WingStop's Buffalo Wings

One of the best blessings in life is to be able to have Fried Chicken as a celebration on the last day of the 2025 year. 

So some of us might find it commonplace, like what's the big deal when there're plenty of fast food joints that specialize in fried chicken, and you can get a deep fried spring chicken in nearly every hawker center and coffee shop and every Old Chang Kee all around the island. 

But fried chicken is one of those foods that you don't think you want to have until you really crave for it, or until you actually sit down at the table with the chicken steaming right in front of you and you realize you wanted it all along.

I hadn't thought I missed eating Fried Chicken. 

I mean, it wasn't a craving stuck consistently in the head. 

Even if I might have made a comment here and there.

But, yes, a blessing, overall. 

We had made a deliberate trip down here to Funan for the sake of these buffalo wings. Why it is that we came specifically down to this outlet, I don't know, especially since there are outlets at Bedok Mall, City Square Mall, even Singpost, the Cathay and Clementi Mall, but hey, last day of the year and all. 

Now, for us who don't know Wingstop, well, it is- in short, an American fast food chain that specializes in one thing, and one thing only- Buffalo Wings. How they manage to stretch what is- really- a wing of a chicken- is amazing, but they manage to do it, and now, after having their food off their menu, I finally understand why. 

The highlight of their menu has to be their flavors. 

That doesn't mean that they don't have food to offer. 

They do- in the manner of Classic Wings, Boneless Wings, Tenders, and Sides. There is not much to be said about the wings and the tenders. As in, I don't quite know how to describe it, but they do have sides that are worth a look and a try. 

Perhaps one day I might try their in-house Coleslaw or their Louisiana Voodoo Fries with cheese sauce, ranch and cajun seasoning or even their Mushroom Fritters (which today I had wanted to try but somehow didn't get to).

But this afternoon we were very much impressed by their Seasoned Fries. 

 

At first glance they seemed ordinary, no different from any other fries you got at other fast food joints. The difference however was that here they were served hot, crisp and so balanced with their seasoning that not a single fry was left tasteless or overly salty. 

But it were the wings that made this meal memorable. 

We'd taken the boneless. 

With flavors of Hot Honey Rub and Garlic Parmesan. 

I was a little surprised.

I had expected my friend to order our wings in the flavors of Texas Buffalo, Louisiana Rub or Hickory Smoked BBQ. These are, after all, flavors that he fancies, where the Texas Buffalo has cayenne pepper and vinegar, the Louisiana Rub has Cajun, and the BBQ is, well, BBQ. 

I too had thought he would have the Lemon Pepper, which, zesty and peppery at the same time, is interesting a combination seldom seen in chicken seasonings. 

But I wasn't complaining. 

I mean, he could have chosen the spicier flavors of Inferno or Kicap Manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce with chili flakes). He could also have gone Teriyaki

The Hot Honey Rub was pleasantly more sweet than spicy (it reminded me of Korea's gochujang) and the Garlic Parmesan was garlicky buttery- a favorite combination of mine.

So thankful am I for this meal that gave me uber strong Korean restaurant fried chicken vibes. 

Let's just say it was a very pleasant, and fun, surprise. 

Perhaps the next time I come to WingStop I'll make it a combo with 6 pieces, 1 side, and 1 drink. 

Just for me. 

After all, as fried chicken tastes great with beer, it goes just as great with Coke (or Sprite) too. 

Last Selfies of 2025

You know, there are still a good number of posts that I have to write for the year of 2025- I am not yet done with them- but I recently just transferred the last of the 2025 selfies over from the phone to here, so, hey, might as well. 

It is with a bit of a strange feeling that I look at the following pictures. 

Not so much of being what they are, but of the stories that make them. 

I usually tend to go light with my makeup. 

Doesn't matter if I have a meeting, I don't go bare faced once I head towards downtown. 

So that's how it was for the first few selfies, that's how it was for the selfies with me in the big Platinum-Pratunam T-shirt, and that's how it was for me in the last red sweatshirt piece that I had bought from Bugis Street almost 7 years ago and had finally dug it up now. 

The first two selfies I had taken from this dining place somewhere at Capitol Theater. I can't remember what it was we had gone there for. Maybe we had been hanging around the area to file something at the High Court. Maybe we had been around the area because my friend had something to do or someone to meet and I was there killing time. 

In any case, it was a Mainland-style place that we found ourselves at for our dinner, and whilst I won't be posting the pictures of the food here, I know we had a dish of smooth, silky dumplings, a deep fried battered pork fillet, and a bowl of soup that was simple in name (mushroom) but incredibly clear in texture, rich in flavor, and refreshing on the palate. 

There is me here in the large T-shirt that I bought from Platinum Mall in Pratunam and which I wear whenever I need to be comfortable. 

