Bus Ride Sights: Chai Chee-Sims Way

I think we had gone to Springleaf at Jalan Tua Kong for a meal. 

Hence the existence of this bus ride.

What's funny is that I have no idea where exactly we were heading to, where exactly we were going. 

Were we going to Bugis? Were we going to Chinatown? 

I don't know.

I can't remember.

And this bus ride has been so long ago that I don't even know which bus we were on.

All I know is that I took a heck lot of pictures that afternoon- way too many for what I would normally take during a regular bus ride- and that they begin from the bus stop on New Upper Changi Road right opposite Decathlon Bedok at the place we call Chai Chee. 

Something that charmed me about the ride this afternoon was the light.

The light here at Upper Changi was gorgeous. 

So was the early afternoon light all along Changi Road, where the bus trundled down past Opera Estate and all- on the left- towards the junction where Kembangan Road meets Frankel Avenue. 

The bus passed by the canal and the PCN afterwards, then it were the entire row of shop houses on the right by the roads of Lorong Melayu, Lorong Marzuki and Lorong Marican. 

To this day I don't know for sure what businesses it is that all these shop houses hold. 

For some reason I haven't paid much attention. 

All I know is that there are some hardware shops, some motor repair shops, a couple of paint shops, and a few other firms here and there.

The one thing I do recognize on this stretch, however, is this structure with its distinctive blue Chinese roof. 

It is a little strange how familiar the sight of it now looks to me. 

I didn't think I would remember it. 

But I do- even if I have no idea what building it is or to whom it belongs to. 

I just know I always used to see it when going out for chicken rice at the Kim San Leng coffee shop opposite this road. 

More shops and firm in them shophouses followed after that, and then the bus arrived at the junction where Changi Road meets Jalan Eunos and Still Road. 

A distinctive feature of this junction here is the mosque Masjid Darul Aman. You see it when you're coming down Changi Road. You also see it when you're at Still Road and Jalan Eunos. 

This afternoon the bus I was on went down, going past one of the smaller housing estates- I don't know its name-, then what I think is a soccer field (of a VWO), then the Millage building- with apartments and all- and the Geylang Serai Market and Food Center right next door. 

The bus stopped at the traffic light directly in front of Joo Chiat Road, where right above my head was this distinctive structure. 

Seeing it now I wish I knew what it actually was meant to represent.  

But I probably wasn't paying much attention when the decor was constructed, and so in all honesty I have no idea. 

Still, I was glad.

It isn't every day that I get to see this particular structure. 

More often than not the bus beats the traffic light, zooming underneath it to the bus stop of Haig Road Market beyond. 

The bus now went past the tree-lined carpark right outside the former Tanjong Katong Complex. 

Then, past the offices of PLQ (SMRT? Bayer?) till the junction where the road meets Paya Lebar Road and Guillemard Road.  

From here on it were the whole stretch of the area we call Geylang, or Geylang Road. 

The most number of pictures of this one bus ride come from this stretch.

What was it that made me work Chonkycam nonstop, I don't really know. 

It might have been that the light was good.

It might also have been that the shop houses, under the beautiful warm sunshine, looked so colorful. 

I am not familiar with the enclave Singaporeans call Geylang. 

Thing about this place is that I don't recognize which shop house belongs to where. 

I have no idea which shop house lies on which lorong, and, given the length of the stretch, I don't have much of a distinctive landmark to really remember either.  

What I am able to say is that I know the first shophouse begins, of course, at the junction of Paya Lebar Road, Changi Road, and Geylang Road. 

After that, however, all I know of the place becomes varied, and random. 

It's not that I don't recognize the shops or the shop houses. 

It is more like I don't know which is where and where is what. 

It is like I could possibly recognize a coffee shop that specializes in beef kuay teow, or a coffee shop that has a variety of stalls offering chicken rice, duck rice, zichar all, but I don't know which lorong it sits on, nor which section of the Geylang enclave it is. 

That being said, to date I haven't really paid enough attention to the shops this side of the road.

The only major landmark I do recognize on this stretch is the mosque.

