Maybe it is not what you become, but who you become that really matters.

Last month, we were having lunch at McDonald’s in Causeway Point. We were hanging out with the other performers and their families before my daughter’s violin performance at her music school’s annual concert.

After buying our meal, I went to get a few sauce plates of ketchup. Of course, I proceeded to spill the ketchup all over my pants and making a fool of myself in front of everyone. What happened next was extraordinary to me.

A Malay Aunty was walking pass McDonald’s with her family. After seeing the mess I got myself into, she actually came in the restaurant to give me an entire packet of wet wipes!

In a “I need to get ahead” world and country, that act of kindness really got me thinking. Maybe it is really not so important what we become when we grow up. Maybe it is who we become that really matters.

My Wife’s Treasure Trove

It has been more than 5 years since my wife Michelle started her handmade jewelry crafting business. When I visited her online store (http://www.Jewelparlour.etsy.com) on the online handmade market place Etsy recently, I felt so proud of how far she has she has grown in her crafting journey.

Before I go on, like the financial analysts who review companies, I have to make a
declaration of any vested interest in my opinions and views in this write-up. Firstly I have to declare that what I am writing in this write-up is entirely biased and second, I have significant vested interest in Michelle’s business.

Now since that is out-of-the-way, I can explain why I feel so proud of her. You see, last
month, Michelle was down with a bad case of flu for about a week. As such, yours truly had to take over responsibility of what is arguably Michelle’s full time (and then some) job – my six-year-old daughter.

My current full-time job allows me to work from home much of the time and so taking care
of my girl outside school hours should be easy right? Wrong! It takes no less than 30 minutes just to get her ready for school (combing and tying her tangled hair is really time-consuming) and when she is back from school she needs to be fed and then constantly supervised to ensure that she does her work and policed to make sure she drinks enough water. She also had many questions or needed guidance regularly on how to do her work. After dinner and after tucking her into bed, I had to work late into the night to catch up on my work. The result was that for the week, I was doing 2 full-time jobs and was rather short-tempered, impatient and rather emotional.

Now I could truly understand how difficult it has been for Michelle to teach and take care
of my girl and try to build a handmade jewelry crafting business at the same time, usually working to do so late into the night.

Now the question is what so special about her craft?

Being brought up in a “cheaper, better, faster” culture, I am generally a fan of mass-produced goods at the lowest prices although I am starting to see that there are many instances where that culture may not work well. One of the areas “cheaper, better, faster” does not work for me is in wines. Most wines in the lower price ranges just do not interest me as they are mass-produced and taste very “industrial”. The best ones are so expensive that I do not purchase them for consumption. Instead, I have tasted some of them during some wine tasting events and can tell that the best wine makers crafted them with great love and care, not “cheaper, better, faster”.

There is also mass-produced costume jewelry which are sold at both high and low prices. Michelle does not mass produce her creations but limits the number of handmade pieces she makes (I think creative people seem to hate repetition) so a piece you buy from her would be quite unique.

My favourites are her wire crochet nest rings, necklaces and earrings.

Wire Crochet Nests rings, necklaces and earrings.

Since I am a guy, I also really like the glass cufflinks she makes, so much so that I bought quite a few sets for all the guys in the team I work with last Christmas!

Glass cufflinks I bought last Christmas for the guys I work with

Michelle loves sourcing for jewelry parts and putting them together into a unique creation. One recent creation is the Alice in wonderland Inspired Rabbit Charm Necklace called I’m Late. (http://www.etsy.com/listing/78643730/alice-inspired-rabbit-charm-necklace-im)

Alice Inspired Rabbit Charm Necklace

So in short, if you love unique jewelry pieces, my wife’s treasure trove may just be your cup of tea. Take a leap down the rabbit hole into her shop(http://www.Jewelparlour.etsy.com). Maybe you will find something unique just for you!

Pictures courtesy of Jewel Parlour.

Sushi Making

Chef Shunsuke Kusubashi taught how to make Japanese Sushi a few months ago during the May MAAD (Market of Artists And Designers http://www.maad.sg/). As usual, I joined his class and was really excited to learn how to make sushi.

Mixing Japanese rice with sushi vinegar powder

The process started with taking about 2 handfuls of cooked Japanese rice from the rice cooker and pouring sushi vinegar powder all over the rice. Next, using a rice spoon, I stirred the vinegar and rice gently to ensure an even mix but without crushing the rice grains. The sushi rice was then allowed to cool to the same temperature as my skin.

A large square seaweed sheet was then place on top of a sushi bamboo mat with the rough side facing up and the lines of the seaweed sheet aligned from left to right. After wetting my hand with water (to prevent the rice from sticking to my hand), I picked up a small amount of sushi rice each time and slowly spread the rice to cover the whole seaweed sheet.

Filling the centre of the sushi with lettuce, cucumber and tuna or shrimp

Butter lettuce was then placed in a straight line from left to right in the middle of the seaweed sheet. Thin slices of cucumber was placed on top of the lettuce to provide an added crunch. Finally, canned tuna or cooked fresh pawns with mayonnaise and soya sauce was added on top of the lettuce and cucumber slices.

Using the bamboo mat to roll up the sushi

Using the bamboo mat, the sushi roll was carefully rolled up half way and compressed into shape. The rest of the sushi was then rolled up and compressed again. Using a moist knife, the sushi roll was cut into eight pieces with the knife being cleaned with a wet cloth after each cut. Finally, the sushi is ready to eat!

Tuna Maki cut and ready to eat!

Mayo Shrimp maki

I was not able to find time to cook in the past few months due to travel and work. Recently, my wife asked if I was going to cook for the family again. Looks like there is demand for my cooking after all….time to get back into the kitchen!

Yummy Chawan Mushi!

Last month, my wife informed me that Chef Shunsuke Kusubashi was teaching how to make Chawan Mushi (Japanese steamed egg custard) at the April MAAD (Market of Artists And Designers http://www.maad.sg/) and instructed me to go and learn how to make Chawan Mushi. You see, my wife, my daughter and I all love to eat Chawan Mushi. In addition, the S$30 lesson fee will go towards helping the victims of the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami.

Egg mixed with stock and sauces

I was very excited to learn how to make Chawan Mushi and was surprised to learn how easy it was. First an egg was mixed with Dashi (Japanese anchovie soup stock), Sake (Japanese rice wine), Soya Sauce, Mirin (sweet cooking Sake) and a pinch of sea salt. 

Various ingredients placed in the Chawan Mushi cup

Next a Ginko nut, a small piece of uncooked chicken, a small piece of uncooked prawn, and a slice of Shiitake mushroom was placed in a Chawan Mushi cup. Finally, the egg mixture was poured into the Chawan Mushi cup and a sprinkle of shredded Mitsuba leaves (Japanese wild parsley) was added. The Chawan Mushi cup was then covered and steamed in a steamer for 12-13 minutes and that was it!

Steamed Chawan Mushi

I invited my wife and daughter to try the first Chawan Mushi I ever made. My daughter loved it so much she almost finished the whole thing by herself! Maybe I really should start cooking Japanese at home…

My girl slurping up the Chawan Mushi

I know! When I grow up I wanna be a Violinist!

Inspired by my daughter’s violin playing skills, I decided, maybe I should be a Violinist! The first step was to get a violin. When I told my wife about my plan to run out and get a violin, she tried very hard to dissuade me. “Are you sure you want to waste money buying a violin when you have no musical skills whatsoever?” Was I going to listen to her? No. Will I regret it later? Based on historical records – Highly likely.

Synwin Violins

Rows of Violins in Synwin

So we headed down to Marina Square where Synwin Violins was located. Our good friends, the Lohs, also happened to be at Marina Square and I dragged them to Synwin Violins after a game of bowling. Just in case my wife was right, I decided to purchase the cheapest violin available. Unfortunately, the cheapest violin model they carried was sold out.

Last month, new stock finally arrived and I went down to purchase my brand new violin. Excited I rushed back and tried to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars” and in the process irritated the neighbourhood. Holding the bow and the violin was already a challenge in itself. Holding the bow and the violin and actually playing a tune was even more difficult!

My new violin and I

After my desperate appeal for help, my wife stepped in and taught me the right way of playing the violin. One week on and after more suffering by our neighbours, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars” was actually starting to sound like a tune. Maybe there is still hope…

My Daughter is a Junior Masterchef?

Last Sunday, my daughter was invited to a classmate’s birthday party at So EZ cooking Studio in Great World City. Instead of the usual games and magic show, the kids were taught how to bake cookies.

My Girl in Chef Uniform

First, the Junior Masterchefs put on chef uniforms and then proceeded to mix butter, sugar and flour into dough. The dough was then flattened and cut into shape. While the cookies were being baked, the Junior Masterchefs snacked on potato chips and apple juice.

Flattening and cutting the dough into shape

Baked Cookies

Finally, the Junior Masterchefs squeezed icing on top of each of the cookies.

