#french food singapore

[2bearbear]

#2bearbear #bistro du vin #bistro du vin review #singapore #singapore food #french food #foodie #sgfood #sgfoodies #foodsg #french food singapore

[islifearecipe]

#french food in singapore

[rainbowsky]

JJ Lin (a singer that I have posted about before, such a great artist) posted on Weibo about meeting with GG. It seems they had the chance to share a nice meal together when he was in Singapore. I love it that he gets time in to do social things! It can't all be work! ☺️

GG replied to the post:

The restaurant is a 3 Michelin Star French fine dining restaurant called Les Amis. I can only imagine how delicious the meal must have been! Their Instagram has a lot of photos and video of what looks like an incredible food experience!

#xiao zhan #jj lin #ggdd entertainment circle

[ghouloflove]

when worlds collide (pt.2)

[ in other words, the only female member of the biggest korean band in the world goes to formula 1 race in monaco with a friend; only to meet a certain ferrari driver. ]

pairing: charles leclerc x afab!oc/fc (reader is an idol)

note(s): this social media AU has its own race schedule that may not make sense but simply try to enjoy it. “Kim Soyeon” is face claimed by Soyeon from G-IDLE (recommend!). google translated Korean, French, and Italian. i tried my best to remember how certain aspects of the kpop mechanisms but it’s been awhile since I’ve in deep. also giving charles a good season so :)

—enjoy.

part one. part three.

[ instagram ]

s0ye0nnn

• tagged thv & charles_leclerc

liked by thv, charles_leclerc, wi_wi_wi, rkive, and 4,789,654 others

s0ye0nnn a week trip to austria 🇦🇹 with taetae. went to another grand prix but no tae :( but lovely sight to see how ferrari celebrates for P1 :)

view all 2,879,623 comments

thv goal: photo trip

view 104,765 replies

s0ye0nnn 🙃

taehyung101 bro is shakespeare but photography

lilymhe so cool to meet you!! youre so ahh!

↳ liked by s0ye0nnn

scuderiaferrari Absolute pleasure having you with us—in our squad of winners 🏆 You must be a lucky charm, hahaa!

charles_leclerc The luckiest charm I have right now 🍀 Should we be expecting you for the next Grand Prix?

↳ liked by s0ye0nnn

view 45,763 replies

s0ye0nnn too kind, but no :( i have….projects to work on, hahaa

thefourkimmies “I HAVE” SIR SIR SIR AND SOYEOON NN, PRKJECT????? OMFG IM FAin tting..

f1but16cl ….idk how to feel about this

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[ twitter ]

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[ instagram ]

s0ye0nnn

liked by charles_leclerc, lilyhme, agustd, and 6,764,889 others

s0ye0nnn “PSYCHO” track AND music video is coming out in six weeks time, Thrusday. This is a single for the upcoming movie that your 🐻‍❄️ will be featured in, “Home of Dark Webs” (a Netflix original). Enjoy these stills and on set for the MV for now :)

view all 2,684,873 comments

agustd hair is black or blonde?

view all 346,789 replies

s0ye0nnn 임시 염료 🙂 (translation: temporary dye)

soyeonssloot hes asking the real question 😅

charles_leclerc I suppose this makes up not seeing you for the last two races and you not telling me why, haha! superbe 🤍 (translation: stunning)

↳ liked by s0ye0nnn

view all 34,679 replies

s0ye0nnn i’m glad 😆 but i watch dw :) p1 always….

↳ charles_leclerc Always my good charm. 🍀🤍

k.f1.pop wtf is going on.

cl164liverrr ayo ur on main, my boy

danielricciardo I guess not all good luck charms are sane then…

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s0ye0nnn

tagged danielricciardo

liked by charles_leclerc, rkive, wi_wi_wi, and 4,784,980 others

s0ye0nnn i missed Singapore since our tours🇸🇬 was always a good time, this time no different. first grand prix back after missing three, sorry for “starving” you all of my outfits, haha! p.s thanks daniel for the company 😌

and threes weeks time like until “PSYCHO” is out ;)

view all 2,749,743 comments

rkive 재킷? (jacket?)

view 109,742 replies

s0ye0nnn got hot -_-

↳ rkive 🙃

danielricciado Hey, free food and potential snippets? Count me in!

f0rmulaaa101 gtfo

s0yeonnnsloots im loving her Grand Prix “Formula 1” era rn 😗

charles_leclerc Very nice to see you in person again, my lucky charm 🤍

view all 50,738 replies

s0ye0nnn p2, red 🤍

s0yeonnssloot shes flirting on main.

scuderiaferrari Such a great pleasure having you with us again, just make sure not get lost during our two week wait for the next Grand Prix! We’re expecting you, haha 🍀

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letsgossip_kpop

liked by k.f1.pop, and 864,732 others

letsgossip_kpop [ Your admin 🧝‍♀️ is here TO BRING YOU THE GOSSIP ON THE STREET: Kim Soyeon of BTS and Charles Leclerc, Formula 1 driver for Ferrari, have been caught up in dating rumors! As many may know, Soyeon had attented the Monaco Grand Prix with friend Wi Ha-Jun (actor in Squid Games) four and half months back—first of many obviously. Since then, Soyeon has attended each Grand Prix expect three due to the announcement of her role in “Home of Dark Webs” and shooting for her music video of the single “PSYCHO”. She has made her return to the tracks in Singapore, accompanied by Formula 1 driver, Daniel Ricciardo. Into the juicy gossip, her recent instagram post, a photo dump, has her photographed in what seems to be an act gallery, wearing her leather jacket and the next, not. She commented saying “got hot”, but is that really the case? Charles Leclerc posted to instagram twice—but the last one far more interesting (photo 1); a woman in an art gallery, wearing a seemingly similar jacket to the one Soyeon wore in her post with a caption of “🤍”. To add on, his affectionate comment on her post, “Very nice to see you in person again, my lucky charm 🤍”. Of course, this is not the first time many have speculated they may be dating or been a friendly joke—but this is all too coincidental. Did she get hot simply because of the jacket or because the sexy driver boyfriend behind the camera? Stay tunned! ]

view all 588,733 comments

letsgossip_kpop Enjoy the padlock look of Kim Soyeon in the second photo :) - 🧝‍♀️

k.f1.pop ive been here since the beginning and wowwww i may be delulu but the posts by her and his recent activity surrounding her—thats courting if i ever seen it

view all 32 replies

psychoye0nn courting!?!? FUCK WE IN?? 1700s!?? LOR DOF THE RINGS??? 💀💀

supermaxstappen question 🙋‍♀️ why does she never post herself in the padlock?

view 12 replies

k.f1.pop shes a korean idol, part of the most known groups but also “Queen” of Aces and with the amount of photographers there already and some JUST there for HER….trust we (kpop) get enough by that, and shes know it too so she doesn’t do it cuz its BEEN done

lyannaa4 and?? guys and girls can be friends plus if they were dating, theres a reason they aint talking abt it??v

jh0pieeee ….is the queen of aces really going for a man that goes vroom vroom in circles on the weekends for a living ??? and is part of the most clown team? (f1 fan myself)

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[ twitter ]

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authors final note: i hate tumblrs limit on photos. anyways oooo something is going on between soyeon and charles!! 😅 again in this sm au universe, soyeon is you. you are THAT bitch. or soyeon can be an “original character” if you want :) whatever your heart desires.

for the piano ig story of charles, here is the youtube link to what i was imaging for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i_5hiffjCk

check it out, it is so beautiful! might write a short piece on their meeting and this what i will be listening to as i do, haha.

ALSO!! thank you all so so much for the likes, and the reblogs!!! literally thank you so much, i almost did not post the first part but i'm so glad i did! so thank you, its nice to see that people are enjoying my work :) PART THREE IS OUT! SCROLL TO TOP OF THIS POST AND CLICK “PART THREE”—ENJOY!

--and the world is yours, until next time.

#charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc social media au #charles leclerc x oc #f1 imagine #f1 instagram au #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc x reader #f1 x you #f1 x reader #f1 x oc

[silent-sanctum]

✧ Polaris ✧ - Jotaro x Reader

PART III. Blue Moon

Disclaimer: This au follows a narrative so I highly recommend you read PART I. and PART 2. before this so you could follow up on the events and get context on some details that'll be mentioned here. Hope you enjoy! ♥

cw: afab! reader, reader is a stand user, slight canon divergence, sfw

Word count: 6815

Aboard a boat trip to Singapore after an eventful plane incident involving a Stand attack, you and the crew found a brief moment of peace where you had the chance to interact with old and new friends, before the task resumes at the arrival of a suspicious-looking captain.

True to your instincts, you’d expected the worst to come your way when you volunteered to set out into this journey to garner some sort of “peace-of-mind”, but as to how they would approach your little group of Stand users were something you didn’t expect.

It started out in a plane flight, its interior dimmed to accommodate the sleeping passengers occupying almost all the seats, yourself included. It didn’t take too long until the whispers of your companions woke you up, followed by the subtle hum buzz of an insect flying about above everyone.

It didn’t take long for Avdol to recognize the identified frothing beetle to be a Stand belonging to an enemy user aboard the plane you were on, specifically the person bearing the Tower card known for bringing misfortune to those who encounter it.

All 5 of you took great caution to not cause havoc or damage the cabin, making it all the more difficult for your team to properly deal with the speedy little pest, considering Star Platinum’s known for its strong punches.

Though you proved yourself to the boys that you were indeed more than just a tag-along buddy.

The second you saw the tiny thing zipped through the air with its sharped tongue in the direction of Jotaro’s mouth, a single strip of fabric manifested out from you, stretching itself out to block the insect from reaching his face.

The same goes when it attempted to fly through the seats’ headrests with the intention of stealing the occupants’ tongues in retaliation. Multiple strips of rose gold cut through the air and intercepted the bug’s path, causing it to flying about in a retreating zigzag instead of the supposed straight-on approach.

With your intervention, Kakyoin took the opportunity to set up a trap for the beetle and eventually managed to take it out with his Stand, Hierophant Green’s ability “Emerald Splash”.

Though you failed to prevent the damn thing from invading the cockpit and murdering the pilots, resulting to the plane having to do an emergency landing, and thus ending up in Hong Kong. With Joseph calling the Foundation for help, the group were left to wait for their next transport.

Coincidentally, by ending up in the country, you met yet another interesting fellow that reminded you of your first encounter with Kakyoin.

One moment all of you were dining in an oriental restaurant with foreign food you were yet to taste, and in the next, a man came up to the table introducing himself as a French tourist who needed help with ordering.

