Tutu Kuehs!

Took this picture a couple of weeks ago.

Actually... it has been almost a month.

A bit unbelievable, but, oy, life. 

That's how it is. 

If there be one thing that this year has taught me, it is that we sometimes don't focus on the (so-called) small little things in life but instead choose to speak only of the big ones.

Which, now that I think about it, doesn't need to be. 

Who said that life had to sound like a breaking story or a news scandal the entire time? 

Who said that life's events had to be shocking or stunning or mind boggling? 

No doubt, people are generally not so keen on day to day, ordinary content, but life's story is what you write of it, what you share of it, and it can be curated.

It's true; audiences generally prefer adventure, but we have come to a phase where anything of life can be curated and shaped without the creation of extra, dangerous or unnecessary drama.

Like two pieces of steamed flour cakes. 

At another time in my life I might not have thought of tutu kuehs as worthwhile content, but if this be my life these days, why should I not let it be?

What's more, in this day and age a tutu kueh has become more than just an object of food. 

Gone are the days when this existed as just a tutu kueh of steamed flour with filling. 

Now this tiny little steamed flat cake has become a part of us growing up.

A part of heritage history. 

The first time I had tutu kueh I was probably five. 

I remember the scene. 

Mr. Radioman had brought me to the now-demolished hawker center on Hill Street for a late evening dinner. The details of why we were there and how we got there, now I can't remember- it's been 40 years- but I can see still the slightly harsh white fluorescent light over our heads. I also remember the plate of dark Hill Street Char Kuay Teow that he had ordered for us to share. 

Near where we sat the tutu kueh stall was still open, so he asked if I wanted some. 

I don't remember what I told him. 

But I remember what he said to me. "You never eat tutu kueh before ar? Aiyaaa.."

Then off he went and got us some. 

It was that night that he taught me how to eat tutu kueh off the small little pandan leaf. 

Somehow life became that we didn't get to go back to that Hill Street hawker center again. 

But that didn't mean we missed out on this little snack.

We just had it from other places. 

Like the pasar malams at the 'hood down below our house. It wasn't very frequent- those night markets- but there have been times when after dinner we went down as a family and, amongst other snacks, bought these tutu kuehs back home to have. 

Between the three of us, I've always wished I could have more than two. 

What's funny is that, after all this while, I still seem to be having only two.

Perhaps it might be that they're still sold in a bag of five, and so when you're sharing with someone, you get two each, and the third one gets split into two, half each. 

This weekend afternoon my friend and I happened to be at the pasar malam outside Marine Parade MRT Station. 

A lively place with lively atmosphere, it seemed a bit of a waste if we walked away without buying anything, so we decided on a snack. 

There was a lot to choose from, but us being us, we didn't want anything fried, so amongst all the deep fried stuff from the different stalls, choices got narrowed down to the colorful steamed cakes, steamed buttered corn, sweet desserts, or tutu kueh.

We decided on the latter. 

It was one of the foods we missed. 

Actually, now that I think about it, buying it took a bit of a gamble- we don't know how standards are these days- but tradition marks tradition and the aunty at the stall looked like she had been making and selling tutu kuehs for a long time. 

It wasn't merely in the way she made the kueh but more in the fluid, practiced way she handled customers, customers' requests, sieved the flour, lifted the mold, put in the filling, laid the cloth on top of the mold, put the mold back onto the steamer and then placing it all into the plastic bag. 

Our three peanut and two gula melaka were in good hands. 

$4 for 5 pieces, we carried the little plastic bag by its string over to the hawker center where slowly, carefully, we brought the tutu kuehs out one by one. 

They were so good. 

It's not a bombastic, whoosh kind of taste, but there is something comforting and assuring about eating hot steamed kuehs like this. 

I don't know if it is the warm, clean taste of the soft, yet firm flour cake that breaks off easily when you take the first bite, or if it is the combination of sweet and savory when you eat the filling mushed together with the flour. 

I liked how the finely chopped peanuts (with a bit of sugar) rolled around with the flour. 

I also liked how the sweet of palm sugar gula melaka brought out the pure clean taste of the flour enveloping it. 

