days of lapin

Happy Birthday Cheri Joan

2010-08-05T21:15:00.000+09:00

Bonjour Paris

Another of my present I really love!
My Bonjour Paris Dairy from Jia Xuan.
It's from Korea and had the same set of photos from a postcard set I bought!
Great minds!

Seng Eel Chooka Hameeda!

2010-08-02T21:05:00.000+09:00

Tweji Tuki Choayo!

Here's my favourite birthday present this year!
My Tweji Tuki soft toy from Shelby!
Really appreciated the gift because it come from her Piggy Bank.
Great afternoon at our favourite spot TeaCafe...
Seng Eel Chooka Hameeda!

Baby and Lapin

2010-06-09T09:46:00.004+09:00

Look Who's Talking !!!

Wow! Look who's been talking to each other!
How did this happen???
Baby Mason and Lapin?!?
I didn't know they knew each other!
Wonder if there's a photo of Geun Suk and Lapin too!

In the Backlane

2010-04-06T09:15:00.000+09:00

Remembering...Gulangyu

Wondering along the backlanes of Gulangyu
I felt like Alice in Wonderland
Every corner seem to take you to a different world altogther
The Cat ...
The Apprentice...

The Sound of Music

2010-04-05T20:12:00.003+09:00

Remember... Gulangyu

The drumming waves of Piano Island
Resound on the far side of the island
The voices of tour guides arriving early each morning with packs of tourists
Resounds throughout the island...
The music of Gulangyu has slowly deserted the island
Seeking better fate in a faraway land
There was a time when the sound of piano
Could be heard throughout this lil dot on the map
Exuding from every tiny window on the island

I poured out my woes at the reception of MOGO where I stayed

I was comforted by Xiao Pan, the ever so friendly staff

I should count my blessings

I was there before the last sound of music is gone

A Concert A Day...On Piano Island

2010-04-04T13:02:00.005+09:00

Tian Tian Yan

A concert takes place at the Gulangyu Concert Hall every night
And it happened to be the American Music Week
So how can I miss my first concert on this island to on Day 1?
Let the show begin...
For a start, a vocal and piano duet

It was a concert experience like none other
Nothing like the Suntory Hall Tokyo
Or Perhaps a concert in Vienna and Prague
Here, the concert runs free every night
And the local community has an interesting concert culture
Young man giving up seats to an elderly
who comes in 20 minutes after the concert started
Children talking
People eating, entering, leaving in the middle of a performance
Here, you won't find the snob, the pretentious
Nor the "I am so cultured' mentality in the concert goers
Everyone is here for a common purpose ...
The simple enjoyment of music
And the locals can tell a good performance from a mediocre
They discuss, critique, and share their opinions with audience next to them
They have probably seen more performances this lifetime than I ever will

Dinner on Piano Island

2010-04-04T10:18:00.005+09:00

My Gulangyu TV Dinner

It was really cold on the first night
I found lil restaurant serving local treats
Decided to take-away knowing how huge the portions are
Dinner for the night...
Famous Fuzhou Shark Meat Fishballs with Shuo Bak Chang!

This is really yummy...

But check out that chunk of fats!!!

Oooo...super sinful

I allowed myself only a tiny bit

Didn't do much on this first day

Loiter around MOGO

And stroll along Long Tou Lu (Dragon Head Street)

Went to a nearby bookshtore and found lots of music books!!!

A book on finger practice by Lizst

A book entitled The Complete Pianist...

I spent the next few days reading that

An aluminuim tin can mug from my favourite store.. FEN

I used it to make my instant spinach soup

BabyFace@Piano Island

2010-03-26T15:28:00.004+09:00

Out For Lunch

I arrived on Piano Island feeling famished
First stop... Lunch at the nearest cafe from MOGO
It's called Baby Face...
The interior looks a lil like the inside of an igloo
It was 3 pm and I sheepishly asked the lil gal at the counter...
"You still serve lunch?"
What can u possibly get on a lil island off the coast of Xiamen Island?
An island off an island?
Gulangyu was more than meets the eye...
My lunch?
The best chicken cutlet I have ever had!

