Singapore - Food Trip

Singapore - My homeland. A lot of people describe her as a garden city. In fact, yes... She is absolutely a garden city where you can see gardens and parks everywhere, rows of trees lining up neatly along both side of the road, to create shelters. Singapore doesn't have 4 season climates, all year-round will be summer. Pros and cons though; at least you can do anything during anytime of the year without climate constrains... My experience after begin to reside aboard.

Well... Not going into Singapore's attractions, as it is going to be a long long long list. In this city,  I would say; 1 week vacation is too short... LOL... 

We return to Singapore, once every year, during Chinese New Year to reunion with relatives and friends. However, I think our equivalent focus are the local delicacy... especially street food... YUMMY!!! 

Sugarcane Drink
Freshly squeezed sugarcane drink is a real thirst quencher, especially in a hot humid weather. Cannot really control to finish the drink in a gulp. Easily found in local market for the price of S$1 - S$1.50. Option of adding a piece of lemon into the drink, with an additional price of S$0.50.

Hainanese Chicken Rice
It is a super common dish which I eat almost everyday when I was a kid. Can be found in local market, shopping mall's food court and even luxurious hotel. Definitely the price will be varies depending on ambient, but the ambient does not symbolize the taste. The taste does not only come from the tender and juicy chicken, the ginger fragrance rice also play a part. Option of having roasted chicken or boiled chicken at the same price. Local market and food court price around S$3.00 - S$4.50.

Nothing beats the combination of Sugarcane drink with a plate of Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Fish Ball Noodle

I usually have this during my working period of life. It is delicious and served fast. Noodle accompanied with Soy Sauce, Vinegar and Chilli (replaceable with ketchup), with a few fish balls... Can be found everywhere in local markets and food courts. Another style is called Minced Meat with Mushroom Noodle. The only different is on the toppings. Priced at S$3.00 - S$4.50.

Fried Kway Teow (Fried Rice Noodle)
Oh... this is very a sinful dish, but it is so delicious that you will reschedule the slimming program. Ingredients of Noodle, Rice Noodle, Eggs, Bean Sprouts, Clams and Dark Soy Sauce. Priced at S$3.00 - S$4.50.

Left: Fish Ball Noodle
Right: Fried Kway Teow (Fried Rice Noodle)

Char Siew Bao (Roasted Pork Bun)
This can be bought everywhere but we only patronize this stall (Tiong Bahru Pau) in Toa Payoh. The pastry layer is thinner and the Char Siew has a very special taste. Price at S$1.30 each bun
Address: Block 190 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #01-550 Singapore 310190
Opening hours: 1:30pm - 9:30pm

Char Siew Bao (Roasted Pork Bun)

Hokkien Fried Prawn Noodle
Seafood based gravy with egg noodle and rice noodle. Served with sambal chili and lime.
Priced at S$3.00 - S$4.50.

Prawn Noodle Dry
Noodle with prawn and pork rib based soup. Option for soup or dry. Come with a small dish of freshly cut chili. Priced at S$3.00 - S$4.50.

Left: Hokkien Fried Prawn Noodle
Right: Prawn Noodle Dry

Kway Chap (Braised Pig Intestine) with Braised Pork Knuckle
One of my favorite street food. Everything just braised in a pot; big and small intestine, skin, belly meat and an egg. Come with a bowl of thick rice noodle. Every mouth with a strong braised taste. Not everybody like the taste though. Priced at S$4.50 - S$6.00.

Ben Zhen Wanton Noodle
Originated from Malaysia. Ben Zhen is the brand, and the only different from the normal Wanton noodle is the fried Wanton. Wanton is actually a pastry skin wrapped with marinated minced pork. Priced at S$3.50.

     

Left: Kway Chap (Braised Pig Intestine) with Braised Pork Knuckle

Right: Ben Zhen Wanton Noodle

Mee Rebus
Common malay food, can be found is any malay food stall. Egg noodle with thick potato gravy. Slightly spicy. Some stall even add crushed peanut into the gravy to increase the fragrance of the gravy. Priced at S$3.00 - S$4.00.

Mee Soto
Common malay food, also can be found in any malay food stall. Pepper-spice chicken soup base, with option to have it with egg noodle or thin rice noodle (mee hoon). Priced at S$3.00 - S$4.00.

Left: Mee Rebus
Right: Mee Soto

Ayam Penyet
Commonly known as Indonesian cuisine. Fried chicken drumstick served with plain rice. The focus of this dish is the sambal chili. Without the chili, it will be like fried chicken rice. Priced at S$5.00 - S$6.00.

Fried Oyster Omelette
Especially for oyster lovers. Eggs mixed with potato starch to give it a thicker consistency. Last ingredient will be oyster, heat up the oyster before it get cooked. Priced at S$5.00 - S$8.00.

Left: Ayam Penyet
Right: Fried Oyster

Barbecue Sambal Clam & Barbecue Sambal Stingray

Both dishes are almost the same cooking style. Just apply the sauce and wrap with aluminium foil, and barbecue it. The main keys of the dish are the freshness of the seafood and the fragrance of the chili. Best combination with a couple bottle of beer. priced at S$10.00 - S$15.00

Left: Barbecue Sambal Clam
Right: barbecue Sambal Stingray

Last but not least, the most important fruit that I MUST have when I am back in Singapore - DURIAN. Regarded by many people as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its strong odour, and formidable thorn-covered rind, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species. The creamy flesh may come in bitter-sweet to super-sweet. Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance, whereas others find the aroma overpowering with an unpleasant odour like rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. The persistence of its odour may linger on your finger and mouth for a couple of hours. This is the only fruit obtained banishment from hotels and public transportation. Priced at S$18/kg - S$30/kg (depending on season)

This really justify the proverb: one man's meat is another man's poison.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki, located on the southern part of Finland, is the capital and the largest city in Finland. Due to the latitude, city enjoy daylight for almost 6 hours during the winter solstice, and 19 hours during summer solstice.

