eevon.sg

Yes I’ve been lazy. To friends who I’ve spoken. most of you would heard about me raving about my splendid 2 weeks trip at in Beijing in June 2008 (right before the Olympics). Being caught up with assignments, work, never ending photo-edits and more excuses, I’ve failed to share my experience on my blog!  I apologise. Thanks sweeties for the constant complaints of not knowing what Eevon did in Beijing. Yes, I must agree that this blog which is all about me would be so incomplete if there’s nothing at all about this city that I will never forget ever. Thus, from now on, do expect more posts on my Beijing experience!

My 2 weeks in Beijing was a cultural-study trip on the intellectual, cultural and historical traditions of China. As a supporter of the arts, I shall start with a special place that has significant importance to a niche segment of China’s population, the avant-garde artists in Beijing. 798 Art District.

This place used to be the centre of socialism. Now it’s the centre of modernism and individualism. Puzzled? No worries, I will elaborate further.

As state-run factory estate designed by the East Germans in 1954, 798 Art District was an emblem of China’s industrial production and a symbol of the country’s brotherhood with fellow socialist countries. 47 years later, Chinese avant-garde artists from the outer margins of society set up studios and lofts in 798 Art District; marking the beginning of 798 Art District’s iconic role in new modern Beijing.

This place practically showcases China’s ideological shifts in history. Over here I became conscious of how contemporary Chinese art has transformed from a deviant activity to a source of international prestige in modern China. It was also heartening to find that the presence of a cultural base as opposed to an industrial one in 798 Art Zone suggests the appreciating value of the creative middle class in China’s economic growth.

798 Art District is a really big huge industrial estate where many of the spaces were designed by the artists themselves and as such reflects their own particular aesthetic tastes and interests while creating an ambiance of which their audience anticipates. This aligned with the cultural change in modern China where popular cultural attitudes shifts from society-oriented to individuality.

I found numerous slogans of the Mao’s era in 798 Art District such as “Learn the theories of Chairman Mao, Defend the theories of Chairman Mao.”, “To sail in the sea you need a great helmsman, to do some revolutionary work you need the theories of Chairman Mao”, “Long live the great Communist Part of China!” and etc. It was kinda bizarre to imagine people worshiping Mao as thought he is a deity. Then again, he’s the great helmsman. Everyone was seen walking around with a little red book when he ruled China.

In any case, the diversification of artistic outlets at 798 Art District is astonishing. Various cafes, galleries and clubs refashion the social and physical spaces of Chinese culture. And yes! Pink Maos are funkier. We can’t helped but thought that there were more underlying meanings behind the choice of using pink.

798 Art Districts houses trendy international and Chinese regional restaurants such as the Jianghu Western Restaurant and Sichuan No.6 Restaurant designed by the artistic community at 798 Art Zone. We had a hearty lunch at Tianxiayan Restaurant located at 4 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District.

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That large bowl of beef in oily chilli oil and Sichuan pepper corns numbed my lips and tongue! Other dishes were ok though personally, I thought that the Sichuan fare I had wasn’t very spectacular. However from what I know, this three-floor restaurant on the southeastern part of 798 is usually packed on weekends.

In a way, these restaurants reinterpret Beijing through the interrelationship between consumption, popular culture and space as the growing importance of social interactivity in activities such as dining, clubbing, theatre and performing arts places high value in atmosphere and aesthetics.

From its industrial beginnings, 798 Art District had transformed into a symbol of modern China that hosts foreign dignitaries and tourists and formed alliances with former capitalist adversaries. Apparent a Sony product promotion was launched in 798 Space Gallery and Yan club, a former factory cafeteria had transformed into a landmark of fashionable place to be in Beijing which had hosted the renowned British band “Morcheeba”. In addition to the frequently held art events, 798 Art District is also the new hot spot for commercial activities where many large enterprises such as Omega and Nike chose to hold product promotions and related commercial activities.

