Bus Interchange Kopis

Just the other day I wrote about how in recent times I've been having supper with The Parent at the coffee shop behind our house. 

It isn't just the fried rice that we have, by the way. 

We have had plates of nasi goreng pattaya and kuay teow goreng from the nearby prata stall too.

We don't spend our entire time eating. 

We do various things too. 

Like hanging out at the supermarkets looking at what's new on the shelves or what's on sale.

Like going to the Park further behind our house just to look at the water and the lights across the water- after having plates of delish fried Hokkien mee, chye tow kuay,and fried kuay teow.

And like going to the bus interchange canteen for a very early breakfast, and cups of kopi. 

This has become one of the things we frequently do. 

I love their kopi. 

It's strong, it's thick, it's fragrant, and hands-down beats most of the watery stuff that we pay at coffee shops for. 

We come here so often that we're recognized as regulars there. 

It's not a very new canteen- this bus interchange has been around for more than twenty years- but she holds special memories, and meaning to us. 

I won't elaborate much- but let's just say that I'm known for my love of fried kuay teow mifen mian style, and at one point in time, we used to share a plate of this for breakfast at this very same canteen.

Of course we didn't come here that early at that time. 

We don't share a plate of kuay teow now. 

It isn't because we don't want to, but because the stall guy doesn't usually start his wok till at least 5am (to make it fresh for the bus drivers) and we're usually gone by then.          

So instead of kuay teow, we sometimes have a pau each, or a hum chim pang, or sticks of freshly fried you tiao which we then stick into the mugs of thick, fragrant, sense-stimulating kopi. 

Hotpot BBQ @ Selegie GRID

A friend told me about this place.

Said that we had been here before. 

That this place used to be at Chinatown on the same row as the Tiong Shian Frog Porridge coffee shop side. 

It took me a while to remember, but I eventually did. 

Their new place, at the corner on the SOTA side behind Isshin Machi, looks more or less the same. 

But the lights have changed. 

And so has the atmosphere. 

We were directed to a table when we arrived. 

The place wasn't crowded- just two other tables who looked like they were finishing up their meal. 

The lady who brought the plates told us this was a hotpot-BBQ mix all in, and we could order the premium meats off the menu. 

So, we did. 

But before that, we chose our soups. 

My friend got the tom yum. I got the tonkotsu. 

What you'll see here is a fraction of all the meats and vegetables we had. 

There's a camaraderie between us when it comes to sharing hotpot meals together. 

My friend's in charge of the meats. 

I'm in charge of the vegetables. 

I don't know exactly how many platters of meats we had, nor which of what exactly it was that we ordered, but it was a huge tray that the lady brought over to our table, and the platters occupied three levels of the standing trolley next to our table. 

There was mutton, there was chicken, there was pork, there was beef. 

I know we took a fair bit of mutton. 

We also took a fair bit of beef. 

Some of the meats were marinated. 

Some were not. 

The unmarinated ones we dunked in the soup. 

The marinated ones we put on the grill. 

At first we thought of grilling the mutton but then realized it might be too heaty so we dropped that idea and dropped it into the soup instead. 

Shall I say that the grilled meats tasted wonderful? 

And that even though they ended up being very shiny from the oils and the marination, they were actually pretty good? 

I liked that the meats were tender. 

I also liked that there were actually lots of other foods which we could have thrown on the grill (but we didnt).

We only added a couple of chicken wings, and several scallops which we took off the self-serve shelf. 

We should have tried to grill the corn, the carrots, the broccoli, the mushrooms, or even some of the stuff I call the hotpot balls. 

Instead we stuck to mostly meats on the grill, and everything else we got went into the soup- the lettuce, the mushrooms and the cheese tofu. (I couldn't resist)

It was a very filling meal. 

One of the most filling meals we'd ever had in a long time.

So full were we that we skipped dinner entirely and went for bottles of sugarless iced green tea.

I'm not sure if we'll do the BBQ again next time. 

Not because it wasn't good. 

I guess my temperament isn't as good with BBQ as it once used to. 

Then again, never say never, we just might.

Or we might just stick to the hotpot and throw all our favorite ingredients in once again. 

Supper Chillin' With The Parent

I don't know when the last time it was that I posted about supper with The Parent but I think it must have been some time ago. 

In recent times we've had much of our meals at the coffee shop behind our house. 

Not just because they changed chef and so the food's better, but also because we've got a bunch of vouchers which we want to use, and this stall accepts them.

The fried rice here is good. 

We've had it a few times. 

It's smooth, it's tasty, it's got lots of egg, and even though you can feel the grains, it's not too dry yet not too oily as well. 

The Parent tells me it's comparable to some of the better places. 

We've had this rice with fried fish.

We've also had it with cheesy pork sausage. 

