the garden slug

I thought it was petrified (meaning, both terrified and/or turned crusty) so I poked it gently (very, very gently lah, I’m no monster!)… and it was alive!

So there I was, so happy and proud that I’d found a real live slug to snap with my subpar phonecam…

Then Jezamine comes along and beats it all by sharing this photo. “Not for the faint-hearted and easily queasy,” she warns. You have been warned!

Just a few months ago, we talked about our young slugs Michael and Chris, who were starting to train as Kitchen Slugs.

In a little less than half a year later, they pretty much run the kitchen all by themselves.

They are starting to create their own unique recipes.

Beaming like a proud parent, all I can say is, “My little boys have grown up…”

*wipes a tear*

Tip: Try the chicken kebabs. You heard it here first!

In the meantime, check out Sarah’s cafe signages.

I’m re-posting something I read on http://miyagi.sg

It’s a sad thing that we’re so used to sub-standard customer service here that when sales and service staff actually display any bit of pride and love in their work, we’re impressed to the point of wanting to blog about them.

That’s not to say that Jenny of Silic Lighting Centre merely has a modicum of pride and love in her work. As I blogged previously, hers was the only shop along Balestier Road (aka Lighting Avenue) whose occupants even entertained the idea of trying to fix my mother’s old Tiffany lamp.

Some time last week, Jenny called to tell me that she found some parts that would fit the lamp, although they weren’t exactly a match for the old brass parts, and for the parts she couldn’t find, that she had gone to her company’s factory and made the parts to fit the lamp.

Then she told me that she had to bill me about $150, and asked if that was ok. I was so thrilled I said yes and she then asked me to bring the lamp shade because she wanted to take a look at it.

When I got to the shop with the lamp shade, Jenny assembled the whole thing and then turned on the lamp and admired it for a few quite seconds before she took a paint brush from her desk and brushed the dust off the lamp shade, sighed, and remarked how pretty it was, and how my mother must have been sad to part with it.

Because it looked like it was going to rain, and because I was illegally parked, I thanked Jenny and said I’d bring in more lights for her to fix if any more of my mother’s hand me downs needed fixing.

Then she says, “Actually, we don’t do repairs, but I knew you wouldn’t be able to get that lamp fixed anywhere else.”

Silic Lighting Centre

509 Balestier Road

Singapore 329848 (map)

Tel: 63561629

Incidentally, The Garden Slug also bought all our shop’s lights from Jenny’s little lightshop.. She was probably the only person along the entire stretch of Balestier that didn’t scoff at our tiny budget.. Infact, she took so much time to attend to us even though we went into her shop in our raggedy berms and paint-stained T shirts. So, the slugs should all aspire to be like Jenny, we should always do things out of the odinary for our customers and we must always “go the extra mile”. These are the little things that keep our customers happy and delighted…

I’m actually glad that the young slugs often come to the kitchen asking for things that are not on the menu, this shows that they always try to meet customers’ special requests instead of saying, ” No, we don’t have that on the menu”, which is something that we hear so often when we eat out…

That’s why, after 2 years, it is still a joy working at The Garden Slug, no red tape, no 1000-pg hand book to refer to. Just 1 mantra, ” Make the customer Happy, as far as possible ”

Have a gd day folks!

hey blogheads! I’m back at work after a wonderful 2 week break in New York City and San Francisco Today, Sharon Slug just reached Singapore too. She says Hello to all her friends ( and fans) .. Joseph slug and Chris slug will be flying off to India tmrw late afternoon for a long due break.  And NOoo, they’re not going together, in case u’re wondering.. Joe’s going trekking in Sikkim and Chris is going to a village off Kerala with his Grandma.

Anyway, since I’m still majorly jetlagging… Here are some pics that I took. Enjoy!

NYC!

(1) I bunked at Tara Croft’s ( Yes, it’s her real name!! ) apartment in NYC’s East Village, a nice arty bohemian area that’s quite safe and shockingly expensive. A small studio ~ around the size of Slug’s dining area would cost US$2500 rent/mth.

(2) My 1st breakfast was delissh= cinnamon raisin bagel w cream cheese and mushroom quiche washed down by a cuppa. (3 &4 )Meet Molly & Malone- Tara’s lovely cats. Yup, I had to scoop poo even during my holiday. The weather was a lovely 18 degC in the day and a rather chilly 10degC at night.

NYC!

(1) Breakfast at Whole Foods- YUMS! Scrambled eggs with herbs, potato and rashers/ Cinnamon Toast with reduced fruits and Organic Ice Cream (2) I HAD to take a picture of the MOST horrid chinese food I’ver ever had in my life. Lesson learnt: DON”T rush into the 1st shop you see in China Town. it’s likely a TOURIST TRAP!!!…. For the record, they served “Chow-Fun“, “Crispy Duck” and ” Sweet Sour Soup”.. Makes me kinda ill just thinking about it. (3) Soul food- I had cajun food at Bubba Gump’s , pretty commercialized fare but decent enough. (4)I caught Xanadu in Broadway, my first Broadway musical, funny and campy- perfect for a fluffy holiday.. This bag of nuts consisting of appx 52 peanuts ( i counted) cost me US$5. ** faints** A typical regular meal in NYC will cost about S$40 for 2. A Tall starbucks Latte = US$4.50 = $6.50, a value Meal at Mcdonald’s = US$8 average= S$12 ( and it isnt even upsized :-0 )

NYC!

