Day 075 : Starting Diet

I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooathe dieting but I need to start one as my once loose jeans are looking like dumpling skins on me. It’s no wonder there’s a ‘die’ in ‘diet’.

Made tuna salad for lunch tomorrow and this photo is the bottom half of a huge capsicum I’ll be chowing down on. I wonder how long can I keep up this no carbs, high fibre and protein diet. Ah, the green crunch for vanity. Time to eat like a rabbit and gym like a bunny!

Day 070 : Middle Finger Service at Nabins

Had my first taste of authentic Arabian cuisine set amongst gorgeous drapes and carpets last night at Nabins. And the restaurant didn’t stop at just its food and decor when it comes to being Middle Eastern. Service was like being shoved the middle finger up my chocolate star.

The pain began the moment I arrived at Nabins. Business for Nabins must be good because it occupies quite a few units on both the ground and second floor along a stretch of shophouses at Bali Lane. Perhaps Nabins takes its popularity as a license to suck at service.

I came alone and my friends were on the second level. Not knowing my way around, I asked a waiter for directions to get to the upper floor. First thing he said was, “Show me your IC.” No “Please” and no explanation was given as to why I needed to show identification. So I asked why was there a need to see my ID card. His face immediately flashed an expression equivalent to giving me the middle finger and replied, “Because your friends are smoking Shisha.”

Being ignorant, I asked what’s a shisha. “It’s something you smoke.” Duh. More facial middle fingers was sent my way. So I showed him I’m above 18 and he just pointed to a side stairway that leads upstairs. No smile, no warmth, no courtesy. In the service line, a smile is the uniform.

When I got to level 2, I walked around the place to look for my friends. I didn’t see them and was loitering between 2 rooms while the waiters and waitresses zoomed past me. No one greeted me or offered to seat me. So I called my friend who organised the dinner but he didn’t pick up. So I went back down to the restaurant’s main entrance to ask for assistance, being conscious to avoid that nasty waiter.

My friend had placed a dinner reservation for eight under his name. When I checked with the staff on the reservation, they couldn’t locate it. That’s because they’ve spelt my friend’s name wrongly. ‘Yik Fan’ became ‘Yipson’.

Anyway, I managed to find my way to our table which was in a third room with an obscured entrance. I find the lush decor was rather exotic with rich Middle Eastern flavours and the novelty of eating on a low table was inviting. That was until I sat down and regretted not taking up yoga lessons. It’s an uncomfortable way to sit to have dinner.

Amidst fidgetting in my seat to wake up my butt cheeks which had fallen asleep, our table’s waitress informed us that we had to shift to a single table (we were occupying two tables then). All of us just turned to her with an incredulous expression. How’s eight guys going to squeeze into one table which could at most, comfortably sit six. I didn’t know Nabins catered only to Hobbits and Smurfs.

So we questioned the logic of packing eight full-grown men who each ordered a main course to one table. How were we going to eat comfortably without elbowing each other in the face? Such moronic sitting alotments goes to show that inhaling too much shisha smoke must have impaired the operator’s intelligence.

A single table would be enough if eight of us were just there to do drinks, have light snacks while lounging with hookahs but we specifically said we were there for dinner. The waitress couldn’t give us an answer because she could obsviously see our point about the space issue. All she could do was repeat the eight-to-a-table rule and apologise. But since the reservation for the two tables won’t turn up till 10pm, we had until then to eat our meal.

Which brings me to the second part of our iration. Our dinners took a long time to come. Thankfully, the meals were tasty and made up for the long wait.

I had the Chicken Mandi which costs S$24.90. It was aromaticlly baked with the skin capturing a delightful note of char while the chicken meat was tender and moist. Accompanied by a squeeze of lemon and long-grain rice that’s light and fluffy, this signature Arabic dish was yummers. Or maybe because I was famished from waiting so long for dinner to arrive.

Despite the good-tasting Chicken Mandi, it couldn’t save the ill impression Nabins created for my first visit. Other than that rude waiter, uncomfortable sitting for dinner and slow serve food, the blasting of a soccer match in the dining hall also gave us a headache. And we weren’t served any drinking water,

Will the eight of us come back again? Very unlikely.

Day 064 : Your Woul Restaurant

Met a Korean friend today who brought me to an authentic Korean restaurant next to United Square called Your Woul. Kind of a funky name and the menu was even funkier. Other than Bim Bam Bap, I recognised nothing else that the kitchen cooks up.

So I asked my friend to reccomend something unique and he suggested the Korean version of Bak Kut Teh. It’s a boiling soup with hearty servings of pork ribs in a broth flavoured with 干菜 (gan cai, dried vegetables). It’s pretty interesting although the taste is milder, despite the ample sprinkling of chilli flakes, than our usual Teochew-styled pork ribs soup. My friend said it’s very rare to find a Korean restaurant in Singapore that sells it.

But my favourite discovery was this herbal wine called 百岁酒 (bai sui jiu, hundred-years wine). It doesn’t mean that the wine has been aged a hundred years before serving, but the health-prolonging properties of it. Made with 14 herbs including ginseng, Schisandra and wolfberries, the wine has an aromatic herbal note with a tinge of sweetness of rice wine. Pure ecstasy on smell and taste!

At the restaurant, it costs S$25.00 for a 375ml bottle. Not cheap. But I am addicted. So I crossed over to Novena Square 2 to a Korean supermart on level 3 (I think) and got a bottle for S$17.90. The label is slightly different and the taste, I felt, is off too but it’s good enough.

What an eventful Sunday with the discovery of a new eat and the emotional landscape of someone’s who is a long way from home.

Day 061 : Chiso Zanmai Singapore

Word of Mouth brought my tastebuds to a new destination on Singapore’s culinary map – Chiso Zanmai, a Japanese buffet restaurant located at The Central. When I received the invite, two words turned loose my salivation faucet… Japanese, and buffet.

So is this all-you-can-eat joint a case of blossoming sakura or Hiroshima on the palate? Read on to find out…

Plastic food and bonsai tree... Hong Peng (hpility.blogspot.com) and I can't wait to get to the real food!

A modern-contempo ambience with the bold use of a giant faux bonsai tree as the restaurant's centrepiece was rather refreshing. But be careful not to let the spiny leaves poke your eyes out!

Kiwi Topped with Tofu. Such a novel pairing.

Tuna and Leek with Sweet Miso Sauce. What I found really pleasing was Chiso Zanmai's food presentation, especially the cold dishes. It's art you can eat! And this rendition of tuna is definitely worth pigging out on.

Eggplant with Miso Sauce and Spicy Yam (yums!) and Green Tea Tofu (double yums!).

Salmon assortment. Here are just six of the many ways that Chiso Zanmai prepares the fish. Fresh rating : 5-stars!

Nabeyaki... sounds like a swear phrase. But don't worry, eating this self-assembled claypot noodle ensemble won't turn you into a potty-mouth.

Clams Cooked in Sake with Cabbage. Looks and sounds exotic but taste was too 'elegant' (in other words, bland) for my liking.

My fave - Salmon Fishhead!

Green Tea Tiramisu.

Coffee Jelly. Wanted to try it but it ran out. Replenishment of food items could move out of the ice age at Chiso Zanmai. But perhaps it was just teething operation issues.

Only good to look at.

Assorted desserts provided me with a sweet ending. My thumbs up go to the Cheesecake.

Gate-crashing the table of happening young bloggers. I'm the pickled ginger that accompanies the fresh sashimis at Chiso Zanmai.

