It was another fabulous nite out with my GAGA pals.. and guess what... we decided to rave it out the gangster way....
I was actually hoping to find a xiao ma ge mannequin inside.. But don't have leh.... Only could find some really sissy waiters... (oops) Like those in the movie.... (Movie Star ok)!
The deco of the place was CHIC... Too CHIC to be like the famous HongKong Gangster movie starring Chow Yuan Fatt... The Black mirriory Like finishes are simply too fabulous.. I mean you can detect stucked veg in between your teeth everywhere u turn.... Its what i call customer concious designs. The place was huge with a nice view of the sea and smooching couples.... but one thing you must really do.. Thats to check out the LOO... aka TOOLET... It took me like 5 minutes to find it.... There are mirriors everywhere and its so camoflaged i almost peed on the washing basin...
NOW I KNOW WHY IT IS CALLED BOSSES.... In the event you need to hide... u can just camoflaged yourself or hide in some hidden space like the toolet and wait it out.. Your enemy can NEVER find you.... CHECKING THE TOILET IS A SUPER MUST....
Now we come to the food.. I pretty like the idea that they serve an excellent selection of teas.. If you are just feeling chatty, you could ask the waitress whats this tea for and what that tea is used to.. and soon you'll find yourself in a TCM class...
We ordered so much food but there are a few I must mention. 1st there this duck on fruit platter and boy... Its so good.. refreshingly sinless... Judging by the small strips of duck meat on top of this fruit platter, we won't get high cholestrol perhaps will only be overworked as we try to out eat all the others GRACEFULLY.... And theres this fried brinjal or eggplant.... its soft and crispy and very healthy.. Yum Yum... The fried noodles are great too... and not to forget the soup in which the serving is so huge.. One serving and there goes half my stomach.... Not to forget Cold Chickens.... So tender and soft and its COOL... really really nice..
Overall It was an intriguing experience... and its simply too fabulous for the GAGA Girls as in such an environment we are not frowned upon when we do the loud Ooohsss and Aaahhhss and the HA HA HA and the OH MY GOD! THIS IS GREAT.....
Its a experience of the lifetime... Be BOLD.. Try to be a Big Boss... You just never know what you never know....
Ma Maison, which means my home in French, started out with an outlet at Bugis Junction and soon expanded to include one at The Central. Known for its take on Japanese Western food aka fusion food, Ma Maison packs in the crowds at meal times so don't be surprised if you have to wait for a seat if you arrive without a reservation.
Located just a few units down from Wakashachiya on the third floor, Ma Maison's interior is reminiscent of a quaint little European cottage with lots of wood, overhanging crockery and shelves of various liquids. The cozy cottage feel is further reinforced by replica ornaments of yesteryear placed along the wooden window sill. If you are lucky enough, you can get a window seat which overlooks Clarke Quay and the river, but there's probably only 5 such tables or so.
Doteni Hamburger - A signature dish of Ma Maison, the Doteni Hamburger was essentially a beef and pork patty covered with a fried egg, topped with beef tendons and draped with a demi glaze sauce that has been left to simmer for 28 days. And I liked it. The beef, though almost well done, was moist and juicy with a slightly uneven texture. The egg was perfectly done while the gelatinous beef tendon came across as a little chewy and not overly soft. Coupled with the robust sauce, it set the right note for our lunch.
Tonakatsu - After the horrendous tonkatsu experience at Wakashachiya just a couple of hours before, I was rather skeptical about the tonkatsu at Ma Maison. Those fears were put to rest as the pork cutlet turned out fine and surpassed expectations. Sure the meat wasn't kurobuta like Tampopo's, but it was still decently tender while retaining moisture and bite. There was no evident taste of oily residue either. The breaded batter could have been a wee bit thinner though, which would have made it crispier and less oily.
Beef Stroganoff with Omu Rice - My personal favourite. Who can resist tender beef slices served up in a thick savoury sauce coupled with smooth milky omelette enveloping fragrant and tasty buttery rice? If I'm coming back to Ma Maison, its definitely going to be for this dish. I would prefer a little more butter to go into the rice though, which would make it heartier and of course more artery clogging.
Squid Ink Spaghetti - Honestly I didn't quite take to the spaghetti. It wasn't al dente and came across rather bland. Maybe thats the way Japanese spaghettis are supposed to taste like, unlike the richer and more robust renditions from the Italians. If you like light stuff then this dish would probably suit you but do note that squid ink leaves a dark stain on your teeth so remember to rinse!
