Jurong Hilltop

So far, I have been sharing my adventures with food and places overseas. For this post, I shall introduce a place nearer to home. Just off the Ayer Raja Expressway (AYE) after Corporation Road, you will find Jurong Hill. At the foot of the hill is the Jurong BirdPark, a landmark you cannot miss. When you drive up the hill to the top, you arrive at Jurong Hilltop.

From the top of Jurong Hill, you will have a bird's eye view of the Jurong Industrial Estate and also see the petrolchemical plants on some of the offshore islands off the western coast of Singapore. My first visit to Jurong Hill was in the mid-1960s, when I was still a small boy. At that time, the hilltop was nothing but a flat piece of muddy ground. As time past, developments changed the place and Jurong Hill top became sort of a tree planting ground for VIPs visiting Singapore.

In the garden park surrounding the observation tower at the top of Jurong Hill, you can find trees planted by many dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth II, President Ferdinand Marcos, the Shah of Iran and Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

At the lowest level of the observation tower, you will find the Hill Top Japanese Restaurant. It has been there since as far as I can remember. This is one of my favourite teppan yaki restaurants although they also serve Western, Korean and Indonesian food in different sections of the restaurant.

The food there is fresh and tasty and most of all inexpensive. I especially like their garlic fried rice, and the salmon special. The Japanese pickles are also very good and changes from day to day. All the dishes are freshly prepared by a Teppan Yaki chef right infront of your eyes. It is quite an eye-opener for foreign visitors whom I always bring there to dine. The immaculate way the chef peels the prawns and slices the vegetables, and the way he juggles the pepper and salt shakers, is such a thrill.

 And the best part of the show is when the chef prepares the Hilltop Beef Special, a surprise awaits.

At the end of the meal, they even throw is free desserts. You can choose from a menu that includes green tea ice cream, almond beancurd with longans, honeydew sago and mango pudding.