fully soaking in Hawaii's beauty

I thought you folks might enjoy some random pictures of the sights on Oahu. These were taken en route to Waimanalo Park, or as the locals call it 'Sherwoods'. Beautiful beach, pretty quiet, fun waves....gonna miss it for sure coz Sentosa or East Coast Park doesn't even come close.

what?

Ok...so I've been getting comments that the common layman out there hve absolutely no comprehension of what my new title means.

And personally, I think it kinda sucks anyway.

So, will rename it

No Signboard Honolulu Branch

What is No Signboard you ask?

It's actually a popular makan spot in SGP where the masses of hungry(or greedy) SGPeans go for BBQ seafood and other local dishes. In SGP, one would also call it zhe char, meaning wok fried. Think of hot blasting incinerator-like flames under a seasoned wok, where goodies are churned out by the split second. In french culinary terms, you would call it ala minute. But unlike the French, there is no need for those fancy oversized motherfriggin' plates, or squirts of sauce that don't add to the flavor of the dish or the overused stack the ring mold ensemble.

Just simple, hot, tasty and hearty food to feed the soul. So, couple days back I had this sudden inspiration for some NO Signboard style cuisine. Well, not exactly cheena style food because it featured Jerk spiced pork chops, however the 1 pound white shrimp with butter and garlic came close.

Pig with jerk spice-that jerk spice stuff is good...a little goes a long way.
BBQ baby bak choy with my secret chup marinate.

last but not least....1 pound shrimp with aromatic garlic and butter...Enough butter to clog my arteries(if they're not already clogged).

Burppp.

char siu, sio bak and roast duck singapore style

I have a knack about cooking home style food while living abroad... No...I'm not homesick but yea...sometimes you do miss the food. But since I'll be heading back to SGP for good, I think the opposite will naturally happen. I'll miss Rainbow Drive-In, So Gong Dong Soon Du Bu...and a lot of others...I've got a weird feeling I'll be dishing out some Mac Salad and K-Pig when I'm back home...Guess you will know if that happens when you read the blog eh?

Anyway, back to the makan update. I prepared some roast duck, char siu and sio bak with rice. Stir fried some chye sim with abalone sauce and a ton of garlic this time round. Bought the selection of roasted meats from my fave chinatown shop, but I did make the chup. Chup is aka as dark sauce. In SGP, you gotta have the chup to go along with this particular meal. I won't reveal what went into the chup but heck, it was good. One would add it onto white rice and top it off with a chunk of delectable meat, straight into the mouth. Damn good and super simple.

Cannot forget the garlic chilli sauce too ...
Liek I said, tonnes of garlic to make the fart stink like hell.
How good does that look? You hungry?

My mysterious chup recipe...if I told you what's in it, I gonna have to kiss you.

Time for a new title...

As of 13th Feb, I am officially not a hotel worker anymore. (till I find a new job at least) Chances are I'll still land myself in some hotel/ restaurant/ club/ tourism type 'at your mercy' type vocation...why? Just because I'm so bloody good at it, and I fully enjoy having that comfort zone that comes along with it.

Will work for the love and passion for the job I always say...but F!@# who am I kidding right? Oh and by the way folks, I didn't get fired from the job. It's just that they couldn't part with some spare change from their US$1.8million NETT PROFIT to give this poor guy here a little more love. Here's the reasoning for the raise: Your waiter whom you manage makes double of what you earn at present, while you take double the shit they don't.

Anyway, that's that and so much for the RH. I had some good and bad times there....but most of all I'm gonna miss all my boyz and girlz at the MTB, as well as my many Guests/Friends that I've come to know.

So, back to the blog....time for a title change eh? Let's try this:

Mark's Magnificent Medium of Masculine Metachromatism

If you don't like it, let me know...

Toothy Rooty

Woke up this morning @900am...felt the urge to sleep on and almost didn't make it to the dentist...

It's been some time since I last saw a dentist, like 5 years now...? eeps. Nevertheless, I still dislike going to anyone that makes me open my mouth for long periods of time, and inflicting necessary pain(I guess to ease further pain in the future?).

Anyways, took some teeth xrays and got some cleaning done. Overall condition of my teeth are fine apart from 2 facial cavities(facial=exterior of tooth=cosmetic=spend $$$$ to look good=fat income for dentist), slight build up of plague(partly because I don't floss...)and the final bombshell: one of my wisdom teeth on the right side of my mouth is growing sideways...darn!!! Doc. said it might hit a nerve soon, and cause buildup of plague and shit in between... Needs to be extracted!!! OUCH.

Doctor recommended braces to get my 2 front teeth straightened out, but nah...I think I look darn good already...I would have had it done if I was still 8 years old...

Since I'm going back to SGP shortly, think I'll just pull out the wise old tooth when I get home. It probably be a little less expensive. Also, to coincide this visit with my new year resolutions, I've decided to:

1) Invest in a electric sonicare toothbrush as HIGHLY recommended by the Doc.
2)Floss every night before bed with FLOSS.
3)Set up a regiment of brushing my teeth twice a day.

Shit. Not looking forward to eating porridge for 2 weeks when I get home....

Sin City con't-Victoria's Secret

More pictures from our recent Vegas trip...

Willy Wonka would have loved this chocolate fountain thingy...

