Recently | of red bean mochi and hawker shops

This weekend my mum had her stitches removed, so she is well on her road to recovery. She’s been stuck at home for weeks and is seriously missing the freedom of being able to drive anywhere she likes to run her errands, meet her friends, have her favourite food and of course her unforgettable Santouka ramen.

Yesterday we dropped by Jaya 33 to just look at one of my coveted lens additions, the Canon 100mm f2.8 L Macro lens. We were supposed to just look at it but somehow I managed to be persuaded (or maybe coerced) by the boo to place a deposit for a used copy of the lens. He was all for getting a lens that served two purposes, medium telephoto and macro capabilities. But seriously, if I do end up getting this lens, this has got to be my last investment in camera gear for the next 8 months or something.

#1 Lunch at Kompassion

Beautifully unique coconut cheesecake with cendol topping, cookie base and drizzle of gula melaka.

#2 The supermarkets of my childhood.

#3 So I tried to make red bean mochi on Saturday… and failed miserably. The beans took ages to soften and absorb moisture (didn’t soak them overnight) and the dough was so sticky that I almost cried trying to gouge it away from the bowl I used to microwave it in. It was so unbelievably sticky that once it got on my fingers no amount of washing could take it off short of using a scrub cloth to scrub at it. I started the whole project at 2 and ended up miserably giving up at about 6.

The only two pieces that were reasonably nice enough to photograph. Don’t worry, it tasted good and was perfectly edible, just that the process was a bit of a fail.

#4 Randomly stumbling around in PJ Old Town until we came across a hawker shop that looked popular.

There is so much character in hawker shops, especially early in the morning on a weekend where people meet up with their families or bring their mothers or fathers or children out for breakfast. The hawkers are busy serving up piping hot meals, everything is chaotic, the floors are wet, the pots are steaming and hot; but this type of chaos is exactly what makes the hawker shop experience so wonderful.