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Sport & Recreation
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Expanding is always a problem for F&B operators, keeping to a solitary flagship store or opening new branches have their pros and cons. While it is good to retain it’s exclusivity by having just a solo location, it can be also a problem whereby you have limited seats to serve the ever-growing customers.
But having mutiple locations doesn’t necessary mean that it’ll be good for the business, even thought you have more accessible points, but the higher costs which comes along with it will poses a difficulty to the operators. However, the issue we are more concern with, will be the drop in quality of the food.
It is a common scene in the F&B industry with the increase in branches, the quality of the food will somehow be affected, and not on par with their original outlet. That’s why i don’t trust franchising, or the commercial restaurants. It can be a dilemma, and expanding should always be taken into consideration seriously.
Having went to Rong Guang @ Alexander Village, I was expecting the same standards at their other branch located at Ulu Pandan, near Sunset way. However, the same experience was not replicated this time round.
Rong Guang @ Ulu Pandan was much bigger than the one at Alexander Village (AV), they had their own area, which was spacious and could seat many. Ventilation was definitely much better than the stuffy hawker centre at AV. But the business there wasn’t as good, which only made us wonder why.
BBQ Sambal sting ray ($14)
The notable difference with the one at AV was the pricing. The small, medium and large portions were $10, 12, and 14 respectively, was more expensive than the pricing at AV, at $8, 10, 13. The sting ray here was not bigger than the one at AV, thus i concluded the higher price was because of their higher rental fee.
Sambal Kang Kong ($8)
One of the most popular dish in Zi-char stores, the sambal kang kong that we had was fierce and fiery with the sambal belachan. But the vegetables were too “old” and lacked the crunch, which rendered fail for this one.
Sweet & sour pork ($8)
I think i never mentioned before that i absolutely love sweet & sour pork, since my recent posts didn’t featured any at all. I’ve been looking around for good sweet & sour pork, but sadly to say, i couldn’t find any.
Good sweet and sour pork, must have the right amount of bite in the pork and the not-so-sweet nor the not-so-sour taste in the sauce. Needless to say, the one here wasn’t up to my expectations.
Prawn paste chicken ($8)
The prawn paste chicken, or Har Cheong Kai, was another dish that we always ordered at zi-char store. Its always freshly fried, not too oily, crispy on the skin, and juicy in the meat. With a twist of lemon on it, no wonder Har Cheong Kai is always a crowd favourite.
But the description that i had just mentioned was not about Rong Guang’s version. The prawn paste flavour was quite tame, and not strong enough. For a fried chicken its still all right, but it didn’t make the cut for a prawn paste chicken.
Prawn roll ($8)
As a kid, i always look forward to Chinese new year since my grandmother will always prepared lots of prawn roll, or heh zhor. The waterchestnuts and minced prawn and pork wrapped within the crispy skin, dipped in the sweet sauce, was always addictive.
Total Bill was $50.3 for 4 person, and like what i mentioned, prices here are slightly more than their original location at AV, and I think that food quality-wise, AV also fared better than the one here. Serving was very fast, less than 5 minutes for the dishes to be cook since there wasn’t much people eating there.
This actually bring about another question, since there aren’t much customers, which could mean that there is a possibility that the food is not as fresh as compared to AV which had better customers flow. Again, this is based on my personal opinion, and does not reflect the truth for Rong Guang. But for me, i’ll go back to Rong Guang @ Alexander Village, not this one.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Yesterday we mentioned that oyster omelete’s a crowd favourite in hawker centres, how can we missed our fried kway teow? Imagine this, you went abroad for a period of time, which local food will you missed the most? For me, it’s a no-brainer, i’ll definitely missed char kway teow the most. No matter how much i like chicken rice, duck rice, laksa, or the other local favourites, my heart remains with char kway teow.