In my humble opinion, I think Chiso Zanmai presented a good selection for the price it charges for a buffet. Some of the dishes may need fine-tuning to enhance the flavours but most of what I’ve tasted had an element of nice surprise.

Food is fresh and of good quality with the restuarant’s emphasis on presentation a definite crowd pleaser. I think Chiso Zanmai has the potential to rise up to be a great place of yums!

Address : #02-17, The Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, Singapore

Lunch (12pm – 3pm) :

Mon – Fri : S$14.90++ (Adult), S$12.90++ (Senior), S$9.90++ (Child)

Sat, Sun & P. Hols : S$19.90++ (Adult), S$17.90++ (Senior), S$9.90++ (Child)

Dinner (6pm – 10pm) :

Sun - Thu, P. Hols : S$24.90++ (Adult), S$22.90++ (Senior), S$14.90++ (Child)

Fri, Sat & P. Hol Eves : S$29.90++ (Adult), S$27.90++ (Senior), S$14.90++ (Child)

Day 057 : Pity My Waist

Just cooked Prima Taste’s La Mian Instant Laksa for dinner today and I totally regretted it. The laksa broth tastes so yummy, I foresee this will thwart all my dieting plans.

The good thing is, it doesn’t come cheap. I think it’s about S$2.50 – 2.75 per packet so hopefully my parents won’t stock up on them again. If not because it’s expensive, at least for the sake of my expanding waistline and their health.

This is one of those good bad things.

Day 040 : Slither

Visited the famous Taipei Shilin Night Market and was drawn to the billboards advertising snake soup. Wanted to have that but ended up trying the blood-gall-venom combo instead for NT$250.

Red is snake blood, green is gall bladder and white is snake sperm venom. How do they taste like? Will share that in an upcoming travel post about the experience.

But the effect was amazing. I don’t know if it’s psychological or physiological, I felt really warm after downing the shooters and didn’t need my padded jacket the whole night.

Ssss…ssimply fantassss…stic!

爱心餐与关怀汤

虽然今天的心情有点暗，但吃了一餐费心思的 home-cooked meal 后，心就笑了起来。不如意的事都被真心的关怀给蒸发掉了。

幸福的感觉与味道就在这两张照片里。我太羡慕我啦！

Better than restaurant-grade beef stew with sour cream savoured mashed potato. Marvellously full of flavours and textures that dissipates any 怨气 (grievances) in an instant.

Chicken soup for the soul? No thank you. I'll have this home-cooked crocodile soup brewed with loving intentions anytime! 吊灯倒影在水里，这碗汤真照亮了我心房。

Kit Kat – Limited Halloween Edition from Japan

I love surprises. Especially in the office. It lifts the drudgery of work and it’s more fun having a group of people delighting with me than to be amused alone.

And this afternoon at work, I received a surprise delivery… limited edition Halloween Kit Kat bars imported from Japan! Iketeiru! (>,<)

The folks at Nestle Singapore sure know how to work a Kit Kat break! I wasn't expecting this sweet gift at all.

The taste of this pleasant surprise must not go to waste! So I skived and got into some monkey business with the gift...

See what the Kit Kats attracted? Dog, monkey, and some alien plush that gets the nod for Halloween. Aces for presenting the chocolate bars in a classy Japanese lacquer box. NICE!

Different Jack-O faces on the limited ed. wrappers. Can't decide if I should collect them or eat them?!

Kawaii neh! I meant the choc packaging. Haha... Shared the special treat with my BEAUTIFUL colleagues and our little department had an early bite into trick-or-treating. Problem was, there weren't enough pairs of the snack to give everyone a break! And the bars are kind of petite.

Kit Kat Pumpkin Cheesecake and Otonano Amasa (meaning "sweetness of adult"). Tried them both and o... o... oh... oishii neh! They are not as sweet as the original Kit Kat and I enjoyed how their aftertaste linger on. Pumpkin Cheesecake lives up to its name and the dark chocolate Otonano Amasa with tiny biscuit bits is just too sinful not to eat! Once you go Jap, you never go back.

These limited edition Kit Kats are available in Singapore only for the month of October, or until stocks run out. They can be found exclusively at NTUC Fairprice at S$2.95 (3 piece-packs) and S$6.75 (13 pieces share bags).

I go to NTUC almost every other day and I haven’t even seen the Pumpkin Cheesecake flavour. Then I found out from the Kit Kat folks that the first shipment was sold out very quickly. My guess is that the reason I got this chocolatey teaser half-way through October is because a new shipment just came in. So if you’re planning on giving these limited edition Kit Kats a try, move fast!

Have a break. Go Pump some Cheese and Chocolate into your Kin’s cake on a dark Hallowed night. Happy trick-AND-treating!

Fisherman’s Market Seafood Buffet

Address : The Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #01-15 & #02-17, Singapore
Tel : +65 6221 3177

I love buffets. And the only other thing I love more than buffets, is SEAFOOD all-you-can-eat! So I was happy as a clam when I received a food tasting invitation to the newly-opened Fisherman’s Market at The Central (near Clarke Quay). Occupying two floors, the first level houses a full bar and sidewalk patio where you can dine by the Singapore River, while the second level is where you can feast on seafood like there’s no tomorrow!

Fisherman’s Market is the first Japanese-Western seafood buffet joint in Singapore by Japanese-owned Create Restaurants Co., Ltd. The restaurant chain operates over 110 food establishments that straddled culinary concepts from both the East and the West.

Offering a gourmet spread that fuses the culinary specialties of the seven seas, the restaurant has an exhaustive volcabulary in introducing seafood to the palate. However, its grammar still needed to be improved.

Apart from seafood being served in every recipe imaginable (sashimi and sushi, Teppanyaki, Tempura, pizza Marinara, Vongole, tuna salad, seafood stir-fry, grilled Saba, poached prawns, steamed seafood dumplings, etc), some non-seafood dishes such as grilled ribs and cheese fondue are available too.

My favourite was the fresh, succulent oysters shucked on-the-spot by the chef. A friend calls them “oceanic testicles”. LOL. Prices for the buffet are as follows :

Mondays to Thursdays : S$39.90++ (Adult) / S$22.90++ (Child below 12yo)
Fridays to Sundays : S$49.90++ (Adult) / S$27.90++ (Child below 12yo)

阿伦笑吃人间 Ah Lun Gourmet Food Trail

上周六的投票日，我不单与新加坡的政治未来有约，也和国内明星级美食专家黄卓伦约了胃，随同数十名食客出席 “阿伦笑吃人间 – 周末趴趴吃”。

这让你想减肥也难的食会由《联合晚报》和 omy.sg 联办。这活动为期五个周末，每次阿伦都会带团到两家餐馆吃喝玩乐。

哇！吃得好开心！虽然是跟着一群不认识的人用餐，但还是很 enjoy。和我同桌的都非常亲切友善，他们也不介意饭菜捧上桌后，等我拍完照片才吃。真感谢他们！

这个活动可是超热的哦。一开报名站就有上千名读者登记。但每一期，举办单位只能挑选出几十位，先到先得。而这活动也不贵，每位 S$88，能到两间高档餐馆用餐以外，还有阿伦为大家介绍菜谱及分享吃的学问。此外，用餐的时候有游戏玩，有奖品赢，还有幸运抽奖，很值回票价！

我很庆幸有这个机会出席 “阿伦笑吃人间 – 周末趴趴吃” 的最后一期。更庆幸的是遇上了我非常敬佩的饮食博客 Catherine Ling。她凭敏锐的观察能力，对菜肴百科全书般的认识及巧妙的文法，夺下了去年新加坡部落格大奖的最佳美食部落格奖。