The second the guy started to speak in that familiar ominous tone with a star-shaped carrot slice in hand, you noticed the teacup bubbling and responding accordingly, you swiftly grabbed it and flung it to the far corner of the room as a pointed blade shot up from the liquid.

Avdol was the one who handled the situation, battling the enemy Frenchman Jean Pierre Polnareff and his knightly Stand Silver Chariot in a duel-like setting atop the space of the Tiger Balm Garden. You were nervous for the Egyptian’s sake, fingers twitching from where it was hanging by your side, filled with the need to shield your ally from the enemy’s rapid swordsmanship.

At the end, Avdol stood victorious, managing to outwit the man with the combination of his flames and a cleverly used substitute statue, and a tunnel he discreetly made to ambush him with fire from below.

And as Avdol left Polnareff with a dagger to spare himself the pains of burning, the boys turned their backs away, except for you as you watched the white-haired man stare at gleaming blade, a defeated smile on his face as he bowed his head.

You cocked your head, a fleeting moment of pity coming across you at sight of utter surrender. “Avdol,” you called out, still staring at the burning man on the ground. “You might wanna reconsider-“

The dark-skinned man stopped in his tracks and with a snap of his fingers, the flames immediately went out at his command and in relief, the Frenchman collapsed unconscious. Avdol turned to look at you, a satisfied smile on his face. “No need to tell Y/N-san. Even with my back turned, I can sense that this man is a better and more honorable person that DIO could ever be.”

Just like how Joseph explained the situation of your cherry-haired companion, Polnareff was found to be controlled by the vampire’s flesh bud, hidden away in his standing, white locks.

With the bud taken care off with the help of Jotaro’s Stand, the Frenchman was freed from the immortal’s control, and as a result, he volunteers to join the team in hopes he’d seek revenge for the death of his sister. Similar to your case, the crew accepts him and your team grew to 6.

You’d expected the guy with the rapier-wielding Stand to carry himself the way he did back during his introduction at the restaurant and at the battle- one who was formal, dedicated, and poised.

You were ready to welcome another serious member into the party, already planning a list of possible interaction bubbles at the top of your head like you did with Jotaro. However, a minute later, that wasn’t the case.

Polnareff resembled your energy more than Jotaro’s- Dynamic and expressive when a flavor of his perverted side jumped out when he accepted the request of having 2 women’s pictures taken, only for the Frenchman to zoom in on their legs with a mischievous snicker.

The men were stunned but you found yourself with a wide smile, thrilled at the fact there was another person who could liven the team with you.

One lively introduction and a single lengthy conversation later, you became quick friends with the guy, finding his charming yet goofy personality a delight to be around.

Even as you boarded the boat the Speedwagon Foundation reserved and setting off to sea, a never-ending string of random conversations flew out your mouths trading trivia facts about France and Japan with each other, what each other’s interests were, and the like.

You two stood at the deck’s rails and from the background, Joseph excused himself for a minute as he stepped into the cabin, Avdol having left to his own mindful solitude, while Jotaro and Kakyoin made themselves comfortable on the available sunbeds.

You glanced over to look at the delinquent for a second, smiling as the latter did the same, before after a few seconds, tipped his hat over his eyes to break eye contact.

You huffed the same time Polnareff cleared his throat. “Now mademoiselle, where were we?”

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

“She’s really something else, huh?”

With his eyes remaining closed under the shade of his hat’ visor, Jotaro hummed in question. “Meaning?”

“I mean, look at her- just approaching people knowing what to say and how to act accordingly,” Kakyoin chuckled. He spared a few seconds to look at you chatting away with Polnareff with a smile fixed on your face. “That’s talent, and now just looking at them, it’s scary how those 2 just share so many similarities. They’re both vibrant Stand users who gives off an intimidating first impression.”

Jotaro scoffed, opening one eye to look at his friend. “Her? Intimidating?” He shook his head, considering that adjective is usually associated with himself. “Hardly.”

When asked to describe how his first impression of you, you were all but that word. When he thought of you, he’s reminded of your polite demeanor when you respected his space, one that slowly melded with your snarky comebacks that juxtaposed your sweet, beaming expression.

And if he were to put all those thoughts into one word, that would be his answer- Unusual. Sassy. Unique. Stunning.

A tiny patch of warmth grew on his cheeks. “Tch.” He clicked his tongue, realizing that last word’s implication. Not in that way Kujo…

“To you maybe, but when I first talked to her, she was staring me down and I could tell she was suspicious of me from the get-go.”

“You provoked her?”

Kakyoin shook his head, gaze turned to the sky in recollection. “Quite the contrary actually. It was the day before we fought. I approached her to ask a favor that involved her convincing you to meet with me.”

“For some reason, I thought she’d help out because it was a simple request but-” he tilted his head. “I don’t know if it was because she didn’t want to be involved or she didn’t want to play a part in my plan to kill you.”

“You think I wouldn’t start getting concerned whether or not you were still okay?” He still remembered what you said to him that day. A statement regarding his safety that didn’t come from his mom. Admittedly, he thought you were too trusting with the people you’d met, but with Kakyoin’s words, you knew better; who to trust and who to be wary off.

With that knowledge, you saw something in him that made you trust him from the beginning despite his menacing appearance.

His chest throbbed at the thought. Jotaro didn’t know what to say and so he remained silent, shutting both eyes in hopes napping would spare him and his questionable emotion in him from continuing the conversation… Though it wouldn’t last long when the bane of his current crisis came jogging to him, with an eager “yah” in her voice. He grumbled a classic “what do you want”, refusing to look at you to give his face time to cool down.

“Pol went off to talk to Avdol so I’m left to my own devices,” you said. Through narrowed eyes, you stood by his sunbed with a hand on your hip and a smirk on your face. “And by devices, I mean you.”

He rose a brow. Pol? You giving nicknames now? “Even outside school you continue to annoy me woman,” he said and as usual, you couldn’t care less when you remained at the same spot with a stable smile. Jotaro sighed in defeat. “What is it this time?”

You sat at the foot of his sunbed and began spewing out your stories, one topic transitioning into another seamlessly as if you mentally prepared it beforehand in mere seconds, your hands moving around to help convey your thoughts.

Jotaro wasn’t sure what it was, but there was always something in your voice that drew him to listen to your relentless chatter and it didn’t help him when 90% of the conversation was about France, Polnareff, and his Stand.

Like I care about that. Thinking like that now, he wished you’d just return to pestering him about his life story and his Stand Star Platinum instead of this newcomer’s background, and maybe this time, he’d surely have something to share in return.

Forcing himself to draw away from the topic of how the Frenchman maintained that ridiculous hairstyle, Jotaro filtered out your words and instead watched how you talk- from the way your bright eyes would widen every time you mentioned a surprising moment, to the different motions of your hands, down to the movement of your pink lips.

He paused the second he realized his gaze remained at the same area of your face for a solid minute. Damnit. The fuck’s up with me today?

When you finished one train of thought, Jotaro immediately butted in to stop you from continuing. “You done rambling?”

You hummed, pursing your lips as if you were thinking about it. “I’m nearly there.”

“Fucking hell- how do you never stop talking?

“Talent, I guess?” You shrugged your shoulders with a cheeky smile. “Thought you knew my speaking capabilities since day 1 but yeah. Just a friendly reminder,” you winked. “It comes naturally.”

“You guys indeed have some solid rapport going on.” Both you and Jotaro turned to look at Kakyoin, silently playing observer as he watched you two bicker with interest in his smirk. “So invested with one another that you both most likely forgot I’m on the neighboring sunbed.”  

Jotaro sent him a half-hearted glare for being right about your communication skills, while you blinked in surprise. “Oh my- Kakyoin-san, I’m sorry! It’s become habitual for me to vent my thoughts out to the local bad boy, but if you want to talk to me, then feel free to open up.”

The student stuck out a thumbs-up. “Will do Y/N-san.”

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

“Ugh! Let go of me!”

“Stop squirming little brat and listen.”

All eyes turned to the source of the exchange to see 3 adult sailors circle a child no older than 11 with a newsboy cap. Of course, you wondered how a kid managed to sneak on board a boat reserved for Speedwagon Foundation affiliates, but you saved that thought for next time.

You rounded the boys’ sunbeds and marched your way to the sailors, shoving them back as you stepped in front of the kid. “What’s going on here? What’s with the unnecessary grabbing?”

One of them, the boldest you assumed, arched a brow at your sudden intervention and laughed. “Hey now little miss, I suggest you back off and let us deal with this issue, okay?”

“Well, your way of handling the issue isn’t exactly appropriate,” you said in return, arms crossed. “How about all you big strong men be the one to back off and give us some space for proper communication?”

“Yeah? You’re not exactly Mr. Joestar who could tell us what to do.” He sneered at you and grabbed your forearm. “Let’s escort your pretty ass back to your-“

Irritated, a translucent rose gold fabric shot out from the back of your shoulder and wrapped itself around the wrist, pulling it off you and squeezing it tight enough for the sailor to shriek in pain. Though not tight enough to crush bone, because that would be unnecessary and you’d end up being the hypocrite.

His companions stepped back in shock and you used the given space to walk towards the pained adult now kneeling on the floor with a raised bluish-purple hand devoid of blood.

“Yeah, I’m not Mr. Joestar, but does one really need to be the leader of the group to request some private time? So, we can settle this stowaway problem better?” You smiled with your hands on your knees to look at him head on, your voice tauntingly saccharine.

“N-No,” the man grunted out, spots of tears already beading in his eyes.

“That’s right. Now…” You gave the man one last squeeze before letting him go. “Be respectful little boys and leave the kid to me.” Immediately, the sailor scrambled on his feet, held his bluish wrist as he retreated somewhere else on the boat followed suit by his companions.

You huffed out a sigh, catching sights of Polnareff, a newly emerged Joseph (in a sailor’s outfit? Or simple summer fit?), Kakyoin, and even Jotaro watching you from the distance. You puffed your cheeks and shrugged. “They were being a tad bit rude. Can you blame me?”

Polnareff gave a satisfactory grin and a supporting thumbs-up while Kakyoin leaned over to the delinquent to whisper something to him, to which the latter responded with an audible grumble and a shove. Though, something in the cherry-haired’s smug smirk and knowing eyes pointed at your direction gave the impression that the topic was about you.

“Alright, now where were we-“

You turned on your heels with the intention of meeting the young stowaway, only to see no one standing behind you. You opted to search the cabin or the side deck just in case she hid, but the distant and consistent splashing led you to believe she wasn’t hiding.

