Durians in the North (Sembawang / Yishun) - Go for Sembawang Durian Seng (榴莲成)!

The KING of fruits has finally resurfaced on the little red dot; bringing with it a stinky aroma missed by many, including me! 

While the central area has combat durian, the west has ah seng durian and the east is just blessed with too many durian stalls, it's hard to pinpoint a reputable stall in the north, where i live by the way.

Wait, i do remember one that was recommended by ieatishootipost.sg and its location was a breeze to recall as i used to work at the shopping centre right opposite; Sembawang Durian Seng (i have kindly helped to draw a red rectangle to indicate the shop)!

It's not a permanent shop and only appears during the durian seasons! With limited space right in front of the hair salon, i was thankful to have arrived at 5.30 pm when the crowd has yet to descend even though the white bee hoon restaurant a few doors away had like ten persons in the queue.

Do look out for the owner; a man with a booming voice who seemed fierce at first but actually quite friendly once you banter with him. Don't be surprised if he says he dislikes durians! 

With famous durian species like mao shan wang (貓山王), golden phoenix (金风), black pearl (黑珍珠), red prawn (红虾) and XO, you can also have your pick of kampong durians (甘榜榴莲) and a special species not found anywhere else; old grandma (老太婆)! 

Initially mistaken to be dates sold by the makeshift durian stall, i took a closer look to realise they were durian seeds; testament to the owner's claim that his durians were of the much-wanted "small seed" variant! 

We didn't want to check out old grandma and opted instead for three golden phoenix durians, priced at S$15 a kilogram! Do ask to stick your finger in for a taste to ensure they are to your standard before agreeing to the purchase.

Our haul - three golden phoenix durians weighing 4.4 kilograms! 

There was just one table where we could enjoy our purchases! I believe more would be placed once night falls and the queue starts to get longer. 

After being deprived for so long, my mum and i were totally satisfied by the taste and texture of the durians! Imagine me being quiet for more than a minute plainly because i wanted to savour the taste slowly! 

Our second thorny fruit - it was the biggest of the lot and i counted 22 seeds in total! They were not as fleshy as the mao shan wang but the seeds were really small and flat! 

Unlike some picky durian lovers who would go for a particular taste, i am fine with bitter, bitter-sweet or sweet. It doesn't matter so long the texture was creamy, the taste was strong and the seed was tiny! 

Evidence of the seeds' size; do keep in mind that the 'paper' was our usual tissue paper and these were the culmination for just two durians. 

S$67 gone in just a flash! The next time i visit, i shall indulge in the old grandma follows by the cat mountain king! The king of durians, as in mao shan wang, should always be the last! 

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Location

Along Jalan Tampang

[Opposite Sembawang Shopping Center]

Map 

As above. Motorists should consider parking at the open air carpark right next to Jalan Tampang. Don't turn in to Jalan Tampang; drive ahead and you would find the entrance of the open air carpark no more than fifty meters away. 

Reservation

Call 93441512 / 97598265

Promotions

Usual promotion was buy 5 get 1 free / buy 10 get 3 free. During happy hours (which i presume to be low peak period), it would be buy 3 get 1 free / buy 5 get 2 free! 

Note: the free durians might not be the expensive species and you would not be able to choose; we bought three and got a complimentary ang hae; tasted sweet but with rather large seeds! 

Bajau House (Kuih Jala & Pandan Juice) @ Mari Mari Cultural Village [Borneo Island]

While most people were focused on the cultural aspects of the tour at Mari Mari Cultural Village, i think i am the only one wondering what's next to surprise my palate as we stepped into the territory of the third tribe in our journey; the Bajau!

I must admit the happiness can be immediately felt when my eyes caught sight of the swirling smoke and the nose caught a whiff of that delicious deep fried fragrance.

It's a cooking demonstration and knowing how noob i am when it comes to cooking, my objective was clear; i just wanted to have a bite of the finished product! 

Kuih Jala was a simple yet traditional snack in East Malaysia and you are supposed to fry till it is crispy brown. Fresh and hot from the boiling oil, it was an addictive biscuit similar to kueh rose! 

Beside Kuih Jala station was the juice section; note, not fruit juice but the juice of the pandan leaves! Judging from the broken leaves, i think what we drank might have likely come from the plants next to the path! 

Good for hangovers, pandan leave juice was incredibly easy to make; requiring only pandan leaves, crushed ginger and finally, sugar for sweetness! The only issue is that a traditional wood stove is recommended for better flavour.

Time to step into the Bajau House!

This man was just sitting down, surrounded with many coconuts. Was this a demonstration to chop open a coconut? Well, i don't really need to see that if that's the case.

No, he was seated on a log that had a tool sticking out; not exactly a nice picture if you ask me. Whatever the case, he was using that tool to manually scrap out the hardened coconut pulp!