It's pretty fun having a small little snack like this. 

My friend likes the peanut.

I like the gula melaka. 

And then, because you can't really see what's inside, it becomes a bit of a game trying to figure out which is which, picking out the right one, and then balancing it carefully on the neat, tiny little square of pandan leaf. 

Ramadan Bazaar @ Kg Glam

You know, looking at this really tiny collection of pictures now, I wish I had been in better capacity that afternoon to gaze around more, immerse myself more, work Chonkycam more. 

But that be life, where you know you should be more proactive in doing something but somehow end up not doing it much at all.

It is with very huge pity that I shall have to wait another full year before I get to take pictures of the Ramadan bazaar here at Kampong Glam again. 

I should have slowed down a little, looked about a little more, and not tried to squish and squash my brain through the many sights and sounds of the bazaar. 

The Kampong Glam Ramadan bazaar is said to look, and feel, its best after iftar, after sundown. 

Perhaps it might have done me good had I been there at that hour, but we had just finished a lunch at Suntec City this particular Saturday afternoon and decided to take a walk down Beach Road towards the Arab Quarter, Haji Lane, and the whole Kampong Glam on its own. 

The walking route along Beach Road this afternoon didn't give me that much to see- I probably wasn't paying as much attention as I ought to- but I did catch sight of this at the crossing of Beach Road and Ophir Road, so took the picture. 

At first glance it might seem like there's nothing much to look at- just a fence in front of a building in front of another building. 

But this fence seems to have been around for a long time.

So much so that other than the contractors themselves no one actually remembers just what it is they are building. 

The building behind is significant too. 

Not only has it been there a long time, not only did it once use to hold a well known furniture showroom- I can't remember its name- it too holds the offices of Diners Club, and DCS Diners Card. 

This area is a literal mish-mash of buildings from different eras.

Like the one behind it, the Pan Pacific (Serviced Apartments), which will always be remembered because back in 2020 I brought a bag of groceries for my aunt who was then in mandated quarantine back after arriving into the country to help look after my grandfather. 

It feels so long ago. 

This afternoon crossed the road on this side heading towards Haji Lane on the opposite side, but not before I took a picture of the magnificent looking DUO diagonally opposite from where I stood. 

I haven't been up before. 

Maybe I have- a long time ago- to the lobby of Andaz by Hyatt- but not to the rooms, and not to much else. 

It has also been a long time since I went to the Haji Lane stretch. 

Maybe I did go there a couple years before, but somehow something didn't draw me back as everyone said it was supposed to. 

The place is still as vibrant now, with high tables and high stools  arranged here and there outside some of the drinking bars. The beer crowd's slightly quieter than it used to be, but the shoppers are still goes strong. 

I can't speak much for the retail- I didn't pay much attention to the retail even last time- but there're a good number of stores offering curiosities of the whimsical vibe. There's a bit of retro here and there, if I'm not wrong, but there are those that cater to the tourist looking for a knick-knack to bring home, there are those that cater to the millennial, Gen Z who is looking for a poster or a display to buy and put up on the room wall, or those that reach out specifically to the stuffie- toy lover. 

It's kind of colorful, actually. 

A pity I didn't go into the stores to check out the merchandise- I really should have. 

Guess I was more intrigued by the bazaar that they said was located behind Sultan Mosque between Muscat Street and Subhan Street, plus (what I think) is the whole of Kandahar Street. 

We first went to the section behind Sultan Mosque.

There was a lot of food there, but what exactly there were, I now cannot remember. I think the foods here were more traditional, more cultural, less colorful than the Kandahar side. Not to mean that the foods here were of the sit-down sort, no, of course not, but (if my memory is right) they leaned towards more of a proper, more filling meal. 

There were a good number of stalls selling snacks- by the box- but there were also those selling breads and pancakes and wraps of various fillings and styles. 

The day was bright, and warm, so under one of the tents I ducked for a breather, which is where I took this picture. 

This has probably to be the most significant shot I have from the time here this afternoon. 

Somehow I managed to capture the presence of fairy lights hanging from the roof of the tent I stood under. 

