Sembawang nature - Fiddlehead fern salad

A walk in an early morning hour around the greeneries of sembawang, about 5 mins walk from my place, with my 6 yrs old daughter is one of my bonding moment with her. The good thing about it is that it doesn't cost me anything except for a breakfast at a nearby coffee shop after our walk. At 7:00 am the morning mist is fairly visible and the smell of it is really refreshing probably better than the oxygen bar shot that travellers at changi airport pay for. Plus it gives you a sense of calmness and I'm sure it is healthy too !!!!

Another good thing about walking in the nature is that there is always something to discover everytime you take a closer look into it. On normal days I will just simply ignore all the ferns growing at the roadside treating it like an over grown grass but somehow the image of it always linger into my memory knowing there is something special about this plant.

Fiddlehead Fern which is known in Malay as Paku and Pako in the Philippines has always fascinate me. Without it the grass and other plants and trees will not look the same.

This time round I gave the ferns a closer look since it rains in the early morning hour and these is probably the best time to try that fiddlehead fern salad. I realize there are new shoots coming out then told myself, "Yeah why not try this for breakfast". Immediately I got into harvesting the fiddlehead ferns and only chose the leaves with nice curls.

In just a couple of minutes I gathered about 200gm of beautiful fiddlehead ferns in my hand that still has morning dew on it. Upon reaching home I immediately google it to make sure it is the edible type of fiddlehead fern. I wash it thoroughly then boil it for about 5 mins then quickly drop it on an ice water to stop the cooking and maintain the crispiness. Chopped 2 tomatoes toss it with olive oil and sea salt then mixed it with the fiddlehead fern.

I also prepared a garlic fried rice and pair it with a bottle of dried herring and a cup of oldtown white coffee. The fiddlehead fern taste better than asparagus.....Hmmm what a nice breakfast to start a day!!!!

Bakut Teh - A Farewell lunch

Our dear friend, colleague and fellow makan (Foodie) partner Eugene Lin is going back to Taiwan after 3 years in Singapore. So what is the best way to give this good guy a thing to remember from Singapore? What else ..... FOOD!!!

We have debated over lunch on what to eat to pay tribute on his years of contribution to the MSD business and of course to the Singapore hawker and coffee shop business. In the end all agree that a good local food Bakut Teh which he will not be able to find in Taiwan. Up north everybody vote for a Bakut Teh at Marsiling and we arrive at the place around 12:30pm where the place is running on full capacity luckily we quickly manage to secure a large table to sit 13 hungry people.

The place is what I would say a typical Singapore coffee shop with a nice acacia trees surrounding the place that makes it a bit cooler on the particular time of the day. I would say the weather is definitely on our side as we prepare to indulge on an overdose of Bakut Teh.
Our Food master Yong take the skillful ordering of three (3) big claypots of Bakut Teh plus all the veggies, condiments and another two (2) small pots of stew pork. Our order doesn't take that long and in a few minutes the auntie came with a steaming claypot of Bakut Teh ....Yummy!!!







Immediately all of us dig in to the hot pot of Bakut Teh on a bowl of white steam rice while the auntie continue to top up our Bakut Teh soup. The Bakut Teh consist of Pork Spare ribs, pork intestine, liver, mushroom top with a fresh local lettuce. Eugene is definitely enjoying his food and I would say what a good way to part with a friend and colleague who have given a thumbs up on Singapore local food !!!!



Literally this is not a farewell but a best wishes to Eugene and his family. We will definitely see each other again either in Singapore, Taiwan or in any other parts of the world as we continue our quest for the best food and place to eat...Goodluck and Take Care !!!