我每次与她共餐时，不知道放进嘴里的是什么的时候，我就会问她。她都懂。想知道新加坡有哪些好吃处，必定要游览她的部落格 www.camemberu.com。

好啦，罗嗦了一般我对这项活动的心情写照，现在就让我与您分享当天去的两家餐馆及菜谱吧。请准备好口水桶。。。

潮州发记酒楼 Teochew Restaurant Huat Kee

Address : 74, Amoy Street, Singapore 069893
Tel : +65 6423 4747 / 6323 1365

“Teo chew nang, kah cherng ang ang” （潮州人，屁股红红）。每次提起潮州，我总会想起这句打油话。我不知道它的来源，只记得外婆常这样念。我信以为真。当兵的时候与我受基本军训的新兵有两个是潮州人。那我们在军营里，冲凉都是光着身子，一起冲的。不是我变态，但就望了望他们俩的屁股。咦，不是红的 leh。

想起当时的情景，还觉得有点好笑。那就让那个边缘故事成为介绍潮州发记酒楼 (Teochew Restaurant Huat Kee) 的文字开胃菜吧！

至1969年开业，发记的老板是第三代传人。他为这次的午餐特别安排了”老潮州念念不忘的好菜！” 餐馆坐落在中央商业区的厦门街 (Amoy St.)；那里一排排立为新加坡被受保护的历史性排屋为发记的潮州菜肴浴上一层浓浓的传统气息。我们大有口福啦！

传统的潮州宴由两冷两热的菜肴配搭温起食欲。图中是四拼盘的两项冷菜 - 猪脚冻及猪头粽。

这就是四拼里的两热菜 - 肝花及春卷。肝花由猪肝和鸭肝做成，沾点甜酱吃，口味十足。

这是草菇鸡片汤。发记用的草菇不是罐装而是晒干的。干菇比较能有效的保留鲜草菇的原味，熬出来的汤味道较好。这碗汤的独特鲜美的确证明了干比罐好！

第一次吃潮州传统的包菜鸡。味道很棒！包菜的自然甜味渗透到嫩滑的鸡肉里，而熬出来的菜鸡汁更是可口。

每期的食程都有一道不列在菜单上的惊喜。在发记，这道神秘菜肴便是。。。 烧乳猪！！！哇！根据我家的烧乳猪尊者，我妈，一只的餐馆价是大概 S$288，而且要预定才有得吃。发达啦！在发记吃到啦！这烧乳猪皮薄且香脆，爱死了！

格式的炒粿条我都吃过，但这菜脯炒粿条还是第一次。味道蛮有趣的也非常开胃。若您来到发记，一定要点这道非常有特色的佳肴。

现今市场上的芋泥 (orh nee) 甜品多用菜油来煮。发记讲究传统，用的还是猪油来煮这道玻璃芋泥。吃起来，芋泥的质感比较滑，而且不会太甜，芋香和白果的清雅承托锝刚刚好。饭后再来杯浓茶洗洗油！

Casserole in Dine on 3 at Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort

Address : Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort, 101, Siloso Road, Singapore 098970
Tel : +65 6371 1971 / 6275 0100

芋泥飘香后，我们乘搭备好的巴士来到了圣淘沙香格里拉度假酒店的 Casserole 餐馆。看一看以上的标题，怎么那么长啊？Dine on 3 是什么？！

Casserole 属于酒店的饮食新概念 Dine on 3。

您就把 Dine on 3 当成是一个饮食区吧；而区内有三种不同的餐饮类别，但它们都串在一起。里头有中东及亚洲风味为主的 Casserole，自助餐式的 Silver Shell Cafe，及以面类招牌的 Noodles 8。它们的食谱虽然不同，但您可以在任何一间餐馆 order 其他两间馆子的食物。

这一来，如果您和一大堆朋友或家人来的话，大家都可以吃到自己想要的口味。三家馆子的室内都是连通的，很方便。况且 Dine on 3 面对着酒店的泳池及沙滩，用餐环境非常优美。那来到 Casserole，我们吃些什么呢？

三种不同的餐馆有三种不同的装潢。Casserole 的室内设计摩登中带有中东、中华、印度及西欧的传统色彩。

摆设品及室内装饰颜色绚丽，富有一股民族热情与现代活力！

第一项迎味的是热炉烤面包配搭牛油及摩洛哥酱。面包松软，无盐牛油鲜又香，而用灯笼椒制成的摩洛哥酱带来另一层的味道，口味蛮有趣的。

在 Casserole, 我们也尝到了道地摩洛哥乡土酸甜浓汤 (Harira Soup) 及卷起来的印级 papadum。我还是第一次吃这样的 papadum！

摩洛哥风味的炉烤大鱼拌小米饭 (Couscous)。阿伦说 coucous 是一种纤维含量高的粗粮，多吃对身体有益。即煮的 couscous 可在超级市场买得到。

北印度风味的皇族咖哩羊肉。咖哩很香浓，而 briyani 也粒粒可见，不会粘糊。

吃了那么多，还来碗云吞面，有没有搞错啊？这还是 Casserole 的惊喜菜肴。天啊，吃不下了啦！但还是尝了一口。不过一下子，正碗吃完了！OMG，不是夸张的，实在太好吃了！它很清淡，但淡中带有雅致的芬芳，面也非常 Q。我同座的食客朋友都同意（包括 Catherine）。再来十碗吧！Heavenly 吔！

我一向来都热爱泰式的菜肴尝过绿咖哩鸡。在 Casserole 不同的是，我尝到了这里师傅家传的老风味绿咖哩鸡。虽然说吃尽了那么多不同的口味，舌头也有一点麻了，但还是觉得这道咖哩蛮不错的。

吃了那么多，在享用龙眼豆腐甜点之前，Casserole 的各大煮厨为我们特别呈现了一段‘演唱会’。他们不单止会煮，还会弹，会唱。。。他们是人吗？

半天内吃尽那么多的美食，是不是物超所值？我听说今年十二月，阿伦还会举办一次类是的样的周末食会。想要参与的话，手脚肯定要快！

对我而言，我对吃很感兴趣但在这一方面没有很多的知识。这一趟跟随阿伦及 Catherine，有得吃，有得玩，有得笑。。。这样非一般的饮食体验真让我获益深远！*Burrrrrp!*

myVillage of Designer Cuisines

Serangoon Garden holds very fond memories for me. Some of the most unforgettable and embarrassing parts of my teenage years were born there. During my secondary school days, one of my closer friends used to stay at Lorong Chuan, which is considered to be within the radius of Serangoon Garden. I remember he moved there to stay with the maternal family after a domestic tragedy.

His new abode was a huge landed property and my friend’s room soon became a base camp for 4 best buddies – Spencer, Leslie, Vincent and Joey. Yes, before Darren and many other names in-between, I was known as Joey back then because of boyband influences. How time flew flies.

If you’d like to see why I have a love-hate relationship with Serangoon Garden, you can have a look at an embarrassing photo here. The skinny pic was taken in my friend’s room at Lorong Chuan. That is the better shot. There are a lot more other photos in the series that made me beg for Alzheimer’s.

Formerly known as Maju Mall, the site has been redeveloped into myVillage with almost half its tenancy taken up by chichi restranteurs. Felt like downtown dining in 'suburban' Singapore with premium quality but mid-range prices. In other words, ker qi-eee, ker pi-eee, ker dua liap *censored* (Hokkien expression for 'fresh, cheap, & chestily satisfying')!

