Yung Tau Fu

Yung Tau Fu and many other spelling of it.

I am referring to one famous stall in Hawker Center/Food Courts here in Singapore. I am a curious cat and I always like trying out new stuffs. This has been on my list when I ran out of choices in Hawker, but was too shy to try out before. I was scared that i cannot do the sign language when ordering this in case they talk to me in Mandarin. One day however, I braved myself to try it. It was easier than I expect it to be. The steps:
1. get a bowl and a thong, and go to the area where the different veggies and Stuffed Tau fu are. Start picking up whatever stuff you fancy. Minimum would be around 5-7 pcs. Prices is per pc of veggie or tau fu. I think the cheapest you can get here in Singapore is 30 cents. Price range would be around 30 to 70 cents. I haven't tried most places yet, but so far that's the prices I got.
2. After taking what you want, give your bowl to the counter, and they will cook it for you. They will ask you if you want soup or dry, and if you want noodles or rice to go with it.
3. Wait for your food to cook

Easy right? It's a clear soup, you can eat it with Sambal or some chili sauce. More of yung tau fu here and here.

And of course, being the dreamer as I am, I wanted to make my own yung tau fu. Since I just mostly choose veggies and fish balls, I tried to make it at home.

Ingredients:
broccoli
spinach
fish ball
fish sauce/light soya sauce/regular soy sauce
chicken stock concentrate/chicken stock cubes
roasted/fried shallots
spring onion
sambal
water

i'll leave the quantity to your choice

very easy procedure:
1. boil the water
2. when water is boiling, add in the veggies and fish ball(you may want to add in the veggies that takes time to cook first so as not to overcook the others) I noticed that broccoli is not that hard to cook so it goes together with the other veggies
3. wait for it to boil again and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add in chicken cubes/chicken stock, light soya sauce depending on how you want your soup flavoured
5. once done, transfer to a bowl, top with roasted shallots and/or spring onion - this is optional
6. serve with sambal - this is also optional

Itadakimasu!

so how?

1 year here in my company...

i never really expected that i will be able to work here that long...

i learned to be more mature. my officemate were of different nationalities, different languages, different age(i got no batchmate here and all are older than me) and different educational attainment(phd, masters and of course a degree).

i learned to be more independent. despite the fact that i have been living away from my family when i was in cebu, being in a different country is far more different. i even manage to go to the airport alone and travel to sg for the first time.

i learned how it is to go through interviews and exams once again. my previous company in cebu was the first one where i had an interview during college. that time i was not really taking it very seriously like i'd prepare a lot of things just to pass it. but my experience here is very stressful. waiting for calls from agents and companies, desperately learning everything just to pass the interview and get a job. that time, i was desperately trying to get a job. i am my family's source of income and i cannot stand not having a steady income.

i learned to be strong and sacrifice. as in real sacrifice.

i learned more of shell scripting. i was working in unix/linux environment mostly when i am in cebu, but i never touched it. i merely code and use the existing makefile whatsoever. i still prefer gui, but trust me, once you know scripting, you'll love it.

i learned that i love to be surrounded by friends, but i can be alone if i don't have them. i thought going here in sg would be fun coz most of the aprilfools are here, but then i realized all are having their own lives. i am lucky that we got internet and i was able to connect to two aprilfools whom i can easily bug when i need someone to talk to. i appreciate the cheap international call to philippines as well as i can talk to my friends and my family often.

i learned to be mature most specially. or maybe it goes with age =p but i was happy that i was able to prioritize my unnecessary wants to a more significant wants. sg has a lot of gadgets and sale. given the money, anything is almost accessible here. but of course, despite the fact that i wanted a mac or the very thin vaio or an slr so much, i learned to control and focused on something more important which is my family.

i learned to bake here. and it's something that i really enjoy. it's a therapy really. any food here is readily available. but of course the taste differs. that's why i was really happy that i can now afford even the cheap oven and some cheap baking stuffs.

i learned that i love thai. its sweet and spicy. i love sweet foods. ilonggo adobo is the best for me. thai, japanese, indonesian, indian foods are available in sg for a cheap price. even cheaper than mcdo and kfc. the variety of food is heaven for me as i love to try anything. so now everyone knows why i gained lots of pounds =p

i learned to eat spicy food or eat with chili party. it's like a soy sauce with lots of sliced chilies. i like eating fish soup with it, and i love my chicken rice with dark soy sauce mixed with a little chili.

i learned that i can never go tired of eating chicken. i had 4 days of kfc for dinner once. i love to cook lechon manok at home.

i learned to love coffee. the strong one with milk.

