Longest queue in Chinatown?

 

So everyone was busy with work that day with meetings with very important people that day. I wasn't really involved with that kinda meetings so I decided to head out for lunch on my own and packeting some stuff for two of them. Left for lunch kinda early so I thought I should go and try my luck with the famous Yong Tau Fu over at People's Park food center. Why did I say that I'd try my luck? Well...

 

 

Despite the uber long queue, everyday, everytime, the uncles and aunties who take your order are really good at keeping up with the crowd. I don't know how they do it but they seem to be able to find you even if you sit amongst a table of people wearing similar stuff. Well trained, they are!

 

For 4 bucks, you get a pretty good mix of different yong tau fu pieces. The items are predetermined but I guess you can always ask for "no this" or "no that", not sure why you'd do that BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL SO AWESOME!

 

Do note that this is the popular yong tau fu stall that doesn't serve you noodles (I believe there is another one at the other end of the hawker center that does so, equally famous/legacy). No, they don't have an "option" for noodles to be added, and I guess I can understand why. So much more effort could be put into make these awesome blend of tofu, minced meat and fairy dust! Plus, it keeps the line moving fast so you don't have to stand in line for too long! If you die die must have your staple, then I suggest grabbing a Chinese mantou from the stalls just outside.

 

Aside from the smooth yong tau fu pieces, one thing that I believe everyone would agree with me that sets this stall apart from others would be the clear soup base they serve the stuff with. It's very light, refreshing to drink and doesn't hint of MSG spammage! I'd ask for seconds but I'm actually full from that bowl alone :) MUST TRY!

It's located by the end of People's Park Food Center. You can't miss it. Just turn right after you enter from the front.

The Chicken Noodle War (Part 1)

One whole chicken for a part of 5!

Friday was a killer for myself. I could almost feel my brain imploding on itself after churning out ideas after ideas that don't seem to work well enough for various reasons. To keep the engine running, we headed out to fuel the brains with some soy chicken noodle.

 

There were 5 of us, so we were able to order more stuff to try out! At least, that was what we thought when we headed there. The guy basically said "don't worry, I'll mix and match for you" and headed off. Disappointingly all he came to us with was a whole chicken and a bowl of dumpling soup :\ Not that they weren't nice (I'll get to that part later) but we were hoping for some chicken gizzards, livers and stuff! Bah!

 

MEAT!!!

Eitherwho, we tucked in! The specialty soy sauce that coats the roasted chicken was good! Fragrant and complimented the chicken really well. The chicken was well prepared, the meat on the drumstick easily slides off with a drag of your mouth :)

 



Picture doesn't do justice but heck la!

As for the soup, pretty much everyone around the table enjoyed it! Despite that visible layer of oil floating above it all, the soup was pretty light and easy to drink. The dumplings in it had a nice bite and also had bits of crunchy veg (I think it was diced chestnuts?) to keep the you from getting bored of pieces of chicken after another.

One thing I didn't like about the meal was the fact that it was so damn noisy! Gossipy OL types just kept yelling away in that tight spice of a 2nd floor that I simply felt the need to shut up and quickly finish my meal so that I could head elsewhere. Moral of the story? Don't go upstairs, it's friggin noisy!

All in all, good food, bad indoor environment.

Chiew Kee Chicken Noodle House 32 Upper Cross Street 8am-7pm

A Blue Sky To Welcome Me Home

Blue Skies by Bruce Lim on 500px

Costa rica comida en un hawker centro

With the new generation of hawkers joining the ranks, more and more offerings are being made available at affordable prices! First you have "Atas" western food,  then came stalls selling only pastries and muffins followed by even more! All without actually having to burn a hole in your pocket :)

So I recently headed over to Amoy Street food center for lunch to grab some salads and noticed a colorful stall just on the other side.

I looked in and noticed that the lady looked like she's from there, so based on that alone I was at least 90% sure that it'll be authentic (I know it's wrong to judge that way, heck, I still go to the awesome Japanese stall prepared by a mainland Chinese guy).

Very next day, we headed over again to try it out! Strangely, there was a queue that didn't exist before... Bummer...

Prices range from $5.50 to $7.90. But they have daily specials where selected items would go for just $5. Pretty darn good deal if you ask me. BUT! I didn't go for the $5 thingy. Instead, I went with a $6.90 beef burrito~

 

Corn, cabbage/lettuce, cheese, stuff and that delicious beef and onion stir fry thingy... OH MAN! No doubt, it was a messy affair and I could still smell the aroma in my hands once I'm done with it! Portion was just nice and didn't leave my hungry for the rest of the afternoon until dinner time. The dishes also come with sides of rice and potato salad so you're quite well taken care of on the carbo side. It was packing a little less heat that I was hoping for, even after I had asked for the "extra spicy" option (you could go for little spicy or not spicy). Maybe I'll try asking for even more heat the next time I go.

Good stuff! I recommend this! Here's the address:

#01-50, Amoy Street Food Centre, 7 Maxwell Road                            

X-pensive Sha Gua Ji

Dramatic Skies by Bruce Lim on 500px

So I've recently gotten my hands on the Fuji X100s and I have to say, I'M LOVING IT! Everything about it just feels right, the handling, the way the pictures turn out, how silent that little boy is (I literally look a photo of someone from right behind him... twice!). It's been a joy playing around with the camera, my only regret is not being good enough for it...

Bonding Ride by Bruce Lim on 500px

Nevertheless, I did bring it everywhere I went should a good shot pop up. It's so light and small that I won't have to think twice about bringing it around! The quick startup doesn't hurt too!

Big Business by Bruce Lim on 500px

It's a very different situation from shot to shot. Sometimes, I'd like to get better skin tones, sometimes I'd want a more vibrant color for the skies. Film simulations in the camera work so well that I'd normally just take the JPEGs out instead. That said, there are times when I'd already taken the shot, so all I had to do was go into raw conversion in camera to process a different JPEG out of the camera, takes some time, but definitely beats taking a second shot.

Color of Autumn? by Bruce Lim on 500px

I'm a little bummed by the fact that the RAW conversion software provided in the CD doesn't support those gorgeous film simulations, though. Oh wells... I'll just snap away either ways! Anyone up for a simple walkabout shoot?

Audio Amplifying Earphones