Old Kallang Airport area (Dakota Crescent) feat. Tian Kee & Co.

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. (:

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.

Colourful balconies - Singaporean style

We saw community cats - loads of them. Some of them like lounging around on chairs.

Cat boss of the chairs

 Some of them prefer frolicking under staircases.

"Meow."

We found a bird taking refuge at a ground-level balcony which looked like a blast from the past.



"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.  

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.

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! 

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. (:

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.

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!

Hweecat's Tomato Challenge

Hweecat meow.

Apologies for the month-long hiatus as we have been busy with various projects these days. Firstly, I shall write about a personal project of mine involving my favourite fruit - tomatoes!

Heard of Movember, the annual event which involves men growing moustaches during November? It's a campaign to raise awareness on men's health issues, such as prostate and testicular cancer.

(Aye aye, mo bros!)

Do you know that tomatoes are associated with cancer prevention, notably prostate cancer? Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a carotene (plant antioxidant) which blocks the action of free radical, reactive oxygen molecules that can damage cells. And we know that cancer is caused by uncontrolled tissue growth due to a series of mutations in the genes which regulate cell growth and differentiation. Added incentive for the bros to eat tomatoes, eh? :D

Look at these juicy red fellas, bros?

I like tomatoes, because tomatoes are bright red in colour and taste juicy. Cat used to not like tomatoes because the taste of conventionally-grown tomatoes offend his taste buds; he usually consumes them for health benefits (until he tasted his first grilled organic tomato and fell in love with it). Now he only consumes homegrown or organic tomatoes.

With the organic vs conventional food debate ongoing, I am curious to find out for myself how organic tomatoes fare with their conventional cousins - and why Cat finds the latter offensive in taste. Moreover, tomatoes = good for men against prostate cancer, so why not maintain my tomato diet while the men maintain their moustaches? :P

While the mo bros were growing their moustache, I embarked on my own Tomato Challenge: to consume tomatoes as often as 5 times a day for the month of November.

Cat and Hweecat First Date Anniversary

Cat meow.

Cat and Hweecat are unofficially one year old today (: Our first meeting and date occurred exactly 365 days ago on the 17/12/2013 when Cat decided to go back to NTU after a really long absence to help a friend.

In the most part of 2013 I was absolutely looking, in society terms desperately looking, for a girlfriend. Actually, since the start of 2013 I was already absolutely looking and absolutely sick of looking. Those who knew me since my Hall days know very well that not having a Hall-time gf has always been and will always be the greatest regret of my life. Since graduating technically in 2011, life has always been hard for it is destined always to be. On the last day and last hour of 2012 I made what most of society will no doubt judge as a harsh and warped logic decision for myself, that no matter what I must get a girlfriend in the coming year, should this quest mean resorting to taking home a Vietnamese bride. Yes, whether I was desperate is up to judgment, that this is a grave matter indeed however is not up to dispute.

For the most of 2013 I was bumping around seeking to sort out this mother of all problems. I tried everything, and just like my attempts while I was in school, everything backfired disastrously. Some of these highlights in the wrong way included overseas trips with the intent of looking for dates and joining a choir for hitting on a new girl every other session under the pretext of socializing and networking, and hanging out playing the freelancer as the dating magazines say, choosing my cafes carefully to only pick on those with pretty waitresses, and most certainly texted every girl that I chased before, dated before, had a so called crush on before, or in any sense found her pretty. I was predictably hated in every such circle with my "reputation completely thrashed" in all of them, particularly in some circles I was informed by an informant that I "thrashed my reputation so badly that she also had no idea how I did it" but I kept trying, something that I failed to do in my Hall days, I kept trying. I made lots of enemies and pissed off and freaked out a lot of potential targets, including some who regrettably on hindsight I actually might have had a little fair chance with had I taken my time. I did not regret it however, for time was not on my side, or so I have decided. You may say I am still young, what's the hurry, but according to my expectations, this is a piece of homework that I should have completed 7 years ago as a freshie, and yet it was still outstanding, therefore, the time remaining was negative 7 years.

The year passed unproductively and things were not looking good. My friends were mostly busy with their own lives and could not be bothered enough to directly step in, not that they could do much to say a word in fairness. On 7/12/13, right after a Christmas bridge party, I called a clan meeting with WenHan and Kai Leong and we decided that it is time for extremely active measures, first I should try to meet the girl I met online a few months ago through a strange twist of events, failing which, SDN, Vietnamese brides, social escorts and in the worst case, prostitutes shall come into the picture.