Offhand I may not know the name (I apologize) but Google Maps tells me it is the Masjid Khadijah, and a very, very distinctive shade of canary yellow, and chendol green, is she. 

Unfortunately, I barely recognize any of the shops or businesses after the bus passes the mosque. 

Neither do I recognize the shop houses, even if some of them seem to have been beautifully restored with careful detail, and bright colors on the exterior walls and shuttered windows. 

Sometimes life is such that we don't pay attention to these facets of architecture, the story behind it, or the very fact that it exists.

It's a pity. 

One really ought to notice these things more and not shove them under the premise of what we think we know. 

The next landmark I managed to recognize as the bus made its way down was this junction where Aljunied Road meets Geylang Road. 

How long this New Cathay Hotel has been here, I don't know, but from the looks of it, seeing the design of the building, certainly not the newest on this stretch is she.

I recognized a little bit more of the buildings and the corresponding places after this junction. 

This Victoria Food Court I have seen many times before. 

Not that I have had a chance to eat there nor have I seen material on what stalls there are, however, it sits right next to a seafood restaurant- and that- with its unique zinc roofed style right here close to town- I definitely recognize.  

After this came a couple of other shops- some offering mobile phones, others supermarkets, and some of random household things that we never know we need until we need. 

Coming up next was the building with a Bee Cheng Hiang outlet on one side, a Sheng Siong supermarket outlet on the other. 

A shop house hosting a diner that sold (pretty famous) claypot frog leg porridge was right after. 

More shop houses followed on after that- there was a hotpot restaurant, and another, (soup) beef noodles, if I'm not wrong. 

Not too far ahead there was a dessert place- I know, as I'd eaten there before- then the bus came up to the junction of Sims Way- I've always recognized it by the Shell station- after which the road led down to Kallang, the Merdeka Bridge and then into Lavender and downtown. 

Back to Cine's BBRC

I know I wrote about this lunch deal meal not too long before. 

And whilst the meal here this time was no different from the meal I had the last time, still I think it worth writing, because this place is (indeed) worth visiting. 

There are those amongst us who feel that repeat experiences need not be mentioned, but I don't agree.

What with life being what it is these days, every experience is a precious one, and ought to be cherished and valued and held. 

I went for the same menu at Cineleisure's BBRC cafe today. 

It had not been my intention. 

I had wanted to try the chicken- I had been thinking of fried chicken for a while- but it wasn't available today, so back it was to the pork ribs and the spaghetti. 

Was it good? 

Did it meet my expectations the same way I had had mine the last time I came?

Yes, of course.

If there is one thing about this place, I should say it is their consistency. 

It might not be same chef in the kitchen, it might not be the same servers, but the food is the same. 

Whether it be the salad of those vegetables I call the bitter bitter lettuce, or the sour dressing that I don't know what it is, but it actually makes the salad refreshing and easy to eat. 

I wouldnt 'know what to do if the salad came just by itself without any form of dressing. 

That would be so raw. 

Along with the salad of raw, bitter bitter vegetables came a small dish of steamed gyoza dumplings, both pieces of which were really cute, but I didn't take a picture. 

In any case they looked same way like this they looked last time. 

Same ingredients, same level of chew. 

I however forgot to inform the staff to make my Bulgogi Pork Ribs Pasta less spicy, so yeah, it was a heck lot of a kick I got (again) after the first bite. 

May I say that my threshold for spice this afternoon seemed to be lesser as compared to the last time I ate? 

It didn't diminish my enjoyment of the dish, it didn't take away anything, but a part of me decided today's spice was a bit too overwhelming and better it be that I space my spaghetti out instead of eating it all at one go. 

Let's say I took two hours to finish all the spaghetti. 

I didn't take that long a time with the Pork Rib though.

The meat was tender, soft, literally falling off the bone, and the sauce of bulgogi (if there be one) was both sweet and savory, making every bite of the pork pleasant to the palate. 

So good was it that when it came to the last part I put down decorum, put down table etiquette, and reached for the rib with my hands.

Eating with hands does make it more enjoyable, so they say, but it is the flavor that makes this rib completely stand out. 

See, I'm used to my meats either savory or sweet, one or the other.

