Easy Steps to Apply for MACS 2.0 · Free MDAC Arrival Form · Malaysia Immigration Auto Gate Clearance

Go straight to  Malaysia Digital Arrival Card 👈 click

✍ 10 Mar 2024. If you are a regular Johor Bahru day tripper on foot from Singapore, get MACS 2.0. MACS means Malaysia Automated Clearance System. It will let you enjoy scan-and-go at the Malaysian Immigration auto clearance e-gates, saving you from the manual clearance queue 🕺

History of Desker Road · One of Singapore's Most Colourful & Historic Streets

Desker Road is one of Singapore's oldest and most colourful streets. In the old days, pubescent schoolboys trying to act beyond their age will whisper Desker Road in hush tones and when teasing one another 😳 Why? Let's find out 🤔

Desker Road

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Jalan Besar station | 5 minutes walk from Farrer Park station 

Hours: Desker Road never sleeps

Ah Seng Teochew Braised Duck Rice @ Serangoon Garden · One of the Best in Singapore

When buddy brought this plate of braised duck from Ah Seng, my first reaction was "woah sliced so thin" 👍 It got me salivating straightaway.

Most braised duck stalls in Singapore slice or chop their ducks thick. Some even chopped them looking like sticks of French fries 🙄

I prefer my braised duck sliced and thin like this.

Stall name: Ah Seng Braised Duck Rice

Address: 49A Serangoon Garden Way, stall #01-44 Garden Market and Food Centre, Singapore 555945

Nearest MRT: 20 minutes walk from Serangoon station

Tel: 9667 4860

Hours: 9:30am - 1pm (Mon off) Important to check their Facebook or call 📞 before coming

Pork Porridge @ Tong Xin Gu Wei Serangoon Garden Hawker Centre · Tasty Speakeasy Porridge 同心古味

Wendy said this porridge is a hidden gem. We tried it - indeed, it is hidden like a speakeasy and it tastes as good as any pork porridge I've come across in Singapore and Johor.

Stall name: Tong Xin Gu Wei 同心古味

Address: 49A Serangoon Garden Way, stall #01-04 Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre, Singapore 555945

Tel: 8748 1482

Hours: 5am - 5pm (Mon off)

Yu Pavilion @ Kovan Heartland Mall · A Taste of Tradition · Hakka Rice Wine Chicken

Hakka rice wine chicken is not commonly sold in Singapore restaurants or hawker stalls. So, it is quite unusual that a full fledged restaurant proudly has the dish as one of their signatures.

Restaurant name: Yu Pavilion

Address: 205 Hougang Street 21, #03-18/19 Heartland Mall, Singapore 530205

Nearest MRT: 3 minutes walk from Kovan station

Tel: 6970 8598

Hours: 11am - 3pm | 5pm - 10 pm

Traditional Famous Prawn Mee in Hougang · No Horse Run · No Bull 传统著名虾面

Buddy raved about a traditional prawn mee stall in Ang Mo Kio saying it is "no horse run" 😮 Since he say until liddat (like that), I must really try it soon. 

I am usually skeptical, even cynical about stalls and restaurants that name themselves "famous" and such. But buddy say until "no horse run", I have no choice but to go to the original stall in Hougang (instead of the same name stall at 338 Ang Mo Kio) 🤭

Stall name: Traditional Famous Prawn Mee 传统著名虾面

Address: 21 Hougang Street 51, #01-42, Singapore 538719 (stall inside Food Loft coffee shop)

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Buangkok station

Hours: 8am - 2pm (Thurs off)

Hindu Artefacts in Kaiyuan Buddhist Temple in Quanzhou China 泉州开元寺

Kaiyuan Buddhist temple in Quanzhou was built in 686 during the Tang dynasty (618 - 907). The temple ravaged by fires and the passage of time has been rebuilt many times. Most of the structures standing today date back to the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644).

Penang Man Hokkien Mee (Prawn Noodle) @ Woodleigh Village Hawker Centre 槟城人

Penang Man 槟城人 | 202C Woodleigh Link, stall #01-04 Woodleigh Village Hawker Centre, Singapore 363202 🚅 5 minutes walk from Woodleigh station ⏰ 11am - 8pm (Tues off)

Note: This article was written when Penang Man was at their previous location at Albert Centre. Addressed changed but food remains the same.

