"Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him. Or give it up. This is not a game of cards. This is your life and mine. I've spent a whole lifetime building this and as long as I'm in charge, nobody is going to knock it down" - Lee Kuan Yew 

Dear Mr Lee

Words can’t express how blessed I feel to be born in a generation that is enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Without you, my life certainly would not be the same today.

My home is where my parents can sleep well even if I had to come home late. 

My home is a meritocratic society where I know I am rewarded for my hard work and capabilities.

My home is a community which people care for and trust each other. 

My home is a first class nation that is top in many aspects in the world.

And that is because you set high benchmarks and values for us to follow. 

We will miss your will, wit and wisdom.

Thank you. RIP.

Pic source: Straits Times

 

So glad that I have more time to blog recently. The problem with my job is that when it gets busy, it's really busy. And when it's less busy, there's still stuff to do but at least I don't have to think about it 24/7. I usually blog during my commute to work. But on busy days, I will be thinking about my job on the commute. When the project's done, it's back to blogging on the commute.

Everyone has obsessions. What is your obsession? For me, that would be fried chicken. It's a dish which is easy to cook but requires some creativity to differentiate one from another. 

I visited The Beast on a Sunday morning. The Beast is actually a bourbon bar and serves Southern American style chicken which the chicken is usually marinated in buttermilk. Think Popeyes. 

They have bar tables on the first floor which was pretty cool and more seats on the second floor. 

If I cannot eat fried chicken in heaven, then I shall not go.

We ordered The Big Breakfast ($22+) to share. It comes with boneless fried chicken drizzled with speciality sauce, candied bacon, sunny side up on a buttermilk biscuit. Bad idea because on hind sight, I would want the whole thing myself. The fried chicken was crispy and juicy. It was enveloped in a sauce which was cheese sausage. The sauce tasted like a combination of melted cheese and chicken stock. Overall it was a really good piece of chicken. 

However, the accompanying buttermilk biscuit did not meet my expectations. It was hard and I wish it tasted more buttery.

No Makers Mark or Moonshine in the morning for us. We got ourselves the southern sweet tea. Despite having a huge lemon, the tea was sweet not sour. Tasted a little syrupy. 

We didn't see the legendary Beast on Sunday morning. Guess it was either sleeping in or eaten up the night before.

The Beast currently serves brunch only on Sunday mornings. If you are looking for some sinful food on a weekend where it isn't crowded, The Beast would be a good choice provided you have not max out your calories limit for the weekend.

Note: The Beast has a 1 for 1 main course promotion on The Entertainer 2015 app. I regretted that I forgot to check my app. It's really quite worth it with The Entertainer app.

Address: 17 Jalan Kappla S(199329)

Tel: 62950017

The Hangar is quite a weird name for a cafe. At first, I misread it as hanger. A hanger is a structure which is used to hang clothes etc. A hangar is a place from which aeroplanes take off /land.

The Hangar is one of those hipster cafes that has landed (pun not intended) in the Kampong Glam neighbourhood - home to many other hipster cafes. While many kids call me auntie (or rather their parents insisted they call me auntie although I am often mistaken as a student), I am proud to inform that I know what is the meaning of hipster.

The Hangar is a hipster cafe because:

1. It has a sexy attitude. See the big sign “sexy coffee” at the shopfront? And the explicit use of the word “sh*t” in the shopfront is probably not approved by non-hipsters. Only hipsters would approve its attitude.
2. It has industrial-like interior that screams metal and rock, like all other hipster cafes. The counter is a bar and when day turns to dusk, this place serves alcohol. Or liquid diet as they call it.
3. The people who hang out there are ang mohs and youngsters.
4. They serve usual grub that hipsters eat, for e.g. big breakfast, toasties, waffles. For those who have a bigger appetite for brunch, The Hangar serves meat sandwiches. Try the lemongrass-fed steak sandwich ($12) which my friend endorsed. In between two slices of toasted sourdough bread was tender and flavourful steak garnished with caramelized onions, shimeiji mushrooms and homemade steak sauce. I am not a big fan of beef because I find it raw and metallic in most cases. But this version doesn't taste anything like that and it was actually quite nice. The End of the Rainbow ($12) which is actually a jar of granola with Greek yoghurt, strawberries, blueberries was a healthy alternative to the red meat. But it was overly sour for my liking.
5. Like all hipster cafes, The Hangar serves pretty good coffee. We got the iced latte ($6) and Freeze the Marbles ($7). Freeze the marbles is actually an iced blended latte and I like how it’s not overly bitter and acidic. Why is it called Freeze the marbles? Because "iced blended latte" is too mainstream for hipsters.

We managed to get a deal off Deal.com.sg which we paid $12 for $25 worth of food. Prices are nett without service charge. So it turns out about $12 for each person. Cheap for a hipster brunch. This place is kinda small and does not fit in a lot of people. They do take reservations so do call them first especially on weekends when it can get kinda crowded.

Address: 25 Arab Street, 199724
Tel: 6291 0127