Etna Italian Restaurant Duxton Hill - my review.

 As promised earlier, here is my review of Etna the Italian Restaurant at Duxton Hill. We had booked a table for 4 at this fine dining restaurant at Duxton HIll to celebrate my younger son's birthday celebration yesterday 25th October. 

The young man is currently working at a local bank in the IT department, and he agreed to this once in a while treat for us. I am very mindful of eating less sugar and salt, and at the same time, I need to cut my intake of carbohydrates as much as possible, as I attempt to reduce my overall weight to around 72 - 73 kg. 

I am still a good 3 kg off this target. But with sheer willpower and a body ready for all activities I will do it. This once in a while 'celebration' always bumps up my weight, so I really need to get the machine going for the days ahead.

I have put the dishes in backward serving order, as they all look so good. Anyway, here below is my review. 

                                             Baked to Perfection ; 9.5 out of 10 for the flavor 

                                                       Salt Baked Turbot 

This is the Piece de la Resistance or the Magnus Opus of the meal. The dish to end all dishes.

The salt on the turbot was baked with a small fire for the show. Once the salt had come off, the fish was then deskinned and deboned to perfection. Inside the meat was oh so tender, and juicy with the hint of the salt in the background. It hit all the right notes for me and the rest of us. 

                                              Salt Baked Turbot with Garden Vegetables 

The visual spectacle was worth it and the neighbouring tables were all a little envious we had this. But then again, its a special day so it befits a special dish doesn't it ? The grilled garden vegetables were a little underdone, especially the capsicum but the visual appeal of the side dishes puta nice counter to the all while deep sea fish.

Rating : 10 / 10

                                         Florentine Tomahawk Steak (Medium Doneness) 

Florentine Tomahawk steak ($14 per 100 kg, so it costs about $150 to $160 and can feed up to 4). The steak was a little chewy but the doneness (we prefer medium compared to the traditional medium rare) was what we ordered. I normally eat my well made steaks without any condiments or sauces. This is to ensure I get the best taste, and boy did this one taste good !

Rating : 9.5 / 10 (a tad chewy but no matter to my sons who loved this).

                                Etna Pizza (Parma Ham, Mozarella Cheese, Cream Cheese, Pistachio) 

This is a very nice surprise, the Etna Pizza. Made in a stone fired oven, the flavor is fantastic, with the right balance of salt and cheesiness all in one dish. The crust was not too thin, neither was it too thick, so all of us really enjoyed the Signature Pizza. 0 complaints

Rating : 10 / 10 

                                        Burrata Cheese with Parma Ham and Rocket Vegetable

The Burata was also superb, with the right cheesy texture and counterbalance with the Parma Ham and wild rocket vegetables.  It went down very well with everybody. 

Rating : 10 / 10. 

                                                 Squid with Chickpeas (Calamari e Ceci) 

The starter which started it all. Man this was a real tender calamari. We knew we were in for a treat yesterday. Again, kudos to the chef for making our appetites whet for more. 

Rating : 10 / 10

Overall

1. Food : 10 / 10

2. Ambience : 9 / 10

3. Service    : 9 / 10 (attentive but sometimes a bit slow in the food pacing between the starter and the mains).

4. Price      : 9.5 / 10.

Overall      : 9.4 / 10  - Near Perfect.

Will we visit again : You Bet ! 

Etna at Duxton

49/50 Duxton Road

Singapore 089513

Goodbye my swim friend Kelvin Wee. You were a really good person.

 

2 days ago I received sad news that an old friend of mine from the swimming days passed away. Kelvin Wee and I swam competitively some 45 to  50 odd years for the Singapore Swimming Club, of which I am still a member. 

We lost contact around 1979 or 1980 when we all went separate ways, I enlisted into National Service at the end of 1980, and our family lost contact with many of the swim buddies. To date, to the best of my knowledge a few of our swim buddies from swimming club days have passed on - this is a stark reminder to myself to let the small things not cause me anxiety as these are part and parcel of life and anxiety does not improve our life's situation one single bit.

