Pigging out - a 'hum'-ful night

Penny was down with a really bad bout of flu for the past two weeks. When she finally did recover (not fully), we thought that it was only fitting that we celebrated it with a rather restrained pig out session at East Coast hawker centre (which is kind of an oxymoron when you think about it) since we didn't want her falling sick again soon after she had gotten well. Having being deprived of all the evil fried and oily food for the duration of her illness, she was craving for all the wrong things.

We started our feast with a plate of chicken wings, some satay and a couple of drinks. When we realised that all that stuff could barely fill us, Penny went in search of more grub to gobble up. Gone for a good ten minutes, she returned with a plate of the famous (but only okay by my standards - I still prefer the one at Balestier) satay bee hoon and, horror of horrors, a plate of see hum!

Armed with a toothpick and a saucer of sambal belachan, we went at it and soon all that was left was splattered blood and a pile of shells on the table. The cockles were barely cooked but that was what gave them that signature crunchiness. I never felt so disgusted but yet equally satisfied at the same time.

As always, we left rubbing our tummies, deeply satisfied with our meal.

Mooncakes and pomeloes by the beach

Every September, kids of all ages (yours truly included) gather to gobble down mooncakes, play with sparklies, burn their lanterns and go on a little arson spree - setting fire to anything regardless of how potentially inflammable it may be. This year was no different. The older folks (i.e. my mum-in-law) was dead set on going to East Coast for dinner, despite protests from the rest of the gang, on the pretext that the kids go play on the beach, blah, blah.

So off we went! Took us about an hour to get there as Nancy wasn’t a very good driver so I had to drive at 70 km/h, all the while checking my rear view mirror to make sure I hadn’t lost her. But despite my best efforts to drive at my slowest while not hogging any traffic, she still got lost anyway.

We finally settled down at the hawker centre; getting a vacant lot in the carpark and trying to get a table to plonk our asses down were gargantuan tasks given the more than usual crowd as it was the Mid Autumn weekend.

After dinner, we headed into the darkness towards the beach to start our bonfire of lanterns, candles and other assortment of combustible materials. It was hell trying to light a single candle, let alone start a fire. For starters, some smart aleck (i.e. me again) forgot to pack the lighter. And the wind was so strong we were almost certain some typhoon was coming our way.

Following a few frustrating attempts, we finally got the lanterns lit up. So out came the mooncakes and pomeloes for desert! Even the skin of the pomelo wasn't spared from becoming another lantern for us.

We decided to call it a night when we were all out of candles and sparklies. More desert in the form of ice-cream and we headed for home.

Nice day to get sunburnt

Still sleepy from the night before (Mummy and I went to watch Ninja Turtles!), we wake up one Saturday with screams of 'Mummy! Daddy! Wake up! Go beach oredi!'. Eyes still half-closed, our little monster pushes us out of bed at 9.30.

So we wash up, pack our stuff and get dressed, amidst Ah Ma's incessant nagging. 'She just recovered from her cough, hor, so why you bring her out, blah, blah, under the sun so hot, blah, blah, better don't come back sick ah, otherwise have to take medicine again, blah, blah'.

So we pack the whole troupe into the car, have some breakfast and we're off! Headed to our usual spot near the sailing club where it's less crowded and found a nice tree to set up our stuff (three straw mats and a little mini tent for Vel). Vel and I head out to the beach to play with the sand, but a short 10 mins later, I buay tahan 'cos the sun was so bloody scorching, we move our little sand play under the cooling shade of the tree.

We got bored after while, so we brought Vel into the water and just sat there to get slapped silly by the waves. Didn't last long too 'cos she got quite freaked out after a while and scurried off back into the security of her little tent.

So it's back to the lazing around on the mat. We wash Vel up and give her some milk to keep her warm, but after a while she says she's hungry (she takes after her Daddy's dietary habits) so Mummy whips out her yummy lunch of porridge with pork ribs. Me, I just laze there and look up at the sun through the trees (a weak attempt to, er, suntan my face) and it soon lulls me into a short nap.

At about 3pm, we decide to head for home. Vel is tired while Mummy and I are chao tah, beginning to feel the stinging sensation of our sunburn. And besides, the gray clouds were looming. But not before we swing by Marine Parade to pick up some stuff for our BBQ tonight. Heheh! True to my rheumatoid afflicted knees, it rains REALLY heavily by the time we leave. So much for the BBQ...