Singapore's AKB48 Official Shop & Cafe

Currently, 'AKB48' would most likely be one of the most famous female idol groups in Japan. As per today, there have up to 57 formal members, which is the total number of people in team A, team K, team B and team 4. On top of the number of formal members that the group currently has, they also have a number of aspiring members, known as the 'Kenkyuusei' or trainees. Therefore, with the number of members that the group currently has, I personally felt that it is absolutely impossible for an average person to memorise the names of all the members of 'AKB48'. However, one would probably have heard of the names of some of the members before. Ex: Atsuko Maeda, Yuuko Ooshiima... etc. (In fact, I could only memorise the names of 2 members only... :P)

The photos in the above were taken outside the 'AKB48' Official shop. One could easily find all sorts of products that comes with various kinds of 'AKB48' design. Ex: T-shirts, Posters, mug, etc... (Just as I expected, all the posters of 'Atsuko Maeda' and 'Yuuko Ooshiima' were out of stock. They were indeed the infamous members of 'AKB48'.)

'AKB48' Official shop is located on the 2nd floor of '*scape' shopping mall.
and...

'AKB48' Cafe is located on the 3rd floor.

The above shows the interior of 'AKB48' Cafe. Besides for the continuous broadcasting of 'AKB48' performances, the glass panels and walls were decorated with photos of 'AKB48'. This is indeed a cafe specially built for 'AKB48' fans.

The following would be my interests... food~~~!!!

The above would be 'Shouga Yaki Set', which is also known as 'Fried Pork with Ginger Sauce' set. In fact, this is my first encounter with a set meal that comes with 'Fried Pork' and 'Ginger Sauce'. Looks pretty interesting... Don't you agree? Note: that the taste of the Ginger sauce is pretty strong, so take my advice, pour the sauce onto the fried pieces of pork slowly otherwise, please be mentally prepared to bear the consequences.

The above would be the 'AKB48 Ice Cream Set'. The flavours of the ice cream that were given here are 'Strawberry', 'Matcha' and 'Ocean'. I love the taste of the 'Ocean' ice cream very much. :D In fact, the colours used in this Ice Cream set were pretty much similar to the team colours of 'AKB48'. The team colour of 'Team A' would be 'Pink' (Strawberry Ice Cream), The team colour of 'Team K' would be 'Green' (Matcha Ice Cream), The team colour of 'Team B' would be 'Blue' (Ocean Ice Cream) and The team colour of 'Team 4' would be 'Yellow' (Banana slices). Besides for the beautiful colours that you are getting, the Ice Cream set was pretty delicious. Note: Based on the texture and the taste of the Ice Cream, there is a possibility that the chef might have made the Ice Cream himself.

* Click here for 'AKB48' Singapore's website.
^ Click here for the website of 'AKB48' cafe.
# Click here to find out more about 'AKB48'.
! Click here to find out more about '*Scape'.

Gold-ing for the extra mile

Rather than taking or switching between different modes of transportation, we decided to walk from 'Mustafa' to 'Golden Mile' to savour good 'Thai' food. :D I guess it has been close to a decade since my last visit to 'Golden Mile'.

Let us proceed our journey through 'Thai' food. :D Here comes our menu for dinner. ;).

Thai Mango Salad
Conclusion.... this is S.C.A.R.... Spicy, Crunchy and Refreshing.
Most of the salads that I have tasted so far are mainly a mountain filled
with vegetables and/or fruits covered with a layer of dressing. This is
slightly different. You get to sea a mountain of sliced mango and buried
beneath it are small red spicy chillies that works like a dynamite if you
unintentionally put it inside your mouth. :P

Long beans fried with Sambal Chilli
I like the way the chef are handling this dish. The vegetables are not soggy
and the long beans still have the crunchy touch when you are biting it.
Best of all, the sambal chilli that was used in frying this dish was perfect.
On top of the spicy taste, both ingredients blend perfectly together. :D

Thai Green Chicken Curry
As for the main reason why I went there for dinner? That would be due to my
hunger for the green chicken curry. Initially, I always thought that curry
will only come in either orange colour. But when I saw this dish during the
first time in my life, my jaws were dropping. Green coloured curry... =="""".
But ever since the first bite out of it, it have completely changed my opinion
for it. This dish was tasty and similar to any other curry that you have eaten
before, covering and eating a bowl of rice with this green curry just makes your
appetite bigger and better. By the way, this green curry isn't as spicy as
McDonalds chilli garlic sauce and it's definitely a Thai dish that is worth trying.

