Birthday Zichar for Hedgehog

We were at Lorong 6, Lorong 7 Toa Payoh. 

And because it was a season where we wanted to celebrate Hedgehog's birthday, decided to order several dishes instead of the rice/noodles that we tended to have. 

There's something very special about having a birthday meal from a zichar stall in a coffee shop. 

Maybe it's the nostalgia. 

Maybe it's the sense of camaraderie we have with others who are also present at the same coffee shop enjoying their meals. 

There were parties of 10 seated at large round tables alfresco having dishes of steamed fish and chili crab and what looked like big pots of soup. 

There were parties of 3 and 4 at the smaller round tables having several dishes that looked just as delicious as the crabs and prawns and big steamed fish. 

We got a table inside the coffee shop itself- no you don't get to choose- just be glad you even have a table quick to begin with at that peak dinner hour- and swiftly they brought us cutlery, a spare plate, and this little dish of appetizers that were so refreshing and so good. 

First time I saw it I thought it were green apple (which had my overactive mind wondering how elderly consumers would eat it) but no, it wasn't apple, but guava instead.  

And very soft a fruit it is too. 

I don't know how it is they prepare this appetizer.

My guess is that they marinate it, because I know there's a bit of plum powder (which really enhances the taste of the guava, by the way) but there's also a bit of tart, sour flavor from the liquid that they marinate, or pickle, the fruit in. 

This appetizer is one of the things I like best about this stall. 

I mean, there's nothing more stimulating for the palate, even during the middle of the meal, to stick one of these nicely chopped chunks into the mouth and chew. 

Not to mention there's something to keep your mouth busy whilst you wait for your food. 

So refreshing are these guava pieces that you don't need a drink, even though you might want it. 

I wasn't sure what dishes it were that Hedgehog ordered today- it were his birthday after all- so happy was I afterwards to see one of his favorites on the table. 

It's not easy to find a good, delicious plate of Yi Mian these days. 

Maybe demand is low. 

Most people seem to go for either Dry Beef Hor Fun or White Bee Hoon or Hong Kong Noodles. Yi Mian doesn't seem to be on most tables as much as it used to. 

So thankful was I when this lovely plate arrived at our table. 

To be honest I don't know how to describe the dish. 

I don't even know how to describe the noodle. 

But it is an interesting texture, the noodle, which, whilst it looks firm and hard, isn't as hard as it looks, and has a slight chew to it. There's a bit of an alkaline taste (as I've been told) from the noodle itself that gives it a combination of savory and faint bitter, but it holds the gravy well and so makes it very easy to slurp up when eating the noodle. 

This noodle is meant to be eaten strand by strand though. 

Try eating it by the spoon and you'll find yourself with a huge mouthful to chew. 

Hedgehog liked the gravy. 

I, on the other hand, was more attracted by the dishes of sweet sour pork slices and fried tofu. 

First off, they were huge.

Small sized they were supposed to be, but portion huge they were. 

I loved the color of the sweet sour pork, which dish has always been a favorite of mine. 

Except that I don't order it very much these days because usually it is just I who eats it, and I can't finish the whole plate on my own. 

Tonight's order was a surprise- he told me he remembered- and what's more, they'd prepared it so well. 

When the dish first came I had taken a quick peek, wondering if it came laden with the sauce like many other places tend to do, but there wasn't any. Instead every piece was so well fried, so evenly coated, so full of taste, and texture and flavor that you got the joys of sweet and sour in every bite. 

It's as if each slice had been first coated, then dipped into the sauce, then placed in the wok and stir-fried till the red colored sauce penetrated each piece entirely giving them each a beautiful, gorgeous shine. 

I liked the small chunks of pineapple that came along with the dish. 

They were juicy, not hard, not dry. 

If this dish became one of my new favorites here at this stall, the other dish that also became my new favorite was the tofu. 

In general I am not a tofu person. 

As in I won't go and order tofu dishes on my own if I am the only one eating. I will also be very specific about the style of tofu dish I order. 

Reason? 

Because tofu dishes tend to be either a hit or miss. 

