Miss Brown & Her Friends

I found this picture amongst the cache of pictures in Miss Brown's personal photograph collection.

It is a rare one- this picture. 

Not because it is in black and white. (Miss Brown has many other pictures of the same era also in black and white) 

Also not because it (probably) features a schoolgirl Miss Brown sitting together with a group of girls all clad in a school uniform of short sleeved blouse and skirt

It is a unique picture because it is a candid one. 

And this candid shot had been taken outdoors. 

Let's not forget that film was expensive during those days. 

As such, many photographs- whether taken in the studio or outdoors- were often shot portraiture style, and with the subject in careful pose.

This picture, on the contrary, is not.

In fact, it is one of the most candid pictures (from that era) in the collection that Miss Brown owns.

In this picture there is no hairdo, no scarf, no bag, no deliberate tilt of the head nor twist of the waist. 

Neither is there any specific placement of arms, hands, legs and feet for the optimal angle.

Everything is as it is- a bunch of girls sitting around a table in a kopitiam listening in rapt attention to the one holding conversation. 

(I think it is Miss Brown- I can't quite tell)

No one in the group is posed.

We know- because some of them are half slouched in their seats, and at least four of them have their elbows on the table. 

Way out of the etiquette line for young girls in those days, I'd say. 

The other thing about this picture that amazes me is its timelessness. 

This picture might have been taken somewhere around the early 50s, but if the school to which these school uniforms belong to still exists, then this picture could easily be that of the 2022 year. 

Is it not so? 

Take a group of girls in the same hairstyles and the same uniforms,, find a kopitiam with round tables and this sort of kopitiam chairs, place the same kind of bowls and plates on the table, and you'll have (more or less) the same picture.

After all, coffee shops like these are still around.

As are kopitiams with the same kind of chairs and tables too.

I'm not sure for what reason this picture was taken. 

I'm not very sure when or who took the picture, either. 

It would have been lovely if I could ask Miss Brown. 

But she's reticent when it comes to mention about her secondary school days and all we can do is to venture a bit of guess. 

Still, it's enough that we have the picture. 

Especially since it is a very, very precious one. 

At Expo with Daffy

Changi Expo is not one of the destinations that I often go with Daffy/. 

In fact I think I haven't even been there before with her at all. 

But today we didn't feel like going to the Marina Bay Sands side, we didn't feel like going to the Jurassic Mile-Changi Airport side, and we'd already been to Changi Village on the TMCR not very long before. 

So I thought we might head via Bedok (along the MRT route) up towards Expo. 

Truth was, I'd done it before, but that was two years ago, at night, and I'd gone along the Simpang Bedok route instead. 

Today I wanted to see how the route was actually like. 

Before heading onto Changi Road (at Bedok), however, we made a pit stop at Siglap- for lunch. 

Yes, McDonalds. 

With Coke and fries. 

From Siglap we went along Upper East Coast Road- because I was not going to climb the road that makes up both Siglap Road and Siglap Hill, and no way was I going to do the other horrendous hill at New Upper Changi Road near Chai Chee and Decathlon. 

So on the easier route of Upper East Coast Road we went. 

I've always found this route somewhat more interesting than its counterpart, honestly. 

The road's wider, there're fewer cars and it feels more spacious overall. 

It's how I imagine a coastal road is supposed to feel. 

The structures here are more fascinating too.

Of course, they're mostly condos these days but there're some heritage-looking ones. 

Like the building that currently houses the famous Hua Yu Wee Seafood restaurant. 

I wish I'd stopped to take a picture. 

But I was on the opposite side of the road, so I simply continued on. 

Into Bedok South Avenue 3 we turned- my riding companion and I- and from there it was more or less a straight route down Changi Road towards Xilin Avenue. 

A part of me hoped that I'd be able to stop and take pictures, but of course, what with the traffic on Changi Road, that didn't happen.

Not even when I cycled past the huge canal/river that separates the estate of residential Bedok from the industrialized Bedok North Ave 4 side. 

Somewhere around here (after Bedok Road), the road ceased to be New Upper Changi, but became Upper Changi Road East instead. 

Expo wasn't very far from here.

