Kembangan-Senang

This walk that I'm going to write about here, I actually took a couple of months ago. 

When, exactly, I cannot remember.

It might have been August.

It might have been September.

In any case I had taken it at a time when I thought I would be (soon) moving out, and so wanted some pictures to hold over for one's memory. Circumstances are sometimes effected by persons, not by places, and should a place turn out to have lousier memories, not happier ones, one must define whether it is the place, or the person, who is at fault. 

I had come to Kembangan with excitement. 

I hope to leave the same. 

Not with bitterness, not with anger, just with a calm spirit knowing that the stint is over and it is now my time. 

But this post is not about what is happening or what was happening.

This post is about the walk I took from Jalan Daud to the park at Lengkong Empat and Jalan Selamat onwards to Jalan Senang. 

I began by crossing Lorong Melayu and walking along the last and final stretch of Jalan Daud towards the canal and Leogkong Tiga. 

Here I took picture of the PCN cycling path, the blocks of 104 and 103 next to it, and the trees on the tiny teeny weeny gentle slopes. 

The first thing I noticed about this stretch was just how huge the trees were. How long these trees had been there I don't know but they weren't recent, and some of them, especially those at the junctions, looked like they had been there a fair bit of time. 

I got to the end of Jalan Daud, looking over the canal. 

The last picture I took here I had been facing the bus stop, and the curve of Lengkong Tiga towards the MRT station. 

This time I looked the other direction- towards the overhead bridge, towards the Bedok Reservoir housing estate, towards the PIE expressway. 

It's interesting just how many people actually do traverse up and down this route any day. One might think it quiet, with nary a person going up and down, but it is actually a major thoroughfare, not just for the food delivery rider on his transport, but also the walker who has decided to cross over to the blocks of Bedok Reservoir and take the longish route instead of circling round and round the interim parks of Kembangan. 

From here I turned onto Lengkong Empat, but not before taking a picture of Lengkong Tiga, because why not? 

Lengkong Empat is probably one of the longest roads this side of Kembangan. It isn't a very heavily populated road, but it meets the north(?) end of Lengkong Tiga, Lengkong Dua, Lengkong Satu, Lengkong Lima and Lengkong Enam. 

This afternoon I kept my walk solely along this uphill road, passing by the condominiums of Starville, Grosvenor View and Escada View on my left, and the private homes on my right, before reaching the west corner tip point of Lengkong Enam Park. 

It was a steep stretch of road, by the way, with the peak hitting the junction of Lengkong Enam before going downslope all the way on all sides, one towards Jalan Selamat, the other towards Taman Selamat, and Lorong Kembangan.

I decided to stop a little at this park. 

Not so much for a drink of water and a little rest on the bench, but also to relish in the quiet of a neighborhood park that I had seen once or twice- from the bus- but had never come to visit. 

The light from the late afternoon sun transformed the scene here quietly peaceful. 

I watched as the golden rays illuminated the trunks of trees large and small.

I watched as the glowing light filtered through the branches of them wide-canopied trees here and there all round the park.

And I kept my gaze on the ground as they cast intriguing shadows all over the grass. 

This afternoon there was a light breeze, a bit warmer than I hoped it would be, but equally reassuring, and I loved how the winds rustled the leaves of the tree above me. 

It wasn't so much that I was in this park.

It was the presence of the park alone that surprised me.

Up till now the only park of this sort- large trees, slopes and shrubs and grass- and in the middle of a residential neighborhood- I had only seen in the west, somewhere near Toh Tuck Road.

It had never occurred to me that there would be a park this huge, with such large canopied trees sitting so comfortably here this part of town, much less the squirrels that a few times I had seen popping about the trees here and there amongst the flats of Lengkong Tiga. 

I think I spent a fair bit of time at Lengkong Enam Park this afternoon.

Something about its presence fascinated me, made it difficult to leave.

