Selfies of Early 2026

This was one of those times where I strove to take as many selfies as possible.

Was it because I felt vain?

No.

Was it because I was vain?

Also no.

But it was one of those times where you take the selfie when you're feeling it, or when you've worn the armor to make yourself feel it. 

It's just as well that I'm seeing these pictures now, because, well, I haven't been feeling it for a while. I shan't go into details but let's just say it isn't every day that I feel like I've got everything anchored, moving in direction, confident, and knowing just well I'm going to go. 

Truth be told, I haven't felt it for a long time. 

But one must keep moving forward. 

Because there is no future, there is nothing, if one does not (at least) attempt to go forward. No one extends a hand to someone who is not attempting their best to go ahead and move forward. No one bothers with someone who has not (at least) made a baby attempt to keep moving on. 

Which is where these pictures come in. 

One does not know the future.

One does not know whether or not one will be able to move forward, stagnate, or (I hope not) be held back. 

But to the very least- even as depressing as it sounds- I know I did not miss a moment, nor did I deliberately let the moment pass me by.

These pictures had been taken on different occasions over the course of a single month. 

The first one, if I'm not wrong, had been taken whilst waiting at the seats outside Orchard Central's DDD for my friend who had crossed over to Centerpoint for a tub of Greek style yogurt. 

Second one, very likely, was at some restaurant, maybe in Capitol Theater where we were having a dinner of mala dumplings. 

The next two I know I took at Capitol Theater, at the Punggol Nasi Lemak place whilst waiting for a friend who had gone to one of the salons for a haircut. 

These two pictures I particularly remember- I had gotten tired of looking mature- and dug out the glittery eyeshadow palette NAREE that i had bought from Thailand maybe two years ago from Eve & Boy and still hadn't yet finished. Glittery peach eyeshadow matures me. Glittery white eyeshadow makes me look younger (I think).

And I had decided that day I wasn't going to be mature. 

i seemed to have overdone it though. 

Then, of course, there's the selfie of me on the bus. Can't remember what bus it was, can't remember where I was going, but the hair was fine, the light was good, and I took the picture.

There're a lot more selfies after this one. 

All from the weekend just before Chinese New Year. 

To be honest I had not expected I would take so many. 

But I was feeling (somewhat) pretty on Valentine's Day Saturday- with sea winds tossing my hair- whilst at an event in a rooftop bar 20 floors up an office building down at Shenton Way. 

And I felt prettier when on the eve of Chinese New Year we were at Suntec City for a K-BBQ meal and the natural light up at the Liho near Golden Village was so good. 

Best of all, the hair was great that day. 

As it was for the day after when we headed to Bugis for a lunch at the recently discovered Bugis outlet of Mainland Chinese place Oriental Food. 

Seeing these pictures now, it dawns on me that it is indeed true that accessories and layering can define a look. 

Whether it be a hoodie jacket that you put on (because it's raining), whether it be hoop earrings you decide to wear because it is Chinese New Year Eve and you don't want to be wearing the same flower stud earrings that you put on your ear day on day, or whether it be your eye makeup that for some reason you decide to bounce back to peach glitter instead of the white glitter that you know jolly well makes you look brighter.

Somehow, I wish I always looked this way. 

But that's life. 

You don't always look your best.

You don't always have the space and the opportunity to always look as pulled together as you should to. 

But we try.

We try very hard. 

Even if it be a layer of BB cream, a small square of bronze shaded shimmer makeup, a comb, and a stick of color-changing lip balm. 

Loving Cheetos!

A quick post here just to introduce my new favorite snack.

Cheetos.

Cheetos Crunchy. 

Honestly, never thought I would fall in love with this cheese-flavored snack as much as I do now, but it has now become such that it be the one snack I will now look out for when I am at the supermarket, and it be the one snack that I will want to buy, more so irresistibly when the price falls below the RRP of $5.35. 

Actually, come to think of it, new also not so new. 

At least three, four months already. 

First time I actually paid special attention to this snack was when I was at the shops in Kembangan looking for something to buy for myself. At that time I was trying to decide between the Lays Salted Egg or the Super Ring or the Ruffles. 

But then I spotted this at $4.70.

So pragmatic me bought it.

And guess what...? 

Fell in love at first bite.

Have not changed my mind since. 

Cheetos Crunchy is dangerously addictive. 

Why, exactly, I don't know. 

They might have the puffs, the Hot Cheetos, even the Jalapeno Cheetos, but to date I seem to favor only this one. 

It might be the cheese, the coloring, the additives, the cheese powder, the firmness of the corn crunch- just something that makes it exactly what it is- junk. 

But then so are potato chips, and to be honest, whilst I do appreciate a good flavor of potato chip now and then, I have since bought myself some Lays and some Ruffles and some other brands of potato chips, but I find myself drifting back to Cheetos Crunchy. 

The Salted Egg Chicken Downstairs

It is so very seldom, I tell you, that I'm not able to find the name of the cafe or diner that I have patronized.

Most of the time I manage to put the name to the place.

But with this place, I don't, and that, despite looking about on Google Maps and on Google itself.

Maybe I should try Grab, but really, there's no need to, not when I know where the place is, I know how to get there and I know roughly where to find it. 

We've been coming to this place a couple of times, and for almost all times the food has been good. 

Now, I'm not a good judge of Mainland Chinese food. 

As in, I don't quite know what's good and what's not. 

But this place- located somewhere between Marshall Road and Ceylon Road- sitting somewhere between the spaces of Cheeky Bee Hoon and Steak & Pho- has thus far served up dishes that are suited for my Singaporean palate at a quantity and quality happy to the purse. 

One of the first few dishes we had from this place was the Mapo Tofu. 

I don't have a picture. but it was one of those dishes that came served as really huge cube shaped pieces of tofu. When I say they were huge, I mean that they were of the size that you could cut with your spoon. Firm also were they in terms of texture, not the soft mushy kind that I've grown accustomed to. 

Did we like it?

Well, yes, and no. 

We liked the spice. 

But I think I'm more used to the mushy type that I can crush into my rice and eat it as a whole spoonful. 

Of course that's just one of the dishes that we have had thus far and it isn't the same as some of the others we've had. 

Like the Salted Egg Chicken which to date remains one of our most memorable dishes and one which we'll definitely order if we've got a craving for something sweet and salty there. 

The main thing that surprised us about this dish was the texture and the way it had been done. 

We had expected it to come served like how zichar places make theirs- huge chicken pieces slathered (drowned) with a thick gravy of salted egg covering the entire plate. 

But no, this plate was dry, no gravy, not one bit at all. 

What's funny is that we had begun eating immediately when the plate arrived at the table, and so it took us a while to realize that this were literally the non-spicy, for-kids version of the ubiquitous spicy La Zi Ji so common in Mainland Chinese cuisine.  

And right away we fell in love. 

So it might be that we haven't ordered it since the last time we had it here but it's not because we don't like the dish anymore. 

We just happened to have found new love for other dishes. 

Like their skewers, which we order about 8-10 every time we come, mostly alternating between lamb and beef but the other day my friend ordered for me a quail egg stick. 

I love quail eggs. 

I also love the way they grill their meat, with thick chonks of meat balanced with a single piece of fat (in the lamb)

Their skewers are ordinary enough for the taste that we prefer, but if there be something unique about this place, it is the vibe. 

This is not the kind of place where I will want to have three or four big dishes and sit for 3 hours. Instead this is the kind of place where I want to have 15 skewer sticks, one or two bottles of Wang Lao Ji drink, and if they have, some sort of dessert to close off the meal. 

Fingers crossed I'll get to have it soon. 

Tomorrow, maybe. 

Maybe I might even take beer. 

