Bus Ride Sights: Toa Payoh-Suntec

When it was that we took the bus down from Toa Payoh to Suntec City, it has been a while, I'm afraid, and I can't seem to remember. 

If I'm not wrong, it was early December when we decided- quite on an impulse- to make our way downtown instead of heading to Toa Payoh Central, or upwards to Bishan. 

Bus 57 takes a route that begins from Bishan and right after turning into Toa Payoh Lorong 6 (after the Toa Payoh Lorong 7 park at the junction) it goes straight past the still-building community club, the Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah, Pei Chun Public School, and the bus stop near Blk 17 of Kim Keat Palm. 

We boarded the bus here, but Chonkycam didn't come out until the bus was on the SAFRA side of Lorong 6 Toa Payoh going to turn onto the roundabout. 

On surface it may seem like there's nothing much to be seen- or that people who live in the 'hood have seen it many a time- but there are the 5-Room HDB Point Block flats that hold the singular reputation serving as accommodation for athletes during the Asian Games back in the 70s. Today that part doesn't get mentioned often, but I always think of these blocks as being the landmark to Swatow Seafood Restaurant, Sheng Siong and the NTUC next door. 

Further on of Lorong 6 one comes to the towering buildings of HDB Hub, and then right after that, the bus interchange of Toa Payoh housing estate. 

Here the bus went onto the turn out onto the PIE heading towards Tuas. 

On one side, if I'm not wrong, is a condominium, following which there are more public housing flats- don't ask me which blocks they are, I don't know- but the bus now turns onto Thomson Road. 

It is somewhere around here where one passes what I think is a telecommunications building belonging to the Authority (I can't recall which department this would belong to- MDDI?) and then right after that, the Thomson Medical Center. 

From here the bus makes its way down, passing by a stretch of continuous construction, a couple of houses and apartments, and then, a landmark which has been there for a while and has always seemed to catch my eye. 

I don't know much about the Seventh-Day Adventists, nor do I know much of where their churches are- save for one on Dunman Road and another in Jurong- but here is one of their churches, and the San Yu Adventist School, which, if I'm not wrong, is known to their community and which has been there for a fairly long time. 

The bus comes up to the IRAS Building, with the Goldhill Plaza in the distance, and then continues making its way down past the United Square Shopping Mall. 

From Thomson Road the bus now turns into what I think is Keng Lee Road, 

Over here I'm not sure what the bus passes by- there don't seem to be any landmarks I know of save for a condo or two- but there is the junction of Cavenagh Road, which, by the way, is probably one of the most interesting roads this side of town. 

On Keng Lee Road the bus goes further down, now passing by the KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and then finally it was back on Bukit Timah Road, with the One World International School to my right, and MacKenzie Road behind. 

Chonkycam went back to her bag somewhere around here. 

We were getting down a couple bus stops more, right after Rochor, and Bugis, at the bus stop outside Shaw Center on Beach Road.

(Light) Dinner @ Sushi Express

You know how there are some times in life where you want an early dinner whilst the sun's still high but you don't have much of an appetite?

Yep, today was one of those days.

We had just come from a meeting, my colleague and I, and we thought we would have dinner together before going our separate ways afterward.

It wasn't easy trying to decide what to have. 

There's a lot to be had at Bugis. 

Whether it were Thai, Malaysian, or grilled fish Sichuan-style, whether it be fast food or Western or Japanese, there's a lot one can choose. 

But today I wanted something light, so whilst the mood called for something spicy like Thai, something fun to eat, like Subway or McDonalds, or even something like a big bowl of curry noodles, the tummy didn't, so up to Sushi Express at Bugis Junction it was. 

It's funny that I didn't realize just how much I missed having casual conveyor belt sushi until I stepped into the place. 

Might have been the sense of familiarity.

Might have been the part where I always have had a thing for conveyor belt sushi and the ding ding ding sound it makes. 

But it was nice settling down on the neat, compact plastic chairs and reach out for both the teas, and the wasabi. 

You might think it normal, non-descript, no big deal, but let's just say that it does speak to someone who, for one reason or another, hasn't been back to Sushi Express in a while. 

Our meal this evening was predominantly salmon.

Which I got absolutely delighted with. 

First up was the sashimi, wonderful, given how today seemed to be a day for something cold and refreshing.

I dipped mine in wasabi and soy sauce, no need limes. 

Then after that, off the conveyor, I took a plate of Aburi Salmon with Mentaiko. Offhand now I can't remember if it were one plate. There might have been two. 

But there was, definitely, the salmon belly. 

That, my pictures tell me.

The fried salmon belly, complete with fin, has been a favorite of mine since we began eating at conveyor belt sushi places like this. It's not the cheapest item on the menu, mind, but it gives you an oomph which sits unique on its own.

I don't know if it be the tender flesh of the salmon, the crisp of the skin, or the oil that drips down from the fish every time I take a bite, but there's something very satisfying about eating this hot from the plate. 

It's amazing how the fish melts in your mouth at first bite, and you don't have to worry about whether there'll be bones big or small otherwise. 

That's one of the reasons why I like having this. 

Bones terrify me, and I have no skill in picking them out from the flesh of the fish with my chopsticks. 

One is recommended to have this fish with the limes they provide, though. 

Some people find the salmon fishy. Some find it not. 

Taste is very subjective. 

I don't normally have mine with the limes- I like the taste of the soft, tender salmon belly all on its own- but maybe I'll try a piece with the limes one day. Maybe it will enhance the taste even better. 

These be all the pictures of the meal I had this late afternoon at Sushi Express. 

There aren't more. 

Perhaps the next time I go I'll have more variety of sushi, like the Sweet Corn Gunkan, or the Hana Maki, which are in fact some of my favorites. 

