FAQ for "Longkang Fishing"

FAQ

"Yesterday I came, must I pay again to let my children play in the longkang?"
Ans: Yes. (No free lunches alright? Tomorrow, must you still pay for your lunch? I have to pay rental everyday. No discount from Bottle Tree Park.)

"Can I get two nets instead of one? I will pay for the extra net. Two nets, one tank. Cheaper lah?!!???"
Ans: No. (You are asking for extra net and discount. Who is going to give me discount for my rental?)

"So, if I come everyday, then I have to pay $10 each time? Discount lah?"
Ans: No. (I don't believe you will come everyday without fail to let your child play at my longkang. So far, no one has done that yet. If you do, confirm give you discount.)

"At home so many tanks liao. I dont want the tanks. Just sell me the net lah."
Ans: No. (If everyone just purchase the net at $1.50 each, very soon I will be shaking leg at home and thinking about what should I do next..... no more longkang next month already.)

"Just give me a net lah. I dont want the fish. Just let my kid play play lah. Catch and release only. Ok? I will tell no one."
Ans: No. (You will definitely tell everyone how stupid the counter guy is for allowing you to let your kids play for free. FAT HOPE.)

"I have three kids. Can 2 plus one free?"
Ans: No. ("Boss, I pay two months rental in a row, then one month free can?")

"Weekdays nevermind lah. Give discount lah. I buy one more net from you lah. No need tank. I know weekend cannot but weekday more relax abit lah."
Ans: No. (Weekdays or weekends, all the same. Everyday I am paying rent and no such days as 'relax' days for me either.)

"I use my own things, give special lah."
Ans: No. If you use your own things, you will be stopped immediately. we have to be fair to all customers.


Please bear in mind that if you are going to allow your kids play in the longkang without paying, it is as good as stealing from me. Don't tell me that they are children and they don't know anything. You as parents, should have stopped them. Instead of letting them doing what they want.

Yesterday, a big family of at least 15 came to the park. At least 4 boys were catching fish at my longkang using their bare hands. Despite countless times of warning them not to, they just kept going. Their parents just turned a deaf ear to my staff. The kids were catching fish and feeding to the fish at the main entrance to the restaurant where the reception is. They were all cheering for their kids when the kids brought 'stolen' fish from the longkang to feed the pacus and peacock basses.

I had no choice and so I told the kids not to carry on with their 'tricks' by giving them a stern look but with a smile in the end. They left and came back almost immediately when I walked away. They hid behind the rocks where my counter couldn't see them at all. They were all having fun and what gave them away was their loud cheering and laughters.

I went up to them and asked what were they doing. The youngest of the pack said, "Err... nothing lah. Just looking."

"Who gave you permission to catch the fish from my longkang and feed the fish?", I asked sternly. He ran away immediately.

I turned around, the elder brother was acting blurr and making stupid noise.

"Boy, why did you steal my fish?"
"No I didn't! It's the younger one...'
"Since you know that why didn't you stop him?"
"Errr......."

He stood there stoned like a rock. Eyes on the floor and almost shivering...

"GO!"

He ran away immediately.

The parents saw me with their kids, they quickly stood up and walked away and left their kids alone to face me...

What are the singaporeans becoming to?

Ugly...... very.

Time to sleep.....

Galant VR... zooming away... looking at my meter, 12okph. In less than 3s, we hit the slope together, uphill. He stepped hard on the break and I was on his tail. I shifted down, passed him on the inside...

Vios, tailed me so close that I could see the back lit from the oil pressure gauge on the driver's face clearly in my rear sight mirror. I was in the middle lane, then he overtook me on the outside. He stayed with me in his lane. I couldn't be bothered. He sped passed me and slowed down beside me. 70kph, I was keeping that. A huge lorry was in my path and I took the third lane by slowing down so that I could get behind the Vios. Then he sped away like a mad man on the straight and slowed down again. My eyes were blanked like a white sheet. Another uphill and downhill entrance to expressway, I saw him fading away in the corner behind me... slowly he disappeared from my sight and I could see his the back lit no more.

Forester, in the rain, 100kph, rushing home in heavy downpour. I signaled left to exit expressway at the next exit like 2km away. Forester stayed with me in the middle lane, refused my entry. I slowed down and Forester did the same. My eyelids were heavy, I shifted down... 130kph caught my eyes... the wipers were crazily sweeping. Maybe I was pushing my luck abit far... Forester backed off as we entered into another heavier zone of rain. I could hardly see the tail light of the vehicle not far away from me... next, I exited.

