CH145: Water Park + Cooking Experiment

Last weekend was fun filled - aside from some light drama.

January 5, 2013.
There was supposed to be a President's Design Award in the Central Public Library here in Singapore. I thought it will be a massive exhibition with all the designs etc - like an actual gallery. But, sadly, I expected too much out of it and - well, #fail. Thankfully, the library being 11(?) or so stories tall had other offerings.

They had a "Campaign City" where posters used by government agencies where displayed in the high ceilinged library room (I think it was the Lee Kuan Yew archive room or something). After which, we went to the exhibit "Raffles' Letters" showing a glimpse of Singapore's history and the story behind the man who founded Singapore (Stamford Raffles). And of course, the exhibits were free.

After the visit and tour of the library, CP and I made our way to Bugis + to play some arcade. Eventually, moving off to Ikea Alexandra to eat some Swedish Meatballs and do some furniture / household items shopping.

Capping off the evening was both of us setting up the TV rack he bought and I set up a shelving/storage solution as well. Where, unfortunately, we put the first piece upside down! And, we had to stop and I had to think of a work around to get it fixed (we needed a drill but couldnt be bothered going back to Ikea to rent a drill - for free - but with a 200sgd deposit).

January 6, 2013
For Sunday, CP and I went off to Adventure Cove Waterpark. It was super fun! But, to be honest, I was underwhelmed by the size and the queueing involved. Splash Island to be honest is better in terms of the thrill of the rides - and also Sunway Lagoon in KL. The waterpark did give other attractions that I thought were quite unique to it. Like for one, they had an adventure pool where you could jump off from a meter or two height...a huge aquarium where people can snorkel and see an assortment of fishes, a manta ray tank where people can interact and feed them, and other attractions still closed and will open soon (something like sharks and dolphins i think)

Picture of TV rack CP and I both built. I had to fashion a screw as a drill and bore holes through the wood . I can't believe I was such a handyman doing so good with the DIY :-)

January 7, 2013
CP and I signed up for Fitness First Platinum. This will be a a bit redundant considering I'm a member of True Yoga. But, I still plan to attend a weekly yoga class by the instructor I like (i.e. challenging). And, to defend the decision the fact that I won't be able to train for dragonboat as I have to review for a certification exam.

Evening of January 7, I cooked up a pasta with Sisig, pork sausage (3 meats simmered in white wine), cheese, capsicum, tomatoes and carrots. There were still lots of spare ingredients in CP's pantry, so I decided to try and experiment with pasta this time. I used Argentina's Sisig in can. At first, its flavor was overpowering also after adding white wine for it to simmer in along with the sausage and pork. But, after adding in the cheese (Laughing Cow), the flavor toned down and tasted better - and everything just went well together after adding the tomatoes and capsicum and carrots.

The pasta turned out really well - surprisingly. There were about 4 unique "pops" in it that stood out. The acid from the tomatoes, the very german like taste of the sausage, the crunch of the carrots and capsicum and the unique taste of the sisig sauce mixed with wine and cheese.

Notes: We didnt have milk or cream so I had to use like 6 pieces from Laughing Cow to make a semblance of cream mixed in with the white wine. When I found that the flavor of the sisig was still predominantly strong, I had to add water.

Overall, what I found enjoyable was the freedom of experimentation. Tasting the sauce and taking it from there - adding flavor, adding water, etc etc. Doing something based on taste and steering the flavor elsewhere was what I found fun. I think I'm getting a hang of cooking!