Oyster Mee Sua @ NEX

So, I am generally not the kind of person who has cravings for food of this or that. I eat as it is. Sometimes I go for a particular cuisine. Other times I just eat whatever comes to mind. 

But there are certain days, however, that I find myself needing warm, soupy stuff more than any others, especially after caregiving hours, and that's where the choice of meal becomes more ngiao than usual. 

It don't matter if it is a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

It don't matter if it is fried fish noodle soup etc. 

Just so long as it is warm and comforting and calming, that's enough for me.

We had not thought to come to Taiwanese eatery Eat Three Bowls at first. 

In fact it had not been on the plan at all, but then the queue at the Malaysian style eatery next door was too long, I was hungry, and tired, and didn't want to wait, so to Eat Three Bowls we came. 

I'll be candid.

It was an eyeopener. 

You can call me suaku, okay, but up till now I had not known just how popular this eatery was. 

For starters, I had thought this eatery was new. 

But no, they had actually been around for a while, beginning first with a stall at a hawker center opposite Vivocity, and now, with outlets at various parts of the island, including NEX, where this evening we were.

My meal today was the Oyster Shredded Chicken Mee Sua- with no intestines. I'm the kind of person who can take oysters and liver and spleen but I cannot take intestines. 

Never mind how they're cooked- stewed, boiled or fried. 

Doesn't matter. 

I just can't. 

I loved my bowl. 

I loved how the mee sua was soft and slippery and how every mouthful filled with noodle and rich, flavorful broth brought me a pleasant sense of warmth. 

I loved how the huge heap of shredded chicken soaked up the broth- it had hints of vinegar- and didn't taste nor feel dry at all. 

Better yet, there were the oysters, big, fat and juicy.

I shared them oysters with my friend who loves them in the orh luak style but can also eat them any style. 

He had the Braised Pork Rice, by the way, which he said had an appetizing gravy full of flavor with the finely chopped pork served up in a mix of fat and meat. 

Easy to scoop up the meat with the rice too.

But I will say this.

Had I not been needing something warm and soupy and hot and comforting, I might have gone for another dish else. 

There is (surprisingly) quite a lot to be had here at this place. 

Popular dishes here include the Braised Beef Noodles, the Pork Chop Egg Fried Rice and the Shredded Chicken Rice. 

So the last one might seem very very healthy, which it is, but maybe I might go for the first two instead. 

They seem more... fun?

Like this evening, I was actually keen on the Braised Beef Noodles. The broth, a soy-spiced concoction, apparently, seemed stimulating yet comforting and warm at the same time.

And then I did take a look at the Taiwanese Sesame Oil Chicken Soup, and the Huadiao Wine Chicken Soup where the first one had ginger and for the second, I've always wondered how Huadiao wine is like. 

This evening, as much as I hoped to, it would have been lovely had I been able to have the Pork Chop Egg Fried Rice and the Taiwanese Tomato Omelette. Taiwanese, after all, have a reputation for their skill in making fluffy, soft, fragrant, moist fried rice and a reputation for well-marinated, perfectly battered, perfectly fried pork chop fillets, which, had it not been for the need for a calm-me-down dish, I would have wanted to try. 

Perhaps another time. 

You know, I'd like to try their fried items then. 

Especially their night market faves of Fried Tempura, Plum Sweet Potato Fries, Fried Oyster Mushrooms, and Salted Crispy Chicken.

Would be a bit of waste not to. :)

Oriental Food @ CNY

It would be good, really good, if we got to eat at Oriental Food a bit more often. 

She has, after all, become one of my new favorite places when it comes to Mainland Chinese food. 

It's not that I know how to appreciate all the dishes that Oriental Food has on their menu- some of them are pretty much what you'd have if you really knew the cuisine of the provinces- but whatever I do know, I appreciate, and genuinely like. 

We actually hadn't planned to come here. 

