will i am's delayed diary

Duanwu Jie , a photo by williamnyk on Flickr. It's the Duanwu Festival today-- the time for glutionous rice dumplings aka zongzi . Basically, one can eat 'em all year round, but for the sake of tradition, we like to jostle for it once a year at ballooned prices. Of all the varieties out there, my favourite is the ham yuk zong . Definitely with meat. Vegetarian versions don't cut it. Must be savoury. Salty ( nyonya zong? sweet meat... tak sedap! ). Although I don't eat the fatty bits, I feel that the oil that comes out is important to make the zong moist and fragrant. But I don't eat any old ham yuk zong , I prefer those with kidney beans. Green beans just doesn't do it for me. Other than that, chestnuts and salted egg yolk are pre-requisites for me. Dried shrimp or oysters are a plus. They do add a special flavour to it, but to me it's not a must-have. I also cannot accept jianshui zong . My mum loves it. Never a fan. Just tastes wrong... chemical-y. Heh...

Had a weird dream last  night. Robert Redford was in it, believe it or not. And I'm not even a fan. In the dream, he was gay, and he was waiting for his boyfriend outside a restroom. For some reason, he was talking to me. After a while, his boyfriend came out and he left the conversation. As he turned away, I noticed that his right hand was actually a goat's hoof. He was wearing a glamor. A demon in disguise. Eek. No more reading "Hellblazer" before bedtime. An overload of John Constantine. :S

Potato Square Swiped from williamnyk . Having experienced the architectural genius of Gaudi the day before, we embarked on a two-hour journey out of Barcelona to immerse ourselves in the surrealist wonder of Salvador Dalí in Figueres . JM told me that it was a must-visit and we were not disappointed with the recommendation. We took the second earliest train out of Passeig de Gracia after having a challenging time trying to understand the train schedule. The train was quite modern with wave activated doors, comfy seats and power sockets. Upon setting foot in Figueres, the first thing that hit me was the wafting smell of dung. I had thought that I had stepped on something nasty, but it finally occured to me that the odour was everywhere near the town square. :P. Being a small town and not exactly a super tourist attraction. the signs in Figueres were quite lacking. Didn't really know how to get to the Dalí Theatre and Museum . Just went in a general direction and tried to un...

IMAGE_567 Swiped from crazygeorgelee . Choong Kee Claypot Chicken Rice at Damansara Jaya is over-rated. Went there to have dinner with JJ and Bunny. According to reviews, the place is usually packed, so I guess SK and I were lucky that we easily found parking and just waltzed into to shop and sat at an empty table. Perhaps it was due to the rain and the Friday traffic. In the shop, I was greeted by an unpleasant greasy smell, I guess that should have been a warning for me. The other guests had not left the house yet, so SK and I just proceeded to order. True to reports, the lady boss was a real bitch. SK did the ordering and was treated with a brusque attitude. Seated at the next table were a couple who spoke in horribly-accented English. Felt like slapping them. After twenty minutes, the stragglers had arrived and even our food came. We took the works~ with salted fish and Chinese sausage. The rice tasted burnt and the saltiness was overpowering. The steamed soup was averag...

T2 Swiped from williamnyk . Early in the morning, we headed to the London City Airport . We were greeted by a long check-in line at British Airways. However, seeing that we were running late, we were bumped ahead of line. Before leaving the UK, we were meticulously asked about our itinerary and travel arrangements by the BA staff. The flight was quite pleasant and we had an in-flight breakfast of sausage, bread and hash browns. Arrived at Barcelona Airport T2 . Quite empty at that hour. We did not know where to go to catch the Metro down to town, so we just followed the crowd. Actually we had to take a free shuttle bus to another terminal. The train ride was quite pleasant. Very amused by the Catalan "Next Stop" announcements: Propera Parada, Propera Parada . So catchy. Our stop was at Passeig de Gracia , one of the main Metro interchanges. Upon arrival we were greeted by stern warnings from the security staff regarding pick pockets. Seemed to be rampant. That kind of ...

The cute 'doggy bag' from El Cerdo Some highlights of Apollo's birthday party at El Cerdo , the place where pigs go when they die. The gathering was organized with one What's App Group Chat and forty two e-mails in less than one week with an attendance of fifteen. A definite BFF record!!! The Myanmarese waiters there were cute-ish, all had English names and spoke quite good English! The birthday boy treated all of us to a roasted piglet I gave shoulder rubs to nearly all the guests, but the person who appreciated my ministrations the most was Apollo. He looked like those Jap porn actors who were being fucked and sucked at the same time. :P A whole bunch of waiters rushed in a tray of shooters and a lighted candle singing "Happy Birthday Oink Oink" while Apollo was in the toilet. After they left and Apollo came back in, we sang the song again. After he blew out the candle, the waiters came in again and repeated the whole process. In conclusion, Apollo ...

St. James Park II Swiped from williamnyk . Remember the "Mr. Bean" episode where Rowan Atkinson plays the fool with the Guard in the ever recognizable furry Bearskin Cap? Well, KH and I went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and did nothing of the sort. Haha. Anyway, we woke up early on Wednesday and made our way to St. James Park first. Admired the beautiful blooms, especially the tulips. Big-ass squirrels also stalk the grounds and aren't afraid of humans. Plenty of people were lounging on the benches and the grass, soaking up the relaxing atmosphere. Managed to catch sight of some mounted police too. Walked the stretch of the park to the palace where we tried to squat at a piece of real estate along the gates to watch the preparation of the Changing of the Guard. Marching. Brass band. The works. Due to the coming royal wedding, plenty of international press was present to film. Caught sight of a semi-cute Asian cameraman. ;). After the g...