Killiney Kopitiam, Singapore

Killiney Kopitiam is serious. It's serious about it's coffee which is a blend of Columbian arabica beans and Indonesian robusta beans. It's also very serious about it's kaya jam, which is made daily in the store. Kaya is as synonymous with Singapore eating, as Killiney Kopitiam is synonymous with Kaya.



This humble little kopitiams beginnings back in 1919 were as a little shop serving well brewed coffee & tea, with charcoal grilled kaya toast. Then a gentlemen by the name of Mr Woon, a regular to the shop, loved it so much he bought it in 1993 and renamed it Killiney Kopitiam. We both start with a kaya and coffee.



The toast is nicely grilled, while still being soft on the inside. The light green kaya is full of coconut flavor and the sweetness being mellowed by the slices of cold butter. The eggs at Killiney are small, and extremely fresh. The eggs come out in their shell with a small bowl to crack them into. There's something quite satisfying of cracking these soft eggs into the bowl, the way they cascade from the shell, with their big, bright orange yolks. We have a little of the dark soy, and some white pepper on top. I like to dip my toast into the egg, then savor any remains with a small spoon (or just order more toast!).

The Killiney menu today has expanded, with a range of local delicacies. We also try the little Nasi Lemak parcels. We see a stream of these going out the door with take-away coffees, what an awesome fast-food breakfast. Little banana leaf parcels filled with aromatic steamed coconut rice, dried fishies and sambal.



We also try the chicken curry with French bread. This is an old breakfast classic, that Mr Woon is trying to revive. Chunks of bone-in chicken leg are simmered in a rich curry broth, with some potatoes adding a nice bit of body. There is then some crusty French bread on the side, which we just tear off and dip into the broth. Definitely not a light start to the day, but a damn fine start!



We finish off with a couple of iced-milo drinks. Light and frothy, over loads of ice. Seems to ease the tummy just nicely ...

Killiney Kopi Tiam
67 Killiney Road
Singapore 239525
T: 6734 9648


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Taberna La Montera, Grenada Spain

We tripped upon Taberna La Montera early in the evening, and the place was full of families, with children in prams, and the slightly bigger kids running around between the stools & tables, and the parents all mingling as part of one big community. We slide on in and generally perched by the bar, or if there was a table and a few stools left, would settle there. As Grenada is in the heart of Andalucia, bull fighting is kind-of a big deal around here ... This bar displays all sorts of memorabilia from famous matches, upcoming schedules, photos, and even a few hanging bulls heads - this is how we somehow end up calling this place the Toro Bar for the rest of our visit ....

Loving the whole order a drink, get a free tapas thing they have going on in Grenada. As we also love the wine & lemon soda concoction of the region. 2 x Tinto de Verana, which come in bowl-size wine glasses filled with ice, and a complimentary plate of paella.



We order a plate of the simply described chorizo, chili & fried potatoes. It comes out just so, the chorizo is more a heavily spiced mince, with the paprika and spice you'd expect, but in little bite sized pieces. Sitting to the side is a mountain of fried potato squares, a few blistered & glistening green chili's and a fried egg. It was delicious, I would be happy eating this plate at any time of day and feel it would make a fine weekend breakfast.



Next drink, and next tapas. This time, a plate of vinegary fish that has been fried in a light coating, with some crisp iceberg lettuce dressed with lemon and good olive oil to the side.



More pork, with more potatoes arrives. It's skewered pieces of tender pork, which have been wrapped in smoked bacon (score!) before being cooked on large metal skewers. More of the fried potatoes, and some fried chilis complete the plate.



One last drink before we move on. This time the tapas is a little chicken curry, which is full of spice, and has a chunk of bread on one end for mopping up the juice, but also a pile of lightly salted potato crisps, which seem to work really well with the softness of the chicken meat.



We were very pleased to spot this little place, and quite enjoyed just sitting there and watching the local community gather before heading off for their nightly activities.




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11-Gallery Restaurant, Suk 11

Sometimes while staying over the Sukumvit side of town, we would miss our regulars haunts of the Banglumphu side of town. But Suk 11 and it's surrounds had some little gems. For instance, the 11-Gallery restaurant right at the entrance of the little sub-soi.

A beautiful wooden two-story structure, we're ushered away by a beautiful Thai girl in a Sabai (cloth wrap) and decide to perch upstairs. We sit at the tiny little ledge,



with a pleasant view down to the happenings on the street and get to watch the little pinto's being carried from the downstairs across-the way kitchen over to the restaurant.



