Bus Ride Sights: Woodlands- Yishun

The pictures here are but a mere third of the entire bus journey I took from Woodlands to Changi Airport. 

It's not because there was no scenery to take.

Nor was it because Chonkycam had run out of battery. 

But I have a habit of not taking pictures when there're people sitting beside me- I have the feeling they might get uncomfortable- and that's how it was for this bus ride today. 

The crowds started boarding somewhere around Yishun, and it didn't take long before the bus became almost completely full. 

Of course, then again, Bus 858 is no short route. 

If the distance from an estate near the northernmost point to an area near the easternmost point isn't near, the bus route isn't going to be express-style short either. 

The journey begins from Woodlands Interchange where from it passes through a couple of Avenues (7, 4,9) before it turns into Gambas Avenue, then back out it comes to Avenue 7. 

Now, I can't tell if these pictures are accurate of the Woodlands side, but if I'm not wrong, Gambas Avenue is a sort of industrial place and these last few above are the only industrial-looking ones on the route this afternoon. 

What exactly the road is, however, I don't know. 

All I know is that from here it turns into Sembawang Road, out onto Canberra Road, back onto Sembawang Road, and then into Yishun. 

Here in Yishun it passes Avenue 5, Avenue 2, Yishun Central, back to Yishun Avenue 2 and then onto Lentor Avenue. 

The route becomes notably quicker on Lentor Avenue, where with the last bus stop named LP94, Bus 858 then turns onto the SLE, and then the TPE.

There is a quick round in Jln Kayu after that near the (former?) Seletar Camp, and then back out it is onto the TPE. 

After this, the bus turns onto the PIE, the ECP and finally, onto Airport Boulevard, and terminating at Basement 3 of Changi Airport.  

It's a fascinating route, honestly, where the scenery changes so rapidly in a manner of minutes that you sometimes wonder just how it happens and what it is you're looking at. 

I don't mean that one shifts instantly from the rural to the urban or from the crowded to the spacious, but there is a certain type of scenery in the northern parts of the country that you won't find along, for instance, the ECP. 

They belong distinctively to the north. 

Somewhere along the way however the foliage begins to change. 

Somewhere along the way the scenery becomes less forested, more spaced out, less of a land chill, more of a sea breeze. 

Maybe the turn's at Lentor Avenue- it is, after all- one of the connectors that separate the northern (forest feel) parts with the central and the east. 

Or maybe the turn's at the PIE where, after Jln Kayu (still of former Seletar Air Base forested feels) and the TPE (slightly less forested feels), one gets onto the ECP where, with her proximity to the sea, makes for a much airier feeling, a much more spacious vibe. 

Bus Ride Sights: Along The Drain

Couple of months ago on the eve of Lunar New Year I decided to go on a very long bus ride.

First, I love long bus rides.

And second, I had time. 

It is a blessing that from the bus stop on the opposite side of Jalan Eunos not too far from Steppyhouse there are a couple of bus routes that can bring me to out-of-routine places on other parts of the island. 

Today I decided to take 966, which, by the way, second to 51 and 93, has to hold one of the longest routes this part of town. 

Beginning from Woodlands, it comes down southwards the entire way towards what we call the Eastern part of Singapore.

The journey, if I'm not wrong, starts by the bus first weaving through Woodlands before it gets onto the BKE. After that the bus enters the area we call Choa Chu Kang, going into Pending, Petir and Dairy Farm Road. After that, back onto the BKE it goes, after which it switches onto the PIE, stopping opposite Catholic JC, then onto Jln Toa Payoh and Jln Kolam Ayer. Back onto the PIE the bus goes after, before turning into Jln Eunos, Still Road and Marine Parade Road.  

Right after its 'final' stop at Parkway Parade, the bus makes a loop at the junction of Marine Parade Road and Haig Road before it finally turns back on the exact same return route where it had just come from. 

This afternoon my route had in fact been the return one.

And by right I should have had a whole bunch of pictures to show for it. 

