Noodles early morning...

I was aiming for the porridge or the 'Wanton Noodles' over here a few days ago. However it just seems that luck just isn't on my side. Both stalls are closed for business on that particular day. Therefore...

'Minced Meat Noodles' or in fact it's 'Minced Meat Kway Teow' Usually, I will go for 'Kway Teow' since it's much more filling. As for the 'Minced Meat Noodles' over here, the stall owner has topped it with ingredients like 'fish ball', 'minced meat', 'mushrooms', 'fish cake', 'vegetables' and also sliced 'chilli padi'. As for the soup itself, it seems that they have added various types of ingredients throughout the process of preparing this soup, which kinda explains the flowery, brownish looking and meaty soup. Though the taste of the soup isn't super fantastic and it's still far more better than a bowl of plain or pepperish soup.

As for the 'Minced Meat Kway Teow' itself, although the ingredients are pretty fresh and delicious, but at the end of the day, I personally think that they have added too much sauce into the bowl of 'Kway Teow'. Therefore, it ended up becoming a bit soggy, which is kinda disappointing. However, I think that if you are going ahead with the other types of 'Yellow Noodles' like 'Mee Pok', etc ... the Noodles might ended up to be much more better and delicious. XD

So where can you give the 'Minced Meat Noodles' a try?

The name of this stall would be 'Lian Kee'(蓮記). It's located inside 'Alexandra Village Hawker Centre'.

Notes:

• Opening Hours:
  07:30 - 14:00
  (Closed on Mondays)

* Click here for the map of 'Alexandra Village Hawker Centre'.
^ Click here for some other delicacies that you can find and get in the 'A' village.

A Soupy Chinese Claypot...

This used to be a coffee shop selling 'Chicken Rice' and it have recently changed into something different. Since we were looking for a nearby alternative, my friends were recommending this place. Hence, I ended up giving this place a try too.

'Sambal Seafood Claypot'(叁芭海鲜砂煲) The dishes over here are pretty much similar to those that you can find and get in a normal 'Cze Char' chinese restaurant. However, the food over here are...

served in a claypot. And another speciality over here would be the fact that most of the dishes over here will be served with either gravy or soup. As for the 'Sambal Seafood' that I have ordered, initially I thought that it would be a claypot of stir-fried ingredients without any gravy, but it ended up to be a large variety of ingredients cooked in a pot of 'Spicy Sambal Gravy'. I started off scooping and covering the bowl of rice with lots of gravy. I didn't expect the gravy to be this good. Pretty much similar to a bowl of good 'Curry', the gravy can boost the taste of an ordinary bowl of rice to something special, spicy and delicious. Since the gravy also contains small tiny bits of vegetables and seafood, the sensation is equivalent, no I think that it's much better than a plate of 'Sambal Fried Rice'. The fresh and spicy seafood ingredients are a big (+) on its own. By the way, ingredients like 'Sliced fish', 'Crabmeat Sticks', 'Sotongs', 'Mushrooms', 'Lady Fingers', 'Onions' and 'Prawns' have been added into this tasty claypot. There's one other thing that I like about the claypot over here, would be the fact that the ingredients didn't ended up to be soggy at all and the chef over here managed to blend the taste of each and every ingredient with the taste of the nice 'Spicy Sambal Gravy', which is another big (+).

The name of this stall would be 'Lao Wang Claypot Delights'(老王砂煲小厨). It's located inside one of the coffee shops located beneath 'Blk 263 Serangoon Central'.

Notes:

• Opening Hours:
  11:30 - 10:30 Daily
• Besides for 'Sambal Seafood', they have also listed down items like 'Herbal Chicken Soup', 'Kung Pao Chicken', 'Sambal Kangkong', etc... on their menu too.

* Click here for the location of the coffee shop beneath 'Blk 263 Serangoon Central' on
  'Google Maps'.

Thai Food Feast...

I have been invited to a food tasting event at this Thai restaurant in Katong area. Even though I'm late for the event, but I still managed to reach the place as they were about to dig into the first dish...

