Waraku Restaurant - Update

Desmond has forwarded the Waraku bill. I have snapped it below for posterity (notice the spelling error of the word "Dining" on the bill) :-)

So what we had were:

Annie : Dream Ramen

Desmond : Gindara Yaki (broiled black cod fish), Rice, and Mango Short Cake

Freddy : Tempura Yamakake (tempura with grated potato)

Kar Yen : Kaisen Nabe (seafood and vegetables in claypot) and Green Tea Tiramisu Short Cake

Myself : Mix Fry Wazen

The Hot Ocha is the Japanese Green Tea which we all had.

As I had mentioned in my earlier post, you can view these food items from the Waraku menu online:

http://www.waraku.com.sg/docs/menu/casual/lnk/index.html

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Corrections :

Desmond has indicated that his IT Security course is held at Nanyang Polytechnic, and not at Nanyang University.

Waraku Restaurant (7 May 2009)

Annie sent an email a few weeks back (23 April) about arranging a dinner meet up. Although we have kept in touch via email, the last time I saw Annie in person was on 6 February 2000 (second day of Chinese New Year), when she invited a few friends including myself to her home at Stratford Court, and that is like almost 9 years ago!

Annie arranged the dinner gathering at the Waraku Japanese Restaurant at Marina Square on 7 May (7 pm). Besides myself, Desmond, Freddy, and Kar Yen also attended. Kee Hai could not make it because he had to look after his children, while Koon Chee is still in Hong Kong.

The word Waraku is transliterated into Japanese characters that look like the Chinese words for 和乐 (or Harmony):

I have not stepped into a Japanese restaurant for many years (although I did try the Japanese Egg Omelette at a Japanese foodcourt called the Ishi Mura in the new Northpoint annex a few weeks back - but that's another story). I normally patronise Chinese and Western restaurants. So I was also looking forward to trying the food in the Waraku. It did not disappoint.

I arrived at the restaurant at exactly 7 pm on Thursday evening. I met Desmond just outside the restaurant, who had himself also just arrived (we were the earliest).

I was quite impressed with the posh surroundings as we were led to our "private" room:

I was quite enamoured when we were shown to our "private" room. This is actually the first time I have ever been inside such a room - characterised by the low table with a distinctive gap under it for putting our legs. When I dined in other Japanese restaurants previously (back in the Conner and IDTECH years), the private rooms we had were like any normal dining room with waist level chairs and tables). The unique furniture arrangement piqued me - having only seen such things in movies and television:

About 1 minute after Desmond and I settled down, Annie and Freddy arrived. Kar Yen joined us about 20 minutes later, and our party was complete.

Annie had asked for a "private" room so that we will we have a quiet surrounding to chit chat. What a joke! There was a doorway sized gap in the partition wall that leads to a passage leading to several other "private" rooms (you can see the gap in the above photo). However, one of these "private" rooms were occupied by a motley group of young ladies celebrating the birthday of one of their lot. These gregarious ladies were squealing with laughter at decibel high ranges, and were drowning out whatever quietness and tranquillity that was promised by a "private" room. They were so loud and deafening at one point that I got up, went to their room, and asked them to please tone down their excitement level. Although they did quieted down a bit, the noise level gradually returned to the highs as the night wore on. You just can't keep a good woman's voice down :-)

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I can't recall exactly the names (my Japanese is pretty bad) of the food we ordered. However, Desmond ordered some kind of steamed fish, and I think Annie, Freddy, and Kar Yen ordered noodles (soba?). As for me, I ordered some kind of Tempura "Wazen". "Wazen" means "Set Meal" in Japanese. Here, you can browse through the Waraku Restaurant's menu from this URL:

http://www.waraku.com.sg/docs/menu/casual/lnk/index.html

The "Wazen" menu is shown on page 12/13 in the above link. However, it does not feature the item I ordered, which comprised of:

- fried prawn fritters (tempura ebi)

- fried calamari (squid - tempura calamari)

- baked potato

- assorted vegetables (carrots and Brussels sprouts - my favourite)

- soba soup ramen (noodle)

- egg custard with pork slices (chawanmushi)

- rice

My Tempura Wazen meal cost $18.80, plus the hot green tea at $1.00, set me back $19.80, which I felt was pretty reasonable. My Wazen meal was absolutely delicious (tempura is always a favourite), and was pretty filling. I give my Tempura Wazen a rating of A+.

