Is there more to life than this?

I like how the car transforms from an MPV to a convertible when the kids get older! Ah.. there is still hope!

Final call for those who are still thinking of joining the Alpha course. It is still not too late to sign up as we only had our first session last week!

Click here to learn more about Alpha.

Hope to see you soon!

The Easter Story

This is the story of Easter as told in the book of Matthew. Listen out for the voices of Angela Bassett and Blair Underwood. Incidentally, you don't hear him in this clip, but they got Samuel L Jackson to do the voice of God! Now, that I got to hear.

If you are asking the question, how can Christians be so sure that Jesus rose from the dead? Then you are just the right person to come attend the Alpha course which is starting this week!

The Alpha course provides the opportunity to for these questions and other questions to be asked in a relaxed and non-threatening environment.

Here are some other questions often asked during an Alpha course:

1. How does a "good" God allow so much suffering in the world?
2. How come Christians worship a 3-in-1 God?
3. If I become a Christian, must I get baptized, go to church and give money?
4. How come Christians got so many different denominations?
5. You mean if I simply believe in Jesus, when I die I go to heaven? So easy meh?

So if you have always been wanting to join a group of people who are also asking similar questions, do sign up and come along this Friday evening. You can write to me at leslie.tay@gmail.com.

Click here for more details about Alpha

Thanks to Stanley Tay for providing the link

Why "Good" Friday?

This is an edited video clip from scenes of the Czech movie "Most". The story is familiar but I never realised that it was made into a movie. For those who don't know the story yet, I don't want to spoil it for you, so just watch it and tell us what you think.

For myself, I can hardly bear to think what I would do in a situation like this.

Such is the extent (and beyond) of God's love for us when he gave his only Son to die on the cross on Good Friday. A huge price was paid so that this Friday can be "Good" for us.

Hope you have a blessed Easter and may you come to know the love of God in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Thanks to Stanley Tay for providing the link

A Personal Invitation to Explore the Meaning of Life

There must be more to life than finding that ultimate plate of Hokkien Mee!

I am sure that the regular readers of this blog and those who know me personally will know that I have many other passions besides Food and Photography. (Fishing being one of them but that is another story). One of those things I find really fulfilling is to meet with a group of friends to share our views on God, life family and faith.

Now, I know that there are some readers out there who might be wanting to be part of such a group or who have many questions that they would like to ask, but just don't have the opportunity to do so. So here is your chance!

My church group is organizing an Alpha Course which will be starting on 28 March (Friday) night and it would be a great if you could join in. We will meet in someone's home in the Bedok area, have dinner (Yes, there must be food!), watch a 45 minute video and then everyone will sit down together to have an open discussion. It will be a great chance for you to ask the questions that you have always wanted to ask in an environment where everyone is expecting to ask questions.

Alpha has been over the years the most successful introductory course on Christianity and is supported by most of the main stream churches. (Catholics and Prostestant) It has been so successful because it is designed to allow questions to be asked and answered in a non-threatening environment. The Guardian (UK) wrote:

"What Alpha offers, and what is attracting thousands of people, is permission, rare in secular culture, to discuss the big questions - life and death and their meaning."

You can read more about Alpha here

So if this is something that you feel that you would like to do, why don't you come join in? It would be a real pleasure to meet up with you.

You can write to me at leslie.tay@gmail.com and I will furnish you with the details. If you feel that Bedok is a bit too far but would still like to join a group, there are also other groups around the island which you can join.

Below is the except from the Alpha brochure

What is Alpha?

• The Alpha course is a practical introduction to the Christian faith.It is relaxed, non-threatening, thought-provoking, low-key, friendly and fun.
• Listen, learn, discuss and discover. Ask anything. Alpha is a place where no question is regarded as too simple or too hostile and all viewpoints are respected.
• No matter what you're facing, Alpha is a place to ask why – with freedom to share or just sit back and listen.
• It is supported by all the main Christian denominations.

Who is Alpha for?

Alpha is for everyone, especially:

• Those wanting to find out more about Christianity
• Irregular church-goers
• New Christians
• Those who want to brush up on the basics
  

What are some of the topics discussed?

The Alpha course consists of a series of weekly talks over 10 weeks on topics such as:

• Who is Jesus?
• Why did Jesus die?
• Why and how do I pray?
• Why and how should I read the Bible?
• Who is the Holy Spirit?
• How does God guide us?
• Does God heal today?

I look forward to seeing you soon!

The Whole Earth: Was Jesus a Vegetarian?

With smart, PK and PowerAunty

Tom Yum Soup $10

I think its best that I make clear my position on vegetarianism before I plunge headlong into my philosophical dissertation on this subject.

