Ten Miles Painting Gallery (十里画廊) @ Zhangjiajie (张家界), Hunan, China

As the name suggests, strolling along the stretch of boardwalk is equivalent to walking in a very lengthy exhibition hall with real life landscape paintings right beside you.

The misty rock formations changes every hundred meters, offering individualistic angles for camera beholders. Like me. Whaahhaaha.

Alongside my loved ones (mom and dad) in such cool weather (around 15 degrees celcius), my mind had never felt so relaxed. If not for the tight itinerary and the persistent tour guide, i would have taken my own sweet time. =_=

Sighz...

That's the bane of signing up with tour groups.

Cravings for the East (Cheng Tng, Hokkien Mee, Ayam Penyet, Mee Kuah) @ Bedok Corner Food Centre

The east area of Singapore has always been touted as the "happening" place and with good food in so much abundance, it's impossible to keep track. In Bedok town alone, i can tick off quite a few good stalls.

This time, my view is focused on the Bedok Corner Food Centre, a place i found out just a few years ago. Full of Halal food, this is a great place for many of our Muslim friends.

Located in an inconspicuous location hidden in the midst of private housing plus a relatively small area compared to other hawker centres, this food centre kicks a really heavy punch to its fellow mates. The proportion of good food is surprisingly high, directly explaining the heavy traffic around the area during makan time! 

Ye Lai Xiang Cheng Tng

Cheng Tng is one of the more popular desserts in Singapore...... besides the Ice Kacang of course. In the past, every cheng tng tasted the same to me; every single one of them.

The only difference? Whether one was sweeter than the other. The usual ingredients include lotus seed, honey dates, dried longan, Chinese barley, white fungus, red dates, rock sugar etc. 

The veteran of this centre and the one i MUST patronize everytime i am here, however, has a slight variation; he adds in dried winter melon strips, dried pessimons and even tau suan (split green bean). And instead of using shaved ice for cold cheng tng, he uses crushed ice.

Now, this is unique!

The additional ingredients contribute to a stronger flavoured soup and the crushed ice complements by slowing down the dilution of this flavour compared to shaved ice. 

And one last thing that lightens up my day whenever i am there; the affable persona of the stall owner.

No, his name is not like Lai Xiang. That's a woman's name.

Price: S$2.00

Saimah Ayam Penyet

My first ayam penyet (literally means smashed chicken in malay) was in Hougang Plaza, in a seemingly make shift stall (it is permanent though) and i was blown away by the thin, hot & crispy chicken skin covering the tumeric-marinated whitish meat and the chilli that was so hot but so taste-buds tempting!

I try to seek the ultimate in Singapre with the special factor that differentiates many of the good ones (including the ones i tried in Indonesia, supposedly the birth country) but so far, nothing THAT outstanding.

On the same note, this ayam penyet was good and one key factor that stands out from the rest was the chilli!

Was it hot? Yes. Was it very hot? No!

(the one in NUS Science canteen wins hands-down for its hotness)

I am not really a "chilli" person and i find most chilli for ayam penyet too hot! The chilli padi seeds were distributed so generously i wondered if the stall owners hate the customers. 

The chilli for this ayam penyet in Bedok was so so right. Hot but not overpowering for my tender taste buds.

Price: S$4.00

Bedok Corner Hokkien Prawn Mee

This is such a common dish in Singapore that competition is intense (like chicken rice). Privately, i have two preferred stalls and one of them is this one in Bedok.

Instead of the heavily used yellow noodles for hokkien mee, they used bee hoon; allowing a smooth delivery to your stomach.

The stock for frying the carbos (and of course the prawns, sotongs etc) was also laden with delectable sensation. If only fried pork lard was available to enhance it further. 

Price: S$3.00.

Mee Kuah

I am ashamed.

Over a quarter of a century had passed and it was the first time i tried this common malay (or was it indian) dish. The visual exhibition of the dish initially caught our attention; the shape of a square-like sampan.

The taste test at the very beginning was a bit disappointing. It had a very complicated flavour, like chilli crabs with tomato, mee goreng and even minestrone soup. But as i pushed further, the "dishes" merged and created a heavy, savoury flavour that got better and better.

Everything was good until i found a beetle drowned amidst the thick, reddish sauce.

Price: S$6.00

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Location:

1, Bedok Road (please visit StreetDirectory and key in accordingly)

Additional Information:

Try to reach before 6pm.

You will not find a table easily if you come after that and food items like cheng tng could be sold out after 9pm.