Purple EVO VIII, took the slope up together. Stayed side by side in the corner. Off he went in the straight... my engine was struggling...

Euro R, 18" rims... beautiful. It fell behind and got lost in my mirror in the corner. A very nice Honda.

Oh... I was dreaming... time to sleep and not rev..... time to sleep.....

Say 'CHEESE'!

Daiwa Hyper Spin Cap for Certate Custom 2500R

Not long ago, I lost my side cap for my Daiwa Certate Custom 2500R and kinda like decapitated for a while as I could go fishing with it. I have no choice but to order from Japan a new cap but I thought it would take me very long to get it over.

Instead, I turned to online stores in Japan to get myself one. Looking through the site, I finally decided to get BASSART's Hyper Spin Cap.

Just before the BASSART's version arrived, the original arrived as well. WTF.

Oh well... I am writing a comparison here so that for people who are as careless as me could decide to get an upgrade or just the original one.

From the pictures, I think the answer is pretty obvious. If the upgrade is exactly the same cosmetically as the original one... dont bother.

The original one is a piece of plastic, yes, plastic... and it has no O ring. Somehow... water could still not ingest into the body. Good design? Indeed yes.

For the upgrade version by BASSART. There's a thick O ring and when you tighten it, you could feel that the cap screws on securely with the O ring. The chances for it to get loose and get lost... I think it is very slim.

If you are a weight weenie, then forget about this upgrade, the metal cap is definitely going to add more weight to your reel but seriously... by how much? I doubt you could feel the difference.

Of course, it looks nice as well. It is all about the function but the japanese make them good to use and nice to look at. Highly recommended!

Some recent catches at the prawn pond.

Princes...???

17th March 07 at Bottle Tree Park

One of the little kitten came back...

Just after the day when all the kittens each found a new home, one of them came back the next day.

The family mentioned that the kitten was making too much noise at night that their neighbors were complaining and they had no choice but to return the kitty to me. The little kitty (orange one) came back from Bottle Tree Park again...

Some kind-hearted decided to adopt this poor little fellow but apparently she didn't fulfill her promise to bring the poor little kitty back.... hiaz.....

In the end, James has to feed the little fellow the next day. Randy got some milk power over as well. We fed the kitty with milk via an air tube.

It didn't take long and another kind-hearted soul to pick up the kitten and asked, "Could I bring him home?"

"Of coz you could!"

Goodbye little kitty... goodbye again.

The story of a mother cat and 3 kittens.......

Felicia the cat was found missing on Wednesday. Despite endless calling from her kittens, she was no where to be found. The three helpless and hungry kittens found their way out from the electrical room and found themselves in a world of many kids.

The children were so happy to see them and each kitten was given much attention by all the children around. Their constant calling attracted the kids and my counter was crowded by little children.

The kittens are all beautiful and each of them has blue eyes. They were very hungry and apparently they mistook each other as mother and started getting milk from each other... so poor thing. The orange little fellow was sucked so hard by the other two brothers that his nipples turned red.

Seeing the situation getting out of control due to their hunger, I decided to separate them into three different boxes and on the box I wrote, "For adoption. Please bring me home."

It didn't take long that the handsome orange kitty was taken during mid noon. In the evening, a waiter and waitress from Bottle Tree Park adopted the remaining two kittens.

As we were all wondering where did their mother have gone too one of the staffs from Bottle Tree Park told us that the mother was 'abducted'! They didn't know that she has three kittens and thus they her away to a 'safe' place where she wouldn't get hungry for sure. They felt so sorry for the kittens but the damage was already done. Fortunately, the kittens are now all safe and sound in someone's home.

Felicia, Fefe, Lili and Ciacia... byebye.....

Thank you!

Hello acquaintances,

Thank you so much for the encouragement on my B'day. I was very surprised to receive quite a number of sms(s) from so-called long lost acquaintance after midnight.

I was even more surprised when there were sms(s) from people whom I really treasured in the passionate past... the good memories started flashing back at me. She actually remembered and sent me her greetings just after midnight. Days back in 1997 started flashing back at me.

I thank you all so much... I have been having some rough days but such encouragement from the 'lost ones' are backing me up and kept my feet firm on the ground.

New proposals, new ideas, school holidays, complaints and close shaved with Death God... the mentioned almost drained me dry and the unexpected encouragement, got me moving for the past few days.

But the invitations out for dinner may have to wait... I really do not have time...

Thank you! *smile*

33yrs and 1hour and 45mins...

Looking at the time now... 1.45am...

I have been in this world for 33yrs and 1hour and 45mins...

Time flies...