If you get a good place with a good chef, the tofu will turn out nice, clean-tasting and with flavor. If you don't, however, you're stuck with paying $8 or $10 for a poorly prepared version of what is relatively a very simple dish. 

There are places whose tofu dishes- whilst looking good on the menu- turn out far different from what one hopes to have. 

This one here was delightful. 

Most memorable thing about this dish was the crisp, the crunch, the salt, and the mush.

Every cube had been so perfectly fried where the first taste you got of the tofu was the salt, after which came the crisp from the thin skin oh so gently scraping over your tongue, then, once you bit into it, the crunch and the mush coming both at the same time. 

It actually made for a very good snack, great for children, if you ask me, and had I not already started on the rest of the dishes, I just might have eaten these with my hands whilst scooping up the crunchy tempura bits with my spoon. 

What's funny though is that because all of our dishes came together at the same time, this dish we decided not to finish, and so packed up the tofu and brought it home. 

Fried tofu is much easier to bring home than this- fried chicken with salted egg sauce- which, may I say, was also so good. 

I was very comforted by this dish.

There's just something about having a piece of meat so full of flavor in your mouth that it overwhelms your tastebuds and leaves you with a combination of salty and sweet both at the same time. 

Some diners will consider this a fun dish to eat, like one that they might find at fast food places. 

Me, I'm not sure, but definitely I loved the perfect crisp of the breaded cutlet, I loved the tender, clean-tasting piece of meat- some pieces were breast meat- and I completely loved the rounded taste of the salted egg sauce.

Actually there wasn't any sauce.  

Maybe this were the dry kind. 

But same way like how the sweet sour pork had been prepared, this too felt like it had been first coated with breadcrumbs, dipped into the salted egg sauce, then thrown into the wok and skillfully wok-heied around. 

I'll come back to this coffee shop for more of their dishes next time. 

There're some I particularly want to order. 

Like the sweet sour pork- the usual chonky kind, maybe braised egg tofu (or this fried tofu) and omelet. 

I might want to do it for my birthday. 

After all, I haven't forgotten the coffee shop at Lorong 7 Blk 8 anyway. 

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh

So this, if I'm not wrong, is the one and only picture of bak kut teh from Song Fa that I have for the year of 2025 thus far. 

How it is that I only have one picture, I don't know. 

I eat their food quite often, and I have gone for meals at their outlets many a time. 

The Centrepoint outlet, well, I haven't been in a while, but the Suntec City one, whether it be for lunch or dinner, yes, I have gone pretty much. So familiar are we with the crowd at both outlets that we know just the right time to hit it up. 

It's like one is best to avoid the Suntec City outlet from 1130am to 1pm because the queue will be long and the wait will be at least 15 minutes, if not more. What makes the queueing here interesting is the crowd. 

You'd think the place be frequented only by locals needing a midday boost. 

No.

I've seen diners from China, from Hong Kong. I've also heard Thai being spoken, and in recent days, Japanese and Korean too. 

I myself am surprised by their patience. 

I'd walk away otherwise. 

It's a little different for Centerpoint where, even though the queue might be long, the diners are mostly from a single tour group, and whilst they might number to 15 or 20 or even 30, the staff are always quick at sorting groups out and visitors tend to not hang around long, just eat up, and go. 

Guess in recent weeks I haven't been taking as many pictures of my meals as I ought to. 

But one can consider it progress, I should say, when a person like me begins to appreciate the Teochew version clear soup style of bak kut teh and even think of it as an everyday meal even though it isn't the kind of meal that, growing up, I would automatically go for. 

I mean, there's no emotional resonance between bak kut teh, and me. 

Yet I have reached a phase of life where, say, between choosing one place or another, I decide that my tummy feels happier and warmer(!) when having a meal of clear peppery soup instead of hard rice accompanied by something stewed or fried. 

Life is interesting, isn't it?

Where at one time I was no fan of pork ribs in soup, now I've come to appreciate just how tender the meat is, how fun (and shiok) eating a pork rib can be when the meat falls easily off the bone and you can choose whether to eat it by hand, or wrestle it with chopsticks and Chinese soup spoon. 

