Breakfast Time in Fun Toast (芳土司 (previously known as Kheng Nam Hong 琼南芳) @ One Raffles Place [Raffles Place MRT Station]

I confess - My cousin is the co-owner of this modern kopitiam situated within Singapore's central business district. This close relationship is the main deterrent factor for not visiting earlier.

In order to protect the integrity of my blog, i decided on the following:

1) i did not notify my cousin

2) i would only enter the shop if he is not around

3) i pay for my own food 

4) i would not accept any payment

5) i write my review without any input from others

Fair enough! And let's continue with the rest of this visit that took place one fine Saturday morning!

Kaya Butter Toast

Since the demise of my favourite Nam Heng, i have been trying to find an equivalent piece of kaya toast in the competitive traditional toast market. The popular "XXkun" doesn't really make the cut in my opinion.

When another cousin commented on Facebook (a long time ago) that Fun Toast serves good toast, i am skeptical. Frankly, i would never believe in what other people say until i try it myself.

Thin toast, flaky bite yet ended with a fluffy crunch that included the all-important homemade kaya and cold salted butter - this was way better than expected and definitely a good (not perfect) substitute for Nam Heng!

Coffee (Kopi)

Although fragrant, i find this cup of coffee with milk to be a tad too bitter.

Red Cane Leaf Drink

What i find more impressive is this red beverage called Red Cane Leaf!

It was bloody refreshing for the hot weather and was supposedly a local drink even though i have no inkling what the hell it was. The addition of diced up water chestnuts makes this homemade drink extremely delicious and according to TCM, cooling for the body!

Mee Siam

Now, i do love mee siam but there is a slight problem - i tend to get sick (diarrhea and fever) after having it.

The above conditions didn't stop me from ordering it whenever the craving starts and i was having that darned craving that Saturday morning in Fun Toast.

This was less "powerful" than most mee siams which tend to overburden the taste buds with heightened spiciness that often results in a numbing aftereffect. Less is not necessarily bad; in this case, i was actually able to taste the rich and robust gravy, which was so damn yummy!

If not for the watchful eyes of the protective mother, i would have gladly slurped up the rest of the gravy!

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Location

1 Raffles Place, #B1-13

One Raffles Place (Raffles Place MRT Station)

Price

Kaya Butter Toast - S$1.60 (2 slices)

Coffee - S$1.20

Red Cane Leaf -S$2.00

Mee Siam - S$3.00

Website

For the history and a more comprehensive menu, please click

http://www.funtoast.com.sg

Penguin Coast (企鹅海岸) @ Jurong Bird Park (裕廊飞禽公园), Singapore

Penguins are one of the most adorable creatures in the world and their apparent clumsiness just adds on to the overall cute factor that many people find irresistible.

When i was a kid, the penguin enclosure at Jurong Bird Park was the key highlight. Now known as the Penguin Coast, the air-conditioned quarter was also popular with hyperactive children as air-conditioning was a luxury expense reserved for the rich back in the 1980s.

As a child, i looked upon these see-through "animal cages" as real-life educational tools. Until the arrival of the immensely successful animated movie; Happy Feet.

The scene where Mumble was confined to a similar glass enclosure is most shocking; partly because i can see a huge majority of penguins displaying the same spaced-out look in most penguin enclosures!

It is a dilemma situation - on one hand, i find it cruel to keep penguins (or any other animals) in small areas that are a far cry from their original habitat. On the other hand, i know how important it is to educate the public (especially the younger generation) on wildlife.

Coming back to Penguin Coast, there is an elevated viewing gallery for visitors who would like to have an above-water view. This is also a good place for some rest and relax from the hot weather outside!

This indoor den houses five species of penguins [Humboldt, Rockhopper, Macaroni, Fairy and King Penguins] with mirrors, rocky terrain and a roughly two-meter deep underwater view.

Thankfully, i can still see some penguins swimming in the water and supposedly playing with one another. It's comforting to see the social behaviour in play here.

Outdoor section features the jackass penguins! You may ask yourself - penguins can survive in such a hot and humid climate country like Singapore?!

Out of between 17 and 20 penguin species, Jackass penguins are one of the few that have adapted to the tropics even though almost all of them in this outdoor enclosure were trying to hide from the sun!

Back to the indoors again - Eye catching panels with useful information for everyone.

Such close-up view is impossible in the penguins' natural habitat in the wild. Damn, i know i can never be a naturalist! And as we are aware, there are often many schools of thought with no perfect answer!

Chubby puffins were kept separately in a smaller indoor enclosure within the same building.

Question - can penguins be found both the northern and southern hemisphere? The answer is no; penguins are naturally limited to the south.

Another question to test your knowledge - what are those white stuff on the rocks? Wear and tear? Paint? From the Gang of Four analysis, we deduce they were likely dried up bird poo!

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Website

For information on location, pricing of tickets (for Jurong Bird Park of which the Penguin Coast is located) and other information, please click:

http://www.birdpark.com.sg/

Eggs & Berries (Breakfast Sets) @ Changi City Point Mall [Expo MRT Station]

Eggs and Berries - just the name is enough to arouse my curiousity on its offerings. And of course, the first thing that came to my mind was "is this an all-day breakfast eatery, like wild honey?".

I wasn't that far from the truth although unlike Wild Honey, which serves specific breakfast sets from countries, Eggs and Berries offers typical English Breakfast with mainly meat variation.

"Chic and Chirpy" is the concept for this newly opened restaurant and you have your pick of indoor or outdoor seating. We had no choice; there was no available table within the indoor section!

Fresh Mushroom Cream Soup

It used to be really hard to find a bowl of delish mushroom soup that boasts of generous amount of earthy mushroom bits but it's no longer the case in recent times.