This one was an excellent calibration of both balanced out so well where the meat of the pork was neither too sweet nor too savory. 

Such a joy for a weekday afternoon, I tell you.

I'll be coming back here in future. 

I haven't yet tried the Fried Chicken with Japanese Curry. 

What's more, there's another dish on their main menu that I want to have.

It will be at RRP of at least $25nett, I think, no lunch deal of $9.90++ for their Fish & Chips, but from what I love about their Bulgogi Pork Ribs Pasta, and their Chargrilled Sirloin Steak with Fries- which again this afternoon was the meal choice of my friend- I'm quite sure it will be satisfyingly good. 

I like the fish of Fish & Chips battered, not breaded, anyway. 

More Selfies

I have- all of a sudden- been taking more and more selfies.  

Not for any reason save for the fact that the s**ttier I feel, the more tired I feel, the more makeup I put, the more selfies I take. 

It's one thing to look and feel confident.

It's another thing to try look pulled together and able to go about your day when your mind doesn't let you feel the same way. 

Thank God then for such things as skin tint, foundation, eye shadow, color changing lip balm and fragrance mist. These little babies aren't just cosmetics. They're an arsenal of modern-day corporate female ammo. 

Did I feel better after that? 

Maybe, maybe not. 

The one thing I knew- at least- was that I didn't look like s***.

These selfies confirm that. 

In some of them I feel okay, some of them I wish I were feeling better. 

But that's life. 

It is life that you attire yourself in black Uniqlo tee and black cardigan and plonk on a face of makeup because you need to look presentable as you go tell a person of legal authority you have reasonable ground to not withdraw a particular suit. 

It is life too that a week later, despite having your hair odd-shaped because of static (or something) you wear the same arsenal and go meet a person whom you hope to work with for a project that you know is your expertise and will boost portfolios. 

One of the pictures here I snapped when I was on the patio upstairs. 

Probably one of the mornings where I had to make myself push through things rather than dropping into despair. 

I don't think I ever have had to hype myself up as much as I have done in the mornings past, and this particular selfie- with me still in my brown Decathlon pajamas T-shirt- was one of them. 

You can see the bedhead anyway.

When it was that I took the last selfie I don't know. 

Funny thing is that I'm quite sure it didn't happen very long ago. 

Very likely it was either at a Starbucks or a restaurant or someplace where the lighting was particularly bright. 

But yeah definitely I had the ammunition on, I had the lip balm on, some color on my eyelids and my cheeks and all I can say is that I'm uber glad my hair was good that day. 

It not always is! 

Afternoon Tea @ Jen Tanglin

The afternoon tea we had here at Hotel Jen Tanglin had in fact taken place a couple of months ago.

Yes, (what with everything and anything) it has taken me this long.

Perhaps a part of me didn't want to be reminded of this lovely meal, and how things had evolved since then.

Perhaps a part of me didn't want to be reminded of how I tried to not think about things and yet, they were still there. 

Having a meal here at this hotel is a comforting, cozy experience. 

Not merely because I love the vibes of the hotel, but also for the fact that their afternoon tea offerings are so delicious, and so carefully calibrated, that there is something for everyone at every age. 

We began this afternoon with a plate of crab.

This humongous plate of crab claws was precisely what Hedgehog had come here for, and that was what we were going to have. 

I'm neutral to crab.

What that means is that I don't have particular cravings for it, but neither will I push the dish away when I get to eat them.

I am scared of the shell though. 

Like, I have heard horror stories of people having unknowingly broken their teeth on bits of shell whilst working their way through parts of flesh they thought were clear. 

Thankfully the way Hedgehog likes his crab is a wee bit different, and by the time we came to eating the meat itself, it had all been hand-shredded, and dropped into this big bowl of delicious laksa soup. 

It's a painstaking process, mind, but totally worth the effort, and whilst I'm pretty useless at getting the flesh out, never mind hammering the shell, I help in the stirring, and eating, the stirring, and eating.

Of course I go get the bowls of laksa gravy from the counters too. 

You don't see it, but there're no noodles inside this bowl. We decided to go without them, choosing the quail eggs (For me) and tau pok (for Hedgehog) instead. 

