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'.

The length of a strand of Noodles...

Since this restaurant is located near one of my favourite Cinema Singapore, it never fail to attract my attention as I walk passed the restaurant back then. This post should give you a rough idea why I have decided to give this restaurant a try.

'Shanxi Noodle in Sparking Oil'(陝西油泼面) The complimentary bowl of soup that comes with this is terrible. The taste is a bit too bland for me and on top of that, it has no 'character'.... :P

Noodle wise, this is kinda special for handmade Noodles. It's much more broader than the common flat 'Rice Noodles'. On top of that, it's far more chewy and thicker than 'Rice Noodles'. However, even with lots of mixing and stirring, the Noodles still ended up to be pretty dry for me. Though the sauce isn't salty at all, and there's a fair portion of vegetables, but probably because it doesn't comes with meaty ingredients, therefore I also find it kinda plain. :| I was expecting it to be spicy but the kick isn't there to boast my interest at all too. Though the first bowl of Noodles didn't turn out to be fantastic, but...

'Sichuan Dan Dan Noodles'(四川担担面) All the Noodles dishes over here will come with a complimentary bowl of soup.

Unlike the previous bowl of Noodles, this comes with a good mix of Vegetables and meaty ingredients. But this isn't interesting enough. The most interesting part would be...

the length of the Noodles. There's only one strand of Noodles in this bowl. I tried to mixed it thoroughly and I have difficulty finding the head and the tail. In fact, they were boasting that the length of the Noodles can go up to a length of 10 metres long. Taste wise, this is much better as compared to the previous bowl of Noodles. The springy Noodles are not only chewy, there's a good mix of meaty sauce too. To a certain extent, each individual bite comes with a nice meaty sensation, which is not too salty too. This might be one of the ideal place for a bowl of healthy Noodles. Though I also find the strand of Noodles pretty interesting too.

So where can you give the Noodles a try?

The name of this restaurant would be 'Din Gi Noodle House'(鼎记面馆). It's located on basement 2 of 'Plaza Singapura'.

Opening Hours:

• 11:00 - 22:00 Daily

* Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get at 'Plaza Singapura'.

Nothing to do with the Shoujo Manga...

If you are pretty familiar with infamous Manga(Japanese Comics) Titles, you will easily understand why I have given this post such a title. Anyway, I have given the following a try the other day...

'Houjicha Shiratama Parfait'(Houjicha and Rice Flour Dumplings Parfait) Though the 'Parfait' idea was originated from the West, but the first time I have actually given it a try was a few years back in 'Kyoto', 'Japan'. As for the 'Parfait' over here, for a start the 'Houjicha' syrup that is poured on top of the 'Parfait' is pretty thick, strong and they have managed to bring out the rich and smoky taste of the Japanese 'Houjicha'. The same goes for the 'Houjicha' ice cream that comes with it. In order to appreciate a 'Parfait' to the maximum, I think that you shouldn't be eating the ingredients separately. You should try scooping 2 or more types of ingredients at 1 go. Besides for the 'Houjicha' stuff, ingredients like the Chewy 'Shiratama'(Rice Flour Dumplings), crispy 'Corn Flakes', Chewy 'Kanten Jelly', etc... were added too. Therefore, there's a nice mixture of different types of ingredients(in terms of the texture and the taste) that are brought together and produce this nice and interesting 'Parfait'. Hence, if you are into 'Hojicha' and ice cream, I think that this would be one of the better places that offers such a delicious combination. :D

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

The name of this restaurant would be "nana's green tea". It's located on 'Plaza Singapura' level 3.

Opening Hours:

• 11:00 - 10:00 Daily

* Click here to find out more about "nana's green tea".
^ Click here for the Facebook page of "nana's green tea".
~ Click here for the list of delicacies that you can find and get at 'Plaza Singapura'.

Not just Pasta and Sausages...

