Slice of cake, slice of life

Hello, dear readers!

Just a few things I came across today and thought, hey, cool - I should blog about it!

Several people have asked me what we eat, and if we are cooking a lot (like we used to). To be honest, no, we are hardly cooking much of anything! Factors leading to this include: a) There is no oven in our condo (or most apartments in Singapore); b) Jacob and I usually don't get home until close to 7pm on a normal night, so we tend to either throw together sandwiches or easy food at home, or are lured out to the nearby hawker center for yummy and relatively cheap food; c) It is flippin' hot in the kitchen, even before turning on the stove! Does not make cooking experiments as enticing...

However, I couldn't let Jacob's birthday go by without a cake! So, taking a tip from a coworker, I made a cake out of cake batter flavored pancakes, from a recipe found here! And then I piled them up and frosted them with homemade chocolate butter cream, flavored with Milo (the hot chocolate drink mix) and cayenne pepper - because, after all, the cake was for Jacob "Chili Peppa" Dalager!

Happy 25th Birthday Jacob!! Our roommates, Abdullah and Tanja, gave Jacob purple socks (because it is his favorite color) and chocolate!

Tonight after work I went to a view a few apartments - we are hunting for our next place - and grabbed a quick dinner at a hawker center nearby. I got one of Singapore's most famous and beloved dishes - Chicken Rice. It is simple but delicious, and people can get very serious about their chicken rice. This time I got roasted chicken rice - but you can get it steamed and even fried in some places. You eat it with a rich, black sauce and a chili sauce too. This whole meal, including the 100 Plus, cost S$3.60 (about US$2.90). And the other awesome thing - when you're done, you just get up, leave your tray and dishes, and walk away! Talk about luxury. Add that to my list of reason we cook less: d) dishes pile up a lot faster when you don't have a dish washer!

Soup with thin slices of corn on the cob floating in it - strange but tasted good. Roasted chicken rice, with accompanying sauces, and 100 Plus (a refreshing grapefruity soda).

This was just a funny thing I saw when crossing the street:

Press For Green Man!? He has a NAME, GOSH!

And this happened to me in the mall: I was passing through on the way to the MRT (remember, there are malls just EVERYWHERE), and decided to check out a clothing store and try a few things on. I grabbed my usual medium size and headed into the dressing room. It wasn't until I had the blouse halfway over my head that I felt the fabric tighten and the seams lurch in protest that I had the thought: "Hannah, you're in Asia. Do you think the sizes might be just a little different here?"
Well, I'm not saying I actually got stuck in the shirt...nope, you won't hear me actually admit it. But I will confirm that, yes, sizes are smaller - and are designed with a rather 'svelte' body in mind. I did cave in and embrace the mall culture though, buying a cute brown blouse (size large for sure!).

That's it for now! Selamat malam! (Good evening/night in Malay)