Asador - Joo Chiat Place - Good Spanish Food in Joo Chiat Place ; Pricey

Yesterday, my family had a sumptuous dinner at Asador which is located at  Joo Chiat Place (off Still Road). The streetside parking nearby is plentiful even for a weekend, and the restaurant occupies 2 shophouse units along Joo Chiat Place, which is just beside Everitt Road and Joo Chiat Road. All in all, there were more misses than hits, though I must say that the booking and the front of restaurant staff were excellent. Kudos to the team.  

We ordered the following and I put up the pictures which I felt were above average in flavour. 

Sourdough bread with smoked butter 

Excellent starter. The bread was piping hot just out of the oven and the butter was soft to the knife. Superb.     

9 / 10  

Salmorejo 

Salmorejo 

San Marzan tomatoes with preserved tuna and smoked burratina 

(cream cheese) 

The texture and the flavour were just nice and while the dish wasn't piping hot, it was the tuna with the burratina which were a nice complement to the San Marzan cherry tomatoes. Savoury but not sour nor spicy. It was perfect for using the sourdough bread to mop up the gravy. 

Very good.

8.5 / 10  

Costillar de Ternera

Costillar de Ternera  

Grilled Angus Beef Short Ribs 

This was done sous vide and then grilled. I felt the beef ribs to be too tender at first bite. There was a certain  softness to the texture gain which is unusual for beef. Hence again both my wife and son didn't take to this dish. The taste was rather sweet and again rather odd to our palette which normally associates Wagyu beef to a certain texture (more robust) and flavour (charred or smoky). 

Average 

7 / 10

Almejas 

Almejas

Japanese Clams with Basque Salsa Verde

This was a rather odd dish, there was an overpowering spicy flavour to the clam meat, the texture was good - not rubbery just right in terms of softness and chewiness. The Salsa Verde tasted very much like the Thai green curry gravy. I liked it though my wife and son didn't

Good 

7.5 / 10

Calamar 

Calamar 

Palamos squid with caramelised onions 

Another sous vide dish. The squid was too soft and not chewy enough. The caramalised onions gave off a too sweet for my liking flavour. In the end, I was eating the squid topped off with the Salsa Verde Thai style gravy.

Ordinary 

5 / 10 

We had a couple more dishes, one was the Huevos Rotos (frites) which was totally just carbo loading to fill the tummy. The other was the smoked Sazerac or eggplant which was very sweet and not worth writing home about.

Huevos Rotos 

Thick Cut Fries, Runny Egg and Chorizos 

(Street Food) 

Verdict ?

Good

Price 

Expensive  ($245 for 3 pax) 

Service 

Very Good  (very attentive) 

Location

Off the Beaten Track  (OK for central folks like us, even 20 minutes drive is far away!)

Visit Again ?

Not Likely - nothing exceptional to bring us all the way to Joo Chiat. 

• Asador Singapore
• 52 Joo Chiat Place
• S'pore 427775 

A Retirement Plan ?

With the Relief of Ramses II at Luxor in 2009 

 A smart friend once gave me this piece of advice. If it is getting so expensive to live comfortably in Singapore,perhaps it might be better to 

a) rent out one's apartment or HDB unit (after the 5 year MOP period) - that would eaily fetch S$3,000 upwards to perhaps $6,000 (if it is a 5 roomer Bishan unit)

b) Move the base of operations, if one is able to do so, with a nimble business such as IT cybersecurity, to a lower cost country (Malaysia or Thailand come to mind).

With the rental income of say $4,000 - that translates to a whopping RM 14,000 or Thai Baht 100,000.

He and his family can rent a very decent condominium in Malaysia fo RM 3,000 or THB 25,000 and thus leaving them with RM 11,000 or THB 75,000 for the other living expenses.

At the end of the day, he can easily save S$ 1000 to $1,500 per month for his retirement income.

That is, if he is still mobile and relatively healthy.

Great idea or just a Pipe dream ??

Live High Train Low and High - The effects of Low Oxygen environment on Haemoglobin per cubic cm of blood in athletes proves its worth.

                                        

                    Internal View of Athletic Chamber supplied by QRA INTERNATIONAL  

Recently, our national sprinter Ms. Shanti Pereira has made the front pages of the news by coming in 2nd in the women's 100 m sprint and attaining the gold medal in the recently concluded Asian Games (2023 edition) in Hangzhou China.

