Thumbs Up Salted Egg Chicken

I may have written about this before- I can't remember- but this be one of my new favorite dishes from Mainland Chinese diner Thumbs Up on East Coast Road just downstairs.  

If there are two things that at Thumbs Up I can (quietly) say gave us new impressions, the first one be Lao Gan Ma, and then there's this- Chicken in Salted Egg Sauce.

Okay, I don't know the actual name of this dish but it probably will have a more elegant name than this blatant, bland description. 

Whatever it might be doesn't matter. 

What's important is that the dish alone makes for one of my favorites when I am at this place, and when dining here- despite the portion being pretty large for even two people- I find myself wishing that the plate had more.

The unique part about this dish is its simplicity.

I'm not sure if the preparation is simple, but from the looks of it, it doesn't look too difficult, not when the plate is reminiscent of crowd favorite spicy mala La Zi Ji- only the children's version. 

The one thing I like about this dish is how fun it is to eat. 

You know how life is like. 

A day ends, a week ends, and you're kinda pooped. A part of you wants to have something solid for the meal. A part of you also feels too tired to have one of those big solid meals. You want something fun, light, easy to eat. Same time too you want a meal that isn't fast food or instant noodles. 

That's where this dish comes in. 

If you're familiar with the mala version, well, the way you eat it is the same, piece by piece, picked up by the chopsticks. 

The only difference is that you don't have to hunt about for the pieces as you would for the mala version because here there's no chopped dried chili. There's just chicken all perfectly cut and perfectly fried, with no pieces of chili that you gotta sieve through to get to your chicken. 

Perhaps that be the very thing that make it fun.

No doubt there might be a bit of a mindless eating especially if it be after a long week, but that's not to say that it won't be enjoyable, especially since there is a good deal of taste. 

They do theirs rounded, by the way. 

At no time has it been that the chicken is salty on one side, tasteless on the other. At no time too has it been that some pieces have more seasoning than the others. 

It's rounded, and equal, with the right taste and the right crisp, on all sides. 

Got to say, that's something I absolutely appreciate (for $15) and love. 

Saizeriya Style

We've begun eating at Saizeriya pretty often since the start of this year. 

For some reason it has become, shall we say, the go-to place whenever meal time pops up and we have no idea what we want to eat. 

It has also become the place to have a quick, and fulfilling meal, before heading out to, say, meetings, or appointments, or Zoom calls. 

When we first began coming here I had no idea whether we would grow to like this place, or head the opposite direction and grow tired of it. 

After all this while- four months half now- I've got my answer.

 I like it. 

Saizeriya is a dining place that many praise for its ambience, affordability, and quality of food. 

I call it an experience. 

What that means is that you don't come to Saizeriya expecting to have pizza and pasta and mains of Michelin-star gastronomical quality. 

Neither do you come to Saizeriya expecting to have the same kind of warm pizzeria, Mediterranean ambience you'd desire from a top notch Italian restaurant. 

You won't get any of that.

Instead, simply immerse yourself in a brightly-lit, cheerful, fun, family-friendly environment where next to you will be fellow diners of all ages happily relishing in the wallet-friendly meals they have ordered. 

The charm of this place has to be the presence of the drinks bar. 

For $2.90 you get to have a selection of soft drinks, coffee, tea and Milo. It's not just one type of coffee, nor one type of tea even. Their Nescafe machine brings out the espresso, the cappuccino, the latte and the black coffee. Their tea usually has the green and the earl grey. And the soft drinks include the rare ones like Mountain Dew and Root Beer. 

I like their desserts actually. 

They've recently changed the dessert menu, although the staple ones like Tiramisu, Oreo Cheesecake, Chocolate Lava Cake and Strawberry Mousse are still there. 

But since it is more of a tummy thing whenever I'm here, I tend to go for the pasta here. 

