Seng Huat Coffee House - Bak Chor Mee @ Blk 811 Hougang Central

Located within the same coffeeshop as the pork chop bun is a noodle stall that sell dry mee sua, fish ball noodle, abalone noodle and bak chor mee.

I have heard nothing but good reviews about their bak chor mee so I decided to try it out. Now, do you understand why I did not order soft-boiled eggs with my pork chop bun?

There is a short queue before me which cleared pretty fast. When it finally reached my turn, I ordered a bowl of bak chor mee kia.

Seng Huat Coffee House - Pork Chop Bun @ Blk 811 Hougang Central

I have seen this pork chop bun making its rounds on Instagram since a few years back but the thought of going all the way to Seng Huat Coffee House at Hougang is enough to stop me in my tracks. 

It was actually after my visit to Sentosa FunFest 2018 when I thought of dropping by Seng Huat Coffee House since it's on the way.

My idea of "on the way" is by taking the North-East Line from Habourfront MRT Station (NE1) to Hougang MRT Station (NE14).

The coffeeshop is conveniently located just right outside Hougang MRT Station opposite Hougang Mall.

Market Street Teochew Kway Teow Mee @ Market Street Interim Hawker Centre

Update: Market Street Teochew Kway Teow Mee has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

A bowl of kway teow soup is what people usually have when they are not feeling well or do not have much of an appetite as it is non-greasy and not so heavy on the stomach.

I, for one, can have kway teow soup anytime of the day because I love soupy stuff; not necessary only when I am sick.

It is my comfort food and my backup plan when I have no idea what to have for my meal at the hawker centre.

Market Street Teochew Kway Teow Mee offers Teochew-styled noodles either dry or soup with your option of noodles like mee pok (flat noodles), mee kia (thin noodles), kway teow (flat rice noodles), macaroni, etc.

鹏 Tiong Bahru Wanton Mee @ Market Street Interim Hawker Centre

Update: 鹏 Tiong Bahru Wanton Mee has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

This is a very promising bowl of wanton mee at Market Street Interim Hawker Centre. Just look at the amount of ingredients in my $3.50 bowl.

The portion of the mee kia is more than half the height of the bowl while char siew, fried wanton and choy sum sits on top. I actually have difficulty finishing the noodles even though what I had was the regular bowl.

The Live Turtle And Tortoise Museum @ The Chinese Garden

Located right inside the Chinese Garden lies Singapore's - and probably the world's - only turtle and tortoise museum. It is a unique, and one-of-a-kind museum, which houses a varied collection of the reptiles including some endangered species on the CITES.

It also holds the Guinness World Record since 2005 for the largest collection of turtle and tortoise items.

Unfortunately for the museum, the site it is sitting on has been incorporated into the masterplan design of the Jurong Lake Gardens project.

This spells nothing but trouble for the 500 turtles and tortoises who have lost their home with nowhere to go.

With a heavy heart, I decided to pay the museum a visit, four days before they are slated to close - permanently.

Ah Liang Ipoh Hor Fun @ Market Street Interim Hawker Centre

Update: Ah Liang Ipoh Hor Fun has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

My first visit to Ah Liang Ipoh Hor Fun was at their Maxwell Food Centre outlet a few weeks ago after an appointment nearby.

I have come across Ah Liang Ipoh Hor Fun during my previous research thus when I happened to stumble across them at Maxwell, I decided to order a plate to try since the lunch crowd has already dispersed with no queue.

Sentosa FunFest 2018 With 300 We Bare Bear Inflatables!

This March school holidays, Cartoon Network's We Bare Bears will be coming to Sentosa for Sentosa Funfest 2018! 

There will be plenty of photo opportunities with the 300-ish We Bare Bear inflatables around Palawan Beach and Palawan Green. Apart from the inflatables, keep your eyes peeled for cardboard cut-outs and life-sized figurines scattered randomly around the island.