Chicken Cutlet with Orange Dressing...says the menu
It came with a layer of spice flavoured rice
Lots of fresh greens
Presentation...Excellent!
Taste...Superb!

I was enjoying my Red Bean Frapp in the company of those in the cafe.
An old couple travelling together, browsing through the map on a lazy afternoon.
I was envious...why I was there alone...

Piano Island

2010-03-26T14:04:00.005+09:00

Gulangyu

Piano island...
it sounds like a dream when Linzy told me about it.
An island of music, where you hear the sound of piano along the streets,
And every household seem to be nuturing a budding musician.
So here I am... on Piano Island.
Maybe the air here will make me a better musician?

MOGO Hotel
My Refuge

My hotel is 2 minutes away from the jetty on Gulangyu.
Everything seem to revolve around this part of the island,
I can return to my hotel half a dozen time each day!
Room 301...my refuge.

That's the bathroom with rain shower beyond my bed

Isn't this cool!

It's got wooden flooring like a spa!

As usual, I stock my ration for the week.
Sausages, instant spinach soup, beef cubes!

Nodame Cantabile Finale (I)

2010-03-11T21:20:00.000+09:00

122 Minutes of Cantabile

Lost in a dream of music,
The 'Hen Tai' forest of Nodame,
A world where music takes flight...

122 Minutes...
drowned in the doubt of inadequacy...
thirsty for that divine music...
hungry for those moments of celestial harmony on stage...

Cheri Joan needs to put her fingers into action...
She dances like Nodame, cries like Nodame, doubts like Nodame...
But she will never play piano like Nodame...
GYABO!!!

Spring Cleaning

2010-02-26T13:46:00.001+09:00

Spring Shower

Miffy and friends had a refreshing shower in preparation for the new year.
Look! They are enjoying a sunbath!

A Chihuly Christmas

2009-10-21T02:24:00.002+09:00

@ The Ritz Carlton Singapore

This is probably the best high tea spread I have had lately
3 tiers of delicate pastry

This was followed by a Tea Appreciation Session that

featured 10 different types of tea!

The first christmas pastry came in the shape of a tree

Paired with a fruity infusion

Here's the lil surprise under the Christmas tree

Green apple jelly with sago and almond mousse

A white chocolate ball with a Venus Swirl of Red on the inside

More surprises in Venus

A chocolate mousse and salty caramel

Yummaz!!!

Moon Cupcakes

2009-09-21T01:50:00.000+09:00

From Hairloom & Caramel

This mysterious package arrived at about 5 pm in the afternoon

Guarded by a lapin and a hound

A Mid-Autumn note from lil Linzy

A furoshiki package within the brown bag

And 3 extremely adorable Moon Cupcakes!
They are so exquisite, I could hardly bear to sink my teeth into one!
Muazkz! Thanks Linzy.

No Man Can Help You Die...

2009-09-11T11:25:00.004+09:00

To me, this is poem by Wilcox is the greatest reality ever...

Laugh, and the world laughs with you,
Weep, and you weep alone
For sad old earth must borrow its mirth
But has trouble enough of it's own
Sing, and the hills will answer
Sigh, and it is lost in the air
The echoes bound to a joyful sound
But shrink from voicing care
Rejoice, and men will seek you
Grieve, and they turn and go
They want full measures of all you pleasures
But they do not need your woes
Be glad, and your friends are many
Be sad, and you lose them all
There are none to decline your nectared wine
But alone you must drink life's gall
Feast, and your halls are crowded
Fast, and the world goes by
Succeed and give and it helps you live
But no man can help you die
There is room in the halls of pleasure for a long and lordly train
But one by one, we must file on through the narrow aisles of pain

Ella Wheeler Wilcox
(185-1919)

Keep It Simple

2009-09-07T00:19:00.005+09:00

Castaway on the Moon

Linzy insisted that we watch this korean film last night.

