Strolling Sights: more Keppel waters

It must be getting rather obvious that this zone, this space, this bridge that links the Singapore mainland to Sentosa and the State of Fun, has to be one of my favorites, and that it is impossible, virtually impossible for me to go there, hang around there, and then go away without at least one picture for the sake of moments, and of memory. :)

 

 

 

the MOS scallop Burger

Scallop hidden inside

Cabbage? Lettuce?

I didn't think I'd capture my scallop burger looking so softly lit, but there you go. Natural light works wonders all the time. :) I was at the outlet over at Paya Lebar Square and my seat was right next to the window and so it being a warm day, there was plenty of natural light filtering in through the glass.

I ate this burger sometime in early December, and now I'm hoping that I'll get to eat it in February, March, May, August, September and October too. Better yet if they make this a permanent fixture on their menu. :) 

If they did, I'd be sure to make this an addition to my present dual repertoire of ebi rice burger and fish filet burger. Orders are habitual, and these two are what I have most of the time when I'm there. Particularly the ebi rice, because, well, prawn filet burgers made with rice patties and sprinkled with tiny strips of seaweed are pretty unusual, and pretty Asian, are they not? The fish filet, well. I make an order of it when I want to have tartar sauce with my fries, mainly because they are really generous with the tartar sauce here and it goes well with their thick cut fries. 

MOS Fries

But to have the scallop burger.. that's another thing altogether.

I don't know where else I can have it. Are scallop burgers the newest offering in the market? I don't know. But to date I haven't yet seen them in any of ths seafood shacks. Oh, they've got lobster, prawn, mussel even, but scallop? Not so much.

Which is why I find this a very, very unique offering. Because not only do the Japanese do a good quality scallop burger- there're two of them inside the patty and they're really tasty- they manage to incorporate the hotate into fast food, and better still, keep at a fast food price.

$4.95.

That's as great a price for hotate I'm going to find anywhere. :D

pasta at Marche

Light Above my Head

Empty Table for Now

Rosti and Sausage with the Cream



Mushroom Soup

I must have missed Marche more than I thought I did, because for some inexplicable reason every picture that I've taken on this windy, rainy evening has got that feel of the vintage to it.

Just look at the lampshade.

There is no reason why a lampshade would be that interesting, decor being decor, but I so happened to look up whilst I was waiting at our table, and for a moment, I thought the gingham looked pretty interesting.

Neither is there a good reason why the table would be fascinating, but I had nothing to do and so ran my fingers over the wood and for a very quick moment, I got this sense of solidity, assuredness and good, farmhouse comfort right from the wood.

But the food is really vintage to me.

A warm, pleasant, sturdy, comforting, resassuring sort of vintage that reminds me of earlier meals eaten during the earlier days of Marche Singapore when they were still at Heeren.

The food hasn't changed. The rosti and sausage and sour cream and mustard are still as filling as they used to be. The mushroom soup is as rounded and comforting as it always has been. And the pasta, well, I'd actually been craving it for days... :D 

Pasta!!!



the Rochor Silence

Let me ask you something.

Would you believe me if I told you that there are just some stories that refuse to be told?

Hard to believe... considering that rare it is that a story decides to fold onto itself and remain silent. Most of us are familiar with the belief that stories deserve their place on stage, that they deserve to be narrated and performed and shared and oracled, and so we try hard to tell each and every story. We explore angles, we practice our language, we push the boundaries of vocabulary, thematic discussion, grammar, approach and style. We give voice to whatever it is that we can give voice to. We write- or we attempt to.

Yet, after countless deleted drafts and umpteen attempts to write about this one single block of flats at Rochor, I'm starting to think otherwise. I'm starting to open myself up to the possibility that in this case, it is not the words that speak the story. 

It is the Silence. 

Specifically, Her Silence.

Does it sound strange? Mystical, even? Frankly, yes, I think so. But I don't have any other explanation as to why, after trying to write about her darkened corridors, her forever-open windows, her shuttered staircase landings, her empty rooms and her void of residents, I'm still nowhere near the end of the article. It is not as if I'm discussing serious s*** like transport infrastructure or city development or displacement either!

Nope. None of that.

I'm just trying to talk about a block of flats.

A block of flats that belonged to an estate and which had lots of people wandering in and out and so there was lots of movement within her walls, and which she doesn't have anymore.

A block of flats that once had an NTUC facing the main courtyard and a corner coffee shop that overlooked the bus terminal across the road, and whose shutters have been down for a long time now.

That's all.

Simple, present, nostalgic and reminiscent.

That's all I was trying to say.

But none of it came out the way I wanted it to. None of it sounded as smooth or even right as per the way I had imagined it to, and since some things cannot be compelled, I guess, if this story decides that her Silence speaks louder than many, many words, so be it. :) She'll tell her own story somehow anyway.

pretty foods: Cereal Egg Tofu

This economical rice stall serves up what I call as 'seldom-prepared' dishes from time to time. I think they're doing market testing, you know, like test whether customers like this new dish based on the frequency of orders, or how fast the dish moves. :)

 

I don't mind. Adds some spice to the usual lunchtime repertoire. 

