Takeshi-San @ Holland Village

Takeshi-San, located on Lorong Mambong in Holland Village, is an izakaya. 

But unlike some of the izakayas which I've been to, they're remarkably different.

They're more.. casual. 

That's not to mean that the other izakayas aren't casual. 

They are- an izakaya is, after all,  a place to drink, to eat, to have little chats.

But they just seem to be a little... darker, heavier even.

I don't really know how to describe it. 

It's just that here I don't find myself surrounded by huge (black-glassed) bottles of Japanese whisky. 

Nor do I find myself staring at bottles of sake big and small all lined up on the counter. 

I know they're somewhere. 

I just haven't been placed at a seat where I can see them. 

Personally (and I might be biased) I prefer it this way.

Because whilst I like good food and great conversation, serious, formal environments tend  to unnerve poor little me. 

Takeshi-san, however, has made their place such that its gives off more of afternoon tea vibes than evening drinks izakaya.

It's obvious right from the moment when you step through its doors.

There're bench booths along one side of the wall.

There're tables- mostly twos and fours- on the other.

The first time we were there it was for lunch.

It being a late hour when we were there, we had the whole place to ourselves.

The introvert in me found it very blissful. 

No loud chatter, nothing to distract me from the enjoyment of very, very good salmon belly sushi, and a huge platter of meat skewers, beef cubes, fresh salad, and crispy hot French fries.

I really enjoyed the beef cubes and the meat skewers. 

At first I thought they might be sinewy (some places are) but no, not at all. 

The grilled meat, smoky, full of flavor with just that hint of burnt taste, was perfect, and we had a great time with the skewers.

Hedgehog pulled them off the wooden stick and forked them. 

I pulled them off the wooden stick and speared them. 

And one or two pieces I ate them off the skewer like how we normally do with satay.

If the meats were satisfying, the fries and salad were not far behind either.

The salad- with its big, big leaves had (I think) a dressing of yuzu (something) and the fries-  a huge heap of them- stayed hot and crisp throughout the meal, making them a perfect side for the generous serving of Mentaiko sauce. 

Special mention must be made of the Mentaiko. 

So I know it's something quite ordinary- like you can buy it from any Japanese supermarket or DDD- but theirs is exceptionally thick here (they don't dilute it down) and they're relaxed enough to bring you another when you request for more. :)

Of course this meat platter isn't the only good thing here at Takeshi-san. 

They've got a host of other great dishes, and their sushi is amazing too. 

We ordered four pieces of their salmon belly sushi together with the meat platter when we had lunch here the other time. 

We ordered a full sushi platter when we came here fir dinner the very next time. 

I wish the pictures of the platter did better justice to the soft, beautifully-shaped, melt-in-your-mouth pieces of salmon sushi.

But I was hungry, I was unwinding, and everything on the platter- roasted, non-roasted, with mayo, without mayo- looked so good.

I'll have to be careful to take a better-looking picture next time. 

Chances are I'll add in a glass of yuzu beer too. 

Miss Brown @ TTSH

One of the scariest things in life is to find out that someone you know (and take note of) is not well and has to be sent to the hospital.

It's not a pleasant phone call to receive. 

It's also not a pleasant phone call to make. 

Not too long ago a phone call came in to inform that Miss Brown was having a rather high fever and needed to be admitted to hospital

The last time this happened was earlier this year and she was sent to SKGH.

This time they sent her to TTSH.

The phone call came in around 530. 

We got there at 8.

I'm not sure how protocols of different hospitals are but here we weren't allowed to enter the A&E- not even her son who had made his way down to be there. 

About an hour after, whilst we were having dinner at the mall opposite, a call from the department came in.

Nothing was clear yet, they said, but there was a likelihood that Miss Brown might was suffering from pneumonia. 

She would remain under observation in the A&E  for a while- with the appropriate care management- until a bed was made available and she could be shifted there. 

Next morning- next very early morning- we called the department tto ask- and found out that she'd been admitted to a ward, and a bed there.

I am not familiar with the wards of TTSH, and did not know that Ward 80-something was at the old annex- until afternoon of the same day when we got there.

Neither did I know that most patients in the ward- 86?84?- were pneumatic ones- until the nurse on duty informed me. 

One of the things that surprised us when we got there was the bed, or rather, the location of it. 

Unlike previous times where she had slept surrounded by other patients and other visitors, this time she was placed by herself alone in a single room there. 

We hadn't known that Bed 23 was a single bed in a single room with its own ensuite toilet and its own ensuite bathroom.

I don't think Miss Brown had ever been assigned a room like that.

For the whole weekend that she was in hospital, her son visited her. 

