Hong Kong Café along East Coast Road. is one of the more authentic hong kong style cafes compared to those like Central or XinWang. The ambience makes you feel like you're in HK...We can feel the small flies buzzing around while we wait for the food. haha
We had : -
Golden Fantasy Not fantastic although it is recommended by the media and the chef(it had 2 blue and red stars). The mango puree is very watery .The taste I had was from the mango ice cream instead.The seed toppings were bitter which was suppose to contrast with the natural sweetness of the mango puree,but in the end,no.. All I had to taste was the articifial sweetness from the mango ice cream.Not recommended at all.
Fried Hor Fan with fish & Bean Sprouts One look at the picture.It is actually FRIED BEAN SPROUTS with fish and hor fan… I asked my friend : “ Did I order a vegtable meal instead?" They are overly generous with the bean sprouts. Although I m a bean sprouts fan but its too much… Overall, I like it still because it’s a light meal. You can taste the old style frying, typical of a hawker u will find in the olden days in smith street. Very Cantonese.I would recommend it.But at $7.50, it’s a bit steep.
The service was good.They had the “customer is always right” attitude. The customer sitting beside me spilled his drinks all over himself while drinking it. The supervisor was quick to react. She was so apologetic, while helping him clean up. It was obvious that it was not her fault because she was miles away from him. But her attitude is commendable.I think a typical Singaporean waitress who start to roll eyes…etc… I would go back again in the evenings.
But sometimes the queue really puts me off and the lack of parking.... take the bus if you can :)
**Updated** I went again recently and had two delicious dishes which I HAVE to share with you guys.
I was there just a couple of days ago for a late night supper.
Item 609 Spicy Salt and Pepper Deep Fried Squid $7.20 Yes it is calamari... :) The batter was light and and very tasty. I liked how it wasn't oily and we were using eating every single last bit of it.
Item 684 Golden Fried Crispy Mushroom $6.20 I had this once and had a good impression of it, so I ordered it again. This time was even better than the last! They changed the kind of mushrooms they used and it does suit the batter more now. Ultra delicious and it is a must try!
Craving for more Japanese food after Waraku, i brought my sister and gf out for lunch this lazy weekend. And being a lazy weekend, going too far is out of the question. Instead, we opted to try out a Japanese restaurant in the Heartlands @ Compass Point.
Miso Soup - I would have expected better from Wasabi but it was not meant to be, the miso was bland and hardly appetizing. The seaweed came in big pieces however and the tofu is soft and melts in your mouth. Still, the soup just isn't what it could have been.
Beef Don Cold Cha Soba Agedashi Tofu ($15.80) - Beef is teriyaki seasoned as usual and tastes as it should. Chewy, sweet and tender with simple but fragrant Japanese rice. The cold cha soba here is springy and chewy with a slight bitter green tea taste which totally dissipates when you dip it into the accompanying sauce. It then becomes sweet, slightly heady and extremely tasty. Notice the agedashi tofu wasn't shown? Yeah, thats because it wasn't really that good to begin with.
Katsudon ($9) - The first was a wrong order which served beef instead of pork. The second bowl came after we asked a serving lady who kindly helped us correct the issue. The second bowl was the real deal. Pork cutlet was not too crispy due to the egg on top but retained many of the juices that makes it delectable. Guess who ordered this dish? None other then my gf of course.
Soft Shell Crab ($5.50) - The crab came in 2 pieces and was quite small. It was very crispy and hot but lacked sweetness in its meat.
Ebi Curry Don Fried Chicken Cold Soba ($15.80) - I was quite surprised when my sister's order appeared. For the price, i did not expect 2 big prawns to be on the bowl. The prawns were not very sweet tasting however. And the only difference between cold soba and cha soba is the green tea taste. But that difference means everything because this pales in comparison to cha soba. The fried chicken side dish was surprisingly generous and tasted hot, tender and sweet as well.
The total bill came up to $54.25 for 3 people for lunch. Which isn't too much and was reasonably satisfying.
Not too bad a restaurant though you can't compare it to Waraku, Inagiku or Keyaki on the same standing. Still, for a simple Japanese meal, you can't really go wrong with this place.
