Covid-19 Eight months on, the journey is mine

Reminiscing with Alex, my ex FS, MO F&B consultant on the old days where we will meet for projects and try out all the good restaurants in new cities. Hotel bartenders will be desperately force feeding all the consultants cocktails non stop, everyday during pre-opening just to get their mix right (we are the sleep deprived, 24 hours available guinea pigs who need a drink to survive getting the damn hotel ready). 

Now, Alex is back in HK, complaining about how small his kitchen is compared to his London home, sharing recipes and cat photos with me. And what am I doing? 

.... am texting Alex why the hell is my brinjal and mince meat taste off. 

This is not a food blog. This is an expedited portfolio of one month's worth of cooking...

Now Ken, Megan and Morgan are my guinea pigs. Having captive audience, I too, force feed them new creations I just learnt. Megan likes some, Morgan hates some, Ken try not to waste proteins in general...

And I learn a very simple logic from this cooking journey. The logic why parental advise almost certainly never works.

Mimi is a good cook and the folks at home like my in laws' food. But I do not seek out mimi's recipes and I keep my in law's tips at bay. Why? Because both are not helpful, their levels are way too high for an amateur like me. 

All their tips and instructions will have 90% of the steps missing (esp my mum!!!) because they assume I have some basic knowledge, which I have none. I rather call Youtube and Google my sifu than to frustrate myself getting guidance from the pros. 

Same logic why kids will never listen to parents' advise (all the hardships condensed into one shortcut to avoid all those unnecessary pain)... Totally irrelevant. Unless the kids experience the journey for themselves, they don't even know WTH are parents talking about. 

Which brings me back to... now that I have cooked and tasted my own cooking. I am more ready to reach out, knowing what to ask and what I want to achieve. And yes, I will cook that fish... 

From staring at construction in New York, Turks & Caicos, Maldives, Beijing etc to now staring at the wok Phillips Pressure Cooker (this is hard, which button to press), I must say wow, the journey is mine...

CB is not the reason for my cooking. It is due to kar kar finally retiring after being with us for more than 9 years. Gleefully she passes me the wok at the handover ceremony. Lump in my throat.

In the first few days apart, Morgan and kar kar behave like lead characters in some star crossed lovers drama, both totally embodying the theme of love, longing and hope via long distance video calls. She will ask the male lead how he is, is he eating well, tears streaming down her cheeks. He will lower his eyes, only repeating her name ever so softly: kar kar.... kar kar.... kar kar....

In all honestly, we all know that is about all Morgan can say. Since his video calls communication skills is... you know...

Any doors opening will yield a "is kar kar home?". Every sound from the kitchen will send him running, "kar kar, you are here!?..... oh it's only mummy." Heart wrenching (only for me), almost too difficult to watch.

But LOVE NEEDS COURAGE... Helpless longing scenes change gears to brave determination. "When I am 18 years old, I can fly to Jakarta.", says the brand new man standing taller. Ticket and luggage on wheels obviously well prepared in advance as audiences wait in bated breath for "13 years later..."

For now, Mr Morg set himself to work. Chef Morg Bakery opens every Sunday. Limited Edition everything. 

Takes to gambling to numb himself... NAY this story will be too typical... No black jacks, not yet. Poker cards to train his processing speed for now. Maths board game is this month's old/new toy. Throw 2 dices, you can flip the number on either one of the dice, the addition, subtraction, multiplication or division of the numbers on two dices. Whoever finish flipping the numbers win. 

Two construction workers in "hard hats" march to the yard on night to tell me that construction in the bedroom has started. Put down the laundry and look at the clock. Ha! It's 8.30pm. Late! Night shift! 

M&M are very proud to show me the site, until I ask to check their BCA approval to resume work permit. No Permit? MOM manpower deployment plan. No? NRIC please, I need to ensure you are not underaged. 

I shut down the illegal site, off to bed! They hurry underneath their construction. Megan's bunk is on top deck and Morgan's on the floor. Ha! You guys are building worker dormitories! I just know something is fishy here! 

Every night, new construction sprout. They say, if you cannot stop them, join them. 