i learned that even if i do not show it, i love my family so much. despite the difficulties, i still cannot stand my siblings. even if what i am doing was wrong tolerating them, i still cannot leave them behind and not help them. first time i felt homesick. a few days before and after my birthday i cried for consecutive nights because i miss them. i cried really hard when i got a card from nanay and read their message to me. birthday is a big deal for me. i wanted to make everyone feel happy on their birthdays which is why i was trying to give surprises or buy them cakes or greet at midnight because i thought it's nice to feel loved. i wanted the same way on my birthday. but i also learned i can let it go if i dont get treated the same way i do.

i am thankful that i went here. i was able to go to uk because of my job.
i am thankful that soi and i are not in long distance relationship. we see each other everyday.
i am thankful that i get along well with soi's brother.
and i am really thankful that i was able to help my family. one thing that i am really happy of is i was able to give my parents a general check up and we can now sustain their medicines.

life here was not easy. sometimes i feel homesick and depress. i don't know if it's just because of the circumstances or it is really the place that i feel depress. i never felt depress in cebu. now i can understand why a lot of people here commit suicide. sometimes it is just so boring.

despite the fact that i earn more here, it's the first time i felt so poor. i spent so much on my trip home last december.

soi even tolerated me. i spent most of my salary preparing for gifts. soi spent all his money to buy gifts for my family as well and even gave me money to spend home. come Christmas, then new year, then my birthday and i dont have enough money. it was heartbreaking withdrawing some of my savings just to buy some things for the new year and for my birthday. i canceled my planned kiddie party for my birthday and and opted for a simpler dinner.

my experience here was really life changing. it made me close to my family, to our youngest sister, to soi and to his brother. i learned to dream bigger. it was not easy living here. financially it was actually more difficult. it's just that we never forget to enjoy thru good food or good movie or some gadget buys. the whole year soi and i was like huffing. hurrying the days that our financial obligations will be over but i guess it does not end that soon.

expenses here in sg are quite high. the rent itself is a major deductions to our payroll. we sometimes slip from the budget with some impulsive buys but i guess that made our stay here sane. if not, we would probably be overstressed by the expenses back home and expenses here in sg.

my security on staying here in sg is still not sure. i still got the job, but my stay here still depends on their government of course. i tried my very best to get that security but i was not granted the favor. i just hope i can stay here longer.

this place might not like be cebu where i felt at home, but for now i dont want to leave either.

Please help :)

I am reposting my friend's request regarding this:

---
Need your help on my Survey on Social Network Systems

Hello Everyone.

As part of our research on Multi-agent Based Intelligent Social Networks, we are conducting a survey on Social Networking Systems and Technology.

The goal of this survey is to get information on your experience, preference and opinion on current social networks. We also want to know your knowledge on social network technology.
**No personal information is collected in the survey except for Age, Occupation and Location.
The rest is about Social Networks like facebook,etc.. **

The survey takes about 2 to 4 minutes to answer.

Here is the link to the survey:
http://gii.nagaokaut.ac.jp/~noel/survey/Survey.php

Please feel free to forward this survey invitation to those who might be interested.

Thank you very much for your support.

---

super late

we were all very tired last night from the very long walk around chinatown(will create a different post for this) that i woke up very late this morning. adding insult to the injury is i don't have pants for use so i have to iron one after taking a bath. i thought i can afford leaving the haus around 845 and take the train but i was wrong. it was already 9am when we left the haus. we were waiting for taxi for almost 15minutes, so soi told me to just call for one. the operator told me to wait for 5 minutes, and around 2 minutes after making the call, i received a call which i assumed is the driver. i was right. it was the driver confirming where i am waiting.

the taxi arrived minutes later. he is an old chinese, with white hair. he said his name is albert c*a*. i can remember it well i guess because it is similar to my tatay's boss family name ehehe. upon sitting, he greeted me with "magandang umaga". I just smiled and greeted a good morning back at him. he started chatting and i felt comfortable talking to him. he said he learned tagalog from a pinay maid of his sister. from then i forgot that it is almost 930 and i am still not in the office hehe

then he asked me if i knew matt monroe. together with my "yes" as an answer to his question i remembered my father. he asked me if i am familiar with "Born Free" by Matt Monroe. I said yes and he said, "let me sing you a song". A romantic love song as what he called it. Without hesitation, and without my permission, he turned on his cd to play Matt Monroe's music. Not that I would disagree of course. I wouldn't mind listening to him anyway. As he sing this song:

Portrait of my love

There could never be a portrait of my love
For nobody could paint a dream
You will never see a portrait of my love
For miracles are never seen.

