Bun mam, a Southern Vietnamese dish

I have realized that I seldom talked about Vietnamese cuisine, besides a few popular dishes. This is quite strange as I like eating as much as shopping. Maybe it is because the huge backlog of my travel posts which I am trying to clear as quickly as possible.

I do not consider myself as a foodie. That requires a lot of knowledge and researches when eating and writing about a certain dish. I just like to eat good food. And good food to me might not taste so great to others, except for desserts. I am very confident in my sweet tooth. And very picky with which cakes/chocolate/snacks I consume. Every calorie counts after all.

Therefore, I can rarely recommend a good Vietnamese restaurant in Singapore. It is very frustrating to eat Vietnamese cuisine in this tiny island. The country is near to Vietnam, but hardly offers some decent places. At least, what I think good enough to pay more than 6 bucks for a bowl of beef noodles (known as "pho" to some). So once in a while, I will have to cook myself.

Yep, I do cook, if gasping is what you are doing. And I believe I cook quite well myself. I am just too lazy to cook more regularly. I do not like rice much, which is very strange for an Asian. I prefer noodles (especially those made from rice). And to have a delicious bowl of rice noodle soup, it takes some effort to churn out a good pot of soup. Only when I am in the mood, I will jump into the kitchen and cook some special Vietnamese dishes. This time, it is "Bun mam".

This is a less known dish from the South of Vietnam. It is particularly popular in the west of Southern Vietnam, i.e. Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, etc. In this region, it is also called "Bun nuoc leo" with different versions for different towns. However, there is always one common point, the soup.

Ah yes, the soup. This is what makes the dish so well-known with the local and might make foreigners walk away hastily. It is cooked from a variety of "salted fish" sauce and the smell of these sauces is very strong. Many people, even Vietnamese, could not stand the overwhelming smell. Some told me these sauces stank. So yeah, if you can't stand the smell, it must be hard to enjoy the food itself.

For my version of "bun mam", I use "mam ca linh" and "mam ca sac" to cook the stock. Then I add "ngai bun", a root which I think only those who know how to cook this dish have heard about it. And you must have it for the soup. If not, the dish will turn into "mam va rau", which could only be eaten with rice. After removing all the bones from those salted fish and other undesirable and unidentified things, I throw in some stalks of lemon grass to lessen the strong smell of the soup. At the same time, I fried some finely-chopped lemon grass and garlic to give the stock another extra kick of taste. About 5 minutes before turning off the fire, I add the above fried mixture and some eggplants into the soup. And it is ready to be served.

Due to limited resources in Singapore, I could only use squid, prawn and roasted pork as the main ingredients for my "bun mam". For the "bun" part, I buy thick bee hoon, or laksa noodles which is quite sufficient. After arrange all the ingredients into a big bowl to my liking, it is time to pour the soup in. And depending on personal liking, I will add Chinese garlic chives (he) and bean sprouts to the bowl. But it will definitely taste better with all the above ingredients. So if it is your first time to try this dish, you should try all of them and adjust your next bowl according to your taste.

Even though it has been more than 10 years since I cooked this dish, I seemed to retain my skills. If what my housemates reacted was true. And if you have a chance to try this dish, don't walk away because of the smell. Give it a try and you might have a new favourite Vietnamese dish.

Singapore shopping - Kenzoki and Burberry Beauty

Metro was having a 20% store-wide sale this week. Initially, I did not plan to buy anything except Chanel UV Essentiel and Givenchy Prisme Libre Loose Powder. These are two stable items in my make-up routine and stocking them always gives me a peace of mind. However, recently, I am thinking of trying out sunscreens from other brands as the price of Chanel UV Essentiel is increasing to an unacceptable level. But again, I do not want to waste money on trying new products and eventually still have to go back to Chanel. It is a very disturbingly tiresome argument I was having with myself.

Anyway, I was in a very bad mood this week due to family matters. So I knew that I would, either spend a bomb shopping or walk home empty-handed. With that kind of mood, I went into Metro Paragon and headed straight to Kenzoki. Err? That sounded so out of the blue. Well, at the time, I suddenly remembered Kenzoki also had a suncreen (which brand does not have?) and a lot of customers seemed to ask for it last time when I was there checking out its moisturizers. So I thought I might want to see if the stock had come in (it had been out of stock in July).

When I reached the counter, the SA was the one had served previously and I had felt quite comfortable with her. I asked to test the suncreen on my hand to feel texture and if it left a white cast on my skin. Even though the product looked thick at first on my skin, when I spread the liquid, it took less than a minute to absorb into my skin and leave nothing behind. No white cast and stickiness. And the coverage seemed great, just a few drops to cover my forearm. I thought to myself, maybe worth a try. I asked the SA about the price. $61, compared with $73 of Chanel. That was great. "I will take the suncreen, thanks!"

