Istana Woodneuk • Legendary Palace of Johore Sultan Abu Bakar • Tyersall Park in Singapore

Sarafian Salleh whom many know as Tuah Bugis. His infectious passion for Singapore history is awe inspiring

Few people in Singapore and Johor have heard of Istana Woodneuk until news emerged in 2025 about a land swap agreement between the Singapore government and Regent of Johor, Tunku Ismail (crown prince of Johor).

Former Kam Roasted • Golden Mile Food Centre 立师父烧腊 ☎ 9022 8496

Chef Lup Roasted 立师父烧腊 | 505 Beach Rd, stall B1-56, Singapore 199583 (Golden Mile Food Centre basement level) 🚅 10 minutes walk from Lavender station or Nicoll station ☎ 9022 8496 ⏰ 10am - 3pm (Weds off)

Foodie buddy Marcus alerted me to Chef Lup Roasted a few months ago. Then, he travelled, I travelled, a couple of failed attempts to try Chef Lup, and months went by before I finally got to try his roasts today.

Sungai Kakap Estuary Village Seafood @ Restoran Pantai Indah • Pontianak Day Trip ☎ +62 812 5655 7619

Pantai Indah Kakap Seafood | Jl. Raya Sungai Kakap, RT.03/RW.01, Sungai Kakap, Kec. Sungai Kakap, Kabupaten Kubu Raya, Kalimantan Barat 78381, Indonesia ☎ +62 812 5655 7619  ⏰ 9am - 7pm

Our guide Min brought us to Sungai Kakap fishing village for sightseeing and lunch. It was a very pleasant visit and the seafood lunch was nice too.

The village is located where a tributary of Sungai Kapuas river meets Sungai Kakap river. (The main river running through Pontianak is Sungai Landak, to the north of Sungai Kakap here.)

I recommend Sungai Kakap fishing village for a half day, morning to lunch trip, if you are in Pontianak. The village is just about 1.5 hours drive from downtown Pontianak. There are at least three restaurants here, including Restoran Pantai Indah Kakap where we had our lunch.

Bau Mak Fish Soup • Taste of Home @ Golden Mile Food Centre 寶媽 • 家的味道 ☏ 9007 0161

Bau Mak 寶媽 • 家的味道 | 505 Beach Rd, stall #01-82, Singapore 199583 (stall in Golden Mile Food Centre) 🚅 10 minutes from Lavender station or Nicoll Highway station ☏ 9007 0161 ⏰ 10am - 7pm (Sunday off)

You know whenever I am at Golden Mile Food Centre, I will pop by Kopi More to say hello to kopi boss Lawrence and to get my kopi C kosong fix. 

When there are good new stalls, Lawrence will tip me off to them 😬 🙏

"Go try the fish soup opposite the aboling stall upstairs. Their soup a lot of flavour, not the water type."

Recipes for Good • Intergeneration Collab @ British Hainan Kallang • Charity for Bloom Fund till 25 Oct 2025 📞 9633 8122

British Hainan Heritage Restaurant | 158 Kallang Way, #01-06A, Singapore 349245 🚅 10 minute walk from Geylang Bahru station 📞 9633 8122 ⏰ 11am - 2:30 pm | 5:30am - 9:30 pm

British Hainan restaurant at Kallang Way just launched Recipes for Good to help raise money for The Bloom Fund (which promotes meaningful engagement between old and new generations through art). The Bloom Fund is run by The Rice Company Ltd (TRCL) a non-profit arts and culture charity.

Bakmi Aloi Singkawang Pork Noodle ☏ +62 813 4509 0325

Bakmi Aloi is a variation of Chinese pork noodle found in Indonesia. Here in Kalimantan, the vendors are usually Hakka Chinese, so it's Hakka style pork noodles.

Our local guide Min brought us to a simple restaurant known as Bakmi Aloi Singkawang. I enjoyed the bakmi aloi here a lot.

Firefly Fly Direct btw Senai & Guiyang from Mar 2026 • Door to Guizhou, Chongqing, Chengdu

✍️24 Aug 2025. Starting Mar 2026, Firefly will be flying direct from Senai Airport to Guiyang Airport, capital of China's Guizhou province.

Bubur Mendi Pork Porridge in Singkawang West Kalimantan Indonesia

Our guide Min brought us to Bubur Mendi - I thought we were just going to get some nice rice gruel but this porridge has an interesting, unique twist I soon realised.

It's a type of bubur babi or pork porridge.

Roast Pork Pontianak Bipang Ambawang Babi Panggang ☏ +62 81 1568 2929

Bipang Ambawang Babi Panggang | 50m before Constantine Retreat House, Jl. Trans Kalimantan No.KM 23, Korek, Sungai Ambawang, Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan 78393, Indonesia ☏   +62 81 1568 2929 ⏰ 9am - 9pm

I had until now thought that Bali's babi guling is the only pork dish in Indonesia. This trip to Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo island broadened my culinary horizon a bit more - they also have grilled or roasted pork dishes in Kalimantan.

Warung Kopi Asiang Hainanese Kopitiam in Pontianak • Topless Coffee Boss ☏ +62 813 1718 1918

Warung Kopi ASIANG | Jalan Merapi, Benua Melayu Darat, Kec. Pontianak Sel., Kota Pontianak, Kalimantan Barat 78243, Indonesia  ☏  Tel: +62 813 1718 1918 ⏰ 4am - 6pm

When Min our local guide told us about a topless kopitiam, it got some of us excited (better not say all 🤭 ). I kept reminding Min to take us there in case he forgot 😅🤣

But seriously, everywhere I go, I look out for Nanyang style coffee shops (which are often founded by Hainanese Chinese). 

