Running for food - Dewgather and Abundance

Have you read Atomic Habits by James Clear? One of the tips on building habits that resonates with me is to build a habit stack. For me, that's running for an errand, usually for food. I will run to a place near home where I can grab lunch or some grocery. And having this goal is one of the ways that motivates me to go for a run. 

Dewgather 

One of my latest running routes is the Rail Corridor. From my place, I will usually run to Jalan Kilang Barat, one of the entry points to the trail and head towards Buona Vista MRT. It's a really nice route, close to nature and away from the hustle. So I took this route in January to check out Dewgather at Star Vista. 

Dewgather is an Aussie-inspired cafe. It is quite popular and I waited for an hour to get seated. I arrived before 12noon, which could also explain the wait. Many items were no longer available when it was my turn to order. So I tried the Hummus In The Pan (left), adding on a Chorizo Sausage, for a more filling meal as recommended. Had a Yuzu Fizz too! 

Abundance

Another running route I like is the Alexandra Park Connector, which I will usually take to Ikea Alexandra for lunch. Was craving Taiwanese food in January and heard of Abundance at Lengkok Bahru. So I decided to check it out after a Saturday run.

Abundance is a Taiwanese-inspired cafe near Redhill MRT Station. It was pretty packed when I reached before 12noon. Had the Gua Bao aka Braised Pork Belly Bun (left below) recommended by many bloggers and it was a good recommendation. The condiments (pickles, coriander, peanut) go very well with the tender pork belly. Also tried Golden Egg aka fried century egg (right below) which was an interesting dish.   

My verdict on Dewgather: Comfort food and comfortable place to chill out with a friend or two. Motivated to run back and try the other items another day. 

My verdict on Abundance: Familiar flavors to savor with the family. Motivated to run back and try the other items another day.

Any food places near Tiong Bahru that you would recommend me to run for? Feel free to tell me by leaving your comments!

 

Shape Run and Tim Ho Wan

What have you been up to in the last week of October? Well, I...

Ran the Shape Run. It was postponed from July to October because of the haze back then. This is my second 10KM of the year and the first was so many months back! 10KM without stopping! Timing is about 1 HR 22 MIN - Well done! :P

Then PY and I decided to try our luck at Tim Ho Wan after the run. Reached before 9am and we got seated in about 10 minutes. So go early if you don't want to queue :) Finally tried the vermicelli roll with pork liver - quite interesting. Try if you are in for something different :)

Come to think of it, it's funny because I went to Tim Ho Wan just last month (read about my first visit!). Fulfilling the prophecy that I keep doing the same things in the same period. Haha

Firsts of 2013!

Last week was a busy week. Been up to so many firsts of the year!

First meeting with search firm. I hope that bodes well for my job hunt.

First lunch with ex-colleagues. You are really my biggest take-away during my 6 months with SS.

First date (kind of) of the year. Hmmm...

First hospital visit. Get well soon, Uncle!

First wedding of the year. Congrats, PP!

First-time visit to Gillman Barracks since the art galleries moved in. Cool!

First long distance run (and my first-ever trail run) of the year. A very pleasant run (and some pictures to show for it!)

Green Corridor Run 2013 (27 Jan) from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station to Bukit Timah Railway Station.  

Very different terrains from the road. Because it's our first time, our pace slowed down considerably. But it means we could chat along 10.5KM. Enjoyable run, I would say.

Followed by Dim Sum at The Star Vista, Canton Paradise.

Food is not bad, although there were some hiccups with the service.

Very full brunch to end the last week of Jan 2013 :) Looking forward to many many more firsts in the next 12 months!

雨过天晴的吴哥窟

雨后的城市果然美多了。 这是今天跑步时最大的发现。哈哈。
原来雨真的能清洗城市，让它发光，发亮。

我想起了几年前的Siem Reap之旅 - 导游说雨季是到访当地的最佳时候。因为雨后的吴哥窟最美。 雨带走了灰尘，让它恢复原本（几乎）的风貌。
吴哥窟很美。好想在雨季重游更美的吴哥窟。

Happy 2nd Marathon!

Happy to run my second half-marathon today. Not sure if I improved on my timing but I enjoyed the run better this year.

Proud that I did not use any pain relief cream at all throughout the run (last year was a more painful run - guess it's like that when it's the first time).

Interesting to run through Sentosa and RWS but the uphills were definitely challenging. But I tell myself when there is an up, there will be a down (just like that are ups and downs in life but ups in marathons are bad bad bad). I'm not sure if I will ever have the chance to run through Universal Studios and wave to Shrek in the future, so it was definitely a nice experience!

Sunny day, got sunburnt (maybe it's time to get shades for running). And yes, 100+ never tasted so good!

Run

It's raining now - a cool end to a nice day. Met up with G for lunch and tea. Very relaxed way to spend a sunday, catching up with an old friend. We are going to Genting Highlands this coming weekend though. So there will be lots more opportunities to talk.

Received a surprise in the mailbox this week - a 2009 special edition newsletter of the Singapore Passion Run. And I was featured! Did not know the organiser actually took pictures of the runners and personalised the results for us this way. Very nice and cool!

It's my first 10KM run, so I'm naturally very excited about it (although I took quite a long time to complete the run, I am still very proud of myself! I mean, for a 30 year-old-to do this is incredible, right? :P)

I'm going to join the Great Eastern Run with my friend MQ in November and then the Standard Chartered Half Marathon in December. And I'm looking forward to running under 90 mins in November. Wish me luck!:)