The list of the dearly departed swimmers from our time (I happened to be the Boys Swimming Captain from 1974 - 1978 for the Club) are shown below :

a) Chng Ho Kiat

b) Leslie Cheong

c) Khoo Teng Chuan

d) Kelvin Wee

We were swim mates and he was a good head taller than me. He is younger by 1 year to me. He excelled at butterfly stroke and freestyle, if my recollection serves me right.  He was a sweet soul, and he has a younger brother Konrad Wee who is based in Canada. Brother Konrad is perhaps 3 years younger than me. 

He was the founder of the Vimaan Suan Foundation rescue shelter. I had lost contact with him so long, and we did not keep in touch for almost 50 years. I do recall he had a very caring and compassionate heart, so doing this as his life's work is true to his nature. He helped so many rescue animals from what I can read through the organization's Facebook page not just locally but also in the South East Asian region (Laos other neighbouring countries come to mind). 

Dear Kelvin, you are at peace now. Your good deeds have indeed made this harsh world a much better place.

You will be missed. Though the years have slipped by, you are still and always will be my friend. 

Rest well my friend.

Macular Hole , Surgery Treatment and Recovery - Miracle No. 1

The Problem - the vitreous gel tugs on the centre of the retina and tears a small gap or hole blurring and distorting central vision. 

Last year end June and early July time, I had my 2 eyes cataracts operations done. The surgery was performed skillfully by Dr. Wesley Chong of Eagle Eye Centre and I had been a regular patient of his since then. I had another follow-up with him in November 2025, as I had experienced some eye flashes in the night, and I was concerned it may have been something serious. That was roughly 11 months ago. After thorough checks, I was given the 'all clear' from him and that my eyes were 100% OK. 

I was then supposed to see his team next in March 2026 but I kept postponing the visit due to my mentality "oh there is nothing wrong with my eyesight, why bother, leave it till later !". That is a big mistake - to be nonchalant about a sense as precious as my eyesight.

Sometime in June / July this year I noticed my central vision on my right eye was detierorating, I thought to myself, ah eye strain.  I just need reading glasses.

The surgeon makes 3 tiny insertions into the eye to remove the vitreous gel which caused the hole in the retina 

I decided to put off seeing my good doctor, for a couple of month, in fact, I put it off almost 6 months !

In July, while I was watching the Netflix series Pursuit of Jade, I could see that the character's faces were scrunched up if I used only one eye (my right) to see. The faces looked like something out of a cartoon. Again I put off seeing my good doctor. My bad.

By late September, I was triggered by a comment by a very good friend, Albert Ee who had a similar affliction, when we met for drinks, at the end of September. His comments really got me going, as I was just so nonchalent and blase about my supposed eye 'condition'.

1st October, I decided there and then to visit my eye surgeon and after extensive tests, it was confirmed without a doubt  that indeed I had a hole in the macular - the central portion of the retina. I shudder to think that if I had delayed longer what my condition would be.  

I was given eye tests, an Amsler Grid, and a whole lot of photographs to observe what was inside my eye. It wasn't a pretty sight. A whole at the centre of the macular.

I was given a second appointment on the same day to visit Dr. Paul Tsao, and he confirmed Dr. Chong's assessment. 

Prognosis was pretty good but the operation was to take place SOON. 

After everything was confirmed, I went into action, I called my insurance agent, paid some medical bills, alerted my key staff of my critical condition and called my wife to inform her of what I had and what will be the next steps.

   A dye stains the thin internal limiting membrane, which is peeled off by the surgeon around the hole so its edges can move together 

For the operation and post operation outcome to be very good, I sought out Albert's help. He very kindly lent me 2 critical pieces of furniture for post operation head positioning. I will elaborate it in the next post. For post operation good to very good outcomes, the patient MUST place his head practically 90 degrees from the vertical - something like bowing for up to 23 hours of the day. 

Albert kindly lent me these 2 pieces of furniture which he himself had used to ensure the best outcomes :

a) a full lying down massage table.

b) a massage chair. 

Day of the Operation

After a night of fasting, my Op was scheduled for 7.30 am. Friday 2nd October 2026.My lovely cousin, Cliff Lau, kindly went out of his way to send me to the operating theatre and send me home. 

