www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

As far back as two seasons ago,  I mentioned that Man Utd were in  relative decline but few people believed me as they were still in euphoria.  The Golden Generation of the Neville brothers, Butt, Scholes, Beckham, Giggs were gone and replacements that came in were not equal in quality. They still won last year as the other teams were also not as good.  Poor David Moyes has succeeded finally to get Everton above Man Utd. Some people may blame Moyes but it is certainly not his fault as he inherited the squad. Bosses can be biased too as in the case of Daniel Sturridge who never got his chance to really shine at Chelsea until Liverpool came along. Now he is a star. Juan Mata is not a policeman but he was Chelsea's best player and has been largely sitting on the bench this season.  Meantime, Romelu Lukakau who shone brilliantly on loan to WBA previously was discarded once again and on loan to Everton now.  There is something about Sir Alex Ferguson th...

Despite the great wisdom of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus and Thucydides and many great philosophers, Athens/Greece and some countries in Western Europe have fallen into hard times. That means that people do not always listen to wisdom or reasoning or their wisdom could have been suppressed.  What about Asia? We have Confucius and Mahatma Gandhi. They were sages of their time and their teachings were no less desirable and have been around and available since ancient times? Why have we not benefitted from it and if we have then why haven't more people gained much wisdom? Simple - because wide is the path that leads to destruction. Doing good and doing right while very often obvious are not something that rewards instantly. It can be even more difficult to do too.  Very often, doing good and right means there is nothing to gain. Recently on 2nd October it was his birth date.  Let us share and celebrate the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi (2 October 1869 - 30 J...

Many Man U fans were infuriated by their team's disastrous result when their noisy blue neighbour crushed them 4-1. It wasn't just the result but it was the way they were destroyed that caused concerns. The Red Devils were leaking at the back and limped up front except for another wonder Rooney free kick. Some even started blaming David Moyes. Talking about free kicks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqdjPZocHLk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OUYtvip8j4 If you had read my previous columns, I have clearly stated that Man U was not great last season. They were champions because the rest of the chasing pack self-destruct. Sir Alex knew it so he retired while still at the top leaving the new manager with an ageing team. Nobody could emulate him now. Haha. Others slighted Fellaini too but Fellaini is a good player and Moyes is a good manager and I have said this several times last season. While Moyes was at Goodison Park, Everton play very well and he did it with a shoestr...

When you were young, you were always too busy or never around for mum's home cooked food. Perhaps you were out with friends and perhaps you ate something together with them before you came home. Anyway, maybe you were bored with mum's home cooked food. The hawker food outside seemed more attractive.  You may still do that in your youth or when you became an adult but as you stayed out even more often as you have to work, you will increasingly find that you got tired of hawker food no matter how nice they could be. That is when you begin to miss your grandma's or mum's home-cooked food.  Worse, in a fast paced society where time is scarce, fast food or 3-in-1 beverages became the champions. Few people bother to cook these days. They can't even cook to save their lives. With smaller family unit, it also became difficult to cook for 4 people. Worse, if your children aren't eating.  A friend suggested we should proceed to a place where he said the food is j...

Lunch can sometimes be difficult depending on where you work and what are the kind of food available. Places can get over crowded, queues can be long and this becomes worse when it is raining or the weather too hot and humid. Not only that, eating any kind of food also meant that one can get sluggish after lunch. A lousy feeling if I may say it. So a Japanese colleague brought a customer and me to this place. Along the journey they were speaking in Japanese and all I heard was @#$!&!@#Ginza !@#$%&!Kuroson. When I got there, I saw it "Ginza Kuroson". That's it! The green tea here is served cold and fabulous. Really healthy. They placed jugs of cold green tea in trays of ice as you can see in the background. I was told that during dinner, these trays of ice would be where they display all the fish. You can then literally name them or see some of what you are going to eat. Green and purple leafy are a great start with Japanese vinegar or sauce. I ...

The first time I visited Penang, Malaysia long time ago, the most memorable was the food. Being on holiday made it even more enjoyable. The food was close to some of ours here but for those Penang favourites, they were of course more authentic. The other only time in the past where good Penang food came to Singapore was when a couple of hotels here organise a Penang Food buffet but how much of these food can you wallop in a buffet? Personally, I experienced Penang Food at a food court at the old Marina Square when it was first opened and I found it was owned by brothers David and James who were once in the container transport business. In more recent times, I passed by the Aljunied MRT station because I drop off my car at the agents and they brought me to the MRT but it was only when several friends told me that I must try the Penang food at the restaurant at Geylang Lorong 25 A (where the MRT station is). It was a hot day and the first thing I did was to get a cold drink. I ...

Thucydides was a Greek Historian and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War which recounts the 5th century B.C. war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 B.C. Even former Prime Minister Mr. Lee Kuan Yew read him as he has quoted Thucydides. The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept. The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage. It is frequently a misfortune to have very brilliant men in charge of affairs. They expect too much of ordinary men. We secure our friends not by accepting favours but by doing them. A nation that draws too broad a difference between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and fighting done by fools.  The sufferings that fate inflicts on us should be borne with patience, what enemies inflict with manly courage.  An avowal of poverty is no disgrace to any man; to make no effort to escape it is indeed disgraceful.  Men naturally d...

One swallow does not make a summer. After Gareth Bale left, Tottenham have been flushed with cash for a shopping spree and they may end up an even better team. Can you imagine Ronaldo and Bale galloping on both wings at Madrid? Mesut Ozil brought out the sparkles at Arsenal. Sturridge could not stop scoring at Liverpool. Wayne Rooney have been pivotal for Man Utd after all his troubles. Remember, soccer is still a team game unlike golf, badminton, squash or tennis. Norwich v Villa - The Canaries are a decent team but they are poor away. They have a good manager in Chris Hughton and a promising young English player called Nathan Redmond who is a speed demon and several others but were last outclassed by Tottenham. Villa started with a bang having won away at Arsenal but have since fizzled with three losses including two at home. Norwich have beaten Villa only once in five outings, drew once and lost three including two at home. Both teams are not doing that well. Villa have a bett...

The weather has been freakish of late. The torrential downpour recently that wreaked havoc was lamentable.  So on a lazy Saturday afternoon, I woke up a little later than usual as most weekends I wake up at the same time as we ekdays.  My son has been enthusiastic and excited to introduce us to a place which he claimed serve wonderful food. No one else was available and the two of us went for lunch - he to enjoy what he already knew is good and me to explore another foodie joint. So, we went on to Jalan Kayu and I was fortunate to quickly find a parking space between the famous prata and the otah shop. I realised it was better to park on the opposite side where our destination is as at the end of the stretch of shop houses there is a big car park but beware they will come to check your coupon regularly. Be warned. I was finally here to discover about Le Steak at 248, Jalan Kayu.  Le Steak is all about Chef Amri.  It has both indoor and an outdoor d...