So did I.

We however weren't allowed to stay for long- only an hour each time.

The nurses, however, did a fantastic job 

When I turned up one evening, a nurse was (patiently) feeding her.

Tests soon determined that Miss Brown did indeed have a lung infection.

So they put her on drip antibiotics for a day or two.

She seemed a little grump about the IV (no surprise there) but she  didn't attempt pulling out the needle either and so the antibiotics went in very smooth.

Her son and I alternated between showing her pictures on the tablet and playing Youtube videos. 

I think they worked. 

At least there was something for her to watch, something for her to listen to. 

It helped that the room was comfortable. 

Really comfortable. 

Not only was it sunny and bright, the air was also crisp and fresh, helped, no doubt, by the presence of the air conditioner in her room, and the air circulation machine right beside her bed.

Miss Brown did not communicate much during those few days that she was there.

Then again she doesn't communicate much at all.

Thankfully, however, her spirits lifted, tests showed the infection was cleared, and four (five?) days after, Miss Brown was discharged and she went back (to the nursing)  home. 

Hedgehog's (Actual) Day

More than two months it has been since The Hedgehog had a birthday. 

It's always a lovely time- not just because it is a milestone- but because it's a celebration of a life lived, a life with joys and sorrows, dreams and hopes. 

I know for one thing the road Hedgehog has gone on. 

I also know the dreams and the hopes Hedgehog continues to have. 

No more is there a crave for loud, boisterous celebrations (although I think one of those big shimmery shiny balloons might suffice).

Instead it's just a moment to let the day be and let the day pass.

There was a celebration meal, of course, at this izakaya in Holland Village called Takeshi-San. 

Being there in the afternoon has its benefits. 

You have the whole place to yourself, and the already-attentive staff is attentive even more. 

We got one of those platter things- that being what we had come here for- with an amazing spread of food that included crispy, hot fries, fresh salad with (yuzu?) sauce, wagyu beef cubes, and meat skewers two kinds. 

We also got four little salmon belly sushi. 

Everything was so good. 

Almost at once I fell in love with the squishy, soft, rounded taste of the salmon belly over the soft, beautifully shaped rice. There was no fishy aftertaste and the whole piece melted gorgeously in my mouth. 

You know, there're many places that serve good salmon belly sushi, but this is one place that I'll certainly come back to once again. 

Their (meat) platter was just as good. 

The beef cubes were surprisingly tender. The skewers were remarkably fun to eat, and we had a great time dipping everything into the Mentaiko sauce. 

Hedgehog fell in love with the Mentaiko sauce. 

So did I. 

Maybe because Takeshi-San wasn't stingy with the portion, and they gave another full portion when we requested for more. 

It was a relaxing lunch we had that day. 

A good dessert succeeds a good meal, but with there being no more room for waffles and ice cream, we decided to do cake, and so wandered out of Holland Village towards the Star Vista mall down the road. 

We settled for Coffee Bean, and it didn't take long for me to decide what to get for The Hedgehog who has a fondness for anything chocolate, and tea. 

So I got a slice of (something) (something) Thousand Leaves, and a nice, soothing cup of peppermint tea. 

We took time with the cake.

but we still  weren't hungry at dinner time.

Not wanting to end the celebration this early however, we decided to continue on with the dessert streak and made our way down to Chinatown for... tang yuan.

Yes, I know- it's not quite a traditional birthday food- but  glutinuous rice balls (with sesame filling and peanut filling) in ginger soup are one of Hedgehog's favorite traditional desserts, and who doesn't mind a bowl at Mei Heong Yuen anytime?

Name Card *Dangers*

So, I've been thinking a while just how I should go about this. 

It's not really a topic that needs writing. 

Neither is it a topic that needs urgent addressing.

But it's been on my mind for a while, and since I found these name cards whilst digging through the box, well, why not?

Before that, however, you must know that I (actually) haven't been meeting people for that long a time. 

There are people in this world who can claim they meet new people every month, every week, every day. 

I'm not one of them. 

But I am one of those whom- when we meet- will do her best to remember you- and attempt to forge a friendship with you.

Some people whom I've met only once (at networking events) have become Facebook acquaintances. 

Others have become friends. 

And others still have become business partners. 

I'm always thankful to develop a relationship or a friendship with people around me. 

I, however, do get a little compartmentalized from time to time. 

In that sense... I'm pretty clear who it is I want to meet, who it is I don't mind meeting, and who it is I don't want to meet at all. 

Most people I've met fall within the two categories. 

But there're some whom I don't care and will not care to meet at all. 