For starters, I never bought a single item from this shop. Want to know the reason why? The staff(s) are really bo-chap and whenever I have some movie enquiries, they give me half hearted answers and expect me to be satisfied with whatever they say. Recently, I went over to see if they are still selling Bleach VCD Season 1, mind you I don't mind if they have the ODEX version or whether it was released by any other companies whatsoever. Anyway, they don't have it and whatever they have, it's for rental only. So I enquired at the cashier counter if they sell Anime VCDs instead of renting it out and they simply replied "No!". They didn't even recommend me to try their other branches or whatsoever and simply proceed to serve another customer.
Then prior to this incident, about last year, I heard that they might be bringing in the Special Edition of FFVII: Advent Children and enquired once again if they have stocks for it. Once again, the answer was just simply "No!" and they didn't even bother to explain why they don't have stocks. Is it because they were sold out fast or stocks haven't arrived yet, I am not sure. And right after telling me "No!", the girl who answered my enquiry simply went back to doing her work while I was standing in front of the cashier counter looking like an idiot for a full 5 minutes while still anticipating that maye she was checking to see if stocks were available. Basically, whatever I needed or wanted to buy, they don't have to stocks for it and they simply don't bother to find out more from me at all.
It is a rather disappointing experience again and again with their bo-chap-ness. Now, I simply went in to see if stocks for any movies that I wanted (new titles) are in before I make my way to TS Group that is currently located on the 3rd level which is right beside Streets Café Restaurant.
Oh yes i love the fragrant rice with the drumstick and my personal favourite which is the fish fillet, you know the fish and chips kind minus the chips? :P
and their chilli, you can ask for as much as you want! slurp!
but one thing i dislike, no soap in the basin after holding the juicy drumstick with your hands!
no doubt a super filling portion for the price that we pay and nice tasting too (with the pork lard again i assume?).
i agree that its not fantastic but a fulfilling trip is assured when you pay a visit to fei fei wanton mee :)
its also the 'culture' that has been passed on for generations that impressed me. the way the food is served, ie ingredients at the bottom, how you use the same bowl to get more soup etc. old school! haha.
oh yah, at one of the branch, theres a lane at the side which leads to a pretty large area behind (which is also the smoking area) when its at night, its quite dark and with some chinese deity statue there, the atmosphere it created is like some gang fight's gonna happen :P
Theres always been a constant competition between these two stalls selling almost the same thing just beside each other in changi village food centre.
But ive been supporting the 'original starter' and have never changed since then. It is the one on the left, with a little hunchback lady or an old man who is around his 70s.
The hor fun is so soft! I just dont really know how to describe it but its just the combination of many factors that makes it one of my favourite food. i always introduce that to my friends from other countries who wanna try local food, and they all love it!
The ipoh hor fun comes with char siew, shredded chicken, wanton, fried wanton, some vegetables and mushroom. If you prefer, you can choose their chicken chop hor fun which is equally as nice.
However, the newspaper articles are mostly talking about its mee pok, but, i can never resist the horfun and do not have enough space in my stomach for trying out the mee pok.
The other stall on the right, (which i find really brave to start out a stall serving exactly the same menu, just beside each other) on the other side does has its supporter too. but, maybe im just too emotionally attached to the original stall, haha, no matter what, i love it since young! its that long!
No doubt the best wanton mee i had. i think its popularity is already shown by the constant queue even during weekdays.
their sauce is pretty special, fragrant and slightly sweet, (which i believe is due to some sinful pork lard) but goes well with the chilli. love their wanton too, i like it the normal way, just meat, no prawns, no water chestnut.
buuuuut... ask your friend to queue up for you if you're very particular about hygiene. coz they way they prepare their food has... room for improvements. haha. and their prices are pretty high, $3 for the 'small size' and $4 for the 'big size', which $3's portion is quite small. maybe thats why they dont call it the normal size but the 'small size'
Ive been a supporter of aglio olio since it first started out in china square years back.
my family and i love their pasta, both cream based and the olio style. al dente definitely. with the little excitement from the chilli padi, i think it really suits the singaporean taste!
their pasta only comes in 2 forms: cream base or aglio olio style. and your next decision is the ingredient which you can choose from like pepperoni, bacon, mushroom etc. (no mixing)
but pls do not 'act smart' like me and order the extra spicy version, even my dad couldnt take it. just 'normal' or 'spicy' should be enough for most.
even though im alrd pretty satisfied with their food to be their customer for sucha long time, but, one change ill hope to see, is wider variety pls? bring back the tiramisu!
