Borough market

Anyone who asks me for recommendations on what to visit in London would definitely hear the words “Borough Market” 20 times until the words are etched into their mind. Ummm… I love food and having so much food under (literally) one umbrella is enough to make me drool everytime I relate my experiences there. The food isn’t fanstastically cheap there. In fact, I have already blown about 150 pounds over the 4 trips that I have been there. YES!!! FOUR times!! Even some/most of the Londoners have not been there and probably most would go there once or twice. It is not just the food that draws me back there, because I am sure it is possible to get the food separately at different places in London, if I look hard enough (of course, having them all at one location makes it all soooo convenient). It is the atmosphere, the aromas, the bustling… Ummm mmmm…. I usually hate crowd. So much so that I would rather give some sales a miss because it is JUST PRETTY DAMN NOT WORTH IT to lose my limbs fighting over some unwanted but cheap designer goods. However, the crowd at Borough Market creates the perfect atmosphere of what a food paradise should be like ^_^

All right, all right, other than all the points mentioned above, the crucial reason why I love Borough is that I had great company each time I went (realise the lackluster of this sentence, because honestly, I would go to Borough more often on my own if I can, except that I need people to help me eat up the leftovers that I can’t finish. That is probably the only reason why I drag people to go with me. Of course, if you are Tian’en, my sis, my mum or Daryl, you obviously know me well enough to know that I am kidding, right?).

I always discover something new each time I go to Borough Market. In my first trip to Borough my mum, I tried the traditional popular dishes like raclette, oyster and brownies. Going with my mum was great, because after all, she was the one who taught me how to eat. So our tastes are pretty similar. And she being my mum meant that I got to choose what I wanted to eat (if this sentence doesn’t make sense to you, then you need to change mums).

This is mum at Tower bridge. Sorry dudes, I realised that my mum and I took NO pics at Borough Market when we went. So I have to use this random pic.

This is raclette. Potatoes with melted cheese on it.

On my second trip to Borough, I went with Tian’en. Poor boy as he was, he had to endure me forcing sickeningly sweet Turkish delights and slimy fresh oysters down his throat. He got his revenge, when he insisted on buying this “caramel custard pot”. Probably only my housemates would know that I shun caramel like poison because it tastes like, feels like and is poison. I grudgingly said that I would only try a tiny bit and he would have to finish the rest. They said that revenge was sweet and it was truly so! Gosh!!! Poor Tian’en could only watch helplessly when I finished the whole pot of custard after tasting it. (We did buy a 2nd pot eventually but that didn't matter, because the point was that I finished the 1st pot which I refused to buy.) Ooooohhh…. And that was how I discovered “caramel custard”^_^

This is my sis, not TE!, eating caramel custard. Unfortunately, TE was the photographer for this trip to Borough and so I couldn't find a pic with him in it. So this has been ripped from the trip to Borough with my sis.

Now, my third trip to Borough was different from my previous two trips because I went with a guy whom I had never shared food with. What if he has STD? What if he thinks I have STD? What if he is a selfish bastard/ scared of other people’s saliva and refuses to share with me? Luckily, Daryl turned out to be quite normal. Quite, you ask? Well, if you look at the photo below, maybe everything is self-explanatory. Going with Daryl was a good decision, because this guy is out for adventures. He seek and conquered only the exotic food. This is exactly what I look out for in guys fellow food hunters. We tried the ostrich burger, which was tasted vaguely like beef, but much more tender. In fact, when I was taking the appetizing picture of Daryl’s opened jaws (sometimes, you have to use the right nomenclature for the right species), I was holding back myself from licking the food off his tongue.

Daryl's scrumpilicious ostrich burger

One other fanastic find was the crunchilicious “honeyed nuts” because Daryl absolutely loves his nuts (grow up, guys!). It was a pity that my mum didn’t get to try it when she was here, because she loves nuts too.

"Cranberry" store, selling nuts and chocolate (the honeyed nuts are to die for)

My fourth time was today, with my sister. Both of us are crazy about our food, so going Borough Market with her is especially enjoyable. I thought by now, I would have tried everything and nothing can amaze me anymore. Again, I was proven wrong. We tried the apparently-popular-but-I-have-not-tried fried scallops, which were REALLY sweet and fresh.