Restoran Original Sarawak Kolomee @ Taman Megah Ria +6012 683 1967

Restoran Original Sarawak Kolomee | 29, Jalan Bayan 37, Taman Megah Ria, 81750 Masai, Johor (beside Pasar Borneo market) ☏ +6012 683 1967 ⏰ 6am - 2:30pm (Mon off) 🚌 Bus T20 from JB CIQ

Went to revisit JB's Pasar Borneo market in Taman Mega Ria. First port of call was Restoran Original Sarawak Kolomee.

Taipei Grandma's Eel • Fuzhou Fried Eel in Herbal Soup • Minquan West MRT Station 娥嬷炖鰻 • 大同區 • 原昌吉紅燒鰻 ☏ +886 2 2592 7085

Grandma's Eel 娥嬷炖鰻 • 原昌吉紅燒鰻 | No. 51號, Changji St, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103 🚅 5 minute walk from Minquan West station ☏ +88 62 2592 7085 ⏰ 9:30 am - 11:30 pm

One of my bucket list items for my recent Taipei trip was to try a Chinese style eel dish. I mean I have tasted Japanese style eel or unagi many times before and was curious to experience something different.

Kopi Sarawak Coffeeshop in Setia Indah Johor Bahru 喜越茶室 ☏ +6013 328 7828

Kopi Sarawak 喜越茶室 | 47+49, Jalan Setia 3/3, Taman Setia Indah, 81100 Johor Bahru ☏ +6013 328 7828 ⏰ 9am - 8pm

Officially opened in Setia Indah last week, Kopi Sarawak attracted a lot of attention among Johoreans. This was actually Kopi Sarawak's second outlet - the first was the successful parent outlet opened two years ago at nearby Seri Alam.

Hup Kee Teochew Fishball Noodle · Mei Ling Food Centre 合记潮州鱼圆面

Hup Kee Teochew Fishball Noodles 合记潮州鱼圆面 | 159 Mei Chin Road, stall #02-38, Singapore 140159 (stall inside Mei Ling Market & Food Centre) 🚅 10 minute walk from Queenstown station ⏰ 7am - 1pm (Fri off)

Stalking Mei Ling hawker centre, I stumbled upon Hup Kee Teochew Fishball Mee stall.

Ho Huat Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee @ Boon Lay Place Food Centre 和發福建炒蝦麵 ☏ 6268 1033

Ho Huat Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee 和發福建炒蝦麵 | 221B Boon Lay Place, stall #01-135, Singapore 642221 🚅 15 minutes walk from Lakeside station ☏ 6268 1033 ⏰ 9am - 10pm

We decided to explore Singapore's far west and met up at Boon Lay Place Food Village hawker centre.

Richman Dim Sum Handmade @ Excalibur Centre #75 Ubi Crescent 大富豪港式点心茶楼

Richman Dim Sum 大富豪港式点心茶楼 | 71 Ubi Crescent, #01-05 Excalibur Centre, Singapore 408571 🚅 5 minutes walk from Ubi station ⏰ 7:30am - 4pm

Got together at the newly opened (2 months old) Richman Dim Sum which is another venture by Keith Kang founder of Yang Ming Seafood.

Red House Seafood & White Rabbit Dim Sum • Your Childhood Bunny Candy 大白兔奶糖 & 小红楼海鲜馆 ☏ 6735 7666

Red House Seafood Grand Copthorne | 392 Havelock Rd, Level 2 Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore 169663 🚅 5 minute walk from Havelock station ☏ 6735 7666 ⏰ 12 noon - 3 pm | 5:30pm - 10 pm

White Rabbit is collaborating with Red House Seafood to showcase traditional dim sum and cuisine with nostalgic White Rabbit candy flavours.

Don't Write Us Off Concert • Night to Remember Our Music & People • Bloom Fund Raiser 31 Jul & 1 Aug 2025

The Don't Write Us Off Concert at Blu Jaz at Clarke Quay Central on 31 Jul 2025 was a memorable evening of music. The tunes were nostalgic but their energy felt contemporary and I am sure would still be enjoyed long into the future.

Tun Aminah Braised Duck & Kway Teow Kia (Shang Ji) 上记(皇后)卤鸭粿條仔 +6012 763 8409

上记卤鸭粿條仔 | 95, Jalan Pahlawan 1, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, 81300 Skudai, Johor (food stall inside Hock Lee Restaurant kopitiam) ☏ +6012 763 8409 ⏰ 6am - 8pm (Thurs off)

There are four 上记 duck stalls in Johor Bahru run by four Lim brothers and their families. 

Memories of Margaret Drive Hawker Centre • Commonwealth Avenue Cooked Food Centre

Margaret Drive Hawker Centre was one of my favourite haunts in the 1980s and 1990s.

Kenjo Bakery Cafe at Austin Crest in Johor Bahru ☏ +6016 289 2900

Kenjo Bakery | 29, Jalan Jaya Putra 7/4, Bandar Jaya Putra, 81100 Johor Bahru ☏ +6016 289 2900     ⏰ 10:30am - 8pm

In between meals during our dawn till night JB food trail, we needed a coffee stop to cool our heels. Yeah, the weather was blistering hot this couple of weeks.

HE SHENG Hong Kong Flavor Cantonese Style Beef Noodle • Chinatown Complex 和勝港式牛肉汤

HE SHENG Hong Kong Flavor Expert Beef 和勝港式牛肉汤 | Blk 335 Smith St, stall #02-100 Chinatown Complex (Red Zone), Singapore 050335 🚅 5 minute walk from Chinatown station & Maxwell station ⏰ 10am - 8pm (Mon off)

A new food stall at Chinatown Complex food centre, serving Hong Kong style beef noodles.