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.

Henry, temporary.

Being a closet stickler for ulu places, I had to visit after learning that this cafe had only been set up a few months ago but will only be around till next February. The building where it's located is set to be enbloc-ed for future redevelopment, so most of the other tenants have already vacated the premise. Apart from the handful of residents who have yet to move out from their homes, and just a couple of other operating shops, it was very much void of the usual buzz found elsewhere on our island...

which is exactly what I love about such places.

However, despite the seemingly deserted exterior, it would take only a second to realize that business was rather brisk upon entering the cafe. It's not a big place (at all); all indoor and outdoor (pet-friendly) tables were taken up so we ended up at the bar counter until some other patrons left. 

The folks who were working diligently behind the bar counter to serve us the yummy offerings were really approachable and friendly; the lovely fair lady wasted no time in explaining the difference between black and white coffees when I inquired.

I ordered a cappucino and it came with a cute little morsel of a home-made (I'm assuming here) chocolate cookie; a lovely touch. And while the coffee's been highly-raved, I found it somewhat unpalatable to my unseasoned taste-buds. I thought it tasted a little tangy and ended on a sharp but bitter (is that possible?) note; not a finish that I particularly enjoy. Anyway, I shall try the other variations if I ever drop by again soon; I'm sure my taste-buds will not have too much difficulty finding something they enjoy.

To fill our tummies, we had the Flourless Chocolate Cake, Nutella Banana Panini and a serving of some Savoury Scones.

flourless choc cake - I like how the top-crust cracked and the slice crumbled when we stuck our forks in, its dense texture and the satisfyingly rich chocolatey taste. For cheapskates like me who refuse to pay for another slice, the only gripe we would have is... why so small slice? :(

Okay, just kidding - I really wanted to try something else instead.

nutella banana panini - This homely and comforting combination can hardly (if ever) go wrong. It was a sweet treat that was well-worth the calories; long slices of banana and gooey nutella sandwiched between the warm and toasty chewy bread. Oh and did I mention that they were awfully generous with the nutella spread? We had trouble keeping the nutella from oozing out of the edges of the panini, only to form tiny 'wasted' blobs on the plate - but knowing the glutton that is me, of course no nutella was 'wasted' in the process of devouring this tasty treat.

We had some savoury scones (cheesy and 'chivey') too. Baked-to-order, the crumbly insides of the scones were piping hot when served. Quite a pity that the serving size was rather tiny though. 

The minimalistic set-up of the temporary space consisted of simple plywood bar-tops, naked incandescent bulbs dangling from the ceiling, lovely radio music (YES), and a range of tasteful magazines for customers' reading pleasure. The crowd ranged variedly from families (inclusive of aunties, uncles, fathers and mothers - who'd have thunk they're into such places too) to dating and married couples, bffs, etc.

That afternoon, we talked about how it was possible to understand "the feeling of having one's balls shrunken" (without needing any) as we looked at mind-blowing photographs of people balancing on trapezes high up in the foggy mountains, and learnt that both the atomic bomb and Comic Sans are considered to be in the Top-10 list of Worst Inventions - at least according to a particular magazine.
Oh, and I also managed to my Science scripts marked. Talk about productivity!