Sleepless in Singapore

6:45 a.m.

It's getting difficult to post nowadays. Too much tots yet can't find the words to write them down. Maybe juggling 2 blogs is too tedious. 26 more days and it's done.

Met up with my Uncle Ricky juz now which was like my 4th prefered choice, since the rest are all unavailable. He can be a little hmm...(how to say it without sounding offensive?) but I was glad he was there. At least I had someone to talk to. Actually not really talking...more like listening to me. Everyone wants to say everything about themselves nowadays and it's so hard to get good listeners. They are very highly-appreaciated in my list! Or maybe I am juz plain selfish?

And I spoke about KL again (it's pissing all my buddies!) and her charms. I was ranting away about how much I enjoyed cities like KL, BKK and JKT and how mundane I find Singapore. Somehow or rather, 'safe' Singapore is juz too controlled. She lacks the soul and vibrancy of the others...an edge...a thin line between bright city lights and dark seedy alleys. Wat can REALLY go wrong here? Uncle Ricky muz be muddled listening to my complaints when suddenly... out of the blue, I came out with a simplied analogy of the situation....

Imagine 3 chefs (we shall call them S, M and T..), and these 3 are famous for their bak ku tehs (bkt for short)

M is a famous for his herbal bkt and has been doing his recipe for the last 20 yrs. In a street-side stall of rustic KL, he serves his dish in old used plates and bowls. The presentation is not neat, and might even turn away some. But the real deal lies in his traditional style of preparing this classic dish, and every sip of his soup makes one craves for more...

T is trained in the old school of bkt preparation. But highly-innovative, he decided to incorporate some 'thai' elements into this chinese dish. Years of trials and errors later, he invented his tom yam bkt. Experience has taught him to perfect his craft and though he too, has no fancy presentation to boot. His spicy servings never fail to torch any tongues and every hearts.

Now S is not a master, nor has any recipes. But he has been trained to always learn, analyse and research before action. He understood his rivals' strengths and carefully highlighted their flaws. First he will set up a clean small eatery in a cozy corner. His plates & bowls will be new and standardized. Before even convincing his clients to eat his bkt, he wanna convince them to eat IN his beautiful shop. Then he studied his rivals' recipes and remaked something with a blend of both. To cut preparation time, he even came up with a standard ingredients in a sealed pack so that he can maximise his outputs. For revenue, he even marketed those packets to supermarkets and mini-stores, and now, everyone can enjoy his speciality in the comfort of their homes!! How's that for a win-win formula?!? Everyone's liked his bkt but somehow...it's juz not traditionally-authentic and spicy enough to leave a mark in the art of bkt...

WELL, THAT'S SINGAPORE FOR YOU!

Despite the highly-acclaimed efficiencies, urbanizations, infrastructures, mulit-racial co-existences and blah blah blah in Singapore....something is missing. The human touch? The local flavour? That distinctive feel?

Are we all frogs trapped in our own urbanized wells?


Think abt it.