I was fortunate that I never had to go past the first desperate step, for Hweecat became my girlfriend shortly after our first date one year ago of today, almost literally at the eleventh hour, more than 11 out of 12 months have passed.

Restaurant Week Oct 2014: Laurent@Portsdown (from Hweecat's perspective)

Hweecat meow. I'm back after a busy schedule of rehearsals for Beautiful Sunday concert with RACO. (:

Now, time to finish my backlog. Sorry Cat. :P

The theme for this edition of Restaurant Week (25 October 2014 - 2 November 2014) is "Chocolate" - good news for chocolate lovers like me. My roomie, being a foodie, had earlier sent me photos of food from her dinner at Laurent@Portsdown and raved about the chocolate tart. As I looked through the reviews on DiningCity trying to find a restaurant to book for the weekend, my roomie buzzed me up on Whatsapp saying that she made another dinner booking for 2 at the same restaurant - for me and Cat! :D

Since Laurent@Portsdown is located close to the end of Portsdown Road and about 20 minutes away from one-north MRT by foot, we suggest taking a nice stroll to the restaurant when the sun is still up. As we walked down Portsdown Road, we saw plenty of trees and greenery, as well as high-rise buildings from afar. We also spotted avid runners along the road. There were few cars, hence we had a relatively quiet stroll and plenty of fresh air on the way.

Restaurant Interior - Spot the Eiffel Tower display!

The restaurant has a generally more casual feel compared with WOLF, with the service staff dressed more casually in shirt and jeans. Interior decorations have a lighter tone, with tasteful decorations which provide a more homely and casual feel to this French restaurant. The patrons are also dressed more casually - there seems to be no specified dress code, which is good news for comfort-loving Cat. (:

A young female service staff ushered us to our table and passed the menu to us. We have a choice between two starters and two mains; there is only one choice of dessert. We were also promptly asked if we would like a glass of house wine for $10; we declined politely. As we were deciding from the drinks menu, I spotted two young women from the other table pouring from a large jar of what seemed to be citrus juice into their cups. "Look behind!" I told Cat excitedly, pointing behind him.

"Look behind!"

He turned behind and looked curiously, then turned back and told the young female service staff that we want one each from the starters and the mains and "we want one of these *points in the direction of the jar* whatever you call it". Bemused, she explained to us that the drink is called Laurent's Lemonade, which is their famous house lemonade made with lemons and grapefruit.

Laurent's Lemonade - freshly made

The Laurent's Lemonade is served in a big jar filled with lemons and grapefruit (I think). It is an exciting experience for both of us as this is the first time we are having lemonade from such a big jar! The lemonade tasted not too sour with a tad bit of bitter taste from the peel. Overall, a very refreshing drink.

Prawn Cocktail with Guacamole of Avocado

The starters are seafood-based, which is awesome news for seafood lovers like me. The Prawn Cocktail with Guacamole of Avocado was above average. Guacamole is sufficiently creamy with a slight bit of spice and goes well with the salsa.

Traditional Lobster Bisque

The Traditional Lobster Bisque came paired with bread. The seafood taste is a tad bit overwhelming, hence Cat donated most of the lobster bisque to me.

Crispy Duck Leg Confit with Orange Zest Sauce

For mains, Cat ordered Crispy Duck Leg Confit with Orange Zest Sauce. The duck meat looks reddish, but is cooked with such tenderness that it melts into the mouth. If there is something that we would pick on, it would be the skin which seemed a bit too oily. After all, Cat is a fan of Saveur's incredibly crispy duck confit.

Snapper with Brandy and Lobster Sauce

I ordered Snapper with Brandy and Lobster Sauce for mains. The snapper fillet is firm such that it does not disintegrate when cut, yet tender enough to glide around my tongue gently as its layers come off one by one. I am pleasantly surprised not to detect any fishy taste in my snapper - either those "snappers" out there in the market are mislabelled, or the chef really did an awesome job in his treatment of the snapper. The brandy and lobster sauce consists of ratatouille, which is a traditional Provençal stewed vegetable dish made popular by the namesake movie. I loved the sauce so much that I requested for a spoon to scoop the sauce clean - if etiquette is not a concern, I would have literally licked the plate clean.

