Camping Out

As usual, when cheeky foreigners help us take a photo, they must join in. Not surprising, they can never take a good photo.

A clearer version by a Singaporean.

It was sorta girl's night out and we camped out at House.

Where S flirted with the Thai bartender.

It was still early and there wasn't any crowd. So we entertained ourselves silly and the 3 bartenders entertained us too.

I never wished i had a sister, but i wondered what it would have been like.

See what i mean by we entertained ourselves silly.

Possessed bartender mixed us some shots which was very nice! I hate shots. They always taste worse than medicine, and they give you that burning sensation in the stomach.

Nath mixed us a concoction that has a hint of lychee and instead of lining it with the usual salt, it's sugar.
Perfect for ladies! On the house too. Being a lady always has its benefits.




I know we're cheapo, but we like asking for water at the bars. Some bars give them to us freely, some are not as nice. But this one holds the bar. They not even gave us water without disdain, they popped a cherry in! Like this, if other people walk by, they won't know we're cheapo! It looks like a purchased drink! Hahaa.

Can somebody please tell me why our trains are crowded at 8am, 12pm, and 11pm? It's perpeptually crowded, 24/7! We don't even have as many people as Japan!

I always thought what would dining at Crystal Palace be like. This is some other Palace in Ion.

Embossed menu.

We ordered Ee Fu Mian with prawns. But there were no prawns. When we asked, the lady showed us some sort of powder and said that's the "prawn" that is in the mee. But it was yummy or i was hungry.

Fried dumplings came with sweet and sour dip. It has lychees in it too. I had hashima for desert.I was very tempted to pick the ice creams. I was curious about the avocado flavor. But i picked what was more healthy and more expensive. Frog's eggs.

I knew about this delicacy from my mum. It's one of those food that tastes bland but costs alot.Like bird's nest. It is nutritious to the body and has medicinal properties. The high lipid content is good to replenish kidney essence, nourish yin, and moistens the lungs. I've always thought they were the eggs of a frog, that's what my mother told me. And i like to freak the ang mohs out because frog eggs sound almost like Baluk found in Philipines, the egg attached with a half grown bird.

Alas, my bf wasn't freaked out about it and willingly shared a bowl with me when i introduced it to him last Valentine's at the seafood restaurant in East Coast. I was hoping he would be grossed out, so i can have that expensive bowl of desert all to myself! Now the collagen is halved.

Ironically, it took him awhile to try frog porridge though. Other than seeing the body parts swimming in the pot, he found it too cruel as a human will probably need to consume at least 3 frogs to be full. Unlike 1 cow that can feed 50 humans.

I googled hashima and found that it's actually a combination of fat and part of the reproductive area.

Here's how it come about.

The chinese snow frog stores up nutrients,especially fats before going into hibernation.

Farmers then catch the females, string them together through their mouths, and dry them for later use. I suppose they kill them first. When they have dried, they skin them and peel off the fat surrounding their ovaries and oviducts.

Thereby giving us our delicacy. The price is hefty due to the short supply and the tedious process of getting the fat.

The Chinese believe that frog reduces internal heat, detoxifies, and eliminates water in the body. They say that women should eat them after childbirth, but not before, because their offspring will develop allergies if consumed when pregnant. They also say that anyone with a red face and swollen neck should eat frog because they provide relief for these conditions.

Chinese cookbooks provide many recipes for whole frog, frog legs, frog in soups. In Singapore, frog dishes are found in cooking styles like stir fry frog with ginger and spring onion, steamed frog with chicken essensce or my favourite stir fry frog with dried chill and dark sauce.

I'm not sure if i can stomach frog soup. A famous soup served during the Tang Dynasty made with taro root, bamboo shoots, and whole live frogs. The tale speaks of these very frogs clutching the vegetables in agonizing postures.

Its odd how every other exotic meat tastes like chicken actually.

I was asking Frenchman Q how do they cook escargots. Do they pick the snails in their garden, and then patiently wait for it to peek its head out and nail it with a fork and chop it off with one swift move? I mean, turtles retreat into their shells when frightened. But because they were served without shells, chefs could forcefully kill them by removing the shells. Just speaking about it makes me feel sad because it's so cruel! But again, according to the Chinese, turtles have their medicinal benefits too.Pity (or not), humans are at the top of the food chain.

We ought to eat responsibly though. We shouldn't eat animals that are on the brink of extinction, like turtles or tuna. I personally liked the movie Day Breakers because they flipped the coin around. Humans became a source of food. This Chinese New Year, we requested for shark's fins to be removed from our menu. Westerners tend to be more socially responsible, Asians value relationships. As our table this year will have a blend of both, there're many things to trade between the cultures.

I think i'll just FREAK OUT if i spot a frog in my salad. I am actually afraid of them.