I felt exceptionally connected to today’s sermon on Family idk why haha Anyway, after church, we headed to Nakhon Kitchen at Kovan for lunch. It was a treat after I got my first pay 😊

We reached at about 11.30am, half an hour earlier than the opening time of the small restaurant, so we decided to take a walk around Kovan City. Btw, my first impression of the restaurant was ruined because not only did they bush us off when we arrived, but also shut their roll-up metal doors in our faces. Check out my bros angry/disappointed faces ☝️Ahaha In the end, we ended up walking from one floral&landscape shop to another along the same stretch of road haha 
I couldn’t resist to take photos of these beautiful flowers👇

This flower 👆 is commonly seen during Chinese New Year yet I’m clueless what it is called.

Bee feeding of the nectar of these pretty flowers!

Hibiscus🌺 👆

Omg I was quite fascinated by the whiteness of this orchid 👆. And in the end when we reached back at about 11.50am, there was a growing queue outside Nakhon Kitchen. just wow. We were meant to be the first customers?!?! ok but nvm at least we got a table 😅

Ok, now time for the #foodporn part of this post 😜

#1: Stir-fried Thai-Style Kang Kong
👍

Price: S$6

Review: The Thai version of kang kong was very different from the chinese style of cooking belachan kang kong (you can totally tell from the much more watery sauce in the following 2 images). I didn’t like the Belachan (i.e. Dish 2 below) as compared to the Thai-style one, I think it’s just a personal preference kinda thing honestly.

#2: Stir-fried Belachan Kang Kong

Price: S$6

Review: I felt that the Chinese style of cooking belachan kang kong was much more delicious compared to this. This dish is missing dried shrimp (or maybe they did put some, but added a smidgen of it), nonetheless still yummy 😛 (partly because I was starving before I came).

#3: Clear Seafood Tom Yam Soup 👍

Price: S$6

Review: This harmless-looking soup packs a punch I swear. It’s much spicier than the thick-base tom yam shown below. Ingredients include fish, sotong, prawn and mushrooms. I feel that this is truly the authentic Thai Tom Yam Soup that everyone should try someday!

#4: Phad Thai Tang Hoon

Price: S$6

Review: [PS for the unfocused picture] Fried 冬粉 (cellophane noodles) will usually turn out exceptionally dry and clumpy? but this wasn’t the case for Nakhon Kitchen’s Phad Thai 冬粉. This dish is served with spices and crushed peanuts(?) at one side as shown below, so it’s better to mix it if you have high spicy food tolerance threshold.

#5: Pineapple Fried Rice.

Price: S$6

Review: This dish is of average standard? Pineapple was scarcely seen except for just the few big pieces at the side. Can’t compare to the Indian version of it served at Raffles Marina Bistro. But the fact that plain fragrant rice was $1 (twice the average price of normal white rice served almost anywhere) made ordering pineapple fried rice almost a must.

Erm, we still ordered plain rice in the end because the pineapple fried rice & oriental fried rice didn’t come (in time) lol and the portion wasn’t enough for 5 big eaters like us. 

#6: Pad Ga-prao Mu (Stir-fried minced pork with Holy Basil)👍👍
Price: S$6

Review: This is my favourite!! OMG it was so delicious I poured the sauce over the pineapple rice and finished up all the long beans, chilli & onion AHAHA (it’s quite oily though.. omg I just received a reminder that I’m enlisting on the 4th #justsaying #burningmyfatswithextrachilli)
oh we also did order the beef version of Pad Gao Prow but it wasn’t as delicious, partly the minced beef was rather tough…

#7: Chicken wrapped in Pandan Leaves (#insightfulname)👍

Price: S$6

Review: WHY DOES IT HAVE TO COME IN FOURS (nah it’s just that I’ve a family of 5). My bro ate one so there’s 3 left in the picture below (I should disclaimer: all pictures not snapped to scale lol) I liked the sweet chilli sauce that comes with this dish and the tender chicken after peeling away the pandan leaves.

#8: Sitr-fried squid with Thai yellow curry powder

Price: S$10

Review: This was the most expensive dish we ordered yet I found it the worst #oops But I think (once again) it’s entirely based on personal preferences because my brothers actually enjoyed the thick curry (powder) sauce, while I didn’t like it at all. The squid itself was crunchy, I guess that’s the only decent part of the dish? 😛

#9: Homemade Thai Fish Cake

Price: S$6

Review: I objected ordering this dish at first, but after I tried it, I felt thankful that we ordered it in the end hehe They totally nailed the spongy 口感 (omg first chinese words that came to my mind Im sorry) of the fish cake, and the sauce that comes with this dish just complements the fishcake. Awesome.

#10: Cha-yen (Thai Ice Tea)

Price: S$ per cup

Review: I felt that the drinks here is a little over-priced, especially when almost half the cup is filled with nothing but ice. The ice tea was a little too sweet (so adding a bit of plain water that they’ve provided from the start did the trick), so overall not too bad #stillfearfulaboutNSthough

#11: Red Ruby

Price: S$3

Review: I personally don’t like dessert because they’re always so sweet?? and Red Ruby was no exception. (I still like ice-cream though)

There are a couple more dishes that I didn’t post because I was too busy eating HAHA So overall, we ordered 12 or more different dishes (not including drinks & plain rice ofc) and I foot the $92 bill. (I swear they are lazy to deal with coins that’s why the cost of their dishes are mostly all even numbers and their Thai “fragrant” steamed rice is $1…I can’t help but harp over it I’m sorry.)