Sigh. Let’s just hope the artists at 798 Art District can sustain the unique undertone in their works to look at China’s industrial past in today’s context.

It is important to note that the artistic community at 798 Art District had won a stunning victory against their limitations as a minority in spreading new ideas and culture.

As a proud symbol of a modern and creative Beijing that blends the contemporary generations’ inherited past, acquired present and anticipated future within its space, 798 Art District is a space that celebrates the individual and portrays nuances of red china unpretentiously.

A visit to 798 Art District is a must if you like Chinese contemporary art and want to catch glimpses of China’s industrial past.

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798 Art District
Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District

Not sure if you know this already. But I still have to say that KFC tastes wayyy better across the causeway! You MUST try this “finger-lickin” delight to taste the difference. The same day we had Ah Piaw Chilli Wanton Mee for supper, we went KFC for tea. Ordered the dinner plate with 3 pieces of pressure-fried pieces of chicken made with the original recipe.

So why KFC tastes wayyy better across the causeway?

The chicken is bigger,  juicier and much more tender. Also, the chicken flesh is so moist that it actually oozes out the herby flavours. I always ask for thigh meat. Most of the time, the service staff will oblige to my request. While most feel that chicken thighs are too fatty to eat, I think that the thigh is the best, most flavourful cut. Chicken breast meat is hopelessly bland and dry.

As for the sides, I like their coleslaw better than most places. A lot of times it’s either too watery or has too much mayo but KFC’s one is just right! The little cup serving of coleslaw is so crunchy and fresh! Shredded cabbage never taste so good elsewhere. BTW is mashed potatoes one of your favorite comfort foods? It’s one of mine so I really enjoyed KFC’s smooth and creamy mashed potatoes with piping hot chicken gravy. The gravy was was nice and thick and coated the top of the mashed potatoes nicely!

We spent just RM12.10 for a “finger-lickin” meal at KFC. Sharing a dinner plate is perfect for tea because we need to leave some space for dinner!

KFC Holiday Plaza
LG 68, LG 113-116, LG 140-145
Jln. Datuk Sulaiman
Johor Bahru
80250 Johor

Supper in JB? Try delicious chilli wanton noodles! Oh Yesterday, we drove in to JB to deliver 3 pillows to Ma. Ah I shall share a little about those pillows soon. Anyway we decided to grab high-tea, dinner, supper and pump petrol before heading back SG. Hehe.

I’ve heard alot about Ah Piaw from hungry young JBreans who are still awake after 12.30am. Yes it opens at 12.30am only. Any earlier, you have to settle for the so-so only abalone noodles from Ah Piaw’s neighbour, Fifty Nine Restaurant.

The noodles are being served relatively dry and dressed with lots of special chilli sauce! Slices of char siu and kailan/Chinese kale was added to the dish. The thin noodles were exactly how baby likes it. Perfectly Al dente!

The noodles had a good bite to it because it was firm enough. You see, my partner here is very fussy when it comes to noodles. For him, noodles have to be cooked so as to be firm but not hard. If the noodles stick to his teeth when it is being chewed, it is considered undercooked. Need to also avoid overcooking them else it will be too gooey. That’s why I don’t handle noodles whenever we attempt to whip up supper. He does.

Loving soups of every kind, I enjoyed the steaming hot soup with minced pork wontons more than the noodles. Well, it helped that the soup was garnished with spring onions which gave the piping hot soup a unique bouquet.

Not sure about you but I’ve always fancy wantons boiled in the soup rather than those deep fried in oil. I liked how the smooth velvety feel of the wanton slips through my throat.

No wonder the wantons were so tasty. It’s made fresh!

At first I thought that RM5 for a plate of wanton is a tad expensive, but the pricey tag was justified by the reasonable serving. We got 7-8 pieces of wanton and more noodles as compared to the normal RM3 wanton noodles we find elsewhere. Then again, it’s kinda sucky that they don’t cater to light eaters who are contented with the average RM3 serving. I had no plans to eat so much for supper leh. Ended up have to dump some noodles to my dearest rubbish bin again. Sorry baby. By the way, here’re the pricing for 3 different sizes of Ah Piaw wanton noodles.

