Hweecat meow.
Thanks everyone for reading Cat's post on our first date anniversary! Do support our posts as we keep you guys updated with our cat-ventures. (:
Today's post will be slightly different from my typical posts whereby the focus is on food. Let's just say...it's more about the exploration.
It started out as a typical Saturday whereby Cat and I bought some snacks at Paya Lebar to chomp on during Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) sessions. Alas, our Dungeons Master was unable to run the session! Hence, I decided to drag Cat along for a long afternoon walk from Dakota to Stadium MRT station.
Our plans were disrupted by a violent thunderstorm when we arrived at Dakota MRT, so we ended up taking refuge at Old Airport Road Hawker Centre while the thunders raged. It wasn't a total waste of time though; we stumbled upon Geylang Lor 20 Banana Fritters which sells really sweet and crispy-yet-not-oily Goreng Pisang made with Pisang Raja (King of Bananas)! No photos of these small deep-fried delights, so here's a photo of the stall from ieatishootipost. Note that it costs $1.30 per big Goreng Pisang, and it's best eaten fresh. (:
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| Photo Credits: ieatishootipost |
Thankfully, the thunderstorm ended soon after and we continued with our afternoon walk.
Our next stop is at Dakota Crescent, one of Singapore's oldest public housing estates. Built in 1958 by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) (HDB's predecessor), the estate was named after the aircraft model Douglas DC-3 Dakota that often landed at Kallang Airport, which was Singapore's first civilian airport. Dakota Crescent consists of 17 blocks of white low-rise flats which are less than 10 storeys tall. Unlike its more popular SIT cousin Tiong Bahru, which has undergone gentrification and is now a hipster enclave and café hotspot, Dakota Crescent is a quaint backwater which seemed almost entirely untouched for more than 50 years.
When we stepped out of Mountbatten MRT station, we were greeted with colourful Renaissance-like balconies which look oddly picturesque in contrast with the white walls.
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| Colourful balconies - Singaporean style |
We saw community cats - loads of them. Some of them like lounging around on chairs.
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| Cat boss of the chairs |
Some of them prefer frolicking under staircases.
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| "Meow." |
We found a bird taking refuge at a ground-level balcony which looked like a blast from the past.
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| "Chirp chirp." |
We walked along Dakota Crescent and spotted a cafe at one end of the row of shops, near a TCM clinic. Tian Kee & Co. used to be an old-school provision shop, until the previous owners retired and the current owners turned it into a cafe. The current owners of Tian Kee & Co. kept several artifacts from the old provision shop - the signboard of the provision shop remains, as well as the 20-cent kiddy ride outside.
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| Tian Kee & Co. |
Tian Kee & Co. retains a rustic charm that is difficult to find nowadays in 21st-century Singapore. Rusted-out black-and-white sign which says something along the lines of "no sale of cigarette and alcohol to persons aged under 18"? Check. Green wooden stools? Check. The ubiquitous orange Bonjour bread shelf that we 90's kids see in old-school provision shops? Check.
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| Pensive Cat |
At this point in time, we were getting a little thirsty and craving for some food. The cakes had interesting names and looked so mouth-watering; we had a hard time deciding on what to order!
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| Instagram-worthy Rainbow Cheesecake! |
We like the pastel colours of the Rainbow Cheesecake (S$7.50), which reminds us of Rainbow Paddle Pop which is popular among 90's kids. The texture of the cheesecake is not too dense or overwhelming; rather, it has a jelly-like texture which is closer to a yogurt cheesecake than a typical cheesecake. The crust is thin, crispy yet not too dry, which is ideal for my palette. Cat usually does not like cheesecake, but he enjoyed this Rainbow Cheesecake beyond the last crumb. (:
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| Root Beer Floats for 2 |
We noticed that the cafe was having a 2-for-S$8 root beer float promotion, hence we decided to give these root beer floats a try. Based on the recommendation of a young female waiting staff, we had our root beers topped with coconut ice cream and lychee ice cream respectively. It's probably the best root beer floats we had so far - the ice cream complemented the taste of the root beer such that we could discern the sweetness of the drink. Cat usually finishes his drinks in double-quick time; he made an exception for this root beer float, slowly sipping and savouring the sweetness of the root beer float.
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| Half Breakfast Set |
Tian Kee & Co. also serves all-day breakfast sets. As we had eaten earlier, we ordered a Half Breakfast Set (S$7.90) to share. The Half Breakfast set comes with scrambled eggs, two pieces of evenly-toasted bread, butter and salad. The scrambled eggs are fluffy yet not too airy and overcooked. Truffle oil, which is used to season the scrambled eggs, accentuated the rich natural egg flavour and elevated the status of these scrambled eggs to egg nirvana. In Cat's words, "These people really know how to cook!"
While chilling out at Tian Kee & Co., we noticed that the people who visit the cafe are mostly casually-dressed young adults decked in slippers. The surroundings are mostly quiet, except for the sounds of the baristas preparing the drinks and food. We spotted more cats around the area too - yes, Dakota Crescent has a lot of cats! :D
It was getting a little dark in the evening, so we left Dakota Crescent and continued with our long walk along Kallang River, towards Stadium Waterfront. (:
P.S. Sadly, Dakota Crescent may not be around for long, as the estate has been slated for redevelopment by end-2016. This means the Dakota cats and Tian Kee & Co. would have to go. ): Do check out the Facebook page set up (not by us, but by kind-hearted feeders) for the Dakota Crescent cats!
