MINI Treats: Makansutra Breakfast Trail

what could possibly make any sane person hop out of bed at 615am on a saturday morning? well, cars and food create an excellent combination for a weekend morning wake-up call, especially if it means driving to different location for eats.



MINI teams up with the Makansutra team for another food trail. However, rather than dinner like the last one, they've decided on breakfast as the theme this year.

it's obvious the true-blue MINI owners were equally enthusiastic, since by the time we got to the MINI Habitat, it was already packed to the brim.



Not being MINI owners, we were packed three journos to a car - a Cooper S manual - and the plan was to alternate for the duration of the half day event... until i realised navigation wasn't really my cup of tea, hence...



moreover we were one-man down when the third occupant was too sick to get out of bed.

Suffice to say, we were stuffed even before the half-way mark (TEN stops in total). the drive brought us from the industrial scrap-yards of Defu Lane to the HDB heartlands of Bedok and Jurong West and the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. The food ranged from prata to chapati to bak kut teh to chwee kueh and much much more. the mind, not to mention the stomach, boggled at the variety.

Before you think it was a straightforward convoy from point to point, think again. we were made to solve clues that would point the way to each destination. Makansutra reps at each point would only hand-over the next clue when 75 per cent of the dish was finished.

but in our case, well, we made it clear to our hotline operator that we were only in it for the food and not in the running for the competition, so he basically gave away the destinations as we were finishing up at the preceding stops. it got to the point when he started calling US to check on our progress! LOL

the most astounding fact was, even with our ahem, cheating, there were always some other MINI owners ahead of us and we're pretty sure they didnt get any outside help!

anyway, some snap-shots of the food:







meeting back at the Habitat around 2pm ended the day for us. prizes presented, friendships forged, but by then, everything was in a sort of a blur and i could sense my soft bed at home beckoning.

Fast Facts: MINI Cooper S
Engine: 1598cc, 4-cylinder, turbocharged
Maximum power: 175bhp at 5500rpm
Maximum torque: 260Nm at 1700-4500rpm (overboost)
Transmission: 6-speed manual
0-100km/h: 7.3 seconds
Top speed: 220km/h
LxBxH: 3714x1683x1407 mm
Wheelbase: 2467mm
Kerbweight: 1230kg
Price: POA
Agent: Trans Eurokars Pte. Ltd., tel: 6473 3777