The Parent especially loves it. 

OF course, it hasn't only been fried rice and nothing else from this stall.

We've attempted some of their other dishes too. 

Like their beef burger which is not too hard and not too dry but which might taste better with a bit more sauce inside. 

And like their fried chicken cutlet which I have to say, is very well breaded, very well fried, and goes well with the mayonnaise that you can ask for and which they provide. 

There was a time we ordered the baked rice. 

Imagine our surprise when we discovered two layers of cheese inside. 

Atop the rice (with chicken pieces) lay one thick, chewy layer of melted cheese. 

Above that were these generous streaks of nacho cheese.

There was so much cheese in there we wondered if we ought to separate out the first layer of cheese from the rice, dig out all the chicken and have it separately with the nacho cheese sauce instead.

One thing we appreciate about the food of this stall are the sides. 

Particularly the fried ones.

Okay, so they might be a little over-enthusiastic with the oil at times, but they're not too bad. 

I always let The Parent choose the sides. 

So far we've had their coleslaw. (It was quite refreshing)

We've also had their onion rings. 

One time we chose the whipped potato. (Very nice gravy)

And another time we chose the cheese fries. 

There're still other sides we haven't tried but I think we've found the sweet spot- fries with salted egg sauce, potato salad, onion rings, and coleslaw. 

ECP and the new Connector

An article in The Straits Times told of a new park connector that had opened along the route somewhere between East Coast Park and Tanah Merah. 

From the pictures it seemed like it was very scenic

So I went. 

I'm not new to the East Coast Park-Tanah Merah- Changi Village park connector route.

I've gone on it with Rose. 

I've also gone on it with Daffy several times before. 

One might think I'd get bored with the view of East Coast Park.

But, surprisingly, no.

One thing about the Earth we live in is that she's constantly in a sphere of change, and even though the trees, the paths, and maybe the shore might look the same, it's not. 

There's always something different. 

On one day it might be the weather. 

On another it might be the number of ships in the horizon. 

Maybe it's the reflection of the clouds on the water. 

Maybe it's the wind. 

Nothing actually ever stays the same- it cannot be reigned in- even if it be man-made, renovated or reclaimed. 

This afternoon I took the route from the Parkway Parade entrance towards Tanah Merah. 

It wasn't long- I'd done it before- and the weather was good- but I guess I hadn't anticipated the kind of crowds at the beach which, of course, led to several starts and stops and careful pedaling. 

That's wasn't so much the surprise. 

The surprise to me was getting to the park connector. 

Because whilst the news had featured wonderfully scenic pictures of the place, and the groups had mentioned the route taken to get there, no one had actually specified exactly where on this entire route it was. 

No one had said that to get to the beautiful part (from East Coast Park) means having to go past the entire length of the Surbana construction site, the living quarters of the workers working on the Surbana project, some very longish route with a lot of trees, and the entrance of Changi Naval Base. 

Pea brained me had thought it was just after the Tanah Merah Canal. 

Needless to say there are no pictures of the route along the way to the park connector (although I did take a very pretty one- of an offshore island- a long time ago) 

Poor confused me today was too pooped to stop and take newer pictures on the route, and it was not until I reached the park connector itself that I got down from Daffy and took a breather. . 

To put it in perspective, this park connector runs lengthwise behind the Changi Aerospace building lot (yeah, that ulu one that's seldom used and is most popularly known for holding the Air Show every year).

But it's peaceful. 

It's very peaceful. 

I was surprised. 

I'd thought it would be very much like Changi Beach Park (which is close by and is on the quiet, serene side) but, no, this connector felt a little bit different. 

I don't think it had anything to do with the island opposite. 

More likely it had something to do with the history, the air, the atmosphere.

Chin Swee Road

I'm going to be honest here- it's been a long time habit of mine to describe this particular estate as 'where the Sheng Siong is behind the OG there'.

Not the most flattering of descriptions, I know, but, I'm Singaporean, and Singaporeans tend to remember locations based on the landmarks that they remember well. 

To understand this heartland discussion, one must understand the landmarks that make up this part of Chinatown. 

Behind Yue Department Store (The Great Southern Hotel) and The Majestic Theater on Eu Tong Sen Road is the department store OG. Behind OG is a hawker center which I think is called People's Park Food Centre but is commonly referred to as "Swansons there". 

Behind this food center is a block of flats with heartland shops and two very popular coffee shops where in the evenings groups of uncles gather for bottles of beer. 

Chin Swee Estate lies beyond this block, in between which is a small little road that leads you from Upper Cross Street to Pearl's Hill behind. 

It's easy to think of this block of flats as being part of Chin Swee Estate. 

But it's not. 

