When you see the stall, you might mistaken it for a tze char stall with the signboard showing dishes usually associated with one. The brief story behind this muffin shop is that the son took over the original tze char stall in the hawker centre after a certain chain of events and converted it to specialize on muffins. Since then, there was no turning back.
I guess business is pretty good as I sometimes get an apology from the boss saying that he ran out of the popular flavors by lunchtime on a week day.
So it did take few occasions before I managed to try out a few of the flavors. Suffice to say, there was good reason for the muffins to sell out so quickly.
The banana walnut muffin was an absolute joy to sink your teeth into the fluffy texture similar to the fa-gao with slices of sweet banana laid on the crown and crunchy walnuts throughout. It was not overly sweet and you can taste the ingredient properly.
They also have flavors like oreo, orange peel, chocolate and a savory ham and cheese flavor.
The best part is that the muffins are pretty large, almost one's fist and yet priced really cheaply at $1.20 per piece.
And just before you leave the stall with your spoils, the boss will remind you that his is the first fortune muffin in the world, thanks to the little slip of paper placed between the base of two paper cups.
You would think that there would be some proper service standards in an atas area such as Dempsey. But NO, thanks to La Forketta, I can relate so well with people who experience bad service which sticks out like a sore thumb. So appalled, I am mooting for this place to be renamed to Forget it Lah! as a tribute to this abomination of a restaurant.
Arrogant twits for wait staff It is clear as glass that the GEMS (Going the Extra Mile for Service) programme never saw the light of day here at Forget it Lah!. None of them even displayed a hint of a smile. Either the wait staff all have facial muscular disorder and will suffer traumatic cramps upon smiling and keel over and die, or they are all extremely buey gam wan (read: pissed with everything, everyone, every time). I'll do you guys a service here by providing some revelation: The only wait staff who have such a privilege of not smiling is one with a French accent as thick as the Great Wall of China. Don't confuse French and Italian cuisine. Hell, even French waiters smile readily for that matter.
Like customers owe them a living While we can live with wait staff that give the buey gam wan look by simply ignoring them, it is a whole new level when they just take their own sweet time for everything and telling you off for it. While I believe there should be staff welfare, but there is also welfare abuse. At Forget it Lah! we know it is the latter. While seated at a corner, I saw many wait staff standing outside relaxing and taking puffs of smoke while the restaurant was occupied at every table. (Full because, surprise! Slow service = slow patron turnover) So basically, patrons have to wait for not only the food to be prepared, but also for the wait staff who need to take their break after every dish served to the table. Yes, I am sure waiting tables is a life-and-death-kind-of-stressful profession that warrants that kind of de-stressing activity. I don't even want to imagine how the stinky toxic from cigarettes interact with the food.
Cheating your money with bread and water With bread automatically served, you are also automatically charged an exorbitant price for the plain old roti. You are forced to order their atas water because they can't afford proper plumbing in Singapore, where the water is tested to be purer than any atas mineral water and can fight tooth decay. There are ways to do business, and there are underhand ways to do business, but there is the Forget it Lah! way to do business that is in a league of its own.
During my course of work, I came across a place in ulu Lim Chu Kang where there would be a Valentine's Day dinner. So curious me decided to just try it out. Besides the traveling required, both the girlfriend and I were pleasantly surprised by this place called Petals and Leaves at Gardenasia.
For Valentine's Day, a number of partners and sponsors collaborated to make this event at Petals and Leaves possible, notably Eternally Yours by Vernetta Lopez (ironically divorced from Mark Richmond) which did up the decor for the angelic theme for the night. The wait staff even put on cupid wings. The girlfriend and I liked the details of white feathers, curtains and hearts which ushered the patrons to the seat. We also liked the spaciousness between the tables unlike restaurants in more accessible areas where couples have to be crammed so close together, you can hear the other couple's secrets. Plus there was no need to rush as they were open from 7pm till 11pm for that evening. On top of that, we also got to do some "area inspection" of the venue. With plenty of greenery and tranquil quietness, it was our kind of a nice place.
