Chua Mui Hoong : On teh tarik, Istana lawn...

[R y u]

May 22, 2010
On teh tarik, Istana lawn...
The author of Pioneers Once More: The Singapore Public Service 1959-2009 gives her first-person account of the making of the book, which was launched on Friday.

By Chua Mui Hoong, Deputy Review Editor

For author Chua Mui Hoong, hands-on work on the book took on a new meaning as she acted as assistant to photographer Desmond Wee during a photo-taking session with Mr Hamid Sudi, Istana gardener for 38 years. From Mr Hamid, Ms Chua learnt that grass is best cut around 10am, after the dew has started to dry off, and before the sun gets too hot. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHUA MUI HOONG


I WILL never view teh tarik the same way again. I used to pride myself on being able to tell a good, robust cup of teh tarik: Look for that distinct orangey-brown tint, of course. Turns out that's likely to be mere colouring to disguise inferior tea powder.

I had this tidbit of information from the most reliable source there is: the senior scientific adviser to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). Professor Bosco Chen Bloodworth, a government chemist for more than 30 years, told me: 'If there's a strong orange tint, it's likely to be from the artificial food colour added to the tea powder.'

This won't harm the drinker, but is used to disguise the poor quality of the tea powder and is deemed cheating the consumer. National Environment Agency officers routinely collect tea samples from coffee shops for analysis in the HSA Food Safety Laboratory.

'Should food colour be detected in the tea powder, the coffee-shop owner would be dealt with legally.'

Prof Bloodworth - son of Mr Dennis Bloodworth, the London-born writer of some of the most riveting accounts of Singapore's history - told me more stories about which type of plastics is safest for food storage and regaled me with tales of murders solved. (Read the book to find out more. Or look up tomorrow's Sunday Times excerpts from the book.)

I spent part of 2008 and bits of last year working on the book, Pioneers Once More: The Singapore Public Service 1959-2009, which was launched on Friday.


[email protected]

The book is published by the Public Service Division and Straits Times Press. It is available in bookstores at $42.80, inclusive of GST. For orders, e-mail [email protected]

More information about the book can be found at www.psd.gov.sg/pioneersoncemore

 

[Brightkid]

Hmmmm...is Chua Mui Hoong getting prettier or I need to go check my eyes ?







Hangon a minute.....where is my reading glasses ?

 

[Leongsam]

Ms Chua learnt that grass is best cut around 10am, after the dew has started to dry off, and before the sun gets too hot. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHUA MUI HOONG


I WILL never view teh tarik the same way again. I used to pride myself on being able to tell a good, robust cup of teh tarik: Look for that distinct orangey-brown tint, of course. Turns out that's likely to be mere colouring to disguise inferior tea powder.

While thousands of Singaporeans can't pay their bills, SPH journalists spend their time investigating the colour of tea and the technicalities of making Prataman's lawn look good.

 

[jw5]

This woman is hilarious.

 

[scroobal]

Its an attempt to cleanse her soul. A prostitute pretending to possess dignity. You see it all the time - a drunk, a gambler and an addict will occasionally treat the family to a dinner out of guilt and then relapses into the usual habit.

While thousands of Singaporeans can't pay their bills, SPH journalists spend their time investigating the colour of tea and the technicalities of making Prataman's lawn look good.

 

[jw5]

Its an attempt to cleanse her soul. A prostitute pretending to possess dignity. You see it all the time - a drunk, a gambler and an addict will occasionally treat the family to a dinner out of guilt and then relapses into the usual habit.

It's more like trying to regain some good karma.
Someone else is doing it fervently too.

 

[Papsmearer]

While thousands of Singaporeans can't pay their bills, SPH journalists spend their time investigating the colour of tea and the technicalities of making Prataman's lawn look good.

What else could she be hired for, her investigative journalism skills?

 

[kingrant]

Nothing better to print. Another useless piece was the one by Neo chasing down that illegal KTV hostess who drowned in the Sentosa cove bungalow pool. Bloody insult to readers' intelligence!