Taiwan, Day 1, Long Shang Temple and Liaoling Street Night Market

Got into Taipei last night, July 30th, 2016, from Singapore (who's airport bookstore, by the way, had a stock of Harry Potter, The Cursed Child, under protective netting ready for today's big release). By the time we got from the airport to the Taipei Westin, i was wiped. Room service was all i can manage before succumbing to fatigue and passed out.

This morning we awoke to the prospect of 38*C weather. However, since we are in Taipei, we figured we should go out and about and take a look at what is out there. Because of the crowds Google suggested might be at the National Palace Museum, we decided to put my favourite museum off till tomorrow. So, we decided on Long Shang Temple, literally meaning a Buddhist Temple of the Dragon Mountain. According to various guide books and websites, the temple has stood on the current site since the Qing Dynasty (specifically 1738).

Long Shan Temple, the "fog" is due to my lens fogging up when i went from a cab with a/c to the outside environment

The Temple has had various renovations and rebuilds after "effects of men" (which i interpret as more violent mannish effects). The temple has three deities attributed to it, that of Guan-Yin, Mazu, and Guan Yu. Guan Yin is the Buddha of Mercy and one of the most popular buddhas in the buddhist pantheon. Mazu is a very Taiwanese goddess of Maritime safety. She is generally prayed to for good fish harvest and safe return of those who work the oceans around Taiwan. Guan Yu was a general to Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms era of China's feudal period.

The central doorway of the temple

Interior of the central roof

Made famous in folklore and captured in "The Romance of Three Kingdoms", he is thought of as the epitome of a perfect scholar warrior and the pinnacle of manly honour. The temple itself sits in "Old" Taipei and has since been surrounded by tall apartment buildings and a MRT (Rapid Transit) station/park has risen across the street from it. A piece of the Taipei past captured and frozen in the midst of modern Taiwan. The entry gates open up to a courtyard approach to the Temple grounds. Walking into the center gate (there is a gate on the right labeled "Entry" and a gate on the left labeled "Exit", but majority of the folks enter through the middle gate, straight into the midst of the Temple activities. If one enters through the "Entry" gate, one passes a stand that offers each visitor three joss/incense sticks. One can also purchase offerings of fruits and flowers, candles, and even more joss/incense sticks. If one enters through the center gate like we did, one is deposited into a throng of incense wielding worshipers and a long table of offerings.

Interior courtyard, side view

Nothing like lit incense ticks around eye level to keep you watchful of your fellow human's meandering progress. The temple is in a classic style.

Inner courtyard, from the side/front hall

The roof is festooned with decorative figures and artistic tiling. Dragons and figures of temple guardians are replete. The main roof of the temple entrance is flanked by two rearing dragons with a center "dragon ball" in the form of a red glass orb. The interior of that central roof is also highly decorated. Artistic geometric wooden decorations culminating in a Chinese symbol of 8, a traditional rendering of the natural order in 8 three lined pictograms.

A phoenix (upper tier) and dragon (lower tier) roof decoration

Passing through the entry all, one arrives at the inner courtyard, which houses the central temple, dedicated to the Long Shan Guan Yin. The entire temple ground is laid out in a rectangle surrounding the central courtyard and central temple. Covered halls serves as the front perimeter. Side walls contain small, more specialized temples. There is a rear courtyard which ends in the third major temple hall, this one dedicated to Mazu. Through out the temple, the air is choked with incense smoke.

A man blessing his prayer beads
(fellow before him blessed his wallet)

There are large incense holders in each of the major courtyards and worshipers congregate around them to plant their incense sticks or, those of smaller stature or afeared of incense burns, simply throws their incense in and hope for the best. There are also folks "blessing" their personal possessions by running their item of choice through the billowing incense smoke. We toured the entire temple grounds before visiting the visitor center to pick up our allotted three incense sticks. We then proceeded through the temple to offer our prayers before visiting the souvenir stand (most temples sells charms and talisman for the visitors to purchase, these items often contain ashes from the incense burners and the proceeds goes toward the upkeep of the temple and of the temple's monks) for some Long Shan Temple specific souvenirs.

