Cavalock and The Honey Buzzard Title Defence

Gosh, I didn't know this until yesterday but according to Blogger me previous post was me 1,000th post. I suppose I should do something significant to commemorate it. Not really sure what though.

Anyway, took a look back exactly 10 years ago and saw that the Baker-at-Home and I were at now defunct Cocotte restaurant. And funny thing is 10 years later in February me and the guys visited Summerhill for dinner. Apparently some of the folks behind Cocotte are now running the show at Summerhill so I was really looking forward to dinner that evening. Been a decade so I can't exactly remember the finer details bout Cocotte but I do remember liking the food a lot.

Anyway, we got there right after a solid fun boardgame session. The food was really good although the company was much better. Dining al fresco in the evening doesn't really let you take a lot of bright clear photos. The above boneless Challand duck needs a 3-day pre-order and is definitely worth it. Excellent dining experience in a cosy outdoor atmosphere. 

Me 87-year-old Dad got an opportunity to snap these shots of a group of crows (I know it's a 'murder'!) picking on a lone honey buzzard at Whampoa. He was there to take photos of a nest of blue-crowned hanging parrots but I thought these action shots were way cooler.

Cavalock and The Morning Natto Nuke

I never thought it'll be something that I'll be having on a regular basis but here I am, eating natto in the morning. So under doctor's orders, I oughta be eating healthy so after some digging, I settled on the popular Japanese breakfast staple called natto.  

The last time I had it was back in Japan at least a decade ago, part of an onsen breakfast I think. As expected, I didn't take an instant liking to it. But when I had my serving of natto couple days ago, I thought it was alright, I followed what I read online, added a drop or two of soy sauce and ate it with a healthy serving of nori. Now I'm thinking perhaps the natto I had way back then at the onsen was kinda like a stronger or 'purer' homemade version compared to something commercial from a supermarket shelf. Maybe?

Anyway the plan is to have it every other day for breakfast and how it goes from there. You can add all kinds of stuff like feta cheese, raw egg or pepper on it to make it a little more palatable. There are so many different brands on sale that I'm gonna try different ones each week. 

Who knew? This could be the meanest street on our tiny red dot. First time seeing this road sign and I thought it was kinda amusing. Of cos, it wouldn't be that amusing if you are a bald person.

Cavalock and The Orange Pudding Surprise

 Happy New Year of the Ox!

Back when I was a little kid, I kinda looked forward to Lunar New Year for a reason not most people would normally associate the NewYear with. It's me Mom going me a one day Get-of-Jail -Free card as she used to say that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, she wouldn't nag or scold me, just for that day. Hah! 

Still reeling from the lack of travel last year and this, I finally succumbed to lonesome me missing Tokyo and bought this fruity Japanese dessert from Don Don. I guess it kinda reminded me of something I would see in a Tokyo convenience store like Lawsons. I was pleasantly surprised by how packed the jelly/pudding was with orange slices. Really juicy ones too!

Pretty uneventful first day of the new year, I did watch the latest 6th episode of WandaVision. If you read the comics, especially the House of M storyline, then most of last six episodes of the show would appear rather familiar. I was gonna wait till we get Disney + later in February to binge watch it but all the guys are already watching and talking bout it. They are bugging me to catch up it so I had to otherwise they were gonna start with the spoilers.

Cavalock and That Pre-Chinese New Year Post

Now it's always a good thing when a new dessert cafe shows up in the neighbourhood. Sweets Craftsman is located at Caven Road, next to Jalan Besar Stadium and features Japanese inspired desserts. It's a tiny little joint but nice and cosy. Me and the Baker-at-Home dropped by twice for some of their tasty creations. First up we had their creamy Fujiro swiss rolls and loved them so much that we returned couple days later for their meringue. 

Chinese New Year's just run the corner and of cos, this year is gonna be different cos of the obvious restrictions on gatherings. So I was listening to my friends complaining bout how their elders are trying to come up with ways to circumvent the law. Really?!? I could never understand, or perhaps 'empathise' would be the better word, with such large family gatherings. As an only child with no cousins here, there's only one other house to visit every year since the day I was born and that's the old family home, a place where I grew up and visit every week when I was in my teens. So I never experienced any awkward moments with relatives and all that jazz. Sometimes I wish I do have siblings so there would be someone to play boardgames with.

These were taken in January earlier this year at Seletar, I believe it was Seletar, by me Dad. He spent two days aiming his camera up in the tree. One day, the second day was wasted cos he wasn't able to get any decent shots. Fortunately the good shots were mostly taken on the first day. 

Cavalock and The Hornbill High-rise Habitat

Gosh, what a crazy busy last couple weeks. Caregiver duties and me waiting for me medical test results kinda left me with hardly anytime for posting stuff. Well, it's not like I had a lot to talk about anyway. Oh, I did managed to order a basket of chicken nuggets from Shake Shack. Alright, it ain't exactly nuggets, it's 'all-natural, antibiotic chicken breast' and it's called Chick'n Bites. Found them a bit dry compared to them nuggets although each piece is definitely more substantial or meaty than a regular nugget. So even though you are paying more at SGD$6.40 for a box of six, you are getting more and I guess, a sightly healthier option.

Speaking of birds, me Dad was showing me some pix of the hornbill nest he took couple days ago. I thought the nest was an old tree trunk lying on the ground until I saw that fuller pix of the trunk up in the air and part of a big, old tree. Hah!

Fortunately there were also other birds nearby besides the hornbills which made moving around easy for mr 87-year-old Dad.

Cavalock and The Hanging Birds CD (no, it's not a band!)

Here's where I learn something new everyday. Johan bakery at Isetan was selling them King's Cakes, a French pastry often associated with Epiphany. Apparently it's gaining popularity in Japan as a New Year treat as the Baker-at-Home found out from her Japanese friend, which prompted her to grab one entire cake at first sight. We really like it! The puff pastry is so rich and perfectly buttery. The almond cream is just the right amount and not overpowering. And there's a little free chopstick holder too! 

Check this out! Who knew you can sell your old CDs at 3 for $2 as a ....er... flashy shiny scarecrow? Hey, I'm all for recycling but this is hilarious! If anyone's interested, I'll sell you 4 music CDs from my collection for $2.

Cavalock and That Last Hike of 2020

It's only the first week of the new year so I guess things are still pretty slow around here. Well, the last week of 2020 did see me and the guys embarking on yet another hike. Met up at Ang Mo Kio train station at the crack of the dawn and off we went! First half hour was spent on the sidewalk, along the road Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 to be exact, which made it the most uninspiring part of the journey. Once we reached Luxus Hills Park, we turned into Punggol PC and followed alongside the river/drain/canal/oversized lonkung that's known as Sungei Punggol.

Lots of greenery and no more honking traffic for the rest of the hike. It was a Saturday morning so the track was rather crowded with families and groups which made the experience quite distracting. But it was still a pleasant hike and we hit 15km in a little over three hours. Not bad. Was actually me first time in Punggol Sengkang so I followed the guys as they led the way. I thought it was kinda funny when the end point was a group of many cafes serving breakfast but they were all full so one friend simply called for a Grab ride and we ended up in a kopi tiam having duck and roast pork!

Since we are all stuck home and not travelling outta the country, I got to go through some of the overseas crap... I mean, stuff I bought during my travels. This is actually pretty neat umbrella we bought in Italy ages ago. The Baker-at-Home says it's too heavy for her so I'm using it. Yah, I know. Olive Oyl ain't exactly the most masculine icon around but I like the brolly, its got a nice weight to it and provides a decent shelter area. Then there's the official Afuri ramen pin that I got from their ramen joint in Nakameguro when I was there with the guys in 2019. Still no idea where I'm gonna pin it.

Cavalock and That New Year Frenchie Post

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I can't remember when was the last time I had me some crepe but the Baker-at-Home had some recently and she was damn impressed by it, enough to drag me to the joint that is French Fold. I had the the sweet crepe with the chestnut cream and mascarpone while she had the savoy crepe with the sautéed mushrooms and egg. Absolutely loved mine with the chestnut cream that reminded me of the numerous Mont Blanc that I had in Japan over the years. And since there was no Japan trip this year, this crepe was the perfect sweet proxy or substitute.

I honestly wasn't planning this to be an all-French post but I did play this game the day before we went and had the crepes. Now I know I already did my Top 10 Games of 2020 but I only got to play the new boardgame Paris earlier this week.  

In Paris, you take on the role of wealthy real estate investors in the Paris of the 1900s. Paris is at the height of its transformation into one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is your task to purchase some of these magnificent Parisian buildings in order to make a profit and invest in the development and upkeep of some of Paris’ most iconic buildings and landmarks.

Just take a look at that, this game really commands a huge table presence. It's big and it's gorgeous. Over 40 tiles depicting landmarks and buildings in Paris and the art on every one is unique. It's one of those easy-to-learn, hard-to-master kinda game. A really fun game that's really not too difficult. On your turn, you only have two things to do, place a building tile and then decide where to put or move your playing piece. I can't wait to play it again, and if anyone wants to try it out, let me know. Viva la France!