For the last many units of time, I have been waking up to lousy ‘news’. Alright, people in general quip that news is always bad and that is why the story made it to the headlines in the first place! Some stories are great, such as so-and-so breaking a meaningful record in a track and…
I don’t drive in Singapore. Driving is not my favorite past time. I view it as a chore and have little pleasure in sitting behind the wheel. I always go home by bus. When rushing for time, I routinely take the MRT (subway). The subway system in Singapore is extensive and it runs more and…
I grew up in the 1980s in Hong Kong when Cantopop (Cantonese pop songs) was the ‘in’ thing. Many Cantopop songs simply used popular song from the west and gave it a new life with Cantonese lyrics. This was a fast and economical way of acquiring a local following. David Bowie was an exceptional entertainer.…
The last time the haze hit Singapore was back in 2013. The haze was the result of tree burnings (slash and burn) in a nearby country and the resulting smoke was blown over to Singapore. That time the haze lasted a few days and the worst day had a Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) of about…
I watched the movie, Top Gun, when I was a late teen. That was a cool movie way ahead of me: the Harley Davidson, the babes, the planes, the singing, etc.. It was ahead of me because… well, don’t laugh, that was the point I was still wondering if that cool American bike was “Harley…
I hope my wife will not be upset with me. Through my ex-girlfriend, I was introduced to the album The Mad Chinaman by Singaporean artist, Dick Lee, when I was in living in Chicago back in 1990. My ex-girlfriend was beautiful and smart – she was going to college in New Jersey then. For those…
It is a tradition that the Prime Minister of Singapore gives a National Day Rally (NDR) Speech shortly after August 9, Singapore’s National Day. This year, as usual, my family was looking forward to it. To be honest, I was never interested in long speeches from people who run countries as they tend to be…
When I was a kid under twelve, this was the time of the year for me. We celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival on the lunar calendar, which usually fell in early June. I used to indulge myself with yummy rice dumplings. My grandma (Chan Yin-Mui陳賢妹小姐) made the best rice dumplings (with peanut fillings) in the…
Marathon Man is a movie that has little to do with a marathon. I was a runner during my school years and have been running semi-regularly for a while. Even though I have never run a marathon in my life, I am always intrigued by marathons. I have always had a healthy dose of fear…
What is “Rojak”? Rojak is a dish served in Malaysia and Singapore. It is essentially a local salad. The ingredients in a typical rojak dish include turnips, cucumbers, pineapples, bean sprouts, peanuts, fried tofus, banana flowers, green mangos and a delicious dressing that consists of lime juice and prawn. However, there is really no specific…
Bits and Bites from Dr Ansgar Cheng 