After the Long Shan Temple, i passed out again. i guess i am just a bit more run down from a week in Singapore than i gave myself credit for.

a quiet Sunday Liaoling St. Night Market

However, i did awake and revive with enough wherewhithall for a visit to a nearby night market district. It was 7PM, it was 29*C out. The Liaoling Street Night Market. It is a small night market, made smaller due to the fact that it is a Sunday night here. However, judging from the number of stands that were shuttered, it is normally quite a hopping place. Tonight, however, it is mostly just locals out for a quick dinner or take out for those at home. We wandered down the stretch of the Liaoling street to take stock of what is available and survey the fare that is offered before deciding on food for dinner. The first stall we stopped at was advertising "Golden Fried Chicken".

Golden Fried Chicken

Fried Cuttlefish Balls

Fried chicken wings, fried cuttlefish balls, fried chicken steak (no idea what this is, will have to find out tomorrow), fried boneless chicken pieces, and fried sweet potato (which she was out of but more will be available in 30 minutes).

two chicken wings

The wings are 78 cents (today's rate) and an order of three cuttlefish balls are 63 cents. One can have all the items just salt and peppered or with added "spicy" chili powder (it wasn't very spicy, but a nice chili flavor nonetheless). The chicken was juicy and crispy. The salt and pepper gave it a nice zip and a desire for more, if nothing else, i think tomorrow night there will be another visit to the "Golden Fried Chicken" stall. The fried cuttlefish ball was another delightful flavor of home that i have missed. Crispy on the outside and filled with a pop and a squeak from the texture of the cuttlefish paste formed ball. The next stand we hit provided us with what the Taipei folks called "Tien Bu Lah", or "Sweet, not Spicy Hot", or the Mandarin bastardization of the Japanese word "Tempura" though it looks nothing like it.

The stall of goodies

What it resembles is a Japanese dish celled "Oden", which is actually what the same "Sweet, not Spicy Hot" is called in Kaohsiung, except that it is written out with the characters "Black" and "Wheel".

Go figure. The dish consists of root veg cooked in a light soy flavoured broth with pieces of fried tofu, fish cakes, fish balls, and a Taiwanese classic, pork blood rice cake (first lightly fired than boiled). It was, in a word, delicious!

The Taiwanese rice
bowl cake (top). A cup of soup, gratis.

At the same stand, we also picked up a Taiwanese rice dish (can't really come up with a translation, it is sticky rice traditionally packed into a section of bamboo and cooked over fire, the rice contains fried shallots and meat and shiitake mushroom) and a

The "Sweet, no Spicy Hot"

Taiwanese Rice Bowl Cake (take a bowl, drop in some items of marinated meat, a soy sauce braised egg, and mushrooms, cover with glutinous rice paste and steam up into a pie, pour over it some sweet soy sauce and a heaping helping of very finely minced garlic for good measure).

The untranslatable Taiwanese rice dish

We sat down at a rickety table and stools and waited for the food to arrive and to pay the lady of the stall. The entire meal was 140 TWD, or 4.38 US. The untranslatable rice dish was another flavour of home that i have missed. The sauce is, again, slightly sweet. The rice is glutinous rice, but not cooked down to a soft sticky form. It is still slightly hard and satisfying.

Today's fresh ingredients

There is a piece of lean pork contained within and the fried shallots gives it a huge fragrant flavour. Lip smacking good times. The rice bowl cake. The rice bowl cake is made by the minced garlic sauce and the sweet soy sauce. The glutinous rice paste serves as a lid, and once you break through, you find the treasures within. The eggs, the meat, and the mushroom. i'd show you

Oyster omelette, in full sanitary glory

Oyster omelette being made

what i did with it if it was suitable for public viewing... it was a bit primal and a bit disturbing how fast i ate the darn thing. Finally, we visited the stand serving the Taiwanese Oyster Omelette. This was another childhood favourite that you just can't get stateside. A handful of oysters thrown over corn starch on a flat iron with an egg cracked over it and scrambled. The mixture is cooked through and flipped over a heap of water spinach. A second flip wraps the egg/corn starch/oyster mixture around the water spinach. The completed omelette is dressed in a sweat and

