Taking a break

Roseline and I managed to take a short break last weekend. Yes, you are right - we needed to re-charge! Went to Singapore via Senai. Sis came to pick us. I felt so relaxed with two super women in the front! We went to Kopitiam for dinner. Yong Tau Foo is one of Roseline's favourite dish. Look at the selection - you'll be spoilt by the choices! The Kopitiam card is a dining stored value card with 10% discount for every purchase! Clever marketing - pay first, eat later! I couldn't resist the high cholesterol oysters omelette! The teh-c and kopi-o were awesome! The mee pok was so-so only. Kampua is still the best! At Plaza Singapura we seized the opportunity to watch the musical movie Mama Mia. The movie brought back sweet memories for Roseline as the Abba songs reminded her of her students days in the UK. I was thrown out of orbit when Meryl Streep did her version of The Winner Takes It All. I didn't realize the 2-time Oscar winner could sing like that! This is so far the best movie we've watched this year and I highly recommend it to those who are in my age group!
On Sunday we worshipped at Paya Lebar Methodist Church. It's a beautiful church and I could feel the presence of God's grace and love there. After service Mabel (a close friend of sis) brought us to a restaurant at Serangoon famous for its chicken rice. We ordered additional dishes of mixed of Tofu mixed vegetables and Ngo Hiang. The bill was less than S$38 which I thought was value-for-money for four persons. I am recommending this restaurant.

We were also at VivoCity. There was a maddening crowd - did you say times are bad, excuse me... what recession? Daiso is one of our everyone's favourite shop - every item at S$2! At Senai airport, we had a light snack before flying back to Miri yesterday. So tell me, when was the last time you took a break?

Tofu Fa

Homemade tofu fa! My cell group member Jennifer sprang a delightful surprise last night when she presented the delicious dessert which my wife has been wanting to learn how to make! Made from soya bean, tofu fa is a popular Chinese treat. It is a favourite dessert yet many people hesitate to have it homemade. Why? Because there are just too many steps and time-consuming! And moreover it is quite tricky and if the scums are not properly filtered out, the end result is you might not get a smooth tofu fa.

What can I say about sister Jennifer? She's simply amazing!

Celebrating Pastor Connie's birthday

Today our cell group organized a potbless lunch to celebrate Pastor Connie's birthday - she was caught off-guard completely and very touched! I think this is one surprise she will treasure and remember for a long, long time.

Happy birthday Pastor! May our Lord bless you mightily always!

Since the beginning of this year, the young and dynamic pastor has been in charge of Senadin Methodist Campus Gospel Centre (SMCGC). The good shepherd is doing a wonderful job for Christ and we are so proud of her!
In line with Chinese tradition, Pastor Connie was served with a bowl of mee suah and a hard boiled egg cooked in authentic Foochow chicken soup with red wine. My wife Roseline was away in Sibu for the past few days and she was able to buy the finest mee suah for today's special occasion.

Mee suah is traditionally served during auspicious events like birthdays, anniversaries and on the first day of the Lunar New Year because it signifies longevity.

It is not easy to prepare a five-star, mee suah chicken soup - even the best ingredients may not guarantee you a satisfactory outcome. I'm one of the remaining few who know the closely-guarded secret recipe, xD.

I was nearly thrown out of orbit when the three superchefs (Joyce, John, Jennifer) in my cell group cooked dishes that could only be appropriately labelled as imperial cuisine! A new friend also joined us for lunch. Noel is a new worshipper at my church and we're very happy to welcome this brother-in-Christ from Seoul.

Mooncake Making Fever

Following the demo at SMCGC last Saturday, the mooncake making fever has finally caught up with my wife! Yesterday Roseline took the opportunity to introduce the traditional Chinese confection in her day care centre through experiential learning. In preparation for the younger group, Roseline prepared the colloquial ping pi "ice-skin" in advance at home.

I couldn't agree more when Aristotle said:

"The things we have to learn before we do them, we learn by doing them."

The children were awed by the ping pi. Some liked kneading it - some were intimidated by its stickiness!
Here they are - the imperfection is perfect!
The older group had their turn in the afternoon. Because of their age and finer motor skills, the mooncakes turned out to be more 'professionally' done! I think the kids will remember this experience for the rest of their lives! Do you have an indelible preschool experience to share? I'd love to hear from you!

Yappy Kopitiam

I drove across the border to Bandar Seri Begawan on Monday night to take a short break (and a little indulgence). Though Brunei is not a gastronomic destination, there is this delightful Chinese cafe that I enjoy patronizing and yet have procrastinated to blog about it.

The Yappy Kopitiam is a family-owned eatery, or rather owned and managed by the indomitable, petite Yap sisters! I've known the wonderful Yap family since the late 80's (three out of the five sisters married my dear friends). But in all fairness, will I allow "guanxi" to cloud my two cents? Never mind, I'll just share my experience.

Opened last November, Yappy Kopitiam is located at the corner of a nondescript row of shops, adjacent to the Kiulap Plaza Hotel. It is not easy to find if you are not familiar with Kiulap area. Fear not - you can find some more write-up, photos and a good location map by a Brunei blogger here. The single ground floor unit cafe has its seating capacity limitation because of its partitioned aircon and non-aircon zones. But this disadvantage is easily overcome by the warmth and friendliness every patron will experience. For the first timer, you will be impressed by its cleanliness (including in the toilets - very important point) and an ambience reminiscent of the yesteryears coffee shop. There are also modern conveniences like free wi-fi and Astro tv to accomodate today's savvy consumers.
From the substantial menu, you will be spoiled for choices on Chinese and local food. No pork or pork-related ingredients are used. Each order is an individual plate serving; but any variations can always be arranged, Irene Yap smiled as she told me. We always try our best to use the freshest ingredients and keep the prices affordable despite rising costs, added the dynamic entrepreneur. What can I say - every time I visit the cafe I witness a good crowd. Good food, fair price and good service; a definitive recipe for long term success! These are my close friends. I have known them since 1990 and it was a rare opportunity that we could meet and have a cup of coffee together. Yappy Kopitiam's address is:
Unit 4, Ground Floor
Seri Anigma Building
Kg Kiulap, BE1518
Bandar Seri Begawan
Brunei Darussalam
Tel +673 2232168

Reservations are not a must, but it's better if you called because of limited seats. I hope you find this post useful; let me know about your experience and any other great places to eat in Brunei.

How to make mooncakes

SMCGC organized a DIY mooncake-making session ahead of next Sunday's Mid-Autumn Festival. Roseline and I were at their centre last night to pick up some tips.

We were impressed with Louis who demonstrated his mooncake-making prowess much to the delight of those who were present. It was an eye-opener for me as I observed how he made the non-traditional "ping pi or ice skin" type. The filling Louis used was red bean paste which is now widely sold at bakery shops or supermarkets.

Louis had confidence and poise even though it was his first "public performance"!

Roseline couldn't wait to try after observing how the delicate "skin" was done.

It was fun and the fellowship was awesome!

Everyone had a go at it!

Being at the right place at the right time!

The end-results were gratifying!

Roseline and Pastor Connie showing off their results!