Out of the middle of the jungle

Growing up and staying in a place your whole life doesn't mean you know all about it, esp since you've been away for the past 3 years. I found a little piece of rustic charm of Indochina in KL, situated in a place quietly and discreetly tucked away in the corner of Ampang, called Tamarind Springs.







I came here for my belated birthday celebration...thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was delicious (and do expect hefty price tags) but most importantly, the ambience was unique, befitting of special occassions.

Starters consist of a variety of fish cakes, rice-rolls (Vietnamese popiah), prawns and savoury little spoons of mixed vegetable. Cue the cameras flashing away on the big platter of aromatic & tasty delicacies. Quite a good start to the meal ahead.

We've decided on a meal of 'seafood'. My favourite is the soft-shell crab in coconut curry...it was neither spicy nor overpowering, just yummy & crunchy. How I wish portions were bigger as there were only 4 little crabs for the two of us (remember, this ain't Sri Lankan crabs)...at least we had more to come.

The next 2 dish were typical Thai fare - mixed vegetable in fish sauce and grilled salmon with spinach in savoury sauce. Nothing much to shout about, but at least these are healthy alternatives to typical fried and super-spicy Chinese food.

Dessert was different from the theme of the night, as we ordered from Il Tempio, the Italian restaurant on the floor below. When the tiramisu and durian cheesecake arrived, I would say that the tiramisu was forgettable although the durian cheesecake was quite unique.

The entire place was fully booked but you could see (from the pic below) that it's far from full. Ambience was perfect but I would say that it's pricey and the place was inaccessible to anyone without a car. Anyhow, this is still a pretty unforgettable and magical-looking place.

Gooood week

Wow…what an inspiring week! The whole week represent a series of events that threw big spanners in my descent towards mediocre spirit and lackluster, demotivated living. I’m back to my hype-whatever, motivated and optimistic self all thanks to the following events….



Since I begin to blog enthusiastically again, guess I am back to being CPD again. I always feel better towards the end of the year, especially as thanksgiving,my birthday, Christmas and new year approach. Maybe the end of the year bonus helps (HAHA, I wish)



So, started the week in a new posting – adult cardiac surgery work means a lot of excitement and long hours in the OT. ..some of the things I LURVE most in practicing medicine. The other perks are of course, numerous, i.e getting medicine whenever I want, knowing when to stop and also to start running, wearing the amorphous, monochromatic ‘pyjamas’ in the workplace (a.k.a scrubs) and the list goes on. But I digress.








Anyway, spent some time cutting up, uh, I mean operating on people and literally giving them a new life is really fascinating. When we put people on bypass machine, we are inducing death. Modern-Lazarus- work per se is not everyone’s cup of tea. Every case involves extremely long hours and super steep, unforgiving learning curve. Guess there are pros and cons to everything in life, ain’t it?

Other than spending time in the OT, of course I see patients in the clinic. For the first time since medical school, I actually learnt lots while sitting in with the chief himself. Never knew I could work and learn in a fun way before.

The biggest inspiration of the year came in the form of an emergency case that only the most courageous team will think of going in. I mean, the patient has already seen the light at the end of the tunnel once. That being said, we still bit the bullet, went ahead with a life-saving decision and with everyone’s full consent and knowledge, gave the family a final hope, with the only possible effort.

Although the patient has passed on a few days later, this experience left an indelible mark on my life – something clicked in the jigsaw puzzle and I rediscovered the meaning of why I am here. It’s to do our best under fire, even when all hope is gone. God gave us the skills and talents, it’s up to us whether we are good stewards, whether we leave a legacy behind, should we perish. Incredible enlightenment.

Then, I read this book called ‘BORN TO RUN’ by Christopher McDougall. I recommend it to any runners and anyone wanting to change their life. It was such an empowering and exciting tome. The Tarahumara people are downright wonderful that I felt like picking up a backpack and joining them for a year or two. I will no longer look at running the same way again. We are truly bio-designed to run…our feet are wonderful engineering feat that propels us at long distances….extremely long distances. So much so that I started running again the past few days 

If there is one book that any runner is born to read, its BORN TO RUN...the book that triggered the wildly-popular barefoot running craze nowadays and the extreme ultra-distance runners like my dear fren, AYPS. (Unsponsored Promotion, courtesy of the National Library Board of Singapore)

After feeling really inspired mentally, professionally and physically, the final icing on the cake is the spiritual blessing that I encountered today as we celebrated Thanksgiving – a massive gathering of a family of 5000 people at our Paya Lebar complex.

Pastor reminded us of our role and existence in Singapore – to be leaders, to go where no one has gone before, to create a model when there aren’t any. This is what we call strategic leadership. Other than a power-packed sermon, we had a performance and a free dinner for the massive crowd. Logistics were impeccable as everyone was stuffed, happy and comfortable.

The lesson of the week : Reading can be a dangerous activity - it can change the way you live, forever :-)

Monday, September 27, 2010

Transformed! Part 1

I'm home and already I miss the happy, friendly people, the delicious bryani of Hyderabad and the van-rides everyday:-P.....Seriously speaking, I have never been so grateful for everything in my life. How can I begin to describe the things I have witnessed in India, the heart-breaking testimonies of the orphans and the slums dwellers there? It ain't how Hollywood painted it to be, in case you begin to visualize Slumdog Millionaire (although it is a very good movie, nothing beat the real life experience). This is faith in motion, reaching out to the needy and giving what we can to those with open hearts.




