I'm a Dad!

Monday, 7th of June 2010 was an extraordinary day, to say the least. I was preparing to go for my hand surgery (to remove some titanium inplants) in the afternoon, but before I did that, I had to accompany Daisy for her routine gynaecological check-up in the morning.

Daisy was already 36 weeks pregnant and by my estimation, we would expect a baby by the end of June. In fact, Daisy already had strong contractions when she was 33 weeks in (she was even admitted for one night), and has been taking medication to delay delivery till the baby is full term. The deal is, for as long as she's taking her meds, she won't deliver. That way, by the time the baby is delivered, my hand would have healed nicely.

But the good Lord had different plans for us. The routine tocographical measurements that morning showed that she's already having contractions at intervals of 10 minutes. The doctor ordered that I cancel my surgery and admit her to the delivery ward that afternoon. I was still in a daze; not entirely sure if the doctor was sure of what she's doing.

True enough, within half a hour, Daisy started feeling the pains of contraction. I called off the surgey while she called the office to say that she won't be coming in, and we just grabbed a few things from home and headed to the hospital.

We've already decided that morning that some epidural would be good. No point making it any more difficult for her, is my thought. Lucky for that thought, for that made the whole experience so much more bearable in terms of pain and anxiety.

We checked in at 12pm. By 2pm, we could hear the gynae going through the other delivery rooms, telling her other patients to "Push!" Just before 4pm, she came into our delivery room. After some checks, she decided, "okay, let's delivery this baby now!" A few "Now, push!" later, my life has changed forever.

Baby Jayden came into this world at 1607hrs and he just amazed both Daisy and myself. After a few cries as he came into this world, Jayden just lay there at the baby cot and started to curiously check out his surrounding.

Almost immediately, Daisy started trying to breastfeed him and within a few minutes, the little baby learned to latch on for sustenance.

Jayden was born exactly a month early, weighing 2.8kg. We stayed 2 nights in the hospital and went home to Daisy's parents place, where we would stay till he's a month old.

Since coming into our lives, he has filled our days (and nights) with anxiety, fatigue and exasperation. More than that, however, he has also filled our lives with joy, wonder, amazement and humility at the goodness of God. If I may say so, he's one heck of a cute baby!

We thank the Lord for this wonderful gift of love and will strive to be good parents.

We would also like to thank all our friends who came, called, SMSed, left messages and sent bouquets of love. We really appreciate your well wishes.

Today, Jayden is one week old. We just got his birth certificate done back at Parkway East Hospital this afternoon. My son is officially a Singapore citizen, haha!

Now that I'm a dad, I'm definitely looking forward to what this next chapter in my life holds!

Ultimate Parker In Asia

I decided a couple of months back to do something a bit adventurous and signed up for the Ultimate Parker In Asia wine grand tasting event. I even got a ticket for my father in law.

So, on the 1st and 2nd of May, I spent the entire weekend sipping fine wine at the Fullerton Hotel Singapore. We did see Robert Parker, but he was too busy with his book signing event to socialise with anyone.

Besides tasting hundreds of fine wines at the Grand Tasting, participants to the event were allocated 3 master classes each, and I chose to attend the following wine master classes; Fine Wines of Austria, The Rise of Cool Climate Syrah/Shiraz Around The World and Landmark Australia.

For Fine Wines of Austria, we tasted the following wines.

2008 Huber Gruner Veltliner, Berg

2008 Jurtschitsch Gruner Veltliner, Kaferberg

2007 Salomon Undhof Kogl Reserve Reisling

2008 Leth Roter Veltliner, Scheiben

2007 Reinisch Rotgipfler Reserve

2007 Temend Sauvignon Blanc, Zeiregg

While Austria is primarily a white wine producing country, we were also fortunate to try some of their best reds.

2006 Juris Pinot Noir, Haide

2007 Markowitsch Rosenberg, Carnuntum

2006 Arachon T.FX.T. Arachon Evolution

2006 Weninger Blaufrankisch, Durrau

2005 Tschida TBA Samling

For The Rise of Cool Climate Syrah/Shiraz Around The World, we tasted a total of 9 wines.

2005 Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz, Grampians, Victoria, Australia

2006 Heathcote Estate Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria, Australia

2005 Yering Station Reserve Shiraz Viognier, Yarra Valley, Australia

2007 Shaw & Smith Shiraz, Adelaide Hills, Australia

2008 Man O'War Dreadnought Syrah, Waiheke, New Zealand

2007 Trinity Hills Homage Syrah Viognier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

2004 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage Petite Chapelle, Rhone Valley, France

2006 M. Chapoutier Cote Roti Les Becasses, Rhone Valley, France

plus a mystery wine, which I forgot to note down, haha!