She was fleeing.

You snapped your head towards the different onlooking men. “Didn’t any of you saw her jump off?!”

The Frenchman placed his hand on his nape with a guilty smile on his face. “We were mostly watching you standing up against the sailors if I’m gonna be honest. A sight to see if I say so myself.”

“I kinda did on the way up but the damn kid had some bite to him when I tried to stop him from jumping overboard,” Joseph said.

You only had time to scoff before you rushed over to the railings and call out to the swimming child, the rest following suit behind you. “Hey kid! Come back! I talked them down and you can join us until we hit land!”

For a moment, the child stopped in her tracks and turned to you with possible intentions of swimming back, and you wanted to bide a few more seconds for her to fully decide her course of action, however, the protruding dorsal fin approaching her from the distance said otherwise.

“Kid swim back! Hurry! A shark’s coming!” The others caught sight of it and began calling out for her to swim back as well.

Enough of a reason, the child shrieked and began swimming back towards the boat. However, the sea reptile was speeding too fast for comfort. A big splash was heard beneath you.

And just as the shark was about to deliver a single chomp, its body flew to the air by the booming punch of one strong Star Platinum and his loud “ora”. While the poor creature is being beaten senseless in aerial territory, you saw Jotaro grab the child to tug her back to the boat.

You were about to sigh in relief but you noticed another danger from under the water: 2 pairs of glowing eyes belonging to a shadow who cleaved the beaten shark in clean halves, and the 2 humans were its next prey.

“Jotaro behind you!” You called out, pointing at its direction.

The delinquent looked back and identified the threat instantly, putting more effort in swimming to safety with a child in his arm. You could feel the fabrics on the surface of your back, itching to extend themselves to pull them up, but Kakyoin beat you to it with Hierophant Green reaching down to bring the 2 up on deck.

“Are you alright?” You said, squatting down to brush the wet strands off her face. You knew your raven-haired friend was fine (albeit drenched with sea water), so you placed priority on the kid, who without the cap, revealed herself to be a girl. Not like it was a surprise because you could tell she was a female from the beginning based on body structure, voice, and boyish-upfront.

She recognized you with a slight twinkle in her eyes and gave you a nod. You smiled and brushed through her dark locks. “That’s a relief but don’t go jumping into the ocean this far into the path. What’s your name?”

“Anne.”

You introduced yourself and placed a hand out for her to shake. “Mind telling me why you decided to board our private boat?”

“I just wanted to head where you guys were heading, but I didn’t have any money. I overheard you were going there so I snuck in.”

“Ahhh,” you said in understanding. “Now, I’m not gonna tell you how it’s wrong for you trespass stranger’s boats because I trust you’re aware of that, but since you’re here now, there’s nothing much we can do but let you remain onboard for the meantime.”

The girl, Anne, furrowed her brows and nodded. You gave her one last smile and stood, turning to your friends. “See? Just talk it out and-hey!”

Before you could finish your sentence, Jotaro, with a newly lit cig in-between his teeth, walked over to you to grab you by the wrist and pull you away from the girl. “You gotta stop grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me elsewhere without explanation.” You stared at him with a deadpan gaze. “That’s not cool.” The delinquent didn’t reply, offering only one knowing look before turning his head back to watch Anne with caution.

“Y/N, you must be careful.” Avdol, who reappeared from his solitude, said. “What chased Jotaro underwater was no ordinary predator. It’s an aquatic-based Stand, meaning its user has to be someone on this boat for it to be lurking in the waters around us like this.”

“You never know. She might have pretended to flee where in reality, she might have jumped on purpose to lure someone off the boat and kill them,” Joseph added.

An enemy Stand user? On a different situation, you would have refuted and spoke back at them for antagonizing a little child, but given how anyone could possess a Stand and could be anywhere at random, you couldn’t help but become cautious as the rest of the group.

The hold the teenager had on your wrist remained where it was and you assumed he hadn’t noticed it yet. It sent the tiniest flutters in your chest.

“What are you guys talking about?” Anne said, eyeing everyone. “Why is everyone looking at me like that?” She turned to you in hopes you would help her case again, but knowing the context of your trip, you forced yourself to not give in.

She gritted her teeth, noticing the shift in the air. In the next second, she reached into the pockets of her faded overalls and pulled out a pocket knife with a semblance of confidence on her face. “I-I’ll have you know that even if I’m still a kid, I know my ways with this knife and I killed people with it too.”

“Yeah, and we are all clowns on a trip to honksville,” you muttered to no one in particular. Though if your ears weren’t tricking you, you could hear the faintest huff coming from the delinquent beside you.

Realistically speaking, there was no way she can fend us off with a simple display of cockiness. There’s no way she’s the user. She’s too keen in using that tiny blade and in defense of her ego, that Stand should have appeared by now.

“How about we just throw her off again?” Polnareff suggested. “Minus one of us coming after her, of course.”

“That’s just jumping into conclusions Pol, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” you retorted.

“Y/N’s right,” Kakyoin butted in. “For all we know, she might not be the Stand user at all.”

The old man hummed in thought. “What shall we do about this?”

“You,” Avdol pointed at Anne. “How’s DIO doing? Is he well in his humble abode child?”

“I don’t even know who DIO is! You’re not making any sense!” Anne replied, frustration clear in her voice. “Can’t I just hop onboard in peace?”

“Is this girl our stowaway?”

Two other sailors reached forward to grab Anne, prompting you to instinctively take a step forward. “Thanks for grabbing her for me.” The urge intensified once the newcomer was the one to hold the kid still.

Everyone’s gaze was cast towards the man walking onto the deck- a muscular blonde adult with a moustache and soul patch sporting a red scarf around his neck. The hat on his head indicated that he was in charge of the boat. “I’m pretty strict when it comes to stowaways on my ship here. You may be girl but if I go easy on you, we'll just get more and more stowaways."

The captain’s hold tightened significantly, causing Anne to shriek and drop the knife onto the floorboards. “Hey!” You gritted your teeth.

"I think we'll lock you up in the brink below deck until we make it into port."

You kept yourself reigned in, but the feeling of doubt simmered in you the moment he entered the scene. You weren’t sure if it was overthinking or relating it to past events, but his aura wasn’t to be trusted. Could he be…?

You didn’t want to jump into conclusions, but it couldn’t be helped. Before you had any other thing to say, Joseph entered the conversation with a question. "Hey captain, I'd like to ask you something. You verified the identities of all 10 men on board, haven't you?"

"Of course, they're all veterans. Each one of them worked on this ship for over 10 years. I vouched for every single man." He transferred the girl into the grasp of his sailors as the blond turned to face the group. "I'm not sure why you're so worried about that since I gave you my word from the very beginning."

“Sir, apologies for butting in, but I’m afraid the situation’s already been handled.” The captain narrowed his eyes at you, not expecting anyone to talk back to him. “I’ve already talked things out with her and because we’re in the middle of the ocean, there’s not much options offered on the table.”

“Plus,” you narrowed your eyes back at him. “It’s a tad bit suspicious you’re bringing a child with you to some secluded section of your ship. After all, more eyes mean less chances for her feisty attitude to shine and commit further petty crimes like theft or damage of property.” Anne looked at you and you winked. She beamed at the implied support.

While your companions liked your open approach, the captain expressed otherwise with a subtle twitch in his eye. He cleared his throat and left Anne’s and the 2 sailors’ side, walking toward you with a menacing gait.

Your face steeled into smug ignorance and you refused to budge an inch, but your unruly friend did. The second he stepped within close proximity, Jotaro stepped forward and used an arm to nudge you back so you stood behind him.

And the captain shifted his attention to the teenager, only for the blonde to snag the cigarette off his mouth.

Both you and the delinquent glared at the captain, who pointed the stolen cig at your direction. "I must request that you not smoke on deck. What were you planning to do with the ash and butt once you were done? Were you just gonna toss them into these pristine waters?"

“You may be a guest on this ship, but you will abide by my rules." He looked at you. “That applies to you too girl.”

Using the cigarette, he pressed the butt against the gold of Jotaro’s hat and everyone who knew the teenager stilled, including yourself. No one dared to mock the delinquent, more so with actions, and observing his stunned and likely insulted expression, he was going to have his way with the captain soon.

“You 2 kids got that?” He had the audacity to flick the remains of the cig at your face before pocketing it in the raven-haired’s pants and walking away with a new air of smugness around him.

You cursed, swiping your face free of ash residue. “That bitch ass-“

“Hold it, pops.” Just as you finished getting rid of the ashes, you and the captain paused at the teenager’s statement. “If you don’t want me to smoke aboard the ship, then just tell me. Don’t be a condescending prick about the whole thing, you jackass.”

The adult gaped at the direct insult. There it is. About time his bluntness came to surface. “Hey Jotaro, don’t be disrespectful to the captain. You’re the one at fault.” Joseph said and directed his next sentence to you. “And Y/N, you just can’t speak to the authority like you know better.”

You and the delinquent scoffed at the same time. “Speaking up is wrong now Mr. Joestar? In defense against buff adult men restraining a young girl with unnecessary force? Besides, I did say ‘sorry’ and continued speaking as respectful as possible to his sketchiness.”

Jotaro continued, adding to your sentiments. “His rules don’t mean shit. we’ll be as rude as we want. And you know why?” You furrowed your brows at him. You had a suspicion and you figured he had the same idea.

“The captain is the Stand user.”

Your companions gasped, excluding yourself. You knew there was something wrong with the blond and the way he carried himself throughout the interactions between him and the Joestar group. It said arrogant and smugness. Like he had ulterior motives in mind.

You glared at the captain as he played dumb and asked, “A Stand user? I’m not sure I follow. What is that?”

“That’s completely impossible Jotaro. We chose Captain Tennille because he came recommended with the verification by the Speedwagon Foundation,” Avdol remarked. “He’s someone we should trust. There’s no chance he’s a Stand user.”

You two were unconvinced. “Hold on. What’s this ‘Stand’ thing? I have no idea what you guys are talking about.”

“Okay, cut it out with the bullshit,” you bit at the captain, catching him off guard with your tone. “One question about Stands is fine, but repeating it for the second time is just a dead giveaway.” You crossed your arms. “I’ve experienced enough to detect a liar when I see one.”

The delinquent peered at you for a second as if there was something noteworthy in your little statement.

“You guys, random guesses will only make things more confusing!” Polnareff exclaimed, prompting Kakyoin to question the raven-haired student for proof.

