Foodie FR - Old Town White Coffee

As fussy drinker of coffee and tea, P and I were very excited when we found out that Old Town White Coffee (OTWC) is going to have an outlet here. We missed the strong but balanced xi mu nai cha and the fragant white coffee that packed a wallop.

During our previous stays at Melaka, we visited the outlet at Padawan almost everyday for our tea.
The moment has been etched in our brain, the late afternoon teabreak, and tucking in a wonderful cup of beverage (we ordered 3 rounds FYI) in a nicely decorated cafe overlooking the shopping crowd. The cafe was busy, but we feel so isolated. It was really a moment to cherish, I look forward to going back there and I really hope the standards have not dropped yet.

Fast forward to recent times, the OTWC from outside looks like it has bags of potential.
Some thoughts have been given into the decor and settings. or so what we think.

Last Saturday, we visited this outlet for the 3rd time.

And I feel that it is safe to say, the settings, food, beverage and service is way behind their MY counterparts.
The ambiance is still poor due to glass walls and lack of demarkation of the kitchen and dining area.
There is a need for softening features like curtains or soundproofing panels to absorb the general clatter of the place.

The Xi Mu Nai Cha is particularly disappointing (again), for that price, I am better off getting my fix from a kopitiam anywhere. It is weak and lack any character at all! 1/10 rating from me.
The thing is that we complained to the in-charge that the tea is too weak.
He insisted that it is done to "SOP" and implying that we should accept it.
I told him that this is not what I expect of, from this beverage.
His curt reply was that he is a MYsian and he knows the standards.
Well, i cut him off by saying that I want him to strengthen it no matter what.



The Assam laksa was still equally disappointing, with a small piece of sardine topping a bowl of watered down gravy with the noodle way too soft. Not the standard we associated OTWC with.



However, the redeeming factor was the Iced Kopi Gao, strong and fragrant. Maybe abit too dark for P, but was just nice for me. The "thick" toast is so-so only.






In summary, we felt that the food standards are watered down either due to price pressure or to suit "local" taste. Or maybe the staff here are just clueless what a good cup of tea or coffee means to OTWC's customers.
It doesn't means that we will stop patronising them, but after 3 relatively disappointing visits, we will think twice before stepping into the outlet again.

CB..

On The Temasek Trail - The Southern Ridges

I shall try not to bitch.

And look at things in their proper perspective. We are a small little island. Bereft of natural resources and natural wonders. Hell, we don't even have much scenery to begin with. What little land the East India Company first stumbled upon in 1819 has been apportioned to either Water Catchment, Housing or economy-driving Industry.

So I suppose we have had to make do.

With increasing the quality of life on this Little Red Dot that is. Making it Clean and Green. Nevermind if its a little sterile. At least we're not a big, decrepit metropolis that is Jakarta and Manila. Or an architecturally mundane city like Bangkok. Even Kuala Lumpur, behind that gleaming facade of the Petronas Twin Towers, hides an urban labyrinth in much need of repair and refreshment.

How then, should one balance the need to conserve, and the consequent retention of national 'character', with the realistic lack of physical real-estate and an inclination to erase parts of our history in the spirit of Economic Progress? When faced with the prospect of turning a mere 700 square kilometres of infertile land into an economic pocket-dynamo on the world-stage, integration of resources becomes a trifle tricky.



It was with these thoughts in mind, that I approached the Island Republic's latest attraction of sorts, the Southern Ridges. NParks is justifiably proud of this 9km stretch of walkways and green, open spaces that meander through hills that were always there, but not perceived as an entity on its own in the consciousness of the inhabitants that live below.

However like all things on this fastidiously spotless island, our brief sojourn on the elevated platforms through secondary rain-forest and on the fancy, designer-chic bridges they call Henderson Waves and Alexandra, gave us a sense of morbid artificiality that was hard to suppress. And yet, it seemed all too familiar. The 'No Smoking' signages, the squawking groups of urban-bred children, this obsession with having to know just where you are on the map every 50 paces or so, the ubiquitous chirp of SMSes from bird-of-paradise colored handphones.



It seems that in our effort to create natural spaces through the green lungs of the city, we have merely transferred a good proportion of the populace onto the Man-made trails, not unlike a bad bout of Pneumonia. Therein lies the paradox of accessibility. More people enjoy Mother Nature for who She is while Her virtues of Ecology and Sanctuary take a beating in the process.