Anyone who sees her, soon forgets the Mona Lisa

It would take I know, a Michaelangelo
And he would need the glow of dawn that paints the sky above
To try and paint a portrait of my love

It would take I know, a Michaelangelo
And he would need the glow of dawn that paints the sky above,
To try and paint a portrait of my love


I was smiling because he really reminded me of my father. tatay would always ask me to buy him a cd of Matt Monroe or songs similar to his. when he had a player that has a mic input, he asked me to buy him a vcd of Matt Monroe and on special days or just on normal days, he would play those cds and sing with it.

Uncle has a good voice. He sings really well actually. After the song, he told me he was featured on several newspapers and on several TV shows. He even mentioned that there is one coming from National Geographic but they still don't know the date yet. As we are approaching the last block to the office, we were caught in a jam, so he told me he wanted to sing yet another song for me. He chose this one:

"Love Is A Many Splendid Thing"

It's the April rose that only grows in the early Spring.
Love is nature's way of give a reason to be living:
The golden crown that makes man a king.
Once on a high and windy hill,
In the morning mist, two lovers kissed,
And the world stood still.
Then your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing.
Yes, true love's a many-splendoured thing!

Once on a high and windy hill,
In the morning mist, two lovers kissed,
And the world stood still.
Then your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing.
Yes, true love's a many-splendoured thing!

He finished the song just in time we are about to enter the gate. It was also the time that I realized again that I was late hahaha. As he dropped me off our lobby, I smiled at him and told him that he made me smile with his songs and he reminded me of my tatay.

He was glad and we wished each other a good day.

Honestly, it gave me a good start for the day. I even posted it as a status message.

However! hehehe soi went online and was intrigued by my status. he asked me who did it to me. selos? =p seriously though, he does not like it. hehehe I just can't stop laughing because it was really nothing for me. and, this is just one of the rare cases that he does this =p

seriously, he really thought the uncle was flirting with me! I told him he is just like a father to me, but still he insisted that the man was flirting. Well he was not able to hear the whole story yet and maybe was surprised by my status, so there. My bad because I did not told me. I don’t have that much time either because we just both arrived at the office =p I was suppose to blog about this right after i arrive at the office but it gave me a second thought coz it might piss him more. but he is okay now. i just told him that the man was harmless, really. well for me at least. he will not have those good articles in the newspaper if he is a bad man right? if ever he is flirting, i dont think i would tolerate it as well. he just reminds me of my tatay that's why i loved listening to him. i was even teary eyed because i remembered tatay would sing it to nanay and lambing her.

but really, it was sweet of him to do it. he mentioned he keeps on doing it to his passenger even to a small kid, and to a mom with kids. maybe soi was just acting "overprotective" as how he puts it =p i can't blame him also :D a man singing to a girl is really something. that's why truly love it when i am taking my sweet time dressing up, and he would wait outside, playing some songs on the guitar, and when i come out he would sing for me ;)

Yes, true love's a many-splendoured thing!

=)

cny

i noticed that most of the people here are fond of making abbreviations.
cny is for chinese new year
tpy for toa payoh
amk for ang mo kio
ntuc instead of calling it fairprice

those are just a few example.

anyways, my seatmate asked me earlier where i am buying our groceries. i explained that sometimes i buy it in supermarket/groceries, and if we have some time or woke up early, we would go at the market or wet market. then she told me, that this weekend is not a good time to go. most people are going to groceries and markets as well for 2 reasons.
1. buy stuffs for cny
2. stock up foods since during cny, stores are closed. they are closed for 2 days(next week monday and tuesday)

it's my first cny. no plans yet. no out of the country plans or whatsoever. we were invited to a party on monday and that's it. i guess i wanted to enjoy my 4 day weekend at home or doing other stuffs than going out. i am also planning to bake something that auntie has been telling me. i think i have most of the ingredients with me except for the rhum and mixed spice and of course eggs.

so for those who have not prepared yet for their foods, and for those who are just staying at homes, you should do some groceries. we definitely have to. there are 7 people to feed and we are having more than 3 meals per day, not including the snacks hahah. another option is to go to chinatown. i heard they are having a lot of stalls there selling different stuffs and foods.

in singa

i have been here in singa for almost a year now. i have been wanting to create posts on places that i have been, places i wanted to go to, guests we had here, and specially on the restos i explored since my PL is quite keen on having group lunch and trying out restaurants near our office. i got several on my list, but since i have been wanting to put it in my multiply, i have been postponing posting it in blogspot.

after several drafts in my email, and several attempts on posting them on my multiply at home, i gave up and decided to put it in blogspot since i can access it in the office(but i can't access multiply here :( )

i wanted to merge it on my personal blog, but after seeing my link to my japan's business trip before, i decided to create a new one.
note: while writing the reason, i have also thought, what if i create one on my UK's business trip too? :D