But I did not stop at that. I did not feel satisfied, so the SA recommended other products from Kenzoki. In the end, I walked out of the counter with a night eye cream (for dark circles) and an exfoliator for my face. I had some from Origins (GWP and reward points) but I was having a withdrawal from those products. And Kenzoki scrub had very interesting texture. So yep, I gave these products a try. After all, I am pampering myself so it should be money well-spent.

But that was all I bought in Metro. Amazingly, I did not think about stocking Givenchy loose powder. I passed by the counter without a second thought. I guess I still had until end of this year to buy a new box.

My next focus was Tangs and the newly-opened Burberry Beauty counter. Why? Because I wanted to take a look at Burberry Beauty products, especially its blushes. I was reading beauty blogs the past few months and got hooked into this brand. I am a sucker for clean and classy packaging. That is why Chanel, Givenchy and Kenzoki call to me. The design of Burberry beauty products could not be any less perfect. So yeah, I needed to see them for myself to satisfy my eyes, and then tested the products to see if they were as wonderful as those bloggers described them to be.

The counter was situated near to MAC and the perfume section of Tangs Beauty Hall. And it was quite empty when I was there, which made me hesitant to approach the counter. I just wanted to check out the products, but I might not buy anything. And an empty counter might make that difficult as the SAs would have more focus to push you. Again, my depressing mood prompted me to go there. (Yep, I usually do many thing unreasonable when I am stressed.)

The SA serving me turned out to be very polite and nice. She asked me if I was interested in a particular product and my answer was blush. Due to two unfortunate accidents, my eyes are extremely sensitive and dry nowadays. I cannot put on eye make-up without irritating them, which means eye shadows, mascaras, eye liners, etc. are out of my focus. So when I shop for my make-up, they usually include liquid foundation, loose powder, blush, eye brow related stuff, lip sticks and blush. Since I was sick of my current blushes at home, I looked forward to exploring some new options at Burberry.

Singapore counter seemed to carry all the light glows (that was what Burberry calls its blush) which were available on the UK website. This means more than what is offered on Singapore website. And the SA recommended Tangerie (No. 6) and Blossom (No. 5) to me. After trying both on my cheeks, I wanted to buy both colors. One interesting point about the blushes was that they looked quite different from the pan and on my cheeks. And different in a good way. The texture was another winning point, velvet and pigmented. What else could I expect from a blush? I was sold. But which color should I choose? After asking me a few more questions, the SA convinced me to take Tangerie as most of my current blushes were pink tone. Tangerie would give my blushes a variety.

So yeah, I happily took Tangerie home with me, after parting 61 bucks at the cashier. The price was high, but it was comparable with Chanel. Also, after I checked the website, the pricing in Singapore was quite compatible with other countries carrying the line, which made me even happier. And you will definitely see me at the next Tangs 12% sale.

Here are some shots I took of the blush. Beautiful, isn't it? However, due to my lousy iPhone camera, the color of the blush was not reflected well in the picture. It is the best to see it in real life.

Brugge - Kasteel Tillegem, a pictorial

Brugge eats - Drinking the best hot chocolate

I had very fond memories about chocolate in Brugge. It was cheap and available everywhere in the town. After 4 days there, I brought back quite a huge amount of chocolate that helped me to survive a travelling hangover. And of course, I had to try some hot chocolate when I was there.

I passed by Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc when finding my way to Minnewater. The claim of "The place to be to drink the best hot chocolate" sparked my interest. This shop had to have something to back up its confidence. So on my last day in Brugge, I stopped over and walked up the stairs to enter the café.

The shop was decorated in a quaint and lovely style. Colorful glass windows, wooden furniture and flowery tablecloth made me feel so happy. This was my favourite shop decoration. And it was hard to find such shops in Singapore and Vietnam. I had found one in Saigon but the whole atmosphere seemed so pretentious that I had had to leave after an hour.

I ordered the café's signature hot chocolate and a plate of waffle with butter. The food and drink were brought out promptly.

So what was so special about this drink that made it the best? Well, the white liquid in the white bowl was actually hot milk. And do you see the cup full of chocolate on the right-hand side plate? That cup was also made of chocolate. Before drinking, I had to put the cup and the chocolate inside it into the hot milk. Then stirring my mixture of milk and chocolate by using the mixing tool given. Until the chocolate was all melted into the milk. Tada, my hot choclate was ready to be drunk. And darn! It was so yummy that I had to share with my friends on Facebook. Yep, I was facebooking on my iPhone in the café as well. There was complimentary wifi for its guests. Couldn't bear to pay for the super duper expensive data roaming so I only went only if there was a free wifi connection around.