Other than Japanese food, I can only imagine myself enjoying delicious small bites that leave room for delectable desserts. When I know about Sugar Brown Cafe Bistro, their famous Wagyu Burger and spoilt for choice desserts, I know I have to make tummy space for them real soon.
So I made my reservation and finally hopped down last Sunday for brunch. The gem, tucked away in the quiet corner of River Valley inside Stardus Clubhouse, is suitable for quiet and laidback lunches.
I started off the course of the meal with the Organic Mushroom Soup. The button, oyster, abalone and shitake mushrooms were all extremely fresh. I especially love the creamy texture of the soup base. It was not filling at all and it actually opens up your appetite for more.
You have to try their Salad of Deconstructed Apple with Walnuts, Brie & Arugula tossed in Apple Dressing. It's their signature dish and I highly recommend this. It is thin slices of apples sandwiching all the rest of the goodness - brie cheese, bitter walnuts and arugula meld. Everything simply melts in my mouth and you will be truly intrigued by the entire taste.
It was when the much awaited Wagyu Beef Burgermade its arrival, I was left speechless. The generous serving of wagyu beef on top of foie gras and ciabatta bread definitely is worth every penny. Although I must say, I would prefer the beef as a whole slice instead of minced. The fries that accompanied the dish was hot and crispy. The price did came a bit hefty, 28 bucks a pop. But I didn't care less.
I ended the meal with the Sticky Date Pudding. This is quite similar to the one from Marmalade Pantry. Everything oozes in your mouth and the rest is heaven. Total indulgence. And this comes with a waiter's smile which the latter is lacking of.
So as I sat there wishing I could stomach up all the desserts, I was mentally making note of when I'm free to visit again. Definitely not a Monday. They are only opened from Tuesday to Saturday.
In the western region of Singapore lies a gem that is Restaurant Chako. Established in 1978 by Chako, the lady boss cum chef, the eatery boasts home cooked food that is cooked when you place your order and at prices that won't burst your pocket.
Located at a rather prominent row of shops along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), Chako is ironically hidden from sight and totally devoid of human traffic on a Tuesday evening. Not that I'm complaining though. The interior was tiny and oozed a homely feel made complete by a shelf full of Japanese comics and the motherly figure of Chako, who fussed over us and explained to us in detail the items on the menu (which happens to be in Japanese by the way).
The Occha deserves a mention on its own. Unlike the usual Occha served at most other Japanese eateries, the Occha here was particularly fragrant and carried a whiff of coffee aroma. It had a tinge of coffee taste as well which was delightful.
The sides of Miso Soup and Cold Tofu came with every order of a main course. What I liked about the Miso soup was that there were cockles in it, which was something different. However the soup did come across as a tad too salty for my liking. The tofu was soft and silky but nothing out of the ordinary.
My Hanburg steak was nice and thick but a little too soft for my liking. Meat was pan fried till well done instead of the usual medium/medium rare which would have been tastier and juicier. Simply done without the frills and very decent.
Served up with various vegetables like lettuce, carrots, egg plants etc, the Yakiniku Chicken was relatively well done. Crispy on the outside and not too heavy on the BBQ sauce. Add the fact that it was topped with a generous amount of crushed peanuts and you have a nice yet simple dish.
The vanilla soya bean ice cream came across as light, tasting of soya with a tinge of vanilla. It came with cut fruits which had been carefully prepared, ie. the grapes had the head cut off and the pear has its skin removed.
I'm not exactly a fan of yoghurt but the mango yoghurt wasn't half as bad as I made it out to be. Slightly sourish with a dash of mango. I understand that both desserts are hand made by Chako herself.
We were the only 2 customers in the restaurant that evening and it was a long dinner, standing at 2.5hrs and costing $55. Expensive? A little. Food quality? Decent. Satisfaction from a home cooked dinner? Priceless. On a side note, please be prepared to wait for your food as it is a one man show. If you can't understand Japanese, please bring along something to read to while away the long waiting times.
Joe and i went all the way to clementi central to search for the famous porridge store. However, when we reach there, they have already sold out all their porridge. Disappointed but due to the two hungry stomach, we have to find the next best thing to eat.
Walked through a couple of times around the clementi central, but still cannot find something that can attract us. Finally, Joe suggested to me to try out the sumo house.
