Saturday, December 09, 2006
03 Dec
Standard Chartered Marathon 10km.
I don't know if I was looking forward to it or drearding it. I havent been training much.
Anyway, just went early at 6 am to Chua's place to meet up with Simone, Julianne and Valerie. This year, not running with ODAC as not many people signed up for the run. Myra has injured her toe, so she is not able to do the run with me. It is ok though, at least Simone won't nag me so much about standing out on her.
Valerie had to deposit something, so we went to her fitness club. It had a very nice toilet cum locker room. We met Simone and Julianne shortly after that. Valerie's friend, Melissa, and Simone's brother, Aundrey, was also with them.
After sending Aundrey off for his race alone, Simone and I met Cheryl on the way back to meet the rest and do our warm up. I saw the juniors too. They were more like all over the place.
The race itself was fun. Started with slow jog together with Simone and Cheryl while the rest was lost in the sea of runners in front of us. After 5km, Simone and Cheryl decided to walk and so I went to continue the run on my own. It was not that bad running alone- no stress, own time own pace. Met a couple of juniors on the way and also saw my cousin on the other side. It was amazing that I could actually inish the whole 10km without walking at all. I even had the runner's high at some point. Altogether, it felt good.
After the race, we slacked at MOS and then went back to Chua's office. Later, the Chua people "trooped" down to Esplanade's "No Signboard" Restaurant for a tasty and expensive meal. Chua treated us to the meal and brought along wine. On top of the wine, he ordered beer for the above-18 tables. Below, is the menu as far as I can remember.
Lobster salad
Lobster come in real big chunks coated with mayonise that has a slight zesty after-taste and bits of fruits and lettuce.
Shark's Fin Soup
Not much fin to be observed but still tastes good. Not too starchy, just right I felt.
Abalone with Spinach.
Abalone was sliced into thin slices and served generously. Spinach is a little over-cooked and lost its crunch. Abalone is nice and soft though.
Tofu with Meaty gravy
The tofu is really smooth with a chewy skin. Eating the tofu is sufficient to satisfy the taste-buds. The tofu comes with pork gravy in which I have to remove. So try for yourself to see.
Chicken in Spice
The chicken parts are deep fried till crispy and it has this spicey tinge to it. Tastes good but it came in too big portions.
Oat Prawns
The prawns are fried to crispy, you can even eat its head and shells. Hence, no messy, dirty fingers. It tastes buttery with the oats are in abundant. There were a few at my table who seemed extremely interested in scooping up to eat the fired oats though I thought it was a little to salty.
White Pepper Crab
This is superb. The aroma of pepper just hits you when the waitress sets it on the table. The heat of the crab is just alright, such that one can peel the shell without resulting in scalded fingers. The shell of the crab is crushed so it is easy to peel in big chunks. There is also plenty of solid orange roe that comes with the crab. Despite the classy ambience adorned with many displayed ornaments, we still licked our fingers after eating our crab. That is how good the crab is.
Hong Kong Noodles
Probably we were already full by this time. The noodles was a tinge to blend and plain. It was generously accompanied by straw mushrooms though.
Almond Jelly with Longan
Almond Jelly is smoother than those you normally get. The taste is sweet and the scent of almond is rich and fragrant. No hint of bitterness. recommended to those who doesn't mind almond flavour. Longan is just like what you get from those canned longans.
Thanks Chua! For the marathon and the meal. I hoped you enjoyed your time with us though you didn't eat much. We sure enjoyed ourselves. Will miss lots of Chua people too!
Standard Chartered Marathon 10km.
I don't know if I was looking forward to it or drearding it. I havent been training much.
Anyway, just went early at 6 am to Chua's place to meet up with Simone, Julianne and Valerie. This year, not running with ODAC as not many people signed up for the run. Myra has injured her toe, so she is not able to do the run with me. It is ok though, at least Simone won't nag me so much about standing out on her.
Valerie had to deposit something, so we went to her fitness club. It had a very nice toilet cum locker room. We met Simone and Julianne shortly after that. Valerie's friend, Melissa, and Simone's brother, Aundrey, was also with them.
After sending Aundrey off for his race alone, Simone and I met Cheryl on the way back to meet the rest and do our warm up. I saw the juniors too. They were more like all over the place.
The race itself was fun. Started with slow jog together with Simone and Cheryl while the rest was lost in the sea of runners in front of us. After 5km, Simone and Cheryl decided to walk and so I went to continue the run on my own. It was not that bad running alone- no stress, own time own pace. Met a couple of juniors on the way and also saw my cousin on the other side. It was amazing that I could actually inish the whole 10km without walking at all. I even had the runner's high at some point. Altogether, it felt good.
After the race, we slacked at MOS and then went back to Chua's office. Later, the Chua people "trooped" down to Esplanade's "No Signboard" Restaurant for a tasty and expensive meal. Chua treated us to the meal and brought along wine. On top of the wine, he ordered beer for the above-18 tables. Below, is the menu as far as I can remember.
Lobster salad
Lobster come in real big chunks coated with mayonise that has a slight zesty after-taste and bits of fruits and lettuce.
Shark's Fin Soup
Not much fin to be observed but still tastes good. Not too starchy, just right I felt.
Abalone with Spinach.
Abalone was sliced into thin slices and served generously. Spinach is a little over-cooked and lost its crunch. Abalone is nice and soft though.
Tofu with Meaty gravy
The tofu is really smooth with a chewy skin. Eating the tofu is sufficient to satisfy the taste-buds. The tofu comes with pork gravy in which I have to remove. So try for yourself to see.
Chicken in Spice
The chicken parts are deep fried till crispy and it has this spicey tinge to it. Tastes good but it came in too big portions.
Oat Prawns
The prawns are fried to crispy, you can even eat its head and shells. Hence, no messy, dirty fingers. It tastes buttery with the oats are in abundant. There were a few at my table who seemed extremely interested in scooping up to eat the fired oats though I thought it was a little to salty.
White Pepper Crab
This is superb. The aroma of pepper just hits you when the waitress sets it on the table. The heat of the crab is just alright, such that one can peel the shell without resulting in scalded fingers. The shell of the crab is crushed so it is easy to peel in big chunks. There is also plenty of solid orange roe that comes with the crab. Despite the classy ambience adorned with many displayed ornaments, we still licked our fingers after eating our crab. That is how good the crab is.
Hong Kong Noodles
Probably we were already full by this time. The noodles was a tinge to blend and plain. It was generously accompanied by straw mushrooms though.
Almond Jelly with Longan
Almond Jelly is smoother than those you normally get. The taste is sweet and the scent of almond is rich and fragrant. No hint of bitterness. recommended to those who doesn't mind almond flavour. Longan is just like what you get from those canned longans.
Thanks Chua! For the marathon and the meal. I hoped you enjoyed your time with us though you didn't eat much. We sure enjoyed ourselves. Will miss lots of Chua people too!
what we could have been, 2:45 AM.