The surgery went well. Thank God for the perfect operation.

        Eye is filled with a gaseous bubble to aid in the closure of the macular hole naturally. In my case, the gas used is SF 6 which takes 4 to 6 weeks to dissolve fully. 

Day 1 Post Op till Day 7 Post Op 

Essentially I lay prone on the massage bed as long as I could only to get up to go to toilet, and eat. I had a number of good friends who sympathised at my plight, and Tom Gan in particular came by 3 times with bags of food to cheer me up and talk a bit about nothing in general. He is a gem of a friend.

The 2nd day post op visit was a joy, the eye patch came off and the effect of the head positioning was already taking place. The bubble was huge, I experienced a feeling that my eye was 'under water'. I could make out some light and some shapes. I was given eye drops to put on my eye 4 times a day. 

Everyday was a treat for me. All I had to do was lie down and sleep or watch something with my 'good' eye and eat. 

This is something which I have not encnountered in my 6 odd decades of life, or as long as I can recall. Doing nothing with practically no responsibilities.

My family all stepped in to take over my chores, my wonderful wife who made special meals, and left me to my own devices. My sons who stepped up to carry out my duties for white good and grocery shopping. 

My company staff all did extra work in my absence. My family and friends who rallied around me, in particular Tom Gan, Albert Ee, and Faisal Alsagoff. 

I went and made a special visit  to church and gave thanks to Him for his miracle and many blessings to me.  

Day 8 to Day 15 Post Op

Much of the same as Day 1 to Day 7. The bubble has shrunk and on Day 15 Dr. Wesley gave me great news that the hole is completely healed and closed up. !

I had 2 weeks of stress free life just doing nothing, enjoying my nothing time and I have an inkling how my life would be once I am retired, although doing noting for too long makes me lose my sense of purpose. I cannot just be a pleasure seeking junkie or just  wallowing in day to day boredom. The first 2 weeks of doing nothing was an absolute joy for me, as I have never had a total 'break' since I started work some 30 odd years ago.  

I guess, once I am retired (after I exit from my current business one way or the other) I will pursue my 3rd age, and fulfill my 'calling'. 

My calling would be to help out my fellow humans with whatever gifts I have (project management, entrepreneurship, motivating people and high tech industry selling skills would be my top 4 skill sets).   

Healing - 5 to 6 weeks for bubble to dissolve and up to 6 months for normal vision to return

Day 15 to Day 24 Post Op.

The bubble is fast diminishing and my eye is getting back to normal. I am regaining very good reading vision (very small print) through the bubble, and my long vision while not perfect is slowly getting better and better with each passing day. I am incentivised and motivated to go for long walks after dinner and stare at the street signs from distances 2m, 3m and even 10 meters away. I walk for up to 1 hour daily each night after dinner, to stretch my legs, and also to keep the insulin levels low after the largest meal of the day, dinner. 

The eye improvement is coming along just fine. 

                                  Just after the surgery with my cousin Cliff Lau (2 Oct 2026)

An attitude of gratefulness

I am very thankful first to God who has granted me once again the gift of sight which I must constantly remind myself never to take for granted. My eye regimen to maintain near perfect eyesight after having lived with sub normal eyesight (myopia) for 60 years is this below :

a) Everyday when  I wake up, do some eye exercises and see as much greenery as possible.

b) Get some cortisol into my eyes (especially the retina) and this is ususally by just walking around in the morning daylight before it gets very bright. I have resolved to do this for the rest of my life. 

c) Drink a cup or two of  boiled Goji berries and chrysenthenum water for eye health every day.

d) Take 3 tablets of Lutein 25 mg minimum, and 1 tablet of zeazanthin for my macular health.   

e) Use eye drops to keep the eye pressure down (very crucial)

f) 20 / 20 / 20 ; every 20 minutes of screen time, look at a distant object at 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

g) Use the palming method whenever possible

h) Always always keep to my eye doctor's appointments (every 6 months). 

