Red Ring Wanton Mee @ Holland Drive [3-Minute Walk from Buona Vista MRT Station]

I have been receiving rave reviews from three colleagues of a wanton noodles stall that used to be stationed in Holland Village so when i received news from another colleague of a cook-for-precisely-20-second wanton noodle stall in the same area, i assumed she was referring to the same stall. 

Wrong! 

RedRing Wanton Mee is a different story altogether - it has none of the historical legacy often trumpeted by hawkers as it was set up only in 2012 and the brainchild behind this venture was a young 25-year old Chemistry student from NUS! 

This begets the question; exactly what kind of special recipe does this store have that has enabled it to gain popularity in just one year? Answer: Passion in food with an in-depth knowledge of science and the correct use of technology.

Visually, things are not as complicated as i have seemingly mentioned in the above paragraph; the wanton mee was as normal as most stalls in the market (i thought the char siew was a bit too pale for my liking though).

Sorry for breaking your cycle but let's talk about the boiled wantons first. Unimpressive and you might be better off eliminating the wantons in wanton noodles for more slices of char siew.

The application of chemistry came into picture for the noodles; it was cooked for precisely twenty seconds (nothing more, nothing less) in boiling water using a Japanese-made noodle cooker. The technology adopted ensured that you get that QQ texture and minimal kee (akaline) taste. Personally, i am not that particular when it comes to kee-ness, so long it is not overly excessive!

Nothing prepared me for their char siew though. They were shockingly..... delicious!!!! Yes, this coming from a man who places charred bits as one criterion necessary in any char siew! 

Two things played a part to retain the juiciness and enhance the smokey flavour without the sinfully burnt caramelisation; use of the pig's prized cut and the purchase of yet another equipment. Whatever the case, i would love to get my hands on the machine just so my dad will stop nagging whenever he catches me digging into a plate of nicely caramelised char siew! 

Red Ring actually refers to the moat of thickened red sauce surrounding the noodles served to you. Made of fourteen secret ingredients, it was not as spicy as i expected (you can opt for a spicier level) and i thought it was similar to a tomato and chilli sauce mix. However, don't belittle it; the flavour is indeed one of a kind and goes extremely well with the 20-second noodles!

Oh, by the way, i am so loving the free flow pork lard! 

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Location

Block 46, Holland Drive

[Chiangs Swallow Coffeshop]

燕群餐室

Price

Minimal S$2.50. 

Note: Please go for S$3.00 as the serving for S$2.50 was way way way too pathetic! 

Mom's Birthday 2013

Time passes really rapidly as one ages; it seems like only a few years have passed since mom celebrated her 39th birthday but that was in fact twenty years ago! 

The three children, including me, decided to take leave today on her actual birthday and drive her to Johore Bahru for a shopping cum massage trip! Shall blog on the food another day. 

We concluded the celebration by surprising her with a birthday cake that was secretly smuggled in from Malaysia. For those who are curious, it was bought from Lavender bakery and it tasted really delicious! 

As usual, the kids enjoyed birthdays the most! And the excitement peaks at the juncture when the candles are to be blown! 

A message for the mom

"Dear Mommy, i know i chatter nonstop but you know i am never one for mushy conversation. You might not have heard me say it for real but deep in my heart, i have always been appreciative and grateful for your unrelenting effort and loving care to bring the three of us up. 

You are the best mother i could ever ask for and all i ever hope for on your birthday is for you to live healthily and happily as long as possible. Okay, i know that's not sufficient; i would also pray that you win 4D and TOTO as often as possible!"

I love you mom!

Happy Birthday! :)

Tombs of the Four Children [FOUND] - 1979 Geylang Bahru Murder

I still remember what my hairdresser said when she heard i was visiting Lim Chu Kang cemetery during the inauspicious ghost month last year; "go check out the tombs of the children who were murdered in 1979. a lot of gamblers go there and pray for winning 4D numbers!"

Nothing beats a ghost story and a murder case to intrigue me to comb through Singapore's only operating burial ground. I failed in my attempt then but a friend who hails from Singapore Paranormal Investigation found the exact location and buzzed me on facebook! 

Maybe i should share a bit of the story to perk you up. 

Back in 1979, a horrific murder in Block 58 Geylang Bahru shocked the entire nation; four young siblings between the age of five and ten were found dead in the toilet of their one-room flat. The extent of the murderer's (or murderers') cruelty is disturbingly violent. Not only were the kids slashed and hacked to death (the eldest boy's arm was almost severed from the body), they were also stacked on top of one another as if they were mere trophies of war. 

Till now, the case remains a mystery.

Placed neatly in a row with all of them spotting the same design, it's actually very easy to spot the tombs although they were nothing like the beautifully and elaborately decorated version that i have heard from some people. 

Unlike other children tombs in the vicinity, traces of worship / gifts were found in the form of toys and sweets scattered around the four tombs. 

Tan Kok Soon - the second youngest child of the family. Not sure about you but i felt a despairing sense of pity and loss that his life was taken away so early! For those who are contemplating suicide, think of these kids here! They would love to grow up and enjoy life yet the option was not given to them...

Since it was the seventh lunar month when i took the pictures a few weeks ago, some of the temples had also organised rituals aimed at relieving the souls' suffering in this particular section. 

May the children rest in peace and may the murderer (or murderers) be brought to justice soon! Karma would make sure the blood debt is paid. 

Interested to read more of the murder case? Click here and here.

[Update on 20 September 2013]
A friend found a youtube link to an episode of "True Files" which talked about the murder in much greater detail! 

Thanks for informing me, Yao Tian!

