One Last Hurrah

 

5 Dec 2010 Finisher Pic 

   Time, like a flowing stream goes on incessantly

   I who reside in Time's realm faces the reality of it all,

   Once I was a young babes

   Boy, Teen, Young, Middle Aged 

   Today, I am reaching the Old Man stage

   Not so fast, father Time

   Not so fast, 

   I have so much more to do

   So much more to see

   So many things to complete

   

   Soon I will become  just a faded memory lost in the backwaters of the WWW

   I must make time for...

   One last Hurrah

   to Seize the Day 

12th October Dongguan Park  2017 

Superb Greek Food - Alati Divine Greek ; Amoy Street - 12th June Takeaway Menu - My review

 

Kotopoylo Psito 

Rated as one Singapore's best Greek restaurants, we took the advantage of 'ta pao' our Saturday dinner as 'dine in' is still forbidden under Singapore's Phase 2 Heightened Alert of partial opening of society in lieu of the still evolving COVID - 19 situation. 

I ordered my food through Oddle Eats, a portal with access to numerous good dining options, and it was simple with the automated sign in, order the food in the basket, and state my choice of pickup time. Now comes the fun part, eating and reviewing :)

The food was ready within the appointed half hour time frame (7.00 till 7.30 pm) and since it was non dining period, the restaurant was empty (do spare a thought for the Food and Beverage people, they are reeling from this second lockdown and I personally feel for the employers and staff in this hard hit sector. Tips should be given freely to help their plight).   I managed to park outside, while my son went in to collect the food. They were packed in recyclable brown carton disposable boxes and he was handed a brown paper bag. Kudos to their going green efforts !

Kotopoylo Psito

The grilled chicken was in one word, amazing. It was marinated in roasted pepper and yoghurt sauce for 24 hours, the sides were fried baby potatoes and there was a topping of yoghurt honey sauce on toasted pita bread and pine nuts. One bite and I felt I was a Greek god - haha. 

It had the distinct sour taste of the yoghurt, but interplayed with sweet and the texture of the yoghurt was smooth to the tongue. Would I order it again - "YES".   

Paidakia with Chablis (Domaine Millet 2016)

The lamb cutlets (6 pieces) were also another standout dish. The sides were couscous, caramalised onions and swimming in lemony sauce. The Aegean flavor (whatever that is) really made it one of the BEST lamb cutlets (most tender and flavorful, not at all gamey) I have EVER eaten. 

Food for the Greek god ? "YES"  

The chablis which was paired with the fish and lamb was a superb 2016 Domaine Millet from Ginett Bistro at Middle Road. I bought it on the cheap (1 for 1) as they were having a sale this month of June. 

Bakaliaros 

The beer fried cod, with lemony quinoa and herb garlic sauce, was a little bit of a let down. The fish tasted frozen (something like the Dory sold in fish and chip shop at Balmoral Plaza). The quinoa was quite tasty, like pea puree. This was the only 'ordinary tasting' dish amongst the 4 we ordered.

Halloumi Salad 

The Halloumi Salad was lovely to taste. The cheese was outstanding, as was the yoghurt. In the salad, there was the charred cauliflower, zucchini, pan seared cyprus Halloumi, feta cheese sauce, roasted pine nuts, fresh chervil (whatever that is) and truffle oil

Again, really outstanding.  

My Review 

Food : 4.8 / 5  < Excellent, Zeus and company would have loved this meal ! >

Wine : 4.9 / 5  < Chablis is great pairing for the Lamb Cutlet >

Price : $ 130.54 (no Service Charge as it was takeaway) ;  

US$ 100 for 3 to 4 persons (Maid got to eat too) ; Reasonable $$$ 

Alati Divine Greek Cuisine 

73 Amoy Street

Singapore 069 892

Tel : 6221 6124 (or book through FB).  