'Mango Salad' A nice mix of both crunchy(peanuts, shrimps), refreshing(slices of mango) and spicy(sliced chillies) ingredients. This is in fact a very interesting and nice appetizer, but if you are not into spicy stuff, it can ended up to be an murderous dish. :P Oh, by the way, I guess this is one of the most spiciest dish of the day.

'Thai Milk Tea' I was trying to figure out what's the biggest difference between this and the normal 'Milk Tea', but it seems to me that 'Thai Milk Tea' seems to have the taste of spices and they have added much more milk into this Tea. Therefore, it ended up to be a bit fiery and sweet. :D

'Tom Yum Soup' This might be ordinary looking but how about...

We were having 'Seafood Tom Yum Soup' that day. Over here, they not only have 'Seafood Tom Yum Soup', they also have 'Chicken', 'Pork' or 'Prawn Tum Yum Soup' over here too. Even though it's not spicy enough but the amount of ingredients that was added into this dish is pretty generous. Furthermore, the 'Tom Yum Soup' over here isn't the powderish type and it's the kind of food that can easily help you to gobble down a bowl of rice.

'Non Spicy Grilled Pork' The succulent 'Grilled Pork' and the special Thai sauce that comes with it would be the speciality of this dish. Although this is nice, but this isn't my favourite dish that night.

'Glass Noodle Salad' As for this salad, I think that everyone ended up focusing more on the ingredients than the 'Glass Noodles' itself. On top of that, there's a bigger portion of ingredients than 'Glass Noodles'. And it's topped with a 'Chilli Lime Dressing', which adds a sour and refreshing touch to this dish itself and change this into a pretty good appetizer too.

'Olive Fried Rice' The 'Olive Fried Rice' is pretty oily. Although lots of peanuts and minced pork have been added into this dish, but the greasy touch just makes it difficult for anyone to go for a second round of rice. Unless...

'Green Curry Chicken' you have it with this. Luckily, they are serving the big plate of 'Olive 'Fried Rice' and the 'Green Curry Chicken' together. With this thick, milky and Sweet Curry, the gravy itself can reduce the greasy touch of the 'Fried Rice'. On top of that, the big slices of chicken and vegetables just make the overall taste better and better as you go on and on.

'Green Curry Chicken' & 'Olive Fried Rice'

'Thai Style Steamed Seabass' I think that I ended up loving the sauce more the fish itself. It's the not too spicy and sour sauce that keeps me going for more and more.

'Lemongrass Drink' The over concentrated 'Lemongrass' drink is a bit too much for me. Just by taking a sip from this drink, I already have the taste and fragrance of 'Lemongrass' bursting inside my mouth. Just the aroma of the Tea alone can keep you very awake for a very long time.

'Dry Curry Pork' This would be my favourite dish that night. Although, it's given the name 'Dry Curry Pork', but in actual fact the succulent 'Pork' have this nice aroma and taste of good 'Curry'. On top of that, the bite size pieces of 'Pork' not only makes it easy to chew, it also acts as a pretty good finger food too. :D

'Claypot Tung Hoon Prawn' This is actually very good. The 'Tung Hoon'(Vermicelli) is pretty moist and even though it's dark in colour, it's not too salty. Too bad, I have to keep a bit of space in my stomach for the desserts, else I would have emptied the whole claypot of 'Tung Hoon' within minutes. By the way, there's lots of prawns inside this small little pot of 'Tung Hoon' too. :D

'Mango Sticky Rice' I don't have any memory of myself savouring this dish back then. But the chilled and beautiful pieces of Mango is a (+). And when you have it with the warm 'Sticky Rice', you will be amazed with the taste that you are getting from this combination. :) The nice mix of the soft mango and the 'Sticky Rice' topped with Coconut milk just make things even better.

So where can you give all these 'Thai food' a good try?

