literature
This is your Roti, John!
According to a local legend, the name of the local food “Roti John” derived from a Malay hawker in the 60s. “Roti” literally means bread in Malay.
There was an Englishman, John. He ordered a hamburger at Malay store in Sembawang (a local old town).
The Malay hawker has no idea how to make a burger, as Hamburger was not a local cuisine. But he ingeniously managed to substitute the meat to minced mutton and slices of onion in between the French loaf, and dipped the whole bread in the beaten eggs and pan-fried it.
When the food was really, he called upon the Englishman, “Silakan makan roti, John”, it means “Pleas eat this bread, John” in Malay.
Since then, this Malay cuisine adopted an English name in this genius invention.
Am I cute enough at this age?
Singapore kids have one of the highest rates of myopia in the world. About one out of two children under 12 have to wear glasses. To some, are cute and adorable. To some are related genetic that couldn’t help much.
Stay a distance from the computer, television. If not, you will be spending extra money to heal the problems in the future.
I meant it!
Bukit Chermin Black and White Bungalow
House no.30 Bukit Chermin Black and White Bungalow is the grandest and largest among the four houses on the Bukit Chermin Hill. Bukit Chermin meaning “Mirror Hill” in Malay.
Black and White Bungalows is a painted white house that built from 19th century until World War 2. It used to house European expatriate, colonial families in the colony times.
The style incorporated elements of Arts and Crafts and Art Deco movements as well as the need of wealthy expatriate families for airy and spacious family homes. Many of them have conserved by Authority, developed and converted it into residential and commercial usages.
Singapore’s most popular dog breeds
According to AVA (Agri-food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore) records, below are the tops 10 most popular dog breeds in Singapore.
1) Shih Tzu
2) Mixed breed such as Spoodle
3) Jack Russell Terrier
4) Maltese
5) Miniature Schnauzer
6) Golden Retrievers
7) Chihuahua
8) Poodle
9) Labrador Retriever
10) Pomeranian
West Highland White Terrier – unlisted
Sunset is back
After a long way of hazy seasons.
A sky breaking sunset, unwillingly leaving the Super Tree beneath.
Sharing this beautiful moment with friends and followers. Wishing all living a life with happiness and good health under the deep blue sky.
Where was your 1st Ice Cream born?
Singapore Cold Storage Company was the 1st supermarket that manufactured ice cream in 1923. The local oldest supermarket set up in 1903, its first Cold Storage Supermarket open in the 1930s on Orchard road.
So, can you imagine how difficult to get a stick of ice cream in the olden day?
Garden city on the coins
1-cent coin – Singapore National Flower, Vanda Miss Joaquim, a special hybrid orchid.
5-cents coin – The Fruit Salad Plant (Monstera deliciosa), a dark green heavy foliage climber.
10-cents coin – The Star Jasmine (Jasminum multiflorum), a slender climber with pure star-like flower.
20-cents coin – The Powder-Puff Plant (Calliandra surinamensis), medium size shrub with hemispherical pink color headed flower.
50 cents coin – The Yellow Allamanda (Allamanda cathartica), a vine that blooms trumpet-like bright yellow flower.
$1 coin – The Periwinkle (Lochera rosa) small shrub with single stem, produces flowers in velvety purple.
Don’t you feel rich to have a garden city on a coin? Perhaps, that’s my other reason for loving our local currency.
Sing “Singapore Sling”
A bartender, Ngiam Tong Boon who worked in Raffles Hotel in 1915, created the Singapore Sling. Since then, the recipe was so valuable to the extent that it has to be locked up in the safe of the hotel for many years.
The frothy gin and juice based cocktail were combined with ingredients including gin, cherry liqueur, pineapple juice, lime juice, Cointreau, Dom Benedictine and Grenadine. It’s shake up and end with a garnish of sliced pineapple topping with a cherry.
Singapore Sling has gained international fame over the years.
Actor, Johnny Depp acted in the movie ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, mentioned Singapore Sling while meeting the attorney.
The drink is pretty high in spirits content. So, if you drink, don’t drive. If you don’t drive, you can drive yourself to sing out Singapore Sling aloud!
What a hardy tree like him
The ‘greenheart’ tree grows in Guiana, South America. The scientific name, Chlorocardium, (chloro means green; cardia means heart). It is the genus family of Lauraceae.
The tree can grow up to 40m high and is one of the densest and hardest woods in the world.
Due to its extreme hardiness, standard tools cannot lay a hand on it. For that reason, it has greater commercial value for construction materials, dock and marine industry. It can also be used as a medicinal cure for reducing fever.
For you, for sparrow, for me!
Spotted a Pacific Sparrow at MacRitchie Reservoir. It stood on the lamppost tip without assuming my presence.
Pacific Sparrow is one of the commonly seen feathered friends in Singapore. It has orange neck with short scissors tail. Vigilant and does not station at a place for long.
This feathered being seems to love photography. So much so that it allows me to snap a few shots of him in a row.
After a well-deserved break, it took off for its air show again.
When he’s done with his show, he returned for this silly photographer, asking “are you putting me up in Youtube?”
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