Truth be told, I bought this for lunch at Albert Centre hawker centre because there was no queue. The usual suspects, I mean the stalls I prefer were either closed or had long snaking queues. A bit tired today, so I was in "eat to live" mode.

There was only one person ahead of me during lunch.

Stall name: 槟城人 Penang Man

Address: 270 Queen Street, #01-109 Albert Centre Food Centre, Singapore 180270

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Rochor station or Bugis station

Hours: 9am - 7pm (Sun off)

History of Cambodian Num Kom & Num Ansom · 1500 Year Old Glutinous Rice Cakes

Num kom is a steamed Cambodian glutinous rice dumpling filled with grated coconut and palm sugar, and wrapped in banana leaf. (It resembles the Indian steamed modak except for the banana leaf wrap.)

History of Klepon & Ondeh Ondeh · 1000 Year Old Sweet

Klepon is an Indonesian glutinous rice ball, coloured green with pandan and suji leaves, filled with palm sugar and garnished with or rolled in grated coconut pulp.

Myanmar Glutinous Rice Ball Mont Lone Yay Baw · Sweet of Thingyan Burmese New Year မုန့်လုံးရေပေါ်

Thingyan, the Burmese New Year which is celebrated over four to five days in April each year is associated with two things - the water festival and eating mont lone yay baw မုန့်လုံးရေပေါ်  (glutinous rice ball).

Second Reunion • Middle Road Pork Ribs Prawn Mee @ Kim San Leng Pek Kio 46 Owen Road 密驼路肉骨猪什面虾面 ☎ 6694 4429

✍ 28 Sep 2025. Was a little sad when Middle Road Pork Ribs Prawn Mee stall closed about eight months ago. It was my regular weekend haunt and there's so much memories attached to it, not to mention that it was delicious.

History & What is the Difference between Tang Yuan & Yuan Xiao? 湯圓 元宵的歷史

The Chinese tang yuan 湯圓 (also known as yuan xiao 元宵) is a glutinous rice ball filled with jaggery (cooked sugar) or red bean paste, or sesame seed paste and cooked by boiling in water usually sweeten with jaggery. 

Tang yuan or yuan xiao is traditionally made and eaten during 元宵節 Lantern Festival and 冬至 Winter Solstice. Today, they are eaten as a dessert at anytime during the year.

Macpherson Hai Sing Kway Chap · Underated Stall @ Chong Boon Ang Mo Kio 麥波申海星粿汁

I want to say right off the bat that this kway chap stall at Chong Boon hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio is slightly controversial. Some people found the food "bland" and the elderly stallholders a little brusque. Google review score is 2.4 ⭐ as at Oct 2023.

Stall name: Macpherson Hai Sing Kway Chap 麥波申海星粿汁

Address: 453A Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, Singapore 561453 (stall #01-27 inside Chong Boon Market & Food Centre)

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Ang Mo Kio station

Hours: 6am - 3pm (Thurs off)

Big Chunks of Fresh Fish · Cai Ji Fried Fish Soup @ Chong Boon Ang Mo Kio 财记炸鱼汤

We decided to come here for fish soup partly because the last one we recently had at Toa Payoh was really bad 😤 We needed to find something to erase the memories of that one 🥹 Of course, we can always go back to our tried and tested favourites, but we are greedy - we want good and new experiences despite the risks of wasted calories 🫢

Stall name: Cai Ji Fried Fish Soup 财记炸鱼汤

Address: 453A Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, stall #01-10, Singapore 561453 (Chong Boon Market & Food Centre)

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Ang Mo Kio station

Tel: 9660 9020

Hours: 10:30am - 2:30pm | 4:30pm - 7:30pm (Mon off)

How Much Do Lord Ganesha Love Sweets?' Legends of Ganesha's Sweet Love

Lord Ganesha, the Hindu elephant-faced deity, the Remover of Obstacles is a sweet lover. 

History of Kangidan / Seijō-kankidan · 1,000 Year Old Japanese Sweet for Lord Ganesha 清浄歓喜団

Japan's oldest sweet, the over 1,000 year old kangidan / seijō-kankidan 歓喜団 has a surprising but mostly forgotten history.

Modak Fried or Steamed · Lord Ganesha's Favourite Sweet

The modak, either fried or steamed, is the favourite sweet of the Hindu deity, Lord Ganesha.