For some reason I have never quite considered other dishes, even though there be meals that appeal to me, like the Grilled Salmon, the Cheese Chicken & Sausage, and the Sirloin Steak. 

More often than not, I find myself going for the Spinach Chicken Gratin, or the Bacon & Mushroom Risotto. I like penne, I like the bits of spinach vegetable that I pick out and share with my friend, and I don't mind the presence of cream. 

Same way too for the Risotto I pick out bits of bacon and leave it at the side of my plate whilst I mix all the mushrooms to have them with the rice. 

Other pasta dishes I have had include the Pesto Genovese. 

Not so much for the spaghetti, more for the pesto. 

My friend, on the other hand, prefers the pizza. 

At one time he took the Pineapple & Bacon, but in recent times, the cheese pizza with prosciutto ham has intrigued him and that's what he usually has now. 

They've since added arugula leaves to the top of the pizza, so I grab a couple of them and decorate my plate a little bit, like how I've done with my plate of Risotto. 

Saizeriya is known for its appetizers too. 

They seem really popular, in particular the Oven Grilled Escargots, the Calamari and the Chicken Wings. 

One day if I do kick in an appetite, I might just go ballistic and order all three of them, plus a mushroom soup and a main, but for the moment  it is the chicken wings that we have had, and may I say that, yes, they of the original recipe are really good.

In recent times we have had a couple of lunches at the nearest Saizeriya, and since the lunch deal comes with a bowl of salad, I've since figured out how to zhng up my meal with the vegetables. 

I've tried most of the lunchtime offerings, whether it be the Creamy Garlic Chicken, the Cheese Milano Gratin, or the Teriyaki Chicken & Mushroom Doria but I have since settled for the Creamy Garlic Crispy Chicken Baked Rice. 

It is the one dish that appealed the most to me, not just because it had turmeric flavored rice, but also because they had three battered chicken tenders that made the meal enjoyable to eat and easy to share. 

So that's the one I always order now. 

We were at Saizeriya a couple of days ago. 

It being a weekend, we didn't get to take the lunch set, so I had the Spinach Chicken Gratin, and because on my friend's pizza there were some of them arugula leaves he didn't wish to eat, onto my bowl they went, making a pretty addition to the meal. 

ChaletHouse Vibes

Okay, I'm going to have to be honest here.

Out of all three places I have stayed, this one- ChaletHouse- has been the most difficult to write so far.

It's not because the place itself isn't good.

Neither is it because there's nothing good about the place.

It's just that there've been things going on and which- worrier that I am- find it hard to just push through and push on. 

That's always been a problem of mine, by the way- I thought I had it settled late last year- but the first few months of this year have taught me another lesson. 

Manna. 

Daily Manna.

The days of Wilderness have ended, thank God, and it should not be too long before the Promised Land is beneath my feet.

But still, I haven't had the best of moods to write about ChaletHouse as much as I wish to. 

We're four months into our stay here now. 

Very soon another four months will swing by and it will be almost time to leave. 

So now, I suppose, is a good time to write about our stint thus far here. 

To be honest, I have no idea where to begin. 

But let's just say it was a great idea that we worked out how our living arrangements would be. 

Given how the house is designed, whilst some might have felt it best to stick to the norm- where the bedroom, living room and dining areas be appropriately placed, we had thought it wiser to put the bed in the hall together with the desks, the fridge and the dining table. 

Originally in early days we had had the MUJI table placed horizontally alongside the bed, which, as you can see, takes centerstage in the large hall, finally facing the television that in the previous place never saw as much usage as this place now. 

But four months in and the the MUJI table plus bench is sold, gone, and in place we have a sort of movable desk for him, plus a chair that makes one stiff to an extent that I've thrown a cushion on it for the back.

I haven't had a picture of that new desk yet though. 

If you're wondering about such and such an arrangement, no, it doesn't feel awkward- not when the whole setting reminds one of a serviced apartment- just without the modern furnishings, the partitions, the nicety curtains, or cabinets of the kitchenette against the wall. 

