Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant @ Alexandra Village

Keng Eng Kee started out selling Hainanese Chicken Rice in a small coffeeshop at Havelock Road in the 1950s. During the 70s, they expanded their operations to the tze char business and moved to the current location after the closure of the former Havelock Road Hawker Centre.

Keng Eng Kee Seafood Restaurant (or KEK for short) operates out of an entire coffeeshop with the outside seating arrangement spilling over to the next block where a small air-conditioned room is available upon booking.

We were there around 6pm on a Saturday and the place is jam-packed with customers. I noticed that a short queue of walk-in customers waiting for a table is already forming by the side.

Business is brisk and it is hard to get a table for a large group without reservations. Thankfully, my brother has already called them the day before to reserve a table for five as well as a crab.

Syonan Gallery: War And Its Legacies

After a year-long revamp, the former Ford Motor Factory along Upper Bukit Timah Road has finally reopened its doors to a closed-door opening ceremony for invited guests on 15 February 2017.

Renamed Syonan Gallery, its opening was aptly timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the fall of Singapore.

A highlight of the private event was a weapon presentation ceremony, where recruits from the 2nd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (2 SIR) received their Singapore Assault Rifle (SAR) 21.

I think there is a significant meaning for our own army to take up arms at the very site where the British put down theirs. It is a dark chapter, but one that we must always remember; we can rely on no one except ourselves to defend our land.

We have come a long way and while we treasure the peace we have now, let us not forget the atrocities of the war that our ancestors had to go through.

With a heavy heart, I visited the museum on the next day when it is opened to the public.

Waffletown USA @ Balmoral Plaza

Update: Waffletown USA has permanently closed.

Waffletown USA is a family-owned business that had been serving American food such as burgers, fried chicken and Belgian waffles for the last thirty odd years in Singapore.

During the 1980s, it was situated at the basement of Bukit Timah Plaza before moving to its current location at Balmoral Plaza along Bukit Timah Road. It has been years since I last visited them and as I walked through its door today, a wave of nostalgia hits me in the face. 

Everything from the furnishings to the deco remained exactly how I remembered it to be when they were still at their previous address.

National Orchid Garden *Free Admission!*

I have always thought that the National Orchid Garden is simply a small scale garden showcasing its collection of Orchids and probably not worth the price of a ticket to go in.

When I learned that Singaporeans enjoy free entry from November 2016 till January 2017, I decided to take the opportunity to check it out if it is really the "go one round and we're out" kind of small like what I had thought.

By the end of my visit, however, I realized that the National Orchid Garden is anything but small. With over 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids, the Garden is the largest display of Orchids in the world!

Black Muah Chee @ Toa Payoh HDB Hub

I am quite surprised to know that there is a black version of muah chee! 

This stall called "Hougang Six Miles Famous Muah Chee" located inside Gourmet Paradise Food Court at Toa Payoh HDB Hub sells exactly that. The black element is actually due to the crushed black sesame seeds coating its exterior.

Of course, they do sell the usual crushed peanut version as well.

Here, the muah chee are individually hand pulled from a larger dough then dipped in shallot oil before being tossed into a bed of crushed peanuts or black sesame.

Compared to other vendors who simply place a blob of the dough into the tray of crushed peanuts and then snipping them into smaller pieces with scissors, Hougang Six Miles Famous Muah Chee's muah chee is way more chewy due to the extra stretching.

Dover Road Kai Kee Wanton Noodle 杜佛路佳記雲吞麵 @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

About a year ago, Dad returned home with two packets of Wanton Noodles for Mum and me. While transferring the noodles onto a plate, I was surprised not just by the big mound of noodles, but also the number of wantons that slipped out from the plastic bag!

As I send a mouthful of noodles into my mouth, my eyes sparkled. Never mind the lean char siew and limpy wantons, the sauce is the kind I liked. So comforting, so old school but so difficult to find!

I queried with Dad where he bought the noodles from but I could not get a definite answer as he just randomly picked a stall to tapau the food from. All I knew was that it is somewhere in Bukit Merah.

Supreme Pork Chop Rice 一品排骨饭 @ 67 Beach Road

I was on an errand for Dad, to send his phone in for servicing but as the service centre was not open until 11am, I decided to drop by 67 Beach Road opposite Shaw Tower to have this Supreme Pork Chop Rice that I saw on Instagram.

