I miss Mexicans :(

One of my favorite food groups in the world is Mexican. I used to eat it several times a week back in the States. Melissa (my former fiancee and date night buddy) and I rarely went to a non-Mexican restaurant together. I was even a Taco Bell junkie (even though that's not technically real Mexican), but Cheesy Beefy Melts are sooo good.

Asia, does not have a lot of options as far as Mexican food goes. They've never been really exposed to it and I'm sure it also "doesn't please the Asian palate" (see below post). Aaron and I have tacos and taco salad all the time, at home, to compensate for this. It never gets old. We even have Taco Bell brand seasoning for the lame hamburger meat that we find frozen at the NEX or the odd-looking meat we find in the stores in town.

I was determined to find a Taco Bell though. There was a rumor that Singapore had one and when we looked online, we found two. So last week, Aaron and I found one on Orchard Road. It was a stressful time. There were no signs. It was also situated at the very top of a 4 story mall. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't on the verge of tears before we found it. (I had been so excited to find it all day, give me a break.) Anyways, we found it.

So who cares if the menu only had 5 things on it. And it doesn't matter that they only offered chicken, right? The beans may have been dry, but IT WAS TACO BELL. I've decided to look on the bright side of things and not be so negative toward my asian neighbors. At least they tried.

I've been combing the Singapore Expat forums and think I've found another mexican place to try. It was recommended by someone from Southern California. I think that's a pretty trustworthy source. I'll let ya know how it goes....

As for now, we get to have homemade burritos and tacos thanks to a care package from home! Yay!

Say Cheese!

It's sad to say, but yesterday may have been one of the happiest days of my life. Why, you may ask? Because we found cheese. Yes my friends. Cheese. Not velveeta's processed goo crap, but real, delicious cheese. So what did we do? We bought it all. I'm not even joking. We got a round of provolone. We got shredded cheddar. We got sliced colby. We even got shredded italian blend. It was a good day kids. It was almost as great as Christmas.

Finding cheese in Singapore is a big frickin' deal. Apparently, cheese is "unpleasing to the Asian palate" or so I read online. Instead, they'd rather eat turtles, bugs, smelly fruit and other crap that should NEVER go in your mouth. Of course it doesn't please their palate. Their palate is that of a rabid dog. Sorry, the lack of cheese for a month has upset me.

So anywho, my momma sent me her recipe for cheeseburger soup and that's what I'm making my dear, sweet husband for dinner. I was going to make a delicious dessert, but without our Pyrex cookware and a hand mixer, it won't really be possible. Our stuff should get here soon. Let's just pray that we have a place to put it in when it gets here.

My Sailor

Aaron and I went to Chief Higley's retirement ceremony on Friday. It was pretty neat to see an official Navy ceremony. It was held at the Terror Club's outside "event" area which is under fans and shade.

I get really excited when Aaron has to wear his Dixie cup hat because I think its ridiculously funny. The military is really stubborn about updating things, I'm finding. Amusing at times. Annoying at other times.

Still no word on our house. Still no job. God I love the US Military.

Dinner at the Hawker Stall

Aaron and I ventured out the other day to dine with the asian kids. Sometimes we can be a little brave. Tuesday, we went to a hawker stall for dinner.

Singapore is full of hawker stalls and is a popular way to dine out. A hawker stall is very similar to an American-style food court with several choices of "restaurants" and tables to pick on your own. Most hawker stalls are outdoor with some kind of cover.

This one is somewhat close to our house and if we're feeling healthy, we'll walk there. It's intimidating at first because you can't recognize the what the food is, but on my second trip, I was less scared.

Here's what it looks like from the outside.




...and the inside

This is Chilli Crab. It is a famous Singaporean dish that has made the country famous or so we hear. Aaron and I find it very hard to eat (and very messy). It's a crab that's sitting in chilli sauce. Only, imagine trying to crack crab shell when it's slimy from the sauce. It's really difficult.

This is pineapple rice. One of my favorite Singaporean dishes. It's got rice, pineapple, chicken, egg, ham and shrimp in it. Sounds like an odd combo, but it's delish.

This is BBQ Stingray served on a banana leaf. It's soooo good. It tastes like a really mild fish. I like to dip it in the red chilli sauce to give it some spice. You have to be careful when you eat it though, because it has small, soft bones on the underneath side. Not so fun to chomp down on.

Oh, the pictures of Chinatown and Little India are posted on my facebook page for those interested.

Aw I can walk again!

Saturday, Aaron talked me into getting a foot reflexology massage in Chinatown. I' d had one before in February at a place near our house and it was somewhat uncomfortable, but I felt great afterwards. So I caved in again. Let me explain why it's hard to be excited about something that's supposed to feel so great.


A foot reflexology foot massage involves the masseuse using knuckles and finger tips to apply pressure to certain points on your foot. Each point is supposedly connected to another part of your body. Thus, by applying pressure to these areas, it relieves any aches and pains within your body. But, it hurts. A lot.


My massage hurt more than a lot. I was sitting there with clenched teeth to avoid screaming or crying. I was in a lot of pain that DID NOT AT ALL FEEL GOOD. A foot MASSAGE is supposed to FEEL GOOD. Anyway, remembering the last time I had one, I sat through it and thought that I'd feel good afterwards. Wrong!!!!!


The next morning, I awoke to bruised shins and ankles. Then, I couldn't walk right until Monday. It felt like I was walking on rocks. I am never doing that crap again. What really gets me is that I paid for someone to turn me into a battered paint-by-number.


I'm an idiot. Oh, and Aaron's massage was fine and he had no after-effects. Whatever.