The Beautiful Mess, GuYou Kopi and the End of an Era

The lioness only does this for her intrepid lion, braving the heat and haze to visit those last vestiges of post-colonial, baby-boomer Singapura on the island. All these were done in the course of one day.

First stop was Heap Seng Leong for GuYou Kopi. Unbeatable. A generous slab of butter sloppily drowning atop a muddy cup. Tastes infinitely better than the supposedly more sophisticated cups recreated now in modern cafes with arabica beans. Can't, for the love of kopi, figure out why. Must be the use of oily robusta beans. Oh, the lions spotted some Indonesian tourists privy to the secret of this gem.

Only a few metres away... ...

The lion wanted the lioness to try an above decent cuppa at Ah Lim Coffee House located at North Bridge Road Market and Food Centre just a hop and skip away from Heap Seng Leong. She grimaced at the thought of downing another traditionally strong and acidic cup, but was pleasantly surprised by the very mellow and smooth kopi here. Mmmm... ... the lion was gleefully right. The style of traditional kopi here went down really well with her.

Exploring the neighbourhood on a leisurely Saturday... ...

What have we here... ... Sze Thye Cake Shop.

Founded in the 1950s, this nondescript Teochew bakery sells its traditional handmade piah, nut brittles, puffed rice and other candies using time-honoured methods and equipment unchanged in decades. Also, the rather gruff owner (man of few words indeed) still handcrafts sculptures from sugar and other ingredients for weddings, birthdays and religious occasions. A great place to go for soon-to-be-wedded couples craving some authenticity when observing those traditional customs.

................................................................................................................

Next, on to a block party to say "Goodbye Blk 74 to 80" at Commonwealth Drive. Sob, sob... ...
A cluster of seven housing blocks comprising Singapore's first 10-storey flats aka chap lau chu in Hokkien has been left vacant in this part of Tanglin Halt since late 2013 and is slated for demolition and redevelopment later this year.

Wah... ... look at the crowds relishing the complimentary ice-cream, popcorn and drinks on top of a screening of selected local films like "Singapore Dreaming" and "7 Letters", in addition to live performances by ShiGGa Shay and Tay Kexin. Nice.

The lions didn't manage to beat the snaking queue for exclusive access to Block 74. But, hey, Uncle Wanderlust did, and he is happy to share his photos with the lions here: