This is Sparta?

Music For Life - Part Two

Rock, Metal n Art...

Enter Sandman (Metallica) - the first rock cassette I ever bought n how I introduced it to Jamie, who then introduced me to The World of Rock... and how in Form 4, I ran up to the blackboard n drew the symbol of the Star of David with the words "I love Satan" just to piss Louisa off 'cos she complained that Heavy Metal was Satanic. Jamie would go to Singapore to buy super cool GNR, Nirvana n Pearl Jam 'rock' shirts n I'd get her to buy me Metallica ones.


This was when I started buying Kerrang! magazine! I'd cut out all the cool logos n pictures n paste them into a collage, or plaster them over my files n textbooks.

Don't Cry (Guns N' Roses) - we used to practice drawing n colouring the Use Your Illusion 1 n 2 album covers on artblock. Jamie used to draw that skull-stickman n RHCP logo everywhere!


I became a Graphic Designer because of this. Honestly, I can't draw shit. Then in Form 2 & 3 (Sec 2 & 3), I started doodling, and by Form 4 & 5, I was drawing Metallica, Def Leppard, Ugly Kid Joe logos all over the place. Sister Enda would have been very displeased if she saw how Jamie n I conteng-ed all over the school song n badge on our exercise books. Then I started recreating GNR and other album covers on artblock, using black felt pen n Buncho poster colours (except for Use Your Illusion which needed oil pastels), n spraying it over with clear lacquer.


I became very interested in Art (only the Seni Grafik n Kraftangan/Batik aspect, not the figure drawing stuff) n was bloody upset when I got a C3 for it for SPM. So after SPM (O-Levels), when it was time to decide what to study, I didn't know what I wanted to "become". My cousin Gary mentioned Graphic Design 'cos it was what he studied too, so my Mom followed me to Saito Academy to check it out n I loved what I saw.

I sailed through all the subjects except Drawing & Illustration! Used to get Edwin n Eric to help me draw figures (humans, animals, etc) n I'd trace from their drawings (Edwin's the maestro who drew the Star Wars "The Saga Is Complete" montage for our wedding). Some of us would trace out figures directly from pictures, so the lightbox was the best thing I learnt to use in art school. Well, that, and the NT Cutter, cutting mat and steel ruler which I can't live without.

TV themes n music...

All By Myself (Eric Carmen), With or Without You (U2) & The Reason (Hoobastank) - in Friends, 'The One Where Eddie Moves In', they play All By Myself as Chandler looks out the window at the rain outside, and Joey gazes at this dumbass water feature in his new apartment. And in 'The One With The List', Ross dedicates With or Without You on the radio to Rachel... And in 'The Last One', the guitar intro to The Reason plays when Ross n Rachel get back together, again.


We grew up loving themes from The A-Team, MacGyver, Airwolf, Knight Rider and cartoons like The Smurfs, Transformers, Jem (and the Holograms!)... My brothers n I would slip through closing doors just like how MacGyver did on the show. Jeremy even had a jotter book that he drew n compiled A-Team stuff into.

TV theme songs have always played an important part in a show, but only as a prelude, not really lending much to the sitcom itself. However, ever since Friends' success at segueing a really good song into a scene, other TV sitcoms have followed suit. Smallville, The OC, Grey's Anatomy... Now we can't even tell if a show is so popular because of the music, or vice versa.

Soundtracks...

Somewhere Out There (An American Tail Soundtrack) - we watched this video so many times that the film got all fuzzy. Aaron Shori said he cried when he watched this. Sometimes I would get all psycho-corny n sit by my bedroom window singing this.


Some of the best songs are from movie soundtracks, I guess mainly because a song can make or break a movie or a moment. Just think about it. Think of a movie, and the part you remember best, and it usually comes with a song. From Jerry Maguire to Breakfast at Tiffany's, Armaggedon to Titanic, Mermaids, The Full Monty, Babe, and of course all 'em Disney n animated movies.