 

           

Hard Run 4K, 2K return stopped by rain, then another 1.8 K back ; Total 7 K plus

 

5th June ; satisfied after a run punctuated by heavy rain 

Today's run was a hard one for me. I had been having a really busy week, and had little time out of the weekdays to run at my favourite spot, the East Coast Park. So this morning, after my dental appointment at Bedok, I made the effort to lace up my running shoes. My plan was to run 4K for the front leg, and return 4K for the back leg.

As I was held up changing to my gear, I started out pretty late in the morning 11.28 am.

The pace was good, on average 6 mins 33. 8 / km for the entire 4 km.

The sun was blazing hot, but I was thankful I had no aches in the joints or elsewhere. 

At the intermission, I ran another (slower) 2 K at 7 : 15 / km pace. The heat was sweltering but my tension headache and all the other stresses were gone. 

I was in the zone. It got too hot at the 6 km mark, so I stopped to catch my breath

It started to pour as I was walking abit, and I sought shelter at the nearby restaurants. 

Finally after about 20 minutes, there was a break in the rain, and i ran helter pelter back to the car at a decent 6 :45 / min pace.

Thats the picture of a happy me at the car park with my sunshades still on and all wet from the rain and the sweat.

I treasure having a balanced lifestyle with ample exercise, controlled diet and mental challenges in the form of work, IQ games and good stimulating conversations with my family and friends.

    

Thank You Nuno ; for 4 years of making us believe that Wolves are a top team ; from this fair weathered fan

Nuno Esperito Santo - or the Son of God literally, joined Wolves at the start of the season 2017 -18 and boy what an impact he made ! From 13th in the Championship to runaway leaders of the Championship. From the first season in the Premier League 2018-19, to 7th in the Premier League and FA Cup Semi- Finalists. From 7th in the Premier League to again 7th and Europa Cup Quarter Finalists. This season just passed they fell to 13th in the Premier League.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to say "Thank You" Nuno and his backroom team. 

You have made this fair weathered fan of Wolves proud once again of being a Wolves Supporter (since the heady days of John Richards and Andy Gray when they won the League Cup twice - once in 1974-75 season against Man City (of all Clubs) and another in 1979-80 (against Nottingham Forest) 

We have had little to cheer these last 3 decades, but at least for these short 4 seasons, you, Mr. Nuno sir, have given us something I wanted from the onset when I made the emotive decision to 'follow' you with my heart (not a clever organ the heart) 

a) Hope that Wolverhampton will one day challenge the Big 6

b) Pride in the Midlands once again.

Nuno, take a bow. I am forever grateful for this glorious period 2017 till 2021. THANK YOU :)

Till we meet again. 

"Sempre para a frent e para Cima ! "

Ever Onward and Upward !

"Aproveite o dia !"  

 

My Best Ever Marathon Timing (Dec 2007) ; Marathon No. 4

 

I have made a pledge, that before I turn 60, I want to run a sub 5 hour marathon, come hell or high water. Once I have set my goal, I go all out to achieve it. So the challenge has been lain on the table.

I will train like never before and will go all out to achieve what few can realistcally say can be done.

Carpe Diem 

Birthday Dinner at Kamoshita 3 Neil Road, my Review Part 1

Grilled Mackerel 

We celebrated my wife's birthday at the most authentic oden (Japanese) place in Singapore. Located in Neil Road. Kamoshita is its name and this is the first time in almost one year that we managed to snag a table (for 3) since the lockdown in Singapore end April 2020. Their reservation format is quite unique, you need to sign up and request for a table via Facebook Messenger and they will reply within the same day. I had tried to book this very popular restaurant located in the back of Chinatown area (Neil Road, running parallel to Tanjong Pagar Road) three times before each time being turned down, because it was full.

So, persistent me decided to make the booking for April 11th 2021 (Sat) almost 1 month in advance. SUCCESS ! We managed to get a table for 3 (my younger son Andrew is still studying in Queensland Australia at this moment) at 7.30 pm.