The name of this restaurant would be 'Baan Khun Nai Authentic Thai Cuisine'. It's located along 'East Coast Road'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  Tuesdays - Saturdays: 11:30 - 22:00
  Sundays: 10:00 - 22:00
  (Closed on Mondays)
• By the way, they also have the 'Mookata', Thai Steamboat', over here too. And the owners were boosting that they are offering much more ingredients than their neighbours nearby.

* Click here for the 'Facebook Page' of 'Baan Khun Nai Authentic Thai Cuisine'.
^ Click here for the location of 'Baan Khun Nai Authentic Thai Cuisine' on 'Google Maps'.

Good Yellow Tail Fish Balls...

In the older days, fish balls are made from 'Yellow Tail' fish. I have given several stalls that have been boosting about the 'Yellow Tail' fish balls that they were making and this is one of the better ones...

'Yong Tau Fu' For a start, unlike most of the 'Yong Tau Fu' soup out there, they are not using 'Yellow Bean' to prepare this soup. And based on what I have read, they are using 'Ikan Bilis' and 'Fish Bones' to prepare this soup. Although the taste isn't as strong as the usual soup that you are getting, but the soup has this nice sweet and savoury taste, which is a nice (+). As mentioned earlier, the fish balls over here are made from 'Yellow Tail' meat. Therefore, I find the texture of the fish balls to be pretty chewy, bouncy and it doesn't have the fishy smell. On top of that, most of the ingredients over here are handmade by the stall helpers. In fact, they are owning 2 side by side stalls over here and they are using one of the stalls as a mini fresh ingredients making factory. XD As for the bowl of noodles that I have ordered, the crispy ikan bilis that were sprinkled on top isn't too salty and it's adding a crunchy sensation to the bowl of noodles itself. The biggest drawback would be the fact that they only have chilli sauce over here, therefore if you are keeping a lookout for the sweet sauce, too bad... :P

The menu over here is pretty straight forward. For a start, you can either go for the standard bowl of 'Yong Tau Fu' that comes with 6 pieces of ingredients with Noodles/Rice Vermicelli. Alternatively, you can go bowl of 'Yong Tau Fu' with merely 8 pieces of ingredients. On top of that, you can request for a few other types of ingredients with an extra charge.

So where can you give the delicious fish balls and 'Yong Tau Fu' a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu'(秀記江魚仔釀豆腐). It's located in one of the hidden corners on level 2 of 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  06:00 - 15:00 Daily

* Click here for the location of 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre' on Google Maps.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get in 'Chinatown Complex Food
  Centre'.

DIY your Hamburger or Cheeseburger...

Do you prefer a 'Hamburger' or a 'Cheeseburger'? On top of that, what are the ingredients that you loved most? Over here, the 'Sky is the Limit' and they are offering more than one million different types of burgers. Trust me, you can never finish up trying all the different burger combinations over here.

Before moving on with the step of describing my burger, let me start off by explaining the difference between the 'Hamburger' and 'Cheeseburger' over here. Basically the main difference would be the additional selection of Cheese that comes with the 'Cheeseburger'. 'DIY Hamburger' For a start, I have chosen 'Honey Oat Bun' as the base and I have also chosen the 'Grilled Chicken' patty out of the 4 different selections, which is 'Beef', 'Mutton', 'Pork' and 'Grilled Chicken'. Ingredients wise, I have chosen 'Shredded Lettuce', 'Tomato Slice', 'Pickles', 'Jalepeno' and also 'Fried Egg'. As for the dressing, I have taken 'Mayonnaise' and 'Roasted Garlic Aioli'. The burger ended up to be a bit too thick for me. Even when I have opened my mouth to the maximum, I still have difficulty biting the burger. Taste wise, the succulent 'Grilled Chicken' is fantastic and upon mixing each individual bite with the 'half Fried Egg' and several other ingredients, the taste is pretty exciting and interesting to me. There's a nice mixture of all the different tastes. And best of all, despite of all the ingredients added, you still can taste the delicious 'Grilled Chicken'. :D By the way, they are also offering interesting ingredients like 'Grilled Bananas', 'Grilled Pineapples', etc... over here too.