“I found a way to differentiate Stand users from others,” Jotaro said, raising a finger to his face. “The trick is to watch a possible Stand user around cigarette smoke because a single whiff,” he pointed to the bridge of his nose. “Makes a vein pop-up on their nose.”

All your allies’ hands, including yourself, went flying to their nose, feeling for a blood vessel protruding underneath the skin. You smacked your friend square in the shoulder, not that he felt it considering his size and your smaller hands.

“What the hell Jot- I’ve been hanging around your smoking ass all this time and now you’re just telling me that a vein’s been popping up here?!” You gave another smack for good measure. “If repetitive exposure makes this permanent, I swear you’ll be paying for my dermatologist.”

Jotaro arched a brow at you with what you interpreted as amusement, before sighing it away. “Calm down woman. I’m just telling you that now because I lied.”

You were about to smack him one more time to complete the charm, but the ploy simply made you go “ahh” and your hand fell to your side. “I’ll take those smacks back then.”

“That said,” he turned to the rest of the group, his voice louder for everyone to hear. “It looks like we found the idiot, didn't we?"

With that brought up, you noticed every male within the area had their fingers touching their nose. Anne, on the other hand, stood by with confusion etched on her face.

But Tennille had his finger up just like the others.

And just like that, the imposter discarded his façade and revealed his true nature- A Stand user wielding the Naga-like Dark Blue Moon representing the obvious Moon tarot card.

He was quick to act with the Stand kidnapping a panicked Anne into its arms, Tennille challenging your team to fight him in aquatic territory where he had the advantage, and leaping off the rails to dive into the waves.

However, Jotaro wasn’t the type to delay his actions. Seeing the opportunity, he sent Star Platinum out and delivered a barrage of punches to the enemy Stand with before it could touch the water below without harming the girl in its hold due to its sharp precision. Delivering one strong blow, Star sent Dark Blue Moon (and by extension fake Tennille) into the sea, catching Anne’s wrist at the same time.

In the process, he hunched over the side, grunting as he struggled to pull her up. Wait, he shouldn’t be struggling. You rushed over to his side to hold him back, two fabrics manifesting to wrap themselves around the delinquent as additional help. “Can any of you help here?!” You called out to the bystanders.

Joseph was the first to respond and went to his grandson’s other side to help pull him back. You wanted to know what the problem was and on closer look, you detected the issue from the get-go. On the wrist of Star Platinum were an encrustation of barnacles climbing up its wrist, dragging him down as they bite into the skin and drain its strength.

Blood spurted out Jotaro’s hand as a reflection of Star’s injuries. He clicked his tongue in frustration. “Let go.”

“What?!” You retorted.

“The damn thing’s spreading up my arm. That fucker’s still down there causing this.” He turned to look at you. “I need to teach him a lesson.”

You were wary about his decision but damn it, he made a point. If this was left as is even after saving Anne, who knows what would happen when the barnacles overrun his entire body. Reluctantly, you nodded, loosening your grip on him. The old man followed with the same hesitation.

Slowly, his body turned over the railing and just as he was about to slip past it, Stat Platinum launched Anne up just as Jotaro plunged into the depths below. Fabrics shot out immediately to catch the girl and pull her up to safety.

With her dealt with, you and the others could do nothing at the moment but watch the constantly moving waves surrounding the spot he dove into, hoping he would pop up in a short while mostly unscathed and the enemy defeated.

For the first few seconds, nothing happened on the surface. Minutes later, the water stirred in a slow spiral, gradually increasing speed as more seconds passed until a raging whirlpool was formed.

What’s happening down there? Your hands tightened around the bars of the rail. Come on, be done with him and come up already. “Someone’s got to help him.” Beside you, Kakyoin gritted his teeth and sent out Hierophant, shooting its tentacles into the water.

He cursed out of the blue and withdrew them immediately, both you and the cherry-haired student stunned to see blood seeping out from the cuts on his hand. “It’s no use. The water’s filled with razor-sharp scales flowing along the current.”

“So then, there’s nothing we can do but hope he gets out of this alive,” Avdol said.

You considered. Your Stand has the ability to protect you and others from incoming threats thanks to its extremely durable taut cloth. If it can fend off against the sheer strength of Star’s fist, the sharp appendage of Tower of Gray, and the blades of others from way before without being injured-

“Not if I have a say in it.”

All of Joseph’s crew turned to you as you concentrated all your will into one space until a translucent figure emerged from you in broad daylight. You gaped at the familiar entity- The flowing veil obscuring upper half of her face, the billowing dress with shimmering mist replacing where her legs should be, and the numerous rose gold cloths that wrap around the entirety of her body, its silky surface metallic and glinting.

Silent Sanctuary’s whole form.

“Y/N-san’s Stand! It revealed itself!” Avdol exclaimed, stunned along with the others.

You didn’t have time to entertain their awe and focused on the task at hand. She couldn’t go too far from you but her fabrics could. Letting Sanctuary hover a few distance away from you past the deck, she unraveled parts of her back to pull out wide strips of cloth, stuck together to form 2 batches big enough to serve as a wall.

You took a deep breath and the Stand shot her fabrics straight into the scale-riddled whirlpool, one batch stationed 3 meters away from the other, stopping the flow of scales and providing an opening for a safe exit to the surface. As expected, the razor edge of the debris didn’t deal damage to your Stand.

She unwrapped a segment of her arm to form more strips of cloth, and using them like a fisherman on a normal day, plunged the fabrics into the opening and into the water, hoping someone would grab hold of them.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Jotaro could feel the strength deplete from him the more damned barnacles spread from Star Platinum’s arm up to its shoulder until they encased majority of its body. It didn’t help either when he also lied limp amidst the fucking whirlpool of scales the imposter made to conserve energy.

Beneath him, Tennille grinned as he waited for him to give in, spewing out more words of victory as if he paid attention to what he was saying to begin with.

It was pain he had to deal with this here. He was already at a disadvantage being underwater and now he can’t move because of the barnacles seeping his strength.

He gritted his teeth. Come on think damnit.

Just as an idea came to mind, his thoughts came to a halt as something entered the waters beside him, bypassing the whirlpool of scales. One glance and he recognized what they were- Fabrics. Your Stand’s fabrics.

Another set of them plunged shortly after, these ones hanging beside his head. A rope.

“How the fuck?!” Jotaro heard the fake captain from below, the water shifting slightly to the movement of Blue Moon’s propulsion toward him.

He wasted no time and immediately reached up to grab the rose gold cloths, and in an instant, they wrapped themselves around his wrist and all of a sudden, his body was pulled upwards. However, Tennille was close behind, furious at the unexpected interruption.

He still had enough strength to execute one more move to deal with the impostor for good.

Shooting in-between the provided opening your Stand made, he breached through the surface and turned his attention back to the sea beneath him. At the exact moment Dark Blue Moon jumped out, Star pointed two fingers at his direction and breaking past the crust, its fingers extended at a rapid pace, piercing through one pair of the aquatic Stand’s eyes, and by extension, through Tennille’s head.

And for the first time in a while, hearing the bastard cry out in agony as he sunk back into the depths, accompanied with his Stand’s freedom from the barnacles, sent waves of relief throughout his body.

His body was plopped back on the wet floorboards of the ship and he landed with a grunt. He coughed, clearing his throat free from the remaining seawater that got inside as he got up onto his elbows. However-

“Jotaro-ssi, are you okay?” There it is again. The unusual honorific. He saw you rush over to him, getting down on your knees for you to grab his hand and inspect it, unaware of your tiny slip-up. Luckily for him, the minor cuts on his arm from earlier had closed which prevented further bleeding. “I had a hunch he’d be able to do something like that but the scales? If those weren’t there, things would’ve ended up quicker.”

The delinquent remained silent as you sighed with relief at the lack of major injuries, but just as he was about to adjust his hat, he noticed a single strip of rose gold still remained wrapped around his wrist. His gaze travelled up the cloth until he saw your Stand for the first time.

It was exactly the you described it during the days when Jotaro and you simply hung out at the rooftop- ghost-like and ominous-looking. Just like you, Silent Sanctuary seemed to share your level of concern over his well-being, noted through its attention solely focusing on him.

And for the first time in front of you, he let the tiniest of smiles crack on his face as he huffed out an imitation of a chuckle.

You snapped your head to him as you heard that loud and clear. Who knew seeing your expression beam from such a miniscule effort was this satisfying? “Looks like you finally kept your promise about showing me your Stand.”

“I didn’t show her to you before?” You said with a faint blush on your cheeks, alternating your gaze between the hovering figure and him. “Oh gosh, I swear I could’ve introduced her to you earlier if you weren’t… you know, in jail.”

“It’s fine,” Jotaro returned to his usual deadpan face as he rose his arm bearing Sanctuary’s cloth. “Would you mind?”

You blinked a couple times before you caught the meaning of his request. The cloth loosened around his wrist and withdrew back into the Stand’s arm, followed by it disappearing into you shortly after.

Multiple people called out to him and you took this as a cue for you to leave him be with the rest, but just as you were about to retreat while the others came to him, he called out to you. “Oi.”

You turned your head to him with a responding “hm?”

Jotaro tipped his hat, sighing. “Thanks… for earlier.”

With cheeks blooming a visible pink, you smiled and nodded in return.

#jotaro x reader #jojos bizarre adventure #jojo no kimyou na bouken #jjba #jojo part 3 #stardust crusaders #jotaro kujo #jotaro x y/n #jotaro x you #polaris au

[kimbap-r0ll]

Excuse me, can I get headcanons about the Heartslabyul quintet (Ace, Deuce, Trey, Cater and Riddle) going to the reader's world (which is real-life Earth), please? I would like to see them explore the cities (such as New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago), taste the cuisines (including the ones they had never tried before), buying souvenirs, etc. (P.S.: I'm going to do the same request but with the other TWST boys)

I'm going to guess this is all from the same person because my inbox got flooded overnight but these somehow aligned nicely next to each other. I don't really want to reuse the same scenario for about 21 characters so I'm just going to bunch them into one. I hope you understand

TWST characters visit your world instead

To start off, we should celebrate that you can go back to your world now and it's totally okay for you to come visit every so often to Twisted Wonderland! You decide to take this moment and let people visit you where you live and maybe some other places in your world

The twst characters definitely use their ability to go anywhere with magic to their advantage. I feel like a lot of them will choose places depending on where they find comfort in, since big cities might not be a favorite place for some

I definitely feel like Idia and Ortho would want to visit Tokyo, mainly for the video games and manga there is. If they wanted to see webtoons or different kinds of video games similar to League of Legends for example, they might want to go to Seoul

Meanwhile for Pomefiore, I feel like a lot of them would like Milan or Paris. It's really up to them to decide if they want to go French or Italian, but with the way Rook talks you have to expect them to go to Paris first. They do like the kinds of clothes there too

Heartslabyul is sort of all over the place. They probably fought over where to go first before deciding on hopping from place to place every week haha. They do visit major cities like New York City but also smaller cities like Bonn.