Was it because I was trying to understand the space? Was it because I found myself caught up in the atmosphere of the space, that, looking back now, was a time of soft sun rays, warm breeze, and a quiet hope that, whether I left or whether I stayed, all would be well? 

A part of me felt like the park were an otherworldly space. 

A part of me felt like the park belonged here, yet, at the same time, as if it didn't. 

There was a hint of timelessness. 

A feeling, as if the trees and the shrubs and the grass had been there a very long time, in a different sort of environment, a different sort of world. 

But one must get back to reality.

One must get back to the surroundings that make the place what it is, today, right now, so off I went, heading down Jalan Selamat, passing by what I think is Taman Selamat, and Taman Kembangan.

The houses here were really neat, by the way. 

I don't mean that they were huge or big like some other neighborhoods, but they were well taken care of, they were loved, they were beautifully maintained. 

And the flowers, they were so pretty. 

Nearly every garden had some form of foliage and tree and plant and flower and shrub.

It was still too bright, and early to head back, plus I didn't want to go home so early, so I made a left, turning into the path that stretches along the canal.

I had no idea where this route was going to take me.  

Really. 

There're some days where you just don't bother with Google Maps and go where your feet take you. 

The route along this canal brought me strong kampong vibes, except I know not from where they came from- maybe it were the lovely terraced houses, maybe it were the plethora of beautifully planted trees, maybe it were the path so cleanly and neatly laid out. 

I took a picture of the pathway ahead of me. 

But I couldn't help looking back towards the familiar pink blocks of Lengkong Tiga too. 

Perhaps someone at some time had also done the same. 

It was a pleasant late afternoon stroll. 

I got to see the houses all on plots adjacent to the canal. 

I got to see little stone benches lining the path and little neat plots of land overlaid with grass. 

The path by the canal led all the way near the side entrance of an LTA property. What exactly it was, I don't know, it looked like to be a training academy of the Land Transport Authority. 

Somewhere around here I decided to turn back- not because I wasn't curious to go ahead and see where the path ended, but because I had passed by the end lanes of Jalan Paras and Jalan Senang, and the sight of them factory buildings had reignited my curiosity of what this place was, and used to be. 

In the span of my life I had known of Chai Chee Street and Chai Chee Drive.

What I hadn't known was that Chai Chee Drive connected to Chai Chee Street connected to Chai Chee Lane where, at present day, the Lock+Store, and self storage, and AMD buildings were. 

What I also hadn't known- until a year or so ago- was how connected Chai Chee Lane was to Senang Crescent, and Jalan Senang via the very steep hill that literally, brought you from one part of the (private) residential area of Senang to the (public) flats of Chai Chee. 

I had cycled here before. 

I hadn't walked around though.

And today I wanted to. 

I ended up going around this area three, four times. 

A bit embarrassingly, because the first two times I wasn't really paying attention, and only until the third time I began to realize just how unique this place was. 

There were a couple of seafood suppliers.

Not one, but at least two, or three, and not small ones they were too. 

There was a noodle supplier somewhere amongst the lanes. 

Don't ask me the name. 

I didn't pay attention. 

Somewhere in the middle there was a sound acoustics system supplier. 

Then there was a florist- with what I think were bunches and bunches of flowers all wrapped up in plastic and kept under chill (I felt the chill from the room when someone opened the door). 

I passed by a print production company, you know, a company that prints banners and stickers and posters and the like. I'm almost sure they do print other stuff, pamphlets and papers and signage. I just didn't see them. 

There were a couple of engineering firms with their own buildings. 

And even an office design production house that I presume doubled up as a retail store for the B2B more than the B2C. 

I don't know where else or how else I walked after that. 

But I passed by a building that I think used to be an umbrella factory.

And then there was what I would say a Home Karaoke System supplier (and store).

TenTen @ Kitchener's Kimly

A friend of mine, having in recent days found out that I held special love for all things salmon, recommended me this place close to Lavender MRT station. 

It was not difficult to find, she emphasized. 