Like today where I was on the bus heading down to Aperia Mall, and which, if I'm not wrong, was Bus 31, although, really, I should have taken Bus 12 on the East Coast side rather than this one here the Marine Parade side. 

Nevertheless, the light was good, and so, from the back row of the bus, these shots I got. 

What's funny, though, is that I can't remember where the last picture was taken. 

I know I took it on 31st December, I know I was clad in the red sweatshirt that I had found in the cupboard (whilst doing the move) and track pants, but I don't remember where I'd gone or where I'd snapped this shot. 

What's more, the floor, and the furniture behind don't seem to leave much of a clue! 

Oh well, doesn't matter. 

However it was- despite the months of what it had been leading up to the 31st- I still looked enough. 

And that was good for me. 

Of course, the most memorable selfies here have to be of me clad in the blue-grey linen top that I'd purposely worn for the early-morning BNI meeting at Chui Huay Lim Club on River Valley Road. 

So rare is it for me to be able to pay a visit to a place of heritage and culture like this that I just had to grab a selfie.

But adrenaline was running high that morning, my hair for some reason didn't look too smooth, and the lighting where I sat needed a bit of creative angling on my part before I could look presentably well. 

Marina Square-Bugis

I took these pictures quite some time ago. 

Late last year, I think. 

I don't know what it was that I had been doing prior. I also don't know what it was that I was intending to do after.

Very likely I had just finished a late lunch at Suntec City with my friend who had then headed off somewhere else.

Maybe I was on my way home but didn't want to make a straight route  from the Suntec City Bridge to the bus stop at the Bugis . 

Whatever it was, there I moved, from one end of Suntec City to Marina Square, and eventually, to Bugis. 

On hindsight it feels a little strange that the camera didn't come out when I was at the Suntec City side until after I'd crossed Millennia Walk, gone up the escalator and then onto the wide terrace that separates this shopping mall, and Marina Square. 

Perhaps what had charmed me was the light. 

It had been one of those moments when I happened to turn my head, and there it was, the glow of an evening sun upon the walls of the Pan Pacific Hotel. 

It were the shadows that fascinated me, for whilst there was this golden glow upon the wall, the front of it, Raffles Boulevard and Marina Square, were in a shroud of shadow.  

I didn't always get this view. 

So out came Chonkycam. 

First there was the golden glow of light shining bright not only on the name of the hotel, but also the floors of rooms above. Then there was the shroud of shadow this side of Marina Square and Mandarin Oriental, which, maybe on other days, wasn't so obvious you could see.

I must have then gone into Marina Square itself, because afterwards pictures of the other side show themselves.

If the first few pictures were from the space between Millennia Walk and Marina Square, these then, were the pictures from the bridge between Marina Square and Suntec City Convention Center.

You saw the road of Temasek Boulevard and the exterior of Suntec City Convention Center itself. 

You saw the horticulture and the trees and the planted foliage that added a rich touch of green to the place. 

And on the opposite side of the bridge facing Raffles Boulevard, you saw a little of the bluish-glass MBFC towers in the background, a corner of the Parkroyal Collection Hotel, and in the near distance, that golden glow of the sun again, now upon the dark green wall of Mandarin Oriental herself. 

From here now I went into Suntec City itself, then came out on the other side facing Nicoll Highway. 

Here I took another bunch of pictures.

The light was too good. 

It isn't every day that I get to see the reflection of light upon skyscrapers like the Gateway Building, or the same golden glow get magnified as it shines its beauty upon the still-building Shaw Towers. 

Neither is it every day that the same light illuminates the towers of Raffles Place in the distance, the glassy surface of the South Beach Tower, and even this Nicoll Highway side of the Suntec City Convention Center. 

For some reason there was such deep saturation of color, such depth of structure, whether it was the glass, the tile, the tar of the road, or even the metal roof of the temporary bus stop, even when coupled with the snaking line of cars all waiting for the light to turn green.

It felt like the epitome of a weekend cityscape, the distinctive yet present-day charm of Downtown Singapore, filled with history, new developments, and energy. 

It felt so alive. 

And then, interestingly, almost immediately it all fell silent. 

Like an escape not anticipated.

It wasn't because the place was far off or anything like that. 

No, it was just the opposite side of the bridge. 

But somehow, here, on the South Beach side in what was a former military camp, there was a different sort of space, a different sort of nostalgia, a different feeling, akin to timelessness, as if something had once been there but even in the intervening years, had never left. 

After all the architecture of here, it suddenly felt like a different world when it came to Purvis Street after.

I don't mean that the street wasn't beautiful. 

Neither do I mean that it held no meaning or no story of its own.

On the contrary, it did. 

Very much, in fact, with unit after unit of dining establishments both Chinese, Asian, European and casual. 

