Sat Indoors at Queen of Wok

This would be the first time I sat indoors at Queen of Wok. LOL No dogs accompanied us tonight. How novel! I was a bit iffy about sitting indoors with all the food smells (ventilation is okay, but not great) and so close to other tables. 

Skipped alcohol tonight. Had barley and lemon-honey things. There were six of us at the table. That meant we could order a number of items; there would be something for everyone. We still couldn't do that much food. We shouldn't have leftovers to tapau home! Cannot!

We had a medium pot of fish soup in a charcoal pot, a classic chye poh omelette, fried pork belly, bittergourd in bean paste, sambal kang kong, prawn paste chicken wings, stir-fried mi xian, and squid with salted egg yolk. We only had two bowls of rice for this table of six. Ahahahaha. Nobody wanted much refined carbs. Well, there was the mi xian. 

It was a superbly satisfying dinner. It's comfort food that the table welcomes after a very loooong week at work. It was very nice to wind down and just chat. 

SIFA :: ‘Colony - A True Colors Project’

So glad that I managed to catch ‘Colony’ at SIFA. A True Colors project produced by Audrey Perera, the multimedia dance show is inspired by the collaborative movements in an ant colony. It celebrates the diversity of the structure and the inter-changing roles within an ant colony, transcribing them to human interactions, emotions and the seeking of self and identity in a fragmented world.

Along with artistic director Remesh Panicker, the choreographers, music composers, film director, and sound, set and lighting designers, the thirteen dancers from Singapore, Southeast Asia and Japan created an imaginary world of an ant colony. Two groups of humans live in a run-down tenement, made distinct by their chosen clothes and sense of fashion. Then we have the Lone Wolf and the Wanderer. We see the web of emotions and relationships portrayed by the dancers. 

The 75-minute show (no intermission) was interspersed with footage of the rehearsals and the thoughts of the dancers and choreographers. I thought that was a brilliant touch. It didn't matter that dance usually held no footage. This is a contemporary show, touted as multi-disciplinary, so anything goes. The contemporary dance had moments of quiet and also violent ‘fights’. 

Among the thirteen dancers, there were six dancers with disabilities. The six dancers incorporated their disabilites into the choreography and didn’t let that deter them from expressing their emotions on stage. They poured their heart into the movements. They presented their struggles to live together, to collaborate in spite of their differences, personal challenges and aspirations. 

I enjoyed the show. It was very well put-together. The movements were very coherent and fluid, and its message — determined and powerful. 

Producer Audrey Perera wanted the audience to know that this wasn’t a charity show or a fundraiser. In an interview with CNA Women, she elaborated on her viewpoints and opined, 

Many also think that artistes with disability “are not at the same level and hence lower their expectations”, but that is simply not true, Perera said.

“When you have different bodies performing together, obviously not everybody’s going to be technically perfect. But dance is not just about technical perfection. It’s about self-expression, communicating emotion through that movement,” she told CNA Women.

“The fact is that in every human, there is the desire, the need to self-express. And dance is a way to self-express. Watching this is very powerful and poignant,” she reflected.

But don’t watch it through a lens of pity. Artistes with disabilities want to be seen for who they are, not defined by their disability, Perera stressed.

“The thing I’m learning from these artistes is that we are the ones who fixate on their disability. They don’t. They get on with their lives. They express themselves, they work, they live, they find their ways around the disability,” she said.

Province X Journe

Had to have dinner at Province when Chef Law Jia-Jun rustled up a collaboration menu with chefs of Journe, Ethel Koh and Guah Lih. There was so much thought and effort put into the creation of the menu, as well as illustrating it and printing it out. A touch of alcohol would be lovely. Instead of a full bottle or a carafe, we took the suggested 5-pour sake pairing alongside the food. 

Described as a 'nine-course journey across Southeast Asia', I had no idea what the menu would include. There would be no dietary substitutions, so this wasn’t a meal friendly to those who require specific dietary tweaks. Also, I'd have to pop antihistamines like for two days prior to this meal and two days after. 

The greens were gorgeous. I didn't know what else to call it but an Asian salad. If you're making me eat greens, do it this way, not just give me raw sad leaves. I love greens done like this. The bowl held ulam raja, mustard greens, acacia shoots, wild pepper leaves, paku fern, wing bean, jambu and corn flowers. Each leaf was cooked differently and meshed well together. 

The reef squid was so delicately sliced and mixed with bell peppers and passionfruit, and sprinkled with the right bit of habanero for that tiny bit of kick in this dish. I loved loved loved the fish. They used soon hock and crisp the skin up (similar to what chefs do to tilefish scales). Paired with fermented mango and yam, the entire presentation and flavors of the marble goby were on point. 

The duck breast with crisp skin was done beautifully, seared withe orange and coffee. I was delighted that the rest of the duck was minced, and topped with purple rice from Mae Hong Son in Thailand. That was a splendid bowl of carbs. The kitchen was not done. They also simmered broth — there was duck consommé to go along with it. Wow! There was so much umami. 

Now the desserts. I'm a fan of Ethel's bakes. That's not to say I'd eat all of it because at the end of the day, I'm not into sweets and desserts. I'd love a taste of good ones that my palate would enjoy. The main dessert was a concoction of watermelon, pink guava and white tea. Tonight, the cute oolong financiers and celtuce ice-cream wafer thingy totally got my attention. CELTUCE. 

It was such a memorable dinner. This collaboration at Province worked delightfully.