studley park boathouse, melbourne

in the winter of 2009 when i visited melbourne, my friend chris took me to one of the parks that adjoins the yarra river. i blogged about the warrandyte suburb here. there are quite a number of parks and parklands that are located along the length of the yarra river. the smaller parks have unsealed paths while the larger parks have sealed pathways suitable for walking as well as cycling. australians are fond of taking their dogs for a walk at the park. at most parks, dogs have to be leashed.




we did not go to walk the dogs. we went to the yarra bend park, near which the studley park boathouse is located, for a picnic. ida had gone to the park the day before, on australia day, and the scene she described was so vastly different. the day before, every corner of the park was taken up by australians celebrating their national day in their traditional way - a picnic and bbq in the park.


the studley park boathouse is the oldest operating boathouse in the state of victoria. it enjoys a nice location, at the bend of the yarra river. it has a restaurant and an indoor/outdoor cafe. row boats, kayaks and canoes are available for hire. the rate for the row boat is about $20 for half an hour. we did not row boats; instead, we fed the ducks and other birds on the bank and in the river.



you can sit at a picnic table and spend a quiet time by the bank of the river. although the sun was out, there was a cool breeze blowing. others were just happy to lie on the grass and be close to nature. now i understand why the australians love the outdoors.




this is the kane's bridge that spans the yarra river. the bridge originally built in 1929 was washed away by the 1934 floods. it was rebuilt in 1935. cyclists were advised to dismount and push the bike across the bridge. of the two cyclists i met, one dutifully got down and pushed his bike while the other cyclist just continued cycling across the bridge.

conservation buildings quiz

these buildings are found in one of the more than 70 protected areas in singapore. they are considered protected because you cannot demolish the buildings or make any unauthorised alteration to the facade of the buildings.

this area covers five roads and i counted about 127 conserved buildings altogether, mostly for residential use but some for commercial purposes.



1 where is this area?

2 it used to be a residential stronghold for a certain group of people. what was this group?

3 where did this group move to?

(no, i am not back in singapore yet. i am still some 6000km away from home.)

ang koo kueh in melbourne

when my elder daughter was expecting her first child, she had told me that she would like to have ang koo kueh and red eggs for her child's full moon celebration. i thought it would be a piece of cake because i had successfully made ang koo kueh at home in singapore. what i failed to reckon with was that not all asian things are readily available in melbourne. i hunted for the ang koo kueh mould in a number of asian enclaves like clayton, glen waverley and richmond in melbourne but could not find one. i even enlisted the help of my younger daughter, who is also here in melbourne, to try and get me one.

the other thing i had not considered was the cost of some of the requirements for making ang koo kueh. back in singapore i do not remember having to buy banana leaves to use as the base for placing the kueh. even if i had to buy, it would not cost more than a dollar. over here, unless you are in the state of queensland, banana trees are non-existent. so they have to be brought in from queensland or imported from some tropical countries. the packet of banana leaves, cut and folded, cost aus$7.50.



the first lot of ang koo kueh i made was the typical, round and flat type. somebody who saw them commented that they were not appropriate for a boy. we decided to make something more representative of a boy. my mother used to make ang koo kueh of this shape - the hokkien call it 'ang ee' and it did not require a mould. you can also buy this type of ang koo kueh, which is made for special occasions, from the confectioneries and some stalls at the market or food centre.




we made a total of about forty ang koo kueh, with two types of filling. the ones which appear darker (third photograph) were filled with peanut. the filling for the other lot was tau sar (mung bean). the peanut version was more popular with the guests. to make the dough, i used sweet potato and glutinous rice flour.

ways of keeping cool

kampong days

the cheap and portable way is to use the straw fan (above) or the foldable paper or silk fan that can make a snapping sound, when folded or spread open. in those kampong days, when electricity was in short supply, this was the predominant way. in the past, at chinese funerals, these fans were given out to keep the mourners cool. in the present, at weddings in australia, especially those held in the open, i have seen the straw fans being presented to guests.

singapore today

the electric fan and the air-conditioner appear to be standard items in nearly every home in singapore. despite the widespread use of the air-conditioners, the electric fan still has a place in every home because it consumes less electricity.

in the 70s, the window-type of airconditioner was still the most common. its popularity declined from the 80s when the split and multi-split systems appeared on the scene. today, it is very rare to see the window-type installed in a flat, especially, in bigger flats.

melbourne, australia

i have seen this (above photo) on the roof-top of quite a number of homes here in melbourne. i had often wondered if it was meant for ventilation or it was some form of air-conditioning. i found out sometime ago that it is an alternative for air-conditioning. it is called an evaporative cooler.

an evaporative cooler is best suited for an environment with low humidity. so that rules out its use in humid singapore. its installation is relatively cheap compared to the traditional air-conditioners. it also costs much less to operate. the evaporative system is based simply on a water-pump and a fan.

so if it is cheaper to install and operate, why is there no rush to have it fixed in more homes? unlike air-conditioners which can be effective regardless of the level of humidity, the evaporative cooler depends on dry air to be effective. if humidity remains high for a few days, the moist pads (that make the evaporative coooler work) can begin to smell.

despite the fact that air-conditioners are not as environmentally friendly as the evaporative coolers, just as many people have opted to use them to keep themselves cool.

stroller, then and now

this picture of a vintage stroller was sent to me by my blogger friend peter after he had read my blog posting on the birth of my grandson. i cannot recall seeing babies on strollers when i was young. however, seeing this photograph triggered my memory. i remember a movie in the 60s - a horror one, i believe - where a stroller or pram was prominently featured. can anyone remember the title of that movie?

if you compare today's stroller with the 1930 stroller, you will find that the modern stroller is made mainly of light-weight material. it may have more parts and more features but the weight may be lighter than the simple old stroller. the old stroller appears to be made mainly of metal and wood.

the modern stroller is collapsible; it can be folded with one hand for quick closing, so that it can be stored in the boot of a car for easy transportation. it is equipped with all-wheel suspension with a one-touch brake, just like central locking. the swivel front wheels make for better manoeuvrability. for the comfort of the baby, there is a four-position back-rest and two-position footrest. the stroller also comes with a multi-position hood with a storage pocket and a hinged front tray.

this baby car-seat which doubles as a carrier is sold as an optional item but it had to be bought because without a carrier, the baby could not be discharged from the hospital (in melbourne). just telling the hospital staff that you had a carrier in your car was not enough. you had to take it from your car and show it to the hospital adminsitration staff member. this carrier can be attached to the stroller. besides australia, i know of another country - the united states of america - where this is a requirement.