Against that nostalgic backdrop, I’m not sure if you can feel my my wave of emotions when I received a food tasting invitation to sample the yums yums at myVillage, Serangoon Garden. With my 3 secondary school best friends, we used to go to Chomp Chomp (a famous hawker centre there) often to recharge after a mischief and fill up for the next monkey business. So I’m no stranger to the area surrounding it. myVillage is just a minute’s walk from Chomp Chomp, sitting at the intersection of Farleigh Avenue and Maju Avenue. Here’s how to get to myVillage.

That place was emotionally close but I had this strange feeling of distance from it. When I reached the roundabout, saw Chomp Chomp, the bus-stop, the shops, the scenery, it took me a minute to just stand there and breathe before calling my friend who’s nearby and joining me for the sampling session. I’m back here again after all these years. The food I came for better be good for dragging up such melancholy in me!

Frankly, food-blogging is very new to me and I have no idea what to say. I’m not fussy with what I eat so it’s usually just a ‘nice’ or ‘not nice’ opinion from me. I really kowtow (bow) to specialised food bloggers who can write so much about a dish. I don’t quite possess the culinary volcubulary to describe the journey of tastes, but here’re my 3 cents worth about the 5 foodie outlets I had the privilege of sampling at myVillage…

Daikokuya Ramen Dining

Whenever it comes to Japanese noodles, my only caloroic expenditure would be on cold buckwheat soba because green or brown noodles served on a bed of ice is very exotic. So I’m not exactly a fan of ramen. That was until my tasting session at Daikokuya. I finally understood why ramen has such a strong following. It’s not all just about the noodle, but the broth as well. At Daikokuya, their soup stocks are made from long hours of boiling to extract the essence of pork and chicken bones. The ‘brewing’ of their chicken stock takes as long as 11 hours while the pork version can go over 12 hours!

Daikokuya means 'God of Wealth' but you definitely don't need to be sitting on a gold hill to afford a meal here. The ramen prices range from $12.80 - S$16.90 and an assortment of side dishes starts from S$3.80.

There’s a very wide offering of ramen styles here so if you want to try more, order the mini ramen bowl (S$8.90 – S$9.50) instead of the regular-sized ones. The variety in style spans from Sapporo, Tokyo, Kyushu, and Kogashi and is determined by the soup’s thickness and added condiments. During the sampling session, I got to try 2 of their hot favourites – Stamina Ramen and Original Miso Ramen. Although the sampling portions were very small, I got an idea of how the 2 bowls will be very appetising.

Stamina Ramen has its noodles made from taro (tapioca) & is loaded with more calories than other ramens, that's why the name 'Stamina'. The ramen is firm to the bite & breezed of a flavour I can't quite place with the soup's subtlety complimenting the noodle beautifully.

The Original Miso Ramen is a classic & many ramen-yas serve it. I don't know much about what makes a good miso ramen but I think the distinguishing factor in Daikokuya's rendition is in the meat & egg condiments. A delicately flavoured vinegar can also be added to the ramen for a sourish character that doesn't overpowers. Oishi neh!

This is the master chef flown in from Japan. His name is Suzuki-something something & he's only been in Singapore a couple of months. So if you're at Daikokuya, don't forget to show him some Singaporean hospitality by shouting 'Kae-dama!'. I'm kidding. Kaedama means an extra serving of ramen. When you've finish your original order of ramen, you can call out kaedama to have another ball of noodles. But remember to leave enough soup in your bowl for the refill!

Artisan Bread by Bakerzin

“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (Do you want to sleep with me tonight)?” the pastries asked seductively. “Sure,” I replied and picked out 2 of them for a gastronomic ménage à trois on the sweet side.

After the savoury treat of ramen, we were ushered to the new bakery concept by Bakerzin. The dessert connoisseur who brought about a revival in Singaporeans’ love for cakes during the late 90s is going back to basics through the fine traditions of French bakes. Christened Artisan Bread, the outlet at myVillage is the first in Singapore.

With a Euro pitch in style & taste, the breads are freshly baked at the shop & includes such specialties as ciabatta, country, walnut & focaccia.

Apart from breads, the outlet also bakes pastries, sweet & savoury buns, & a range of sandwich loaves. There's also a wide spread of macaroons to choose from. I've never really learnt how to appreciate them but according to someone who loves these bite-size confects, Artisan's macaroons are unique because they have a chewy texture compared the usual crumby biscuit feel.

In addition to the macaroons, we were given a taste of its designer jam - Strawberry Champagne. The jam isn't very sweet, which is nice, & has enough flavour of the berries to leave an echo on the tastebuds. The jams here have specially formulated with fruits not used in your usual supermarket brands. A jar costs S$16.00. Macaroon & jam... my threesome with the sweets.

After the brief introduction to Artisan, we were given a huge bag of breads to bring home to try. By huge, I really mean HUGE. My favourite was this giant sourdough bread. I try to keep a tight curfew on my carb escapades but with this bread, all control broke loose. I've placed a coin (diameter 2.3cm) next to the bread to give you an idea of its size. I finished the whole thing in a day.

Gastronomia by Da Paolo

It’s so hard to resist the cliche exclamation when encountering anything Italian so here it is… “Mama mia!”

From the French influenced bakery, we crossed over to the next culinary neighbour in myVillage, Da Paolo’s Gastronomia. I’ve heard of Da Paolo for quite some time but haven’t tried it yet. My friends have been raving about the restaurant’s high standards and fidelity to fine Italian dining. Since opening it’s first flagship restaurant at Club Street in 1997, its reach has grown to include 2 more restaurant outlets, a pizza bar and bistro, pastry shops and a chain of Gastronomia joints that serve up takeaways of its salivicious menu.

Anything you desire of Italian eats, you can find them at Gastronomia & bring them home. The place is stocked with freshly made starters, pizzas, pastas, & desserts that would make a nice snack, assembled into a proper multiple-course meal, or feed hungry guests at a party. The pizzas here are rectangular although they do have the round ones too. I love the thin crust.

The food all look so delicious and healthy! I really like the Salmon Pizza. The pizza uses smoked salmon, which usually taste like chewing the very salty underside of a rubber slipper, but the version here tastes just right & the fish meat is soft. A slice of pizza costs S$6.50 - S$7.00.

Not to be missed is the wildly popular Da Paolo Tiramisu which is creamy & spongy at all the right doses. The fragrance of liquor is also not lost in Gastronomia's version of this Italian layered dessert, so there is that oomph that seems to be lacking in other Tiramisus I've tasted who traded the alcohol with sugar.

Here with the manageress of the place. She's fresh from Italy (only been in Singapore 2 days when this pic was taken on 24 Mar 11) & really pretty! I missed her name because I was just so caught up by her good looks. She taught us hold to sign delicious in Italy. Poke a finger to your cheek and do a twisting motion. That would make many Italian chefs happy. Apparently, she did that at a hawker centre here & the stallowner brought her toothpicks.

Old Hong Kong Taste

Moving on from the Italiano beauty, we went up the second level of myVillage and stepped into the Old Hong Kong restaurant. I soooooooo like the ambience and decor of the place. You feel the timeless breath of Chinese classical design without the thick, tired sighs of tradition blowing down your back.

A lot of the items in the restaurant have been customised and found nowhere else in the Old Hong Kong Group of eateries. The uniqueness of design lends itself not just to the furnishings and crockery but extends to the menu as well. It’s a pity I only tasted a piece of prawn and 2 pieces of meat before being whisked to the next food outlet. Would’ve been nice to taste a full-course meal here.