Chocolate Tarte

Finally, the highlight of our dinner: Chocolate Tarte! This chocolate tart is so incredibly delicious that it is a MUST-TRY! Everything about it is so so perfect - from the creamy dark chocolate layer that is not too sweet and not too bitter, the peanut butter and crispy hazelnut crust, the flawless transition of taste and texture between the layers and so on. The sour berries at the side also complement the taste of the chocolate tart perfectly, providing some zest to the dense layers of chocolate and peanut butter crust. The chocolate tart is flawless to the finest detail - deserving of full marks even from a chocolate fan like me! (:

Look at the layers!

Here's a close-up cross-section of the chocolate tart. Just look at the rich layers of chocolate, peanut butter and hazelnut crust!

Before we left the restaurant, we requested the female service staff who served us to help us take a photo. She cheerfully obliged and said that Cat and I look quite cute together. Cat and I felt flattered by the comment. :P

One thing for sure: We'll be back to Laurent for the desserts, especially the chocolate tart. :D

Laurent@Portsdown
5B Portsdown Rd
#01-02

Opening Hours:
Tuesdays - Thursday 10am - 10pm
Fridays - Saturdays 10am - 11pm
Sundays 9am - 10pm
Closed on Mondays

Side Quest: Raffles Alumni Chinese Orchestra Beautiful Sunday Concert

Cat meow.


Today we take a break from food as a side quest to talk about Hweecat's involvement in the Raffles Alumni Chinese Orchestra (RACO) Beautiful Sunday concert at the Esplanade.


About a month or more ago, Hweecat received an invitation from her JC's alumni CO group to be part of the free concert that is what happened two days ago. She enquired about the repertoire and found it interesting. In particular, the opportunity to perform at the Durian Shell Theatre (Esplanade) was not to be taken for granted.


No thanks to this commitment, like pageant in Hall or university, Hweecat's personal and social life was greatly affected. Besides the obvious time commitment, the practice sessions were at everyone's favourite time of Saturday mornings and afternoons, which is especially precious to us because we have a weekly gathering of friends for dragon hunting game (Dungeons & Dragons). The logistics especially in the last one week were also tiring both for Hweecat and for her faithful cat, that is, me.


Most particularly, Cat spent the whole of Friday night and Saturday afternoon doing nothing much except to give my Hweecat the maximum support. This involved not having any activity on these two time slots that are normally good as gold.


The morning rush today was also not to be underestimated. As Hweecat needs to fall in at 9.30am, I was there at the same time and I have to find something to do for the next four hours. I decided to start with breakfast at Toast Box, whereon I glanced across to Coffee Bean and happened to spot a very pretty girl in a white dress. A year ago I would totally have approached her to try and strike a conversation. Today however I was far more concerned with getting my nasi lemak and wondering whether Hweecat will have her lunch sorted out. Assuming her to be some full time actress or singer, I moved on with my food.


I went to the library after breakfast. To be exact, I improvised a LAN shop in the library and started playing all my favourite video games. How ironic that I was so engrossed in them that I forgot the time, and left myself with no time for lunch and only a tea and toilet break. So much for whining about the injustice of being forced to arrive four hours early.


The line to enter the concert hall was already one concourse long by the time I joined. Still, the wait was long and honestly boring, not least because the Esplanade has no reception for phones and therefore I could not do my own work.


As the performers filed in eventually, I looked keenly like a cat sitting like a vase for a pretty girl in a long maxi dress. Eventually I saw her, flanked to the left, right and front by two erhu style instruments and to the back by a grand piano. A grand piano? In a CO setting?


The concert started with the first three arrangements being not bad at all. The music was professionally arranged and most particularly they were not the mundane type of CO songs.


The climax of the concert was when a soloist was to enter to sing a long medley. To my surprise, the soloist was someone I have met earlier in the day, for she was the white dress girl I saw at Coffee Bean in the morning.


A year ago I would have immediately after the concert attempted to approach her to strike a conversation with the readily available topic of "I saw you earlier today." Today however I rushed out straight after the concert to look for my Hweecat, though strangely she too happened to be right next to my Hweecat when I did find her.


Having greeted a few of Hweecat's old friends and after a little bit of cocktail post reception, Hweecat and I being anti-social cats for the right reasons, decided to head straight for dinner. I then just realized that the Esplanade is directly accessible to our favourite sushi place - Sushi Express.


