Ice-Cream Sandwich, Singapore-Style

This is probably an institution which is very Asia. This is the Singapore version of a Mr Whippy ice-cream truck. It is usually an elderly man on a scooter-powered ice-cream "vehicle". I say vehicle because it is a little side cart contraption joined to a scooter with a big umbrella over the top.

The other thing which apparently is unique to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia as far as I know, is our "ice-cream sandwich". Singaporeans are very pragmatic people. We call a spade a spade, ice-cream sandwiched in a slice of bread an ice-cream sandwich. Not so for people in other parts of the world apparently. To them, an ice-cream sandwich does not have bread at all. It is ice-cream sandwiched between 2 wafers.

So the next time you see one of these ice-cream carts (which is common in Orchard Road and some also make daily calls into housing estates and near schools just like Mr Whippy), please stop and for $1, enjoy an ice-cream sandwich, Singapore-style.

Kung Fu Tea

Tea lovers please take note. Martial arts lovers also please take note. And if you are a fan of both tea and martial arts, all the better and you have come to the right place. The Chinese restaurant, Sichuan Douhua on the 80th storey of the UOB Plaza is the place to go.

First of all, the view from the top is great. One can get an almost 360 degree view from up there. But that is just the side show.

Once you have finished drinking in the view, you must turn your full attention to the tea master who wields a copper tea pot with a spout which is about a metre long. He goes from table to table, filling up your tea cup with a flourish, aiming the spout with deadly accuracy against the inside of your cup, at an angle which causes the tea leaves inside the cup to swirl in a whirlpool. He also occasionally performs a show with his tea pot, almost like how a bartender tosses his cocktail shaker and alcohol bottle around, except more stylishly and with higher stakes seeing as the liquid content is scaldingly hot. The master flips his teapot across his shoulder, stretching the long, thin spout behind his back as though it were a pole or a spear. This display of martial arts is highly entertaining. Visiting this restaurant just for the kung fu tea is alone worth it.

And oh, the dim sum here is not bad either.

Traditional Egg Tarts

Round the corner from Ann Siang Hill, the subject of the last post, along South Bridge Road, is this old-time Chinese confectionery called Tong Heng. The egg tarts are legendary. Not the usual round shape, but a diamond shape with the eggy custard goodness encased in a flaky pastry. You can have them on the premises as they have a couple of marble tables and wooden chairs, adding to the old-world charm. Other fare on offer are old-fashioned biscuits like "wife's biscuits" and other goodies which were traditionally wedding biscuits. You definitely cannot stop at one at this place.