But it so happened that we were walking towards Bugis from the 57 bus stop (after coming down from Toa Payoh) and because the route cut through Liang Seah Street, we thought we'd have our CNY meal there. 

It's one thing to pre-book a meal at a fancy restaurant.

It's another thing to chance upon one that is open and bounce in, for no other reason than the fact it was open, and welcoming to diners. 

That was the assurance, and joy which Oriental Food Bugis gave us. 

This being Chinese New Year we decided we'd order all our favorite dishes. 

So it was that these three appeared on our table. 

Seeing them now, I realize these three were the very ones which we had the first time we ate at their Bedok outlet- and which we had come to like ever since. 

They're not complicated. 

A plate of Sweet and Sour Pork.

A plate of Salted Egg Deep Fried Pumpkin

A plate of beef and lamb skewers. 

I don't know what their actual names are. I just know what I'm eating. 

The sweet and sour pork, for instance, is one of the best variations I have ever had here in Singapore. Where at some places the meat is hard and dry and simply laden with a sauce that doesn't taste good, or where, at other places, the meat is just chewy with fat and no meat at all, the ones here at Oriental Food are so good that they bring me straight back to the first time I ate it when I was 5. 

Impressions stay with you. 

So does a dish whose taste immediately, literally, brings you back to your childhood birthday dinner at Sam Leong Restaurant when aged 5. 

I had my first taste of sweet and sour pork there. 

This dish brought me back. 

It isn't just the sweetness itself, although, yes, it does play a part. 

But it is the meat. 

The meat is something I appreciate and enjoy. There is not the extreme of hard, tough meat difficult to chew. There is also not the extreme of fat that is, if I may say, not meat at all. 

It don't matter whether it be the sweet and sour pork at Bedok, or the one here at Bugis. 

Both taste just as good. 

Same too for the Pumpkin. 

It's never easy for me to decide whether to order this dish or not. 

Not because it's not appetizing but because I'm never sure whether or not I can finish all the pumpkin. 

There is a lot on this plate- one big heap of them sticks cut into rectangular shapes. 

Never has there been a time where I have not wanted to reach for another piece after eating the first one. 

Never too has there been a time where I get sick of eating all the pumpkin.

The salted egg makes it absolutely a wonderful dish to savor.

I remember the first time we had it. 

Back then I was skeptical, not knowing whether or not it would be a good one- I didn't want one laden with salted egg sauce like I had seen some other places do. 

But it came dry, crisp, full of flavor, and had the perfect balance of sweet and salty which neither side overwhelmed. 

The last dish we ordered this afternoon were the skewers. 

What it were marinated with, I have no idea, but I think there was a bit of chili powder, and maybe some cumin.

Whichever it were, there was no heatiness after eating the skewers, there was no hot, uncomfortable feeling inside the mouth, and best of all, eating them directly off the skewers was incredibly fun. 

Every piece was well grilled, full of flavor, and enjoyable as a bite size. 

You know, looking at these pictures now, I'm glad. 

The CNY of 2026 could have been better, but hey, at least, I loved what I ate, I loved where I ate- none of these dishes were ordinary- and I had fun. 

CNY's Koggi @ Suntec

These pictures you see here probably be the second last set that I have of Koggi's K-BBQ buffet at Suntec City. 

I say it so, because there is another set- and that be the very last one. 

See, Koggi shifted out of Suntec City end April a couple of weeks ago.

It doesn't happen very often, but seeing the news all over social media made me legit cry. 

A part of me wondered why it was that I had discovered Koggi's K-BBQ only so late. 

A part of me also wondered why it was that during that season (till their impending closure) I was not able to go.

You know, there are very few restaurant closures that will make me cry.

Koggi did. 

Perhaps you might think it is because of price, which, logically speaking, it would be no surprise, given that they do, all things said, offer a no-frills K-BBQ grilled over a charcoal stove for the gorgeous price of $20/pax. 

But, to me, more importantly, it is about culture. 

See, finding a BBQ buffet for that price here in Singapore is not too difficult. You just need to know what, when and where. What is difficult, however, is getting a no-frills K-BBQ for that very same price. 

It is a feat that's not only difficult, but nearly impossible. 

Which is why the K-BBQ of Koggi became extra special. 

Different people have different likes when they come here to this place. Some people like the varieties of meat. Others take fancy in the abundance of banchan and the vegetables that Koggi offers. 

I, oddly enough, take special interest in not just the meats, but also two other things.

First, the cooked food banchan.

Next, the kimchi. 

Don't laugh. 

The cooked food banchan here is one of Koggi's best strengths, made very possible because they also function as a Korean-style cai png place where cooked dishes are placed on trays similar to those seen in the office canteens of Korean MNCs- except that the trays aren't free, they're sold. 

I'm always keen to see what cooked food there is here at Koggi.

The menu changes every time. 

This time- it was our CNY Eve celebration meal, by the way- there was the macaroni pasta salad, tteokbokki with gochujang sauce, fried chicken cutlets all chopped up, and another stewed (braised) meat dish that I don't really remember. 

There was, of course, a big cooker of steamed white rice, a huge serving bowl of chicken nuggets, and another huge serving bowl of crinkle cut fries. 

My friend helped himself to the chicken nuggets. 

He always does. 

Sometimes he takes five, sometimes he takes ten.

Me, I got myself the macaroni pasta salad- I love how cold and refreshing it is yet soft and firm to the bite- and a few pieces of the fried chicken on top which I squirted some of their Mentaiko cream. 

The highlight, of course, was the meat. 

Or the meats. 

Coming to a place like this, you can be sure we did not stick to just one plate of each type and leave everything aside. 

No, of course not, we had plates of our favorite meats, namely, the Thin Slice Pork Belly, which this time I don't know how many plates we had. 

Someone once asked me whether I'd ever get bored eating the same meats over and over again.

Emmmm, no. 

There is nothing to be tired of when you take a fancy to something and which you can have over and over again. 

There's also nothing to get sick of if it is good for you, if it fits your diet, and if you're enjoying what you eat. 

I love thin-sliced meats. 

I love thin-sliced meats with a bit of fat even more. 

Easy to cook, easy to grill, they get cooked really quickly over the charcoal flame and it's lovely, always, to see the glisten of the fat shining all over the meat. 

What we do is to put over the grill a thin layer of onions, and then place the meat all over it. 

Tradition dictates that one should eat grilled meats with some sort of sauce, or, like how the Koreans do it, with sea salt, and well-pressed sesame oil. The oil they have here definitely ain't the light kind. 

We don't normally have our meats with the sesame oil. 

Instead we concoct our own dip using a mix of Greek-style plain (sometimes vanilla) yogurt with garlic powder, and miso, At earlier days we brought paprika powder but later realized it overwhelmed the meat too much and so decided on just the garlic alone. 

I like yogurt as a dip. 

It gives a bit of sour sour contrast to the saltiness of the meat. 

It also adds a bit of texture, the same kind of creamy creamy thick you'd get if you were having your meat with sour cream or mayonnaise. I don't know why it is that yogurt goes so well with the meat- I'd always thought of yogurt paired only with honey or with fruits- but I've since discovered that yogurt and meat do make a good combination when eaten together.

The highlight of today's meal, however, had to be the kimchi.

It was FRESH. 

Now, I don't know whether this be the first time I have had fresh kimchi here at Koggi (I might already have had it the last time) but this one, definitely, for sure, I can say it left as deep an impression on me as it would have had I eaten it the previous time. 

Fresh kimchi tastes so, so, so different from the other kind of kimchi, let me tell you.

For one thing, it seemed sweeter. 

I mean, it might have been the way they did the kimchi- culture explains that everyone has their own way of preparing kimchi and no two kimchi tastes exactly the same. 

