Saturday morning fever

Good morning world.

It's daybreak and we haven't slept at all.

We hopped into a cab hoping for some comfort food at Fong Seng Nasi Lemak only to see the shutters down illuminated only by the orange glow of the Buzz news stand.

It's alright.

Uncle, traffic light ahead turn right.

West Coast Market.

Just go straight.

Just for one hungry stomach.

3 in the North, just one in the West.

So we lost at open numbers.

Please proceed.

To bring us to no man's land.

Let's eat!

The cheong fun wasn't well steamed.

Translucent on the edges but the middle sections were still tough n rubbery.

I'm pretty sure he flirted with the auntie for the dollop of radish.

Tsk tsk.

I'm definitely biased when it comes to chwee kueh but I have standards alright.

The radish was salty oily.

Tremendously satisfying with the bland steamed rice cakes.

And just because you know I'd murder the chilli. :)

There never lived a plate of economical noodles so well devoured.

Oh sides.

Let me name thy sides to you.

Luncheon meat, fried chicken wing, cuttlefish patty, fried egg and cheese hotdog. oh my.

And it's unfair how you devour everything with a first name fried with no negative repercussions on your physique.

Health perhaps.

I imagine clogged arteries creeping up on you.

Nothing like a glass of hO Ho HO- hot horlicks. :)

2.5 hours of sleep and I'm out and about headed for home.

Lunch.

Could not be more satisfying.

So the only thing I wouldn't touch would be the intestines.

Everything else. :)

I loved the pickled vegetable ends.

Diced and cooked till soft (by duck fat) and sweet.

And as much as I never liked everything that looked like an internal organ,

I've started eating liver.

If only for its iron rich content.

A murky salted vegetable soup with liver and lean meat.

And a small bowl of kway.

Bliss came at a price of $11.70 for three.

Gotta love the Ang Mo Kio neighbourhood :)

beauty lies in colours

What's your take?

Raw, unedited and from an iPhone 4.

All the ingredients tasted good.

Just the rice that didn't quite meet my expectations.

What's in it for a claypot rice anyway?

I've only got one standard of comparison- the claypot rice in Chinatown

and that's pretty awesome stuff.

So relatively speaking, this wasn't too nice at all.

But that version has chicken with bone in and a lot oilier of course.

Well, it was worth a try.

new treats at broadway plaza

This looked a lot like Nando's.

With attention grabbing wall prints and menus.

And chicken of course.

In all forms. 

This was much better than I thought.

Would be what I envision the bonchon 4 fingers crispy chicken to taste like.

The skin was crispy indeed.

And coated in a spicy sweet sauce that was purely addictive.

I wish there was more of where that crispy skin came from!

The gravy on the mash was much too thick but definitely savoury from seasoning.

Be sure to have water on hand after this!

And because Broadway Plaza's undergoing a massive makeover from their previous makeover not so long ago, they are having a one for one special. And this was one of the options from the complimentary dish.

One of the few non-chicken options.

A standard thawed and grilled dory fillet.

Massively drowned in sweet and spicy sambal sauce.

I had expected a dollop of the sauce and of the thick nature but this was liquid and made my side of fries soggy in an unappetizing way.

The coleslaw was a generous serving and creamy and not too tart for my teeth. 

Dinner was really better than we expected.

But only because we expected very little.

Worth a try.

Especially those hot hot drums! :)

And this was even more exciting.

Yet another one for one treat!

This runs till the weekend and only applicable at Broadway Plaza- 22/04/2012.

One for one on a small cup at yoguru.

$3.50 for two of these yummylicious treats.

This was mango and bliss.

Mmmm. :)

timed.out.

Crispy on the outside, fluffy soft on the inside.

Savour it for what it's worth.

With spicy sour and very addictive fish curry.

And sugar of course.

It was only Monday.

But that little bit better at least.

:)

Eating Out. In the Area.

Both of these stalls are good but of course. Nothing draws the crowds to this corner coffee shop like the carrot cake.
This living legend, Mr Ngerng has been featured in Sunday Life! in their series on heritage hawkers and on Makansutra Raw in celebration of Asian food cultures, bestowed with the title of Makansutra Street Food Master. 

 

Make your order of carrot cake, black or white and they will arrive at your table generously fried with headily fragrant bits of preserved radish, pieces of radish cake and well fried egg mixture. All this with a dash of colour from crunchy spring onions.
I don't mean to burst your bubble but...
To be honest, this visit left us disappointed.
The $3 version differed minimally from the $2 order. The radish cake pieces were a lot more firm than they used to be. And I've heard that's because he's no longer making the radish cake himself but has outsourced this labourious process.
I used to really love this.
But I guess.
Things do change.

Now this is a recent addition.

Probably a year or so?

They do a good sized briyani for $5 with side salad, briyani rice, choice of meat and two pappadums.

Tonight though, we tried the Indian Rojak.

Refried things are terribly unhealthy but hey,

I only live once. :)

Very reasonably priced at $2.60 for three items.