• I believe that vegetarianism is a healthy lifestyle choice and that eating more veggies and less (or no) meat is beneficial in combating chronic diseases like high cholesterol and hypertension.
• I respect vegetarians and their choice not to partake of animal foods although I do not have any religious/moral convictions about not eating meat.
• I would opt to be a vegetarian for health reasons, but I just love my Beef Burgers too much.

OK, with that out of the way, let's get on to this very interesting question that was being discussed during our vegetarian makan session: Was Jesus a Vegetarian?

My first response was: "What a preposterous question! Of course he was NOT!" For me, saying that Jesus was a vegetarian would be in the same league as saying that the Holocaust did not happen. It is quite straightforward, is it not?

Ah, but you'd be surprised that there are people who have written whole books and websites to "prove" that he really was a vegetarian! Some of the arguments that were given was that it was his nature to be compassionate and so he must have been compassionate to animals as well. Aside from that, they also gave many references to historical resources outside of the Bible to substantiate their claims. Just google "Is Jesus a vegetarian?" and you would be amazed at how much material there is out there!


Monkey Head Mushroom Satay $9

I guess, it would make a compelling case for vegetarianism if it could be shown that the founder of one of the major religions of the world was vegetarian, even though the religion he founded does not actually require its adherents to practice vegetarianism. Or perhaps, they argue, it was in fact a practice that has been conveniently overlooked.

For me, this sort of argument is easy to debunk. It is the same sort of True/False question that we used to get in school. I always remember this very simple principle when it comes to answering True/False questions. If the statement has the word "ALWAYS" in it, then it is most likely to be false. That is because "ALWAYS" does not allow for even a single non-qualifying event. This is especially true for medical exams. Questions such as "Breast Cancer ALWAYS occur in women" are most likely to be False because it only takes one case of Breast Cancer occurring in one man to make the statement false. (The fact is that men are affected in 1% of all breast cancer cases).


TWE Olive Fried Rice $5

So when it comes to the argument of whether Jesus was vegetarian, rather then going convoluted philosophical arguments that imply that he was vegetarian, the simple thing is to answer the question: "Did Jesus ALWAYS eat only vegetables?" meaning that if I can show that he ate meat, then the argument is debunked.

So consider this passage is Luke 24:41-43:

This scene occurred after his death and resurrection which means that it occurred after he had been with his disciples for three years:

".........he (Jesus) asked them, "Do you have anything to eat?" They (his disciples) gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence."

For me it showed three things. First, Jesus ate fish and he ate it without hesitation. Second, the disciples who had been his companions for three years gave him fish when he asked for something to eat. If he had been vegetarian, then it would be the ultimate insult to their master whose habits they should know after spending such a long time with him. Thirdly, the disciples would not have been much of disciples if after three years they have not modeled to follow their master's vegetarian practice.

Case closed. Back to the food.


TWE Sweet and Sour Delight $12

If you have been reading my other vegetarian posts, you would know that I would opt to go veg whenever I feel I have eaten too much meat. The problem is that vegetarian food is not readily available and the ones that you often see in the food courts usually serve lots of deep fried gluten disguised to look like common Cze Char meat dishes. They all have that particular taste about them that I don't quite like. PK (a part time vegetarian) also remarked that it seemed hypocritical that one would still try to eat something that looks and tastes like the animal when the whole point was to protect them.

So when I found out that this vegetarian restaurant served Peranakan/Thai cuisine, it really got my attention as it is something I have yet to try.


Summer Shitake Mushrooms $15

For starters we had the Monkeyhead Mushroom Satay which was surprisingly quite good even though the only things that makes it a Satay are the peanut sauce and the skewers. The marinade is not your usual Satay marinade and they are deep fried, not grilled. It would have been even better for a meat eater like me to have the Satay marinated and grilled like Satay with pieces of Water Chestnuts in between the Mushrooms! That aside, the Monkey Head mushrooms have that chewability and taste about them that gives you that umami satisfaction that comes from eating meat. 4/5

Another dish that was quite commendable was the TWE Olive Fried Rice which we all felt was pretty good. They made a little concession and added a small amount of veg ham in it. The main taste still came from the liberal use of shredded olives and it was not too oily. 4/5

The Sweet and Sour delight is another dish that I would come back to order again. Instead of gluten, they use a Soy based protein "meat" which was nice and chewy and actually has that "Can't stop eating this" quality about it. Given that it does not have any cholesterol in it, I can say that I wouldn't mind substituting this for the usual sweet and sour pork. 4.25/5


Buah Keluak $15

In terms of the Peranakan/Thai food, I would say that they were a good attempt and definitely a nice departure from the usual but more work needs to be done before they would impress Peranakophiles like PowerAunty. The Buah Keluak could have been a hit since the main star of the dish is the Buah Keluak and not the meat. The gravy needed to be a little thicker, spicier and nuttier. However, I did like enjoy the Soya "meat" which was braised in the gravy. 3/5

The Tom Yam Mushroom soup is almost there but lacks that extra kick that comes from the use of Fish Sauce as well as a good stock base. But I think this can be tweaked by the addition of some Vegetarian fish sauce. 3.75/5. What I think could work really well is Tom Kha soup which is not on the menu.