I wonder why I have not heard of this place before when I worked at Bugis a few years ago. (I was a faithful regular at Tong Seng Coffeeshop at Liang Seah Street. Love their Laksa and Spring Rolls!)

Standing before the gigantic red signboard with its supersized font, one had to walk down a flight of stairs to reach the stall. Due to its location at the basement, the air could get a little stuffy inside even though the fans are oscillating.

Heng Huat Boon Lay Boneless Duck Noodles 興發文礼起骨鸭面 @ Boon Lay Place Food Village

The duck noodles from Heng Huat Boon Lay Boneless Duck Noodles (興發文礼起骨鸭面) is Dad's absolute favorite. He will have this and nothing else whenever we came to Boon Lay Place Food Village.

At $3.50, the duck noodles here is quite value for money. Not only is there a generous mound of noodles below, the top is almost covered by the taugeh (beansprouts) which is equally plentiful. Sweeping the taugeh aside will reveal the boneless duck meat hidden below.

Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak @ Boon Lay Place Food Village

Even though I visit Boon Lay Place Food Village quite frequently, I have never tried this Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak before as I thought that they only cater to the dinner crowd.

A week ago, I was there to do some marketing with my folks when I happened to see the stall open. I did not know that they open in the mornings. Did they change operating hours or have I thought wrongly all these years?

Whatever it is, I knew then that I had to give it a try to know how "power" their Nasi Lemak really is. 

There is a customer in front of me so while waiting for him to be served, I glanced around the stall and noticed that they also sell an assortment of ala carte ingredients which you can choose for your coconut rice.

Chung Cheng Chilli Mee 崇正辣椒面 @ Golden Mile Food Centre

Have you ever heard of "Chili Mee" (辣椒面) before?

This stall located on the second storey of Golden Mile Food Centre sells exactly that, together with Prawn Mee (肉骨虾面) and Laksa (叻沙).

This is the first time I have heard of "Chili Mee" and I do not have the slightest clue what it really is. Consisting of ingredients borrowed from the Prawn Mee and Laksa, the impression this bowl of Chili Mee give me is chapalang because it is "a mix of everything".

I suppose it got its name due to the noodles being slathered with a generous portion of the savory chili sauce.

Mushroom Bak Chor Chai Tow Kway 香菇肉脞菜头粿 @ North Bridge Road Market

Ke Shuang Xing Fried Carrot Cake (柯双兴菜头粿) has been dishing out fried carrot cake (Chai Tow Kway) for five decades but just this month, they have roll out a new offering which is a marriage between Chai Tow Kway and Wah Kueh.

Wah Kueh (碗糕), as its name implies, is a bowl-sized rice pudding (imagine a giant Chwee Kueh) with toppings and sauce drizzled over it.

Unfortunately, this is a fast disappearing dish in Singapore. I myself have eaten it only once at Bukit Merah Food Centre while on my way to CMPB from Redhill more than 10 years ago. I have even forgotten how it taste like now.

Ivan, the owner of Ke Shuang Xing Fried Carrot Cake decided to bring this old favorite back and merge it with their Chai Tow Kway.

Hua Kee Chicken Rice 华记鸡饭 @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

My last visit to Redhill Food Centre was more than 10 years ago when I walk pass it from Redhill MRT Station while on my way to have my pre-NS checkup at CMPB.

At that time, I knew nothing about the many good food to be found in this old, humble estate. For my return after more than a decade, I did some research online and compiled a list of the must-eats here at the food centre.

Among the popular stalls that made it to my list is 焱 (#01-09), whose fried chicken wings is supposedly so good that our Prime Minister Lee was spotted in the queue. Then, there is also Seng Heng Duck Mee (#01-28), Bak Kee Satay Bee Hoon (#01-42) and Hua Kee Chicken Rice (#01-72).

Harmony In Diversity Gallery

Do you know how many different faiths are being practiced here in Singapore? Well, apart from the usual Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism, that is.

Like the majority of you, I was clueless about it too but after visiting the Harmony In Diversity Gallery, I learned that there is also the Bahá'í Faith, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Sikhism, Judaism and Jainism.

To be honest, I have not even heard about some of them before but these ten faiths made up the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) in Singapore which was founded way back in 1949 to promote peace and religious harmony. I am surprised such an organization exists and that it even have a history of 67 years!

