#jerringjourneys

[jerrisdiction]

Chopstick spaghetti

11 May 2018

A few days before my internship started, I knew I had to revisit the area where I first worked. Even though I mostly ate at Golden Shoe Hawker Centre, Far East Square was like a posh little village that stood out. So hearing about such a pop-up restaurant in that area got me bubbling with excitement, for this "amateur foodie" sort of adventure.

Back in university, my summer vacation always went by so fast. And I'd looked back at it everytime with some extent of regret.

It was only after starting work though, that I realised - having such time to explore alone is so rare, such a privilege to treasure and to be proud of.

Such small adventures, which are difficult to relive these days.

I wasn't the type to go after trends when it comes to food. I wasn't even the type to be adventurous about food. Yet Chopstick Spaghetti had this appealing concept, which showed how fascinating fusion food is.

Maybe it's because Mum often played around with ingredients when cooking spaghetti for me. We often think of carbonara, aglio olio etc almost like a standalone dish, each with their own techniques. But we are no rich family. Interestingly, even though we settled for the commonplace ingredients - we discover simple flavours that equally impress.

I hesitated at the store front, as it seemed a little underwhelming. Barely any customers, clean but simple interior design that did not blend in with the other trendy bars along the street. But the reviews had to mean something!

I finally decided to saunter in, looking like I just came across this restaurant (not from the Internet).

My order was ready for collection in a while. Indeed, there was nothing fancy about Chopstick Spaghetti - it’s just what it is. A pop-up eatery hoping to draw recognition with affordable yet premium taste.

It was my first time having salmon mentaiko, and this was not as strong-flavoured or creamy as I had expected. The salmon was chunky rather than blending in with other ingredients. Quite glad that the bowl and chopsticks weren’t made of plastic, and we could drop it in the bin after finishing.

It’s kind of weird how I remembered little adventures like these - it has been more than 2 years. But they were rare. Nowadays, I find myself dining at the same old shopping malls, not really venturing to anywhere. Hopefully this would change.

[jerrisdiction]

Deserted Tuas on Christmas Day

25 December 2019

My ideal kind of Christmas Day includes receiving presents and letters in bed, having a leisurely breakfast and a slow morning walk for fresh air.

But as an auditor who's constantly anxious about losing her way, I decided there was no better time to visit my stock-take location on 30 December.

Many might find it ridiculous that a 22 year old has to 'recce' her upcoming client locations with her Dad. But this is something Dad and I have always indulged in - looking for places we usually don't quite venture into. I think that's why I chose audit in the first place. And I secretly rejoice when clients ask "Was it difficult to get here?" - as I can answer "It's alright", feeling a little smug.

But Tuas itself is tricky, as my Dad had warned. Even though he'd been there multiple times, the taxi drivers sometimes have trouble finding their way. And we never know when, or where a wild animal is out and about.

Tuas Link station was almost empty on a public holiday like this. We got a glimpse of Raffles Marina Country Club from the concourse level, and daydreamed a little on how it'd be like to have a getaway there. 

We then took bus 248, which took us past Pioneer Road, turning into Tuas Avenue 20. By the time the bus started doing turns in Tuas Crescent, I was clutching my phone tightly and all alert. "Okay so after this, we're gonna take note of when to alight".

Of course, we couldn't figure it out just based on the bus app. So I switched to Google Maps - noticing how long Tuas South Avenue 5 seems. But in reality, it's extremely long and endless. I lost track of the smaller avenues we'd passed by, and was getting uneasy on whether we'd overshot.

Thankfully the bus slowed down when approaching Glaxosmithkline. As we alighted, I found myself rambling on how impossible it is to get out of Tuas South Avenue 5 on foot. Let alone Tuas itself. 

Then came the tricky part of our journey. From Google Maps, Tuas View Square has this concave layout (凹 shaped). Almost like a fortress with inner and outer lanes. I'd thought of cutting corners (path in purple), as there was a smaller lane - which eventually led to nowhere. Also, the factories had high walls and fencing. Nothing like a HDB estate where you could just cut through the corners. Oh well, the full route it was (path in blue). 

Not to mention, we were walking on the side of the road. I even twisted my ankle slightly. The pavements were littered with wine bottles, takeaway Styrofoam boxes, plastic bags and fallen leaves.