'Disco Fries' As for the 'Disco Fries', it's topped with a layer of 'Cheese' and the base is covered with a thick layer of gravy, which kinda reminds me of 'Brown Sauce'. However the fries are a bit too soft for me but the taste of the sauces are pretty good. I have given the 'Mayonnaise' and 'Curry Remoulade' a try and it seems that the 'Curry Remoulade' tastes as delicious as the 'Curry Sauce' that 'Mcdonalds' is offering back then. And it's the sauces that gives the fries a very big (+).

So where can you give the 'Burgers' a good try?

The name of this restaurant would be "The Burger Bar by fatboy's concept". It's located on level 1 of 'Far East Plaza'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  11:30 - 22:00 Daily

* Click here to find out more about 'Fat Boys'.
^ Click here for the 'Facebook Page' of 'The Burger Bar'.
~ Click here to find out more about 'Far East Plaza'.
# Click here for the location of 'Far East Plaza' on 'Google Maps'.

Shiok, Dum Biryani...

I haven't been eating 'Biryani Rice' for a very long period of time. And since I wanted to intake lots of Iron within a short period of time so that I could donate my blood successfully, therefore I might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone and search for...

'Dum Chicken Biryani' I have read it somewhere that they will only be preparing and selling 'Dum Biryani' on Fridays and Weekends. Therefore, I was patiently waiting till last Friday, before making a trip down to this restaurant. I'm glad that I have made a trip down here. The set meal comes with a big plate of 'Biryani Rice', topped with 2 crispy piece of 'Papadum' and a piece of 'Chicken' hidden inside the generous portion of 'Biryani Rice'. They have also provides a bowl of 'Curry', 'Green Vegetables' and 'Raita'(White Yogurt with Vegetables) too.

It's been a very long time since my last encounter with such a beautiful plate of 'Biryani Rice'. Unlike some 'Biryani Rice' out there that have a mixture of 'White', 'Yellow' and 'Orange' colour, the 'Biryani Rice' here are goldish brown in colour. Every single bite of the 'Biryani Rice' has been loaded a nice mix of 'Spices' and 'Chicken' and the delicious sensation I'm getting from the rice is wonderful. And to some extent the taste is already on par with a normal plate of 'Biryani Rice' covered with lots of delicious gravy. However, that's not all. you should try having it with the bowl of 'Curry' that they are offering over here. It's pushing the taste the 'Biryani Rice' to a heavenly level. Don't believe me? Then you should really give the 'Biryani Rice' over here a good try. Even though the 'Chicken' isn't that fantastic, but it's pretty decent too. Probably it's buried inside the mountain of 'Biryani Rice', therefore it also comes with this nice fragrance of spices too. As for the not so oily, yet crispy 'Papadum'. There's sufficient portion that can be broken down into smaller pieces and savour it with the delicious 'Biryani Rice'.

So where can you give this heavenly plate of 'Dum Chicken Biryani' a try?

The name of this restaurant would be "Jaggi's Northern Indian Cuisine". It's located along 'Race Course Road'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  
  Mondays - Thursdays:
  Lunch: 11:30 - 15:00
  Dinner: 17:30 - 20:30
  
  Fridays:
  Lunch: 11:30 - 15:00
  Dinner: 17:30 - 20:45
  
  Weekends and Public Holidays:
  Lunch: 11:30 - 16:00
  Dinner: 17:30 - 20:45

* Click here for the 'Facebook Page' of "Jaggi's Northern Indian Cuisine".
^ Click here for the location of "Jaggi's Northern Indian Cuisine' on 'Google Maps'.

Full Vegetarian Ramen

As usual, after all the sinful, meaty stuff over the last few weeks, it's time for a meal to get things right. Therefore...

