Fragility of Life

I always hear people say, life is fragile. Appreciate what you have around you. It never came across my mind til recently where one of my relatives passed away due to a road accident. It was totally unexpected and a sudden death, kept us thinking how surreal this is. No symptoms, no last words, no signs, nothing and they can just go off like that. So love those who are around you, you will never know when it is too late and live the day as if it is your last. Difficult but you will live with no regrets.

Ministry of Food (MOF) - My Izakaya @ Bugis Junction, Singapore

Chanced upon this outlet during one of the walks around Bugis Junction. I have tried MOF in Malaysia before but that outlet only serves dessert and some light sandwiches. No full Japanese fare. The MOF here in Singapore actually serves full Japanese meals including desserts! I have always heard about how good Japanese food is in Singapore compared to Malaysia and took this opportunity to try it out myself.

MOF from Downstairs

We arrived there pretty early, before 7pm and the place is already nearly full. So do try to come early so that you get a place. Noticed something cute, they actually have a menu underneath each seating area.

The Interior

The green tea that they serve is kept in a pot and constantly heated by tea lights.

Green Tea

The tofu avocado salad tastes excellent. Delicious cubes of tofu, avocado, tomatoes, crispy roasted almond slices and an excellent light wasabe-mayo dressing which is out of this world. One of the better salads I have ever tried.

Tofu Avocado Salad

The Unagi with Rice was excellent. The fish is fresh and well marinated. Rice was just nice and warm.

Unagi with Rice

The Udon Set comes with a small bowl of Udon in Soup, five Sashimi pieces and tempura. The sashimi pieces are really fresh. Tempura pieces were just alright. Udon with broth tasted nice and feels like comfort food.

Tempura Udon Set

After the meal, they actually gave us a complimentary coffee voucher. You can actually redeem it on the spot. The coffee, just mediocre.

Complimentary Coffee

Definitely a great experience here. If I have the chance, I would come here again to try their onigiri :)

The Coffee Connoisseur @ Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore

I have always liked hanging out at nice and comfortable coffee places. Staying along Bencoleen Street during my short training stint, conveniently there was a TCC about 5 minutes away. I have had my share of Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Gloria Jeans back in KL. However, we do not have TCC in Malaysia.

The Ambiance

One of the Interior Deco - A Coffee Maker!


Lights - It looks like a glass turned over

Nice Wall Art

Artistic Sculpture

I have been there twice during my weeklong stay. Once for breakfast and another time for supper. For breakfast, I had the American Breakfast Scrambled Eggs Set that includes a cup of coffee and orange juice. The tomatoes that came with the set was really delicious. It does not taste sour, in fact it tastes sweet! We were given a piece of toast, sausage, a small side salad lightly dressed, a piece of ham and scrambled eggs.

The Scrambled Eggs Breakfast Set

Orange Juice

Feeling a bit peckish at night, we decided to go for cake and coffee. Decided upon Mont Blanc. Sounds exotic eh? Well it's actually chestnut cake. There were chestnut pieces embedded in the cake and a whole chestnut in the inside center of the cake. Basically, it has a lot of chestnut cream as well and I find it on the overwhelming side. Too sweet for my tastebuds.

Mont Blanc

The coffee is a little bitter to my taste. Apparently, this is the case for coffees in Singapore (according to someone who has been staying there for years). The ambiance is excellent. It is not crowded and have interesting art pieces to gawk at. One section in fact, had bean bags strewn all over for you to get cosy with and wooden flooring.

For KLites who ever go over to Singapore, instead of going for the usual Starbucks, do give this a try!

McDonalds' McGriddle @ Singapore

A breakfast sandwich from McDonald's, McGriddles are pretty tasty. It is not available in Malaysia yet - it took quite a while for the Hot Cakes to come. Based on the link of McGriddle, the sandwich apparently packs a lot of calories. Yikes! However, it is also tasty as the pancake that sandwiches the meat patty is really warm, light and fluffy. Comparable to pancakes but fluffier! On it, a big trademark M is embossed on the top patty.

McGriddle with Sausage and Egg!

How I wish this would be available in Malaysia! It would be a great addition to the current breakfast menu.

Ibis Hotel @ Bencoolen Singapore

The hotel chain, Ibis recently opened a hotel in the commercial district of Singapore. The lobby looks pretty nice. Cosy red couches dots the lobby with gleaming tiled floors. Basically the interior colours are red, black and white and lines are modern. Ibis is actually a budget, no frills hotel.