Another stall of goodness

Fried tofu goodness!

spicy sauce and served on a

rice noodle soup!

plastic bag covered plastic plate (for your healthy and for sanitation). It was very delicious. So much so that i had one to go. Something about the egg, the chewy corn starch, the sweet and spicy sauce, and the burst of oyster flavor and the flavor of the water spinach. Before we went back to the hotel, we decided also to supplement with a bowl of noodle soup (to go), and two fried tofu (to go) as they are Jenn's all time favourite foods.
All and all, i think it was a good night out and much was consumed. It is good to be back in Taiwan. Now, the question is, how is my GI track tolerating that special Taiwanese flavor? But that is something we worry about on another day. Tonight was a good night of food memory catch up indeed.

Singapore Eats, Day 5, Hawker Fare Luncheon, shaved ice, and the Taste of Durian in the Afternoon...

So, the visit to Singapore comes to a close. The work was performed, the data was collected and the conclusions, typical of science, is not clear cut or obvious. However, one conclusion is certainly true. Singapore is a country where eating and food is paramount. Singaporeans enjoy such a diverse food culture that it is truly a playground for the gastronomically inclined.

Laksa... i can have this morning noon and night

For the last day of the visit, we visited the ABC Hawker Fare. This establishment is surrounded by high rise apartment buildings and serves alternatively as the local residential canteen/hang out. It was just after noon on a Friday and locals were moving about grazing and chatting and taking their time with their lunch break from whatever they were doing. Compared to Chomp Chomp, this Hawker Fare is significantly larger... though not as purposefully engineered by far. You can't easily hose down ABC as you could Chomp Chomp. ABC would make a lot more of a mess. It is clear from the stalls that were open versus closed that there were certain foods that are popular during lunch and food that are more typically an evening fare. We sat down, and Vanessa and Jenn went off hunting while Andre and i chatted. The hunting party returned full of bounty. Laksa, Wonton Soup Noodles, and Fish Ball Soup.

The fish ball soup... mmmm... fish eunchs

The Laksa has to be one of my most favourite things on this trip out to Singapore. i first had it over lunch at the Biopolis in the form of "Laksa Spaghetti", ie, Laksa, the coconut milk fortified spicy curry soup with a flavor profile that is similar to a Massaman Curry served with spaghetti instead of white Chinese noodles. Today at the ABC Hawker Fare, it was done in the traditional fashion. The light spicy curry soup surrounded the white thin noodle strands with rectangles of fried tofu, a few boiled shrimp (with tail on), bean sprouts, and button mushrooms scattered throughout the bowl. A final flourish of dried leafy herbs (it looked like oregano to me) was sprinkled on one rim of the bowl to finish. The taste of the soup is what i love most. The flavor and fragrance of the curry is very appealing, and on the first sip of the soup, the spiciness begins. It starts at the back of the throat and fills your mouth.

Wonton mein

It is not unpleasant nor intolerable, but a nice, gentle spreading warmth. The noodles actually acts as a neutralizer in a way. The fried tofu, like in many other Asian dishes, acts as a sponge and delivers a concentrated dose of the curried soup along with its dried fried tofu funkiness. It is really a combo of flavors that i can just eat forever. When i got to the bottom of the bowl, i actually had a conversation with myself debating whether or not i should drain the soup by drinking from the rim of the bowl. The soup beat out the chance of dysentery calculations and i drained the bowl. Jenn got the Wonton Soup Noodles and the Fish Ball Soup for herself. The Fish Balls are essentially balls of fish paste (white fish -- no specific type, but generally a typical selection of white fish -- is rendered into paste through a process i don't quite know) cooked up in a clear broth that is then flavoured with a handful of diced green onions. The broth is very light and tastes generally of light chicken stock (which is good, i've had ones that tasted strongly of dirty dishes) with a finishing note of lime. The Fish Balls themselves were lighter and crisper than the ones i grew up with, which are typically more dense and toothsome. All and all, quite a light refreshing bowl. The Wonton Soup Noodles was Jenn's choice of nostalgia, she love Wonton noodles but was rather surprised by the way it is served. The egg noodles are cooked, drained and placed in a bowl. A light soy based sauce is poured over to coat and then slices of roast pork (cha-shu) and lengths of green onions is added on top. The wonton of the Wonton Soup Noodle name is then placed in a separate bowl with accompanying clear broth that is similar to the broth she had in the Fish Ball Soup. Because the noodles are kept separate, their flavors are a lot more intense. i would take the noodles and dip it into the wonton soup in a style similar to the eating of Japanese Soba and that was yet another sensation entirely. It was a most pleasant dish.

