Loving Soft Bones

The only thing I ever order at Ajisen is the nankotsu ramen in Sg. I simply love the flavourful gelatinous texture of the 软骨. I brought my set of AMC pots back to Perth from Sg when I went back late last month. A heating base that doubles up to turn the AMC pot into an oven, 2 pots (1 taller soup pot & 1 shorter pot) & a pressure lid. They're not cheap but I got them at a good price.

Before the lamb shanks, there was the soft bones. We were at the asian grocery shop & I bought a packet of herbal bakuteh. I intended to use ribs but when I got to the butcher, I saw soft bones selling for half the price of the ribs. I thought of my pressure lid & went with the soft bones.I didn't marinate the soft bones coz I know the pressure will force the flavours into the meat. I've been working late recently, sometimes arriving home at only 8 pm. So being able to chuck everything into a pot with no extra work is perfect for me. I set the timer for 1 hour & did my things. Shower, feed & let Ah Ton out, etc.

However, 1 hour wasn't enough for the soft bones to turn into the perfect texture (to me). It was not gelatinous enough. This is something I love so I'll definitely want to get the timing right. I'm just undecided putting it for 1 hr 15 mins or 1.5 hrs next time. I don't want to overdo it & have it disintegrate. But as I've predicted, the soft bones were flavoursome despite not being marinated.

5 pieces of soft bones cost $9. The herbal pack, $3. Still not too bad for 2 serves.

Braised Lamb Shanks

This is a dish so easy, even a noob can do it. I used my AMC pressure lid (that goes with my AMC pot) but I believe cooking it in a normal pot works as well. You just have to check the lamb shanks to ensure that they're "meat falling off the bone" tender & watch the liquid level.

I had bottles of wine (Christmas presents from surgeons last year) & I hardly drink. This is a great way to use them up. I didn't use a recipe but rather, went by "feel" so it may not to be everyone's taste. I prefer it to be soupy than having gravy. But if desired, mix plain flour to create gravy after removal of the shanks. Remaining broth can be placed in the fridge & fat skimmed off once solidified. I used the broth for another round of cooking the next day.

Prices are for required amounts only. For example, a pack of 2 chorizos cost $6.50 but as I've used only 1, I listed the price as $3.25. I used dried rosemary since I have it but nothing beats fresh herbs. The mushrooms were on reduced price & hence only $1.

Ingredients:
2 lamb shanks ($8.50)
500 ml beef stock ($1)
250 ml red wine (free)
250 ml water
2 stalks celery ($0.40)
1 tub white mushrooms ($1)
1 chorizo ($3.25)
Handful of rosemary ($0.10)
3 sprigs thyme (from my pot)
Black pepper
Salt

Steps:
1. Put all ingredients in pot.
2. Pressure cook for 1 hour.

It costs me $14.25 for this meal that serves 2. I don't know how much it'll cost to have this dish in a restaurant. Between $18-24 perhaps? Like Nix said, it's not really that expensive to cook.

Downgrade Failure

When you're used to the good things, it can be quite hard to downgrade unless you have no other choice. That's the main reason why I used to be able to survive with little (like a bring home pay of $1300) but can no longer do so now. I just went out & got myself a S5. The Young was simply too slow & too basic for my usage. It will now be passed on to hubs who only uses his mobile to text & make calls. Why not the S6? To me, it's already an upgrade from my S3. Had it not been giving me problem, I would have continue using it.

I apologised to hubs on whatsapp for not discussing with him prior to the purchase. It was a spur of the moment thing. We usually let the other know if a big purchase is being considered. He actually told me that there was no need to apologise & it's good that I'm buying something for myself. Lol. This shows how frugal I am. I've not met anyone whose partner will say the same thing as hubs did. Usually, it's, "What? You have so many clothes/shoes/bags & you still buy???"

I brought with me a pair of Bata flats when we 1st came over to Perth. You know what everybody, me included, says about Bata. Buy and throw away. But I've  been wearing it & am still wearing it till date. Now, a year on, the only footwear that I bought here are a pair of slippers coz I put a pair (from Sg) at the front door & need another pair to go out the back. The only clothes I bought here were from the end of season (spring) sale that cost me $5 a piece which I bought 3 different pieces.