What about the waffle? Sad to say this but it was mediocre at best. I chose butter to go with my waffle and that was a big mistake. I should have chosen fresh/whipped cream. It would be a much better experience. Oh well, I went there for chocolate, not waffle after all. So I guess it was not a huge loss. So yeah, if you are around the town, don't hesitate, head to Chocolaterie Sukerbuyc and enjoy the best hot chocolate in town.

Brugge - Heilig-Bloedbasiliek

Heilig-Bloedbasiliek (in Dutch language) is also called the Basilica of the Holy Blood in English. It is one of the landmarks in Brugge that are mentioned in every travel book about the town. And being a very typical tourist myself, I had made it a point to visit the church, even if I am not a Catholic.

This was my second visit to a Roman Catholic church during my Europe trip. Until I write these blog posts, I did not realize that most of the churches I had been to were Roman Catholic. My lack of knowledge in religions contributed to my ignorance toward the types of churches I visited during my travels. However, it did not prevent me from admiring the magnificent beauty of this minor basilica.

Anyway, even though I had this in my itinerary, I did not exactly enter Heilig-Bloedbasiliek on purpose. More like stumbling into it. I was in the Burg square to explore Brugge's famous City Hall, after my Moroccan lunch. Then I saw people streaming in and out of a small door located on the right-hand side of City Hall. And when travelling, I harbored quite an unhealthy amount of curiosity, which meant I followed these people through that door. And guess what? I discovered the lower chapel of the basilica.

This lower chapel is a dark Romanesque structure that remains virtually unchanged from the 12th century. To say the truth, I felt a little disappointed when first walking around. It was dark and dreary. Not my favourite type of church, you know? But still, I wondered what had made the church so popular, even to those who are not religious.

The answer was the upper chapel of Heilig-Bloedbasiliek. After stepping into it, I was glad I had followed my gut instinct and decided to climb a few stairs. "Wow" was my first thought. It was so gorgeous that I was mutely walking around, excitedly inhaling and exhaling.

The upper chapel was rebuilt in the Gothic style during the 16th century and renovated multiple times during the 19th century in Gothic Revival style. And it best known as the repository of a venerated phial said to contain a cloth with blood of Jesus Christ, brought to the city by Thierry of Alsace after the 12th century Second Crusade. Alright, pardon my disinterest of the fact about the blood of Jesus Christ, but I felt a tad queasy to even think there was a vial of blood being kept for several centuries. That was just disturbing to me. My main focus was still in the terrific architecture of the basilica. And that was what I did exactly. Admiring all the altars, glass windows and colorfully-painted walls. And then left for another touristy interest.

New York - Ground Zero

The news has been all talking about Sep 11 event for a few days. It has been 10 years, which I feel like a blink of eyes. Time flies so fast that when I turn around, I have been away from my hometown for 10 years.

I still remember the day the destruction had struck Manhattan. I was at the common lounge in my university dorm and the TV was on. As it was a common dorm, the best channel to be watched was news. But no one seemed to care about that. Sometimes you could feel amazed at how much noise a few students could make. Suddenly, someone shouted "World Trade Center in NY was just attacked!" And every eye turned to the TV screen. There it was, the news flash with an image of a plane crashing into one of the towers. It was the first plane. We were buzzed with surprise and soon, anger. As a business student myself, I used to dream of going to Manhattan and working in a financial company located at WTC. Yeah, I was idealist.

A few minutes later, the news flashed again. The second plane had collided with the other tower, and what once-a-financial-symbol had become a pile of scrap. A breaking news soon became a development story and world headline. When I went back to my room and checked the Internet, the number of dead victims was counting. And the culprits were speculated. But one thing for sure, this despicable act was done under the name of religion. That was so wrong in many levels. Personally, I do not dislike any religion. Even though I am a free thinker, I am considered myself as Buddhist in heart. And I used to read Buddhist texts when I was in Vietnam which taught us how to be a better person by getting rid of anger and hate towards other beings. And I think other religions are preaching the same ideals. I do not think any god (or whoever the higher being in that religion) would like you to kill thousands of people for his name. So why in the seventh hell is that some group of people could something that vile?

Even if they blamed a country's government on what it was doing in their country and religion, it was so cruel to take revenge on its innocent citizens. That was why they were called terrorists. And I still do not understand why they would want to resort to such a violent method. If they had that kind of money, why did they not focus on improve their economy? Fighting by economy is the best way to get back on a country.

Anyway, the past had happened. Anniversary is for people to remember and mourn for their loved ones. And going forward in life. That is what those victims probably want for their livings.

I visited Ground Zero in a cold winter day in 2009, during my trip to New York city. It was not like what we are seeing in the news these days. The memorial was still being re-built and the new building was just an empty land. I was advised to go to One World Financial Center to have a better view, which I did. The feeling was hard to describe. Seeing one of the world's most famous buildings demolished into nothing was emotional for me. My dream would be forever a dream. Even if it was a silly dream but if Sep 11 did not happen, I would have a much better chance to make my dream come true.

