Tag: hougang

This Floral Cafe In Hougang Serves Equally Pretty Food: Charcoal Wings, Beef Ochazuke For Under $15

Cafes in Singapore are always coming and going. And honestly, they’re all starting to look the same especially in recent years.

However, one particular cafe in Hougang caught our attention and we’re pretty sure it’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before.

Wild Blooms is a two-storey, floral-themed cafe nestled in Hougang – a refreshing change from the usual cookie-cutter cafes we have seen in Singapore.

Only The Freshest Flowers

Located at The MidTown in Hougang, this cafe is completely decked out with rustic dried blooms, blue and red tinted windows and a bright turquoise interior. There’s even a giant 4m-tall floral feature wall that is extremely intricate – perfect for your ootd backdrop.

Wild Blooms offers desserts and mains that are unlike your typical Eggs Benedict and Rainbow Cakes. Instead, they’re known for their Flower Tea Jelly Cakes ($9.90) which comes in flavours including lavender, rose, osmanthus, jasmine and more.

Each jelly takes a whopping 1 – 3 hours to make. If you’re wondering, each flower is carefully handcrafted and entirely edible!

Just like it’s decor, all their desserts are floral-themed as well. From Rose Apple Pies ($5.90) to Muesli Tarts ($5.90), Wild Blooms boasts a wide array of IG-worthy desserts that you would not want to miss out on.

Wild Blooms’ menu is filled with dishes that are a little unusual from your typical cafe grubs. For sides, diners can look forward to Matcha Seaweed Fries ($8.90) and Charcoal Wings ($10.90/half dozen).

For those looking for a heavier meal, they serve up mains such as Sambal Pulled Pork Burger ($13.90) and Beef Ochazuke ($14.90) which is definitely a rare find in most cafes.

If the last time you visited a cafe was ages ago, give Wild Blooms a try! It’s the perfect place to go to for your next dinner date or weekend brunch!

Wild Blooms
Address: The Midtown, 1187 Upper Serangoon Road #01-01, Singapore 533971
Opening Hours: Tues – Thurs: 11am to 11pm, Fri – Sat: 11am to 12am, Sun – Mon: 11am to 9pm
Facebook | Instagram

Also Read Popular South Korean Fried Chicken Chain ‘Mom’s Touch’ Is Coming To Singapore

(Header Image Source: Wild Blooms Facebook)

Singaporeans Are Going Crazy Over Pokemon Go! Here’s The Evidence!

When baked cheese tart hit our shores, we thought the queue was crazy. But when Pokemon Go landed in Singapore, Singaporeans take crazy to a whole new level!

Day or night, shine or very hot sunshine, Singaporeans are all out Poke-hunting and we have the evidence!

1. Hougang is gungho…real gungho

When word about “rare” Pokemon such as Gyarados was spotted at Block 401 of Hougang Avenue, the precinct gained notorious reputation overnight.

2. ….doesn’t matter day or night

Hot sun? What hot sun? Nothing is hotter than a Charizard that I’m about to catch!

3.  Punggol Park is not spared either

It’s normal to see a park with people in sports attire but in flip flops and their smartphone on their hands? That’s the Pokemon effect!

5. Yishun Park at night

Dear, we’re not going to the movies tonight. Instead, let’s go catch some Pokemon! Pokemon Go – redefining date nights.

6. Orchard Road

How to get a bunch of youths going on a public holiday? Organise a Poke-crawl on National Day!

The event started at 1pm (read: hottest time of the day) and yet our Singaporean youths braved the heat to be the very best! In fact, the turnout was so massive that Poke-crawlers were chased away by the security staff of ION!

7. Orchard At Night

Just look at how everyone sits together so uniformly! It sure looks like they’re about to start a choir performance! Actually, they’re sticking as close as possible to leech from each other’s lure.

8. Chinese Garden, Jurong

It may look less crowded in this picture but the Chinese Garden is a hot spot for Pokemon GO players as it houses 20 rest stops and 3 gyms. It’s very spacious so it’s great for people who don’t like crowd.

9. Vivo City

We Singaporeans are all about efficiency. If we can get our shopping done at Vivo and catch some Pokemon too, why not?

10. Bishan Park

Remember how people used to say that Bishan Park is really scary at night? This was taken at 1:30am and the park is still lively and buzzing!

11. East Coast Park

East Coast Park is home to one of Singapore’s most haunting ghost stories. It’s one of those places people try to avoid going to at night. But ever since the launch of Pokemon Go, we’ve seen some really brave Singaporeans. And it’s the Hungry Ghost Festival now…

Do you have evidence of the Pokemon Go craze in your neighbourhood? Drop us a comment and share with us!

