Sindy Durians (阿玲山芭榴梿) - The One and Only Place for Mao Shan Wang @ Whampoa Drive [Balestier]

My experiential journey with durians had been relatively peaceful (and unexciting) until my dearest mum decided to indulge me when i was much older (like late 20s) and brought me to a stall known as Sindy along Balestier Road, famed for their top quality durians. 

The man (me, that is), who was then easily pleased by durians that cost 3 for S$20, had a mao shan wang that was so unforgettable; the lower grades of the thorny fruits could no longer satisfy him! 

Sindy has since moved quite a few times and although i tried mao shan wangs from other stalls, none can truly replicate what i had at Sindy. Thanks to the internet, i found the mobile number of the owner and finally got to its latest shop at Block 89, Whampoa Drive!

Outdoor seating for those who prefer to get down to business immediately; dig into the durians! p.s. their proximity to the dual-lane road can be a problem for those concerned with pollution.

I was already informed a few days ago that only the mao shan wang (cat mountain king species) was available and the pricing was about S$22 a kilogram, which was the most expensive i had in this durian season; however, i have never doubted Sindy's standard when it comes to choosing the best quality for their customers!

Using a self made wooden device to stabilise the durian, the staff asked the most important question before choosing your durian; sweet, bitter or a mix of both? 

Once that question has been answered, sometimes with a bit of confusion as a group could have members with differing tastes, the staff would then proceed to smell the unopened durians for one that best meet your criterion (mostly, by smelling) and then strike the knife at its butt. 

No gloves by the way even though they would give the chosen one a customary shave to blunt the thorns. No matter what, don't play play with them; i bet they are skillful in knife management. 

And likely strength too; all the staff used their bare hands to pull the husks apart which were really impressive! Imagine if they utilise the same pair of hands to dislocate your jaw! Euwwwww....

Please be assured they are nice people and you are allowed to have a seed of the opened fruit to ensure they are up to your standard. 

Flat seed and i was once again brought into paradise by the generous custard creaminess of the seed that was both sweet and bitter.  Yummy!

Three durians at S$67 - base on S$22 a kilogram, it would be about three kilograms in total. 

Time to whack the durians! We actually had a full dinner at the nearby Whampoa Hawker Centre before we dropped by Sindy and it was no doubt a bad decision as we had difficulties eating this delicious Southeast Asian delicacy! 

I benefited i guess since i ate the most while my three companions shook their heads and declared defeat once they got to the second fruit. Haha.

Love it, love it, love it! I would have jumped on the couch if there were one! Seeds were generally flat but i regretted not counting how many seeds there were in total! In my virgin visit to Sindy, it was a 1.8 kilogram mao shan wang with close to 20 flat seeds!

Burpppppppp.

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Location

Block 89, Whampoa Drive, 

#01-835 (next to Whampoa Makan Place)

Map

As above.

Website

www.sindydurian.com

Contact Numbers

+65 9710 2427

+65 9852 4548

+65 9852 4890

(Do call beforehand to avoid disappointment as they do not have specific operating hours)! 

Additional Information

Washing area for your pungent smelling fingers was placed at one corner for your convenience! 

Prefer to eat at home and you don't have time to wait in queue? Purchase a pack of the readily packed durians at S$15 a pack.

For those who have had a hard time understanding / do not understand Singlish, Mandarin or dialects, commonly spoken by durian sellers, do note that Sindy herself speaks good English! 

Yong Heng Food Trading for Keropoks and Other Local Foodstuff @ Batam Island [Indonesia]

Of the few times that i visited Batam, the tour guides would always bring us to a shop to spend our money on local food stuff like keropok; i didn't know it was known then but now i do, Yong Heng Food Trading!

We didn't plan it in our itinerary although my mom and i fondly remembered the passionfruit concentrate we got from the same place a few years back and decided to ask Mr Buldan if we could drop by for a short while after the kueh lapis factory. 

Guess he couldn't say no since it was within walking distance from the kueh lapis factory and a drive took him less than a minute! Nevertheless, he appeared to know the staff pretty well. 

Indonesia is famous for their prawn / fish keropok (crackers) and fans of the addictive, crispy snacks can consider buying the dried version and deep fry them yourself for that ultimate fresh and hot crispness! 

Lazy bums like myself can consider the packs of readily fried product. We couldn't find the concentrate even though on second thought, the sugar high doesn't really bode well for our ageing bodies and if we really need to drink passionfruit juice, we can always consider having the real thing (p.s. the fruit stall next to Kay Lee sold a really delicious one)! 

Dried sea horses - likely used for soup dishes! On a related note, i don't recall ever seeing a kicking and living seahorse in all my snorkelling trips!

Long time ago, my younger sister bought a bag of the above and we all assumed the items inside were fish skins and left them alone for quite a few weeks. Only upon seeing my sister indulging in them that we checked and got the answer they were thinly sliced fried bananas! Good stuff, by the way.

Some of the products you can find in the shop.

The variety was much wider than just keropoks and peanuts and compared the scale of the shop from the first time i visited, the area it covered now had easily doubled! 

Promotions to entice us to buy more! Some of them have samples and you can try before you make any purchase. Thankfully i have reached that age where i am no longer very interested in snacks. Fattening lor!

Not mine! These were placed in there by my mom and sisters!

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Location

Blok C - No. 6-7, Komplek Ruko Golden Prawn, Jalan Golden Prawn, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau 29444, Indonesia

Map 

As above

Additional Information

For supermarket products like super duper cheap hair wax and ice cream, walk over to the supermarket next to Yong Heng Food Trading! You may also let your bored yet hyperactive young kids sit on the kiddie rides!

For the detailed itinerary of our one day trip to Batam with a chauffeured car, click here. 

