Cliff(y) Goes Dining

A love story between a Singaporean and an Indonesian~ Hailing from Lombok, Indonesia, ayam taliwang is a spicy grilled chicken dish said to be invented in the 1970s. The combination of ayam taliwang and  nasi lemak  (Malay rice dish cooked in coconut milk with pandan leaves), which can be found at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, was conceived by a Singaporean-Indonesian couple who used to work as flight attendants.

Breakfast with a golf course view~ Last year, I had the opportunity to go for a 2D1N staycation at the serene Orchid Country Club (4*) as I managed to score a fantastic deal. The room rate didn't include breakfast, but I went for a la carte breakfast at one of the eateries called Vanda Terrace. Breakfast items are served there from 7.30am to 11.00am daily.

Tasty 'chee cheong fun' worth queueing up for! Chee cheong fun  is a Cantonese dish of steamed rice noodle rolls originating from Guangdong Province in southern China and Hong Kong. I love them doused in soy sauce and sesame oil. Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun at Pek Kio Market & Food Centre has been dishing out lovely ones for more than 10 years.

Quite a hearty bowl of chicken congee for breakfast! A mid-range hotel located next to Zhongshan Park in the Novena district, Ramada by Wyndham Singapore (4*) has been welcoming guests for staycation during the current Phase 2 of Reopening. The hotel states that it's providing boxed takeaway breakfast for the time being. However, my friend and I were allowed to have ours at its restaurant: New Ubin Seafood .

Serving delicious 'mee goreng' since the 1980s! New Ubin Seafood gets its name from Pulau Ubin, a northeastern island of Singapore, where it used to operate in the past before moving to the mainland in 1992. At the point of writing, there are three branches. I visited the one within Ramada by Wyndham Singapore at Zhongshan Park (4*) during my staycation there for a quick lunch.

Where one 'Thai' isn't enough to make you stand out! When I heard my friend mentioning the name Zhongshan Mall for the first time, my response was, "Is that in Taipei, Taiwan?" He was actually referring to a shopping mall located in close proximity to the historical Sun Yat-Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall between Novena and Toa Payoh MRT stations. I agreed to accompany him to have dinner there at this affordable Thai eatery.

How good is the award-winning black pepper crab? I've known the existence of House of Seafood for quite some time, though it was only recently that I went all the way to Punggol Settlement for the very first time. There's another branch at Petaling Jaya's 1 Utama Shopping Centre, which is the largest shopping mall in Malaysia.

No place for chocolate lava cake, but an orange filled one! UPDATE (13/01/2018):  The restaurant has closed down. After a day of fun at the River Safari with a brief stopover at Mama Panda Kitchen for a quick lunch, my BFF and I decided to check out a relatively new Italian restaurant, which began its operation sometime last year. I also had a chance to interact with the Italian owner, albeit due to an unforeseen situation, which I'm going to elaborate more later.

Chicken satay burger, anyone? UPDATE (13/09/2015):  The eatery has closed down. The last NUS exam period ever for me is around the corner. As I'm taking a short break, I shall come up with an update at least once before my first paper this coming Saturday. Fancy Indonesian cuisine with a Western twist? Head down to RS Deli, where RS stands for Rasa Sayang (lit. affection), a famous bakery based in Jakarta. Pika's advice: This is the place to get Indonesian snacks and cakes, such as kue lapis (lit. layer cake)!