Say Seng Authentic Teochew Mee Pok @ Market Street Interim Hawker Centre

Update: Say Seng Authentic Teochew Mee Pok has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

Say Seng Authentic Teochew Mee Pok (生成乾面) is one of the few stalls with a snaking queue that caught my attention during my first visit to the temporary hawker centre. I did not managed to have anything at that time because I do not want to join the lunch time queue.

I returned for a visit slightly earlier on another day and I headed straight for the stall only to find that there is no queue.

Old Chang Kee Nasi Lemak Chicken'O

You can tell that Singaporeans really love their nasi lemak when the national dish has been given numerous makeovers in recent years. From nasi lemak burger to nasi lemak onigiri and even nasi lemak served with lobster, Old Chang Kee has now upped the game with their own nasi lemak chicken'o!

Encased within the green, flaky crust are the usual suspects like chicken meat, a wedge of hard-boiled egg, ikan bilis, peanuts and sambal.

Wei Nan Wang Hock Kian Lor Mee @ Market Street Interim Hawker Centre

Update: Wei Nan Wang Hock Kian Lor Mee has permanently closed.

Last year, it was reported in the news that the Golden Shoe Car Park is slated to be demolished to make way for a spanking new 51-storey office tower.

Inevitably, the hawker centre located within the building had to be relocated. This is grim news for many as the hawker centre has been offering affordable food options for those working in the CBD area for the past 33 years.

There is no need for panic though, as the hawkers did not move far - they have simply shifted into a temporary hawker centre just about 200 metres from their original location. 

One of the levels in the new office building will be reserved as a food court and once the construction has been completed, the former Golden Shoe hawkers will return.

River Hong Bao 2018

Happy Chinese New Year!

I visited the River Hong Bao at The Float @ Marina Bay on the second day of the Chinese New Year.

While walking over from MBS via Helix Bridge, the 18m tall God of Fortune caught my attention. Unlike previous years, this year's God of Fortune is more jovial.

The afternoon sun is such a killer. I cannot even open my eyes due to the glare!

I recommend coming in the evenings since it would be cooler and more comfortable. Besides, there will not be any golden showers from the God of Fortune till 7pm, 8pm, 9.10pm and 10pm so this is another consideration if that is what you are coming for.

Furthermore, the lanterns will look better in the dark when they are all lit up.

Lau Phua Chay Roasted Delicacies @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

Shocking would be an understatement to describe my first impression of Lau Phua Chay Roasted Delicacies at Alexandra Village Food Centre.

I was actually queuing for the avocado juice next door during my previous visit to the food centre when I saw the darkest char siew I had ever seen hanging behind the glass window.

That certainly got my attention and I made a mental note to try this out during my next visit here.

Hor Fun Premium - Beef Hor Fun @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

Hor Fun Premium is another one of the more popular stalls along the same row as Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa at Alexandra Village Food Centre. I was there on a Sunday morning and had their beef hor fun for breakfast.

Hor fun sounds a tad too heavy to have at 10-ish in the morning if you ask me but the charred kway teow (flat rice noodle) drenched in the alluring eggy gravy is tough to say no to.

Apart from beef, you also have the option of sliced fish or seafood. Or, if you prefer, you can have those options with mui fan too if it rocks your boat. They serve pork ribs rice, ginger & spring onion sliced fish rice and ginger & spring onion beef rice as well.

Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa @ Alexandra Village Food Centre

Singapore and its nearby region seems to have been hit by an unusually cold weather spell since the beginning of the new year. At a time like this, having a hot, steaming pot of claypot laksa doesn't sound like a bad idea.

I have always wanted to try Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa not because of its Bib Gourmand status but I am a sucker for claypot-anything. Food seem particularly tasty when served in claypots, don't you think?

The stall at Alexandra Village Food Centre is located along the row just opposite to Tai Chong Kok Confectionery at Blk 122 so it is really easy to find.

Hai Tang Lor Mee @ Mei Ling Market & Food Centre

Update: Hai Tang Lor Mee has permanently closed.

