Return to the Ladder Cafe

Pan Fried Dory Fillet ($10.90)

Seek a quiet, relaxing lunch with good coffee. We returned to the Larder Café. 

Repeat for their Sangenton pork culet ($10.90) which was proven to be good on our previous visit. The pan-fried Dory today was surprising; even better.

A big slice of their signature Ondeh Ondeh cake, with bitter aromatic coffee. This is an hour of bliss with Ric.

Ondeh Ondeh Cake ($7)

Day Soup and Coffee set ($4.80/ pax)

TOBY'S The Dessert Asylum

Weekday Lunch Menu (Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm)

Our last visit to Toby's was in 2010, at their Parkway Parade main branch. They have since moved to  Tradehub 21 in the west of Singapore. And now offers really affordable set lunches (Oct/Nov Promotion: buy 2 get 1 free); with $1 top ups to include a good coffee/ drinks and day soup.

A cosy restaurant to wind down before getting back to work again.

Grilled Fish Fillet ($9.90++)

with lemon butter sauce + mash potato or rice

Spaghetti Vongole ($9.90++)

fresh clam in white wine

Chef Salad ($9.90++)

mesclun salad topped with pork ham, roasted chicken, boiled egg + cheddar cheese

Wild Mushroom Cheeseburger ($9.90++)

ground beef patty with roasted mushroom, melted cheese + fries

Grilled Dory fillet was boringly healthy. Chef salad, with vinegary dressing does it so much better! Not mentioning their all time favourite cheeseburger.

For starters, everybody prefers the Cajun spiced button mushrooms to the rather tasteless calamari. And being in a dessert asylum, the girl sneak off to order a sweet, chilling mud pie! Lovely with their warm bitter coffee..

The afternoon felt liberated.

Battered Button Mushroom ($6.50++)

Calamari ($9.90++)

T-Rex Mud Pies ($10.90++)

double chocolate ice cream + mocha almond ice cream + cookies

Nyonya Chendol

Original Chendol ($1.50)

Following Four Seasons Cendol, we are seeing Nonya Chendol stalls popping up in a few of our hawker centres haunt - at Bukit Timah, Old Airport Rd and Whampoa.

Nonya Chendol offers consumers the old time, basic chendol (without red beans, sweet corns or attap chee) at an affordable dollar fifty. Just add 50 cents for the top ups if you like.

Us? We like life simple.

Chocolate Origin

Dark Gelato Cup (1 scoop at $4.50)

Video of viscous chocolate syrup, and knife cutting sleeky through layers of sponge-like chocolate cakes. It freezes our footsteps at the stall.

For a start, we shared their chocolate cuppa lava cake ($5.50) between us. It was gratifying. The warm chocolate cake sits on top of a thick layer of good vanilla ice-cream. You break through them, tasting the bitter dark and cool vanilla together; the warm lava oozing. (picture)

On our second trip, we had their dark chocolate gelato. A dessert that is subtly sweet, and all you remember is its perfected bitterness after finishing the entire scoop by yourself.

That video is intriguing, Chocolate Orgin. We are coming for your chocolate cake next.

阿嬷老字號, Ah Mah Homemade Egg Sponge Cake

Egg Sponge Cake, original ($8)

The silly man couldn't resist the aroma of freshly baked cakes when he passes by Ah Mah's outlet at the Bukit Panjang Shopping Mall. Especially when he was told the wait is only 20 mins.

Nostalgia? No. The egg sponge cakes we used to have are much sweeter and drier. They can be kept for days, and are definitely not fresh baked. These are the atas version. Taste of really nice eggy aroma with each bite, without the lingering sweetness of overdose sugar in your mouth.

We could have this everyday. If someone could offer a more economical sale, of an equal product.

四季煎蕊, Four Seasons Cendol

Cendol ($2)

With 2 stalls, side by side - Cendol and Ching Teng. Which will you have?

Like many others, we are easily drawn by the thick milky sensation of a syrupy Cendol. Especially after our ultra healthy lunch of fish soup at the Marine Parade Market & Food Centre; we needed something sinful. Four Seasons is right behind the fish soup stall.

A shaved ice dessert, topped with 4 attap seeds (nipa palm), soft red beans and green pandan jello. Then ladled with thick coconut milk and gooey gula melaka! This is a good afternoon...

Pranakorn: Authentic Thai Food

Stir-Fried Spicy Basil Minced Pork & Egg w/Rice ($5.80)

Homemade Fried Pork Cake w/Special Dipping Sauce ($6.80)

Thai Style Stick Noodle with Minced Pork in Tom Yum Soup ($5.80)

The ultra savory Tom Yum soup from Pranakorn had us startled, awake! And Ric waved off any further offering of it. Haha. Yes, the heavier seasoning at Pranakorn seems to be authentic Thai, and not tweaked much to suit the local taste buds. I thought it was a good appetizer, though, as i'm not having much of an appetite lately. And i love chewing on the thin, chewy stick noodle. The dry Tom Yum rendition, without the soup, might be the next thing to order.