Kim starts with a gin fizz, a delicious refreshing combination of gin, soda and lime.



I start with a young coconut juice,



as well as a pandan juice. The pandan juice is served with a little syrup on the side, but I find myself adding the pandan to the coconut as I slowly sip down ...



The menu gives a nice little run down about the balance of Thai food and the way it should be eaten (you can also check it out on the website). We're almost seasoned pro's so dive right in !! First up, our salad, fried bits and curry all arrive carried in a little yellow and green pinto, a tiered / stacked set of little boxes.

The yam ma keaur yow - eggplant, shrimp and pork mince salad with boiled egg was dressed with a tangy tamarind dressing and the perfect way to set of on our gastro journey.



The next stop on our gastro journey, gai ta kai - crispy fried chicken that's topped with a dried and shredded lemongrass floss. The floss is textural explosion of flavor and adds a bit of zing to the fried, salty chicken.



~*woot woot*~, chu chee goong.  A rich red curry thats rather mild and full of coconut cream. The prawns, sweet and delicious, and the kaffir lime adding another dimension.



We take a little detour, and find ourselves feasting on some pork toasts. Resembling that of the Chinese style prawn toasts, this version a nicely seasoned pork minced is slathered onto white bread and fried until golden. A cucumber and chilli dressing cutting a bit of the richness.



The tom yum goong ma phrao oon was one of the recommended dishes. I love Thai soups and I love coconut, so the idea of a soup served inside a coconut, awesome! The only disapointment was they had ran out of coconuts ;( They still served us the more expensive option (claiming there was still coconut flesh in there ... well then where was the coconut?!) I even thought to offer up my drinking coconut so they could make the soup in there ;) But it was divine, none-the-less. Rich with coconut, but still somehow light and fresh with all that lemongrass and tamarind leaf.



The last pinto to pull in for the evening contained a typical Thai dessert.



More a palate cleanser, nice and refreshing and not to sweet ... red beans and tapioca floating in a salty/sweet coconut cream.



Definitely discovered some art we liked at 11-Gallery, and were lucky enough to take it all home in our bellies !!

11-Gallery Restaurant

1/34 Soi 11, Sukhumwit Rd

Bangkok, 10110, Thailand

P: 02-651-2672

Where we always end up on a visit to Chatuchak Markets ...

A trip out to Chatuchak markets is a great way to spend the weekend. The BTS sky train takes you all the way to Queen Sirikit park. On this particular stroll through the park we are greeted by a rather peculiar ring of mushrooms ....



Anyway, I digress. We're quickly stopped by some piping hot Khanom Krok. Sweet little pancake like things filled with coconut cream and specked with bits of taro and sweet corn.



Next we spot a row of woks, all parts of chickens and pork being fried away.



The bits are glistening away under some oh-so-bright lights, but we're both immediately drawn to the little wingettes that have been fried along with a stack of pandan leaf.



We wander some more through the markets, picking up some goodies and munching away on our little chicken wings.



Before we end up where we always do, Green Chili.



Green Chili is run by Chef Ann (Dararat Wisaijorn) who opens at Chatuchak Markets on Saturdays and Sundays. Monday is the only day off Chef Ann and her team have, they then go back to work first thing Tuesday morning trawling markets and starting preparation for the impressive 27 varieties of curry prepared each weekend. Tuesday after hunting down mountains of garlic and shallots, her team sets to then peeling them all. These are used in the various curry pastes. Tuesday they are also grilling sun-dried salid fish and shredding it for salads.



Wednesday see some of the garlic and shallots meticulously sliced and deep-fried as well as the massive amounts of nahm prik (Thai fish sauce and chilli condiment which accompanies the kanom jeen) prepared.

On Thursdays they make the various chili relishes and peel eggs ready for the kai palo. The simmering of the pork broth takes place on the Friday. Some people say Chef Ann may be going over the top, especially with all the conveniences to make life easier (peeled garlic / shallots / ready made curry paste etc.) yet Chef Ann says "Well I think I am more meticulous about what I eat than many other things in life. Preparing real and traditional Thai dishes requires lots of artistry and knowledge".



Even the fluffy white rice is organically grown in Ubon Ratchathani. Pretty impressive!



Today we start with a chat to the ever friendly Chef Ann, and within moments, 2 coconut bowls holding bael fruit tea placed in front of us.