Her favourate actress was cast in the film.

So being very obliging people, the Lims agreed.

Castaway on the Moon.

That's how I usually feel these days,

especially when there is a long vacation.

The film is oddly entertaining and at the same time, thought provoking.

We are all very busy people. We made it so.

Our planners are filled, and the lil boxes on our calendars are all marked out.

We act busy even when we ain't really.

We fill up our planners,

convincing ourselves that we have 101 important things to do.

We go in search for more and more 'important things' to clutter our lives with.

We plan, we schedule, we organise.

We buy, we hoard, we stock.

We are just so afraid of that void that leaves us pondering

about the very fact that there is a void within us with nothing really very 'important' to fill.

I started craving for char jeong meon while watching the show!

So, guess what lapin is having for dinner tonight?

Please, can we have char jeong meon for dinner???

Char jeong meon, Char jeong meon, Char jeong meon!

I am starving...

Lapin & Straw

2009-09-05T02:20:00.004+09:00

The Scarecrow said to Dorothy...

"I do not know anything...you see, I do not have a brain for I am made of straw."

Currently, I am reading the story 'The Wizard of Oz' to my class.
This week, Dorothy met the Scarecrow and this picture came to mind.
Perhaps, having no brains isn't such a bad thing afterall...
Nothing to ponder
Nothing to doubt
Nothing to remember
Nothing to be sad about
Igonorance is bliss.

Casual Poet

2009-08-23T02:29:00.002+09:00

A Casual Afternoon...

Licia Lee & I finally made it to Casual Poet this afternoon.
Hey Linzy! Can you spot what those people are ploughing through?
Yap, your Red Dot award-winning creation!
Very proud of you! (Applause!!!)

I love these red chairs.
Reminds me of those Linzy bought.
Her Moulin Rouge table and chair set!

The afternoon sun was seeping through the notices that were plastered
carelessly to the window panes.

A new resident at the Casual Poet!
Blackie the kitty

Muscisophilia

2009-08-09T02:06:00.004+09:00

by Oliver Sacks
Author of "Awakenings"

My latest reading material.
You need to be equipped with knowledge in both Music and Medical Sciences to digest this stuff.
In one of the case studies, a patient who was struck by lightning
but was resuscitated, had a sudden surge in his musicality.
You will certainly find me walking in the rain during the next monsoon, awaiting that fateful moment!
Like Mozart said... It is from God!!! Hahahahah!

What an odd thing it is to see an entire species - billions of people
playing with, listening to, meaningless tonal patterns,
occupied and preoccupied for much of their time by what they call 'music'.

Casual Poet vs Tea Cafe

2009-08-08T18:12:00.007+09:00

Tea Cafe Revisited

Had intended to spend the afternoon at Casual Poet with Shelby.
After battling the sizzling heat and climbing up the neverending stairway,
we realised it opens only at 3pm.
Plan B...
We headed for my new haven, Tea Cafe.

Tea of the day ... Long Jing (Dragon's Well) for me.
It came with preserved sugared mandrin.
A great symphony of taste.

Shelby's apple tea turned out to be quite a treat.
Mildly sweetened and has a light apple fragrance.
Tickles the tastebuds,
yet without the usual overbrewed tanin in most of the fruit tea I have tried.

Extra side orders...

Crispy fish rolls and tea egg.

Generous serving of fish rolls.

Toasted till they are real crispy. Yumz!

Most tea eggs are simmered till they are pretty dry inside in order to infuse the flavour.

This one is really flavourful and yet has a runny egg yoke!

The taste just overwhelms the senses.

Divine!

Another day of adventure at the Tea Cafe.

Bravo! Bravo!