The block actually lies along Upper Cross Street directly opposite the State Court, and, coming from this side, where you think is the front of Chin Swee Estate coming from this side is actually the back.

You won't realize it if you're coming from Chinatown but you certainly will know if you're coming from Clemenceau Avenue, Havelock Road or Chin Swee Road. 

I was coming from Clemenceau Avenue this particular afternoon. 

The idea was to cut through the blocks to Sheng Siong supermarket, take a look around, then go home. 

On a whim however, I went up to the lift landing of one of the blocks. 

May I say that it was unexpectedly dim and cool, very unlike the lift landings of other similar blocks that I'd previously seen? 

The views from the corridor of the other block in front was better.

The corridors themselves- in the late afternoon sun- seemed brighter too.

There're four areas at this block all of which grant you different views. 

One area looks out closer to Havelock Road and Kim Seng Road (where Great World City is).

I took this from one of the staircase landings next to one of the lifts. 

You can see clearly the buildings of Grand Copthorne Hotel behind the white blocks in the center. 

The other picture- on the same side of the block- looks out to Manhattan House, Seacare Hotel, parts of York Hill, and the blocks of Jalan Kukoh.

On the opposite side of the block in the same section, you have the view of the (old) State Court, the new State Court Building, and, in the distance, unblocked by anything, the Marina Bay area, the skyscrapers of Raffles Place, and the Singapore Flyer. 

The new State Court building rather overwhelms the view from some units on the lower floors, I have to say. 

If there was a time where they could look out their windows to the office buildings of Upper Cross Street and Telok Ayer and maybe even the sea, now all they've got are the windows of the State Court building right opposite. 

The higher floors likely have it better. 

Yes, there's the view of the State Court, but there's also the view of the market downstairs, the adjoining car park (it looks like a horseshoe from here), the iconic People's Park Center, and, in the distance, the office buildings of Tanjong Pagar.

The best view from this block, however, is not seen from any window of any unit on any floor, but from one end of the block's corridor. 

The corridor of the block might look like this.

But beyond the metal railing, over the space and airy atmosphere of a typical high rise, is this.

It is not a view that from the dim, cool concrete of the void deck, or the Sheng Siong supermarket that you can easily imagine. 

But here it is- right in front of you- in full glory- Pearl's Hill and Pearl's Hill Reservoir, complete with her rich, luscious foliage, basking under the beautiful, golden light of a late afternoon sun.

Colorful Foods from The Phones

There are certain times, regretfully, when I forget to bring Chonkycam. 

At those times I rely on my phone.

From my S8+ to my Note20, I take pictures of the food that I eat. 

Every meal, however simple, however elaborate, has its charm. 

It's just a matter of how you look at it, how you arrange it, and how much you feel an appreciation for it. 

One thing I'm surprised at is just how beautiful these dishes look when they're placed together. 

Maybe it's the plating. 

Maybe it's the garnishing. 

Maybe it's my obsession with symmetry. 

The first picture looks Mediterranean but it's actually a Christmas meal.  

We had it six months ago- at Soup Spoon. 

Here's the thing, however: I can remember where it was we had the meal. (Novena Square) but I don't remember what exactly it was we ordered. One of it certainly had chunks of beef. The other, I think, was Tokyo chicken stew. I'd ordered it because the soup had collagen, and I wanted it. 

The place where I took the second picture is sadly gone.

Wu Shui Men, tucked at the back of Parkway Parade's second floor, had been quiet for a long time. 

Perhaps they didn't advertise themselves enough. 

Perhaps people weren't familiar with their style of Taiwanese cuisine. 

But their chicken chop was crispy, tender, huge and good. 

And their side dishes weren't too bad either. 

I don't know where else I can get a plate of picked cabbages, soft steamed broccoli, braised egg, slice of Taiwan sausage and braised tau kwa all at the same time. 

Maybe they'll reopen some other place else some other day. 

With all the movements going about in F&B these days, it's good to know that some of our favorites continue to remain. 

Like 126 in Geylang along Sims Avenue where I took the third picture. 

What you see there are (some) of the best staples one must have at 126. 

Yes, there is a lot to choose from (their menu is a thick binder, mind) but these are what we normally go for when we're there. 

The cheong funs- theirs is the small small chewy chewy thick thick kind. 

The xiao long baos- they have them already dunked into little spoons of soup for you.

And this other fish maw thing with some sort of handmade ball below it. 

There're other meals I've had which are just as appetizing. 

Like this one where I had a croissant freshly baked by Maison Kayser with scrambled eggs and caramelized bacon left over from a Wild Honey dinner the night before. 

And like this one of stewed brinjal, tau kee, sweet sour pork, steamed egg otah, and steamed pork patty from the Teochew Porridge coffee shop in the middle of Tanjong Katong Road.