The last wine master class we attended was Landmark Australia, simply because the bulk of wines we find in Singapore today is mostly from Australia.

Landmark Australia introduces 11 great wines:

2003 Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon, Hunter Valley

2002 Pewsey Vale The Countours Riesling, Eden Valley

2007 Shaw & Smith M3 Vineyard Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills

2008 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay, Margaret River

2008 De Bortoli Reserve Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley

2004 Wynns Coonawara Estate John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra

2007 Cullen Wines Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River

2007 Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, Hunter Valley

2005 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley

2006 Glaetzer Anaperenna Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley

Seppeltsfield 1909 Para Tawny, Barossa Valley

Yup, that last wine was actually a 101 year old Tawny!

Tasting that century old port wine was a humbling experience. I don't think it's on sale in Singapore, but make a trip to the Seppeltsfield estate, and they will sell you a small 375ml bottle for A$650!

101 year old wine! Now, that's definitely an experience!

Marche

Was at Marche @ 313 Somerset to celebrate one sister's birthday, and another's farewell

Party At The Chens'

Meals at the Chens' have always been special events. From whisky parties, to home-cooked feasts to rooftop BBQs, they have always been most enjoyable. That's why, when he called me on Friday to ask if I would like to drop by his place for dinner, there can be no other answer but YES!

Apart from the glorious food, there is always great company.

And premium booze.

Apart from whiskey, there were plenty of beer and wine. One wine in particular, an Australian shiraz by Flying Fish Cove was simply lovely. Will definitely be looking out for this baby in the future.

No dinner at the Chens' is complete without some premium cigar. Last night's cigar of choice was Trinidad, and my goodness, it left me feeling a little anti-gravity in the head.

The missus definitely seemed to have enjoyed herself.

And that's the most important thing :-)

Happy New Year 2010!

This year, Daisy and me spent New Year's Eve resting at home. She had to rest (and boy, so did I!) so we cancelled all prior plans and just watched a movie in the comfort of our living room. Sincere apologies to all whose parties we could not attend.

Ever since I started writing on a web log, I've managed to document the arrival of 2007, 2008 and 2009. Brings back tons of memories, as I look back at those fun times!

Nevertheles, it's no less meaningful spending alone time with Daisy at home and watching the fireworks from our window.

As our home also overlook the sea off East Coast Park, we could see fireworks going off in Indonesia as well as numerous flares being fired off the commercial vessels that line the waterline.

On another note, the four of us - me, Daisy, Minh and Andrew; finally opened our Christmas presents on 30th December 2009! Woohoo!

Happy New Year 2010 Everyone!

Christmas Eve 2009

Here's wishing everyone a very merry Christmas. Unlike other years, this year I'm not attending the Christmas vigil at midnight but will go for Christmas Day mass tomorrow.


This evening, it was just a quiet dinner with Daisy and her parents, accompanied by a very rare bottle of red.

Loving my bottle of Cirillo Estate 1850 Old Vine Grenache 2004.

The wine is made from Granache grapes from vines planted way back in 1850. That's why it's so rare and hard to find. Again, I'm no expert, but as far as I'm concerned, it's nice to the last drop! haha!

BBQ at the Chen's

Had a great evening BBQ over at CP and Helena's new place. Me and Daisy were the earliest to arrive so we had a chance to take a picture together. Daisy then went off for a friend's hen party.

The place is simply great. Nice cluster condo with a fantastic rooftop area. Perfect for BBQ and drinks!

Unfortunately, I was so engrossed in the BBQ (the portable BBQ grill is a must have for anyone with a space in their home for BBQ!) that I forgot to take any other pictures of the event.

Soon It Will Be Christmas..

... and a Happy New Year!

UK & Europe Honeymoon - I

After being cramped in tiny seats in a plane full of ang mohs for 13 hours, the captain finally announced: "A very warm welcome to a great London summer day!".

I looked out the airplane window and thought; what a load of crap... where's the warmth, and, what summer?

Anyways, we took a train to the city and met Fu Onn. Long lost gay boyfriend on my honeymoon, like WTF huh? We went to Liverpool Street Tube station for breakfast.

Here's what Pinto's Full English Breakfast look like. And I'm not having anymore of that for the rest of the trip, thank you very much.

