Monthly Archive for May, 2009

How I Made Carrot Cake And Met The Cha Dao Guy

I must be the laziest Singaporean around.

And by “laziest,” I mean laziest.

I will complain about being homesick for every kind of hawker food, but I will do nothing about it.

That is, until some motivating factor kicks in, such as I have been away from Singapore for more than 365 days; or, more likely, someone organizes a Singaporean potluck in Seattle and I was going to cop out and buy a bunch of egg tarts from the bakery but then I found out that my brother’s wife was going to make egg tarts from scratch (gasp!) and therefore had to think of an alternative quickly and decided I was going to make carrot cake, so help me God.

So here we are.

Carrot cake dreams are made of this.

I’m talking ABC sauce. I don’t know what’s in it, but it isn’t USDA Organic, that’s for sure.

For this “sweet soy sauce” to taste this good, I’m sure something cute, fluffy, and/or used to be organic matter did die for the good of carrot-cake-loving Singaporeans everywhere.

Ingredients:
Non-vegetarian radish cake (Don’t ask.)
Dried radish or chye por
Eggs
Garlic
Spring onions
ABC sauce
Love

Tactic:
Open all windows and doors. Turn on two burners to “highest.” Use biggest saucepan you have. Grease. Put in this order: garlic, radish, egg, radish cake, ABC sauce, spring onions. Love it up.

Result:
Heaven.

This is but one section of the Singaporean Foodestival!

You can tell how this ends for me.

In random groupie moment news, I discover that the host of the party is Ghim, a Singaporean behind the Cha Dao tea brand I’ve been seeing around Seattle. Hello! How did I not know a Singaporean was behind this?

The tea is freshly brewed, not too sweet, and authentic tasting. (All you Asian diaspora know what I’m talking about!)

I first had his Chrysanthemum tea when I was a cranky, craving, pregnant woman.

If you can please a cranky, craving, pregnant woman, there is nothing you cannot do.

Published by dorothyho on May 31, 2009 in Musings and Photography. 6 Comments

Why Don’t I Look This Good With Socks This High?

Oh yeah. I’m not three feet tall.

Published by dorothyho on May 27, 2009 in Musings. 1 Comment

So You Think You Can Dance

Ruby thinks she can dance.

The way I see it, your only appropriate response is to bookmark this page, come back in 16 years, email the link to Ruby with the message, “It’s prom night, Ruby. Shake it with all you’ve got!”

Published by dorothyho on May 23, 2009 in Musings. 0 Comments

I Mean What I Mean

During a blackout in San Francisco several years ago, I walked downstairs from our apartment to the nearest store and asked for a torchlight. We both spoke English, but it took several minutes of pantomiming to get what I wanted, a flashlight.

More recently in Seattle, I went on and on about our new carpet to a friend, who looked puzzled, until he figured out I was talking about a new rug.

It’s been 10 years, and some days I still get it wrong.

But why do you need to get it right, Dot? (You’ve heard my take on this before, and besides, I am feeling a little lost today, so bear with me.)

I think a different word than what I say out loud.

When I say shower, I mean bathe.

When I say stroller, I mean pram.

When I say Band-Aid, I mean Handiplast.

When I say flashlight, I mean torchlight.

When I say trunk, I mean boot.

When I say purse, I mean handbag.

When I say how are you, I mean eat already or not.

When I say rug, I mean carpet.

When I say bathroom, I mean toilet.

When I say napkin, I mean serviette.

When I say I’m hungry, I mean there’s nothing here I want to eat and can I buy a $1,000 ticket to fly home to eat something that’s tasty that rhymes with yong tau foo.

Published by dorothyho on May 20, 2009 in Musings. 8 Comments

To Tweet Is Human, To Not Tweet Divine (?)

My first tweet:
Last one to get on twitter…
9:30 PM Oct 10th, 2007 from web

My own favorite tweet:
If they renamed Monday Sundae, I might like it a little more.
8:13 AM Apr 13th from TwitterFon

My most prescient tweet:
I think I am too boring for twitter.
5:14 PM Aug 6th, 2008 from web

My most boring tweet:
Running late.
2:37 PM Apr 22nd from TwitterFon

My most frequently occurring themes:
Ruby.
Bacon.
Sleep (Or lack of.)
Donuts.
Days of the week.

The one that made everyone go Huh? tweet:
You know the kind of lame greetings you write on Hallmark cards you get at the post office and HAVE to post right there and then?
11:59 AM Aug 8th, 2008 from web

My shortest tweet:
TGIT.
8:54 PM Apr 9th from web

My longest tweet:
When I was pregnant with Ruby, I gained SUPER HUMAN SCENT! She’s one and I still smell smoke wherever I am. And no, the house is not on fire
3:08 PM May 5th from web

My most unoriginal tweet (I mean, Really, Dot?, like no one’s thought of this one yet.):
If a tree fell down in the forest and no one twittered about it, did it make a sound?
12:13 PM Dec 3rd, 2008 from TwitterFon

The one I’d take back tweet:
Dead tired. Ruby up all night. On days like this I imagine it may not be a bad thing to give birth to a baby with a full set of teeth.
2:37 PM Jan 27th from TwitterFon

The one that confirmed your suspicions about me tweet:
Some days I like to think everyone around me is crazy, so I can feel (a) not alone, or (b) the only sane one around. Either way, I win.
7:06 AM May 14th from web

Sucker for punishment? Follow me.

Published by dorothyho on May 16, 2009 in Musings. 2 Comments