As the restaurant is located in Serangoon Garden, floral motifs & butterflies float-fluttered all around on walls, plates & bowls as the design order here. As I was posing the bowl & plate to get this photo, the restaurant's PR personnel immediately adjusted them to the angle she think I should take them at. This goes to show the kind of control they want over their quality. I politely took a shot of her arrangement which aligned the print on the bowl with that of the plate. It's a mess of black lines all over the place. When she wasn't looking, I reoriented the tableware for this shot. Hiaks. I'm a bad boy!

Occupying unit #02-01, a fish tank kitchen welcomes diners to take a peek of the master chefs at work. For beverage, definitely must order the red dates & longan tea. No sugar is used to sweetened the tea & it tastes really great. The red date & longan tea (sometimes added with chrysenthemum, goji berry, dried orange peel & other ingredients to form the Eight Treasures tea) has quite a lot of health benefits which includes waste removal from various bodily systems & nourishing the blood.

Love seafood & durian like me? Here's a perfect combination! The Deep-fried Prawn with Durian Paste & Maltesers is a delicious fusion of the savoury & the sweet balanced out with a refreshing crisp of watermelon.

Flamed with a creative taste. This is the herbalised version of the local favourite sweet & sour pork ribs. But instead, Old Hong Kong concocted a new version with Jap-bred black hog & angelica root. Called Flaming Kurobuta Pork with Danggui Sauce, the dish impresses with juicy & tender cuts of meat fragranced by a delicate herbal note.

Chinta Manis Peranakan Patisserie

Our last stop was dessert at the Chinta Manis, which serves up delectable and extensive range of hand-made Nonya kuehs, drinks, Western cakes and savoury snacks. Chinta Manis means ‘Sweet Love’ in Malay and draws its inspiration from the rich pastry traditions of the Peranakans. There’s a taste of culture in every bite!

Here with Marc Dass, the pastry chain's Commercial Manager. Do you recognise him? He's appeared in Discovery Channel's 5 Takes travel series! He's real friendly, articulate & dashing in person but sorry people, this piece of dessert is already off the shelf. The piece of unappetising blue next to him is still available though. Any takers? Heh. Check out Marc's 5 Takes vid below...

Parked at unit B1-K05, Chinta Manis is hard to miss. Just look for the stall that decors itself with the distinctively coloured & intricately patterned wares used to store food in traditional Peranakan households. The Peranakan heritage reaches as far back as the 1500s from the inter-marriages between Chinese & Malays in Malaysia & Indonesia. Their offsprings are called Straits-born Chinese or Peranakans. Their union resulted in the exciting tastes of Peranakan cuisine which combined the best of both Southern Chinese & Malay culinary heritage.

Chendol on the go. On top of traditional Nonya keuhs such as ondeh ondeh, pulut seri kaya, pulut inti, etc, Chinta Manis innovated with new ingredients & methodology to create new taste traditions. The Chendol Agar Agar pictured here is one of their many unconventional kueh offerings which included Chocolate Ondeh Ondeh & Durian Salat.

Made with 55% dark chocolate, the Chocolate Ecstacy cake brings on a sensation as the name suggests. The thick layer of chocolate was deliciously smooth with just the right amount of sweetness for the aroma of rich cocoa to seep through. Prices range from S$23.80 (6 inches) to S$40 (9 inches).

Our food sampling trail ended with Chinta Manis and by then, my tongue was all over the place since we had Japanese, French, Italian, Hong Kong and Peranakan. That’s the great attraction of mid-range fine dining at myVilage, the tastes of the ‘world’ are all brought together in a compact 3 level complex. The only caution is not to let the appetite be as greedy as the eyes. In other words, the food all look good but space out the dining experience to try a different taste each time.

Although the session was kinda rushed and reviewing 5 radically different eateries at one go is very daunting, I’m glad I came and saw how a familiar acquaintance of my memory is reinventing itself to become the Holland Village of the North-East. And myVillage sits right at the crossroad of this rejuvenation to make Serangoon Garden one of the best food districts in Singapore!

Yifon Mushrooms Va-Va-Vroom!

Story Concept & Script - Darren Ng; Graphic Styling & Comic Illustrations - Jannah, Orgnix Creatives Pte Ltd

Don’t Salah (Wrong) your Health

Bye bye spinach. There’s a new power food in town that Popeye is bound to huff and puff his pipe over… Yifon Mushrooms. Free from preservatives, artificial colouring, trans fat and with six flavours to choose from, starting a healthy eating habit has just found a great excuse in Yifon.

I’ve always loved eating mushrooms not just for their taste, but for the fact that they are nutritional powerhouses. One of the best-known and most widely recognised health benefit of eating mushrooms is an improved immune system.

Mushrooms contain phytonutrients that keeps our body’s immune cells alert and active while supplying them with ammunition to attack invading pathogens. It is our body’s first line of natural defense against diseases.

But here’s a funny thought. There are as many as 1.5 million fungi species in the world ranging from nasty infectious types that give us ringworms and athlete’s foot, to poisonous toadstools, to gourmet varieties (shitake, portobello, truffles, etc), to the highly-prized medicinal mushroom, reishi. But have you ever wondered if we can use mushrooms to fight fungal infections and poisoning? Sort of like fighting fire with fire?

Well, that may be a cause for future research but currently, countless studies conducted by forerunning universities (such as Purdue University) and laboratories in the field of nutritional science have shown strong evidences that mushrooms may aid in the prevention and even cure of certain cancers such as breast, prostate and colorectal cancers. Mushrooms also contain potent antioxidants that may be key to anti-aging therapies.

Polysaccharides (complex sugars) from mushrooms contains anti-tumour and immunomodulating functions. Immunomodulation means the balancing of the immune system – when it is weak, it gets a boost; when it is too strong, it gets modulated. You can read more about these exciting findings here.

Yifon is BOOMZ!

I hope you’re convinced about the goodness of consuming mushrooms. I’m not claiming that Yifon Mushrooms have curative effects as this would depend on the potency of the polysacchrides in the mushroom used, saturation, and bioavailability, but eating mushrooms is generally considered to be healthful as it contains fibre, protein and a whole lot of vitamins and minerals.

And Yifon’s range of bottled mushroom products makes consuming them so much easier. Did I mention they are ready-to-eat and sealed fresh so there’s no need for preservatives and colouring addictives? Plus the best thing is, they are available in all leading supermarkets such as NTUC Fairprice, Cold Storage, Seng Shiong, Shop ‘N Save, etc at only S$1.95 per bottle.

Yifon is a sister brand under by Yit Hong, the company that brought us the household brands – Maling Luncheon Meat and Narcissus canned food. Yit Hong has been consistently named the No.1 market leader in the Canned Mushrooms and Meat Category so you know it’s quality and food safety you can trust.

Here’re some ways to enjoy the great tasting bottled mushrooms…

Spoilt for choices - Assorted Mushrooms (Po-ku, Golden & Button), Spicy Nameko Mushrooms, Teatree Mushrooms, Spicy Bailing Mushrooms, Bailing Mushrooms, Spicy Golden Mushrooms

Hope you’ve enjoyed the first-ever comic strip posted on this blog and may good health and good food whet your taste buds always!

I would like to specially thank Orgnix Creatives for helping me realise the comic renderings in this post. This entry has been created to participate in the Yifon Bloggers’ Competition. So turn on your va-va-vroom, power up with mushrooms and channel luck my way!