I liked this combination. 

It didn't diminish the fragrance of the laksa. Neither did it take away any of the spice, the taste or the creaminess of the gravy steeped in rich coconut milk. In fact I wonder if the shredded crab enhanced the taste a little. It might have, it might not, but additional texture was definitely there.

Thinking back now, I'm starting to wonder whether I really do like eating my crabs fresh, clean, unadulterated this way, or whether I still will go for the traditional gravies of chili crab, salted egg and black pepper. 

I don't know.

I haven't had the other forms of crab for a long time. 

But if otherwise, well, I certainly love this one, specifically, this one here at Jen65 where for the afternoon tea I have varieties of cooked food so much more. 

In between us hammering, peeling, stirring, and eating from the laksa bowl, I went to the counter for more food. 

There's a lot to be had here, by the way. 

At one end, right close to the noodle and laksa station, there is the Indian food area where one can get briyani or try out a piece of vadai if one should want it. There're a couple of curries here too, except I can't remember now what they are. 

Next to it there's the mee goreng station and the satay station. They usually have something more, but right now I also can't quite recall what it is they have now. Maybe it's sayur lodeh. Maybe it's something else. 

This afternoon I helped myself to a very little bit of mee goreng, a couple sticks satay, some fresh vegetables in the form of corn kernels and cherry tomatoes and what I think is a tiny little dollop of mashed potato. 

Small portions they might look, but I've since learnt not to take too much at one go. 

Given my appetite these days, I fill up fast and if I take too much I won't be able to try anything else, so small portions of my favorites it is. 

I like the mee goreng and satay here at Jen65. 

Not only are the noodles tasty and the satay with that hint of smoky grill, there's a cleanliness of taste about them both that I don't always get to have elsewhere. 

One doesn't feel the smoke from the satay linger on the palate. Even the satay sauce, where at other places might have plenty of oil, here there's more peanut than oil and every dip of the meat inside the sauce lets me have more of the chopped peanut than the actual sauce. So thick is the chopped peanut that I almost feel like it is a dip rather than a sauce. 

Then there's the mee goreng. 

Sure, it's pretty commonplace, one might say, like you might it at any stall in any coffee shop or hawker center, but the ones here have a smooth texture where I find myself tasting more of the dark soy sauce than the oil. 

What's more, it's the dry type, which I absolutely love. 

Of course, the mashed potato on this plate might seem a little out of place but oy, I walked past the serving tray and the bright yellow smoothness made it impossible not to grab the serving spoon and carve out a small bite. 

Food with fresh vegetables too make a whole lot of difference when you're having cooked, stir-fried stuff.

I didn't think I'd like fresh tomato juice with mee goreng or buttery mashed potato but it was pleasantly refreshing, and it gave the dry fried foods that burst of extra zing. 

Onwards it was to the other stations of Jen65's afternoon tea now. 

One area had been dedicated to the salads- they had corn, lettuce, tomatoes, green olives, black olives, onions, even couscous. 

One area had what I call the sushis and sobas, which, if I may add, were a particular hit with some of the diners especially since it isn't frequent here that sushi has the halal stamp, or that Indian families bring their kids to casual sushi joints. 

Then there was the area around which I walked three rounds over. 

It was very hard to not take the halal dim sum- especially since they had a favorite of mine the crystal pau. Then there were the soups- today, if I'm not wrong, they had pumpkin, or it might have been something else, I'm not sure. 

I looked for a while at the pasta that had dozens of mussels sitting snugly amidst the delicious-looking thick sauce of cream. 

But in the end went back for another dollop of the mashed potato. 

Too hard for me to resist the buttery smooth. 

I took more from the other section close by the potato and the pasta. 

This one had what I call the dry foods, where on one side stood the kueh pie tee station, the other side had the sandwiches, and then at the corner there were the quiche. 

This afternoon on my plate there was one piece of sushi maki- I got attracted by the pinch dollop of crab on top- then a second heap of salad from which I chose more corn, and a couple more cherry tomatoes. From the dry (pastry) side of the buffet I helped myself to a single slice of spinach quiche, and a whole grilled ham and cheese sandwich. 