Small RM5
Medium RM5.50
Large RM6

If you are driving, you can park along Jalan Kelewang 2 (right next to my church, the Sacred Heart Cathedral) and take a 2 minutes walk over to Ah Piaw. Or you can park opposite Ah Piaw which is just in front of Wisma Tiong Hua. Pretty safe as the area is bright and there’s security guards at Wisma Tiong Hua but don’t be an easy target. As how I would advice all my friends, keep all your valuables in the boot and just bring enough cash in your pockets for supper.

Restoran Ah Piaw
Jalan Keris, Taman Sri Tebrau,
81100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Opening hours: 12.30am – 10.30am

Thanks to 24seven‘s partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, I was at a new sushi haunt that Twitterers were buzzing about lately. Yup, Standing Sushi Bar has been attracting lotsa attention lately from sushi lovers! Glad that I finally had the chance to drop by for the Japanese omakase experience with a few foodies!

Also present at Standing Sushi that evening was Barry and Fin. We had so much fun dining at this cosy sushi bar! By the way it was dinner time so there were chairs for us to sit on. However, expect no chairs during lunch time! This is a standing sushi bar remember?

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Before I get on to the food, I must introduce Howard! He owns this unique bar! Does he look familiar? Recall and tell me where you saw him before! You must had if you’ve watched Channel 5 years ago. Heh

OK Howards’s recommendation. First dish is the Chef’s Special (Sashimi platter) $25.00. It’s very fresh! And the thick chucky slices of shashimi spells H-E-A-V-E-N.

Look at the juicy orange balls of goodness!!! Is your tummy growling now?

Wait wait. There’s many more coming! Here’s the Nigiri platter that has Maguro $2, Sake Toro $2, Hamachi (a type of yellowtail) $4, Aburi Hotate $4 and Shime Saba (Mackerel) $3.

Out of the five, I like the Saba (Mackerel) best! Special instructions from the chef to eat from the lighter taste to the stronger taste fish and not to dip the Aburi Hotate (Scallops)/the one with pinky paste on top of it on soy sauce. It was very useful to have the chef checking on us all the time to see if we are treating the sushi right.

Hey I’m sure you’ve tried Unagi, freshwater eels. Behold here’s the Anago $6! Salt-water eels that are slightly less rich and oily than the unagi!

The anago was simmered to perfection! I fell in love with this exquisite eel sushi at first sight. The problem was how to chomp it down in just one bite. Well, we’re suppose to eat sushi in just 1 bite right?

The deep-fried chicken nuggets, Tori Karaage $6 had a good crispiness to it. I thought that this would make a great snack for pa to enjoy with a can of beer over a golf programme on TV.

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At first glance, the Salmon Yuzu Yama-mayo yaki $15 looked like a Hong Kong-style fried toast with condensed milk drizzled on it. Haha. No this is a big piece of flaky and moist grilled salmon! Yummy.

Are you a fan of tofu? If yes, you’ll be pleased to know that the Agedashi Tofu $5 had a slight crispiness before giving way to a sogginess as it absorbed the Dashi Broth which had light notes of the Kombu (Kelp) and Shoyu (Soy Sauce).

One of my favourite! The Mix Kinoko Foil Yaki $10 was AWESOME! Mushrooms lovers alert! A good mix of Shitake, Enoki and Shimeji mushrooms glazed in a secret special sauce which the chef won’t tell and we just can’t figured out what is it. This is a must-try.

I’ve always been a fan of smelt fish. But most of the time, I would order komochi shishamo (grilled smelts with roe) instead of the fried version which was what we had this evening, Shishamo age $8. The fish was coated with a layer of fried batter so unlike its grilled brethens, this fried fish can’t greet me with its mouth gaping open.