A Multi-Flavoured Memory of Hong Kong

“And the winner for the best Hong Kong blog goes to… Darren Ng of Celebrate Life Lah!” Loud applause all around, bright flashes stunned my irises, congratulatory pats on the back and handshakes started pouring in…  

Darren, wake up… wake up…  

Huh? Oh, I was daydreaming! I didn’t win the best Hong Kong blog. Catherine did. With Jerome winning 1st Runner-up and Sze Peng taking home the honours for 2nd Runner-up. Congratulations to them! They will be receiving a basket of sour grapes from me soon.  

I’m kidding. They really did very well in the Hong Kong blog contest. I learnt a lot about this multi-faceted city and about blogging through them and all my fellow travelers – Peter, Priscilla, Violet, Lawrence, Elaine and Gin. In the last 3 months from the time we won the Singapore Blog Awards to the Hong Kong trip, I think I represent all 10 of us when I say the whole experience is what dreams are made of.  

  

With the dinner gathering held a few nights ago and the announcement of the blog and lucky draw winners, the Hong Kong Summer Spectacular came to a wrap for us. But things don’t end there for the 10 of us have left behind a ‘legacy’ of our HK trip… a combined blog where our experiences were meticulously documented through photos, videos, cartoons and words.  

It is a light-hearted collection of 10 first-person accounts and intimate thoughts about what Hong Kong has to offer. So do drop by My Hong Kong Travel Blog (我的香港之旅) as your first stop to this amazing city.  

  

When I started posting at My Hong Kong Travel Blog, I began with a countdown series that recorded my thoughts and preparations for the trip. Why did I do it? Frankly, I’ve been to Hong Kong before and I’m not impressed by my previous visits. So I wanted to see if this trip will change my mind.  

And frankly again, the blog contest has ended so there’s no need for me to continue posting about Hong Kong (my last entry was Day 3 of our 4-days tour on 26 Aug 10). So there are no other objectives other than to record what I really felt because I had a change of mind about Hong Kong being boring. I guess I was merely looking at the oyster shell previously and didn’t open it, or tasted it.  

No doubt that this trip was hosted by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and they took great care of us. But for the most part, they left us pretty much on our own to explore Hong Kong. Yes, they put us up at the uber cool The Mira Hotel (which totally blew my mind away), and brought us to great places to eat but to me, it is not so that we will write only nice reviews (well, at least not for me), but it really showed me the full potential of Hong Kong as a great holiday destination.  

For this trip, I got down to do some pretty serious research. That’s when I realized there’s more to Hong Kong. There’s Kowloon and New Territories. Especially the lesser explored New Territories, which is home to many beautiful natural landscapes and the very photogenicHong Kong Wetland Park.  

If you’re like me and like to research every destination and attraction before visiting and to get as local as possible, the HKTB website is a really great resource. What I really love about it is the clear, clean-cut directions it gives to get to the places of interest. And their pocket-sized brochures are really good too (copies of them can be obtained at the airport). I never leave my hotel room with them.  

  

But enough about the sights of Hong Kong here for details can be found in my earlier posts. With this concluding blog, I would like to share about the food. A topic I’ve not touched on in previous posts.  

During this trip, we were brought to restaurants that span the range from casual eats, boutique gems, and fine-dine menus. Very often a time, after I took a bite of the food, I was afraid to open my mouth again because I didn’t want the flavours to escape. Plus I ran out of words to describe delicious. The above 4 dishes are what I found interesting and super yumz (although the pork knuckles took some getting used to).  

  

However, my most memorable taste of Hong Kong was at the quaint, delicately retro ambience of Yin Yang Restaurant on Ship Street. I shan’t go into details about the culinary feats of its founder, celebrity chef Margaret Xu, because my fellow bloggers have done an excellent job, but I’ll talk about the inspiration she gave me… that of daring to experiment in the kitchen.  

As part of our dining experience at Yin Yang, which is famous for its healthy fusion fare, we were given a behind-the-scene demonstration of how to make one of its many specialty sauces. For our sauce-making lesson, Margaret shared with us the recipe for a dipping sauce which she later christened as ‘Green Dream’ in honour of us.  

  

I didn’t get a chance to note down the specific measurements of the ingredients, but it is basically equal weight green chili, ginger and spring onion. I think we used about 1kg each during our session. If you like it spicier, you can always increase the ratio of chili.  

In a wok of oil, deep-fry the ginger for about 3 mins then add in the chili. Deep-fry the chili till it is cooked but not to the point where it loses its green colour and fold in the spring onion. Again, deep-fry the spring onion till soft but not soggy. Drain the oil and transfer the mixture to a blender and add in a generous amount of salt (about 2 heaping soup spoons). This is meant as a dipping sauce so it has to be a bit salty. You can vary the salt content to your liking.  

We were each given a bottle of Green Dream and told it can keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. I kept it for over a month! It still tasted fresh and I didn’t end up in ER. But instead of using it as a dip, I decided to experiment and used it as a base sauce to create 2 new dishes. Here’re the recipes…  

Yin Yang Lady’s Fingers 

Hmm… With such a name, I think this dish will be a hit with transvestites! And no one will break any nails trying to cook this dish which draws inspiration from the delicious Peranakan-styled steamed ocra with sambal. But instead of sambal, Green Dream is used.  

  

Ingredients :  

400g Lady’s Fingers (a.k.a. ocra)  
20g Dried Shrimp (soak in water before using)  
1 Onion (diced)  
3 Cloves Garlic (diced)  
2 Heaping Tablespoons of Green Dream  

Method : 

1. Deep-fry the dried shrimps till brown and crispy. Drain the oil and put it aside.
2. Cut ocra into halves and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Steam for about 8-10 mins. Remove from steamer and transfer ocra to a new plate to leave behind excess water.
3. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium fire and stir-fry onion and garlic. Add in Green Dream and 2 tablespoons of water.
4. Scoop sauce into a bowl and pour in the crispy shrimps. Mix the condiments and spread atop steamed ocra.

Green Dream Shrimp 

This dish is adapted from the Sweet & Sour Prawns recipe with Green Dream replacing the use of ketchup and vinegar. So instead of the fruity sweet taste, this dish has a mild spicy bite. 

 

Ingredients : 

600g Prawns (de-shell the body leaving the head and tail)
1 Medium-size Tomato (sliced into quarters)
1 Medium-size Onion (sliced into quarters)
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Bunch Spring Onion & Chinese Parsley
2 Heaping Tablespoons of Green Dream
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
3 Tablespoons Whiskey (or Chinese Cooking Wine) 

Method :

1. Slice the spine of the prawns to remove the black entrails. In a bowl, marinate with sesame oil and whiskey. Leave in the fridge for about 2 hours.
2. Heat a table of olive oil over high fire and stir-fry onion and garlic. Add in tomato and 2 tablespoons of water. Cooked till tomato is slightly soft and add in Green Dream and sugar.
3. Add in prawns and be sure to pour in the marinate sauce as well. Stir-fry and add in fish sauce. Serve on a bed of spring onion and parsley.

Now, I’m no Martin Yan or Fang Tai and I’d cook up many disasters that even my dogs won’t eat so you by trying out the above recipes, you’re doing it at your own risk! But I did put the dishes to a taste-test by my parents. My mum is a foodie and my dad used to be a cook.

So, did Yin Yang Lady’s Fingers and Green Dream Shrimp pass my parents’ taste test? Were they a dream or a nightmare?

Well, I couldn’t get a word out of them because like me, they were too afraid to open their mouths when food is good. Success! 

With the 2 dishes, I’ve brought home more than just postcard memories of Hong Kong, but the spirit of experimentation that made Hong Kong so resilient in creating a holiday destination bursting with contrasts and flavours.

