At Koi Mahachai Seafood, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in Bangkok.
These are Sipunculid worm jellies, a Xiamen delicacy. Gutted and cleaned, the gelatin resulting from boiling these sea/sand worms coagulates into jelly. Served with chopped chilli and garlic! Delicious! Relatives from Xiamen used to bring me lots of this delicacy whenever they visit!
Duotou Village is a coastal village in Putian Prefecture, Fujian Province, China, famous for its 600-year history of cultivating prized Duotou clams (a type of Chinese razor clam).
Salt-baked Doutou clams.
See how fat and juicy it is!
Naengmyeon – literally meaning “cold noodle” – is a North Korean noodle dish consisting of long, thin noodles made from the flour and starch of various ingredients, including most commonly buckwheat, but also potatoes, sweet potatoes, arrowroot.
Naengmyeon is served cold in a large brass or stainless-steel bowl with a slushy broth, often with bits and pieces of ice, julienned cucumbers, slices of Korean pear, thin, wide strips of lightly pickled radish, and either a boiled egg or slices of cold boiled beef or both. Spicy mustard sauce and vinegar are often added before consumption. Traditionally, the long noodles would be eaten without cutting, as they symbolized longevity of life and good health.
Despite it being a rather simple dish, Naengmyeon is usually quite expensive because of the hours spent stewing bones, etc for the broth.
Three weeks ago – August 7th to be exact – I underwent a five-hour spinal fusion surgery where my lumbar vertebrae L2, L3, L4 and L5 were fixed with eight screws and two rods.
The picture above is the simplest way to picture it: the left side shows the problem – a worn-down disc collapsing and pinching a nerve. The right side shows one segment of the fix – the damaged disc is removed and replaced with a small cage or spacer. The cage (which carries with it bone graft material) restores the gap, while screws and a rod lock the two vertebrae in place so they fuse solid over time.
My surgeon was the eminently qualified Prof Jacob Oh, Chief of the Spine Service, National Healthcare Group and President of Singapore Spine Society.
He approached from my left side, removed the discs, and replaced them with the cages or spacers – the two terms are used interchangeably. Then he turned me on my tummy and used eight screws and two rods to stabilize the area while the bone will eventually fuse lumbar L2, L3, L4 and L5 together.
For those who like a bit more details:
An L2–L5 spinal fusion is a multi-level procedure designed to stabilize four consecutive lumbar vertebrae (L2, L3, L4, and L5) and relieve pressure on pinched nerves.
Vertebral Bodies (L2 to L5): Four individual bone segments stack vertically to form the lower back section of the spine.
Interbody Fusion Cages: Three separate cages are placed into the disc spaces between each set of vertebrae (L2–L3, L3–L4, and L4–L5). These replace damaged or collapsed discs, restore normal height, and allow bone graft material to grow across the levels to fuse them into a single continuous bone structure.
Pedicle Screws: Metallic screws anchor into the side or rear (posterior) of each individual vertebra (L2, L3, L4, and L5).
Fixation Rods: Rigid metal rods connect all pedicle screws vertically along the back of the spine. This hardware locks the vertebrae together to prevent movement while the bone fusion takes place.
Decompressed Nerves: By inserting the cages and lifting the compressed disc spaces, pressure is relieved off the spinal nerves, leaving a clear path along the column.
For those whose mothers still tie their shoelaces for them, below is a very simple diagram:
What prompted this surgery? I have endured back pain for over a decade. Despite trying everything – a keyhole procedure in 2018, spinal injections, nerve ablation, and acupuncture, etc – the spinal canal stenosis clearly demanded a more definitive solution. Turning 70 next year meant the risks would only compound with age, so I decided to bite the bullet.
My confidence was bolstered by a successful hip replacement in 2024 by another brilliant surgeon, Prof Pang Hee Nee, which proved the exceptional skill of the surgeons we have in Singapore. However, the recovery experiences could not have been more different. While hip replacement pain was no small matter, post-op back surgery pain was on an entirely different level – the kind of torment I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. After my hip surgery, I was walking that same afternoon and returned home to navigate my bedroom stairs the next day. This time, recovery required five days in the hospital followed by seven days in rehab before doctors deemed it safe for me to go home.
I am thrilled to report that my bandages are off, my incisions have fully healed, I am completely off painkillers, and I am finally pain free!
One of the several Castellos in my collection.
Luca Corti of Tabaccheria Corti, purveyor of Castello pipes – the Rolls-Royce of Italian pipes – was in Singapore and smoked with us last Saturday, August 22nd 2026.
A select group of about fifteen of us gathered for a private event organized by Singapore Pipe & Cigar Smokers and The Singapore Pipe Club.
We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship and also held a Q&A session with Luca.
Top Row, left to right
United Kingdom General Service Medal (Malaya clasp), instituted 1948
Awarded to members of the British, Commonwealth and Colonial Forces and Civil personnel, including the Malayan Police Force, for service during the Malayan Emergency.
Singapore Efficiency Medal (Pingat Berkebolehan), instituted 1969
Awarded to public officers, officers of a statutory authority, educational workers and government-owned company employees for exceptional efficiency or devotion to duty or work of special significance.
Malaysia Uniformed Services Malaysia Medal (Pingat Perkhidmatan Beruniform Malaysia), instituted 1964
Awarded to members of the Police Force and Armed Forces who were in active service during the Singapore-Malaysia merger.
Bottom row, left to right
Singapore Police Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, instituted 1994
Awarded to Singapore Police Force service members for long and exemplary service and good conduct. Awards are for 10 years, 30 years, and/or 35 years of continuous and unbroken service.
Singapore Defence Medal (Pingat Pertahanan), instituted 1970
Awarded to members of the Singapore Armed forces and Singapore Police Force who were in active service during the Indonesian-Malaysia confrontation (Konfrontasi).
Dad was Internal Security Department’s longest-serving officer, from April 19th 1954 to December 31st 2000; 46 years of continuous service. (ISD was once known as “Special Branch.”) Even after retirement, well into his sunset years, he mentored generations of younger officers who were inspired by his professionalism, commitment and tenacity, as much as they were impressed by his sharp wit, prodigious memory and sheer intelligence.
Dad was born on June 21st 1931. He said his nunc dimittis on July 24th, exactly a month ago at the ripe old age of 95.
I would take dad out for lunch every Sunday. He was perspicacious and incisive till the very end.
Long before the headlines caught up, dad saw it all coming.
He didn’t just predict Trump’s original rise to the presidency – he foresaw his second term and mapped out precisely how he would govern. Years before it happened, dad even envisioned the strategic weaponization of the Strait of Hormuz.
His ability to anticipate what lay ahead was not merely insightful – it was uncanny, almost prophetic.
Dad took a piece of my heart with him, leaving behind an empty space and a towering shadow I can never quite fill.
Pure comfort in a bowl. As the chicken, Chinese sausage, and Shiitake mushrooms steam together, they release a rich, savory gravy that deeply flavors the rice below. This one is from Koo Kee. Nice, but can’t beat my favorite from Bao Fa Cha Chaan Teng. That one is really something! But it means traveling all the way to Upper Paya Lebar Road.
Shirasu are delicate, translucent juvenile fish – usually anchovies or sardines – treasured in Japanese cuisine. Eaten whole in raw, boiled, or dried forms, these tiny “whitebaits” are as nutrient-dense as they are versatile.
If you’re trying them for the first time, Kamaage Shirasu – see photo above – over a bowl of hot rice with a dash of soy sauce is the ultimate comfort food.