The Basil minced pork was also more salted, but acceptable. Very tender minced pork in the Tom Yum soup, and sweet juicy fried minced pork cake, that can be liken to the taste of our local sweet sour pork ribs.

Steamed Thai Rice Cake w/Pandan & Coconut Milk ($3.50)

Now, if i could just delicate this entire post to the steamed Thai rice cake - soft, melt in the mouth kueh kueh, tasting layers of light sweetness and tartness at the same time. It was delish.

A simple street dessert, which often pales in comparison with the popular mango sticky rice and Thai Chendol. But no. We say you order this dessert, and start the weekend on an uplifted spirit.

White Fungus Tea (雪耳桂肉鸡蛋茶)

Ingredients

I don't usually take notice of the many herbal soups or cooling tea, which mum cooked for us. But this time it's different. Because once i gulped a mouthful of it, i felt my entire respiratory system being nourished! I really feel it. So i went back to the kitchen to ask for more to drink, and the recipe for you too.

When i asked for the recipe, mum showed me an old recipe book, dictated in olden Chinese. There's a translation in English. Do email me if you need the copy in Chinese.

The benefits are: Moisten complexion, brain feeding, calming effect for quality sleep, improve memory, tinnitus due to weakening kidney, cold and cough, easing constipation.

INGREDIENTS:

A handful of White Fungus, and Dried Longan.

4 Eggs

Water

Rock Sugar (optional)

STEPS:

1. Soak the white fungus in water. Wait for it to soften up, as in the above picture. Wash and remove any silt/ sand from it.

2. Cook your hard boiled eggs and remove the shells.

3. Add all ingredients, including the dried longan into soup pot and cover with water.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 30 mins, or more if you like a syrupy texture. We do. If you have a thermal pot, leave it in for half a day before serving. 

5. After removing from heat, add rock sugar to taste.

Changi Village Food Centre

Standard Chicken Wings Set ($3.50, add $1.50 for Fried Ikan Kuning)

Changi Village has always been associated with nasi lemak. There are several good stalls here, and they are famous for their aromatic steamed rice and freshly deep fried chicken wings. It is really quite irresistible for many. The one we have today is from Changi Famous Nasi Lemak (#01-28). But my recent favourite is the homely, fresh tasting one from Orang Orang, in Bukit Batok.

Now, don't forget the iconic 'Commando dessert'. Made famous by our Commando soldiers at the nearby Hendo camp, who love to come by and order it for the whole table! Nearly every dessert stalls here serve it, and this dessert is unique to Changi Village only.

Red Tea Jelly with Longan, the "Commando Dessert" ($2)

You may wish to skip the soggy fried Hokkien mee we had. Curb whatever your cravings. Order instead a plate of savory fried kway tiao, or the well charred Chinese rojak with zesty lime juice in its dressing! You would thank me for it.

For more eats from the Changi Village, please type in 'Changi Village Food Centre' in the search box located at the right column of this blog. Eat your way out :)

Lai Xiang Rojak, #01-65 ($3)

Xiang Xiang Char Kway Teow, #01-58 ($3.50) 

Changi Village Fried Hokkien Mee, #01-53 ($3)

Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts

Hokkaido Cheese Tarts ($2.90, $14.50 for 6pcs)

The BF likes to feed me. With new product.

First, it's Prima Deli Lava Cheese tarts ($2.40) which tastes of rich 'angmo' cheese. Now this is closer to the authentic Hokkaido cheese tarts, but from the baker of Secret Recipe - the Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart.

They are not the real thing from Japan, but this is enough. We could taste some soft warm Hokkaido milk from the liquefying cheese. It is decadent, yet not as overwhelming as 'angmo' cheese.

Durian Degustation 2016

Countryside Durians ($2 each)

We grew up eating cheap and good countryside durians - those unbranded, with large seeds and thin flesh. But when my experienced uncles and aunts went for the buy, we can be guaranteed of some pungent, bitter and thick flesh ones! From the bulk of cheap $2 durians, they could simply pick out the best from the lot!

For a rare treat, we go for some branded durians.

Golden Phoenix ($18)

1. BLK 494 JURONG WEST ST. 41, 4th AUG 2016 (Thu)

This popular fruit stall in Jurong is well known. You can't miss it. The stall extends its serving stations, with the crowd swarming around it. We picked up some 7 boxes, and the Golden Phoenix was the smallest seeded and lightest tasting of the lot.