My comments about the concert as a whole: WELL DONE.


1. A good attempt to popularize Chinese Orchestra.
2. CO has a name for being overly traditional in a lot of bad ways but the RJ alumni has certainly done a very good job in changing this image. After all, what do you expect from RJ people?
3. The songs are well arranged not just in terms of the methods of musical logic but also the choice of instruments and the balance of sound.
4. There was appropriate use of pageant charisma. The performers of the front line including my Hweecat, it was clear they took special effort to dress up, and look good yet appropriate. They looked like musicians, not something sleazy, which people often could not tell the difference.
5. The choice of songs really makes me on hindsight think that the people who I invited but chose to not make it a priority, really missed out a lot.


After the concert, we went to write our first wish ball. Here's our wishes:

(Yes, please like our Facebook page too!)

Here's Hweecat with the wish ball. Cat meow. (:

Restaurant Week Oct 2014: Laurent@Portsdown (from Cat's perspective)

Cat meow.

When we two cats were recommended to this place by Hweecat's roommiecat who used to share a basket with her during the best days of our lives, the first thing we discussed was the pronunciation of the name. Finally decided on pronouncing it the same way as a famed mathematician, we entered the restaurant to find out that there was also a chocolate chef by the same name (Laurent Bernard) and this is a cafe-restaurant under his chocolate brand. 

Hweecat and I have the unwritten and unspoken agreement that I pay during the weekdays and she pays during the weekends. Usually I end up paying more, but this time round it breaks even. 

It was worth it though. The menu was easy to order from. We had a choice of two appetizers and two main courses. Easy. One each. The drinks? While thinking, Hweecat pointed behind Cat. I turned behind, looked and saw this: 

We told the service staff, "One each *points to menu* and we want one of these whatever u call it". She told us that it is their house lemonade made with lemons and grapefruit.

The appetizer was a choice of two real and distinct types of seafood. There was Prawn Cocktail with Guacamole of Avocado and Traditional Lobster Bisque which is great for seafood loving cats like a Hweecat, so Cat happily donated most of the lobster bisque to the pretty Hweecat sitting opposite. 

The main course: Crispy Duck Leg Confit with Orange Zest Sauce for Cat and a very tender Snapper with Brandy and Lobster Sauce for Hweecat. How nice? Well, Cat usually does not like this particular type of fish due to a strong specific taste but decided to give an exception. That is what we told the service staff. 

Chocolate Tart

The dessert - chocolate tart - is a MUST TRY. Everything about it is so perfect from the dark chocolate that is not bitter, to the peanut butter crust, and the flawless transition, not forgetting the fruits beside it. 

Cat gives the food distinction, the chocolate tart full marks, and the house lemonade a certificate of special mention. 

As we left the restaurant, a sense of great contentment came to us. Cat slipped into Hweecat paws, and we crawled a long way into Holland Drive for tea and had a long chat till late into the night. 

Totally worth skipping evening chess for. 

Laurent@Portsdown
5B Portsdown Rd
#01-02

Opening Hours:
Tuesdays - Thursday 10am - 10pm
Fridays - Saturdays 10am - 11pm
Sundays 9am - 10pm
Closed on Mondays

Restaurant Week Oct 2014: WOLF Nose to Tail Dining (from Hweecat's perspective)

Update: WOLF has been replaced with Bar-A-Thym. The awesome female chef is now cooking at Meatsmith.

Hweecat meow.

I usually look forward to the bi-annual Restaurant Week, as it is the time where participating restaurants come up with set meals at promotion prices (and probably the rare times when I could afford to try those usually-more-than-$30-for-mains restaurants). As day no. 300 coincides with Restaurant Week this October, it makes for a good opportunity (and excuse) for us to celebrate with a dinner set at a more pricey casual fine-dining restaurant.

Based on my roomie's recommendation, I made a 7pm dinner reservation for two person at WOLF through the DiningCity Restaurant Week website (http://www.restaurantweek.sg). It took a few days before there were seats available for me to make the reservation. Cat was initially sceptical when I told him that we would be having pork chops at WOLF for Restaurant Week, as he is fond of neither pork chops nor restaurant dining in general. Nevertheless, he agreed to try the pork chops together with me upon realizing that we would be paying significantly less than usual a la carte prices during Restaurant Week.