There are no pictures, except for those in my mind, and no proper words to describe how I felt when I first saw the squalid dwelling tents that these people inhabit. No sanitation, no proper electricity, no walls, no doors, no beds, no kitchens...I couldn't believe it at first that families actually fight for survival on a daily basis in such a condition. After an initial few hours of denial, I accepted what I see before me. God removed the sense of hopelessness that filled my heart in the beginning,and gradually I see the fighting spirit and the hunger for self-actualization, love and medical care among these people.





As we played with the orphans and children in the slums, I could sense the love and light of Christ permeates through their lives. So many abandoned and lonely little children began to emerge from their former shells and blossomed into sweet, well-behaved and loving kids.





The cute munchkins have no Internet, television, Toys R Us...just donated clothes, simple food and each other. Yet, with their beaming smile and huge, intelligent eyes, they welcomed us as we sang songs of praise together, played games, learned various skills and acted Bible stories together. When we as temporary sojourners in their lives prayed for them, I could sense the covering of God's protection and grace upon their lives.




Some of the children told me that they want to be medical doctor, software engineer, artists as they gave me huge hugs. What I hope for is that the children could sense the love we have for them although we could only spend a few days with them. I hope that they will grow up strong and healthy, that they could achieve their dreams for I see so much potential and hope in each of them.




When we were at the medical camps, again there is this powerful atmosphere that swept across the village as we set up camp. The first camp was in this hot, dry village that seemed so remote. The 2 local doctors told us that this is the first time the organization has gone into this village. I was overwhelmed, not with the amount of patients...hehe, I felt like a mini-celebrity for the day :-) but with the reception and how much of honour and gratitude the villagers accorded to us. I saw all the women who needed medical attention while my colleagues saw the men. As the village is very far away from the nearest hospital, I am not sure whether they can go for further investigation but we gave our best and referred some to further care.





At the same time, the rest of my team-mates were busy doing a lot of things...playing with the children in the courtyard in front us on our verandah, under the bright sun and deep blue sky. Some of us were speaking to the villagers, praying and releasing blessing upon the villagers who came to us. When we left at sunset, although many of us were sunburnt and exhausted (all of us dozed off in the long, bumpy and warm journey back to Hyderabad) awashed with the afterglow of a precious and soul-enriching experience.





The next medical camp was an equally amazing experience as we saw patients in the city slums, under the shelter of a half-finished building (a.k.a. construction site). The spectrum of patients were different but the crowd came despite heavy rain and strong winds. We saw more babies and mothers this time as the adult men seemed to be out working. After the strong heat of the first camp, indeed the cool weather was a huge blessing to us as we see patients after patients non-stop.




To be continued.....

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Lookin' forward

Heya...been a while since we last chatted. Well, it's been a crazy month for me as I fully had this baptism of fire in my new department. The good news is: I'm leavin on a jetplane. Up, up and away! I'm going to the ancient land of (drum-rolls please)....INDIA!




What's more, I am going with a team of like-minded people who are really making a difference in our community and in other communities beyond our shores. The past few months has been very demanding as we trained and prepared for this trip amidst all our work, family, social commitments even as we pray that we'll fully shine for Christ in all that we do.



No pics yet, as I intend to post up lotsa pictures from this trip in 1-2 weeks' time. So, in the meantime, do pray for us as we go do some good. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

An oasis of peace in the Orchard

Hi...I'm back! After weeks of crazy activities, I can finally blog about something which means I have a day off. Phew, a hectic start to a very interesting posting.







This time I choose to blog about a beautiful place in the middle of Orchard...smack in the centre of the O road (mid point) at the rooftop of Orchard Central, there is this Vietnamese place called Nuoc.







Nuoc is one of those upmarket Vietnamese joints that people take their dates on, to impress some clients or just to chill out. Ambience is absolutely superb and tranquil, although I bet it'll look very different at night as you gaze across the skyline.









We were the first people to arrive, thus it appeared really exclusive initially. However, groups of diners trickled in as we began eating. Being situated at the rooftop, it's not in the middle of pedestrian traffic, thus it takes very discerning diners to search and locate this place.










My favourite dish is the appetizer, which is the deep fried vietnamese chicken spring rolls. The spring rolls has this amazingly thin and crispy skin and this dish was accompanied with some fresh and fragrant fish sauce. I'm very picky when it comes to fried food as I often get bad throat from eating food fried in poor-quality recycled oil, but not a trace of that from the spring rolls offered here. Quite a good start, eh?









My next favourite dish is this tantalizing scrumptious chicken that was sauteed with lotsa lemongrass, ginger and onions. M said that this is her favourite dish. I think it went very well with the perfectly cooked fluffy white rice.








The vegetable stew, on the other hand, it's a hit and miss thing. It can be considered a hit because it's so healthy and simple, but a miss because the dish doesn't justify the price. Hardly any skills needed, although the portion is relatively big.










We ended the meal with a yam, coconut milk and glutinous rice dessert that really makes you feel like dozing off straight away. It's so high-carb and high loaded in simple sugar that I could only take 2 spoonfuls. I've never liked any desserts so I shall not comment on it.







What's the major plus point? Ambience and location. I love the garden and the decor. The service is superb and the people helping us were very attentive and prompt. As for the food, I think the standard of food is upper average and the cost, well, it's Orchard Road, I guess this is what I expected (which is on the high-ish range). I think I will come again, but not on a regular basis...just to experience this place at night. In the meantime, I think the bosses should expand on the menu and offer a bigger selection.

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