My sister still loved the fresh oysters the most, rating them as the best she had eaten. And I had to agree with her. Out of the three times that I had eaten the oysters at Borough, this had to be the best batch I had tried. It is most unfortunate though, since we all know that oysters are aphrodisiac, so it would be much preferred if Tian’en had this batch of oysters instead. On the other hand, I should thank my lucky stars that Daryl didn’t get to eat the oysters :P (yep, this loser went to Borough, wanted to leave the oysters to be the last thing to eat but ended up facing an empty stall after eating other food)

We also bought the nuts for our mum. The nuts are that good (I am already on the way of finishing them even before they reach my suitcase as I type now). Any of you who want to know which stall it is from can ask me. I believe I can draw you the map of borough market of the stalls which I recommend.

It is a pity that we didn’t try the banana cake which my sis' friend recommended. Her friend insisted that it was better than the brownies. Personally, I didn’t think the brownies were THAT fantastic, so I would have to try the banana cake first before I make my own verdict. That just means a fifth trip to my favourite London tourist spot. Any takers?

(Dun worry, you only have to live up to the standard of 4 others.)

Dinner!!!

What goes around really comes around. I cooked for a group of people last week. Since then, I have received several food items in return.

Tonight, it was from Ade. Or rather, from her other half - Chong U. Hehhhe!!! It was Bat Kut Teh, just like what I cooked for her=D



As you can see, he added lots of vegie to keep constipation away!! Thanks, dearies!!!

As I always felt, much as counter-instinctive as it is, exams time is when we give more. That is when we are needed most. There is no point being there all the time when you are not needed and disappearing the moment the need arises. I only hope I have given as much as I could afford.

But I certainly have received a lot of love recently:) From everyone except my boyfriend, that is. That insensitive bast-ok I shall refrain from using degradatory terms these few days, given the imminent exams. Good karma ain't the only thing that goes around - nice boyfriend of mine is going for the birthday party of a... a... -Rmb, Cheryl, KARMA- sweet thing this saturday. In the middle of my exams. *snort* But he had kindly reminded me that I was frolicking on a sandy beach in Tioman while he was digging a hole in the middle of some jungle during his OCS days. So I guess we are quits. EXCEPT that he had again faulted by reminding me of all the fun I had in Tioman when I am deprived of it NOW. So, HE IS STILL AN (IN)SENSITIVE sweetheart -I am so gonna ace my exams now, at the rate my karma is going^_^ -.


Now, I just need to find a tagboard with less spam... Urgh...

Foooood and no dishes makes my day

Today was an exceptionally great day, because I found out that I have been blessed with so many great friends.


The day started just normally, with me eating a pathetic banana for breakfast. At lunchtime though, Jin Yang came in to offer me the rice dumpling which his aunt had brought for us all the way from Singapore.^_^ He even offered to help me heat it up! That made a yummilicious lunch!! OHHH!!!! Missed dumplings!


Perhaps at this point, I should mention that my previous post about asking for takers to cook me dinner had won me dinner offers fromm the 2 medics in my house. The request was not aimed specifically at them (ok, reading back now, I do realise that it does sound like I was asking from them yeah?:P ), but they readily offered to cook for me till their abandonment (of me to rot in hell). In fact, last night saw ZY cooking a fantastic 3 course meal.

Today, however, I thought it best that I cook for myself, judging from the amount of packing that they have left to do. Funnily, these two great guys felt bad for not cooking for me, despite it not being an obligation for them to cook for me. By this time, I already felt soooo loved by my beloved housemates.


So, I didn't expect it, when there was a knock on my door and ZY appeared with this gigantic
fruit tart for me:D




I always wanted to eat a fruit tart in London. Doesn't matter where it is from. I JUST WANTED TO HAVE ONE!!! And this amazing guy just walked in with one in his hand. SWEEEEEEETIEEE!!! (Sorry Caroline, you can have him back by the end of this post)

After that, medic no.2, Gabe came in, apologising for not being able to cook. To make it up, HE OFFERED TO DO THE DISHES!!! Like WTH!!!! I hate doing dishes and there he was, offering to do it for me. I promised not to use too many plates etc, but, who was I kidding? (The thought of making smoothie to add to dinner immediately came to my mind.)


