Black Carrot Cake (黑菜头粿) @ Changi Village Carrot Cake (樟宜村菜头粿) - Changi Village Hawker Centre

After a stomach filling meal at Old Airport Road hawker centre four hours ago, i was taken aback by the amount of food the Gang of Four ordered at Changi Village hawker centre! Thought we agreed to have only desserts?!

How to lose weight like that?!!??! How am i supposed to gain back my svelte waist of 28 inches?!?!

Well, looking good is secondary when eating is indisputably our main hobby! As the Chinese saying goes, 能吃是福 (to be able to eat is a fortune). This saying didn't mention anything about excessive eating though.

Coming back, one of the main items we had was carrot cake. According to food guru (Mr Kon that is), this stall served a mean carrot cake he found to be impressionable but it was usually closed by 6pm.

To thank our lucky stars, the owner had bought additional ingredients that had to be used by today since this food centre famous for its nasi lemak will be closed for general maintenance and cleaning for the next three days.

Serving black carrot cake only during the weekends, i was dumbfounded to find it damn good. That's weird because i would normally trust Kon's judgment! Wait, it must have been his recommendation for the supposedly best kway chap in Singapore this afternoon that eventually tasted superbly gamey in my opinion.

Without the need to request for additional black sauce, this plate of carrot cake was naturally infused with the full body flavour i look forward to - no doubt the result of excellent control of three main factors; the wok, fire and ingredients.

The egg coagulated the manageable pieces of carrot cake that were thoroughly drenched in black sauce, making them slightly sticky and especially delicious. I seriously cannot imagine a plate of carrot cake without eggs!

The goodness of this carrot cake can only be exemplified by a real life example; Alex ordered a second plate despite having egg omelette, BBQ sting-ray, chicken wings, desserts and drinks on the table.

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Location

Block 2, Changi Village Rd,

#01-31, Changi Village Hawker Centre

Price

S$2.50 or S$3.00 a plate

Additional Information

We heard from the boss that his stall has been approached by Shin Min newspaper to compete for the top carrot cake stall in Singapore! Look out for the article on Thursday (25 August 2011).

For my post on 0172 BBQ Seafood (located in the same hawker centre), please click HERE.

Katong Char Kway Teow (炒果条) @ Fu Sen Eating House (富馨餐室) - East Coast Road

It's supposed to be just a cup of coffee that is essential to increase my alertness for driving. However, something caught the attention of my eye as i sat down on a table of this corner coffeeshop (koptiam) along East Coast Road

"Katong" and "Extra Ingredient Fried Kuay Teow Mee" - although the word katong does not necessarily mean anything, the intense aroma of wok-hei frying said otherwise. I had to order a plate even though it was ridiculously priced at S$3.50 a plate!

Weirdly, a small lime was given. This is the norm for hokkien mee but i don't remember ever seeing one on char kway teow! Oh well, might as well squeeze it since it comes together.

Another out-of-the-norm surprise was the stalks of humongous bean sprouts that remained fat and crunchy after withstanding super high temperature in the wok!

For a person who always asks for extra black, extra sweet for his char kway teow, i like this "katong" version that balances very well between the two opposing tastes; salty and sweet.

Both mom and i agreed that the chilli sauce played a very important role in this dish. Instead of chilli paste, chicken rice chilli sauce was used. Tell me, isn't that uniquely different?!

This char kway teow should belong to a class of its own! Delicious indeed.

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Location

228 East Coast Road

Price

S$3.50 for a regular

Legendary Tampines Pond @ Tampines (Near to Bedok Reservoir), Singapore

Just in case you are wondering if this is just a small, tiny little pond located in any primary or secondary schools, you are dead wrong!

A long delayed follow up from my last post on this hidden gem in tampines, i am now going to divulge its exact location although i agree that it's an open secret that some of you might have already known.

You don't think i am going to give you the answer immediately right? Let's have some kind of a flow to make this post slightly longer than the ones i published recently.

For record, the entry point is located somewhere along this isolated road. Taking a bus is possible but it might be such a long walk that even Ms Karen Au will spew vulgarities after a hundred meters!