 

They did it with the salted egg fried chicken at one time. Around the period where the craze started- salted egg crossiants, salted egg fish skin and all- they started offering this dish on the counter one or two days a week. Initially the price was more expensive. But I guess everyone likes salted egg at economical rice prices, because they're offering it almost every day now and it's not so expensive anymore.

 

I hope they make this Cereal Egg Tofu dish a permanent thing too.

 

Like dessert sia

It's nice lar. You know the Cereal Prawns at the zi char stall? Ah, same thing lar, but egg tofu instead of prawn. The cereal doesn't alter the taste of the tofu but it gives the tofu that little bit of extra crunch plus there's the sweetness that comes with the cereal.  

 

I quite like it. :)

 

Only thing is, next time I won't order sweet sour pork and this cereal tofu together anymore. Savory and sweet flavors mixed with (less) white rice suits me better. :D



i Strum; i Pluck

 

When I received her as a Christmas present from The Parent just last month, I did not think that I would need her this desperately this soon.

 

I did not know that there would be a season where my brain would feel like it was going to explode, or that I would be so distracted in more ways than one, or that I was going to need the music singing from her nylon strings to help me get through a day.

 

I did not know that there would be a time where my emotions would go so out of whack that I would need a bit of self-expressed music to rein them all in just so I wouldn't go about my day in tears.

 

But that's how it has been for the last couple of days.

 

I wonder if The Parent knew.

 

I don't know. Parents somehow seem to detect things about you that you yourself don't. They're like a mirror sometimes and they're so accurate that it actually gets scary.

 

It was between the ukulele or the guitar. I chose the guitar. Specifically, a 3/4 one. I didn't want the full sized one, I told The Parent. What for, I said, we already have a full size one mah. And some more the smaller one is easier to bring around.

 

The Parent agreed.

 

 

I'm glad I made the choice of the guitar. Partially because I don't have to learn new chords (I'm lazy and I mix things up) and learn how to sing well. partially because I'm the melancholic, emo kind that likes to strum and pluck and sing along to whatever tune that comes into my head, and based on what I was seeing on Youtube, the ukulele didn't allow me to do that.

 

The most melancholic performance was Seasons in the Sun that was being performed by a pretty good player. One song! Just one song! And there's also the fact that somehow the chords seem to have a completely different voice on their own that harmonize together with the song but don't harmonize the song. And until I got used to it, I'd have to rely on my singing voice without my strumming chords to back me up.

 

I didn't want that.

 

Honestly I'm really glad I chose the guitar. She's been a solace to me, a solace much, much more than I'd anticipated. She's not expensive, this guitar, and she's one of the lesser brands, but I don't give a s***.

 

I'm sure The Parent would agree.  

errands with Daffy

I didn't feel like doing a long ride this weekend.

 

No particular reason. No particular physical reason. I just didn't want to. Not with my brain totally spaced out and getting distracted with thoughts and troubling emotions. There's focus, and there's risk. I wasn't going to risk my distracted brain for the sake of a long ride.

 

No way.

 

So I decided to make it an errand ride instead.

 

Over to the nearest shopping mall for reams of paper. This mall is one of those locations where it is too far to walk yet too near for a bus, so the best mode of transport..? Bike. :)

 

I took the route along Carpmael Road, then Ceylon Road then East Coast Road. Whoever said that the East area was relaxed and laid back wasn't talking about East Coast Road on a Saturday afternoon. Far from being laid back, I found myself dodging cars- big ones- sliding my way along the double yellow line then hopping off and crossing the pedestrian crossing on foot. Rules, yo...

 

That must be one of the busiest crossings ever on the East Coast side. Not only are there cars turning out from Joo Chiat Road, there are cars turning in from Marine Parade Road, and on this side of East Coast Road- the side leading to Still Road- nearly everyone is there braking really slowly because they're all searching for a parking spot before going for lunch.

 

Which means there's a tailback somewhere...

 

The laid back vibe probably starts only after Still Road, or after Telok Kurau. You know, the Siglap, Frankel Avenue, Simpang Bedok area.. :)

 

I went for another errand ride after. For dinner this time, towards Geylang Lorong 11 where I wanted Bak Kut Teh, and which is probably the only bak kut teh place that I will happily go to eat at.

 

And of course, I could have taken the simpler route that guides me along Haig Road, then a left, then right onto Geylang. But the Co Rider decided to be a tad more unusual and go onto Dunman Road, Old Airport Road, into Jalan Satu, which is very scenic and quiet, by the way, then out onto Guillemard Road, then into some Lorong (24?) and then onto Geylang and then across it to Lorong 11.

 

I like my route straightforward and simple. The Co Rider thinks otherwise sometimes.

 

Oh well.

 

At least we went back on a much more simpler route. Down Geylang, onto Sims Way, then Old Airport Road, then back onto Dunman Road. Pity I didn't get to stop at the quiet Dakota Estate though... -_-