Trust me when I say I took great joy in cutting up the spinach quiche into smaller pieces, and when I saw the cheese stretch from the toast of the sandwich. 

The taste, of course, was just as good. 

Think of it as a ham and cheese toast with veggies of corn and tomato in between. 

By this time, what with two full plates of food, plus the crab in the laksa and a copious number of quail eggs, I was, no doubt starting to feel full. 

But there was the kueh pie tee.

And that is something one must never ever miss- not when you're here at this afternoon tea- for the very simple reason that you can customize your own kueh pie tee- and that it won't come out meagre on the fillings or even soggy on the pastry. 

So I took three.

I didn't put all the ingredients- this afternoon I didn't want the turnip nor the tiny little prawns- so my pastry cups only had chopped hard boiled egg, heaps of parsley, and a wee drizzle of the sweet sauce. 

The parsley made a huge difference; I don't know if it is the texture of them cute looking leaves or how the taste balances out the flavors of hard boiled egg so well. 

So much did I like these that I went back for another three, so yes, I had six, altogether. 

I'm just so surprised that one doesn't need the entire gamut of turnip and sesame seeds and prawn and everything else to make this kueh pie tee taste so good. 

It was time for dessert after that. 

My appetite this afternoon leaned towards the cakes. 

Why, I don't know. 

On hindsight it feels rather silly that I only went for the cakes and not the self-customized ice kachang, the jelly that they had in the chiller, not even the scones or the ice cream. 

Perhaps I had thought the cakes were great enough.

And they were.

I think I took two variations of cheesecakes. One was the New York style cheesecake without anything else on it, just the cheese and the cake alone. The other cheesecake I took however had a raspberry on it. Then again it might have been another cake altogether (but which I now don't quite remember).

There was an Earl Grey cake.

This I know because I'm a fan of Earl Grey cakes and I like it when they serve it with a thin layer of blueberry jam. It adds just a hint of sweetness to the cake, a bit of moisture even, but without overwhelming the palate or making one feel like they can't taste the light flavor of Earl Grey sponge. 

I had a slice of kueh lapis. 

Whether it was considered good quality or not didn't matter.

I have a thing for kueh lapis (always have had) and with the freedom to take as much as I wanted, I wasn't going to drop the chance. 

So I took one slice for starters, and another slice afterwards. 

By right I should have been full and not able to eat anymore, but there were these two bright-looking matcha-raspberry mousse slices on my plate and no way was I going to do them away. 

There's something very special about having a sip of black coffee with a spoonful of cake on a pleasant weekend afternoon in a nice, cozy space. 

Perhaps next time I'll make sure to make room for the ice cream and the scones. 

It feels super silly to not appreciate a nice baked scone with fresh cream and jam. 

Under the Shabu Sai Light

One of the best hotpots I ever got to have late of last year was this one here at Shabu Sai. 

They have a few outlets across the island, mind, but the one we tend to go to is the one at Somerset. 

It's quieter, that location, and one gets to chill out at Orchard afterwards. 

What's funny is that I had not expected to be falling in love with it so much, but, yes, I did, and now, I get excited whenever my friend and I drop in for their hotpots whatever time of the day. 

The best thing about their hotpot here at Shabu Sai is how fresh their ingredients are. 

Whether it be the meats or the vegetables, whether it be the Japanese curry or the steamed rice or the sauces, everything is prepared, and kept in the chilliest, freshest way where the food be neatly arranged and the portions sufficient. 

The chilled vegetables always get to me. 

It is not because I don't get to have chilled vegetables elsewhere. 

It is that them chilled vegetables here are always of good portion, cold, nearly iced, and refreshing to both the senses and the eye. There is a marked difference, I tell you, at the sight of a crisp, fresh raw vegetable versus a limp, hastily arranged one. 

There're plenty of vegetables here to be had at Shabu Sai. 

They're one of the most popular ingredients for the pot. 

Not only do they have the green leafy ones, there're also a variety of mushrooms, fresh sliced tomatoes, carrots, radishes, seaweed, potatoes (maybe) and some others which all of a sudden now I cannot remember. 

