Cavalock and The Flashback Tradition

Visiting London last month sure brought back a ton of childhood memories, not that I was born or raised in the U.K. but little things I saw during this trip reminded me of my early childhood growing up in the old family home here in Singapore.

Me late Aunt would prepare me morning hard-boiled egg in an egg cup just like this back in the old family home. I think I was like four or five years old and I would gingerly tap the top of the egg to crack the shell with me little spoon. Having it again for breakfast in London after all these years certainly brought a smile to my face. Next, I found BEEF Bovril at Tesco supermarket! Let me repeat, BEEF Bovril, not the other vegetarian crap (it's bloody celery extract!!! WTF?!?) you find in NTUC Fairprice or Cold Storage. Why can't we have the beef extract back again? Yes, I know bout the mad cow excuse but that's like decades ago.

Man, I used to put together more than a couple of Airfix WWII model fighter planes together back when I was living in the old family home. The Spitfire was one of my favourites too, along with the Corsair. Gluing them together was such a chore for a Primary School kid but when you are done with it, you really feel like you achieved something, know what I mean? Guess what, now it's all just snap together. No glue required! Kids today are getting too pampered!

I got to watch a live telecast of the latest Doctor Who episode on Sunday evening! I grew up devouring Doctor Who novels as much as Hardy Boys ones, and only got to watch the TV series much later in life. Really luv the current female Doctor, really hate the 'politally correct' storylines. Please don't shove 'diversity' and 'inclusiveness' down my throat every week.

Talking about traditions, this kinda looks like a new one for me. The pix below was taken when I was in New York having breakfast at Pret a Manger after attending the boardgame convention Gen Con back in 2016. The one below was taken couple days in London after I was at Warhammer World, chilling with a Pret a Manger breakfast, looking out at the morning crowd hassling to work in a busy foreign city. A breakfast at Pret a Manger after a major geek event is my new thing now. I could get used to this.

Cavalock and The Second Obligatory Tokyo Food Collage of The Year

This Tokyo trip, we got the opportunity or rather the Baker-at-Home had the opportunity to chat with at least a couple of young English-speaking Japanese sales staff on two separate occasions. As kinda expected, both were very enthusiastic when it to came talking bout Singapore. One even grew up and studied in Singapore before moving back to Japan. The usual chit-chat bout the local weather like where's hotter right not Tokyo or Singapore, where did they learn their English and all that. We had to sort of dampen their enthusiasm a little by telling what life really is like here. Hah!

Just like always, I got our trip's obligatory photo collage right here, right now! The slice of gorgeous wagyu beef was our first dinner this trip at our usual favourite shabu shabu joint. Damn, I love that pix, never fails to make me hungry.

So everyone's talking bout Crazy Rich Asians and it kinda reminded me of something funny. Before I get into that I gotta say, this ain't the kinda movie I'll watch. Nothing bout it being Singapore or anything like that, I just don't buy movie tickets for a rom com anymore. Limited time means I gotta watch what I watch, if you know what I mean. Rom coms are more like "downloadable" movies to leave playing in the background when one is doing work around the house. Movie tickets are reserved for Marvel/DC blockbusters. big budget action movies, the kind better watched on the big screen. But really, let's be realistic here, the success or failure of that movie is not gonna make a difference in the lives of most average Singaporeans here. And to all the folks out there who are kicking a fuss bout "representation", it ain't a documentary, it's a work of fiction. It's like expecting all Italian Americans to be members of the Mafia after watching The Godfather.

Anyway, hearing about Crazy Rich Asians and all the hoopla it's causing reminded me of an episode of my childhood. Now I gotta clarify that I am definitely and absolutely NOT rich at all! I prefer "middle lower-income". Just that it reminded me of how when I was a wee little kid, me Mom would constantly tell me that we are "a poor family" and that if anyone asked me (no one has ever asked me!), "tell them you are from a poor family". So in my mind and majority of my childhood I honestly believed that we were a poor family. The point isn't whether or not our family was poor, the point is I believed her. I mean, what kid wouldn't believe their own Mom. Right?

It's pretty funny looking back. I mean, I remember whenever I wanted a toy, my family would say something like "we can't afford it." and I guess that kinda reinforced my belief that we were poor. Back then friends in school and elsewhere never really talked bout our families' income level or anything like that. So I never really had any reason to doubt my ...er... family's claim.

It was only much later in (adult) life that I realised that I kinda grew up in a bubble. As a teenager, I was perfectly happy with my TV shows, my BBC Worldwide Radio, my books, magazines and comics and later my computer games. There was no Internet or social media so almost everything I learned bout the outside world was from devouring media content from the West. Speaking of which I never felt the need for "inclusiveness" or "diversity", as in I never felt the need to see an Asian face whenever I read a Marvel or DC comic book or watched American or British sitcoms. Maybe if you are an Asian American, Crazy Rich Asians is a big deal cos you are constantly surrounded by all them nasty white folks? But I digress.

I love my crazy (not rich) childhood and I miss my cozy little bubble! Thank gawd there was no Internet when I was growing up. <^;^>

Cavalock and The Coffee Cultural Appropriation

Having recently discovered The Coffee Academics' "globally inspired coffees" on their menu, we have been spending quite a few lazy afternoons hanging out there. So far I have tried and absolutely enjoyed the Okinawa and Manuka. The former is coffee with dark brown sugar from the Japanese island of the same name and the latter is nicely doused with pure honey from New Zealand. If you like them sweet, this is something worth checking out.

So I been reading bout "cultural appropriation" for awhile now and although there's a lot about it that I don't agree with, it got me thinking. And from thinking comes questions.

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or theft of icons, rituals, aesthetic standards, and behavior from one culture or subculture by another. It generally is applied when the subject culture is a minority culture or somehow subordinate in social, political, economic, or military status to the appropriating culture.

So is a local Asian guy with dreadlocks and Samoan tattoos guilty of cultural appropriation? Cos gawd knows, I seen a lot of them lately. How bout all them white hosts wearing local native costumes on them travel documentaries? Local kids, from one-room HDB flats, rapping like black inner city kids from Chicago? Then is our very own Matthew and the Mandarins guilty of cultural appropriation too? Is Racial Harmony Day in our schools politically correct? Are my Hawaiian shirts screaming cultural appropriation?

Perhaps the most important question of all, am I guilty here of cultural appropriation?!?

Cavalock and The Morning Market Meetup

Way back when I was barely out of my teens, my mom wanted to matchmake me with a Thai girl and knowing my late mom and ...er... family connections, there would most certainly be an emphasis on one who was well endowed with both brains and beauty. Of cos nothing came out of it, but it became kind of a running joke here in our tiny little apartment. Ah, always good for a laugh.

During my recent stay in Bangkok, we dropped by the famous Or Tor Kor Market. Ranked No. 4 among the Top 10 fresh markets in the world by CNN, the market is pretty cool. I know we here have our own neighbourhood wet markets in every other GRC but there is so much more here. Clean, organised, spacious and with an almost never-ending parade of local cooked and fresh food, it's the kinda market I can spend hours at. Another plus point is how few tourists there are around shopping in the market.

A most satisfying crabby lunch at Or Tor Kor Market and once again, our hand-carry luggage home was loaded with fresh Thai mangoes and other tropical fruits.

Cavalock and The Gamers' Feast

It took me awhile but I finally found my way to the popular New Ubin Seafood restaurant in the heart of Sin Ming Industrial Estate earlier this week. Our regular boardgaming group hasn't been meeting up for games as often as we used to, which is kinda sad. But at least, we get to pig out together like this.

Let's see now, by the end of the night this is just some of the stuff nine hungry guys can eat:

- 3 crabs in bee hoon soup

- Pork collar

- Crispy pork knuckle German style

- 30 Canadian oysters

- Salted egg squid

- Large squid

- Large Hokkien prawn noodle special

- Large HK Kai Lan special

- 13 sticks of foie gras

- Phoenix chicken

- Signature meat platter

And of cos, the stars of the night... 3kg of amazing US Angus beef and a gorgeous bottle of 17-year-old Hibeki. Truly an unforgettable feast worthy of the gods with a princely price tag of over S$900.

So on my way to the old family home today I noticed for the first time in my entire life, there are no more Gurkhas outside my late neighbour's residence. Instead there's just a lone chubby cop on guard duty. It kinda got me thinking about my old neighbour, not that I haven't been thinking about him for the last couple of weeks.

I guess growing up within 100 meters of his home, my memories of him may be a wee bit different from most people. My late aunts, uncles and mom made no qualms about their political leanings. Like most people their generation, they absolutely admired him and were eternally grateful for all he had done. Now you would think that I have seen him in person numerous times but the truth is I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually seen him up close or in person. Unfortunately the last time I saw him was late last year when his motorcade drove pass and I caught a glimpse of him alone in the backseat looking extremely frail. Yah, now that motorcade on the other hand, I see almost everyday when I was a kid. It would leave Oxley around noon daily and then make its way to the Istana. My most memorable moments were during National Day parades when the motorcade would zoom pass the family home and we would gather at our back kitchen doorway and wave at it. And that's the only time I can recall that he would ever wave back at us.

While I hardly had any direct interactions with him, I do however have some rather brief encounters with his sons. You have to remember that I was probably only seven or eight years-old at that time. From my bedroom window I would spot one of his sons (I honestly cannot remember which) walking towards River Valley Road to ta-pao food, this was obviously before they had bodyguards. I would then yell out at them and then duck out of sight behind the curtains immediately. It was like peek-a-boo with a VIP! Hey, I was seven and bored!

I also figured out a long time ago that I could either blame him and the Government for just about every f**ked-up thing that has happened to me in my life like how their second language criteria royally screwed me of a higher education here, or I could take it like a man, be grateful for all the other economic policies that have tremendously benefited my family and get on with my life. I do respect him and am fully aware of his achievements, contributions, faults, warts and all. When I was sitting alone on the Padang that early Thursday morning at 6am waiting for my queue to move, I was there not just for myself but also on behalf of my late mom, uncles and aunts who I know for sure would be there too if they were still alive.

So yah, that's kinda like what I wanna say bout my late neighbour. While everyone had something deep, moving or reflective to say bout him, I suppose mine was more of the lasting impression he left on me as the all-important guy living down the road.

Cavalock and The Mirrored Hallows of Lloyd Manor

It's that time of the year again when straying outdoors without an umbrella is almost unthinkable. Monsoon season is upon us and although the weather may appear dreary, a part of me does look forward to a cooler climate change and the coming holiday season is always an excuse to revisit my Christmas playlist. Despite the constant afternoon drizzle, we did managed to drop by Mezza9 at Hyatt Hotel for lunch just the other day.

Was in the mood for something Japanese that day so the bento box was an obvious choice. I was also a little hungrier than usual, well, an entire morning spent at the old family home rampaging through a ton of vintage curios does tend to whet one's appetite. So I chose the yakitori pork set as well. Glad I did too cos it certainly saved me from an otherwise mediocre lunch. The S$44 bento set wasn't bad but just rather reminiscent of any other bento set that one can get for half the price. Now the yakitori pork set on the other hand was great. It arrived on a little smoking charcoal grill, and every morsel of skewered pork was delicious and so were the mushrooms, corn and asparagus. Will definitely try something else on their lunch menu on my next visit, just not that bento set again.

So remember my childhood teddy bear that I found in the old family home? I managed to do a recording of the lullaby using my iPhone (in the old family home itself!). Like I said, the audio is still quite crisp and clear even after all these decades. Best listened to at night, alone with the lights turned off.

Another haunting remnant from the old family home is this century-old marble top dressing table. On evenings when the air is deathly still, one can may catch more than a faint whiff of sweet almond oil and rosewater scent. An unnatural lingering reminder of an early Victorian embellishment that continues to lend an unholy presence in the now dusty bed chamber.

If one dares peer into the mirror, never look away from one's reflection. For the sake of one's sanity, stay strong in one's gaze. Do not glance at the shadowy form that shimmers in the corner of one's view for some say that all it takes is for an innocent soul to glimpse its eldritch shade, and to grant it the freedom it craves.

Place one's palm on its cold marble top and do not be alarmed when on rare occasions, one would actually feel the hard surface gently pulsating with life. Mayhap an unnatural resemblance to life as we know it but still a grim reminder to who or what may actually reside within the hallowed mirror.

Cavalock and The Fall of Suntec City

Suntec City what the *#$%?>!@ has happened to you?!? I finally managed to drop by for a visit one evening and it's sooooo different now, and I mean that in a bad way. Suntec City mall used to be so noisy and busy with trooping shoppers on every floor, almost every day of the week. Yah, I know about the huge renovation they did on the place but apparently they sucked at it cos no one goes there anymore. The entire place is like the freakin' South Pole now, freezing cold and deserted. The food joints in the basement do seem pretty busy during meal times but really, the upstairs shops whatever few remaining, are almost empty. Without a unique anchor tenant, I don't see the point of going there at all.

I did however managed to find a couple items that were rather interesting. No idea what Filipino style spaghetti sauce tastes like but that's too big a pack for me to take a chance! That was in Giant supermarket and next door at Wendy's, it's the first time I'm seeing an American fast food chain doing a local dessert! I haven't tried but it definitely looks good.

After two years of fighting pancreatic cancer, my uncle passed away last week. Although he didn't lived with us in the old family home, I have nothing but fond memories of him and we all loved him so much. I still remember when he came over, he would usually have a new comic book for me and he would slip it in his cupboard, between his neatly pressed shirts. Yah, my late uncle kinda still had a room even though he wasn't exactly there.

Well, looking back on my childhood got me thinking bout how naive I really was then. Which is quite funny when you think about it. I led a pretty sheltered childhood as I really had no reason to "venture outside". I was perfectly happy in my own little world, with my books, magazines, TV, comics and the radio was perpetually tuned to the BBC World Service. I was the kid who knew more about World War II history than his own country's origins.

Some childhood misconceptions I had include how I assumed that any adult who wore a tie to work was some big company boss or that like me, all kids had to take stupid music lessons after school.  Seriously, my neighbourhood was like some freakin' orchestra in the afternoon during after school hours! But I guess what was more of an eye-opener for me came later. I didn't know how blessed I was growing up surrounded by family members who all loved me unconditionally until I found out bout other families. Maybe I'll write bout that next time....

Cavalock and The Elopement at Haddon Hall

Another day of 'picking' at the old family home means another day of finding ol' family artifacts. Found a huge box filled with dinner plates, soup bowls and almost all kinds (and shapes) of other tableware, all bearing the same English landscape motif as a set of tea cups that was uncovered several months ago in a different room. Thought the tea cups and saucers were the only ones in the collection but apparently my late Mom bought a whole lot more. I suspect they are from the 1980s or 90s. Right now, I haven't even finished unwrapping them all yet and I can't imagine what else is in the box.

Now I thought this inscription on the back of the plates was really funny. So that's the picture of Haddon Hall and it's apparently famous because it's the scene of some 16th century elopement?!? How crazy is that!

GEEK ALERT! Stop reading if you are not a geek!

I guess by now almost every true geek in town has seen the summer movie Pacific Rim. I saw it by myself on opening day in a quiet little cinema which is just the way I like it, and absolutely loved it. And since I only try to blog bout stuff that I like, here's why Pacific Rim was just so amazing to me. It's definitely not a movie for everyone. Paper thin plot, cartoony characters but for someone who grew up on a regular diet of watching anime and Kaiju movies, it was like a dream come true.

I remember watching the live action Japanese series Ultraman but it was dubbed in Malay cos it was on a Malaysian channel. Our government thought it was a bad influence back then. I also got my little paws on some Ultraman comic magazines and I think they were in Japanese or Chinese. There was nothing else like that on TV when I was growing up expect for the old Ray Harryhausen movies in the afternoon. So you can imagine how it was for a little kid to be exposed to all that giant awesomeness during that all-important "informative years".

When I started learning (and flunking!) Mandarin in school, that's when they started screening dubbed-in-Mandarin anime over at our local Channel 8. Gatchaman was unlike anything I had ever seen before while Robotech was fun although a wee bit too soap-operaish for me. Just don't get me started what an awful mess Evangelion turned out to be.

Besides re-living all those childhood memories on the big screen, Pacific Rim works on another level when you know it's also a labor of love by super geek director Del Toro, and it's filled with all kinds of cool nods to geekdom like the Cthulhu-like monsters and video game references. It totally enriches the entire cinematic experience when you factor in all these geeky elements and ... aww hell, it just totally blew my mind!

Cavalock and The Retro Ramblings Recollection

A little warning first, this is gonna be one of those weird posts where I just ramble on bout a bunch of non-food stuff sometimes not making any sense at all cos I just ain't got the time to try any place new these last few weeks.

So it's Mother's Day weekend and it got me thinking bout how my late Mom would always tell me not to celebrate Mother's Day and that everyday should be Mother's Day if you really love your mom. She did so much for me and my Dad and wasn't into celebrating stuff like Mother's Day or birthdays. It got me thinking bout young moms today who I feel spend less time with their kids but expect more from them, as in big Mother's Day meals etc. Moms from the old days sacrificed much more for their kids and expected almost nothing in return but it's like the opposite today. Something's not right I think.

Reading bout the death of Ray Harryhausen also had me reminiscing bout my childhood. I had a wonderful, carefree childhood. I dare say much less stressful than lots of today's primary school kids. Afternoons after school were spent watching TV with my aunt. It would start with the soaps like General Hospital and Peyton Place, followed by comedies, sci-fi series or monster movies like the ones by Ray Harryhausen. Whether it's cowboys fighting dinosaurs or Sinbad's newest adventure, damn, we all know that without him there would never had been a Star Wars or Lord of The Rings movie. Where or how are kids today gonna see them classics like Jason and The Argonauts or It Came From Beneath The Sea now?

Right now when I look back on all those hours watching TV with my aunts and uncles, I'm also thinking bout "political correctness". Here's the connection. Alright so I finally watched Django Unchained last week and that kinda led me remembering how my family would use the word "negro" all the time. I mean, whenever we talked bout black actors on TV or in the news, we would always use that milder "N' word. Back then, and especially here in this part of the world, no one batted an eyelid when I used the word. Nowadays I wouldn't dare utter it, I'll just say "black". I guess what I'm trying to say is time sure messes up one's vocabulary. Hah!

Well, speaking of my old family home, here are two more retro or vintage nuggets belonging to my late uncle that I'm actually trying to sell on my Facebook. These are United Nations guided tour pins from the 1970s. When you went on a tour of the UN building back then, they'll give one of these little pins. And next to them is a blue UN coin purse.

I'm guessing this little Solvil Titus keychain ball watch is from the 1960s. It looks pretty cool and you sure won't find anything like this anymore. It's not working but it ought to be fixable. Not really sure how much anything like this is worth. Hey, I bet it'll look great in steampunk cosplay with the gears and all!

Cavalock and The 500th Post Blowout

IT'S MY 500th POST! 

Can't believe I actually got soooo much blogging crap to post that it lasted this long. Well, off the top of my head, I can only think of doing a meme post now since the last one I did was back in 2007 and it does go quite a bit into my secret origins. Gosh, I was so simple bout some stuff back then. So for my 500th milestone post, I'm actually gonna do another Top 8 Meme just to see how much I have changed.

1.
If you ever see plugged me into my earphones, it's a 99% chance I'm listening to a podcast and not music. Most likely I'll be laughing to The Danny Bonaduce Show. It's a daily morning talkshow from Seattle. Been listening to the DJ for like four years now, since he was in Philly. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to listen to professional DJs who aren't afraid to speak their minds and be really funny at the same time. Trust me, download the podcasts for a week (it's on iTunes too), listen to them and you won't want to listen to any of our local morning crap ever again. FYI, they took out the songs for the podcasts so it's all just talk.

2.
Depending on who's asking, I'm ...
A) A caregiver
B) A freelance (fill in the blank)
C) Retired
D) Unemployed (specially reserved for pesky telemarketers)
All the above are true to a certain extent. There is however an option (E) but I'm just too polite to attempt a humblebrag. ;)

3.
I'm a very politically incorrect person. And I think I better leave it as that before I get into any trouble. Gone are the days when a guy can make a joke, and not worry about some nutcase taking it too seriously and gathering a lynch mob to tear you a new one.

4.
I honestly believe that women are the stronger sex. After seeing the women in my life handle some of the worst crisis life can throw at them, I just wish I can be as tough as them when the time comes.

5.
I have lost count of the number of Apple products I have at home right now.

6.
I'm serious bout this. If you are married and planning to have kids, do your maths first! Make sure you have enough $$$ to support yourself and your living family members during yours and their coming twilight years before you start raising a brood. In this country, most can't afford to do both.

7.
After all the decades of reading comics, I still think what Peter Parker (Spider-Man) said to his wife Mary Jane is the best damn piece of dialogue that I have ever read in a comic book.

8.
Still do not have a favorite Japanese or Italian restaurant in this country. The ones I been to are either too expensive or ... er ... not that great. Yah, I'm fussy. Looking for suggestions!

Wow, looks like I went on for a little longer than I wanted to. Hah! Got more but figured I'll keep it to just eight like the last time.

Now it's not a celebratory post without something bout food. Check out my latest buy, the Zoku Quick Pop Maker from Tangs.

You can read in more detail how it works and all at the above link.  Bought the big set plus almost all the accessories including a recipe book. But I was a little to anxious to try it out so first thing I did when I got home was to toss the pop maker below into the freezer for 24 hours, like it says in the instruction manual. So when you pour your mixture in the next day, it'll only take mere minutes to freeze!

Next nite, decided to whip up some very simple coffee-flavored pops. Didn't look at the exact recipe measurements that I found online but come on, can't be that hard right? Picked the new Nespresso Macadamia and Hazelnut flavors, added some evaporated milk, mixed them up and gently poured into the slots.

I guess cos I didn't follow the exact measurements, the pops came out all right but just not as tasty or sweet as I wanted them to be. The ice and everything else held together nicely. It took a few more minutes than the recommended 7 to 9 minutes for them to freeze. Maybe it's our weather.

I think it's still a pretty good buy despite the slightly lackluster results. The whole thing works fine and it's real easy to use. Just need to pay more attention to what you want in. And when I do, you bet I'll post it here. :P

One last thing to end my 500th post! A quick run to my fav supermarket Meidi-Ya and look what I found. Was very tempted to get the Guinness one (but the price! Yikes!), can't imagine how that's gonna taste like.

Cavalock and The Star Wars Sprite Surprise

When I was a teenager, me late mom would heat up one them frozen chicken pies from the supermarket and I would have that for tea. I guess you could say that was my little version of frozen comfort food. So having heard bout this new joint that has got chicken pot pie on its menu, I naturally had to go try it out. Plus it being just a 10-minute walk from my apartment made it a no-brainer.

So was the chicken pot pie at Suprette along Jalan Besar Road any good? Well, it wasn't bad nor did it blow me away with chicken pie awesomeness. Although it was pretty wide (notice I said 'wide' and not 'big') pie, it wasn't very deep. I would guess the pot or pan was bout 6 inches across ... I'm thinking 6 inches cos that's bout the height of my action figures. :P

The inside was tasty enough but a little too watery for my liking. And the S$14 price tag was I thought a little more than what I would pay for a chicken pie. Still, the rest of the menu looked rather tempting and I would probably drop by again.

After all those classic vintage stuff, it's time for some retro geek! Here's something from my own stash instead of the family 'treasures'. Back in 1980, (new) Sprite ran a promo with a little sci-fi film called The Empire Strikes Back and guess which kid drank lots of Sprite that year. Inside each bottle cap, on the rubber liner was a pix from the movie. So here's my Empire Strikes Back Sprite bottle cap collection.

For all you Star Wars geeks out there, there's a rather glaring mistake in one of the caps, can you spot it? ;)

And now the moment you all have been waiting for! All two of you who gave a shot at guessing which tea set was from where. It's the answer to my last post's question!  Well, the one on the left is from China which makes the one on the right from the UK!

Cavalock and The Family Vintage Vault

I have a new full-time job now and that's taking care of my elderly family members. And I have no siblings or cousins here, it's all up to me now. I'm not complaining bout it but sometimes I do miss that human contact with other people besides medical staff and the elderly.

For the record (geddit, record!), I really hated the Ray Conniff Singers!

Now my days start off like an episode of American Pickers or Pawn Stars as I head to my old family residence and go through tons (literally 'tons') of stuff. We are talking bout total retro vintage stuff from the 60s to the 80s, local and foreign. You see, my late uncle worked for a bank and he got to travel a lot, he was even posted to the U.S. (east coast and west coast) for most of the 70s. So while my mom and aunts were more into 'Rule, Britannia!', my uncle was more into Americana if you know what I mean.

Seriously, I have hundreds and hundreds of them

It's like walking into the House of Mystery (FYI old DC comic title), there's something something interesting as I rummage through the place. 90% of the time, it's stuff that I really don't think anyone would want, 10% of the time it's pure vintage gold.

Still in their original packaging!

I'm thinking of selling or donating them away but haven't decide exactly how yet. Just don't wanna throw them away that's all. I have already posted some of them on Facebook and the response has been pretty good.

Mint condition from the 70s, do you think anyone would want?

I posted the cheongsams on Facebook and more than a few ex-colleagues are already interested in them. Need I say, all still in excellent condition and they belonged to my late aunt and mom who were really, really slim.

Was told that it's about US size 0 or 1 but I could be wrong. :P

Now I guess the biggest collection in the house would be the cutlery and tableware, mostly from Europe I believe. What I really like or need is to get some of my family antiques like Chinese figurines and vases appraised. Anyone knows any?