Makan Treats From The East And North East

After weeks of waiting the upgrading works at Changi Village hawker center is finally completed. I know the first thing that comes to mind at the mere mention of Changi Village would be the well-known Changi International Nasi Lemak that serves a never-ending queue of customes. However, there are other stalls that's worth exploring and one of our prefered stall would be Rong Ji (pictured below). Came to know about them through a local variety food program and has since been their loyal customers for years now. I've tried both their Hor Fun (Ipoh & Chicken Chop), Bak Chor Mee and Wanton Noodles, and my vote goes to the Hor Fun. Although I have to agree that the authentic Ipoh Hor Fun is unbeatable for it's smooth as stain texture, this is no where near, but the taste is commendable for a local standard. If still unconvinced, they are also on Makansutra's billboard. Note though their friendly competitor - Amigo - next door, too, serve both versions of Hor Fun and has their own pool of loyal customers but Rong Ji is still my choice if I have to decide between the two.

The Chicken chop is crispy and the gravy is light yet flavoursome.

This is a newly opened Fried Hokkien Noodle stall just across from Rong Ji. Their signboard screams plain and boring, but it was the Live To Eat certification that caught my attention. I say it's a cross between Tian Tian Lai at TPY Lorong 1 and Thye Hong @ Food Republic, though I would prefer it if they had used a bit more stock while frying the noodles, as it was a bit dry. Despite this I rate them 3.5/5. I'll try them again.

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Woke up to a rainy Saturday morning... Perfect! Unfortunately my Mee Siam supplier across the road is closed for renovation so had to crack my brains on alternatives. Finally, we headed down to He Ji at Jalan Kayu (few shops down from Jerry's BBQ) for wanton noodles. We were quite excited when we saw that their noodles are made from duck eggs, because the first time we tried similar noodles was in Johor, Pontian, and it was absolutely fantastic; the noodles has a nice crunch to it from the first strand you pick up to the final bits after a satisfying meal... It was heavenly... BUT we were disappointed by this self-acclaimed "people from all over the world knows about them" noodles. Crunch at first bite and it was soggy thereafter. Nonetheless, they were quite generous with the charsiew which was also mediocre (2.5/5).

I'm a fan of dumplings and theirs was acceptable. If only they had water chestnuts and black fungus like how my Mom does it, then it would be good. Taste wise - 3/5.

Non-spicy vs spicy vesion. I think the former looks more appetizing though Hubby said there's nothing to rave about.

"It takes some skill to spoil a breakfast - even the English can't do it." ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

Happy Deepavali to all!!!! If only the government declares tomorrow an holiday too, that would be lovely. Wishing thinking on my part.

Hubby said it doesn't feel like a long weekend which I totally agree. We're "grounded" at home due to my upcoming exams. Have been trying very hard to focus on my revision but there's always one thing that I'm easily distracted with... it's none other than food. The thought of Saturday dinners never fail to excite me. Simple as it may seem - due to my limited culinary skills I have to admit - to many but it's that little effort that goes a long way.

Hubby likes rocket salad and I'm into Mozarella cheese, what better to prepare than this appetizer? Drizzled with a light splash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and a touch of Italian herbs... the way I like it.

Hubby's main - Opps! I forgot what fish was that...

My main - Salmon fish, rich in Omega 3, good for the brain which is much needed for my exams ; ) For the sauce, I simply mixed 2 portion of sour ceam with 1 portion of mustard and a squeeze of lemon juice.

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Last evening I managed to complete the jog from home to Punggol End. Boy! I was huffing, puffing and sweating like a pig when we hit the jetty but it sure felt good after concurring 2 rather steep uphill slopes. If not for safety reasons I would like to make that my usual jogging track as the road is well sheltered with little traffic.

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Today's Straits Times featured an article on HORROR LIFTS. Hubby witnessed one such act recently, i.e. the person before him defecated in the lift... he concluded the person must have had a severe case of food poisoning thus the inability to control his/her bowels... The next thing that came to mind was, what if the culprit was caught red-handed? How embarrassing can that be? Also thankfully I wasn't there or I would have been the culprit next in line, as I'm pretty sure I'll instinctively puke along the lines of the "object" and that makes 2 horrifying sight. Gross....

How can I be so lucky twice in a row?

I am indeed.... For the second time I placed my costume order and am disappointed yet again. So, I may not be the Green Pixie afterall. Just as I thought I'm at my wit's end this fairy comes to mind.... Tooth Fairy (photo below)! For sure it won't be out of stock and I may even make everyone laugh "till their teeth drop"... You don't call you a tooth fairy for nothing, you know.

All In A Week...

This is me trying to contain my week's happenings in ONE blog entry. Please bear with me. Life will resume to normal after my exams.

BIRTHDAYS

Celebrated TWO birthdays last week. Shane (Angie's baby) turned SEVEN on October 16th and my little niece, Isabel, turned FOUR on the 20th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

P.S. No photos of Isabel's birthday as the little girl got a bit shy and shunned the camera when we sang her the birthday song. She was probably caught off-guard when the 12-adult choir starting crooning ;P

Shane's birthday cake with compliments from MIL (Audrey). It's Chocolate Amber cake from Bakerzin. It was ooohhh so good... I don't fancy mousse cake but this one had me asking for seconds... This gets 4 out of 5 for me.

"Is Elizabeth Taylor fat?Her favourite food is seconds ~ Joan Rivers

The birthday boy was ooohhh so shy...