We all liked the Summer Shitake Mushrooms which featured nice juicy Shitake Mushrooms simmered in a piquant sauce. The only thing we can't understand is why it is called a Thai dish since I really haven't come across this dish before even having lived in Thailand for two years. But still worth trying even if it isn't your classical Thai dish. 4/5


Oatmeal Tofu $15

Conclusion

The Whole Earth just underwent a change in the management and the new menu looks promising. The really good thing about the place is that you can actually bring anyone with food restrictionse. Not only don't they have meats, they also don't use garlic and onions. So they can actually appeal to people who are Vegans or Jains and to those who eat Halal and Kosher foods.

Overall, the food is not bad, but for a carnivore like myself it still only appeals to the health aspect. What I would really like to see is a vegetarian dish that is so good that I would crave to eat it despite it being vegetarian. Now that for me would be the "Holy Grail" of vegetarian food.

The Whole Earth
593 Geylang Road
Between Lor 29 and 31
68413319
11am to 3pm
5.30pm to 10pm
www.thewholearth.com
Disclosure: This was an invited review.

A Fresh Meaning to Christmas

I am sure you all had your "Defining Moments" in life. You know, flashes of memory that are forever etched in your psyche. My latest one was just before going in for my operation in November. It was quite a stressful build up. Starting from the time I went for the CT scan which revealed that I had gallbladder stones right up to the scheduled date of the surgery. Having to have an operation under general anesthesia is unnerving.

Rationally speaking, general anesthesia is very safe and the vast majority of people wake up from general anesthesia with no problems at all. Well, that is what I tell all my patients. But when you have to go through it yourself, it is a whole different ball game. I guess it is the loss of control over the whole situation that is unsettling. You are basically putting your life into the hands of the anesthetist and the surgeon. I felt helpless and vulnerable.

As I was being wheeled into the operating theatre, I could help but think about the issue of death and other worst case scenarios. "What if I don't wake up from the general anesthetic? What if something goes wrong during the surgery? What if.......what if......."

At least for me, there was not so much fear of death since I am confident that death is simply a transition of my spirit from the earthly reality into the heavenly reality. So it is not so much death that was unnerving, but the thought that my family and especially my kids would have to grow up without their Dad that was sad. I know it might sound a bit "over the top" for a procedure that is considered routine, but those who have gone under general anesthesia might be able to empathize with me.

Finally the moment came when the Anesthetist told me that he is about to inject the Propafol and soon I would be asleep. This the "Defining Moment" I am talking about. As I looked down at the IV line, it slowly turned white and it was at that moment when everything ceased to be of importance. Everything that I had been, everything that I had done, all my friends, my family, my possessions, everything that I had considered important in life, nothing mattered anymore. It was in that 10 seconds or so that I felt really at peace. All the cares of the world have been left behind. My last thoughts was to relinquish control totally to God as I muttered the comforting words of Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want. He makes me down to lie..........

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus. He was born so that anyone who believes in Him may not die, but have everlasting life. My recent experience really reminded me of just how fragile this life can be and it is when I came face to face with my own mortality that I am again thankful that I have a Saviour. So this Christmas, I am celebrating it with a fresh new perspective on life and a greater appreciation of God's wonderful gift for me and indeed for all who would believe.

God has given us eternal life, and this life in in his Son. He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12

May you all have a blessed and meaningful Christmas!

Wow Wow West: Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree!

Chicken Chop $4

Whoa, tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree
It's been three long years
Do ya still want me (still want me)
If I don't see a ribbon 'round the old oak tree
I'll stay on the bus
Forget about us
Put the blame on me
If I don't see a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree

This song was based on an actual incident in 1973 where a recently released convict was on the bus home after serving a prison term. He wasn't quite sure if his wife still wanted him back after three long years. He said in his letter that if she had chosen to move on with her life, he would understand. But if she wanted him back, she should tie a yellow ribbon round the Old Oak Tree as a sign that he should get off the bus and come home.

As, the bus approached his home town, he was so afraid of disappointment that he asked the bus driver to look out for the yellow ribbon for him instead. When they finally saw the Oak Tree, it didn't just have a single ribbon, the tree was full of yellow ribbons! His wife wanted him to know, without the shadow of a doubt that he had been forgiven and he had a family to come home to!

We all know about the power of forgiveness. How many times have we done something wrong and needed to seek forgiveness from someone? Remember the sense of relief when the person you wronged eventually smiles and accepts your apology?

But here we are talking about a bigger wrong. Someone who has committed a crime against society and has been put in Prison for a period of time. Having paid the price for his transgressions, is he now accepted back into society?