Indeed, if there's anything to know about Purvis Street (and Chin Chin Eating House), this too is incredibly beautiful, in its own way, its own heritage, its own time, its own tale. 

NOZOMI @ New Year's 2025

You know, it is a joy, I have to say, (despite myself) seeing all these pictures now. 

Sometimes it is very hard seeing pictures of food that I like, that I want to eat, and wish I could have. 

But that's life. 

We might not always get to have what we miss having, and wish to have, but we do have memories, and memories are- at the moment- what we hold. 

It doesn't mean that I won't go back to Nozomi at Millennia Walk for a meal. 

It just means that Christmas 2025 has passed three and a half months upon writing this post, those days are gone, and we won't be able to get that time back anymore.

I am thankful for the meal we had had here at Nozomi in December close to the Christmas season late last year.

This place has to be one of the best dining discoveries made in 2025. 

It isn't just the location, the ambience, or the convenience of the place. 

It is- predominantly- the food, and the aesthetics of it. 

So good is the food here that one becomes very careful when placing the orders. It is the kind of situation where you don't want to over order and end up with too much food that you can't finish or become too full to appreciate. 

This evening we began the meal with a Chawanmushi.

Not just any chawanmushi but an Ikura one that saw the egg custard steamed with dashi and salmon roe. 

I'm not sure whether I had the Hokkaido Uni Chawanmushi or not.

I might have. 

I might not have.

But I definitely remember the firmness of the egg, and the umami taste of the salmon roe as it burst inside my mouth. 

A good portion of our meal here today was salmon. 

Salmon is one of our favorites when it comes to cuisine prepared in the style of Nozomi, and so this evening we made sure we had double servings of the dishes we liked.

One of the dishes we always go for is the Salmon Tartare Renkon Senbei. 

The name is rather long, yes, but in short, what it really is Diced Salmon with Yuzu Dressing and a heap of Stir-fried Lotus Root Rings. 

What I like is the flower on top of the salmon.

It looks so delicate, so sweet, so elegant. 

And I think it is edible (though I've never tried).

What makes this dish so charming is that the salmon is very firm, very smooth, and is cubed so well that it is picked up very easily with chopsticks, no fear of it dropping. 

The lotus root rings are delicious too.

On surface they don't seem like a big deal- Japanese supermarkets do sell them by the packet- but made in-house, they're crispy, fresh, full of flavor, and are a very interesting snack to have over the duration of the entire meal. 

Of course this isn't the only salmons we get to have.

There is the Salmon Platter where you get Salmon, Salmon Belly and Chopped Salmon with sushi rice, and seaweed. 

And we liked the Salmon Tartare so much we ordered a second bowl together with the Lotus Root Rings.

It's impossible to come here to Nozomi and not have as much salmon as one wants, so, yes, we got another plate of salmon sashimi (which, interestingly I cant find in the menu)

Their menu here offers a fair bit of other dishes- all of which are appetizing and attractive. 

I mean, I would have loved the Hokkaido Pork Katsu Tama Don (Pork Katsu and Egg served over rice). or the Tempura Don, or the Tempura Moriawase. In the same way I wouldn't have minded the Butayaki Don- Grilled Pork Belly with Onsen Egg over rice, or the Buta Kakuni- Braised Slow-cooked Pork Belly.

But one of the best foods to be had here is fish.

Like their tuna.

So we got that. 

In a Negitoro style, where the Fatty Tuna was diced and made into a sushi roll with spring onions. 

Afterwards we also got the Daily Sushi Platter, although I can't remember whether we ordered one, or two. 

It feels like a fanciful one, this plate, when it comes served to your table. It is one thing to have six pieces of sushi. It is another thing where the six pieces include Salmon, Salmon Mentai Aburi, Tai (which is sea bream), Hamachi (Yellowtail) and Anago (Sea Eel). 

Honestly I don't know which is which, but I guess there was Anago and Tai, and in place of one of the sushis, there was Tamago (Egg). Definitely they had the Salmon Mentai Aburi, which we cut into two and ate happily. 

By this time we were getting rather full, so we looked into the dessert. 

But then we didn't want to end the mains without having some nice fried stuff, so we got one plate of Tori Kaarage, and one plate of Shrimp Gyozas.

After that came the desserts.

As they say, dessert is another meal. 

So, between the both of us, we got one Matcha Ice Cream each, one Salted Ice Cream to share, one Yuzu Tofu Cheesecake, one Matcha Tofu Cheesecake and because I was feeling like I needed more sweets, another Yuzu Tofu Cheesecake for me. 

All the desserts are great, mind, but for some reason, I liked the Salted Ice Cream more than the matcha. 

Maybe it's unusual, rare, to have the taste of creamy slightly sweet vanilla blend with the sharp tartness of salt. 