Yes it’s very tasty. Mmmm MMM the stomach is so stuffed with fish eggs! Another reason why I love Shishamo is that it is one of those fishes where you can eat them from head to tail! DIEEE fish BONESSS

A dining experience at the Standing Sushi Bar calls for the appearance of the standing sushi, Tamago Nigiri $6. Cute,standing, chubby fellas! haha.

Now that’s alot of food right? Check out how full our table was! Haha But no worries we did not waste any food!

Howard recommended a few of the Sake brands they have here and we’ve tried a few too. You can catch the culprit that made Claudia a little woozy here. Hey do you know that technically one doesn’t drink sake with sushi before or after the meal. Well apparently since they are both rice based, they do not complement each other and therefore should not be consumed together. Which is why green tea is a great option with sushi or sashimi. Anyway my vote for drink of the day goes to the cool and smooth Asahi beer! SLurps Aaaaaaah. Goes really well with the California roll $6.

Kampai!

Thanks Barry and Fin from Standard Chartered for the dinner! Good deal for Standard Chartered cardholders because you guys get to enjoy the 15% cashback everywhere you dine in Singapore!

Now, how to enjoy this deal? Just register via SMS “GET15 16-Digit Card Number” to 78722 before 31 December 2009. For example GET15 4508128456789000. You just need to spend at least $500 per month on anything, not just dining, to be entitled the 15% cashback on your dining expenses.

Sigh. My visit was barely a week ago and I miss Standing Sushi Bar already! :/

Standing Sushi Bar
1 Raffles Place
#B1-02B OUB Centre
Singapore 048616
Monday – Saturday
11:30am – 10:00pm

Disclaimer:
Standard Chartered Bank is a client of 24seven. Although Barry and Fin paid for the dinner, this post is not an advertorial by Standing Sushi nor Standard Chartered Bank. I wrote this post because I loveeeeee everything I ate that evening and I know I’ll get killed by my readers if I don’t share about the 15% cashback. You guys gonna like ‘WHY NEVER TELL US?’ Pss do note that this promotion is only valid in Singapore. Lol. Don’t go asking for cashback in Malaysia k?

If you are looking for a zesty bbq snack to munch on, go grab a few sticks of the special satay from Restoran Kimdo. It’s a Chinese Restaurant opposite The Store Shopping Center at Taman Sentosa JB. Look out for a giant red crab sitting at the top right corner of the signboard. It’s a huge 3D crab! You can’t miss it.

Warning: never never try this bbq delight if you can’t take spicy food. These dynamite sticks will blow you up for sure.

Last week, Evelyn was in town with her bf so we decided to grab some of these special satays! and chill. We ordered a good mix of prawns satay, chicken satay and also sotong satay.

I liked the prawns best! It tasted so damn good that we ate the shells too! Ah yes the satays come with a plate of sliced cucumbers and mangoes to refresh our tastebuds after each fiery chunk of meat.

Seriously. The prawns were bbq-ed till perfection, distinctively smokey and crispy enough for us to crunch on. Really addictive. I believe we could easily chow down 10 sticks of smoked prawns in a jiffy.

The chicken and sotong was well-marinated because the satay had so much flavour and bite! We went ga-ga over the charred bits on the satay. Oh another reason why this special satay is so good – unlike those normal satays which we dip into a peanut sauce, Kimdo’s satay didn’t tasted oily and there wasn’t any chunks of disgusting fat cubes!

According to hub, we spent RM19 for 10 chicken, 5 prawns and 4 sotong satays. Actually, they mixed up the orders because we wanted more prawns than chicken. Thus, if you are thinking of patronising this restaurant, make sure you double confirm the orders when you’re there and feel free to rush them if you think they are taking too long to serve the food.

We could not get enough of the tantalising ultra-spicy dip made from green cilipadi. Enough said. I’m getting hungry.

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Will be back for more dynamite sticks and dip.

Restoran Kimdo
23,25 Jalan Sutera
Taman Sentosa
80130 Johor Bharu