Savanaclaw is also a group that's all over the place not really because they want to visit everywhere but because Leona doesn't feel like traveling. They also have the issue of sticking out with their animal ears/tails, so they probably opt for a major city if they want to visit an urban area. It's mainly because there's so many people they won't stick out too badly.

Scarabia is a bit more relaxed in terms of where they want to go. I do feel like they might want to visit places that feel similar to Scalding Sands and might enjoy places like Rabat, maybe even Abu Dhabi, or Istanbul

Diasomnia, similar to Savanaclaw, has the issue of sticking out because of Malleus's horns. However, they do like older looking European cities, and Prague happens to have a lot of architecture that feels similar to what they're used to. They may visit there before exploring different places like Chicago

The overall take for them is that the your world feels a lot more fast-paced, especially in the cities. For example, Tokyo and Seoul have the most crowded subways in the morning and at night when people are commuting. Poor Idia thought he lost Ortho at another station

They like the food that your world has! Heartslabyul tried everything and something that they grew fond of was, for some reason, tater tots. It might be the shape, but it might also be how simple of a dish it is

The kinds of people you can meet also is a highlight for them. Malleus tried to talk to as many people as he could, but sometimes there were some strange stares at him because of his horns. Sebek tried to stop them from staring but sometimes got them more attention ;-;

The twst characters also don't want to limit visiting certain cities only in a few countries, so they basically get jet-lag (teleportation lag?) a lot due to the timezone shifts between a lot of their destinations (Savanaclaw going from Toronto to Singapore wasn't the best in terms of time zones)

Something they should all do however is visit a Disneyland/world. They will be pleasantly surprised especially if they go during their Halloween events

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst imagines #twst scenarios #twst headcanons #anon ask #twst heartslabyul #twst savanaclaw #twst octavinelle #twst scarabia #twst pomefiore #twst ignihyde #twst diasomnia #heartslabyul headcanons #savanaclaw headcanons #scarabia headcanons #pomefiore headcanons #ignihyde headcanons #diasomnia headcanons #octavinelle headcanons #twst mc #twst yuu

[qzbranding]

Cognitive brand associations: National cuisines

This week's class and reading made me think about cognitive brand associations between national cuisines. In particular, (and perhaps prompted by the reading on wine), I wanted to discuss the notion that European cuisines are seen as "high-brow" and certain other cuisines as "low brow"/ cheaper.

Ratings obviously play a bit of a role in building prestige of a cuisine. Of the 144 restaurants that have earned 3 Michelin stars, 62% of them are in Europe, 9% in the USA with 29% in Asia. I distinctly remember being really excited to eat at a 3 star Michelin restaurant in Paris, and being fully okay with the very expensive bill that came after. And yet, when I went to a Michelin starred restaurant in Singapore, I found myself more critical of the food I was eating, judging it for its value-for-money ratio.

As someone who has grown up eating a lot of good, cheap, Asian food, I find myself torn between the expectation that Asian food be cheap and delicious and the aspiration for my culture to be represented in a premium way.

In his book The Ethnic Restauranteur, the author (Krishnendu Ray) hypothesizes that the "more capital or military power a nation wields and the richer its emigrants are, the more likely its cuisine will command high menu prices". In a way, our perception of a cuisine has been nudged by social proof, the cuisine we see immigrants eating and making cheaply, we have continued to perceive as low brow. Even long after those original waves of immigration have passed, our perception of the cuisine could lead us to color our perception of cultures and stereotypes, perpetuating the cycle.

France has cultivated such a strong brand that they have managed to make even the simple somehow seem luxurious. Eggs? Fold them a particular way, and all of a sudden, I'm happy to fork out $25 for a mushroom omelette.  French toast was a cooking method to extend the life of stale bread, and now, it is a fancy brunch entrée. And yet, I only want to pay $5 for a breakfast scallion pancake and $3 for a steamed red bean bun (my preferred Chinese breakfast foods). The raw ingredient costs of both the French and Chinese breakfast don't differ much, but the cognitive association we have with French food (and perhaps just French words) increases our willingness to pay.

Dumplings and ravioli are also another key example. Imagine if I only got 4 dumplings for $30, I would be outraged because I would be expecting at least 12 if not more. And yet, I an often happy to receive 4-6 ravioli for that same price.

This exercise has made me realize that I should myself be more critical about my default expectations for cuisines. I shouldn't always expect to be able to get a bargain on Chinese food; instead, I should be proud when I see more high-end Asian establishments. Cognitive brand associations are there, but I think they should also be able to be challenged and changed. And when it comes to food, the proof really should be in the pudding.

#MITSloanBranding2024B

[brookston]

Holidays 4.13

Holidays

Aerosmith Day (Massachusetts)

American Elephant Day

American Sikh Day

Arugula o Rocket Day (French Republic)

Auslan Day (Australia)

Beauty Peace Day

Celebrate Teen Literature Day

Day of Patrons and Philanthropists (Russia)

Day of the Dead (Elder Scrolls)

Environmental Protection Day

Feast of Rotten Endings

413 Day (Arkansas)

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) International Awareness Day

Homestuck Day

Huguenot Day (France)

Ides of April (Ancient Rome)

International Campus & Community Day

International Creativity & Innovation Day

International Day of the Kiss

International Functional Neurological Disorder Awareness Day

International Imposter Syndrome Awareness Day

International Jaat Day (India)

International Plant Appreciation Day

International Rock & Roll Day

International Special Librarian’s Day

International Turban Day

John Hanson Day (Maryland)

Katyn Memorial Day (Poland)

Military-Industrial Complex Employee Day (Ukraine)

National Boot Day

National Borinqueneers Day

National Hippy Day

National Hockey Card Day

National Japanese Spitz Day

National Kiss Your Homies Day

National Pathology Day (India)

National PhiliShui Day

National Silly Earring Day

National Sticker Day

National Theresa Day

Neil Banging Out the Tunes Day

Religious Freedom Day (England; France)

Scrabble Day

Silent Spring Day

Sinhala & Tamil New Year’s Eve (Sri Lanka)

Sterile Packaging Day

Swiftie Day

Teacher’s Day (Ecuador)

Thomas Jefferson Day

Unfairly Prosecuted Persons Day (Slovakia)

Western Mass Day (Massachusetts)

World Microscope Day

World Sarcoidosis Day

World’s Day of Remembrance for Victims of Katyn Massacre

Food & Drink Celebrations

Day to Give Thanks for Fish and Seafood

Hopocalypse Day (Drake’s Brewing)

National Make Lunch Count Day

National Peach Cobbler Day

2nd Saturday in April

Baby Massage Day [2nd Saturday]

Global Day to End Child Sexual Abuse [2nd Saturday]

National Catch & Release Day [2nd Saturday]

Slow Art Day [2nd Saturday]

World Circus Day [2nd Saturday]

Weekly Holidays beginning April 13 (2nd Week)

California Native Plant Week [thru 4.20]

Independence & Related Days

Adammia (Declared; 2013) [unrecognized]

Mensa Ann (Declared; 2019) [unrecognized]

Sicily (from Naples; 1848)

Varnland (Declared; 1991) [unrecognized]

Winterspell (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

New Year’s Days

Songkran (Thailand) (a.k.a. …

Bangla New Year

Bisket Jatra (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand)

Chiang Mai Songkran

Tamil New Year

Thai New Year

Festivals Beginning April 13, 2024

Armageddon Expo Christchurch, New Zealand) [thru 4.14]

Baldwin County Strawberry Festival (Loxley, Alabama) [thru 4.14]

Bar K Beer Fest (St. Louis, Missouri)

Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) [thru 4.14]

CNY Maple Festival (Marathon, New York) [thru 4.14]

Crawfish & Zydeco Festival (Kemah, Texas) [thru 4.14]

Dairy State Cheese & Beer Festival (Kenosha, Wisconsin)

Dessert Wars (Baltimore, Maryland)

Georgia Renaissance Festival (Fairburn, Georgia) [thru 6.2]

Hall Cabernet Cookout (St. Helena, California)

Hudson Mac & Cheese Fest (Washingtonville, New York)

International Orange Blossom Carnival (Adana, Turkey) [thru 4.21]

Lost Colony Wine & Culinary Festival (Manteo, North Carolina)

Mobile Chocolate Festival (Mobile, Alabama)

National Grits Festival (Warwick, Georgia)

Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival (San Francisco, California) [thru 4.14 & 4.20-21]

Polish Festival (Phoenix, Arizona) [thru 4.14]

Spring Cheese and Chocolate Weekend (Stillwater, Minnesota) [thru 4.14]

Supernova Pop Culture Expo Gold Coast, Australia) [thru 4.14]

Taste of Hillcrest (San Diego, California)

Feast Days

Alfarbot: Alfheim Day (Pagan)

Believe in Fairies Day (Pastafarian)

Bill Hicks Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Caradoc (Christian; Saint)

Carpus, Papyrus, and Agathonic (Christian; Martyrs)

Elizablecccch Arden (Muppetism)

Eudora Welty (Writerism)

Festival of Jupiter Victor (Ancient Rome)

Festival of Libertas (Ancient Roman personification of freedom and political liberty)

Grounding Meditation Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Guinoch of Scotland (Christian; Saint)

Hermenegild (Christian; Martyr)

Ida of Louvain (Christian; Saint)

James Ensor (Artology)

Libertas (Old Roman Goddess of Liberty)

Martin I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Martius (a.k.a. Mars; Christian; Saint)

Poshui Jie begins (Water Splashing Festival; China)

Ptolemy (Positivist; Saint)

Purification Festival (Thailand; Everyday Wicca)

Samuel Beckett (Writerism)

Seamus Heaney (Writerism)

Squashing of Moonhopper Day (Shamanism)

Thomas Lawrence (Artology)

Vaisakhi (Sikh spring grain harvest festival)

Vishnu (Pondicherry, India; Hindu)

Yayoi Matsuri (Nikko, Japan; 5-Day Spring Festival)

Islamic Moveable Calendar Holidays

Eid al-Fitr celebrations continue (Islam)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 103 [27 of 72]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Aladdin Sane, by David Bowie (Album; 1973)