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During dinner, conversation revolved around the old standard questions: Where is Goh Kim Siew now? What have we been doing? How is the economy? Etc etc.

Where is Goh Kim Siew now?

Actually, no one knew. It was said that Kim Siew and his wife had divorced a few years back, but other than that, no one really knows where he is at the moment.

However, during dinner, Annie mentioned that she had a Facebook page, while Kar Yen mentioned that Siok Kee also had a very nice one. I commented that I don't personally like Facebook, because I find its default settings to be too invasive of privacy. Things that you might not want to publish can be inadvertently open to the public if you did not set up your Facebook settings appropriately.

Anyway, as I was writing this, I thought that perhaps Kim Siew may have a Facebook page. I did a quick Google search, and found the following link:

http://kimsiew.com

Looks like Kim Siew is doing very well.

What are we doing now?

I am still with a software company (CRISTAL Solutions Pte Ltd) working on logistics software (Warehouse Management Systems). I have been doing the WMS software since 2001.

Annie is currently between jobs. She quit her job with an Air Show company some months ago to look after her dad when he fell seriously ill. Her dad had passed away recently.

Desmond is still with Seagate. He is now working at the "Endpoint Security" department, and is also taking a part-time course on IT Security at Nanyang University.

Freddy is still with UBS. Because of the worldwide financial crisis, banking sector jobs are also perilous in these times. No one really knows what is going to happen next.

Kar Yen is currently working at Yongnam Holdings Limited. She said that she has to make a long commute every day from her home to Tuas.

Physical Appearances

Everyone commented on how much weight Kar Yen has put on. The rest of us didn't seem to have changed much, although I must admit that I now weigh 82 KG (I used to weigh only 75 KG).

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

I do not follow fashion news, so I was aghast when I learnt that the handbags that Annie carried (a gift) and that Kar Yen bought (at staff price discount) were so expensive. Annie's bag (COACH) retails at $600+, while Kar Yen's bag (GUCCI) retails at $900+. I commented that the satchel that I carried cost only $25.

You can have a glimpse of the bags from these thumbnails:

Annie's Bag

Kar Yen's Bag (partially clipped)

My bag is propped at the corner behind Desmond

I made the usual joke that many years ago when Koon Chee told me that he bought a pair of branded shoes (Dr Martens?) for $250, I told him that the cost of my shirt, pants, and shoes total to less than $100, which is less than the cost of 1 of his shoe ($125)! Anyway, as I said before, and as my friends know me, I am not really into branded clothes. I usually spend my money on computer stuff and books. I recently spent over $500 on books about science and philosophy. I have also spent equally much on computer gadgets and accessories.

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We decided to call it a night at 10 pm, because many of us have to work the next day (Friday). Originally, Annie wanted to arrange the meet up on either a Friday or Saturday, but Desmond had classes on Friday evenings, and Kee Hai is not free on Saturdays. This was why the meet up was scheduled on a Thursday. It is ironic that the person whom Annie accommodated for this could not make it.

