Singapore's National Day 2010

The bunch of Singaporeans who I usually hang out with. I'm so lucky and blessed to have them around. They make my life easier when it gets tough. We were advised to wear red and white but with our coat/sweater on, it's hard to tell what colours we are wearing. I was not wearing red because I brought 0 red clothes over. Most of my clothes are either black or white. Monochrome. The only other colour that I have is denim because I brought quite a few pairs of jeans.

Since National Day falls on a Monday this year (and it definately isn't a public holiday in Australia or Canberra), we, a bunch of Singaporeans who are studying in Canberra decided to celebrate it a day earlier with a potluck session.

As usual, I made baked rice because my group of friends love it. Not that I'm complaining. I sure am happy that my baked rice is a hit but I'm just a little sick of making it because it no longer is a challenge. I've made chicken gourmet sausages with broccoli baked rice, ham and sausages baked rice and seafood baked rice. Moreover, baked rice gives me sore and achy shoulders. It's a rather simple recipe but it's a long process which requires quite a bit of hard work. It doesn't help that the furniture and fixtures in Australia (such as the kitchen counter) is catered for Westerners, thus it will be a strained in my muscles for a petite Asian like me, especially when I spend too much time in the kitchen. Yes, I'm still having sore shoulders and strained neck after a good two days.

My legendary baked rice!

At times, I even have to tip toe while standing at the kitchen counter, just so that I can toss my food well or stir fry the food proportionately. Fried rice is another dish that requires a great deal of effort. Zzz. At times while cooking, I will start wondering what if my mum or Mel (my sis) are staying here with me in Canberra? How are they going to cook (given the fact that they are shorter than I am)? If I buy a stool for them to stand on, will they be tall enough to cook comfortably? Hahahahahas. Oh well ...

Helping to heat up the fried beehoon.

Another reason why I was reluctant to make baked rice was that, I'm dying to try out new recipes; recipes which my mum & sis sent to me and recipes which I've been surfing for the past few days.

Anyway, back to the main topic, I had great fun at the mini potluck session yesterday. It was nice to meet up fellow Singaporeans, even if it means to just sit around, chit chat and slack, taking a break away from books, notes and household chores. Best of all, the food I had yesterday made me feel at home. From fried bee hoon to baked rice to green curry to tang yuan to tau suan. Yums! I could barely resist the fried bee hoon; it tasted and made me felt so good that I continued eating despite feeling bloated. Hahs. That was how much I missed food from Singapore.

Very awesome fried beehoon cooked by Valerie, with the help of the Fenner Boys. Did I mention she was a fantastic cook? I'm so lucky to have a friend like her. Nice and sweet with good culinary skills!

The green curry went very well with the fried beehoon! Courtesy of Valerie and Fenner boys!

My friends were so patriotic that he downloaded past years' and this year's national day song and started blasting on his iPod with 4 speakers in the function room. The music was so loud (and probably annoying) that some random person from outside the function room slammed our door shut. Hahs.

My friends started commenting on how the national day songs remind them of home, how much they miss home and how much they wish they were in Singapore etc. For some odd reasons, I don't feel the same way. I sure miss the people, furries and the food but I don't feel homesick at all. Not that I am totally in love with the life here but I don't exactly dislike it enough to be homesick. Hmms ... I guess this must have disappointed many people back home in Singapore, who are reading my blog. Oh well, just think of it this way. I'm adapting well to my life in Canberra. Does that sound better?

I'm not a great fan of red bean or tau sar but I still ate a lot of red bean tang yuan because it tasted fantastic and I love it. Plus, it really makes me feel like I'm back in Singapore, eating from some hongkong cafe.

Anyway, there will be a gathering organised by ANU's Singapore Student's Association to celebrate National Day tonight at Haydon-Alleen Tank. Heard that there will be free food (probably Singapore/Asian style), a mini trivia (games with regards to Singapore. We were told to go read up our social studies textbook -.-'') and screening of the National Day Parade from 6.30pm to 11.00pm. The best part of the games is the goodie bags. They actually shipped 10 real goodie bags that were meant to be given out at National Day Parade, all the way from Singapore to Canberra. I thought that was amazing.

However, I will most likely give it a skip as I've got loads of readings to complete with pressing deadlines to meet. Plus, the event ends a tad too late for me. Sorry Jason, if you happen to read this.

Nonetheless, I'll most probably be catching the National Day Parade on live telecast via NDP 2010 Offcial Website. I guess that's what the most of us intend to do. By the way, this year's theme is Live Our Dreams, Fly Our Flag.