Updated today at 02:42 PM
OLD SCHOOL FANCIES
Heap Seng Leong, a coffee shop in North Bridge Road, has seen better days. The white tiles on the walls are a little grimy, the marble-topped tables are worn and there are piles of boxes in various corners. An abacus sits on the counter.
The customers are almost all elderly men. One morning, I watch two of them in animated conversation. One is speaking in Malay, the other replies in Hokkien. It is surreal. And yet, here is a real piece of old Singapore; not the kitsch old, ironic old, fake old or hipster old vibe that so many cafes affect these days.
The uncle making kaya toast ($1.20) scrapes the burnt parts off the bread using the top of a milk can, its circumference jagged after being liberated by a can opener, and perfect for the job.
What I always order here is kopi gu yew ($1.10) or coffee with butter. Full-bodied and a little chocolatey, it is an old-school cuppa. The butter lends richness but is not cloying, and there is just enough condensed milk to sweeten the drink without obscuring the nuances of the coffee. Not many places serve kopi gu yew so this is a rare treat.
Round off breakfast with two soft-boiled eggs ($1) and linger over the coffee in this quiet, tranquil part of town.
Breakfast costs $3.30, but the Electronic Road Pricing charges I pay to get there in the morning add up to $6.
To experience old Singapore, you have to navigate new Singapore.
Where: Heap Seng Leong, Block 10 North Bridge Road, 01-5109MRT: Bugis Open: 5am - 6.30pm daily
THAI WONTON TREAT
Anyone who has had wonton noodles in Bangkok will be struck by how unadorned it is. The noodles are tossed in a bit of oil, nothing like the versions here, which might have dark and/or light soya sauces, sesame oil, sambal and even ketchup mixed into it.
In Singapore, a coffee shop stall in Ang Mo Kio is selling simple, satisfying bowls of Thai-style wonton noodles. Its name, Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee, makes reference to the popular SabX2, a stall located at Soi Petchburi 19 in Bangkok's Pratunam area.
While standing in line - there is always one, even just after the opening time of 7.15am - I see that the owner has put up photos of himself with the blond mohawked SabX2 noodle seller.
The noodles ($3.50 or $5) are not as springy as in Thailand, but they have a delightful simplicity, being tossed in what tastes like garlic oil. Those who must have condiments can load up on chilli flakes, sliced chillies and fish sauce, laid out at the stall.
I help myself only to sinful, delightful cubes of crunchy lard. The noodles are topped with slices of char siew and two pieces of waxed sausage, both not bad but unremarkable, and two plump fried wontons, which are good.
Two more dumplings are served in soup and these manage to be cloudlike yet substantial.
The stall opens only on some days of the week, so check its Facebook page to find out when it is safe to go.
Where: Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee, Block 151 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5MRT: Yio Chu Kang Open:7.15am - 3.30pm Info: To find out which days it is open, go towww.facebook.com/pages/Soi-19-Thai-Wanton-Mee/511834992185973
GREEN TEASE
The pages of green tea drinks and desserts make it difficult to settle on just one thing at Nana's Green Tea, a Japanese restaurant at The Atrium at Orchard that serves passable food and terrific drinks and desserts.
I finally pick Matcha Anmitsu ($8.80), a combination of matcha kanten jelly topped with mochi balls, a dollop of red bean paste and a scoop of matcha ice cream.
There is a little jug of brown sugar syrup to drizzle over the dessert. Matcha is bitter so the temptation is to sweeten it. Good thing Nana's reins in the sugar.
The jelly is not the least bit sweet and the red bean only marginally so. Ditto the ice cream and the syrup. Every spoonful offers varied textures: creamy ice cream, lightly chewy mochi balls, soft red bean paste and springy jelly.
It is the perfect dessert in every way.
Where: Nana's Green Tea, 03-80/82 The Atrium at Orchard, Plaza Singapura MRT: Dhoby Ghaut Tel: 6684-4312 Open:11am - 10pm daily
HEALTHY CURRY
After a lunch at Curry Times, I am surprised and very pleased to find that I have not sunk into a post-curry stupor. The curry, my friend tells me, is not thickened with coconut milk.
The chain, run by curry puff company Old Chang Kee, uses milk instead, resulting in a much lighter dish.
Yet, the gravy is thick and aromatic enough that I do not miss the coconut milk.
To wash it all down, try Coffee Chendol ($3.90), a mashup of two of my favourite things.
The coffee has coconut milk and gula melaka added to it, and is topped with red beans and green chendol strips.
It makes perfect sense, with the coffee giving a delicious dessert extra oomph.
Where: Curry Times, 02-33/34 Novena Square MRT: NovenaTel: 6354-3206 Open: 9am - 10pm daily
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