Non-watch Post: Life, Boba and Bak Chor Mee... (You have been warned ;)

if u came by to read about lux timepieces, skip this post :)  

a chap posed the question to me recently, what are you passionate about these days? 

i think i will always have a love for great/fine/fun/kicka$$ timepieces but my focuses right now are on my family, particularly my son who has a high functioning form of autism. the challenges my wife and i have with raising him are significant(parents who have survived meltdowns will understand but of course there are other behavioral challenges) but we do our best for him. i can have diversions but not ultra costly ones like lux watches are as a lot of my income goes to his therapy sessions, schooling and family... time spent with my family is also the priority outside of my work.

 a happy moment at my son's 6th birthday party :)

next up is my passion for vinyl art... a less costly but still slightly pricey diversion... other than low cost watches i may purchase time to time(read gshock), from posts before you may know that i love star wars[i have also recently gone slightly lego star wars crazy] and i also do love the work of kaws aka brian donnelly. so when kaws drops Japan exclusive star wars figures, even though its a biznatch to get them... i kinda gotta get all of them :) fett retailed for like maybe above S$300(sold out immediately ~ long queues and raffle tickets and lots of flippers) if you picked them up from original fake shop in person in Japan but cost over S$1k on the market now. the fett is probably the last release Original Fake Star Wars release as they are closing, it was sold early this year and it is an amazing piece. this stuff RESONATES with me :)

 

wonderful details and colors... great battle damage on the helmet and bones...

 

great details... 

  chilling on tattoine

 

i am kaws star wars complete :) well kind of...

and then we come to food. i love good food... a good steak once in awhile (i'm a Morton's filet mignon kind a guy), good Nonya(my family's cooking especially), Chinese, American, Italian(pizza over pasta for me but love em both), Japanese food(salmon sashimi comes to mind but i love the katsu and prawns at katsukura, yakitori and foie gras at kazu) etc etc etc. one of my favorite dishes though is bak chor mee which is of Teochew origins, and i am a mee pok lover. 
i recall when i was a young boy and several days a week having nice mee pok(more tomato based then as i was young) with my family at a small market in front of Jalan Kuras, where the current James Cook university stands on Upper Thomson Rd. my kindergarten used to be about there too. fond memories overall...

so the best bak chor mee for me is... Tai Wah Pork Noodles at the 2nd floor of Hong Lim Market and Food Centre

i had discovered Tai Wah in 2003(gosh it's been a decade) when I started working for the Monetary Authority of Singapore. opposite from the MAS building was Bestway Building and there was a food centre there where one of the stalls with always the longest queues was Tai Wah. then it was prepared by an older gent, Mr Tang, who you can see in the pics at the stall and at their site. the younger chap at hong lim is his son. I must admit, dad's bak chor mee tasted better based on my memory of it vs the sons but this is still ultra excellent stuff.

Tai Wah Pork Noodle - 531A Upper Cross Street, #02-16 Hong Lim Food Centre

Googled a bit and found their websit which has their history... interesting... check it here LINK

what's great about it? wonderful zingy spicy robust flavor... the black vinegar, the 'liao' or ingredients in the $6 big version do it for me every time... the fried dried sole, minced meat, meat balls, pork slices, dumplings, chives/spring onions, my added chilli... DAMN SHIOK! note i order mine without pork liver 'mai de gua' but it comes as standard. i normally have a cup of sugar cane juice with it which balances it all out wonderfully. hmm may have to swing by tomorrow...

& a few mins later... ;)

hope you liked the short diversion and i guarantee next post will be a watch post :) cheers, raph