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Tried a similar starter at Swiss Culture (Sky Garden @ Suntec) and decided I'll try cooking it for Hubby. The recipe was fairly simple and easy to prepare.

Ingredients: Clams (rinsed), 25g butter, garlic and onion finely chopped, parsley, salt & pepper, white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc).

Method: Melt the butter in a hot pan, saute the onion and garlic, add in the clams and saute for a min. Add wine (about 2 cups) and let it simmer for about 5 mins. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Voila!

Eve's version of Aglio Olio. Another easy recipe for a lazy weekend.

Ingredients: Fresh pasta (used Fettucine), Mushrooms (Shitake, Portabello, Porcini), Butter, Onions and Garlic finely chopped, XO, Sundried Tomatoes, Salt & Pepper to taste.

Method: Melt butter in a pan, saute onions and garlic till fragrant, add in mushrooms and continue to saute for about 30 secs, then add in XO and continue to saute till the mushrooms start to sweat a little. Once it's done, add in the cooked pasta and sundried tomatoes. I added in the oil from tomatoes to lend a touch of flavour. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese before serving.

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food ~ George Bernard Shaw

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The office is getting all excited and ready for the party! Ivy got this wig from Hong Kong. Cool huh? Model in the photo is none other than Preyati *LOL*

After much deliberation, I finally decided to dress up as the Green Pixie for the Christmas party for I need to coordinate with my other 2 lovely organizers, the pink and earth fairies. Because of this outfit I need to put in extra hours of work each day.... on my flabby arms, which I desperately need to transform them from soft as Tofu to firm as Tau Gua. It's gonna be a challenge as Mom said I've inherited her Crab Tong arms... Thanks Mom, for rubbing it in : (

P.S. Above photo is the "before" look to attract buyers... I'll try to post the "after" look when I've tried it on, yes, provided I look decent enough to be photographed.

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Flipper is on leave!!!!!!!!! Hurray!!! This morning Flipper sms-ed me to activate his out-of-office message, so, happily, I walked over to his office and saw that he had taken the laptop with him... Duh. Anyway, told him to activate it with his BB.

Celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary last Friday in a rather quiet and simple fashion. Had planned to try out the Spanish restaurant - Tapas Tree - at Changi Village but it had to be postpone due to unforeseen circumstances because our dear Vicki is never comfortable being home alone, especially so on rainy days, so there you have it, we stayed in with our dear friend. There she was happily munching on her treats while we chomped down the following...

Fiery buffalo wings from Jerry's Grill. KF Seetoh rated this dish 'die die must try'; and we further reiterate it with 'die die also must order'. It's by far the best I've tried.

Gourmet wood fired pizza from Spizza. Our order for the evening was Elisa. This is as best as we can get near home.

What is a decent meal without a nice bottle of wine? Before, I disliked Shiraz, but Nick has managed to reintroduce Hubby & I to this dark skin variety of grape. There is a lot more juice in grapefruit than meets the eye.

Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want. ~Gael Greene

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The F1 Grand Prix fever in Singapore may have died down weeks ago but another fever started, right here! Presenting to you my very first F1 accessory. How cool is it... If only they have a baby version for doggies, I'll definitely get it for Vicki - She is of course not pleased that this huge piece of thing but I needed a model other than yours truly ;P

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After about 2 weeks of anticipation our orders shipment finally arrived, but my dress was missing in action so I'm back to costume searching (again). It's fun but the ones I fancy are either out-of-stock or one size too big. The party is 1.5 months away and I'm still searching for the perfect outfit. Urgh!! It's so frustrating...

Carol said it's pricey to order but if I'm paying about the same to rent a one that has been recycled countless times and have to put up with the smell of mothballs, I rather pay for a brand new. I'm sure it costs more but definitely worth it.

Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri

After weeks of craving we finally made our way to Geylang Serai for our all time favourite, Ayam Pecek. Discovered it 4 years ago and have since been eating it faithfully every Ramadhan period, but the ones this year is by far THE BEST! The wings were meaty and juicy and the lemongrass in the dipping sauce added an extra punch to the already delectable dish. Sedap!

Spent the evening of Hari Raya at thy royal palace - The Meadows. No show on the festive makan, instead we had a good spread of snacks. In addition, to mark the festivitiy, I ordered a blackforest cake from none other than Pine Gardens... alcohol free.... Ok.... who am I kidding right? When I called to place an order the staff on the other line was cool about it until when she asked for the wordings on the cake. She repeated twice to me there's alcohol content despite my assurance. It's only when I further assured her it's for a modern Malay family then it was case closed. However, that was not the end of it... upon collection of the cake another staff member looked a little stunned when she saw the wordings on the cake and I had to assure her once again and repeated what was told before. Hubby said I should have pulled a fast one on them and insisted that I've placed a special order without alcohol and then watch them scramble... that would be funny. Having said that, I do appreciate their professionalism - Caveat Venditor was well practiced here.

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Yesterday was also Children's Day and a very special one for new parents, Karen and Ronnie as they welcomed their first child, Rachel. Visited Baby Rachel today and she was so adorable. Dunno why but moments like this never fail to inspire me to re-visit my maternal instincts. No comments. We shall see about that.

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Exam is slightly less than 4 weeks away and I've yet to start on the revision. Old habits never die. Keep telling myself I will do it tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after... Not much room for procrastination, gotta start real soon.