Voco Orchard

Same view, same interiors, different name.

That's what VOCO Orchard (today) is- to me- simply because (to us amateur guests at least) stepping through the doors of this hotel property brings a sense of familiarity, that, despite the name change on the building and on the front door, everything else more or less feels the same.

Here is the lobby with the counter. 

Here are the chairs where waiting guests and visitors can have a seat. 

The to-go bakery is right at the corner near the lifts.

And the restaurant (I'm not sure if it's the same name) is at the back close to Reception. 

It's a nice place, the room of this VOCO Orchard, coming complete with comfortable king-size bed, spacious shower stall, work desk, side tables, coffee table, armchair, fridge, wardrobe, bedroom slippers and cup counter. 

I liked the armchair more than I liked the desk, which, like many other work desks in other hotels, this time I'm glad I didn't have to use.  

Perhaps one day I might find the room's corporate desk more enjoyable than what my memories tell me.

Perhaps one day I might feel less pressure being seated at a corporate desk in a room than what I (strangely) still feel.

Our view this time was the other side of Orchard which most of us walkers don't really get to see.

Mostly condos, I suppose it's not very attractive a sight for visitors, but then again, Grange, Cuscaden and River Valley mark the outskirts of our shopping district and they do have their own charm too. 

I don't really remember what it was we did this time during our stay in VOCO.

Except for the special dinner which we had at the restaurant downstairs where (as part of the deal) we had a steak, a bottle of wine, and an extra order of truffle fries. 

I remember the steak huge and well-roasted.

I remember it having that bit of a burnt taste, and a lot of chew. 

Which part of the cow it was I can't recall but, going by the size, it might have been tenderloin.

There wasn't much of a fat though (which I had hoped there would be cos I like the rounded taste of roasted fat and the soft, gentle chew) but it didn't really matter since the bernaise sauce was good. 

So delicious was it that we asked for another serving (that they made a no-charge exception for) to go with our fries.

If the dinner at VOCO was memorable, breakfast next morning was just as good too. 

You might say I'm biased- buffet breakfasts are after all one of my favorite parts about any weekend breather- but, really, the food here at VOCO was good. 

You had the option of American and Continental, of course, toast, eggs done however you like, sausage, bacon, hash browns, the works. Then there were the pastries- a huge variety, I must add- and more varieties of breads and butter and margarine and jams. 

Then there was the Asian which included noodles, dim sum, congee and all the ingredients.

But what charmed me was the Japanese corner. 

For some reason- maybe it was the way they arranged everything- I found myself drawn to the soba station, and despite having had a mixed plate of cheese and mushroom omelet, crystal paus, tater tots and rock melon (yes I like fruit with my eggs, don't ask me why) earlier on beforehand, I decided on a bowl of soba with tamago and edamame. 

Charmed me totally, the soba- it made me feel full, maybe- and between this on the menu, and the crystal paus, honestly, I could have them for breakfast just on their own, any day, and any time. 

Yotel in July

Always a delight it is to be back here.

Because over here at Yotel there's always so much I want to do, yet so little space and time.

Much of what I wish to accomplish tends to get pushed back to the next time, the next time, but then new stuff crop up, and those earlier stuff I never get to do at all. 

Still I'm not complaining.

Each breather is a breather on its own, and I don't mind doing stuff that are new, nope, not at all. 

Like this time for dinner we walked from this Shaw Lido, Royal Thai Embassy side of Orchard all the way down to Robertson Quay. 

A long walk it was, taking us across Ngee Ann City, Mandarin Gallery, down 313 Somerset, and into Killiney Road where we turned afterwards into River Valley Road and Kim Yam Road.

Come to think about it, I'm not sure whether we walked there or took a bus there. It might have been either.

What I'm pretty sure is that we walked to this dinner place at Robertson Quay from Kim Yam Road, because there's this picture. 

I'm not familiar with the building or the organization that owns this building, but I was captivated by the height of the gated entrance, the stairs of the building, and the architecture within. 

Plus, it's not always that we get to see a temple structure as such in the mostly gwai lo expat area of Robertson Quay and River Valley Road. 