Further up past Xilin Avenue and we turned into Expo Drive- with its cars, car parks and all. 

To be honest I'd no idea what we were going to do here at Singapore Expo. 

So it was a delight when we found a couple of exhibitions that were open to the general public. 

We went to a food fair where we jostled with trolley-pulling ladies, sampled a milk made from yellow beans, sampled a nice chewy sesame/ginger sweet plopped out from a home-business type of machine, and marveled at the bowls of orn nees, laksa, oyster mee suas and mango salads offered at the variety of stalls. 

But we didn't stay for the food (even though I think we ought to have).

Instead we crossed over to Changi City Point where we had a light dinner, including Jollibee chicken, and then hung about near Timbre watching as little kids drove go-karts with their parent around a nice little circuit. 

We didn't stay long over at Changi Expo, and after a couple of hours, whilst still in broad daylight, took the same route back to East Coast Road. 

Australia-(Old) Airport Road

A relative- one whom I've not met for six years- swept into town for a very short visit not too long ago. 

It was good to be able to finally meet up after all this time. 

After all... the place where we met six years ago has since been demolished to make way for a new housing estate up and coming on its way. 

Honestly I had not intended for the interim to be this long. 

There had been plans three years ago, but they were shelved because something came up on my end and I was in no frame of mind to meet anyone, eat anything or even smile. 

Less of the case now, however, and we agreed to meet in the evening- for hawker food.

Apparently hawker food had been sorely missed. 

I threw out a couple of suggestions- Lau Pa Sat, Fengshan, Chomp Chomp at Serangoon Gardens, and Old Airport Road

My relative chose Old Airport Road.

So it was at Dakota MRT Station on a Wednesday evening that I waited- with box of colorful Ang Ku Kueh bought from Ji Xiang in hand.

It didn't take us long to get to the food center. 

First thing that greeted us was the crowd. 

If Old Airport Road has her fair share of patrons in the lunchtime crowd, her dinner crowd is far more extensive, and more varied. Like Fengshan, it has a reputation of being a dinner/supper place, and so more common is it that people from the surrounding 'hoods (and elsewhere) will come down for their evening meal. 

We walked around the place a little bit to hear the noise, and to get a feel of what we wanted to eat. 

As we meandered around the busy tables, the waiting queues and the crowds, I tossed out a few ideas.

There was a queue at the char kuay teow stall so it probably had to be really good. 

The fried Hokkien prawn mee this diner was having seemed to be quite good too. 

Somewhere at the back there was a stall selling mutton soup. 

And the satay stall was right in front not too far from the popiahs, the dim sums, the cheong funs, the wanton noodles and the muah chee. 

We walked around, then got ourselves a table- at the front- near the main road- which was cooler, and windier too.

There was very little deliberation after that. 

And this- eventually- is what we had.

A plate of fried Hokkien mee, two popiahs, and two sugarcane drinks. 

It looks ordinary, commonplace, simple even, but I'm glad to say that my relative enjoyed the food. 

For a very long time, we've assumed that what we have is too indistinct for the rest of the world, downplaying it for what it can actually be.

But, as we've recently discovered, that's not true. 

It isn't always so convenient to get a popiah, for example, in London or Los Angeles.

Neither is it so easy to 'hop downstairs' for a plate of fried Hokkien mee with chili and lots of wok hei. 

Not to mention that whilst some places may have plenty of apples, cherries, strawberries, oranges. blueberries and blackberries, none of them give you as much of the shiok, shiok feeling you'll have when you down a cup of cold, freshly-squeezed sugarcane from the drinks stall three tables away from you. 

Part of The View

There's something interesting about this estate that's kind of hard to put into words. 

I'm not sure if it's because there're four roads with four different names in this one (small) area, or if it is that there are blocks of four different architectural styles on these four different roads.

I've been to the Mattar side of this area before. 

I've also been (briefly) to the Balam Road side. 

Today, however, was the first time I walked along the bridge spanning the canal next to the hawker center into the blocks of the Merpati Road side. 

There were things that I'm glad I managed to see. 

Notably, however, was the view from the blocks. 

That, admittedly, surprised me. 

What makes these views so unique is that I don't think there are that many homes in housing estates with such views out from their living room windows nor their kitchen windows anymore. 