We arrived at appointed time, and was ushered to our seats. Service was brisk, though we remembered that the Claypot Seafood rice takes on average 45 minutes to prepare, so we ordered that, while I had my Sake (below) and some Fried Fish appetizer (also below).

Fried Tempura 

Top quality Sake 

  

Japanese Style Half Boiled Egg

Tonkatsu Cheese Cutlet with Leek 

Radish Oden 

Oden in Japanese is synonymous with the Japanese Ryokan or Inn. The soup is painstakingly prepared and there are numerous ingredients inside the iron pot which has been slow cooked and simmered for hours, or so it seems. Upon dishing out the ingredients (radish and half boiled egg for example), the ingredients are further decorated with condiments such as leek, shallots and Japanese herbs for flavour. 

We are so very taken with the 'clean food' concept (everything is prepared right in front of you) and the ingredients are fresh and not refrigerated or frozen for long periods of time.

The pacing of the food was just right, and we had ordered something like 8 to 9 small dishes, something which is similar to the 'degustation' or tasting menus of the Western European countries.

Remember this name :

Kamoshita 

5 Neil Road

Singapore 088806

Tel : 6221 3950

 

Live High Train Low and High ; Research done on Hypoxic Training by Sports Scientists

The data and research done by Sports Scientists, Professors G. Millet, B.Roels,L.Schmitt,X.Woorens et al from multiple universities such as Institute of Sports Sciences, University of Lausanne, Switzerland etc. is quite comprehensive.

There are typically 4 different types of key studies :

a) Live High Train High

b) Live High Train Low

c) Live High Train Low and High

d) Live Low and Train High

All these studies are as a result of the near miraculous performances of many athletes who participated in the 1960 Mexico City Olympics which was held at an elevation of 2250 m above sea level, with it, the air pressure was lower and the O2 level was also lower. Many sports scientists began to investigate the effects such as the increase in haematological capacity, or the blood bearing capacity of the human body, as well as the erythropoeitic effects - the production of more red blood cells when the body is subject to lower levels of O2. 

The elite athletes all performed and gave fantastic results (Bob Beamon's long jump record was unbeaten for nearly 25 years after the feat he recorded in Mexico City's rarefied air).

 The findings of Millet et al, are shown above, that various combinations of the 4 training strategies DO have a positive effect on the athletes performance when they resumed competition at sea levels. See above graph.

The findings suggest an increase in the level of aerobic capacity optimally 2 - 4 days (green highlights) after return to sea levels, but this is not 100% for all athletes.

From 14th to 28th day after the LHTH trainings, the effects are still apparent as seen from the graph (Orange highlights in graph).

Hence, it justifies the benefits of this type of training strategy. 

QRA's Athletic Environmental Chamber can simulate altitudes with Oxygen levels up to 5000 m (O2 level of 13.5% or lower). Additinally, QRA can provide Sleep Rooms with altitude levels of up to 3500 m and corresponding O2 levels to match.

Hence, the LHTH, LHTL and the other configurations can easily be accomplished at sea levels without the need to move the entire set of athletes, nutritionists, physiotherapists, doctors and scientists to migrate for weeks to higher altitudes in the name of better performances.

We can provide the full suite of environments, in the Environmental Chamber in your building, anywhere in the world. 

Temperature : - 20 C to 50 C

RH                : 20 to 95%

Hypoxic        : Sea Level to 5000 m

CO2             : maintain at 400 ppm 

Solar            : Entire Solar Spectrum.

QRA INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD

(Singapore Designed Athletic Chambers, World Class Quality Approved)

48 Toh Guan Road East

#03 - 144 Enterprise Hub

Singapore 608586

Tel : (65) 6795 1486

Website :www.qra.com.sg

Email : qrasales@qra.com.sg

            mark@qra.com.sg

Our friendly professionals will be most happy to be of service to you.