Tea Cafe @ Seah Street

2009-08-08T00:43:00.008+09:00

Haven of Solace

Here's the little hideout Linz had wanted for me to celebrate my birthday.
Unfortunately, this place has odd operating hours.
11am to 7pm and closes on Sundays!
They do events at other times.
I had the whole afternoon to myself and decided to check it out.

Ordered Japanese Gyokuro tea.
It has a noble mellow and refreshing taste.
Great for beating the heat and the haze.
The set came with sweets and a lil pastry to go with tea.

The preparation area is right in the hallway.
3 white rustic looking square sinks and a spiral staircase in the workarea.
A touch of nostalgia.

Lots of room and comfy sofas!

I spent the afternoon reading at that table by the window. Bliss.

They really look into fine details.

Even the toilet was inviting!

A little white china globe with a dreamy assortment of Space Candies inside!

Tea Cafe has an upper deck I have yet to explore!!!

I'LL BE BACK!

More Birthday Bundle!

2009-08-07T22:51:00.007+09:00

Harumi & The Rabbit

Hian always has it.
He always picks the right gifts!
Here are 2 of my favourite things...
a Japanese cookbook and the straw rabbit.
Love them both!

Of course, Hian has his way of telling me I should make him a bento soon!!!

More Love! More Love!

2009-08-07T22:06:00.007+09:00

Roses are Red...

Can you smell the roses???
My friends decided I should get a bed of roses this birthday!
First, the garden of roses from Celine.
Then, home-made bouquet from Chris!
Here's another cheerful bunch from the Gangs of TKPS.
Special thanks to YY, Fong Lai, Veron, Hazel, Kua (again!) and Ah Bin (again!)
for your 'passionate' love!!!
Muacksssss!

I pondered for a long while as I read the message card that said Hazel Floral...
Did Bay Hazel start a gift company between feeding times???
I even went online to verify that!!!
The webbie was very american in style...
Could it be???

4:15PM

2009-08-03T00:43:00.007+09:00

FLOWERS!!!

More birthday surprises from Linz and Licia!
I was told they wouldn't be spending my birthday with me.
Linz would be in Colorado and Licia would be busy.
Uncle KH said Linzy Queen made a reservation at The Tea Chapter...
hardly a place I would wanna spend my birthday this year.

2:55PM
I arrived in Chinatown, completely upset by the maddening crowd of Chinese nationales
loitering the streets and squatting at the street corners.

3:00PM
I climbed the narrow stairway that lead to Casual Poet and found my peace at last.
Spotted a four-sitter in the middle of what seems to be a jigsaw of tables and chairs.
The afternoon sun forced it's way between the posters, cuttings and notices
plastered carelessly on the window panes.

3:05PM
I placed my order for flower tea and spicy fries and waited to be served
while I stroke a tiny lil black kitten napping on the red couch. I scanned the room.
The guy behind was burying his head in "Radar Systems".
A couple behind me peering over a lap-top.
2 ladies taking picture of the kitten from their seats.
A caucasian man studying Japanese or Chinese, can't tell.
2 teachers marking their scripts.

3:15PM
Uncle KH arrived. I was trying to convince them to stay with me at Casual Poet.
But still that nagging feeling.
Didn't want to change the plans Linz made for me.

3:30PM
My orders arrived.

4:00PM
I reluctantly left Casual Poet.
Walked down Keong Siak Street in the steamy heat.

415PM
We made it to Tea Chapter.
I was handed a bouquet of white Gerbaras and a card that said
"4:15PM Flowers!!!"
My heart sank!!! I thought I had ruined the moment Linz and Licia had planned for!
I looked down at my watch...
4:15PM!!! FLOWERS!!!
In perfect timing...

Special thanks to Linz and Licia for planning.
Licia for arranging and delivering the bouquet.
Uncle KH and Aunt QF for being there!