An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures, by Clarice Lispector (Novel; 1969)

Bedeviled Rabbit (WB Cartoon; 1957)

The Big Bad Wolf (Disney Cartoon; 1934)

Black Rose, by Thin Lizzy (Album; 1979)

Bridget Jones’s Diary (Film; 2001)

Brown Sugar, by The Rolling Stones (Song; 1971)

Bulldog Drummond (Radio Series; 1941)

By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, by Elizabeth Smart (Novel; 1945)

Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming (Novel; 1953) [James Bond #1]

Catch a Fire, by Bob Marley (Album; 1973)

Critic’s Choice (Film; 1963)

Dane, by Heinrich Schütz Opera; 1627)

Daltrey, by Roger Daltrey (Album; 1973)

Echo, by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Album; 1999)

El Capitan, by John Philip Soul (Operetta; 1896)

Good Little Monkeys (Happy Harmonies; 1935)

The Greyhound and the Rabbit (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1940)

Hold the Lion Please (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1951)

The Kilkenny Cats (Mighty Mouse Cartoon; 1945)

Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here Grammar Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1974)

Messiah, by George Frederic Handel (Oratorio; 1742)

Mickey’s Kangaroo (Disney Cartoon; 1935)

Mouse Into Space (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1962)

The One Minute Manager, by Kennth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson (Book; 1983)

Rampage (Film; 2018)

Rising Sun, by Michael Crichton (Novel; 1992)

Safe at Home! (Film; 1962)

Swing Shift (Film; 1984)

Tango in the Night, by Fleetwood Mac (Album; 1987)

Tintin and the Picaros, by Hergé (Graphic Novel; 1976) [Tintin #23]

12 Angry Men (Film; 1957)

Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (Historic Novel; 2012)

Today’s Name Days

Hermenegild, Ida, Martin (Austria)

Ida, Martin (Croatia)

Aleš (Czech Republic)

Justinus (Denmark)

Tarvi, Tarvo (Estonia)

Tellervo (Finland)

Ida (France)

Hermenegil, Ida, Gilda, Martin (Germany)

Gerontios (Greece)

Ida (Hungary)

Ermenegildo, Martino (Italy)

Egils, Jagailis, Justins, Justs, Nauris (Latvia)

Algaudė, Ida, Mingaudas (Lithuania)

Asta, Astrid (Norway)

Hermenegild, Hermenegilda, Ida, Jan, Justyn, Małgorzata, Przemysł, Przemysław (Poland)

Artemon (Romania)

Aleš (Slovakia)

Hermenegildo, Martín (Spain)

Artur, Douglas (Sweden)

Slavka, Yaroslava (Ukraine)

Thom, Thomas, Thomasina, Thompson, Tom, Tomas, Tommie, Tommy, Twain (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 104 of 2024; 262 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 15 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Fearn (Alder) [Day 28 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Wu-Chen), Day 5 (Ding-Wei)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 5 Nisan 5784

Islamic: 34 Shawwal 1445

J Cal: 14 Cyan; Sevenday [14 of 30]

Julian: 31 March 2024

Moon: 28%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 20 Archimedes (4th Month) [Albategnius]

Runic Half Month: Man (Human Being) [Day 4 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 26 of 92)

Week: 2nd Week of April

Zodiac: Aries (Day 24 of 31)

#calendar #Holidays

[ceciliatan]

Duck Day 2023: Full Canto

If you've read my "Duck Day" posts before, you know it's my rundown of what corwin and I made for Thanksgiving. In 2023 we left for Aruba with my Mom that Saturday, and I thought I would work on the recap post then. But "Aruba" and "work" do not mix, and instead I read two lovely books and lounged about in the shade (and finally began to feel a little bit recovered from having had COVID in September...) Anyway, now it's February 2024 and I'm finally posting this so I can close the dozens of tabs still open on my browser since November! In Duck Days past, corwin and I have cooked up some high concept menu themes (like the time we traced a map of the Silk Road, or the parody menu "American Classics," or the year we did "togetherness"...), while other times we've stuck to a single cuisine as a theme (i.e. French). This year we decided to go for full-on Cantonese which means including a couple of nods to the Philippines and Singapore, where there are large Cantonese populations and the cuisine has been adapted with local flair. (Same could be said for the USA....) Having grown up as a mixed-race Chinese-filipino kid in the 1970s, I spent a lot of my childhood eating in Chinese restaurants throughout suburban New Jersey, with very regular trips to NYC Chinatown. We ate a lot of takeout from "American" Chinese joints, and often had Christmas Day dinner at one of the slightly fancier Chinese restaurants (because my mom's birthday is on Christmas and she would rather not cook on her birthday). If we went shopping in Manhattan in the morning, we went to dim sum after. If we went to a Broadway show at night, or even to Yankee Stadium which is way up in the Bronx, we still drove all the way down to Chinatown for a late-night dinner. I understood as a kid that there was something "cultural" about going to Chinatown that I was supposed to "get," but I didn't really know what it was, and my family didn't explicitly talk about it. But it meant I felt some kind of connection even if there really wasn't a functional difference between me and non-Chinese tourist kids from the suburbs. If I absorbed some cultural values on these trips they probably boiled down to these: - It's a virtue to eat. - It's a virtue to eat everything. - It's a virtue to eat everything your ancestors (probably) ate. For a while my grandfather came to live with us, and I found it extremely frustrating that we had no common language, because I really wanted to grill him all day long about what his life was like growing up when there was still a dynasty going on. Like, whoa. He liked going to Chinatown even though he spoke a different dialect from most of the merchants there. Because he could write things down, though, he could request special things from the waiters and go into the Chinese pharmacy and get various remedies. One thing, though, that he had going on was high blood pressure, and so his doctor (and my dad, who was an MD) had told him to cut salt out of his diet. So my mom was cooking everything low salt. (My grandfather must've just thought she was a terrible cook.) But his blood pressure didn't go down. They couldn't figure it out. Until my dad found the tub of pork floss he had hidden in his room. For those not familiar with pork floss, try to imagine if chewing tobacco were made from beef jerky so finely shredded it had the texture of dryer lint. (It's DELICIOUS.) Anyway. Probably 90% of my identification with my Chinese heritage comes through food (the other 10% comes through kung fun movies, and I'm not even kidding). tl;dr -- Deciding to do a heavy-duty Cantonese meal is kind of a big deal for me. But of course this is us, so we couldn't ONLY do straight-up traditional, we had to find ways to bistronomize and fuse and elevate and have fun with the dishes.

The menu at each dinner guest's place, a take-off on the old cheesy US Chinese restaurant menus from our childhoods. The Menu: 1) Amuse & Opening Cocktail: A Savory Fortune Cookie Name of the cocktail: ネグロに (Ne Gu Ro Ni, yes we're writing it in Japanese) 2) Dim Sum: Chashu Duck Baked Bun Duck Meatball w/ Yuba Chinese Broccoli in Oyster Sauce with Oolong tea 3) Soup: Duck Kut Teh with You Tiao (Chinese "crullers") served with a Crispy duck-confit filled Lumpia 4) Noodles: Hand-cut Sweetwater noodle w/ ground duck topping 5) Palate Cleanser: Trio of sorbettos: ginger, lychee, orange 6) Main Course: Sticky-rice stuffed roast duck With Scallion & Cucumber garnish 7) Dessert: Yuzu Creme Brulee Pineapple Bun Orange Slice 8) Tea & Coffee ** Candied things

The cocktail is garnished with candied Buddha's Hand that I made. In the background you can see the savory fortune cookies.   Opening Cocktail: Ne Gu Ro Ni (you can spell this with katakana) Inspired by a friend's recent musing on what counts as a negroni (e.g. by some definitions, concrete is a negroni...), corwin invented this one using the idea that a negroni is one part base spirit, one part bitter, and one part sweet. It uses Gokoo Shochu, which is very whiskey-like, as the base spirt, a Japanese "Bermutto" as the sweet component, and a black jasmine tea as the bitter.

The savory fortune cookies. (Scroll to the end of the post to see what they said inside.) The Savory Fortune Cookie: I like my amuses to be, well, amusing, and this seemed a good way to inject some whimsy. When I ran the test recipe for this, I made test fortunes that said things like "This is a test of the fortune cookie broadcast system." "This is only a test." "If this had been an actual fortune cookie, you would have received some Orientalist B.S." and so on. I based my recipe on this one for "Brown Butter Fortune Cookies" from Cook It Delicious: https://cooktildelicious.com/brown-butter-fortune-cookies/ The consensus among my foodie Twitter/Bluesky/etc cohort is that because the fortune cookie batter is mostly sugar and egg whites, trying to reduce the sugar wouldn't work. But plenty of Cantonese cooking is savory while also being sweet, so I kept the sugar content the same and just pumped up the savory aspect. One test batch I added sesame oil to the brown butter and they were okay. Next batch I added the sesame oil FROM THE JAR OF LAO GAN MA and that kicked it right into the savory stratosphere! Delicious! (it also made the cookies slightly pink) The other thing I added was a sprinkling of sesame seeds and flake salt onto the unbaked cookies right before putting them in the oven. They came out fantastic. The biggest problem I've usually found with homemade fortune cookies is that they come out soggy (or chewy) rather than crispy. What I found during the tests was that I could just keep putting the shaped cookies -- held in shape by putting them into an egg carton the moment they're shaped -- into the oven on a low-ish heat (300 degrees, I think) for another few minutes beyond the expected bake time.

The fortune cookies, still soft, right before being peeled off the silpat and shaped by hand.

An egg carton is the best thing to tuck the fortune cookies into the moment they are shaped, and then stick them back in the oven to finish crisping up.   THE DIM SUM COURSE:  We don't go into restaurants indoors when the COVID numbers are over a certain threshold, which means we haven't been to a dim sum palace since before Omicron. And damn, I miss it. Chashu Duck Baked Bun Duck Meatball w/ Yuba Chinese Broccoli in Oyster Sauce

All three elements of the dum sum course. The chinese broccoli in oyster sauce is basically an excuse to get some green vegetables into our guests. According to Buddhist tradition, oyster sauce is vegetarian. No, really. (Chinese Cooking Demystified did a whole video on this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDC6Q5upKPE) DUCK MEATBALL on Yuba This is a duck version of the beef ball you usually get on tofu skin. corwin learned the technique that makes those balls so soft yet bouncy (it has to do with lye water), and guess what? It works for duck, too. (Another nod to Chinese Cooking Demystified, who posted their recipe here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/bh7pjc/recipe_dim_sum_beef_balls_/ and the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsEPOKveJFQ) Chashu Duck Baked Bun This is basically the classic charsiu siopao but with duck instead of pork. We've made these before, but it's a classic and good to return to to scratch that dimsum itch!

