Durian Lingers - Hopefully It's the Fruit, Not the Smell @ 155 Still Road [Joo Chiat]

Durian Lingers - it makes me wonder what the basis was for coming out with such a name when i am totally aware that durians are seasonal fruits and i doubt any sane person would want to have the smell of durians lingering in the car, house and office! 

Whatever the case, it was supposed to be an indulgent trip to Sindy for its quality Mao Shan Wang (Cat Mountain King) but as luck had it, it was closed and we had to make do with an alternative; today's Durian Lingers. 

Geylang, where there are quite a number of big operation durian stalls along the main street, was not even considered as i find the quality for the more expensive durian varieties to be very inconsistent each time i visit. 

Two of us, two stuffed stomachs. Nonetheless, we were quite confident we would triumph over this gigantic baby of over 2.5 kilograms! Damn, i seriously hate food challenges like this! 

Counting thirteen arils in total, my friend Jackie could now understand why MSW (Mao Shan Wang in short) is publicly acknowledged as one of the best durian varieties; sweet yet with a bitter aftertaste, fleshy and extremely creamy! 

One major grudge was that the seeds were not as small as the epic MSWs in Sindy. Another comment had to do with the varied texture; arils on one half were drier than the other! Tsk tsk tsk!

However, Durian Lingers offers a much more comfortable and spacious spot where you can gorge yourself crazy with durians while mocking at those motorists stuck in a jam along Still Road.

Prefer the nice indoors? No problem; do note that it is not air-conditioned though! 

Eating durians is a messy business and opening them can be a challenge! Hence, many people prefer to buy these readily packed durians and enjoy them in the comfort of their own house. Even though each pack was sealed with a thick layer of cling wrap, the smell would leak and i would strongly suggest you bring along a lock and lock container to pack them. 

For the benefit of everyone! 

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Location

155 Still Road

Map

As Above

Price
MSW - S$18 per kg
[subject to seasonal change]

Website

http://www.durianlingers.com.sg

Additional Information

Fresh durian ice cream is available! 

Crepes & Puffs - Your Classic Confection Desserts @ Changi Village [Singapore]

Five years ago, i would have to scratch my head a couple of times to think of an air-conditioned dessert cafe to chill out after a heavy delicious meal at Changi Village hawker centre.

Now, we have Crepes & Puffs smacked in the middle of the rustic neighbourhood well known as the gateway to the last natural haven in Singapore; Pulau Ubin! 

Menu was not incredibly extensive with only about five different fillings for crepes and a handful of puffs and cakes. A pretty good move since most if not all visitors to the village are likely to pig out at the hawker centre or in the numerous coffee shops (kopitiams) nearby.

Banana Choc Crepe

Shaped like a popiah cut in half, i would forgive you for assuming that the dark filling is pure chocolate; it was actually chocolate sponge cake!

Not that i am complaining as the bite was far more satisfying as compared to one filled with thick chocolate fudge. Furthermore, you can never go wrong with the combi of cold yet fresh banana chunks and light, fluffy chocolate sponge cake! Personally, i can forgo the crepe skin entirely and eat this naked, literally. 

Strawberry Shortcake

I cannot resist not ordering this! Gently flavoured with no shocking revelation; a simple plain old strawberry shortcake that does its job as a dessert. Period. 

Ice Chocolate

This is one beverage i am returning for! Just the right sweetness, the right consistency and especially thirst quenching on a hot day! 

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Shall try their puffs next time!

In addition to my ice chocolate!

Location

4, Changi Village,

#01-2080 [along the main road]

Map

As above

Opening Hours

10am to 9pm

[Close on Tuesdays]

Menu

As above

Website

www.crepespuffs.com

Price

Banana Choc Crepe - S$3.50

Strawberry Shortcake - S$4.50

Ice Chocolate - S$3.50

[No GST and no service charge]

Bedok Corner Hokkien Prawn Mee [勿洛湾炒虾面] - Delicious As It Has Always Been @ Bedok Food Centre

Every hawker centre in Singapore has its own signature food stalls; bak chor mee at block 85, cheng tng at bedok corner, wanton mee at old airport road, nasi lemak at changi village, satay at clementi central etc etc. 

For such a small scale hawker centre, Bedok food centre is blessed with quite a number of good stalls; one of which is the hokkien prawn mee stall. If you are unlucky, as i was in numerous occasions, it might mean a wait of at least thirty minutes before you are handed your order! 

Compared to most stalls serving hokkien mee, there is one trait that stands out particularly from Bedok corner's version; the heavy usage of thinner bee hoon over normal yellow mee and thick bee hoon. 

Does that even make a difference? Definitely! For one, it does make eating noodles a lot easier with bee hoon. And i have always had the impression that bee hoon is nutritionally the least "fattening" among all noodles! 

Noodles aside, the prawn stock used to soak the noodles can only be described as richly flavoured and of 'gao-ness' guaranteed to whet your appetite! It was so delicious; i could actually neglect the lack of deep fried pork lard!

