Mr. Đẹp Trai
Sunday, April 22, 2007 17:21
If you check back the post titled 'Chief Lou (Zou Lou)' on March 21 about his birthday, there's an arm which I've labelled 'Mysterious Mr. Dep Trai', and said will reveal his identity at the end of the ITP.And he is... none other than...
The Chocolate Chef!!
The story behind him and the 4 of us is really quite interesting. If not for Zou Lou's birthday, we probably would not end up knowing him this well.
According to Siew Lee who stays in the chocolate room more often than I do, says that she thinks he's handsome all these while.
Around 17 March 2007
May: "How come I've noticed this person ah? Now then I find him 帅 leh"
(Pardon me for my slowness, but everytime I see this person I'll be like 'Oh, that chocolate guy'. It wasn't until 17th March that I actually realised he's handsome (Haha!) )
Siewlee: "帅 la.. 我很早就发现了"
Pinda: "如果我是女的我看我也会喜欢他!"
So between that time till Zhu Lou's birthday, we called him Mr. Đẹp Trai, meaning Mr. Handsome. Haha ok I know la.. why are we noticing guys when we're supposed to be on attachment!! We all just thought he's this cool, quiet, and way too serious guy, meant only to be admired from far...
But one fine day,
During Zhu Lou's Birthday
The chocolate chef bought XO for Zhu Lou and drank alot himself. So he kinda got 自-high, and started yakking all the way to siewlee and I, but more to siewlee since she was sitting next to him. Ok, which is the appropriate time to cue the 'crow' sound (QUA, qua, qua, qua....), as our beautiful impression of him disintegrated with every yak he made.
After Zhu Lou's Birthday
So after that day, we started talking to each other a little (we i.e. the four of us). Gradually, we found out that he's not that cool afterall. Not that serious, and definitely not quiet!! In fact, he's one of those irritating people, who irritates the shit out of you! Haha!
Ăn nhiều nhiều béo phì
First of all he's always catching Siewlee eating sneakily in the act. But that was before ZL's birthday, so naturally he didn't say anything since he didn't know us at that point of time. But after we knew him, he'd always go "Ăn nhiều nhiều béo phì!!" which means 'Eat alot and become fat' whenever he sees us eating. It really drove me and siewlee insane, and so we decided not to call him Mr. Dep Trai, but rather Minh Xau i.e. Ugly Minh. Haha! That drove him more nuts =P
And the crapping begins...
Introduction
Real name: Quang Minh (光明), but pronounced as 关门
At first name: Mr. Dep Trai
Later name: Minh Xau
Even later name: Minh
Final name: Pig Angel
Always name: Chocolate Chef
Vanity scale: 9/10
He's one of those who wets and combs his hair every hour, and every single object with a slight reflection will and can be his mirror.
For example,
The side of a fridge?
And the cream spreader (something like a knife) works equally good for him too.
Driving skills: 10/10
I'll credit him for this though! He probably can't see this but I must thank him for the ride to Big C Supermarket. From that day onwards I just couldn't stop pestering him to go there every now and then.
English: 10/10 (???)
Favourite english words:
1. Handsome
2. Fat
3. No
4. Why
5. I don't know
6. You
7. Dry (pronounced as Dree)
8. Okay
Video of him saying 'You, what, no, I don't know', because I asked him to =X
I'm his english teacher by the way. Ha!
I think that's about it..! So by the way if you see a soft toy that is a 'Pig Angel', please please pleaseeeee tell me ok!! Thanks!
And this' the end of the Chocolate Chef Special, brought to you by us. ^_^v
Tam Biet, Viet Nam
Friday, April 13, 2007 22:31
I never used to think that Friday 13 was a bad day. But today, it marks the 'death' of this Vietnam trip.The past 7 weeks have been the best times of my life, for real! Ate, shopped, and slept loads. These are more than what I can ask for - all of these which staying and studying Singapore can't give. They asked us to stay in Vietnam - which is of course impossible. Isn't the shortness of 7 weeks the reason why we treasure the times even more?
We'll be back in 2009 for the chocolate chef's wedding, and hopefully on my birthday! 2 years...