The dinner we had 4 courses with the mains of either fish, chicken or lobster to choose from. We took the fish and chicken with suspicions that the portion of lobster would be minuscule.
The food served is pretty decent, with the only grouse being the temperature which was rather cold, probably due to mass production. The pace at which the courses were served was also quite thoughtful, with the attentive wait staff making their rounds to ensure the plates are cleared.
In between the courses, the girlfriend and I inspected our goodie bags and were quite pleased with sample vials of fragrances, Godiva chocolates, audio CDs, red packets (it was during Chinese New Year) tissue packs, discount vouchers and massage vouchers (which can only be redeemed from Mondays to Thursdays in Horsecity, i.e. somewhat pointless)
The live band was also a wonderful mood setter as they belted out numerous sentimental songs and jazz standards. Unfortunately, the vocalist also had a rather morbid and graphic sense of humor that can can only be better appreciated in a pub lounge setting. Though I must commend her for being able to take in ground requests and singing even without knowing the lyrics to the whole song, letting good showmanship take over.
Overall, it is a lovely little paradise to spend Valentine's Day. Just remember to plan for the transportation and bring along a bit of insect repellent.
Bobosaid: Wow... very beautiful :) 20 Feb 2008 at 9:38 pm
Polarbearsaid: The address look very super ulu! 21 Feb 2008 at 12:29 am
kormmandossaid: Actually you can get there with the Kranji Express a.k.a. the yellow mini-bus from Kranji MRT, so it is accessible, but still ulu. 21 Feb 2008 at 1:28 am
Polarbearsaid: oic I know where alr. Near gardenasia rite? 21 Feb 2008 at 8:51 am
kormmandossaid: Yes, in fact Petals 23 Feb 2008 at 1:22 pm
I don't commonly patronize a Chinese restaurant in a small group. The neighborhood kopitiam or food centre usually have something similar without the pinch on the pocket. But this time, an occasion calls for it, and I am glad I get to try this place out when the Girlfriend decided to treat her god-family and me together.
Imperial Treasure (Cantonese Cuisine) is somehow extremely popular for weekend dining. The food is pretty good and you can even have a private dining experience in one of the exclusive rooms. However, I had dined the spacious common area which was nevertheless a nice place. The intricate decor was a pleasant sight to behold and it added to the positive experience.
Service standards here is really good with attentive staff literally seeing to every table they walk past. Response was quick and always reassuring when reactions from them required longer time. The staff are evidently well-trained, pleasant and extremely helpful.
The food here, though on the pricey side is a testament of the chefs experience and skill.
The roast goose was perfectly done with the skin crispy and the meat well-cooked but remaining tender to the bite. The special plum sauce accentuates the texture of the meat as well as the crispy skin.
The next dish was a tofu dish. The tofu was deep-fried on on the outside but soft and delicate on the inside and place on over a layer of spinach. A thick, tasty mushroom-based gravy is generously drizzled over them. The gravy and the tofu blended very well together while the spinach helped to clear palate for the next dish.
The third dish was Sweet and Sour Pork. I found this dish more on the sweet side, but it was still pretty good with the meat chunks crispy to the bite despite being totally covered in the sweet and sour sauce. The side vegetables of diced capsicums and pineapples provided a good balance of taste.
We then had sauteed fresh prawns. The prawns were deep fried before being sauteed with seasoning as the shells were crunchy and edible, especially the head. Every bite released a pleasant fragrance from the head shell and the flesh had the crunchiness only available from fresh prawns.
We then realized that it took a very long time for our Winter Melon Soup to be served. We asked the wait staff twice for the item only to have them reply that "it will come soon". It was only when the dish arrived did we understand why it had taken so long. The soup was served in an actual winter melon. To serve, the wait staff had to scrap out the winter melon flesh. carefully so as not to break the skin. The contents were served in small bowls. The soup was light and flavorful at the same time and really tasty with plenty of condiments. In total, the winter melon held 14 portions of soup which we were able to finish eventually.