Kudos to NParks for trying though.

At least we didn't build hill-top condominiums and then urge people to buy them for the stunning views of the Port.

On The Temasek Trail - Telok Ayer

Having hung out at Kampong Glam more times in the last 3 months than I have ever had in my entire lifetime. And braving the maddening throngs at Little India over the past 2 Sundays. We thought Chinatown would be the next logical choice in our quest to capture S'pore on camera before everything is just glossed over in the name of conservation.

But alas, its a little too late to save our dear old Chinese enclave. Because unlike its Malay and Indian brethren, Chinatown has, ironically, become the victim of its own heritage and important place in history. As usual, in the push to preserve this special part of Singapore, the powers-that-be have succeeded in over-doing things to the point of turning the once characterful alleys of Temple, Pagoda and Smith Streets into paved walkways bordering on the kitsch.



The real Chinatown, to me however, lies 2 blocks away. At Telok Ayer. Once the landing site and focal point for all Chinese Immigrants who survived the harrowing sea-trip by rickety Junk from the Mainland. The streets of Telok Ayer, Amoy and Ann Siang are lined with places of worship where grateful seafarers and sailors thank their respective Gods for safe passage, with old Clan Associations where the clickety-clack of mahjong tiles still emanate from within and where the facades of the many 19th century buildings still retain their original flavour.



Stepping into Thian Hock Keng, is like going back in time when the pioneer Hokkiens first set foot on our shores and came into this temple to pay their respects to the Goddess of the Sea. Well if you can ignore the occasional bus loads of noisy tourists who make a quick 10 minute stop-over to gawk that is. None of them, however, pop over to the Al-Abrar Mosque just 40 paces away. Which is a good thing I suppose. Because it keeps the surrealistically turquoise Masjid locked back in time and quiet. The way it should be.



Tomorrow, I shall tell you guys about the Southern Ridges hike that we did yesterday. Suffice to say, it was a little painful in more ways than one.

Unkster Unwound - 一场游戏一场梦 (A Game, A Dream)

Just the other day, at a farewell dinner for a colleague, in a really typical Chinese restaurant that cannot get any cheena-er than this, my new boss expressed his mild shock that I listened to Chinese music.

You see, in the eyes of many people, I am the quintessential Banana. Yellow on the outside but white on the inside. That is, an Oriental brought up in the ways of the West and who has lost, somewhat, a chunk of his roots and Mandarin-speaking ability. And so when the karaoke came on and I sort of warbled my way through Wang Jie's very popular hit from his debut 1987 album, more than one person choked on the sharksfin and spurted their Chinese tea.

Idiots! =))

Anyway, long before Jay Chou, there was Wang Jie, the original Prince of Melancholy. Back in those days, there were none of the Rhythm & Blues/Soul/Rap influences that infuses Mandarin Pop now. Just sad love songs, pure and earnest. Epitomized by the Taiwanese, now turned Canadian, crooner himself.

And just like Jay, I have all his albums. Oh god, I'm old!



不要談什麼分離，我不會因為這樣而哭泣，那只是昨夜的一場夢而已
不要說願不願意 我不會因為這樣而在意，那只是昨夜的一場遊戲

那只是一場遊戲一場夢，雖然你影子還出現我眼裡
在我的歌聲中，早已沒有你
那只是一場遊戲一場夢，不要把殘缺的愛留在這裡
在兩個人的世界裡 不該有你 喔

為什麼道別離，又說什麼在一起
如今雖然沒有你，我還是我自己
說什麼此情永不渝，說什麼我愛你
如今依然沒有你，我還是我自己

那只是一場遊戲一場夢，雖然你影子還出現我眼裡
在我的歌聲中，早已沒有你
那只是一場遊戲一場夢，不要把殘缺的愛留在這裡
在兩個人的世界裡 不該有你 喔

為什麼道別離，又說什麼在一起
如今雖然沒有你，我還是我自己
說什麼此情永不渝，說什麼我愛你
如今依然沒有你，我還是我自己

為什麼道別離，又說什麼在一起
如今雖然沒有你，我還是我自己
說什麼此情永不渝，說什麼我愛你
如今依然沒有你，我還是我自己