• Food,  Happenings

    Sunday Morning and Rider’s Cafe

    October 8, 2017

    I decided one day that Sunday mornings will be spent actively. This is mainly due to my Garmin telling me that Sunday is the day which I had the least number of steps.

    So the first Sunday morning we went to climb Bukit Timah Hill. I read that the car park is usually full due to the limited number of lots and decided to reach there by 7am, the time it is opened.

    There were already many others when we reached. The climb was not that difficult, only the initial part was steep. Taking the easy route, it was around 1.1km up.

     

    We had to take it slower on the way down due to the steep decline. Then we went to Rider’s Cafe nearby, where we made a reservation, for breakfast.

    Rider’s Cafe is situated at the Bukit Timah Saddle Club, just behind the old Turf Club. The environment was serene. It felt like we were no longer in Singapore. The air was fresh, with just a whiff of horse’s urine. Horses were being led by their owners around the area. We managed to get a seat at the balcony so we could see horses being groomed as we had our breakfast.

    The food was average but the coffee was really good. The price was average for the food portion. We will definitely go back again just for the tranquility and the horses.

    Hope this will become a weekly thing.

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  • Food,  Ramblings

    Food Blog

    September 28, 2016

    I have always wanted to blog about food especially since I love to eat. I think the posts will be filled with photos taken on my mobile phone and my honest opinion. Also, if I ever get a lot of hits, I will not accept paid posts. That is if I ever. I think I am just too lazy to be consistent.

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  • Food

    Chan Kong Thye Black Vinegar

    December 30, 2011

    I had this craving for a bowl of good pig trotters in black vinegar for a long time. It is usually prepared for women who had just given birth, and therefore, rarely found in restaurants.

    The dish itself is meant to help women to cleanse the body of blood clots and remove wind after giving birth. It is consider a very ‘heaty’ dish, and is meant to nourish the body back to perfect health. Due to the black vinegar used as the base and sesame oil added, the dish has a very nice smell to it.

    I decided to try cooking it since it was difficult to find it in restaurants. Now since the black vinegar is used as the base, it is very important to get good quality black vinegar. The best black vinegar that I know of, is the Chan Kong Thye Black Vinegar.

    Photo 29-12-11 12 25 46 PM

    I remember many years ago, Chan Kong Thye had a shop in the old shophouses of Chinatown. Back then, they had huge earthen pots where they made the black vinegar, and soya sauces which are then bottled and sold in the shop. The smell coming from the shop was fabulous, at least to me. Now the problem is hunting for a bottle of this black rice vinegar.

    Starting with Giant supermarket, I searched for it in vain, before going to, in the span of 3 days, a few NTUCs and Cold Storages. In the end, after googling for it on the web, I found this minimart selling it in Serangoon Central. I proceed to empty their stock of 4 bottles.

    Looking at the address on the label of the black vinegar (incidentally, it is a very old label, as the telephone number listed does not begin with a ‘6’), I discovered that the factory is now at the following address:

    Blk 15, Woodlands Loop, #03-33/34

    I drove there and purchased a bottle of their finest dark soya sauce too. Only their dark soya sauce is not salty and comes with an exquisite taste.

    Photo 29-12-11 3 04 48 PM

    Looking at their factory, it seems like they have decided to distribute their products to restaurants, eateries etc instead. No wonder it took me 3 days to hunt for their black vinegar.

    I then went back home and started cooking the dish, replacing the pig trotters with pork shoulders instead. After leaving it overnight, I finally sampled the result.

    Photo 30-12-11 6 08 35 PM (HDR)

    Was the taste worth it? I can only say, YES!

    *The recipe for this dish is easily available on the Internet. One word of caution, always use an earthen pot to cook this dish, as the vinegar tends to ‘react’ with metal pots.

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  • Ramblings

    Brunch@PS. Cafe

    September 12, 2010

    Took advantage of the long weekend to have brunch in PS. Cafe at Palais. The decor was really good, though it was noisy, something that cannot be helped considering how popular the place is, and the long weekend. Service was exemplary.

    Food was absolutely fantastic, the portions were really huge. I had the Eggs Benedict, and it was one of the best that I had tasted.

    Though brunch was interrupted by phone call. Twice.

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  • Ramblings

    The Omnivore’s 100

    August 31, 2008

    From mei.

    Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

    Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

    Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

    1. Venison
    2. Nettle tea
    3. Huevos rancheros
    4. Steak tartare
    5. Crocodile
    6. Black pudding
    7. Cheese fondue
    8. Carp
    9. Borscht
    10. Baba ghanoush
    11. Calamari
    12. Pho
    13. PB&J sandwich
    14. Aloo gobi – maybe
    15. Hot dog from a street cart
    16. Epoisses
    17. Black truffle
    18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
    19. Steamed pork buns
    20. Pistachio ice cream
    21. Heirloom tomatoes
    22. Fresh wild berries
    23. Foie gras
    24. Rice and beans
    25. Brawn, or head cheese
    26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
    27. Dulce de leche
    28. Oysters
    29. Baklava
    30. Bagna cauda
    31. Wasabi peas
    32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
    33. Salted lassi
    34. Sauerkraut
    35. Root beer float
    36. Cognac with a fat cigar
    37. Clotted cream tea
    38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
    39. Gumbo
    40. Oxtail
    41. Curried goat
    42. Whole insects
    43. Phaal
    44. Goat’s milk
    45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth US$120 or more
    46. Fugu
    47. Chicken tikka masala
    48. Eel
    49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
    50. Sea urchin
    51. Prickly pear
    52. Umeboshi
    53. Abalone
    54. Paneer
    55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
    56. Spaetzle
    57. Dirty gin martini
    58. Beer above 8% ABV
    59. Poutine
    60. Carob chips
    61. S’mores
    62. Sweetbreads
    63. Kaolin
    64. Currywurst
    65. Durian
    66. Frogs’ legs
    67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
    68. Haggis
    69. Fried plantain
    70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
    71. Gazpacho
    72. Caviar and blini
    73. Louche absinthe
    74. Gjetost, or brunost
    75. Roadkill
    76. Baijiu
    77. Hostess Fruit Pie
    78. Snail
    79. Lapsang souchong
    80. Bellini
    81. Tom yum
    82. Eggs Benedict
    83. Pocky
    84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
    85. Kobe beef
    86. Hare
    87. Goulash
    88. Flowers
    89. Horse
    90. Criollo chocolate
    91. Spam
    92. Soft shell crab
    93. Rose harissa
    94. Catfish
    95. Mole poblano
    96. Bagel and lox
    97. Lobster Thermidor
    98. Polenta
    99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
    100. Snake

    I so need to go out and try the rest.

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