Birthday 2009

2009-08-01T03:36:00.006+09:00

Chilling out @ Chris & KL's Cafe

To the beautiful people who made my day with a lil' birthday surprise!
Here's the bouquet put together by Chris!!!
Kow Lee says he hasn't done it since their wedding!
What an honour!
Big 'Thank You' to Kow Lee for that table of food!!! (And her prayers of course!)
Yes, we shall chill out at Chris & Kow Lee's Cafe soon again!
Kua, Bin Bin and Licia Lee conjured up a lil plan too!
They had quite a night trying to hide that cake and keep the candle on!
Hey people, thanks for telling me in your special ways that I AM LOVED!!!

Plan B

2009-08-01T03:27:00.006+09:00

Happy Birthday Cheri Joan

A week ago, Celine asked what I would like for my birthday.
I told her I didn't need anything.
She said I should make her job easier.
Nothing came to mind really, so she said she will execute Plan B.
This arrived in school today with a card that said nothing else in it but...
Plan B

Thank you Celine!!! Sarang heyo!!!
Think the teachers in the staffroom probably hated me for this!!!
But I love it!!!
Let them turn green, or purple or blue for all I care.

An Art & Science

2009-05-17T22:10:00.006+09:00

Cheri Joan's Tom Yam Gong
Here's one of my dinner experiments.
Here are the things you will need to do.
Dice up the brinjil.
Slice up the carrot.
Cut up the broccoli.
Skin and debone the chicken, dice them up too!

This is my favourite part... Before

and... After

Ahhh... the joy of cooking.
Some says it's an art, others says it's a science.
A little of both for me.
I do it with the heart.
I miss cooking since I arrive home mostly pass dinner time.

I told Licia she will be my lab rat once I have perfected a few things this round.
That was Linz's job a couple of years ago.
Guess what?
She's still alive!!!
She's currently too busy to take on this job so Licia has kindly volunteered!
Let's pray for her...Amen!
HA...HA...HA

Left Overs?

2009-05-17T19:45:00.007+09:00

How my leftovers drove away my Monday Blues...

I was in the mood for more homecook food so I decided to
put some leftover from the dinner I made the night before into my lunch bento.

Ingredients:
Japanese Pickled Vegetables
Japanese sardines seasoned and grilled with yakitori sauce and sesame
Japanese short grain rice seasoned with bonito onigiri mix
Grilled Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Was gonna throw in some steamed broccoli
but decided I wanted to make space for my sweet potatoes!
Most of the raw materials were airflown from Japan at the Food Fair in Isetan Scotts!
As for the lunch box, I got it on my last trip to Hong Kong! Cool ya?

Of cos, like good old Japanese, I wrapped it all up in a furoshiki.
Chose a green one this time!

Care to join me for lunch?

If There're Seasons...

2009-05-05T01:13:00.007+09:00

anyone lived in a pretty how town

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more
when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief

bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her
someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

by E E Cummings

We are everyone and anyone...
So what if anyone dies?
Everyone dies anyway...

Post Card from Paris

2009-05-03T03:15:00.004+09:00

...ermmm...bookmark from Paris

Licia Lee sent me a postcard from Paris!
I mean... a bookmark from Paris.
Who would have thought of mailing a bookmark the way you would with a postcard???
Well, Licia Lee of course!
With an Andy Warhol print and a message from her saying...

"To the woman who enjoys simple yet finer pleasures of life, Cheri Joan.
Reading is the habit of great people.
Just like you."

Dope! I love it!!!

iLove iTouch

2009-05-02T01:25:00.003+09:00

The Epitome of Love

Love at first sight! It's gleaming finishing.
A new toy for Cheri Joan! The Apple iTouch!

Love Transcribed

2009-04-30T01:11:00.004+09:00

If Love can be transcribed...

Am I lagging or what? I didn't know there are softwares that write music!

My piano teacher, Mr Agus, transcribed a piece of music I sent him into a set of scores for piano!

How dope is that! He even added the dynamics!