Having said that, this bowl of mushroom cream soup was pretty good in my honest opinion.

Steak & Eggs

Instead of toasts, you are given the choice of either fluffy butter milk pancakes or rice. To really enjoy the breakfast theme, i chose the hot and freshly-made pancakes.

As with any ang mo pancakes, the sauce/syrup is a basic ingredient. In eggs and berries, three bottles in a basket would be placed in front of you; chocolate sauce, maple syrup and raspberry sauce. You could mix all three and even empty one full bottle if you want. p.s. Wastage is not encouraged!

Now coming to the main - the medium steak was alright and the same goes for sunny side up (choices of over-easy, scrambled, poached are available). Essentially, a disappointing lack of surprise!

Salmon & Herbs Sausage and Eggs

As you can confirm from the above, the sides are the same for this menu category under "Meat & Eggs". For something more special, you can try the "Specials (duh)" or "Sinful Menu".

Although this was tagged as "signature dish", both Alex and myself were put off by the richness of compacted salmon in the sausage! Gosh, salmon meat should never be used as fillers!

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Location

5 Changi Business Park Central 1,

#01-37/38, Changi City Point

Price

Fresh Mushroom Cream Soup - S$4.70

Steak & Eggs - S$13.80

Salmon & Herbs Sausage and Eggs - S$9.70

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

Reservations

6636-4212

Additional Information

Compared to Wild Honey, the prices at Eggs & Berries are more comfortable albeit with the lack of surprise element. However, i would be back for the delicious looking waffles and crepes!

For the menu, please check out the two pictures above. Do note that prices are subject to changes and likewise for the items on the menu.

To read my post on Changi City Point, please click

http://cavinteo.blogspot.com/2012/03/exploring-changi-city-point-beside-expo.html

Lorong Halus Bridge at Night

This is in addition to my post on the Lorong Halus pedestrian bridge (daytime). I recently brought my cousin, who has no idea what it is, for a visit at sunset.

The period when light gives way to darkness is truthfully a great time for photography and my Photoshop trainer even mentioned that the worst time to take pictures is surprisingly at noon, when sunlight is at its maximum power.

I bet the designer for this connector got his inspiration from spider webs.

Contrasting natural lights and strong electrical lights from the golf range at Punggol. If the lights are as bright from the flats, i can imagine the number of complaint letters sent to the Housing Development Board (HDB).

Darkness had fallen!

As expected, there are way more visitors at night. The one thing i could not stand is the reckless riding by cyclists; they are supposed to dismount and push! Some of them can be seen racing!

No sympathy for such inconsiderate people; may they have a bad fall.

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For my original post on this iconic bridge, please click

http://cavinteo.blogspot.com/2012/03/lorong-halus-pedestrian-bridge.html

S$5 Tori Hokkaido Soup Curry Udon (with Free Green Tea) @ Ichiban Boshi

Those who are lucky to be free and available between 3 and 5.30pm on a weekday would definitely gain from this long-lasting promotion by Ichiban Boshi; a heavily discounted meal with green tea drink at only S$5!

This promotion was already there back when i was working with Starhub and we are talking about five years ago. However, the items always varied and this strategy is highly beneficial to us consumers!

Honestly, i wasn't too keen to try the S$5 Hokkaido Soup Curry Udon. For one, i am not an udon person and two; i prefer Southeast Asian curry over Japanese curry.

Unfortunately, the guilt of not dining in Ichiban Boshi for so long despite my strong affection for this Japanese restaurant eventually overtook my usually rational thinking.

Udon - thick, chunky; an obvious candidate to be categorised as bad carbohydrate for those who believe in Atkins diet. I am a strong believer!

Curry wise - it wasn't as sweet as expected and in fact, was almost similar to the curry Yong Tau Foo at NUS Arts Canteen. The problem is - i can get a lot of ingredients with S$5 at the Arts Canteen.

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Location

2 Jurong East Street 21,

#02-26, IMM Building

Price

S$5 with free drink

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken (Hot & Soy Garlic) - Finger Licking Good @ Ion Orchard [Ion Food Hall]

The best kept secret in town is out! Seriously, with such an attractive packaging, it's as good as blasting the news to everyone in Singapore using a loudspeaker.

And as you can probably assume from the above picture, 4 Fingers is indeed popular and attracts one of the longest queue in Ion Orchard for any food outlet (at least as far as Basement Four is concerned).

Van took advantage of the "Special Indulgence" promotion for DBS card holders with a twelve-piece chicken combo meal that includes a small drink and fries for S$13.95 (savings of S$3.00).

This was the surprisingly plainwhite box containing the twelve pieces of chicken.

Wrapped with a layer of paper, the delicious aroma of deep fried chicken slowly seeped out as i slowly uncovered the treasures that lay within.

I have heard from Kon that the portions are pathetic for the price you paid and he is absolutely right! Drummettes and wings are at most snackers and should not be considered as a meal at all! If it helps, the same goes for Macdonald's McWings.

Two types of Korean-styled seasoning are available; Soy Garlic and Hot. It's not hard to differentiate between the two (look at the colour) and Van made the right and fair choice by having six of each.

HOT - Spicy although not on the same scale as buffalo wings which have an intensifying shiokness with each increased level.

SOY GARLIC - this was mind-blowing fantastic with subtle hints of simple garlic and soy sauce! Gosh, it has been so long since i last felt this way over deep fried chicken! Each bite was irresistibly flavourful and totally addictive; there is no way you can be satisfied with just six pieces.

And that, my friend, is the reason for offering a 150-piece promotion.

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Location

2 Orchard Turn, #B4-06A,

ION Orchard [Ion Food Hall]

Website

http://www.gimme4fingers.com/