Secondly, I am most grateful to the team of doctors who treated me so wonderfully, and professionally that I am super grateful to them for this miracle. The advancement of medical technology is something many people are reacting with amazement, as with the highest technological advancements and healthcare, we the people can hope to get the best outcomes and a much better healtspan of life. I am eternally grateful to :

a) Dr. Wesley Chong (Eagle Eye HMI Centre Farrer Park Hospital)

b) Dr. Paul Tsao (Eagle Eye Mt. Alvernia Hospital)

c) Dr. Ng (anaesthesist Mt. Alvernia Hospital).

Their professionalism, the bedside manners and the warmth of these doctors have all made my operation bearable and a success.

Eyesight is one of the 5 senses which everybody has, so I need to ensure that this very precious sense is maintained for as long as I can - perhaps well into my 80s or 90s. It is a precious gift so we must never take it for granted.

I had written about this gift last year after my cataracts - apparently I had been lax in point number h). 

Its time for me to walk the talk or the written prose. 

Celebrating my son's birthday 25 Oct 2026. Etna Italian Restaurant. 3 Miracles to Thank God for.

                                                                    Andrew and his Mum. 

Today we celebrated my younger son's birthday with a lovely lunch at the local top Italian restaurant, Etna.  He is currently employed in a local bank provided testing services for software and is based in the city. Our time together is very precious, as I realise (I will put in my next post) that Time indeed passing fast away and time is now today today as sung in our shcool song, Up and On. 

Delighted  Smiles all around. 25th Oct 2026 

Etna, the restaurant, I believe is named after the famed dormant volcano, Mount Etna in Italy. It is located in Duxton Road. We had a total of 5 dishes, 2 starters, a pizza and 2 house specialities. Our lunch was timed at 12.30 and today we were blessed with perfect weather, no haze, and no excessive humidity. a very pleasant day to be out and about. 

I have had 2 miracles from God recently, the first was that I have recovered very well from my Macular Eye Surgery which took place on 2nd October some 3 odd weeks ago. I had promised to write about my experience, and I will in the coming posts today. So I am thankful to Him for granting a miracle, that the eye which had the hole in the macular has recovered so much so that the hole has sealed up, thanks to modern technology and the wonderful pair of top doctors from Eagle Eye Centre, Dr. Wesley Chong (cataract surgeon) and Dr. Paul Tsao (retinal surgeon). My right eye which had  I issues seeing  - 

When my eye had issues, I had difficulty seeing directly front of and people's faces on the screen appeared squeezy and looking like a cartoon. If I had not sought treatment, the condition will have gotten worse, and the eye could possibly go blind. 

After surgery, I can see much more clearly now, with only a small shortsightedness, which is expected to improve over the coming months, BUT I need to exercise eye hygiene and ensure I do not strain my eyes and get enough rest. 

Eye pressure is the top concern for my good doctor, so I am on a dose of prescription eye drops called GUT TAPCON. I have to instill one drop in my operated eye for the next one month

I am well enough to drive, move around unaided and do all my physical exercises just like before, and I am thankful and grateful to God for blessing me with this chance to NOT lower my quality of life just yet. This is Miracle No. 1. Hence my eye vision has improved tremendously, (around 90%) and I am taking health supplements, doing all the exercises, eating right and minimizing stress.  I guess my right eye is 6 / 20 vision. 

With my other eye it is 20 / 20. Hence I can use one eye for far work and the other (operated) eye for near field work. 

Getting Medical Insurance Early and do not Terminate It. (Miracle 2) 

The second miracle, or Miracle No. 2,  I am experiencing, is that my insurance paid all of the surgery, so I am not out of pocket in any way. I have signed up for this this critical health insurance from Aviva Singlife Myshield Plan 1 (top tier) which I have been faithfully paying for the last (I believe) 20 years.

With this insurance continuing, with my Medisave buffer as well as the Government Medishield, I had the miracle of getting the operation done without the stress of the financial burden hanging over me. I am thankful to Him for guiding me to spend that amount of money and keep on spending that money so that when the time comes, I am not being a burden to my family. 

Miracle No. 3 is the most important one. 

My family of 4 is doing fine. This is the biggest Mircale of all. We are happy, healthy and pull together for each other when things get us down. This is the interdependence and the interrelationships between the family, the siblings and between parents and children. The strong bonds of relationship are so important to me now and in my coming years ahead. I thank God again for my parents who raised me up, in the way that I in turn can raise up my 2 young men, in the upright and honest way. 

Both my sons are working, my wife is doing well in a Government linked company and my business is in the midst of an uplift from bigger players in the industry.

I am truly blessed and I am so grateful for my lot in life. 

I don't need much at this stage, my life experiences and what I have achieved have given me a level of satisfaction that I have walked this path which is truly mine.

Carpe Diem !! 

Seize the day  !!  

 

Getting Basic French Right

 

In Tik Tok and in many social media posts, Instagram etc, there are people especially this guy called Yuji who is a Japanese Irish polyglot who can speak easily dozens of languages. He goes to many places around the world and just chats up people in public places. 

Yuji has given me the inspiration to try yet again (5th time) to speak and write basic French for my personal development. I pledge to set aside 1 hour each day for 1 month to get to the intermediate level so that the next French visit, I can do basic conversation. 

I have visitors coming in middle of November and will probably head to Toulouse early next year for a business visit.

The incentive is there for learning French again.

So far, I can converse pretty effectively in 3 (read and write) and speak in 5 languages.

Allons Y ! 

Salut Mon Ami !

Our leaders need to walk the talk on haze.

 

                                           Downtown near MBS - visibility is hazy  

The last 3 - 4 weeks, Singapore has been engulfed in smoke billowing from a nearby country. The combined effect of both the El Nino (Christ Child) and annual slash and burn of agricultural and plantation owners has led to this woeful state of the environment

Our minister in charge will only offer N95 masks. And cheap healthcare costs in the event residents and citizens need to see their GPs from respiratory illnesses and the like

This is not acceptable. This is a joke, if we are deemed to be a First World Country, yet living in 3rd world environment. All the so called takes like Carbon Tax and the like will be rendered toothless and hypocritical if we cant even enact a law to protect our citizens from the dangerous activities leading to thousands or even millions of people contracting long term breathing and lung issues !

                                      Outside Raffles City facing Victoria Street

The Transnational Haze Boundary Act has been set up in 2014 for the primary reason to 

a) seek out evidence of where the origins of these fires are (there are the usual suspects)

b) Take appropriate actions against the perpetrators (huge fines, debarment of listing their vehicle companies in the Singapore Stock Exchange, and possibly legislate some jail time for the stakeholders of such companies).

And ever so often, this haze happens every 3 - 4 years like a bad dream. So, the Act is nothing but a toothless tiger. 

We pay our Ministers millions of dollars. In this regard, they have barely responded in tackling the issue at the root cause level.  It is not the first time. Since 1996 when it first happened, it has happened at least a couple of times each DECADE. There were serious haze last in 2015. That lasted unbroken for 14 days from 23 Sept to 7 October 2015.   

I really hope this doesn't repeat itself again. Where is the action from the so called Best Government in the World ? 

And this is the response to the situation ?  Giving out free N95 masks ? 

Come On. 

After a certain age, health issues crop up and the slope down is steep. Be prepared and thankful

After my recent eye surgery (I am still recovering, from Macular Hole Surgery just 2 weeks ago), I realized that after a certain age (this age is not a fixed number but it varies from person to person practising the following habits and also owing to a multitude of factors) health issues will crop up fast and furious. The pace and seriousness of these health issues, no one can predict with any degree of accuracy. 

The multitude of lifestyle factors I list below in no order of importance but having all or most of it would be what I would deem as good lifestyle habits.

1. No smoking

2. No alcohol (a tipple here and there ? apparently no.)

3. Sleep minimum 7 hours a day.

4. Eat unprocessed food as much as possible. A diet of leafy greens (most), protein (beans, tofu, lean meat) kael, all seafood are all encouraged, (with the exception of molluscs). Eggs are back in fashion. 

                                       At the Valley of the Kings (and Queens) 

5. Avoid carbohydrate or keep to a minimum

6.  Exercise 3 times minimum per week of 45 minutes each

7. Do load bearing weight training.

8. Move your bowels at least once a day 

9. Minimise stress (low level long term continuous stress can be deadly, so maintain a very positive attitude) 

Even with all these defence mechanisms (lifestyle habits), there will be illnesses which will crop up silently. I list the following, which many people are aware but choose to ignore them or just hope they go away.