Then there were the Musicals we grew up watching - The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Camelot, Mary Poppins... My brothers n I would sing "lots of chocolate for me to eat" especially when we ate those spherical Van Houten chocolates. And I always thought the dresses made from curtains were so pretty!


And of course, movie theme songs... Star Wars, The Godfather, Superman, Braveheart... How many of you still get goosebumps when the 20th Century Fox logo and theme plays, and the Star Wars theme starts? Ok...... maybe just Ben n I.

Music For Life

Anyway, what I intended to write about was Music, For Life.

What I mean is, music, what you listen to, what you grew up listening to, lasts a lifetime. Take my parents for example. My brothers n I used to complain about having to listen to "oldies" like Willie Nelson and Nana Mouskouri in the car on our long trips to Malacca or Cameron Highlands. But now, turning 30, I look at myself n find I'm no different than my parents... I'm still listening to stuff that I enjoyed more than 10 years ago.


Of course I listen to new stuff too. The Grunge revolution evolved into Post Grunge, giving us pretty good stuff from bands like Creed, Goo Goo Dolls, 3 Doors Down, Lifehouse, Matchbox 20, Nickelback... The Alternative music genre has spread so much and is so diverse n contemporary that you can no longer call it "alternative", but more like popular rock, broken down into Indie Rock, Piano Rock, even Christian Alternative Rock. So I also listen to stuff from Dashboard Confessional, The Fray, Jack's Mannequin...

But in the end, I still always enjoy to the good ol' guys, like John Mellencamp, Def Leppard, U2, Sting, Journey, Queen, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi (old Bon Jovi, back when they had messy hair)... And 10, 20, 30 years from now, our kids would probably have to suffer listening to Ben's n my "oldies" - a very weird mixture of "classic rock" n Mandarin hiphop by a certain dude from Taiwan.

Singers will age, lose their star quality n become totally uncool. Some might bleach their skin n play with young boys. Quite a few will follow in Axl Rose n Bret Michaels' footsteps, get Botox-ed n sport a weird hairdo (Your headbanging days are so over dudes). But their music will always remain.


So the next time you notice your kid or a teen going crazy over a certain band or singer, you'd better advise them to choose their idols wisely, listen to really good stuff, not crap from groups like the Lemon Tree fools 'cos they'd be listening to it for the rest of their lives. Their spouses, partners, family n friends would have to listen to it too.

That's the power of music. It exists in every stage in your life n represents every moment that meant something. It's your life on a soundtrack.

Little red dot among the white

Funny how it is when you watch movies like The Last of the Mohicans, or The Mission, you think this kinda stuff only happened back then, or happens only in the furthest and most remote part of the Amazon or whatever. You know, like, white man come, take everything. Or even in movies like Braveheart or 300, where a bigger or more developed nation tries to conquer a smaller one. You know, like, they can take our lives, but they can never take away, our FREEDOM...

This kinda shit still happens now man. Right before our eyes. I guess that's why movies like these, of legends or folklore, are still so relevant today. Call it what you want - the representation of masculinity re-presented, hegemony at its sneakiest, or simply, escapism for the man of today (and perhaps a little voyeurism for us girls!).

We watched 300 at the cinema again last week. Guess it's one of the only movies we'd be willing to pay 30 Dirhams to go watch.

If Ben's life in Dubai was a movie, he'd be the victim, left to fend for himself among all the angmoh aggressors. Poor dude from the tiny island country in the Far East has no chance against this army of white dudes sitting high up on their pedestals. So we always root for the underdog right? I would of course... he's my husband.

Many find it extremely difficult to accept that a 28-year old "Asian" is a Sous Chef at such a fine establishment. Especially the mat sallehs. Ben has a mat salleh colleague who's terribly threatened by Ben's presence, and goes beyond what can be deemed "healthy competition" to get ahead. He takes credit for Ben's work all the time. I told my parents once that Ben cooked for Michael Schumacher, Tiger Woods, Laurence Fishburne, etc. They asked me excitedly, so did he get to meet them? Well, if you have someone famous dining in your restaurant, would you get the coloured guy to go out and speak to them, or one of your own white guys?