Somehow I managed to capture the glow of an afternoon sun glimmering on the mosque's dome roof.

And with a bit of creative angling I somehow managed to squeeze the height of the minaret into the same picture.

After this we followed our way out the row of tents, going along the line of stalls, where we eventually found ourselves on the Kandahar side outside the eastern(?) wall of the Sultan Mosque compound. 

Here there were stalls selling drinks, snacks, kuehs, colorful breads, and cakes. 

What precisely they were, or how many there were- that, I don't know- but I there was one drink stall offering iced beverages of the most colorful kind. This stall had lots of interesting concoctions. There were drinks with lychee, there were drinks of the latte sort, and there were drinks of the brightest blue color which I now don't remember. If I'm not wrong there was Bandung, Mango, Avocado, and a couple of soft drink concoctions. 

We got a big cup of butterfly pea with lychee from this stall. 

I liked the color.

Even if I tasted more of the (canned) lychee than the butterfly pea. 

There was, of course, the ubiquitous stall of Thai milk tea and Thai milk green tea. 

These milk tea stalls have somehow, surreptitiously, made their way into every single neighborhood bazaar, festive occasion or otherwise, and it has become a literal staple to see them there. 

Then there were stalls selling all kinds of snacks and kuehs, colorful breads and cakes. 

There was a stall offering kebab wraps, a stall offering pastries with fruit filling and savory filling, a stall offering fruit smoothies, and even more stalls offering fun street foods like fries with all sorts of toppings, takoyaki, Korean-style foods, Philly cheesesteak halal, and some breads and pastries in such bright colors, which, i think, came from Penang. 

The one thing I didn't see were ice cream stalls. 

It would not have made sense to sell ice cream here at Kandahar in the bright sunshine of the day.

Finally, at the end of the row nearing North Bridge Road, there was a Chinese-Muslim stall at one corner offering a variety of foods, including what I think were shao bing style pancakes with minced beef stuffed inside. 

I should have paid closer attention to what it were the chefs were making at their stall 

But I took a look at the queue of people all standing patiently in the hot sun, and decided that the Chinese that I am shouldn't interrupt them all waiting in line. 

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. 

CNY 2026

It is late- very late- this post about the Chinese New Year of 2026, but that be how life is when you have things here and there and you don't get to look at all your pictures until months have passed (and you can breathe a bit better) 

I wish I could say that the CNY of 2026 was incredibly good with lots of fun and lots of food, but that would have to be another celebration, perhaps, hopefully the CNY of 2027, because the CNY of this year leaned more towards the discernment, and the calculator. 

That's not to say that we didn't have fun or didn't enjoy anything. 

It was just, well, leaner, more conservative, less frivolous, less flamboyant. 

There are very few years that I go to Chinatown and walk out empty handed. 

This year, however, yes, it was so. 

This was a year, shall we say, that I had to seriously, seriously consider whether to get them pineapple tarts or not, and, I have to unfortunately say, we didn't. We didn't get them. 

The absence of our favorite pineapple tarts from the neighborhood bakery at Hong Lim has to be one of my greatest sighs for CNY this year. No doubt, we convinced ourselves that we didn't get a jar because we were never able to finish, but still, it marks for one of my most significant regrets this year. 

It wasn't just the pineapple tarts. 

There was heavy absence of our usual snacks and tidbits too. 

You know, there was a season in my life when I'd have two types of pineapple tarts, one of pea cookies or other kinds of cookies, a box of love letters even, and some random sweets. 

I've not bought those random cookies nor those random pineapple tarts since 2023. That was the year I stopped. There was no one to buy them for me, and no one I would buy them for. 

But this year went completely in the opposite direction.

We didn't get any of those things. 

That's not to say we didn't have anything.

Nope, we had a carton of mandarin oranges. 

Got them on the eve of the eve of CNY from the supermarket downstairs.

Thank God they were sweet. 

Thank God too they lasted pretty long (after I dropped them in the chiller) and I managed to freeze two boxes too. 

What's odd is that I don't have a picture of the oranges. 

I don't know why. 

