Makan

My day started at 8am, when I woke early to go with my parents to Sembawang Hill Food Centre @ Upper Thomson Road for breakfast. From Yishun MRT we took bus 169, passing by the Khatib and Nee Soon army camps along the way. Our target - kway chap at this stall which I had missed from my childhood days. Hadn't been there for 10 years.


































Stomachs sated, we decided to walk around and explore the shops, and upon seeing this restaurant and perusing the menu, we agreed on coming back later for lunch.















According to mum IVINS is a pretty well known eatery that has been around for 10+ years, specializing in authentic Peranakan food. Since we were quite full from breakfast, we went on to Pierce Reservoir nearby to walk a bit.

Took these pictures while we were there:





























We decided to go on the trail, which was quite a short one, and found this strange tree with little "apples" on it.





























By the time we were done it was 11.30am already, and starting to feel hungry we walked back to IVINE. The food on the menu was quite affordable, about $4/5 per dish. We ordered ayam buah keluak (spicy chicken curry, the in-house favourite), honey pork, sotong sambal, hee peow soup (fish maw), otak otak pangang (spicy fishcake wrapped in banana leaf), nonya chap chye.















The honey pork, which was recommended by the waitress, lives up to expectations. Don't be fooled by its appearance, when fried with onions and peas this dish really hits the spot. Warm, juicy, succulent pork with that tinge of sweetness .. its oishi, sedap, SUBARASHI~~~~~ *floats*















Otak in its banana leaf wrapping. Its soft, melts-in-your mouth and is also very spicy















Chendol for dessert. They added gulah melaka so it was really sweet =x But the sweet aroma of coconut lends a strong flavour to this dessert.

The rest of the dishes were not bad, but the chap chye was too salty for me, and the sotong sambal could have been stir fried instead of gravy. Nevertheless, it was a great lunch we had.

Can't wait to go back there again. 20 out of 10 stars ^^