Termed as the cheapest japanese food in town, i was pretty wery if i should believe them. Well, this is bascially because i have been to experience japanese restuarant but their food does not fits my taste. And now, will the cheapest japanese food fits my taste?
We did not wait for long before entering the restuarant. The restuarant does not have expensive settings and royal furniture, just simple tables and chairs. A lot of self service is also required. Take for example, we have to get the green tea on our own. But i guess, all this is bascially to cut down the unnecessary costs.
When we saw the menu, we could not believe our eyes. Yes, a don set only costs $2.90. This don set consists of fried chicken cutlet with egg, rice and not forgetting the servings of vegetable, fruits and soup. To get so much food for such a small amount of money, its really worth!
What impressed me is that, they did not decrease quality nor make the food into smaller portion just because its selling at such a cheap rate.
The chicken cutlet in my don is really a big piece (it does not have large amount of flour covering the meat). Beside being big size, the crispyness of the cutlet is another thing that make me fall in love with it immediately.
We also ordered their scallop which i think its much better than some japanese restuarant that are offering. Their scallops are pretty big in size and when mixed with the mayonnise it taste marvellous. One plate is definitely not enough for both of us.
Where can i find breakfast early in the morning in a shopping center? I do not think this is possible till Joe my friend brought me here.
It was around 7 plus early in the morning and Joe initiated to bring me over to jurong point shopping centre. At the particular time, i only thought of having a simple early breakfast in those 24 hour kopitiam rather than going to shop. But he assured me that there are early breakfast there.
Since i decided to believe in him, we both make way to the jurong point shopping centre. I was rather amazed when i reach the place, true enough there are really stores that open early in the morning to provide breakfast for us people. I just wonder what time do they need to wake up in order to prepare the food.
What this store attracts me is definitely the long queue. As there are no signage at the top of their store, i could not figure out what they are selling until i reach the front of the store.
They actually sells you tiao, butterfly, salted bun, sweet bun, etc. In their open concept design, one could see how the dough is kneaded , fried and become ready to be served on the shelves.
Their stuff actually sell at quite a fast speed so at times one will have to wait for some time before the next batch of food is ready.
I loved their butterfly. I think they called it butterfly due to the similar resemblence of shape. Actually, it is just a simple dough without any fillings inside.
Although there is no fillings to give the additional taste to the butterfly, it still taste fantastic just eating it alone.
A lightly sweetened and sprinkled with some sesame seads butterly tasted real good especially when eaten hot. Not a wasted trip after all. :)
Was really really very hungry when i just could not find the crepe house (earlier review), so i decided to grab the egg tart first.
Ok, this is not my first time eating tong heng egg tart. In the past, my mama used to buy the tong heng egg tarts from the shop in south bridge road for me. She told me that no one can compare the egg tarts with them. True enough, when i sink my teeth into their egg tart the first time, i fall in love with it immediately.
This time round, their price increased quite substainially. In the past, i used to get egg tarts for 90 cents but now it has rose to 1 dollar and 25 cents. A rather tremendous rise i can say.
As a consumer, i think the risen price can be acceptable as ingredients price are rising up nowadays. But one importanthe thing is that their quality must not fall.
When i sinked my teeth into their egg tart, i was rather disappointed. However, let me first praise the egg tart for their egg mixture as its is very very smooth and not forgetting their egg tart crust which is very nice and crispy.
Whats more the egg tart is warm, this may be due to the quick replenish of the egg tart stock as alot of people buy them.
Now for the disappointment part is that, i taste abit sourish in their egg tart. I do not know if its because their egg tart has gone back or due to their different ingredients. But this sourish taste, really did not give me a good impression in their egg tart.
Someone told me that this store was located in B2 and i walked twice and still could not find the store. In the end, when i was feeling rather disappointed, it suddenly appeared right in front of me.
Ok, after spending quite a bit of effort in finding the store, it is almost impossible for me not to have one of the crepe in my hands.
This pinky store uses a open concept kind of idea in its store. Thus, one will be able to see every single step in making the crepe. I quickly make my order (banana ice cream crepe).