Heading back to Hong Lim Food Centre for lunch a few days later, I can’t help but pay another familiar stall a visit. Located at the once famous Ellenborough Market, one of the earlier wet markets available. While the Malays called it Pasar Bahru meaning “New Market”, the Chinese on the other hand named it “Seng Pa Sat”. Teochews populated the area, and with intent the market was located at Teochew Street (where The Central now stood). Ping Ping Curry Noodle was one of the few stalls I would visit for lunch when I was young, and I could still remember vividly bringing along $1 that I have saved up and specifically told my mum that I would like to add extra ingredients in my bowl of noodles.
Even though it was spicy for me then, I love everything that was within it – Chicken, Fishcake, Tau Pok or Beancurd Skin, Potato and the spicy curry soup. The same husband and wife team is still operating today in Hong Lim, but unfortunately the experience I had that day wasn’t as expected. Maybe nothing can beat the wonderful memories I had at Ellenborough Market but I remembered the soup to be much thicker and packed with more tang. Adding the chilli paste helps to bring out the flavour but sadly it still didn’t impress me. For a $4 version, the ingredients weren’t as plentiful as I expected it to have – or maybe I have just grown up. The “everyone’s favourite” potato was measly and I left the place feeling disappointed.
Perhaps I went with too high an expectation that day or perhaps good times doesn’t really last.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Hmm... Id say that the choices offered in Icemonster are not as much as I expected it to be given the popularity in the media it seems to have.
I especially enjoyed the local taiwanese ones whenever i travel there. So having the impression of what I had in taiwan, id say that the ones offered at ice monster are not quite i expected.
the ice served by ice monster seems not to be as fine and i think ice monster concentrate more on fruits desserts whereas I was hoping to have more stuff like yam, red bean or even chocolate :)
maybe its just that what i expected is different from wat is served there.
1=SGD 0.0587
It was another fabulous nite out with my GAGA pals.. and guess what... we decided to rave it out the gangster way....
I was actually hoping to find a xiao ma ge mannequin inside.. But don't have leh.... Only could find some really sissy waiters... (oops) Like those in the movie.... (Movie Star ok)!
The deco of the place was CHIC... Too CHIC to be like the famous HongKong Gangster movie starring Chow Yuan Fatt... The Black mirriory Like finishes are simply too fabulous.. I mean you can detect stucked veg in between your teeth everywhere u turn.... Its what i call customer concious designs. The place was huge with a nice view of the sea and smooching couples.... but one thing you must really do.. Thats to check out the LOO... aka TOOLET... It took me like 5 minutes to find it.... There are mirriors everywhere and its so camoflaged i almost peed on the washing basin...
NOW I KNOW WHY IT IS CALLED BOSSES.... In the event you need to hide... u can just camoflaged yourself or hide in some hidden space like the toolet and wait it out.. Your enemy can NEVER find you.... CHECKING THE TOILET IS A SUPER MUST....
Now we come to the food.. I pretty like the idea that they serve an excellent selection of teas.. If you are just feeling chatty, you could ask the waitress whats this tea for and what that tea is used to.. and soon you'll find yourself in a TCM class...
We ordered so much food but there are a few I must mention. 1st there this duck on fruit platter and boy... Its so good.. refreshingly sinless... Judging by the small strips of duck meat on top of this fruit platter, we won't get high cholestrol perhaps will only be overworked as we try to out eat all the others GRACEFULLY.... And theres this fried brinjal or eggplant.... its soft and crispy and very healthy.. Yum Yum... The fried noodles are great too... and not to forget the soup in which the serving is so huge.. One serving and there goes half my stomach.... Not to forget Cold Chickens.... So tender and soft and its COOL... really really nice..
Overall It was an intriguing experience... and its simply too fabulous for the GAGA Girls as in such an environment we are not frowned upon when we do the loud Ooohsss and Aaahhhss and the HA HA HA and the OH MY GOD! THIS IS GREAT.....
Its a experience of the lifetime... Be BOLD.. Try to be a Big Boss... You just never know what you never know....