Now, if there is a software that transcribes love, I wonder how it would look like.

Love transcribed...

おくりびと

2009-04-26T12:28:00.006+09:00

忘れられない。。。
最後に微笑んでくれた
あの時の顔を



MunちゃんはCDをくれました。
そして、[おくりびとはみてください]と言って。
それによて、昨日はみました。ただ一人。
絶対におもしろい。
ほんとにやさしいも悲しいです。

Mun gave me the OST of Departures.
The music was composed by none other than Joe Hisaishi.
He said he knew when he heard those pieces, that I would love them too.
So he got a friend to get me a copy from overseas and told me to watch the movie.
And so I did. Yesterday. Alone.
Why not alone?
We, like all those who had gone before us, must embrace our departure alone.
The movie was beautiful. I had never known that there could be such aesthetic in the art of a mortician.
Death and what lies beyond was made gentle and peaceful in every scene.
Now, departures will never be the same again to me.

Tomatoes with a Heart

2009-04-26T11:55:00.000+09:00

A Tasty Treat from Xuan

If you walk through the night markets of Taiwan, you will chance upon these delightful treats.
Juicy cherry tomatoes stuffed with tangy preserved plums and coated with a crunchy coat of malt sugar.
They are called "冰糖葫芦".
I was craving for some last week and my Taiwanese colleague Jia Xuan made a jar of these!
Yummaz!!!

Lapin S.E.N.S

2009-04-26T11:29:00.000+09:00

Travelling on My Couch

Music helps me to remember. Whenever I travel, I bring with me music.
As I walk down the streets of Paris, along the fishing port in Tokyo, in a train across India.
The resounding music of S.E.N.S. seem to carve the images I see into memories and engraves them in my mind.
And each time I listen to these pieces of music, those images appear to me once again.
Here in my dim little room, I travel to a faraway land through the music of S.E.N.S.

On a fateful day, I found the piano scores to my favourte S.E.N.S pieces in Kinokuniya...
Only to lose them on yet another fateful day.
To my despair, I realised that the scores were no longer in publication.

After a 3 weeks wait, HMV Japan answered my prayers...
Yes! It has arrived... the lost scores of S.E.N.S...airflown from Japan!
How more authentic can it get!!!

I hope the person who has taken my original scores will enjoy the pieces as much as I did.

Taipei Spring 2009

2009-04-13T02:06:00.000+09:00

Amo Cheese Cake

The shop moved to a new locaion!
A really sweet security guard actually called his family member
to find out where is!

The Cheese Cake came in a pretty box!

Aesthetically appealing, yet functional
As good as a Japanese design!

Taipei Spring 2009

2009-04-04T00:59:00.000+09:00

Long Shan Temple

Uncle Maverick discovered a new breakfast place

Never been there after all these years, but it's better than Yong He!!!

The rice dumpling is stuffed with egg-wrapped fritters and pork floss and stuff

This gooey brown rice drink is superb

Fried Carrot Cake!!!

What more can a bunny ask for

Xi Men Ding

The most happening place in town

We stayed right here

Our favourite breakfast spot

The mee sua place

Red Mansion

Old Theatre converted to an artist village

Taipei in Spring 2009

2009-03-28T01:23:00.001+09:00

Paradise or Hell

We put up at Hotel Paradise

What paradise, it felt more like hell

Rather surreal

There was no window, so one can never tell if it was day or night

Eslite Bookstore at XinYi

My Favourite stop in Taipei!

The Xin Yi Eslite Store

担担面set lunch at Eslite! Yummy!

Meet the Lapin

2009-03-25T02:37:00.000+09:00

So here it is. The lapin who will be my new face. I was planning on making an earthy, featureless bunny to begin my blog with. Fortunately or unfortunately, its construction was barely completed before my trip. Didn't think this blog was going to materialise until I chanced upon this fellow. So there you have it, Cheri Joan's new image... the Lapin.