Happy Mid-Autumn Festival

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival with the bright full moon hanging high up in the sky for all to admire its sheer beauty. 

I had one small orh nee yam paste mooncake and 2 slices of pomelo for dinner.  I also took the opportunity to take photo of the beautiful bright illuminous moon today. 

Bright full moon on 15th of lunar month. Today is Mid-Autumn Festival.

Orh nee or yam paste mooncake is my favourite mooncake. I don't like baby yam as I find it a troublesome to eat. 

Had two slices of pomelo. 

I love this song 但愿人长久 by Faye Wong. The lyrics is actually from a Song Dynasty poem by the famous artist, poet and politician  Su Shi (8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101) popularly known as Su DongPo.  

苏轼 苏东坡

明月几时有，把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年。我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人间？

转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

I took the translation from this blog here

但愿人长久 (Wish People for a Long Time(literal translation) or May People Live Long)

明月幾時有 when will there be a bright moon,

把酒問青天 raise my glass of wine and ask the clear sky.

不知天上宮闕 do not know in the heavenly palace,

今夕是何年 this evening is what year.

我欲乘風歸去 I wish to ride the wind back,

唯恐瓊樓玉宇 for fear that this jade palace,

高處不勝寒 high above is unbearably cold.

起舞弄清影   dancing with my quiet shadow,

何似在人間 how can it compare to the human world.

轉朱閣  rounds the red pavilion,

低綺戶 stoops beneath ornate doors,

照無眠 shines upon the sleepless.

不應有恨 should not bear a grudge,

何事長向別時圓 why is the moon full when we are apart?

人有悲歡離合 man has joy, sorrow, parting, reunion,*

月有陰晴圓缺 moon has overcast, clear, full, crescent,

此事古難全 these matters from old are difficult to complete.*

但願人長久 wish people for a long time,

千里共嬋娟  thousand miles distant together share the beautiful moon.

Today Dinner: Yogurt with Dragonfruit and Nuts

Today dinner is simple yogurt with red dragonfruit, honey pecans and other nuts like walnut, almond and pumpkin seed. Felt very full after eating it. 

This pecans honey is really crunchy sweet. 

I like this Dairy Farmers yogurt from Australia. I prefer fig flavour but it's out of stock pretty fast.
 

Indulging in Mooncakes

This Tuesday is Mid-Autumn Festival and I be celebrating by eating more mooncakes and pomelo with my family at home. I will skip dinner and just eat mooncake this Tuesday.

This year my elder brother brought back many mooncakes distributed by his company and my younger brother's girlfriend also brought yam mooncake for us. I just had my favourite yam or orh nee mooncake and tried premium black and white sesame paste mooncake. I love black sesame seed and the moon cake is not so sweet. Next Friday I go to Gardens by the Bay and Chinatown to see lantern lighting. 

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you all in advance!

This orh nee or yam mooncake from Yan is generously filled with yam paste with layered flaky crust skin. I love it! 

Premium black and white sesame paste mooncake from Peach Garden Chinese restaurant. Quite nice for me as I like black sesame paste and it is not so sweet.

I had coffee with mooncake instead of tea. :)

Lotus paste mooncake from Marriott Tang plaza  hotel.

Bright Sun with Halo on 18 September 2021

I saw some beautiful sun halo photos from CloudSpotting FB page. I decided to try my luck and see if I could capture it today. Some photographers managed to capture the halo sun with rainbow tail.  Anyway I managed to take photo of this bright sun before it was covered by the clouds today. I took the photos using my Samsung Note 10 plus phone at 1.39pm today near my home at Tampines.

  

 

Favourite Song at the Moment : 平凡之路

I love both the melody and poetic lyrics of this song 平凡之路 or ordinary path sang by 朴树 Pu Shu. Simply awesome! When the karaokes are allowed to operate I will sing with my friend Y maybe. My singing buddy. 