I tend to eat it with etiquette but sometimes I can't be bothered, and dig in with my hands instead. 

Doesn't make a difference to the taste, but makes a difference it does to the fun. 

What I like most about the meat is the bit of chew. 

It's not overly tender, as in, it doesn't melt in the mouth and disappear. 

Neither is it so tough that it becomes dry and tasteless. 

There's just that bit of chew that one gets, and it makes for a great feeling when dipped in soy sauce. 

I tend not to dip a lot. 

Too much soy sauce overwhelms the natural flavor of the pork. 

The highlight of a meal here at Song Fa Bak Kut Teh, however, has to be the youtiao. 

I absolutely love them. 

More so when during the dinner hour they give you a bowl filled with fatter chunks of the dough fritter. 

My friend eats them crisp.

I, however, prefer dunking them pieces of cut-up fritter into the soup and letting it all soak in. 

Sure, the pieces might be all floppy and lumpy and soft, but there's something lovely about having the taste of the peppery herbal soup combine with the savory, slightly salty taste, and texture of the dough. 

It's comforting. 

And so good is it that I have to come to appreciate it more. 

Bus Ride Sights: Jln Awang-Paya Lebar Road

I can't recall just exactly where we were headed to this one particular afternoon.

My guess is that we were heading to Serangoon Central. 

But we just might as well have been heading to Toa Payoh. 

Dear me, I can't quite remember. 

Maybe I ought to take out Chonkycam from the start of the journey next time, and only keep her back when I'm a bus stop or two away from my destination. 

I won't forget where I was intending to head to, this way. 

Chonkycam did come out at a rather early part of the bus journey. 

Not just at the bus stop where I waited for the bus, but on the Jalan Awang side where this afternoon I decided to take a picture of the rental bicycles all parked so neatly by the side, and the little interim park behind the stairs of the overhead bridge. 

I thought the parked bicycles looked rather charming, all so shiny under the hot afternoon sun.

I also thought the park looked so fresh on the eyes, though I have only sat there but once- to take a phone call- with the sounds of traffic in the background buzzing by. 

Walking across the overhead bridge, I, of course, had to take a picture of Jalan Eunos, looking towards Still Road and East Coast Road. It's a scene that I always like to look at whenever I cross this bridge. There's something therapeutic about looking at the cars that traverse to and fro as they make their way from the East Coast/Marine Parade side of the country up towards Airport Road, Paya Lebar, and what is (technically) Northeast and Central of Singapore. 

One too, does not walk along this bridge armed with a camera and not take pictures of the housing blocks. 

Not when they're so colorful, so yes, I also had to take a picture of the HDB block with the colorful red, green, yellow and orange paint underneath their kitchen windows. 

Then of course, because I already had a picture of Jalan Eunos on one side towards Marine Parade, I had to take a picture of the other side, looking towards Eunos Link and Hougang Avenue 3 this time. 

What's so interesting about this stretch is that I had no idea just what a major thoroughfare this stretch of road was until I began chilling over here in the east. Then, and only then, did I realize that humongous amount of traffic that went up and down, weekday, weekend, day, night, same. 

There's always some truck trundling down.

Same with the lorries and vans and motorcycles and cars big and small. 

I don't think I've ever seen that many vans on this one stretch at one time before. 

Being close to Kaki Bukit, Paya Lebar, and Ubi Industrial Estates with Defu further down, I guess that might be one reason why. 

Interesting that the industrial estates all end somewhere around the East-West MRT line. 

There're none after the MRT (save maybe for Bedok's Panasonic on Bedok South Road, and Xilin Avenue on the east side). 

I don't think there're any beyond the MRT line on the Aljunied side or the Kallang side. 

At least I don't think so. 

Whilst waiting for the bus, I decided to take a picture of the scenic, quiet, park-like scene at the back of the bus stop as well. Rare is it, anyway, that this part of the 'hood is empty- more often than not, there's always someone either sitting on the bench for a solitary breather, or walking along these two trees heading to the shops, to the bus stop, the overhead bridge, or home. 