It was a lovely dinner which we had that evening- a combination of wagyu beef cubes, a rich beef broth, and a variety of tempura. 

But if I thought that dinner was good, breakfast next morning at the cafe wasn't too bad either.

One of the highlights of any breather is the breakfast, buffet or otherwise, and I always try to get the best of whatever they have. 

Doesn't mean that I'll always go for the American or the Continental.

Not necessarily. 

Sometimes I go for the Asian- which is what I had on the first day this time round. 

Maybe because I have a special thing for mifenmian.

I find them hard to resist, and for this day's breakfast I chose to have mine with neatly sliced, fresh, cold cucumbers, a serving of scrambled eggs, a couple of samosas, and a serving of dragonfruit. 

Next day I had another serving of noodles (again) but instead of dragonfruit I boldly went for watermelon and little spring rolls together with an order of two fried eggs. 

Watermelon juice with spring rolls and noodles didn't taste too bad. 

But on the third day I decided to go a little Continental and ordered an omelet with everything in it, together with a pancake, more cubes of watermelon and a slab of butter.

For some reason, it's always the food that stands out best in my memories when it comes to breathers. 

I may not remember much about the lobby or the pool or the lift or the surroundings of the hotel even, but I remember the Happy Lamb Hotpot lunch which we had at this place in Pacific Plaza along Scotts Road.

Not because of the ambience or service, or anything like grand-looking pots, plates and chopsticks, but their food, and the way they serve it. 

You know how some places tend to have fantastic ambience, great amenities and lots of little extras?

Or how some places are grunge-like basic in their decor, and so is their food?

Happy Lamb Hotpot (definitely) was more of the first, and yet, it wasn't quite like that either. 

A sort of Mongolian style hotpot (as so the wall says) which I can't really tell the difference save for the fact that the crockery and the pots seem to be larger, this outlet at Pacific Plaza had wonderful, sunlit ambience with cute little lifelike models of sheep and lambs arranged in a pastoral-like set.

There weren't that many extras one needed to pay, and even if there were, their prices didn't reflect them either. 

Not to say that their food was poorly served.

On the contrary.

It was beautiful.

See, it's not always that I get to see such a huge plate of beef slices (on ice!) so aesthetically arranged, with excellent symmetry, and with such pretty looking (unedible) garnish too. 

The flowers, plastic as they were, reminded me of wildflowers on grassy hilly slopes, and I found my eye being drawn to them all the time. 

Hotpot is one of those meals that you can eat slow, eat quick, or take your time. We decided to balance out the time of two hours thereabouts, but somehow- despite our best efforts- we really couldn't finish it all. 

It might have been the soup that filled us up, cos if it wasn't already the soup that won us over, their skewers did the magic.

Oily as they might have seemed at first, they were in fact skillfully grilled, full of crisp, full of taste, without the greasy feel lingering on your tongue after you'd eaten your skewer clean.

I really liked those skewers.

And I could have them even without the hotpot and hotpot soup. 

Except that a couple of skewers wouldn't fill me up, and (as it turned out) I needed the extra burst of energy on that second-day afternoon.

A walk from Scotts Road to Dunearn Road on a very bright, very hot afternoon with no wind consumes a heck lot of energy.

Originally I hadn't planned to take such a long route, but I had no specific destination and so my route took me from Scotts Road to Draycott Drive to Draycott Park to Stevens Road, and after dawdling a little at the junction I decided to head along Balmoral Road until Bukit Timah Road and then Dunearn Road on the other side. 

Out of all them all, it is Balmoral Road that left the greatest impression on me. 

There wasn't anything in particular that I wanted to see.

But on that road were memories. 

It made me think of a time when I walked from Barker Road to Orchard Road via Balmoral Road with a very tall man who happened to be my boss. 

It made me think of a time when we stayed at a unique hotel called VIP Hotel, and after an odd experience in the bathroom never went back there again. 

And it made me think of the Tudor-style hotel which I had always been curious about but, like the VIP Hotel, is now no more. 