Peanut and red bean Kacang

After the hot savoury stuff was consumed, i very happily went to the dessert stall that Vanessa recommended. From the size of the line, i gathered that it was the go to stall for shave ice and other related or unrelated sweets. The order i placed was for the Peanut and Red Bean Kacang (Kacang, pronounced Ka-chung, is the Singapore nomenclature for shave ice, where as in Malay, wikipedia informs me, it is called Air Batu Campur or ABC). What i got was a bowl of icy cold and sweet paradise.
Like all Hawker Fare foods, the price was rock bottom. A bowl of ice with dressing, red beans, ground peanuts, various hidden surprises (see below), that was the size of a baby's head cost me 1.50 Singapore dollars. It is roughly 1.12 USD... a bottle of water costs more than that. The ice is shaved and formed by hand, a red coloured syrup is poured into the center at light speed, condensed milk is drizzled on top and all around, a scattering of surprises (corn kernels, lotus seed, lychee fruit, and a few maraschino cherry halves for good measure) joins a ladle of cooked down sweet red beans and a heaping mound of finely diced peanuts (again, if you have peanut allergies, S. E. Asia or Asia in general is a death trap). The outside temp was in the high 20's (celsius), and this was a treat going down. It is also an exploratory expedition. Because it is piled so high, you want to excavate carefully lest you tumble the mounded topping off and all over the Hawker Fare table where, no matter how strong your immune system is, will contain bugs that will render you unable to leave the confines of your toilet for days to come. So, spoonful by joyful spoonful i carved into the ball of ice, enjoying the bites of sweet syrup made rich and thick by the condense milk. The earthy sweetness of the red beans and the crunch and peanuty peanut powder. The occasional bites of the hidden surprises makes the adventure that much more exciting. The corn, especially, was a very pleasant note of alternate sweetness and texture. i was a very happy man-child.

Later that afternoon was the annual Biopolis Durian Party. Andre was kind enough to invite me and the whole lab was buzzing with excitement for the entire week. Durian is not cheap. i guess, from hearing the discussion around the Durian Party, the cost of Durian, depending on varietal, can be as high as 15-20 Singaporean dollars per kg. Since a modest sized Durian is around 1.5-2 kg, one can see how it is not a cheap fruit. Further more, the Durian is sold in its natural state, that of a rugby ball shaped spiked medieval instrument of torture or combat, and unopened. There is no way to tell how much fruit meat is inside, so every purchase is a gamble.

The Durian, opened with the seed and the fruit meat surrounded by the yellow membrane... 

The Durian is also renowned for its smell when ready to eat. It is not that of a corpse as someone once told me, but it is a very strong smell that dances between fermented fruit and very runny bleu cheese. It is quite penetrating and lingering. Even in the outdoor space where the party was held, it was inescapable. When opened (carefully, them spikes really hurt), the durian is quite solidly packed inside with inedible fibrous tissue that, i think, is just designed to protect the fruite. The meat of the Durian, the bits that you eat, surround the seed itself and is covered by a yellow to brown membrane that is thin yet sturdy. The texture of the flesh is that of runny bleu cheese and the flavor (i tried two different varieties) ranges between sharp cheesy (again, bleu) mango like sweet with a peppery finish along with a more intense olfactory smell of slight barnyard/decay mix with concentrated banana like phenolics (first variety, the Mountain King) and subtle sweet with funky savory (sharp cheddar?) notes and a slight distilled spirit (calvados/armagnac) finish along with a milder smell (the second varietal, one i can't remember). It was the texture of the meat that really go to me, even though i love runny bleu cheese, for some reason, the holding of the runny soft and yielding flesh that surrounds the tiny seed is quite a gross-out moment. Then, with that in my head the flavor and texture of the fruit meat hits my mouth. It wasn't horrible, but it was not the most pleasant "oh i simply must do it again and again moment". Now, we have truly experienced all Singapore has to offer 8)