So what does all this have to do with a Wow Wow West? Well, quite a lot really.

Eric Ng (that's his car on the right), the owner of Wow Wow West wasn't an quite an ex-convict himself, but he did spend some time at Boys Town when he was younger. He started attending Church after Boy's Town and began his career in the food and beverage industry working at places like the Raffles Hotel. He still does catering for the Istana (I was told that his honey baked ham was a favourite dish amongst the big wigs there). But he recalls that there was a time in his life when he was not serious about his faith and his family life was not exactly smooth sailing.


Pork Chop $5

Things came to a head one day when his eldest daughter ran away from home. It was at this time of trouble that he realized he really needed to get right with God. He made a deal with God that if his daughter would return home, he would dedicate his life to serving him as a counselor with the halfway house.

Well, you can guess what happened. His daughter did come home, so Eric made good his promise to God.

Now he employs ex-offenders (fully salaried) who work daily at his Western Food Shop up till 11pm. He then sits down with them and counsels them, sometimes till 2am in the morning. Although most of these men have already turned their backs on their previous lives, it still takes time to work out some of the issues which still haunt them.

It was such a joy to talk to Eric who tells me that though it can be very trying at times to work with the ex-offenders, he feels that his rewards have been bountiful. His whole family now helps out at the stall whenever possible and the business is brisk. His stall is easily one of the busiest at the Food Center, a testament to God's Blessings, says Eric.


Fish and Chips $5

I realise that there are really two styles of Hawker "Western" Food nowadays. The traditional ones have that local flavour as most of them would incorporate Asian ingredients like MSG and soy sauce in their marinade. However, there are those like Wow Wow West whose food taste more "Western" as they use mostly herbs like basil and tarragon and avoid the use of MSG.

The thing that struck me most about the food was the generous amount you get for the price. The first dish we were served was the Fish n Chips which was HUGE for only $5. Seriously, it was the size of a Ping Pong bat and it was thick! The bread crumb crust was also executed well so it was crisp but not oily. Now the only thing is that they use Cream Dory which can sometimes taste a bit muddy. I was impressed with the homemade coleslaw here which is cold and crisp and easily better than KFC's. The tartare sauce could be a little more tangy and have more pickles, but hey at $5, one should not complain too much. 4/5

The other best selling items here are the Chicken Chop and Pork Chops. Both are seasoned with western herbs which was alright for me. But you know, sometimes I still like the more traditional marinade with the MSG oomph. Again the portions are generous. For $5, you get 2 thick slices of pork loin the size of your hand (lady's) and a whole Chicken Maryland only costs $4. I like the way the meat is pan fried till there is a nice crust on the outside. 4/5

Conclusion

Value for money, "Western" Style western food with a great story to boot! Their foot long Pork Cheese sausage is just $3 and $5 if you get the set. They sell Beef Steaks here for $5 (did not try). The food is well executed and pretty decent. Definitely one for those looking to satisfy a big appetite for a few bucks!

Update: May 2008

The owner Eric has moved over to ABC brickworks food centre and given the ownership of the original stall at Bukit Merah View to the former inmate that he helped to train. I haven't got the number of the stall but it is just a few stalls away from the Pao store that I recommended.

Wow Wow West
#01-301 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre,
Block 115 Bukit Merah View
Open 10am to 11pm
Catering available: Call 93808571
Link to Breakthrough Missions Website

Andrew and Grace Home: The ieat Charity Makan Session

E is a teenaged girl who has been run but now she has found a real purpose for running.

Having dropped out of school last year, the troubled teen got herself into a mess when she got hooked on glue sniffing. After several fallouts, her mother felt that she was beyond parental control and filed a police report. That is when she found herself in the Andrew and Grace Home.

The initial few months were not easy as she slowly adjusted to her new environment. After her initial confinement period, she did lapse back into glue sniffing twice but now she is confident that she has kicked the habit once and for all. That's because she has found a new love in long distance running.

It all happened one day when her training coach got her to go for a jog together. Something finally clicked and she finally found something that she was really good at! Now she runs from AG home to Bedok Jetty and back, a distance of 17km in under 2 hours and hopes to be able to run competitively in the future.

When I asked her what made the biggest difference in her life, she mentioned that it was the love showered upon her by Ah Pa (Andrew), Mommy Grace and the other volunteers at the home. Her sports coach, who is an employee of the centre even sleeps in the same bedroom with the girls on a mattress strewn upon the floor!

The Andrew and Grace Home (AG Home) has its beginnings in 1988 when Pastor Andrew took in two troubled teens into his new four foom flat in Yishun. There was only one little problem. He and his wife had just been newly married and for Grace it was a bit of a shock. She recalled that Andrew had given away her music room which was her favourite room in the whole house. It was a bit of a tough time for the newly married couple but after a while, Love broke through. To love the lovely is easy, but it takes a very special kind of compassion to love the unlovely. Twenty years later, the couple now have 2 sons and 50 "adopted" daughters living in a hostel in Telok Kurau.