Reception Area

Lobby

I tried the hotel restaurant, Taste's breakfast buffet. It is definitely not worth the SGD$15. They have the common selection of cereal, bread, crossaints, fried noodles, scrambled eggs, porridge, chicken sausage, bacon and an assortment of fresh fruit. The taste is just so-so. The bacon is soft and not fried properly. The only thing I like is the chicken sausage and soya milk.

Towards the Restaurant

Taste

The rooms are pretty small but very clean. The furnishing are pretty minimalistic. There are two things that I find missing. That is toothbrush and tooth paste. They are being sold by the hotel for SGD$2.50 for both. No slippers too! I like the peach shower gel that they provide in the bathrooms.

LCD Flat Screen

Bathroom

The Queen Bed

All in all, it's a pretty decent hotel (not sleazy and clean). No frills for a lower rate but not exactly that low. It's very convenient as it is just right in front of the bus stop. Plenty of eateries (a lot of vegetarian restaurants too) nearby as well as convenience stores.The MRT is about 10-15 minutes walk and Bugis is also about that time. Good location! And they provide free complimentary WIFI or LAN access internet. However, connections tend to be slow at night around like 830-1030 maybe due to more users during that time.

Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Rice @ Damansara Jaya

Choong Kee Store Front

I will write about my favourite claypot chicken rice place at Damansara Jaya. It used to be at the Koon Kee coffee shop but they moved to their own shop about 10 shops away from its previous location. Prices are a little more expensive (about RM1-2) compared to last time but the place is pretty cooling and not as stuffy as before.

Ordered the double boiled chicken and peanut soup (RM5). Looks plain heh? Scroll lower

Double Boiled Chicken and Peanut Soup

It's full of ingredients! Chicken feet, pieces of pork, peanuts, oysters and red dates. Was really flavourful. The meat pieces are really cooked til tender. So are the peanuts. Thumbs up!

Chockful of Ingredients

Claypot chicken rice (RM7 for small, RM13 for big) is one of the best I ever eaten. You can opt to add in Chinese waxed sausages and/or salted fish for Rm0.50 each. The chicken rice is really fragrant and delicious. The chicken pieces are very well marinated and tasty.

Infamous Claypot Chicken Rice

Soup Menu

They do serve vegetables too. It can get a little pack at night. So do come earlier to get your own table. Or if you want to takeaway, just give them a call and all you have to do is pick it up.

Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Rice
No 80 Jalan SS22/25,
Damansara Jaya,
47800 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Tel: 017-871 7739

Singapore and Malaysia

I am a Malaysian and I have been staying Singapore for the past few days for training. I know, I know. It is too short for me to say anything but I will just comment about things that I noticed. Just my simple analysis.

Differences between Malaysians and Singaporeans.

1. Cleanliness
Yes Singapore is cleaner. It is true that Malaysia is dirty but only in certain areas.

2. Arrogance
It is true some Singaporeans are pretty arrogant and not really friendly. But they do have their own fair share of nice
and friendly people as well. Just like in Malaysia, we have our own share of friendly and arrogant people.

3. Mandarin
Here anyone who opens their mouth to speak to you and you are chinese, automatically they will speak to you in
Mandarin.

4. English
Singaporeans generally think that the Malaysians are not very fluent in English. Well that's not the case. However,
I do find practically all Singaporeans have good English though. From the hawker selling food to professionals, they
can speak good English.

5. Exercise
Singaporeans do walk so much more than Malaysian and they take alot of public transportations. No wonder the
girls in Singapore have nice legs :p

6. Shopping Malls
Malaysian shopping malls are better organized and not so confucing. Singaporean malls tend to be like a maze,
full of corridors and pretty narrow at times. Maybe due to scarce land their design tends to be like that.

7. Japanese Food
Japanese food here is so much better compared to what we have in Malaysia. Plus, it is more affordable for their
fellow Singaporeans due to the strong exchange rate. The fish and ingredients really fresh because Singapore is an international import/export hub. Thus, fresh seafood is more easily accessible.

8. There is definitely a higher number of foreign people in Singapore. Mostly western foreigners or chinese nationals. Malaysia too have a lot of foreigners but from Indonesia. :p