Oriole Coffee

ok this was before I decided to lose weight okay.

Decided to visit Oriole after Mr ShamOng Instagrammed a photo of "probably the best coffee in Singapore"





Oriole Coffee has opened 3 outlets so far - one's at Raffles Place, one's at Somerset and this is their 3rd called "Roastworks" at Jiak Chuan Road, which has a little more old school, laid back feel to it. I'm guessing this is also where they roast their beans?

quirky interior decor

Was a litte hungry upon arrival, helped ourselves to the piahs from the jars on the table! Heads up, they don't offer a full menu like the other outlets. Instead it's very much more breakfast oriented - local snacks, half  boiled eggs and sandwiches.

Pong Piah, $1.50

Tao Sar Peah, $1.50

Deviled eggs & cucumber sandwich, $7.50

 

(L) "Taisho" White, $6.50 - Japanese beans brewed at room temperature for 30 hours, giving it a strong caffeine kick and a very bitter taste.

(R) Flat White, $5 - a little too flat for my liking, tasted a bit too hollow.

And this is what we came for - the Straits Seven that Sham recommended. $5.80

QY and I drank it thinking it would taste like any other coffee, but we were caught by surprise by its strong peppery taste. Apparently the Straits Seven was fashioned after the old-style coffee and had seven secret ingredients. It tastes really interesting. I still don't know what to think about having pepper in my coffee though...

All in all I think this branch of Oriole's a great place to chill, catch up with friends and chit chat. It only has 2 big tables and like, 4 smaller tables that sit 2-3 though so be prepared to share a space!

Oriole Coffee - Roastworks at Jiak Chuan Road
10/10A Jiak Chuan Road, Singapore 089264
Tel: 6224 8131

Operating Hours:

Mon - closed
Tues - Sat: 8.30 am to 6 pm; last order 5.45 pm
Sun: 8.30 am to 5 pm; last order 4.45 pm

I will lose weight.

So yeah. I think I will start jogging and paying more attention to my diet because more than one person has been telling me I look "round". The nice ones say it's alright, 'cos I look cute.

But seriously.

This is gonna be hard for me because I just love eating. Cut down on carbs, they say. I also hate math, so if I have to count my carbs, I will be depressed. I guess, keep off the sugars and the starches, eat more veg, fruits and grilled meat. The problem? It's a major inconvenience to find healthy food in Singapore, and when you do, it'll cost you. Also, I'd rather spend the time in the morning sleeping than losing sleep to prepare healthy take-aways.

I also hate jogging. I never know what to think about, so I'll start thinking about my breathing, and pacing, and then because I have an attention span of a housefly, I start getting really really bored after like, 5m...

Gym memberships? Bloody costly.

Writing this down so I'm more likely to commit to it. I WILL WORK SOMETHING OUT. and buy a weighing scale tomorrow.

ganbatte to me.

{edit: next day update: bought a weighing scale. i actually lost weight from the last time i weighed myself. went on a diet anyway - didn't eat carbs today, but had really bad hunger pangs :<}

this cat.

HUGS.

Books Actually

A truly local bookstore with 2 meowmeows! Sells a great selection of books curated by the owners, which includes stuff from local authors. They also sell their own stationery and some cool vintage knick knacks! A gem :)

hello kitty

BooksActually
No. 9 Yong Siak Street
Tiong Bahru Estate
Singapore 168645
+65 6222 9195

Opening hours:
mon : 11am ~ 6 pm
tues - fri : 11am ~ 9 pm
sat : 10am ~ 9 pm
sun : 10am ~ 6 pm

Choupinette

cappuccino

beef lasagne

macarons

Choupinette
607 Bukit Timah Road, #01-01 Singapore
Tel: +65 6466 0613

Opening Hours
Tue–Fri: 9am – 10pm
Sat: 8am – 10pm
Sun: 8am – 6pm

PHOSTER

Today I downloaded this app called Phoster. It cost me $1.99 USD but I think it's awesome and a breeze to use.

Siem Reap: Old Market & Pub Street

QY and I stayed at HI Siem Reap (it's a hostel) which was conveniently located a stone's throw away from the Old Market and Pub Street.

To be frank, I'd say that there's not much to do at Siem Reap other than to partake in the touristy things that the locals have nicely set up to cater to the crowds that go there to explore Angkor Wat.

Walking from HI to Old Market and Pub Street, you'd cross some sort of "cultural centre", where they sell souvenirs, screen documentaries about the history of Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, have a couple of bars and cafes, and also put up daily traditional dance performances. There are many talented painters as well, painting scenes of the river and Angkor Wat.

Old Market is like a pasar malam, where each store sells more or less the same stuff - silk goods, t-shirts, temple pants etc. I got a hammock and a pair of temple pants (which were really comfy, but the dye came off onto my legs when I wore them to Angkor the next day and left me rather smurfy :<).

Look out for good food around Old Market though! Street hawkers sell the most tasty stuff that satisfied our tummies after the long, grueling journey from Bangkok (that I shall blog about another day).

fried instant noodles - the best meal we had in Siem Reap

USD$1

this dumpling thing. I have no idea what it is. It's like a huge dumpling that's filled with chives, and swims in a salty-sweet broth. SO GOOD. We tried looking for the street vendor again the next day but to no avail. apparently he starts selling 'em early and retires early for the day as well.

le vendor.

Pub Street's a lot more modern, and very obviously catered to the tourists. It's teeming with pubs and restaurants that offer local and foreign cuisine, which try to outdo each other by offering free wifi and beer promos. Also massage places, spas, steamboat restaurants... and tuktuks.

Being the tourists that we were, we decided to go all out to try the Khmer steamboat. They offer you an assortment of exotic meat... we tried frog's legs, snake meat, crocodile meat and, to be safe, beef.

pre-cooked meat

Don't know if we weren't cooking it right, but the snake meat, crocodile meat and frog's legs were hella tough and not very appetizing. The soup was nice and sweet from all the veg they provided though.

washed it all down with an Angkor!

tried Cambodian beer as well -

here's us all eye-baggy after a long day of exploring Angkor.

dessert? freshly made banana and chocolate pancakes :)

loads of fish spas, if you're up for it!

We didn't spend a lot of time at Pub Street because we were so exhausted from the trip there, and effectively only had one day to explore Angkor (exhausted after as well!). It looks like a convenient and chill place to relax with a drink after a long day of exploring temples though. Don't expect dirt cheap prices! Because of that I'd recommend getting your meal from a street vendor if you're game, then chilling with drinks at Pub Street after.