Many of our housing estates- mature or new- like the blocks on the opposite of the canal- are packed so much closer that you just look out to either your neighbors' windows in the block/blocks opposite, the electrical station, or the rubbish collection area, or the car park downstairs. 

Not so for these blocks here.

From the living room windows most of them got (at least) an angled view of the field in front, the canal, and the (newer) blocks on the other side. 

From the kitchen windows most of them also got (at least) an angled view of the houses in front of their estate, the two-storeyed shops on the other side of the canal, and the canal itself- stretching towards the back of the estate until it curved towards Tai Seng and Ubi. 

Shall we say that they aren't the newest blocks in the area? 

And perhaps they may be on- like some may say of the country's cityscape- borrowed time. 

But as of today, as of this afternoon, these blocks are still here. 

And as much as there had been people there, there are still people now. 

Jin Hua Fish Soup @ Maxwell

Often have I heard that steamed whole fish, fish head bee hoon, sliced fish bee hoon and sliced fish soup are of the Teochew style. 

What the story is, and why, I don't know. 

But it's certainly interesting. 

And maybe one day I don't mind finding out more. 

I have my own preference for fish soup, however. 

If given a choice, I prefer the fried version compared to the non-fried version. 

And I must add the milk. 

The fish soup feels a tad too 'clean' for me otherwise. 

Maybe I'm not very used to the super-clean taste of steamed fish, especially steamed fish skin, and I like my fish pieces chonky, floury and a bit chewy.

There're many places for good fried fish bee hoon, I know.

Like the one at this coffee shop somewhere along Beach Road. 

And this one in a non-descript coffee shop behind Lavender MRT.  

I haven't been to all of them. 

But this one- at Maxwell Food Center- I have. 

Jin Hua Fish Soup is the first stall I make a beeline for whenever I'm there..

I'm a happy diner when they're open. 

I'm a lost one when they're closed. 

It's as if their fish soup is the (only) thing I want to go for over at Maxwell, never mind that there's the famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, there's the Thai food right at the corner somewhere, the wanton noodles is not bad too, and there's even good porridge to be sold right opposite this Jin Hua Fish Soup stall. 

I'm not blah against these dishes. 

I love them just the same. 

Just that I'm a creature of habit and I can't forget the warmth I felt from the bowl of fish meat bee hoon the first time I had it. 

Ordering from them is a breeze. 

You go there, tell them you want the 'fish meat bee hoon' and they'll proceed to make it for you. Before that they'll ask if you want to 'add milk' to your soup, and I always do. 

It's interesting to see the way they prepare your food. 

First from a display case they choose several pieces of (already) fried fish meat and drop them into a pot. After that they grab a handful of bee hoon from a pile nearby and toss them in. On the stove the pot then boils at full flame for a bit before a handful of vegetables are tossed in. right after. The pot is allowed to boil just a little while more, he then adds a dash of this, a dash of that, and then he pours it out into a bowl. 

Before you take your tray away, he asks you if you want fried onions to go with your soup. 

I always say yes. 

Fried onions and (sometimes) fried ikan bilis make the soup taste nicer. 

At least for me. 

I love biting into the fried fish and feeling the texture of the fish meat blend with the batter of the fish. 

There's the bit of roundedness to the taste of the fish. (Maybe because it's fried)

There's the chew in the texture of the batter. (Not very thick, not very thin either)

There's the thick bee hoon which I get to happily slurp using my chopsticks..

 

And there's the milky white soup, with her well-balanced flavors, her gentle sweetness, her (very)( faint taste of umami, and the comfortable warmth that she brings. 

Shopping!!!!

 It's not very often that I take pictures of stuff that I see in the stores. 

Maybe because I'm always concerned that the staff will either come up to offer help, or tell me that I'm not allowed to take pictures of their goods in the store. 

At the same time I don't tend to do suggestions for others nor do I seek opinions for myself as much as some of my other friends do>

But in recent times I've come to realize that it can be quite an enjoyable thing to take pictures of the stuff that I see on shelves, if not for sharing on social media, then for myself to have something (in future) to look back to. 

After all, products come and go. 

So do retail. 

And retail brands. 