I'll miss the people here. Very much. Somehow I just can't put my feelings into words now. So, I'll stop typing. Have yet to blog about the few previous day's happenings.. think I'll have to post them when I'm back in Singapore.
Tam Biet, Viet Nam.
My last Đục Phát day
11:34
Well, all good things always come to an end. Hopefully, the end of something will be the start of something better (like.. FYP? -_- Yucks.)Our dear Chocolate Department!!!
From left: Chi Ut, Me, Ah Lien
Chi Ut is so cute, and I seriously wanted to bring her back to Singapore =X
Ah Lien seemed quite fierce to me at first, but somehow ever since I told her that Sam likes Be in cantonese, she kinda like melted the fierceness away.
From left: Chi Lam, Me, Be
With the consultants in the chocolate department, Mr. and Mrs. Kam. Looks like one family potrait huh?
That's our ITP supervisor, Mr. Ut, the one in white (next to Pd)!! Probably the best supervisor we can ever have. Speaks in really cheem chinese as well.
With 'Biet-Chet-Leng' of the R&D department.
Our translator
With Anh Thuy.. think I'll miss hearing him sing and being 自-high and all *sigh..
With almost the whole chocolate department (except Ah Lien who was cleaning the floors). You can see that the chocolate chef is probably a head taller than everyone (but me ok!!).
3 guys, of which 2 are handsome. Haha! Not saying who!
With all our Singaporean/Malaysian consultants currently working in Duc Phat. They taught us many invaluable baking stuff, recipes, methods, about the Vietnamese way-of-life, and so many others. Mr. Foo, Mr. & Mrs. Kam and Mr. Bobby.
Just spent the whole time taking pictures, talking.. and stuff. Heart nearly broke at 4 p.m. 13th April, when the chocolate chef looked at me and said "One hour left". Our supervisor was debriefing us at that time, and I must have seriously looked drifted away.
Some things/people I'll miss:
- Eating their Bahn Mi (baguette)
- Bong Mai
- Chocolate Deparment people (Minh, Ut, Lien, Phuong, Be, Lam)
- Cake Decoration people (Thuy, Sy, Oanh, Hien, Uyen)
- Mr. Ut
- Riding on Minh's motorbike
- White chocolate
- Spongecake
- The slacking
So many more.. can't really remember what they are but I know there'll always be a subconscious longing for them. Sigh.. I'd be damned not to go back Vietnam. Wait for me!!
More chocolate department outings
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 20:17
Getting ready to go to Hai Lou restaurant!
One bike there for each of us ^_^v
Ate, drank, laugh, and screamed!!!
Ate eel, malnourished chicken, seafood, and
Mouse Meat!!!
No la, not those scavenging rats you're imagining to scurry across drains and dirty floors. They're field mice, i.e. those caught in rice paddies and stuff.
After-dinner Karaoke cum Disco session!!
Because the karaoke rooms are soooo big, they just decided to turn off the lights and make use of the empty space in the room as a dancefloor. 谁叫我们有个Dancing King 呢？Changed 3 bikes in total - first was Chi Ut's, then Chi Lam's, then Chocolate chef's!!! Heh.. I kept telling he's drunk and is going to land me in hospital (but of course he's not la) =P
Guess that would be our very last night out in Ho Chi Minh, and no regrets because we just went with the best people in the world. Yo! (Yam Seng in Vietnamese)
8 hours at the bakery, 1 hour of work
Monday, April 9, 2007 19:11
The very last week in Vietnam.. depressing… =(No mood to work.. so.. slack! Take pictures!!
Haha. Seems like only right side of the picture is hyperactive. Happy New Year pull your ear!! Ooops. The chocolate chef deserved the ear-pull for being extremely irritating. Just put Marcus and Cedric together, you get him. =’)
Chocolate chef with the chocolate noobs xD I look constipated because the chocolate chef was either 1. Trying to strangle me from the back or 2. Trying to push me to the person beside me, which will NEVER work!! Muhahaha.
You realise all our colleagues, whether from the Cake Deco dept, R&D or Chocolate dept, are all about our age. Youngest is probably Be (1989) and oldest known.. probably at most 30+? Best thing is, most of them are around our age! So you really get hell of a rackus in the bakery.
In the R&D lab with Chi Ut and Ah Lien who are the 2 second-floor belles.
With 109 at the outside store. She looks sad nowadays because we’re leaving soon =( Er.. haha. I mean I think so.
And nico! (Nico actually means ‘nun’ in Vietnamese. When I first saw her, Sy introduced her as ‘nico’ so I thought she was ‘Nicole’. Not until later did I realise I’ve been calling her a nun!! :O ) Since Vietnamese names are SO hard to pronounce, I think I’d better call her 118 or something :P.
Dam Sen Park
Sunday, April 8, 2007 19:02
The last Sunday in Vietnam! Last but the best spent Sunday ever…Went to Dam Sen Park with the chocolate department (like again.. :P). DSP is something like the already extinct Haw Par Villa, with all your cute flowers, dragons, zhu ba jie appearing everywhere plus Escape Theme park. Best thing? You pay for individual rides, and the most expensive costs only $2.50!! :D
Ok enough said, pictures!!
Me and Ah Bear! In case you find her quite familiar yet can’t remember who she is, she’s Sa****’s Vie******* Wif*.
Chocolate Chef! (Minh) He treated us to most of the rides and lunch there ^_^
Heh.. always good to have guys – no, good guys around.
Chi Phuong – the only one who speaks English on a conversational level
An overview of what they have in Dam Sen. Mini zoo, mini bird park, mini reptile park, circus, elephant rides, thrill rides, castles, lotus ponds, gardens, floating restaurants, crocodile-feeding, monster fishes, ferris wheel.. bla bla! You can go to http://www.damsenpark.com.vn if you want to see more, but not necessary anyway.
I think I was screaming all the way while at the crocodile-feeding area. Not because of the lazy bumps crocodiles, but more because of the swinging piece of meat attached to the bamboo pole which people carried around. Yikes!
The smelly chocolate chef said the elephant’s my husband!! >=/
Handsome right?? Ahem. I mean the smaller one okay.
Ok exciting..!! Now comes the rides!
Ok first we took the boat thingy, you know, the ‘Yeo’s’ at Escape Theme Park alike. Just Pinda, me, the boy, Chi Phuong and Chi Lam. Can’t say no to rides!! Wheeet~! But kinda slo-mo and draggy.. drifted on the boat for like what? 10 minutes before taking the plunge? Ahem. Apparently the four others didn’t like screaming alot, so I helped them all :)
Roller coaster from hell! Not because of the route or the thrill factor, but because of the ‘safety belt’ and ‘barricade’. So freaking loose.. totally just gripped my knuckles white for my dear life. Phew!! But anyhow, I think that was the first time I took a 360ºC roller coaster! Thumbs up!! :D If you’re wondering where’s Samuel, hmm. I don’t know!!
And we also took a motion stimulator. Only 3 rides, pathetic I know, but they had to leave rather early. So, no choice!
All the group photos…
Me and Minh walking faced backwards just to take this picture and so I almost bumped into people..
Chocolatiers!
With the female chocolatiers~
Me and Chi Phuong sitting on a Dalmatian, if you realised!
Finale! Di ve roi...
Left to right:
Samuel, Chi Lam, Chi Phuong, Chi Lam’s Son, Pinda, Siewlee, Be, May, Minh (who looks like someone owes him money)
Yup yup, that’s all!
The already mouldy stuff
Friday, April 6, 2007 21:35
Yes yes.. everything in this post is long overdue. Eeeps. Have been just… lazy. =XOkok! Pictures.
Me and Siewlee on Bus 27! Some of their buses are so much more comfortable than the irritating SBS, which makes me nothing but late. Anyway, achievement! We walked for almost 2 hours before finding a bus stop with a bus that goes to our destination!! Er.. kinda dumb, but still – the only form of exercise here is walking!! And guess what.. we reached after like 5 minutes on the bus. Errr… :)
Best lunch ever in the bakery! Singapore-style curry
Condensed milk sheet. That’s how people ‘eat’ condensed milk you know. Weird huh?
In the mood to draw animal-pairs that day! The cats aren’t supposed to be lovers!! I wanted to draw a catfight, but because Thuy went to draw the heart shape so everyone thought I was drawing the catty lovers. Crazy. And two pigs. Sister and I!
