The Moth

Noticed a tiny little moth in my office toilet today.

For whatever reasons, I started to wonder how this tiny little creature entered the building. In order to reach the male toilet, it would first have to pass 5 doors (4 glass, 1 wooden) before reaching the toilet, not forgetting the metal once when riding up on the lift.

So, did it piggyback itself on the shoulder of one of the many faceless office workers who throng through the building each day? Or did it hitch a ride in the darkness of one of the many bags carried by these people?

Is it the only moth in the building?

Will it ever find a mate?

Will someone casually flatten it just because it’s stationary on the wall?

Guess I will never know.

Hmmm… I wonder if these are the questions an alien of higher consciousness would ask if they observe us humans under the microscope. Hah! A weird day indeed when the Fieldmarshal muses about the life of a tiny moth.

What has Jeon Ji Hyeon got to do with Fieldmarshal?

What has Korean superstar Jeon Ji Hyeon has in common with me?

Well, nothing, except we share… the same birthday!

Happy birthday Jeong Ji Hyun!!!

Happy birthday to me too!!!

Jumong – 朱蒙神话

 

Have heard about the K-drama Jumong before it even hit the airwaves in Singapore. After watching Daejungeum (大长今), I am not sure if Korea can produce another drama of similar quality. Well, the Koreans once again have a winner in the form of MBC’s Jumong.

I am currently watching episode 16 of the 100 plus parter on Starhub’s. This story has me riveted to my seat. The palace intrigues and factional in-fighting that Prince Ju Mong goes through does not pale in comparison to those suffered by 长今.

Each episode ends with a cliff-hanger leaving viewers like me willing time to move faster so that I can watch the next episode. If not for the fact that the dvd set cost close to $200, I would be breezing through the episodes by now.

Guess I will have to be patient and wait out the 24 hours before the next episode. Before I forget, Jumong stars Song Il-Gook, of The Art of Seduction fame, as Prince Ju Mong and Han Hye Jin, of Be Strong Geum Soon, as Soh Suh No. As on-screen couples go, this pairing is pretty photogenic and do have some chemistry between them. But then again none can beat the Gong Yoo/Yoon Eun Hye pairing in The First Shop of Coffee Prince.

While I am more than certain that Jumong will eventually end up with Soh Suh No, I can’t wait to see how they overcome the various obstacles in their paths.

Shillawon

My fascination with Korea and its culture started after watching the classic Korean drama Daejangeum. Well, what’s a better way to get interested in a culture than through its television dramas? Then again, there’s always the culture’s food.

Finding Korean food in Singapore is easy. Hop into any one of the foodcourts and you are likely to find a Korean food stall selling dishes such as Bibimbap or jigae (or Korean thick soup/stew).

The challenge then is finding good Korean food.

I admit that I am not a connoisseurof Korean cuisine, but I know good food when I taste it. And I tasted some good, actually pretty good, Korean food today.

Everybody knows that Suntec City is bursting at its seams with good restaurants. There’s Muthu’s Curry, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao, Crystal Jade Kitchen, and Carl’s Jr. But does everyone know that there’s this Korean restaurant – Shillawon – at the 3rd storey? Well, I didn’t! It was a pleasant surprise since none of the restaurants in Suntec appealed to us at that moment.

So in we go.

Shillawon is a cosy Korean restaurant that has a similar feel to Crystal Jade Ginseng Chicken BBQ restaurant at Ngee Ann City. All similarity ends there.

Shillawon has none of the claustrophobic feel that Crystal Jade at Ngee Ann is well known for. This restaurant is spacious, well-lit and tastefully decorated. There’s also the signature BBQ hotplate, hidden under a golden cover, in the middle of the table.

For meat lovers, there’s the usual plethora of BBQ meats to choose from. For the “not so much meat for me” diners, Shillawon also serves a variety of jigae, soups, and hotplates (kimchi, vegetables and meat).

Ever a fan of kimchi, I order the Jehyook Bokum(Spicy Fried Pork with Kimchee) set.

