Stinging Stingray!!!!

XNQ : Gracie recommends one of our favourite foods - the sumptuous, mysterious STING Ray! The fish meat is barbequed or grilled with chilli paste (sambal). Then to add more oomph to it, sprinkle lime and eat with onion, vinegar and more chilli dip!! mmmmmmmm

1) HOLLAND Village coffee shop!!!

beats everyone hands down, their stingray is really dammmmn SHIOK! its always always grilled to perfection. the secret is also in their chilli paste, which they grill with the fish! plus while u eat stingray, u can order malay bbq chicky wings. fwah!!!

2) Bugis food centre (next to Allson Hotel)

this is for those who like it hot! his chilli paste is dammmn power! thats what i call a pwoer stingray! plus, his portions r generous. he gives u the best cut when he can, and grilled till the fish got a little burnt edges. fwahhhh! XNQ ; I wana go!!

3) Newton circus

Not bad... its the stall with the big beehive hairstyle auntie. thats the best stall if u ask me. their chilli paste however, is mellowed down to suit ang mors, but the fish is still grilllllled till perfect. yummm. plus, u can also order a plate of hokkien meee from the famous Thye Soon. they are also in wisma food culture and esplanade makan sutra place.

XNQ : I know beehive auntie too! Cept that I call her dinosaur hair. Hmmm, the more I think about her, she's starting to resemble marge simpson. And I guess we both have to agree that that sting ray at lau pa sat last saturday cannot make it.

Lower Your Expectations

In the last 3 months, I visited 3 diffent Thai Magic Wok outlets - Pasir Ris, Novena and Capitol Building. 2 left me with lasting impressions.

I like the food this place serves. Reasonably priced too. But for this kind of service, I'd rather go to a coffeeshop because I won't have any expectations there. And without expectations, I won't be easily let down or have to feel frustrated and uncomfortable.

But I suppose the next time I do end up going there (I foresee I won't be the one planning that trip), I will have to go with very low service expectations. This place is not a coffeeshop, - but the way they do things here is very coffeeshop like.

And I have met some hawkers and coffeeshop staff more communicative and pleasant.

Pasir Ris, White Sands

After our main courses were over, we decided to order a mango pudding for dessert.

A table separated ours from the waitress, who was leaning against a counter. I raised my hand to get her attention and expected her to come over and take my order - like most well-behaved waitstaff do.

Instead, she continues leaning against the counter and chins up in a "wassup manner". I tell her 1 mango pudding. Then she nods and yells to a colleague to get it.

It struck me after that I should have yelled 'CAN I HAVE ONE MANGO PUDDING PLEASE?" for the whole restaurant to hear, cause she was giving me the perfect opening to do that. I was put off because I thought that was really rude. She was too lazy to walk over and take my order when she was doing nothing really.

Capitol Square

My sister and I went there on a Sunday afternoon to use up a free lunch voucher. It was quite empty, with just 3-4 tables occupied. A young waitress took my order.

And this, only after she handed the menu over to a couple that came in after us - probably because they were seated closer to where she was standing. My sis and I had been seated for 5 minutes before that, in that near empty restaurant, waiting for someone to bring us a menu. And she only brought us the menu after we raised our hands and gestured and mouthed the words "menu" to her.

She sullenly looks at me while I am ridiculously ordering away with my warmest and most pleasant voice. I am doing this to see her reaction. Some people naturally have a "pissed off expression" and I do this to see how they respond to me to get a better gauge of the situation. And I am generally very respectful to waitstaff.

When I asked for extra chilli padi and sambal, she gave me that unflinching look that sent chills down my spine.

NO acknowledgement whatsoever.
no nod.
no smile.
no ok.
no "mmm".
nothing.

She just maintained eye contact while I talked and turned around when I was done.

I soon came to realise that this was just the way they do things over at Magic Wok, Capitol Square. Another girl served me food and she was the same, except that the only expression I saw on her face was a frown. But still wordless nods and sullen faces.

So Sweet I Could Die

The next time someone tells me Indian desserts are SOOOOOOO sweet, I'm going to tell them to take a hike down to ...Spaggedies.

And order their brownie, with ice cream, and chocolate fudge (wah lau!). Had a set lunch where my drink was Iced lemon tea - And it was the soft drink type, not dilute whatsoever.

I felt like I was just going to collapse from a sugar overload while getting through my brownie. But if you give me ice cream and brownie, can I resist??? At the end of it all, I took a sip from my ice lemon tea - and couldn't taste it.

Anyways, I feedbacked to the waitress that the dessert was just, ridiculously sweet lah. You put 3 equally sweet things together - doesn't make sense. She said she'd channel my remarks up somewhere. Hopefully something is done.

In case you think I have a low sugar tolerance, I don't. I always take my drinks with 2 teaspoons / satchets of sugar - which is more than most people I know. And I can handle Indian desserts. So if I say it's too sweet, it is.