One of the greatest charms about this place has to be the balcony. 

We have two- one in the hall, one in the room. 

I don't go to the room balcony much- it holds some foam left behind by the previous tenant- but the hall balcony I go much more.

I comb my hair there.

It's easier to have it fly out than to have the strands flying around.

What I love very much about the balcony is how from one angle it looks towards East Coast Park, and from where I stand I get to see one side of Parkway Center, and the line of trees beyond it. 

Also, the planes.

The planes were one of the things I liked very much about our previous place, and now that I get to see them little red blinking lights at night as they make their descent to Changi Airport, I am thankful.  

There's not very much to see the other side of the balcony, but I think I get to see parts of this condo at Eunos somewhere in the distance. 

In this home here we each have our own spaces.

The desk where I sit doubles up as a dressing table where I spritz the face mist, the body mist, do the lotion and the contact lens. 

It is also where I do a bit of necessary writing and sort through the diary organizer. 

On the shelves above are three fiction books (that I don't dare throw away), two little bags that hold random stuff and my camera equipment, and a couple of boxes that hold my jewelry, makeup stuff, more random girly stuff, and barang barang that I don't use but also don't know why I still have. 

What's changed here is that I've got the diary propped up under the desk lamp where previously I had had it kept slightly out of sight until necessary. 

There is another desk here. 

But it's not mine. 

The (supposed) writing table- so reminiscent of Gonggong's own writing table at Realty Park- holds the printer and the scanner, with my clothes in the box underneath it. 

Yes, I still don't put my clothes in a cupboard. I don't think I have ever hung up my clothes- I can't remember- but for the longest time now they have remained folded- first in a trolley bag that I brought around a lot of places, then afterwards in a box- and since 2023 has been in the very same dark plastic box that holds most of my clothes now. 

Much of our life takes place in the hall. 

Why not, when the dining table is in the hall, when the fridge is in the hall, when the TV and most of what we use is also in the hall?

We sleep in the hall, we eat in the hall, we watch TV in the hall, we work in the hall, and recent times we have begun cooking in the hall as well.

Don't laugh.

That's how we made it to be.

But it wasn't always like this. 

We had actually begun our stint here cooking in the kitchen- induction stove, frying pan, all- but after a few tries the chef said he felt uncomfortable standing over the stove in the kitchen (so close to the bathroom) so we decided we'd shift the cooking out to the hall instead.

Why not?

It's 2026.

We don't have to stick our a** in the kitchen if we don't want to. 

We don't have to stand over a stove in a single place if we're uncomfortable.

Especially since now we've got all the tools to help us along.

I have always believed in the strength of portable, easy to use, plug and play style of cooking utensils. 

Now, more than ever.

So we've brought out Little Black Grill and Little Blue Pot from their boxes, kept the induction stove back into its box, and put aside the pan. Now whenever we want to cook we simply bring either one from its place next to the sink out to the hall. 

So far we've used only Little Black Grill for the shallow fried minced beef and rice.

But I intend to bring out Little Blue Pot for the instant noodles, and the yet to buy char siew paus and siew mais. 

I'd like to try ramen with siew mais and cuttlefish balls again. 

It's been far too long. 

Of course, not being able to cook in the kitchen doesn't mean the kitchen is bad. 

It just means that instead of standing there too long, it is a lot of popping in and out. We stay in there long enough to prep the food, stir in a bit of stuff, throw plates into the microwave or the oven, leave, then come back again. 

Also, it makes for not too bad a storage space- dim and cool- even if the air be a bit too still sometimes. 

On our own shelves we have all our herbs and powders and whatnot. 

We have our minimal bowls and plates and cutlery, as well as a bit of canned stuff that I keep in the drawers but hardly take out. 

Some of the things we hardly use, and hardly see.

Like the food containers and aluminum foils on top of other people's fridge (which, by the way, I never open).

