My Stuffies!

The last time I wrote about my stuffies was about a year or so ago.

Yes, it has been that long. 

How is it that I have not written anything about them thus far in all these months, I don't know. Life, maybe. Life that caught up, gave me ups and downs, and, for most of the time, left me in a limbo where the mind simply existed and functioned, but never went any direction anywhere. 

So it is with a thankful heart when I say that these little fellas have been my constant companions and friends in the morning when I wake and at night when I sleep. 

There is nothing more pleasant than to come back from a day out and climb into bed with pillows and furry blankie and have two of my favorite stuffies propped up, one under each arm. 

His blur face, squinted eyes peeking out under the blankie makes me smile. 

His face, curious and pouty, gazing out from under the blankie right at me also makes me smile. 

The teddy bear has been with me a good number of years. (Long may it be that way) 

Schteppy, however, is young. 

Very young. 

Even so, there has never been a moment nor a day when I gaze at the charming face of this stuffie dog bought from Turtle and not smile. 

Schteppy is squeezable. 

So is the teddy bear. 

Better yet, they serve another purpose- their butts make a very good prop for the phone whenever I watch ASMR spa videos on Youtube. 

No, I haven't taken a picture of their butts. 

But I've got many of their faces. 

My album tells me that I have more pictures of Schetppy than I do of the teddy bear. The teddy bear is very shy and very private. And in any case, the stuffie dog, whom, by the way, is also named Tuatow and Tater Tot, charms people better than the bear. 

I might not have a lot of pictures of the teddy bear I hug to sleep every night. 

But I do have a fair bit of the little bear I received as a gift two years ago from a hotel in Bangkok. 

Everyone, meet Lang Suan. 

Lang Suan is a small bear. 

A very small bear.

His length is about the same length of my palm which makes him a very suitable bear to carry around and about on the day to day. 

Most of the pictures show him peeking out of a tote bag. 

I had brought him downstairs with me nearly every morning as I headed out to nearby locations to do the daily morning call. 

Seeing his little head peek out from my bag was a comfort. 

Feeling the warmth of his short little fur in my hand made the necessity of the call feel more bearable.

I intend to get him a plastic case with a carabiner and hook him on all the bags that I carry.  

But I haven't gotten down to it yet. 

Hopefully soon.

Bringing a cute, furry stuffie around for emotional support makes a difference.

It gives you an identity.

It reveals your personality.

It makes the commute feel somewhat more personal, easier. 

Gone are the days when people would laugh at another for hanging stuffie keychains on their bags, or themselves. 

Labubu gave it a status, changed all that. 

Of course, there will always be those who disagree and disdain. 

But if there are VVIPs showing that they have little stuffies on their bags whilst disembarking their official transport, this trend is not going to go away.

By the way, if you're wondering why he's called Lang Suan, that's the name of the road in Bangkok where the hotel was. 

It's a great road, this one. 

Probably one of my favorites (if not the cheapest) in Bangkok, where on one side it is within walking distance to the shopping malls of Central Embassy, Central World, Big C, Siam Square and MBK, on the other side, it is also within walking distance to Lumpini Park. 

But what makes this road really interesting is how quiet it is despite it being a main thoroughfare for drivers, motorcycles, tuk tuks and all vehicles alike both day and night. 

It might be I've got a high floor every time I'm there but to date, I have not been bothered by the endless flow of traffic at all. 

Lang Suan reminds me that Bangkok is still waiting. 

You know, it really is a good thing to name a toy after the place you got it from.

That way you not only will never forget the place. 

You also will never forget how and why you bought the stuffie toy. 

If that was how it was for this little brown bear, it was too the same for Cable the Otter who came into my life in 2024.

Cable isn't the name of the place that I bought him from. 

But there is a very memorable cable car ride over the beautiful green slopes of Ocean Park Hong Kong where I still can recall the breathtaking view. 

Hence his name. 

By the way, Cable wasn't an impulse buy. 

I had been eyeing his otter brothers and sisters in the stores of the theme park throughout the entire day. 

But as usual I had huffled and hesitated all the way to the end until eventually I decided I would leave Hong Kong with a stuffed otter from Ocean Park. 

So I chose this one from one of the gift stores near the entrance. 

Price played a factor. 

So did his blur, charming, observant face. 

And I left Hong Kong, and the theme park, with a new toy. 

A small, medium-sized stuffed otter in hand. 

Sin Heng Kee Porridge

Am seriously missing this right now, legit. 

Don't ask me why.

It's just one of those things that you don't realize until it happens. 

I didn't think I would be missing a bowl of porridge from Sin Heng Kee here in Toa Payoh so much until now, when I wish I could have this together with their signature youtiao. 

One doesn't put it to mind when you're having a meal there, but their youtiao has to be one of the best that I have eaten thus far. 

It isn't just that the youtiao is pong pong bulky and fluffy soft and freshly fried hot when you go collect it from the counter.

It is also the fact that I think there is a bit of flavor (salt, maybe, or something) added to the flour before they drop it into the bubbling oil to fry.

I don't have a picture of the youtiao I had this evening. 