Header image source: Straits Times

Also, read Pokemon Go Guide: How To Catch Pikachu & Where To Catch ‘Em All

7 Reasons Every Neighbourhood Deserves A Kick-Ass CC Like Ci Yuan

For those living at the North East, odds are you’ve heard of Ci Yuan Community Club (CC). Opened by our Prime Minister last September, this CC has its own food court, clinic and karaoke establishment. Did we also mention that it has a 500-seater performance theatre that is fully furnished with light and sound equipment?

The reasons every neighbourhood deserves a CC like Ci Yuan are pretty self-explanatory by now, but we thought we’ll add more to the list to prove our point.

1. Affordable food from $2.80

The cost of living in Singapore can get pretty high and sometimes, all you want to do is to tuck in a bowl of affordable and frills-free bak chor mee. For those on a tight budget, you’ll be glad to know that food at the hawker centre situated in the CC are priced as low as $2.80. From Nasi Goreng to Chicken Rice, enjoy a variety of your favourite hawker dishes without feeling the burn!

Besides the low cost, this is also a non-profit hawker centre. Half the profits earned from the relatively low stall rental prices (from $1500 to $1800 per month) go into community funding like coupons for the poor. The other half is used to help hawkers ‘upgrade’ themselves. So you are doing a good deed whenever you dine at Ci Yuan.

2. Self-payment kiosk

This hawker centre is the first and only in Singapore to go ‘cashier-less’. There’s a self-payment kiosk at every stall that accepts cash (notes and coins), and returns the exact amount to you. What a great way for stalls to increase productivity. Diners don’t have to worry about counting change; it’ll never be wrong!

It also shows how our hawker scene has caught up with times. These places are no longer the stereotypical ‘old and dirty’ food places in Singapore!

3. Great variety, good food

One dish we recommend is the Salted Egg Prawn Ball ($18) from the Hong Kong Chef’s Kitchen stall. It is run by a former Crystal Jade chef from Hong Kong. Talk about having good credentials!

Our food recommendations:

Hong Kong Chef’s Kitchen Stall

[caption id="attachment_9013" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Prawn Mee with shrimps and pork slices, $2.80. Credit: Traditional Pork Ribs Prawn Noodle
Stall number: #01-29
Operating hours: Daily, 6am – 9.30pm (usually sells out by 7pm)

[caption id="attachment_9014" align="aligncenter" width="640"] ABC Food Centre’s wildly popular Fatty Cheong Char Siew Rice has opened an outlet at Ci Yuan. Credit: ABC Fatty Cheong
Stall number: #01-22
Operating hours: 11am to 8.30pm, closed on Thursday. Usually sells out by 7pm.

[caption id="attachment_9015" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Teochew Handmade Fishball Noodle, $2.80. Credit: Since some stalls at Ci Yuan’s hawker centre, like Teochew Handmade Fishball Noodle, are opened around the clock, feel free to grab your khakis for a supper session whilst catching up on the latest gossip.

[caption id="attachment_8289" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Image Credit: Straits Times. (Not pictured at Ci Yuan)[/caption]

This CC has also created more job opportunities, especially for the elderly residents living nearby.

Not only are the elderly workers at Ci Yuan given the freedom to work at their own pace, but each of them is also assigned to a specific area. They do not have to comb the entire hawker centre to clean and collect used cutlery. Also, the use of dishwashers help lessen the burden of the elderly workers. You won’t see any elderly scrubbing the dirty dishes at the back of the stalls.

Besides the elderly, more jobs are available for youngsters as well. Amongst the grey-haired hawkers, you will be able to spot some young adults. They are likely to be recent graduates from the 6. Elderly Care Services [caption id="attachment_8290" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Image Credit: Onlywilliam.blogspot.com[/caption]

If you don’t already know, Ci Yuan is the first CC so far that offers a Senior Care Centre. For some, this comes as a relief as some elderly may need constant supervision. For those who are unable to afford domestic help or are from low-income families, government subsidies for the Care Centre are available as well.

To make it even more convenient, transport can be arranged at a nominal cost. For patients who are bedridden, fret not for they do offer at-home services besides day care.

7. Entertainment [caption id="attachment_8292" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Image Credit: Toggle[/caption]

Yes, there is a Teo Heng tucked away in the CC. It may be no KBox, but at $18/3 hours for a small room, we think its ambience and convenience is well worth the price.

Since Teo Heng sells only beverages, feel free to da pao some food from the hawker centre below. However, do remember to clean up after yourselves and you’re good!

Besides Teo Heng, there is a Toastmasters Club as well! Interested to improve your public speaking or leadership skills? Look no further for the Toastmasters Club has got it all covered. Get your khakis (friends) to join in! Best of all? It is free, nuff said!

Address: Ci Yuan Community Club, 51 Hougang Avenue 9 Singapore, 538776 Singapore
Operating hours: Every 1st Saturday of the month at 2pm
Contact: 9847 2509