Here’s this wannabe’s ratings:

Food: 8/10 (The food was no doubt splendid. Totally felt like a glutton after today’s lunch.)

Service: 4.5/10 (Seriously? 😒 shutting your doors in our faces? and omg please plaster some smiles on your faces tyvm I wonder what happened to “Thailand — the land of thousand smiles”..perhaps that was misplaced along the 2hr flight to Singapore?)

Environment: 7/10 (More fans could do wonders especially so for customers (like yours truly) who are trying our best to down the tom yam soup and other authentically spicy Thai cuisines)

Okay put aside crude comments, I would nontheless recommend those who has a(n) eye tongue for spicy food to head down to Nakhon Kitchen for authentic Thai cuisine because it’s truly like dining in the land of thousand smiles😄😄😄 (except for the waiters)

YAY.

People, regardless where you are, what you’re doing, just watch this inspiring video and I guarantee you the next moment you’ll treasure life like there’s no tomorrow 😌

“Life is not about winning the race; life is about finishing the race and how many people we can all help finish this race, how we can start being kinder to each other…and in the end, it may be you that needs help finishing the race.”

It has been a while since I’ve watch such insightful and touching video on Facebook. Love my mom so much I don’t wanna live the life of this guy I’m sorry 😞

First I’ve to admit that I have a pretty serious love-hate relationship with my job as a surveyor. The enticing “flexi-work-hours” thingy that the employment agency sugarcoated my currently job wasn’t as flexi as I thought it would be, in office it was 8 to 5 but after I started working from home, it became 9 to 1130pm??? And worst of all I signed (or rather I’m ignorant that I signed) for 3 to 4.5 hours of nonstop walking 🚶🚶🚶🚶 because transport cost is already ‘included’ in my meagre salary.

But more importantly this job is pretty satisfying, in a way, because it (truthfully) paints a realistic portrait of not just the humble, caring 😇 side of Singaporeans but also the ugly 👺 (and even menace) of our once thought-to-be bed of roses orchids. I interview many different types of Singaporeans, of different races, varied/contrasting backgrounds, spanning across the entire social hierarchy / corporate ladder. Some who are desperate to find any job, some who are exasperated and quit searching for job, some who are just too lazy and expect the government to spoon feed them / pamper them with unemployment benefits. There are others who do well in the corporate arena and are very open to flaunt their achievements; while some of these highflyers are so stuck up and arrogant. And of course there are those wannabes who preach as though they are highflyers, but honestly, all they need is a simple reality check. So every individual that I visit is a new encounter despite being guided by the identical questionnaire. The anticipation every time I’m waiting at the doorstep of a unit is sometimes so overwhelming, especially if I let my imagination run wild 👿 But thankfully, more than often, someone approachable will answer the door 😌

Sometimes phone calling experience exaggerates the callousness of Singaporeans, but hey, when I go for face-face talks, it’s like ten times better Haha I’m not expecting any kind of hospitality but their tone tells it all.

And after working and interacting with grown-ups, besides realising that I need a job with some form of human interaction, I feel very much more independent. No longer shackled to the will of my parents (but not like I’ll become more rebellious 😒). Anyway, I still am deciding when & where to treat my family 👪, since I got my first pay (which isn’t a lot #justsaying so don’t rob me 💸), thinking of going some secluded place with few people but with delicious, affordable food for dinner! I was thinking going for some Thai food @ Thai Tantric or Joe’s Kitchen that’s near Queenstown 👑!

Gonna update here👇if I ever go there:

Thai Tantric: Orchard Towers, 400 Orchard Road #03-23 S238875 (Operating hours: Mon to Sun from 11am to 3pm and 6pm to 3am(wuttt??? but okay))
Review: (pending)

OMG OMG 😱 latest update, there’s this Thai restaurant at Hougang that looks even better! 😋 okay I’m gonna note down the venue 👇:

Nakhon Kitchen
136 Bedok North Avenue 3 #01-166
Singapore 460136
Tel: +65 6245 5548
Daily: 12pm – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10pm

212 Hougang Street 21 #01-341
Singapore 530212
Tel: +65 6286 8785
Daily: 12pm – 3pm, 5.30pm – 10pm

Review: [credits to Quah & her gang for insta-ing multiple pictures of their delicious dinner? HAHA]

(pending)

[UPDATE 25/01]: refer to the blog post dated 25/01 for the review and tantalizing images of genuine Thai cuisine.

Anyway beside the family treat that I’m planning, I’m also very keen to get a ukulele of my own 🎸 (idc, that decitfully looks like a uke since ukes come in all shape and sizes) Ever since my bro brought back a soprano uke (because of some school IDP) I’ve been the one benefiting hehe😅 playing it all day at home when I’m tired of work. Trying to learn the entire Riptide by Vance Joy 😍 He’s such a joy to listen to!

Currently (like a few hours ago lol) enjoying the rather long journey on 🚍198 from West Coast Highway to Queenstown haha solitary moments on cosy buses are so satisfying after a long day’s of walking 😌😌

(Note to self, I could actually go to Nakhon Kitchen then go get the ukulele which is at Simei)