One of two man-made pathways, i am always under the impression that numerous snakes lurk within the grass and strategies are needed to deter any unwanted encounters. My strategy? Don't walk. RUN across the grass!

This is the usual "market" scene in the daytime. Comes night-time and the whole place is filled with a misty eeriness that put chills down my spine.

Enthusiastic RC (radio controlled) boaters call this place home. However, i wonder how long it will be before the government decides to evict them out of this natural haven.

Sad indeed. When i was younger, i used to like the way Singapore is organised; prim and proper. As i grow older, i lament how we are slowly losing Singapore's heritage and spirit to continual development.

Mom was my company that day even though she was rushing to go back to my sister's place (to take care of chubby Jovyn) after a praying spree at three different temples! I persuaded her that it will not take more than 5 minutes and expectedly, we ended up spending half an hour there!

It wasn't that hot and there was a gentle breeze blowing towards us. I can see that mom was enjoying the beautiful view and bet it was the most relaxed moment she had ever had for the past few months. Taking care of a new born is seriously no easy task!

Leaving mom to her cherished moments, i trekked along this quiet, human-free dirt path. Granted it was the seventh lunar month (aka Hungry Ghosts Month) and the path did feel different, the intense curiousity of what lies beyond is too hard to resist!

Found alongside the bank was this floating device that a light person can use to row out to the middle of the huge pond. Not something i will utilise since i hate the feeling of not being able to touch the ground underneath the water. Blame it on this 1986 horror movie called 鬼拉脚 (literally translated to ghost pulls legs).

Loads of religious artefacts were found at the end of the path. Who is interested (and daring) to go with me during the night to check the place out?

That's not all! Strings of religious flags (of Tibetan or Thai origins) were tied to trees; signifying some sort of religious processions in the past.

Judging from the vibrant colours of these flags, the events must have occurred recently (maybe for this seventh month). Intriguing right?! I did feel uncomfortable being the only human there but well, my heart does need some excitement every now and then.

On a lighter note, parents need not spend any money on guppies for their children anymore! There were so many of them in the pond!

In addition, I had the fortune to also encounter a lot of toads on the rocks! This baby was at most 1/3 the size of my pinky. So kawaii!

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Location

Tampines Industrial Avenue 2 (red star for entrance). Drivers can park illegally along the road and its best to access via Tampines Avenue 10.

Singapore's Presidential Election (2011)

Today, my family received the polling cards in the mailbox for the upcoming presidential election; making it the second nationwide election we are going to have this year!

To many fellow Singaporeans, it's the first time we have four strong competitors vying for the best job in the lion city!

You don't believe it? Click to enlarge the comic strip.

Having said that, do remember that as Singaporeans, we have a vested interest in the future (and reserves) of our country.

I am definitely going to cast my vote carefully; it will be given to the person who really cares for Singapore, is not afraid to guard our reserves (for the benefit of Singapore and not political party) and most importantly, think for Singaporeans.

I have made my choice.

Have you?

Green Bean Soup (绿豆汤) for the Hot Hot Weather!

The weather has been so unbearably warm in recent months that i find it insane not to switch on the air conditioning every night! Sorry eco lovers but my body has accumulated a thick layer of fats that seems to trap all the heat without any mercy.

Thankfully, mommies always have ready remedy for such unfortunate ailment; green bean soup.

Served either hot from the pot or cold from the fridge, green bean (also known as green mung bean) soup is well know within the Chinese population to have a cooling effect on the body and is a very popular liquid dessert in the hot summer.

What's best is the addition of honey-sweet potatoes! For someone who drinks green bean soup with minimal green beans (i know that's funny but i find the beans to have a detestable bitterness to them), this is a great bonus!

If you thought this huge pot of green bean soup can feed at least 10 persons, you are so, so wrong. My younger sister easily cleaned up more than half the pot even though it was especially brewed for me!!

Korean Walnut (호두) Cake @ Carrefour (Suntec City), Singapore

While searching for kimchi (김치) at the Korean food section in Carrefour, i caught a whiff of aroma that was more alluring than the typical bakery.

My sensitive doggy nose sourced out the nearby originator; a stall selling Korean walnut cakes! I love walnuts; especially on brownies and since it was conveniently 6pm (dinner time), it was hard to resist not buying a bag.