Char kuay teow ($2.50)
A plate of greasy-looking kway teow and thick noodles fried in dark sauce, is always a good reason to put on some calories. High blood pressure, high cholestrol, I don’t care what you say, but i must have my fix of char kway teow! I will definitely order a plate of char kway teow from Xin Heng when i visit Bukit Timah food centre. Their rendition might not be the best out there, but it’s good enough for me to make perennial visits.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Oyster omelete or ‘hao jian’ is another popular dish in our local hawker scene. Who can resist the big pearly oyster together with the tasty omelete? Not me, i’m a big fan of omelete, but i’ll rather it be shrimp than oyster anyday.My family always frequent Heng Leong for their oyster omelete.
Fried Oyster Omelete ($4)
Although both oyster omelete and carrot cake both used eggs as the chief ingredient, but the former is always more expensive than the latter since oyster is being used. But given a choice, i’ll go for fried carrot cake since i don’t really like oyster. Back to the point, we felt that Heng Leong’s oyster omelete was not as good as it was before, the omelete wasn’t as well-fried, somehow, the feeling wasn’t right.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Soya beans are scientifically proven to have many benefits, personally i’ll like to think that bean curds from soya beans help to beautify the skin, because they are so so smooth and velvety! I always had my fix of bean curds from Soyako whenever i visited Bukit Timah food centre since its so near to my place.
I haven’t try the famous Yong He soy milk at Geylang, so there isn’t any board to compare against. But i like Soyako’s rendition, silky to the esophagus, and furthermore there’s a plus point, it’s freshly made on the spot!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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When i mentioned spaghetti, did you immediately thought of the mind-blowing carbonara at La Strada’s, or that excellent plate of pasta you had at Da Paolo’s, or even the relatively average angel hair at Bonta’s? You got me wrong of course, we are on a budget course here, and all your luxurious thoughts will crash with our initial plans. How about a plate of pasta at $4? What do you think?
Chicken and tomato pasta ($4)
Just nestled within Bukit Timah food centre, there’s Mien by Firstpasta, which was opened by the chef and his wife, with their children watching by the sidelines. There wasn’t anything intriguing about their pasta, just a generous and hearty portion of the Italiano’s staple.At $4, you can’t really complain! When you are on a budget deficit, and don’t have the lavish of buying the $30 spaghetti, here’s the place!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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With more and more of our heritage hawkers getting in their ages, it is difficult for them to continue whip out the delicious food that they have been doing everyday for so many years. And being a hawker isn’t a glamorous job, compared to being a banker, lawyer, teacher or other professionals. Therefore, most of the heritage hawkers don’t any successor, and we risk losing out all the good food, which our future younger generations will not live to eat.
Hock Lam Beef is the golden testimonial to beef kuay teow. Having been around since 1911, it is a wonder to see it continue serving out bowls of beef kuay teow everyday rain or shine up till today, for 97 years already! We have Tina, the 4th generation owner, who gave up her professional job and rather slug it out in the kitchen, so as to ensure our beef kuay teow will still be there.
To commemorate their 97th anniversary, Hock Lam decided to donate all their sales proceed on 1st Oct to to Operation Smile which is a worldwide movement to fix cleft palates in kids.
As proceeds for that day was all going to charity, Tina came up with a special menu, instead of their usual $4 a bowl beef kuay teow. There was three different selections, the beginner at $15 which had sliced beef plate. The original at $20, a mixed beef plate which included sliced beef, tendoin, tripe, shin and beef balls. And the “give me the whole cow” premium gourmet set at $30 which had the same stuff as the $20 set, with the exception of the sliced beef, and instead there was marbled shabu shabu beef.
Give me the whole cow gourmet set ($30)
The Gau lau mian (traditional dry noodles) was nice, with their sauce used. Besides having fresh beef, the other thing that makes or break a good beef kuay teow will definitely be the soup base. And Hock Lam’s one certainly was excellent. Personally i did not really like to eat beef kuay teow or noodles because from far i could detect the very strong beefy smell of the beef soup.
Hock Lam soup did not have a very strong beefy smell, but that did not mean that their soup wasn’t good, rather, the soup was very intense with beef flavours, which was evident of the many hours put in to cook the soup.