The bus went down Eunos Link this afternoon, first coming to the junction that marks the turn into the PIE, then crossing the traffic light into the estate of Ubi. 

The first thing I noticed about this picture wasn't that of the housing blocks but the beautiful, sunny-looking, cheerful flowers planted by the roadside. 

I've been so used to spots of red ixora bushes here and there that I've forgotten how abundant roadside shrubs can actually be. 

Such sunshine to the place these flowers added that I couldn't take my eyes off them. 

Not even when the bus moved.

But onwards the bus had to go, passing by an overhead bridge bicycles and wheelchair-friendly, then an empty plot of land that leads to the shops, and supermarket of Ubi. 

I don't know this area very well. 

In fact I used to only think of this place as a residential estate (a friend lived here) but I've since found out that not only do they have a good variety of shops, they have a good number of coffee shops, with some of the best stalls for chap cai png and roasted meat rice. 

There's not a stall here that doesn't offer chap cai png in its abundance, variety, and color. Not one time, I hear, has there ever been a stall where the trays were few, the food quantity scant, and unappetizing to the eye. 

Neither, I hear, has there been a roasted meat stall here that didn't have its chonk of roasted pork, roasted duck, char siew, or roasted chicken on full display for hungry customers to order. 

What's funny is that I used not to know why.

That is, until I realized that Ubi essentially sits at the junction of three industrial estates, with Kaki Bukit opposite Eunos Link, Kampong Ubi Industrial Estate heading west, and the industrial buildings over on Paya Lebar Road. 

The bus today passed by one part of the residential estate, then the blocks of the Kampong Ubi Industrial Estate. 

Would've been lovely had I been able to see what industries they were in the units inside, but I was more interested in capturing nice pictures like that of the empty bus stop and a random coffee shop, also empty at that time. 

Some unit fronts had their shutters down, so I suppose it were a sort of office space where everyone went in and out through the back door. 

The bus turned out onto Paya Lebar Road after that, near the junction of the Geylang Police Station, then down Paya Lebar Road it went. 

Also an industrial estate this side of town is, but different from the JTC types, these buildings are privately owned, and so come with a host of different paint colors and different names. 

Before that, however, there's a residential estate that's relatively new (compared to the Circuit Road area which this road leads side) and which has a supermarket where I once bought a drink from. 

The Leong Huat Building, distinctive with its orange paint and interesting building design comes up next, followed not too long after by the Kapo Factory with its signature red, pink and white. 

I've always wondered what companies and industries there are inside. 

From here the bus kept on down, passing by an enclave of shop houses that I don't know very well save for a dim sum place that I had eaten at once. It's interesting what these shop houses have, though. One might find a shop selling practical household goods. Or a decades-old bread shop selling bread baked from its ovens behind. 

There're a couple of eateries here, amongst which there is, I think, a mookata place- very popular on the weekends- and the Kay Lee Roast Meat/ Roast Duck OG shop that I think began its business here.

There's a coffee shop famous for its curry fish head claypot style. 

There're also a few spas offering massages or two. 

Onwards the bus crossed, past the junction of Bartley Road East this time, and into the zone heading towards Serangoon Central we went. 

A Birthday Pizza for Hedgehog

One of the new birthday foods we had for Hedgehog this year was at this place near NEX at Serangoon.

What the name is, I have to check. 

If I'm not wrong, it's called Gusta Sourdough Pizza Co, and you find it at the void deck of Blk 326 Serangoon Avenue 3. 

It's easier to walk from the Serangoon Central Bus Interchange than from the main road of Serangoon Central- which is what we did. 

What you do is to head towards Serangoon Avenue 2 from the bus interchange, turn right and then keep walking until you come to the junction of Serangoon Avenue 2 and Serangoon Avenue 3. The Braddell Heights Community Club is the landmark you look out for. Blk 326 is in the section diagonally opposite, so you cross Serangoon Avenue 2 first, then Serangoon Avenue 3, and make a left until you come to Blk 326. 