Motorists beware! The "aunties" check rather frequently on your existence and validity of parking coupons. 

It was horrendous to find a vacant lot after 6pm!

Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House (百灵炸云吞面美食屋) @ Bugis

Sometimes in life, we have things (living and non-living) that are not well-loved but deep in our pumping human hearts, we will miss and crave them at certain times.

One good example?

Parklane Zha Yun Tun (Fried Dumplings) Mee (Noodles) House.

Although a number of friends and family members commented it was really nothing to scream about, this is ONE DISH i perpetually has craving for. And it must only come from Parklane.

At S$3.50 a plate, it was not cheap for my standard. At first glance, the strands of dough that looked suspiciously like maggie mee were devoid of any springiness, a key factor to a good plate of noodles.

The fried dumplings were pathetic with more flour than meat, the char siew with slightly charred sides seemed hard and the bowl of dumpling soup glared at me as if i am going to die straightaway after drinking from it!

Fine, the last point was blown beyond context! 

I am finished with the first glance. Now the first taste; a manual mix of the noodles with the special dark sauce increased the outlook sharply. The noodles were more oily and with it came the springy dark look. The taste was traditional; the kind i like as i get older. 

Age plays a very important role when it comes to food tasting. 

Although the fried dumplings were crunchy, it was overall quite a normal item. It's the small dish of mayonnaise that performed a mysterious transformation. They were so popular (with the mayo), you can order just the fried dumplings without the noodles.

The Char Siew was not the best i had. The weird thing was, charred bits should be the key for most char siew, the ones here, however, lacked that perfect burnt texture and they were not fatty either (another essential point). But they do have that special, magical power (again) to make you want more.  

Nothing much about the dumpling soup; personally i found it to taste as if MSG was the main component. 

Another weird point that seriously made me ponder if the dark forces were at work here. I rarely eat green chilli but here, i need to have my noodles with some green fruits from the capsicum genus. Purpose was definitely not to cover the taste but rather, the chilli complements the noodles really well.

Is the force with me? 

=============

Location: The first floor of North Bridge Commercial Complex (red dot), along North Bridge Road and opposite Bugis Junction (directly opposite Pet Lovers Centre). Streetdirectory is the clue to its location. 

Others: They have more than just fried dumplings noodles.

(Review) Paranormal Activity

I am a sucker for horror movies although it does not necessarily mean i am a brave boy man. Thinking about the scary scenes late at night can still make me shudder in fear and break out in cold sweat!

Thrill!! 

That's the feeling that excites me every time i watched films that border on the paranormal genre! Bet a lot of you will know what i mean (i hope).

My favourite horror movie? 

The ones from Thailand like Phobia (1 and 2) and The Ring from Japan. 

Therefore, when i heard that the latest horror movie was so damn realistic that even a close relative of mine was having difficulties sleeping at night, i knew it should be worth watching; with a freaking high expectation of course. 

My conclusion? 

A cheaply made production that should be more bearable or even entertaining if the camera had been more stable.

Wait, that will then defeat the main selling point of this movie; that of a found footage that showed the various discoveries of paranormal activities in a house. 

BUT i was so affected by the constant swinging from frame to frame, i found myself getting more giddy than scared. Throughout the later half of the movie, i was busy trying to control my gastric juice from splashing onto my lap! Imagine that! 

There's only one comforting point about this movie; 

it's better than Blair Witch Project. 

Rating: 2.00/5.00

Dragon King Cave (龙王洞) @ Zhangjiajie (张家界), Hunan, China

A huge, deep cave full of stalagtites and stalagmites, the beauty of this cavern is further enhanced by the spot lighting of various colors.

With the additional splash of coloring, the otherwise boring structures are shown in an entirely different light. 

The 4 big halls have huge columns that support the cave and contain various compartments of the dragon king's palace; hence the name Dragon King Cave.

Mythical of course lah!!

Dragon Kings live in water lor!!

Intitially capitivated by the dazzling limestone formations, my interest slowly diminished with each additional step deeper into the cavity!

Beads of sweat started appearing on my forehead and the journey seemed endless even though it was merely a 3.6 kilometers walk!



Two words to sum it all; celestially tiring.

Review - Ninja Assassin

The eyes that can shoot daggers, the almost impossible dexterity and the cool weaponry, to be a ninja has always been my preferred profession! But here am i, stuck in front of the computer (i am not complaining). Having butterfingers won't help much in realizing any potential anyway.

