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.