Fooling around at Victoria's Secret...

Hey Babe...you ready for this mountain of a MAN?

Oops...Poops caught me in the act...! Me and my gay tendancies...carrying around a pink Vic Secret shopping bag

Meatless dans Chez Moi

Meatless and completely vegetarian folks...no kidding. I had no intention of joining those freaks who live in Vegan Ville...(Mind you...they're all for the most part freaky-just shop at one of those health/organic stores). It's purely coincidental that my culinary escapades this time round turned out to exclude any form of animal.(is butter included?)

Nevetheless, these were tasty...The first picture right below features Quinoa-To those with the lack of food knowledge-it is not really a grain, but the seed of a leafy plant that's distantly related to spinach. Quinoa has excellent reserves of protein, and unlike other grains, is not missing the amino aicd lysine, so the protein is more complete (a trait it shares with other "non-true" grains such as buckwheat and amaranth). Hey that said...I'll eat anything that's nutritious and healthful, and of course cooked to taste good. I cooked mine Pilaff style with sund dried tomatoes and an assortment of mushrooms. The texture of Quinoa is somewhat 'seedy' or 'grainy', but the way I cooked it made for great eating. And by the way the stuff fills you up real quick....Burp

Read more about Quinoa here: http://www.wholehealthmd.com

I also ventured into the Mediterranean...The picture below is Falafel, normally made from chickpeas or garbanzo beans-rolled up into bite sized balls and served either with a tahini(sesame based) sauce or in this case I made a cucumber and yoghurt dip. Delicious! In countries around the Mediterranean, Street vendors usually tuck falafel into pita bread with chopped lettuce and tomato and plenty of tahini sauce. Pretty hearty stuff.

Final Word: I still love MEAT.

Sin City con't-Aureole at the Mandalay Bay

SIn City is filled with great looking restaurants to the brim...To survive there...I believe you not only have to look good or great for that matter, your food and service has to keep people wanting to come back for more.

With these much restaurants to choose from, it's simply paradise for foodies like moi, and especially working in the buisness, you get to check out what the rest of your restaurateurs are up to...the latest trends...the latest food movements..etc etc etc..

I've read and saw this particular one-Aureole on numerous occassions. One of the main highlights of the place is it's oversized wince chiller which is about ONLY 3-4 stories high. One has to strap her/himself to some cord and pulley contraption just to fetch the wine you order. Talk about working hard for your $$$ eh...

It's advisable to DEFINITELY make reservations before coming, as we could tell the place was absolutely filled. All in all, another one of our most pleasurable dining experiences in Las Vegas. Great food, even greater service and delicious wine.

Entrance to Aureole

The oversized wince chiller I was talking about

Poops and the chiller...photo opportunities abound...

Poops and I selected the prix fixe menu-a total of 7-8 tasting courses entitled :"Celebration of America" The restaurant features haute American cuisine, and mind you the whole meal saw some very refined flavors, fused with very delicate touches... To start off, we were presented with the amuse bouche of wild mushroom ravioli. Whetted the appertite nicely...

I know the picture are little blurry, think it was me trying to be artistic again, or maybe I was just too shy to snap away pictures in a fine restaurant. I hadn't a clue what this was but it was good...
Ok Ok...I forgot what this was too... but I remembered it had something to do with foie gras..

This was the grilled longfish...
Now, this one I remember...It was rabbit, the sauce was delicious!

Three cheese sampler with brioche, a frenchie touch before having dessert.

Dessert featured a tangerine sorbet and a tiramisu flavored maccaron, served with petit fours of chocolates and other delectables. Yum.

Chilling out after a spectacular meal...

Sin City Gallagher's Steakhouse@ NY NY

Gallagher's Steakhouse at the New York New York hotel and casino is in my opinion one of the bestest steakhouses around the strip...

Any steakhouse that would proudly display thier meat smack right outside their shop in clear indication of GREAT STEAK inside. I pity the fool who would go in there and order a salad or a pasta...

Poops learning about the dry aging process for steak.

MEAT! MORE MEAT! That's quite a bit of Sirloin on those racks by the way...

MEAAAAAAT! I would put up an additional sign that said NO VEGANS HERE! if I ran the restaurant...

We started off with the Baked Oysters, succulent with stuffed spinach and bacon, coated in an egg white batter and baked, came on a bed of rock salt...PERFECT

Voila...the piece de resistance! Our 1 pound dry aged top sirloin, simply grilled to Medium Rare perfection. Accompanied by roasted garlic and a side of buttery mash potatoes...3 thumbs UP and UP.

Poops warned me not to view this picture when hungry...I'll take her advice.

SIn City con't

Gelati...Gelati!!! @ the Venetian

Poops hamming it up at Fremont
Comin out of the Mirage

Yet more Poops hamming it up at the M&M shop
New York wannabe Vegas
Was that Margaritas squirting outta da fountain at Bellagio???

Sin City Con't BLUEMAN GROUP

I had decided to tribute this blog space solely to the Blueman Group for giving us a riot of a time. Amazing blend of modern art, acoustics(live band), mime and comedy all rolled out(toilet paper and confetti) in a 3 blue guy ensemble. Worth the price and definitely worth watching...If you ever saw it, you'll know why I utilised all those adjectives up there...

The forth blue man? Maybe?

http://blueman.com/