About six months ago, I was checking out Mei Ling Market & Food Centre for good eats. I tried the recommended Xin Lu Teochew Fishball Kway Teow Mee and Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun Specialty which I had already blogged about then. At that time, I also had the lor mee from Hai Tang Lor Mee.

Sadly, the photos for the lor mee did not turn out satisfactory so I had to make a return visit to take the photos again. However, on the day of my visit, the stall was closed and there is a notice on the shutters informing customers that they would be taking a two months break.

This post eventually got pushed down and lay forgotten in the drafts section.

Ah Ma Lor Mee @ Blk 328 Clementi Ave 2

The row of aquarium shops at Blk 328 Clementi Avenue 2 is my to-go-to place for my aquarium supplies.

At the end of the row is a coffeeshop which I have always walked by but never patronize. Who would when the coffeeshop always seemed so quiet and not all the stalls are in operation? 

Furthermore, the popular 448 Clementi Market & Food Centre is just a five to ten minutes walk away.

But, little do I know that hidden in the coffeeshop is a lor mee stall called Ah Ma Lor Mee which happens to be run by the third generation of the popular Feng Zhen Lor Mee (凤珍卤面).

I would not have known about them if not for the fact that Ah Ma Lor Mee was among the Top 10 most-voted-for stalls of the Singapore Food Master 2017 competition and it emerges as one of the top 3 in the west zone category.

Eng Kee - Fried Bee Hoon And Fried Chicken Wing @ Redhill Market & Food Centre

I have long heard about Eng Kee and their famous fried chicken wings but have not gotten round to visiting them as I still have not figured out how to get to their location at Commonwealth.

As fate would have it, they opened a branch at Redhill Market & Food Centre which is easier for me as I already know how to get there. But of all places to set up shop, they opened their branch at the previous stall of YAN (焱), who is also famous for their fried chicken wings.

Since I have just visited YAN (now renamed YON YAN) at their new location at West Coast Market, I thought I might as well visit Eng Kee to see the difference between the two? This is something that I have wanted to do but procrastinated till now.

Yon Yan - Fried Bee Hoon And Fried Chicken Wing @ West Coast Market Square

About six months ago, Eng Kee posted a photo of YAN's stallfront on their Facebook. I was puzzled why did Eng Kee open their new branch at YAN's location? 

For the uninitiated, Mr Hu, the owner of YAN, is the original owner of Eng Kee at Commonwealth. Mr Hu's Chinese name is 胡火荣 while Eng Kee's Chinese name is 荣记 so can you see the link between them? He sold off the brand and recipe then set up YAN at Redhill. Both stalls offer similar food items i.e economical fried bee hoon and fried chicken wings which both are popular in their own rights.

What's confusing me is, since Eng Kee is opening their branch at YAN's location, why didn't they change the signboard to their own before putting up the photo on their Facebook?

It wasn't until last December when the Chinese tabloids reported that Mr Hu has ended the business at Redhill Food Centre six months ago due to a work injury but has now reopened for business again at a new location with a new name and they finally have their own Facebook page!

The Mystery Of The Curry Murder Case @ Orchard Road Presbyterian Church

I passed by the Orchard Road Presbyterian Church while on my way to the National Museum of Singapore.

This church is no stranger to anyone who frequents Orchard Road. Located at the Bras Basah end of Orchard Road right next to the YMCA, the Orchard Road Presbyterian Church has been around since our colonial days.

However, do you know it has a very sombre past?

The church is the crime scene of a possible murder case dubbed as "The Curry Murder" which shook the nation in 1984.

"Glass Rotunda: Story Of The Forest" Digital Installation At The National Museum Of Singapore

After finishing the temporary exhibition Witness To War: Remembering 1942, I proceeded to Level 2 of the Museum, where the Glass Rotunda is.

It is home to a new permanent work, Story Of The Forest by renowned Japanese digital art collective teamLab.

I entered the rotunda, not knowing what to expect and I was blown away.