Freedom in the form of 2 (actually 3) wheels / Mystery Fruit of the week

Ah, our shipment has arrived and it is starting to feel like home!
It came last Friday and I still seem to be putting stuff away.  It is great to have all the comforts of home; now we just need to find somewhere to put everything!  E's room looks great and the craft room/guest room is coming along.  Unfortunately, we can't get the sofa that came with the apartment out.  It is currently up on its end in the corner of the living room.  I think we are going to have to cut it apart.  (Pain in the you know what!)


The best part of getting our stuff (besides all of my kitchen stuff) is getting our bikes.  We shipped 5 bikes.  Since getting our bikes, an entirely new world has opened to us!  One of the reasons that we picked our location was that we were right next to the Underpass to the beach.  Here on the East coast of Singapore next to the beach is a walking path, then a bike and rollerblade path, a big highway called the ECP, and then rows and rows of high rises.  We knew that we couldn't step right out to the beach from our place, but the next best thing was hopping on the bikes and riding via the underpass to the beach on a bike path.  


Last weekend the hubby had a friend in for the F1 races.  We all rode down the bike path to a restaurant called Brussel Sprouts and had lunch.  Nice ride and E rode her big girl bike (without training wheels!) all of the way!  When we got there we saw that Kids eat free on the weekends at lunch (Yeah!); unfortunately E fell asleep at the restaurant and missed the whole meal.  Guess we wore her out.  She did wake up enough to ride back (with several stops along the way).


This week E and I decided to go for a ride.  We connected up the trail-a-bike so that we could go farther.  What a great way to get around.  

Bike path along the beach

We rode for good while and found a strip of restaurants and one that even serves and American type breakfast and opens at 9am on the weekends.  Score!!  Found our new weekend breakfast spot.  

Restaurants along the bike path

We also decided to stop and play in the sand for a while. 

 Beach Left

Beach Right

 E digging a hole in the sand

We had a great day and decided that we need to make this a weekly aftershool trip.  Not to mention it is great exercise.  Next I need to learn how to use the other underpasses to get to other parts of town.  I know there is a Wet Market somewhere just off the bike path and I also heard that there is a good Hawker center just a bit further up from where we stopped.  We can't wait to explore along the coast.

E riding behind me on the trail-a-bike

Bikes are pretty popular here and there haven't been any bike slots for us to lock up our bikes. With all of our bikes; things were a bit crowded on our balcony.  Not to mention trying to get a bike with a trail-a-bike in an elevator and down 14 floors was quite challenging.  When I saw the management I asked if they had any slots open up.  I think it was a combination of the sight of us with that huge bike contraption and E's cute smile that scored us a prime lock spot. Way to go E!

Our transportation all locked up

You know, I might actually be starting to like it here.  (Ask me that again in a month) Either way, it was a great week and the freedom of being able to get around helped for sure.

Fruit of the week

This week I also experienced a fruit that I'm not sure what it is.  I'm going to need your help here!  At first I thought it was a Longan fruit, but then I did some research and I'm not sure. Longans don't appear to come in sections and I think they are sweeter and taste more like a grape than a grapefruit.


So, I bought some of these at the wet market not far from our house.  They weren't very pretty and I wasn't sure if I would like them but the store owner let me try some and I figured it would be a good fruit adventure.

Mystery fruit

This fruit opens by squeezing the fruit from both sides so that the top cracks open.

 Once the top is cracked open you pull each side apart and the fruit is exposed.

 Then you peel off the shell.

Inside you will find a juicy fruit that has sections of different shapes.

The texture is like that of a grape and the flavor is very much like grapefruit.  It tastes a lot like the fruit I did called the Pomelo.  There are some seeds in this fruit in the bigger sections.  The seeds are about the size of a pea and they don't really come out very easily as you kind of have to bite the fruit off around the seed.  (like you do with an olive)

Now it's your turn!  What is the mystery fruit that I have shown above?  

