Portobello Market - Cash Cows

Vincent

Starry starry night
Paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills, sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills

In colors on the snowy linen land.
And now I understand what you tried to say to me

How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry starry night
Flaming flo'rs that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in
Vincent's eyes of China blue.
Colors changing hue, morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain, are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

And now I understand what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free.
Perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you
But still your love was true

And when no hope was left in sight on that starry starry night.
You took your life as lovers often do;
But I could have told you
Vincent,
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.

Starry starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the stranger that you've met

The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloddy rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

And now I think I know what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen
They're not list'ning still
Perhaps they never will.

Cha Cha Moon

Had dinner there on Sunday night after we got back from Greenwich. It's at Kingsly Court at Carnaby Street, quite a hip and happening area. They serve some sort of fusion cuisine. Thai-Chinese-Singapore-Asian. I never quite get fusion food. :P

Had my first plate of Char Kway Teow and Cai Tao Kuey in a long long time. Too long. The Char Kway Teow was too spicy, but it had the chinese sausages in it! Which made me very happy. The Cai Tao Kuey, which they called Cha Cha Mooni (don't ask me why), didn't look like Cai Tao Kuey, but surely tasted like it! Both dishes didn't particularly give me a taste of home, but it surely reminded me of home. :)It was home-with-a-twist. I guess it's because the whole decor didn't exactly resemble a hawker centre, nor does does the place smell or sound like it.

Had ice milk tea as well. Finally, my proper teh-ping in London. You have no idea how much I miss teh-ping. I will live on teh-ping when I get home to make up for all the lost time.

Dinner wasn't too expensive for the quality of food and ambience. Overall, a good meal!

http://www.chachamoon.com/

Greenwich

Greenwich, England
22nd March 2010

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."

John Ed Pearce

Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.

Hummingbird Bakery

Chanced upon the famed Hummingbird Bakery. I thought they only had a branch at Portebello Market, but I found another one at South Kensington. So I went in and paid 2 quid (ridiculous amount)for a small nutella cupcake.

I must say, it was a power packed for such a small piece of confectionary. The cupcake was moist and the icing was deliciously sweet and tasty. Had whole hazelnuts as well! Giving it a really good texture.

Would definitely go back for more. When I feel richer, that is.

PS. Would have posted a picture of it, if it had not been in an awful shape after being stuffed in my friend's jacket pocket for most of the morning. :P

http://www.hummingbirdbakery.com/

Imogen Stubbs

Judging by any childcare manual, mine was a pretty rotten mother. She smoked, she drank, she lost her temper; she was ecstatic about taking holidays on her own, and stupefyingly bored by many aspects of motherhood; she dumped us by the roadside if we ever argued in the car; she forced us to take Scottish dancing classes. But I wouldn’t have changed her for anyone in the world.

"I have been influenced by her in many ways – a strange penchant for home-made yoghurt and sleeping in VW camper vans, a love of Northumbrian moors and the melancholy side of joy – a loathing of neon lights and unquestioning conformity."

But perhaps most dominantly I am inspired and challenged by a single phrase she once wrote in a cookery book she had compiled for me: “Thank heavens for giving me a daughter who is brave enough to make a fool of herself.” I think it is actually a misquote from Robert Louis Stevenson: “For God’s sake give me the young man who has brains enough to make a fool of himself.” But perhaps that was deliberate. Either way, she passionately believed that people should constantly seek to elaborate and reinvent themselves. In her forties (among many things), she learnt to play the drums, studied tap-dancing, and took a degree in Chinese.

I have consequently felt compelled to follow – taking up swing dancing, riding, writing and so forth. Not everything works and I have freqeuntly failed and felt foolish. But whenever I consider resigning myself to the mixed blessing of knowing my own limits, I am haunted by her passion for life as a series of beginnings, and her vehement belief that habit and ritual are great deadeners, and a cowardly response to the terrifying, magical challenge of being alive.

Boris

My aunty's new cat. He is British, and his name is Boris. Make your own conclusions. :)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Google pays tribute to Eric Cale's Very Hungry Caterpillar. I have to say, one of my favourite illustrators. Definitely in the ranks of Quentin Blake and Theodor Seuss Geisel.

Asakusa 浅草

After hearing so many people rave about this restaurant, and all that high ratings on online forums, I was really excited to check this place out. Especially since I haven't had my staple japanese meals ever since I left Singapore, (Bento Box does not count) I was pretty desperate for good japanese food.