(okok, I tell myself that I can't type for longer than 20 minutes. So I am gonna rush through the next part more)


Right, so having been satisfied with my meals and not having to cleaned anything up (oh yeah, I conveniently had kept my lunch dishes for Gabe to wash too), I was really happy with my day. But voila! guess who was to turn up at the door step but Daryl, armed with strawberries and yoghurt. This poor soul actually walked all the way from a house 1min from my place to the big supermarket 10min away, only to find it closed, and then make his way to another supermarket in the opp direction in order to get the food. That is DEDICATION. Luckily he did that, coz the combination of strawberries and yoghurt is lethal=D

This guy even managed to impress me with his repertoire of songs and what he could do with the guitar. Actually, I was worrying about my exams and was trying to figure out a way to stop him but it was rude to do that and so I stuck to it and just listened to it, my foot... I was totally immersed in those songs which he could whip out. Just as I was beginning to feel like I was at a bbq, on a holiday, ZY kindly came out and said, "I don't mean to sound like your mother, but shouldn't you be studying? You have an exam...". I hardly caught the last few words, because a wave of cold water just splashed onto me and I literally felt a chill down my spine. Yes... Reality hits like a brick. I had forgotten totally about my exams. Urgh... Well, on a sidenote, yes, it's amazing what Daryl can do with those fingers and mouth of his; they can make one forget about their exams!!!


Sigh, I better end this soon, because I am feeling bad that I am making my housemates clear the kitchen while I am here spending 25min complimenting them. (Don't worry, guys, my time will come soon.) Thanks for making my day, Zheng Yuan, Gabriel, Jin Yang and Daryl!!!!

Exam prep!!

Just a few days back, Daryl mentioned that my room has a lot of hair (this man gives no sh*t about offending those around him). My floor is carpeted after all, and so I didn't notice it as much as he did. Might have to do with the fact that my room has limited floor space when I have no guests in the house.

So, anyway, I came back from a run today and was walking about my room barefooted. Now, most of you probably don't know that I have to tape my feet before I run, because I am flat-footed. Taped feet on carpet isn't a very good combination.






I haven't vacuumed my room in a really long time, because I figured out that I would be leaving sooon (soon ranging from 2months ago:P). So I thought, let's see if what our friend here said was true.













URGH!!!


I have never felt so thankful for buying that 5 pounds exercising mat. It probably saved me a lifetime of rashes and ticks and dried puke and whatever-you-find-in-dirty-carpets.



Other than cleaning my carpet, I am indeed proud to mention that I did my laundry and changed my sheets today. Hopefully this will last me till the end of exams. Otherwise, I guess those in the exam halls would have to withstand the stench.

However, I am still planning my food plan. Surviving on healthier (note it doesn't say healthy) instant food may be the next best thing after storing up fats now so that I wouldn't have to eat for the next two weeks. Not that I am not doing that now, with all the cravings and the reduction of exercise. Maybe someone will do a ChongWai and cook for me. (If I am not being obvious enough, I don't know what is.)

For those wondering what a Chongwai is, basically this kind soul cooked Korean cuisine for JY and I. It was meant to be our dinner saying Bye to him in London but well, that can wait till Singapore.

Randomness!!

Just spent an hour reading through TE's blog. I have probably read it 100 times but I still get entertained every time. Well, only by the bits which involved me, of course. Everytime I read through his archive, I felt as though I am reliving the process of us starting till present. It felt like I was still living through that honeymoon period. Actually, everytime I return to singapore, I still feel very much in honeymoon period. Ha! Eat that, you "LDR-is-not-a-real-relationship" purists!!! Bet no one can have as long a honeymoon as us:D It is sad though, that my name has stopped appearing in his blog for a rather long time, since I am not with him.


On a separate note, revision has started proper and I am currently trying to follow a really tight schedule. So I really shouldn't be reading blogs or blogging.

Not much has happened since I last blogged. I did go to the pub to watch the rugby match:D:D Amazing!!! England vs Barbarians! If this is the new batch of english players taking over, then perhaps England would finally play a more dynamic game.














The early birds taking a picture together. Pete came 20minutes into the game. Daryl came 30mins b4 the game ENDED. He totally made a wasted trip down, since the game was slowing down by then.


