www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

If you like me had been to the National Library often in our younger days, you will also know about MPH nearby. When I started work, besides dropping in at MPH occasionally, I would also have lunch at the nearby Armenian Street old coffee shop where you have a Char Kway Teow stall and the Ngoh Hiang Prawn Cracker. It really has been such a long time. A friend told me about this recently that he found the Armenian Street Char Kway Teow and gave me an address. One day when I remembered I decided to check out the place but disappointed to find the place closed for renovation. Some months later, I decided to recce if they are open. It was then that I realised that a fire broke out the last time that was why they had to do the renovation.  A few newspapers cuttings adorn the stall front and the price list. Please note when is their off day - Thursday. He does not fry his Kway Teow right in front of you so perhaps you will never know his secret recipe or is it just th...

When I once lived in Toa Payoh, the old man at the corner coffee shop at Blk 66 fried probably the best "Char Kway Teow" of all time. Some fried kway teow (flat rice noodle) are done too wet and others too dry so you have different people with varying taste buds saying I like this but not that. One man's meat is another man's poison. One day, this old man's stall was closed permanently. Later, I learned that he passed away after an illness. Life was never the same again. A cousin who used to live at North Boat Quay introduced me to his char kway teow push cart man on the street below here he lived. It was good but never the same. Well, at least the houses at Boat Quay and the smell from the go-downs below and the Singapore River were interesting. Okay, the river smell then was actually bad. The luxury of our time was a few friends and I would venture to Capitol Theatre for movies once in a while. Most English movies were screened at Capitol, Cathay, Lido ...

Even though my Blackberry survivived the hot porridge escapade, it was about time for change. Time for a better smart phone. Smart technology makes people stupid. And lazy. We stop communicating, the machines take over. One day the machines will send the Terminator here to take over and we will be dead.  They will replace us. Remember I have recently shared with you about the future and the past. They are inter-connected by time and space. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Jo8QoOTQ4 Among other things, the first apparatus I fiddle with was of course the 8 megapixel camera. A shot of Cafe de nuit by Vincent van Gogh. A lovely breakfast. Something so good and delicious which I never had for such a long time. I also had the simple but tasty mee sua soup but didn't help myself with their ricksaw noodle or "kan chia mee". I think during the old days, many of their customers could be ricksaw man who pull their ricksaw for a living therefore "kan chia mee...

Do you experience this problem sometimes? It is meal time, you go to a food place, walk around and you just don't know what to eat. The food are very much the same despite the variety. In part, it is due to commercialisation of simple hawker food fare to the quality and standard of taste. At times, I asked if we are running out of ideas. So in a dilemma, it is better the devil you know then the devil you don't. It was my mum who introduced and made me French toast. Bread soaked in egg then fried = French toast. You can add cinnamon, spread it with maple syrup, brown sugar or kaya. My wife helps me with it these days. The other day, a boy was asking the auntie at the coffee shop why his French toast has no kaya. The auntie replied: "Aiyoh! Ah boy, don't you know? We are saving Gaia!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jt6TJomo8g Walking around on a hot and humid day gives us a dress rehearsal of the fury of hell. You can hallucinate about being in the N...