RANDOM SPOTLIGHT: POSITIVE QUALITIES OF CHILDREN

While meeting up my Polytechnic classmates from the sixties last Wednesday - we meet regularly once every two months, with each one of us serving as a paymaster for the occasion [the first Wednesday of the scheduled month] on a rotation basis - at the Singapore Science Centre for lunch, I stumbled upon a bunch of very young kids on their way to visit the science exhibits.

Instinctively, as I had my digital camera with me, I just took a quick snapshot of them, just outside the Sakura Restaurant inside the centre.

The snapshot now serves as an apt piece for this post, about the positive qualities of children.

Drawing on Dilip Mukerjea's philosophy about 'The First Wonder of the World is the Mind of a Child', I like to recap as follows:

~ a wonderous sense of play, fun & laughter;

~ insatiable curiosity;

~ spontaneity;

~ enthusiasm for life;

~ irrepressible imagination;

~ an absence of fear;

~ an unlimited capacity to learn new behaviours;

RANDOM SPOTLIGHT: DIN TAI FUNG & THE 10,000 HOUR PHENOMENON

These close-up digital snapshots of the outlet of the restaurant chain known as Din Tai Fung at the Tampines Mall somehow remind me of the 10,000 hour phenomenon made popular by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers, not too long ago.

In my personal view, here is a really state-of-the-art steamed meat dumpling ('xiao long bao') production process. The skills of the chefs in creating firm, elastic, transparent dough skins of the exact same size, texture & thickness, which don't tear or unravel, require mindful concentration, disciplined handiwork & extreme quality control. It's really a gastronomical masterpiece of precision & grandeur.

I have read a report that each delicious dumpling is always perfectly - & freshly - made with eighteen folds, which seal in the flavour & optimise the steaming process. Dipped in ginger & vinegar, the juicy dumplings burst with an appetising broth as you take each bite.

By the way, the legendary history of Din Tai Fung, which originated in Taiwan, goes as far back as 1958. For more information about their cuisine, please go to this link.

['xiao long bao' is my perennial personal favourite. I consider Din Tai Fung's version better than Crytal Jade's, at least from the yummilicious point of view.]