Fish Ball Noodles at Tiong Bahru - Quan Fa Fish Ball Minced Meat Noodles.

                          Quan Fa (literally "everybody gets rich" fishball minced meat noodle) 

Somewhere in the middle of Tiong Bahru market's food centre on the 2nd floor lies this fishball noodle stall which is a favourite of mine. Manned by the chef, whom I call the 'artist', she very delicately breaks a portion of the noodle into a metal ladle, soaks it into the boiling water, prepares the bowl of noodles with fish sauce, light soya sauce, and vinegar, before mixing the noodles into the bowl.
                 

The small Eu mee noodles are springy and tasty, the minced meat is boiled for several minutes dipped in boiling water, the fish sauce and vinegar are the base for the noodles 

      She then prepares the fish balls, fish cake, minced pork and some small pieces of port lard and boils the lot (except the pork lard) for about 1 minute into the steaming pot of soup. While the ingredients are being boiled, she mixes the noodles into the gravy and finally adds on the ingredients and the end result looks like the above.

     The result is a springy and very tasty bowl of (relatively speaking) healthy fishball noodles which is not fried and with a hint of pork lard. 

     The price $ 3 per bowl of dry noodles with the soup on the side. You can also choose the soup version for the same price. It would be a more healthy choice.  

2 and half months before 2015 comes to an end ; Never Ever Give Up !!!

The economy in Singapore is facing a slowdown, although not many people think it will be a long downturn, but enough to worry many small business owners like myself. In times of crises, I would take financial stock of the business, ensure there is enough cashflow, push for as many orders big and small and hope for the critical breakthrough.

The smile after the struggle, Port Vell, Barcelona Dec 2016 

As in a marathon, the struggle to the finish line is never ever easy, for each race is different,and each year presents a different set of challenges, as is 2015, this year has been really good in terms of numbers, but collections and after sales and managing the vendors have been a new experience for me. 

I am 100% convinced, that we will overcome all these challenges by this month and make this year a great year to remember, even though the challenges are not easy to overcome. 

Finally made it ! 2014 finish line of the SC marathon

       It would also be prudent of me to develop the business in a concentric diversification, circles which are outside the industry but whereby the product at hand can be used in differing and emerging markets locally and internationally.

       A prudent business owner will be mindful that his business needs to be nimble and fluid, but the efforts,vision, guts and the mental stamina and collective will to carry out the plan well will be the final decider of whether we succeed or fail.  2015 is the year we learn, and learning at this age is always a challenge. It is never easy, but it will bode us well in the future. 

Super Lor Mee at Maxwell Road Food Centre

          Right next to Tian Tian Chicken Rice stall is this No. 12 Lor Mee Stall. Manned by a husband and wife team, the Lor Mee is one of the best I have tasted, the gravy is thick and piquant, the fried dumpling crisy, the fried fish also tasty and the noodles are springy and not to thick.

        I normally opt for the No. 5 ; Signature Lor Mee. The flat noodle is springy and tasty, the fried fish nuggets are full of meat and not starch, the fried dumpling is crispy and the fatty pork is plentiful and flavourful.  Give it a generous dose of garlic, chilli and vinegar and you have essentially a quintiseentially Singapore hawker dish.

         Perfect when you need to carbo load and forget about the calories and cholesterol !! 

   

Hard Work and a little Luck Always Pays Off

                                            1st time I broke 6 hours in almost 3 years, 2013

      In life, one must always be prepared mentally and physically for tough times. In tough times, we are forced to think out of the box, be as creative as possible, and work hard at all hours and even weekends. That has always been the motto of most all successful people be it in research, business, development, studying and especially in sports.

      In 2013, I had the good fortune of breaking 6 hours, something I had not done in 6 years when I clocked 4 hours 48 minutes in the 2007 marathon. Looking back, the 2007 marathon was not the most prepared one but I had put aside 3 consecutive months to body condition myself and in October took part in the Treadmill Race at my Swimming Club. 

     Now, I am not the most hardworking of runners, but given my age (52) and disposition 
(small business owner with lots of things to do and run around), well training hard for a marathon is well, time consuming, and , hard.

    But I have decided today 17 Oct that I will clock in 50 km per week for the next 6 weeks in the hope that I can do a sub 5 hour marathon end of this year beginning Dec 2015.

    Is it wishful thinking, or will I be up to the task and pull out all the stops, work extremely hard, and with a little luck actually realise my dream of a sub 5 hour marathon ?

    Go for it Mister Mark !!!!!!  

Kenny Chesney Save it for a Rainy Day !

What an uplifting song ! What bright colours of the sun, the surf, the flora and the beautiful sea.

This is Cat Island in the Bahamas.

This guy has all the 'boy toys' ; yacht, speedboat, guitar, seaplane, fishing rod, surfboard, cowboy hat and aviator sunglasses.  Well good for him !!!

Seize the Day friends

The Thinking Man's cartoon - Argyle Sweater

          This cartoon is normally a single strip featuring just 1 picture so the cartoonist Scott Hillburn has to 'catch' the reader's funny bone (or humerus) and make him see the pun or hilarity in his prose.

          Not easy and not all the time funny. This I found hit the spot just right. 

Lao Ban Bean Curd versus Tiong Bahru Teck Seng Bean Curd

                                              Maxwell Road Lao Ban Soya Bean Curd 


                                     

Tiong Bahru Bean Curd 

        Singapore is a foodie's haven and today's post is comparing 2 best bead curd dishes I have eaten. The top one is called Lao Ban Soya Bean Curd, the original hawker stall was at Old Airport Road hawker center and the queues there were easily about 45 minutes to 1 hour long.

       I bought 2 bowls yesterday 10th Oct of these from Maxwell Road's branch, and tried them, the curd is smooth once the top layer is broken into, there is a sweetness to the bean curd and the flabour is apparent. The price per bowl if I recall is $1.50. Not cheap by any means. 

      The second photo above is from Tiong Bahru's Tiong Seng Bean Curd, the stall is somewhere to the right of the hawker center on 2nd level. We have been eating this for the longest time every sunday after the wife does the marketing and it is cheap and good. The bean curd is dished out from the plastic bins and lathered with syrup. Price for a large bowl is $0.90 and a small bowl costs $0.80. The bean curd is very smooth in texture however, the flavour is milder compared to Lao Ban's bean curd. We had 2 bowls of this today 11th October for breakfast.  

Verdict : Lao Ban is better for taste, but more pricy at $1.50 per bowl. Tiong Bahru Teck Seng is better for texture and cheaper at $0.90 per large bowl.