Haberdashery - Words & Language

I have not been feeling well this week, so spent much time catching-up on my reading. Of course I read all the obituaries for William Safire who passed away on Sunday. While I might not identify with his politics, I always enjoyed his "On Language" columns in the New York Times. So I've started re-reading all of them — join me!

Singapore had its own language columnist - Janadas Devan. I am a big fan of his writing and miss reading his "On Words" columns in Singapore's Straits Times. I wish he would resume writing them and I wish Straits Times would have the complete archive of all his columns online, instead of only selected ones.

Another talented writer in Singapore is Alfian Sa'at. He now has a regular spot on the onlinecitizen and sometimes he dabbles about language. Try this one about Malay and Hokkien.

I enjoy the weekly Sunday Puzzles on NPR - their word puzzles are so imaginative. I have never entered in any of the contests — they are difficult! But maybe I will give the next one a try.

Shall we end on a bit of gossip? Lord Byron called William Wordsworth "Turdsworth" in a letter!

Dinner Tonight

We treated ourselves to a dinner at Old Port Lobster Shack tonight. It was our second time there — we first tried the restaurant after reading the recommendation of Anh-minh (she's listed more restaurant picks). Need we say it? It was delicious! I like the lobster roll - chunky pieces of lobster in seriously good bread. I also suggest the fried clams appetizers - goodness in a batter.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri - Part 2

I received a few emails from concerned friends after my post on Hari Raya, followed by the sad poem by Neruda. I don't want to give the impression I was miserable here. We had a wonderful Hari Raya. We started the day at the mosque. Actually, S started the day watching a successful Manchester United game, so it set the tone for him for the rest of the day (in case you can't guess, he was elated). Then, we spent the day with S's family friends, who are our surrogate family here. We feasted on traditional Hari Raya food like rendang and sayur lodeh . We also had a taste of familiar cookies like pineapple tarts and cakar ayam from Singapore. Family, good food and hot weather thanks to an Indian summer - almost like being back in Singapore, no?

A couple of days later, I received a package in the mail and was touched when I found Hari Raya goodies in the box. A dear friend, D, had sent them and she remembered not only my favorites, but S's too, bless her. Two jars of pineapple tarts, one packet of rempeyek and one jar of tumpi. The latter two are practically the only cookies I eat during Hari Raya (although they are more like crackers) — S and I savored every crunchy bite. So you see, we had a Hari Raya showered with food love, so we really do count our blessings.

I Froze

in San Francisco yesterday. Because I wore open-toed shoes. Smart.

Sambal Oelek Roasted Chicken

This is a quick post. S and I are about to go out to spend an afternoon in the city. We are going to hear Karen Armstrong speak as part of the City Arts & Lecture series this evening and before that we'll catch the Avedon exhibition in SFMoma.

Last night we made sambal oelek roasted chicken. This is my too lazy too cook dish. Remember the sambal oelek? I simply mix it with oil and rub it all over the chicken pieces and under the skin and toss them in the oven. Use 3 tablespoons of sambal oelek and two tablespoons of chili oil or vegetable oil for about four large pieces of chicken legs and roast at 400°F for about 30 minutes. Smaller pieces may be done earlier so watch the oven. While waiting, I boiled some small potatoes for my cilantro yogurt dressing. Quick braise shredded cabbage and carrot, and we have a meal.