This reminded me of the time back in 1995 when Annie, Desmond, Koon Chee and myself were supposed to go to Hong Kong on a holiday trip. Koon Chee had promised to show us the sights if we went together. We queried Koon Chee whether he really could make it, and he said something to the effect that "even if he was sick, he will drag himself out of bed to join us on our Hong Kong trip". And as it turned out, Koon Chee could not join us on that HK trip :-)

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There was some hoo-hah over the bill because according to our server, customers who paid with a HSBC credit card is entitled to a 10% discount. However, it turns out that the HSBC credit card was associated with two promotions:

a) one-for-one free dessert

b) 10% discount

Because Kar Yen and Desmond both ordered cakes for dessert (the rest of us skipped dessert), the cashier had automatically extended the one-for-one free dessert promotion on the second cake to Desmond's HSBC card. Only when we were calculating the amounts each of us had to pay for dinner was the missing "10% discount" uncovered. We told our server that it is ridiculous to give the "one-for-one free dessert" because that was only worth $2.80, whereas the "10% discount" would cut our bill by at least $10! We asked the server to void the previous bill (which Desmond had already signed), and to issue a new one with the corrected amount. Hopefully, there is no cock-up when the credit card statements are received by Desmond later in the month.

I look forward to the next gathering.

NJ

Links

Photo album: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/njwong88/DinnerAtWarakuRestaurant

Waraku Website: http://www.waraku.com.sg

12 May 2009 : See updates and corrections in the following post.

AWARE

The AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research) leadership seems to have been usurped by fundamentalist Christians who seek to replace AWARE's liberal stance which was pro-abortion and pro-homosexuality with one that is more congruent to the fundamentalist Christian stance of the new leaders which is strictly anti-abortion and anti-gay.

I happen to know Dr Alan Chin, the husband of Josie Lau (the new AWARE chief), who was my camp's Medical Officer during my National Service days. I am so surprised that he has become such a religious bigot. As Christopher Hitchens rightly noted, religion poisons everything, including one's mind.

Fundamentalist Christians like Alan Chin always tout the same ridiculous arguments about abortion and homosexuality. They always say:

1. Homosexuality is not natural, and is a human sin.

Well, if that is so, why are there so many animals that are also homosexual? Obviously if there are homosexual animals, then homosexuality is a natural behaviour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RlTAyNI8WE

Homosexuality is not a sin. In fact, since fundamentalist Christians believe that god is the maker, then according to this logic, homosexuals must have been created by the same god. And since god made these humans homosexual, surely god must love homosexuals too and not condemn them as sinners who are doomed to eternity in the fires of hell?

Famous Christian homosexuals:

- Ray Boltz http://christianmusic.about.com/od/editorial1/a/rayboltzcomesou.htm

- Marsha Stevens http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/CCM/marsha_stevens.htm

- Ted Haggard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Haggard

2. The presence of gay people will encourage straight people to become gay.

If that is so, surely the overwhelming presence of straight people will encourage gay people to become straight. Indeed, as only about 5% of the world's population is gay, all gay people should have become straight by now due to the huge number of straight people in the population.

3. Gay couples are unnatural because they cannot produce children.

If this is so, then infertile couples and old people past child bearing age shouldn't be allowed to marry since such pairs cannot produce children either. Besides, what the world needs is MORE people.

4. Children of gay parents will not succeed because a home is only complete if there is both a male and female role model at home.

If that is the case, then society should not allow single parents to raise children either. All children of single parents (whether through divorce or being widowed) should be fostered out to homes where there is both a male and female parent.

5. The presence of gay people will change the foundation of society. Society could never adapt to new social norms.

Well, in the biblical age, women were treated like chattel and slavery was condoned. I think human society have adapted very well to the new social norm in treating women as equals; and abolishing slavery outright.

6. Life begins at conception.

If every conception is allowed to develop to full term, I can tell you that the world will have more than the 6.5 billion people that it has now. In 1900, the world was only populated by 1 billion people. The world's population has grown 6.5 times in a span of 110 years. There is just too many people in the world as it is, and family planning - including legal abortion - is a rational way to resolve this over-population problem.

7. Abortion is killing. Abortion should be illegal.

If abortion is illegal, and a woman is caught having one, what should her penalty be? Should she be sentenced to jail? Since abortion is killing, should the woman be executed? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6t_tdOkwo

8. Life begins at conception.

This is ridiculous because it defines a fertilised egg to have the same rights as that of a new born baby.

