Structures @ Haw Par Villa

 

 

 

 

It had been my intention to plonk all of the pictures I took at Haw Par Villa into a single post, but then I realized that not only did I have too many pictures of the Ten Courts of Hell, the truth was, those pictures carried a very different vibe compared to these ones that you see up here.

 

So, I separated them.

 

Not just for the sake of visual harmony, but also because if the Courts had been designed sinister, frightening and nightmarish, the rest pf the park was designed quite differently. meant perhaps to leave the scared s***less visitor with an assurance of peace, hope and quiet serenity.

Courts of Hell @ Haw Par Villa

You might find it hard to believe, but for all the years that Haw Par Villa had been here, coming to this old-school amusement park late last December was really my very first time here.

 

I'd never stepped foot into this place before. Not once. Not at all.

 

But then last year came the news that Haw Par Villa would once again be renovating, and so I decided that it was high time I chucked aside my inhibitions, and make a visit here to fulfil a long-standing curiosity.

 

Well, I saw what I came here to see, and although right now I want to expound about each and every diorama from the Ten Courts of Hell, or do a discussion about the interpretation of filial piety, I think it might be wiser to quietly leave the graphical, PG18 pictures over here- and just let them be. 

 

Steamboat BBQ @ Beach Road

There are many, many places for hotpot, steamboat and BBQ grill in Singapore, but throw out the suggestion of "steamboat at Beach Road" to just about anyone, and three places will automatically come to mind. 

 

It is no coincidence, of course, that all three are located right next to each other, and all of them sit around the junction of Liang Seah Street and Beach Road.

 

The one we went to sits closest to Park View Hotel- literally right next door- and, unlike the other two who look like they are eyeballing each other, this one sits nonchalantly on her own looking out directly onto the main Beach Road.  

 

We were there on a weekend afternoon, reaching the place just after the end of the lunch hour, so there was sufficient space inside and out. We were given a choice, and although on other days I would go for the spruced up interior with cool air-conditioning, it so happened that this was a very cool, windy day, and so we decided on a table right next to the drink machine on the out.

 

It was a good spot- there was a bit of aircon, we were near to the food counters, and best of all, not too far away from the sauces and the utensils. Being near to the utensils is important. You never know when you need a last minute ladle, a last minute pair of tongs or an extra plate or two.

 

We settled down. I went off to gather the bowls, the plates, the tongs, the spoons, the ladles, and the chopsticks, after which it was the sauces. Both of us took two little bowls of sesame sauce mixed with sesame oil. One bowl had chopped garlic. The other had parsley, spring onions and chives.

 

One very good thing about steamboat and BBQ is that you can tailor your sauces however you like, and it is up to you if you want soy sauce, peanut sauce, sesame sauce, or just a mix of chili, sugar and salt.

 

Lunch that day was meat.

 

Lots and lots of meat.

 

I think we must have loaded up on two portions of pork, two portions of chicken, a little bit of pork belly and three portions of beef. Add to that the ingredients that we dropped into the soup, and there would have been two servings of corn, two handfuls of mushrooms, a bit of noodles, lettuce, cuttlefish balls and prawns.

 

We had a great time.

The cooking was fun, the meal was filling. Eventually we forwent the dinner hour and simply went straight for tang yuan dessert elsewhere when it was time.

the Street Cat

This manja street cat hasn't been hanging around her zone for a couple of weeks now, and frankly I am starting to get worried.

You must understand- this cat has been at her zone for more than two years now, and so faithfully has she been there, night after night, day after day, that she is almost a fixture there.

And to know that she hasn't been there for the past few weeks no matter what time it is that I'm there, it bugs me.

I only hope  that she's safe, that she has gone for a nice roam, or that someone has brought her home and given her a warm, cosy bed with lots of toys and good, healthy food.

pretty foods: Soup Dumplings

 

If there is one breakfast food that sparks me joy, it would be this little bowl of soup dumpling noodles that I have from the stall at this corner coffee shop along Joo Chiat Road.

It is a simple food, yes, it is a local, commonplace food, yes, but disdain not the joy that this bowl can bring.

Soup dumpling noodles are perfect for the mornings when you've woken up late, when it is brunch by the time you've reached the coffee shop, or when you want to have something heavier than toast and eggs but don't want anything fried.

They are a food that sits somewhere between a heavy breakfast and light, they have the necessary nutrients of protein, (light) carbs and vitamins, and tell me, can there anything more soulful for a late morning meal than a bowl of tasty, clear soup?

It is a good thing I am particular about my dumplings.

No, make it that I am more than particular- I am exacting.

So I am super glad that this stall called Fatty's-something does her soup dumplings the way I like- with a whole lot of meat, little crunchy chives, a nice, tasty soup, and none of that heavy pork smell in between.

Deepavali 2018

 

 

It could have been any day for me to go down to Little India, and Tekka Centre, but me being me, of course I would choose to go down on the eve, of the eve, of Deepavali- if not for the sake of one pair of palazzo pants, then for the sake of celebratory fun.

 

This is a festival that comes just once a year, and silly it would be if I were to miss out on the lights, the towering decorative elephants, the colors and all the songs and fun.

 

So, yes, I squeezed my way around the shops of Tekka Centre, picked around the racks of palazzo pants and fielded bemused enquiries from curious aunties, all the while taking in the sight of their beautifully hung sparkly dresses and their shiny, shimmery outfits.

 

I made my purchase of one pair, just one pair, of palazzo pants, and then it was to the bazaar opposite where there were trays of sweets, jars of murukku, boxes of incense sticks,  sparklers, huge peacock feathers, pretty little patchwork bags, and lovely jingling, jangling decorative things.

Bus Ride Sights: Geylang

I promised myself two years ago that I'd stroll through the Lorongs of Geylang on the (other) side.

 

But things caught up, and the day has yet to come.

 

So, for now I will just have to post these pictures that I took from the bus ride, starting from the first row of shop houses near the Paya Lebar side, all the way to the last row of shop houses that sit opposite the one-time Gay World Amusement Park site.