The food here was great and I would love to come back for more.
Tucked in a quiet corner of Shaw Leisure Gallery is a little surprise called Tom's Palette which sells home-made ice cream.
When curious me entered their premises for the first time, I was greeted by sincere counter staff who are really proud of their little ice cream parlour and their flavours. That pretty scared me away, plus I had no intention for ice cream that day.
So a few hours ago, I decided to go for it. I stepped in to the ice cream parlour, got greeted by the rather sweet lady boss (I think), tasted the Oreo Cheesecake flavour, which was good, but settled for their Pisang Honey Walnut and Horlicks flavours in a small cup. You get to taste 2 flavours in a small cup at no extra charge and each cup is $2.80, which is considerably cheaper than other ice cream places. I thought it is a good tactic, to create a sense of value that the customer can taste 2 flavours for the price of one. It definitely helps those who can't decide between flavour 1 and flavour 2.
Their ice cream is definitely one of the better ones I've tasted. Rich in flavour and really smooth texture, slightly creamier than the Japanese ice creams. I really enjoyed their Horlicks flavour which I believe had extra amounts of the ingredient to pack the extra punch. The Pisang Honey Walnut though only managed to leave a mild impression with a weak banana flavour. But at least they were generous with the walnuts.
Anyway, overheard a conversation between the staff and a customer, there was apparently a batch of cockles flavoured ice cream... see-hum ice cream? Ice cream mai hum? mai hum, mai hum, hai hum...
fennielynsaid: yummy, thanks for the reck! I'll definite have to check this out, being an ice-cream addict (well besides a chocolate one that is) 07 Feb 2008 at 2:36 pm
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The brief story behind this muffin shop is that the son took over the original tze char stall in the hawker centre after a certain chain of events and converted it to specialize on muffins. Since then, there was no turning back.
I guess business is pretty good as I sometimes get an apology from the boss saying that he ran out of the popular flavors by lunchtime on a week day.
So it did take few occasions before I managed to try out a few of the flavors. Suffice to say, there was good reason for the muffins to sell out so quickly.
The banana walnut muffin was an absolute joy to sink your teeth into the fluffy texture similar to the fa-gao with slices of sweet banana laid on the crown and crunchy walnuts throughout. It was not overly sweet and you can taste the ingredient properly.
They also have flavors like oreo, orange peel, chocolate and a savory ham and cheese flavor.
The best part is that the muffins are pretty large, almost one's fist and yet priced really cheaply at $1.20 per piece.
And just before you leave the stall with your spoils, the boss will remind you that his is the first fortune muffin in the world, thanks to the little slip of paper placed between the base of two paper cups.

feizhu said: 
Polarbear said:
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Tried this about half a year back. Prefer those from Choc & Spice. But the ones from bliss are bigger ;)
04 Mar 2008 at 11:28 pm
Hmm... new muffin place to try. Thks for the review.
05 Mar 2008 at 8:47 am
You would think that there would be some proper service standards in an atas area such as Dempsey. But NO, thanks to La Forketta, I can relate so well with people who experience bad service which sticks out like a sore thumb. So appalled, I am mooting for this place to be renamed to Forget it Lah! as a tribute to this abomination of a restaurant.
Arrogant twits for wait staff
It is clear as glass that the GEMS (Going the Extra Mile for Service) programme never saw the light of day here at Forget it Lah!. None of them even displayed a hint of a smile. Either the wait staff all have facial muscular disorder and will suffer traumatic cramps upon smiling and keel over and die, or they are all extremely buey gam wan (read: pissed with everything, everyone, every time). I'll do you guys a service here by providing some revelation: The only wait staff who have such a privilege of not smiling is one with a French accent as thick as the Great Wall of China. Don't confuse French and Italian cuisine. Hell, even French waiters smile readily for that matter.
