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1 Jun 2016

Spicy Thai Thai Cafe - Not your usual Thai food


Larb Moo Tok ($12)

I was late. I wasn't expecting the walking distance from Paya Lebar MRT station. No matter how far the distance would be, as long as delicious food is served, all that walking would be worth the sweat.

I had some time getting familiar with the other bloggers whom I would be dining with that night before dinner was served. I felt that it was definitely important to be comfortable with who we are dining with or else it would not be a enjoyable session. I sure was glad to know the lively and chatty bunch of bloggers that day!

BBQ Squid & Squid Roe  (Seasonal Price)
The bombardment of dishes left me disorientated in which I was spoilt for choice and not knowing which dish I should off with.

I supposed it sounds logical that I started off with the Fish Maw Crabmeat Abalone Soup in Coconut. The broth was thick and it triggered my allergy reaction since it contained crab meat but I just couldn't ignore the fact that the coconut was loaded with generous large slices of spongy fish maw. Yes, baby abalones were included. (Note: It was quite filling I would say.)

The spiciest dish of that day was Larb Moo Tok. In short, it was meatballs loaded with spices and we were taught to pair them with the raw long beans. There was a chemistry between these two that balanced the rawness and spiciness which could not be explained.

Uncomplicated and fresh was the BBQ Squid. Firm yet chewy was its flesh, enhanced by the savoury sauce.  

Fish Maw Crabmeat Abalone Soup in Coconut ($28) 

Hommok Thai Style Otak ($18)

BBQ Pork Belly ($18)

Deep Fried Kangkong with Special Thai Sauce ($10)
Hommok Thai Style Otak easily made its way to one of the top few dishes I enjoyed that day. Mildly spicy, fragrant and textures like grainy steamed eggs. I swear I could eat this alone with just plain rice!  

BBQ Pork belly was quite decent, not overly drenched with sweetness. I had to examine the photo closely to double check if I was really having pork belly instead of char siew. Since when pork belly became as tender as char siew??  

Looking like a work of art, Deep Fried Kangkong with Special Thai Sauce makes a rather good snack to munch on. It was so crispy and it reminded me of tempura.

Lala Bee Hoon tasted much better than it looks. The been hoon was soaking with the umami sweetness of the broth cooked with lalas. Perhaps we took a bit too long snapping pictures as more broth would be pleasurable.

Lala Bee Hoon ($18) 

Deep Fried Sea Bass with Mango Salad ($18) 

Thai Style Curry Crab (Seasonal Price)
Thai Style Curry Crab which I felt that it needed no introduction. Crabs lover would rejoice with having crabs cooked in a different style and sauce, unlike the usual few ones available elsewhere. 

Last but not least were the 2 fish dishes Thai Walking Cat Fish with Spicy Lemon Soup (not shown here) and Deep Fried Sea Bass with Mango Salad. Both fishes were HUGE! Soup or fried? I guess it would be up to your personal preference.   

Overall, the Northeastern Thai dishes served at Spicy Thai Thai Café is not the usual Thai food you get like Pineapple Rice and Pad Thai etc. They have unique and delicious dishes prepared by the skilful hands of chefs that would change your perception of what is Thai food.

Thank you Honey for extending the invite and Christina for the invite. 


Opens Daily from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m

Spicy Thai Thai Café
Blk 115 Aljunied Avenue 2
#01-35, Singapore 380115

17 May 2016

Hyper Japanesque Exhibition 14 April - 3 July


There is just something I have always liked about Japanese art and design and that would be the term minimalist. Think of the brand Muji and you would get what I meant. It wasn't surprising that I had to make my way down to Esplanade to view these 8 artworks by individual Japanese artists whose works are modern interpretation of traditional art forms.

Check out their large panel board below!





As usual, I couldn't resist taking #artootd shots with installations such as this one. Tell me how often you get to pose with 9 identical umbrellas at once or even having unique art pieces that compliments well with your outfit (first image)?

Thankfully I dragged my friend along to visit this small scale yet insta/blog worthy art exhibition so that he could be my photographer for that day! He was so wrong when he thought that I would leave within 15 minutes! Sorry, that do not include photography time.







I had a great time immersing myself in the simplistic art concepts. From the cute katadori (miniature) to the fine detailing of nagame (diorama). From the precise positioning and echoes of shizuku (drop) to the abstract ku (vanity). From the unusual kodama (echo) to the story-telling shirushi (symbol). From the aesthetic figures of irou (decoration) to the inspirational sawari (texture).

These were the keywords that described my first impression while admiring these works.

How about yours?

24 Apr 2016

Reframing Modernism Exhibition at National Gallery Singapore


Definitely not my first or last time visiting this monumental National Gallery Singapore (NGS in short). I had posted about National Gallery Singapore Art Carnival which was held at the Padang field opposite the gallery last year.
Reframing Modernism would be the gallery's first international collaboration with Centre Pompidou, Paris. As the name suggest, the exhibition invites us to reconsider the artists' approach in modern art and modernism.
There were a total of 3 galleries, all located on the third level of National Gallery Singapore.


Albert Marquet
Venice, The Yellow Sail
Oil on canvas

Emiria Sunassa
Pasar (Market)
Oil on canvas

Marc Chagall
The Cemetery
Oil and crayon on linen canvas

S Sudjojono
Seko Prambanan (The Guard, Prambanan)
Oil on canvas

I did spam many shots of the art pieces that I fancy, only to post a couple since my camera was not corporative in low-light conditions. Pictures do not exactly do justice to these artworks since the colour balance would definitely be off and fine details such as the brush stokes would not be visible from afar.
For beginners like me, I usually admire landscape paintings such as 'Venice, The Yellow Sail' which tempted me to go on a stress-free overseas holiday trip. A marketplace painting such as 'Pasar (Market)' is fairly common among Asian artists I guess since I often see paintings of local markets with vendors selling their stocks.
Besides those, I tend to admire morbid and mysterious paintings as well. The random placement of tombstones against the illusional sky as backdrop found in 'The Cemetery'. Loving the ruins of the building against dusk, shadows enveloping the foreground of the painting in 'Seko Prambanan (The Guard, Prambanan)'. Such a painting lies a dramatic story behind it.



Although some paintings were direct and straightforward, there would definitely be a huge number of those that would be deemed as beyond comprehension. The most intriguing thing about art is that you might fall in love with the art pieces even though you catch no balls (not understand anything) about the art.




In short, National Gallery Singapore is a building of stories, architecture of histories as well as works of beauty. A place for solace and appreciation, not including the noise pollution that I created from my excitement or opinions that I exchanged with my friend.