Changi Beach and Steamboat for the Soul

Julien was really nice to take me out Saturday afternoon even though he would rather sleep in - he had gone to a party without me Friday night, and came home in the wee hours of the morning. So technically, he only had about a coupla hours sleep. I felt like a Princess! He didn't have to, but he did anyway.

He told me it was going to be a surprise. So okay, I just followed. Apparently he had heard about a Bistro at Changi Beach and wanted to take me there for lunch, since I had missed a great party the night before, AND my french classes the next day too (there was a 1 week break). It was Ting's day! When we arrived, we realised we had just missed the kitchen closing time, and we were only allowed to order from the finger food menu. We were getting more hungry by the minute as we looked around and saw others chowing into their pastas and burgers since they ordered their meals on time. No biggie. I wasn't gonna let something small like this rain on my parade that early in my day. So we ordered a basket of mixed platter. I had in mind a version of how my mix platter would look like, since there was no description on what was actually in the platter - an assortment of calamari frittered rings, fish fingers, french fries, 2 chicken hotwings, and maybe one or two other knick knacks. When it finally was served, our jaws dropped. It was a tiny oval basket that was served to us small enough to fit about 5 eggs. In it were 2 samosas, 2 spring rolls, 2 chicken nuggets, and a few strands of french fries littered all over - Pathetic. We ate it still since we were famished. By the time we were ready to leave, since we arrived late and took our time still, it was already 4pm.

Still hungry, we decided to ride up to the Changi Village Hawker Centre to grab some real food. I had really wanted chicken wings while at the Bistro, and was really disappointed that it didn't come with our little basket. So I thought, hey why not get some at the food centre, and throw in another plate of gong gong.

gong-gong /gong gong, ɡɒŋ ɡɒŋ/ n. [Mal.] The pearl conch (Strombus canarium), an edible mollusc which is usu. cooked with chilli or deep-fried as fritters.
http://www.singlishdictionary.com/

On a side note here, it's awesome that someone came up with a Singlish Dictionary! Way to go Singapore lah!!!

Back to my story, what we didn't know was that it was still too early and the seafood stalls have either not been set up, or are not even open yet. I walked around for a while, and was about to give up, when I found a stall that does BOTH chicken wings AND gong gong! Who was feeling a rush of satisfaction? Me! My lunch ended really late, but at the same time, really fulfilling.

With bloated stomachs, and a big smile, we decided it was good to walk off that meal. And what a good walk we had by the sea! I love Singapore for this!






I've seen many different trees in the tropic but this one really caught my eye. It's fruit looked like little chinese lanterns hanging off its branches. Oh Singapore, you never fail to amaze me!


And our day gets better. Come the evening, we decided on our favourite fish steamboat stall at Moonstone Lane, a 10 minute walk away from my parent's place. It's really old school - a tiny space with 3-4 other food stalls in operation. I have to admit it is a little run down and shabby, but this is also why I like it, because it represents the authenticity of how local food is prepared and served back in the good old days. And I love it!