It's pretty straightforward. 

You know, there was a time when people wondered if food from the HDB heartlands could be any good, but experiences, and social media, are showing more and more that not only can the food be good, the nature of it being a HDB means that one can play around with as much aesthetics and mood and everything without having to be overly concerned about this, or that. 

It's probably easier to have it set up too. 

I was a little surprised by the decor of the place. 

No, I don't mean that it was unpleasant to the eye, no, nothing like that.

On the contrary, there was a very simple, clean aesthetic to the overall theme (very much like their pizza, as I later found out) and had such a casual, easy vibe that you felt comfortable either way regardless whether you came dressed for a date, or came downstairs in T-shirt, slippers and shorts. 

There was a bit of wait, I must mention, and whilst that did get me a little on the gwumps side (I was hungry), thankfully the wait was not too long and we got directed to a small, cute little table right at the back. 

When I say at the back, I literally do mean, at the back, right under the huge wall-mounted mirror, and next to the alcove under the shop's stairs near to where they stored their cartons, some pots, pans, and their dry ingredients. 

We placed our order, trying to decide between their Classic Pizzas or their Modern Pizzas. 

I quite liked the Classic Pizzas, but have to admit, the Modern ones seemed a bit more interesting. 

How often is it that one gets a Potato & Cheese Pizza complete with baked potato, garlic, cream, paprika, black pepper and parsley? 

Or a Pesto Pizza that I (quietly) had wanted to try?

I mean, someone might say that it's 'just' pesto, but I like pesto, and this one had mozzarella, kale and parmesan. 

I was quite tempted to order the Parma Ham & Peach pizza. 

Also for the same reason that I like parma ham, I like peach, and I like the sweet and salty combination. 

It wasn't just the Modern Pizza we found interesting. 

The Classics were just as good too. 

You had the Hawaiian Pizza- tomato sauce, cooked ham, mozzarella, pineapple and EVOO. 

You also had the Italian Sausage Pizza which, besides tomato sauce, parsley, EVOO and mozzarella, you had Italian fennel sausage. 

The Five Cheeses Pizza was something we looked at, too. 

Very tempting to try out new cheeses that I've never had before (and can't pronounce). This particular cheeses pizza had Mozzarella, Asiago, Grana Padano, Provolone, and Pecorino.

I wonder what they are.

I also wonder what they taste like. 

Maybe next time I go I should give it a try.

I should also try the Smoked Salmon Pizza.

So it might seem normal, but besides the smoked salmon and the mozzarella, they had sour cream and dill and lemon juice and something called mizuna leaves. 

I wonder what those are. 

This afternoon we chose to have one pizza, and one side. 

For the pizza, we deliberated between this pizza called The Sunset, and Ham & Mushroom. 

The Sunset had Mozzarella, tomato sauce, Parma ham, grated parmesan, ground black pepper, chives and one raw egg yolk. 

My friend was charmed by the Parma ham, the grated parmesan and the egg yolk, so we had that. 

This picture might not look like much, but let me tell you, it was pretty good. 

If Parma ham isn't already a meat good on its own, way better it is with warm, mushy, melted cheese and a crust of soft sourdough. It's not just the perfect salt taste of the ham, it's the way the thin, slightly hard texture complements so well the soft of the cheese and wraps it all inside your mouth. 

I'm not sure what the raw egg does- my friend had had it all mixed it up with the cheese- but there's that bit of wetness that clings to each slice, and makes each bite feel smoother, more delicious. 

We also ordered a side of chicken wings, specifically, baked chicken wings marinated with yogurt, paprika powder and herbs including garlic, marjoram, sage and rosemary. 

On the surface these chicken wings might look unassuming, like any other ordinary chicken wing you find anywhere else, but first bite brought me straight to the oil-drenched, lime-squeezed BBQ chicken wings of Fengshan and East Coast Lagoon. 

The taste was exactly the same. 

Literally. 

From the faint sheen of oil on the lips to the tender meat of the chicken underneath the perfectly browned crisp, the taste, texture and palate was down to a perfect T. 