So yeah, now that I'm back in action, I got to catch up with my blogging. I've got multiple pieces of paper with drafts on it. Only thing left is the internet problem. So hopefully we can get that sorted out soon.

Sky Gazing

We've moved further north. Although just under 3 km from our previous rental place, it's quite different. There're less lights, the streets are frequently deserted, even houses are dark, as if nobody's home. On clear nights like this, I love going into the back courtyard, looking up to the sky. I see stars & more stars. What looked like the milky way is in fact saturated stars weaving across the sky. I see it all so clearly becoz it's dark here.

Bringing old man Ton out for walks is just so enjoyable now that the nights are chilly. When the air is still, I don't even need a jacket. The air is so fresh & I savour every breath that I take. The cold brings along a sense of deja vu. Familarity. But to what? I can't explain it. Neither do I understand the feelings I'm having.

We had many days of rain. I loved looking at the overcast sky. I had this desire to take a picture of the panoramic view at King's Park with rolls & rolls of dark clouds in sight. But I had to work & couldn't spare the time to drive in for a few minutes (King's Park is along the way to work). I hope I have the chance & the ideal scenary I have in mind soon.

Spam Spam Spam

Even though I didn't have a functioning phone nor do I have internet, I do receive notifications once I was in areas where I could receive signal. Seems like my blog is being spammed by at least 10 messages a day about some spell caster.

It's all bullshit to me. But let's just imagine for a second that it's legit. If your partner wants to leave, casting a spell for their return means their love is not real. You'll have taken away their freedom of choice. So what's the point in that?

I like watching horror movies, especially those of possessions. I'm freaked out & scared witless yet I still watch them. Why? Becoz I believe in good & evil. I believe 1 should never dabble in the black arts. There're always consequences, always a catch. If someone wants to leave, how do you know you won't be rewarded with someone even better? Why risk your soul?

Anyway, I'm gonna try screening messages coz reporting them doesn't work. They just sign up under a different name & do it again. Let's see if I'm successful in doing so with this kuku phone.

Moving Teething Problems

Our 1st move in Perth. Hopefully things will go well & we won't have to move again. It may be a hassle but the actual move itself isn't difficult. What's problematic is transfering services & updating particulars. Everyone tells me it's just phone calls, chicken feet. I already knew it wouldn't be so simple. Our initial setup at our previous rental place already told me that. Gas & electricity, not a problem. Internet's the problem.

I was told by iinet that my new place is serviced by Telstra & I still have contract left. If I were to terminate & switch to Telstra, I will incur break contract fee. But to tap Telstra's line, I will only be eligible for ADSL1 instead of the ADSL2. So I said that's fine. For the transfer of service, I had to pay $59.90, supposedly heavily discounted (originally at $300++). Few days later, I received a call from iinet saying that I have to pay $300++ for the transfer. Of course, I argued with them, saying that the 1st petson I spoke to said I only have to pay $59.90 & the rest of the charges will be waived. That was settled.

Then, several days later, they told me they're unable to provide services at my new place & I have to migrate to their partner company, Internode or pay the break contract fee. So I said fine since the monthly fees are the same. Then, a few days later, iinet called saying I'm breaking contract to go with Internode so they're charging me break contract fee. My gosh, how many times do you have to disturb my peace? I told her straight away what I was told & that under no circumstances will I pay the break contract fee. Coz if you're charging me anyway, why should I switch to Internode? I might as well go with Telstra. I'm not trying to be difficult but your company have to honour your word.

Best of all, since the move, I've been unable to receive mobile signal. Hubs only gets periodic signal while mine just says no service. So we thought it might be our  telco problem. After asking around, everyone told us Telstra has the best coverage. Of course, their monthly charges is 50% more than other companies. What choice do we have? We made the switch. Hubs had good reception while I still got no service. In the end, I concluded that it's my phone's fault & bought a $59 replacement. True enough, now I'm getting 4 bars to full reception. All these transpired together with the iinet fiasco.

