Small pleasures

Sending Lini to work in the morning has an added bonus now that she introduced me to "Grinders Coffee" at the Bratwurst Shop in the basement of Plaza Singapura. Opened by a couple who has worked for the original outlet in Victoria Market in Melbourne, they now have 2 branches here, one in Capital Square, and the other at Plaza Sing. At the latter, they are huddled to a corner, and they squeeze some tall tables and chairs out next to the escalators beside Carrefour. For $2.80 to $3.20, you get terrific coffee, which is why there's always a long queue at the stall around 9.00am. The coffee is cheaper and better than TCC down the road, or Starbucks upstairs. Service is friendly and chatty, laced with thick Aussie accent. Try the foamy white latte or the long black...

Then if I'm early and Lini is detained after work, there's always the Taiwan Oyster Mee Sua stall a few stalls away from Bratwurst. It's a good before-dinner snack, with cut mee sua mixed with thick sourish gravy garnished with fried shallots, small strands of chicken and 3 fresh oysters, served in plastic containers and spoon. The mixture is almost like brown porridge. You sprinkle some pepper on, and the magic is complete. Expect long queues during peak hours.

If I feel sinful, I'll walk across the mee sua stall to the small Carl's Jr. outlet, which has replaced Burger King to become the only burger I take nowadays. The outlet may be small but their burgers are prided for their size. They have incredibly juicy bacon, and the best salsa sauces. It's ironic that their name is "Carl's Jr." Won't you think "Carl's Snr." would sound a whole lot bigger? Their ads are quite inventive too. I saw a their bus ad once with a simple photo of the burger and the line, "Not recommended by Doctors..." Cheeky and cocky but memorable. Then there's the other ad, with a big photo of the burger and the line, "If your girlfriend tells you size does not matter, she's lying." Of course, the reverse can also be true. Meaning, you can replace the word "girlfriend" with "boyfriend", in the interest of equality, and the ad can still be as punchy. Except, of course, it doesn't apply to me, who, as my wife knows, am not too particular what size my buns, er, burgers come in. In fact, pleasures can be found in small, er, things... But there's no harm indulging in a big burger once in a while, umm, if my health can withstand it... Er, that is, er...

Chup