Mayday Concert Singapore is Postponed to 2021

Mayday 五月天Just Rock it! Blue concert in Singapore will be postponed to 27 February 2021 at the National Stadium. Who wanna go and watch? To book the ticket, go here They only have $308 and lower priced tickets left.

When Can I Sing at Karaoke?

I miss singing at karaoke where I can also hear my voice via the mike. My buddy has been asking me to sing at the online karaoke app but I don't really like to use it as I can't hear my voice and could only hear it if I record. Maybe I should buy the real mike that can project my voice. 

I do hope the karaoke will be opened soon to the public. I enjoy singing alone at the karaoke singing to my heart content if my buddy or cousins are not free. Sometimes I think I am narcissistic as I enjoy listening to my voice. 

One thing for sure, I will definitely sing Mayday 五月天songs even though its not easy. 

盛夏光年

我驕傲的破壞 我痛恨的平凡 才想起那些是我最愛
讓盛夏去貪玩 把殘酷的未來 狂放到光年外 而現在

放棄規則 放縱去愛 放肆自己 放空未來
我不轉彎 我不轉彎 我不轉彎 我不轉彎

讓定律更簡單 讓秩序更混亂 這樣的青春我才喜歡
讓盛夏去貪玩 把殘酷的未來 狂放到光年外 而現在

放棄規則 放縱去愛 放肆自己 放空未來
我不轉彎 我不轉彎 我不轉彎 我不轉彎

我要 我瘋 我要 我愛 就是 我要 我瘋 我要 我愛 現在
一萬首的mp3 一萬次瘋狂的愛 滅不了一個渺小的孤單

我要 我瘋 我要 我愛 就是 我要 我瘋 我要 我愛 現在
盛夏的一場狂歡 來到了光年之外 長大難道是人必經的潰爛

放棄規則 放縱去愛 放肆自己 放空未來
我不轉彎 我不轉彎 我不轉彎 我不轉彎

My Blogging Journey

I started this blog "All About Singapore" in 2013. I also started another blog "Heart Sutra and Buddhism" blog in October 2017 and now it is among the Top 50 Buddhist Blogs . I felt happy when I was informed that the Heart Sutra and Buddhism blog became one of the Top 50 Buddhist blogs in January 2018 with Tiny Buddha being number 1 and my blog is now ranked 40th place in the world.  I feel happy if my post can inspire people to do good and share Buddha's teaching. 

Who am I to write about Buddha's teaching? I won't say I am perfect else I would be in the heavenly realm as a deva (heavenly being) enjoying fruit of good karma or reach enlightenment already. I still do not really understand what enlightenment is as I haven't experience it. Buddha simply said you don't have to go through samsara, cycle of rebirth anymore when you are enlightened. Even the devas (heavenly beings) after enjoying their good karma in the heavenly realm still need to go through samsara. Thus it is important to observe the five precepts, read more dharma and meditate and hopefully one day like Master HuiNeng became enlighten when he heard a verse from the Diamond sutra. 

At the moment, I think this is one of my purposes in life. To share Buddha's teaching. 

Yummy and Nutritious Sweet Potato and Nuts

Since the COVID-19, I have learnt and cooked more. I discovered that I can prepare healthy and yummy vegetarian dishes in easy and fuss-free way. 

Recently I used the steamed sweet potato and pumpkin and topped it with cranberry, honey coated macadamia, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds with some pine nuts.The dish is creamy sweet and crunchy with seeds and nuts. It is both a meal and a dessert. 

From Healthline :The 17 Best Protein Sources for Vegans and Vegetarian

Nuts, seeds and their derived products are great sources of protein. 

One ounce (28 grams) contains between 5–7 grams of protein, depending on the nut and seed variety.

Nuts and seeds are also great sources of fiber and healthy fats, in addition to iron, calcium, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus, vitamin E and certain B vitamins. They also contain antioxidants, among other beneficial plant compounds (67Trusted Source). 

When choosing which nuts and seeds to buy, keep in mind that blanching and roasting may damage the nutrients in nuts. So reach for raw, unblanched versions whenever possible (68). 

Also, try opting for natural nut butters to avoid the oil, sugar and excess salt often added to many household brand varieties.

I brought the nuts and seeds at Alison's pantry

Cloud in the Form of Love

I love gazing up the sky to look at cloud. Today I'm delighted to see cloud in the form of heart shape from my workplace. I immediately took photo of it. Do you see the heart shape too?

Took this photo of the heart shape cloud from my workplace today. There is no photo manipulation of changing the shape.

Too this photo of cloud from home yesterday. 

五月天 Mayday Online Concert Today at 8pm

To all those who love 五月天 Mayday band, there is online concert at 8pm today! Thanks to my cousin for reminding me!