All I had to do was to get to Lavender MRT, get out on the V Hotel side, walk past the booth outlets of McDonalds, Luckin Coffee and a few other food stores, past the building behind- with the Burger King and Subway- and then get to the coffee shop next to the mom and pop store selling biscuits, snacks, little stuff, and the like. 

I followed her instructions, and found myself in what I soon realized was the Kimly Coffee Shop next to Kitchener Complex on what was essentially French Road. 

I was a little surprised. 

This coffee shop I had passed by before.

Just that I hadn't looked at the stalls inside, and so hadn't known of Ten Ten Otoko (Sashimi). 

I might have come to try their donburi had I known of it earlier. 

But that's life. 

There are times where you don't pay attention to places, or things, until they pop right up at you. 

Ten Ten has a good range of dishes.

What exactly they are, I don't know, but all of it involves rice- they are a donburi stall after all. 

One of the more popular dishes here was the Chirashi Don, where over a bowl of rice was heaped perfectly cubed and well-chopped pieces of salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi, scallop, and probably some other varieties of seafood that offhand I cannot remember now. 

Chirashi Don is one of those bowls that leave you with a myriad of flavors and textures in every mouthful. Almost at once you get the chapalang flavors of scallop, tuna, salmon with a homemade sauce when you take your first bite. 

It was a dish to be considered- the picture on the wall looked tempting- but today we decided we'd order something else. 

My friend chose what I call the Salmon & Avocado Bowl. 

I'm not sure what the proper name of this bowl is as per their menu, but in essence that's what his dinner was. 

Atop a bed of rice there were several slices of cold, chilled salmon sashimi. Next to all those slices, a skillfully sliced avocado. There was a bit of fish roe, and if I'm not wrong, a dollop of mayonnaise as well. 

The whole bowl had been arranged in a way that the sight of it alone lifted your spirits and whetted your appetite. 

I was drawn to the salmon.

But I was drawn even more to the avocado.

So refreshing on my eyes did I find this fruit that I helped myself to two slices without asking. The avocado was cold, and I relished in its distinctive creamy texture that only a fruit like avo can bring. 

Whilst I liked the avocado, my friend liked the chill of the salmon. 

They were sliced perfectly well- not to thin, not too thick- just enough that you could taste the firm of the fish but not have to chew too much or too hard. 

His only gripe was that there were too few.

Would've been nice, he said had there been more. 

My friend' didn't leave hungry though. 

Not when I shared my bowl of Katsudon because it was huge. 

Yes, in spite being attracted by all the delicious, colorful, chilled, fresh-looking sashimi on the menu board, this evening I had a crave for something warm, fluffy and crispy, crunchy at the same time. 

So it was this bowl of Katsudon that I decided to have. 

From the picture it is a bit difficult to tell, buried underneath the fluffy egg as it is, but the piece of deep-fried pork cutlet was actually quite big, so much so that it stretched almost the whole diameter of the bowl. 

I liked how the batter of the cutlet was crunchy, tasty, with a hint of saltiness that left a delightful, fun taste on the palate but yet at the same time, didn't overwhelm. 

I had also wondered if the meat itself be tough or dry, or if the breaded skin would separate from the meat (as had happened to me elsewhere) but nope, not at all, 

My chopsticks picked up well the skin and the meat together very well. 

And the meat, whilst it might not have been very tender, it wasn't dry or hard either. 

I loved this bowl. 

It made me feel full, satisfied, comforted. 

Something tells me that I will be coming back here again. 

It's not so much of the donburi or the rest of the menu itself. 

It is the atmosphere. 

Very rare is it that in a coffee shop one gets to have food as healthy and appetizing as this, especially if you be in an housing estate that comprises a mix of the local heartlander as much as the expatriate working in some of the (tech) and (event) companies a five minute walk away. 

It makes for a lovely contrast.

Also for a pleasant surprise. 