The set consists of a hotplate, with kimchi and pork still sizzling in their juice, banchan (side dishes – more kimchi, sprouts, greens, soup), slices of watermelon, rice and soup. I expected the dish to be really spicy since it had a “3 chili” mark in the menu. But the kimchi, though spicy, was not hot enough for me to call out for iced water.

The kimchi and pork had a nice sweet tangy taste to it. The sweetness blended well with the “sourish” taste of the kimchi. It was heavenly when mixing up the kimchi, pork and fragrant rice. It there’s a moment to describe the perfect blend of tastes coming together, it was then.

The food was not only good. It was reasonable priced. At $8+++, I considered it really cheap compared to the prices charged by Crystal Jade Ginseng Chicken BBQ. If you are looking for a nice Korean meal with a nice ambience, then Shillawon is highly recommended.

Here’s how to get there.

Shillawon Korean Cuisine
Suntec City Mall (Sky Garden)
#03-10/12Singapore 038983
Tel: 63393313

Yoon Eun Hye in Milan

Was reading the latest news on Korean entertainment when I chanced upon 2 photos of Yoon Eun Hye. The photos were apparently shot at Milan in September when she attended a fashion event there. The dress she’s wearing was given to her by the fashion house. Don’t you think the dress suit YEH to a T.

My wife thinks I am becoming a “teeny bopper”. I do not know what to make of that. Although I have to admit that the teeny booper age did pass me by when I was a teenager. Guess I am just catching up on what I missed out then. At least I am not dressing up my bedroom with her posters and collectibles. I just enjoy reading news about her and Korean entertainment in general.

Feeling Connected

Life is a mysterious thing.

There are days where I am totally adrift. I have no idea why am I in office, why am I doing what I am doing or what’s the meaning to life?

And there are days like these when I feel totally engaged in life, finding meaning in my work, and enjoying everything I do.

Guess it has to do with the question of “What’s the purpose of life?” Yupgi asked me this very question some days back. Being the non-reflective sort, I have never asked myself that question, and neither was this  the first time the question was posed to me.

I struggled to come up with an answer. Actually, I was stumped. All I could muster was “My purpose is to lead a simple, happy life.” Yupgi, in all her wisdom accepted it, although I have a feeling that she doesn’t think that one’s purpose in life should be as simple as that.

While that moment for reflection has passed, the question has continued to play in my mind. In some way, it has become a mantra in assessing everything I have done over the last few days.

When approaching an activity or task, my mind would ask “Does this activity serve any purpose in my life?” This conitnued “questioning” has an effect of helping me prioritise my daily activities. No doubt playing the World of Warcraft and watching the latest Korean drama still takes up my time, but I feel more in control of life.

While I have yet to find the defining purpose in life, I am glad to have such a wise wife to guide me along.

Impulse Button

I am not sure how others view me. But in my mind’s eye, I see a guy who’s generally happy-go-lucky, but can be really prickly in certain situations. Yes, I bristle like an agitated porcupine when people push the right, or more correctly - wrong, emotional “red” buttons to trigger off this prickly demeanour of mine.

Today I learnt that these buttons are known as “impulse buttons”.

I have already known for some time that a particular acquaintance of mine revels in pushing these impluse buttons to trigger off a tirade from me. I have no idea why the person does it. Is it for fun? Or is it to teach this supposedly proud person, moi, a lesson? Yes, I do admit my ego can be irritating sometimes, but I never mean any harm to people. All I know is that this person has no place in my life’s inner or even the extended circle. I have excluded this person from my life as such a behaviour runs directly across the grain of my being and belief system. While I can be capable of mean actions, I can say that such actions are always a reaction to provocations, imagined or real, but I do not exercise my understanding of a person to hurt that person. I cannot say the same for this person.

As Uncle Ben says:

“[Spidey] with great powers come great responsibilities”

Some people just abuse the talents bestowed on them. I find that really sad. Thanks goodness that this person is no longer within the distance to hurt my any longer.