But I have some of the porridges we ordered. 

My friend and I had our own bowls of porridge for our dinner this evening. 

If you're wondering what that means, well, we sometimes share. 

But tonight he wanted more pork and I wanted century egg. 

So he got his bowl of pork porridge add egg, and I got mine with century egg and pork. 

You know, I've never had any other order since day one when I started having porridge here at Sin Heng Kee. 

That, despite the fact that they have plenty of other porridges on the menu. 

I'm not sure which the most popular one is. 

It might be the Sliced Fish Porridge or the Intestines Porridge. 

It might be the Pig Liver Porridge or the Meatball Porridge. The Cuttlefish Porridge and the Seafood Porridge looks good too. 

The one thing I've noticed is that they don't have beef. 

However, they do have Frog Porridge, Sliced Abalone Porridge, Hokkaido Scallops Porridge and Fresh Prawn Porridge.

It's funny, but to date I haven't seen anyone have the Fresh Prawn Porridge or the Ginger Onion Frog Porridge. To the very least I haven't seen prawn shells or frog bones on the table. 

Makes me wonder a little what it is that the others order.

The Sliced Fish, perhaps, or maybe Peanut or Meatball. 

It doesn't matter that I only want the same bowl every time I come here. 

I've always loved century eggs with porridge. Doesn't matter what stock the porridge is cooked in. It all tastes good to me. The soft, mushy yolk, in particular, adds a hard-to-describe taste to the dish. The warmth of the rice mellows down the tartness, chemical taste of the egg. When eaten together, one gets a comforting, earthy taste that you don't necessarily get with any other combination. It's unique on its own.  

Portions of meatballs and sliced pork inside the bowl are generous as well. 

What makes this especially lovely is that none of the ingredients are undercooked or overcooked. I never get a chewy slice of pork that hasn't been cooked right. I also never get a slice of pork so hard and dry that it is impossible to appreciate. It's not just the sliced pork that is good. 

The meatballs, all of which are the right size, have a lovely salty taste on their own and feel like they're handmade- not the small small frozen kind that you buy from the supermarket. 

Even the porridge itself has a flavor that warms my mood and my tummy up. Everyone has their own palate. Some people prefer a rice porridge on the outright salty side. Others like theirs tasty but a bit more mellow. 

Me, I like the mellower one like how Sin Heng Kee do it here. 

And their portion is always more than enough. 

I'm always full by the time I am done with my bowl. 

Even if I still want another stick of the dough fritters youtiao to go with a cup of hot kopi. 

Bus Ride Sights: Chai Chee-Toa Payoh

We were, I think, coming from a rare Sunday lunch at Springleaf Prata in Jalan Tua Kong on this particular afternoon.  

Hence it was that instead of our usual bus route from Marine Parade Central, we were at the bus stop on the Changi side of Opera Estate area across from Chai Chee. 

It is a good thing we had a bus here to Toa Payoh.

Things might have been a little less convenient otherwise. 

Bus 28 took me down a route that I was somewhat familiar with. It wasn't a scene that I knew innately (not like Dunman Road or Koon Seng Road) but this was a route I recognized. What's more, it had, after all, been only half a year or so since I left the district of Kembangan and all her shops that sat along the Changi Road side. 

It's interesting how one is usually unable to distinguish just what makes an impression, what does not, until long after your stint at that place is over. 

I had not thought much about the scenery outside the bus window during the three years I stayed at Kembangan. 

But now, suddenly everything seemed familiar, close to the heart. 

I guess I had taken a good many bus ride from this bus stop- more than I remembered and recognized. 

First thing the bus went past was a couple of terrace houses, followed by the summit of this hill that leads across from one side of Kembangan to the Opera Estate and Flamingo Valley side. 

More terrace houses followed, then it was a row of shop houses, which, surprisingly the brain don't have much of an inkling of, save that of corner store Laundry Unlimited, and that this was the row sitting right next to Siglap Park Connector by the side of the canal. 

Right after this came the Shell petrol station.

I'm actually a little surprised that I couldn't visualize the location of the petrol station until I checked Google Maps. 

After this came another stretch of shop houses, most of which I'm afraid- despite three years- I never had the chance to pay much attention to. Not only did I not have much of a reason to wander around the entire stretch, there hadn't been much opportunity to. 

This entire stretch was one of those locations where you knew they were there, where you knew of their presence there, yet, were so exclusive in their products and services that you didn't window-shop there unless you were, literally, hunting for something.  

The one thing I know about this stretch is that there're a good number of hardware stores spaced out here and there. I've seen paint stores. I've seen stores offering light fixtures, fan fixtures and bathroom fixtures and fittings. There are also a couple of interior design firms and, if I'm not wrong, a store offering tiles for your floor and walls. 

After this the bus crossed the Still Road junction and into the Geylang Serai stretch of Changi Road. 

Past the Caltex petrol station now the bus went, followed by a series of shops that included a motorbike shop. Past a small junction leading to the back of Joo Chiat Complex it went, then came to the bus stop right outside a row of shop houses that not only have a 7-11 convenience store, a popular cafe known for roti pratas and Indian-Muslim dishes, but also a carpet store that has been there for a long time. 

Here the bus trundled on, going past the Haig Road Food Center, then KINEX Shopping Mall, then City Plaza, before making a right onto Paya Lebar Road. 

The bus now went past the junction that turns into Geylang East Central. I didn't really pay attention to the buildings that came after that, but apparently there are a few factory buildings behind the trees that have some brands from the food industry.

Not long after that came the next junction that turns onto the PIE- a turn which I don't normally pay much attention to, except for the fact that it is marked by this rather huge tree. 

The new flats called MacPherson Weave now come into view. 

The location of these flats are quite strategic, by the way. 

On one side you have the regular road of Paya Lebar with the buses, MRT station, all. On the other side you have the PIE expressway. And then, still further, on a third side, you have the now quite-established estate of Circuit Link and MacPherson Estate.

What's more, there is a Sheng Siong outlet at the void deck of one of those blocks. 

The junction between Paya Lebar Road and MacPherson Road came up not long after. 

There was a time when this particular junction was non-descript. You simply went past it and didn't put much thought to the landmarks or its significance.

Not so anymore. 

Not only is there a plethora of eateries at the shopping center called Grantral Mall, when one thinks about it, MacPherson Road is really a thoroughfare linking the East down the direction towards Downtown Singapore. 

It's true. 

Turn left on this junction, go down the entire stretch of MacPherson Road and you'll find yourself in the district of Bendeemer leading to Jalan Besar, the entire stretch of Bencoolen and then, after that, the Downtown part of Singapore.

But today the bus didn't turn left.

Instead it went down Paya Lebar Road, going through the area we call Tai Seng where industrial office buildings stand on either side of the stretch. It's quite an interesting spectacle, honestly. 

On one side you have the offices of well known F&B like Sakae Sushi and BreadTalk, together with fashion distributor LuxAsia and homegrown shoe brand Charles & Keith. 

On the other side- the side where my bus window looked out today- the buildings there held a mishmash of products and services, including an aircon engineering firm, an event management firm, a bridal shop, and a few furniture galleries. 

Several rows of shop houses came up not long after. 

At first glance they might appear non-descript, no different from any other place, in fact, sometime so quiet that you might even forget they're there, but there are in fact a couple of well known stalls and eateries here catering to a sizeable, family-friendly crowd. 

I've come here once, twice, maybe. 

In the middle of the first row there is a cha chaan teng offering dim sum of both the regular and unusual variety. 

I think the name's Bao Fa. 

Further on, there is a bakery, which, from the looks of it the first time I walked past, seems to have been there quite a while. I can't remember what types of breads there were on the shelves the last time I saw them, but I think most of the breads were the familiar, well-loved ones of the traditional kind. 

Further on stood a Mookata place at the corner of the next row, followed by a minimart, a hostel, and another coffee shop at the end. 

Right at the corner of the next row there was a well known restaurant offering claypot curry fish head. Next to it, there was a grocery super mart, another bakery, and then a Domino's Pizza outlet right at the end. 

The bus now made a left, turning onto Bartley Road.

First up came a condo- I don't know its name- then further on, Bartley Secondary School and then Maris Stella (Primary) where this afternoon I managed to take a quick picture of its distinctive blue entrance arch that looks out onto the main road. 

A temporary bus stop came up after- one of those orange and white roofed ones. Then, right after the junction of Bidadari Park Drive, came the housing blocks of Bidadari Housing Estate.

Now the bus went straight. 

I don't know whether it went under the Woodleigh Underpass or if it went straight onto Braddell Road.

My guess is the latter. 

One of the very first landmarks the bus passed by was the PUB Recreation Club, which, out the bus window this afternoon I managed to get a very good picture of. Not just that, I too managed to take a picture of the slopes that mark the actual Woodleigh Park. 

Only thing is I wish I could have caught sight of her SLA-managed black and white houses at the top of the hill. 

Even faint glimpses would have been good. 

Straight ahead the bus went, and it didn't take long before the bus entered the housing estate of Toa Payoh, first going past the now-demolished Comfort Delgro Building, then the bridge over the Kallang River. 

The blocks of Lorong 8 passed right after before the bus made a left onto Lorong 6 Toa Payoh. 

To this day I have not been able to figure out whether this Blk 1 here at the junction belongs to Lorong 6 Toa Payoh or Lorong 7 Toa Payoh. All along I had thought it was part of Lorong 7 (I mean, Blk 4 and 5 were right behind) but it might be part of Lorong 6 instead. 

From here it turned right into Lorong 1- a very short section- but very significant, in the sense that it made a right past the Toa Payoh Seu Teck Sean Tong temple whose entrance sits at the exact junction between Lorong 6 and Lorong 1. 

From here, a quick left it then took onto Lorong 4.

Past Blk 54 and 56 the bus now went, and onwards it soon went, alongside Blk 73 where the coffee shop of Mr. Grumpy Nasi Ayam was, and where my colleague and I had a meal of Nasi Ayam with an industry peer, not knowing that shared meal together would be the very last time.