Bus Ride Sights: Ubi-Toa Payoh

It was, i think, several months ago that I took this route. 

Where I was going, now all of a sudden I can't be really sure, but if I were going from Ubi to Toa Payoh, and if the views out the window were all these, very likely it was that I had been heading to the district of Toa Payoh Lorong 6 to visit an elderly person who resided there.

Going to the Toa Payoh area from where I am isn't complicated. 

It just means a bit of a walk, as the bus stop for Bus 59 lies on the opposite side of the PIE expressway, and to get there means I have to walk the route of Jln Daud, cross the zebra crossing, cross a traffic light, walk under the PIE expressway, cross another traffic light, then go a distance until I get to the bus stop that sits outside a small plant nursery. 

It's always a bit of a mad rush to get to the bus stop because I'm the sort of person who would rather run for the bus than wait 20 minutes for the next bus. 

So hardly is it that I have Chonkycam with me whenever I go on this route.

But today was an exception. 

Maybe I had been having the heart to take more pictures. 

The route of 59 from this bus stop first involves a right turn at the traffic light from Eunos Link to the west-bound side of the PIE expressway. There's not much of a view at this point, save for a fair bit of green that ranges from green patches to shrubs to trees that are clustered together near the turns. 

After this the bus passes by, on the right hand side, blocks of flats from the housing estate that I think belongs to the Ubi housing estate. Somewhere around here there is a overhead bridge with some of the prettiest bougainvillea flowers one will see. 

It's interesting how there're also bougainvillea shrubs lining the middle break separating the east-bound lanes and the west-bound lanes. 

They do make a nice visual break for the eyes. 

A couple of factory buildings come up right next. From which industrial estate I don't really know, but Google Maps tells me they're from the Paya Ubi Industrial Park, and then some buildings that the bus passes include those of notable companies in Singapore, like the OSIM HQ, and the Starhub Green.

The housing estate of Paya Lebar Way and Circuit Road came up next. 

Quite notable these blocks were with their bright, cheery colors of red and yellow, and this long block that I know is Blk 91 of Paya Lebar Way.

Another overhead bridge with bougainvillea shrubs (of different color) comes up right after this long-corridor block, and then the view becomes that of NEXUS International School. 

Around here, apparently, too, is the St. Andrew's Nursing Home (Aljunied) and then the bus on the PIE crosses the Kallang River.

The industrial estate of Kallang comes up right after where one is first greeted by the buildings of Mapletree, followed by a building called The EGIS, and then there was Infineon Technologies. 

I got pretty intrigued by the sight of them trees and the bougainvillea shrubs of the intersecting lanes from the PIE (above me) so made sure I got a couple of pictures. 

After Infineon came the building of SP with its wavy exterior, and then, finally, Siemens, a towering building standing independently and confidently on its own.

 You know, up until I started going more onto the PIE and onto MacPherson road did I realize that the Siemens Building was such a landmark. 

The bus on the PIE passed by the roads of MacPherson, Upper Serangoon and Woodleigh Tunnel here, before passing by the distinctive structure of what I think is Chapel of the Resurrection.

From here, I went past a tributary of the Kallang River, then the Central Expressway, and then the housing blocks of Kim Keat Estate.

Here I kept Chonkycam back into my bag and prepared to get down. 

Because once the bus crossed into Kim Keat Link, we were officially in Toa Payoh, and two bus stops later I'd be getting down. 

Hotpot @ Broth & Beyond

It has been just over a month, nearing two, that I came to this place at Chijmes. 

But I haven't forgotten the food.

Neither have I forgotten the route I had to take to get there.

It is not difficult to get to Chijmes- the place is indeed one of the most iconic landmarks in Singapore's Downtown where the nearest MRT stations include Bencoolen, Bugis and City Hall, and where there're plenty of buses to drop you off in a five-minute walking radius.

It is, however, a different story, once you get into the grounds of this place that once served as a convent, as well as a school for girls, once upon a time. 