VIPs and special guests have the liberty of requesting a special menu instead of ordering from the ala carte menu. So it usually has to be something that really wows them. This gives the Chef de Cuisine and Sous Chefs a chance to get creative. The boys in the kitchen are all too familiar with what happens when a special VIP menu is requested. When I say "boys", I mean the junior chefs and cooks. One of them says to Ben, "What's new? You - work, work, work, plan special menu, do special menu... Then white guy goes out, nods his head and says, Yes thank you, I did it."

On one occasion when Ben planned this really 'power' menu for some VIPs, the CDC insisted that Ben must go out and meet them before the meal was over. After the CDC left, and while Ben was busy with other orders, etc, guess who went out to take credit for Ben's work, as usual. Yup, there he was, the "green-eyed gwailo", nodding his head, Yes thank you, yes thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the meal...

One of the boys now calls "green eyes" by another name, "Tekele". He told Ben of the legend of King Tekele from Sri Lanka. King Tekele would walk about his country, see a statue or sculpture that he liked, and ask who the sculptor was. The sculptor would then be thrown in jail, his name erased from his creation, replaced with Tekele's name. So now, Sri Lankan boy constantly warns Ben, "Don't let Tekele see this" or "Don't let Tekele learn how you created that".

After a rather lengthy discussion with me (Ben would call it a "lecture"), Ben has been a bit more assertive when it's time to meet guests or take credit for his work. Of course it doesn't help that the restaurant managers are angmoh and racist too. So they usually just go straight to the angmoh chef and tell him that the customers wanna meet the Chef. But Ben has had more opportunities to meet guests recently, which makes Tekele feel even more threatened.

Guests are usually surprised when they meet Ben. Oh, you're so young! Where are you from? Etc etc. But at least at the end of each conversation, they would usually say something like, "I'll remember this. I'll remember the young chef from Singapore who cooked this amazing meal for us".

Perhaps this is what happens to all underdogs. They don't go to war with victory as their goal, but because it's the right thing to do. They don't always win the battle, but will always be remembered for what they stand for.

Long blog about our short holiday

Ben n I made a short trip back to KL and Singapore recently. The initial plan was to be home for the Chinese New Year, but Ben had to take part in Gulfood 2007’s Salon Culinaire from 18th – 22nd Feb. We had been looking forward to this trip since November, so I guess our expectations were pretty high… not to mention our extended ‘To Do’ & makan list.

We arrive in Singapore at around mid-noon on 23rd Feb. The first thing we notice as we take a cab home from Changi Airport is the speed on the roads, or lack of it. The taxi ‘uncle’ takes us on a leisurely ride, while humming to a Chinese song playing on the radio, as other cars on the road crawl by at what seems to us, snail’s pace.

Was everyone in Singapore on holiday too? Nope… we just forgot how normal traffic moved after spending 9 months in a country where people drive at around 120-140km/h, swerving recklessly while honking incessantly at other drivers who didn’t keep up.

Home, SWEET home! Singapore, land of efficient but regimented living conditions. Back to sanity!

Ben starts to feel claustrophobic as he gazes at all the buildings clustered together, not low and spacious like how they are in a vast and developing city like Dubai. But I’m delighted to see greenery again! Not the dirty olive green of half-wilted palm trees but REAL green. Roads lined with huge trees and fuchsia-coloured bougainvillea shrubs amidst a backdrop of HDB flats. Sweet…

Once we reach Pasir Ris, we dump down our bags, change into shorts, and head straight to the nearest kopitiam for what else? Kopi. Then we’re faced with our first challenge. What to eat? So many choices, so little stomach. Chicken rice, duck rice, ‘bak chor’ mee, ‘chap fun’, prata…

In the evening, we visit Desmond for a ‘surprise’ dinner. We only informed Joanna and Peng of our trip back, and Jo was supposed to plan a dinner at Desmond’s for that night without letting the rest in on our surprise. Jo however told Leong, and somewhere along the way, we’re pretty sure Desmond found out too ‘cos his feign of surprise as we show up at his doorstep is a bit too ‘drama’ to be true.