One thing that i found out when ordering, is that they actually can choose the flavour of the ice cream. So, if the display item say vanilla ice cream, you can actually request to change it to chocolate ice cream (which i did). However, the green tea ice cream will cost an additional 50 cents more which i can't figure out why till now.
I almost thought that i could see how they make the crepe. To my disappointment, the crepes are ready make. So, off she went to put in some fresh cream and bananas plus one scope of chocolate ice cream. The end product looks kinda nice.
The first bite into the product was how come the crepe skin is soft. Orginally, i thought that the crepe skin is hard so when you bite the crepe, you can feel the crispness of the skin.
The soft crepe skin make the whole thing rather flimsy thus it requires some skill to rather eat the crepe with style. One thing to comment is their ice cream taste fantastic. I think that is the only thing i love about this crepe.
Price wise, i think its abit steep for such crepe to cost more than 5 bucks.
Something different for Singaporeans. I have heard of Trolley Noodles but this was the first time I tried one.
Owned by Old Hong Kong Tea House in Katong. Trolley Noodles first appeared in Hong Kong in the 1950's where the standard of living was much lower and many Chinese refugees were flooding into Hong Kong.
Each noodle stall was manned by one single boss who offered quick but yummy, cheap food. Their illegal stalls were constructed on wheels in order to run away from the law enforcement officers. Trolley Noodles was the staple of many locals who had limited spending power but still needed to fill their stomachs with yummy fare.
Noodle is bathed in a broth and you choose freely from a wide variety of tasty ingredients like curry fish balls, beef brisket, curry squid, pigskin, dried bean curd, vegetables ....etc. (It's like our local Yong Tau Foo 酿豆腐.) You can request for a bowl of rice instead of noodles. (It's like our Mixed Vegetable Rice 杂菜饭.)
Trolley Noodles costs S$4 (noodles with 5 ingredients). You can pick meat only or vegetarian or both. I love braised and stewed meats.
Try their Iced Blended Milk Tea (冰沙奶茶 S$2 ). The lady Boss thought of an ingenious way to retain the flavour of the drink, even though the ice has melted, the tea didn't taste diluted.
There is a selection of 6 specially concocted sauces to go with your noodles or as a dip!!
There is the Signature Spicy Chilli (spurt fire!!), Braised Brisket Sauce, Curry Sauce, Hong Kong Sha Cha Sauce, Special Sweet Sauce and Spicy Sauce. I love the first 4. The sauces were a treat!
Now, if Hong Kong immigrants and even Hong Kong chefs from hotels come to eat this Trolley Noodles, the flavour must be right!
Old Hong Kong Tea House
6 Raffles Boulevard #04-101/102 Marina Food Loft, Marina Square
I don't know if it was because I ordered the wrong thing or what, somehow it didn't feel to me like I had as good an experience there as bobo and feizhu did.
I, too, ordered the Grilled Half Shell Scallops with Linguine. Sounded really good to me, what with the scallops and the whole set meal. However, I was pretty disappointed when my order came. Felt like the scallops were done in 4 different ways - Well done, medium well, medium and rare. Yes, it certainly did look so. The scallops weren't sweet either. The linguine did not really have much taste other than the spice on it and loads of Olive oil. It was very dry, like fried noodles left over, re-fried. I thought that I had to mix it, but even until the end when I had less linguine and a lot of olive oil left, it still didn't work. In the end, my pasta became very oily, you can feel all the oil around your lips.. =s
The soup, though, was not bad I felt. It wasn't too diluted and was rather tasty. Served with 2 small slices of bread, which, for me, didn't seem to hard after dipping it into the soup. But I'm more of a smooth-texture-soup kinda person, so I didn't quite like the little bits and pieces of carrots (I think) in it. It's like an ice-blend drink not well blended.
Though what I had wasn't exceptionally good, I think I would still go back and give the place a try. I did get to try abit of their pan-fried dory which I thought was not too bad, hence I wouldn't conclude that the quality of the food there is poor. Also, I find the restaurant somewhat welcoming. Could be due to the fact that the waitress in there seemed pleased to welcome us in. Just feels very comfortable.
In addition, the interior is simply decorated, with cute wall paper. Somehow adds a tinge of cosy-ness and comfort to the place. Plus, there's television too! I like watching TV and eating at the same time.. Haha.