It isn't because they're mean-spirited, obnoxious, arrogant or harsh in their words. 

It's that. they're people who seem to spend their time putting their hands into every pot they come across, scooping out as much as they can for themselves, hoping maybe, even to take the entire pot for themselves. 

I don't know what their agenda is. 

I really don't. 

Perhaps this is what some people term as 'business'. 

But I sincerely don't think so. 

See, there're many ways to conduct a business. 

Getting yourself involved just so you can break the business down in the name of 'mentorship' is not one. 

Of course I might be mistaken. 

After all, it's not like their intentions were right in my face.

If there's one thing you must know about people like such, it's that they're very warm and cordial when they interact with you. They're almost like a sister, an aunt, a brother, an uncle. In their tone is a warmth that denotes charisma, knowledge and experience, even care, and they make it like they are genuinely interested in you.

From time to time they may offer you a mixed bag of beautifully worded praises with suggestions and gently-put constructive comments. 

The whole idea is to make you feel like they have the expertise, the experience, the connections, and that they can be trusted.

It's easy to feel that way with them- it's true. 

I met this person once- let's call him/her W. 

At first meeting W seemed a little surprised that I had brought my (male) colleague with me. I guess he/she was used to my fellow female compatriots coming for coffee chats and first meetings alone.

Not I.

I endeavor not to attend meetings alone. 

That one conversation with W led to another, led to another, and it wasn't long before we were introduced to (A LOT) of other people.  

Amongst all these people there were a couple of locals, but there were also several from other places elsewhere. 

I don't recall what their professions were, but they were a myriad group, and they seemed to be involved in a wide range of things- technology, charity causes, fashion, art galleries and the like. 

I shant say that it felt awkward- making new (business) connections and developing them are a necessity- but as I went around the various groups at various points in time, it felt like there were a lot of straws in different lengths and different colors, and most of us were fiddling about the pile, trying to decide what to do with  each other, and with them. 

I don't think I spoke to them very much during these conversations- W held chair most of the time- but some of them looked like they were just out to meet people, network and interact. 

The modus operandi of W wasn't very clear back then. 

It, however, started showing (hints) of itself a couple of months later with an increase in mutual involvement.

I'm not someone who doesn't understand the nature of a middleman's business. 

At least- in a little way- I do. 

Very often it is assumed that a middleman who stands in the center of two (or all) will want all sides to partner well so gains from all sides can be made.

Not necessarily so. 

Vulnerability is a game changer. 

Vulnerability makes one attempt to play both sides (if not, all) in the hope that influencing one's perspective- however positive or negative- will create a reaction and thereby affect the relations which will then need the presence of the middleman further. 

Technically it's not wrong (because otherwise what is the middleman going to do)

But I wonder if it is possible for the middleman to play a positive role on all sides and gain anchor by using one's solution for the other and blending the other's solution for the one. 

Maybe it's naive. 

But it's not impossible.

After all we don't live in a perfect world and there'll always be problems (from the solutions, even) surfacing out somewhere. 

I do agree that such tactics are not new. 

And such tactics are the day to day in many major circles as well. 

Sometimes tactics like these bear positive fruit. 

Sometimes, however, these tactics lead to seed that never even springs forth a shoot. 

Let's just say that it gets very annoying when you start to see that the presence of the middleman doesn't always befit the ones whom they say they are connecting. 

I might be wrong. 

But I don't think I am.

First hand experience doesn't lie. 

The attempts were performed right in your face- whether it were throwing a paper down, whether it were siding with other persons involved in the project, whether it were giving advice that would (prayerfully) lead to eventual loss, and whether it were (pretending) to side with one whilst being hunky-dory with the other.

Perhaps I'd never have seen it so clear had I not happened to be a late-night document courier at the very last minute. 

Seeing it didn't surprise me. 

But I didn't know I would see it either. 

The scariest thing about such name card holders isn't just  the arenas that they're involved in.

The scariest thing about them is that they're continuously searching for arenas, continuously attempting to be in arenas which they have (very) little understanding of, and displacing one for the other just so that they can have a place in the center of it.

Is there a need to be involved in so many different things? 

Is there a need to hold so many directorships or to be directors of so many different firms in so many different industries? 

Especially since the presence of your directorship isn't to grow the company but (possibly) to control, manipulate and destroy it? 

I don't know just how many more firms your presence has been of detriment rather than benefit. 

But- I'm thankful to say- you didn't get everyone's

Not because they're fantastic or because their personnel is more calculative than you. 

But because not everyone and not everything can be achieved by mere calculation. 

Sometimes one needs to be hardball. 

Sometimes one needs a leg up to keep things moving or effect growth for (positive) change. 