It’s really good to see everyone again – Desmond & Mei Ling, Jo & Leong, Rabind, Louis, Cyril & Michelle… And time for Ben to give out CNY angpows for the first time. We leave early as we have plans to meet Ben’s Dad and Peng. Later in the night, we even manage to squeeze in 3 hours of karaoke. Actually, I can’t say “we” since I just sit and drink coffee as Ben & Peng belt out every Jay Chou number in the system.

The next morning, Ben & I take the coach to Bangsar. First stop in PJ is A&W. After dreaming of coney dogs and waffles for the past half year, it’s a bit ‘sedih’ that only the curly fries & rootbeer float pass the BnB “taste test”. The coney dog is dry, the fried chicken yucky, and waffle salty!

At night, we enjoy our reunion dinner at home with my Mom, Dad, brothers and sis-in-law. Steamboat! Wah… damn shiok! After dinner, we visit my Tua Ee (First Aunt) and her family, and after that we make a compulsory stop at the SS2 mamak for Nescafe Ais and Burger Special.

The next morning, my family, Ben & I travel to Malacca to visit my uncles and aunt there and also to pay our respects at my late grandparents’ altar. My family’s regular satay joint closes for the New Year so my Dee Ku (2nd Uncle) actually managed to get the satay man to open his shop just to grill satay for him to pack home for us!

So we have satay for lunch, and after evening Mass at St Peter's, we savour Nonya dinner in Melaka Raya with my 4th Aunt, 1st Uncle & his wife, 2nd Uncle, and my immediate family. Chinchalok omelette, kangkung belacan, fish in really yummy lemak gravy, sambal petai, sago gula melaka, cendol and more…

The next night, back in PJ, we have another family dinner at a restaurant, for my extended family. So apart from my immediate family present, there were aunts (6 out of 9 of them) and their familes, cousins and spouses, and nieces and nephews. And more good food!

The next night, we visit my 6th Aunt at her home as she was unable to make it to dinner the night before. On Thursday night, we have dinner at home with my parents, Tua Ee, 5th Aunt and my godmother Aunty Mag. My Mom cooks up a storm of a meal, coupled with my Tua Ee’s ‘tau yu bak’, especially for Ben.

During the day from Tuesday to Thursday, Ben n I head out to Berjaya Times Square, Sungei Wang & Bukit Bintang Plaza, Lot 10, KL Plaza & Starhill, The Curve and MidValley Megamall. While we were at The Curve, it suddenly hit Ben how much he didn’t want this holiday to end.

A Cathay Cineleisure has opened at The Curve, and the interior is laid out almost similar to the one in Singapore. It was a Wednesday when we were there so it was Movies Day, with tickets costing only RM6! We wished we could do a movie marathon but with our tight schedule, we already had plans made for that night so we only managed to squeeze in one movie – Ghostrider. Stupid show… At the start of the movie when the title appears, the Malay subtitles read, “Penunggang Motorsikal Hantu”!! But for just six ringgit, who cares! In Dubai, tickets cost 35 dirhams (about S$15) per person.

At KL Plaza

We also manage to meet up with just 3 of my friends back in PJ. Went for coffee/supper with Sher Hui and Nat one night, and Sharon happened to be back on holiday with her boyfriend, so I got to meet her too. I’m sorry I didn’t manage to meet up with my other friends like Jamie, Edwin, Daniel & others… But one thing I always tell Ben when he misses home is that, it’s always nice to know that we will always have home to look forward to, a warm and welcoming home with family and friends.

Although I also say, wherever we are, we’ll make it ‘home’ as long as we’re together, but it’s also important to remember that our true home is in Singapore/Malaysia, and it will always be there to welcome us. Even the study of child development recognises that one’s native home is irreplaceable, and an individual living in a foreign land will always subconsciously, if not consciously, yearn for that special bond with his native home. So fret not! We’ll be back!