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Location

1 Bedok Road, Stall #29, 

Bedok Food Centre 

Price 

At least S$3 for a plate

One Concept Wine & Dine @ Blair Road [Opposite Singapore General Hospital]

An old friend whom i met up today was sharing with me a new restaurant right behind his workplace that serves good fusion food. I thought of driving past the place just to check out the location but he insisted on treating me for a sampling session! 

Mind you, this was after a heavy char siew, roast duck and roast meat meal at Kay Lee followed by a dessert session at Changi Village and a durian indulgence at Katong.

I was full. 

I could hardly reject a free meal though. 

^_^

Canadian Scallops

Despite my initial reservation that lightly grilled scallops would not differ much from the ones served in typical coffeeshop tze char stalls, i have to agree that the combination of juicy scallops, sourish orange pulps, salty fish roes and crunchy sweet bell peppers was simply as extraordinary as they looked! 

Croquetes Mushroom

Sitting on a bed of green sprouts, these golden 'rocks' were a result of grinding the breadcrumbs into finer bits before deep frying them in a pot of boiling oil. Yawnz, hardly impressive. 

That was until you tear them apart! You would never have guessed what the filling taste like (without me telling you of course); mushroom soup! 

Honestly, the concept was similar to soup in a bread bowl, albeit in a smaller, crispier proportion. Personally, they would be godsends if the filling was in liquid form. Imagine the warm sensation of yummy mushroom soup flowing down the throat..

Basil Cheese Cake

I surely did not expect such a glamourous, flowery presentation for a cheesecake, no matter how uniquely flavoured it was said to be!

Anyone can remember a dessert that was presented in an almost identical way? The dirt cake from Vanilla Cafe, which was a great letdown in my honest opinion!

This one from One Concept was way better; topped with a generous serving of digestive and chocolate biscuit cumbs, what absolutely excited my taste buds was the salted layer of blissfully sweet biscuit base. 

Now, i am not a big fan of basil and although i did enjoy the minty-peppery aftertaste of the cheesecake, i thought the flavour was a bit subdued when having it with the biscuit crumbs and base. It might have performed even better with a really cheesy normal new york cheesecake instead. 

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Location

54 Blair Road

[Opposite Singapore General Hospital]

Map

As above

For Reservation

Call 6225-8043 / 6225-8049

Menu

As above (click and save to zoom in for a clearer look)

Price

Canadian Scallops - S$15

Croquetes Mushroom - S$15

Basil Cheese Cake - S$12

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

House on The Pier - An Unfruitful Visitto the Mysterious House @ Lim Chu Kang [Singapore]

Remember that mysterious abandoned house i saw at the end of my Lim Chu Kang road expedition? 

I have finally made time to have a better look with a group of colleagues from NUS! Contrary to 'public' opinion, no one was forced against their will to join this adventure! Read this again, NO ONE!

My sense of direction is not quite as horrendous as some of my friends (you know who you are) and it didn't take me long to figure out the location of the house; somewhere beyond the yellow historical marker. Which means i would bloody need a machete!

The first landing site for Japanese troops during World War II?! Where's the beach then?! Right in front was more a jungle likely to create a dengue epidemic! 

Another access was found after confirmation with operators of a nearby aquarium. The pathway wasn't as well protected as one would expect from state property; hence, we took our chance. :)

To be totally honest, this would be my second time on the quiet dirt path. I ventured this far the first time and stopped going forward because i was alone! Just imagine the danger of injuring myself, coming across a group of illegal immigrants or worse, stepping onto a bed of snakes! 

Having a group of friends accompanying me was definitely much more comforting; i had a much more relaxed time to enjoy the wildlife so abundant in this rural gem of Singapore.

Wildlife, in such insecure circumstances, is defined as all living things that have no potential of harming us. Put it this way, except for mosquito repellent, the most powerful weapon we have then was probably only my huge-ass camera! 

 

Oh my gosh! The same sentence ran through my brain twice when the alert Ms Thng stopped me in my track and pointed at the blackish reptile in the middle of the path!!! For those who are unaware, i have a great phobia of snakes. My greatest thanks to Ms Thng who has helped me avoid this calamity!

Destination in sight! Bad news though; the place appeared to be barricaded which means there would be CCTVs to deter intruders from moving further.

Side-track a bit - don't bother exploring if you are sensitive to smell. The whole area stank of decomposed materials in low tides!

Expected, CCTV in operation... 

Attempts to find a separate point of entry were sadly unsuccessful. Appended above was the best shot i had of the vicinity with no sight of the main building that attracted us in the first place! 

A heavy heart as we slowly trekked back to the car. :(

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Two bloggers managed to gain access to The Pier before the place was fenced up. So for more pictures (envious), please click the following:

• http://remembersingapore.wordpress.com/lim-chu-kang-pier/
• http://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/a-lost-world-in-lim-chu-kang/

Map

Interested to explore on your own? 

Check out the map where our route is clearly traced by the red highlighter. You may park your car at the end of Lim Chu Kang Lane 9.

Additional Information

We thought of paying a boat operator from the Lim Chu Kang jetty to send us to the house (it was only two hundred meters away). 

No go; the operators are mindful that the mysterious house is out of bounds and it doesn't help to have a police coast guard overseeing the jetty!