I don't know if it were the paprika that made the wings taste the same as the BBQ ones did. 

I also don't know if the garlic or sage had anything to do with it. 

What was it that gave the chicken the taste of burnt? 

What was it that gave the lime lime taste of sour? 

It might have been the yogurt. 

The probiotics. 

But where did the milky part of the yogurt go? 

It couldn't have possibly disappeared somewhere. 

Maybe it might be the fact that I'm no cook and I'm terrible at estimation, so I don't know what's what and I don't know what's where. 

I just eat. 

So how all the sage and rosemary and garlic translated into the Fengshan, East Coast Lagoon BBQ chicken wing, I don't know. 

But oy, rare is it to find something this good, this healthy, this delicious, this familiar. 

I'll be quite keen to try the pasta next time. 

Especially the Traditional Carbonara and the Basil Pesto & Broccoli. 

I like carbonara. 

Though I can't have it very often because I can't do a lot of cream, so when there's a place that serves up something as healthy as pasta with the cheeses of grana padano and pecorino with pasteurized egg yolk and bacon bits, I got to try. 

Same way too how I like pesto, and if there's something that's got pesto worth my tummy to try, I do. 

I'd love to know how charred broccoli in basil pesto, and cheese, tastes like too. 

Shopping @ Velocity

It is very, very seldom that I take pictures when I'm in Novena's Velocity. 

Not because there's nothing to shop, nothing to look at, or nothing worthy to see, but because my hands are normally occupied pushing the wheelchair of an elderly lady heading for a late breakfast or an early lunch, and god forbid I stop the chair midway to snap a picture of the shops or booths in the shopping mall. 

But someone had taken over the chair this afternoon.

And so there're these. 

It is a rare time that I get a chance to really look at the booths, and can I say it was a very pleasant surprise? 

I had thought, that what with Velocity being literally next door to the public hospital, the booths would have stuff like health supplements, holistic healthcare treatments, health related services, hand-held self care equipment- the kind so favored by the elderly, or even orthopedic shoes, insurance sales and so on. 

But one thing i had forgotten.

Outpatients making their way out of the hospital clinics to the shopping mall for lunch or to the MRT downstairs don't want more health related stuff shoved in their face the moment they step through the doors. 

On the other hand, what they need is something to make this d*** hospital trip worthwhile. 

What they need is something to cheer themselves up with, that (after forking out precious money for medication- after subsidy) they can buy and look forward to have, either right away, or when they get back home.

So, no tins of oats or probiotics or goat milk or fish oil or any kind of supplements there were on the makeshift shelves of these booths.  

Instead there were chilled fruit juice drinks, and there were these small little bites ranging from muffins to Nyonya kuehs to round pandan chiffon cakes all neatly arranged on display. 

The muffins weren't from a random non-descript brand. 

They were from well known muffin stall SL Muffins, which, although have been popping up here and there in shopping malls, has their main stall at Hong Lim Complex Hawker Center, and which, during lunch time in particular, sees long queues from office workers who buy them back to the office for afternoon tea, or boxes, for meeting boosts. 

I'm not sure what flavors they have, but those here included (I think) chocolate, chocolate chip, banana, blueberry, and a host of other flavors that are just as appetizing and good.

I was intrigued by the cakes and the kueh on display. 

So many varieties, all so colorful! 

What they were, exactly, I'm afraid it has been a long time now and I don't quite remember, but definitely amongst the chiffon cakes there was pandan, and if I'm not wrong, possibly coffee, and orange too. 

So round and soft and appetizing they seemed that I might just have bought one. 

I like the skin of the cake.

The kuehs were just as lovely too.

You'd think they'd have just the nine-layer rice cake in the red theme, but no, they had blues and greens too. They might be same flavor as the red ones, but it might also be that the blues were of butterfly pea and the greens from pandan. 

Very colorful when placed on the dining table, if you ask me! 

What's lovely about the chiffon cakes and kuehs is just how senior-friendly they were. There's hardly an elderly who will say no to chiffon cake right after visiting the doctor. There's also hardly an elderly who will refuse traditional glutinous rice kuehs when making a doctor's visit at the hospital. 

