Singapore's TidbiTs

Durians are tropical fruits. Considered by many as King of fruits of South-East Asia. Whether durian is the most favourite fruit here, that is a bit subjective given its' famous pungent smell that some find simply overpowering. It has that distinctive special smell or odour, that you can smell a kilometre away :). Some loath it, many love it. Green and thorny outside. Yellow, soft and fleshy inside. Do you know that that there are durian trees in Singapore and durian is indeed native to Singapore? A street named Lorong Lew Lian bears testament to it. Lew Lian is a Hokkien word for durian. There used to be durian plantations in the vicinity of Lorong Lew Lian (Lew Lian Lane). The scientific name for durian is Durio zibethinus. Duri is a Malay word for thorns, hence the name durian which means thorny fruit. And yes you can find durian trees in Pulau Ubin and at Mandai and some odd ones at other parts of Singapore as well. During durian season you can spot the distinctive green-shel...

A squarish-shaped potong ice-cream held together with wafer biscuits or two slices of coloured bread depending on your preference. And it's only a dollar or a dollar and twenty cents at the most. Licking the yummy cold ice-cream is great in our hot and humid weather. You can find the portable or mobile potong ice-cream vendors (mostly middle-age or elderly uncles and aunties ) in their modified motorcycles complete with box freezers at parks, beaches, pasar malam (night markets), outside MRT stations, along Singapore River, at the Esplanade, even along Orchard Road. For office workers they can also be found outside industrial offices or estates so it is snack that can be enjoyed during lunch-hour! Thus, enjoying ice-cream need not be an expensive affair. Well-known gourmet ice-cream brands are known to cost about $5 for a single scoop! Potong ice-cream A favourite potong ice-cream flavour is yam with black beans, as can be seen in the photo. Other popular flavours include red b...

While most items like furniture certainly cost much more than $5, there are many useful household accessories that cost less than $5. Big plastic chopping board for only $2.90, glass bottle jar with lid for $3.90, stainless steel cutleries holder for $4.90, wall clock for only $1.90 (battery is extra of course but you will only need one AA battery), a set of four clothes hangers for only a dollar, a cushion for $4.90, cups or mugs for $2.90, plant pot for $3.90, simple self-assembled shelves for $12, and many more. They do sell potted plants, well, like a nursery. A small potted plant sells for about $5. You can get the pandan, a common plant , in IKEA. Beyond that, furnitures will sell in the hundreds, but if you are looking for quality and would not mind paying a bit more, do shop around elsewhere too. Sometimes we would not want to be seen having similar items or stuffs as our neighbour. Of course, if you buy lots of these small items the cost does add up. And we sometimes end up bu...