Grocery shopping and Wistful thoughts

Well, I think the homesick stage has officially set in for me.  I started to feel it last week and now am really feeling it.  From what I understand this is one of the stages every expat goes through.  They call it the "culture shock" phase.  Not sure that is exactly it, but I will say, my attitude is a bit off these days.  Probably not the best time to be writing about grocery shopping, but I needed to write and this is what I have been thinking about.


Just a quick update, E is better and no more asthma symptoms!  Yeah!  Although, we do have meds that we will continue and the Dr. says no cows milk for a while. (want to see if that is a trigger)  It doesn't help that while at the Dr. yesterday I forgot to grab the bag of meds.  So now I need to take another shuttle over to the mall, go up 5 floors, then back down and either wait on the bus or take a cab home.  All in all about a $10 trip just because I forgot the meds.  I guess there are some things that I just might not get used to!


Good thing is that I can run by the grocery again since I forgot to get eggs yesterday.  


So, grocery shopping:  It has most definitely been an adventure!  I finally took my time yesterday and did a full exploration and that took me almost 2 hours.  It takes a while to find what you are looking for here.  Especially if you are looking for something specific, which I usually am.  There are 4 main places that you can shop for groceries.  Carrefour (like a Super Walmart), Giant (Super Kmart), Cold Storage (HT like), and Fairprice (BiLo esc).  I have done all of them and several times.  We have spent a good deal of money just stocking up and replenishing what we know we will need regularly.  Oils, spices, sauces, butter, flour, sugar etc.  Everyone has been asking me, "how are the prices?".  Well, everything is much more expensive.  Remember that mostly everything is imported.  Somethings aren't as bad as you would think and others are outrageous!  Fruit and veggies are reasonable, but meat, cereal, alcohol, and anything american are crazy!


Just to give you an example - I decided to make my own playdough for E.  That required food coloring.  Each regular size bottle was about $1.50 each, which wasn't bad, but they didn't have any primary colors (only orange and purple).  I could spend about $8 to get a variety of colors or I could just spend $10 on the 4 pack box from McCormick.  So, yes, I spent $10 on food coloring.  I know that sounds insane, but when playdough itself costs about $5 for a single can I figured I was not only being green, but saving $.  I have also decided to go ahead and treat myself now and then for a beer that I actually like to drink.  Yep, spent $17 on a 4 pack!!  (they don't have blue moon here or much like that, so I bought the next best thing) And a fifth of vodka runs about $60 for something that isn't going to give you a headache.  The kind we usually get was about $115.  Just couldn't justify that.

So, I have decided I will just need to get over the sticker shock and go with it.  That's hard for me as I have been a penny pincher for a long time.  Although, I will say there are some good things about shopping here, like the amazing fruits and vegetables and the interesting things that you can get that you can't get at home.


So, let's talk vegetables.  Green is good here and the options are endless!  I need to learn more about the selections and how you prepare them.  To be honest, I really don't know much about greens like I thought.  In the US is it lettuce types and the few greens that you buy in the south, but this is a whole other world!

They still have most of the veggies that we normally eat; broccoli, zucchini, carrots, cucumber, corn etc.  But there are so many other things that I have never heard of.  One day I will add these to my Fruit /Veg of the week, but I haven't ventured out much on the veggie side of things.

This one is called an "old cucumber", not sure what makes it old, but it feels like a regular cuke.  It is just yellow-green-brown in color.  (I'll need to research this one)

I will say that the selection of mushrooms is amazing!  And the prices are great!  I buy mushrooms pretty much every week now.  I just wish E would like them.  She hates the things.  Funny, when I was a kid I hated them too and wouldn't touch anything with a mushroom on it.


Like I said the fruit selection is amazing as well.  And things you have never heard of.  Many I am not afraid to try.  (like the Pomelo and the dragon fruit) But, there are some that are more intimidating.  Like this one, the Longan.  I have read about them and recently the blogger for "100 days of real food" went Asia and had these.  I think they might be next for me.  They are very plentiful right now as they are "in season".  