Till my future visits to Hong Kong again, the fragrance of this recent trip lingers on…

Countdown to Hong Kong : – 7 Days

THE DIETING

To take part in the Media Bathtub Race during the Dragon Boat Carnival, we had to sign a form declaring that we can swim at least 100m with light clothing. Safety is paramount. So I guess that’s why I was asked to participate. My waist has a natural float. It is the size of a bicycle tyre now with the potential of growing into a Michelin.

And going to Hong Kong isn’t going to help since there are as many restaurants there as there are shopping districts. So I guess that sort of cancels each other out, right? You eat, and then get trim shopping. No wonder so many Hong Kongers are so slim despite their penchant for siu ngaap (roast duck), char siew (roast pork) and dim sum.

For me, chow dao fu (smelly beancurd) with a steaming hot bowl of cow’s heart and pig intestine is a must when in Hong Kong. I know they don’t sound very appetizing, and the stinky tofu smells like the sewage, but once you get past the stench, they’re really tasty.

Never judge a book by its cover. Never judge a food by its odour.

But of course, those street foods are gonna jam up the bad cholesterol level. So I’m taking the save-now-spend-later approach. I’m watching what I eat for every meal at the moment so as to calm the body before the storm.

Breakfast is a delicious and nutritious meal of oatmeal and raisins with soya milk, lunch is an appetising and mouthwatering bowl of fish soup (with no rice or noodles), and dinner… Well, it’s the last meal of the day so I spoil myself. I do housework with my tongue. I eat dust.

That, of course, is a fast diet to lose the float in a week. But who am I kidding? No matter how much I psyche myself up, when mealtime comes, my mind says eat fit food, my legs say go to the gym, while my hands pays the char kway teow hawker.

“Today is the day I’m starting and sticking to my diet.” Problem is, I say this every day. So I shall put it in words now, and the world as my witness, that for the next 8 days, I’m going to eat healthily. This morning I had the oatmeal breakfast, lunch I had seafood soup with noodles, and dinner I cooked brown rice and this…

Hong Kong-style Steamed Fish is my favouritest way of cooking fish because it is relatively fuss-free and it’s very appetizing with rice. Here’s my recipe for this simple yet looks-like-it-took-a-lot-of-effort dish.

Ingredients :

Serves 2 – 3 people

Fish – 300g (I used White Threadfin here but you can also use Garoupa or Sea Bass)
Light Soya Sauce – 2 tablespoons
Water – 6 tablespoons (3:1 ratio between soya sauce and water)
Olive Oil – 1 tablespoon
Sugar – 1 teaspoon
Chinese Cooking Wine (Hua Diao Jiu) – 3 tablespoon
Spring Onions, Chinese Parsley, Young Ginger (amounts according to preference)

Cooking Method :

1. Have the fishmonger gut the fish and ask for a ‘butterfly cut’ (slices both sides of the fish so that the flesh opens up like wings). Asked for it to be lightly scored too.

2. Wash the fish thoroughly with water, then rinse it with the Chinese Cooking Wine to coat it. The idea is not to soak or marinate it in the wine.

3. Slice ginger into fine strips and stuff them into the scores of the fish.

4. Finely slice Spring Onions and break Parsley into segments. Leave aside.

5. Heat up the wok and when the water is boiling, put the fish in to steam at high heat. A fish this size takes about 10 mins.

6. At the meantime, pour Soya Sauce, Water, Olive Oil, and Sugar and bring to boil. This is the sauce.

7. Remove the cooked fish and put it on a flat plate. Pour sauce over the fish and garnish with Spring Onions and Parsley.

Here’s a tip for steaming fish so that you get the nice butterfly form. If you just steam it on a flat plate, sometimes the fish meat gets stuck to the plate and disintegrates when you attempt to move it.

Now enjoy your Hong Kong-style Steamed Fish… while I look forward to the dinner aboard a traditional Chinese Junk in Hong Kong next week! Ha. )

Pengerang by Accident

I’ve always admired the beauty of peacocks and had encountered quite a few throughout the years. Their glistening green feathers with turquiose hues never cease to captivate me. But I’ve never seen one of them opening up its tail feather in full glory.

Likewise, many a times when we travel, we may see the beauty of sights, perhaps finding a stalk of the tail feathers along the way. But on those very few rare occasions, we experience the spectacular of an opened peacock fan. An encounter like this almost always happened by accident.

This trip to Sungai Rengit, Pengerang was one of those moments. Although the accident was terribly regrettable, I saw my perfect peacock. While Pengerang has nothing much to offer in terms of sights or even qualify as a mediocre tourist destination, the warmth and helpfulness of its people made the trouble to get there all worth it. More than just delicious seafood at bargain prices and miles of natural-scape, have a sampling too of the local hospitality. I have a feeling you’ll leave fuller than the harvest of the sea.

PENGERANG FACTS

• Pengerang is a seaside area by the southeastern tip of Johor with a population of about 20,000. Sungai Rengit is its main town located at the fourth bay (四湾).

• Sungai Rengit is popular for its seafood, which is much cheaper than Singapore or Johor Bahru.

• Things to do there besides cholesterol-chugging include a visit to a World War 2 fort, Ostrich Farm, and Fruit Farm.

• Many long-distance cycling enthusiasts start their journey to Desaru here because of the straight open roads and lesser traffic.

GETTING THERE & BACK

From Singapore, you can drive (approximately 2 hours) or take a bumboat at Changi Point Ferry Terminal to Tg Pengelih, Pengerang’s ferry terminal. Bumboat ride takes 1 hour and costs S$9.00 per person. Additional S$2.00 is charged per bicycle to ferry it across.

Daily operating hours : 7:00 am – 7:00 pm. There’s no fixed departure schedule. Each boat will only depart once there are 12 passengers. So there could be some waiting during off-peak periods. If you can assemble a group of 12, you can charter a whole boat.

Avoid going to Pengerang during Qing Ming season and Chinese New Year as there’ll be hordes of people. No problem in getting enough passengers, but no boats. Our trip coincided with Qing Ming and we waited almost 4 hours (8:00 am – 11:48 am) to board. It was pretty chaotic because there were no clear signs or system to indicate which boat you are supposed to take or any indication of waiting time. You have to find out your boat queue number at the counter and listen out for it to be called when your boat is available.

It works the same coming back from Tg Pengelih. Boat ride costs MYR15.00, operating hours from 7:00 am – 4:00 pm. Be there by 3:00pm to avoid missing the last boat. All fares are collected onboard, passport is a must.

GETTING AROUND

Taxis are available at MYR5.00 per person to Sungai Rengit. The taxis will leave when there’re 4 passengers, or you can charter the whole car for MYR20.00. The ride is about 20 mins. You can also negotiate with the driver to bring you to Ostrich Farm, Fruit Farm, etc and back to Tg Pengelih ferry terminal. Rates vary according to where you want to go. A round trip from ferry terminal to Fruit Farm costs MYR150.00.

You can also rent a bicycle at one of the shops around Changi Point Hawker Centre and cycle from Tg Pengelih to Sungai Rengit. That’s about 20 km or roughly 1.5 hours of leisure cycling. There are no bicycle rentals around Tg Pengelih ferry terminal so rent from Changi if you intend to cycle to Sungai Rengit. Bicycle rentals are available in Sungai Rengit for MYR15.00 per day. We rented our bicycles from this shop behind Hiap Hwa Hotel. The bikes were in reasonable conditions.