I was surprised that this place required a 2 day advance reservation, or you'll never get anywhere near that precious slab of sashimi. So my standards were pretty up there by the time I actually arrived at the restaurant. The place isn't the most luxurious, but very homely. Feels as if you're just having a meal at a japanese friend's house. This place feels authentically japanese. The waiters/waitresses were all japanese, not the british born japanese sort mind you. Felt as if someone packed them into a box and shipped them right over here. Although that meant that communication wasn't the most effective, but it was sufficient to get us through the night.

We ordered food to share, so there were 3 dishes between us. Asakusa salad, beef teriyaki and the sashimi set. I must say that I wasn't terribly keen on the salad, I'm not very into greens, especially if there is seaweed involved! But the salad was surprisingly good! Must be all that dressing/peanuts/salmon, disguising the veges. The sashimi set had sake, maguro and I suspect saba. I was too busy talking to notice what fish I was putting into my mouth. It was alright, quite fresh, in rather generous slices, but I wasn't blown away. Nothing too exotic. The beef teriyaki was the least impressive dish in my opinion. The sauce wasn't the most fragrant, and the beef was a bit tough. The bean sprouts were a tad oily. It wasn't a bad dish, but it just wasn't great either.

The most disappointing bit of dinner had to be the desserts. I ordered the mandatory green tea ice cream. It didn't come with red bean paste. Which is a huge crime for a reputable japanese restaurant! The green tea ice cream wasn't very smooth either, you could feel the icicle lumps, which meant that it was not very well made, and had been in the freezer for too long. Next came the japanese red bean pancakes. Don't ask me why, but they called it japanese sweets. It was probably marginally better than the ice cream, but still, the pancakes would have been better warm, and if they had been more generous with the red bean paste.

Milan Kundera - The Joke

"I had several faces because I was young and didn't know who I was or who I wanted to be." - Ludvik

1 Peter 3:15

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

Blossoms in my teacup

I never knew jasmine tea blossoms in hot water. :)

The Exciting Adventures of the Famous Five

Found a book today that reminded me of my childhood. :)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art of ending."

Foux De Fa Fa

Pearl Buck

"Inside myself is a place where I live alone, and that's where you renew your springs that never dry up."

My Secret Garden

Dickon: The animals tell me all their secrets.
Mary: [pointing to the Robin] He wouldn't tell you my secret, would he?
Dickon: About what, Miss Mary?
Mary: A garden. I've stolen a garden. But it may already be dead, I don't know.
Dickon: I'll know.
Mary: Promise you won't tell anyone?
Dickon: Promise.
Mary: No one?
Dickon: Not a soul.

It's a bit old, but this is london snow. :)

回忆是捉不到的月光 握紧就变黑暗
等虚假的背影消失于晴朗
阳光在身上流转 等所有业障被原谅
爱情不停站 想开往地老天荒 需要多勇敢
你不要失望 荡气回肠是为了 最美的平凡

"Don't get stuck in a paradox and disappear in a puff of logic"

I’ve Learned - Omar Washington

I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is be someone who can be loved.
The rest is up to them.
I’ve learned that no matter how much I care,
some people just don’t care back.
And it’s not the end of the world.
I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust,
and only seconds to destroy it.
I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life,
but who you have in your life that counts.
I’ve learned that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes.
After that, you’d better know something.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t compare yourself
to the best others can do,
but to the best you can do.
I’ve learned that it’s not what happens to people,
It’s what they do about it.
I’ve learned that no matter how thin you slice it,
there are always two sides.
I’ve learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.
I’ve learned that you can keep going
long after you think you can’t.

I’ve learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done
When it needs to be done
regardless of the consequences.
I’ve learned that there are people who love you dearly,
but just don’t know how to show it.
I’ve learned that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.
I’ve learned that true friendship continues to grow even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I’ve learned that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to
doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

I’ve learned that no matter how good a friend is,
they’re going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.
I’ve learned that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I’ve learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken,
the world doesn’t stop for your grief.
I’ve learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are,
but we are responsible for who we become.
I’ve learned that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean that they don’t love each other.
And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I’ve learned that sometimes you have to put the individual
ahead of their actions.
I’ve learned that two people can look at the exact same thing
and see something totally different.
I’ve learned that no matter the consequences,
those who are honest with themselves get farther in life.
I’ve learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours
by people who don’t even know you.
I’ve learned that even when you think you have no more to give,
when a friend cries out to you,
you will find the strength to help.

I’ve learned that writing,
as well as talking,
can ease emotional pains.
I’ve learned that the people you care most about in life
are taken from you too soon.
I’ve learned that it’s hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice
and not hurting people’s feelings and standing up for what you believe.
I’ve learned to love
and be loved.
I’ve learned…