Perhaps the alma mater ladies might have no challenge finding their way around the beautifully restored place. 

But visitor that I am had a whirlwind of a time trying to find hotpot place Broth & Beyond that Google Maps said was at the basement of the grounds at Unit #01-02. 

Trust me when I say that the basement was like a maze. 

Then again maybe it wasn't as complicated as I make it out to be, but I was hungry, I was wondering just what sort of a hotpot place this was to plonk themselves at what is generally perceived as a pub, izakaya, Michelin-star restaurant kind of place, and would the meal be expensive. 

I have come out of the experience not knowing how much the meal costs- it was a birthday meal and the only thing Hedgehog would tell me was that 'it's not expensive'. 

But I have also come out of the experience having a new perspective of what hotpot is, and what it can be. 

Broth & Beyond grants you one of the most refined, elegant experiences there are when it comes to hotpot. Location, ambience, decor, everything, it is the kind of place where you can have a quiet date, a casual business chat, a long-hour catch-up with a friend, a corporate lunch, a marketing lunch, or even a ladies' brunch, which, from what I saw that afternoon, seems to be very popular. 

No more are hotpot places heavy on the fabrics and grandeur. Where once hotpot places used to swing on the extremes between the royal and the workman, now the decor has reached middle ground where the furnishings are contemporary, the light is gentle, and there is a general sunniness about the place that brightens your spirit, whets your appetite, and keeps you there.

The website tells me that their hotpot is Yunnan-inspired. 

To be honest, whilst I have heard of Yunnan and have heard a fair bit about it, I should like to know what a Yunnan-inspired hotpot means. 

Perhaps it means that the ingredients and flavors are very close to nature. 

Perhaps it also means that there're interesting broths and foods to be had along the way. 

Their broth is, I have to say, wonderful. 

Seldom is it that I get to taste unusual soups like this one, which, although has the color of a bright orange pumpkin, is really a signature broth of Golden Fungus Chicken. 

There were other soups- three others, I think- where there was probably one with mala, and one with mushroom that they call the Black Truffle & Eight Mushroom. The truffle and mushroom broth actually sounded interesting- I mean, eight different types of mushrooms- and I had thought I might have that, but then in the end the collagen broth won. 

I mean, it's got Yunnan golden fungus and even dried scallops at the bottom of the soup for that wee bit of seafood sweet. 

This afternoon we chose the Wagyu Beef Set for the hotpot. 

Now, how much this set costs, I don't know, but included in the price were the aesthetics, where the set arrived at the table on two wooden trays placed in a sort of a two-storey cage where the top floor held the vegetables and the lower, the wagyu beef. 

What this meant is that you were greeted by a bright, refreshing array of colors where nicely laid out on the wooden tray were the sliced tomatoes, the sliced chilled bean curd tofu, pieces of black fungus, lettuce, and cabbage. There might have been some other vegetables hidden beneath the bean curd, but I don't quite remember. 

Perhaps I was already taken in by the bright green lettuces all so prettily placed on the wooden tray. 

Or the cabbage, which, although I don't always have, I don't hesitate when I get them. 

Of course there was the bright vibrant red of the meat too. 

It is amazing how they managed to slice the meat up in such a way that each piece was neither too thin nor too thick. Not just that, the meat was shaped in such a way that each piece looked as if it were a beef tongue of sorts.  

Maybe it was meant to help the diner cook better. 

Hotpot, after all, can be quite a science when it comes to cooking your food. Very often we think all we need to do is to just chuck it inside the pot, but there's actually more than that. 

Beef cooks really fast, for instance, and so absorbs less of the soup. 

Chicken, on the other hand, can take a fair bit of time to cook, so the soup's all inside the meat by the time the piece is cooked and ready. 

Same goes for the vegetables. 

Fungus takes a bit of a time to soften. Cabbage also takes a bit of a time to soften. Lettuce, however, cooks faster, and tomatoes, well, they get cooked almost instantly. 

I can't remember whether I threw the tomato into the soup. 

I might have. 

Or I might have eaten it fresh with the cooked beef, either or. 

One thing about this hotpot is that all the ingredients, be it meat or vegetables, they all cooked fast. 

Whether it were the wagyu beef, which my friend and I were very careful to cook it shabu shabu style- swirling the slice inside the soup instead of dropping it inside and letting it cook by itself- or whether it were the bean curd, the fungus, or the vegetables.

There'll be friends who cook their vegetables the same way they cook their meat, swishing the leaves inside the soup until they soften. 

Not so me. 

I chuck them all inside the soup and let them simmer.

Doesn't matter to me whether the vegetables become smushed or, as some may say, discolored. 

I like them that way. 

In fact the more smushed and limpy they become, the better. 

Because that's when I know they've absorbed as much broth of the hotpot as they can have, and in one vegetable leaf alone, I can have a bit of crunch, a bit of soup, and the vitamins of greens all at once all at the same time. 

I guess it is the burst of soup out from the leaves that I especially love. 

It was a very lovely, pleasant celebratory meal that I had here at Broth & Beyond. 

What made the experience even lovelier was the Market Table, which, I later found out, you didn't actually need to order hotpot to have. You just needed to order a main- any main- top up bit of an extra- and you got access to a charming array of appetizers, condiments, and desserts. 

Mine this afternoon, if I'm not wrong, came automatically with the hotpot. 

So, besides a little bowl of condiments that for me was sesame paste, sesame oil, and a huge heap of parsley, I helped myself to a dish that included kimchi, and cherry tomatoes. There were a few other appetizers to be had from the counter, mostly spicy ones, I think, that featured foods from different provinces around China. 

Perhaps next time I'll try those, but this afternoon the (very red) kimchi, the (very red and fresh) cherry tomatoes, and some Yunnan bean curd jelly that I thought looked interesting was good enough for me.

I've started planning my next visit, by the way. 

It might not be one where I'll take the hotpot, but it will definitely be one where I'll have a main- whatever it might be- and the Market Table. 

For the main, if it isn't this dish they call the Yunnan Spice Wagyu Jerky, then it will be the claypot rice that this afternoon I had, and liked. 

Don't underestimate this dish despite its appearance of simplicity. 

It was full of flavor and texture. 

How it was done, I don't know, maybe it is the way they controlled the flame, maybe it is the way they had estimated the cooking time. Whatever method it was, it certainly called for some skill. 

The rice not only had the faint hint of smokiness as if it had been left to gently cook in the pot over the stove, the texture of the rice was light and crisp and mixed so well with the other ingredients that every mouthful made me feel like I were eating fried rice- without the oil- and claypot rice- without the burnt. 

Trust me to say it was one of the best claypot rice dishes I have ever had. 

Not just the mains, I've too planned out how my dessert next time will be. 

First I'm going to go back for more of these jellies. 

This time I had taken an entire bowl full, added a few ladles of evaporated milk, plus a drizzle of condensed milk, but there were other desserts that I still wanted to try. 

At the counter there had been a few kinds of jellies, including strawberry, osmanthus, and almond (if I remember right) and there had been plenty of toppings that diners could have. 

For some reason this afternoon I didn't take the taro balls. the little cubes of fruit- all of which looked like the fruits from the fruit cocktail- and the clear balls that I now realize were actually water chestnut balls. 

But I'm going to go for those next time. 

I'm also not going to leave out the ice cream. 

Never mind that I had already had a single serving of vanilla, which, when the gentleman server brought to me (the machine had been out when I tried to do it myself), came with a cute little bear biscuit and a few small jellies around the ice cream. 

But I want to try the ice cream with the taro balls, more of the little cocktail fruit, some M&Ms, maybe a slight drizzle of the condensed milk, and maybe even some of the freshly cut fruit. 

Fruit and ice cream might go together good.