Not to mention, there are also young entrepreneurs who can do with good mentorship. 

But, seriously, I raise an eyebrow when I look at the various name cards and realize that almost none of them have sprouted, or reached the potential they possibly could be. 

And I raise the eyebrow even higher when I recollect the many who's who names that have- in the course of conversation- been thrown down. 

We're often told that the big like to eat up the small. 

But chaos theory doesn't only apply to the small. 

It applies to the big too. 

And it has zero respect for all the work that has ever been done nor the struggles that the big have had to go through. 

Question is- who's the executor of this theory, and just why? 

I'm not sure W planned to just take a slice of pumpkin pie, coconut pie, or a slice of potato pie and go have ice cream on his/her own.

I think W planned to smash up all the pies, take the crumbs of the pastry, the bits of pumpkin, coconut and potato, distribute them to make smaller, less tasty pies of unrecognizable shape, and offer them back to the now-crumbled pie makers at a much inflated price.

Perhaps that's business. 

But thing is, the potato pies weren't that bad. 

And of course, not the coconut pies either. 

Bus Ride Sights: Dunman Road-Bugis

I took the camera out today for no particular reason other than the fact that I wanted to. 

And so, even though this be a route that I've taken many a time, I decided to take pictures of it anyway. 

Chonkycam came out somewhere around the junction of Dunman Road and Tanjong Katong Road. 

This junction is, I find, an interesting one. 

It's not very large, but it juxtaposes structures from four different eras, four different times.

This is the place to see just how Tanjong Katong Road used to be, and how it is now. 

On one side is a single-storey house that looks like it has been there since much earlier times. It's a house with a small front yard, a small back yard and a quaintness which I can't really describe. 

Opposite it, along one side of Tanjong Katong Road, is a condominium. 

Diagonally across from this quaint little one is another house- a larger, more modern one- with its front gate on Dunman Road and a lot of potted plants beside. 

The other side of Tanjong Katong Road runs alongside it, there's a traffic light, and right across that, a row of shops in a rectangular shaped structure.

Coming from this side the bus turns neither left nor right. 

Instead it goes straight, passing by the former Guillemard Camp, and onto Old Airport Road. 

Here it goes past the blocks of Jalan Satu, the Dakota MRT Station, and the well-known Old Airport Food Center. 

From here the bus makes a turn, passing by a couple of tennis courts on the left and the Association for the Deaf on the right. 

Today I didn't manage to get a picture. 

All I got was the overhead bridge. 

From here the bus made a left onto Geylang Road then Kallang Road, passing by a couple of shop houses in which include a paint shop, a Thai massage place, a few mainland Chinese restaurants, and Man Dang Dang- where I used to go for Chinese skewers but don't get to go much anymore. 

Across Merdeka Bridge the bus went, stopping at a traffic light near the Pico Building Lavender Street that end. 

Here the bus continued its way down, passing by a condominium that I think is situated in one of the best locations this side of town. 

You might find me peculiar for saying this but I really do think this condo probably has one of the best places for one's daily necessities.. 

Not only is it bordered by Kallang Road and Lavender Street with a host of buses that traverse all around the island, there's a train station right in front, there're two supermarkets close by, and plenty of eating places featuring both local and international. 

I suppose the higher floors boast quite a great view too. 

The bus route today didn't make a right.. 

It went straight on.

After this condominium came the blocks of Lavender Estate.

Situated on one side of the river, these blocks make an interesting visual contrast to the glass-covered façade of Hotel Boss and a feel of solidity, complementing the calm waters of Rochor River that meanders just below.

There's a little bit of heritage in this area as well, with the building that once housed Hong Wen School right across the road,. 

Further on is the road we call Jalan Sultan, on which you will find the Alsagoff Arab School, heritage shop houses and the Textile Center  which leads you straight down  towards Beach Road. 

Coming from this direction, Jalan Sultan is on the left. 

On the right, however, is Masjid Malabar, and Syed Alwi Road.

I managed to get a picture of the mosque.

A quick one, because the bus suddenly picked up speed and continued trundling on down towards Victoria Street and Bugis- where I was getting down. 

It's funny- I never knew just how long Victoria Street actually was.

All along I thought the street ended at Rochor Road.

It doesn't.. 

It ends only after Hotel Boss- just before the Rochor River.

So that means that you can get to Our Lady of Lourdes Church from Victoria Street, you can get to the Queen Street Bus Terminal from Victoria Street, and the outer edges of the Arab Quarter (near where  Stamford Primary School now stands) lie also along the same road. 

It's fascinating. 

I didn't know.