Like customers owe them a living
While we can live with wait staff that give the buey gam wan look by simply ignoring them, it is a whole new level when they just take their own sweet time for everything and telling you off for it. While I believe there should be staff welfare, but there is also welfare abuse. At Forget it Lah! we know it is the latter. While seated at a corner, I saw many wait staff standing outside relaxing and taking puffs of smoke while the restaurant was occupied at every table. (Full because, surprise! Slow service = slow patron turnover) So basically, patrons have to wait for not only the food to be prepared, but also for the wait staff who need to take their break after every dish served to the table. Yes, I am sure waiting tables is a life-and-death-kind-of-stressful profession that warrants that kind of de-stressing activity. I don't even want to imagine how the stinky toxic from cigarettes interact with the food.
Cheating your money with bread and water
With bread automatically served, you are also automatically charged an exorbitant price for the plain old roti. You are forced to order their atas water because they can't afford proper plumbing in Singapore, where the water is tested to be purer than any atas mineral water and can fight tooth decay. There are ways to do business, and there are underhand ways to do business, but there is the Forget it Lah! way to do business that is in a league of its own.

Polarbear said: 
claud said: 
kormmandos said:
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Relax man. Seem like u may need to write to their management for this.
05 Mar 2008 at 8:55 am
This one sounds very very bad man. How much did you have to pay for such service? Atas place somemore!
05 Mar 2008 at 9:26 am
paid about $35 per head. I know some other cases where it was above $60.
05 Mar 2008 at 9:27 am
During my course of work, I came across a place in ulu Lim Chu Kang where there would be a Valentine's Day dinner. So curious me decided to just try it out. Besides the traveling required, both the girlfriend and I were pleasantly surprised by this place called Petals and Leaves at Gardenasia.
For Valentine's Day, a number of partners and sponsors collaborated to make this event at Petals and Leaves possible, notably Eternally Yours by Vernetta Lopez (ironically divorced from Mark Richmond) which did up the decor for the angelic theme for the night. The wait staff even put on cupid wings. The girlfriend and I liked the details of white feathers, curtains and hearts which ushered the patrons to the seat. We also liked the spaciousness between the tables unlike restaurants in more accessible areas where couples have to be crammed so close together, you can hear the other couple's secrets. Plus there was no need to rush as they were open from 7pm till 11pm for that evening. On top of that, we also got to do some "area inspection" of the venue. With plenty of greenery and tranquil quietness, it was our kind of a nice place.
The dinner we had 4 courses with the mains of either fish, chicken or lobster to choose from. We took the fish and chicken with suspicions that the portion of lobster would be minuscule.
The food served is pretty decent, with the only grouse being the temperature which was rather cold, probably due to mass production. The pace at which the courses were served was also quite thoughtful, with the attentive wait staff making their rounds to ensure the plates are cleared.
In between the courses, the girlfriend and I inspected our goodie bags and were quite pleased with sample vials of fragrances, Godiva chocolates, audio CDs, red packets (it was during Chinese New Year) tissue packs, discount vouchers and massage vouchers (which can only be redeemed from Mondays to Thursdays in Horsecity, i.e. somewhat pointless)
The live band was also a wonderful mood setter as they belted out numerous sentimental songs and jazz standards. Unfortunately, the vocalist also had a rather morbid and graphic sense of humor that can can only be better appreciated in a pub lounge setting. Though I must commend her for being able to take in ground requests and singing even without knowing the lyrics to the whole song, letting good showmanship take over.
Overall, it is a lovely little paradise to spend Valentine's Day. Just remember to plan for the transportation and bring along a bit of insect repellent.

Bobo said: 
Polarbear said: 
kormmandos said: - 2 more comments »
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Wow... very beautiful :)
20 Feb 2008 at 9:38 pm
The address look very super ulu!
21 Feb 2008 at 12:29 am
Actually you can get there with the Kranji Express a.k.a. the yellow mini-bus from Kranji MRT, so it is accessible, but still ulu.
