a tad too dry for me. However, some liked it and felt this is how fried rice should be, dryish and lean. I prefer fried rice that doesn't give me the impression it was left overnight though. Personal preference.

The Xinghua bee hoon tasted as good as it had previously but i guess the beauty is lost in my second try with a bigger group of people. Its just one of those things where the first experience is the best with subsequent visits beginning to lose their appeal.
Overall, this place is still worthy of a visit. Enjoy the pictures below.

Deep Fried Squirrel Fish ($32)
Pu Tien's Sweet and Sour Pork ($15)
Seafood Fried Rice ($10)
Shredded Pork Meat Bun ($36)
Fried Pig Trotter with Pepper ($15.20)
Xinghua Bee Hoon ($12)
Pu Tien's Homemade Beancurd ($12)
Deep Fried Duck with Yam ($30)
Honey Glazed Pork ($30)
 Bill