'Organic Soya' On top of the usual 'Soya Bean' taste you are getting, it also comes with a strong 'Organic' food taste. In fact, I still prefer the taste of the normal 'Soya Bean' drink out there. However, if you are into 'Organic' food, you should really give this a try, since it still have this sweet and nice taste, especially when you have it warm. :)

'Kway Chap and Soya Ramen Set Meal' Initially, I only wanted to try the 'Soya Ramen'. But, somehow I ended up going for this set meal. For a start, the Ramen is pretty decent. It have similar characteristics of the normal bowl of Ramen. There's the thin Japanese Noodles, seaweeds and lots of vegetables. However, the only problem would be the soup being too bland. Even though the taste of the soup isn't thick and strong enough, but the sweet soup have this nice taste of 'Soya Beans'. Something different and deliciously nice to try :D As for the plate of 'Kway Chap' ingredients, this is kinda interesting to me. Besides for the 'braised peanuts' and 'braised eggs', all the other ingredients are pretty new to me. Can you believe it, besides for the 'Mushrooms', all the other ingredients were mostly made out of 'Soya Bean'. To me, the taste of the ingredients are pretty okay and not too salty, but the chewy texture just isn't there, which is a great disappointment. :|

So where can you give these healthy food a good try?

The name of this restaurant would be "O'bean Organic Soya Store". It's located along 'Tanjong Pagar Road'.

Notes:

• Opening Hours:
  Weekdays: 10:00 - 22:30
  Saturdays: 10:00 - 23:00
  (Closed on Sundays)

* Click here for the 'Facebook Page' of "O'bean Organic Soya Store".

Marutama Dining

'Marutama Ramen' is my favourite Ramen in Singapore. Therefore, I decided to have my dinner at 'Marutam Dining' 2 weeks ago.

The selections at "Marutama Ramen" used to be pretty limited back then. But, they have a bigger variety of food over here. They even have 'Curry Rice', 'Hot Pot', etc... 'Ebi(Prawn) Ramen' Even though it's known as 'Ebi Ramen', but it's actually the original 'Marutama Ramen' topped with a few prawns and a slice of lemon. Note: the soup base of this Ramen couldn't be changed.

After squeezing the lemon, the taste of the soup becomes both sweet and sour. And I still couldn't resist the delicious noodles and flavoured egg that they are offering over here. However...

The prawns aren't suitable. Although the prawns are pretty fresh, but when I have it with the prawns, the taste ended up becoming pretty weird. Well at the end of the day I still prefer the 'Nama Karashi Ramen'(Ramen with Spicy Chicken Broth).

Here's the appearance of 'Marutama Dining'. It's located along 'Killiney Road'.

Opening Hours:

• Lunch: 11:30 - 15:00
  Dinner: 17:30 - 22:00
  
  Fridays and Saturdays
  Lunch: 12:00 - 15:00
  Dinner: 17:30 - 22:30

* Click here to find out more about 'Marutama Ramen'.

My First Attempt at Vegetarian Buffet

We were spending our own sweet time trying to pick the correct place for a gathering. After spending a few days looking at all the various options and discussing, we finally managed to come up with something. And this is my first encounter with...

'Vegetarian Buffet' They have all these nice starters for you to begin with. And it's not restricted to merely 'Dim Sum' alone, there's pastry, 'Sushi' and all sorts of cakes too. :P Furthermore, they have all these special booths making and preparing dishes like 'Chee Cheong Fun' upon ordering. And the chilli that they are providing over here really fit into the taste of the 'Chee Cheong Fun'.

However, if you are the typical rice or noodles sort of a person, they have lots of choices for you to try over here too. There's options like 'Fried Rice', 'Fried Noodles', 'Fried Kway Teow', 'Fried Rice Vermicelli', etc... And since there's all these filling main dishes, they have also provided lots of side dishes like 'Yong Tau Fu' and various types of vegetables dishes. And its not restricted to stir-fried vegetables only. In fact, more than half of the variety are pretty new to me too.

If you are big fan of Chinese food, you will know that an important dish is missing over here. And you're right, that missing dish would be 'Soup'. Over here, they have not only prepare a big pot of soup, there's like 2 or 3 different pots of soup for you to choose from. In fact, the soup are so tasty that I have used them as a substitute for my usual hot beverages.

And they also have these indulging dishes too. I have given the 'Chicken Rice' and 'Laksa' a try. The taste of the 'Chicken Rice' is pretty normal but the 'Laksa' is pretty much similar to the normal 'Laksa' out there. Even though the 'Laksa' isn't too spicy, but the gravy is both thick and smells nice. In fact, it's so good that I have gone ahead with a second serving. :P Before you overload your stomach with lots of food, do remember to leave some space for desserts. They not only have both hot and cold desserts over here, they also have a corner for the fruity 'Ice Cream' too. On top of that, the variety of beverages that they are offering over here are pretty interesting too. They not only have the typical 'Coffee', 'Tea' and 'Soft Drinks', they also have special blend of 'Tea' like 'Winter Melon' Tea. :) The 'Vegetarian Buffet' over here is very interesting and they really have a large variety of food over here. :P

So where can you give this 'Vegetarian Buffet' a try?

The name of this restaurant would be 'Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant'. It's located on level 2 of 'Quality Hotel'. (Hmmm.... speaking of 'Quality Hotel', it reminds me of the 'Porridge Buffet' in the same building too...)

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  Lunch: 11:30 - 15:00
  Dinner: 18:00 - 22:00
• Do secure a reservations before you make your way down. Probably due to the reasonable price that you are paying per pax and the amount of dishes that you can try over here, it seems to be pretty crowded during the weekends.

* Click here to find out more about 'Quality Hotel'.

The secret behind the shiokness....

Since I was spending some time browsing through some magazines(food magazines, what else...) in 'Kinokuniya'(Takashimaya Branch), therefore I decided to walk over to 'Wisma Atria' and give the infamous Japanese Food in the food court a good try.

After queueing up for an hour or so, I finally got a seat. But, the one of the waitress over here suddenly told me very amusing. She told me that I could just ask for a counter seat much much earlier since I'm dining alone. I was kinda annoyed because there's no indication and the same waitress was asking me the number of people dining together more than half an hour earlier. Anyway I ended up placing for the 'Shiok Maki' and the 'Shiok Maki 2nd Generation'.

'Shiok Maki' Basically, this is a normal 'Sushi' roll that is stuffed with 'Avocado' and 'Grilled Unagi(Eel)' and it's covered with a slice of lightly roasted 'Salmon'. That's not all, besides for the slice of 'Salmon' that's covering the 'Sushi' roll, it's topped with a generous spread of 'Mayonnaise' and 'Fish Roe' too. Taste wise, since I have a big mouth, I would pop a big piece of 'Shiok Maki' into my mouth directly. The small 'Fish Roe' that will gradually create delicious sparks inside my mouth, topped with the sweet taste of the mayonnaise and the nice taste of 'Grilled Unagi', 'Roasted Salmon' and 'Avocado' have pretty much explains why the 'Shiok Sushi' is so infamous and so 'Shiok' at the same time.

'Shiok Maki 2nd Generation' As for the 2nd Generation, it's pretty much similar to the original 'Shiok Maki', but the 'Grilled Unagi(eel) and 'Avocado' have been replaced by the 'Fried Prawns' and the nice sweet 'Mayonnaise' have been replaced by 'Mango Sauce'. Although the 'Fried Prawns' are pretty crispy, but I don't find it as good as the original 'Shiok Maki'. Probably because the most outstanding ingredient in the '2nd Generation' would be the 'Fried Prawns' and it have overshine the presence of the 'Salmon' and all the other ingredients.

The name of this place would be 'Koh Grill & Sushi Bar', which is located inside 'Food Republic'. And 'Food Republic' is located on level 4 of 'Wisma Atria Shopping Mall'.

Notes:

• Opening Hours:
  11:30 - 22:30 Daily

* Click here to find out more about 'Wisma Atria Shopping Mall'.