Cheok Kee Braised Duck Rice - Singapore

Laziness, Personified
I recently quit my job, pulled stakes in Paris and settled in Singapore.  I tell myself I'm in early retirement and will repeat it like a mantra until my money runs out.  With little to worry about I anticipated a blog creativity burst that never arrived. Rather, I've become lazier.  I can easily pass a day without doing a whole lot.  For hours I ponder deep questions such as "should I swim before dinner or after?"   Then I stumbled into Cheok Kee, where they take the bones out of the duck for you.  These are the types of incremental improvements that can jolt a listless retiree back into the blogosphere.

Potong Pasir Kopi Pau - Singapore

They're Not Famous But They Should Be
Bao or pau?  Kopi or coffee?  Regardless of word choice - we're talking about a steamed bun with a sweet coffee-flavored belly button.  I tried to sell my local friends on it - they just gave me the "what does an Ang Mo know about bao" look.  Especially a bao from Potong Pasir - one of the smallest estates in Singapore. PP is a bit dog-eared in a lovable way.  While the rest of the island has been upgrading like crazy, PP has retained some original small-town charm.

Smitten Coffee and Tea Bar - Singapore

I Thought I Was Having the "Big One"
Smitten is another of the hip Singaporean cafes to open recently.  They do it right - good, rich coffee, nice cakes and snacks, cool contemporary interior.  There's just one problem....  price.  When they handed me the bill I almost had a heart attack.

The Pigeon Hole - Singapore

The Cool Cafe Wars Are Brewing
It's like 00's NYC all over again.  Here in Singapore a cool cafe opens weekly.  In an eyeblink, we've gotten The Pigeon Hole, Loysel's Toy, Sarnies, Orange Thimble, Drips, Smitten and undoubtedly a few others while I wrote this post.  If you're an office-less worker like me the Pigeon Hole is remote-bot heaven. They have comfortable tables, coffee and free wifi.  After 20 minutes of work and 40 minutes of net-surfing I dug into their signature chocolate bread-and-butter pudding.  It's described on the menu as velvety creme brulee topped with chunks of fluffy buttery croissant and chocolate chips.  I wonder, is that really a croissant on top or pieces of you tiao?  The latter, I hope - that would be cooler.

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison - Singapore

Juicy Pork Loin Salvation
After a day with Dodo's girlfriends spent gossiping in the hair salon and loitering in the mall as they tested skin cream and shouldered pricey bags, I felt like I'd grown ovaries.  What saw me and my shrinking gonads through it all was the anticipation of a deep-fried pork loin dinner at Tonkatsu by Ma Maison.  They served me the juiciest, most succulent, mind-bending tonkatsu - I cannot imagine a better one - not even on my upcoming Japan vacation!  If I find a superior version, as improbable as that is, it will be purely by chance.  I feel about their tonkatsu as I do about the Dodo - no need to search any further.

Cupcakes with Love - Singapore

The Coming Cupcake Craze Crash
Cupcakes have gone global, they're multiplying like a virus.  Cutesie-poo cupcake shops have been popping up in Paris and now I'm seeing them sprout in Singapore.  Kinda reminds me of real estate in '07.  You knew things were crazy and it was going to end badly, you just didn't know when.  I enjoyed my visit to Cupcakes with Love and I wish them well but I suspect they're like a Miami condo a few years back.  It's all about timing.

Cindy - Singapore

Settling into the East Coast
When in Singapore, I usually stay in Serangoon but this time around I'm staying in the East Coast.  Not a great location for trains, so I'm figuring out all the bus routes but what an amazingly good location for food!  One of Dodo's friends took me to the LC hawker on Tanjong Katong Rd and there I discovered my dinner soul mate: kung pao chicken from a stall called Cindy.  It was spicy, artery-clogging love at first bite!

Loysel's Toy Cafe - Singapore

Hi, I'm Lactose!
I have a buddy who never quite finishes his sentences.  If you ask him to have a latte he'll say "I can't, I'm lactose."  He's missing the all important "intolerant", which imparts a noticeably different spin.  I've been intolerant my whole life but have chosen to pretend otherwise.  However, with a nod to the power of milk sugars, I've been trying to warm up to soy.  Loysel's Toy Cafe makes a great soy latte and that's no easy feat.  Their strong espresso tastes as if it's mixed with milk.

Feeling Unmotivated

Singapore, Here I Come
I didn't mean to mislead you.  You've been clicking into the Puff List and upon seeing that same old doughnut shot, cursing me and my momma.  Truth is, I've been feeling lazy and unmotivated.  I have no idea why.  I hope that when I arrive in Singapore on Monday, that'll change.  I might start off with a plate of carrot cake at my local Serangoon spot.  Or, hit Sin Ming.  Either way, it'll be warm and far from the Paris and loaded with good eats.  Check back with me in a few days.