But certainly this one had a sweetness I really liked. 

Was it the gochujang?

I don't know.

I don't know what it was that made this particular kimchi sweet. 

Neither do I know why the cabbage of this kimchi seemed crispier, less hard compared to the other ones, but it was, and I liked it better. 

Perhaps it really is true that fresh kimchi makes a whole lot of difference from the packet kimchi (even though I like both and am not ngiao about either) 

It is a very special feeling to wrap a piece of grilled pork belly into the kimchi and munch it all together. 

It is also a very special feeling to be able to eat them separately, like how I did for this one with one bite of meat followed by one piece of the fresh kimchi. It wasn't just the cabbage that I liked. I fancied the carrots and the cucumber too. 

I'd love to have the macaroni salad once again.

No doubt i fancy japchae better, but oy, cold, refreshing, slightly creamy macaroni salad together with fresh kimchi, make for fantastic accompaniments to charcoal-grilled pork belly too. 

K-BBQ Downstairs @ 1987

You know something?

I didn't think I would write about this lunch of a Korean BBQ this soon.

But life be such that you don't always write things in sequence, and so whilst I might have written this some time in end March or even afterward, I decided this a good time to write now.

It had been one of those afternoons where we didn't feel like going out far yet 

We had discovered this place quite by accident.

It happened to be one of those afternoons where we didn't feel like going out too far but yet didn't want one of them casual bites from Starbucks, so it was that we went to the mall Katong Square next door. 

Now, Katong Square is one of those malls that gives a strong go-downstairs, in-between vibe. It is one of those malls that you pass by, consider whether to enter or not, and enter it anyway. 

I won't say that there isn't anything interesting in the mall.

There is a pop-up type of booth offering lots of vintage stuff- beer bottles, soft drink bottles, entertainment pamphlets, postcards, the like of collectors. 

But there are also the cafes and restaurants, which, to one we headed today.

Some time back my friend had seen the offer of a K-BBQ buffet at restaurant 1987 Korean BBQ, so we decided to try. 

I don't know the history of this place; like how it started or what the story is, why it's called 1987, or who the place is meant to cater to, but there's a rich sense of tradition when one dines here.

You know how there are many different types of K-BBQ places that have different vibes? 

This one leans towards the cultural.

It is the kind of place that you must go if you want to experience the culture of having a K-BBQ, table setting, cutlery, all, without the casual riot of the street-side style. 

You could say that it be the presence of all the banchan that comes together when you order a main. 

You could also say it is in the tradition that steeps itself deep in the way they do their BBQ.

I'm familiar with the places that have their grill locked in right in the center of the table. 

I am, however, not familiar with the places that bring the grill to your table, with charcoal pot underneath, and a little curve of a smoke exhaust affixed to the grill's side. 

To be honest, it looked really cute. 

And it worked just as well as those that have their smoke exhausts hanging from the ceiling. 

What made this grill unique was that it was raised, and because the charcoal seemed to be better distributed, the meat cooked slower without the worry of an overburn. It also meant that diners had to pay closer attention to the grill even as they worked through their orders of meat.

This afternoon our orders were mostly on the beef and pork side. 

What's funny, however, is that out of all the meats we had, I have only one picture. 

I didn't take picture of the others. 

I don't know why.

What I did take, instead, are of all the banchan. 

Which, to my embarrassment, I can't even remember the names of all it is I had. 

One of the first few things they brought to the table was the pink radish and the bean sprouts. 

Yes, radish and bean sprouts are ordinary vegetables, not stuff you'll find big of a deal, but there's this thing called palate, and both vegetables effectively filled it close. The radish, soaked in vinegar with a satisfying crunch, made for a refreshing palate cleanser, and the bean sprouts, whilst a bit smaller than those I'd seen in Korea, had a nice, savory crunch. 

There was then a couple of dishes- the bean curd strips, kimchi, quail eggs and what I think is the smaller version of burdock root. 