Singapore, Day 4... The Night Safari!!! woooooo (a hush falls)

Today was the day where the Andre lab gets treated to lunch by Jenn and i (on behalf of CanFel). Though i was hoping to take the lab out to dinner, lunch worked better for everyone's schedule, and, since they had an expert in Indian food in the group, it was to be Indian Buffet. Wow, and what a meal it was. i am weak in the face of basmati rice (cooked to a perfect degree of dryness so that each grain remains separate but each grain is yielding and sweet) and things to pour over it. So, when faced with an Indian Buffet, i often end up comatose for the next two or three hours after. i just have to remember to not snore.

The food was fantastic and the flavours were intense. We were at the River Walk Tandoor restaurant by the, well, river. The buffet selection was a good variety of vegetarian Indian dishes, the stand out for me being the sag paneer (spinach and cottage cheese).

So very fresh in flavor and the cheese just on the side of squeaky (as i love) and such a welcomed texture and milk flavor addition to the dish. They also had a lovely lentil curry that was absolutely delectable. For meat, they had a great Mutton dish... i don't believe it was a Rogan Josh, possibly a Rezala? but it was in a deep dark brown sauce with a little bit of heat running through but laced full of spices. It binds the rice together and makes for wonderful bites. There was also a fish curry which i wanted to try but simply ran out of room from being distracted by the tandoori chicken. My, what a tandoori chicken. After the meal, as if i wasn't filled to the gills, i entered the "Sugar Ball" challenge proposed by one of Andre's team members Leung. The sugar balls are, in fact, gulab jamun. The River Walk Tandoor has one of the best i have ever had! Gulab jamun is one of my favourite of all Indian desserts though it is tooth achingly sweet, each gulab jamun milk based fried balls having been soaked to saturation in the heavy sticky syrup.

The lab and the group... why do i feel like uttering "Hodor" over and over again?

 i was told, or i thought i was told, that the record stands at 11, and that record was held by Leung. So my plan going in was to stop at 11 (i can eat this forever or till my pancreas explodes, whichever event precedes the others) and then raise the flag of surrender, putting the competition into at least a tie or losing it completely. Unfortunately, it turns out, Leung only managed 5. So i won. Heh. It was delicious though. And sadly, i probably could have kept on eating, but man, would i be in bad shape today from all that concentrated sugar!

That lunch pretty much took care of my food intake requirements for the day. For the evening, we finally had a chance to visit the fabled Singapore Night Safari!!

Night Safari Singapore... FIRE!!!

Jennie had mentioned this venue for so long (it houses the originating strain that begot her beloved Bengal cats) and we've been trying to go but for the dinners that (oh poor me) we had to attend. It turns out that the Night Safari was quite a popular destination for locals and visitors alike! The park opens from 7:15PM to midnight. There are four available waves of admittance, 7:15, 8:15, 9:15, and 10:15. By the time we got there at 7:15, the only tickets available was for the 9:15 entry. However, it seems that they had anticipated this event, as, between the ticket booths and the entry gate, there is a cluster of restaurants and shops to entertain any visitor and satisfy their wants. Not only that, as the folks queue up for entry, there is even a side entertainment of fire eaters "from the dark and mysterious jungles of... blah blah blah" (i forget their taped intro... suffice it to say that they are topless, well muscled and at least one is well oiled and gleaming) to keep diners and queue standees enthralled.

Great Ball of Fire!!