I think I'll pause here today. 

The vibes of Chalethouse ain't finished yet however- there's still the bathroom and the bedroom but I think I'll keep them for another day. 

There may be more to write about, and my brain doesn't have the capacity right now.

The Blk 80 Coffee Shop

We started trying out the food at this place a couple of weeks ago. 

It wasn't quite on the radar all this while, but I guess it's true when they said a combination of convenience and laziness leads to new discoveries. 

There're only two coffee shops within walking distance of Marine Parade Central. 

One coffee shop is close to the newly opened T-Mall. 

The other one is here, in between a bicycle shop, the Finest NTUC and the mega Baptist church. 

We had had a couple of meals at the other coffee shop but now, this one, we wanted to try. 

So we did. 

One of the first few meals we had here were the steamed egg, and the steamed pork with salted fish. I can't say if there was anything spectacular, but they were comforting, familiar, and heartening in the homecooked style. 

It might not have meant much if you didn't grow up eating them around the family dinner table, but I did, and so at once fell for the flavor and the warmth. 

Some people might describe them as simple. 

I find them comforting. 

So much so that one dish isn't quite enough for one, and actually, two will be better. 

I don't have a picture of the steamed dishes. 

But I do have a picture of the roasted meat rice we ate a while after. 

The rice from this stall needs a bit of assistance from the soup, but the meat from this stall is quite good. 

Well, it's not exactly how some would define as really good, but it's not too bad. 

We've had those combination plates where one plate is a mix of roast duck and char siew whilst the other is a mix of roast duck and roast pork. 

My friend thought the roast pork quite good. 

I, on the other hand, felt the char siew a bit better. The meat was thick enough and then there was that distinctive layer of fat which makes char siew way more appealing than they usually are. 

The other stall which we've patronized over here is the zichar stall. 

As usual, me and my pattern, when we first came, I hadn't been sure- I mean, the quality of zichar can be such a questionable thing and no one knows whether or not a plate is good until you eat it and judge for yourself.

At that point I didn't have the capacity to play trial and error. 

It had to be good at first shot, or, minimally, safe. 

So I took the safe dishes- basically, the best money for value ones. 

After several times, I still can't be sure if this is my new favorite stall for zichar- I haven't tried as many dishes as I would like and I think there might be some better foods from this stall- but so far, price wise, value wise, I'm pretty good. 

The Fried Mee Sua Dry was nicer than I thought it would be. 

Mee Sua is one of those dishes that is either a do or die. 

What it means is that you will either like it, or not like it. There's no in between. 

On regular days I would have taken the hor fun over the mee sua- I mean, no secret that I am hor fun/kuay teow queen- but it being my first time I wasn't sure if their Fried Hor Fun Dry would be the very oily, salty type, or the good wok hei type. 

What's more, I wasn't in the mood to do trial and error, so I stayed safe and decided to go for the mee sua instead. 

It was a good choice. 

Smooth enough, with sufficient taste, and sufficient ingredients to make the dish feel happy enough for a dinner meal. For this price one cannot expect a lot, so I was more than happy with the shredded cabbage, the little prawns and the randomly sliced pieces of fish cake. 

The Hor Fun with Gravy which I tried a couple of days later wasn't any lousier either. 

I chose it because it was $4.80- a good enough price for one to try without feeling like you're throwing money away should it not be up to par. 

Portion wise I felt it enough for a single person.

The picture might show a plate swimming with gravy, but under all this sea, there was actually a fair bit of hor fun noodles on the plate. 

There were also a good number pieces of fish cake, there were enough vegetables, some bits of pork (albeit a bit dry) here and there and then, of course, the gravy, even whilst a wee bit starchy, appealed to me, and I found it good. 

This probably be the dish that I'll continue to have whenever I come for zichar here. 

