Zoo Monkeys of our Time

Last weekend, we went to the Singapore Zoo. Along with the standard creatures, like the warthog above, the zoo presents some fantastically cute modern day monkeys. Below is the 80s tribute white mulleted tiny-faced monkey.The stressed out, unhealthy diet leading to hemorrhoids monkey.The high-maintenance done-up big-tailed monkey.

And finally the, white-faced, "does-this fruit make my tail look fat" monkey.

Faux Pocky

Pocky, the famous Japanese snack food, has inspired admiration and imitation. And gender-specific flavours, such as "bitter" for men. Below is the lesser-known Malaysian "Rocky", which Barry enjoys in pink.

And the sexier Korean "Pepero nude" shows amazing innovation but putting the chocolate on the inside! Wild!

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Echoes of Melaka

Despite its Unesco World Heritage status, Melaka did not awe us with its splendors. Most of what it offers, we've seen before, such as Chinese temples,with figurines of Buddha-esque dudes draped in minimal clothing in weird positions,historic shop houses,and signs bearing huge feet. We did learn of Melaka's pirating history. This, however, had strange effects on us...I attempted, but failed, a pirate imitation with sunglasses substituting for the eye patch.

And Barry simply turned into a zombie:

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Nemo: Found!

Last weekend we went to Cairns, Australia, to visit our favourite ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef. They call it "Great", because when you go there, you enter the fantastical world, as shown above with Barry's captions. We didn't take pictures, so as to avoid drowning, but we saw the following fish: starfish, clownfish (nemo), parrotfish, wrasses, groupers, sea slugs, a loggerhead turtle, giant clams, angel fish, cutttlefish, and all the other fish that exist! My favourite fish, the parrotfish, and my favourite snorkellers are shown below. Did you know that clams can exceed a metre in length?No pictures of me in a wetsuit need be shown, but here is my reef-induced joy.

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Enduring Beauty

Melaka, known for its historic sites, is also home to the Enduring Beauty Museum. Conveniently housed in a scorchingly non-airconditioned building with the kite and 3D museums (bring your own 3D glasses), this exhibit shows what various people do in the name of beauty. Modern exhibits, featuring Botox, stilettos and silicone leakage are undoubtedly forthcoming.This person demonstrates the supreme stretchiness of lip skin.

Above are some tiny slippers for bound, broken and gimped-up Chinese feet, which bear a striking resemblance to today's high heels. And finally, below is what a hot young idle British noblemen wore to impress the ladies.

Telhado Faltante

Ruins of the Convento do Carmo ruins in Lisbon. Ruins of the Portuguese Cathedral of Saint Paul in Macau.Ruins of the St. Paul's Portuguese church, Melaka. I feel that the roofing labourers of colonial Portugal may have been lacking.

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Family Durian Addendum

Two more parents have now tried Durian, of which one was a moderate fan. See if you can tell which one.

Family Durian Tasting

One thing you can enjoy as a family is sampling the king of smelly fruits. It can only help with bonding, what could possibly go wrong? Here is my mom enjoying the new flavours.

During my first taste of durian, I am demonstrating my delicious face.

My dad liked it most of all!

So Barry ate the rest. It's an acquired taste, and we're working on it.

Dogfood in an Indian Parade

This is the story of how I participated in an Indian parade carrying a can of dog food. One night a few months ago, we spotted an unidentifiable glowing vehicle, resembling a chariot, driving down our street accompanied by loud chanting. We had no idea, even after asking around, whether this was an Indian or Chinese tradition, or perhaps a shared hallucination. Then, the other night, we saw this, complete with police escort:

It appeared to be the same thing, however, before we could chase it, it got away. Then, we went out to feed the local stray dog. We can't help it, he's cute, and the French restaurant that normally feeds him was closed. Lo and behold, when we went out, the vision was back! This time, we gave chase. Though we tried to remain unseen, not knowing if this was some kind of funeral, we were seized by an Indian man in robes, who stopped traffic so that we could join the mysterious procession. Here is what we saw. It turns out this is for a lesser sea-oriented Hindu festival called Maasi Magam. Which, of course has nothing to do with our previous magic chariot sighting, so the mystery remains unsolved. Those tricky Hindus. And all this time, I was carrying dog food.

Our buddy was happy about that.

This week: Custard, Soap and Mullets

The fruit of the week is the yummy custard apple. I recommend that more fruits consider a custard form, and look forward to the invention of custard peach and custard cherry.The candy of the week is Japanese DIY ice-cream cone icing candy! Fun, pretty, yet sadly tastes like soap.Finally, the restaurant of the week is Sunset Grill in Singapore's oddly rural North. It's quiet, it's dark, and they serve burgers with coleslaw! Preposterous! Unheard of! I expect someone wearing plaid and a mullet to drive up in a pickup, 4x4 in the back, at any minute.

Cannibalism or Cuisine?

What is Laura eating, and is it still alive?It is Tulang Sop, a Singaporean/Indian dish of mutton bones, curry sauce and red #5. Yes, it's cooked, and no, that's not blood. What you do is you suck the bone marrow with a straw like so. (Satay in other hand for double-fisted meat-eating is optional).

Seriously. Marrow. Straw.

Sound good? It is, actually, fabulous! Novel, creamy, fun, meaty, mild curry sauce. I recommend trying it with any mutton bones you may have at home.(These photos not colour-enhanced, food shown actual colour).