I've had the puzzling situation where two of my favorite nail polish colors disappear off the shelves. 

One happened because the brand quit retail. 

The other because the brand just stopped that particular line. 

It's not the first time it has happened to me. 

One of my favorite nail polishes disappeared off the shelves years ago. 

Interestingly the same brand also discontinued the chamomile BB cream which was the first BB cream I used when cosmetics from Korea (massively) hit our shores.

I wish I'd taken pictures of the Dream EDT and the Ocean EDT when they were on the shelves years ago. 

But I didn't. 

Perhaps that's one good reason to start taking (more) pictures of the products that i see on shelves. 

Although I don't really want them to go away. 

Like these little soft toy babies that I see at Daiso. 

I tell you, I've fallen head over heels with them. 

They make one of the cutest, most adorable key chains ever, and I don't give a hoot if they're too kiddy to be carried out. 

They have the nicest expressions, the cutest smiles, and I can switch them around, hanging from any bag that I choose on that day to bring out. 

I already have several- ten, to be exact.

But I want a collection. 

I want more. 

Especially since I've made merchandise and characters a profession. 

One thing about these little toys is that they're not always on the shelves.

And if they are, they're not always in such abundance either. 

So when I saw these little babies hanging from the shelf in Daiso, I had to take a picture. 

But the budget wasn't there for them that day so I hope they'll still be there the next time I go to the same Daiso.

In the same way I hope to get a couple of these from the Bath and Body Works the next time that I'm there. 

Out of every other collection that they have in their stores, the Aromatherapy collection is probably the one that I favor the most. 

It's not that I don't like the Dream one (or is it A Million Dreams) or the Gingham one or any of their seasonal scents. 

I like a good number of them.

But their Aromatherapy collection is the one that speaks to me most of all.

Doesn't matter which- whether it be the Revitalizing (Orange/Ginger), the Stress Relief (Eucalyptus) or the Calming (Lavender all).

I love them all. 

See, there're times when I want something stimulating, there're times when I want something more destressing, and there're times when I just want to go sleep in a field of lavender and drift away. 

I'm in a an urban city, so, yeah, any form of help will do. 

The good thing is that this Aromatherapy collection looks like it's not going anywhere. 

So, I'm glad. 

Changi Village Hawker Center

It's been announced quite recently that Changi Village Hawker Center will be undergoing renovations for three months, starting August all the way to October.

Whilst this probably won't put a dampener on those of us who frequent the hawker center whenever we are there, it does make one wonder what else is available, and if there'll be enough space for us all. 

Make no mistake- Changi Village- whilst still retaining her strong rustic charm- is no longer the ulu out-of-town destination from earlier years. 

She's become lively, robust, and spirited, with a camaraderie amongst all those who visit her. 

There're those of us who come here for the first time (because we've heard so much about it), and there're those of us who come here every week because cycling on the TMCR- or the Pasir Ris-Loyang route is our weekly routine. 

I'm somewhere in between.

That is to say that I'm open to (new) foods even though I have my regular habits there.

One of the things we always get whenever we bike here are the coconuts.

You cannot not have fresh coconut water after a 20km ride from East Coast Park to here. 

We usually have one each- my friend and I- it's a bit difficult to share this hydrating beverage after all the pedaling.

Amongst some of our favorite dishes at the hawker center are the nasi lemak (I don't have a picture), the char kuay teow, the mutton soup and the chicken wings. 

I'd love to say that we also love the satay, the goreng pisang and the orh luak but apparently we can only choose between the chicken wings or the satay, goreng pisang and char kuay teow together in one meal would be too overwhelming, and the orh luak had a bit too much flour for my friend's liking. 

I'm gonna miss these dishes in the three months that the hawker won't be there.

But I'll make do. 

Just like everyone else will. 

After all my favorite chendol is still there. 

So what I'll do is to go across for nasi goreng, kuay teow goreng or murtabak, then bounce back for this amazing bowl of $1.70 chendol which is sold from this particular shop across the hawker center on this side of the road. 

Changi Beach at Dusk

On a Saturday evening couple of weeks ago, I took a bus from Bugis all the way down to Changi Village. 