Back to this new movie, it did not disappoint in providing much bloody and gory scenes! Hello, assassins constituted the main plot, so don't expect big-eyed kittens or puppies with droppy ears! Personally, Rain's English has improved a lot since he entered the US market. And though the storyline was a bit loose, the action scenes were intensely toes-squirming!! 

For ladies, be prepared to ohh and ahh at Rain's almost perfect body. For gentlemen, be prepared to hit the gym after this show.

Rating: 3.50/5.00

Restaurant City - Finale

Now what???????

Without any levelling, there's no longer any purpose or challenge in playing!

Being a late bloomer to this facebook flash game (started only some time this year) and no thanks to Hannah, break times/sleeping times/free times had been extensively used to

• Plant seeds for extra ingredients other than buying them at exorbitant prices or getting them free daily or from a simple quiz. 
• Feed/Rest my service staff in case they collapsed from exhaustion (usually every 4 hours! Damn weak right??),
• Increase levels for my menu items so that i can earn more points,
• Decorate my restaurant (exterior and interior) for personal satisfaction etc.

Not to say i am really sad, i am not. It's more devastating for me when FBOFW ended. In fact, i am pretty grateful that restaurant city is finally ending. More quality time can be spent on more important matters (like increasing the acclaim of MyZoo etc).

Until i click on the Mafia Wars link....

Come join MY MAFIA, brothers and sisters!!!!!

Yuan Fa Claypot Rice (源发瓦煲饭) @ Chinatown Complex

Some of us would have eaten at this stall, not knowing its name but most of you should have heard of this very famous claypot rice in Chinatown that is rumoured to be so good, it is reasonable to wait at least 30 minutes.

God (or Gods) bless us, we waited only about 20 minutes for the nice auntie to serve us the piping hot claypot. From the size, we count our blessings again that we ordered for two-pax instead of three as the three of us were actually not very hungry!!

The very nice glass noodles

We already had a big slab of korean cuttlefish, a bowl of lamb stew and a surprisingly delicious serving of sourish, chilli numbing glass noodles. Plus some duck internal organs that I didn't take. Oh, and drinks.

Coming back to the main star of this post, Ms Chui did a great job as the designated sauces pourer and with that in mind, the claypot rice did not disappoint (at least to me); the grains were fragrant, bitey and not too burnt, the vegetables were fresh, the sausages were appetizing, the chicken meat was fleshy, smooth and so soft!!

My only grouch? The salted fish.

Why is salted fish so well-liked by so many people!!?!?!?! Even though it enhanced the aroma of the claypot rice, it tasted downright horrible (just like salted egg)!!!! Can't someone just come out with sweetened fish?!?! I bet i will like it more than salted fish!!!

=========

Price:

Quite reasonable and although the price is based on person denomination, you are free to order a two-person claypot for just one human, or a five-person one for 10 humans.

Two Person @ S$8

Three Person @ S$12

Four Person@ S$16

Five Person @ S$20

Location:

Chinatown Complex, #02-222 (should be quite easy to remember since the Chinese pronounciation for 2 could also be read as hungry). Oh, please click HERE for the streetdirectory and key in Chinatown Complex.

Additional Information:

You have to pay at the point of ordering and the food will be delivered to you in due course (could be beyond an hour). Ask for the waiting time if you are rushing for time.

It never hurts to ask.

Wife's Biscuit (老婆饼)

After a bowl of home-cooked yong tau foo that did not do much to satisfy my hunger, i was rummaging the kitchen for surprise snacks (these frequently happen in my house) when i saw the box shown above. 

The words "Season's Greetings" with a picture of Santa Claus and his abused hardworking reindeers caught my attention. The next thing my eyes saw was the  Chinese characters "老婆饼" (wife's biscuit).... 

Disappointment was my initial reaction since i am very particular of this Chinese snack. Till the smaller Chinese characters "榮華" (Wing Wah) FINALLY came to vision. 

I love the wife's biscuits from Wing Wah! 

To put it with even more determination, it is the ONLY brand i take for wife's biscuits.  I still remember the soft, flaky exterior pastry and the internal winter melon filling with just the right amount of sweetness. The taste didn't get overbearing even after i had taken two or three!

Thanks to Jean Tan, who came back from Hong Kong with this box, i should be able to relive those nice memories stated above.

First bite: The pastry was soft and it brought a bitter sensation.

Second bite: The winter melon filling was not as savoury as i thought it to be.

Thinking i may need a new prescription for my short sightedness, i look at the box again. It's Wing Wah what!! 

But why was it so different??????????????????

Maybe it's memory related. 

Sighz.....