The Road to 40 Day 142/365: Destress Sunday

Che had a tough week in the office, so we took Sunday as a time to unwind. 

She said we should go to church in the morning, but I took it as a suggestion rather than a fact. She has never been a morning person, which meant there was a huge chance of us staying home in the morning. 

I was supposed to get my ribs done, but I was too hooked on building up my restaurant, so I got to it late. 

I saw this pork ribs recipe on a reel some years back. There have been tweaks here and there, but this sticky ribs recipe has been good to me. It takes a lot of time to cook but it’s fairly easy to prep, really. 

I had enough ingredients in the pantry, so it was just a matter of mixing them all up. I didn’t have time to marinate the meat longer, it just went straight to the oven. 

While it was in the oven, I mixed the wet batter with white wine base, and I prepped the kailan in oyster sauce. 

Steph and James came by, but the ribs weren’t ready yet. Che prepared some appetizers so that we could at least have something while waiting. 

I played with my temperatures to maybe speed up the cooking process, but it was far from perfect. 

The flavors were ok, they said, but it’s not as fall-off-the-bone good like I did it previously. The kailan was nice though. If I don’t rush it, I get the flavors that I like with it. 

After lunch, we played On The Wings of Love, the Filipino series on the TV. It was a throwback to our days as housemates back in Depot Road, when I first arrived in Singapore back in 2015.

Back then, there was no streaming service, so we wathced on our TFC cable subscription and had to wait up to around 11pm to watch an episode. It didn’t age that well, I guess, but what did was Steph’s kilig – she still gets giddy at the cheesy romantic scenes. 

James Reid was her first James before her forever James. 

Anyway, they went on to bake Brazo De Mercedes. We talked about it the night before, because Steph said she had a video of her baking it with Che back then. It was a silly challenge that Che and Steph gamely took on. 

It turned out nicely, though. We had some freshly made ones, and kept some in the fridge for a colder version of it. 

We all left the house together, as the Ngouple went to buy chicken wings near their place and we went to church. 

After church, Che asked if we could go to Marina Bay. She wanted to get her ring cleaned from one of the shops that she got it from. It was kinda a win-win for both of them, because it meant Vino could have Ippudo for dinner. 

Later, we walked around a bit to check a couple more stores. It wasn’t a special day or anything, we just wanted to check a few things out. 

I don’t mind window shopping with Che. Over the years, I have learned to find my space while she goes around. Vino has learned the trick early, so he gets his tablet and looks for a chair he can sit on while waiting for Che to make a decision.

But he can also have some fun when he finds some amusing things around. 

By the time we got home, Che got a couple of stuff that made her happy. I can’t say I bought it for her, but she thanked me anyway for supporting her for doing what she did. 

At home, she decided to make pasta sauce for Vino and her to take for lunch next day. I was going to cook the pasta in the morning, but she still did the hard part and had to sleep late. 

I guess she had a bit of happy energy that she had to use up before sleeping. 

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