Rating given:
Ma Maison, which means my home in French, started out with an outlet at Bugis Junction and soon expanded to include one at The Central. Known for its take on Japanese Western food aka fusion food, Ma Maison packs in the crowds at meal times so don't be surprised if you have to wait for a seat if you arrive without a reservation.
Located just a few units down from Wakashachiya on the third floor, Ma Maison's interior is reminiscent of a quaint little European cottage with lots of wood, overhanging crockery and shelves of various liquids. The cozy cottage feel is further reinforced by replica ornaments of yesteryear placed along the wooden window sill. If you are lucky enough, you can get a window seat which overlooks Clarke Quay and the river, but there's probably only 5 such tables or so.
Doteni Hamburger - A signature dish of Ma Maison, the Doteni Hamburger was essentially a beef and pork patty covered with a fried egg, topped with beef tendons and draped with a demi glaze sauce that has been left to simmer for 28 days. And I liked it. The beef, though almost well done, was moist and juicy with a slightly uneven texture. The egg was perfectly done while the gelatinous beef tendon came across as a little chewy and not overly soft. Coupled with the robust sauce, it set the right note for our lunch.
Tonakatsu - After the horrendous tonkatsu experience at Wakashachiya just a couple of hours before, I was rather skeptical about the tonkatsu at Ma Maison. Those fears were put to rest as the pork cutlet turned out fine and surpassed expectations. Sure the meat wasn't kurobuta like Tampopo's, but it was still decently tender while retaining moisture and bite. There was no evident taste of oily residue either. The breaded batter could have been a wee bit thinner though, which would have made it crispier and less oily.
Beef Stroganoff with Omu Rice - My personal favourite. Who can resist tender beef slices served up in a thick savoury sauce coupled with smooth milky omelette enveloping fragrant and tasty buttery rice? If I'm coming back to Ma Maison, its definitely going to be for this dish. I would prefer a little more butter to go into the rice though, which would make it heartier and of course more artery clogging.
Squid Ink Spaghetti - Honestly I didn't quite take to the spaghetti. It wasn't al dente and came across rather bland. Maybe thats the way Japanese spaghettis are supposed to taste like, unlike the richer and more robust renditions from the Italians. If you like light stuff then this dish would probably suit you but do note that squid ink leaves a dark stain on your teeth so remember to rinse!
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
For starters, I never bought a single item from this shop. Want to know the reason why? The staff(s) are really bo-chap and whenever I have some movie enquiries, they give me half hearted answers and expect me to be satisfied with whatever they say. Recently, I went over to see if they are still selling Bleach VCD Season 1, mind you I don't mind if they have the ODEX version or whether it was released by any other companies whatsoever. Anyway, they don't have it and whatever they have, it's for rental only. So I enquired at the cashier counter if they sell Anime VCDs instead of renting it out and they simply replied "No!". They didn't even recommend me to try their other branches or whatsoever and simply proceed to serve another customer.
Then prior to this incident, about last year, I heard that they might be bringing in the Special Edition of FFVII: Advent Children and enquired once again if they have stocks for it. Once again, the answer was just simply "No!" and they didn't even bother to explain why they don't have stocks. Is it because they were sold out fast or stocks haven't arrived yet, I am not sure. And right after telling me "No!", the girl who answered my enquiry simply went back to doing her work while I was standing in front of the cashier counter looking like an idiot for a full 5 minutes while still anticipating that maye she was checking to see if stocks were available. Basically, whatever I needed or wanted to buy, they don't have to stocks for it and they simply don't bother to find out more from me at all.
It is a rather disappointing experience again and again with their bo-chap-ness. Now, I simply went in to see if stocks for any movies that I wanted (new titles) are in before I make my way to TS Group that is currently located on the 3rd level which is right beside Streets Café Restaurant.
Rating given:
Oh yes i love the fragrant rice with the drumstick and my personal favourite which is the fish fillet, you know the fish and chips kind minus the chips? :P
and their chilli, you can ask for as much as you want! slurp!
but one thing i dislike, no soap in the basin after holding the juicy drumstick with your hands!