I could only receive signal once I drove about 1 to 2 km out of my new place. So I kept missing iinet's calls. But when I tried to call them back, I can choose to either be on hold for more than an hour or request a call back when it's my turn. But how do I keep loitering outside just so I can get hold of someone? I was working so late the whole of last week. I actually called when I knocked off, chose to receive a call back, drove back & parked outside Bunnings at 8.10 pm. (It takes me about 45 mins to drive home.) I waited till almost 9 pm then gave up when they still haven't called back. I don't know if they ever called back coz I don't get signal once I'm back at my new place.

Weekdays out, so I called on Saturday. They start at 8 am & I arrived at the town centre for mobile signal at 8.02 am. Already, the wait time for the call back is more than an hour. But I finally got through & that was when they told me about switching over to Internode. So you can imagine my frustrations. Now that I've got the mobile sorted, it'll all be easier. Anyway, I'm still waiting for the home internet to be up & running. Hopefully there'll be no more issues. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for mobile prices to drop coz this phone is too basic for my needs. 暂时先用着。

Sick Missy

I spent 2 days in Sg & came back with sore throat for 4 days. I was getting better. Then, I returned to Sg. The sore throat came back with a vengeance. I got progressively worse with each passing day & I woke up everyday feeling worse than the previous night. The cough came within 2 days. Then the heavy headed feeling. The endless sneezings. The aches. The heavy chested feeling. Australia's clean, good quality air was all I craved.

If I weren't feeling so sick, I probably would be as emo as hubs was as we were leaving on the cab to the airport. 放不下的是感情。I told him to make plans for the next visit. Once you have a concrete plan in mind, you'll feel so much better. And once you return to your routine, the sorrow of parting will be driven to the back of your mind. But I think we'll be too busy anyway. We move tomorrow. Then the clean up on Monday. I return to work on Tuesday, with an early start of 7 am, half an hour earlier than usual.

The week in Sg was jammed packed with meet ups. Lunches, dinners & even 1 supper. 吃到我们很怕! We were constantly stuffed. We were eating even though we were still full from the previous meal. I'll need to fast to rest my GI system.

The Unplanned Romantic Dinner

We've been busy. That's to be expected since we're only back in Sg for a week. Our days are packed with meet ups with friends & relatives. We finally had a day to ourselves & spent the day packing for our return trip. If there is something I must eat when I come back, it has to be Leong Kee Klang Bakut Teh along Beach Road. It was pouring but it didn't deter us. We both wore shorts & slippers in view of the wet weather. But alas, when we arrived, we realised that the shop wasn't open & the signboard had been taken down. A search online revealed that it ceased operation last September. I know there is another outlet in Geylang but we decided to pass & instead find somewhere nearby to have dinner.

We walked over to Bugis Junction & I suggested heading over to Bugis Plus as they have a wide variety of restaurants. I shortlisted Ramen King & Rocku but as we've eaten at Ramen King before, we took a look at Rocku 1st. The last time we were here, probably 2 to 3 years ago, we were faced with the same choices. We chose Ramen King back then. We chose Rocku, a Japanese BBQ buffet this time.

If it doesn't sound romantic, the fault is mine. How do I express in words feelings & emotions that were invoked? Dim with old school playlist best describes the inital assault on our senses. (By old school, I mean songs that are not new hits.) Hubs called it the BBQ restaurant with a KTV feel. Initially, it was empty save for us & another couple. 小夫妻 came on & I sang along.

It was slightly chilly as I opted to wear a sleeveless top but the roaring flames from the BBQ pit warmed me up. The scent of burning charcoal filled the air, a smell dearly missed. Shortly after we arrived, we were rewarded with live acoustic performance. We later found out that it is not everyday that they've got live performance. We were very fortunate indeed.

It was still early after dinner so we shopped around for a bit. We came across these bedsheets printed with The Avengers in cartoon version & we just grabbed it. Then, there was a deal too good to pass on. Pillows that were originally selling for $229 were selling at $20 each. While I doubt it is actually worth $229, the quality is undeniable. We probably have to off load some items from the luggage to make way for them to avoid going over the weight limit though. All in all, a very fulfilling evening.