I Love Meat Pies, So I Have To Write About This One...

Grrrowl!!!

First of all, let me wish everyone a Happy Happy Friday!

Well.. I started out my Friday just like everyone else say we should - sleepy, groggy but happy its the end of the week Got myself a cup of hot roasted black coffee and bounced all my way off to work (like a little happy cubby). I sent out a twitter via my uber-sexy bold and sat at my desk, turn on the computer, open my favourite news page online and wind down, slowly sipping my cup of coffee... 

I was so ecstatic that Meebops and I bought a couple of pies each last night from this outlet called PIE KIA (in hokkien, loosely translated as "Gangster"). Name is cute and fits the purpose eh. They have a long story behind how the name was carved and how the pies came to be... Cute cute... All very cute.

Except the pies themselves lah! First, they're tiny and they cost S$1 each, cheaper by S$0.50 of the rates they published online. Second is quality of the flakes; the pastry top is the only part that's probably made of a little small sheet of cheap filo pastry while the bottom is those prebaked cup you can purchase off the shelves at Cold Storage. 

What the... Where can like this Mr. Kia!!? You cheating lar!

 This is the Mexican Pie Kia (not gangster hailed from Mexico ok... Heh). Tomato based gravy with bits and pieces of mixed veggie and chicken meat (i think..).

Just like the above marked "M" on top, this one is marked "B" to symbolise Beef Pie Kia. Filling has bits and pieces of carrots, potatoes, meat cooked in beef stock.

How a pie kia really looks like inside (pun intended). Mush...

 And this is him doing a topless pose.

As you can see, the innards are dry and bland cooked in a concoction that seemed to come from canned sauces - the Mexican pie kia (tomato based and chicken) tasted like those taken from Del Monte pasta sauce and the Beef pie, which has probably 2 strands of beef, some leftover potatoes were cooked in chicken stock until dry.

Oi Mr. Pie Kia!

Very disappointing lar!... And for a good reason too. Because i love pies and i was really craving for a good, wet pie innards that really oozes out goodness on the first bite. You know, those white creamy chickeny veggie sauce thing that you imagine all pies should have in them? Or meat pies that are full of bits and pieces of meat covered in a pool of rich dark brown gravy blessed with just a dash of black pepper..? Those kinds. Wet and scrumptious.

In Singapore, you don't have to worry about getting some really good hawker fare or malay nasi padang, we have those and is pretty good at it. But pies and savouries - FAIL! Big Time! Alas, i've succumb to the fact that Singapore food producers and retailers cannot make good oozy meat pies. All we get is day-old pastry with pathetic, bland, dry and meatless meat type. Sigh...

After that disappointing evening with the pie-kias, we wandered off the the bistro next door, called Qi Jii. I don't want to be rambling much about what i ate here, but i took a picture of what i think is the most, THE MOST, ridiculous signage EVER.

 You want to separate gravy, PAY EXTRA dey!

And coming from a country of many extras, we have to put in all the extra effort in everything we do; wake up extra early in the morning to get to work, stay extra late, work extra hard so we can buy a new condo, or a new car, buy extra food, pay extra money because you don't want ice with with your sugarcane juice... and just like the above photo - where we were asked to pay extra because we want to separate the laksa gravy with the noodles. Errmm... I don't even know where to start.

I know 20 cents is not a lot but What The...! Don't want my noodles soggy by the time i go home also must pay extra hor aunty!

Bearlicious Breakfast Food...

So i've got to say something about the stuff i ate for breakfast a couple of days back. So good... Its Uberlicious.

We first found it when we headed West to Causeway Point. It was Cubbies first time ever at the Mall and it was a pretty delicious one too. We were roaming around aimlessly that fateful evening, hungry, scanning and were fortunate to sample free aromatic smells of meat and spices from stalls around the mall, as well as the scent of a wonderful whole roasted duck sold at the Cold Storage on basement 1. As our eyes were trailing the smells, we caught sight of a small little shop tucked in between many other small little shops.

They call themselves, My Genie Gourmet.

It didn't take us very long to realise that they sell snacks and delicacies like Chee Cheong Fun, Soon Kuey, Curry Puffs and Paus. Never tried the latter two but we sure dig in to the Cheong Fun and Soon Kuey alright. Hooked, totally... They've got the mushroom variety, original soon kuey, gu cai version(the green stuff used to add colour as well as enhance the taste of mee siam) but the most delicious was the rice kuey - I LIKE!