After late breakfast, we retreated to FuOnn's place to rest. His bachelor's pad is a real cool studio apartment.

The wife enjoying the view from the corridor.

The husband and his long lost boyfriend enjoying a gay moment.

Haha, what a honeymoon this is going to be! Now a bit too jet-lagged but the excitement will start tonight. Train to Manchester leaves in 2 hours!

Old Trafford Here We Come!

Hong Kong Jan 09 - Part 2

So Okay, I've been putting off completing the archiving of the X'mas/New Year trip to Macau and Hong Kong. I had tons of fun that time. Will just do a quick wrap up before me and Daisy go off for our long belated honeymoon. Yup! We're going on a honeymoon!

Anyways, Hong Kong was about food mostly. The food is good, and it doesn't help that food in HK is cheaper than in Singapore. But I wont be posting more shots of Dim Sum, don't worry. Hong Kong is also about maids congregating at Victoria Park.

It's also about great roadside munchies; Daisy's favourite being curry fish balls.


Also, if you've watched Hong Kong dramas/movies, you'll find vistas of terraced cemetaries. Kinda let you feel like Chan Ho Nam in one of those triad movies. Dunno what I'm talking about? Too bad for you then.

There are also plenty of "Missing" / "Lost" posters in town. From people who are really missing...

To "forget about it la" kinda missing pets.

But I tend to like the extra-ordinary, like going on a hike along the mountains of Hong Kong. The Dragon's Back Trail, anyone?

Starts off along wooded trails that can be kinda creepy if not for the occasional ang moh hikers you chance upon once in a while.

The trail eventually winds into the open hilltops that span the length of Hong Kong island.


I'm not sure if you could see it, but the trail seemed like it was never going to end! Up the side of one hill, down the other. Repeat for 9 peaks!


Yep, it's tiring all right! But the view from the trail, I assure you, is breath taking.


And the view gets better. With the cool sea breeze, it's a great feeling altogether.

Really glad we took the time to try something different.

From the Dragon's Back Trail, we ventured to Big Wave Bay and Shek O.

Sipping a beer at Big Wave Bay, I somewhat expected to see Grace Lam in some kinky action behind one of the big boulders on the beach. Also don't know who Grace Lam is? Then, really too bad lah.

Anyways, one trail I definitely do not look forward to hiking is the one tranversing Lantau Island to get to the giant statue of Buddha.

On the cable car looking down, we could see groups of hikers slowly making their way across the hills. The end of the cable car journey is the massively crowded Ngong Ping 360 themed villlage. (One tip on getting Cable Car tickets is to buy it a day earlier. Saved us 2 hours of queuing)

I've always met friends on trips overseas. This time is no different. Guess who we bumped into? Haha! Jensen and ShuZhen! Yeah, silly Liverpool fans, haha!

It's a good thing the Buddha is a Manchester United fan. Oh yeah, baby!

Lantau is also famous for silky smooth dou hua. Refreshing stuff.

Being a food lover, I find eating the roasted goose at Yue Kee a highlight of the trip.

It's located at some super ulu place. Somewhere in Sham Tseng actually. But boy is it good!

Salivating right now.. Another famous HK makan institution is Under Bridge Spicy Crab. We ordered the mildy spicy version that day as Daisy decided I was not to be allowed to eat spicy food. Will elaborate more later.

But I'll fefinitely go back to HK and order a properly spicy version of this dish; the spicy crab. Unlikely to be as good as the dishes at Mellben Ang Mo Kio but interesting nonetheless.

Having read of a toilet themed restaurant opening a few years ago, I sought it out and found it somewhere in Mongkok.

I would grade the experience as fun and interesting haha! Food is ma ma dei but it's the experience that matters.

Even our cups are in the shapes of urinals!

All that postings about food is making me real hungry right now. Already looking forward to going back to HK for makan. This time, I'll be more controlled. Back in January, I ate so much I suffered major indigestion. Feeling nauseous for one whole day, I finally had bouts of vomitting late one night. Daisy had to rush me to Ruttonjee Hospital and I had to have my butt jabbed by a lady doctor.

Luckily I was discharged a few hours after that but wasn't allowed to have a properly spiced Under Bridge Spicy Crab. But I recovered enough to celebrate the New Year at January the 1st 2009.

As well as my own birthday on January 2nd.

I love Hong Kong. Will definitely go back there again.

Yup, I believe I'll be seeing Hong Kong again pretty soon.