This would be my first visit to the new shopping mall 'Jem'. Rather than walking around the shopping mall aimlessly, I was actually invited to a food tasting event at a 'European Restaurant'. And the following are the list of items that we have tasted that day. :D

'Roasted Pork Knuckle (Half)' served with Sauerkraut, Light Brown Sauce and Mashed Potato 'Pork Knuckle', a difficult delicacy to savour. So why is it a difficult delicacy? While trying out the 'Pork Knuckle' that different types of restaurants are offering, I find the part of cutting the extremely crispy skin to be the most annoying. Some of the 'Pork Knuckle' out there in the market are as hard as a rock and the dining experience could easily turn into an unpleasant one. As for the 'Pork Knuckle' over here, they have nicely sliced it up into small slices, which makes it much more easier to be shared among a group of friends. Although I find parts of the skin to be a bit too tough, but the meat is pretty tender and it goes well with all the side dishes.

'CurryWurst' Though it's known as 'CurryWurst', it's actually 'Bratwurst'(a type of German Sausage) topped with 'Curry Powder', 'Ketchup' and 'Onions'. The 'CurryWurst' were crispy on the outside and it's juicy, bouncy and tender on the inside. On top of that, the nice mixture between the taste of the 'Curry Powder' and the 'Sausage' is heavenly and it's worth a big (+). Fries wise, isn't something special, but you can dipped it in the sauce to enhance the taste of the fries even further.

'Chicken Corden Bleu' The breaded chicken breast meat are stuffed with smoked ham and cheese and it's added to a pool of mushroom cream sauce and 'Spatzle' + 'Purple Cabbage'. Probably the first 2 items are far more tasty and meaty than this dish, therefore I find the taste of this dish to be pretty ordinary. And it's the pool of delicious 'Mushroom Sauce' and the chewy ingredients that have gained my attention.

'Honey Ginger Chai Latte' Since this is suppose to be a mixture of 'Honey', 'Ginger' and 'Chai', I was hoping that there would be a mixture of both spicy and sweet taste. However, the end product seems to be neither here nor there and the taste seems to be pretty normal for a 'Chai Latte'.

'Ambush Paella' This dish comes with lots of seafood ingredients. There's 'White Clams', 'Mussels', 'Queen Scallop', 'Prawns', 'Sliced Bacon' and 'Sausages'. The rice itself ended up to be sticky but the taste of the ingredients have blend into the rice nicely. However, the portion is kinda small for an individual.

'Baby Scallop & Flying Fish Roe - Squid Ink Sauce' This is a plate of 'Black Coloured Pasta' topped with Japanese 'Hotate'(Scallop). Though the overall texture of the 'Pasta' is slightly a bit oily, but the overall taste is pretty interesting. In fact, there's a mix of butter and squid ink in every single bite, which is amazingly interesting. :P

'Char Grilled Lamb Saddle Steak' The chewy steak is pretty tender and it doesn't comes with the strong odour of 'Lamb'. However, probably I'm not so much into the 'Lamb', therefore I ended up spending more time savouring the vegetables and 'Mashed Potatoes' more than anything else.

'Crispy Chicken & Seaweed - Aglio Olio Ambush Style' Although the texture of the pasta is slightly a bit oily, but the taste and the crispy of the fried chicken is pretty good. When you have mix all the ingredients together, the nice mix of crunchy and chewy ingredients is a good combination. :P

'Poulet Roti' The specially marinated 'Chicken' not only tastes good, the succulent meat is a (+) too. But after giving numerous meaty dishes a try, I ended up spending more time digging into the vegetables, 'Mustard Mashed Potato' and the mushroom sauce. :P

'Schweinmedallion' Pan grilled slices of 'Pork' surrounded with a pool of 'Mushroom Sauce' and side dishes like 'Spatzle' and 'Purple Cabbage'. The texture of the meat is slightly a bit more dry and firm than the 'Pork Knuckle' and you probably need to add a bit of 'Mushroom Sauce' over it to enhance the taste of the meat further. Now it's time for some desserts...

'Molten Chocolate Brownie' A mix of both hot and cold ingredients. The hot chocolate brownie is topped with a scoop of 'Vanilla' ice cream.

'Tiramisu' This is a pretty innovative way to serve the 'Tiramisu'. You will be given a plate of breadcrumb sticks and you actually have to dip and scoop out the dessert yourself.

'Apple Crisp' Probably because I'm not a big fan of chocolate, therefore out of all the desserts that I have tried over here, I find the taste of this to be the best. It's a slice of apple pie topped with a scoop of 'Vanilla' ice cream and sweet 'Caramel' syrup.

'Chocolate Lava Souffle' The last item that we tried that day would be this. Though it's a 'Lava' cake, but there isn't a lot of 'Lava' flowing out of the cake when we slice it open.

So where can you give all these 'European Food' a try?

The name of this 'European Restaurant' would be 'Ambush'. The above shows the outlet located on level 4 of 'Jem'.

Notes:

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

* Click here for the 'Facebook Page' of 'Ambush'.
^ Click here to find out more about 'Jem'.

Appetizers buffet for FREE*

We, human beings are the greediest species on earth. Despite of the size of our stomach, when we are hungry, we will feel like eating different types of food. Therefore, it would be great if we can try a large variety of food at one go.

At this restaurant, you can give the Appetizers buffet a try for FREE*. It includes japanese dishes like 'Soba', 'Takoyaki', 'Chawanmushi', etc. Since it's free, the taste of most of the appetizers are pretty normal. However, there are some exceptions too. I personally find the 'Onion Steak' (Image on the top left hand corner) to be exceptionally good. The chefs have added some spicy touch to the fried crunchy onion slices. The overall taste and the texture of the onion slices are pretty good and interesting. By the way, if you really want to give the Appetizers buffet a try, there is this simple condition that you would have to fulfill. The condition requires each customer to place an order for a Japanese Set Meal, isn't that simple and easy? :P

'Eel & Clams Rice Box Set' My favourite Japanese set Meal would be 'Eel Rice Box Set'. Therefore, I ended up placing an order for this the other day. The delicious taste that you are getting when you mix all the 3 main ingredients(Eel, clams and cucumber) together are fantastically good. The crunchy cucumber and the fresh ingredients are something that one could really look forward to. (By the way, most of the set Meal at this restaurant are within the price range of $10 - $30.)

The name of this restaurant would be 'Hifumi'. The above shows the branch located in 'Plaza Singapura'.

Opening Hours:

• 11:30 - 10:00

* Click here for the Facebook page of 'Hifumi'.

Queue for 180 minutes...?

Seriously speaking, how long are you willing to queue up for delicacies that you have not eaten before? Frankly speaking, I'm not sure about all you lot out there, but as for myself, I think I have spent more than 180 minutes queueing up for something new and that would be...

'Dim Sum' For a start, let me show you the menu of this new Hong Kong restaurant. (Basically, it should also give you a rough idea of how much food the group/three of us have ordered too. :P) For a start, let's go over the '4 heavenly Kings'(四大天王) first and I'm not referring to the '4 heavenly Kings' of the Hong Kong Pop Music industry. I'm referring to the '4 heavenly Kings' of this restaurant and they are...

'Baked Bun with BBQ Pork'(酥皮焗叉烧包) This is very different from all the normal 'Bun with BBQ Pork'(叉烧包) out there. I think the chef might have steam the 'Dim Sum' to a certain degree, before baking it? Therefore the texture of the bun has this crispy touch on the outside and the meat inside the bun were pretty juicy and delicious. Seriously, this is no doubt that this is one of the best 'Bun with BBQ Pork'(叉烧包) that one could find in Singapore up till today. If you happen to be dining at this restaurant, this is definitely a must try...

'Pan Fried Carrot Cake'(香煎萝卜糕) This is very different too. Although the looks of it were pretty much similar to all the 'Carrot Cake' out there, but the way that the chef are preparing it is pretty different. Rather than mashing all the ingredients, I think that the radish were shredded before it was added to the batter. Therefore, as you take a bite from this 'Dim Sum', besides for the soft texture, you will also be getting a crunchy touch of radish, which I personally find it pretty nice and yummy.

'Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver'(黄沙猪润肠) Although the silky smooth vermicelli roll blends with the sauce pretty nicely, but I don't think that it can blend with the taste of the Pig's Liver pretty well. It's not that the Pig's Liver isn't too fresh or what, I just personally find the taste of the Pig Liver to be far more stronger, which kinda spoilt the overall taste.

'Steamed Egg Cake'(香滑马来糕) This is my bad. I think that I was busily satisfying my taste buds that I have completely forgotten to take a photo of this. Basically, I only have a word to describe this 'Dim Sum' and that would be fluffy. Taste wise, it's pretty much the same as all the hot steam Malay cake out there, except for the fact that it's much more fluffy.

Besides for the 4 heavenly Kings(四大天王) of this restaurant, what are some other 'Dim Sum' that one should be trying?

'Spring Roll with Egg White'(赛螃蟹春卷) The crispy skin of this 'Dim Sum' isn't too oily and it's filled with ingredients like Egg White, Crab meat and vegetables. Although one couldn't really taste the crab meat, but the good combination of crispy skin and delicious ingredients has definitely made it to the top of the to-try list.

'Glutinous Rice Dumpling'(古法糯米鸡) The appearance of this 'Dim Sum' might be ordinary looking, but the taste of it is pretty good. The chef have added a generous portion of ingredients into this and some of the ingredients are salted egg, chicken chunks, mushrooms, sausages, etc... Seriously, I wonder how much time was needed to steam this nice dumpling. The fragrance of the leafs have covered the dumpling completely and on top of that, the taste of the ingredients has blend into the rice too, which makes it very very delicious.

'Dumpling Teochew Style'(潮州蒸粉果) I think that this is pretty interesting. If you have tasted a 'Soon Kueh'(笋粿) before, most of the ingredients were included into this dumpling. This was probably my first few encounter with a dumpling that comes with peanuts too. The overall taste of this 'Dim Sum' was pretty interesting and nice too. :D

'Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake'(杞子桂花糕) This is a pretty refreshing dessert. Being a tea lover, I love the nice 'Osmanthus' taste of this dessert. It's pretty much similar to a jelly, but the cold gelatinous texture were pretty soft and nice. By adding 'Tonic Medlar' to it, it have also amplify the fragrance and taste of the dessert to something far more better too.

Some other desserts.
'Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork' (蜜味叉烧肠)	'Prawn Dumpling' (晶莹鲜虾饺)	'Pork Dumpling with Shrimps' (鲜虾烧卖皇)
'Beancurd Skin Roll with Pork & Shrimp' (美味焖鲜竹卷)	'Beancurd Skin Roll with Shrimp' (鲜虾腐皮卷)	'Beef Ball with Beancurd Skin' (陈皮牛肉球)

So where can you give all these delicious looking 'Dim Sum' a try?

The name of this restaurant would be 'Tim Ho Wan'(添好运). It's located on level 1 of the extended portion of 'Plaza Singapura'.

Notes

• Operating Hours:
  10am - 10pm Daily
• To avoid the long queue, please start queueing outside the restaurant as early as possible. Seriously, you wouldn't want to end up queueing outside the restaurant for more than 3 hours. (I started queuing from 1:20pm onwards. My friend started queuing outside the restaurant before noon and he only ended up queueing for an hour or so.)

* Click here for the Facebook Page of 'Tim Ho Wan'.
^ Click here for the location of 'Plaza Singapura' on Google Maps.
~ Click here for the list of delicacies at 'Plaza Singapura'.