The Dengue Tale

It all happened in a flash.

1 fainting.

15 minutes of unconsciousness.

995.

39 degree celsius.

4 litres drip/day.

20+ bloodtests & needle pricks.

50+ visitors.

7 days of hospitalization.

That week God showed me how blessed i am. Pain aside, he planted caring nurses, pleasant roomies, oodles of friends & family members by my side. And ensured abundance of food. Seriously, i can't say enough thankyous to the many darlings who kept me company.

Shall bypass the bloody needle scenes and zoom straight into edibles....

breakfast in bed (:

One thing for sure, my perception of hospital meals certainly changed. Food at SGH is not bad at all! In Class B1 wards you get a daily selection of chinese/western/vegetarian/indian halal for your meals, served right under your nose. Teatime arrives promptly at 3.

Vegetarian: Potato-stuffed Taupok

Chinese: Fish in Black Bean Sauce

yummy Western: Baked Fish Fillet (even ate up the salted peas)

not-so-yummy Western: Chicken in Tomato Gravy

Teatime: Pumpkin tart & Lipton tea

Of course i couldn't survive solely on hospital meals. I had my fair share of smuggled nosh too.... plus those plushies, balloons, fruit baskets & flowers (in background) to brighten my days. Love my friends!

Mini Taiyakis from Isetan Kyushu Fair

Loved Rare Cheese & Caramel.

Azabu Sabo Matcha Icecream take-home pack. all mine.

14oz of Yami Yogurt natural delight

homemade bento from a colleague. cod & prawns!

I'll never forget how timely this angel arrived. These foods spell B.I.N.G.O

salmon sashimi never tasted better. missed it so bad.

Say Cheeze's Blueberry Cheesecake totally hit the right spot.

*poof* within minutes.

....& many more.

*widest smile ever* (on my awful unadorned face)

Thanks a million to all who came, for making elaine a happy happy patient!

P.s. Please beware of mozzies!

Loong Fatt Tau Sar Piah 龙发餐室西果店

Best of the Best. This favourite confectionary of mine have been churning out ever-consistent tau sar piahs over the past 50 years. Baking them in a traditional charcoal oven imparts their unique fragrance like no other (think about having wok hei in your hokkien mee). Every bite of the pastry is flaky, old-school buttery and centered with just enough sweet bean paste to get you Mmmming in satisfaction. Talk about experience and consistency.

Tau Sar Piah competition in Balestier? I don't see a clamour. The winner is clear and they are irreplaceable in my heart. Thank you mummy for always buying me tau sar piahs!

P.S Did i mention they're doing egg tarts & muffins as well? Imagine a muffin with the wokoven hei Lol. Im so putting it on my to-try-list.

Loong Fatt Eating House & Confectionary 龙发餐室西果店

639 Balestier Road
(closed on Sundays)
6253 4584

ION is interesting

ION Orchard is full of tickling food.

Tomato sauce, tuna, corn & ONE WHOLE SAUSAGE in Italian taiyaki,

from The Taiyaki.

A Conrad Japan chef with 10 years of working experience under Gordon Ramsay's holdings, preparing your crepes at Tokyo Girl Crepe

Four healthy flavours within a bread loaf, by Bread Society

This is interesting. I love such food-orientated malls.

ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn

Ooki Taiyaki: Simply Oooh-some!

I just found another awesome snack to dig in.

Pumpkin Kaya Taiyaki ($2 for 2- opening special)

Just as gelato-loyals are mourning over MOF's (Raffles City) sudden farewell, im happily swooning over the mall's lastest tenant. OOKI TAIYAKI officially occupies the prominent corner, introducing a new sidekick to the dying donut scene.

Making a good taiyaki is no easy job.

Tracing back to my Hokkaido memories.. the bestest was perfectly crisp-skinned and compact with flowy homemade fillings, briskly tossed out of hot moulds by adept japanese pancake masters. And it ignominiously chastens our skimpy-entrails local versions to shame.

Until i saw the OOKI action.

On first layer, the girls used a spatula to spread the batter flatly across the mould. Thin base checked. Huge spoonfuls of ingredients plopped in the middle. Generous fillings checked. Another drizzling of batter over just enough to cover the innards. Thin crust checked.

checked checked checked. A Pumpkin Kaya for me. One bite and warm orange magma gushes out of its promising shell. Pleasantly sweet, water chestnuts-studded & fullbodied with kaya fragrance kind of magmatic flow. Pure messy bliss. Chomped up in less than ten steps away.

Not flawless to yell about, just the closest to the Nipponya's. Im so glad they opened.

Ookitaiyaki

252 North Bridge Road

#B1-49 Raffles City Shopping Centre

missing my Hokkai goma snowman-yaki badly~

Fishy babies...

these are ADDICTIVE. more addictive than pringles.

I love eating all sorts of japanese dough-based food, because they would never compromise on low quality batters. TAIYAKIs make good afternoon snacks but its regular size are a tad too heavy for a post-dinner bite. Mini taiyakis solves the problem!

(clockwise from left) chocolate, caramel, custard, cheese

I would never fail to grab a bag of these whenever they appear at Isetan's Japanese fair. The pancakes are spongyly lovely, fragrant and oozing with liquified fillings even when they're cold. Cheese, Custard, Chocolate, Redbean, Caramel, Plain. i loved the first two best- both are milky goodness.

10 easily swallowed in a sitting, AFTER dinner (:

AND they are made by Miss Mizutani, not any Uncle Tan or Auntie Lim. that probably explains the price...

Limited period only!

Available at Isetan Scotts Basement.

those colorful dotties...

Rainbow.Chips.

this ain't a cake to send me into heavenly flutters like canele's. this ain't a cake that would trigger my flow of praises. but this cake called out to me. this cake swings me back to childhood.

anything with r.a.i.n.b.o.w c.h.i.p.s is yes!