Compared to the three tribal houses before Bajau, the first thing that hit me was the use of vibrant colours to adorn the otherwise boring, brown structure. 

Among the tribes in Borneo, Bajau is the second largest (first being Dusun) yet the people are the richest and have an utter love for colours! There are generally two types of Bajau; the land and the sea. What we see here is the house of the land Bajau; the sea Bajau sleeps on boats and has the ability to swim underwater for long period of time without any mechanical appliances!

A special setup depicting a traditional Bajau wedding and visitors are welcome to play out the roles! Remember the musical instruments on the second photo? It is the Kulintang which i chanced upon at Gaya Street Sunday Market!

Gigantic shells from horseshoe crabs - a typical land Bajau house is built on stilts not just to prevent water damage. According to the guide, the elevated house would allow horses to be kept beneath! Regretted not asking her to clarify further as i thought it was a weird concept; i would absolutely not want my horses to neigh at me when i am sleeping on the floor. 

Traditional game - as i was sieving through the photographs taken at this house, there was an item that frequently appeared on my pictures; the colourful straw hat. Anyone knows if there is any interesting significance? 

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Location

Within Mari Mari Cultural Village. To read more, kindly refer to the main posting on Mari Mari Cultural Village. 

For the summarised itinerary of my 7 days, 6 nights Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) trip, please click here.

Yishun Life Seafood - Without the Crabs @ 1018 Sembawang Road

It's an embarrassment whenever someone who doesn't live in the North asks if i have been to one of two supposedly famous seafood coffee shops located at Sembawang area!

Enough said; i dragged my friends for a visit after catching the latest Jurassic World blockbuster at Yishun Ten. With two to choose from along the same stretch of shophouses, we opted for Yishun Life Seafood as it had more customers and it was coming to 10pm.

Crabs were said to be a must-have but we didn't expect the payment to be solely cash form! With only about a hundred bucks among the three of us, we decided to forgo the crabs which were marketed at S$60 a kilogram... :( 

We went with most of the chef's recommendations instead, except for Curry Fish Head and Sambal Chilli Kang Kong as our dear Alex doesn't enjoy spicy stuff. Let's now feast! 

Fried Egg with Oyster

大蚝煎蛋

First bite told me this would suffice as a simple fried egg and we could have savings from the omission of oysters. Nonetheless, the oysters tasted quite delicious without the strong fishiness and it was one of the rare occasions that i enjoyed them. 

Sweet & Sour Pork

咕噜肉

Simple and traditional; the way they were the very first time i had them. Not exceptional but in the spirit of nostalgia; comfortable enough.

Butter Sotong

奶油苏东

I had so much expectation for this dish; turned out the butteriness wasn't as fragrant, as strong and as sinful. They could do with a bit more seasoning as well. 

Fried Pork with Preserved Bean Curd

南乳炸肉

The English translation of this dish was so misleading; i honestly thought it was a bean curd dish until after i happily ordered it with the waitress! Texture was quite good with much loved juiciness; as with all nan ru stuff (known at times as Chinese cheese), the taste was acceptable yet not exactly my cup of tea.

Herbal Drunken Prawn 

药材醉虾

Didn't expect the broth to be so dark although in my opinion, the darker it is, the stronger the herb content and hence, the more nutritional it is! 

In the cool weather with a slight drizzle, the herbal soup was a godsend and i can taste the intense flavour of dang-gui! Prawns (six in total) were fresh even though they could not match the ones from No Signboard.

Signature Teochew Prawn Balls

招牌潮州虾枣

Guess we have to give this a try as it was indicated first on the chef recommendations and had the key word; signature. With nine golden nuggets, i was thinking they would likely be a disappointment.

Drenched it with a sweet sauce before popping it into my mouth; aside from being scalding hot, i must say the insides were very tender!

And it's not common to see bits of prawns in commercial hae chor! The only thing lacking, which could be good or bad depending on which side you are on, was that the beancurd skin surrounding the meat paste wasn't salty enough, 

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Would be back to check out the crabs! Joyce, if you are reading this, would you love to check out Yishun Life Seafood (or its nearby competitor) for your birthday meal? :) 

Location

1018 Sembawang Road

Map

As above. Despite having the word Yishun in its name, the non air-conditioned restaurant wasn't located within Yishun town and even from the map, would be nearer to Sembawang MRT station and the upcoming Canberra MRT station. 

Reservation

Call 6752-2655

Menu (Partial)

As above! Didn't manage to take more as there were so many pages!

Price

Fried Egg with Oyster - S$8

Sweet & Sour Pork - S$8

Butter Sotong - S$12

Fried Pork with Preserved Bean Curd - S$10

Herbal Drunken Prawn - S$16

Signature Teochew Prawn Balls - S$8

[No GST & No Service Charge]

Additional Information

For motorists, there was a private car park for your vehicle. Do drive carefully as the road leading to the car park was literally one way and there could be cars coming in / out from the opposite direction.