1. Metabolic syndrome

2. Diabetes

3. High Blood Pressure (stroke and the like)

4. Cardiovascular disease

5. Cataracts, Age Related Macular Degenerative Disease and Glaucoma

6. All forms of cancers ; 

So. After my recent brush with this dangerous illness, which if left untreated can lead to permanent blindness, I realize that 

a) Life is truly fleeting and fragile 

b) Be in the now, be mindful

c) Do what I have to do, now. 

  

Thankful for AI - ever ready to assist for medical and non medical emergencies.

I had a medical issue the last 2 weeks, and I am very grateful to many people stepped up to assist me, in my time of need. They are my immediate family, a close cousin, some very close friends, as well as 3 of my staff who performed exceptionally to 'cover' for me in my absence. To them, I am truly grateful and I will remember. 

I would like to highlight this fact. In this age of AI agent, I used it very effectively to 

a) isolate and identify my symptoms

b) narrow down the root causes.

In this instance, AI DID help me tremendously, in the above, and then all I needed to do was to seek the proper assistance AS FAST AS I COULD. 

I also am very grateful for a very good friend Albert Ee who had something very similar recently and it triggered me to immediately seek my opthamlogists's assistance.

I will pen more of my experience the coming days.

Million years old fossil wedding present from my long time German friend.

 

We were given this (see video) present from my good friend Heinz Strobel whom I have lost touch since the early 1990s. He is a lovely man who lived by himself in Balingen Germany very near to the Black Forest separating Germany and France. 

My wife and I went to visit him in 1993 during our honeymoon, and I will one day post those wonderful pictures of us, cycling and walking in the Black Forest. Heinz had a dark green Wolkswagen (people's car) and it came with a convertible roof so we had lots of fun posing with the car and Heinz.

He gave May and I this and I have always wondered what this was. I managed to find out only today, as Microsoft Bing decided to show this on their wallpaper these few days.

This, my readers and friends is an ammonite fossil, from the (drumroll) Jurassic Period.

They are an extinct group of marine mollusk animals closely related to modern day octopusses,squids and cuttlefish.

Their most distinctive features are the tightly coiled spiral shells divided into chambers (see the rings on the video), which often display intricate beautiful patterns or suture lines, where the chamber walls meet the outer shells.

These molluscs appeared around (drum roll) 400 million years ago and went extinct alongside the dinosaurs.

Cool information huh ?

Why perform Environmental Testing ? This video explains it in 3 minutes.

 

A video explaining the need for environmental testing and the most common types of environmental chambers manufactured for various industries all over the world.

In the next posts I will go more into the details of the 3 most important parameters of environmental chambers and what are the differences between the simulation of the environment and the stimulation nature of environment stress screening.

For more detail, please visit :

https://www.com.sg

E     : qrasales@qra.com.sg

         mark@qra.com.sg 

Environmental Testing services - ASTM F 1980 - 21 and ISO 11607 - 1

 

QRA International is the dedicated test service centre for all your testing needs. See the video above and visit our website for more details :

We will serve you and your interests speedily, applying our many years of industry experience to give you unparalleled satisfaction. Our clients range from local Singapore MNCs, to Asian clients all the way to Europe and Australia.

Email us at :

E :  mark@qra.com.sg

      qrasales@qra.com.sg

https ://www.qra.com.sg

My goal for the next 1 month - learn basic French to converse properly.

 

As I am resting at home from a surgery for a month, I have decided I need to re-aquaint myself with the smooth language of French. It sounds classy and there is the nasal twang to it which makes the language rather 'cool'. 

As I have learnt and relearnt the language over more than a decade, I need to find French native speakers to converse in else the language becomes redundant and its like something which I keep in the closet and never use.

I have finished the 'holiday French' of words and pledge to learn basic French to achieve a vocabulary of 500 and some proper grammar use by end of this year.

Having goals is wonderful.

The trick is to make it into a good habit.

Cue - Routine - Reward.

Cue (some French business associate is arriving in 1 month's time)

Routine - spend up to 1 hour practicing it at home and in the spare moments in office.

Reward - Once the language is learnt, I can travel to France, and most of Europe armed with 2 of the most recognised languages in the continent (Spanish being the third).

Carpe Diem 

Dunning Kreuger - A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

 

                       Here is a second post on Dunning Kreuger - the height of stupidity. 

The jist of intelligence or 'getting it' essentially is to admit that you don't know all there is to know about everything.

An intelligent person (logical and analytical thinking only) in the narrow sense of the word, accepts that he doesn't know everything. For example, the learning of a  new language will take a decently smart person anything from 2 weeks to 12 months (total immersion) and that is true for 98% of people.

For the not so smart amongst us, we just pick up a few phrases (without the grammar, fine tonality,declensions, sometimes gender specific nouns (like in German) and just 'wing it'. After a few months of trying, we think and say to ourselves, Yay I am so smart. So for a dumb person, he gets by with 50 words and 'goes with the flow'. This (if he is truly unaware) is 'holiday French - reserved for tourists and people who just visit the country of France for a few days.

When in the room with the native speakers (like say German), he will not be able to realise his inadequacies as the native speakers will most times accomodate him and make him feel 'accepted'. 

Is he then 'smart' ? The person needs to first understand the depth of language he / she wishes to attain. Secondly acknowledge that acquiring that level of speaking / writing (even more difficult) will not be easy and require a lof of time, effort and practice.

Once he gets the grasp of the language, he needs to practice, practice and practice. Immerse himself in the language day in day out

If he manages to pick up fast, go past the standard catch phrases tourists use and actually build sentences using basic grammar, then he is getting there and 'quite smart'. 

Many folks end up in the basic category and think they are some kind of genuises in their own mind.

Hence the knowledge they attain will only be very shallow and it is known as 'cheuffer' or 'reporter' knowledge - they know enough to entertain but are not domain experts.

Hence knowing a little knowledge and pretending to be an 'expert' the dumb person will be caught out - if he actually knows it or nor. Most likely he doesn't and it flies above his head.

Some heads of Government are  currently like that and it is a pretty embarrassing sight to watch.

3,000,000 views ! My humblest and deepest thanks to all

 

                                                         At Nami Island S. Korea. Dec 2010 

I am humbled, deeply grateful and appreciative for all the views my little blog has been having this 16 years since I started this writing adventure. If there is anything I am most grateful for, it is to my wonderful family, my wife and 2 sons who have helped me in this journey of growth and challenges as they coming along my way.

3,000,000 views is by no means a small number. I just hope and pray that the interest in this blog keeps up on this trajectory and I am trying new means to add interesting content to all that I post.

Carpe Diem. 

Chicken Dakalbi in Seoul

 

During our last family visit to Seoul, after our ski adventures at Daemyung resort, we had a couple of days and we had some fantastic meals. One such meal was this at Dakalbi street in Myeongdong area.

What is Dakalbi ? Well, it is a pan fried marinated diced chicken, with rice cakes, vegetables and the famous Korean chilli sauce Gochujang paste. There are lots of other condiments like soy sauce, garlic, ginger, some sugar and sesami oil. I think there were certain grades of the chilli sauce, and we chose the mildly spicy one.

The pan is huge, and they have various sizes, some for 1, 2 , 4 , 6 and 8. The server normally cooks the whole shebang in front of the guests, as in our case. 

The vegetables are : lettuce, some cabbage, capsicum, onion, spring onions and some perilla leaves. There are the usual side dishes like sweet radish, kimchi, and anchovies. 

The photo above shows my elder son Noel with my wife. 

After 5 days at the ski resort, eating from mess trays, and communicating with the wonderful YMCA staff, we were all ready to try authentic Korean food, and this post highlights what a fun meal it was for all of us. 

Since we were not too comfortable eating only rice cakes (tteok). the second serving was for frying with rice. Now, that went down pretty well :) 

                                                      With my younger son Andrew 

So if you are ever in Myeongdong Street, do make a beeline for Dakalbi Street and give this touristy dish a try. Its something for the winter to warm the cockles of a skiier' s heart.