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.