我下厨的日记 Diary of my homecooked food (braised pork recipe)

This is definitely the easiest recipe you can ever find!

Firstly, get a good piece of pork - can be pork belly (with loads of fats or lean, depending on what you prefer)

Recipe:
[A]

2 star anise
2 sticks cinnamon
4 cardamom

4 cloves

2 whole garlic

[B]

1 tablespoon soya sauce

4 tablespoons dark soya sauce

pork belly (blanched)

2-4 eggs (boiled)

tow kua

tow pok

Method:

1) Using a slow cooker, place about 1 litre of water and throw in [A]. Set to "high" and cook for about 30mins - during this time, you can blanch the pork belly and boil the eggs

2) Add in [B], pork belly and eggs. Switch to "low" and cook for about 5hrs

3) Taste and add more soya sauce or dark soya sauce, depending on preference

4) Add in the tow kua and continue to simmer for another 2hrs

5) If taste is alright, add in tow pok about 10mins before serving

*for darker and tastier version, you may cook this overnight

Life of a Tourist Guide ~ passing the assessment

After 9 months of intensive course, we were given about one month to prepare all 14 itineraries and then send us the shortlisted two itineraries one week before assessment date - my group got Unique Heritage of Singapore and Southern Exposure.

The assessment date was set on 23 March afternoon and I decided to take two days of AL that week to prepare for the big day!

It was really hard work over the weekend before the fateful day - which consisted of loads of walking tours and time spent with classmates; together with research and penning down the commentary to work out the smooth flow.

On the day itself, I woke up early and went through what I had written / memorising the stuff etc. Showered, put on a new blouse and pants, wore some lipstick and off I went to STB. Upon reaching, I found that my fellow groupmates were already there and mugging hard. It was really stressful and I opt to just chill there.

As soon as the assessors approached us, my heart nearly dropped. After switching off our hp, they introduced themselves and then told us our itinerary that day. It was Unique Heritage of Singapore - Chinatown, Peranakan Museum and Kampong Glam.

We were asked to sign some forms and etc; and then off we went to board the coach. Being the only female among the group of 4, I was assigned the first speaker on the coach (Carol Joy Dragon said, "ladies first."). It was a thrilling experience and I was really glad that both assessors smiled at me when I mentioned about Thai Embassy as well as Peranakan culture (when sharing about the itinerary rundown) along the way.

After doing Chinatown and Peranakan Museum, I was half disappointed that I did not get chosen to do commentary for either. Deep down inside, I was hoping to get either coz I felt better prepared for them. Nonetheless, I pushed myself to "recite" whatever I could remember of gelam trees, yellow mansion, Malay Heritage Centre, the spice garden and etc - leaving the Sultan Mosque and Bussorah Street to KP (who was the final speaker).

Though I know I have only 50% chance of passing, all four of us went back to STB feeling very relieved that the assessment is finally over! We sat there on the couch, googling the answers we promised to get back and waited for our turn to go into the meeting room for our "sentence".

Story cut short - the moment I went in, it was super intense. Both assessors shared with me about my shortcomings and positive points. And then, Carol told me I passed! At that moment, I was really stunned and could not believe my ears. Happy tears just rolled down my cheeks. She walked over to hug me and it really made me realise I was not dreaming!

Mixed Feelings After Course Completion

Honestly, I have no idea what to make out of the course completion.

The last session was supposed to be on 14 Feb but our trainer decided to let us complete on 12 Feb so we get to enjoy Valentine's Day, which was also the eve of CNY eve!

Now is the time I start wondering if I am good enough for recommendation to be assessed by the STB officials. Last Saturday was the final class field trip and the trainer was nice enough to stay back and had a quick chat with each of us - sharing on what she thought of us. 

She only spent less than a minute with me though, and all she said was, "Sharon, you have nothing to worry about. Just make sure you wear a bright colour for the assessment and don't wear black." 

It brought me some relief to a certain extent. But then again, I know myself well. Be it product knowledge or memory, I am definitely not as good as many classmates. For presentation skills, I may not be the best few in class but I think I am somewhere in the mid level. The assessor will also look at attitude and passion, so I hope I will be able to portray those during the assessment!

Please let the assessment date happen soon! I just want to get it over and done with!