Jane Deer Desserts

Anyone who has ever watched a mainland-produced mukbang video will know just how seriously they take their sweets, their cakes, their desserts, their flavors and their colors.

Sometimes it's about the looks.

Sometimes it's about the taste

And sometimes it's about both the looks and the taste. 

I (as usual) was a little apprehensive when told about this new dessert place at the junction of North Bridge Road and Liang Seah Street. 

Not that I'm unwilling to try new things, but the place was new, and I'm not always trusting of the reviews that I read online.

Still, the craving for dessert was strong, so we went. 

I wasn't disappointed. 

Any fears I had about the dessert looking good tasting bad were thrown our the door when the bowl of peach gum arrived at our table. 

Because even though peach gum has, due to its collagen, has grown in popularity the last couple of years, it's not always that I get to have it with white fungus, and better yet, with a serving of cold, fresh coconut milk, and a handful of goji berries.

I guess Jane Deer is very determined to balance out the traditional with the contemporary.

You can tell from their menu.

This is a place that has bowls of sweet potato and yam dessert offered together with white fungus dessert and balls of carefully-scooped out cantaloupe atop a variety of other ingredients in a hollowed out coconut.

Not just that, they even have a signature dessert- a hotpot one. 

Now, I don't know how that's like but one of the nearby tables was having it the day we were there and I think it's got lots of fruits and other ingredients, with some sort of sweet liquid that you pour over in the pot and let it 'sizzle'

Maybe one day I'll give it a try. 

But not today.

Today there was this bowl of peach gum- goji berry, white fungus, coconut milk, all, and there was also an additional order of a watermelon coconut dessert served in the husk of a hollowed Thai coconut. 

This one surprised me. 

Not so much of the way it was served (I've seen desserts served in watermelon shells before), but more of what there was inside.

Every layer was a surprise.

Like, at the bottom was the fresh, cold coconut milk and the nicely sliced coconut flesh, right above that were the little balls of scooped-out fresh watermelon, and above that still were the little balls of glutinous rice we call shiratama dango.

As if that wasn't enough, nestled amongst all these balls were little red and white translucent balls that popped out flavors of something which I cannot remember, and lychee.

I know there was lychee.

Because I love anything lychee infused and these cute little babies gave me quite a delight.

I was especially taken by the shiratama dango too.

They made for a great chew, and they reminded me of matcha ice cream sundaes done Japanese style.

It was a memorable, refreshing time we had here at Jane Deer. 

Perhaps some might find the place a little too OTT or even overwhelming (like why is it so pink?), but it's a comfortable, pretty place for dates and to chill.

Best part, you get what your dollar's worth, no need to compromise whatsoever at all.

Lunch at Zenso

One reason why I think me and my friend have taken a fancy to Zenso (at Sunshine Plaza) is perhaps, because of the hours they're open, and the variety of food they have over there.

Going there for a meal I don't have to worry that I have to order full sized plates which I might not be able to finish, or have good food which I unfortunately have to finish within a certain period of time. 

Sometimes we go for the big, sometimes we go for the small.

Like today, where we went for the small. 

So, instead of the Mookata platters that we (did) frequent last year, we went for the lighter dishes of pork cutlet, Moo Ping, Pad Thai and spring rolls. 

It was good. 

Some of us might not find the fried spring rolls or the pork cutlet any distinctive, but Zenso does theirs really well, so much so that satisfaction fills you the moment you take the first bite of the spring roll, and likewise you find yourself reaching (automatically) for piece after piece of the cutlet you earlier thought you didn't want to have. 

I like how the flavors of the spring roll pop up in my mouth, I like the crisp of the skin, and I like that they don't fry it with too much of oil. 

It's the same for the Moo Ping.

There're many places that offer (keto-friendly) skewers of this well loved street food, but unlike others that are hard and overly soaked in oil, here theirs are tender, chewy, and not dry, where I get just the right amount of sweetness all over the pork, a characteristic that pretty much defines the cuisine of the Thais. 

I'm pretty glad that their Pad Thai and pork cutlet are delicious too. 

Especially since I've had plates of Pad Thai that, whilst looking pretty, turned out to be either too wet, too oily or neither here nor there in terms of taste. 

And I've had cutlets which are so miserably small that both the meat and the battered skin fall off at first bite. 

Sure, the pork cutlet might not be the chonky, huge ones that we see in other cuisines, but seeing the picture now reminds me a little of the Carona lemon chicken cutlet I used to have in school, and whilst this one doesn't come with lemon sauce, there's Thai chili sauce, and I think that's pretty good too. 

On the ECP

You know, it's not a very frequent thing that I get to take so many pictures whilst traveling on the ECP.

