About Mrs Goh

(From 28 May 2026)

So two stories to tie together.

The first was from about 13 years ago, just after our wedding dinner. (If you were there, you would recall that Boon Lay Raja Restaurant [now defunct – maybe because our dinner bankrupted them!] had really good food!) Anyway, in the rush of the dinner, we left some stuff behind. And the Restaurant called Pl Lim.

“Hello? Mrs Goh?”

“Sorry. Wrong number,” PL replied. ‘Cos she still did not answer to “Mrs Goh.”

Such a modern woman!

Fast forward to earlier this week.

There is a Japanese movie about a dog, called “Gohan”, meaning “Rice”. ‘Cos the dog is white, like rice. Z had express some interest in watching the movie, but not obsessively.

So I asked if she ever got a white dog, would she call it “Gohan”.

(She said, no.)

I said, she should cos our surname is “Goh”, so it would be appropriate for the dog to be “Gohan”. Matching our surnames.

And PL said she’s “Ms Lim.”

*sigh*

Our 13th anniversary is next month.

Blackpink in your area

So, I’ve been sucked into K-pop (my daughter’s fault, really). Specifically, Black Pink. A Girl Group with 4 members (pictured below) who debut in 2016 with “Whistle” and “Boombayah“.

I highly recommend their Pink Venom  Music Video.

My Stressful, Eventful, First day in Japan (2025, Dec)

As we landed in Narita, PL told me that we needed to get to the Yamato Transport Company (a.k.a. Kuroneko, a.k.a. “Ta-Q-bin”) before 10 am in order to ensure that our luggage will get to our hotel on the same day.

Not the actual Yamato Transport Co.!

We made it!

The Indian Restaurant at Gujo-Hachiman, Gifu.

We were on a Bus Tour of Gifu, somewhere North (as far as I can tell) of Nagoya. As the bus turned off the highway into Gujo-Hachiman, I saw a sign, proudly advertising the fact that it was an Indian Restaurant. I pointed it out to my wife who pointedly said that she had not come to Japan to eat Indian food.

I said that I was intrigued by the fact that some Indian (presumably) had travelled all the way to Japan, and into the rural community of Gujo-Hachiman, and said to himself, what these people lack is some good authentic Indian food, and proceeded forthwith to plunge his life savings (?) into Gujo-Hachiman’s first (?) and only (?) authentic (?) Indian Restaurant.

When was it established? What was its signature dish? How’s business? How authentic are their menu items? What are the favourites of the residents of Gujo-Hachiman? Did the proprietor had to tweak the recipe to suit the tastes of his Japanese/Gujo-Hachimanese customers? Does he have regular customers? Is he really an Indian Immigrant? What were the challenges of selling Indian cuisine to rural Japanese folks?

I do not know.

Because the Bus Driver and the Tour Guide, like my wife, did not think tourists to Japan, particularly to Gujo-Hachiman, and Gifu, had travelled all the way to the heart (?) of Japan, to find and eat authentic (?) Indian Food.

BUT… if you do find yourself in Gifu, and in the vicinity of Gujo-Hachiman, and you are driving yourself (as opposed to a Bus tour), and you have had your fill of tempura, sushi, sashimi, ramen, yakiniku, sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, and various other Japanese Cuisine, and if you happen to see the Indian Restaurant at the turnoff to Gujo-Hachiman, maybe stop by and try his Butter Chicken or whatever his signature dish may be, and ask him how he came to open an Indian Restaurant at Gujo-Hachiman.

A Visit to an ENT specialist

I went to see an ENT specialist a few days ago. (That’s an “Ear, Nose and Throat” doctor.)

I have all the modern lifestyle diseases – hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, I’ve had a stroke, a heart attack, and kidney failure. So I guess my renal doctor would be VERY EMBARRASSED if I up and died from a nose bleed.

My (dream) Watering Hole

I saw a casual bar/izakaya/watering hole recently.

It had a casual name like “Dave’s Bar” or just “Dave’s”.

I heard some cabin crew quit flying and opened an eatery (or watering hole) called “Kevin Khoo”:

Because, on the plane, the pilot would say over the PA system: “Cabin Crew to take off positions”, for example.

And passengers would ask, “Who is this Kevin Khoo that is so important that the pilot would personally instruct him to get into position?”

Bitching about a noisy family seated next to us

[First drafted Nov 2022]

So we decided to try my not-very-favourite Japanese cafe, because it had a new menu, and Z liked them, cos like many Japanese eateries, they offered a free toy to kids.

We were seated next to a mother, her helper, and her three kids.

We proceeded to browse the menu and choose our food.

The boy at the next table started to shriek excitedly.

We tried to ignore him.

The Old Lion Dancer and her grandkids

At CNY, Lion Dance Troupes go shop to shop, offering to have the Lion wish the shop/business good luck for the coming year.

The Lion Dance Troupe that was at my neighbourhood was kinda remarkable because there was a really old lady, and quite a few young kids (age around 11).

The Drummer looked 11 or 12.

Time. Money. Experience

From Facebook, Sept 2022:

“Students [Or youth] have time, but no money. Adults have money, but no time. Retirees have time, and maybe even money, but no energy (or health problems). Life is the art of using money to make up for the lack of time, using time to make up for the lack of money, and using experience to make up for the lack of youth.

Prayers.

[From 19 Dec 2020]

When we are a child, we pray like God is the Genie of the Lamp. And our prayers are our wishes.

As we grow up, maybe we learn gratitude and our prayers are thanksgiving. (Perhaps for the wishes granted by the Genie. I mean, God.)

And as we get a better understanding of our relationship with God and the world, we may pray like Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane: let this cup (of suffering) pass (go away), but not my will, but Yours (God’s).