But for some reason Chonkycam came out only after the bus had passed Jln Kolam Ayer and near Jln Toa Payoh.

Best part, sheets of rain had begun to fall, so these shots- along the canal drain of Jln Toa Payoh- are all I have, and maybe when there's another free day I might take a complete series all over again.

Peking Duck @ Mott 32

Okay, so, ummm, it has been four months since these pictures were taken, and yes, it has been that long. 

We were here at Marina Bay Sands Shoppes during the Lunar New Year season because my companion had gone on the annual Peking Duck hunt and had heard that the Duck here at Mott 32 was exceptionally good. 

No kidding, it was. 

So it might be that I don't have the culinary expertise to determine just what makes a good Peking Duck, but it's not everywhere that I get to have a duck that's been Apple Wood roasted, so I guess that makes for an unusual one? 

The website of Mott 32 says that their duck is carved using a technique that locks in all the juices "making it fit for royalty", which, I tell you, is absolutely true. 

How it's done- I don't know- hungry (and distracted) me I wasn't paying much attention to the gentleman working his knives over the duck- but the skin, crisp as it was, had all the flavors of roasted duck, plus the melty goodness of its fat, and more. 

You know how it is when you take your first bite of an oven-hot, crisp piece of roast duck skin and the distinctive taste of the duck fat underneath the skin just oozes out and into your mouth? 

There have been places where the duck was skinnier than we hoped it to be.

There also have been places where the skin, though with a layer of fat underneath it, turned out to be oilier and greasier than we expected classic style Peking Duck to be. 

Mott 32 here was none of these. 

I didn't have the icky aftertaste of oil lingering in the mouth even after the duck skin was cooled. 

Neither was there a piece of hard (and dry) skin on my chopsticks when the duck had almost been finished. 

Everything was good. 

Mention must be made of the very, very thin crepes (pancakes), the fresh, cold sliced cucumbers and the scallions that make up what defines the dish of Peking Duck.

But special mention must be made of the sauce, and the raw sugar.

The sauce is supposed to be some sort of a hoisin sauce (as their site says) but I think we got a taste of sesame, or something, that at once elevated the typical sweet (plum) sauce to that of savory, creamy yet still sweet. 

I loved how they'd done the swirls. 

It just added the slight element of fun to the otherwise regal meal. 

It wasn't just the duck that we had this evening. 

What with it being Lunar New Year, we also decided to go for Xiao Long Bao, a dish of Sweet Sour Pork, and the Szechuan style La Zi Ji.

The Xiao Long Bao came in the cutest form of bamboo holder I'd ever seen. 

And the taste- a blend of scallop and prawn in Suan La (hot and sour) soup was perfect. 

I've also always been a fan of Sweet Sour Pork. 

Whether it be at restaurants, whether it be at cafes or whether it be at the local chap cai png stall, this dish- with all its bulk, its shine and its anticipatory sweetness, is one of my favorites. 

There're varying standards, of course, as is to be expected, which is why I've become more discerning now, but oy, there's no question about quality here at Mott 32.

There was a bit of chew in each piece of sweet sour pork, yet not the chew that comes from (hard to swallow) tendons, but from fat that collapses once you have it on your mouth, and which disappears with the happy sense of taste and sweet on your tongue. 

Something pretty cool about their choice of fruit here was the dragon fruit. 

I've been too used to pineapple. 

The La Zi Ji, made out of peppercorns and dried chilies too didn't disappoint. 

We had been afraid that there might be an over-proportionate amount of dried chilies, but thankfully no, there was in fact more meat, with the right dose of numb to stimulate your nose and tongue and throat. 

I've been privileged to have also tried another Peking Duck at another Mott 32 in another country, but this one here at Marina Bay Sands remains special- not so much for the luxe, luxe feeling one gets at upscale restaurants like these, but for the fact that it embraces your yearning, reminds you that there can always be good food out there, and that, for a reasonable price, you can have what you crave for, you can have what you want.