Restaurant Review: The 10 Dollar Coffee Shop

I've been to Cova 3 times in my life.

On the first occasion, I went there out of no choice. It was during the Christmas season and everywhere else was hell packed. Furthermore, I was weary after much Christmas shopping (even though most of my time was spent hunting as opposed to buying). What to do? I ended up paying for some coffee with the main purpose of taking a seat. I forgot how the coffee tasted like, not that it was bad.

The second time I went to Cova was after whacking the gym upstairs. After descending to the ground floor, I experienced the insane combination of exhaustion and hunger. I felt like going home to crash and devour a bear all at once. In this intense moment of decision making, I leaned towards getting some food. Fortunately, Cova presented itself as the most viable option at level 1 - Canele was at a different level that required additional walking.

Apart from the convenience that Cova afforded me, it did not let me down food wise. I ordered the crayfish pasta with saffron cream sauce, which had an uncanny resemblance to the unique style pasta I had at the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, Austria. Ironically, Cova also serves the Sachertorte which made me question whether they stole the menu from the real thang.

Before I digress too much, let me wax some lyrical on my main dish, as most food bloggers/reviewers/critics have a penchant for doing. Bathed in a chrome yellow sauce which was well 'infused' with saffron and yet not 'cloyingly rich', the pasta was 'cooked to perfection'. While being imprisoned in bliss, I savoured every 'morsel' of these yellow ribbons which were 'al dente'. It was served warm, like how baby bear (in goldilocks) would have liked his porridge. The downside however, lay in the chunks of crayfish which lacked the 'freshness', 'intense burst of flavour' and 'crunch'. I hope I don't get sued for plagiarism.

After breaking my duck in my previous visit, going to Cova did not subsequently pose as a difficult decision. This time I polished a plate of mushroom risotto. No description is necessary. It was just good.

Finally, based on what I've read online, Cova appears to be associated with the 'chi chi' (yet another term I learnt from various reviewers) crowd. Although being 'chi chi' is not necessarily a bad thing, there are some who do not feel comfortable being in the presence people like that. I hope that this alone does not deter you (if applicable) from hanging out there because of the vast array of food (savoury and non-savoury) and privacy (if you sit inside) Cova offers.

Disaster

I am always annoyed when I see a news article regarding a disaster wherein the journalist reports the number of casualties from his country of citizenship. While one might argue that it puts a local spin on the issue, I think it also trivializes the casualties from other nations and suggests that the reader cares more about casualties who share his own citizenship than others. Especially in the case of when there are no such casualties, i.e. the article reads : No Singaporean Casualties from Whatever Disaster. It sounds as if there is some sort of relief to be had from this fact. Indeed when almost everyone has cellphones, I am want to believe that a distressed relative's first source of information would be the journalist's article, meaning the article has practically no purpose, other than for the writer to churn out another story on the same issue. Even if the journalist was attempting to allay the fear of the Singaporeans who had the possibility of having someone they know involved in the disaster and somehow, no means of contacting them, the journalist must be working on the supposition that Singaporeans only have Singaporean friends and family and that there is therefore no need to account for the other nationalities.

-Luke

Pictures

Hey these are some pictures I have been meaning to upload for a while..

This is where I take my exams..

And these are just some photos of my car here I thought I would put up so you guys know what it looks like.. Sorry no exterior photos.. I took these while I was in a traffic jam..

-Luke

Capitalism - don't fall on the wrong side of it.

CHAMPIONS

There are 2 ways for Chelsea to win the title. You can decide on the easy or hard way.

1) The Hard Way: Gain 86 points from every club in the Premier league and score 103 goals in a season.

2) The Easy Way: Play 38 games against Manchester United and win every single match. It does not matter whether these games are played home or away, as this season has proven.

Of course, the second option is impossible in reality. But does it really matter?

Anyway, this is a tribute to Chelsea which players have undeniably worked extremely hard and perfected their menace in front of goal. Above all, I salute the team for thinking and operating with superiority. This has constantly driven them throughout the season and at the same time irritated them when things have failed to go their way.

Well done champions!