Friday, November 18, 2011

Our first Malay wedding

On 13th November, my former neighbor whom I have known for 20 odd years finally decided to get hitched! It was not just any other wedding, but a traditional, Singaporean style Malay wedding held at the void deck! My family and I were thrilled when we received the invitation as it was our very first Malay wedding!

The human traffic along the corridor was drastically increased by at least 20 times two days prior to the big day contributed by hordes of relatives arriving in bus loadfuls from Malaysia. It was hard not to be infected by the joyous atmosphere as adults were busy chipping in their help with the wedding preparations while the kids were having a hell of a time running around and screaming their heads off!

On the big day itself, we arrived at 1pm and it was all very informal. We got to find our own table and the natural choice for us was to choose one away from the loud blasting speakers. The deejay alternated between hosting and playing love songs. It was all so casual but we never expected that friends and relatives be invited to participate in karaoke sessions!

It was buffet style dining where there was a choice of either white rice or briyani followed by 5 to 6 choices of different types of curries: chicken curry, mutton curry, beef curry, vegetable curry and some unlabelled mystery curries. Last but not least, there was also a section dedicated to desserts; mainly Paranakan style.
On each round table, there was also two containers of snacks and in addition, the children were delighted with endless supplies of chocolate biscuits distributed to them.
With families arriving in droves to take over the tables cleared out by earlier families, there was constantly a hype of activities at the void deck. And while it is almost certain to spot a multi-tiered cake in most of the weddings held in Singapore, in this case, I was fascinated to see a three-tiered wedding cake made up of glutinous rice and interestingly decorated with 'animals' such as large prawns and ducks crafted from chicken and quail eggs!
This was definitely an experience for me and I warmly wishes Isman and Suzanne marital bliss. :)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Buckaroo BBQ & Grill

I only got to know of this cowboy style restaurant from a dated Makansutra programme. It is within walking distance from the Sembawang Park and located in the midst of private residential houses.

It is not hard to spot the restaurant from afar but somehow, I almost walked into another restaurant situated just next to it. There is no parking lot allocated for the restaurant so you would have to be there early in order to find an empty slot along the perimeters of the houses opposite it.

The restaurant has a somewhat laid-back setting and it was already half full when we arrived at 6.30pm on a Sunday evening.

We ordered the cream of mushroom soup (for my son), a BLT sandwich (for my husband who has absolutely no idea what BLT stands for) and a pork tenderloin main (for me).

The cream of mushroom soup came in the form of a huge bun. And when I say huge, it really means HUGE! The soup was creamilicious while the bun was toasted on the outside and soft on the inside!
The pork tenderloin main consisted of two slabs of pork accompanied by apple sauce with steamed vegetables and fries on the side. The serving was slightly too much for me and I had to forgo most of the fries. The pork tenderloins would taste better if it’s seasoned longer though. Nevertheless, the apple sauce gave it a sweet, salty taste that somehow does it for me.
Lastly, for those of you who have no idea what BLT stands for? Try making a guess based on the photo below.
You are right! It simply stands for Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato! The Husband was sort of disappointed as he thought it would be a more satisfying sandwich.

In all, we spent slightly less than $70 which included two drinks as well. It was a nice experience to be trying out new restaurants in relatively remote parts of Singapore. But to just drive out North for Buckaroo BBQ & Grill, it will not be happening for my family.

Address: 12B Andrews Avenue, Singapore 759930