For the older generation and the traditional beef kuay teow purist, they might resist the idea of shabu shabu in a traditional shop like Hock Lam. But times are changing, and having gourmet beef at one of the best store serving Beef kuay teow, will be an interesting concept, which i believe appeals to the younger generations who will pay more for quality.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Just beside the “old-school” Love confectionery at Alexander Village which I just recommended, there’s another one by the name of Chinatown Tai Chong Kok Confectionery, which is also similarly traditional.
Egg cupcake ($1 for 3 small one)
I’m a devotee after just one bite of their egg cupcake. Soft, light, and fluffy, the egg cupcakes are really very good. And 3 for one dollar is cheap okay! I can easily finish half a dozen on my own. Gosh, i’m going to get more of them the next time.
Egg cupcake with red bean fillings ($1 for 1 big)
There’s also the bigger egg cup cake, which had red bean paste fillings at the bottom. But i was rather disappointed with it because there wasn’t anything special with the red bean paste, and the filling was just a little. I’ll think that three small ones are more than a big one, so take the 3 small one for a dollar instead.
Red bean biscuit
Their red bean biscuit was also worth the try, crispy pastry skin with generous fillings of the red bean paste.
Egg tart
Initially i was unsure about the egg tart because it didn’t seem to be very nice. But boy I had to take back my words after eating it. The egg custard was those watery kind, smooth and eggy!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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The constant upgrading and renovation of our heartlands, together with the ageing of the older chefs will mean that many delicious food will be soon extinct, and forever gone from us. We have seen many of your favourite childhood hawker stalls, and the old-school bakeries disappearing from our sight.
Love confectionery is located just beside the Alexander Village food centre, opposite of Queensway shopping centre. Having been there for very long, I knew about its presence before, but just didn’t pop in, until now.
Cream puffs ($0.40 each)
The cream puffs was merely 40 cents each, yes 40 cents! They came in two flavours, cream and custard. We immediately grabbed half a dozen of this, and looked around to see if there’s other steals, but to our disappointment, most of the their other bakes were sold out already.
The custard puffs were not too bad, i wasn’t too sure whether i’ll like them or not, so i only had two out of the six i got. The eggy taste was evidently present, and you could do yourself no harm since they are only 40 cents each.
The cream puff was good, the pastry skin was soft and fluffy, the only gripe - it wasn’t sinful enough. Of course you can’t compare it with the one at Beard Papa with such a big differential in price, but i did find that the cream used here wasn’t that fantastic, if only it’s made with the superior Japanese cream.
I think i’m asking too much for a cream puff which was 40 cents. Given the price, and the nostalgic of the cream puff, do grabbed a dozen the next time round.
Butter cakes ($0.90 each)
They also had two types of butter cakes that day, with the body being the same, peanut and almond separating both. It’s so old-school! The butter cake was very soft, and to say it melt softly with a deft bite wasn’t exaggerating.
Total bill was $4.80 for half a dozen cream puffs and two slices of cakes. They have other type of bakes, but it was either sold out or wasn’t available when i was there that day. I’ll probably get a dozen of those cream puffs the next time i’m in the area. And oh by the way, just to not mislead you, they don’t serve the pastry there, i brought them home to put on nice plates for the photos!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Momoteapots has been around for a bit and has quite a large following. I chanced upon it a couple of months ago and have been drooling over their pretty clothes.
What I like about this blogshop is how they maintain being polite. Even when they talked about fraud in their site, they didn't sound unnecessarily angry and explained their reasons for requesting for receipts from customers. They even apologised for the inconvenience caused, which is great!
The prices are very reasonable. Not only that... the photographs they take are good and they try to show the clothing in all angles which is what I love most. Somehow some other shops when trying to make the clothes look nice, they forget to show you what the back looks like. But Momoteapots always shows the best they can which I think it really commendable.
They have a wide range of clothing, needless to say I'm not a fan of ALL their clothes because they have to cater to different tastes but I do like quite a number of stuff they have. They mostly have dresses (which are easier to buy online anyway) and sometimes bags and belts.