The present AG Home was set up 9 years ago and provides a haven for teen aged girls between the ages of 12 to 16. These girls may come from difficult home circumstances, drug addiction or are delinquents. They also provide shelter and protection for moms and mothers-to-be and sees about 20 babies being born a year who are subsequently put up for adoption.

The home runs several programs to help the girls develop skills to enhance their employability upon discharge. One of the projects is the AG Cafe which trains the girls for the F & B industry. Food is of course closest to the heart this blog so I thought it was a good project for us to support.

This picture shows the kitchen which has been set up in the hostel. It functions both as the kitchen to prepare dinner for the girls as well as a training kitchen for them to conduct culinary skill courses. I hope that we will be able to hook up with some readers from the F&B industry to see how we can support this project.

Currently, it takes $500 to house each girl every month. Parents are asked to contribute whatever they can and the rest of the money has to be raised from elsewhere. The centre receives a monthly contribution from MCYS which covers about one third of the total running costs. Another third comes from pledges from individuals and companies and the remaining third has to be raised ad hoc every month.

As you all know, ieatishootipost is one year old and I have hinted that there will be a makan session to mark its first anniversary. Rather than just coming together to enjoy food and make new friends, I thought it would be meaningful if we can make it a charity dinner instead and be able to raise funds to support the AG Home.

The picture on the left shows a mural on the wall of the the lobby area. This mural was drawn by an ex-addict and depicts Andrew and Grace with four of the girls in the centre.

OK, the details of the ieat Charity Makan Session are being finalized, but let me just give you all an idea of what has been planned so far.

Date: 15 Sep 2007 (Saturday evening)

Venue and Menu: I have found a Restaurant Owner who is willing to sponsor the event! I am finalizing the menu (5 course) with him so I will release the details later. But in the meantime, this is one of the items that will be on the menu:



Other Highlights: Found a sponsor for Wine as well! We are in the process of finalizing the Wine list!

Price: This is to be finalized. (Around $100 per pax)

What you can do:

1. Come to the Makan Session! The money that you pay towards the food and wine will all go to AG Home.
2. If you feel that you want to contribute more, there's nothing to stop you from writing a check and supporting AG Home directly.
3. If you or your company can sponsor the event (Cheques direct to AG Home) or provide stuff that we can auction or use as door gifts do let me know by writing to leslie.tay@gmail.com. All sponsorship will be acknowledged on the blog.

I will provide final details later this week but if you are ready to reserve your seats, please write to me at leslie.tay@gmail.com

Hope to see you all at the Charity Makan Session!

More about AG Home can be found on their website: www.aghome.org.sg

You can tell a Singaporean by the food he likes to eat! Happy Birthday Singapore!

During my recent Reservist stint, I had the privilege of camping out in an undeveloped part of Singapore. Yes, we do still have pockets of rain forest in Singapore that you might not get to see unless you are in Army Green uniform. I was involved in the Air Evacuation of wounded soldiers, so we were undergoing training to stabilize the wounded and loading them onto Chinooks for evacuation to the base hospital.

So, in the middle of the night, out in the jungle with mosquitoes carrying the Dengue Virus flying around, what do you do? You start thinking about life, your nice bed at home and when the stomach starts to growl, you start thinking about........ Hokkien Mee, Satay, Char Kway Teow, Beef Hor Fun, Lobster Noodles, Laksa, Indian Rojak, Teh Tarik........ What the OC said was right. As much as I hate to be where I was, I realize that our group of well fed, sweaty and smelly reservist soldiers are out there doing our bit to make sure that we can always go down to the Kopitiam to get our plate of Chicken Rice.

Yes, our food is very much a part of our culture and well worth defending. Of course, we are also out there to defend our homes, our society and our way of life. But I think that food represents, in a very tangible way, our culture in a very real sense.

Ask any overseas Singaporean what they miss most about Singapore and invariably they would say Friends and Food. I have many overseas readers writing in, desperate for a mouthful of Char Kway Teow that is 4000km
and 5 months away. I have received emails from Singaporeans who have migrated to faraway lands wishing that they could just go down to the food centre to gorge themselves on Laksa and Murtabak. At least friends are just a phone call away, but on the internet you only see pictures but don't get to smell and taste the food.

We complain about GST, COE, HDB, PUB, and the PAP, but in the end, we know deep inside that we are proud to be Singaporeans. When I was living in Thailand, my Thai friends used to come up to me and tell me how much they admired Singapore and wish they had a stable political system like ours and to be able to do everything so efficiently. It is at those times that I think to myself....Oh yes, "we are Singapore..... Singaporeans."

So at least for one day in the year, let's pause and be thankful that we can continue to find something good to eat 24 hours a day! We have been blessed but we must be diligent to protect what we have.