SteppyHouse: When I First Saw You

You know, if there be one thing that I've come to believe over the years, it is that first impressions tend to have the most valued takeaways when you don't come with anything, when you come expecting nothing.

Because that's when you really see the thing (space, or place) for itself. 

That's when you really see the place for what it is, for what it has to offer, and for what it can offer. 

Sometimes you like what you see.

Sometimes you don't.

It's all very subjective, and it very much depends on what you want, and wish to have. 

We had been looking around quite a bit by the time we came to this place in between Eunos and Bedok, and to be honest, by that time, we weren't quite sure what to expect. 

I mean, everyone tells you that the properties are in convenient locations, that there are great amenities nearby, that the apartment has great allocation of space, so on and so forth. 

But nothing prepares you for the sight of a thick sewage pipe running horizontally across the ceiling right in front of your bed that's up on the mezzanine loft floor. 

Nothing prepares you for the presence of the rubbish chute right outside your bathroom window and kitchen door on the ground floor apartment of a ten-storey condo. 

And nothing prepares you for an apartment in a two-storey sort of shop house that, whilst in a great neighborhood and is nostalgic and neat, has a limited view view, and no lift. 

The lack of lift might have been suitable if it were just us and a couple pieces of luggage, but there were some pieces of furniture that needed to be brought in, there were boxes of belongings that needed to be brought over, and no lift meant there would be a lot of heavy work from the movers who would no doubt toss us an extra charge for extra labor.

We were not ready for that.

So, yes, what with all the different places that we'd already seen there was just that little bit of wide eye and tilt head when we first dropped into this space somewhere between Bedok and Eunos. 

I can't say that I fell in love at first sight, but something about the space, the windows, the sunny interior and the views appealed to me. 

It didn't matter to me that there was a much taller condominium right opposite the road. 

It didn't matter to me that we might have to keep our windows closed most of the time. 

Because this was a place that had winds coming in from almost all directions. 

This was a place where our windows looked out towards the north and the west, the balcony looked out towards the northeast, east and south, and the patio- high walls or not- had winds coming in from the east, the south, and the west. 

That was more than enough for me. 

And much of the view- when I leaned out the sliding windows- was unobstructed and I could borrow the kampong sight of all those palm trees. 

That being said, I knew she wasn't a very big space, but there was a sense of fluidity, I fell right away in love with the winds and after a bit of thought, felt a wee bit of appreciation even for the patio. 

Of course there was the kitchenette (by the door, no less) to think about. 

But I'm not the kind to whip up huge meals or cook or even bake, and anyway we have Little Black Grill and Little Blue Pot, plus an induction cooker, so... 

Ang Mo: Mart of the Heartland

Okay, so this may not be as popular a minimart as, say, some of the others- like Prime (which has grown to become more of a supermarket these days) but if anyone asks what a "heartland of a heartland mart" is, there're only two that come to mind. 

One is Golden (something) that's over at Serangoon Central.

And the other is Ang Mo, which has four locations islandwide over in Hougang, Sembawang, Ang Mo Kio, and one place else. 

I can't say I'm very, very familiar with the shelves of Ang Mo. 

But I can say I'm pretty much familiar with the food.

It's a place that speaks to The Family, and although I've not been there as much as I think I should, hey, I've got plenty of stuff in the kitchen- and the pantry- that hail from there. 

Several weeks ago I had the chance to visit the one at Hougang. 

And yes, there was a wee bit of nostalgia going towards there. 

Maybe because it was a hot day.

Maybe because the sun was bright. 

I don't know.

But I was interested in seeing what the place was like, and where it was that The Parent used to shop. 

We had, after all, had quite a good number of groceries purchased from here. 

One of the shelves that first caught my eye was actually outside the store. 

I don't know how many types of noodles in the Family collection came from this store, but on the shelf out there I saw all the brands I knew, and oft ate. Whether they were the Maggi, the Myojo, the Nongshim, or the Nissin, they were all there.

Likewise the selection of biscuits on the shelves on the other side.

I don't think I'd ever seen such a huge variety of biscuits all along the same rows. 

There were brands both familiar and unfamiliar. 

