Wet Dream

Some Like It Wet

Life Is Perfect

Despite all my insistence to do marketing for fresh produce at the hypermarkets around my kampung neighborhood this morning, my partner cum breakfast buddy-in-crime proceeded to her favorite wet market near the Skudai Bus Interchange.  I could only raise a weak veto knowing that it was a lost argument since she was firmly at the wheels.  Well I will fight another battle another day.

Salty or Sweet You Tiao

She knew a hungry man is an angry grouch - so the first thing we did was to go for my local kopi and - she knows how to win me over after I had given her the silent treatment - my favorite You Tiao, which is kind of similar to the churritos in the West.  The churritos are dipped in powdered sugar, which I absolutely love with a good cup of black coffee, but the local You Tiao comes in both savory and sweet. 
And I was bribed to be a uncomplaining groceries-carrying partner with a huge serving of the sweet You Tiao.  The crunchy sugared exterior complements the sesame and the fresh fried dough - life is perfect after this.
I always presribe the wise adage "you only live once" when I eat more than my aging body could handle.  So I ensure that my partner  agreed (so that there will be no blame game later when we read our cholesterol levels at home) on sharing a lontong and a nasi lemak - again, sinful but what's life without local Malay cuisine every now and then.

Cholesterol Busting Nasi In The Morning

The stall owner is a chatty Malay Aunty who truly knows good PR goes a long long way.  She would chat up every customer, and making jokes while she loads up the plate of nasi with her best fried kampung chicken (at least in my book) and a host of other staples like tempeh, tofu, etc.

She Keeps Me Coming Back For More

Ode To Old Recipe Longtong

I always savour the longtong here as it reminds me of the first time I tried the dish when I arrived on the shores of Singapore decades ago.  She makes it the way I remembered:  slightly lemak (coconut milky) and with all the trappings like one whole boiled egg, lots of cabbage and long beans, a trigular fried tofu, and of course her famous dollop of chilli ikan bilis (which I opted out this morning due to the heat).  My partner swears by this stall's chilli - in fact I always asked her "Why do you like taking chili with nasi instead of the other way around?"  Her answer is always "You Asing will never understand."  Like they say, whatever floats your boat, but in this case, whatever whets you honey.

The wet market is also her favorite as she refers it to as our Little Tiong Bahru market in Johor Bahru - where you get great food and then do your wet marketing.

The wide array of fresh local produce is enough to keep us coming back here at least once a week, and what's more, just like in Tiong Bahru - you get to squeeze in a little shopping for clothes and home knick knacks - but less than half of prices in glitzy Singapore.

Breakfast Al Fresco!

To go Jalan Jalan at our Little Tiong Bahru, please view map below: