Oven: 1, Niki: 0

During the week of July 11-17 most of our time was spent prepping things for the BBQ that we were hosting at our place for Mark's coworkers that Saturday. Although, we did manage to do some non-BBQ related things during the week. 

Mark and I had lunch together at a place called Streats Cafe early in the week.  We dined on Japanese noodles and Dim Sum.  Our food wasn't terrible but it was not good and definitely not our favorite so far.  And we think we know why now.  As we were leaving the restaurant we noticed their conveniently placed (concealed) food/restaurant grade of a "B". In Singapore all establishments that serve food are graded A-D by the government and the grades must be displayed for customers to see. An "A" being the best, "D" being the worst.  The grades factors in things like overall cleanliness, food hygiene, employee hygiene, food transportation, food preparation, etc.  A "B" is still a good rating but I had only eaten at "A" places thus far and I'm now convinced that you can taste the difference.  Even though the food was less than mediocre, it was still a good day for a lunch date because I got to enjoy a really nice walk back to the condo.

Pretty sky view on the walk back from lunch with Mark

Mid-week Colt had scare when we were headed out for his afternoon walk. A very tiny lizard ran inside the condo from under the door - I guess that's what happens when you live within a few degrees of the equator.  I actually almost stepped on it thinking it was a bug at first.  And Colt was frantically lifting his feet to get away from it (he is scared of EVERYTHING) and also almost stepped on it in the process.  As soon as I realized what it was I put Colt in his room and began my attempts to catch it and get it out of the house.  I love lizards but (and I think I can speak for Mark too on this one) that is not something we want to find crawling on us in our sleep.  So, after about 10 minutes of playing "catch the lizard", I finally caught it with some old Glad tupperware.  Don't worry, I released him outside by some flowers.  He was really cute and smaller than a quarter!  I jokingly sent Mark the below picture in a text saying, "Can we keep him?!"  His answer was a quick, "No."

Lizzy with the friend I gave him until I could take him outside

Later in the week is when I really started to get everything going for the BBQ.  I had lots of cleaning to do and had to make several trips to the store during my quest for Velveeta cheese which (sadly) ended in failure as every store I went to had been out of it since July 4th. Apparently, Americans cleaned Singapore out of it then to make mac-n-cheese.  But, all was well I found an almost-as-good recipe online, Mom's is still better though (I think I just earned some brownie points).  On my way back from one of the many stores, I walked through Kim Seng Park in the rain which was actually kind of fun and refreshing. Kim Seng Park is a park along the river and close to our condo that I walk through often.  It is named after a philanthropist from the mid 1800's.

Information board at Kim Seng Park

Just a walking in the rain through Kim Seng Park

In addition to mac-n-cheese ingredients, during the shopping trip I also picked up charcoal and ingredients for broccoli salad (Gayle's recipe), Apple crisp (Anne's recipe), German potato salad (Oma's recipe), and peach pie which I did with white peaches (also Anne's recipe).  I had never made the later two recipes but everything turned out edible (and good!) so I was happy and I've never been so thankful for the Vogel Cookbook!  With all the ingredients, I had a lot to carry so thankfully in Singapore you can order your meat online and get it delivered to your house.  We decided to do brats, burgers, and chicken.  But, Mark was most excited about the new utensil I picked up for him to help with our problem of the burgers falling apart.

Mark's new tool for cooking and flipping burgers

My first try at peach pie.  It may not be pretty but it did taste good!

Colt was clearly a big help with the kitchen duties...

 After a relaxed Friday night, we woke up early Saturday to get ready for our guests.  Mark's boss Sherman and his wife, Liz, were the first to arrive around 6:30pm.  They brought with them a delicious chocolate mousse desert and a gift for us.  They got us two Maneki Neko cats which I had been telling Mark I wanted!  Maneki Neko cats are Japanese "money cats" although some people incorrectly refer to them as Chinese which may be because they are sold a lot here in Chinatown.  The statues always have a raised paw and what the raised paw actually means differs depending on where/who you hear it from. But, what I've heard and read most is that a raised left paw means "bringing the wealth" while a raised right paw means "protecting the wealth".  The cats also always have on a collar and hold a coin which also carries meaning.  Some of them, like ours, have moving paws which signify an "endless beckoning gesture" or endless wealth (let's hope it's true!).  There are a lot of folk tales surrounding the origins of these cats so no one really knows where they started but they have been traced back as early as the 1870's.  You see these cats in a lot of stores and restaurants throughout Singapore.

