FOOD THINGS

There was an article in this morning’s Straits Times LifeStyle about Tanjong Katong Road becoming the next foodie haunt, joining its sister streets of Katong, Geylang and Joo Chiat.

Tanjong Katong Road holds many memories for me. It is where I spent four of some of the happiest years in my career as a student. My school has since moved away from the area, but every time I pass by the place, the sense of nostalgia is so strong, that sometimes I linger by the roadside just to wallow in the past for a little while. Therefore, I am rather excited at the combination of my childhood memories and one of my other passion – good food.

Incidentally, my Saturday lunch haven was also mentioned in the same article. I am glad for their sake, and hopes the article brings them more custom. For my own though, I entertain mixed feelings about the additional traffic that may come by, because one of the nicest thing about the place is the lack of crowds. How nice to be able to walk in on the spur of the moment and spend a leisurely hour enjoying a meal, without feeling guilty about the massive queue forming outside the restaurant. EP and I used to joke about our favourite food places closing down eventually due to lack of traffic, when that was the very thing that attracted us about the places. It seems that we can’t have our cake and eat it after all.

By the way, last week, I was again asked by another wait staff at the same place (whom I don’t remember seeing before) if “I was the lady who takes Muay Thai classes down the road and blogged about the restaurant”. I am left to wonder if the entire staff had read the fateful post . I have quite gotten over the initial embarrassment and the lack of anonymity from the last time and am wallowing a little in the attention, small as it may be. I am after all, only one of the millions who are likely to be stuck in mediocrity for the rest of our lives. Occasions which confer some or any sort of individualism, which allows us to rise above that mediocrity for even just a second, are to be treasured. Everyone needs to indulge in some narcissism occasionally.

On the same occasion, the wait staff who took my order also remembered exactly what I ordered two weeks before, and took earnest pains to clarify my order exactly the way I wanted it. At a neighbouring table, I could hear another staff painstakingly and enthusiastically making detailed recommendations to the party. The wait staff at this joint may sometimes come across as being young and lacking certain polish found in wait staff in bigger, posher restaurants, but I have never come across a more earnest and sincere crew than the one here. In the current service-challenged atmosphere in the local service and retail sector, I have to congratulate the owners of Foo House Café for their great service crew.

Oh, just to update, I still haven’t managed to try anything else on Foo House’s menu other than the pork chops. Damn Chinese foible of mine, this great love of pork.

Back to the Straits Times article, I noticed that in the listing of restaurants on Tanjong Katong Road, there is a Korean restaurant named Full House, located right beside Foo House Café & Bar. Foo House, Full House – I wonder if there was a deliberate attempt at synchronizing by the owners? English, you have to love it sometimes.

On a side note, I gained 4 kg in the last two months, which I am now struggling to lose again. An entire wardrobe is at stake. Perhaps I shouldn’t be reading and obsessing about good food at all. But it is so hard when the typical Singaporean mantra keeps popping up – Eat first, talk later.