It's a youngish feeling.

One that makes them feel like their years and time are worth living too. 

The surprise for me, however, was the presence of savory snacks, and dim sum.

Deep fried.

Now I wouldn't be surprised if there had been hot steamed paus for sale- always for a good snack they make- but here there were what looked like fried char siew puffs (char siew sous), chewy sesame balls with sweet sesame filling inside, some sort of little pies, then, I think, deep fried prawn puffs, and finally, those traditional savory baked piahs that have either salted mung bean, sweet mung bean, red bean or other fillings inside. 

Pretty on the dining table they would be too, I say, and perfect for just about anyone- caregiver included- to buy, munch, or keep, and bring back home. 

Green Curry @ The Library

I've come here before.

I've also written about this before.

But life is such that moments be treasured as much as first-time experience, so here I am, writing about a meal at BKK Bistro that I had, not too long ago.

It was one of those days where we were in between places.

Like ought we go to Bugis or ought we go to Suntec, and so because we're one of those types who like convenience as much as we like our food, to the middle of everything and everywhere we decided to go.

There aren't many Thai places in the area, save for maybe one or two across North Bridge Road, so, yes, it was, and is, always a delight to be able to come here. 

The relatively new space of BKK Bistro sits on the ground floor of the National Library Building at Bras Basah-Stamford Road. 

It is an open air sort of space where you don't get air-conditioning, but no worries, you get strategically placed blowers, and lots of pillar-mounted fans that blow natural breezy air right into your face as you dine there.

To me this place stands out for its family-friendly approach to Mookata. 

But I'm usually not one who has Mookatas on weekday afternoons (unless there's a good deal, and I wish to) and so today lunch we ordered two bowls of Boat Noodles for me, and for my friend, a plate of Green Curry Beef. 

First up, don't laugh at the Boat Noodles. 

They might seem small, and simple, but the soup's full of flavor, and they make for a great appetizer to open your palate if you're still trying to decide what you want to eat. 

I was quite content with just the noodles this afternoon so I got two different soups- one a red tom yum, the other a herb soup. The wonderful part about these boat noodles is that they're affordable, small in portion, and yet just enough to make very, very small, very, very light meal. It's interesting how one's appetite is at times. On some days I might feel ready to have a full meal, other days however, like this one, I can do with just two bowls. 

Which do I like better, I cannot say, both definitely have their charm, where the red tom yum gives that distinctive spice kick whilst the herb has that earthy earthy type of feel. 

What makes these noodles special are the toppings. 

This afternoon I went for the beef ball. 

At other times I might have the pork slice or the pork liver or the prawn. 

Perhaps too I might go for the full plate meal same way my friend did this afternoon, and can I say his plate was one of the most aesthetically beautiful plates of Green Curry Beef I'd seen in a long while? 

The sunny side up egg was perfect (just look at the yolk!), the curry was a smooth intense shade of green and best of all, it was so pretty, served with a sprig of basil sticking out of the curry just like how in the fields rice sprouts out from the soil, rising above the water.

Needless to say the beef slices were big, and tender. 

But I may not go for the same dish. 

They've got lots of snacks, all of which look so appetizing, like the Grilled Pork Collar with Homemade Sauce, the Thai Crispy Chicken Skin with Salted Egg, and Moo Ping.

Then again I might want to try the Crispy Pork Belly rice. 

Maybe I'll try the Tom Yum Fried Rice too. 

Chocolates of New Zealand

A relative of mine dropped off a plastic bag containing this, plus four booklets, at the gate of Mr. Radioman's house one particular afternoon.

I hadn't known. 

I mean, I had seen the bag, but because the one inside the house wasn't interested in the contents, plus it wouldn't do me good to take it inside, so there the bag hung for over a week before winds blew it down to the ground and to the side. 

Strange as it sounds, that was a blessing. 

I wouldn't have been able to see the 'something.com.au' printed on the outside of the bag otherwise. 