The dish that surprised me most were the quail eggs. 

I had thought they be savory. 

Instead they turned out to be sweet- almost like a dessert- and after finishing my four, I sat there wondering if I would be able to have more.

But I didn't ask. 

It felt awkward to, so I just ate my kimchi and my bean curd skins and worked my way around the meats. 

But I did ask for another order of kimchi though. 

Kimchi is one of the best things to have when you're having a meal like K-BBQ. Not only does it help with the digestives (so you can eat more lol), the sourish vinegar adds an additional texture, creates additional crunch, yet softens the meat at the same time.

I am always surprised by how the juice bursts out of my mouth every time I roll a piece of kimchi inside the meat and take a bite. 

It really does make for a very refreshing eat, I tell you. 

And I imagine the meat itself digesting away so much better after. 

Was there a banchan that I liked the most?

No. 

I mean, they each had their own merits, and there was not a dish of banchan that I didn't take, nor didn't like. Maybe I might not fancy the bean curd skins as much as, say, the quail eggs or the kimchi or the small burdock root, but they make for a perfect bite all the same.

Come to think of it, I actually did like the burdock root. 

At least that's what I think it is. 

I was too embarrassed to ask. 

Maybe I'll ask next time. 

One of the best foods I managed to have this afternoon at 1987 K-BBQ was the ramyun. 

I know it's not that big a deal, like what, it's just ramyun, we're in 2026 and ramyun is everywhere, but I've never had the chance to have ramyun in one of them bronzy pots, so glad I was to have it here this time. 

It's actually quite fun.

Best part of using the bronzy pot is that the noodles actually do simmer in the retained heat without a stove, so, yes, it was perfect to have a pot of ramyun on the table whilst we worked through our meats. 

My friend and I could share the soup.

I could have the noodles bit by bit as we went along. 

I could concoct my own bowl of noodles with the grilled meats and the vegetables and the tofu and even the banchan. 

Which I did. 

But the other best food that we both liked?

The tofu stew.

My friend doesn't mind a good tofu- soft, silky, wobbly those big chonks of bean curd were- and neither do I.

I love tofu when it doesn't taste like tofu, and what better way to get my share of vegan protein when it is all bobbing about in a stew slightly thick, very spicy, and full of flavor (think gochujang) that doesn't make the tofu feel like plain, boring tofu at all? 

Dudu Cantonese Yue Cuisine

A friend suggested to me one afternoon that we go to this new (not so new) place for dinner. 

He had seen it on socials, he said, and it seemed pretty interesting, especially the orh luak that looked great on the video and which was highly recommended. 

What made this place unusual, however, was the location. 

I mean, you would expect a place that serves Cantonese cuisine- Yue cuisine in particular- be in a shophouse, a shopping mall, or even a residential neighborhood.

But no, Dudu Cantonese Yue Cuisine sat right smack in the industrial canteen of an industrial estate, and by that, I mean, a canteen in the middle between Eunos Avenue 5 and Eunos Avenue 6.

Surrounded by businesses dealing with the likes of Wood Products Trading, Door Enterprises, Kitchen Design, Building Materials Ltd, Glass Mirror Merchant, and Fluid Engineering, this was one canteen that was as industrial as it could be. 

But it is in this 'hood that Dudu holds her charm. 

We got there in the heat of a late afternoon, and when I say heat, I really mean heat. 

It was bright, it was hot, the sun glared as we crossed the road near Paya Lebar Square to the industrial area of Eunos Avenue 5, but, the place itself, to my surprise, was cool. 

It was a bit of blur on our part when we arrived. 

See, we hadn't known that walk-ins were not quite the norm in this place, that instead of wandering into the place and asking for a table (like we did) reservations- especially families- were highly recommended. 

As it was, we were left to find our own table, which, after wandering about many tables with reserved tags on them, thankfully, we scored, managing to share a table with another couple who had come by earlier, and were looking through the menu trying to decide what to eat.

