Whale sharks!

Whale shark season was on so we (with Aleksi, Craig, Kelvin and Talia) decided to go out there for a weekend with Black Manta again.

This time dive spots were 7 Skies wreck, Batu Kotaka, Tokong Melangbin and Igara wreck.

It was season and I havent seen whale sharks before so whole trip was loaded with lot of expectations. Additionally during last couple of weeks whale sharks have been spotted these dive sites which promised good for us.

First dive on first spot (7 Skies) and there it was! Just below us. Big, calm and beautiful. After few minutes another chap appeared from the depths and stayed with us about 10 minutes. These fellows were still juveniles and only 5-6 meters, but still...Absolutely lovely creatures!





Rest of the dives were ok, especially Igara wreck, but after whale sharks everything felt somehow a bit lame. Even giant lobster during our night dive.




Thanks to Talia for all the pictures.

Spooky Night Safari

The Night Safari Halloween Specials was quite a nightmare. The queues and crowd were pretty insane. We wasted 2 hours waiting in line for a 3 minute haunted house. It was a good thing we filled out our KFC cups with booze.

But I do have to say, despite the ridiculous waiting times, it was all pretty well done. But the truth is, once is enough. No more Night Safari on Halloween. Also not a very big fan of the Night Safari, I think the day zoo is way better...

I light marina bay

It's been a while since we did something out of our usual routine on a week night. We decided to take a nice romantic walk at Marina Bay, where the light festival is held. The exhibits were not spectacular, but I'd say it's a good start to something better.

Crispy Tender Chicken Leg

The house chef is taking a break today. I, the wannabe is fixing dinner. There are only a few dishes that I can whip up without referring to a cookbook and this is one of them. The best thing about this dish, apart from the fact that it is yummy and healthy, it is very easy to prepare and there's very little washing involved.

Serves 2
2 or 3 large fresh chicken legs (depends on how much you can eat)
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes (halved)
3 big tomatoes (cut into quarters)
2 carrots (sliced to about 1 cm thick)
2 fresh corn (remove kernels from the cob)
1 bulb of garlic (crushed with skin on)
handful of fresh basil
dried mixed herbs

Put all the vegetables and most garlic in a medium size the roasting pan. Drizzle some olive oil, and sprinkle some salt and pepper and dried mixed herbs on the vegetables. Mash remaining garlic and stuff it under the chicken skin. Spread olive oil, salt and pepper under the skin and rub it all over the chicken. Put it in the oven at 175°C for an hour and a half.

That's it.

It's a happy riding day

Since I bought my pretty little bike, I have been practicing cycling in the estate before I venture to the main road. The past few weeks were filled with bruises, sweat and tears.

Today, I have officially used Bianca as a mode of transport. Yay!

From Sami's at Tiong Bahru, we cycled to Dempsey for brunch at House. It was a relatively short ride, about 20mins, although a regular cyclist will most likely get there in 10. There were many uphills and somehow I could not keep the handlebar straight as I struggled to peddle with all my might.

Our lunch was pretty pricey, portions were quite small and taste just ok. Although Sami's Ahi Taki Salad (greens with ahi tuna) was pretty outstanding. My Eggs Benedict was pretty boring. Nothing compared to the awesome Eggs Ben at Wild Honey.

Proof that I really did go somewhere.

Home-made Frozen Food

It was a pretty ridiculous thing to be excited about – a trip to the Tiong Bahru Market (which is 2 mins walk from Sami's). Since he moved in 2 weekends ago, we just never managed to wake up early enough to get there before the stalls close. We kinda also needed a reason to be there, so bolognaise sauce it is. It's easy, yummy and versatile. Our intention was to make a big pot so we can keep the leftovers in the freezer for a quick and easy weekday dinner.

500g minced beef
500g minced pork
4 carrots (finely diced)
3 celery sticks (finely diced)
2 white onions (finely diced)
1 bulb garlic (finely diced)
3 cans chopped tomatoes
1 bottle cheapest red wine you can find
(I got Wolf Blass' Cab Sauv for $15.40)
5 pcs of anchovies
salt
sugar
olive oil

In a big pot, fry the chopped vegetables and anchovies with some olive oil, then add the meats, stirring and splitting the meat as you go. When the meat is cooked, add the red wine and chopped tomatoes, stirring occasionally. Add some salt and sugar to taste.
Let it simmer on low heat for about 3 hours.

After the long wait, we had our big pasta meal and packed the leftover sauce into 3 Ziploc Quart bags. The entire pot could feed about 10 people, I reckon.

Singapore F1 Night Race

I know nothing about the F1. To me, it's just fast cars driving round and round and there's a lot of champagne wasted at the end of it. This is the 2nd year Singapore is hosting the F1 Night Race, and being Singaporean, it's kinda sad to not experience such a high-profile sporting event when it's just a 5 minute cab ride away.

See! I am more interested in taking pictures of our passes than cars!

My conclusion is, I won't pay to watch another F1 race, if the ticket's free, or if we get entry to the pitstop, then, Yah Sure. But of course, my review is biased, coz i have absolutely zero interest in fast cars. I'm interested to check out the hot drivers, but they are so covered up, it's completely stupid to think i'll even catch a glimpse!

Ker-ling! Ker-ling! My bike is here.

Finally, after a 3 month wait, my pretty Abici Granturismo in cream is here! I suck at riding it, and am way too sissy to ride it in traffic. But I know...I will eventually be able to do it after many painful lessons from The Grandmaster, Sami.

Oh, and her name is Bianca :)