I ought to save more room for their desserts the next time I come, especially their tofu cheesecakes, which before coming here, I had heard about but had never had the chance to try. 

And I'll want two Salted Ice Creams of my own too.

Happy Lamb in December

It is time to write about this Happy Lamb that we had in December.

Been putting it off for far too long.

I have hesitated, not because I didn't like the meal or didn't want to write about it, but because I have missed it. 

If you've never been to this place before, let me now tell you.

Happy Lamb has one of the best hotpots here on the island that I have had thus far. 

I say this with no hesitation.

There's something about their offerings that leave such deep impression on you that you will still think about the meal long after your chopsticks are down and the bowls are washed.  

What exactly that factor is, I don't know. 

I guess I have always been struck by the way they present their food. They're not flippant when it comes to presentation, garnishing, and delivery, I tell you. Never has it been a time where their meats come out sloppy, untidy. flat and poorly arranged. No, it has always always neat, always beautifully rolled and always frozen chilled.

They way they bring out their meats- even for the buffet- is something I appreciate.

Very much.

Beyond the freshness of the meats, however, the thing about Happy Lamb is also the presence of their vegetables, their hotpot ingredients, and even their cooked food. 

Actually their cooked food is something to be talked about. 

To some people it might seem normal, regular, just plain finger food, nothing much of a big deal, but for some reason- maybe it's calibrated- it adds very good contrast to the boiled meat and vegetables of your meal. 

There's never been a time where I don't appreciate the presence of them noodles, fried rice, spring rolls, fries, sweet potato fries, mantous, and onion rings. 

No doubt, I don't take a lot- one cannot compromise stomach space with too much deep fried food- but I'm always up for onion rings, mantous, sweet potato fries and spring rolls. 

People who don't fancy the fried can go for the braised. 

There's always a pot of braised meat sitting at the side. 

The most interesting part about the cooked food, however, has to be the condensed milk. 

They're supposed to be meant for the mantous, but I like them with everything, especially since a light dip can turn any of them fried foods into a little dessert. 

And who said onion rings and spring rolls can't go with thick condensed milk?

I might have been hungrier than I thought this afternoon. 

Normally I'd just take a plate- a single serving- but today I helped myself to the onion rings- two separate plates, probably eight or nine altogether, but I didn't fill up with them, of course.

Not when at the counter there was an abundance of the vegetables I liked.

What's funny is that I don't actually remember the name.

I mean, I know it's a lettuce, but that's it. 

I don't know anything else. 

I don't know if it is an Iceberg or a Romaine or what the name it is. 

All I know is that the leaves are a most gorgeous green, they soak up the soup perfectly well, and when fresh, look like a huge hydrangea blossom of bright cheerful green. 

This afternoon I took what probably must have been four whole plates of lettuce, besides which, I also got a few pieces of cheese tofu, two lobster balls and a few strips of bean curd skins which I don't know what compelled me to take but I tonged them up anyway. 

A bit savory, a bit sweet, it is the soup which gives them extra taste, making it for an even more appetizing meal.

These bean curd skins I take them not just with the meats, I take them with the vegetables too. 

To my surprise, they actually do go really well with the meats. 

Here at Happy Lamb we tend to favor two types.

The Beef, and the Lamb.

My friend prefers the lamb more than the beef. 

According to him, theirs are remarkably fresh, no gamey taste, nothing, and there're very few places that offer lamb in their hotpot menu. 

Me, well, I don't eat grilled lamb or stewed lamb very often- sometimes the meat gets too heavy for me- but these here, slices all cut thinly, all rolled up neatly, they're so good. 

There's no worry that they'll be tough, meaty in smell, nope, nothing like that. 

Instead, they have excellent marbling, the right amount of fat, and best of all, perfect when it comes to the chew.

So good are they that I don't need to have them with the sauce, even though I do take a bit of the sesame sauce mixed with sesame oil plus a load of parsley coriander dumped on top. 

Not taking the sauce however doesn't mean that we eat our meats kosong without dipping them into anything.

We just make our own- a combination of Greek-style yogurt, miso, and garlic powder that we whip into the bowl

The thick yogurt makes for a great accompaniment to the meat, and best of all, the probiotics kick in quick even whilst I'm eating. 

A meal here at Happy Lamb is pleasant- always very pleasant. 

Not only is there a humongous variety of ingredients that I can so choose to have if I want to do it fun style, not only do I get introduced to the Mainland-style ingredients that I don't find when I'm at other local hotpots, I still get to try out new foods prepared in all manner of ethnic (sometimes provincial) styles. 

Coming here is always an eye opener. 

Next time I go I'll make sure to help myself to more of those chewy sweet potato strips that I can throw into the soup.

I've fallen in love with them.

And to close the meal, I'll try to make space for more than one cup of ice cream.