During the recent Festival of Praise I attended, I was reminded once again that we should continue to pray for our Nation's Leaders, that they continue to lead Singapore into peace and prosperity. So may I encourage you, whatever faith you may belong to, to remember to pray for our Nation and its leaders today. I am sure we all would like to continue to enjoy that cup of Teh Tarik and that the only Bombs we hope to ever see is a Prata Bomb!

I urge, then, first of all, that request, prayers, intercession
and thanksgiving be made for everyone -- for kings and all those in authority,
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives....
1 Timothy 2:1-2

Eighteen Chefs: Baked Chilli Crabs, Jamie Oliver, Drugs and New Beginnings

Please read the updates at the end of the blog

Cheese Baked Chilli Crab with Mantou. $20
Special Order for Wed nights only.

This is probably one of the most heartwarming blogs I have written. Not only is it about food for the tummy, but its food for the soul as well.

Are you familiar with Jamie Oliver's "Fifteen" restaurant? Jamie's World Class Restaurant has a reservation list which is 3 months long and he employs disadvantaged youths to train them as chefs. It turns out that we have our own "Jamie Oliver" in Singapore who takes in ex-convicts during their last few months of their jail sentence to train them in necessary skills so that they can have a new start in life. And the amazing thing is that he has been doing it before he even knew of Jamie Oliver.

As fate would have it, Benny eventually found himself working at Fifteen restaurant for a few months, the one and only Singaporean to do so. It was there that he honed his Western Culinary skills. At that time he had been working at Goshen Restaurant which was operated by the Halfway House. Goshen was a Chinese Restaurant which was a training ground for ex-convicts as well.

Benny came home from UK only to find that they had closed Goshen down. So he ventured to open Eighteen Chefs which was a restaurant that served "Singapore's Best Baked Rice". Eighteen Chefs combines Benny's skills as a Cze Char Chef with his new found skills in Ang Moh cuisine which is exactly what Baked Rice is all about.


Baked Pepper Crab Fried Rice $20 Special Order for Wed Nights only

Now don't be mistaken about Benny's fierce looks. Like the old Standard Chartered Bank slogan, he really is Big, Strong and Friendly. We had a great chat about his new restaurant and his passion for music and food. Then we came up with a dish which I think would take Singapore by storm.

Up till now, baked rice had been something that is found in a Hong Kong/Macau style restaurant. It was an attempt by the Hong Kongers to emulate what their English "Masters" were eating. Not any more, we are going to make our very own Singapore style baked rice. And what is more recognizably Singaporean than Chilli and Pepper Crabs?

What I really enjoy about the Baked Chilli Crabs is the way the chewy Mozarella Cheese combines with the Chilli Crab sauce. Ooooh, you think it a bit wierd? What till you taste it. The Mantou Croutons on top really combines well with the cheese and Chilli sauce which is one of the best Chilli Crab gravy I have come across. 4.5/5

For the Baked Black Pepper Crab fried rice, Benny fries the rice first before adding his Black Pepper Sauce. Also quite shiok although I felt it could do with more of a peppery blast. 4.25/5
Both this dishes are only available if you give Benny a ring on Friday so that he can arrange for the Crabs by Sunday night.



If Crabs are not your thing you can create your own baked rice from a selection of sauces and ingredients. The Black Pepper Seafood Baked Rice was also quite shiok. I like the prawns here which are the "crystal" type where the meat is really bouncy. 4/5


Student Meals are $6.90. Pasta, Ice Lemon Tea and Ice Cream

Aside from baked rice, the restaurant also serve a variety of pastas with your own selection of sauces. The cream sauce here has got enough kick to it and you can satisfy your cream sauce crave here for just $5.90.

Now we come to the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" part. I promise this will lift your spirits.

Not many of us can say that we have many wasted years. But Benny, who is now 47 told us that he had wasted many years of his prime behind bars. Between 1983 to 1993, he was in and out of prison a total of four times for Heroin addiction. It all started innocently when he was 14. At that time, he was living in the Redhill area which was one of the hotspots for drug trafficking in Singapore. His own father was an opium addict and he grew up the youngest of 5 boys. Soon he found himself experimenting with marijuana. He recalled how they would use the stem of the papaya leave to burn the marijuana and suck the smoke as it bubbled out of the water. It was a practice fashioned after the Deep Purple song, "Smoke on the Water". Soon he progressed to Heroin and started "chasing the dragon". Before long, he was hooked on Heroin and would traffick the drug in order to satisfy his own craving.

He was put in prison for the first time in 1983. Heroin withdrawal takes 7-10 days to kick and it is agony for the addicts who have to go cold turkey. After 2 years in prison he was released. However, even though he was free from prison, he wasn't free from Heroin. The thought of "chasing the dragon" kept hounding him until he succumbed to its lure. So for the next eight years, it was in and out of prison. Heroin was a master that is not easy to be free from.

