Linda’s Table
19 March 2026
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Before @daphotographer or @uncle_lim_chiak calls me out again for this meal, must say out loud loud that this is a very late post, and I was tagging along someone’s reservation. 😝
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Blessed with old / all time favorites like Shunde Yusheng, Ngoh Hiang, Kueh Pie Tee, Sambal Prawns with Belimbing, and Nonya Chap Chai.
Revisited a favorite new dish from my last visit, Buah Paya Masak Titek (@makanfuku , correct spelling hor?). This round Linda upped the spice factor! A lovely broth of young green papaya, prawns / pork balls, and hae bee hiam. So good still!
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And then there are the new dishes!
A wok fried duck dish with ginger, garlic, dried chilli and scallions. That zhup! I can down a few bowls of rice with that gravy!
Then there’s the steamed crab with salted fish pork patties, with sensible proportions of protein for a lovely balance.
And the bright green parsley, lime and fish sauce emulsion that caught my eye, mopped up with the thin sliced steamed beef shin!
BYOS claypot rice, this time with 润肠 from 蛇王熙. I love liver sausage!
Really need to do a side-by-side comparison one day! Anyone keen?
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The meal where I unloaded on Linda and sobbed. Before everyone arrived. Thank you for listening, and for the delicious food, as always.
Mom’s Cai Poh Hor Fun.
Mother’s Day lunch at home.
Got a bottle of Chaoshan Collection Preserved Radish with Dried Shrimp from @SgCulturedBoi .
Ma decided to cook Cai Poh Hor Fun with it. With eggs and slices of pork loin.
She shared that Pa used to love a dish of fried hor fun with fish sauce and pork slices at RafflesMarina Club.
Yummy! I’m sure Pa would have loved this too.
Mom’s Laksa.
Seems relatively simple, but not quite that sinple. I never saw what went into that rempah, and the effort behind that scoop.
The bottle stays in a hidden corner in the fridge.
Documenting food at home.
It’s the best laksa, not cos of its taste, but cos of the sprinkle of love in every step of its making.
Teo Heng Teochew Porridge, Singapore.
When I was younger, I wasn’t a fan of Teochew porridge. I feel rice soaks up the gravies better. Yes, I love gravy on rice.
Now that I’m half a century old, I’ve learnt to appreciate porridge, and congee. Super comforting!
I don’t remember bringing my mom out with me for meals (without my brother) often. I tend to tapow food home more.
So happy she joined us! Thank you my lovely ladies, for keeping my mom company!
If she’s up for it, the next time you jio me for any food, I’m gonna ask “can my mom come along?” okay?
My phone rang as the private hire car was turning into the hospital. The first four digits of the phone number was familiar. I knew it was from the hospital.
That dreaded phone call.
As I walked into your room, you were quiet. I’m not used to you being so quiet, especially with your recent delirium and laboured breathing. This time, all I could hear was your occasional breaths, shallow and controlled. I could see the gentle heaving of your chest.
I greeted you as I squeezed your shoulder.
I called mom, whom I just dropped off for her medical appointment in another hospital. Between sobs, I asked her to “just come quick”.
I turned to my Pa again. The gentle chest heaves becoming less frequent, and becoming almost non-existent.
One of my greatest fears was of my dad passing in the middle of the night, with no one by his side. I know he wouldn’t like that. Hence I have been trying to stay as long as I could to keep him company by his bedside.
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你從來都不想麻煩別人, 明明就喘的要命, 卻堅持說自己不喘。有时看你的脸揪成一团， 你还是说自己没事。
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I started with helping you scoop your food to let you hold the spoon to your mouth yourself, to spoon feeding you, and finally holding a straw to your mouth with your milk feeds.
Feeding someone, literally, is a humbling experience. Especially when that someone is your parent.
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“Can I have $10 please?”
“Why do you need $10?”
“In case I need to buy something. Or take a bus home.”
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6 April
“Okay la. 没什么。没痛没喘。谢谢你们.”