It was one of those weekends where you didn't feel like staying at home but didn't feel like doing anything else either. 

Also, it was warm. 

In times like these, the best thing to do is to take a bus ride. 

So I did. 

Hopped onto Bus No 2 from Victoria Street with a friend and stoned all the way down to Changi Village. 

I wanted to see the sea. 

It was a bit of a challenge trying to decide whether we should have an early dinner or wait till the crowd had dispersed. 

But then we thought it might be too late after, so we went for the early dinner option instead. 

There're a couple of good eating places at Changi Village. 

There's a place offering mookata, there's a coffee shop offering zichar and dim sum, and then there's the famous supper place that's got nasi goreng, kuay teow goreng, murtabak, and a variety of Thai-Muslim food.

Their lychee soda, teh o air limau and smoothies are the best. 

Today, however, we didn't go there.

We went to the hawker center instead where we deliberated on what best to get. 

My friend went for the mutton soup. 

I went for the char kuay teow. 

I thought of getting the chicken wings or the nasi lemak or the goreng pisang but then I'd had the chicken wings last time and I didn't feel like having them today. 

Also, goreng pisang and char kuay teow together seemed too much on the fried-fried side, so I declined. 

Despite the crowd, I'm glad we didn't have to wait long for our food. 

We would have missed the sunset otherwise. 

Changi Beach is one of the few places in Singapore where you can get an excellent view of both the sunrise, and the sunset. 

I've watched the sun rise at a very specific spot on this beach before. 

I've also watched the sun set at a very specific spot on this beach as well. 

Night owl that I am, I don't get to see sunrises very much these days. 

But sunsets are more my thing. 

And to see Pulau Ubin silhouetted so beautifully against the twilight blue against the deep orange glow of the setting sun filled me with a sense of awe, and a feeling of peace. 

Eggs Suki-ya Style

We started dining at this place not too long ago. 

It's not a new place- it's been around for some time- but they're one of those places that don't do a lot of marketing nor advertising, and so it's either you know about it, or don't know about it at all. 

I'd seen this place before. 

I just didn't think of having a meal there. 

But then came one day in Suntec City we decided to look about for new places around dinner time. 

And this place came up. 

What used to deter me before was perhaps the queue. 

I have very little love for meal-time queues. 

But then again the idea of having eggs with rice seemed quite an intriguing meal to have (that day) and so we queued.

At first I didn't know what to expect. 

But my perspective changed right after the bowl came to my table and I took my first bite. 

Suki-ya, with their small square tables and neat-looking chairs, seems to give off a casual-diner vibe, but they don't scrimp on service. 

There're staff to bring you cups of warm hojicha once you're seated, they bring you your orders on a tray, and they clear them when you're done. 

It's all very friendly, efficient, and quick. 

The thing that charms me most is how they've turned simplicity into something so heartwarming, satisfying, and sincere. 

It doesn't seem much- soft boiled eggs with slices of beef or chicken karaage- but the sauce, the flavors, and the egg actually work well with each other, and you don't feel like you're having an nondescript meal at all.

I've found myself appreciating the way all these flavors come together. 

What makes it fun is that there're many different ways to enjoy the meal. 

Some diners break the egg straight into the bowl on top of the meat and te rice and all. 

Others, like my friend, break the egg into the small bowl (which they provide), then beat it with the chopsticks before dipping the beef from the gyudon shabu-shabu style inside. 

Me, I break the egg into the bowl, but then I don't beat it up. 

Instead I scoop out parts of the white bit by bit- to eat it with the rice- and then I dip my karaage into the yolk. 

Yes, it's a little more troublesome, but I like it this way.

I've since come to realize that rice with yolk and white actually do taste really good, and that meat goes better with egg yolk than with egg white. 

It's amazing; I didn't know that prior. 

That's the charm of eating here at Suki-ya, I guess. 

You get creative, you slow down, you try different ways to enjoy your meal, you try different meals. 

I've not really tried all of their dishes (even though some do look rather interesting)

My usual one thus far is the chicken karaage. 

Maybe one day I'll kick in my spicy tongue and go for the mapo eggplant. 

And one day for sure I'm going to order that earl grey tea drink with pudding. 

I want the pudding. :D