On the shelves there were Ritz crackers of all kinds, Oreos of all kinds, Cowhead cheese biscuits in various flavors, digestive cookies from McVites, biscuits from the Munchy's brand, biscuits from the Khong Guan brand, and familiar sugared cream crackers from Hup Seng. Of course there were those from Julie's (can't miss those), those plain white little crackers from Meiji, and all the other sweet biscuits that kids and adults alike enjoy snacking on. 

What charmed me were the flavors. 

I don't think I'd seen that many flavors of sweet biscuits before. 

Never mind the usual flavors of chocolate, strawberry and tiramisu from Meiji's Yan Yan, there was also a yogurt flavor, which I thought interesting and would have wanted to try, except that my eye was caught up by the snack shelves, and I headed over there. 

Just the noodles, the biscuits, and yes, the bread, the snack selections were of no small variety too. 

Most of them seemed to be of smaller sized packs, however, and a good number of them looked like they were of local flavoring and local variety. There were local snacks like prawn crackers, tapioca chips, chili tapioca chips, and vegetable crackers. There were also Twisties, Pringles, Jack and Jill's, Cheezels, the Bika collection, durian popcorn (which are delicious durian puffs really), and Super Ring too.

For old times' sake I was very tempted to get either the Bus Brand (I forget its name), Super Ring, or even a whole bag of Lay's, but then I got drawn to the selection of Korean snacks on the shelf and decided- what with it being the weekend- to go for a bag of Darda's honey butter popcorn anyway. 

But if you thought I only hovered about on the outside, nope, I went inside the store too. 

What the layout is precisely, I can't really recall now, but the ball-ball type of foods were on the extreme left.

So were the milk, the yogurts, the cheeses and the juices. 

I attempted a picture of the ball balls.

Partially because I thought that for a heartland-heartland mart, their presence was unique, but also because in many a bowl of instant noodles back with The Family, I'd had cuttlefish balls, seafood balls, wantons, sausages, fish cakes and the like- and I'm pretty sure more often than not, they had been bought here. 

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

They've got all kinds, especially great for hotpot, and you won't be missing out on stuff like fish balls, fish cakes, fish rolls, meat balls, even tofu. 

I also took a picture of the shelves right next to these ball balls. 

Because I'm pretty sure I must have had a couple of yogurts, sliced cheeses and juice cartons from here. 

Yep, there were the pink guava juices, the orange juices, and the mango juices on these shelves, which, at another time, would be paid for, put in the trolley, and carted off. 

In front of these juices were the UHT packet milks, and whilst I did want to take a picture- I have a couple of F&N Magnolia Low Fat Milk and Fresh Milk packets in the fridge still- the staff happened to be restocking and so I went over to the peanut butter and jam section instead. 

Perhaps one might feel curious as to why I bothered with a picture at these shelves, (I mean, it is simply- peanut butter)

But I cannot tell you just for how long, and how frequent I'd seen these jars of Singlong brand creamy peanut butter on the dining table, and just how many times I'd scooped huge spoonfuls out to have with bread, and sliced apples. 

It's unlikely that I'll be back to Ang Mo Supermart for a while. 

But in life never say never.

You don't know when, or where it is you might pop back into a store you said you wouldn't go. 

Especially in this day and age where mom and pop stores like these actually have their ear to the ground, and they evolve easily, placing stock on their shelves that they know their (frequent) or (new) customers might want. 

Like pistachio milk.

Which, in the keto and vegan community is fast gaining popularity because of its reasonable taste, its low sugar content, and its low calorie count as well.

Dinner at Dian Xiao Er

Not too long ago a friend told me that he had a couple of vouchers for Dian Xiao Er, asked me if I wanted to go. 

Of course I said yes. 

It's been a while since we've been to this place for their signature roast duck, and it would be silly to refuse an invitation as wonderful as this (especially if one has the appetite, and the time).

So we went. 

Originally we had thought we might visit the outlet at Vivocity (they've got great vibes) but then we so happened to find NEX more familiar for both of us, so it was to NEX we went. 

I had a hard time trying to decide what to order, I tell you. 