The cheapest Sultan King was surprisingly bitter, pungent, and almost spicy but large seed. The Mao Shan King was sweetly pungent and small seeded. Everyone voted Sultan King as the value buy.

King of Mountain Cat ($18)

Sultan King ($12)

2. BLK 698 HOUGANG AVE. 8, 21st AUG 2016 (Sun)

We picked up 4 durians of King of Kings from Hougang when we saw the popularity of the stall. King was as small seeded as the Golden Phoenix, bittersweet and ice-cream creamy. But the aroma doesn't stay long on your palate once you have finished. It's a little disappointing. 

王中王, King of Kings ($15)

3. 龙帝 DURIAN KING, 23rd AUG 2016 (Tue)

Then, our largest haul of the season from Long Di at Jurong West. We bought 2 fruits of everything. (Only 1 is pictured.) Their Red Prawn is softly creamy and has a bitterness so strong, it chokes the throat! Love it.

Black Pearl is bitter and as tiny seeded as the Golden Phoenix, but mild tasting. Both of our D24 are fibrous. And after all the creamy, melting durians we had, the D24 was simply being chucked aside. 

As always, the King Cat is immaculate.

D24 XO ($10/Kg)

Red Prawn ($10/Kg)

太元, Black Pearl ($12/Kg)

King of Mountain Cat ($12/Kg)

4. 龙帝 DURIAN KING, 29th AUG 2016 (Mon)

Thought we had enough of this season, but a promotional $10 King Cat lured us back to the stall. And all 4 of the King Cat were good - dry skinned and melting creamy within. It was very enjoyable.

When we see that the D24 is so popular with many customers, we gave it another try. Bought 2. They were slightly less fibrous, but 1 turned out to be an 'unripe potato'.

Pahang, King of Mountain Cat (1 for $10, limited)

Highland, D24 ($9/kg)

5. 龙帝 DURIAN KING, 1st SEP 2016 (Thu)

The boss apologized for the 'unripe potato' and offered a D101 for a replacement. FOC. As according to him, sometimes the D101 was named the Sultan durian. And boy! It was good. The flesh was thick, creamy and pungently bittersweet.

As per our previous visit, the seller advised us against their promotional $10 MSW, King Cat. But we had a good experience of the King Cat on the previous night and proceeded with another 3 buys. This time, 2 turned out tasteless. The 1 in the picture below is the good one.

Super D101 ($10/kg) - the pale yellow

Pahang, King of Mountain Cat (1 for $10, limited) - the dark yellow

Off the list, there is a box of durian uncle sent us from the durian plantation in Johor Bahru. I missed a photo of it because of its unappetizing pale color of almost milk-like. 

Yet, it was one of the best we had this season - bittersweet, pungent, thick flesh and tiny seeded. It is without a brand name.

Traditional Putu Piring - Tu Tu Keuh!

Putu Piring (5 for $2)

If you have never tasted the Putu Piring, a Malay dessert with a filling of melted Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar), you should certainly make a trip to the Haig Road Market & Food Centre. I presume this is the only stall in Singapore that sells this.

The dessert is served hot, and oozing dark sweeten sugar. And you take it together with the chilled grated coconut! This is good.

Teochew Chendul!

Original Chendul (RM$6.50, S$2.20)

Penang Rojak (RM$8.90, S$3)

We have never expected a Chendol to taste this good. Good is an understatement. It is exemplary; representing the best of its kind. So rich with coconut milk and Gula Melaka, but never overwhelming nor cloying, it just feels easy to drink up! We could never understand how they do it - guess it got a lot to do with the right proportioning of everything.

Then comes their Penang rojak that attacks your senses, right through the nostrils! The heavy fermented shrimp paste travels up the senses with the aid of the juicy cut fruits; it was awesome! We wouldn't have it any other way.

If you have only 30 mins at the Johor Bahru City Square, this little Penang Road Famous Teochew Chendul eatery is good enough for you to drop everything else and spend it all here.

Beancurd Riceballs!

3 In 1 Beancurd, Sesame and Peanut Mixed ($2.40)

Ever since i developed an addiction for after-meal dessert, traditional glutinous rice dumpling has been on the radar. I wouldn't resist the traditional Ah Balling, or the latest fashion of having the riceballs in soy beancurd! This is comfort food.

The dessert isn't easily available, so i was overjoyed to find them with Mr Bean which has branches all over the island. It was a guiltless indulgence as i'll request for a less sugar serving; while being fully aware of the nutritional benefits of soya bean. Lust for glucose was well satisfied by sweet sesame and peanut paste within the riceballs. Ta-dah!

Let's drink up to a fulfilling New Year! Which these sweet round balls symbolises in the Chinese custom - prosperity, unity, bliss and fruition.