What I do have, however, is this. 

A bowl of preserved fruits that I made for myself. 

See, somewhere along the way I got tired of not having any sweetmeats in the house so I made myself a box, cutting up dried mangoes, and shaking out dried goji berries, both of which we had brought back from Thailand. 

Keeping resources can sometimes be a good thing. 

Especially when you're not wanting to buy new preserved fruits yet don't want to miss out on them at the same time.

By the time this bowl appeared I think CNY had more or less begun.

I can't remember whether or not we had had our CNY Eve meal, but, if I'm not wrong, we had had gone to Koggi and had had the K-BBQ complete with fresh kimchi, charcoal-grilled pork belly, and macaroni salad. 

We had had too a bowl of tangyuan. 

Sesame filling, in ginger soup. 

To be honest, even though I seem to have grumbled a lot, it is a very special feeling looking at all these pictures, looking at all these food. 

I am thankful for the Thin Sliced Pork Belly. 

I am thankful for the chance to have a celebration meal.

And I am thankful to have a companion enjoy it together with me. 

There's nothing more special than to have someone with you who enjoys eating the same things as you. 

Like our favorite foods here at Oriental Food in Bugis where on the first day of CNY we had a plate of sweet sour pork, a plate of Pumpkin with Salted Egg Sauce, and a couple of skewers.

Sometimes it is the little things that you cherish. 

The ability to have a whole plate of your favorite foods. 

The ability to taste and try, new foods, or foods that you like. 

The joy of going to a place and having someone to share these with you. 

I guess it's insolent and ungrateful of me to say that I wish I could have had more this CNY of 2026 when, after all, I had all of these, plus a Murtabak and a special pastry of nian gao wrapped in prata crepe and grilled. 

And I didn't eat them alone. 

I had someone to eat with.

I had someone who enjoyed the same foods I did. 

And I had someone who too understood my wish to have more, because I don't compromise like that. 

Charms of Roxy II

Couple of months ago (somewhere during Chinese New Year, actually) I went for a short little walk around Roxy I and Roxy II. 

It wasn't on impulse.

The idea of it had been sitting in my head for a while but (with moving in and getting used to everything) hadn't yet gotten down to looking about and looking around. 

What clinched the decision this afternoon, however, wasn't just the fact that I had time. 

It was also the fact that it being the first day of Chinese New Year, there would hardly be anyone at the mall, and the absence of both crowd and store owners was just what I needed. 

Some photographers are skilled at capturing eyes and cheekbones and foreheads or a person's cranial features which (I believe) determine personality. 

I, however, simply prefer to see things in slightly different angles, in a slightly different light.

Locals born and bred are familiar with the heritage of Roxy as a cinema in Katong when they hear her name. 

Does Roxy retain any part of the cinema? 

Technically, no. 

But there is a fairly large (glamorous looking) event space up on one of the upper floors, and there are a couple of drinking places evenly distributed throughout the mall on the first floor below. 

You know, before coming to this area I had hardly known anything about Roxy. It just hadn't been in my zone. 

And so whilst I had heard of the name, I had had no idea what it was like, no idea of its history, or anything much about the place at all. 

What's more, besides the photocopy shop, there hadn't been much of a reason to enter, and so, most of the time, other than a very quick walk-through, I had hardly paid much attention to it at all.

Life changes, however, and this afternoon I found myself standing somewhat curiously at the staircase landing of one of their staircases.

Don't laugh.

Service lift landings and staircase landings- especially those meant for emergency exits- those you don't normally see- are often the ones that don't get aesthetic treatment whenever a mall does a makeover. 

And because they just need to function, one gets to see how they were as far back as when they were first constructed. 

I'm not sure if the aesthetic of Roxy's emergency staircase and regular staircase looks more or less the same, but because Roxy seems to have retained much of its original atmosphere, I'm sensing it to be at least close to how it were all those years ago.

That doesn't mean that the staircase is old. 

It just means that one gest the atmosphere of the 90s just by standing on i, or looking at it. 

I got a bit fascinated by this staircase in the middle of the mall though. 

The decoration behind it gave me a vibe like I had seen it somewhere before. 