But then today I was going to Changi International Airport from Marine Parade, and I didn't want to stone the journey, so out came Chonkycam, and I happily clicked away.

The ECP, or East Coast Parkway as we call it, has to be one of the prettiest expressways in our country. 

Yes, you won't get much of a city view, but in place of skyscrapers and concrete structures, you get rewarded with glimpses of a gorgeous coastal view, and what seems like an endless stretch of beautifully pruned trees. 

I'm nor kidding.

It's as if the urban planners intended first-time visitors to see the beauty of a Garden City as soon as they touched down, whilst (at the same time) reminding us locals flying out never to forget the green charms of our homeland either. 

I'd say it's been rather successful. 

Visitors have told us what an amazing thing it is that Singapore has a garden in ta city. 

And locals, well, we're rather proud of our majestic Angsana trees and pretty bougainvillea shrubs anyway.

One thing you'll notice about these trees is that no two of them look exactly the same. It doesn't matter if they're the same kind- as the bus trundles on, you'll realize that they don't look alike in any way. 

I found myself particularly charmed by the sight of these palm trees that I think were near the golf course. 

Don't ask me why, but for some reason they made me think of... Port Dickson. 

Or some route that runs by the coast somewhere in the tropics. 

The row of palm trees didn't last long, however.

No sooner that the bus went past we were back to the canopies of Angsana trees again.

It's strange how the sight of these trees can genuinely affect your mood. 

I don't know if they're supposed to make you feel contemplative, thankful, thoughtful, or hopeful. 

I also don't know if they're meant to drift you off into some kind of stupor as you travel towards the airport.

But today on Bus 36, I felt contemplative. 

Because there was something at Changi Airport that I wanted to see. 

And whilst I wasn't sure whether I felt as hopeful as I once used to, I had a hint that, perhaps, I might be happier seeing them bi-directional going forth and coming back, not so much, however, of them being continuously all around me.

Chili Padi Nyonya

There's only one picture of this meal that we had this afternoon at Chili Padi Nyonya Restaurant somewhere around Joo Chiat Road. 

But it is a good enough picture. 

Because not only was this our very first time at the restaurant for the year of 2023, we had also deviated from our usual course of orders and decided on curry chicken instead. 

It was so good, I tell you.

Yes, yes, I know that taste is subjective, and what one likes might not be what another fancies, but oy, compared to the other (horrible, skinny-ass) curry chicken that I'd once had at another place further down the road, this was gold. 

Maybe it has something to do with the claypot. 

Claypots work wonders in keeping their contents bubbling, stewing hot, and anything that's like a thick soup will somehow- by the end of it- become like a brew. 

I wouldn't go so far as to say this was a brew, but it was certainly thick, and tasty, and when we finished all the chicken, it felt like such a waste to let the gravy go. 

Still, even as much as we wanted to, we couldn't take it back.

Storing it for a week in the fridge wouldn't do much for the taste by the time next Saturday rolled around.

So we let it go.

Comfort lay, however, in the fact that we had satisfied our lunch with the huge drumstick and huge piece of breast meat (or was it a thigh) 

And that we could always come back here for the same dish another time. 

Today it wasn't just the curry chicken (and rice) that we had. 

There was another stewed dish too.

Unfortunately I can't quite seem to remember what it was.

Maybe it was babi pongteh.

Maybe it was another pork dish. 

I guess I'll have to wait till I go back there next time to figure it out. 

Maybe this time we'll make it so we can have the chicken curry, and get to take the leftover curry home for bread or rice another day.

McDonalds Bras Basah

It's gotten very hard to write this piece.

I don't know why. 

Especially since this doesn't usually happen to me. 

And really, why should it be so hard? 

What can be so difficult writing about a McDonalds in the building that once used to stand at this site but is now demolished? 

What can be so confusing that my thoughts not be able to flow when all I want is to talk about this McDonalds and all the times I've been there?

Maybe I haven't had the space to give myself room.

Or maybe I haven't had the space to give myself room to look at all that has been a part of my life and is now no longer there. 

It's not with a sense of regret that I write about this place.

It's with a smile.

Because I've been coming here ever since I was a little girl and those times, even though so long ago now, I can still recall. 

No doubt, I don't remember every single time. 

But enough that I can remember the hamburgers that I used to have here. 

And enough that I can remember the row of tables that we used to sit at whenever we had those hamburgers here on Sundays after church. 

I don't know why it was always the hamburger. 

But I never got bored. 

I didn't ask for anything else, or anything more either.

It was enough for me- the juice of the meat, the taste of the pickle, the bounce of the bun. 