40 Hands - Singapore

Outsourcing the Hobby
Puff List readers realize I don't know what I'm talking about and my photos are crap.  I'm no pro, this is a hobby - one that can be very time consuming.  At 40 Hands, I accidentally stumbled into an epiphany - I may be able to outsource some of the work.  I was there for brunch with Dodo and her friends MC and Pirate Pixels, two photo fanatics.  They whipped out their expensive cameras and were like food paparazzi.  In this post, I'm using their shots and you can definitely tell the difference - notice the beautiful depth of field in Pirate's egg cocotte.

Khong Guan - Singapore

Nasi Padang in Queenstown
This is the full circle post - the one that takes me back to the beginning.  Khong Guan is one of the first places I tried in Singapore and the one from which my girlfriend's nickname sprang.  See the "greedy shot" photo on the right, the one with the sparkling curry puff?  That was taken here a few years back and sent to me long-distance.  I started calling her Puff almost immediately and the name stuck for quite a while.  My mom still calls her that, resisting the more recently concocted "Dodo" as being too insulting.  Puffin grew up eating at this coffee shop and she gets all misty-eyed when she talks about their mee rebus.  I was more than happy to gnaw on a fat curry puff, which was deliciously tasty, sentimentality aside.

Tong Ah - Singapore

Now We're Talking...
All you fake toast spots, stand aside.  All you wannabe toast joints, get outta the way.  We're talking old school, throw back, analog, original toast, Chinatown-style.  I'd been spending too much time at lame, wan, watered down mall toast places and Ah Tong was the antidote.  There, sitting amongst the shophouses I downed stacks of perfectly made butter-sugared and kaya toasts and chased them with cups of dark, satisfying kopi.

Freshness Burger - Singapore

Where's the Beef?
Back in the 80's there was a series of Wendys commercials in which an insistent senior kept yelling "Where's the beef?" as a way of tweaking McDonalds and Burger King for their small patties.  When the crew at Freshness Burger handed over my "classic" cheeseburger at lunch yesterday I felt like screaming the same thing.  To make matters worse, when I bit into it all I tasted was hype. 

Toast@Work - Singapore

The Beginning of the End?
Nex is yet another new glittering mall in Singapore with restaurants throughout and a food court on the top floor.  You can eat in air-conditioned comfort, a welcomed respite from the unceasing heat and sun.  We navigated Nex to try out Toast@Work and while I have no specific complaints, I worry that these malls will slowly dilute the street food culture and doom the Singapore food scene.

Koon Kee - Singapore

Garage Farewell Dinner
As midnight approaches I realize how Cinderella must have felt. It's time to head back to Paris but I don't want to, I'd rather stay here with Dodo. We spent our last meal at Koon Kee where I was on the prowl for Beef Hor Fun, described to me as beef stew with flat noodles. Who coulda guessed that the prawn-paste fried chicken and the decor would steal the show.

Once Upon a Milkshake - Singapore

Fourth Time's a Charm
I'd been to Once Upon a Milkshake before and was forced to accept some lesser flavor like mocha. I've peeked in a few other times but they were always out of it. Just take it off the menu, already. Stop teasing me. The other day, one more peek. They have it!! I burst through the door so hard everyone momentarily stopped fondling their iBaubles.

Flor Patisserie - Singapore

It's a Matter of Taste
Imagine yourself in a dream, floating high above the earth. You're not scared, you feel safe and happy. The sun is warm and bright, causing you to squint. It's beauty like you've never seen, all the colors are glowing. Sugary white clouds billow around you, beckoning you, and in your dream state you know they're edible. You close your eyes, open your mouth and gently bite. How does it taste?

Wah Lok - Singapore

Dim Sum Mea Culpa
I felt so bad I had to do something, but what? Send flowers? Chocolates? I was concerned about re-doubling the insult with an awkward apology. So, I consulted a Singaporean insider for advice. "Just take her for a nice meal, duh" said Puffin, disgusted by my stupidity. I left the choice to Puffin who set up a visit to Wah Lok, a Cantonese restaurant inside the Carlton Hotel.

Sin Ming Roti Prata - Singapore

The Bar Has Been Raised
For me, the perfect roti prata is a balance between flaky and fluffy. The skin should shatter a bit when forked and you shouldn't have to work to hard to tear off a chunk. Sin Ming Roti Prata gets it just right. I've been a handful of times now and they're consistently good. If they were closer to Puffin's and not a cab ride away I wouldn't go anywhere else for prata. I'll crown them, for now, as my favorite "travel prata."

Mang Kiko's Lechon - Singapore

Fatty Pork to the Rescue
We were on a quest for Filipino burgers in Lau Pa Sat, a Victorian hawker built in the late 1890's. We searched and searched but the burgers didn't show themselves. Luckily, Dodo caught a whiff of the other Filipino meat: pork. This barbecued pork belly plate was sinfully good, wiping all thoughts of burgers from my mind.