Honestly I tried not to think of the workers here negatively. But it seemed that Tuas was this unmanned part of Singapore, where people could litter as much as they want. Or perhaps it's just the lack of road cleaners here. Reasonable, given that Tuas is simply so inconvenient and vast.

But this area seemed like an aftermath of a Christmas celebration. A private, undisturbed party of their own?

Turning into our destination, we even saw these workers sitting and lying on the grass patches by the pavements. We soon realised that there were living quarters here, which occupied the back of the factory premises. I mean, there isn't really a problem with sitting on grass. But in other areas, we wouldn't do that.

Having sighted my location for next week, we made our way back to the main road. Another long walk to the bus stop in the heat. 

Just as we reached the bus stop, we saw a private bus stopping there, probably to fetch some workers to the nearest train stations.

I was about to sit down and wait for the public bus 182, when Dad started talking to the driver on the private bus. When he asked for the destinations and fare, I tried to pull him away like, "what are you doing??"

Yet Dad boarded the bus, tossing a few coins into the container beside the driver - leaving me wide-eyed. Was it really okay to take the bus meant for these workers? What if the driver took us to somewhere unsafe?

Of course I couldn't leave Dad alone like this, so I decided to board the bus with him. Wow, this has got to be the most bizarre way to hitch a ride.

Many more workers got on along the way. There were probably 20 Indians / Bangladeshis, and a couple of Chinese nationals including the driver himself. And yeah, two Singaporeans. The workers sent us weird glances, probably puzzled why we're there. But thankfully it was a safe ride out of Tuas, all the way to Boon Lay.

To conclude this tiring and bizarre trip, we settled for some steamed dishes in the food court for lunch. And wondered how Mum would react when we told her later about our venture. 

[jerrisdiction]

SeoulSearching: Chapter 02

My original plan was to start off Day 2 with renting a hanbok. After all, the idea of being a 'princess' for 2 hours twirling around in a palace sounded really appealing.

Mum suggested taking a taxi, since she heard that taxi fares here are generally inexpensive. So we got on one at the taxi stand outside Seoul Station - pretty convenient from our apartment.

I was a little perplexed when the driver did not respond to me asking "Is it possible to go to Gyeongbokgung?" in Korean. After all, we're somewhat used to drivers in Singapore rejecting rides, or stating they're only heading to certain areas. The silence was awkward, and with every minute uneasiness tried taking over me. What if he's not a legitimate driver, just someone up to no good? What if he drove us to the wrong place (after all, not really confident with my pronunciation)?

Peering down at my phone, I decided to turn on my location and monitor which road we were on. For some reason Kakao Map did work that day (thankfully). And within 15min we were already reaching! Dad was right when he said that Seoul is actually not that huge of a place, there're just too many subway stations LOL.

It was obvious we were about to reach as we started passing several statues, including King Sejong. Never knew these statues were placed in the middle of the road. The driver dropped us off just opposite the main gate, and from there we commenced our trip of the day.

It was crowded outside Gwanghwamun itself, and only then we realised that the first Royal Guards Changing Ceremony had just begun, hence attracting a line of onlookers.

After a while we saw a tour guide leading his group beyond the gate into the palace, and thus we followed. I didn't really expect the palace grounds to be sandy though. Lowkey relieved that I wasn't wearing a hanbok, for it would have been tougher to walk around.

After buying the tickets and a guidebook, I led the parents into the main palace.

Geungjeong-jeon was really crowded - not surprising since it is one of the main places where the King carried out important duties.

Mum said this alley was where some historical dramas were filmed, and hence a popular spot to take pictures? Honestly it looked like just another alley that may even be found in the other palaces.

Gyeonghoe-ru Pavilion was really scenic and beautiful, but in fact no one gets in there - all of us were taking pictures of it from across the waters.

We were considering whether to continue venturing into other areas in the Palace, but it was nearing lunchtime so I felt it was best to head to the samgyetang restaurant earlier.

To our surprise, there was no queue outside unlike what we’ve always seen.

To be frank, I sort of had the impression that samgyetang would be similar to the black chicken soup we always have in Singapore. It tasted really ‘clean’, but it’s not something I fancy.

The free-flow kimchi was what helped me get through the meal though! Can't emphasise how much I love radish kimchi. It just helps me fill myself with more rice that I might not have eaten in the first place.

By the time we left, a long queue was starting to form at about half past noon. So thankful that we had lunch early.

I guess fatigue was starting to take over me as we started heading to Namdaemun Market. Not to mention the lack of escalators in the subway stations (oh god I'm so unfit) - just climbing up to the ground floor got me gasping to breathe. With just a glance down the crowded street I knew it would be suffocating there. Hence I opted out and let Mum shop at Namdaemun on her own.

Crossing the street halfway to the central pedestrian pavement, Dad and I settled down on a bench. The flowers were beautiful, but failed to distract me entirely from the pain. He asked me how far we were from our apartment; I pointed at the huge road sign in front - which indicated that Seoul Station was just a left turn away. That didn't surprise me since Hoehyeon Station where we were was just one stop away from Seoul Station.

Leaving me to rest for a bit, Dad walked down the pavement lined with flowers and disappeared from my sight. I'd thought that was a little uncaring of him, but that short walk eventually proved to be useful. After Mum was done with some minor shopping at Namdaemun, Dad brought us down the pavement, which led us onto Seoullo 7017, which essentially is a sky park that could lead us back to Seoul Station. And the view was really refreshing! There was a mini flea market as well, though the clothes sold were more expensive.

The rest of the day went by with me taking a short nap, before we headed out to Lotte Mart (yes, again) for dinner - this time, at another stall which sold dumpling noodles. I must say the dumplings here are huge, in fact really filling I couldn't finish my bowl of noodles. Not to mention we ordered an extra platter of steamed and fried dumplings, unaware of the large serving size here. Taste wise, nothing really impressive, but as a convenient option it would do.

[jerrisdiction]

SeoulSearching: Chapter 01

Long story short, the perfectionist in me considered this trip a complete failure. But I'll accept that with gratitude- after all, there's a first time for everything.

One of these "first times" was using automated check-in, which did not work for us anyway, since there were other procedures we were to complete in person. Nonetheless, the staff were all relaxed and helpful.

And yes, more surprisingly, it was the first time we used McDonald's automated ordering kiosks to order light supper, for the counters were closed that night.

I've had better spicy nuggets than these.

Another 'first': being on a late night flight, which we all regretted. Even Mum, who's usually a heavy sleeper, complained of being sleep deprived. As for me, it goes without saying that I disembarked in the morning half-disoriented.

I did look forward to witnessing the sunrise on the plane though. It wasn't crisp clear, and I couldn't take a shot of the crimson horizon from my seat. But a beautiful 5am view, it was.

In-flight meals were served shortly before 7am, but I suppose most of us were just tired and indifferent towards the food by then. The three of us opted for stir fried noodles with fried fish fillet, which surprised me a little as I thought Dad would prefer having porridge. Then again, Korean style porridge is likely very different from what we're used to.

｡･:*:･ﾟ

Upon arrival, Dad was amused that the immigration there, like Taiwan, used index fingerprints instead of thumbprints. I couldn't care less, so long the process was smooth. It did take slightly shorter than clearing the Taiwanese customs.

The next step was to purchase our T-money cards - also the first time I spoke Korean to a local there. As expected, it failed quite miserably. My mind already went blank when the GS25 staff told us that they did not sell normal 2,500won T-money cards. Thank goodness another staff came in and intercepted the awkwardness with some English.

Along the way I learnt that it's okay to speak a little bit of simple English. In fact, much better than struggling to be understood in Korean, only in vain. Fast forward to our arrival at Hongdae, where we deposited our luggage with Safex, their staff was pretty relaxed with conversing in English. (I think it's me who needs to relax LOL.)

Hongdae was a place with inexplicably good vibes that afternoon, even though most recommend going in the evening. We settled at a random restaurant, and it turned out to be our favourite meal in the entire trip. Each of us got this huge portion of bibimbap at just 6,500won.

At this point I probably figured out the distinction between traditional bibimbap and the more 'modern' ones like this. Traditional vegetable toppings typically include mushrooms, carrots, spinach, soybean sprouts, and cucumbers. But I don't recall much of those in this bowl- instead, alfafa sprouts, chopped yellow radish and cabbage were among the highlights. Making a wild guess right here that these modern variations are more widely seen in areas like Hongdae to appeal to youths and tourists. Not saying that traditional bibimbap tastes worse, but it had become a tad boring for our family overtime.

We later ventured down the smaller streets of Hongdae, passing by several stores and cafés- each with their own character. I recall being in awe with one of the many accessory stores; its rustic industrial design was well complemented with its scent, probably from a diffuser. Almost felt like stepping into an unfamiliar realm, even though earrings were its highlight.