Rating given:
no doubt a super filling portion for the price that we pay and nice tasting too (with the pork lard again i assume?).
i agree that its not fantastic but a fulfilling trip is assured when you pay a visit to fei fei wanton mee :)
its also the 'culture' that has been passed on for generations that impressed me. the way the food is served, ie ingredients at the bottom, how you use the same bowl to get more soup etc. old school! haha.
oh yah, at one of the branch, theres a lane at the side which leads to a pretty large area behind (which is also the smoking area) when its at night, its quite dark and with some chinese deity statue there, the atmosphere it created is like some gang fight's gonna happen :P
Rating given:
Theres always been a constant competition between these two stalls selling almost the same thing just beside each other in changi village food centre.
But ive been supporting the 'original starter' and have never changed since then. It is the one on the left, with a little hunchback lady or an old man who is around his 70s.
The hor fun is so soft! I just dont really know how to describe it but its just the combination of many factors that makes it one of my favourite food. i always introduce that to my friends from other countries who wanna try local food, and they all love it!
The ipoh hor fun comes with char siew, shredded chicken, wanton, fried wanton, some vegetables and mushroom. If you prefer, you can choose their chicken chop hor fun which is equally as nice.
However, the newspaper articles are mostly talking about its mee pok, but, i can never resist the horfun and do not have enough space in my stomach for trying out the mee pok.
The other stall on the right, (which i find really brave to start out a stall serving exactly the same menu, just beside each other) on the other side does has its supporter too. but, maybe im just too emotionally attached to the original stall, haha, no matter what, i love it since young! its that long!
Rating given:
No doubt the best wanton mee i had. i think its popularity is already shown by the constant queue even during weekdays.
their sauce is pretty special, fragrant and slightly sweet, (which i believe is due to some sinful pork lard) but goes well with the chilli. love their wanton too, i like it the normal way, just meat, no prawns, no water chestnut.
buuuuut... ask your friend to queue up for you if you're very particular about hygiene. coz they way they prepare their food has... room for improvements. haha. and their prices are pretty high, $3 for the 'small size' and $4 for the 'big size', which $3's portion is quite small. maybe thats why they dont call it the normal size but the 'small size'
Rating given:
Ive been a supporter of aglio olio since it first started out in china square years back.
my family and i love their pasta, both cream based and the olio style. al dente definitely. with the little excitement from the chilli padi, i think it really suits the singaporean taste!
their pasta only comes in 2 forms: cream base or aglio olio style. and your next decision is the ingredient which you can choose from like pepperoni, bacon, mushroom etc. (no mixing)
but pls do not 'act smart' like me and order the extra spicy version, even my dad couldnt take it. just 'normal' or 'spicy' should be enough for most.
even though im alrd pretty satisfied with their food to be their customer for sucha long time, but, one change ill hope to see, is wider variety pls? bring back the tiramisu!
Rating given:
Heading back to Hong Lim Food Centre for lunch a few days later, I can’t help but pay another familiar stall a visit. Located at the once famous Ellenborough Market, one of the earlier wet markets available. While the Malays called it Pasar Bahru meaning “New Market”, the Chinese on the other hand named it “Seng Pa Sat”. Teochews populated the area, and with intent the market was located at Teochew Street (where The Central now stood). Ping Ping Curry Noodle was one of the few stalls I would visit for lunch when I was young, and I could still remember vividly bringing along $1 that I have saved up and specifically told my mum that I would like to add extra ingredients in my bowl of noodles.
Even though it was spicy for me then, I love everything that was within it – Chicken, Fishcake, Tau Pok or Beancurd Skin, Potato and the spicy curry soup. The same husband and wife team is still operating today in Hong Lim, but unfortunately the experience I had that day wasn’t as expected. Maybe nothing can beat the wonderful memories I had at Ellenborough Market but I remembered the soup to be much thicker and packed with more tang. Adding the chilli paste helps to bring out the flavour but sadly it still didn’t impress me. For a $4 version, the ingredients weren’t as plentiful as I expected it to have – or maybe I have just grown up. The “everyone’s favourite” potato was measly and I left the place feeling disappointed.
Perhaps I went with too high an expectation that day or perhaps good times doesn’t really last.
You can view the all photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
Hmm... Id say that the choices offered in Icemonster are not as much as I expected it to be given the popularity in the media it seems to have.
I especially enjoyed the local taiwanese ones whenever i travel there. So having the impression of what I had in taiwan, id say that the ones offered at ice monster are not quite i expected.
the ice served by ice monster seems not to be as fine and i think ice monster concentrate more on fruits desserts whereas I was hoping to have more stuff like yam, red bean or even chocolate :)
maybe its just that what i expected is different from wat is served there.
Rating given: