Not to be mistaken with the infamous place in Japan

I was browsing through various website the other day and I had come across this pretty interesting restaurant. And the most important point about this restaurant would be this amazing dish that is so so filling.... O.o...

'Thai Ice Tea' Being a heavy tea lover, I will always start off a good meal at a Thai restaurant with a good glass of 'Thai Ice Tea'. With a good amount of sweetness, topped with the nice aroma and taste of the tea leaves, makes this a pretty good drink to start your day.

Enough of the drink, it's time to move on to our 'Main', which compromise of a plate of 'Jasmine Rice' and...

'Stir-fried Soft Shell Crab with Yellow Curry' (Phunim Phad Pong Karee) The sinful thick curry would be a big (+). You can easily wipe out a bowl of white rice just by covering it with a sinful portion of curry gravy. Not only the gravy tastes good, the Soft Shell Crab that comes with it are pretty interesting too. Though you can easily count the number of Soft Shell Crabs that were given using your 10 fingers but that isn't the most important point. The most important point about this dish would be the fact that they are pretty crunchy, juicy and the taste of the curry has blend in nicely.

'I-Thim Nara' This comes with a scoop of Coconut Ice Cream and 8 other cups of interesting toppings. There's the crunchy 'Peanuts', 'Sweet Corns', sweet 'Nata De Coco', 'Attap Chee'(Palm Tree Seeds), 'Red Ruby' (Water Chestnut coated in Colored Sago), 'Lot Chong'(Pandan Flavored Rice Flour Droplets), 'Jackfruit' and 'Sticky Rice'. And iet the D.I.Y Game begins... Trust me, do not start with the 'Sticky Rice' first, else you will regret it. The scoop of ice cream is simply far too small as compared to the 8 different cups of toppings. As I wiped out 1/3 of the overall portion of toppings, the scoop of sweet coconut ice cream was completely gone. But it was fun mixing the different types of toppings of a different taste and texture and savor them at one go. At the earlier stage you might be mixing those that you favor the most, but as you move on, you will realize that you need a strong incentive to balance things a bit. And that's where the 'Sticky Rice' will step in. At the end of the day, despite of my huge appetite, I only to managed to wipe out 70% of all the toppings. And the nice waitresses over here was actually asking if I want the leftovers. A bit too much for my stomach therefore... Anyway if I happen to visit that restaurant again, I would probably just place an order for this, which is the most filling dessert that I have eaten up till now. :D

So where can you give the dessert a good try?

The name of this restaurant would be 'Nara Thai'. It currently has 2 outlets in Singapore. The one in the above shows the outlet located on Basement 3 of 'ION Orchard'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  11:30 - 22:00 Daily
  (Last order at 21:30)

* Click here to find out more about 'Nara Thai'.
^ Click here for the Facebook Page of 'Nara Thai'.
~ Click here to find out more about 'ION Orchard'.
# Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get in 'ION Orchard'.

Expanding Dim Sum...

I knew about the existence of this place since more than a decade ago. If I'm not mistaken, me and my school mates had dined at this restaurant once in a while back then. More than a decade has passed and I think that it's time to visit the place again. :)

This place is pretty crowded, especially when the weekend approaches. The group of us had finished the plate of peanuts within minutes, while waiting for our orders to appear

They have quite a spread for fried Dim Sum items over here. Though we only ended up placing an order for a few of them only. 'Prawn in Beancurd Skin'(鮮蝦腐皮卷) Not too oily, and yet it still has this crunchy touch, which makes this a pretty good Dim Sum. And most importantly not to forget about the tasty prawns. :) Alright, that's it. Time to move on to the steamed Dim Sum...

Left: 'Rice Roll with Char Siew'(叉燒腸粉) Right: 'Rice Roll with Prawn'(鮮蝦腸粉) The smooth texture would be a (+). Topped with a generous portion of ingredients make this a pretty decent plate of 'Rice Roll'.

Time for the Dumpling look alike Dim Sum. Left: 'Beancurd Skin Roll in Oyster Sauce'(耗油鮮竹卷) Right: 'Prawn & Mushroom Dumpling'(翅餃) Served warm, these succulent small bites can be delicious and dangerous at the same time. The soup within these small bites can burn your tongue easily.

Couldn't leave a Dim Sum place without giving the Buns a good try. Top: 'Char Siew Bun'(叉燒包) Bottom: 'Creamy Custard Bun'(流沙包) Loved the 'Creamy Custard Bun'. Though it's not the best but wrapped around the thick savory sweet lava would be the fluffy Pandan skin, which makes it a pretty good combination.

'Fragrant Rice with Chicken'(糯米雞) If you really want to save a bit, you can always go for 1 or 2 of the rice or congee dishes that they have listed on the menu. And this would be one of the better options. :)

'Yam Cake'(芋頭糕) Frankly speaking, I think that this would be the best item that was listed on their menu. Covered with a great amount of shrimps and spring onions, this is a pretty good deal. Faced it, I'm madly in love with this dish. As far as I know, this would be one of the best 'Yam Cake' in my area. As I took a bite off the 'Yam Cake', there's an immediate outburst of the fragrance of 'Yam' inside my mouth. On top of that, the chewy sensation would be another (+).

The above would give you a better idea of the dishes that they are offering over here.

The name of this restaurant would be 'Tak Po'(德宝). It's located along 'Smith Street', which is also located opposite 'Chinatown Complex Food Centre'.

Opening Hours:

• 07:00 - 22:30 Daily

* Click here for the location of 'Tak Po'(德宝) on Google Maps.

Gyoza Ya

I suddenly have the urge for 'Gyoza' the other day, therefore I started searching for good 'Gyoza' options in Singapore. I immediately set off for the place once I have decided on the restaurant.

'Jya Jya Noodles'(じゃじゃ麺) The appearance of this dish looks pretty similar to the Chinese Noodles, 'Zha Jiang Mian'(炸醤麺). Within that small little bowl, there's the flat and thick Japanese Noodles, 'Somen', 'Cucumber Stripes', 'Spring Onions' and most importantly the meaty 'Miso paste'.

The restaurant has also prepared an illustration showing the steps to enjoy a good bowl of 'Jya Jya Noodles'. And it's written in both English and Japanese. Besides for the appearance, the taste of the Noodles are pretty much similar to the 'Zha Jiang Mian' too. As you mix the chewy Noodles and the meaty paste together, the overall dish becomes pretty tasty. On top of that, I loved the chill sensation of the stripes of Cucumber. However, since the stripes of Cucumber are pretty thin, therefore it has lost the crunchy touch, which is kinda disappointing.

The would be the outcome, after spending a bit of time playing along with the illustration. It's pretty much similar to a bowl of Japanese Ramen that comes with a thick broth. Though the taste and the texture of the Noodles remains to be pretty good, but frankly speaking, I still prefer a bowl of Japanese Ramen much much more. :D

'Gyoza'(餃子) This would be the signatures of this restaurant. Besides for Boiled Dumplings, they are preparing and selling Pan-Fried Dumplings over here too. Best of all, from time to time, they would be releasing limited editions 'Gyoza' too. For example, they have released Pan- Fried Red King Crab Dumplings for the month of September. :D

'Yaki Azuki Gyoza'(焼き小豆餃子) Yes, indeed. These Red Bean Dumplings do comes in the shape of a dumpling and it's pretty sweet but these dumplings ain't good enough. This is mainly due to the fact that these Dumplings ain't crunchy enough, which is a big disappointment. :(

'Pan Fried Dumpling with Pork'(焼き餃子(豚)) As compared to the previous plate of Dumplings, this is amazingly good. There's a nice balance in the use of the meaty ingredients and the vegetables. On top of that, it has this crunchy sensation which is a must have for 'Pan-Fried Dumplings'.

The name of this restaurant would be 'Gyoza Ya'. It's located on basement 1 of 'Robinsons Orchard'.

Opening Hours:

• 11:30 - 20:00

* Click here to find out more about 'Gyoza Ya'.
^ Click here for the location of 'Robinsons Orchard' on Google Maps.

Noodles, Noodles, more Noodles...

Since my current workplace is located near the industrial district, therefore there ought to be numerous good dining options in that district. Therefore...

'Tom Yum Noodles' Not only it's spicy, the Noodles are pretty chewy and yummy too. They have managed to cook the Noodles such that the Noodles ain't soggy at all. On top of that, ingredients like the crunchy 'Ikan Bilis', minced meat, fried egg, etc... have been added into the bowl of Noodles too. But do be careful, if you are stirring too fast/vigorously, you might break the egg yolk and mixed it into the soup. Served hot and spicy, this makes it a pretty good meal during lunch hours. However, like many other places out there the queue over here can be pretty disturbing too.

So where can you give the Noodles a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Wang Jiao Handmade Noodle'(旺角手工面). It's located inside 'Ayer Rajah Food Centre 1'.

Opening Hours:

• 09:00 - 17:00
  (Closed on Weekends)
  
• Even though this place isn't air-conditional, but the afternoon crowd can be pretty scary. So either try to turn up early or...

* Click here for the location of 'Ayer Rajah Food Centre 1' on 'Google Maps'.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get at 'Ayer Rajah Food Centre 1'.

The 3C...

5C, something that represents the dreams of a typical Singaporean back then. So what does 3C represents? It simply means 'Crispy Crunchy Chicken'. And here's one of the recommended places where you can find the Halal 3C Chicken.

'3 Person Combo Meal' This kinda reminds me of the 8-piece Chicken set meal of KFC. Back then, we used to share the 8-piece Chicken set among the 3 of us. As for the set meal over here, it comes with 9-piece of 3C, a potato fries, a Coleslaw, a Mashed Potatoes, 3 buns and 3 regular drink. I'm not going to focus too much on the side dishes. What I can simply say is the taste and the overall sensation that I'm getting from the side dishes are pretty acceptable. Anyway...

Served hot, these pieces of Chicken aren't oily at all. In fact, the skin of the Chicken are pretty crispy and crunchy. After spending a bit of time chewing on the skin, it's time to move towards the succulent meat. The meat itself is a big surprise. Not only it's succulent, it's marinated nicely too. Despite of the fact that we need to finish up 3 pieces of Chicken each and share all the sides dishes, we still managed to finish up everything without crying for help. :P (The 3C Chicken are so good that it simply outshine the side dishes so so much.) In fact, if you are merely average eaters, the 3 Person Combo Meal is actually big enough to be shared by 3 or more persons.

So where can you give these 3C Chicken a good try?

The name of this Halal Fast Food restaurant would be 'Arnolds Fried Chicken'. They have a few branches island wide and the above shows the branch located on level 1 of 'Hougang Green Shopping Mall'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  11:00 - 22:00 Daily
• The opening hours of each individual branch varies. But most of them will be opened from lunch till late at night.

* Click here to find out more about 'Arnolds Fried Chicken'.
^ Click here for the location of 'Hougang Green Shopping Mall' on 'Google Maps'.

The organs hidden in a coffee shop...

How much good food can you get in the same coffee shop? I'm not sure about else where but over here, you can actually get more than one. For a coffee shop that occupies a small corner, that's pretty amazing.

'Pig Organ Set Meal' As compared to a normal bowl of 'White Rice', I personally prefer a bowl of 'Yam Rice' much much more.

'Yam Rice' The 'Yam Rice' that they are offering over here really comes with small chunks of 'Yam'. And the taste of it is something that one can really look forward to. The sweet taste of the bowl of rice is a (+).

As for the bowl of 'Pig Organ Soup', they didn't pour lots of pepper into the bowl, in fact rather than getting the overpowering pepperish taste, I'm actually getting the nice taste of the salted vegetables. As for myself, since I love the great taste of salted vegetables, I can easily finish the whole bowl of 'Yam Rice' just by finishing the strips of salted vegetables. But that's not all. Though it's a pretty small bowl of soup, but there's actually quite a variety of ingredients. There's 'Liver', 'Belly', 'Meat Balls', etc... At the end of the day, the delicious ingredients and the bowl of soup is worth the wait. In fact, the biggest problem over here isn't queuing/waiting but the time needed to find and secure a table during lunch hours :)

So where can you give the food a good try?

The name of this stall would be '5 Pig's Organ Soup'(5豬什湯). It's located inside 'Ban Heng Restaurant'(徐萬興餐室), which is located along 'Pasir Panjang Road'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  Mondays - Saturdays: mornings - 15:00
  (Closed on Sundays)

* Click here for the location of 'Ban Heng Restaurant' on 'Google Maps'.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get along 'Pasir Panjang Road'.

Not so mini after all...

'Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, supper like a pauper.' Research has proven that this is one of the best way to lose weight. As for myself, I don't really care about that but I do try to look for good dining options for lunch around my area. And this is one of the best options that is located near my current workplace.

'Sambal Kangkong with Chicken' Hmmm... actually I have tried most of the dishes on their menu. And this would be one of my favorite dish. For a start, they are pretty generous with their portions. In fact, there's a period where I realized that the portions are so big that I'm facing the difficulties of finishing up all the ingredients. Therefore I have decided to go for a bigger portion of rice(with no extra charge), in order to finish up everything that was served in the mini wok. On top of that, the taste of each and every dish are on par with the 'Cze Char' stalls that you are getting out there. Just for the 'Sambal Kangkong with Chicken' alone, the level of spiciness is pretty alright. In fact with spice lovers, you can always request for a higher level of spiciness. On top of that, the 'Kangkong' are so good that it remains a pretty nice level of crunchiness, which is one of the most important factors that determines a good/bad plate of 'Kangkong'.

So where can you give this dish a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Asian Mini Wok'. It's located inside 'Prince George's Park Residence, E-canteen'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  Lunch: 11:00 - 15:00
  Dinner: 17:00 - 21:00
• They might close pretty early depending on the business that day.
• Do checkout their 'Facebook' page for the latest updates on their opening hours.
• Oh and by the way, besides for the reason of avoiding the long queue during the peak lunch and dinner hours, there are some other reasons why I love to visit them during the off peak lunch hours. And I would let you figure that out yourself.

* Click here for the Facebook Page of 'Asian Mini Wok'.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get near
  'Prince George's Park Residence'.
~ Click here for the location of 'Prince George's Park Residence, E-canteen' on
  'Google Maps'.

Case of the missing finger...?

I have tried countless 'Fried Chicken' from different parts of Singapore, but this is the first time I'm giving 'Korean Fried Chicken' a try. But what makes it so different from the normal 'Fried Chicken'? That would be something that I will be exploring today. :)

'4 Fingers Crispy Chicken Set Meals' This would be one of their best sellers. It comes with both wings and drumettes topped with a small portion of fries and a drink. Over here, you get to choose the favoring for the Chicken. You can choose from 3 different sauces, they are 'Soy Garlic' or 'Hot' or 'Mix'. As for the fries that comes with the set meal, there are 2 different seasoning for you to choose too and they are 'Kim Chi' and 'Seaweed Red Pepper' fries. Anyway, I ended up choosing the 'Mix flavor' for the 'Chicken' and fries that doesn't come with any seasoning.

The fries are pretty normal for a start. Although they are neither too soft nor too crunchy, but there isn't anything special about the taste of the fries too. Probably I should have gone ahead with one of the seasonings, in order to get a unique experience. As for the 'Fried Chicken', it's actually quite different from the 'Western Fried Chicken'. Unlike the 'Western Fried Chicken' that comes with a thick crispy layer of coating, over here you won't be getting that. What you are actually getting over here would be a far more thinner and less oilier layer of deliciously marinated crispy coating. Though it's slightly a bit sticky too. However as you dig into the meat of the Chicken, the juicy and chewy sensation would be a big (+). It fact, the taste of the sauce is so good that I just couldn't stop myself from licking my fingers. :P But, it would be great if they can increase the portion much much more, so that heavy eaters like me wouldn't leave the place with an half emptied stomach.

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

The name of this restaurant would be '4 Fingers Crispy Chicken'. The above shows the outlet located on basement 4 of 'ION Orchard'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  10:00 - 22:30 Daily
• Not sure about the other outlets, but the queue at 'ION Orchard' just doesn't fails to amaze me. It just keeps going on and on. There's always a queue leading out of the place, every time I pass by the place.

* Click here to find out more about '4 Fingers Crispy Chicken'.
^ Click here for the Facebook Page of '4 Fingers Crispy Chicken'.
~ Click here to find out more about 'ION Orchard'.

Unexpected find....

Well, the world is full of surprises. As I wander around a shopping mall, looking at the meals that the restaurants are offering over here, I was pretty surprised that I can actually get these dishes at an amazingly low price... Introducing my dinner the other day...

The above would be my dinner the other day. A main dish and a vegetables dish. :D

'Minced Chicken Beancurd'(肉碎豆腐) If you are getting this dish at any other Chinese restaurants out there, most likely you will be getting a big cube of 'Pan Fried Beancurd' covered with lots of yummy sauce and lots of minced meat. Over here, they are replacing all the minced meat with chicken minced meat. Frankly speaking, there's isn't a very big difference in the overall taste of this dish as compared to the traditional dish. Although this dish comes in 1 size only, but it's big enough to be shared among a group of people. In fact, just this 1 plate of smooth 'Beancurd', all the chewy bits and the sweet gluey sauce, I can easily gobble down 2 or 3 bowls of rice effortlessly. :P

'Curry Fish Head'(咖喱魚頭) Pretty much similar to the previous dish, the chef over here are very generous with the amount of ingredients that was added into this dish. Besides for the red snapper fish head, vegetables like 'Lady's Finger', 'Brinjal', 'Fried Beancurd', etc... have been added into that small little pot of 'Curry'. In fact, just by taking a look at the pot from the side, you can easily spot some ingredients popping out of the pot of curry. Pretty much similar to the previous dish, the gravy of the 'Fish Head Curry' is pretty thick, milky and on top of that it was not very spicy. Too bad, I have decided to cut down on the amount of rice otherwise just by drenching a bowl of rice with lots of gravy can really encourage/boast my appetite to a whole new level. :D

So where can you give these dishes a good try?

The name of this restaurant would be 'Segar Restaurant'(食家小廚). It's a restaurant selling Halal Thai Chinese Cuisine. In fact 'Segar Restaurant'(食家小廚) alongside with 'West Co'z Cafe' and 'A-Poh Kitchen' are all under the same group. I have tried 2 out of 3 of the restaurants and I'm pretty impressed with it. Anyway this restaurant is located on basement 2 of the newly renovated 'Chinatown Point'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  11:30 - 21:30 Daily
• Anyway, every now and then, they would have these exciting good promotions going on. Do keep a lookout for their promotions, especially those that allows you to get a good pot of 'Curry Fish Head' at half the price. :P

* Click here to find out more about 'Segar Restaurant'(食家小廚).
^ Click here for the 'Facebook' page of 'Segar Restaurant'(食家小廚).
~ Click here to find out more about 'Chinatown Point'.
# Click here for the location of 'Chinatown Point' on 'Google Maps'.
** Click here for list of delicacies that you can find and get around 'Chinatown'.

It's too dry don't you think so?

Frankly speaking, I prefer it to be wet rather than being dry. However, every one has their own preferences. Though I still prefer the wet type far more, but there might be a group out there that prefer the dry type. Therefore...

'Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee' Depending on the skills of the chef, this can ended up to be pretty different. Over here, the stall owner has managed to fry each and every plate of Noodles to end up to be pretty dry, in terms of the appearance. This is mainly due to the fact that all the stock that was added throughout the process of preparing this dish has been absorbed by the ingredients. As I dig into this dish, despite of the lack in the amount of ingredients that were given, that's actually a rich taste of the stock coming from each and every bite. On top of that, despite of the appearance of this dish, I'm not experiencing a burnt taste and smell, which makes this a pretty tasty dish.

So where can you give the dry version of 'Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee' a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee'(海南福建炒蝦面). It's located inside 'Golden Mile Food Centre'.

Opening Hours:

• Thursdays - Tuesdays:
  Lunch: 11:00 - 14:00
  Dinner: 15:00 - 21:00
  (Closed on Wednesdays)

* Click here for the location of 'Golden Mile Food Centre' on 'Google Maps'.
^ Click here for list of delicacies that you can find and get around 'Golden Mile Food
   Centre'.

Chilli Mee doesn't just comes with Chilli only...

I was browsing around this food centre and I was coming across this interesting delicacy. Since this is pretty unique and I have a big passion for Noodles, therefore I think I should give this a try too. :)

'Chilli Mee'(Chilli Noodles) For a start, it doesn't just comes with a bowl of Noodles that is covered with lots of Chilli only. Besides for the Chilli, it also comes with ingredients like 'Prawns', 'Pork Ribs', slices of 'Fish Cake', slices of 'Hard Boiled Egg', 'Fried Beancurd' and beansprouts. In fact, the stall owner is pretty generous with the portion of ingredients that were given. The Noodles are covered with a mountain of ingredients, which is a (+). Anyway regardless of the fanciful ingredients, the biggest highlight over here would be the 'Chilli'. The stall owner are preparing the 'Chilli' themselves and ingredients like 'Belachan', 'Dried Shrimps', 'garlic', etc.. were added into that 'Chilli' throughout the process of making it. Frankly speaking, the taste of the 'Chilli' is pretty thick and tasty but I don't find it spicy enough. (Probably it might be due to my high level spicy food tolerance, therefore...) However, besides for the spicy sensation, there's also a good mix of sweetness in every single bit, which is another (+). Last but not least, the soup that comes with it is pretty savory too. Even though the queue can get pretty nasty during lunch hours, but it's definitely worth queueing up for the food over here. :)

SO where can you give the 'Chilli Mee' a good try?

The name of this stall would be 'Chung Cheng'(崇正). It's located inside 'Golden Mile Food Centre'.

Opening Hours:

• 08:00 - 20:30 Daily
  (Closed on Tuesdays)

* Click here for the location of 'Golden Mile Food Centre' on 'Google Maps'.
^ Click here for list of delicacies that you can find and get around 'Golden Mile Food
   Centre'.