Good girlfriend and good Indian vegetarian grub, although to be frank, I was also eyeing the delicious-looking spicy non-Vegetarian options ordered by diners next table.
Food frenzy #25
Mommy’s take on the hotpot we’ve come to associate Chinese New Year with over the years. Tasty MSG-free meat broth (made from scratch, not from a bottle) and spicy home-made dipping sauce (non too finely-chopped garlic and chilli in calamansi juice, light soy sauce and vinegar) guaranteed.
Inspirasi mee soto, how I’ve missed you so.
My favorite yu sheng is actually this one that is available all year round at Maxwell Food Centre. $2 worth of a refreshing and very fresh sashimi salad, in savory Singapore style. Uh, salivating now as I write. Thanks YM for the treat !
Food frenzy #24
My sister took me to get ayam penyet in the unsuspecting bowels of Lucky Plaza. Indonesian food can’t get any better than this, no ? (Not that I’ve had alot.)
The Soh sisters also went to get their mee kuah fix. It’s so spicy but it’s oh so so good. I swear by the mee kuah from this 24-hr coffeeshop near Middle Road. And of course, it will be wise to have a glass of kopi-c peng on hand to help put out the fire.
This is how living in the East feels like
Waiting for the elevator after visiting my aunt and uncle.
You have been instructed…
… to stand behind the yellow line.
How many of us know that MRT in Chinese is 大众快速交通 ? To be fair no one says that in everyday use, 地铁 it is (even though it isn’t even underground half the time).
74 is the magic number of my childhood.
Daily life at the town centre.
The florist at the market sells fake flowers too.
Last night’s non-sober conversations become today’s crates waiting to be collected.
A quick snap on the new overhead bridge we are forced to use because barriers have been erected to curb our jaywalking habits.
The neighbor’s cat ready to pounce (sort of).
The multi-storey car park behind our apartment.
Stairs because we live on the second floor.
A spot of green amid mundanity.
Pathway leading to the bus stop.
Not far from the bus stop.
Where is the bus ?
Technically this has nothing to do with being an Eastie but I usually have something to read on the bus to mommy’s noodle stall. Thumbs up to Female’s captivating cover this issue, I really like how the two typefaces interact.
Alighted from the bus. It takes about five minutes to cut through the neighborhood to reach mommy’s stall.
Halfway there…
… almost there.
Tell-tale signs of the Chinese New Year festivities at the hawker centre.
The view from inside the stall.
Why I went to mommy’s stall: To get lunch ! My mommy makes the most kickass fishball bak chor mee. I think I had two bowls of noodles that day.
That’s all for now. Here’s a kitty good night from Bedok.
Seven treasures
Postcard-worthy. It is actually the only part of Qibao resembling its more famous water town cousins elsewhere in eastern China.
Argh. Way too many people for our liking. Being squashed by the crowds in fake ancient streets lined by shops selling the same ubiquitous junk found in restored ancient towns across China isn’t our idea of a day trip though I think it qualifies as one to many Chinese.
So we decided to take matters into our own hands…
… and take a detour to the residential (and less touristy) part of Qibao.
Operation success: We managed to lose the tourists.
Residential Qibao has an interesting array of mint green houses, somewhat a toned-down version of the Emerald City.
I wonder what made residents pick the color.
It does add a touch of whimsy heheheh.
We met three bubbly little girls enthusiastically looking out and picking up trash in their neighborhood. When asked why they were doing this, they chirpily said: 因为我们要爱护环境. Ah, the sort of cutesy childhood innocence that’s quite a rarity among Chinese children these days. Regretted not taking a photo of the three girls, ack !
Then we stumbled upon Qibao’s quaint catholic church…
… which has two stone lions guarding its entrance.
Live poultry sighted as we walked through a small outdoor market after leaving the church. I like markets in general, so many things to see and (sometimes) to touch.
Bye bye Qibao because it’s about time for us to get on Metro Line 9. Don’t know when we will be back again. You were lovely less for the water town and more for the suburban ride.
Weekend snippets #8
We had a quiet dinner in a dimly lit and pleasant restaurant right smack in the middle of the nightlife buzz on a Saturday night.
J started wearing a fake wedding band over the weekend. I think it might have come from a bottle of wine we’d opened months back. I’m amused that he doesn’t seem inclined to take it off anytime soon. Since I am still without an engagement ring, this might work – as a substitute ring worn by the fiancé instead.
The rare glimpse of sunny, warm weather prompted us to go on an ad hoc trip to Qibao on Sunday. More on Shanghai’s very own water town in another post very soon.
Summery blooms in the apartment, I like very much even though I don’t know their names.