After a night cruise from StPetersburg, we safety disembark from StPeterline early in the morning, at 8:30am.

We manage to visit some of the attractions while waiting for the cruise to StPetersburg. However, I decided to gather everything into 1 post for easy future reference. Moving around in Helsinki is convenience, we travel around in the tram, where you can get the ticket onboard. EUR 3.20 per pax. There are those 1 day pass for tourist, and that depend how much you plan to utilize the tram. We prefer to travel by foots within a reasonable distance.

Market Square (Kauppatori) - is an open-market, located beside the harbor.

Right: have a taste of local warm wine...

Uspenski Cathedral - is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, built on a hilltop with an ornate exterior & lavish interior decoration. Admission free entry.

The National Library of Finland (Kansalliskirjasto) - Historic National Library housing book collections making up Finland's literary heritage.

My first impression is like entering the movie; "Night at the Museum".

This series of book is really eye-catching

Helsinki Cathedral - A grand neoclassical cathedral, topped with an iconic green dome. It is so prominent from a distance.

Jump... Jump... Jump...

City Museum - Exhibiting Helsinki's history & culture, with art & photography. Free Entry.

Suomenlinna Island - UNESCO World Heritage site, accessible by ferry from Market Square (Kauppatori). A long history on the ownership of the island between Swedish, Russian and Finnish.

Soumenlinna ferry point. Backdrop with a row of restaurants.

Left: Tower clock, as a entry gate for us to commence our excursion.
Right: Suomenlinna Church, the only church on the island.

Right: A standard fortress view...

King's Gate, the furthest part of the island. About 30 mins hike.

Temppeliaukion Church - a.k.a. Rock Church. Unique church popular as a concert venue, with a copper-lined dome & rock/rubble interior walls.

Last night in Helsinki, Queen and Princess decided to go for ice skiing...

St Petersburg, Russia

St. Petersburg is a port city on the Baltic Sea. An imperial capital for 2 centuries provides sheer grandeur and fascinating history. Majestic building such as Saint Isaac's Cathedral, Admiralteystvo, Hermitage Museum, Palace Square, Alexander Column, and many more...

Russia adopt a strict visa policy, only 49 countries are entitled visa-free entry, with a limited period within 180 days. China can only enter as a tour group, without visa for up to 15 days. 

Somehow, there are alternative to visa-free entry to St Petersburg, but there are certain terms and conditions. Tourists are granted 72 hours visa-free entry if enter by cruise from Tallinn or Helsinki. Sounded like a give-away, but there is a catch. The next cruise departing from St Petersburg is more than 72 hours. So, the only way is to leave St Petersburg on the same cruise that you arrived. As per schedule, you will be given 10 hours to roam around in the city, logically should be sufficient.

Just like what we are advised, we boarded the overnight cruise (St Peter Line) from Helsinki. We had experienced on overnight cruise when we travel from Stockholm to Turku, have to tolerate with slow network. (Its free, so what do you expect.) In St Peter Line, the network is chargeable. Feeling the agony to browse facebook and surf web.

So excited! We are reaching St Petersburg in a few minutes... Bad news: ice formed on the ocean. The harbor are obstructed. The cruise has to move forward and backward to crash the ice its propeller. We are scheduled to alight the cruise by 9am, everybody are standing anxiously at deck 6 where the exit located. Forward... Backward... Captain on-board announced that we will be a few minutes late due to the situation.

After a few announcements of "we will be a few minutes late", finally a different announcement came in. We can start to disembark the cruise. Have a look at the time, 12pm... we were short-changed by 3 hours, and we are left with 7 hours to roam the city... omg!!!

Photo on the right are the crashed ice propelled out by the cruise.

Immigration counter at St Petersburg port is quite a decent size, around 8 counters. However, the process are slow. The officer literally examine your look and even ask "are you the person in the photo"... You can feel the frustration from the people in the queue... Later we found out that there was a terrorist attack the day before in the convenience store. That news seem like calmed everybody down and encouraged the detail check by the officers... lol

It took 1 hour to clear the immigration, and we are left with 6 hours. St Peter Line provides a free shuttle service from the terminal to the main town. That is a time-saver. Quickly board the shuttle service and do what we can within that 6 hours. Feeling a bit turn-off...

St Isaac's Cathedral - You really cannot feel the grandness of the building in the photo. Visitors are allowed to enter the observatory area, which is almost the highest point of the building, to admire the city. Too bad, we were constrained by time, so only can 到此一游!

Day and night view... Which is better?

Admiralteystvo - This grand historical building & headquarters of the Russian Navy features notable architecture.

The building resemble of temple in Thailand

State Hermitage Museum - Colonnaded, waterfront, former residence of Russian emperors, with extravagant state rooms. Its is also the second largest museum of art and culture in the world. 

Alexander Column - Iconic monolith in the center of a square is the focal point of Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The monument was raised after the Russian victory in the war with Napoleon's France.

So many street artists cluster around Palace Square looking for easy money
Asking for 10 EUR for posting in the photo, we just give 2 EUR.

So fast, we had to head back to the cruise.

Artistic painting on the cruise

Warm welcome by the crew

To ease the agony to have network, queen decided to pay USD6 for an hour. Main purpose is to download the Hongkong Drama... lol... So sad, the network speed is only 56kbps... only manage to download 25% of the drama for the precious hour... No much to do, we just fill ourselves while travelling back to Helsinki.

Stay tune for Helsinki... Last city to go...