Then the smorgasbord of food commences. There's a salad of dok khae, an edible Thai flower, that's packed with pork floss, shallots and chili.



A little pot of simmered pork with boiled egg and tofu is next to arrive.



Khun-Amanda, who first referred us to the delightful Chef Ann, all time favorite is the gaeng som. A sour orange curry packed with mackerel and green papaya is of course on the list ...



One of the mild selections for the day, sweet crab meat mixed with egg and spring onion. The chunks of crab delectable and sweet with the ribbons of egg and spring onions adding another dimension ...



Chef Ann's pad prik king is unlike any other we have tried ... shreds of chicken are smothered in a rich red curry paste and cooked until almost candy-like with little shreds of kaffir lime appearing throughout.



Last to arrive, panang curry. Tender chunks of pork simmered in a mild coconut curry until they're falling apart.



And then the feasting begins!



You really can see how 4 days goes into the preparation for all these dishes. And you can taste the passion and love in which they've been made with!



We bid farewell to Chef Ann, and all the other girls at Green Chili.



..... Until next time !!

Save some room for dinner .....

It's actually a little hard writing a blog on one of our many strolls down Bang Po beach with the thought that Sable is no longer there ........

But on one of our strolls, we did find this little beachside place serving some mean Thai food.  We had been on the lookout for this famous Khao Mon Gai place (post to come) but we could never find it from the beach side.  This other little place, recognisable from the huge amounts of bamboo by the beach, was also recommend by Glenn, a favorite stop of his for tom yum.



We were going to order the tom yum, but both immediately spotted the coconut soup with tumeric and crab. Mmm. Good choice, indeed. A rich, yellow, coconut broth packed full of lemongrass and coriander was sublime. Just trying to get all of the crab from the shell with a fork was a bit hard and we eventually gave up ....



Luckily, within moments a khai jiaw goong sup appeared on the table to distract us. A delicate, paper thin omlette was carefully wrapped around minced prawn and peanuts and scattered with chopped chives. nom nom



Lastly, (this was an in between lunch and dinner kind-of meal ;-)) a bowl of Massaman curry. It was packed full of spice, with chunks of pork, onion and potato.



Now to saving some room for dinner ....

Kanom Jeen, roadside Samui

Another spotting on the side of the road on the way into Lamai one morning was a little roadside noodle stand.  It was always busy, with not a seat to spare, but we're here extra early and must be the first to arrive.

We knew we'd be having some sort of noodles for breakfast, we just weren't sure what type. There's a little cabinet and a simmering pot which put together bowls of ba mi (yellow noodles) with shredded chicken, liver and wontons. But we spot the big bowl of fresh rice noodles and we both look at each other with those 'It's kanom jeen for breakfast, baby' eyes. She gives us a bowl filled with the fresh rice noodles. The rest of the goodies are to be found on the table.



There were 6 little pots, all filled with various pickles and curries, and then a giant plate with every Thai herb and vegetable imaginable. This is such a nice way to eat kanon jeen (I sometimes find the sauce a little to fishy for my liking, but it's usually swimming in a pile of it so there's no escaping it!) but this way we get to try a spoon full of each pickle and curry individually, having fun matching it up with some herb or vegetable.



I loved the thick, red, coconut based curry with fresh Thai basil leaves. I loved the mustard green and bean sprout pickle. I even loved the green curry of fish, a nice mild fish flavour and a delight when I was in control of the amount desired.

Another fine Thai breakfast, and a great start to the day!

Perfect start to the day

Some people have trouble consuming rice or chilli for breakfast. Me, nu-uh! I'm still working on the Japanese breakfast ... cooked fish and natto in the morning? erk, I'll keep you posted how that goes.

Anyway, the chilli and rice thing, no problem. In Thailand our first trip out for the day is usually scooting around and looking for crowds of locals ... what are they up to? what are they eating, most importantly. This particular day we find ourselves in Lamai, at the wet market and notice as we walk in a little stall on the left hand side. There's about 2 dozen silver pots filled with everything you could imagine. I love these places, they get a big bowl of rice and you just point to what you want placed on top. I have opted for a very delicious looking green curry filled with apple eggplants and chunks of chicken on the bone. I also get a little side bowl of tom yum.



Now this is what I call breakfast. Hearty, tasty, delicious, simple yet grand and all for about $1.


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