“Okay la. 回家睡觉。我要休息了.“
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26 March
“I don’t think I have a chance to go home anymore”
No dad. We will bring you home. For the weekend at least.
What was supposed to be a 2 day home stay became one that lasted less than 24 hours.
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5 April
“好了， 没什么了”, followed by a chuckle.
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28 March
Pantry aunty.
To me : “他午饭时闹脾气。只吃了几口饭。说儿子没来他不吃。”
To Dad : ”你看，我跟你儿子告状了。”
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14 April
Rest well Pa.
May you sleep well, breathe well.
(more in comments)
24 March
Lying in hospital bed, confused.
He looked at mom in the face and said “I want to see my wife and children”.
My mom pulled down her mask and asked him if he recognizes her.
He grabbed her hand to his mouth, kissed it and said “yes, my wife”.
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19 March
“What do you feel like eating?”
“Lor bak. Use 不见天.”
First dish he asked for when we asked him if he has any cravings.
A week ago, Dad mentioned we are out of his favorite packet drink. Pokka’s Honey Lemon drink. I went out and bought 12 packs immediately. I kept it in the cupboard, knowing Dad has the habit of seeking out the drink on his own. He never did.
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17 March
Hospital.
A 7pm phone call to mom.
“What time are you coming down?” broke me.
We spent almost 2 hours with him that morning in hospital. But what happens during the other hours when we are not there.
What was going through his mind when he made that phone call? Why were we not beside him? Why did we leave him there, alone?
Is this a rehearsal for us at home? For when he’s finally gone from our lives?
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24 March
“Ah Ping looks so ‘choo bee’ wearing his mask” and he broke into a wide grin.
Thanks ah dad, for saying I look better with a mask on.
20 March
“Is there anything you want to do or wish for?”
In his delirious state, he replied
“I want to live longer”, and
“I want to take care of my children”
Broke me to a million pieces.
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Curry chicken.
Dad loves mom’s version. So do I.
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“I want my watch.”
His old watch wasn’t working anymore, and he hasn’t worn it for years.
We went to get him a new one.
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“Order dialysis solution” popped up on my calendar. Today would have been his 3rd week on dialysis, and I should already be placing an order for the monthly replenishment of the dialysate. Still leaving the monthly calendar reminders on, even though I won’t need to order the supplies anymore.
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“Do I look better (today)?”
He checked in with our helper.
Yes, you do.
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The clock’s ticking. It’s painful seeing him slipping away by the day.
Linda’s Table Private Dining, Singapore
There’s BYOW and there’s BYOS(ausage).
Linda serves a mean pork lard rice as one of the carb courses. Why not zhng it up with some sausages I got from my recent HK trip? I brought two different types, a lup cheong and a yun cheong. And a waxed meat. So so good with ample socarrat to go round!
Started the meal with Shunde Yusheng. Not the first time having Linda’s version, and still loving it so much. Fish sensibly seasoned in a light soya sauce based sauce, balanced with other aromatics, herbs and vegetables. Linda served this alongside a porridge made with trimmings from a suckling pig. Woah! Super delicious!
My first time having a Buah Paya Masak Titek. It’s a Peranakan broth made of young green papaya, spiced with hae bee hiam and proteinized with prawn and pork balls.
It was wow! Like wow wow! So delish!
My other favorite from this menu is the Marmite Pork Ribs. Linda said she used a special Marmite XO Extra Old Matured for this dish. Never a fan of marmite, but I had many many pieces of this rib!
Salted Fish Meatball. A deep fried globe of minced pork, salted fish and water chestnut, wrapped in caul fat. Sounds simple yes, but Linda really nailed the dish with a very sensible proportion of ingredients. I love the lingering fragrance from chewing on this.
Gong Gong’s Braised Duck. A super laborious dish. Duck, deboned and stuffed with eight treasures glutinous rice, then slow braised with a rich superior sauce. So good the last time I had this that I made a special request to repeat this dish this time.
