time, slow down please.

At times, I find myself feeling like a helpless parent running after my hyperactive toddler and worrying about not being able to keep up with their pace. The little 'toddler' mentioned happens to be Time in my case (for now). In a blink, the September break is nearly over. Despite the slightly traumatic diarrhea + vomiting episode that landed me on a hospital bed with an IV-drip for close to 3 hours at Tan Tock Seng, I've been having such a great time taking things real slow for the past week; catching up with friends, markings, doing laundry, tidying up the room and spending time with ST. It's been amazing but sadly (we're so close to the end of the year so it's actually not that bad la huh), work's starting again tomorrow.

During this one week, I've had the pleasure of eating some worthy calories so I'm just going to share them in here. I am no connoisseur (thank you Chrome's spell-check) and ST says that I can a little pushy sometimes (not the exact words used but something along that line) when it comes to recommendations so please take my words with a pinch of salt and sugar.

Meng Kee Char Kway Teow from Beo Crescent

This is the second visit after my colleague introduced it to me. I really love the crunchy and sinful bits of pork lard (both big and small pieces) that the lady stall-holder uses to fry the CKT with, not to mention the very aromatic (chao-ta) wok-hei. The noodles were generously coated with sweet, dark soya sauce and she was really generous with the cockles too (I ordered the $5 portion to share). If you do not request for the non-spicy version, this plate of CKT can pack quite a fiery punch; evident in the beads of perspiration that formed along ST's forehead. Much as I was happily slurping up the CKT, my lunch/dinner date did not seem to enjoy it as much as I did. I hope he will someday though, with the non-spicy version!

Turkish Eggs ($8) from Penny University

Ended up here on Teachers/Teachers' Day (w.e.f. 2013, it'll now be on the first Friday of September) with some colleagues after a failed attempt to train for an upcoming run at ECP. The place was bustling with diners at 10 a.m. (another customer told us that it's been that crowded since she was at the place at 9); with barely enough room for us to wait around for a table comfortably without getting in the way of the busy servers - we managed to end up at 3 separate tables (6 of us in total) after a slightly agonizing (I exaggerate) wait of 20-30 minutes but were re-seated together again after a group of 6 were done at the longer 'communal' table. 

I ordered an order of the Turkish Eggs; which was basically two poached eggs swimming in a tangy concoction of whipped yoghurt, spicy sauce, smoked chicken (+$1.50) oregano leaves and served with a slice of toasted and chopped-up sourdough bread. This would be something for people with slightly more adventurous taste buds as the sourish blend of yoghurt and runny yolk requires some getting used to. I thought the plain yoghurt was somewhat reminiscent of hollandaise sauce but then again the latter is usually much buttery/creamier and almost never that tangy. I'm glad that I ordered it because I was really curious about its taste, but I think I'll probably be getting something else for brunch the next time round. Anyhow, while we were 'loitering' and waiting for available tables, I spotted some Windowsill pies at the counter; the Grasshopper pies looked fantastic behind the glass display and the coffee (le usual capp) packed quite a robust punch too (opted for an orange-chocolate blend instead of the usual house blend).

Not-so-humble eggs ($6) from The Humble Loaf

Had this on the same day as the Turkish Eggs; imagine my delight (they didn't see it but I was squealing with excitement inside) when one of my darling colleagues invited us to sing karaoke at Teo Heng after brunch at Penny University. Found at the slightly cramped basement of Katong Shopping Centre (couldn't help but be reminded of the film, Ilo Ilo the whole time because of the numerous domestic helper agencies found there), the first thought that struck me first was "What a tiny space!" Having just had 2 poached eggs hours ago, I was slightly fearful of tipping my daily 'cholesterol scale' if I had another 2 more eggs but I went ahead anyway (after my kind colleague offered to share).

Taste aside, I really love the cheeky name of this side. What is it that makes it not so humble? I'm guessing it should be the ham. Apart from the Serrano ham, it is made up of the humblest of ingredients; 2 comforting soft-poached eggs, bits of tangy pickled celery, thin olive slices, lots of chives/spring onions (can't tell the 2 apart sometimes) and generous black pepper seasoning. I hesitated initially when I read "pickled celery" and saw the generous chives/spring onion (I have a strong distaste for raw spring onions) sprinkled on top because those are usually food items that I steer clear of but I'm glad I went ahead to take a slurp. Apart from adding a nice crunch to the dish, I couldn't taste the sharp taste of the abhorred celery (pickling does wonders, it seems) and there was no nasty 'oniony' taste from the suspicious-looking chives/spring onions so I'm guessing they used chives. The ham shavings lent an even more savory touch to the already-savory runny eggs and since I'm someone who usually goes for stronger flavours, this was a Yay. Definitely the kind of dish you'd want to be sopping wholesome bread with.

Apart from these eggs, we also had a go at the hazelnut-based meringue (tastes better when paired with a nice cup of kopi; it balances out the sweetness imo as some of my other companions who did not order beverages found it slightly saccharine), raspberry pound cake ($2.50) and financier. The pound cake was fluffy and easily one of the nicest pound cakes I've ever had while the financier was moist, strangely addictive and irresistibly priced at $1.50 a piece.

And until the next time work allows for another food rave and rant, that'll be it for now.