Only thing was that it didn't have much wok hei feeling but I'm not complaining- not when this is a dish I used to look forward to for weekend dinners, and which, only after coming here, I remembered what I had for a long time forgotten. 

ChaletYums of Killiney's Pad Thai

So, one of my recently discovered new favorites dishes has to be this box of Pad Thai dabaoed up from Killiney. 

What's cool about this Pad Thai is that not only does it have gorgeous price, it is prepared the way I like- light, dry, easy to eat, with a taste sufficient to make it a new favorite of mine. 

The first time I had this I had not thought I would like it as much as I do now. 

But this dish grows upon you. 

At least that's what it has done for me.

Of course, it might be that I have always loved Pad Thai.

That, since a time which I don't remember now, I have always had an inkling for the dish, and- despite me having had the OG of Pad Thai in Bangkok at Thipsamai- I still love whatever varieties of it I get here in Singapore. 

One thing to note is that different places have different standards where not all be the same, and in any case I usually eat whatever is on the plate, but there come times when I discover variations that I really like- and this be one.

To be able to eat it at Chalethouse's table out from the box is something I am very thankful for. 

Not every place grants me the privilege, not every place grants me the quality, and better yet, the price where I can happily dabao, bring it upstairs, and eat. 

This place does.

What I appreciate most about this Pad Thai is just how dry the texture is, how light the taste is. 

Killiney's standard is not of the wet, sweet, dark, oily kind. 

Neither is it of a quantity so huge that it becomes difficult to eat, or jerlak when trying to finish. 

I'm always delighted when my friend comes back with the box of noodles in his hand. There is never a concern that the noodles will not be fragrant or warm. There is also never a concern that the warmth of wok hei will dissipate the moment I open the box. 

The Killiney's version comes with two medium sized prawns, semi-shredded egg omelets and a serving of lime. 

It is a simple dish, nothing too elaborate, nothing too fanciful, and it is kinda hard to explain just why my senses get so comforted just by the sight, scent, and taste of this dish. 

Maybe I just like kuay teow in any form however it's fried. 

Taste does make a fair bit of difference though. 

There's a bit of crushed peanut at the bottom of the box that I often find but don't think much of.

Sometimes I mix the peanuts into the noodles and squeeze the lime.

Sometimes I leave the lime out.

But in between the strands of noodles that I pick up with my chopsticks, I always have the prawns, and I always give my friend the egg. 

That's the kind he likes. 

Mr and Mrs Mohgan's Prata

The decision to go out for prata was really one of those impulsive ones that come upon you when it's the weekend. 

We had not planned to. 

And because it hadn't been in the plan I had (initially) said no. 

But then I thought about it again and agreed with my friend that, yes, we ought to go. 

It would be silly not to. 

I have, after all, moved meself here to the East Coast Road side of the East Coast- a mere 20 minute walk away from Tin Yeang Coffee House where the stall of Mr. and Mrs Mohgan's stands. 

Why should I not go? 

Mr. and Mrs. Mohgan's prata entered my life since the time when they were down the road at Crane Road. The coffee shop back there was brighter, hotter, more crowded. I loved the prata, I didn't quite appreciate the discomfort from the glare and the heat. I also thought the kopi a bit more diluted than I would have preferred.

Fortunately it wasn't too long- a couple of years after- that they shifted to this coffee house at the junction of Dunman Road and Joo Chiat Road, and- fans of their prata that we were- we followed them here.

But as life goes, we weren't able to come back here for three years, so, yes, I had that bit of excitement walking down Joo Chiat from the East Coast Road side this time. 

One thing I am very glad for is that the atmosphere of Tin Yeang Coffee House has not changed. 

You still need to fight for a table.

And in best of situations, you will still need to share a table. 

It is a bit of a pity that the wanton noodle stall run by two ladies has since closed. 

But Mr. and Mrs. Mohgan is still there. 