Pineapple fried rice.
Probably they were trying to give me a bigger impression that they are using real
pineapples to create a plate of pineapple fried rice, therefore, it was served
in a cutout pineapple. Although the taste was pretty normal, the portion of this
dish isn't that great. The waitress was mentioning that 2 can share a plate of
Pineapple fried rice, but I think I can finish 2 plates of Pineapple fried rice
myself. Hmmm.... is it me that is getting abnormal or is it...?

Here comes the soup of the day - Seafood Tom Yum Soup.
This would be one of the best example how a Tom Yum soup should look like.
Unlike some of the Tom Yum soup out there that comes with a layer of
Tom Yum seasoning/salt, this place is serving clear Tom Yum soup. I have
always loved the unique taste of the Tom Yum soup but I hate Tom Yum soup
that comes with a layer of Tom Yum seasoning or salt. Especially when I'm
the kind that will finish the whole bowl of soup till the very last drop,
I hate the part when the seasoning sticks onto my tongue and doesn't goes
away. This, this is something much much better. This is most likely to be
the most spiciest dish/soup of this place and on top of the spicy taste, the
seafood ingredients were pretty tasty too.

Katong Khong or Pastry cups with prawn paste
Initially, we thought that this dish would be served before the Tom Yum soup
but it ended up to be the slowest dish to appear. Rather than becoming a side
dish, it has ended up to be a dessert. At the bottom of each cup was a layer
of shrimp paste, followed by a layer of vegetables. Taste wise, it was pretty
normal and portion wise... this is pretty small for a side dish.

So what's the name of the place?

The name of this restaurant would be "Diandin Leluk". This is most likely the biggest Thai restaurant that was located on level 1 of Golden Mile Complex.

* Click here for the website of 'Diandin Leluk' restaurant.
^ Click here for the location of "Golden Mile Complex".

Meal at night = Dinner

When it comes to your daily meals, what would be your favourite choice of food? For the Japanese, it would most likely be 'Washoku' or Japanese Set Meals. The Japanese Set Meal will comes with a Main dish and a few side dishes. As for the main dish, it would most likely be a Meat dish, or a dish that comes with a heavy taste. Depending on the restaurant, the side dishes can be dishes like tempura, bean curd, gyoza... etc. There the topic of this post would be 'Japanese Set Meals'.

Well, time to move on...

The above would be my dinner a few days ago, Chicken Nanban & Ebi Fry Set Meal
or Fried Chicken & prawns topped with tartar sauce set meals.

Most of the Pan-fried dumplings out there in the market are using Pork as the main ingredient. Therefore, the minute I saw this Prawn Pan-fried Dumplings on their menu, without giving it a second thought, I immediately place an order for it. This is slightly softer than normal Pan-Fried Dumplings and it doesn't taste as strong as normal Dumplings... I like it... :P

Side dish - Cold Japanese Bean Curd.
I like all these Japanese Cold Bean Curd.
However, there isn't anything special about this and the taste is pretty normal.

Main dish - Chicken Nanban & Ebi Fry
When it comes to Tartar sauce, the first item that will think of will most
likely be Fried fish or fish fillets.
However, when I'm having it with the fried chicken and prawn, it isn't a
very strange move and it's delicious.
Surprisingly, rather than becoming soggy, the meat is firm yet tender... Nice!!!

On top of the above, you don't need to worry about amount of rice that was given.
You can also top up the rice and the pickles for free... Which is nice~~~
(I don't really like to eat rice, but due to the fact that there are delicious
dishes laying in front of me, I managed to finish 3 bowls of rice. :P)

Some other photos that was taken in the restaurant.

The name of the restaurant would be 'Yayoi Ken' and this is their first branch in Singapore. And it is located in 'Liang Court'. Note: 'Yayoi Ken' is currently one of the biggest chain of restaurants in Japan.

* Click here for the website of 'Yayoi Ken' restaurant in Singapore
^ Click here for the website of 'Yayou Ken' restaurant in Japan. (In Japanese only.)
# Click here to find out more about 'Liang Court'.

Something new everyday... Fish Dum Biryani

I have tried a few kinds of Biryani before. Ranging from Chicken Biryani, Mutton Biryani, Egg Biryani and all sorts of Dum Biryani. But Fish Biryani... erm... I have never tried it before therefore once I knew that I can get Fish Dum Biryani from one of the restaurants in Singapore, I decided to GO 4 IT....

Here comes...

Fish Dum Biryani. This would be my first encounter with Fish Dum Biryani. So what is included? One big portion of Biryani Rice cooked with Fried Boneless Fish. This would be slightly different from Chicken and Mutton Biryani especially when it doesn't comes with a hard boiled egg. The texture of the Fried Fish would be pretty similar to the fried fish that you can it in a coffee shop, but what makes it slightly different would be the taste. The flash of the fish was white in colour and it's as soft as a fish fillet and taste much much better than a fish fillet. On top of that, Dum Biryani were famous in cooking the Biryani rice and the ingredient together. Therefore, every single spoonful of Biryani rice wouldn't be giving you the taste of the rice only, you can also smell the nice fragrance of the fried fish and taste it. THe sad part about Dum Biryani would be the fact that you cannot top up the rice for free, but that at the same time will make you to cherish every single grain of Biryani rice that you will be having.

The above would be the Chicken Dum Biryani of this place. You can get 3 different kinds of Dum Biryani at this place. They are Chicken Dum Biryani, Chicken Tikka Dum Biryani (Boneless Chicken Biryani) and Countryside Chicken Dum Biryani(I think). The taste of the Chicken Biryani isn't as good as the Fish Biryani or probably I'm just being bias especially when not a lot of places offer Fish Biryani... Either ways, a hard boiled egg was given and the fragrance of the Chicken had covered the Biryani rice thoroughly, which makes it delicious and unforgettable.

A photo showing the table setting. Free flow of water and serviettes
were given. (So you don't need to worry about the spicy curry gravy.)

As for the name of this place, that would be...

Ponnusamy Authentic Chettinad Restaurant. It is located near one of the
entrance/exit of Mustafa along 'Syed Alwi Road', a few steps away from
'Anjappar' restaurant.

* Click here for the exact location of 'Ponnusamy' restaurant.

Biggest... no.... it should be the largest Fried Chicken in Singapore

One of the infamous finger food of Taiwan would most probably be one piece of humongous Fried Chicken. According to some TV shows that I have seen back then, Taiwanese teenagers can queue up and buy a humongous piece of Fried Chicken that will last them for a whole day... Simply unbelievable...

Time to move on ....

Here comes the biggest Fried Chicken in Singapore...
So how big is big?
I was comparing it with the size of my palm and in terms of the length it's
roughly around 1.75 times of my palm and the width is roughly around 1.25 times
of my palm... (By the way I'm around 1.75 cm in height... and I was stretching
out my hands to the maximum before I can successfully take a full photo of it.)

I know its big but so what... how bout the taste?
This piece of Fried Chicken isn't very salty at all, which I find it good.
I recalled myself having my first bite off a Taiwanese-style Fried Chicken
before and my first impression of it was... 'TOO SALTY'. I couldn't believe
that I would give this a try... and luckily I did else I would never believe
that Fried Chicken can taste so good. The Fried Chicken itself is pretty hot,
crispy and not too dry. I was standing at a corner eating this Fried Chicken
and this is the first time in my entire whole life hoping that this Fried
Chicken can continue to grow on and on... I just can resist it... Yummy :D.

I guess that the owner is pretty proud about his Fried Chicken too...

The name of this stall would be 'Hot Star Large Fried Chicken' and it is
located on basement 1 of City Square Mall, which is also 5 - 10 minutes
walking distance from Mustafa and Farrer Park MRT.

Note:

• They wouldn't cut the Fried Chicken into pieces so WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get)...
• The original Fried Chicken comes in a spicy taste too. (The one that I had shown here would be the spicy Fried Chicken.
• Opening Hours: 10.30am - 9.45pm

* Click here for the website of City Square Mall in Singapore.
^ Click here for the website of 'Hot Star Large Fried Chicken'.