On Friday, 2nd March, my Tua Ee brings over bakuteh for lunch, ta-pau-ed from the popular bakuteh place near her home. After lunch, we bid my Mom and family goodbye and set off with four huge bags filled new purchases, homemade goodies from my Mom and other goodies from my aunts.

My Mom packs enough kaya, sambal, ikan bilis, belacan, Malacca coffee, barley & ginseng to last us till our next trip home

My 4th Aunt still remembers that Kuih Bangkit is my fav.
Unfortunately, it’s turned into “pei hoon” after reaching Dubai…

Louis picks us up when we arrive in Singapore, and we have dinner with him, Joanna, Desmond, Mei Ling and Rabind, followed by drinks at Louis’ home.

The next day, we visit Ben’s Mom and have dinner at the Zion Road foodcourt. Char kuay teow & fried carrot cake loaded with oil, washed down with sweet potato soup and sugarcane juice. Later in the night, we meet up with Peng for supper at 136 followed by another 3 hours of kara-jay-oke in Pasir Ris. I’m having a pretty nasty flu but still endure the next 3 hours as a barter to get Ben & Peng to follow me to Pulau Ubin the next day.

So on Sunday morning, we head down to Changi Village for breakfast to fuel our cycling trip on Ubin.

I lead the guys on the East route as I’ve never gone West before, and also ‘cos it’s an easier route & I didn’t want Ben to ‘pengsan’ halfway. Cycling on Ubin is one of the best things anyone can do to get away from the city. Your thoughts and worries drift away as you sweep past the lush greenery and occasional kampong house along the way. I could stay here for hours but the guys are pooped out so we return our rented bikes and are thankful just moments later as it starts to rain.

Once back on mainland, we head down to Chinatown to check out a tattoo shop, Galaxy Tattoo. The ah beng tattooist speaks to Ben about the type of tattoo he’s interested in, and that it would take about 2 months to get it done properly.

"I donch anyhow do one --- I not say I damn good --- But my frower or other people frower --- I not say my frower better one, but is good --- Even you can tahan, I also cannot tahan --- tattoo is forever, you donch anyhow say wan, then later you say want to laser, I also f*** you..." So he’s not vying for a spokesperson award, but his designs look good and the tattoo place has a nice vibe about it.

That evening, Ben n I attend Mass at OLPS. We always enjoy evening Mass here because of the choir. Incidentally, Fr Luke left Singapore around the same time Ben left for Dubai, and returned to Singapore just before we returned, so it was his first Mass since returning from Rome.

He speaks about citizenship in Heaven during his sermon and relates it to his time in Italy, and being away from home. About how much he missed home, hung the Singapore flag in his dorm on National Day, about the inefficiency in Italy and how he appreciates Singapore much more now. It’s amazing how we could relate to all the points he mentioned.

After Mass, we have dinner at G7 in Geylang with Peng, my brother Andrew and his housemate Joanne. Marmite chicken, frog leg porridge, black pepper crayfish, cereal prawns, hotplate tofu… Monday night witnessed yet another pig out session, this time at East Coast with Louis n Desmond..... Oyster omelette, spinach with sambal belacan, chilli mussels, barbecued chicken wings...

In case you haven’t noticed by now, our trip home kinda revolves around food! Meeting up with family and friends no doubt, but usually around a table… for big-time makan!

On Tuesday we get our banking stuff, etc settled in Bedok and head over to Marine Parade. I pop by Gymboree to surprise the girls and we chat for about an hour. We meet Ben’s Dad and Peng for dinner at 136 after buying drystores and durian from Bedok Interchange. That night, Ben n I feast on durian till we feel like puking!

On Wednesday we meet Ben’s Mom n Aunt at Lucky Plaza ‘cos Ben wants to eat the char siew rice there. Then we watch Letters from Iwojima with his mom and aunt at Lido. We meet up with Desmond and walk around Wisma, Takashimaya & Cineleisure, and later Raffles City.