(1)Spooooky statue of Liberty (2)Theatre District : Brodway (3)St Patrick’s Cathedral (4) Interior of catherdral ~ It was breathtaking!

NYC!

New york is THE perfect place for arty types.. The whole city is filled with such incredibly good design, it’s almost ridiculous. From a drink bottle label, to subway signs to boutique signboards etc, the typography/ colour contrast etc etc = perfect! (1)The Met Museum: Andy Warhol (2) The Met Museum : Some Le-Snoot sculptor, can’t recall the name of the artist (3)The Met Rooftop: Koons (4)Edward Hopper !!!! My all time favourite American painter.

And we’re off to San Francisco!! SF had absolutely crazy weather last week. It would swing from 20 degC in the day to a teeth-rattling 7degC at night. i caught quite an awful chill as my jacket was too thin!

 SF!

(1) Really good clam chowder at some fish shop (2) Avocado Salad with balsamico & battered fish, yums ! (3) Mission Dolores – For Hitchcock Vertigo fans out there, I’m sure you’ll recognize this! (4) Palace of The Fine Arts

SF!

(1)Frida Kahlo’s exhibition at the SF MOMA was sold out and folks had to queue for time-controlled tickets.. gosh. (2) But lucky me! I managed to catch her works and OMG, it’s inconceivable that the SF MOMA managed to put together such an extensive retrospective of this iconic artist. I’ve been intrigued by Kahlo since I was 13, so it was a real treat! (3) Caught “Hey Sailor’ which is a twist on Herman Melville’s classic tale of Billy Budd. Omni Circus does some pretty radical stuff I must say.. (4) Took a stroll to the Beat Museum but it was closed! I really wanted to check out the scoop on Kerouc, Ginsberg etc, but oh well.

SF!

(1) The amazing Castro Theatre..lovingly restored and plus, they play really old cool flicks. I caught “Fat City” by the “master of light”, John Huston. (2)The famous painted Victorian “ladies” – so pretty, they look almost fake!(3)North Beach- quite a yawn..zzzz

SF!

(1) Friendly group hug!! I went to the annual SF Folsom Street fair (not as a participant in case u’re wondering..) It was a real demonstration in social and personal liberty. This is the tamest photo, trust me. (2) CLOYING Garlic Butter Seafood Dinner at a real tourist trap near the wharf. Dinner came up to US$90 for 2. For that, I could have had fed my slugs for a month!! ( joking… not.. joking…haha) (3) HUGE seagull, I think he could have had Laura the Cat for supper (4) A “regular” Croissant at a bakery. I couldnt even finish a quarter of that monster.

SF!

(1)Napa Valley Sonoma county- it felt so strangely Tuscan.. Took about a 60min drive from SF to reach Napa Valley. The weather was a lovely 22 deg C and the wines were out of the world. (2) This Vineyward that I was on = 500+ acres!!! = 331391239127312 HDB flats ! OR 223328282233233 Executive HBD flats! gosh. (3) I can’t remember the name of this interesting green building. Apparently, it was used as a writing studio by some film greats decades ago.. Can somebody help me with this?

SF!

(1) Japanese food at a realll noisy Sakae bar, there were scores of drunk varsity kids.. Food was so so but after 10 meals of potatoes, I WANT some Asian Nosh!!! (2)Strawberries for US 99cents, a real steal!  (3) Best Viet Food in SF, look for a place called Tu Lan (They’d be the butt of all Hokkien jokes in S’pore, man! haha) , delicious Phoa dishes for US$5 a pop, really cheap by SF standards. Located in a rough neighbourhood populated by lots of panhandlers,homeless and crazies. But go early and you should be OK.

SF!

And hey, a traveller HAS to pay homage to SF’s most enduring and endearing icon right? The Golden Gate Bridge was an awe-inspiring sight.. I tried to be a macho minah for a day and tried walking from one end of the bridge to the other.. Alas! the squealing slug feet begged for mercy, and I had to turn back halfway. But well, “Half a warrior better than none a warrior” ~Sophia slug

SF!

For my last day in SF, I decided that Yes, I will have a fancyass meal at Zuni… I’ve heard so much about this restaurant created and managed by celebrity chef Judy Rodgers .It has been touted at one of the best restaurants in San Francisco and I wasnt disappointed.. The pictures DO NOT do justice to the food. We ordered : Pork chops in naturel jus, with olive oil and braised white beans- the chops were incredibly tender and had a perfect spot of pink right in the middle. The Pasta was a triumph truly, sweetened charred peppers with olive oil and a very special secret ingredient which made the pasta oh so tasty. I just test ran a beta version of it on the slugs earlier, and will fine tune the recipe within the week.. Im so excited!! Total damage =US$60 but well worth every penny! Go to: www.zunicafe.com for address ( not much info though)

If any of you slugphiles plan to visit SF / NYC, let me know.. I’ll be more than happy to lend you my guide books, maps, and provide some good makan /shopping/sight seeing ideas. :-0 Gosh, it’s almost 330pm, I think even my Pancake Furball may be asleep.. I should try to get some zzz too. It’s gonna be a long week ahead without Joe and Chris around, I smell aching shoulders and caving backs…

O yes- Wanna give a big Shout Out to The Donut Opportunist for making this an extra sweet trip! You rrrock

Hi! We’ll be closed Mon and Tues for some off-site corporate functions.. Pop by Wednesday onwards for your fix of slug grub We’re open 10am-10pm wed-sunday as usual!