The Cost of Having Kopi with My Dog

I don't mind Tembusu at Botanics. I appreciate the indoor air-conditioned portion where they welcome pets. This is part of the previous Cafe Nicole and Under the Linden's new concept. However, I have a problem with pet owners who allow their pets to roam freely and don't understand why dogs ought to be leashed at a cafe. That is a huge issue. If Tembusu turns into a dog cafe style, I'm not going.

Plus the sector where the dogs are, the flower kiosk is there. I will literally break out into hives from the pollen. This is why I've never bothered to go to the group's other cafes. I'm really not a fan of flowers. Now that the flower kiosk is in operation, I might not be headed there often, if at all.

I looked at the items on the table. The breakfast set of two pretty nice eggs, and a thick slab of kaya-butter toast, and a cup of coffee, all cost $14.90++. The kaya wasn't even up to par. That's the price of dining out with dogs, indoors, at a cafe that doesn't offer shitty food. 

Let's not compare coffee to kopi. Nanyang local kopi is not quite the same as an Americano or a piccolo latte. We look at kopi. Honestly, it's hard to find a decent cup of kopi-o-siu-siu-dai for $1.30. It has been a really long time since I had one at a hawker center. (Let’s put aside the good Generation Coffee at Tekka since that's not a common thing.)

I rarely step into hawker centers now because they're simply not on my way to and fro destinations, or they offer food that I'm not keen on. I'm more often at kopitiams. Never have a coffee of any sort at an air-conditioned food court because those definitely suck.

So what do we end up with for consistency? A regular kopitiam that we like, Toast Box or Ya Kun, Killiney, Old Tea Hut or Fun Toast... the sorts. And that's the price of kopi in Singapore. And if I want to have my dog with me while I have this cup of kopi, then I will have to pay more for the 'privilege'. I had better make sure that I can still afford a daily cup of kopi in ten years.

Spicy Tom Yam Soup on A Hot Day

Only mad Asians would sit outdoors in the 33°C mid-day heat for lunch, eat a ton of chillies and still drink HOT SOUP. We met at Krapow on Zion Road. Hellooooo Thai spices! Not every dish is a hit here; some could be greasy. But we've gone through the menu enough to know what to order and what to avoid.

An appetizer of som tam wouldn't be counted as mad isn't it? It's not a hot dish although the chillies are fiery. We asked for extra spicy. Ahahahah. The kangkong was for fibre, and prudently, I ordered it NON-SPICY. Heh.

The table's 'Devil Fried Rice' is cray-cray spicy. I don't like it because while it packs a punch, I'm not interested in spicy rice. I don't want want every mouth to be like chilli + chilli. I opted for a regular pork krapow, with plain gorgeous jasmine rice.

What took the cake was the tom yam soup. Opted for normal-spicy. It was a good one. The perspiration was max. We were definitely thankful for that overhead fan and metal roof that kept out the heat a fair bit. The plants helped to block us from the full-on traffic dust. Luckily the wind direction at this point was kind and didn't blow the ashes of those burning Seventh Month offerings in a tall giant burner over to this side. Imagine if the haze is here, and we get more smoke and ash from paper offerings lingering in the environment. Tsk.

Kimchi-Jjigae at DRIM

The online reservation form indicated that DRIM was full for the evening. I was headed into a gym class and didn't bother to call or text. While I was sweating it out, the clever S texted the restaurant instead and got us two seats for dinner. Yayyy! I love it when friends are efficient.

S wouldn't have minded the ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang). But there's no way I can do ginseng, not even a sip. Plus I didn't take antihistamines tonight. So she said to skip it. I did get a portion to-go for the husband though. He loves this iteration, and this would keep well for lunch the next day.

Took the a la carte portions of beef — a USDA Prime cut and a Hanwoo oyster blade. Then we had a prime cut of pork. That was more than enough for us. I think next round, I'll skip all Hanwoo and get two portions of USDA prime cut beef. I really have no interest in fatty cuts of meat. Hanwoo is fatty. Sure, while wagyu has up to 70% fat in a ribeye, and Hanwoo has about 40%-50% in the same cut and it has been described as balance, it's still not as lean as I would like it.

S really liked the Iberico pork kimchi tofu stew. She enjoyed the flavors loads because this version is robust and held depth. It's a proper stew! They didn't use the 'good cut' in the stew, which means the pork in there ain't fatty. Yay for us!