Ex Address: 467 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427678

New Address: 32 Seah Street, opposite the entrance to Raffles Hotel carpark

This is a month of changes. A rather melancholic period. Several friends of mine would be leaving this country to pursue further studies or to take on overseas job postings. They would be leaving their friends and/or spouses behind. Driven by their dreams or compelled to do so by their ambition.

Selfishly, I would rather not have them go. Their leaving has effected unwanted changes in my life. One less friend to call upon when I am lonely and in need of companionship. One less person to make up the numbers for the basketball/mahjong/dinner plans. One less familiar face to have around in this cold, uncaring city.

Though, I understand that the changes would probably impact them more than it would me. They have uprooted themselves. Torn themselves away from comfortable surroundings. Thrown themselves into the unknown (ok..i am being drama mama here….). Would there be tears shed? Long words spoken to their closest ones? (…still being theatrical about it….).

To mark their leaving, we do as what most Singaporeans do. Throw a dinner party. Venue of choice here was Casa Bom Vento. A place that is reputed to serve fine straits cuisine. Fine straits cuisine being derived from Eurasian and Peranakan (Straits Chinese) culture.

The beginning was inauspicious. There was no one else present in the restaurant except for our dinner party. It was completely deserted on a weekday night. Much doubt crept into our heads. This was compounded by the situation of the only waitress in the eatery giving us amiable but puzzled looks towards our direction. It was worrying.

The mood of uncertainty wasn’t really dispelled when our food was presented. The cook was obviously of the “let us use any available hollowed receptable to contain the food….who cares about presentation” school.

Looks however can be deceiving. The Yellow Rice (S$6.50), although looking like leftovers from the past week, was strangly appertising.

The surprise continued with the most ugly dish in this world. The Ayam Buah Kalah (S$12.50). This dish of chicken cooked with the Buah Kalah Fruit, in spite of it having manure like consistency, was good. I am hard put to describe the taste but rest assure that the chef did not decide to go crazy and use mud as his main ingredient.

The trend contined with the Debal Curry (S$12.50) Brinjal Special (S$7). This was a tomato based stew. There was cocktail sausages, potatoes and some unidentified meat and brinjal. The concoction did not even look edible. However, as before, it was a rather yummy dish. Maybe the chefs specialising in Straits Cuisine had a unique form of humour…probably one of the reasons we don’t get many restaurants doing such a cuisine anymore…

[editor’s note: I have obviously mistaken the pictures for Debal Curry as the one for Brinjal Special. I have sinced corrected it. Any inconveniences caused is probably my fault.]

At last, a dish that I could finally identify. The Fried Egg Noodle (S$6.50) was in fact one of the best Fried Egg Noodle I had tasted. It was very Fried Egg Noodle-ish, filled with delicious Fried Egg Noodle ingredients. Hail to the Fried Egg Noodle. (It is late in the night and I am wondering why I am still bothering to update this blog…so do cut me some slack.)

The Brinjal Special (S$7) Debal Curry (S$12.50) had a sour tinge to it. I hope that it was meant to taste this way.

The Stingray (S$12.50) was the most popular dish that night. The plate was cleaned up in record time. On this basis, I recommend choosing this item.

The Potato Cutlets (S$6 for 3 pieces) were dry and coarse. Do pass on this.

The rather exotic dish of Butol Salad (S$6.50) was not to my liking. The vegetable had a very raw feel to it. Anything that tastes so similar to grass must be healthy.

The Oxtail Stew (S$22), the highest expenditure of the night. Cooked till soft and succulent it was. The ox must have been one hell of a beast for its tail to contain so much flesh. However, I didn’t really take much of the meat. This was due to the sudden recollection of a programme on National Geographic that showcased the humble ox wiping assloads (heh heh…pun intended) of dung off their backside with their tail….enough said.