Later I meet up with Shorbs for dinner as Ben meets Louis n Rabind at Clarke Quay. Mos Burger yakiniku rice burger & corn soup! After dinner, Shorbs and I walk to Clarke Quay to meet up with the guys at O-Bar. It’s Ladies’ Night, but Shorbs ends up paying for our drinks ‘cos the waiter didn’t bother to point that out that we had to order our free drinks from the “ladies’ bar”.

On Thursday, we go to CPF at Tampines, bump into Pauline as well as Rabind, and have coffee at Starbucks with him. I stock up on my ‘supplies’ from Popular Bookstore and get a new barbell and ‘studs’. Later we meet Chef Alan at 85 Market for dinner. Barbecued sambal stingray, sambal kangkung, hokkien mee... The ‘uncle’ must have lost his grip on the sambal bowl as he fried our kangkung cos it was bloody HOT!

After dinner we head back to Tampines Mall to watch 300 with Rabind & Louis. Superb movie! Apart from a few annoying ‘chi cha pohs’ sitting behind me " --- Eh… what’s that? --- I dunno leh --- Eh, Spartan is from where --- Aiyo, why like that one? --- ” If the movie’s artistic use of light, colour & music wasn’t enough to awe them into silence, I would have at least expected them to bite their tongues and choke on their drool upon gazing at three hundred half naked men with eight-packs.

The next day, Ben & I do our big grocery shopping at Carrefour in Suntec City, and meet up with his friends later carrying three HUGE bags of rempah, herbs, instant noodles, instant coffee, etc. We have all-you-can-eat steamboat dinner at Beach Road with Jo, Rabind, Desmond n Mei Ling, and go over to Desmond’s home later for prata and drinks. Ben enjoys prata and ayam goreng, and Jo gets Ben n I to help her design her wedding initials. Louis brings his brother-in-law Jerry over to Desmond’s too. He tells Ben n I that the best Nonya makan place in Malacca is near the Ujong Pasir post office.

Prata, ungge lekke nalade!

A very mabuk Rabind arrives at around 3am, insisting we listen to mp3s from his handphone. Live's Lightning Crashes plays. With Rabind's major operation and our return to Dubai looming, and Desmond & Louis at crossroads in their career life, perhaps it assures us that what lies ahead is not the end but a new beginning. Rebirth.

We leave Desmond’s at around 5am and order MacDonald’s breakfast once we’re home. Hotcakes, Big Breakfast, Sausage McMuffin. Ben is fast asleep by the time breakfast arrives so his Big Breakfast goes to waste.

By Saturday, Ben still wants to do more window shopping and I want to be around more nature, so we have lunch at Swensen’s with Andrew before his flight and go our separate ways. Ben heads down to town to meet up with Chef Julien and walk around Peninsula Plaza, Funan, Marina Square and Suntec City. He has a good meeting with Julien and meets up with Peng later for chicken rice dinner at Golden Mile Complex.

Yes, Pasir Ris-ians, this amazing place is just in your backyard.

I have a just as fulfilling day at Pasir Ris Park and mangrove swamp. My eyes set on macro mode again as I search for little bugs and critters, while soaking in the atmosphere of the muddy mangrove and cicadas and birds singing their hearts out. I even spot a Brahminy Kite up close, perched on a tree.

'Smelly’ bugs

I meet up with Shan at Simei after buying a couple of dresses from This Fashion. I miss This Fashion & Metro! Good ol’ ‘cheapo’ but pretty little dresses! Shan and I have dinner at Tampines Mall, before joining Ben n Peng in Marine Parade for yet another night of… drumroll…… KARAOKE! This time, four hours!

With Shan around, I finally get to see new MTVs as she sings some non-Jay Chou songs. Shan miraculously convinces me to sing a few songs. It’s funny how one might think I must have the voice of an angel the way my friends plead for me to sing. Unfortunately, Shan & the guys had to endure a few of my ‘super tak jadi’ Eagles and Journey renditions. Moral of the story: Imagine Def Leppard’s Let’s Get Rocked sung by a girl. Yup… Don’t ask a minah rock to karaoke.