But that will have to wait- when I next go to a conveyor belt sushi place again. 

Kembangan-Chai Chee

I think it's time I began writing about this walk that I took several months ago. 

What season it was, I don't really remember, but we were on our way out of the Kembangan area at that time and I knew I didn't want to miss out on any opportunity to drop in on any part of the area that had caught my eye but hadn't had chance to visit.

So this afternoon I got myself out of the house.

My intention was to just go where my feet took me- hardly any destination had I- so I simply turned left, walking down Jalan Daud towards Lorong Marican and Lorong Marzuki. 

But instead of the route- and the road- that I would normally take pictures of, I got Chonkycam on the greenery, the plants, and the flowers instead.

First up were the willow shrubs hanging over the low yellow wall of the house next door. They had caught my eye for a long while- impossible to miss them- but it didn't feel right to take picture of people's tree when their car was in the porch. 

After that came some random but beautifully shaped leaves planted close to the gate of the same house. I don't know what they are, but I liked their rough-tumble shape. They gave the place some sort of a homely feel.

Up next my eye caught sight of the rich fuchsia hues from the bougainvillea shrub planted in the garden a few doors down. I don't know if this were in season- I didn't always notice the bougainvillea- but this afternoon they were exceptionally bright, colorful and cheerful to the eye.

Somewhere further down I also came across this plant of which I don't know its name but whose leaves have a wax-like surface pleasant (I imagine) to the touch. 

And finally, on the road that was, I think, on Lorong Marzuki, there was this plant that seemed to be a cluster of small narrow trunks which had me thinkin of bonsai, only much larger, and, of course, way less pruned. 

Now you might find this unusual, like why did I bother taking pictures of my neighbors' plants, but if there is one thing you must know, it is that there is quite a fair bit of abundant greenery in and around this zone. 

It is one thing if it be one house or two brimming with lustrous plant energy in browns and greens and all manners of floral color. 

It is another thing, however, if nearly every house has the same lustrous plant energy whether the plants have been skillfully gardened, maintained, pruned, looked after, or otherwise. 

That's how it was in this suburb, this estate, this zone. 

It didn't matter if it were a fruit tree or a shrub or a flowering bush. 

Everything just bloomed beautifully. 

There would have been more pictures of beautiful flowers had I continued onto Jalan Daud or turned into Lorong Marican, but I made a left onto Lorong Marzuki, left again afterward onto Jalan Ishak, and then onto Lorong Melayu.

The intention was to take pictures of them big, tall, leafy trees. 

There were a good few nestled at strategic positions this HDB estate of Lengkong Tiga.

Some were in the carpark.

Some however lined this stretch of Lorong Melayu, and for a few years now these trees had provided me a comfortable semblance of shade, especially on late mornings and early afternoons when making my way back from the supermarket. 

I wanted to remember them.

It might not seem very interesting, these trees, but almost ten stories high they all are. Some have wider canopies, some have narrower. There're trees that look like they're less than a meter away from someone's window. There're trees that look like they have been carefully pruned (by Town Council) at definite periods of time. 

I had been fascinated by them.

Had they been here when the estate was built? 

Or were they planted after the estate was built?

There're no answers.

But there're memories. 

What's funny is that I had thought I would simply just take pictures of these trees along Lorong Melayu and inside the carpark and then afterwards head on home, but then I walked to the other side where the road of Lengkong Tiga is, and decided that- since I had a bit of time- to walk down the canal a bit more.

The entire time I walked along the canal I wondered if I would one day miss it. 

Maybe I would.

Maybe I wouldn't. 

I wouldn't know.

But it did strike me that this present-day unblocked view of the Astoria Park condo at the MRT station opposite the field would be one not there forever. 

New flats were coming up along the way.

Today my feet took me along this side of Jalan Kembangan on the opposite side where the canal was. 

I'd walked along here before- once- and I knew roughly where it led- but I had not walked the entire length the other time. 

Today I was determined to see where this path ended. 

So back on this familiar pavement my feet trod, first passing by the road of Jalan Senyum, after that, Jalan Senyang on the right side. It crossed into Jalan Selamat right after, then entered into the Jalan Senang Linear Park. 

I think I crossed into Jalan Senang after that, then onto this route that forms the back boundary of what is the LTA Academy. 

Frankly I wasn't really sure what it was I was looking at all along this side of the route. Most of it seemed to be bungalows and residences of all sizes. 

But the sight of these homes by the canal- some big, some small, some very big- were pleasant to the eye, and all of them had the same sort of restful vibe that this section of Kembangan tends to have. 

Onward this route I now continued to walk.

To my right was the LTA Academy, to the left, there were the factories on the roads of Jalan Paras, and Jalan Senang, then, I came upon this flight of (vintage) little stairs in between a fence, some shrubs, and another fence. 

Looking at these pictures now, I really do come to realize just how kampong this place of Kembangan really is. It's a little hard to imagine how it would have been like years and years ago, but perhaps, around the time when Bedok was being developed this place- the industrial side, especially- was already as it was, not much different from what it is today. 

This flight of steps didn't look very new either. 

It is a wonderful thing in life when we end up in places where we didn't think we would, and so imagine my surprise when I found myself standing at one junction of Chai Chee Drive. 

I ought to have taken a picture of the road.

Or the blocks. 

But somehow I didn't. 

All I got was a shot of the LTA Academy (it looks like a refurbished school) and the path from void deck of Block 55 leading up the slope to the road and to the building beyond. 

My walk this afternoon didn't end here. 

From this block here, I cut through the carpark, and the estate, to one of the HDB blocks in this zone called Ping An Yuen that I had seen over a year ago, and now thought I should visit.

But I'll have to write about that another time. 

There's quite a bit.