For one friend who keeps kosher, we gave her the meat filling without the bun, which is made from a milk bread.   Duck Kut Teh with You Tiao (Chinese "crullers") served with a Crispy duck-confit filled Lumpia One of the best foods we ate in Singapore was Bak Kuh Teh, which comes from the hokkienese (Fujianese) words for "pork bone tea." We had it both at the truly delicious and well-known chain restaurant Song Fa, and also as late-night eats in the one area of Singapore where there are all-night dim sum joints (because no matter how much the government wants everyone to get up early to go to work and be orderly and sorta British about everything, you simply cannot completely stamp out this Cantonese cultural norm, apparently?) Song Fa has a Michelin Bib Gourmand award seven years running, and yeah, damn it's good.

I really should've bought 20 of these when we were in Singapore...   Song Fa sells spice packets for making bak kut teh at home both in their stores and on the website (I've also seen it on Amazon) and in Singaporean grocery stores. I've made bak kuh teh a few times since our 2022 trip and I think it comes out best with a combination of the Song Fa packet and additional fresh spices. The main thing you can't believe until you do it is just how much white pepper it takes to really get the flavor right. (Also 5 heads of garlic per rack of ribs.) I used the following reference recipe, as well as the instructions on the Song Fa packet, and a few others I looked up: https://delightfulplate.com/bak-kut-teh-singapore-pork-rib-soup/ But here's what I ended up with: My BAK KUH TEH recipe - 1 rack of pork ribs (12-13 ribs) - 25 fresh peeled garlic cloves (or 5 heads of however many cloves) - one Song Fa spice package - several slices of fresh ginger - one cinnamon stick - two tablespoons white peppercorns - 2 star anise - 1 tsp dark soy sauce - 1 tsp light soy sauce If you don't have the Song Fa packet, you can replace it with 30 grams of white pepper (yes that is most of a grocery store container of white peppercorns) whether as whole peppercorns or ground, 10 grams of sea salt, 5 grams of cinnamon chunks or sticks, and 4 broken star anise. (And MSG if you want it. I find this meal has enough umami and salt without it.) Buy a long flat rack of pork ribs when it's not grilling season and you can find them on sale for $5.99 a pound (they'll jump to $12.99 a pound or more in barbecue season). In fact, buy a few and freeze them until you're ready to use them for bak kuh teh. First bring a LARGE pot of water to a boil (large enough for all the ribs.) Cut up the ribs and peel 50 cloves of garlic while you're waiting for the pot to boil. Put a few pinches of salt and some slices of ginger in the water. Once it gets to a rolling boil, put all the ribs in and return it to a boil. Parboil one minute, then discard the water and rinse the ribs well with cold water. Clean out the pot. Some recipes now have you toast the spices and garlic cloves in the bottom of the pot before you refill it with water, but I have not done that. Add fresh water, and the ribs, and bring it to a boil again. Then add all the garlic cloves, and both soy sauces. Have the spices in either tea balls or other infusers, or those disposable tea bags, and halfway through the cooking, be sure to move them around a bit (but don't break them or the soup will be gritty). Simmer 90 minutes to 2 hours. Serve with 3 ribs per large soup bowl and a ladle or two of the broth. In the Song Fa restaurant, they strain the garlic cloves out to make the broth clear again, but I leave them in. (They're mostly disintegrated.) If you've ever wondered why "vegetarian delight," the really bland vegetable dish served at Cantonese restaurants, exists at all, it's because it's the perfect balance to offset the intensity of bak kuh teh. Of course, because this is DUCK DAY, we cooked up a version that used duck legs with some meat still on them as a stand-in for the ribs, and duck stock, and the rest was the same spice mix and garlic, and it came out fantastic. (There are many non-pork variations including duck to be found around Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. but I didn't really look up any recipes, I just swapped in duck for pork and it worked.) Somehow I didn't get a photo of the duck kuh teh, but here's one from Regis's instagram (full post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C0CC9Z2L0oM/): Duk kuh teh as served. Photo by Regis.   The other traditional accompaniment is a long, bumpy "cruller" -- you tiao. The first time I made the crullers, I used a gluten free recipe because I was making this meal for a friend who with a few dietary restrictions and they came out surprisingly great! So I thought surely with actual gluten in them they should be even better? (I actually think they came out about the same.) The gluten free version came from Fun Without Gluten (https://funwithoutgluten.com/chicken-congee-with-gluten-free-chinese-doughnuts/) and the regular version came from What To Cook Today (https://whattocooktoday.com/cakwe-you-tiau.html).

The lumpia and the crullers ready to deep fry!    DUCK-CONFIT FILLED CRISPY LUMPIA So, lun pia, or lumpia if you're filipino, are another southern Chinese specialty that are all over the Philippines. They require super-thin, almost lacey skins, and I've made them by hand before. The recipe I use comes from the indispensible cookbook that is Andrea Nguyen's ASIAN DUMPLINGS. You can read a review of her recipe on the aptly named Burnt Lumpia blog: https://burntlumpia.typepad.com/burnt_lumpia/2009/09/homemade-lumpia-wrappers.html However, this time, in the middle of the heat of service of an already too-long meal... I could not get the dough to work. The pan was too hot, then it was too cold, then the dough was too wet, or maybe too dry? I don't know why it didn't work, and I didn't have time to figure it out, so I defaulted to the back-up plan: the "shanghai style" extra-thin spring roll skins I had bought at H-Mart a few days earlier, for just such a contingency. The filling was shredded duck confit, which stands in very well for the finely shredded pork one often finds in these at parties catered by filipino caterers. (I just gave myself such a craving for lechon, holy cats.)

corwin and me plating the noodle course. Photo by Scliff. Hand-cut Sweetwater noodle w/ ground duck topping corwin learned to make these thick, chewy, rustic noodles from, where else, Chinese Cooking Demystified. Here: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/chengdu-sweet-water-noodles But I'm the one who ended up actually doing the hand-cutting of the noodles, and I fixed up these accordion dividers out of wax paper to keep them from sticking together.

Making sweetwater noodles by hand. Trio of sorbettos: ginger, lychee, orange We made these three sorbets that came out in three different textures as well as three flavors. The ginger was so intensely gingery and so intensely sugary (because corwin used the sugar that was left in the pot after I candied ginger to make it) that it wouldn't actually freeze. It remained creamy in texture and had to be kept in the deep freezer, not the upright, or it turned to soup. And he used the sugar leftover from me candying the buddha's hand to make the orange sorbet. And we used canned lychee for the lychee sorbet, but I don't remember the details now... The main thing is we have a decent ice cream maker (Whynter brand) that can be left unsupervised while it aerates and freezes.

Closeup on the candied buddha's hand.  

The roast duck before carving.   Sticky-rice stuffed roast duck (main dish) With Scallion & Cucumber garnish

The traditional roast duck accompaniments, cucumbers and scallions. Read the full article

#duckday

[gosingapore]

Savor the Culinary Delights of Changi Village Hawker Centre: A Foodie's Guide to International Flavors at HereSpa.

Explore the diverse and delectable food offerings at Changi Village Hawker Centre, conveniently located near HereSpa. From French delicacies to Thai favorites, and local treats like Nasi Lemak, this guide unveils the must-try stalls for a gastronomic adventure. Plan your culinary journey at www.herespa.com and embark on a delightful exploration of flavors in the heart of Singapore's east coast.

#Changi Village Hawker Centre #Google Maps Reviews #Changi Village Eateries #Best Hawker Stalls In Changi Village #Authentic Singaporean Cuisine #East Coast Food Exploration #Must-try Dishes In Changi Village #Food Diversity In Singapore

[mcl4r3n]

Tagged by @wunderlichkind!! ♡ Thank youuu for tagging me here, I love learning more about you and I'm happy you wanna know me too! 🥹🥹🥹🥹

Relationship status: Been in a committed nearly-eight year-long relationship with my girlfriend! ♡ We're not out to our families yet but she's my forever girl and I will in fact marry her one day. 😌 (She's also an F1 fan! And she and I both love Sharl. Race weekends are reserved for our Discord dates to watch the GPs together hehe)

Fave color: God it's nearly impossible to narrow it down but shades of teal are definitely my favorite default. ♡

Song stuck in my head: Currently it's The Great War by Taylor Swift!

Last song i listened to: I've got the Noah Kahan playlist on right now cos I wanted to give his music a try. Currently playing Cynic as I type this!

3 fave foods: I love French Onion Soup (my friends know that loving soup makes up like 34% of personality); I also really love a great Hawaiian pizza (yes. I do love the pineapple bits); and I really love and miss lechon kawali (it's like filipino crackling pork basically).

Last google: I had to look up the prescribing details of Dolcet (tramadol+paracetamol) because I needed to send off a prescription lmao

Dream trip: So so so many but off the top of my head, right now, I would love to go to the Monaco GP or Singapore GP with my girlfriend. ♡ Just spend a week there and get to see the drivers and eat good food and enjoy the races together.

Anything i want right now: I want to be able to accomplish 120 questions of my practice test today haha.

Tagging: @yesloulou @softestqueer @wdcmv1 cos I'd love to get to know you guys too! ♡

#tag game #tumblr tag game #moss.txt #♡ ♡

[tatselksism]

Community Build Ideas for 2024

RESTAURANT

New England style seafood shack in Brindleton Bay Spanish Colonial style restaurant serving Spanish/South American food in Oasis Springs Winery-style restaurant serving Italian food in Tartosa Eclectic restaurant serving Pan-Asian food in San Myshuno

CAFÉ

Modern, minimalistic cat café in Mt. Komorebi Industrial-style café in San Myshuno Multi-lot of small town Main Street-style shops in Brindleton Bay (includes a café, a bookshop and a gym) Multi-lot complex in Tomarang, based on shophouses in Singapore’s Chinatown (includes a café, a co-working office space, a fashion boutique, a bubble tea shop and a music performance space) Multi-lot of Wild West-style shops in Chestnut Ridge (includes a café, a bar and an office space)

GYM / SPA

Thai-style spa in Tomarang Polynesian-style spa in Sulani Modern wellness center in Windenburg

LIBRARY

Mid-century modern library in Oasis Springs Polynesian-style conservationist’s office in Sulani Victorian-style town hall in Strangerville

MUSEUM / ARTS CENTER

Desert modernism arts center in Oasis Springs featuring modern/contemporary art Cape Cod style museum in Brindleton Bay featuring traditional/historic art Traditional Japanese museum in Mt. Komorebi featuring Japanese art

RECREATION CENTER

French Colonial plantation-style mansion in Willow Creek Desert modernism complex in Oasis Springs Yacht club in Brindleton Bay Arts-and-crafts style building in Copperdale Repurposed industrial factory in Moonwood Mill Rustic farm/ranch in Chestnut Ridge

#ts4 #the sims 4 #sims 4 #tatselk builds #the sims 4 build #ts4 builds #simblr

[angchongyicritic]

Ang Chong Yi New Classics: Rediscovering Comfort Food with a Contemporary Flair

Imagine your favourite dish. It feels good in your stomach and warms you inside. Comfort food is actually a reflection of culture, memories, and how one identifies oneself. Despite that, comfort food can look to the future instead of remaining attached to the past. In fact, chefs and food bloggers have started reimagining old traditional favourites, making them contemporary by just adding new ingredients, flavours and techniques in order to make them seem both familiar and new.