Li Xin Teochew Fish Ball Noodles [立兴潮州鱼圆面] @ Food Opera [ION Orchard]

While i was checking out potential stalls to replace the used-to-be-my-family's-favourite fish ball noodles at Chong Pang Xiang Xiang, my younger sister was ferociously seeking other venues on her own!

According to her, the one stall that satisfies her craving at the moment belongs to this Li Xin Teochew Fish Ball Noodles located in Singapore's famous shopping belt; Orchard Road.

At S$5 a serving, the pricing was actually considered quite alright given the stall's prestigious location. In addition, i have never had so many fish balls (six big ones in total) in a bowl of soup! 

Surprisingly, i am not really a fish ball person; i place much higher emphasis on noodles rather than the fish balls. That aside, the fish balls in Li Xin were made freshly handmade twice a day (hence the uneven shape and texture) and they are made from yellowtail (not that it matters since i don't even know what fish were commonly used in the making of fish balls)! 

What i do know is that these yellowtail fish balls had an incredibly soft interior with a pleasantly rich fish flavouring that greatly differed from the disgusting fishiness radiated by some. Mom preferred a more solid bite though. 

Now coming to the noodles!!

Texture was a bit on the hard side but this shortcoming was covered up by the special chilli-tomato sauce mix; resulting in a combi that was simply delicious! Not to mention that there were also little bites of pork lard hidden within! 

Yummy!

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Location

2 Orchard Turn 

#B2-62 ION Orchard 

[Food Opera]

Price

S$5 a bowl

Another Payout from Nuffnang - Apparently Something Cool will Happen if i Blog about This!

In normal circumstances, i would not have blogged about this but since Nuffnang Finance has taken the trouble to inform me via email that something cool will happen if i do; i figured this shall count as a post when i am overseas as you read this. 

So, here's it! The Nuffnang cheque with a paltry payout of S$301.34! I shall now hope that the cool thing that was mentioned refers to a more generous payout next time around.

*keeping my fingers crossed*

Beach Road Scissors - Cut Hainanese Curry Rice [美芝律剪刀剪咖喱饭] @ 229 Jalan Besar [Near City Square Mall]

Whenever we drove along Jalan Besar, the Great Kon was bound to pass the following comment: "We should really try this Hainanese curry rice!" We have had enough and decided to dine there last week! :P

Offering nothing but Hainanese curry rice, the shop still managed a roaring business that was obvious from the queue that never seemed to end when we were there! 

I can never get the concept of Hainanese curry rice; in my honest opinion, it is similar to the mixed vegetable rice (杂菜饭) sold in many coffee shops and food courts around the island. There is one key difference though; the number of dishes available are a lot more varied for mixed vegetable rice stalls. 

Since we are on dishes, i might as well mention that there are few notable must-haves in Hainanese curry rice; the cabbage, the braised pork, the deep fried pork cutlet (sadly, this was out of stock when Kon made the order) and of course, the curry that covered almost everything!

Other miscellaneous items can be treated as companions and not necessarily added onto the main plate. The ones we had (the lor tau pok and fish cake) were nothing to scream off and i could jolly well do without them.

Back to the main items, i was pleased to find the cabbage soft yet maintaining that satisfying crunch! The braised pork (known fondly as kong ba) lacked the fatty layers i enjoyed although the meat remained tender and flavourful. 

Curry sauce is basically the soul for the entire combination in Hainanese curry rice; this version sits well with me. The consistency was thick, creamy and didn't burn my tongue. To draw comparison to the popular one in Beo Crescent, the curry here was a tad heavier.

Whatever the case, it didn't stop my hungry stomach from sweeping everything down the throat! 

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Location

229 Jalan Besar

Map 

As above

Nearest MRT Station

Farrer Park MRT

Price

S$18 in total. The price depends on what you order. Please check out the price list i have appended below.

Menu / Price List

As above. 

Nikon D7100 - Does the DSLR Camera have a better deal in COMEX, IT Show, PC Show or SITEX? A BIG NO!

As the saying goes, hold back all your IT purchases and buy them all in one shot at cheaper pricing during the quarterly computer trade fairs in Singapore, be it IT Show, SITEX, PC Show or the ongoing COMEX! 

That's NOT ENTIRELY TRUE and i am speaking from personal experience! 

As loyal readers are aware, i have been wanting to upgrade my DSLR camera for quite a while now but the model i had in mind (Nikon D7000) maintained a retail price that barely budged throughout the past one year! I waited and waited. The price did eventually drop; with the launch of D7100! 

Blooooooooody $#%&*%@! Anyway, i don't expect D7100 to have a massive reduction anytime in the near future and began sourcing for a good deal. That's when i visited the IT Expo last week.

Unlike the big four computer fairs, IT Expo was organised by Audio House (one single vendor) and i was very hesitant to fork out my hard-earned dough when COMEX 2013 is happening merely a week later. 

As a matter of comparison, you might want to refer to the above brochure for Nikon D7100 in this year COMEX (happening from 05 till 08 September 2013).

Now, refer to the handout for IT Expo a week ago. Same price, same free gifts yet the D7100 came with an extra S$100 direct deductible voucher (effectively reducing the price to S$2199), UV filter for the lens kit, wireless remote, another 32GB SDHC card AND an 8GB Toshiba WIFI card! 

Damn good deal right?! That's not all okay; instead of topping up S$159 for a 70-300mm lens, i managed to get the same lens for only S$101! Furthermore, the service staff threw in an additional battery and another UV filter for the extra lens! 

For all the extras, i am only paying S$2,300 for a Nikon D7100 at IT Expo. Of course i have to get it!!!!!!! And damn am i not regretting my decision!

The first picture taken by my new DSLR is dedicated to our utmost adorable brat; Jovyn the bulldog cheeked baby!