There was so much on the menu. 

Besides their signature roast duck- which is what you're really at Dian Xiao Er for- there were still the vegetables, the poultry, the meats and the soups. 

One dish I thought of having was the Iberico Char Siew- something something- which is really a plate of very fatty, very oily, super sweet, but super delicious, perfectly roasted char siew.

I had had it once before, and the thought of the sweet, salty pork fat melting away in my mouth made me salivate. 

But alas, whilst it was a day for pork (and pork fat), it was not a day for the glorious amount of sugar in the sweet marinade, and so that dish was a no go. 

Instead we went for a bowl of fish maw soup. 

And of course, their duck, which I think was a half portion that we got that evening. 

One thing about their duck that charms their loyal diners is just how crisp the skin is (despite it swimming in a pool of your chosen sauce) and how tender the meat is (never mind which part of the bird you're eating).

There's the distinctive, slightly charred, slightly burnt taste of the skin when you eat it on its own, yet even so one doesn't have to worry that the meat will be too coarse or dry when you pick it up with your chopsticks. 

There'll be no such thing as the duck meat being too hard to chew. 

Neither will it have any lack of taste- even though your gravy of choice will definitely have enhanced the flavors by then. 

There're two kinds of gravy that the restaurant offers you, by the way- the Angelica Herb or the Tang Kwei. 

I usually try to go for the Angelica Herb whenever possible. 

What it does for the system (in view of TCM theories and all that) I don't know, but I like the warm, rounded, herby taste that this gravy grants, and I like that it's a little sweet without it being right-in-your-face. 

That doesn't mean that I don't like the Tang Kwei. 

I do, especially for those times when I want my duck to taste more tangy, sharp, even faintly bitter- the bitter bitter taste is one trait of this herb- yet still sweet enough that I won't feel like I'm eating a dish that's been recommended by a Chinese sinseh. 

Today was one of those days where I didn't mind the Tang Kwei.

So that's what we took. 

I'm glad we did.

Surprisingly it went pretty well with the fish maw soup- I had wondered if the flavors would clash. 

But they didn't. 

In fact they were quite a complement to each other, for which I was extra glad, because I've grown to like fish maw soup with its lovely thick texture, and which reminds me a little of sharks' fin, like the kind I used to have at Chinese restaurants during Lunar New Year, and which I now don't have anymore. 

Cafe USAGI Tokyo's Waffle

A friend of mine who knew I had a particular inkling towards mochi, mochi waffles and mochi everything told me about this (new) place on the second floor of Suntec City Mall and said I should go.

At first I had been a little confused- I had thought the cafe he talked about specialized in only coffees and teas, but as I soon found out, they didn't only serve beverages hot and cold, they had handcrafted ice cream, and a host of interesting desserts too. 

One of the things on the menu that caught my eye was the dorayaki cake. I didn't know what it was- I couldn't see the picture- but it sounded like a dessert of two dorayaki pancakes sandwiching fresh strawberries from Japan, and a huge dollop of fresh whipped cream in flavors of Strawberry, Matcha or Yuzu- you choose- in between.

I thought I might try it- pancakes are also my thing- but then I saw the mochi waffle on the menu... and changed my mind. 

Cafe USAGI's mochi waffle has to be one of the cutest ones I've ever seen thus far. 

I don't mean that it's small. 

I mean that it's of a size so right that medium sized eaters (like me) won't feel overwhelmed trying to finish it all. 

Here's the funny thing though: It doesn't look very large when it comes to your table complete with ice creams, Kuromitsu brown sugar syrup and all, but try cutting it into little squares with your fork and knife, and suddenly you'll find that the waffle feels so much bigger than what you thought it was. 

I should know.

Because there I was, dipping my half of the waffle square by square into the brown sugar syrup non-stop, even alternating it with our ice cream, and yet, no matter how paced out I ate, there seemed to be still all these little squares on my plate.

Short of counting how many squares there were, it baffled me for a while. 

Like, could it be that I was slowly savoring the crisp surface of the waffle and so unconsciously eating slower? 