At S$3.50 for 8 pieces with fillings (white bean, red bean and custard), the price was pretty reasonable. Reasonable is subjective - due to the monetary tightening policy adopted recently, i realised (much later) that S$3.50 could also buy me a packet of plain bee hoon for breakfast for 3 days .

But i paid for visual satisfaction! Compare a plate of mud-coloured beehoon with cakes that were made to look realistically like walnuts!

Besides the likeness, each walnut cake contained a piece of 'real' hidden walnut that could only be found in between small bites. Under the companion of cold air-conditioning at Suntec, it was a joy to hold a piece of this freshly baked cake in your hands and feel the warmth dissipate down the throat.

*note: not to be taken under the hot sun*

Hummerstons (Montreal Poutine, Prawn Pavoratti, Hummerstons Burger, Smoked Duck Quesadilla) @ Robertson Walk (Clarke Quay), Singapore

"I live to eat"

A statement that should not appear surprising for people who really know me.

Having said that, i really don't have the financial means to try anything i want even though eating takes up a big, sizeable proportion of my monthly pay.

That when i have to thank Korny for his extensive research on good food (seriously, he is the man) and also for offering to pay every time! Damn, i feel embarrassed sometimes! Haha.

Anyway, for Kon's birthday, we visited Hummerstons - a food joint that started its operation for only a few months and yet has managed to gain quite a following.

Papaya and Tofu Shake

Tofu in drinks? Not exactly something i will order if i am given the choice. However, for foodie Kon and bitchy Alex, novelty seems to be their aim.

It tasted weird - the healthy tofu sensation was overpowering although it did give a hint of a somewhat tamer (note: less sweet) papaya soybean milkshake from Mr Bean

Banana and Coffee Shake

This was no better - tasted distinctly separated from one another even though it was a thorough mix.

The banana flavour was obvious in the first suck (of the straw that is) but what i detest most was the bitter aftertaste of coffee.

Montreal Poutine

Described as a homestyle potato and gravy combination, this is in fact the best example of mixed fries!

 

A mish-mash of ingredients that include my favourite roasted mushrooms, i have never had such orgasmic savoury enjoyment with natural hand-cut potatoes.

 

Prawn Pavoratti

Cute bow-tie pastas with huge ass egg battered prawns to beat.

Though it was a nice dish, i personally thought i could have a better meal with the high price of S$35 it commanded.

 

Hummerstons Burger

I am still looking for the burger that could top De Burg Decadence.

This Hummerstons burger is almost on the same wavelength as DB burger with only one major difference. The salty and almost rock-hard bacon was a stumbling block to fully enjoy it.

On its own, the warm burger bun had a well received saccharine flavour whereas the beef patty was decently juicy (expected since the doneness was medium).

Nothing's lost yet. This orange colour dip for the accompanying hand-cut potato fries won the hearts of both Kon and myself! It seemed to be a union of tomato sauce, mayo and maybe a pinch of wasabi! *i realised later that this is actually a chilli-tomato aioli (garlic mayo)*

Smoked Duck Quesadilla

The first-look impression was not impressive. Countable pieces of duck breast meat hidden within four tortillas definitely would not relate well to a meat person like myself.

With the above in mind, i was caught by surprise when i took a bite! The velvety soft tortilla was delicious with a spread of delectable pesto. There's a hint of fruity sweetness that added to the delicious factor.

Since ratty Alex is well known to take only nibblers, i grabbed his share (with little resistance) to further research the reason for such sweetness.

That's it! Slices of roasted pears! Yummy!

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Location

11 Unity Street,

#02-14, Robertson Walk

(Near Mohamed Sultan Road)

Reservation

For reservation, call 63738863

Price

Papaya and Tofu Shake - S$7.50

Banana and Coffee Shake - S$6.50

Montreal Poutine - S$19.00

Prawn Pavoratti - S$35.00

Hummerstons Burger - S$24.00

Smoked Duck Quesadilla - S$26.00

Subject to GST and Service Charge

Additional Information

Alfresco area is available for those crazy patrons who prefer to stay outdoors in this hot weather! Cavin and his companions shall relax in the cozy indoors with cool air-conditioning.