During his fourth prison term, Benny found himself very very ill. He collapsed in his prison cell and had to be admitted into hospital. It was there on the hospital bed, facing a near death experience, with all tubes sticking out from his arms and other bodily orifices that he came to the realization of how he had wasted most of his life. He felt he could not trust himself with his own life anymore. He decided to outsource the management of his life to someone else.

During his prison stay, Benny had heard someone told him that Jesus is the Saviour. He knew the story about how Jesus suffered in his place on the cross and that He said that whosoever would believe in Him could be "Born again" and have a fresh start in life. He recalled how the message all became a reality to him as he laid there pondering about his wasted life. Finally, he cried out to God to save him and to give him that new life.

Things began to change for Benny during the next few years in prison. He started to attend Bible studies, pray and read the Bible. He became firm friends with Don Wong who was also a drug addict. Don left prison and is now serving as a full time pastor. When Benny left prison, he went straight into a halfway house run by the Church. He still could not trust himself not to go back to Heroin. During the next few years, he worked during the day and return to the halfway house every night.

However, the thought of Heroin slowly began to creep back into his life. It began to seduce him back into his old way of life. It was to be the final battle for his soul.

Benny recalls that fateful night when he was so battered by the thought of Heroin that he cried out to God. He told God that he had faithfully been walking with Him, praying and reading the Bible. Why is it that he still cannot be free from these thoughts? Why does he still have to struggle with it? Can't God just remove the craving from him once and for all?

Suddenly, he heard one Word from God that forever changed his life. Just one Word. "GRACE" Suddenly it all came together for Benny. He realized that God had broken the curse of Heroin over his life and that he was finally truly free from Heroin.

Jesus said......everyone who sins is a slave to sin.....So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34.

Benny was no longer a slave to Heroin. He was free. And from that day on, the craving for Heroin stopped...completely.

Benny has never forgotten about the Grace that he has been shown which explains why he takes in convicts and delinquents to train them with the necessary skills for a new life. He hopes his story would be a source of hope for those who are struggling to find a foothold in life.

When you get to the restaurant, have a look at the mural on the wall which was painted by the ex-offenders. You will see a chef with a handcuff hanging off his wrist. This is the only indication of the work of Grace that is happening behind the scenes.

Conclusion

Don't come to the restaurant because of Benny's story. Don't even come because he has worked in Jamie Oliver's restaurant. Come because the food here is really quite good and Chef Benny has got a few surprises up his sleeves. Make sure if you want to try his baked Crab that you ring up before hand as it is a special order item.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

was blind, but now I see

Eighteen Chefs
Eastpoint Mall
3 Simei Street 6 #01-36
12pm to 11pm daily
67821298
Crabs are special order items. You have to ring up 2 days in advance and it is only available on Wed nights starting in August
Recommended by liveyrdreams

Update 17 Jul 2007

There have been some hiccups with the Baked Chilli Crab. As a result some of our readers have called up only to be disappointed that they were not available. Benny is planning to have it from August onwards. It will be a special order for Wed nights. Give 2 days advance notice.

Easter Sunday: He is not here, He is risen!

1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " 8Then they remembered his words. Luke 24:1-7

The Good Friday story is not complete without Resurrection Sunday. This is the day we remember that Jesus did not remain in the grave. He came back to life again and promised that because He lives, we also will live.

Do you fear death? Do you know what is going to happen to you should you die?

If you believe in Jesus, you will not die but will have the promise of eternal life. That means that after you die, you will live with Him in Heaven.

It is this simple truth that I embraced when I was just 12 years old. That was over 25 years ago and in the words of William Hung.......I have no regrets. Oh, there will be difficulties in life, but through every difficulty, Jesus is there to help me. When I am down, he lifts me up. When I am happy, he rejoices with me. Yes it may sound too good to be true, but that is why we call it "Good News"!

When I was 12, I remembered someone led me in the "Sinners Prayer". It went something like this:

Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me and dying for my sins. Lord, I believe that you died and rose again. I repent of my sins and I want to follow you from now on. Please come into my life and be my Lord and Saviour. In Jesus name, Amen

Then I was told that from that time on, Jesus had saved me and I have eternal life. That should I die that moment I will be with Him in Heaven. Over 25 years later, I have learnt so much more and I grew to know Him more intimately. People may argue and debate about many things, but this simple truth has never changed.

Truth never does.

Good Friday: Love Sacrifices All

In remembrance of the anniversary of the death of God's only Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross on Good Friday. He died for my sins so that I might live.

The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (The Message)

Death. The final frontier.....

Most of the time, we don't like to talk about death very much. We don't like to be reminded that one day we will all have to face it. For some people, death represents the end. The end of life, the end of a relationship, the end of everything. For others it is the end of one existence and the beginning of another.