Somehow I managed to sneak the bag off the first instance I was able to, and opened it up at the void deck table after I got downstairs.

It was a pleasant surprise.

Better yet, it was a complete delight1

I was so, so happy, I tell you. 

See, there's nothing better than to receive a box of very sweet milk chocolates- with all kinds of varieties- to boost one's spirits after an afternoon of (unnecessary) household chores and (unnecessary) conversation that you don't want to do and don't want to have. 

So through the candy chocolate bars I ruffled, trying to decide between the Twirl (which I hadn't eaten for a long time), the Boost (which I probably had had once but forgotten the taste), the Turkish (which I hadn't had before), the Caramilk, the regular milk chocolate, the Picnic and the Crumble. 

Not an easy decision to make.

I wanted the Twirl, but I also wanted the Caramilk, the Crumble and the regular milk chocolate. 

In the end I placed everything back into the bag save for one- the milk chocolate- and finished it. 

Was it melted? 

Yes. 

Was it good?

Absolutely. 

In fact I thought it a miracle that it hadn't gone bad. 

Guess hot sun, heat, even humidity all of it ain't defeating Cadbury! 

Cai Fans of Dunman Road

I found a couple of these pictures in my collection not too long ago. 

They brought me a bit of a smile. 

Because so seldom is it that I take pictures of my chap cai png that I get quite excited when I actually do. 

These two plates had been had for lunch at the Tin Yeang Coffee Shop standing on the junction of Joo Chiat Road and Dunman Road. 

It is a well known stall, over the years oft frequented by many people both residents of the area and visitors alike, and even though I haven't had their food for over two years now, I still remember some of the dishes, and I remember how the dishes were placed. 

To be honest, this isn't just (another) chap cai png stall.

It is, in fact, a Teochew porridge stall, and if you want, can order a whole piece of steamed fish Teochew style to be your meal. 

But I like my dishes, and so this afternoon I got my favorites of sweet sour pork, egg tofu with a bit of black fungus, and what I think is either spinach, or kangkong. 

Sweet sour pork is a long-time favorite of mine. 

When I started liking it, I don't know, but I was probably very young when I first tried it, and it has become my go-to dish whenever I have cai png. Quality varies though, sometimes you get tendons that are impossible to chew, sometimes you get pieces of fat that make you be thankful for the sauce they come with, and sometimes you get pieces of meat that are proper meat yet soft to the bite at the same time. 

That, I think, is getting more and more rare though. 

A safe bet, fortunately, is the tofu.

Which, by the way, although supposedly meant to be seen as a vegetable, has price wise been charged as 'plant protein' these days and whilst you're still eating a vegetable, you're paying the price for meat. 

But I like my egg tofu, and I hope not to compromise. 

I don't know why I took the kangkong instead of the stewed (braised? stir-fried) lettuce though.

I really ought to have. 

Theirs here comes with black fungus, tang hoon, and really soft lettuce leaves that have been cooked so long they literally mush away when you bite into them. 

It's not just the lettuce that I left out.

I left out the curry gravy too. 

But different times call for different appetites and this was what I got this particular afternoon, delicious, tasty dishes, and rice kosong. 

My friend, on the other hand, went all out on the taste. 

His plate had a single serving of hot dogs and potatoes fried in tomato sauce, a serving of steamed egg, and a serving of salted egg fried chicken. 

Suffice it to say I took a bit off his plate. 

They're all favorites of mine too. 

What's funny is that I don't usually go for the hot dogs and potatoes because whilst I like the potatoes, the hot dogs sometimes get a little too salty for me, but the ones here weren't as hard or salty as some other stalls serve, so this one was good too. 

I don't think I took any steamed egg, but pretty sure I took a piece of salted egg chicken, and at least, a single spoonful of curry-laden rice. 

It will be a long while before I get back to this coffee shop again for chap cai png, I think, especially since I am not the type who likes to revisit places unless there's something I want to look at, and something I want to see. 

So these two pictures shall be it, and perhaps, who knows, I might get other pictures of other chap cai pngs soon.