What does comfort food mean?

It is a term used to describe food that gives a feeling of well-being or happiness which may be nostalgic as well. It may easily vary depending on who you are, where you come from or what occasion it is for. Some examples include macaroni cheese, chicken soup, pizza, ice cream and chocolate cake.

Also, eating comfort foods has psychological benefits such as reduced stress levels, improved moods and stronger social ties. People at Cornell University have discovered that consuming comfort foods helps overcome loneliness or boredom, hence bringing back happy moments. Thus, it can be seen as self-care.

How are comfort food dishes being reinvented?

Some chefs as well as food bloggers are challenging this notion of simple; hearty and indulgence by giving classic comfort foods their own twist. They experiment with cuisines, ingredients and methods to create the modern types of comfort foods that appeal to people today.

For instance, Ang Chong Yi Food Blogger and Critic in Singapore has been showcasing recipes for Asian-inspired comfort food dishes on his blogs. His recipe list includes;

Bak Kut Teh Ramen: A fusion of Singaporean bak kut teh with Japanese ramen noodles topped off with anise, cinnamon and cloves to make the broth fragrant and spicy. The dish is garnished with sliced chilli, fried garlic and cilantro.

Nasi Lemak Burger: A crispy chicken patty marinated in coconut milk and spices nestled between two rice buns which is a tribute that was made to Malaysia’s national dish. The burger is served with cucumbers and some sambal – a spicy chilli sauce that brings out the flavours of the meat.

Mango Sticky Rice Cake: This cake is a combination of Thai and French flavours. It consists of layers of vanilla sponge cake, whipped cream and fresh mango slices topped with sticky rice cooked in coconut milk plus sugar. The cake is drizzled with toasted sesame seeds for extra crunchiness, while coconut sauce enhances its aroma.

Conclusion

Trying new classic comfort foods can be both fun and delicious as well as a way of getting to know different cultures, cuisines, and ingredients. Alternatively, you may come up with your own versions of comfort food by combining elements from various dishes or learning new ways to enjoy them. Additionally, it is possible that they will serve as a source of inspiration for you in terms of being more innovative, risk-taking and having an open mind while cooking and living life. If you want to know anything about Plant-based food, then have a look at Ang Chong Yi’s Veggie Voyage: Exploring the Plant-Based Wonders of the World.

#ang chong yi #ang chong yi's #food bloggers #food blogging #cusine #singapore #singapore food #food festivals #food lovers

[fishin-in-a-graveyard]

What an American (Me) thinks of every country part 1

Zambia - Z is a pretty cool letter I guess

Zimbabwe - I have definitely made jokes about this country's name it's just so fun to pronounce lol

Yemen - Desert (Yah man)

Vanuatu - Had to Google this one to make sure it's a real country

Vatican City - A country where everybody is super religious and works in the church, Nope

Venezuela - Jungle? ancient artifacts?

Vietnam - I mean it has a really cool culture but you already know what I'm going to say right?

Uganda - That one dead meme 

Ukraine - I mean….  do I really need to say anything?

United Arab Emirates - I had a teacher who used to work in this country they were a terrible teacher.

United Kingdom - Chip chip cheerio god save the Queen

United States - Pickup trucks and extra large portions ye haw

Uruguay - And that one turtle from Kung Fu Panda?

Uzbekistan - Seriously though this is a rad name (Man how many of these are just going to be me talking about the name)

Taiwan - This is proof that it is in fact a country 

Tajikistan - (Oh God I can't just talk about the name again) Desert and mountains?

Tanzania - They really tried with the flag don't know if they succeeded but they tried

Thailand - There's a pretty good Thai place down my street

Togo - Yeah I'd like my food to-go Please (hahaha)

Tonga - ~Time~

Tunisia - It sure is a country and it has a culture probably

Turkey - Oh no they changed the name so now I can't make the joke anymore :(

Turkmenistan - I think this one is also Desert Mountains (I took a whole semester learning about this region why do I know nothing?)

Tuvalu - probably going to be underwater soon so I don't actually have to know about it

Samoa - Not the French kind?

San Marino - Small and Rich *Awkward finger guns*

Saudi Arabia -Oil, Desert, and bad government 

Senegal - The flag bugs me why is the star green when there's already green on the flag??

Serbia - I mean it's in the Balkans so it probably hates its neighbors

Singapore - Rich pretty and good population :)

Slovakia - What's the difference again?

Slovenia - What's the difference again?

Solomon Islands - I don't think this really counts 

Somalia - Pirates and the flag looks pretty neat I like the baby blue 

South Africa - I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of white people here and they're racist I think?

Spain - Mexico's cooler

Sri Lanka - It's like India but not

Sudan - The classic

South Sudan -The new 

Suriname -Had to Google it

Sweden - Yeah pretty cool country Vikings and all, But it will never be cooler than Finland :)

Switzerland - Mountains and neutrality

Syria -Pretty sure some bad things happened here but not quite sure what 

#tumblr #Geography #history #maps #meme #America #american #americans #united states #Countries of the world #Geography memes #Haha dumb American

[rebelrayne]

full name Youcef Nassiri (II)

name history Youcef originally had his father’s last name, Laurent but his mother helped him change it before attending university. Although a long and lengthy process, he was more than happy to do it. He changed his last name to his mother’s.

birthdate August 3, 1994

zodiac Leo (thank you Mia & Frankie for the help here!)

height 6'1" (source: avg height for male runway models)

personality ISTJ The Logistician

hometown Paris, France

languages spoken French, English, some Italian

sexuality Pansexual

pronouns He/Him

family

- Samira Nassiri (Mother) - unnamed father (never cared to know his name but knows his last name was Laurent) - Layla Abdel (maternal grandmother) - Youcef Nassiri (maternal grandfather - named after him) - No Siblings debatable - in one sentence, his mom had a lot of hungry mouths to feed but in another, he said his mom relied heavily on her parents to raise him (singular as if only child)

color White (duh)

food his mum's maakoudas

designer Christian Louboutin - 100% all about the shoes

place to visit Singapore

music Techno, weirdly enough.

movie 'Amour' because under it all, he's a sweet romantic

childhood memory Learning how to do woodwork from his grandfather. You wouldn't know it, but he's decently handy. He just doesn't want to do the dirty work.

sweet or salty Sweet for sure. Definitely has a sweet tooth but really, really limits himself on it.

coffee or tea Coffee. He's a double shot of espresso kind of guy on Monday morning after a long weekend.

take out or dine out Neither. He's cooking for you.

call or text Call. He's old-fashioned and he's giving full attention.

date night out or in IN. There's plenty to do at his place.

car Tesla Model X - the exterior is black but the interior is white.

You have never seen a car look more organized. It still smells new and it's three years old. There's a compartment for everything and he has an organized basket in the rear for every kind of emergency you can think of - fashion emergencies that is.

his place Huge flat in London - Canon we know he does not live in Paris anymore, he responds to Bruno asking if the Islanders think it's raining back home with: "Ugh, I'd bet on it. Britain is so wet."

His place is immaculate. You can't find a speck of dust anywhere. His taste is minimalistic, everything is black and white but mostly white. He hates clutter, can't stand when things are left in the wrong place, or if something is left out. His flat always smells like it was cleaned that day, lemon and fresh scents fill the air. Has one of those fancy TVs that look like a picture frame. Everything has a purpose. He has a huge walk-in closet that is even equipped with an island in the middle. Has a second walk-in closet that's empty because he hopes for someone special to use it one day. His bed is always made, but even though he likes things to look aesthetically pleasing, he does not have throw pillows on his bed.

1 If you stay at his place, you're not getting up until noon. There are some things he wants to share with you. Even after that though, you're not getting up. He's making you breakfast and coffee, and a shirt to borrow to come to the kitchen in.

2 He wants to show you off, especially at the events he has to go to. He'd take you to a rather exclusive boutique to pick out a new outfit. Whatever you want, don't look at the price. He'll swipe the card as long as you feel gorgeous in it.

3 Not afraid of spiders. He'll take care of those. (Canon, too!)

4 He might be a smooth talker, but he's a helpless romantic at heart; once he finds someone he's fallen for, he's not straying. As long as you'll have him, he'll be there to support you.

5 He loves a good party as much as the next model, but his favorite thing to do on the weekend is cook, go to the market and catch-up with his mom on Sundays by phone.

6 If he was going to propose, he'd arrange for her best friend to take her for a spa day (all the stops: massage, nails, facials). Although he isn't keen on lying, he'd tell her they're going to an event so she could pick out an outfit she loves. He's doing it when she's turned around and not paying attention so when she turns back, he's down on one knee. 1.5-carat diamond ring, princess cut, of course.

#litg 2 #litg bombshell #litg youcef #litg headcanons #oc: giovanna russo #mon amour ff headcanon

[california-babylon]

I was tagged by @wandering-ronin

Rules: Tag 10 people you want to know better!

Relationship status: Single

Favourite colour(s): Black, greens, browns

Song stuck in my head:Novocain Stain by Modest Mouse

Last song I listened to: I Don't Mind by Alcoa

3 favourite foods: Steak, french toast, corn om the cob

Last thing I googled: "consummate professional"

Dream trip: Paris, New York, Venice, Isle of Skye, Spain, Japan, Singapore again

Anything I want now: A hundred million dollars and T

I tag @gjnrock @persianwifey @teckademic

#id tag others but most of you were already tagged lol