When you get to deal with sickness everyday, you soon understand how the fear of death paralyses people. I sense the fear whenever I have to announce bad news to patients. Invariably they will come to the stage of asking if the illness will lead to death. Death is seldom celebrated. We might recall with fondness, someone we love and try to remember all the happy memories we had when that person was still alive, but we seldom want to remember how he died, much less glorify it.

Very few people in history have had their death recorded and remembered in such detail as Jesus Christ. Every year the events leading to up to the crucifixion are re-enacted. Why such a glorification of death? It was anything but glorious. It was in fact, a brutal execution. If Good Friday happened in our day and age, we might have a sillouette of a hangman's noose or electric chair rather than a cross to represent the faith. Surely such things are best left in the deep recesses of history.

Jesus Christ led an extraordinary life. For the first 30 years, he was a relatively unknown carpenter. Then, suddenly, he appeared on the scene and started to do miraculous things. At the beginning of his ministry, he stood up in the synagogue and boldly declared his mission statement:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour" Luke 4:18-19

The next three years of his life he did exactly as he has said he would. He made the lame to walk, he made the blind to see and he proclaimed to those that are poor that the Lord is concerned even for their deepest needs. He demonstrated to us that God cares for all people. From the poor to the rich, from the sinner to the saint.

Unfortunately, he also ruffled a few feathers.

The Jewish authorities were angry with him and concerned that too many people are following his teachings and diminishing their own influence over the masses. The Romans were concerned that so many people were following him, that an uprising might be on the horizon. They understood that the Jewish prophets have prophesied that a "Messiah" would come to deliver the Jewish people from the Romans. For them, this was a clear and present danger.

Something had to be done to nip this in the bud.

So the religious authorities staged a farce and got the Roman authorities to agree to his crucifixion. However, at the climax of the trial, even the Roman governor admitted that he could find no grounds for the man to be executed. However, because of the threat of an imminent uprising, he allowed the crucifixion of an innocent man. According to the Romans authorities, he was charged with being "The King of the Jews". This was certainly not a crime that deserved the death sentence.

They took him away, flogged him, put a crown of thorns on his head and nailed his hands and feet onto a cross. Then he was left to die a humiliatingly slow and agonising death.

But even in the last moments of his life, in the midst of the hatred and injustice, the mockery and shame of nakedness, he still demonstrated the magnificence of his character. Crying out to God, he asked for forgiveness for the ones who nailed him onto the cross, since he knew that they had done it out of ignorance. With his arms spread out fixated to a wooden beam, he still embraced the repentent thief and promised that he shall be remembered in paradise. He took the time to speak to his mother tenderly and made the necessary arrangements for one of his disciples to take care of her after his death.

At around 3pm that afternoon, after he had hung there for several hours, a strange darkness came over the whole land. It was the time when all the sins of the world were placed upon him and judgement for the sins was executed. God had to turn his face away from the Son he loved as he died while taking our sins upon himself. He was utterly alone. This was a burden he had to carry by himself. In desperation he cried "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani" which in Aramaic means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

When judgement was complete, Jesus cried out "It is finished!" He had accomplished the task He was sent to perform. His death ushered in a new era in the relationship between man and God. It was an era where God could forgive our sins because the punishment for those sins have already been paid for. He had ushered in the the year of the Lord's favour. I guess you could call it a grace period, where we have a chance to have all our sins taken away just by acknowledging that someone else has already paid the penalty on your behalf.

So what do you see when you look upon that Cross?

Some see a naked man dying. Some scoff at a "god" who could not even save himself much less save others. Some feel uncomfortable seeing the brutality of the act and cringe.

I see love personified. Self sacrificial love. The type of love which is willing to give itself to those who do not appreciate it. The type of love that continues in the face of hatred. It is a love which would eventually win over hardened and calloused hearts. It is the God kind of love.

I see my sins, my hurts, my burdens, my pains laid upon that dying man on the cross. I see my rotten self being crucified and judgement for my sins carried out on that cross. I see my Saviour looking at me in love and telling me that I am worth his sacrifice.

Humans have this deep longing to be loved. Those who have been in love can testify about how wonderful it is to know that we are being loved. The state of being in love is one of the most joyful and exuberant experiences in life. How much more when we truly begin to realise the depths of God's love for us.

God loves you! And that is what Good Friday is all about!

You rescued me and picked me up
A living hope, of grace revealed
A life transformed in righteousness
Oh Lord you have rescued me
Forgiving me, you healed my heart
You set me free from sin and death
You brought me life and made me whole
Oh Lord you have rescued me

Geoff Bullock 1992 Hillsongs

If you have been touched by this blog and have some questions you would like to ask, please feel free to write to me at leslie.tay@gmail.com. It is my deepest desire that you too may come to know and love the Saviour as I have. In Him is life, and life in abundance! John 10:10