I Give You Thai, Cheap cheap!

I’ve been a little addicted to something these days. THAI NOODLES. Especially when it’s dunked and simmering in spicy tom yum soup. It’s not something most Westerners would like to scald their taste buds with, but it’s definitely yummilicious to true-blue Asians. Tom yum (when you have the right paste, of course) can be a spectacular entrée anytime of the day. And extremely easy to prepare at home. So if you’re thinking of a career change, shell out bowls of super-hot Asian noodles garnished fragrantly with Chinese parsley, mint leaves, concentrated lime squeezes and sliced tomatoes, out of the back of a rented truck. Add shrimps and sotong, you can probably charge 6 bucks or seven with home made lime juice in the commercial district or in town.

In this tropical heat, the working people will be attracted to the desirable smells of a very fulfilling meal in the thick of summer – healthy fare with healthy calories, plus the high chili content increases the average person’s metabolic rate, and cools one down when sweating while shoving rice mee down delicate throats. So to feed my current addiction, I take a slow walk to Toa Payoh HDB Hub’s Lotus Thai where a picture of Utt (you know the MTv VJ who’s Thai?, also Brand's Essence spokesperson) and assumingly the owner, is laminated and pasted conspicuously for all would-be customers to see.

The staff are generally nice and double up as cooks – and I do suspect they’re all Thai who can speak some Chinese for the convenience of heartlanders. For approximately seven dollars, you can stuff yourself silly with fried vermicelli with seafood, spring roll and tom yum soup for lunch or dinner.

Sidetracking a little, in the same area, take the stairs down to the local cafeteria where the bus terminal is for Silver Stream rojak. The husband and wife team used to share shifts at the old premise in a coffee shop that’s near the public library, and opposite the new blocks of government apartments. It’s been taken over now by someone else cause they moved to their underground cubicle. Don’t ever think the old stall hasn’t changed cause it’s absolutely gross! The fried you tiao is not even crispy, and after being tossed with the shrimp paste and thick blanket of crushed peanuts, it’s just a mushy mess that tastes just as bad. Stick to the new stall operated by the real McCoy's where you’ve got to take a number and wait for the electronic board to reflect your digits – which can mean a long wait, up to forty minutes, mostly experienced during high-traffic lunch and dinner times. The underground cafeteria though closes early on Saturdays and doesn’t open on Sundays as it was created to service the working executives in HDB, PSB, and neighborhood companies such as Philips and SPH.

Back to Thai food…definitely go for the tom yum soup with noodles or rice, and the fried vermicelli – it’s so worth the visit, and it’s cheap, and there’s hardly a line. Cheep cheep…

Kitchen Un-Confidential

This place was supposed to be SECRET.

This place was to be our family thang, if you get what I mean.

I don’t mean to be selfish but after a while, Singapore can be pretty teeny weeny. And you don’t get to keep things to yourself, especially yummilicious grubs. Majorly due to the influx of national food shows that sniff out all the famous hawker stalls, high-profile restaurants, and ulu areas – notably Makansutra Raw, Sweets For My Sweet and Makan Places : Lost And Found.

Not famous or on tv? Hop onto the cyberspace wagon and say your piece via unsupervised food blogs, general forums, and the latest application on Facebook – Local Picks. Plus all the monthly magazines and weeklies give stars, bow ties and bowls to determine the “goodness” and “oomph-ness” of each bite and a whole lot of yada, yada…So I’m confused, faced with a sea of obvious choices and a growing unbelievability in these so-called food critics, both bona fide and the unqualified.

Everyone has an opinion, and has a need to tell everyone else about it.

I’m no different. So here’s my odourific secret – EVEREST KITCHEN (55 Chander Road). It’s a cosy restaurant at the end of Rotan Lane which packs in mainly Nepalese every day. A few walk-in tourists and adventurous locals are pleasantly surprised here for many reasons.

1. Love the brass bowls – made by hand in Nepal…We wanted to buy them but no sirree…not for sale.

2. Simple menu that’s easy to read with pictures – awesome for people like me who know absolutely nothing about Nepalese fare…in fact. I’ve never been to the mountainous country or near it.

3. Prices are astonishingly low – food’s satisfying and definitely worth its pennies. Why? Read on.

4. The momo’s, which is one of the signature dishes, are true to its original taste – heavier skin than the one used for xiao long bao, stuffed with moist minced chicken, sans juice. Dipped lightly in chutney, the result makes you want to go - ole ole ole ole! And do the Kallang Roar. It’s simple and tasty. Goal! (ard $7/8 pcs)

5. Shrimps tucked overflowingly in a halved papaya, submerged in light creamy sauce, is happy food! Eaten on its own or with Bismati rice, or even with raw garlic bits brushed on fresh naan, the flavour rush is addictive – succulent, tender and fresh. ($12-ish) Goes well with cold beer.

6. Allergic to crustaceans? Some unusual greens will hit the spot – fried lady’s fingers sliced razor-thin and dunked into hot oil. Result? Vegetable Chips. Mmmmm… ($6, methinks)

7. If you’re the sort who prefers to keep your food loot to yourself,

ask for a personal lunch or dinner set for only five bucks. You’ll get a huge selection comprising chicken or mutton chunks slammed with curry, heavy dosage of mixed vegetables, big pool of dhal, a spot of spicy dip and a pile of your favourite naan, Bismati rice or both. Trust me, before you’re even halfway done, you’ll be moved to saving the leftovers for lunch the next day.

8.. Skip dessert. Have a marsala or ginger tea instead...spy...seee...!!

I am SOLD to this place…my very good friends have been escorted by moi. And they absolutely loved it. In fact, they can’t believe the check everytime it appears – “it’s so cheep!”.

They don’t have a Nets facility here but they do accept major credit cards, and of course, cash.

And it’s just a 3-minute walk from Little India MRT, Exit E.

It’s accessible, comfortable, affordable, hygienic, air-conditioned, managed well by friendly service ladies and yummilicious. Sounds too good to be true? Believe it. I wonder if they deliver…

Feels Like Home @ HOUSE

I HAVE DECIDED- I'm 30, so I shall just speak my mind and not go into great lengths to beat around the bush, so they say. So here's the deal, I eat like a freak at a rapid pace, and can be seen in a million places in a split milisecond. At such lightning speed that I'm living by, so should my blogs be. Swift, to the point, and very pretty xoxo

Presenting HOUSE on 8D Dempsey Hill - The menu's adorable and pretty extensive. I found Mexican, American, Italian and something-something influences which sometimes can't be seen, only tasted. My favorite is the peanut butter cake with such a gooey, crunchy texture to it, it should be slathered on everything you put your lips to.

Vintage plates, eclectic furniture, spacious surroundings, sleek bar, Turkish bath (jaw-dropper), and the romantic night sky can make for some serious merry-making with exquisite booze, velvety desserts and honest-to-goodness food. Like truffle oil fries (mmmmm...), tuna salad which smells Asian and lovin' it, dip-sters in adorable campy tin cans with toasty bread, tender medium rare steak slices which have been generously marinated and seasoned to break out into a scrumptious symphony of spicy flavors....really, you should be here.

I'm parked here almost the whole of next week. I'd be able to read off the menu in my sleep by then. The only thing missing here is a 1000-thread count bed fitted with gilded Cavalli sheets, Cleopatra pillows and a purring hairy-tailed feline in bed with me. Purrrrr....

How's that for swift-ness?...Haiyah, give me some time lah. Still a little chong hey (long-winded)