Raymond bought the kids some ancient relics. Bestman Balloons... Have not seen them for at least 30 years. I bet they must be toxic by today's standards but wow what fun. 

Lego Masters unleashes new ideas on what Lego can do. M&M jump to building geometry dash games... Megan transforms my 2D burger into 3D version plus an extra hard boiled egg. Awesome awesome. 

Adreinne's post a blog about how her daughter's school is becoming a UNICEF Rettighedsskole (a Rights School) and Rights schools in Denmark uses the foundation of the UN Convention of the rights of the child as the approach to their entire learning environment. I can see why she is not returning back to Singapore anytime soon. 

Explain to Megan on the way home that children have their rights which are enforced by the law. She scoffs at the notion saying teachers and adults will just override them all.... Oops. Do we? Show me, she says, what rights do I have? Luckily UNICEF has a clean poster and the whole pdf explanation is only 4 pages long... This discussion on all 54 articles will take many weeks so we start with the first 14. Gal will have many things to ponder and maybe select the top 5 rights that are most important to her for us to base our home environment on. 

But, kar kar is gone now so you still have to help with housework ya? I do respect your views but dishes don't wash themselves right?

Covid-19 The New Normal

This is life in the new normal. Mask is the new underwear, wear it everywhere you go. Luckily mimi sews masks for the whole family... no need to kill the environment while keeping safe. 

 

At home, food plays a huge huge part in this new normal. Hohoho... YY picks up cooking at her grand old age. Its unbelievable... even mimi is amazed that her daughter who never steps into the kitchen is now asking about the difference in soy sauce! But hey, why not? This is giving my brain a workout. Having new appreciation for ingredients, techniques, equipments and more importantly, the heart that goes into putting food on the table...

Heart fluttering when Morgan comes into the kitchen asking "what is mummy cooking?" and Megan giving the nod of approval. Many hits and misses but that moment of acknowledgement is LOVE... 

Ken suggests that lunch will be easier with bread base meals like tortilas, burgers, grilled fish tacos, foccacia, pizza etc. Throw in some cheesecakes, muffins, churros... because desserts are what makes life happy!

Shout out to all my gfs and bfs for sharing recipes and encouraging this hopeless cook along. I hope I have done you people proud.

Megan is not spared from my onslaught in the kitchen  Pork floss bread from start to finish. Never need to buy this from the bakery no more. 

Morgan, measure the ingredients! Morgan, beat the eggs!

"C" to chef Morgi's home bakery. Kneading the dough is fine but we all know he cannot throw and aim. No idea why throwing the dough means throwing high, over the head, lands on the floor, his head, his feet, ladder.. Hygiene level is... well depends on my belief on how clean my place is... even he asks me "is the dough dirty, mummy?"... Er... we will bake this garlic bread in VERY HIGH heat and hope nothing happens to our tummies... 

Kid's activities take a backseat since school started, teachers, take over!!!! Plus, I am exhausted man... need a break from dreaming up all the games and home activities. 

Social gatherings have resume... Hurray. Ethan loves Morgan to bits and now we have a new nephew!!! Can't wait to see how Morgan carries his baby cousin! Ha. 

On home ground, Megan pauses her Parkour (a real pity) and takes on another super cool sport -Archery. I want to join too!!!! The kids hit the pool often due to the super hot weather. 

This aeroplane assembly toy marks the longest ever conversation that Morgi has every engaged in. Megan wants to assemble one plane as well but he does not want to share. It sparks a whole back and forth of negotiations with passive aggressive reasons and excuses... I am over the moon watching this play out...

Art is his first love while Megan has a new toy - so many gears to assemble, reckon this will keep her occupied for months... Lx, you know exactly what I am thinking.

I petition against the NDP goodie bag but gosh, totally underestimate how excited the kids can be over NDP. Megan really wants to see the mobile column and both the kids come home sweaty and ultra exuberant.

At the pool in PJs watching live action fireworks and saying the pledge that night... It is lovely. Can not resist getting M&M to paint the very next day and they deliver. (That is the MRT station btw)

Farewell EIC and Miss Dhanya. Morgie is embarking on a new phase in his life, starting a new school. He has done so well over the past year, we are all so proud of him. Grateful and excited. We will miss all of you guys.