Our gold Maneki Neko (Vito) which is now on our bookshelf

Our white Maneki Neko (Marilyn) which sits next to the TV. Thanks Sherman and Liz!

By 7 to 7:30pm most of the coworkers had arrived so Mark started the grill and I began bringing out the food.  My only major fail of the night was a burn to myself when removing the mac-n-cheese. Who knew ovens were so dangerous?!  After chatting and eating for several hours, we began some games.  Mark and I introduced them to a drinking game we learned while at Purdue that we call Boiler Pong and we also played one they suggested called Categories.  It was a fun night!

Host and Hostess at the grill

Above view from BBQ pit

BBQ area

Getting the charcoals ready

Pool view 1

Pool view 2

Street view from BBQ pit

Showing off Colty's tricks but I wasn't quite ready

Colt getting some pets

Mark doing some cooking

Playing Boiler pong...Did I mention that I hate beer?

Chin Wee and Jeremy playing Boiler Pong

Chin Wee, Mark's coworker, and his fiance

(L to R) Chin Wee, Jeremy, Anchalee, Pauline, Howard, Mark, Niki

The group playing categories

After a fairly late Saturday night we had a relaxing Sunday with the only chore being clean up.  Colt also made time for a nap while I nursed a wound. I may not be cut out for this cooking stuff after all, haha!

Colt's cute nap face. Aww, he's sticking out his tongue!

My injury, I think I'll survive though

Thanks and have a nice day

Mark and I took it pretty easy on the weeknights in anticipation for our active weekend.  Some highlights of this week were receiving a package from my mom that had been delayed by Sing Post (Singapore postal service) and Mark's first Singapore hockey game.

I had received a note from Sing Post early in the week stating that a package could not be delivered due to damage.  When I got the the postal center to pick it up I saw what they meant, the box was mangled!  On the bright-side, very few things were missing so we got to enjoy most of the contents.  I was looking forward to sponge rollers for an alternative way to curl my hair and Colt enjoyed a few new toys! My Mom had also included some surprise candy but it had to be thrown out as a bottle of wrinkle releaser had spilled on it - I was sad but my butt was thankful not to have the "bad" treats, haha!

Mangled package from Sing Post

Niki excited to try her new rollers which thankfully were intact in the package

Colt loving his new toys (thanks Grandma)!

Mark's first hockey game was on Wednesday night.  We took a taxi to the Tampines area to a place called Millennium Court which is where in-line hockey is played.  We got there a little early so Mark was able to mingle and meet a few people (of all different nationalities, no other Americans though).  The game was what Mark described as more of a scrimmage style so the scores weren't tracked.  I thought Mark looked really good skating but he says he didn't do his best because he is still adjusting to his new skates. He thinks he will also have to get a new stick made out of a different material because the ground was damaging his ice hockey stick.  I have so much to learn, I didn't even know that there were different types of sticks.

Mark breaking out the Ol' Purdue Jersey and making a pass

Mark wearing the #14 Purdue Jersey

Playing some hockey (Mark at center in yellow sleeves)

After Mark came home from work on Friday we had fish & chips and watched the first movie of the Harry Potter series.  We were going to have a Harry Potter marathon but Mark decided he wasn't in from the long haul of 7 movies.  After the movie we turned in early so we could get an early start on Saturday.

We used our early start on Saturday to get Colt fed and exercised before leaving to meet most (5/7) of Mark's work group for a group outing of bike riding in Pulau Ubin (means granite island).  Pulau Ubin is located in the north east part of the island and is one of the few rural areas left in Singapore.  Currently only about 100 people live there, according to Wikipedia.  We met the work group at a Hawker center near the Changi boat dock.  Everyone except Mark and I had breakfast at the Hawker center but we had already ate at home.  We instead hydrated with water and fresh coconut water - which I really liked.

Niki enjoying her coconut water.  When picking your coconut, the smaller ones are typically sweeter and therefore the best.

Once we left the Hawker center we headed next door to the dock and loaded up heading towards Pulau Ubin.  The boat ride was short, about 10 minutes, but featured pretty views of land and water.  There were a multitude of boats along the way; a sail boat, fishing boats, speed boats, and barges.  It seemed that we had picked a good day for outdoor activity because it was slightly cloudy which helped keep some of the sun off us. The clouds didn't make for the best picture lighting though but I guess you can't have it all.