Favourite Sweets of Ganesha · History of Modak, Onde Onde, Klepon, Kangidan, Kanom Nab, Num Kom

Ganesha the elephant-headed god is one of the most recognisable deities in the Hindu pantheon. Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, god of wisdom and intelligence, and the god of fortune. Ganesha worshippers seek his blessings before any major endeavour. 

Ganesha worship is believed to have started in the first century AD in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, north India. It spread far and wide around around the world not only in Hindu communities but among Buddhists as well.

East Treasure Woodlands Review 東寶

Went to East Treasure in Woodlands for a simple meal in a comfortable environment.

Restaurant name: East Treasure Chinese Restaurant 東寶 Woods Square

Address: 6 Woodlands Square, #01-07 Woods Square, Singapore 737737

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Woodlands station

Tel: 6908 5650

Hours: 11:30 am - 2:30 pm | 5:30pm - 10:15 pm

Swee Choon Experience is More than Dim Sum @ Jalan Besar Singapore

Buddy Soo Nan jio-ed me for dim sum at Swee Choon at Jalan Besar.

Restaurant name: Swee Choon Tim Sum

Address: 183 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208882

Nearest MRT: Jalan Besar station

Tel: 6225 7788

Hours: 7am - 4am (Thurs off)

Langkasuka Kingdom History & Menu 100 AD - 1400 AD

2000 years ago, sailors and traders from South India know that they have crossed the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea when they saw the peaks of Gunung Jerai mountain in Kedah.

They found the local people here friendly, the land had the goods they came looking for and the locals desired the things the Indians brought. So they began trading.

834 Eating House · Hidden Zi Char in Woodlands

834 Eating House in Woodlands is a neighbourhood zi char shop that has been enjoying the loyal support of residents since the 1990s. The kitchen is manned by the same Malaysian crew all these years.

Stall name: 834 Eating House

Address: 834 Woodlands Street 83, #01-89, Singapore 730834

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Woodlands station

Tel: 9147 4425

Hours: 11am - 2pm | 5pm - 11pm

Indian Heritage Centre Johor Bahru is Open

You will be happy to know that Johor Bahru has a new destination, especially if you have an interest in history and Indian culture.

I am interested in South Indian cuisine as the root of Southeast Asian cuisine, so this new centre is a good additional resource for me.

Yay.

Indian Heritage Centre (இந்திய பாரம்பரிய மையம் / Pusat Warisan India)

Address: Jalan Ungku Puan, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Hours: 8am - 5pm

Solan De Cabra Spanish Blue Bottle · TDS 252 Staple Mineral Water

Solan De Cabras is a still mineral water with low mineral content of TDS 252 mg/l (Total Dissolved Solids).

It's an odourless, flavourless, low mineral, clear still water sought after for its health benefits for centuries.

Bario Pineapple 🍍 Manna of the Sarawak Kelabit Highlands

They say there are two things you must try in Bario, one is their rice and the second is their pineapple 🍍

Their rice is really amazing, especially wrapped in daun isip leaf, the traditional nuba laya way.

The next must try is Bario pineapple.

Nuba Laya · Kelabit Traditional Rice Cake with Bario Rice

They say go to Sarawak must eat, if not at least buy home some Bario rice. I was excited about it and tried it a few times.

But truth be told, I couldn't get the proportions of Bario rice and water right when cooking it at home with an electric rice cooker 😬

So, I was not sure what the fuss about Bario rice is, until I tried nuba laya, that is.

Nuba laya was Bario rice epiphany for me.

Farmstay Relau, Bandar Baharu, Kedah · Ideal for Families & Groups

I stayed two wonderful and restful nights at the beautiful Farmstay Relau in Bandar Baharu in Kedah.

Farmstay Relau

Address: 34950 Serdang, Kedah, Malaysia

Tel: +6012 458 0853

Miri Sarawak Fried Kway Teow · Traditional Unique Old School 传统独特古早味美里炒粿条

After a few trips to Miri Sarawak, I realised that fried kway teow is the preferred staple of most Mirians.

Long Life Bad Radkersburg TDS 2724 Mineral Water Good for Bones & Heart

Today's mineral water is Long Life Bad Radkersburg from Austria.

VCH Vichy Catalan Natural Sparkling Mineral Water TDS 2900 from Spain

Starting my day with a 500ml bottle of Vichy Catalan mineral water.