21 Feb 2008 at 1:28 am
Imperial Treasure (Cantonese Cuisine) is somehow extremely popular for weekend dining. The food is pretty good and you can even have a private dining experience in one of the exclusive rooms. However, I had dined the spacious common area which was nevertheless a nice place. The intricate decor was a pleasant sight to behold and it added to the positive experience.
Service standards here is really good with attentive staff literally seeing to every table they walk past. Response was quick and always reassuring when reactions from them required longer time. The staff are evidently well-trained, pleasant and extremely helpful.
The food here, though on the pricey side is a testament of the chefs experience and skill.
The roast goose was perfectly done with the skin crispy and the meat well-cooked but remaining tender to the bite. The special plum sauce accentuates the texture of the meat as well as the crispy skin.
The next dish was a tofu dish. The tofu was deep-fried on on the outside but soft and delicate on the inside and place on over a layer of spinach. A thick, tasty mushroom-based gravy is generously drizzled over them. The gravy and the tofu blended very well together while the spinach helped to clear palate for the next dish.
The third dish was Sweet and Sour Pork. I found this dish more on the sweet side, but it was still pretty good with the meat chunks crispy to the bite despite being totally covered in the sweet and sour sauce. The side vegetables of diced capsicums and pineapples provided a good balance of taste.
We then had sauteed fresh prawns. The prawns were deep fried before being sauteed with seasoning as the shells were crunchy and edible, especially the head. Every bite released a pleasant fragrance from the head shell and the flesh had the crunchiness only available from fresh prawns.
We then realized that it took a very long time for our Winter Melon Soup to be served. We asked the wait staff twice for the item only to have them reply that "it will come soon". It was only when the dish arrived did we understand why it had taken so long. The soup was served in an actual winter melon. To serve, the wait staff had to scrap out the winter melon flesh. carefully so as not to break the skin. The contents were served in small bowls. The soup was light and flavorful at the same time and really tasty with plenty of condiments. In total, the winter melon held 14 portions of soup which we were able to finish eventually.
The food here was great and I would love to come back for more.

ladyironchef said: 
Polarbear said: 
kormmandos said:
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!how much is the total bill?
07 Feb 2008 at 5:35 pm
The winter melon sounds good!
07 Feb 2008 at 10:34 pm
The bill amounted to just under $300.
08 Feb 2008 at 2:13 pm
Tucked in a quiet corner of Shaw Leisure Gallery is a little surprise called Tom's Palette which sells home-made ice cream.
When curious me entered their premises for the first time, I was greeted by sincere counter staff who are really proud of their little ice cream parlour and their flavours. That pretty scared me away, plus I had no intention for ice cream that day.
So a few hours ago, I decided to go for it. I stepped in to the ice cream parlour, got greeted by the rather sweet lady boss (I think), tasted the Oreo Cheesecake flavour, which was good, but settled for their Pisang Honey Walnut and Horlicks flavours in a small cup. You get to taste 2 flavours in a small cup at no extra charge and each cup is $2.80, which is considerably cheaper than other ice cream places. I thought it is a good tactic, to create a sense of value that the customer can taste 2 flavours for the price of one. It definitely helps those who can't decide between flavour 1 and flavour 2.
Their ice cream is definitely one of the better ones I've tasted. Rich in flavour and really smooth texture, slightly creamier than the Japanese ice creams. I really enjoyed their Horlicks flavour which I believe had extra amounts of the ingredient to pack the extra punch. The Pisang Honey Walnut though only managed to leave a mild impression with a weak banana flavour. But at least they were generous with the walnuts.
Anyway, overheard a conversation between the staff and a customer, there was apparently a batch of cockles flavoured ice cream... see-hum ice cream? Ice cream mai hum? mai hum, mai hum, hai hum...
Must Tries: Go taste each of them yourself lah.

fennielyn said:
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!yummy, thanks for the reck! I'll definite have to check this out, being an ice-cream addict (well besides a chocolate one that is)
07 Feb 2008 at 2:36 pm