I went to their 2016 concert with my friend at Singapore indoor stadium then and we really enjoyed the concert! Hopefully we can attend live concert in Singapore in the near future.

To view the online concert at 8pm today, click here.

To read my blog post on Mayday concert in 2016, you can click here.

Let's rock!

将军令 is one of my favourite songs.

This is one song I will sing at karaoke. Really miss singing at karaoke. 

New Mask Given by Singapore Government

I received my second reusable mask given by Singapore Government.  Have you collected yours?

Go to this website to see where you can collect at https://www.maskgowhere.gov.sg/. You can also collect from vending machines.

Fried Egg Noodles for Lunch Today

My mum cooks fried egg noodles with carrot, yellow bell pepper, garlic, egg and prawns. As usual it is very tasty.

Yummy and Healthy Salad

My father prepared simple but yummy salad for us. He simply used  bell pepper, avocado, cucumber, apple and caesar sauce. I added extra honey coated macadamia for the extra crunch and raisins. I don't normally eat bell pepper but its quite delicious when combined with other ingredients.

Exploring Bugis Street with Unique Architecture

Last Saturday, I alighted at Bugis MRT station to walk to Fortune Centre to collect take-away sushi at Herbivore. On the way there, I saw modern and traditional lovely architectures. The old shophouses are conserved well and they are coated with vibrant colour. For the first time, I notice the colourful spiral staircases at the traditional shophouses. In the past, I didn't notice as I didn't pass by this area. Now due to coronavirus and circuit-breaker, the Bugis shopping mall entrance is now blocked at the basement level so now you need to exit the MRT station in order to access the Bugis shopping mall at level 1.

Bugis Junction area which is popular with both the  tourist and youth is now really quiet and empty. Hopefully by the end of this year, it will be buzzing with more people. 

Beautiful modern Bugis+ shopping mall juxtaposed with the cheerful colour traditional shophouses. I love Bugis+ hexagon and stars inspired architecture.

I love these colourful spiral staircases of these shophouses. It would be nice to stay in one of the shophouses.

Many non-essential businesses are not opened yet.

I was walking past the National Design Centre and for the first time, I saw notice sculpture. 

The National Library (left) and the National Design Centre

Healthy Home-cooked Soba Noodles

For today dinner, I cooked soba noodles tossed in sesame sauce and added pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sliced almond, dried cranberries and blueberries with a soft boiled egg.

It's a simple dish to prepare and its healthy and delicious. Glad that my parents enjoyed the soba noodles.

Wish Me Luck in Finding Mr Right

I'm now in my very late 30s and I think I better start searching for my other half aka soul mate. I've downloaded a few dating apps to help me find him. So far a few guys like me but I'm not interested. I don't like very young guys. I can accept above 37 years old and above male. I like someone born in the year of pig or snake. I notice that I get along well with people born in the year of pig so even though he be 2 years younger than me, it should be ok. I do like people with water element. Think it's the cosmic attraction since I lack water element in my Bazi. 

I don't mind if he is of different religion but he must accept that I'm a Buddhist. Sometimes I wonder if I should just click like first and find out more about the person first and not like just because he is good-looking. I'm always attracted to good-looking man. 

In my workplace,  my colleagues are either married men or much younger than me. Till now at this age, I have not date yet. I do hope to experience dating soon. In the past my priority was in study and work. Now I must plan some time for dating once this coronavirus end. Anyway if next month I still don't see anyone I like, I might just click like to find out more. Maybe I should not be picky, superficial and expect handsome man. I just want to look for a life-partner to grow old with and with similar interests. Sometimes it can be boring to travel alone.

Hopefully I get to find the special one. Actually I don't have high expectations now. At my age, I also don't plan to have kids. I do hope my Mr Right is kind, good looking,  financially independent and smart. It will be a bonus if he can write Chinese poem. 

Singapore Book Fair 2020

This year due to coronavirus, the Singapore Book Fair is held online till 25th May this year. You can watch interview of authors or celebrities or 'intellectual' discussion via online at the Singapore Book Fair Facebook here . Last year, it was held at The Central Business District at the beautiful Capitol.

I really should stop buying books. I have far too many books at home. But I do like to buy great magazines which I can keep. I'm glad that I brought some Lonely Planet magazines Asia version which is not in print now. I wanted to buy Lonely Planet Asia magazine late last year but couldn't find it in bookshops. I think the glossy feel Asia version magazine is much better than the international version and much cheaper. I also like Home Decor magazine which I think really showcases the latest design trends and beautiful home. Now I'm looking forward to Home Decor magazines every month.

Click here to read 2019 Singapore Book Fair.