Maybe a hotel here in Singapore. 

Maybe a hotel in Bangkok.

Or maybe one in Hong Kong. 

Along the stretch of Roxy II I went now, going past a corridor of shops and stores that seemed to be mostly service-based offerings. Here there were a couple of employment agencies, a couple of enrichment centers, several music schools, an antique shop or two, a clothing shop or two, and then a host of hair salons and nail polish salons, all of which were not open this afternoon. 

The number of hair salons here at Roxy II are a little surprise. 

Then again, they are not. 

I wonder how it is they manage to get their customers. Do they depend on walk-ins, do they depend on their pool of regulars, or do they extend their skillsets beyond the salon? 

I haven't counted just how many hair salons there are here on this one corridor, but there's one on the first floor right near the entrance opposite the Janggut Laksa kopitiam, there's one here on the second floor that looks kind of similar to the one opposite. Then there's one that does a bit of hair oil treatment and leans towards the ayurvedic sort. It's been one that I've been wanting to try.

This afternoon I lingered around on the 2nd floor of this II building, going around on the other corridor until I came to the intersection between Roxy I and II. 

Two shops dominate this middle area. 

One is a optical shop that I feel has been there a fairly long time. What's distinctive about this store would be the posters that they place right outside the store, and the pretty white stools they have for customers whilst they sit and wait.

The other shop is a TCM place that provides consultations, treatments and medication. On regular days I tend to just walk past it- the sign of the place is quite unobtrusive- but from time to time I've looked up from the escalator on the first floor, and noticed it there. 

From here I went on to Roxy I, first passing through another (quiet) corridor of shops that housed a skincare salon on one side, and a hair spa or is it a wellness- massage place on the other side. The skincare salon is one that has been here a long time, and which I distinctly remember for the very reason that it caters (exclusively) to the gentlemen. 

After this, one comes out to Roxy I on the second floor.

At first glance there doesn't seem to have much to see. 

But take a round (amidst a few more nail salons, a wellness center, and an enrichment center at the back) and you'll end up at the area directly opposite on the Stage Left side of the big wall. 

This is what I looked out to. 

And the picture below that is said big wall. 

I wasn't sure what I was going to see here.

I think there was a dance studio on the other side of the escalator.

Or was it a dress shop that I saw?

I, for some reason, now cannot remember. 

What there are, however, are a couple more hair salons up here on the second floor- all of which look like they have been established for a while- and then there is a foot reflexology place of the traditional sort that looks like it will work out the meridian points from the soles of your feet. 

Over here I didn't spend much time walking around and about. 

Instead i just stood by one corner looking around and about. 

Something about this space interested me. 

I don't really know what.

A part of me found myself looking over at the escalator seeing the height as it led from the first floor to the second and then the third, but same time too I was interested in the lifts. 

There aren't many bubble lifts left in Singapore. 

Altogether maybe about 10, or 15, at most? 

In which buildings they are, well, there must be a list somewhere, but here be one of the quiet ones that people don't normally think about, and perhaps, may not know. 

Maybe more attention should be granted to bubble lifts like these.

Sure, they're petite and little, even a little retro, not like other bubble lifts that run up and down twenty floors on the exterior of a Downtown hotel, but this is the Eastern part of the island, and if this be the only bubble lift this side of town on the East Coast Road side, oy, why not? 

I stood a while just looking at the lifts, and the place where it stood, then headed off the exit facing Marine Parade Central. 

A long time ago there used to be an overhead bridge at this very spot. 

It began, if I'm not wrong, from this floor, and stretched all the way across Marine Parade Road. Where exactly the other end of the bridge reached- if my memory serves me well- it would have been the building right across the road where a Maybank branch still stands. 

It's been a long time. 

For what reason they demolished the bridge, well, I don't quite know. 

Maybe they widened the road for the sake of the Marine Parade MRT. 

Marine Parade Road now has trees, plants, and lots more shrubs than it used to. 

In any case we have now an underpass where it enters about 20m from where the bridge used to be on the Roxy side of the road, coming out about 20m from where the bridge used to end.