I don't have the photos for the other kueys except for my favourite. Basically, they tiny, moreish snacks that are quite healthy since they're steamed instead of fried or something. Usually vegetarian but i guess you can also add bits and pieces of meat inside. The mushroom and original ones tasted almost too similar to distinguish which is better but they're both good, and fresh, and i can definitely taste the hint of udang kering (dried prawns) used in the veggie mix. You get the idea. Now for the ones i had for breakfast:

There ya go... the box that kept all the beautiful stuff inside it. Yup, definitely like rubbing a genie's bottom... i mean... bottle.

And here is how i like my rice kuey. Black smeared with sweet soy sauce and chilli for that extra oomph!

The rice kuey skin is slightly sticky but the glutinous rice was gorgeous... Absolutely gorgeous.

Sooo Much To Say but So Little Time!

Grrrowl!!!

Where have all the time in the world gone to! Class has ended and time is now supposedly on my side - but wait! There isn't much of it by my side since i've been really busy with work and a little bit of teaching of little baby bears (now that i'm a Senior and no longer a Sophomore) Heh... So there, been quite busy.

But even then, i don't neglect my insatiable desire to see the world! I made sure that for whatever little money that i have, it will now be spent on my travels and on my food during my travels. Meebops will do the shopping - just watching her shop makes me feel like an empty wallet. So that is her turf so we won't blog about it here.

My suitcase however, is often filled with food. Food from everywhere! - from the streets, restaurants, recommendations by friends, guides, internet as well as those where you just decide to walk-in and give it a shot.

Speaking of which, i remembered when i was in Mexico (about 6 years back) and tried that big-a** drippin' wet bean burrito loaded with cheese and hot sauce from a street cafe, packed to the brim with people - it was totally by chance but like first love, you never really forget about it. I've been trying to get a similar tasting bean burrito since but of course, its only made in Mexicana. And besides the now defunct Taco Bell restaurants in SG, there aren't many restaurants serving Mexican food here, for obvious reasons. The ones who does... well...

So i'm thinking that since i'm headed nowhere this weekend - no dates, no fun in the playground (cos its been too hot lately) and only a week before our trip to Bali (YES!!!!!! We are going to Bali AGAIN!!!!!! WooHoo!), i figured why not spend some moolas and cook me up some good comfort food at home eh... 

Here's a list of what i wanna cook this weekend:

Bean Burrito - I call it, Kick-My-Butt Beanie Boo

Why look at that... Isn't that just one heck of a sloppy kick-a** burrito right there. Yup, that's what i'm gonna make me some this weekend. And yes, before you come firing my behind for not citing where the photos came from, the pictures are not mine but you get the idea what it looked like. Once i've done it though, i'll put mine up.

Here's another one dressed on a casserole dish...

Beer Battered Onion Rings (substitute Beer with Soda Water or something) - I named it, Steer-Me-Thick

Hush Puppies - Err... Haven't named this one yet since the originals sounds really pretty. 

Fried Okra - Maybe, "Me-Lady's-Fried-Fingers"

I might just add one more to the list - but its a surprise treat.

So Bali's coming up in exactly one week - I CAN HARDLY WAIT! 

I know i know... Haven't been putting up pictures from 3 most recent trips we had - Last installment to Melbourne, Bali and Kuala Lumpur. Stay tuned. I can see a bloody packed weekend, which i am sooooooooooooooo looking forward to.

Later now.

Finally... Its Over... For Now!

Grrrowl!!!

My school term has finally ended and my exams are over and yes, i'm still in one piece and still broke as ever.

But here's the good thing, i expect to write a little more in the next few days / months before neglecting it again for a short while when my school term starts. By that time, i'll be a Senior Cubby (and no longer a sophomore)... hehehe!

Long weekends up ahead and i'm just reeling in the freedom, one bite at a time. It's Friday, its the end of another long work week and its the Chinese New Year weekend too... So i'm off to KL tomorrow evening for a little mini holiday, which i can't wait. Been an awfully long start to 2010.

For now... Let's just chill and take one thing at a time ;)