We had our last practical as a class. Well, 1/5 of the class, since most didn't turn up. There was so much waiting time that we ended up singing stupid songs (they have weird children show songs), playing the game which you have to start the next word with the last letter of the previous word (what is it called?) and taking photos. I am really glad we have such a close-knitted class. It was wonderful spending two years in this class where most are so accommodating and entertaining. I will probably never see some of them again, since we are splitting into our various courses next year. But one thing for sure, they have made my college life so much more bearable.


From left: Emily (the deep thinker), Hailin (The smiley), Mike (The joker), Me (the pretty one), Matilda (the nice one)



From left: Anusha (the pingpong queen), Me, Mary (The sweet one)





Farhan (the whiney one:P), Fatimah (the talkative one)










Yes, and we went to pub for lunch. I had my nachos!!! Finally!! Ever since watching the rugby, I had been craving them, but the pub we watched rugby at didn't have nachos!!! :D:D


From left: Mike, Cyndie (the anorexic one), Natalie (the britney chic)

HYpocrite!!

We have heard of people being strong because they are strong. We have heard of people pretending to be strong when they are weak (and of course, that means that they are truly strong too). Hell, we have even heard of people being weak because they are truly weak. But today, I realised that there is a fourth category of people pretending to be weak when they are strong. And it's none other than yours truly.


No, don't get me wrong. I am not launching into some egoistical entry on how strong I am. It is something that everyone knows already. No, I am actually going into how stupid I have been for the past few weeks.


It all started two weeks ago, when I had this sudden desire to drink. I thought I was tired of pretending to be strong and just wanted to unwind. If I did truly enjoy that moment of folly, then perhaps I won't be blogging now. Instead, I just thought that was the silliest thing I did but I couldn't pinpoint why I felt that way. And still, I continued to be moody sometimes, attributing it to the need to let myself go sometimes. It is supposed to make myself feel happier, since if I stop pretending, I am being myself rite???


Unfortunately, letting myself go moody isn't MYSELF at all!!! Talking to people about how tired I am (when actually, it is not what I really feel but something which I force myself to feel) etc is not in my nature at all. Not to mention that I don't even feel these feelings till I tell myself to. In fact, talking about random stuff to random people actually made my day, rather than trying to analyse the (non-existent) complicating feelings I had. What an idiot I am!!! I am enjoying my life, yet I forced myself into a weakling I am not. Why, I don't know. Maybe I feel the need to emphasise that I have more emotions than what I actually show? Hmmm...


Nevertheless, I think I owe an apology to all whom I have interacted with in the past 2 weeks. You guys have been most patient!!!! HEHE!!!


Now that I have all my thoughts sorted out, perhaps it is time for me to start revision proper. So guys, I think I won't be around on FB, msn, blog or email for some time sooooon...









ya rite...





On a lighter note, I am going to watch the match between England and Barbarians after all. Was rather disappointed that we weren't going to watch it live, so I am really glad that Bingliang agreed so readily to my proposal of watching it in a pub:D ooooo hoooo!!!

Weekend blues...

My emotions have been swinging from one extreme to the other these few days. Having doubts on what I want from life and what I am working for. Sometimes I want to help others, live for others and do everything I can to make this world a better place. This, I know the current me is incapable of doing. I want to do something in return to all that I have received. Yet, whatever I have to offer is insignificant. The only thing I can do now is to keep working, so that one day I will be able to help science inch forward.

Yet, this is impeded by my selfishness to want to live my own life to the fullest, leading a life that I would look back with no regrets. There is nothing wrong with wanting a fulfilling life, I know, except that I know some of the life I desire would bring no joy to anyone but myself. Is it too selfish to waste my time on these things when I could be using the same time to do something more for others? I don't know...

I must have watched too much "1 litre of tears". Supposed to be going out today and tomorrow but both have been canceled unfortunately=( So I had decided to invest the time in the inspiring show instead. Not a wasted drop of tears or time, if you ask me, because I am more than certain that I have chosen the right career path for myself.





I HAD CURRRYYY!! Good food always make me happy:) Having the curry certainly made my day (I know I am pathetic), especially in the good company of my housemates. I miss eating with them. In fact, I miss human company. Everyone's having exams, so it's pretty much left to me to talk to myself (so please talk to me if u see me. PLEASE!!!). Somebody save me!!!!