Exotic Fruit Kiwano

I'm attracted to the bright orange spiky looking fruit known as Kiwano or horned melon imported from New Zealand At Market Place by Jasons. I brought this one exotic fruit to share with my family today. It is quite expensive at $8.95 each.

It is actually native to Africa but is now grown in some European countries, Australia, USA and New Zealand. It is rich with vitamins and minerals and is part of the cucumber and melon family. It is quite sour like lime and I felt like I was eating big cucumber seed. 

You can read this Healthline here on the 7 benefits of Kiwano.

Be careful of the sharp spikes!

This fruit is filled with seeds. It has beautiful cross-section.

Just cut the fruit into small pieces and eat it like watermelon. Do you see a face?

Each kiwano fruit from New Zealand costs $8.95. I decided to buy one and share with my family as we had not eaten this exotic fruit. Its time to try something new. 

I thought the kiwano fruit is expensive until I saw the Melon from Japan which costs $88.00!

Travelling to Italy

Buongiorno! When this coronavirus pandemic end, I will travel to the beautiful Italy and maybe Switzerland. I love Italian pasta, coffee and dessert and the beautiful countryside. For now, I can do research on Italy and plan the travel. Or maybe I go with the travel agency. 

I believe this coronavirus will end, maybe in a year or two. For now, I just watch videos on Italy.

Grocery Shopping in Singapore during Circuit-Breaker

There are now more preventive measures in the midst of coronavirus outbreak in Singapore. Now you need to scan your Identification card or scan safe entry code for contact tracing before you enter the supermarket and shopping malls.

I like going to Raffles City shopping mall for grocery shopping as I can also buy cakes from Cedele and Tiong Bahru Bakery shop. I also like the vibe in the city area. At Tampines, residential area, the supermarkets are crowded with many people.

How about you? Do you prefer to shop in the residential area or city? 

Matcha croissant is really good! 

A really quiet Raffles City shopping mall. Get your identification card or phone ready for contact tracing. 

Not many people go to downtown area for grocery shopping. Well, except for me. 

I love the honey coated macadamias. It reminds me of Australia.

There are also dried fruits and wide variety of nuts.

This truffle cheddar cheese is really good for toast. I love cheese but dislike milk.

Love the market place with their wide selection of cheese.

Tiong Bahru Bakery has awesome croissant! 

Matcha croissant is really good! 

I like Cedele blueberry almond slice.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day and I decided to bake lemon cake for my mum. Anyway my mum also mentioned before that she wants to eat lemon cake bake by me. With circuit breaker,  restaurants are not available for dining. 

I used rice cooker to cook the lemon cake as the oven is not working. Anyway the lemon cake is delicious though it doesn't look nice. At least the texture of the cake is what I want which is sticky moist and tasty. Most importantly my mum said the lemon cake is yummy. 

Dessert Today: Yam Paste

If you had attended Teochew wedding, you most probably had yam paste or orh nee for dessert. Yam paste is nutritious with vitamins c and b5 and minerals. When I first had yam paste at my aunty's wedding decades ago, I told myself that if I'm going to be married, I must have yam paste for my wedding dessert. A great yam paste should be silky smooth with pumpkin. 

Today my mum just prepared simple yam paste for us. Although it's not silky smooth, it is quite delicious. It is healthy version with no oil. As I also like honey macadamia nut, I just added some to my yam paste. 

I added some honey coated macadamia to my yam paste

Aaron Kwok #郭富城 Live Charity Concert Today

Aaron Kwok is my childhood idol. Whenever his song, 对你爱爱不完 was played, I would dance to the catchy tune. Aaron Kwok will be 55 years old this October but he is still so dashing and fit! This evening, my parents and I watch Aaron Kwok's online concert from Starhub channel. The purpose of this online concert is to help to raise funds for the dancers in Hong Kong. This one hour concert is simply awesome with all his great hits! 

Aaron Kwok today. He is still so handsome!

Aaron Kwok in 1990.

1 hour online charity concert 2020.

Cancellation of Musical On Your Feet!

I'm very disappointed that the Broadway musical, On Your Feet! which is supposed to show this June at Marina Bay Sands theatre is now cancelled due to Covid-19 in Singapore. I was looking forward to this musical after the circuit breaker end in early June. If the show is cancelled, this means theatres and cinemas might not open after the circuit breaker. Perhaps it might be extended to another 2 weeks.

In Singapore, there are now 21,707 infected coronavirus cases. Most of the infected cases are from foreign worker dormitories. I think the ministry of manpower minister really mess up this time. There are about 300,000 foreign workers in Singapore. Will 100,000 foreign workers be infected? Can our healthcare staff manage this crisis? Is there a need to seek medical help from overseas? Perhaps China might send some doctors and nurses here.

For now, I just have to watch musical online.