DON eat Crab.... huh?

In fact this is a follow up to the post that I had shared earlier this week. Rather than combining the both posts into 1, I decided to separate them. Anyway let's move on to the main topic of today. :D

Here comes...

a pot of Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup.
Before moving further, I decided to express my love for the service that I am
getting are this place. They have provided the Crackers, for cracking the Crab
shells, automatically. That's a good step and I like it.

Time for us to reveal what's inside.

Looks creamy, don't you think so? Anyway what's inside? Ingredients included are a crab sliced up into pieces, assorted vegetables, yam, Bee Hoon and lots of creamy soup. Now let's talk about the taste. Let's face it... Despite of the hardship that I have to undergo cracking open all the shells to reveal the flesh, I still love Crabs. Anyway back to the taste. First of all, I love the taste of the sweet creamy soup. Secondly, although the taste of the vegetables, Yam and Bee Hoon was pretty normal but with the amount of ingredients that was added, it makes me feel less sinful. Third but not last, the Crabs, which is the most important ingredient of this dish. If you are lucky, you might be getting some or a bit of Crab Roe, which is a delicacy by itself. And yes I know that people will argue that ripping open the shells of a Crab can be a painful experience, but looking from a different angle, good food are hard to come by. Only with some hardship, then you will appreciate the taste of a good Crab. Especially, after soaking the Crab into the soup for a period of time, the sweet taste of the flash of the Crab is simple irresistible. Especially when I move on to the claws of the Crab, grabbing a bite off the flesh would probably explains why I love Crabs so much.... Aaaah feel like eating a Cold Crab again...

Misc: Photo showing parts of the Crab. :P

The name of this place would be 'DON'. Besides for this delicious Crab dish
that they have prepared, they are infamous for making and preparing Pies.

* Click here for my previous post on the delicious Pies that they are making. :D
^ Click here for the location of 'DON' - Your Personal Pie Club.
~ Click here for the website of 'DON' - Your Personal Pie Club.

Eating a PAC MAN

Speaking of 'PAC MAN', the first food that would comes to your mind would most likely be a 'Pie'. Therefore our topic today would be 'Pie'

Before I move on, let me ask you a question: What makes a Pie good?
The following would be my own opinion of a good Pie.
First of all, the crust shouldn't be too thick and too hard. Secondly,
the portion of the ingredients used in the pie should be generous. Thirdly,
there should be a good balance or proportion between the ingredients and
the crust of the pie. Last but not least, the delicious taste of a Pie.

A quarter slice of Chicken Pie.

So what makes this pie so special?
Although I'm not a big fan of Pies, except for all the various forms of
Pie charts that were used in presenting data, I don't think I have eaten
more than 10 slices of Pie annually. Despite of that, I think that this
was probably one of the best Pie that I have eaten over the past few years.
First and foremost, the crispy crust is neither too thick nor too thin and
at the same time it's neither too hard nor too soft. This is the kind of
crust that you will have difficult of finding.. Secondly, although this is
a chicken pie, it doesn't mean that it contains chicken meat only. Some other
Ingredients that were included were boiled egg, corns, potatoes, etc.
On top of the ingredients used, pepper was also added into the pie to
enhance the taste even further. And that's a good move.

Chicken Shepherd Pie
The crust of this was pretty similar to the one covering the Chicken Pie.
Ingredients used in this and the Chicken Pie were more or less similar,
but the ingredients were also covered by a layer of Mashed Potatoes and
this is slightly more spicier than the normal Chicken Pie.

So what other delicacy does this place also offer?

The above would be the menu of the place. One of their specialities would be the 'Claypot Crab Bee Hoon'.

So where can you find all these delicious looking Pies?

I guess just by taking a look at the photos in the above, everyone would probably
have an idea about the name of this restaurant and where it is located.
The name of the restaurant would be 'DON' - Your Personal Pie Club.
It is located in China Square Central.

* Click here for the location of 'DON' - Your Personal Pie Club.
^ Click here for the website of 'DON' - Your Personal Pie Club.