Or could it be that I was actually taking a longer time to chew up each square because of the mochi within the waffle? 

Maybe it was.

Maybe it wasn't. 

I don't know.

I'm not the type to waste brain cells on a Friday evening trying to figure it out. 

And anyway it didn't matter to me whether I took a longer (or shorter) time to eat up my waffle. 

Not withstanding the fact that dessert should never be rushed, what mattered was that I got to see the beautiful scatter of dusted sugar on the crust, feel the crisp of its nicely browned surface on my tongue, and chew (and chew and chew) the soft, sticky, slightly sweet mochi that melted away in my mouth with every bite.

I still remember the strong yet delicate sweetness of the Kuromitsu syrup sliding elegantly all over my little squares of waffle.

And, of course, the handcrafted ice cream, where, out of all the flavors available, we'd decided to have the Uji Matcha. 

Faintly bitter, we liked it very much, especially my friend the tea lover who swirled it up with his waffle whilst I relished the cold, creamy, milky ice cream all on its own. 

I might consider the Rich Chocolate or the Hokkaido Milk and Vanilla ice cream next time.

Then again, I think I would want to go for the Samurai Blue Sea Salt (a really nice hue of pastel blue) or the Lavender Hojicha (which color looked like hojicha and tasted of hojicha, but with- only- a very light hint of the lavender)

Doulos Was In Town

It's been such a long time since I last kept track of such missionary-related events in town that, had it not been for a friend who posted about it on FB, I wouldn't even have known that Doulos the Floating Bookshop ship had berthed in town. 

I come from a background that's been (somewhat) familiar with Logos, Doulos, missionary work and the like, so the presence of this ship, the organization to whom she belongs, and the work she does, is not new to me. 

But the years pass, and I cannot now remember when it was that I last went on board this ship. 

It might have been decades ago.

It might have been less than that. 

There was a piece of news once about Doulos (was it Doulos I or Doulos II)  that the vessel would be decommissioned, and sent to the scrapyard. After that there was another piece of news that the vessel would be towed (or sailed) to a neighboring island in Indonesia to be retrofitted, something like that. 

I don't know if this is the same retrofitted ship or if it is another one christened with the same name. 

There was no time this evening for me to look. 

I was busy gazing down at the visitors queuing to go up the gangway to  board the ship, visit her bookshop, and maybe take a tour.

I was busy gazing at the lifeboats and the ship's personnel who looked over the railing to the people on shore.

And my mind was occupied- recollecting one of my all-time favorite books about missionary work, the mission of the "Floating Bookshop" combined with real-life nautical anecdotes. 

Perhaps the charm of "Worse Things Happen At Sea" isn't just the description of events alone but also the humorous, yet realistic narrative of its author Clive Langmead who served as an Officer on the Bridge. 

Had it not been for this book, I wouldn't know the ports to where the "Floating Bookshop" had sailed. I wouldn't have read about Nassau or Dover or Rio De Janeiro either, not to mention knowing what a sextant, or what a davit was. 

There's very little talk about the visitors who come on board (except that they're usually very patient whilst being very excited, or schoolchildren who were ferried to the ship in boats) or even who the dignitaries are. 

But there's a lot of mention about the cabins (they got a porthole), the food (too much rhubarb, sometimes), the navigation, the administration, and the confusion that erupts when different nationalities, linguistic abilities and personalities are thrown together onboard a ship for a singular faith-driven mission.

There're anecdotes that I've not forgotten- like that of the ship having to vacate its berth because a cruise liner had come earlier and a resourceful staff member (left behind) on land communicated via morse code to the author, like that of how the wife of a crew member had gone into premature labor and the Bridge had to be assembled to get to the nearest port for her to go to a hospital, and like that of how their suitcases in storage were ruined because one of their engine rooms got flooded and had to be shut down whilst their engineers pumped the water out. 

Whether or not these anecdotes do happen upon this ship, I don't know, but she looked so peaceful, and serene in the dusky twilight that I felt she probably might have. 

Maybe one day someone will write a book about these anecdotes again.

And maybe one day I'll get to read them.

It is as HE determines, yes?