We also visited Market A, but somehow none of us had a thing for their pieces. They just felt like elegant vibes I couldn't carry. Mum also commented that their pieces are mostly in 'plain' colours. Yes, precisely that- there isn't really a colour the locals can't manage, given their fair skin. In subsequent days, I also observed that they mostly wore such neutral, muted colours to work, especially black and cream.

Meanwhile, Dad had been sitting outside the store, coughing non-stop still. He was obviously displeased with all the walking, and the lack of sleep was taking a toll on him. Surprisingly though, he suggested to find a café nearby to recharge (he was never the type to visit cafés). So we gradually tried to find our way out.

The parents were doubtful when I started going underneath one of the bridges, but wow it turned out to be a really nice spot with shade. 책거리, or what I'd interpret as "Book Street" is such an apt name for a path leading students from the subway station exits towards the university. The afternoon breeze blowing under the bridge also came refreshing after a long walk in the sun. And witnessing some elderly folks reading together in the shade simply completed the picture.

Hongdae is, indeed, definitely more than its nightclubs, restaurants and fashion trends.

Thanks stranger for making this picture even more perfect. Really love the lines and warm vibes in this shot.

That street also had me noticing all the gorgeous flowers Seoul had to offer. I don't have good shots of them up close, for they were better admired in abundance.

Lots of white daisies in this city... I guess the more you avoid something, the more often you see them.

｡･:*:･ﾟ

This café (located in a mall near Exit 4) caught our attention so after some mindless shopping there, we picked a few items for afternoon coffee.

Their coffee (forgot which one Mum ordered for us) wasn't really something I'd fancy. It was our first time trying an beurre - seemingly just bread with cream and red bean filling but, of course, more sophisticated.

I picked up a chocolate financier as well, for I hadn't had one in years. Dad did not think much of it, but I never expected a financier to be the highlight anyway. But it's decently rich (damn, is this a pun HAHA) for me.

｡･:*:･ﾟ

Little did we know that the real challenge was to come after we collected our luggage and headed to Seoul Station. Mum suggested visiting Lotte Mart before checking into our apartment, but it was a really long walk from the airport line. Hell, if the walk within Dhoby Ghaut station was already a chore, I bet this was way, way worse especially with us lugging our baggage around.

By this time, Dad was having the runs and displaying more discomfort, so he decided to rest outside Lotte Mart, giving us 30 minutes to shop. I'd thought this was a great place with variety, for I'd always liked shopping in supermarkets but... The crowd, the tourists, even the promoters enthusiastically drawing customers in with Mandarin were quite a turn-off for me. It really just felt like a place for tourists to sweep all those goodies away last minute before they head home. And seeing Mum almost turn into a child in a candy store got me thinking, this is a bad sign.

When we finally got out of Lotte Mart, somehow Kakao Map failed us and could not point us in a direction that seemed right. Some bickering and struggling later, we decided to lug all that baggage underground once again back to the airport line to find the other station exit, since the subway was our only hope with more visible signs.

And after what seemed like endless walking, we reached our apartment in sheer exhaustion.

｡･:*:･ﾟ

By the time we recharged ourselves enough to go out for dinner, it was yet another challenge to decide what to eat. There were several (probably family owned) restaurants near the estate, but after passing by the lots of them, we headed back to Lotte Mart - this time via a shorter route we'd found.

Lotte Mart isn't so bad after all, for there were a few stalls that sold really affordable and filling meals. We ordered one set of steamed dumplings and 2 sets of kimbap for 13,000won, and though that wasn't way too filling, at least we were able to finish it all - Dad didn't like the tuna kimbap while I didn't like the tonkatsu kimbap so we swapped LOL. Somehow the dumplings were the highlight for me, not sure if it was the filling or the soy sauce.

On our way back, we hopped into a minimart and bought some bread for breakfast the next day (though later on I ate none of it). Oh, and out of curiosity Mum and I tried a spicy vegetable kebab thingy, it kind of set my tongue on fire but felt super shiok (much better than Spicy McNuggets, huh).

Back at the apartment, the duo started generating more complaints of our humble home for the next 4 days. Again, I was the one to blame (who else?), but that didn't bother me much for we were all scrambling to catch up on sleep that night.