My friend is fan of the seaweed and spinach. 

There be nothing else he take save for these two vegetables.

Me, on the other hand, I usually go for the Romaine lettuce- that's the first thing I look for when I go to the vegetable counter- but if there be none, I go for the Chinese cabbage or the spinach leaves that they definitely have there. Maybe one day I ought to take the other kinds of vegetables but they tend to have large stems and I'm not so big a fan of them. 

In recent times, I've started to take the tomatoes and the mushrooms too. 

My vegetables this afternoon were the Chinese cabbage, fresh tomatoes, spinach and a couple of chopped shiitake mushrooms. 

I like alternating vegetables with meat, so all through my meal I was kept busy dunking leaf after leaf into my soup in between them slices of meat. 

My choice of soup today was Yuzu-something. Offhand I can't quite remember what it was, but I know it wasn't tonkotsu, it wasn't tomato or anything spicy, and neither was it the clean-tasting seaweed soup base that my friend ordered. 

First thing that went into the soup were the mushrooms, the vegetables, and the cheese tofus. 

Mushrooms take some time to boil, cheese tofus take some time to soak in all the soup, and I wanted to see the vegetables cook before the meat arrived. 

As it happened, today, like always, all through the meal I alternated between dunking them leaves into the soup and the slices of beef that my friend had taken the liberty to order. 

Don't laugh, it actually makes for a very good combination on the palate. 

The meat, clean-tasting as it is without any marination, makes for a very easy chew. It isn't dry if you eat it as soon as it's out of the pot. What I do is to place the vegetables- by now all soaked up with the soup- on top of the meat, and so keeps it warm. 

The mouth never quite stops moving when it comes to the hotpot here at Shabu Sai. 

Maybe we've gotten very practiced. 

On the table there is a homemade dip of Greek-style yogurt and garlic powder, as well as a bit of sour cream, so them both make for an excellent dip that has all the the necessary fermentation yet does not overwhelm nor get too oily on the tongue. 

My friend likes his beef with the yogurt and garlic.

Me, I like mine with the sour cream. 

Not that I don't like yogurt, but sour cream gives off that distinctive texture that is smooth but not that watery and is surprisingly less sour than yogurt when eaten together with meat. 

All in all, I like how the probiotics work. 

They make for wonderful digestion especially when you're aiming to go through 6 trays of meat. 

Today, between the both of us, I think we had at least 7, if not 8 trays altogether. 

Midway I decided it kind of dumb to not have their sauces, so off it was to the counter I went, getting myself a bowl of sesame sauce mixed with sesame oil, plus a heap of spring onions and coriander. I think I added some fried onions too.

Maybe it's not so good on its own but coriander, with its hint of bitter, actually does add that leafy grassy texture to the meat and takes away some of the salty salty taste from the sesame sauce. 

This sauce made for a wonderful addition to the sour cream that I was already happily dipping my meat into, and I got to stir some of it inside my bowl of udon as well. 

Special mention must be made of this udon.

See, most of the time when I'm here I like to get myself a bowl of rice whenever I come here. Shabu Sai has rice in the pot for the taking, so what I like to do is to get myself a bowl, drown the grains in ladles of sesame oil, drop lots and lots of fried onions on top, and eat. 

But today I was looking at the ramen and the udon at the counter in front of me and I started wondering just why it was I had never made myself a bowl prior. 

So I got a couple strands of udon and threw them inside the pot. 

When they were ready, I had them with a few slices of beef, several pieces of lettuce, and a slice of fresh tomato that was still on the serving plate. 

The noodles, slow-cooked with the warmth of the hotpot, tasted especially good. 

I'll definitely be having them again the next time I come for sure. 

Likewise I'll also be having my vanilla soft serve with salt (for fun) and a scattering of sesame seeds (for crunch). Yes, one is supposed to have it with rainbow sprinkles or even cornflakes and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, but I think salt adds that wee bit of difference, and who is to say that sesame seeds can't go with vanilla soft serve anyway? 

There was dessert too where we had vanilla ice cream, and where I added a pinch of salt, just for the fun of it, if nothing more.