What if a woman was raped and is now pregnant? She will be emotional conflicted with a foetus that she does not want. If she is a wife, how will the husband take to the baby? If she is an unmarried girl, will she be able to find a husband if she has a bastard child in tow? It is because of society, and religion in particular, that we have this problem of ostracism of illegitimate children, and which is why many women seek to abort unwanted children. Will unwanted children that is brought into this world be able to lead a happy "life" in families that do not love them?

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All the ridiculous arguments against homosexuality and abortion made by fundamentalist Christians are not made because of concern about people's well being, but because of some arcane writings in the bible. In the bible, the Leviticus chapter states that male homosexuality is an abomination. Fundamentalist Christians always tout that this religious ruling must be followed (since everything in the bible is god's word). However, Leviticus also states that humans should not eat clams, oysters, crabs, lobsters, and shrimp, as these are also "abominations", and that disabled people should not approach the altar of god as the disabled people would defile it. Why do fundamentalist Christians not followed such rules too?

In fact, fundamentalist Christians pick and choose. They don't follow many of the rules laid out in the bible. They ignore many of the rules (such as the non-eating of crabs and lobsters) even though this rule is also "god's word", and just keep harping on the homosexual and sanctity-of-life bits. And they demand that the whole society, including people who are not of the Christian faith, to follow the rules against homosexuality and abortion.

The bible is one of the most racist, intolerant, misogynistic, violent and cruel book ever written. We should treat people with understanding, with compassion, with empathy, using reason and science, and not because of some writing in this horrific book concocted by ancient people for a society and a way of life that no longer exists today. It is sad that intelligent people like Alan Chin - and the new leaders of AWARE - are so warped by their religious indoctrination that they fail to see just how harmful and heartless their religious thinking can be to people who don't subscribe to their religion.

What Would Jesus NOT Do?

Christians believe that Jesus is an amazing god, as described by the stories in the bible: making the blind see, turning water to wine, walking on water etc. However, if Jesus was god, and came here to forgive humans for their sins, why did he not end suffering? In my book, the fact of the existence of suffering in this world proves resolutely that a god does not exist, and it is truly a waste of time praying to an imaginary being. Indeed, if god really existed, then the existence of suffering proves that this god is not a benevolent god, but a malevolent one, and why should humans pray to such a nasty being?

The following is a nice video cleverly illustrating why it is so irrational to use the bible to prove that god exists, and that god "loves" us and wants to "save" us from our "sins".

The bible is just a work of fiction, written by bronze age people more than 2000 years ago to explain about the mysteries of life in the tiny corner of the Earth that they occupied. Lacking the scientific knowledge of the 21st century, they had to invent a mythical creature called "god" to explain all this "mysteries". It is time rational human beings junk these superstitions of the bronze age. We should live our lives using rational thinking, based on the pillars of reason and science.

From Taoism To Infidel - Richard Carrier

I just read a very interesting narrative by Richard Carrier about his journey into atheism.

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/testimonials/carrier.html

I have always found Chinese philosophy (Confucianism, Taoism, as well as Buddhism) to be more intellectually satisfying than the theistic religions. As Richard Carrier mentioned, the Eastern philosophies says much about how to conduct oneself in society and living in tune with nature. Theistic religions, particularly Christianity, seems to be about "believe or be damned". This has always irked me. The precepts of Christianity is particularly nasty as it seems to imply that ethically and morally good people should be punished (not rewarded by going to heaven) simply because they do not believe that Jesus Christ is god, while evil doers (murderers, robbers and thieves, bullies) will be rewarded as long as the evil doer accepts Christ. Naivity and gullibility in believing in fairy tales is rewarded instead of honest effort and critical questioning about understanding life and how to live it propitiously.

Truly, the intellectual contrast is staggering. That is why it astounds me how smart theists do not question themselves more honestly and more critically about why they believe what they believe, especially when what they believe is in direct contradiction with reality. It simply amazes me that superstition still has such a strong stranglehold instead of reason and rationality in our current age, where we have the tools of science to acquire new knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.