After karaoke, we have supper at Simpang Bedok. Roti John, maggi goreng, nasi ayam goreng and bihun goreng, plus teh halia and Milo dinosaur.

Suitcase full of foodstuff

Sunday, our last day in Singapore. We spend the day packing, then attend evening Mass at OLPS again. Cyril sits with us in church, and Louis picks us up after that for dinner at Bedok Corner. More hokkien mee and sambal stingray, plus tahu goreng. We pop by Changi General Hospital to visit Rabind who’s having his slip disc replaced the next morning.

We also make our ‘goodbye calls’ to my parents and Ben’s Mom, so the mood this night is quite sombre. Ben n I stay up the rest of the night, watching TV and packing till it’s time to get ready for our flight back to Dubai.

It is pre-dawn on a dark Monday morning as we leave Singapore - the echo of karaoke and cicadas still ringing in our ears, the aroma of kopi and hot food still tickling our olfactory sensors, and the warmth and laughter of loved ones forever in our hearts... Goodbye Singapore/Malaysia... See you next year!

What were you doing New Year’s Eve?

On New Year’s Eve, Ben was at work from morning till midnight as usual. He took his camera along in case he had a chance to see the fireworks display outside the Burj Al Arab after work.

A New Year’s Eve dinner menu was created, and special table menus were ‘printed’ just for this one night.

The menu was ‘lasered’ onto the glass prism, and visible only when lit up.

This in Manfred, the Jr Sous Chef/Chef Tournant at Al Mahara. He's from Austria n his girlfriend Jana is from Czech Rep. Jana n I have met up a couple of times, for coffee or to go to the beach.

Here’s the kitchen team of Al Mahara restaurant.

1-Ansgar, Sous Chef (Germany); 2-Darrell, Chef de Cuisine (Australia); 3-Benjamin, Sous Chef (Singapore); 4-Ashish, Commis Cook (India); 5-Wang, Wok Chef (China); 6-Tinnakorn, Jr Sous Chef (Thailand); 7-Manfred, Jr Sous Chef (Austria); 8-Peter, Commis Cook (Goa); 9-Amir, Demi Chef (Malaysia); 10-Olivia, Pastry Chef (Korea); 11-Andrew, Commis Cook (Germany); 12- ?; 13- ?; 14- ?; 15- ?; 16- ?; 17-Simon (China); 18- ?

I had my kind of celebration at home. I turned down Jana's offer to go out n watch the fireworks by the beach ‘cos I wanted to stay home n watch Harry Potter! Yeah… nerdus maximus. But shiok what… They were showing The Philosopher’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets back to back from 11pm. Harry Potter movie marathon! Would have been better if they showed all four back to back, but this is Dubai local TV so I should just be grateful that it wasn't dubbed in Arabic.

On New Year's Day, Ben worked the early shift (8am - 5pm), so we went for a movie after that. Saw III. Pretty gory movie to start a new year, but Ben loved it of course. Movie tickets here cost 35 dirhams each. So movie for 2 plus popcorn+drink comes up to almost 100 dirhams (S$40plus)!

Ben worked the early shift on Christmas Day too till 6pm, so we went for a buffet dinner at JW Marriott that night. The spread was pretty good at first... cos the starters were excellent... sushi, sashimi, oysters, salmon gravlax... Then we went on to mains, quite good too - they had roast turkey & roast beef at the carving stations, and Ben loved the turkey stuffing.

Also, grilled crayfish (which they labelled as "lobsters") and scampi. The desserts were a real letdown. Minced pie...yuck! Christmas pudding...yuck! They even managed to make chocolate mousse yucky!

The restaurant played piped in Arabic music so Ben asked the waiter why they weren't playing Christmas carols since it was after all, Christmas Day, and we were having a Christmas buffet. The waiter just gave us a blur look n was like, "uhh...ah...err...". But anyway, with or without carols, decor etc, Christmas just isn't Christmas-sy here, and Dubai just can't do Christmas. We found out why after dinner.

These buggers killed Santa.