Mark on his way to board the boat

View from Changi dock

Singapore fishing boat

Boat that zipped right past us on our way to Pulau Ubin

Mark and Niki on boat to Pulau Ubin for bike ride

When you first arrive at Pulau Ubin, you are greeted with lots of foliage and a welcome sign.  From there you take a left and head down the road where you can rent bikes at any of the 5-10 bike rental stands along the way.  After finding the stand we rented from, we all had to pick out our bikes and then we were off!  Some of Mark's coworkers had been there on other occasions so they lead the way.  (Side note:  I hadn't rode a bike other than staionary in years but it's true that you don't forget how to ride a bike.)

The Pulau Ubin entrance and welcome sign

The group picking out their bikes

Mark and his bike, he even put the basket on his bike for our bag

Our first stop after picking out the bikes and riding for a bit was the Jejawi Tower, named after a Malaysian fruit the grows in the area.  There are no bike trails leading to the tower so you have to park your bikes at a rest stand several hundred yards away from the tower and then follow a gravel path that turns to a wood plank trail there.  Once you reach the tower there are A LOT of stairs to climb but it is worth it for the beautiful views. Although, I didn't want to stay up there very long because you could feel the tower sway in the breeze which I didn't care for.  On our way down from the tower we had our first of two wild boar sightings for the day.  The boars (about 5) were crossing under the wooden plank trail which was elevated about 3 feet off the ground.  I didn't include pictures of this sighting because I was behind the camera and did not do a very good job capturing the moment.

Part of Mark's group from left to right: Pauline, Sherman, Mark, Howard, Jeremy

Another group picture on the way to the tower. Nice Sherman : )

Mark and Niki at the top of the Jejawi Tower

View 1 from tower

View 2 from tower

The tops of Mangrove and palm trees

Wood plank trail that leads to tower and water front

The group took full advantage of the views and photo-ops from the tower and from there continued to follow the path to the waterfront.  Along the way we saw lots of different plants and tress but the main tourist attraction is the Mangrove trees.  According to signs that the Singapore government has posted along the trail, Mangroves have very distinct thin  roots which are sometimes exposed (depending on tide).  They are found along the coast and provide nutrients to marine life while also protecting the shoreline against erosion.  Once we passed the mangrove trees, we reached a rocky part of the coast with pretty views overlooking the water.  Mark and I had packed a sandwich lunch which we ate there while taking in the views.

Path to the Mangrove Trees

Mangrove roots exposed due to low tide

View 2 of the Mangrove Tree roots

View 3 of Mangrove Tree roots

Following lunch we headed back to the bikes and on the way is where we had our second boar encounter.  It was a little more intimidating this time since we were on the same level as them and only about 10-15 feet away.  Luckily, Mark had the camera this time and got some really good shots.

The boar just snuck out from behind the bushes

Mark getting a little to close for comfort ( I think he thought he was working for National Geographic or something)

Boar #2

Four little baby boars, aww!

In total the group spent about 3.5-4 hours riding and sightseeing.  One of our last stops before heading back to the entrance was the abandoned granite quarry.  It is filled with water and the water has such a unique coloring that it looked like a blue lagoon or something.

View 1 of abandoned granite quarry

View 2 of granite quarry

The water was a really unique deep blue

Sign by the granite quarry, Singapore gets pretty animated with their signs

Mark and Niki in front of Granite quarry

When we got back to the entrance Mark noticed the reverse side of the welcome sign said, "Have a nice day." He insisted that Howard get his picture taken with it because apparently Howard always signs his emails, "Thanks and have a nice day."  After the last few pictures, we headed back to Changi via boat and then took a taxi back to the condo.  Once home, we were pretty exhausted from the day so we took a short nap and then headed out to a sushi dinner.

Howard taking a picture with his sign

One last group picture. Mark missed the "#1" memo

View from the ride back to Changi

Mark and I went to a Japanese restaurant called En for our post-nap Saturday dinner.  We ordered several different types of fresh sushi, garlic rice, and a pasta with cod roe sauce.  I also had my first saki (rice based alcohol) drink.  It all was delicious, my personal favorite was the pasta while Mark really enjoyed the sushi rolls.

Our roll and fresh sushi. Yes, I ordered the fish eggs again

Garlic rice and pasta with cod roe sauce

Iced saki mixed with fresh fruit juices

Sunday we spent some quality time with Colt during the day.  In the evening we decided to grill out and practice the burger recipe for the coworker cookout the next weekend.  The burgers tasted fantastic but didn't stay together...at all. So, we trying a few different things and practicing again before the cookout just to make sure we get it right.  Colt enjoyed cooking out too because there was a group of people at the pit next to us so Colt got his daily pets and also got a chew bone to enjoy while Mark cooked.  All-in-all, it was a great day for him.

Mark waiting for the grill to heat up