平凡之路 Ordinary Path 

Composer and Singer : Pu Shu

Lyrics by Pu Shu and Han Han 朴树、韩寒作词

徘徊着的 在路上的
你要走吗 Via Via
易碎的 骄傲着
那也曾是我的模样
沸腾着的 不安着的
你要去哪 Via Via
谜一样的 沉默着的
故事你真的在听吗
我曾经跨过山和大海
也穿过人山人海
我曾经拥有着的一切
转眼都飘散如烟
我曾经失落失望失掉所有方向
直到看见平凡才是唯一的答案
当你仍然 还在幻想
你的明天 Via Via
她会好吗 还是更烂
对我而言是另一天
我曾经毁了我的一切
只想永远地离开
我曾经堕入无边黑暗
想挣扎无法自拔
我曾经像你像他像那野草野花
绝望着 也渴望着
也哭也笑平凡着
向前走 就这么走
就算你被给过什么
向前走 就这么走
就算你被夺走什么
向前走 就这么走
就算你会错过什么
向前走 就这么走
就算你会
我曾经跨过山和大海
也穿过人山人海
我曾经拥有着的一切
转眼都飘散如烟
我曾经失落失望失掉所有方向
直到看见平凡才是唯一的答案
我曾经毁了我的一切
只想永远地离开
我曾经堕入无边黑暗
想挣扎无法自拔
我曾经像你像他像那野草野花
绝望着 也渴望着
也哭也笑平凡着
我曾经跨过山和大海
也穿过人山人海
我曾经问遍整个世界
从来没得到答案
我不过像你像他像那野草野花
冥冥中这是我 唯一要走的路啊
时间无言 如此这般
明天已在 Hia Hia
风吹过的 路依然远
你的故事讲到了哪

I love this cover song by Nicholas Tse, Jam Hsiao and Karry Wang.

 

The original singer and composer 朴树 :平凡之路

Bright Fluffy Clouds Today

Saw this bright fluffy clouds today at my workplace today. I think it looks mesmerising so I captured it with my phone. Sun rises early today.

Things will pass. Just like the fleeting clouds. 

Time to Raise Interest Rate?

It's high time USA Fed starts to raise interest rate. They must not ignore the negative impact of inflation rate. 

For those who are still invested in stock, I think its high time to get out of the market. Next year Ren year and Wuqu Hua ji might see a massive market crash. Let's see if Chinese metaphysics prediction is accurate next year. 

Baby Panda In Singapore

Baby panda is now about 1 month old. I hope to see this cutie in December at Singapore River Safari. What should we name him? Xing Xing 星星？

To read more, visit Channel News Asia here

Spicy Mala Xiang Guo Instant Noodles

I know instant noodles is not healthy. But I really like this Myojo Spicy Mala Xiang Guo instant noodles. I eat this about once or twice a week. Definitely not healthy to eat instant noodles everyday. 

This Mala instant noodle package is rare. I managed to find this at Tampines Central Community centre NTUC. But you can find the instant Mala bowl at most supermarkets in Singapore. 

 

Truffle-Licious at Elemen

Elemen, a popular vegetarian restaurant is now offering Truffle-Licious 8-course set value at $48.80++ per set till 31 October 2021. I had a wonderful meal and I think it's better to try asap looking at the rising Covid-19 cases in Singapore.

My favourite dish is the dessert, truffle basque cheesecake with milk tea ice-cream. It's a great combination and I was impressed with the milk tea ice-cream and creamy cheesecake.  

I went to HarbourFront branch for lunch. Service was good.  The staff gave truffle crisps at the end of the meal. 

It is quite pricey at about $57.10 after adding in 10% service charge and 7% GST. I think I will be back again as I like the dessert and also the collagen rich soup. Also I like truffle. 

Uni pillow with truffle comb. The creamy rich paste that resembles uni is made from mashed chick peas, sweet potatoes and silken tofu on top of truffle kombu or fried crispy seaweed on crispy rice. This is second dish after Le truffle trio.

Le Truffle Trio comes with black truffle Xiao long Bao, 'escargot' and crispy charcoal tofu bites. 

Uni pillow with truffle comb. The creamy rich paste that resembles uni is made from mashed chick peas, sweet potatoes and silken tofu on top of truffle kombu or fried crispy seaweed on crispy rice. This is second dish after Le truffle trio.

Truffle collagen broth. I really need this nutritious soup. I love this tasty soup with golden crispy roll.

Black truffle tortellini comes with crispy tortellini filled with porcini mushroom on creamy porcini mushroom sauce. I find the filling too salty.

Refreshing yuzu sorbet

Black truffle oyster mushroom. I love this tasty rich truffle cream sauce with king oyster mushrooms that look like scallops. 