Another adjustment has been understanding the weights.  Everything here is in grams or kgs. I know metric pretty well, but when you order deli meats it can get a little confusing.  Yesterday I decided to get some ham and ordered a pound.  The lady looked at me confused.  So, I remember that it was in grams.  So I ordered a 1/2 of a kilo.  (which she repeated 500 grams)  So I ended up with just over a pound of thin sliced ham.  (probably more than I needed, but I could freeze half)  That ran me about $19.  (crazy again!)  


Oh yeah, and btw, they don't have pepperoni here.  I never thought that would be an issue for me, but it is a mission for me now.  To find pepperoni!  I bought some yesterday that was called "pepperoni" from the deli section and so far it is the closest I have come, but still not the real deal.  It was much more spicy.  What they call pepperoni is more like salami.  Even on the pizza here.  No American pepperoni!  I will find it, somewhere!


So, back to fruits and veggies.  One other thing is that everything must be weighed before you take it up to the checkout.  Typically there is a queue (line) to wait in.  I have only found one store that weighs at the checkout.  A couple of times I forgot to get my weighing done; if you forget, they put your items aside and unless you want to go back, weigh them and check out again you are out of luck!  Now I look and make sure if it needs weighed or I buy items that are already weighed or select things that are priced by the item.  Took some getting used to!


There are many things that are distinctly Asian here.  Like the plethora of dried fish.  They are usually in the bulk or fresh area.  So many kinds!  They are kept in bins and you just scoop out the dried up fish (or fish parts) and put them in a bag/container to be weighed.  Not sure how they use them.  I'm not sure I will venture that far in my cooking skills, but never say never!

Dried up fish (tiny white fish, you eat the whole thing)

Of course it wouldn't be Asia if you didn't have your many choices of soy sauce and rice.  Pretty much anything you want and in many flavors.  I am amazed!  How do you know what kind to get?  We just buy white rice or jasmine rice in the US, here there are 50 different kinds!  I bet there is some major culture shock for asians that come to the US.  I bet they say, "What, only one kind of rice?"  I guess you need to look at it from both sides.

 Soy sauce anyone?

What's your rice?

The last thing I'll write about is the coffee. Not as expensive as some of the other things, but still more than the US.  Interestingly, they do a lot of instant coffee here.  They have what they call 3 in one or 2 in one.  That is where it already has cream or cream and sugar in the packet.  They also call it Kopi.  Little tea bags with coffee in them.

I also thought this was interesting.  Coffee mixture.  Take a look at the label.  50% coffee and 50% maize.  Maize?  Why would you put corn in coffee?  Is that so that you don't need to buy as much coffee and makes it cost less?  Humm, not sure about that one either.  

Well, that's about it for today.  For those of you reading, Please send pepperoni and coffee!  (just kidding!)  I guess my homesickness will wear off.  They say it takes 6 to 8 weeks to get over the hump.  We get our shipment on Friday, so I am guessing that will take my mind off things.  Honestly, I can't wait!  E will have her own bed, we'll have bikes to get around and my kitchen will be stocked with all of my cooking items!

And, one thing about the Asian culture, they are extremely positive.  Thank goodness!  As I left the store yesterday this sign was just above the checkout lines.  I really needed that and to be honest, it made me smile!

Fruit of the week (Dragon Fruit) and Arab street

It's amazing how much better E is in a week.  We battled asthma for the past week.  Two days off from school and many many breathing treatments later she is as good as new.  Thank goodness!  I will admit, it was nice for E and I to have a few days together without school.  We hadn't really had that since we have been here.  We went to the doctor and did a little exploring and shopping.  What a treat!

This week the big fruit special was "Dragon Fruit".  This is soon to become one of my favorites!  I think my favorite part is that is it extremely easy to peel and it isn't too sweet.