They even maintain a facebook account to keep in touch with their customers!
My only grievance is that I wish they would update more often!!!! But then I would spend money much more often toooo haha :)
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There are so many different types of desserts out there, so what’s your favourite? Chocolate cakes? Gourmet cheesecakes? Everybody has their own preference, i’ll say i love any types of desserts, and will willingly try all of them. The thing that i enjoyed about the pastry is that they ain’t just pretty to look at, they are also delightfully good.
So does that means that you can’t have a good chocolate cake if you want a similarity excellent cheesecake? Fortunately at Obolo, you can have the best of both worlds without any compromise.
From what was then an online patisserie to the boutique patisserie you see today at Joo Chiat, Obolo has gone a long way serving its gourmet cheesecakes and chocolate cakes. The flagship store opened in June 2007, almost a year plus already, provided a retail avenue for Obolo to showcase its repertoire of desserts.
The boutique de pâtisserie had a sleek and clean look, with the clever use of mirrors to create a bigger impression of the place. Nonetheless the small pastry restaurant can hardly sit more than 10, and it’s quite a squeeze in there.
Obolo’s famous for their signature New York cheesecake, which looked stunning with three ginormous strawberries. But we couldn’t possibly missed out on Noisette, and since we favoured chocolate over cheese, we decided to pick the latter. My friend and I decided to opt for an all-out chocolate feast, with all our selections chocolaty to prevent a clash of flavours over the chocolate and cheese.
Noisette ($6.70)
Dark chocolate mousse, caramelised toasted hazulnuts, crunchy praline feullitine, chocolate genoise. Noisette was the cake that put Obolo among the Sunday Times top 50 cakes. It got a smooth texture, not overly sweet. The Noisette was rich with chocolate and hazelnut flavours.
I particularly enjoyed the crunchy praline feullitine base, but the layer was too thin! It would definitely be better if there’s another layer in between the mousse.
Le Cassis ($6.70)
Dark Chocolate ganache mousse, cassis ivoire mousse, praline feulletine base and moist dark chocolate-almond biscuit layers. Le Cassis certainly looked pleasing to the eyes with its bright colour combination. The sour blackcurrent actually helped to smooth out the sweetness of the cake, which created a nice balance between sweet and sour.
With the cassis (blackcurrent) ivorie mousse on top, and the dark chocolate mousse enveloped in between the two layers of chocolate-almond biscuit, it provided a good blend of different taste. The cassis sour, the dark chocolate slightly bitter-sweet, the chocolate biscuit layer and the praline feulletine base added the crunchy sweet component.
Bittersweet Macaron ($1.80)
To continue with the chocolate-feast, we had the bittersweet macarons. Dark chocolate, not too sweet nor too bitter, just nice for the taste bud. It could be a double-edge thing though, in the shoe of those who didn’t fancy bitter chocolates, this would do nicely. But for the dark chocolate purist, the bittersweet macarons could be a tad sweet.
Hazelnut Macaron ($1.80)
The hazelnut taste was definitely there, the texture of the hazelnut macarons shells were chewy and the fillings in between was velvety and fulsome. Being a hazelnut fan, I immediately went for this one when i saw the lists of flavours available, with the others being cassis, rose, pistache, mango passion, raspberry, ruby, chocolate passion, vanille, and pabana.
Total bill was $17 for 2 cakes and 2 macarons, which made a nice treat for after-meal desserts. Obolo definitely got prospect with its gourmet cheesecake and range of desserts, which made me wondered why didn’t they set up a branch in town. Obolo’s owner June explained that they are looking into expanding, so we can be looking forward to another branch probably next year.
With around 11 different type of cakes to choose from, Obolo is constantly coming up with new flavours, having said that, you should be able to find one that suits your taste bud. Prices can be considered slightly high given their inaccessible location, and that Canele’s charging similar prices. But i think for the Easterners, Obolo’s definitely a place for your treats of desserts.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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