Icing on top of the cookies

Looks like my girl might just become a chef before I do!

I know! When I grow up I wanna be a Japanese Chef!

Since my lesson with Chef Kusubashi, I made udon on 2 weekends after incessant pestering from my daughter. My wife thought that the udon was a bit hard while my girl slurped up everything.

Excited, I started planning for an udon party when my wife suggest that a plain carbo meal might not be too exciting for my friends. She suggested frying some tempura to go along with the udon and sent me the link to the recipe. My wife also found out that Chef Kusubashi was going to teach how to make Chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard) at the next MAAD (Market of Artists And Designers http://www.maad.sg/) and promptly asked me to go and learn and make some for her.

Yes, our family loves Japanese food and yes I am sure I wanna be a Japanese Chef when I grow up!

I know! When I grow up I wanna be a Chef!

Last weekend, my wife was at MAAD (Market of Artists And Designers http://www.maad.sg/) to sell her hand-made jewelry as she does every month. When I joined her late Saturday afternoon, I discovered that one of her fellow MAADster’s husband, Chef Shunsuke Kusubashi was teaching how to make udon!

I love udon and my wife asked Chef Kusubashi if I could crash the udon making party (lesson). He very kindly obliged. Thinking it was just about throwing dry udon noodles into water, then soup and finally adding garnish (something I had lots of experience from cooking instant noodles), I was very surprised to learn that I had to MAKE the udon noodles from flour and saltwater!

Kneading the udon dough

Chef Kusubashi taught me how to mix the flour with salt water, knead the dough, flatten the dough and finally cut the dough into noodles. By the time we were done cutting the noodles, there was a huge crowd behind me looking at what the 2 of us were doing.

The noodles were then boiled in boiling water for about 4 minutes. What came out was surprisingly nice and chewy noodles. Add prawn tempura, garnishing (cut spring onions and seaweed) and dipping sauce prepared earlier by Chef Kusubashi and the outcome was divine!

Delicious Udon

Chef Kusubashi, udon and me

My wife was impressed too…she finished half the noodles I made and cooked. The next day, Chef Kusubashi and his students made another batch of noodles for everyone and my daughter finished a whole bowl of udon all by herself! That was when I decided that I wanted to be a chef.

I was so inspired that I ran out with my family on Sunday night to buy all the ingredients needed to make udon. When we reached home and I was putting away what I bought, my daughter came in the kitchen with a very greedy grin and asked “Papa, are you going to make udon now?”

So, is being a Blogger for me?

After 1 month as a blogger, I discovered that it is not as easy as I thought it would be.

1. Blogging is time-consuming. Hard to do everyday, especially if you have a day job.

2. It is hard to have something interesting to write about everyday.

3. You need to be really really good (i.e. lots of interesting things to write about and lots of interesting pictures to share) to get paid for it.

Report card on my blogging experience: 1) I will keep my day job, 2) I think I will try out other stuff and 3) I will keep blogging about my search to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

Working Overseas?

When I was studying, I was given a couple of chances to study overseas. Once to get my degree and once for an exchange program.

The only reason why I studied reasonably hard was to get into a respectable course in a local university so as not to put an unnecessary burden on my parents who were giving me a FM scholarship (Father Mother scholarship). Unknown to me, they must have figured that I was rather lazy when it came to studying and saved up for me to study overseas in case I could not make it into a local University. By the time they revealed that secret to me, patriotic me had already got a place in the local University + a girlfriend and decided not to venture overseas.

Well, over time, the nation building rhetoric I received in school became a fading memory and the less patriotic me started to regret the decision not to venture overseas and experience a different way of life. The options I have now are to go for an MBA course overseas or to work overseas. After deciding against an overseas MBA because of the debt it would saddle on us, I was only willing to consider working overseas.

Just before the Chinese new year, I met 2 friends. One, lets call him Mr A, is working in China and was back for the holidays. The other, Mr W, just returned with his family from a 2 year stint in Canada, the great white, and very cold, North.

Mr A and a bunch of us were having lunch and we badgered him to give us the low down on his experience working in China. In short, it was pretty exciting and “glamorous” (in my opinion). Mr W on the other hand was not living such a “glamorous” life in Canada, but when I asked if he was happy or sad to be back for good, he said both. Happy to be back but sad as he loved he quality of life in Canada.

With so many of my friends working overseas should I do the same? Not so easy to answer now as I have to think about the quality and cost of education for my girl. Unless I get an attractive compensation package, it will be a challenge. But if given the right opportunity, maybe I would…