ACCOMODATION

There are quite a few hotels in Sungai Rengit but don’t expect to see stars. They’re basic lodgings without frills, and mere minutes from each other on foot. We stayed Hiap Hwa Hotel although on hindsight, we should’ve gone with our original plan to stay at Tai Hoe Hotel because it has a provision shop below it, and located just opposite the taxi station. Then again, the town is very small so it doesn’t really matter where you stay.

Hiap Hwa Hotel is decent and clean although the rooms have the smell of cigarette smoke. I booked the MYR68.00 room via email but when we checked out, we were charged MYR88.00. The reason given was that we stayed during a public holiday (we checked-in on 2 Apr 2010, Good Friday). This wasn’t communicated to me in the email to confirm my reservation. Good Friday is a holiday in Singapore, but not in Malaysia.

I felt somewhat cheated. And I had to transfer S$30.00 to their representative’s POSB bank account as a refundable deposit to seal my booking. This was the first time I had to do something like that. It’s like paying before you consumed the service and the receptionist wasn’t conversant in English.

I changed our accommodation plans because I read from bloggers that it is a newer hotel compared to the rest. At five storeys, the hotel is easily the tallest building in town but there’re no elevators so we had to climb four levels to our rooms. Siow Har had her room changed to the first level after her accident (more on it later). We were allowed to park our bicycles in the hotel’s premises.

SEAFOOD SO GOOD?

Feasting on fresh, succulent baby lobsters on a pauper’s paycheck is the sole reason many Singaporeans come to Sungai Rengit. The few recommended restaurants are Si Wan Good Luck Seafood Restaurant, Crystal Jade Seafood Restaurant, and Jade Garden Seafood Restaurant. I had planned to try all restaurants during our 2D1N stay but our seafood expedition was cut short by the accident. We only managed to try Si Wan Good Luck Seafood Restaurant. It was full house when we got there… so the verdict?

Average. We had three Butter Baby Lobsters, Cereal Prawns, Stir-fried Chye Sim, and Hotplate Oyster Omelette. The bill came up to MYR152.90 (S$65.10) including two bowls of rice, three fresh coconuts, and a bottle of beer. That’s very cheap by Singapore standards. But of course, ‘restaurants’ there are more like non air-conditioned zi-char eateries in Singapore.

Taste-wise, the lobsters well deserved their repute. Though crusted and deep-fried, the meat was juicy and tender; it felt as though Hai Loong Wang was having a party in my mouth. But the marine celebration ends there. The Cereal Prawn was passable and felt patchwork. There were two halves of a really big prawn and the rest were much smaller prawns. I didn’t get to try the big prawn but the small prawns weren’t fresh. The shells were thin and stuck to the flesh, and the heads had fallen off in the plate.

The vegetable dish was stir-fried in garlic and ginger strips, but although fresh-tasting, had no boomz factor. The Oyster Omelette was the biggest letdown. I’ve seen snort bigger than the oyster bulbs they served. And the taste was Alice in Wonderland… you chew the movie for almost two hours and wonder when is it going to get exciting. That dish was so bland, dogs wouldn’t touch it.

Hopefully the other restaurants fare better. If I go back again, I’ll try the crayfish and pepper crabs I missed this time round.

THE ROAD TO UNWIND

The best thing to do in Sungai Rengit is to unwind because there’s simply nothing to do. No big shopping complexes, no fanciful tourist attractions, no nightlife. It’s just you and the open roads flanked by coconut trees towering above kampong houses. I had it in my itinerary to cycle to the Fruit Farm but because we were very much delayed in our arrival time, we visited only the Ostrich Farm. It was only about a half-hour ride from town and the many huge signs made it easy to find (cycling to the Fruit Farm would take about two hours at a leisurely pace).

Along the way, we stopped by many open fields and even a red rock quarry to take home some rustic memories. So used am I to my DSLR that I felt handicapped using a compact camera during the excursion. What’s great shooting here was the wide natural landscapes and dramatic cloud formations floating on an endless blue.

At an entrance fee of MYR12.00 per adult, the Ostrich Farm provided some amusements and learning points about these big birds. Here’re some info about the farm and ostriches :

• The farm is owned by a Singaporean ex-pilot. Most of the ostriches here are reared for their meat. Their only meat area is the thigh. They’re slaughtered when 18-months old because that’s when the meat is the leanest. Any older and the ostrich would gain too much fat.

• The fat is used to make cosmetic creams and lotions, while the feathers are used for costumes such as in cabaret fans and outfits.

• Ostriches are hollow-boned with a very hard breast plate. Its kick is lethal and is especially hostile if you’re near its egg.

• A female ostrich lays an egg every 2-3 days from age three onwards. Full lifespan is about 60 years. One ostrich egg is equivalent to 25 chicken eggs.

• The eggs are of porous calcium and will spoil if it has been soaked in water. It can withstand the weight of a human adult in sand but will crack if you stand on it on hard surfaces.

• Ostrich thrives in a dry and sandy habitat, and swallows sand to help digest their food. Without which, they will die. An ostrich soaking in a pool of water is also a goner.

• There’re three roles played by the three most dominant males in a flock – the egg protector, the protector of a female ostrich about to lay eggs, and the king. The king can mate with any female without bowing while other males have to bow to get approval. However, if the flock is under attack, the king is the first to die as it sacrifices itself to a predator to buy time for the flock’s escape.

After the tour, we tasted ostrich meat (stir-fry with ginger and spring onion) and had this most refreshing concoction of tea with evaporated milk and winter melon essence. Super yumz! The ostrich meat was so-so, the texture resembled pork without much of a unique flavour. Maybe it’s the way it was being cooked. The dish costs MYR20.00 and the yummy tea was at MYR4.00 per glass.

The lady manager of the farm also sat down and chatted with us about different ferry routes to get to Pengerang and how she once paid MYR180 to charter a bumboat for her and her son since she couldn’t wait for more passengers. Overall, the place is worth a visit. An hour there is about just right.

NINE STITCHES CLOSER

The biggest event during the trip was Siow Har’s fall from her bicycle near the Goddess of Mercy Temple. She fell during her bid to stop her S$100-plus hat from being blown away. I didn’t witness it but I was told that her fall didn’t seem serious. But when she stood up, the lower part of her left leg was washed in blood. By the time I saw her, the bleeding has stopped so I thought it was a minor accident until I got close to see the real damage.

She sustained a really, really deep cut, and in the words of the lady who brought us to the clinic, “As big as her mouth”!. When the accident happened, quite a few local motorists stopped to help. Eventually, a kindly woman who has fetching her son from school took us to a nearby clinic. According to her, that area around the temple is ‘dirty’.

Siow Har got her wound cleaned, anesthesia localized, nine stitches, anti-tetanus shot, antibiotics and pain medicine… we were expecting a medical bill that’ll send her into seizure, but all it costs was MYR52.00! That’s so cheap! Luckily it’s so affordable as she did not buy travel insurance.

I mentioned about it on our way to Pengerang and she said there’s no need to buy for such a short trip. I wanted to buy but forgot about it. Gosh, and I’m an insurance agent! Actually, I should’ve just asked both of them anyway even though they’re not likely to buy. I have this service, but didn’t offer to them. Thankfully, the accident wasn’t something more serious or the bill much bigger, else I would really feel bad.

Although the mishap was a terrible occurrence, it brought out the kindly and helpful side of the Pengeranians. Apart from this lady, there were many people along the way whom I spoke to or asked for directions, and I could sense a genuine warmth in their responses.

I can’t help but think that those nine stitches brought us closer to Pengerang and as friends, they held us somewhat closer too. Hopefully someday soon, I’ll go back to the laid-back town again and pluck me another peacock feather. )