This’ our boss’ chauffeur’s daughter. Hell of a devil. Really 恶魔在身边. Gave that cheeky face when I wanted to take a picture with her xP
The devil in action
The chocolate chef drew this out of nothing. Pure imagination. Really hand it in to them man!!
7 days more? Or rather.. 7 days left
20:15
Busy busy!Busy doing last mintue shopping and sleeping.. =)
I know today's Good Friday in Singapore, which means off for you lucky chaps.
BUT.. here, EVERYDAY'S Good Friday!!! Whoopeee Doo~
Haha. Except for Sundays. Sunday, is 'Better-than-Good Friday'!
In crisis now! I went to Vietnam prepared with 7 weeks needed of stuff, and now - I'm coming back with a YEAR! Oh my. (Vietnamese'll go Chua'Oi~~~!!) Luggage is pathetically obese I tell you.
I can't believe there's only one week left here. I'm already missing Vietnam. Missing the Vietnamese, and most of all, missing the Duc Phatians.
生离死别。。离之痛，别之，我办不到。
Well, good things always come to an end. Since it ends, it must have been good. And since I don't want it to end, then I must have had no regrets. Life's such...!
兜兜风
Saturday, March 31, 2007 09:08
On Chocolate Chef’s (Anh Minh) motorbike!!
Yipee!! Think I can go back to Singapore without any regrets. I can’t believe it man!! :D All hail Basil Leaves!! The feeling is… shiok ah!!! Told you I’m easily excited.
Anyway, Anh Minh wanted to buy basil leaves since the bakery ran out of it, so he brought me along seeing I
See?? They actually ride relatively slow, you know. At least slow enough to prevent me from screaming and could even start taking pictures. The roads around the bakery are considered quite empty, so imagine the speed if we were around the city area! Erm, by the way, my cap flew off halfway and had to stop to pick it up. Geesh!! And because I didn’t know what’s ‘stop’ in Vietnamese, I just start hitting, no – too violent word, I mean 拍他肩膀 (tapping his shoulders) madly. Oops :X .
Singaporean: In Vietnam, no licence can drive motorbike or not?
Vietnamese: Can.. of course!
S: Huh, can meh? Won’t get caught ah?
V: 没有这样的suay啦！
It’s true you know. There’s like millions of motorbike hitting the roads, and no policeman is ever that hardworking.
Now, I'm a chef too!
08:35
Now do I look like a professional baker/chef?? Haha, guess not. Stole the chocolate chef’s hat to wear :P Finally realised my dream of looking like Kim Sam Soon for 5 minutes.
Me and Chi Ut (Sister Ut)
She’s so cute!! She was one of the top candidates for Samuel’s Vietnamese wife selection, but because she went to help out at the new outlet for quite a long time, it didn’t seem too realistic anymore. Oh ya, and most people here are reeeallly tiny! Both guys and girls. Some of the females may seem rather tall, but most of the time they’re wearing elevated shoes.
We were just inspecting and assessing the hardness of the baguette – really. O:)
Hahaha. Oh wells, just trying to find some entertainment. Anyway, those baguettes were made by us for experimentation and not for sale.
The baguettes ended up..here! The fish pond directly below the R&D lab. Looks empty but there’s really thousands of fishes in there. Remember Zoulou’s birthday? The fishes came from in there. Ever since, we start calling these fishes ‘Happy birthday’.
Me and Thuy at the pond
Our lecturer, Mr Bobby! Haha. Told you it was like coming to school, just a T1+T2+W317 of SP that has expanded you know. Mr. Bobby taught us the theoretical stuff of baking, like the type of flour, different recipes etc. So while he taught us we can actually slack without looking like it!
Again, long overdue! This is Pinda looking like he descended from heaven because of all the light in his face. Supposed to have me and siewlee screaming at the end because it was pitch black, BUT, Samuel already stopped recording before the scream, so you only get this pathetic ‘wooo’ sound >=/
The apple with a tattoo! Rich apple, eh? Found this in the Big C Siew Thi (supermarket) which Anh Minh and I went to. Anyhow, I don’t remember seeing this apple in Singapore.
And our crazy colleague wearing Chi Phuong’s spectacles and carrying her bag. He’s 25, married, and looks super Malay! But he’s Vietnamese.