So, we took the time and ate, well, Jenn ate, i photographed and incubated by Indian food baby from lunch and mostly lurched from point A to B. The fire eaters were actually quite entertaining. The whole "suspended fireball" trick was pretty cool until you realized that they were keeping the fireball suspended by a fine spray of fuel from their mouths... so make sure you are not "down range". When it came our time to enter the Night Safari, we then began to gleam the process of the Safari experience. The park consists of 4 interlinked walking trails that essentially will criss cross the path the Safari Tram will take. The walking paths will allow you greater access to animals that you see from the driving tram as well as enclosures that are obscured from the driving tram. Being novices, we decide to tram it first and then walk it. i was also optimistic that my camera would be able to capture the denizens of the safari in the night light. Well... i was wrong. They took great pains in making sure that the residents of the Night Safari -- everyone a nocturnal animal -- will not be forced to endure lighting uncommon to that of a bright evening. The camera's auto-focus function was absolutely useless. i changed the lens to a manual focus setting instead and was satisfied with 1 out of every 6 photos being properly focused (it is hard to focus in the dar when everything blends into black).

Cloud Leopard

We also decided to leave the tram at the first stop when it became clear that the two women with their sons (one per woman) was not keen  on curbing their young boy's behaviours and it was going to be an awfully long tram ride. Getting off the tram was the best decision we made. We traipsed across the Leoplard and the Aquati Cats Trail and were quite happy. The first enclosure we came upon housed three (i think three) Cloud Leopards. Beautiful cats. Not very large, probably the size of a large house cat but so much more well muscled and possibly longer. As we waited for a good photo op, a group of Mainland Chinese tourists came up to the enclosure and, one member of the group, finding the enclosure empty, decided to pound on the glass to better draw out whatever is housed within. In the dark, i couldn't tell their ethnicity, so i barked at him in English to stop pounding on the bloody glass (he stopped), but i wish i would've done so in Chinese so that he understand exactly how much of a shit head he is.

Asiatic Lions at play

God, i hate my fellow Asian travellers sometimes. Anyhow, they left and the Cloud Leopard came back and i managed to get at least one good shot of one of the cats before his/her buddies showed up and they went chasing each other into the vegetation like our cats Macintosh and Darwin. Up the trail from the Cloud Leopards was an over watch into the open air enclosure of the Asiatic Lions. We saw these beautiful cats from the tram but it was difficult to photograph. Here, stationary and with ample time, i again, managed to get at least one good photo of two Asiatic Lions playing, We then turned onto the Fishing Cat Trail and, possibly making a wrong turn, entered the Asian Golden Cat enclosure. The glassed in enclosure was very dimly lit. The colour scheme running through was in the family of brown to dark brown. The Asian Golden Cats? Well, they are "Golden" or brown/dark brown. Luckily for us, the two cats in the enclosure were doing what cats do best, sleeping. i finally found one that was sleeping on a branch and Jenn found the other laying by a stump watching dispassionately at us. So cat like!

Let sleeping Asian Golden Cats lie... 

Spotted Hyena

Wandering along down the trail, we then came across the Spotted Hyena enclosure. There were two Hyenas in view, one was in repose, looking around lazily, the other was patrolling the perimeter, working its way through a set of stations that only it knows, i was very pleased when i check my cameras that i had a good photo of the patrolling Hyena. It was a very exciting moment as i savored that photo and deleted the other 10 or 15 bad, blurry, shots. Thank god for SD cards. i won't be able to afford the film that i would have gone through. A series of bird sanctuaries were next on our trail before we found ourselves in front of the Small Toothed Civet. The two Civets that were out were sitting with their backs to the Safari guests and looked attentively at a spot overhead. We also saw another Civit sitting on top of the rook in a enclosure building. The Civet gave way to a group of very yelpy and loud Small Clawed Otters, who knew that their cries were yipes? Finally we arrived at the enclosure of the Asian Fishing Cat. Appropriately, as we waked up, one such cat was perched on a log next to the stream containing fish. He was absolutely focused on the task at hand and, right after i photographed him, he lunged into the water. However, he came back empty handed, shook off the water quickly and walked back across the well vegetated area and disappeared into the brush.