The dragon fruit fits in the palm of my hand (about the size of a large potato) and is bright pink with either yellow or green leaves that poke out from the sides.  Its skin is kind of rubbery and it kind of looks like a fish.  To get to the fruit you cut it in half.

The flesh is juicy white with small black soft seeds throughout.  It isn't too sweet and reminds me of a kiwi texture.  It almost has a honey type flavor.  To eat the fruit, I peeled off the outer skin and cut up the fruit.  I can eat one of these in an entire setting!  I have friends who blend the fruit into smoothies.  Yumm!

The dragon fruit is also called "pitaya" and is the fruit of several cactus plants.  There are also red dragon fruit, but I haven't tried that yet.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to Arab Street (that's the actual name of the street) with some girl friends.  What an interesting environment.  Lots of fabric shops that look like they sell sari fabric.  So many fabric shops I'm not sure which you would look at first.  I didn't look in any, but would love to browse around another day.  We got there about 7:30pm and it looked like things were just getting started.  By the time we came out of dinner the streets were packed with people sitting at tables al fresco.  Most were just drinking and chatting at the different restaurants.  I think the thing that intrigued me the most were the many men smoking Hookah pipes.  Loads of them!  

 Hookah pipes ready for use

Man smoking Hookah pipe (was trying not to be suspicious taking a photo)

I asked our waiter about them and he said that the tobacco smoked was mostly herbal and many were cherry or something of that nature.  As I sat and drank my Singapore sling, I could smell the cherry smoke surrounding us.  It was kind of pleasant and so exotic smelling.  As we walked the streets I could smell and see all of the different pipes and scents.  I didn't see a single woman smoking one, but I would try one if I had the opportunity.

A Hookah pipe is also called a "water pipe". The tobacco that is smoked is called "shisha" (sheesha) and cooled by the water in the pipe.

Another interesting week here in Singapore!

Karen's fruit of the week - Pomelo

Only a few more weeks until we get our "big" shipment.  Thank goodness as I have been cooking out of one skillet, one saucepan, a cookie sheet and a wok that Scott bought when we got here.  Meals have been somewhat challenging.  Although, I think I have been doing a pretty good job with what I have.  I have made fish, stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, stir fry, lots of veggies and lots of pasta.  I probably should have packed something to bake bigger things in the oven, but alas I forgot to pack that in our expedite.  Good thing for the cookie sheet as we have baked cookies 3 times since we have been here.  It has been a bit of a challenge converting temperatures to Celsius.  To be honest, I think the bigger challenge for me has been using this tiny convection oven.  Things cook differently and the temp needs to be decreased due to the convention component.  When I do get our big shipment I doubt that half of my pans will even fit in this oven.  Either way, I am making it work and the batch of cookies was pretty darn good considering that I couldn't find real vanilla.  (The vanilla here is "Vanilla Essence" and really different than what I am used to; it's not the "good stuff".)

I think my favorite food perk is the variety of fruits and vegetables.  One day I'll do a post just on the grocery store.  I am still mastering things and still get confused about how things work.  Although, I am continually amazed by what you can buy in the big grocery stores.

So, while all of you are enjoying the approaching fall weather and watching the leaves fall, we are trying all new sorts of fruits.  I decided that it would be fun to start a "fruit of the week" post. Since I am extremely homesick for fall, this was one thing I can enjoy and share with you and would give me a weekly challenge.

I'll start my Fruit/Veg of the week post with the Pomelo fruit.  

I first saw the Pomelo at the Wet Market.  My friend and I eyed it up and wondered what it would be like.  They had the skin cut in half with the fruit still attached to the bottom half.  Big and round, the fruit was about the size of a large softball.  The fruit stand vendor said that it was kind of like a grapefruit, but was sweeter.  That would be a good way to describe it.  While at the grocery store this past week I saw it again.  Only this time it had a tag on it, noting its name.  MALAYSIA POMELO  This one was much larger; about the size of a kickball.  Sounded good to me. 