Suddenly it was as if I had just visited Grand Canyon last weekend...

The days in Arizona flashed at me...

All the largemouth basses were as if smiling at me...

Bluegills, crappies.... *smile*

(It must be my work... tired... sleepy... good night.)

DAIWA CERTATE HYPER CUSTOM... please drop from the sky. Hahaha

It is a Daiwa CERTATE, HYPER CUSTOM... SALTIGA ENGINE... OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!

Fefe, Lili and Ciacia Update

Their eyes are opened! So cute!!!

How to eat big head shrimps?

It is a very common question which I would almost encounter daily with brand new anglers for prawn fishing. There are a few points to take note in order to keep these freshwater shrimps fresh and tasty.

Basically, after you have brought home the shrimps, try not to freeze them in the freezer. The shrimps are best kept in the chiller instead since frozen big head shrimps will lose its texture and shrimps that are kept too long in the freezer will lose the 'QQ' texture and become powdery like.

"What else should I look out when storing them? "
Ans: You could apply salt to the shrimps during storage. It is best done when they are still alive as they would intake the salt into their system and the salt will give you a better after taste when cooked or sashimi.

"How long could I store them?"
Ans: I would suggest that the shrimps are consumed within a week from the date of 'captured'. It would be even better to eat them the same day of 'captured'.

"How to prepare big head shrimp sashimi?"
Ans: I got this from a sashimi chef so don't ask me if it is the correct way or not. Anyway, it tastes really good when eaten raw. Firstly, while the prawn is still alive, put them into a pail of ice cold water with lots of ice and salt. The shrimp will knock out pretty soon in that temperature and you could start to remove the shells and its guts. Please remember to keep it as cold as possible as the heat from our hands could affect the taste and also, the longer you take to prepare them, you are losing quality as the same time. The chef recommended to use japanese sashimi wine to further enhance the taste but you could also use sashimi sauce with wine too. When the shrimps are ready, serve them with a plate of ice to keep them cold as the ice will keep the texture 'QQ'. Dip the shrimp into the sashimi sauce (best with wine type), roll it around and then put it into your mouth... HEAVENLY!!!

"Steam them or grill them better?"
Ans: Chinese restaurant would normally steam them with egg white and chinese wine. The wine fragrance will greatly enhance our appetite further. It is definitely a great way to prepare them the chinese way. You could also grill them on the spot. If the heat is right, your shrimp will come out nice and juicy and during grilling them, the aroma from the grilling shrimps are mouth watering as well.

"What sizes prawns are best tasting?"
Ans: Personally, I prefer shrimps of 3-4inches in size. I feel that they are sweeter than their bigger counterparts. I like them grilled, steamed or eating them raw. For the bigger ones with big blue claws, I simply love the claws as the muscles in the claws are sweeter than the body itself. thus, whoever that dump the big claws I would advice them to keep them. If they insist, I would keep the claws for myself instead. As for these big claws, same thing, prepare them in ice cold water. Part them into half, season with salt, butter and garlic. Send them into the oven while they are still ice cold. When the big claws are cooked, serve them with a dash of black pepper or even add some sashimi sauce to further enhance the taste. You will want more!

After writing all these... I am getting hungry myself... hahaha.

The above are just my very own humble opinions. It is not even a guide to how to eat them. It is just some ways that I think that is nice and to share it with you all here. You may also invent your own way of eating them! I have customers who deep fried them with oats. Fantastic as well!

Whistling Ducks in Bottle Tree Park - Yishun

It has been almost 3 months since I have started my business in Bottle Tree Park - Yishun. As each day goes by, there are surely something amusing about the nature around the park. One of them is the whistling ducks.

These ducks flew around the park and the area daily. In the day, you could see them in a flock about 15-20 of them. As they fly past the sky, you could hear them whistling and it is really cute.

I tried to shoot them with my Sony Cybershot T3 and the result is of course 'waste of time'. I have never seen them settling in the ponds in the park before and thus most of the time I saw them, they are in the air.

I guess... I need something decent to shoot them...

I still cannot decide what to buy... WHAT TO BUY!!!???!!!

Sony? Canon? Nikon? What else?

Whistling ducks are so cute......

"Fefe, Lili and Ciacia!!!! Again!!!"

"Fefe, Lili and Ciacia!!!!!"

I found a young mother nursing her babies in my electrical room. So cute!!!

3 kittens.

The mum, I called her Felicia and I think I am going to call the kitties, Fefe, Lili and Ciacia. Hahahahahahahahahahaha (If you get the drift... I guess not.) *bleah*