Tiramisu Hero Cafe - Amazing Waffles Woo! @ 121 Tyrwhitt Road [Jalan Besar]

The combination was weird; cats and fishes do sound perfect together yet i have never heard of cats loving tiramisu so much that it's a mascot for this tiramisu-themed cafe near the now-demolished Lavender Food Square.

However, there's more to the story about the street cat by the name of Sir Antonio. I am not going to share more about the feline whose sole direction, apparently, was to bring the best tiramisu to everyone! 

Its target group is obviously the tiramisu lovers; of which i don't belong to. Those who know me well would know i dislike tiramisu and often lament i would be better off with a cup of coffee. 

Whatever the case, that's only me. For Ms SaNeVa; it's a different case as she has always been keen to check out quaint little cafes (expensive hobby in my opinion) and unlike me, enjoys tiramisu. By the way, the nicely crafted number signifies the table number for ease of ordering by the staff! 

Your receipt would be placed at this toothpick holder which was really neat! Payment would be made at the counter after you have eaten your fill. Please find as follows what we had that day! 

MommaHero 

Undoubtedly, this was Vanessa's order (flavour was bailey i think); i took a spoonful grudgingly and honestly thought this was more inline with the cake in the jar rather than tiramisu. Tasted quite good to me although staunch tiramisu lovers might think otherwise. 

Genmaicha Tea Latte

It was just the right weather for a serving of hot and fattening green tea latte! Opted for the gemaicha as i wanted something different from my usual. Turned out the brown rice added an invigorating special fragrance and would have been ranked second among green tea latte (first is still the one in Jeju) if not for the bitter tartness when i reached to the bottom of the cup. 

Waffles Woo!

Topped up S$4 for two scoops of vanilla ice cream, the aroma of freshly baked waffles hit us as soon as it was placed on the table! It's been a while since i last had waffles and i was really looking forward to this!

Oh my gosh, this was delicious! The honey (i thought it was maple syrup) had already soaked the waffles but the amazing thing was that the crust remained crispy and the insides exploded in my mouth with buttery love! 

Two scoops of ice cream were excessive actually; nonetheless, it wasn't overly sweet like most conventional vanilla ice cream and when i queried on its brand, the staff replied that it came straight out from a factory and didn't have a brand. 

Despite having a filling dinner at the nearby Cheng Mun Chee Kee, i didn't face much difficult in cleaning up the wooden plate. Not a problem at all when faced with such marvellous waffles! 

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I so want to check out the all-day breakfast the next time i visit! 

Location

121 Tyrwhitt Road

(near the old Lavender Food Square)

Map

As above

Operating Hours

11pm to 10am (Daily)

Website
http://thetiramisuhero.com/

Prices

MommaHero (Premium Flavour) - S$9.50

Genmaicha Tea Latte - S$6.00

Waffles Woo! (with vanilla ice cream) - S$11 

[Subject to Service Charge]

Additional Information

In store purchases were available; some of them were quite interesting and included souvenirs with the images of Sir Antonio in the event you find him irresistible. :P

Do check out the washroom! When i opened the door, i was surprised and at the same time, mesmerised by the many coloured cotton balls hanging from the ceiling! It's like entering into the kiddish realm of a cheerful wonderland!

There's something else you can do with the 3D head of Sir Antonio, aside from posing with him, giving him a kiss on his lips or putting your pinkie in his nose.

You can be him! 

The Epic Yan Ji Seafood Soup (炎记海鲜汤) in Woodlands @ Old Woodlands Town Centre [Beside Woodlands Causeway Checkpoint]

Even before we arrived at the so-called famous seafood soup at the old woodlands town centre, Ken and the Great Kon were already negotiating on the items they could barter; give me some of your soup and i would pass you the minced meat was just one example.

Honestly, i really could not fathom why both friends were so fascinated with the seafood soup; how different could it be from stalls in other hawker centres?! However, both men swore that my already stuffed tummy would thank me profusely for giving it a try.

The Great Kon did the ordering and it was essentially finding a table, deciding on what you want and then waiting at your table for the delivered food. 

He asked for a serving of pig trotters as they are usually sold out whenever he visits! As i do not know how to appreciate the dish, i took only a small bite and found it agreeable; albeit not to the extent of taking a second bite. 

This was said to be the king of soups, according to some in the online realm! At first look, i must say it was a good mix of ingredients like tomatoes, slices of dory fishes, two prawns and wait, generous lumps of minced meat in seafood soup!? And ya, why the soup so little?! 

On the soup, it was amazingly rich and thanks to the imported scallops (from Hokkaido as indicated on the signboard) that made the base, it was blessed with an intensely sweet flavour from the sea! If you are lucky, like me, you may get to bite into a small piece of the scallop! 

The best was sadly not the tasty soup. The dory fish was normal (you can exchange it for others; just inform the staff when you make the order) and while the prawns were fresh, the key to its popularity was definitely the minced meat! 

I could not find appropriate words to describe it given my pathetic grasp of the English language but in all, the texture was softer than your conventional minced meat patties, with speckles of soft bones and the taste was somewhat like a tender version of my favourite deep fried pork lard! 

Damn, i need a piece now!!

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Location

Block 4A, Woodlands Centre Road Food Centre,

#02-11 [Old Town Centre Near Causeway]

Map

As above.

Opening & Closing Hours
10.30 - 11 am till 8.30 pm or while stocks last
Closed on Mondays!

Price

Pig Trotters (Small) - S$7.00

Seafood Soup (Small) - S$6.00

Additional Information

I am so going to bring my mum here and maybe we can order the luxurious crayfish seafood soup! The only thing is that we shall exchange the fish with the yummy minced meat! 

For a bowl of cheap, thirst quenching cheng tng that cost only S$1 a bowl within the same hawker centre, click here.