Kudos to her and her team of coaches, sports scientists, nutritionists and officials for reaching the pinnacle of her sport and has made her the current darling of Singapore sportsmen and women. The team behind her success is instrumental in ensuring that her performance is approaching world standard. There is also a whole depth of scientific work and sports preparation  for many months and even years to get her performance to world class level and as a result slash her 100 m and 200 m times by so much. All legal and employing the highest levels of science and technology, coaching techniques etc - it is worth it.In my humble opinion.    

Two particular pieces of equipment which I wish to highlight ; the Singapore Sports Institute offers hypoxic sleep rooms with O2 levels of 3000 m or 18.6% O2 per cubic metre of air. Normal sea levels have 20.9 or 20.8% of O2 per cubic metre of air. They also have an athletic chamber of approximately 70m3 size (which my company supplied in 2016) whereby the athletes can train from the various temperature and humidity ranges :

The Technology 

Temp : 0 to 50 C

Hum  : 20 - 95 % rH

O2    : Sealevel or 0 m (20.9% O2) to 5000 m (16.5%) 

Additionally there are special components called : CO2 scrubbers which filter out (scrub) the CO2 from the air inside the chamber.

 

Fun Fact

People who are trapped in sealed enclosed spaces for long durations (freezer cold rooms for example)  die or faint from CO2 poisoning rather than from a lack of oxygen. The build up of CO2 caused by our breathing will rise to 8000 ppm and that is where faint headedness, dizziness, nausea sets in. If the environment is not rectified in time, by either 

1.  Releasing or scrubbing the CO2 away (by filters) 

2. Opening up the room and allowing the mixing of fresh air with O2 in and CO2 out

then the worse will happen ; disorientation, fainting and possibly death.

The Theory - General

Scientific studies have shown that elite athletes with well conditioned bodies (I highlight the words) can benefit from high altitude training. In the old days, many athletes went up to the mountains where the air was 'thin' and O2 levels were far lower than at sea level.

Live High (LH) 

This is where people who live high up the mountains, and endure low O2 levels for long stretches of time, for example, the Sherpas in the Himalayas. They have exceptionally well conditioned bodies. The reason ? Their haemaglobin levels in their blood are up to 50% more than ordinary people living at sea level height.

Train Low (TL) and Train High (TH)  

Training Low means to train at sea level.Training High is to train at altitude.

The Theory - Specific 

Our bodies have both aorta and veins, and smaller tubes called capillaries.In each cm3 of blood vessel tube, for example have (say) 10 haemoglobin molecules or small buckets whose sole function is to carry Oxygen molecules from the main O2 supplier (lungs) to the various parts of the body.

With the proper use of oxygen, the body breaks it down and burns in for produce energy for all manner of daily bodily movement from breathing, walking, running, everything.

So at sea level, if for 1 cm3 of blood there are 10 buckets of haemoglobin to carry 10 air molecules worth 1 oxygen content in size, so the effect is 100 HO of energy potential - for example. (not scientific). So if he runs at sea level, at a certain speed which he is used to, he can use up to 100 HO of energy potential, and this is limited by the number of haemoglobin buckets in his per cm3 of blood.

In high level (3000 m - which is base camp Everest), the number of O2 molecules is far less say 10 molecules air but with 7 oxygen content per fixed volume of air. Then the person's energy capacity would be reduced to 10 x 7 or 70 HO. Thus, he would feel lethargic and not be able to run at the same speed.

Hence, your body's performance is limited by the O2 concentration in the air leading to anything from disorientation, altitude sickness, light headedness and slower work rate.  

To enhance his performance, the person would have to CONDITION his body by living in low O2 conditions for up to 2 weeks, so that :

1. The amount of haemoglobin grows in the blood vessels (it is amazing but true and backed by scientific research). It typically grows by 30 to 50% . So for 1 cm3 of blood, there can be up to 15 haemoglobin buckets in 1 cm3 of blood vessel - after conditioning in hypoxic rooms (rooms with low levels of Oxygen) for up to 2 weeks.

2. After 2 weeks, the athletes have (say) 15 buckets of haemoglobin and 15 molecules of air with 0.7 oxygen content, then the energy capacity is 15 x 0.7 or 105 HO. Over time and LH and TH, he can run at approximately the same speed but with less oxygen in the air.!

Magic ? No, the body is a tremendous adaptable machine !   

LHTLH or LHTL ? 

Science has shown that athletes with the program of Living High LH (3000) and Training Low TL (sea lavel) have the best results.

This means, that after 2 weeks of altitude training - either by living in the mountain at 3000 m height, and then going to train on the track in the sea level (0 metre), what happens ?

What happens ?

The height conditioned body  now has 15 haemoglobin buckets and at sea level (0 meters), there are 15 molecules with 1 oxygen content.

The persons energy capacity increases to 150 HO  or 15 x 10 HO ! 

He (in theory) can run by up to 50% faster than his original speed ! 

The effect is temporary as the haemoglobin level reverts back to 10 if the athlete stays at sea level - but the effect can last up till 2 weeks after return to sea level.

TL or TH ? 

Science has also shown that there are tangible benefits to train at both low and high levels of Oxygen. 

So here it is, the technology explained in layman terms 

Hence with the right team, technology, discipline and dedication, success for all our national athletes is a reality ! 

                                    The Completed Chamber Front View

Interested ? Gym Owners, Recreational, serious and elite athletes please contact :

QRA INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD.

Subject : 1.  Athletic Chamber 

                2. Walk - In Chamber for Humans

               3.  Gym Pod 

Email :    1. qrasales@qra.com.sg

                2. mark@qra.com.sg

Price Range : from S$ 100, 000  (US$ 75, 000)  upwards

 

A Man's House is his Castle and Fortress - Edward Coke.

 A Small but Well Maintained Garden is our Pride and Joy 

We live in a small house in one of the suburbs of Singapore. Its not big by Western standards but we believe that a man's house is his castle and his fortress - the judge and jurist Edward Coke (Cook)  said in the early 17th  (1604) century when presiding over a famous case called "Seymane's Case" as to whether Sheriffs had any right to enter a man's house without a standing court order as well as the reason's for entry by the Sheriff. Hence a man's house is his 'castle and his fortress' and for all intents and purposes used for his and his family's quiet enjoyment. 

No less and No more.

On the other hand, the home owner cannot be harbouring a fugitive, be engaged in illegal activity like managing a drug den or operating a brothel. In essence the reason for the judgement that a man's house is his castle and fortress - and he is legally bound to not allow people in - if he has done no wrong in the eyes of the law.

Its aging but its our home sweet home. 

That is why, it is so painful to see what is happening in the Hamas - Israel war which is happening in the Gaza strrip. It is truly heartbreaking to watch in real life the plight of innocent Palestinians who have been forced to move from their houses and apartments  as their lives are threatened.

There are many similar cases of people who have lost their homes to natural disasters like the tornados in Kansas state USA, earthquakes in Turkey and most recently Afghanistan and the tsunami in Japan in 2011. The feeling of despair and helplessness must be overwhelming.

It is a tragedy of epic proportions which we on the outside feel helpless and just lousy. This is a no win situation which will play out for decades to come. There are many countries who are currently facing very uncertain futures in the African, European and American continents that I feel blessed to be living in Singapore. 

I am so grateful that our small island nation Singapore while still young (58 years) had a visionary leader in Mr. Lee Kwan Yew and a superb leadership team (People's Action Party) who forged through the first tumultuous 25 years with iron will, discipline, tough no nonsense (some call it harsh) rules to  round up all the drug lords, enacting the harsh death penalty for drug trafficking and murder. 

In short, Singapore cleaned up its act in the first 10 years of its existence and then its government went to woo foreign direct investment to build factories for (then) low cost goods from the 1970s. The rest, like they say, is history. 

A little piece of 'heaven' by the water feature.

From the 1980s, we have grown from strength to strength then. With a then GDP per capita of US$ 500 in the late 60s, Singapore now has a GDP of US$ 78,000 per capita as of 2022.

We are a first world nation, with world best airport and airline, first world infrastructure, school and mass transit system. Our public housing is excellent and we have been recently been nominated as the 6th Blue Zone in the world where life expectancy is very high 85 for women and 83.5 for men, all thanks to a balanced life and excellent medical care.

 Japanese Palm in the Open Concept Attic. My go to place to get alive every morning. 

We do have many problems, that is for sure. We have a sky high ridiculously expensive Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system which makes a mockery of owning a car, any car. One would have to fork out easily US$ 150,000 for a basic Toyota Altis. It is a joke by any standards.