Small-toothed Civet, what are they looking at?

Following his path, we were able to spot a second cat sitting amongst foliage looking quizzically at the gawking visitors. The viewing of the fishing cats capped our night. Besides, my tee shirt was soaked through with sweat from the humidity in the air. Hot and steamy but quite a lot of fun indeed!

Small Clawed Otters

Asian Fishing Cat, waiting in ambush

Asian Fishing Cat, thinking "silly humans"?

Singapore Eats, Day 3, Street Food Delights @ 1°21'51.1"N 103°51'59.8"E

The location, 1°21'51.1"N 103°51'59.8"E, otherwise known as the Chomp Chomp Food Centre (CCFC). Continuing with the theme of "local foods" as set by Andre and his team, tonight we were introduced to the Singapore Hawker Fare. Andre confessed that he and his wife has actually never been to CCFC, but CCFC was a favourite of members of his lab. Fittingly, the selfsame members of the lab was present to serve as guide for the meal. On the drive up, we experienced Singapore traffic jam on the CTE and the discussion turned to current affairs -- Secretary Clinton has just been officially nominated as the Democratic Presidential Candidate, and Assange/Wikileaks is once again in the headlines with a string of embarrassing Democratic National Convention email leaks that may or may not have been hacked from DNC servers by the Russian Intelligence Service. Truly, this election cycle is stranger than fiction yet too real that it shakes my believe in my fellow man's innate good nature. However, that is neither here nor there.

Andre's wife Chloe, Jenn and i met up with Leung at the CCFC while Andre hunted for parking. Situated next to a traffic rotary and tucked between a number of strip malls/low slung (three floors at the most) residence buildings, the CCFC is a collection of permanent food stalls surrounded by picnic benches all gathered in a roofed but otherwise open area.

The sugar cane juice stall, one of at least 4, but the "best one"

Every table of 4 (two such to a set of benches) is numbered and, when we got there, occupied with all manner of folk. There was a quartet of older white europeans happily drinking beer and eating satay who stood out against a browner, smaller baseline. There were families with children in tow, students just done from (as could be seen from their equipment) badminton practice, and, of course, friends in groups and couples on dates. Leung left us to go hunting for tables further in, disappearing in a cloud of cooking smoke, and the rest of us waited at the outskirts of the CCFC, hovering over two potentially soon to be vacated tables. During the wait, i looked at the area with more care.

The floors are tiled and numerous floor drains are generously scattered about. Around every collection of food stalls (at the CCFC it was arranged like two letter Hs stacked one on top of another, two long side of stalls defined the perimeter with two central axis of a cluster of 4 food stall islands amongst the tables and people) were engineered sloping central channels with a walled backstop. The whole place was designed to be sluiced clean after every night of service.

wings wings delicious wings!

A central restroom area with outside sinks serves the denizens of CCFC (many public restrooms in Singapore has the sinks outside of the men's and women's, a rather efficient design as most people are seeking just to wash their hands of the food grease and detritus after ravenous consumption -- in Asia, their idea of a napkin is the US idea of triple-ply toilet paper, most people travel with a cache of wet naps/wipes or really shiny greasy jeans.

The local seafood in safe sanitary display!

Very quickly, Leung telephoned to report he has secured one table of 4 next to a couple who are just finishing. As we prepare to go meet him at tables 45 and 46 (the tables are numbered for food delivery), Andre showed up. The timing was impeccable. The moment we sat down, Leung was to his feet and off to the stalls to order food. The ordering method is simple. You flag down the "front of the house person" (ie, not the guy or woman doing the cooking) and talk loudly (CCFC was crowded busy and thus, loud) at them the order and the delivery locale (table number). Money is exchanged and you move on to the next stall for the food. What finally arrived at the table (or Leung's handiwork) was a feast. There was the Oyster Omelette, a drier, less runny and more eggy version of a childhood addiction of mine from growing up in Taiwan. Oysters fried on a flat top with scrambled eggs, corn starch, and, in Taiwan, spinach or water spinach.