Thank you Linda for feeding us so well! Always always happy to roll out from your place.
Kanves, Singapore.
I thought I knew Kanves. Until this menu came along.
Think king oyster mushroom painstakingly sliced, fried with homemade charcuterie XO sauce and topped with crispy white bait. Better than many versions of braised Ee Fu noodles in Chinese restaurants.
Or a soup with threadfin, fish maw, whelk, winter melon and cabbage. I was considering asking for a dash of vinegar and pepper to complete the picture, but the broth was super flavorful on its own!
Tell me those dishes came out of a Cantonese restaurant and I’d believe you.
The other dishes were what you’d expect from Kanves. Contemporary, well executed layered profiles.
Of cos the classics continued to charm. The signature duck is probably one of the best duck dishes around, and I never get tired eating it at Kanves.
Been a while, and so so glad to be back! What an exciting menu this is!
Thank you @jessiestars for having me!
獅尾(劉家)白頭婆姊妹
Kuih-Kapit, Ipoh
Famous 5. Sisters who make delicious Kuih-Kapit over charcoal fire. Only for CNY.
I love the ones with peanut crumble cos I love peanuts. I also got the plain folded ones.
Yummy!
Looking to be a rough start but it will get better!
Happy CNY everyone!
Odette. Singapore.
Post makeover Odette. Warm, buttery yellow and tawny umber. Aesthetically comforting!
Odette is magical for special occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries, anything. Great memories guaranteed.
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Menus supposed to be smaller. But we still felt very (happily) stuffed at the end of our meal.
Every dish charmed.
Favorites include
HOKKAIDO BOTAN EBI
Bafun Uni | Brown Butter ‘Ponzu’ | Maison ‘Kaviari’ Caviar
Perfect balance of the salinity of caviar with the ponzu and ebi.
CRAB ‘CONTRAST’
Rémoulade | Béarnaise | Chilli Crab
Complementary Norweigian Crab dishes, one steamed and paired with a tarragon-infused Béarnaise sauce, the other a chili crab fried mantou. Perfect!
LANGOUSTINE ‘COMME UN DUMPLING’
Leek Fondue | Vin Jaune | Périgord Black Truffle
Chef Julien said the truffle was exceptional and I agree! The earthiness went darn well with the langoustine!
PITHIVIERS ‘GRANDE CUISINE’
‘Fabien Boga’ Pigeon | Foie Gras | Poularde de Bresse
Just look at that beauty!
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40th. What a milestone.
I hope your birthday wish is to make lots of money so you can bring me to Odette very very often.
Thank you Team Odette for a wonderful time. As always.
Long Ji Zi Char, Singapore
I remember Long Ji for its Crab Bee Hoon. Their version comes with a robust dark broth, full of wok hey. I love it with a dab of sambal chili. The bee hoon soaks up the broth really well, and you can request a top up of the broth.
My other must order here is the Har Jeong Gai i.e. Prawn Paste Chicken. The marinate is deeply flavorful and the crisp from the batter / skin very satisfying.
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Got to try a few new dishes this visit.
Chef Mac did a Claypot with XO sauce, Chee Cheong Fun and Pork Ribs. Woah! The charred bits from the CCF and XO sauce were super umami. Super love this dish!
I also love the meat patty that came with chunky bits (especially the fat), giving it a nice bite. Sensibly flavored, would have coupled it with a bowl of white rice if not for the (many) other dishes we ordered.
I first tried Chef Mac’s fried octopus with sambal and red onions when he brought it to a house party. This time, he used intestines instead. Nicely cleaned and lovely bite.
Have tried minced ginger paste with chicken many times, but this is the first time I enjoyed it with fish. Thought it won’t work, but it surprised me! Paired remarkable well!
“It must have been love”.
The song that Mac chose personally from his playlist towards the end of our dinner.
Nostalgia la.
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Gather a few friends, bring some bottles along (BYO with free corkage!) and have a great time! I know I did!
Thank you Chef Mac!