Our children have high levels of myopia, and stress in schools is no joke. There are regular influxes of new foreign migrants who are talented, more hungry and hardworking than our children. They compete and take a lot of the top paying jobs here, by their sheer talent and energy. Our children will then be second to these top new citizens. This is meritocracy 101.

In short, we cannot rest on our laurels, not for any duration in time. Singapore is like a treadmill running at a certain speed, if you are able and have the energy, then good, once you reach a certain age, either get off (migrate) or have enough reserves (cash and assets) to hire someone to run on your behalf. 

Inflation is easily 5% per annum, and we are worried that we cannot retire comfortably in Singapore. This is a big concern amongst Singaporeans above 55 years old. We have options of either moving to a lower cost country or selling off our abode (condominium, flat or house) to free up cash to live our our 'golden years'. 

That would be painful for some, but if you do not have emotional attachment to your house, it can (must)  be managed one way or the other.  

Some fine country indeed.

Can we hit 200,000 views by end 2023 ?

 

In Sevilla in Dec 2019 just before Covid engulfed the world   

In less than 3 months, the year is coming to an end ; it is a scary proposition that 1 year has just whizzed by with nary a thought about how we (global citizens) are collectively going to solve the 

a) climate change issue

b) earth's sustainability

c) AI's threat to human jobs 

d) Running costs of inflation and long term 

In Cordoba Dec 2019 ; nice orange trees in background 

Though there is very little which you or I as individuals can do to make a lasting impact, we must try at the very least to a) not use so much plastic material  b) minimise use of carbon based mechanisms like the airconditioning and the car (tough) and c) teach our next generation to value the ecosystem by not littering and reducing our carbon footprint.

Will it come to nought ?

Time will surely tell.

In the mean time keep reading my blog folks. I'm hoping to get 200, 000 views by years' end.

Athletic Chamber ; the Science behind our athlete's success. Guess who built these equipment ?

Installation in Doha Aspire hospital May 2017. 

QRA International has a flagship product which we will be making a global presentation in 2024. The athletic chamber is the 'secret weapon' for many Western sports associations for the longest time.

Many athletes have been using chamber technology to condition their bodies to get maximal performance for up to 2 weeks after use. This is testament to Singapore's fine performance of its track, sailing, and high jump athletes in the current Asian Games held in Hangzhou China.  

Now,with 2 chambers sold in Singapore (2015 and 2016) plus another 2 sold in Qatar and Australia respectively QRA is ready to 'let fly' the athletic chamber to the sporting world.

 

Levelling of the Floor at Aspire Doha 

Essentially the chamber is just a controlled environmental room. The limits of the controlled environment of the chamber is determined by the limits in which our world's environment. However, since there are no ultra marathons in -40 C in Kamchatka or Siberia, there is no need to control the temperature to -40 C. Most chambers which we design reach lows of 0C or -20 C. 

The highest temperature reached is +50 C which can be reached in desert climates like the Sahara and Gobi deserts. 

Temperature Range (Athletic Chamber) : 0  C to +50 C

Humidity levels are typically from 20% to 95% (Singapore's humidity is easily 70 - 80% most times of the year). The humidity in the chamber is controlled using steam generation (100%) and a cooling coil to reduce the RH by condensation. Rather overuse of power, but it generates the necessary humidity nonetheless. 

Therefore Relative Humidity : 20 - 95%

For elite athletes and conditioned athletes to train inside the chamber, QRA employs the use of Amine scrubbers which typically 'catch' the CO2 molecules from the air passing through and 'cleaning' the air to be pumped back into the room by this method. Human beings emit a lot of CO2 out into the atmosphere and a surprising fact if that many people die in enclosed spaces due to Carbon Dioxide poisoning rather than Oxygen deprivation or too low levels of oxygen when they are trapped in an enclosed space (say a closed mine, or skiiers in a crevice).

CO2 : less than 2000 parts per million per m3 of air.   

In summary, QRA INTERNATIONAL can provide the following : 

Walk- In Athletic Chamber for up to 10 people 

Size : 6 m x 6 m x 3 m 

Temperature Range : 0 to 50 C

Temperature Control : +/- 3 C 

Humidity Range          : 20 - 95%

Humidity Control         : +/- 5%

CO2 Control               : less than 2000 ppm per m3 of air inside chamber after 1 hour of intensive use.

Contact us Now for a detailed Discussion and No obligations Quote 

Email : qrasales@qra.com.sg

Website : www.qra.com.sg

Burma Social 30 Sept 2023