Oyster omelette

The result was a heartier omelette like omelette (does that even make sense?) which goes fabulously with the chili sauce and the huge steins of sugar cane juice spiked with lime/lemon!

ice cold sugar cane juice, just the thing!

The iced sugar cane juice was a thing of pale green refreshing goodness. The night's temperature was in the high 80's (fahrenheit) and a bit muggy, so the drink was a treat! After the drinks and the omelette, the food came in waves as successive food runners fast walked by announcing their arrival with a "big brother, here are your food!". Leung had ordered the local stingray pan fried with sambal and topped with pickled onion and served with a half of kaffir lime. However, i think that the fish was indeed a skate wing instead of a stingray, but who am i to argue? It was delicious. i can get used to sambal, adds such a lovely unique spice to the dish. There was also the local clams in a spicy clammy light sauce perfect for that tongue tingling finish. It was all i can do to make sure there is enough to go around for the other folks.

The local stingray/skate wing

The next to arrive was what our Singapore compatriots jokingly called the "Salad".

clams Singapore

It is a mixture of fruits (apple, green papaya, mango), turnips, and chinese fried dough all tossed in a thick sweet (but not too sweet) brown sauce and sprinkled in peanuts. Fabulous! Then a plate of sambal stir fried water spinach was dropped off so that we can claim that we are having a complete and healthy dinner. The veg was actually quite delicious, not cooked down to a chewy floppy mess but still supple and snappy veg with a nice hit of heat and spice. i quite liked it. The chicken wings and satay were the next to arrive. Accompanied by their respective sauces (near everything has a dipping sauce, sometimes it is just the pervasive chili sauce, but the satay had a nice peanut sauce, and the wings with the, well, pervasive chili sauce). The wings glistened. My

the "salad"

god did they glisten.

water spinach!

And were delicious and meaty and juicy as all hell. i think Jenn could've sat there and polished off all ten wings (ten wings with associated drumette) were she there by herself. These are some meaty delicious. The satay were of two variety, chicken (white breast meat) and pork (loin, two pieces, with a piece of fat sandwiched between the two to give it extra porky goodness i am told). Both were just the thing for an outdoors street food feast. You can taste the smoke and char and the sweat peanut sauce was like a lovely caramel finish to just sweeten the experience just that little bit. 

Then they dropped off probably my favourite dish of the night. Soft thin flour crepes wrapped around turnips, potato, eggs and spices like a delicious burrito. The flavors were subtle and delightful. There is a play of spice on the tongue, an earthy sweetness from the root vegetables. The crepe wrapping was yielding and tasted slightly of warmed toast. With a helping of chili sauce or a dip in the satay peanut sauce, the entire experience was elevated to another level.

glistening wings

However, before that even happens, more food arrives. Though, thank god, it was the final two. A hakkanese noodle and a "turnip cake". The hakkanese noodles are rice vermicelli noodles stir fried with egg and mung bean sprouts and the dinner's choice of sea food additions (in this case, shrimp and squid). A dollop of shrimp paste is then served on the side of the plate along with a lime for squeezing. There is something satisfying about a good plate of noodles, and this is no exception. It is a feeling of growing up in Asia and a feeling of contentment.

crepe roll up

Then that hit of lime hits you and refreshes as it sets a counter point to the funky salty shrimp paste that just screamed South East Asia on your taste buds. The turnip cake was a surprising dish and one that probably fought the wings for Jenn's favourite dish of the night. It is diced up daikon cakes (as one would see a whole one of in most dim sum restaurants around the world to a varying degree of "done rightedness") that is scrambled with eggs, spices, and shrimp. The result is that of a hard scrambled egg with pockets of soft turnipy textural surprise. Almost like an egg fried rice where there is more egg than rice. Again, another dish that goes fabulously with the chili sauce.

All and all, another fabulous night that resulted in me worrying about the need to find bigger pants soon. Man... the food is delicious. Singapore is truly an eater's paradise, the variety and flavors are just impressive!

Hakkanese noodles

satay, meat onna stick