The IRO regularly conducts inter-faith prayers and blessings at launching ceremonies of public and private institutions such as the Downtown Line 2 and F1 tracks among others.

Ru Yi Vegetarian Food 如意香素食 @ Tiong Bahru Market

Vegetarian Bee Hoon (齋米粉) is something that I eat for breakfast on a regular basis.

I particularly favored white bee hoon drizzled with 'lor' (gravy) but this combination is not available in my neighborhood. As a result, I always have to travel elsewhere just to have my craving fixed.

Ru Yi Vegetarian Food at Tiong Bahru Market sell exactly what I like. My order comes with the usual mock char siew (素叉烧), mock goose (齋鹅), mock intestine (素肠), fried french beans (四季豆) and pickled green chili.

Singapore Botanic Gardens - UNESCO World Heritage Site!

By now, it is no longer news that the Singapore Botanic Gardens was awarded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status. It is the first and only tropical botanic garden on the UNESCO's World Heritage List and also the first in Asia and the third botanic gardens inscribed in the world.

I had wanted to visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens when it was first inscribed a year ago but the usual let-the-crowd-die-down-first procrastination got the better of me.

Since the folks were out of town and I did not have anything to do at home, I decided to just grab my camera and head for the Gardens.

You can take either the new downtown line or circle line to Botanic Gardens Station (DT9/CC19).

Visiting is now made even more convenient with the train station's exit right at the Gardens' doorstep.

Since I arrived by the Bukit Timah Gate, the plan was to cover as much ground as possible while heading towards Tanglin Gate.

Min Nan Pork Ribs Prawn Noodles 閩南排骨虾面 @ Tiong Bahru Market

I am at a lost as to which name to call this stall selling pork ribs prawn noodles at Tiong Bahru Market. 

The word 閩南 (Min Nan) is splashed across the signboard quite prominently yet beside it are the words 抢摊排骨虾面. So, should I call them 閩南排骨虾面 or 抢摊排骨虾面?

The latter is due to their participation on the channel 8 reality show "Buzzing Cashier" (抢摊大行动) years ago when the program engaged a chef to teach the stall owner how to cook prawn noodles the right way to save his ailing business. 

The business was eventually revived when they received a high score of 30/30.

Post National Day Farm Outing With The Health Minister

The weekend after our nation's 51st birthday, the folks and I went on a half-day farm tour organized by the community club. We gathered at the pickup point where two chartered buses were already waiting to pick us up. 

It wasn't until that morning itself that we realize our MP, Health Minister Gan would also be joining us on this half-day tour. However, I did not see him until very much later when we are back at the community club after the tour (I will come to that at the end of this post). 

After doing a head count, we finally set off for the farms.

Jian Bo Shui Kueh 楗柏水粿 @ Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre

Jian Bo Shui Kueh 5 pieces for $2

Mention Tiong Bahru and Jian Bo Shui Kueh surely come to mind. I remember I began eating Jian Bo Shui Kueh when it was still at the old market before the big renovation.

Shui Kueh (or Chwee Kueh) is simply steamed rice cake and topped with preserved radish (chye poh). It is a humble dish usually eaten as breakfast. Up till this day, I still think Jian Bo Shui Kueh makes the best shui kueh around although they used to be better.

Sing Singapore: 那些年，我们唱的歌!

Still remember Sing Singapore?

I unearthed from the storeroom this Sing Singapore songbook which I received from my primary school about 28 years ago. It comprises of patriotic songs which we sing during national day and school events. I still remember singing these songs in the school hall with my classmates!

We do still hear some of these songs being sung during national day but there are others which we have not heard in ages! Since NDP2016 and SG51 is round the corner, let us reminisce the songs that we sang those years ago!

At The Singapore River Safari With GoPro Hero 4 Silver

The Singapore River Safari has been opened for quite some time now but my folks have yet to visit so I took the opportunity to bring them there when the park have a promotion for seniors above 60 years young. The tickets were only $8 (usual $14) per senior for the month of July.

Unfortunately, I only got to know about this during the last week of July. Otherwise, I would have brought them to a different park (Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park) each weekend.

I, on the other hand, got 30% off due to being a SAF personnel.

This trip could not have come at a more appropriate time for me to test out my new GoPro Hero 4 Silver which I have bought just a day before this trip.