They had a man peeling the fruit for you.  This fruit takes some effort to get to the goods.  The outer skin is leather like and about an inch thick; less rubbery than other citrus fruits, it rips pretty easily. 

 

Once the outer skin is cut off you need to peel off the white pith.  (yeah, that's what that white stuff is called) 

Pomelo with the outer skin taken off.

Once the pith is off you need to pull off a section and peel off the membrane from the section.  The outer membrane is much tougher than an orange or grapefruit.  Not sure you would want to eat that part.  Once you get the section membrane off, the edible fruit shows itself.  The little juice pieces are all inside and are easy to take off one by one or eat in groups.  The little juice vesicles are laid out in amazing patterns all crammed in that one section. 

Yummy little sections!  Oh yeah, and the taste?  

Yes, much like a grapefruit, but it isn't bitter at all.  I would bet it would make an amazing juice if you wanted to go to all that trouble of peeling the whole thing.

So, there you have it, the Pomelo fruit.  A interesting new Asian citrus fruit, at least for me anyway.

By the way, anyone have an questions or want to know or see anything in particular?  I am up for ideas and would love to hear what you all want to know.  Knowing what you want to know about gives me something to research or blog about.  

Just leave me a comment!

A Day at the Zoo

Dear friends and family, sorry for the short break in my posts.  It has been a tough couple of weeks.  Our dear Blue Dog passed away last week as you probably know.  I wasn't quite up for much writing, but today I realized that writing is my outlet and it would do me some good to start sharing again.  And, I have some good ones to share!

This post will be my tribute to Blue by writing about our trip to the Zoo!  Aren't animals the best?  They are all the most amazing creatures.  Weather they are your pets or wild.  I am completely fascinated by them and based on our zoo trip everyone is.  I think everyone was at the zoo the day that we went.  Of course it was a public holiday here in Singapore, Hari Raya Puasa.  So, what is Hari Raya Puasa you might ask?  Hari Raya means 'Celebration Day';  it is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. 

So, with the holiday we decided to go to the Zoo.  We found a bus that takes you right to the zoo.  It was call the Singapore Attractions Express bus, for anyone who wanted to know.  For $22 we had a roundtrip ride to the zoo.  Once there, we realized quickly that everyone had the same idea we did.  Oh well, we had the whole day to explore.  Only 45 minutes later we were in the zoo with a year long membership.  (Next time we'll come on a weekday!)

Busin' it!

The Singapore Zoo is famous for displaying animals in naturalistic, 'open' exhibits, i.e. with hidden barriers, behind moats and shrubbery etc. It also houses the largest captive colony of orangutans in the world.  Were we in for a treat!

Welcome to the Zoo!  (looks like a postcard)

One thing that amazed us was that many of the monkeys roamed free in the zoo.  They would be hanging out in the trees as we walked to each of the animal exhibits.  Even as we at lunch we saw one just hanging out in the tree next to us.  

Hi George, please don't run away!

I think I could write all kinds of things, but I think for this post the best are the photos.  

 You can ride the elephants too if you want.  We didn't, but maybe next time!

 Mr. Kangaroo, so close that we could "almost" pet him.  He went hopping off just after this photo.

 Isn't he pretty?

 Giraffe feeding

 The lions are chillin'.

Beautiful flamingos

Did you know that flamingo milk is pink and that both parents nurse their young?  

One of the best exhibits was the white tigers.  We just so happened along at feeding time.  Wow!  Did you know that tigers swim?  Yep, these 3 did.  Why wouldn't you when it was as hot and humid as it was that day.  Check out the video,  So amazing!

Hungry!

What an amazing day!  We ended up spending 4 or more hours at the zoo it was a great day and a good way to just have some fun!  We look forward to going back when we aren't in the midst of soooo many people.  E slept great that night and so did we.

Till next time - Singapore Zoo!

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” - Gandhi