That being said, however, hamburgers aren't the only thing I remember of this place. 

There are apple pies and hash browns, bought by the Sunday School  teacher for the entire class.

There are also Hotcakes and Big Breakfast meals, bought by my friend and I as a treat for ourselves on those days when class ended early and we came here from church located across Victoria Street on the other side. 

I don't think it likely that I'll soon forget about the chicken nuggets and the box of sweet sour sauce that I liked dipping them in. 

Neither will I forget about the hot fudge ice cream sundae, the strawberry ice cream sundae, and the cup of sweet corn mixed generously with margarine/butter. 

Yes, this McDonalds here holds precious memories for me. 

It's a little sad knowing she's now gone. 

But (who knows) maybe one day she'll come back- to this area where she once was, to the space where everyone at one time remembered and knew. 

Crowne Plaza, Finally

I got pretty excited when told we'd be at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport over the weekend.

Not just because I like hanging out at the airport, but also because it had been some time since I'd gone to that side of town for a weekend breather. 

Like all journeys are, the trip didn't begin at the lobby waiting to check in. 

It began earlier- on the bus that trundled down the scenic East Coast Parkway towards PTB T3.

Shall I say that the route felt a little more contemplative this time? 

After all it isn't every day that my eyes see beyond what is, really, just a line of very tall palm trees. 

Over at Crowne, I was glad to see that, Covid or not Covid, the hotel still looked the same. 

By that I mean that the ballrooms were still there, the lifts were all operational and the pool, with her towering palm trees, comfortable deck chairs and lounge seats, still looked the same as I last remembered it, except that they didn't have the small cup of Haagen Dazc ice cream on sale for $5 this time. 

The room, too, hadn't changed. 

At least I presume it hadn't, because I don't think I've ever stayed in Crowne's new wing before. 

It's not all that different, I would say.

There's the work desk to your right as soon as you enter the room.

In front of the work desk, complete with desk lamp, landline phone and everything, is the bed, and behind the desk chair you'll see the two-door wardrobe, housing slippers, bathrobe and other paraphernalia inside. 

Next to the bed is the bedside table, then a sofa, and a rather large coffee table. 

I don't really know what this size of a coffee table is meant for, but it's large enough to hold a big pizza box, some bottles of beer, a birthday cake, and a box of fried chicken even.

Not just that, it's possible to have a box of fried noodles, a box of cai fan rice, and maybe even a paper packet of chye tow kuay bought from the food court or from the (not so secret) staff canteens in the airport terminals below. 

Further on, next to the sofa, is the bathroom, which, if I guess correctly, can be said to be one of the larger ones within this hotel category. 

There's the bidet, the shower stall, the sinks, and best of all, the tub, which view- for this room- grants you the panoramic sight of Changi Airport's Terminal 4, and Crowne's first wing. 

Admittedly I was at first a little flustered by the view, or what I thought was a lack thereof, but then night fell, and I changed my mind. 

Because shining continuously through the wide glass window were the headlights of cars coming into Changi Airport Terminal 3, and the faint traffic sounds made me think of the time I stayed in Emeryville's ESA. 

Is it any wonder that even in the deep of the night I had the spirit to think of Los Angeles, San Francisco and ESA? 

After all by that time I was already showered.

And I'd already had a delicious meal of ramen, donburi, beef and salmon carpaccio,  finishing it off with a dessert of mini cream puffs bought from JEWEL's DDD.  

It didn't matter whether or not I slept sufficient. 

Next morning's breakfast buffet for good motivation to wake up and smell the coffee. 

There was a lot to be had in terms of Continental, Asian and American, but strategic eating on my part meant that instead of toast, I had two little apple pastries (because they were warm and I felt them fun) 

I didn't forgo my omelet of cheese, onion and tomato though. 

Nor the slices of smoked salmon (which my eagle-eyed friend managed to find) and niblets of corn . 

I can't quite recall how we spent the rest of the day though.

Maybe I headed into town to run a (rather unexpected) errand. 

Maybe I went to T1, T2 and T3 to look at the Flight Information Board and put into faith the destinations I wanted to go. 

But dinner this second night included a huge bowl of warm, comforting soup, smooth silky wanton dumplings inside, a plate of spicy mala chicken, and a basketful of xiao long bao which I could actually have had portions of two. 

I'm going to want to go back to Crowne Plaza again. 

There're places in JEWEL that I want to go. 

There're places in T3 and 2 that I want to see. 

But this time I hope I won't have to rush out ridiculous errands, I hope I won't have to break through my morning meal, and I hope I won't have to dedicate an entire hour during prime time to do a task that stresses me out and keeps me hoppity for hours afterward.