The sauce was good. Served hot and chunky with peanut bits.

The one thing that gets me though, is the colouring and starch content of this sauce.
Did I also mention that the prata at this stall goes for 70 cents for a plain prata?

Where would you find prices like that these days?

And just as a warning. Do not order these staples from the zi char stall.

They were nightmares.

Fried rice and fried noodles were all uninspiring.

Lacking flavour but huge on oil.

I'd rather eat indian rojak anyday.

hong kong street chun kee revisited

For a simple takeout, a craving to be satisfied, a weekend dinner out or even a cause for celebration.

This is where it's at for us :)

Just a personal bowl of this will suffice.

Any time. Any day.

Especially. On rainy days.

All beansprouts should be silvers like these.

Slippery smooth flat pieces of rice noodles stir fried for that infusion of wok hei.
Topped with ample fish slices and just enough seafood flavoured gravy.
And beansprouts flash fried, retaining their colour and delicious crunch.
Uh huh. Order this.
If you aren't interested in the soup version.

Pungent. But juicy and succulent.

Eat with hands for best results.

Finger lickin' good. :)

Once in a while, this makes it to our order list.

Whenever dad feels like it.

Flathead fish chopped and deep fried before drowned in black bean sauce.

Some chopped onions, green and red peppers, baby corn, mushroom and black fungus.

Appeals to the sight.

Definitely whets the appetite.

Just a lil heavy on the salt which just means you might need some plain rice with this.

Maybe a lot of it. Seeing as how the gravy just opens up the stomach's capacity.

:)

Coffee Shop Surprise

What would your reaction be to a customer standing at your store looking at the menu but not making a move to order? In a coffeeshop, that is. That customer would be me, yes indecisive my other name. I was half expecting to be ignored or clucked at irritably. None of that though. I eventually voiced my inability to decide between that or laksa and I was met with an understanding smile in return. What a surprise. :)

Wasn't up to taking coconut milk today so I made a quick decision to order a meepok dry. It's been awhile since I had pork and was braving myself for that porky smell but there was none of that. :)

A simple affair at lunch with juicy minced pork bits, a few slices of fishcake with two soft and chewy fishballs on the side in soup. At $2.50, this was value indeed.

Parents are out of town which means my servings of fresh fruits have come to an abrupt stop. To make up for that, my Zespri happy pack came by the courier last evening. The fuzzy kiwi thumbdrive is just the cutest! :))) And there's even a 4-pack of kiwi fruit. The green variety though. Leaving that for my brother and since I was out on a course, I went shopping one lunch for these packs of fast fruits to the rescue. :)

Berry blend was a welcome change from the usual cranberry packs I pick up at the supermarket. A marked difference in costs, but a whole lot more variety in taste. <3

Lian Wah Kopitiam

Blk 133 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3

Scene 1 Take #1:

Lao San Kway Chap

Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3

12.30 p.m.

Sunday

 Three Hungry People

Dad (patiently waiting for his turn) : *thinks* Hmm. What should I order?

Lady with bike helmet (swings plastic bag around) : My tupperware is leaky. My soup is dripping all over me. Can I get it changed? (in dialect)

The boss (reaches for some braised fatty meat) : *thinks* I will continue to prepare the order. Just change the plastic bag or something already...

Everyone in the scene: *burps*

And... it's a wrap!

Block 724 Ang Mo Kio Central Market Food Centre

A $9 standard serving set for 2 pax. 

Just to satisfy a girl friend's cravings of kway chap and duck. The stall that I planned on going to at Blk 226H Kebun Baru Market was closed at 4pm so I had to make an emergency call to tell her to head towards AMK Central instead where I remembered that there was a stall selling duck rice that I had eaten previously. Her food item cravings were satisfied but we honestly could have done better. The kway here was the thickest i've ever tried. When kway fails. The meal has failed. *shakes head sorrowfully. The upside is, the duck is still as nice as I remembered. If you're here for duck, take duck rice. No kway. No way.

I wasn't going to leave that place with substandard kway. Neither was I going to let her travel all the way down for nothing. I did what I had to do. I made a beeline for my tasty -and- trusty char kway teow stall for an order with extra vegetables. I carried my plate of char kway teow heaven back to the table bursting with pride. "Try this!" I couldn't stop smiling. As if I was the cook. Well, a girl could dream right? :)

Mmm. Kway the way it should be done. Full of wok hei. It was the difference of heaven and hell for these two types of kways. I know it's unfair to be comparing a plate of lard fried kway teow with kway chap but honestly, this kway was the right way to go. really have to stop it with the puns. They are unintended by the way.

Full bodied taste. Fried slightly wet just the way I like it. Crispy bits of lard, a small offering of blood clams, slices of waxed sausages and the only healthy items of beansprouts and greens. If there's anything worth the extra calories.

This. Is it. :)

What's your dinner going to be tonight?

I just had a green curry craving triggered off. When am I going to satisfy that craving?