RaRa and Reddy's Adventures in Lion City - Old School Fun @ Mainland Tropical Fish Farm

Once upon a time in a time not too distant ago, longkang fishing was one of life's simple pleasures in our then more-green-less-concrete-jungle home in Lion City. Not one of the cleanest leisure activity definitely, but certainly one that ranks a full score of 10 on the fun scale. These days, with the all the rapid development and fast disappearing natural landscapes, we are left with not too many places to enjoy those good old kampung days. Well luckily for us, an enterprising few has come up with a kampung setup within their premises to bring us back to those beautiful days. And if you happen to live around the East Side, there is just the place for you (actually there are other options too, but we have yet to venture further.. one day soon we will!)

Gone Local @ Quan Ji, Amoy

Been to Amoy gazillion times, but never noticed them. Not till my eyes spotted a fellow colleague's takeaway lunch and I went... "Ehh? That looks and smells good!" So off to Amoy again, this time to try out Quan Ji's popular dish of Fried Sliced Fish Soup. This dish, along with the likes of Char Kway Tiao and Chicken Rice, is a staple in our hawker scene. There are a few variations - the ones with poached fish slices, the ones with prawns and fish slices, ones with slices of fish that are deep fried. You can add your choice of starch to the soup as well, be it "thick" or "thin" bee hoon, or just soup and a bowl of white rice on the side. Oh oh, not forgetting the "milk" version and the one without, and also another version that has XO added for that extra "zing"!
That's about all I can ramble off the top of my head about the "evolution" of the humble bowl of fish soup, now enjoy the salivating pictures I have to share with you guys! :)

Thick succulent slices of fish, very fresh and no "fishy" smell. Super sedap! Best eaten with a chilli padi and light soy sauce dip.. *drool*

Each portion at $5.00 a bowl.

Heritage Trail - Boat Quay to Singapore National Museum

Am a poor sucker for long walks, especially after a gruelling day at the "Earn-A-Living-Place". It was a beautiful evening, sun's not too harsh and soft blowing wind set the mood for a nice long walk. Started off from the outer fringe of CBD, zigzagged past the massive after-office-hour crowd and finally broke "free" into Boat Quay through Raffles Place underpass. You may notice some "Anookis" on the facade of the National Museum in the picture below, yea, this is a long overdue post from a walking session sometime in 2015 during the Singapore Night Festival period in August. If you are an avid history buff with a keen interest in all things historical, then feel to read on :)
Do let us know if you have some interesting facts you would like to share along with ours! We'll be more than happy to hear from ya!

Soothing shades of pastels, perfect as a backdrop for the Anooki facade show beamed upon our iconic National Museum building.

Reddy's Lunchtime Adventures - Piao Ji Fish Porridge @ Amoy

There is perpetually a QUEUE here EVERYDAY. Like, we're talking 20-ish people minimum, and waiting time can range anything from 30 minutes (you're super lucky) to 50 minutes (that's the longest I have ever waited). Ask any fans of the healthy fish soup dish, Piao Ji Fish Porridge will be mentioned more often than not. What is the fuss about, one will ask. Well, once you have tasted the sweet tasty broth and taken bites of their succulent slices of very fresh fish, you too, will be hooked, and will join in the rest of the legions of fans who diligently await their turn in line to feed the need for more. So dramatic. Yes, very.

Fish and Prawn Soup. Damage? $10.00 for the smallest portion.

RaRa and Reddy Visits "Glutton's Paradise" - OTT Cake Shakes @ Cake Spade

Over-The-Top-Milkshakes. An Instagram worthy piece of gluttony that sent the world into a frenzy. News has it that this trend found it's roots in a bakery-cafe (Patissez) in Canberra, Australia. Didn't take too long for the rest of the world to jump of the bandwagon of saccharine bliss. Over at Cake Spade, it seems, have gone one up from the already extravagant OTT Milkshake with their (extremely) Instagrammable Cake Shake. Essentially a hybrid of the OTT Milkshake with an addition of a bust-the-diet slice of homemade cake, each concoction never fail to illicit "Oohhhhs" and "Aaahhhhs" from gawking patrons. Brace yourselves people, we have pictures to drive you into sensory overload!

                 

Green. Go green with envy.  

Reddy's Early Morning Breakfast Adventure - Neptune Dim Sum

Dim Sum or "Dian Xin" is essentially Cantonese in origin - bite sized, handcrafted portions of food served in bamboo steamer baskets, served typically during breakfast or tea time. Dim sum  is to the the Chinese community, what English Afternoon Tea is to the English (and the rest of the world nowadays). In keeping up with the times, dim sum is now readily available almost throughout the day, be it for breakfast,lunch, dinner and even supper in some places. Dim sum is one of Reddy's top fave comfort food, and any place with a good egg tart will definitely be on Reddy's radar. And that definitely makes Neptune Dim Sum at Marine Parade Hawker Center worthy enough a visit anytime.

Hello sunshine..

Reddy's Newfound Comfort Food - Pho 99

Our hot and super duper humid weather has finally taken a cooler turn, a much needed respite indeed! With the turn of the weather, Reddy's appetite has shifted to anything hot and soupy, and the "discovery" of a (not-so-new) Vietnamese joint couldn't come at a better time! Pho 99 is located right across from Amoy Hawker Centre, in an old conservation shophouse with windows painted vividly in hues of red, yellow, green and blue. If you intend to dine here at lunch hour, please be prepared to set aside some waiting time as there can be a line of waiting hungry diners (as with most places with great food :) )

Picture perfect

Reddy on Ramen Fever - Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King @ Paya Lebar Square

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King is one of the 4 ramen concepts born from Chef Keisuke Takeda's first outlet of Ramen Dining Keisuke Singapore, and the other 3 being Tori King, Tonkotsu King Four Season and Tonkotsu King Matsuri. To add on to the already burgeoning list, Chef Keisuke also has a gyoza dining concept aptly named Gyoza King, Sake Bar Takeda Shoten and also (my personal favourite) Ginza Tendon Itsuki (click on the name to read up more on previous visits). As with most places with good food, there is usually a queue of hungry patrons waiting patiently for their turns. The queue does not get Ippudo-Crazy but ya, there is a queue. What I love about their ramen? The broth is good, yes, but I especially love the thinly sliced stir fried pork belly that garnishes each serving of the "King" option. And oh, for egg lovers? They have FOC hard boiled eggs to accompany your piping hot bowl of ramen - "free flow style"!

Tonkotsu Ramen "King" @ $12.90, add flavoured egg for $2.00 more

One Is Never Enough - Bonheur Pattiserie's (heavenly) Macarons

Too much sugar is bad for you. Like pfft, said who? You can never have too much of sugar, don't be silly. Unless you eat sugar by the mouthful whole day long and 7 days a week, then yea, you should be fine with the occasional sweet treats here and there. One of the huge misconception about macarons is - "It's too sweet!" Like no. If you have the right recipe, it can be the best-est tiny piece of heaven you can have! And by the way, life is so short, eat dessert first!

Eye pleasing soothing shades of pastels. And they taste as good as they look