Black truffle iced latte

Truffle Basque cheesecake with milk tea ice-cream. I love this awesome dessert.

From Elemen

Gift from Elemen

Beyond- 喜欢你

Still like this song even though it's more than 20 years old.  Beyond is still the best rock band of this century. Many singers have covered Beyond songs composed by Wong Ka Kiu. I like the song performed by Gem. 

My Lovely Pet: Ah Ji

This is my lovely chinchilla, Ah Ji or 阿吉. He is 11 years old this year and has been with us since he was a few months old. My 3rd younger brother brought him in 2010 and we have been showering him with lotsa love since. He is really well-behaved and docile. He is like a family to us now. May he live to a ripe old age of 20 years old.

Cleaning My Room and Update of BTO Ballot

I spent the day cleaning my bedroom desk today. It took me half a day to clean and organise my items. I'm wondering if I should throw away my CD and DVD collection as they are taking too much space. There is no more CD or DVD drive in laptop and desktop now. I need to get a DVD/CD player if I want to use it. 

I have far too many things. I really must stop spending unnecessary. In the midst of cleaning, I read my diary that I wrote from 2003 to 2005 when I was an undergraduate at NUS. Back then, my young cousin was a baby. Reading my diary brought old memories back. 

I just received an email from HDB regarding 2-room BTO flat application under the Single scheme. Alas as balloted queue number has exceeded the flat supply, application for the flat is not successful. Well, I just have to try for November BTO flat application again.     

Tomorrow, I will clear other part of my bedroom. There are far too many things to clean and organise. 

My CD and DVD collection.

I like Jay Chou music. 

Mum prepared Kimbap for dinner tonight.

Current Favourite Song 為你寫詩

Currently I like this Mandarin song by Kenji Wu,  為你寫詩 (Writing Poem for You). I love both the melody and lyrics. 

Tonight Dinner

I just had a simple dinner of honey yogurt with dragonfruit, honey pecan and some nuts and seeds like pumpkin seeds. I also had a small piece of yam mooncake. I'm a typical Teochew who loves everything yam- Orh nee or yam paste and yam mooncake. I do hope my future spouse can cook yam paste for me, the not so sweet type for healthier option. 

I don't feel so well with menstrual cramp so I had afternoon nap after washing clothes and bag. 

I'm happy with what I done in the morning. Washing my clothes and also my bag. Today weather is great for drying clothes and bag with bright sunny day. 

Tomorrow I will clean my room and organise my bookshelves and desk. Time to clear my messy room.

I love the honey pecan from camel brand. 

I had a small piece of yam mooncake, Teochew style. 

Breaking World Record at 14 Years Old: The Amazing and Filial Quan Hong Chan

My young cousin shared with me the teenager who dived with barely a splash. I was skeptical initially. After watching the perfect dive, I was amazed by her beautiful dive showing us what the human body is capable of. I'm not a fan of diving sports. But after watching Quan Hong Chan's amazing dives, I've become a fan of her!. I like watching her beautiful elegant perfect dives with minimal ripple. 

Now, I'm a fan of the resilient and filial Olympic Diving Champion Quan Hong Chan who also broke world record achieving colossal score of 466.2 and 3 perfect scores in this Olympics!

Behind her success is many years of sacrifice. She has to practise more than 400 jumps/dives per day. About 200 to 300 backflips on land and 100 dives on water. She did not complain about the tough and tiring practice. She is adorable and mature at her age. Her only goal is to earn lots of money to pay for her mother's medical bills as her farmer father does not earn much. At 14 years old, she has not visited zoo and theme parks but she don't whine and complain but always give her best during the practice. Some kids at her age will just whine and complain of tough training. There are many sour grapes online. Maybe they are ignorant of the young British Tom Daley who started competing at 14 years old.

There is no shortcut to success. Grit, focus, resilience, determination and hard work are keys to success. 

I have great respect for her grit and filial piety.  May she continue to thrive and succeed and stay humble. At 14 years old, she has a long road ahead. 

Jiayou Quan HongChan 加油全红婵!

I really like this adorable, sensible and filial girl.May she continue to thrive and succeed!

Favourite Female Volleyball Team

Do you enjoy watching volleyball matches? If yes, most probably you enjoy this movie on China female volleyball team who won Gold in 2016 Brazil Olympics. 

I like the current China female volleyball team. I just find them awesome and great volleyball players!