She's busy as ever, Mrs. Mohgan, but definitely no less coordinated as she was all those years before. From the table right outside her stall, she took our orders, writing them down inside the big ledger book, communicated them to the person working the grill behind her, and proceeded to call out the numbers whose orders were ready.

There were twenty people in front of us. 

But it didn't matter.

I had the phone. 

I had the videos on the phone.

There was a cup of teh o kosong in front of me. 

So we waited. 

The wait seemed shorter than expected, actually. 

I had thought we'd have to wait an hour and a half, but no, our plates arrived just under an hour, and the warm, crispy pratas there were completely worth the wait. 

Seeing this on my plate brought back a couple of memories. They are a bit vague now but it is difficult for me to forget how life was when I used to eat this week after week. 

The prata kosong tastes just as light and crispy as it has always been. There's still that hint of salty flavor (from the ghee, I presume) that comes with every bite of the crepe, and which taste only gets enhanced when you dip it in the small dish of delicious mutton curry. 

Same goes too for the egg plaster prata. 

Different people eat it differently. Some eat through the prata from one side all the way to the end, choosing to cut through the egg and eat as they go. Others, however, like me, eat all around the egg and then work on both the egg and the prata together at the same time. 

My favorite part of this egg plaster prata has to be the yolk.

I love how the yolk slides its way smoothly out onto the prata itself, so much so that the crepe alone becomes just that little bit extra without being overwhelmed with taste. It is always a joy to taste the flour of the crepe together with the distinctive taste of yolk, just as it is, actually, with the white as well.

The one thing that always stands out to me whenever I have Mr. and Mrs Mohgan's is the curry. 

People have previously told me that her curry is not to be missed. 

And it's true.

I don't know how she does it, but there is a certain thickness in the curry that makes it neither too sweet nor too salty, not even oily, and best of all, it can literally be drunk (or sipped) on its own without the need to dip the crepe in. 

I sometimes do that.

Especially when on the day I decide to ask Mrs. Mohgan for sugar and she very generously gives me a heap. 

You know, I really think I ought to be go back there again. 

After all I have been in this area for four months plus and it makes no sense that I have only gone there for the grand total of... one time. 

Kuay Teow Goreng @ Thomson

This place here at Upper Thomson Road is known for its prata. 

At another time I would have ordered a serving of egg prata and maybe one of their dessert pratas- they have got quite a few- but this evening I had just come from a meeting at Thomson Plaza not too far down the road, it was past 9pm, I was hungry, and I wanted something more solid in feel. 

On the other hand, I too wasn't in the mood for what would have been a very substantial meal of briyani rice, so I decided to go local and order a plate of kuay teow goreng instead.

There're two kinds of kuay teow goreng they have here at The Roti Prata House.

One is kosong, basically just the kuay teow and nothing else.

The other is kuay teow goreng with meat, either chicken or beef (which is which I now suddenly can't remember) but this evening I didn't feel like having the meat and so ordered the kosong. 

It was good. 

Better than expected. 

At first sight of the very red flat rice noodles, I had thought the kuay teow would be very spicy and very oily but to my surprise, it turned out to be neither. 

That didn't mean that the dish was free of oil. 

However it wasn't as greasy as I imagined it to be, and that, I liked. 

I guess that is what makes eating out so interesting at times. 

You never know if the chef in the kitchen that day leans towards one style, or another. You never know if the gauge of spiciness in the same dish ordered at different times is going to be the same. 

One day you might have a dish that is literally non-spicy. 

Another day you might order back the same dish only to find that the Chef for the Day holds a more adventurous version of spicy. 

Best part, you never really know what's what until you take the first bite. 

And that's it, you're stuck with whatever you've ordered all through. 

I liked this kuay teow goreng.

Chances are I will have this next time I come again. 

Perhaps one day I might make a special trip to this place- at a good supper hour- and have a combination order with kuay teow goreng, and dessert prata (they got banana) that I have had thought of trying- twice- but till now haven't had chance to try.