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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pleasurably Painful

It annoys me to see the lower part of my limbs swelling. I thought it's water retention until my second visit to uncle's massage parlor. The foot reflexology I had the first time was intolerably painful that the pressure applied had to be lessened. Uncle tells the pain and swelling is caused by blood stuck in that area. I remember him saying it's because of the way I stand, I must be putting my entire weight on the wrong part of the feet. And just today a friend gave her smart hypothesis, it must be the heels. I should wear flats more often. But heels are sexeh! But... OKAY.

Uncle was kind enough to give me trivia as those wrinkled yet robust fingers treaded the path where my blood rushes from the fleshy calf down to the left foot and up to that lump on the side of the knee. I'm not versed with reflexology but I know that all parts of the leg correspond to the vital internal organs, the stomach, the spine, the liver, the heart, etc. Common sense will tell, but of course, every inch of human is interconnected by miles of  microfiber called nerves.

Trivia 1: The swell on my limbs inhibits good blood circulation, and as a consequence, trimming down.  Ah did uncle mention I don't even have to force myself to diet? Oh yes he did. I should go back and ask him what, why and how is this anything to do with losing weight. IN DETAIL.

Trivia 2: Exercise is boring but it will do a great favor for the body. It keeps your heart pumping which forces fresh warm blood in mobile all throughout - makes your tissues and organs happy.

I am one of almost everyone who neglects the proper care for the body. I think it's because we never understood how it functions and how it works as a system. Perhaps I should start learning about Physiology. Before it's too late. To body be good!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

A Vietnamese Gastronomy

Finally, the date with Michelle! 

It was an Asian ladies' dine out after that so-five-months-ago evening chat over margarita drink after a satay-ish dinner at the infamous Singapore's gastronomical hodge-podge of local delights, Lau Pa Sat.

So what's for today's feature? Vietnam's authentic delish dishes with, who else could be the perfect food guide but, my lovely Vietnamese friend here.

The second floor of Suntec City Tower 1 presents an array of kitchen from various countries. I've tried Swiss the first time I sat there where I ordered my then-newly faved rosti, blame it on Marche.

After my most recent island trip where I had the 50-pesos-worth of Seriously Special Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup, I realized it's a must to indulge in a proper meal. Pho House at Suntec doesn't just prepare meal, every serving is good for four! We ordered two dinner sets, mixed and matched them so we could share and get a try of everything. Wasn't it great that Mich was around to show me the ways and means of the Vietnamese gastronomy.

I learned that there's a different way of brewing or sort of filtering coffee using this steel thing on the right. The coffee tasted bitter with a sweet hint of mint. This made me think my tongue must have gone nuts and confused. And oh you have to pour the bitter filtrate on a glass of ice. This is how they do it. Iced coffee!

And the main dishes, Spring Roll, Bun Bo Hai San (BBQ Beef with Seafood Vermicili), flavorful Bun Rieu (Tomato Prawn Vermicili Soup) and amusing Rice Paper Rolls. All of these for about 26sgd net. Price-wise, isn't this more than worth-it?


Every experiment must lead to something. So here's a set of my gastronomic conclusions.

1. Vietnamese don't like veggies. They looove veggies, and they like it fresh!
2. I thought those leaves were merely ornamental, NO! The Spring Rolls were more delicious with the leaves wrapped around them! 
3. Sauce it up! All those four dishes were served with seemingly the same sauces. But when you taste test each of them, you can actually tell an almost negligible but essential difference. Each sweet/salty/lightly spicy sauce in different proportions was a perfect match to each of the dish.

Yup, these two ladies managed to finish the good-for-four dinner served. Nope, we're not voracious, we're just really vivacious diners! After full and filled tummies, what else but the traditional cup of coffee girlfriend talks to cap the day. There. Finally, the date with Michelle! And oh did I not mention? In her gorgeous new hair! Snapshot here!