See you Monday! It's gonna be a brave new tomorrow.

Covid-19 post CB phase 1&2 Limbo stage

The Limbo stage is upon us me. School has started halfway, regulations flip flop like roti prata, office does not unwelcome us back. Library books, netflix movies, ideas, wine, sake, beer have all run dry. Only one word can describe me now - SIAN.

Inspirations! Descend onto me!!

Inspiration comes in the form of a frog. Apparently there is a bake-a-frog-bread trend during this lock down. Wooo... I can bake a frog! Discover my talent as a Circuit Baker. Megan is super enthusiastic about baking our first milk loaf and it tastes soft, fluffy and yummy. What started as a frog soon became a crab because geee... frogs are hard crabs are way cuter.

Chef Morg pitches in on our second batch edible play dough kneading exercise. Add chocolate chips, Add more!

Wheel of fortune is making a huge comeback in Mr Morg's life. I am not sure in a good way. Hahah.. just saw that the winning phrase is "Morgan is on the TV.". Well, TV remote control access has been denied to the boy so I guess this is truly what he wishes for. 

Talking about drawings. Someone in the house thinks that paper is free, refuses to draw on both sides. Totally against my principle of reduce, reuse, recycle. Old blobs of colors and doodles MUST be up-cycled to give them one more chance at usefulness before going to the recycled bin. Outline and re-imagine these into another art work!

Exploring new ways to get Morgan to do show and tell. One sentence, one star. DEAL! Wah... Anything to earn stars... Speech police everywhere in the house. No escape.

Morgi   : I want Mario
Daddy   :  .....
Megi     :  You have to say the magic word
Morgi    : Abracadabra!

Paper cutting. It is all about how you fold the paper... Hmmm... Morgi does not seem very impressed. But Megi does a very nice disco giraffe there.

Hello, Hello, can you hear me? Everyone hates picking up the house phone but we all want to know if paper cup phones works. Try it taut, loose, looped, bent, clipped string... Pretty amazing. It works!

Recently Megan and me talk a lot. Because there is a lot to talk about. She hears about the protests in US about Black Lives Matter but cannot see beyond it being a current affairs news. I introduce "a kids book about racism" by Jelani Memory to her.

A week later, we watch "All I did was smile and say hello", a short animated film by King Yaw Soon on the rising discrimination against Asians during this Covid-19 period. Megan does not understand. But watching the animation still hurts. Mummy, what does prejudice mean, she asks.

Coincidentally, the only interesting show on Netflix is a long documentary on the Vietnam war. A bit hesitant when Megan joins me to watch such a brutal war played out on screen. I think of Paula bringing Vivian to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the 12 year old daughter woke up crying from nightmares for a whole week after. How could her countrymen do such a thing?! Paula also felt slightly conflicted but it paid off. Vivian's thought process suddenly matured after the Japan trip. She became more interested in news and politics and how everything is inter-related and inter-dependent. Every American needs to visit Hiroshima, Paula tells me.

This generation needs to be educated in reality and know our history better instead of living our heads in clouds believing we are so special. Talking about it is better than not talking about it. A phrase borrowed from the Vietnam War documentary - It is difficult to dispel ignorance if we retain arrogance.

On games. Ah yes, we have Jenga in the house... Big thank you to Morgi's classmate for gifting him this new stacking cups toy. First time trying cup stacking. But boy does not want to follow the 3 5 3 stacking rules! I never like scrabble (coz can't spell) but ohhhh Morgi likes.... 

Dig your arm further into the cupboard and you will find unopened new toys! Step by step LEGO instruction booklet is good. If he can practice a few more of these, he can assembly our IKEA furniture in the near future. 

Awesome collection of signage is the result of mummy needing a valid reason to pause every few meters from "jogging" along the park connector. Tell me about the sign, Morgi? What should you do when you see the sign? Megi,what is the rational behind the sign? Meant for whom? Does the sign even make sense?

Sam recommends Morgi to listen to audio-books since his listening is weak. Good idea. One audio book a day!