Us, we went towards the counter where my friend joined the queue, and there we stood, looking through the very same menu. 

There were actually very interesting dishes to choose from, amongst which I looked at the Signature Salted Egg Chicken Wings with Corn, the Cantonese Curry Beef Brisket, the Creamy Prawn with Corn, the Dry Steamed Pork Ribs, and the Baked Yellow Croaker Fish with Lantern Chili. 

I had totally no idea what the last dish was. 

And I still don't.

I don't know what Lantern Chili is.

I also don't know what a Yellow Croaker Fish is.

But there were so many dishes that looked fascinating. 

Like Salted Egg Chicken Wings with Corn, and the Creamy Prawn with Corn. 

But this evening, we decided to go for dishes we felt we wanted to try, and so ordered Beef Strips with Japanese Sauce, the Crispy Orh Luak, and the Dried Starfruit Pork Ribs. 

What's surprising is that I don't have a picture of the Dried Starfruit Pork Ribs. 

I don't know why. 

I thought I'd taken pictures of all three, but no, I only have that of the orh luak, and the Beef Strips with Japanese sauce.

Maybe by that time I was getting really hungry, our order having got delayed by almost a good 20 minutes, and it was near to an hour when our food finally arrived. 

It didn't help that I had already been feeling peckish, and the couple whom we shared a table with- whom had ordered after us- had had their food arrive before ours did. 

It didn't help that I had been peckish to begin with, and the couple in front- both whom had ordered after us- had had their food arrive. The only good thing was being able to appreciate the dishes they'd ordered, and for us to know what else we could order next time. 

So, the wait was long. 

Thankfully, however, the food was good. 

A bit small, the portions- I had thought there would be larger ones- but the way them dishes were made simply had you satiated after just a couple of bites and you didn't really need more. 

I liked the Pork Ribs. 

At first I had thought they would be served like how it's done with bak kut teh, big sized ribs all, but no, they had been cut so small that it were easy to pick up with chopsticks. What's more, so soft, and so tender were they that the meat just fell off the bone.

Flavor wise, they gave me hints of sweet and sour pork, only richer, more savory, less of the thick starch, less of the sweet.

Would've been nice to have more pieces of the starfruit inside the dish though. 

Havent seen them fruits around the fruit stalls for a while. 

When it came to the beef strips, I actually had no idea what the Japanese sauce of the dish is made of. My taste buds weren't able to decipher it, and Dudu doesn't seem to be the kind of place one can ask, so let's just leave it at that. 

But the beef strips were tender and soft, there was a delicate feel of chew, and I particularly liked the onions and bell peppers that were mixed inside along with it. At first bite it does make one think of the typical black pepper beef plates one finds at zichar stalls, but this is way richer, way more flavorful, classier, and definitely has that warmth of rounded flavors only a claypot can bring. 

The biggest and most pleasant surprise this evening had to be the orh luak.

A lot has already been said about it, so I'm not going to add more, but oy, trust me when I say that the orh luak- served in a very hot pan- was truly, genuinely, one of the crispiest I have had.

Ever. 

So perfectly made was it that I don't think there was even any flour, and had there been, I probably wouldn't even have known- not when the flour was fried so crispy, and so lightly crunchy that it felt like you were eating bits of pancake crumbs snuck together. 

The orh luak too came with lots of oysters.

Not small ones, but huge juicy ones that actually did burst out in your mouth when you took a bite. 

I didn't have that many of them oysters this evening. 

Most I gave to my friend, concentrating on the crust and crisp of the flour pancake instead. 

It's been a while since I had these oysters but I remember them still. 

Chances are, I'll come back another time to try more of the food. 

I want to try the Golden Nest and the Signature Salted Egg Chicken Wings with Corn. 

Maybe the Haha Mee or the Kampong Shredded Chicken too.