for Halloween

Belioz's Symphonie Fantastique
for your Halloween enjoyment

of Halva and Hafla

I have been researching sooji halva (otherwise, semolina pudding). Recipes are easy to come by, and most go by the ratio of 1:1:1:4 of butter:semolina:sugar:liquid. All sources say the dessert is good eaten cold or warm.

Most people prefer cold desserts to warm, especially with our climate. Take heed that the sooji halva made from the above recipe will set into a very thick unattractive and unappetizing gooey lump. After numerous unglorious tries, I find the best proportion is 1:1:1:8. For a dressier version, I'd skip the sugar, and make a syrup (lemon-, rosewater- or vanilla-flavoured) for adding to individual taste at time of serving.

This simple-to-make dessert was a big hit at dinner parties over the Deepavali weekend :)

Elsewhere, Belinda's tribal themed hafla was a big hit with the crowd. The performers put in a lot of effort to prepare for this.



The use of fire in their dance upped the spectaculo-quotient several notches. I feel like we celebrated the festival of lights in our own way:)

p.s. The next hafla by Belinda at Blu Jaz will be on Sunday, November 9.

p.p.s. November 9 date for hafla is cancelled. For updates, please check here.

I sseee ddouble

of everything the last three days. Like every face on television has 3 eyes.

Life as I knew it was becoming difficult eg I have difficulty figuring out where the extra fingers go on the typepad. Depth perception is also altered, so I can forget driving for now. I don't remember a time when I could see well without glasses or contact lens, but this latest vision problem is something completely out of my experience with poor eyesight.

Opthalmic tests today determined no glaucoma, no retinal tear, no neurological deficit. I am thankful for that. Likely cause of double vision is a decompensated squint in my left eye.

I have follow up tests next week to rule out any other ocular or neurological causes.

I am already trying to imagine an eye patch as an accessory...

p.s. I am not receptive to alternative course of management, so please do not make those recommendations even though I deeply appreciate your concern.

Don't say I never show you

... pictures by mkop of the recent opening of Egyptian themed restaurant Pyramisa.

A gala night and that woman

The gala event was to start at 7pm. That woman (i.e. the organiser) wasn't even there. The place was a third filled. No drinks were proffered; we all just sat at our assigned tables making polite chit chat, noticeably uncomfortable in the cavernous function room made worse by the barely-there air-conditioning.

Sometime before 8pm the woman made her grand entrance - every bit like the proverbial bad fairy gliding on halcion-induced oblivion in her black robe. She declared the evening started by informing the room that she was caught in traffic but she rushed and so here she was (finally). Oh was I ever so impressed with her public relations skills at that moment.

Everything about the evening was simply off the mark:

- There was the late start caused by the the organiser's tardiness.
- The evening started with 2 lovely dancers who held everyone's rapt attention.
- The mood of enchantment was abruptly broken when the emcee announced that we now please get to the buffet line for our food.
- No sooner had we returned to our table than the show resumed. (What's the rush?). Most platters were left untouched for the rest of the evening.
- The pressure was on the two international performers to carry the evening, since the other two highly publicised talents did not show. (No reason given; it was as if they were never scheduled in the line-up).
- And as clumsily as the evening started, it was all over.
- The time was 10:00pm.

My deepest respect goes to all the dancers for giving their everything in their performance. Especially our special friend who danced on our table (you know who you are; thank you for making the evening extra special for our table).

But I must voice my grievance about the gala event: when two out of four star draws failed to show, and no mention is made of it prior to or through the whole evening, I have to assert that there is something fraudulent about the marketing of this event.

A restaurant opening and this woman

I must have a short memory. I have forgotten about the extremely absurd and bizarre nature of this woman.

So when the bellydance girlfriend got all excited about the grand opening celebration of an Egyptian themed bar-restaurant and managed to get me an invitation, I agreed to go.

Only to be told at the door of the restaurant by the woman that this opening celebration is for special invited guests only. Of course the girlfriend's name could not be found on the guest list. I waited outside till the girlfriend showed up to talk our way back onto the invite list.

For my readers who are curious about the event :-

- the place got over crowded in the extreme (so much for special invitees only)
- the crowd was an enthusiastic lot of the happy bar drinking type
- forget the promise of a generous buffet spread - we subsisted on exactly 1 cheese puff, 1 buffalo wing and 1 samosa each
- the bar crew were going full hilt the entire time, so the girlfriend and I hung on to our 1 drink for the entire 2 hours that we stayed, quenching our thirst by sucking on every last ice cube left in our glasses
- the bellydancers were generous and gracious with their stage time, as always
- the rest of the time was taken up by a talkative emcee, audience games and a snake charmer. To be fair, the audience participants were great sports with dance and acting talent,
- from where we sat/stood, the girlfriend and I only caught bits and pieces of what went on on stage. A glimpse of wrist, a wisp of hair, a quick peek of red hip belt.

We left when the segment drew to a natural close and adjourned to a nearby restaurant to collect our senses. This competitor restaurant was an oasis of civilization to our frayed nerves.

We never went back to find out if there was a second segment to the evening. We had to shore up our energy to face another of the woman's events tonight.

October hafla by Belinda

Another exciting night presented by Belinda
at Blu Jaz on 25 October.

On his turning 50

His was one of the best big 5-0 birthday bashes I have been to.

He gathered his favourite people from all corners of the world - family, childhood friends, good neighbours, colleagues, business associates. He threw a party which is more about letting these people know he is happy to have them in his life than about having people show up to see him turn 50.

We came away feeling we understood so much more about him in this one evening than all the years before from the company he keeps.

May he meet many more good people who will become life-long friends in the years ahead.

These bad times

Every year around this time, the girlfriend comes through Singapore from Los Angeles for a day's layover before continuing to Kolkata.

Every year, I'd meet up with her for a long lunch, catch up on news of my friends back stateside, snap some quickie pictures of her and me, do some impulse shopping, and I'd see her off at the airport. Later in the evening, I'd email the pictures to the friends with a short message, saying how I'd really wished they'd been here too. And every time, I'd hear from them within a couple of days, all thrilled and excited with the news and pictures.

Not this time. It's been several days now, and no one has written back yet.

I had asked after them; specifically, I had asked how badly hit are they in this financial meltdown. The girlfriend said everyone is reeling from the financial fall-out, and fearing for the worst. It has to be bad because they have fully retired from employment for between 5 to 10 years. They would have sizeable amounts of their money in managed funds.

Their silence now screams calamity to me.

I feel so so bad, and worse that there is no help I can offer. Worst of all, I don't know when things will start to look up and feel alright again.

A weekend of Magdy el Leisy

Claribel gave us another unforgettable weekend of workshops with Magdy el-Leisy. As has become his signature style, the master teacher shared with us the world of belly dance that is filled with joy and humour.

Ever gracious, Magdy always takes the time to pose for those keepsakes pictures at the end of every session.

We will always look forward to training with Magdy whenever he is in town.

September

was the month

- we decided we will not be travelling anymore for the rest of the year. Seven trips in eight months is really over-doing a good thing. It was to have been Qingdao via Beijing in October.

- I started hula dance lessons; I love the the dance form.

- we picked up on the pig-out sessions again, and have been back to the newly discovered Zi Yean four times in the month. I sense burn out on the way, and soon.

- we made the decision to catch up with friends as often as we can for the remaining months of the year.

- we came home.