Cultural Tidbits

Homemade by my dad's friend, this is what I'd consider a good "kueh salat". The top green "kaya" half is soft, smooth and rich, while the bottom half of glutinous rice (tinged naturally using blue pea flowers) is moist and chewy. Together, they are an ideal combination. I also like that the whole "kueh" isn't too sweet either.

Every time I am in a queue at a popular Nasi Padang stall like Sinar Pagi's, I go through this series of emotions:
1) Giddy excitement (hello food, you glorious food 😍)
2) Manic confusion (whattoget?whattoget?whattoget?)
3) Anxiety (what if someone ahead of me orders everything that I want and THERE'S NOTHING LEFT?! 😱)

Does anyone else feel the same? Or am I just weird? 😁😉

My mum always cooks up a storm when she invites a few relatives over for dinner on one of the CNY evenings annually. She decided however, to do something different this year. What we had instead was a great mix of cuisines. They included: Nasi Bokhari, a chicken and potato curry, two types of pickles (one made of cucumber and carrot, the other of pineapple). These four items she ordered from her Pakistani friend. There was a pot of spicy, tender Beef Rendang that came from a "makcik" who runs a stall at the Marine Terrace market. As for the "Kueh Pie Tee", my mum made the filling and chilli sauce herself. Ditto the sweet, clear soup of fishballs, meatballs and "peh cai". The shorter-than-usual sticks of chunky "otak" were purchased from Kim Choo at Joo Chiat (the same shop that's famous for their rice dumplings). Last but not least, the highly addictive crunchy-battered chicken wings were actually bought frozen and yours truly handled the deep-frying (without any mishaps, surprise, surprise!). Definitely an odd assortment of dishes if you think about it but all the guests raved about the food 😄

The boss of Wee Hoi Kopitiam insisted we try his wife's "kueh kosui" and it was simple but so good. Soft and not too sweet which is exactly the way I like it :)

#eatlikealocal #malacca #melaka #AsamPedasSeleraKampung #burpple

If you've ever tasted the "deviant Middle Eastern" cuisine at Artichoke Cafe + Bar (and become a die-hard groupie like I have), do yourself a favour and grab this badass of a cookbook whipped together by Owner-Chef Bjorn Shen.
Nothing is ever straightforward with him. So what you get is 256 pages filled not just with recipes of his awesomely creative dishes but also the story of how Artichoke came to be. Plus everything else in between. Told in his distinctive style, Chef Bjorn also spills the beans on the nitty-gritty of running an F&B establishment which makes for an informative read.
Get it at major bookstores, www.epigrambooks.sg and at Artichoke itself.

In spite of new-fangled flavours of ice-cream to excite and fatten us, is there anyone who doesn't enjoy this simple and very affordable pleasure?
I find it fun to pick a flavour and watch the uncle reach into his cart's "ice cave" to dig it out, before neatly slicing off a piece from the frozen block. He then clamps it between two slices of wafer and hands it over. I like that I can take my time to savour because fortunately, the Magnolia brand of ice-cream melts quite slowly (such a blessing in our hot weather). In terms of flavour, it is the classics like Ripple and Sweet Corn for me. What about you fellow Burpplers? Which ones do you go for? 😃

Within metres of each other at the popular Petaling Street junction in Chinatown are hawkers selling lots of tasty local delights. We snacked on freshly made peanut pancake (not made under the most hygienic of conditions but did we care? Nope), and fragrant, ultra-soft and chewy black sesame "muah chee". Washed them down with a traditional dried longan drink and bought packets of coconut candy to bring home (the "gula melaka" cubed version is excellent).

Cosy and chic in an understated way, Slake occupies an intimate space on the ground floor of a shophouse in the quiet neighbourhood of Opera Estate. Specialising in small plates that are a fusion of Western cuisine with Asian ingredients, the food also turns up looking nicely art-directed in the creative hands of the young chef (whom I suspect, is also the co-owner).

Made a stopover here to refresh ourselves in between tackling the Great Singapore Sale crowds thronging along Orchard Road. The refreshing white ale draught ($10++ for 500ml) from the Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan was a Belgian-style mild hop that had complex flavours of coriander, orange peel and nutmeg. The coarsely-ground Arabiki sausages ($11.50++) we couldn't resist ordering, had a firm skin that with each chomp, squirted forth juices.

Am always fascinated by how cafes customise their ordering and serving system. Love it when they stamp their individuality through quirky touches.

How would you like to have someone interpret your preferences into a really cool drink using only the freshest ingredients? This cosy bar along hip Haji Lane was one of the first in Singapore to come up with this fun concept and is still delivering the goods in style. Just let the mixologists know what you like, or don't particularly care for, then sit back and watch them translate your words into a fab drink. Guaranteed for a memorable night out. Unless you opt to have a taste of the Diesel which has a killer 95% alcohol content, then all bets are off!