Brugge - Views from the canal boat

One activity that you have to do in Brugge is taking a canal boat tour. Yes, it is a very touristy thing to do, but what you experience from the tour is amazing. You could see a different Brugge from what walking around the town offers.

There are 5 starting points where you could buy a ticket and hop on a boat. Well, after waiting in line for a few minutes. Of course, there are some starting points that have less people than others. But I guess you might just go to the nearest place. My starting point was near to City Hall which I did not really choose it on purpose. I was walking around and decided it was time to take a canal boat tour.

The ticket costed 6.9 euros. Not that expensive for such a terrific experience. But as I had Brugge City Card, the ticket was complimentary (or inclusive to the card if you'd like to nitpick) for me. Then I was shown down to the bank of the canal and asked to wait there. After waiting for around 10 minutes, a canal boat appeared. The queue was moving and before I knew it, I was sitting on the boat.

My experience was very enjoyable, partly due to the beautiful weather on that day. However, the main reason was the gorgeous views of the town I could see from the boat. The scenery and atmosphere somehow were so different. That was why the phrase "In another's point of view" was aptly applied in this case.

Not more words. I will let my pictures speak for what I had seen.

Queuing and waiting

The boat for the canal tour

Singapore entertainment - "Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century Tour 2011"

After more than 4 months of waiting, I had finally a chance to listen to Jacky Cheung singing live the first time in my life. And it was worth all the money I had spent on the ticket.

The show was performed at Singapore Indoor Stadium and on 28 Aug which was a Sunday. It lasted for more than 3 hours, without any break. When I reached home, it was after midnight. Luckily, the next two days were public holidays in Singapore so I had time to rest and upload my photos.

Finding the way to the venue was a tad difficult, which was actually unexpected. I had gone there before, for Andy Lau's concert and the semi-final football match between Vietnam and Singapore. I had even done a check on Maps app from my iPhone. However, the result on Maps app and my memory did not match. So I checked the bus route at the bus stop. And guess what? Both buses from my memory and Maps app did not pass by Singapore Indoor Stadium. What was going on? Just to be sure, I checked with the bus driver of the bus from my memory. And he said the route had been changed for a while. Yes, it had passed by the stadium in the past. But no longer since sometime late last year. Oh dear...

In the end, I had to take Circle line to Stadium station and walk to the venue from there. At the time, it was about 15 minutes to 8pm. And I was not happy as I wanted to go in and take some picture pre-show. To add insult to injury, I stood in the wrong queue. When I reached to my seat, it was 8pm, when the show was supposed to start. But there were still long queues outside. I guess that was why the show had not started on time. Well, it was the first time I felt relieved for a show starting later than it was supposed to. Why? The reasons are below.

After around 15 minutes waiting, the light was dim and everyone stayed quiet. It was the time to admire and listen to Jacky. He appeared on stage in a white suit, tap-dancing for a few minutes. My first impression was "Interesting". In fact, I did not have much expectations about the show as I thought his greatest strength was his voice. So the show should not have much dancing or skit. Well, I was utterly wrong.

As the show progressed, I had mixed feelings. In one hand, I was amazed that Jacky had put a lot of efforts to make the show more interesting with his dancing and acting. However, like I said, I love his voice so I felt these performances had been distracting me from thoroughly enjoying his vocal. Nevertheless, they were a joy to watch.

Also, as I was not very familiar with Jacky's newer songs/albums, half of the songs performed in the show were first-timer to me. And it was kinda hard to sing along or feel my emotion with them. Only when older songs were sang, I then felt my heart beating faster and cheering along with other fans.

One thing that made me truly respect the artiste was no break during the concert. Jacky sang live without any real break. Just some small breaks in between songs. But the energy was still great until the end of the show. From my limited understanding of Chinese, the singer sang more than 30 songs. That was impressive. And he had a lovely sense of humour when interacting with his fans. I would love to understand all of what he said then.

I especially love the part that he sang some of his oldest songs, which I know and understand quite well. He did that with a band of cello and piano, which are two of my favourite musical instruments. It blended beautifully with his voice. It took me back to my childhood and uni time, a time without worry and stress. Life was so simple back then.

However, I was really sad when realizing that he did not sing my most favourite song, 我等到花儿也谢了(Anh Sẽ Đợi Đến Khi Hoa Tàn). That was the song that brought his terrific voice to me, and not hearing it singing live was such a sad feeling. That was why I left the concert feeling incomplete. And that was also why I still prefer Andy Lau's Wonderful World Tour 2008 to Jacky Cheung's 1/2 Century Tour 2011. However, my childhood dream has been fulfilled two third. If only Michael Jackson were still alive...