On the whole, I think the place is nice and the price is decent. Service is good. Plus!! There's no GST inclusive - kinda important, especially if your meal totals up to be quite expensive right. Would give the place another try, since it was only my first time there. ;)
1=SGD 0.0587
Hong Kong Café along East Coast Road. is one of the more authentic hong kong style cafes compared to those like Central or XinWang. The ambience makes you feel like you're in HK...We can feel the small flies buzzing around while we wait for the food. haha
We had : -
Golden Fantasy
Not fantastic although it is recommended by the media and the chef(it had 2 blue and red stars). The mango puree is very watery .The taste I had was from the mango ice cream instead.The seed toppings were bitter which was suppose to contrast with the natural sweetness of the mango puree,but in the end,no.. All I had to taste was the articifial sweetness from the mango ice cream.Not recommended at all.
Fried Hor Fan with fish & Bean Sprouts
One look at the picture.It is actually FRIED BEAN SPROUTS with fish and hor fan…
I asked my friend : “ Did I order a vegtable meal instead?" They are overly generous with the bean sprouts. Although I m a bean sprouts fan but its too much…
Overall, I like it still because it’s a light meal. You can taste the old style frying, typical of a hawker u will find in the olden days in smith street. Very Cantonese.I would recommend it.But at $7.50, it’s a bit steep.
The service was good.They had the “customer is always right” attitude. The customer sitting beside me spilled his drinks all over himself while drinking it. The supervisor was quick to react. She was so apologetic, while helping him clean up. It was obvious that it was not her fault because she was miles away from him. But her attitude is commendable.I think a typical Singaporean waitress who start to roll eyes…etc…
I would go back again in the evenings.
But sometimes the queue really puts me off and the lack of parking.... take the bus if you can :)
**Updated**
I went again recently and had two delicious dishes which I HAVE to share with you guys.
I was there just a couple of days ago for a late night supper.
Item 609 Spicy Salt and Pepper Deep Fried Squid $7.20
Yes it is calamari... :) The batter was light and and very tasty. I liked how it wasn't oily and we were using eating every single last bit of it.
Item 684 Golden Fried Crispy Mushroom $6.20
I had this once and had a good impression of it, so I ordered it again. This time was even better than the last! They changed the kind of mushrooms they used and it does suit the batter more now. Ultra delicious and it is a must try!
Rating given:
Craving for more Japanese food after Waraku, i brought my sister and gf out for lunch this lazy weekend. And being a lazy weekend, going too far is out of the question. Instead, we opted to try out a Japanese restaurant in the Heartlands @ Compass Point.
Miso Soup - I would have expected better from Wasabi but it was not meant to be, the miso was bland and hardly appetizing. The seaweed came in big pieces however and the tofu is soft and melts in your mouth. Still, the soup just isn't what it could have been.
Beef Don Cold Cha Soba Agedashi Tofu ($15.80) - Beef is teriyaki seasoned as usual and tastes as it should. Chewy, sweet and tender with simple but fragrant Japanese rice. The cold cha soba here is springy and chewy with a slight bitter green tea taste which totally dissipates when you dip it into the accompanying sauce. It then becomes sweet, slightly heady and extremely tasty. Notice the agedashi tofu wasn't shown? Yeah, thats because it wasn't really that good to begin with.
Katsudon ($9) - The first was a wrong order which served beef instead of pork. The second bowl came after we asked a serving lady who kindly helped us correct the issue. The second bowl was the real deal. Pork cutlet was not too crispy due to the egg on top but retained many of the juices that makes it delectable. Guess who ordered this dish? None other then my gf of course.
Soft Shell Crab ($5.50) - The crab came in 2 pieces and was quite small. It was very crispy and hot but lacked sweetness in its meat.
Ebi Curry Don Fried Chicken Cold Soba ($15.80) - I was quite surprised when my sister's order appeared. For the price, i did not expect 2 big prawns to be on the bowl. The prawns were not very sweet tasting however. And the only difference between cold soba and cha soba is the green tea taste. But that difference means everything because this pales in comparison to cha soba. The fried chicken side dish was surprisingly generous and tasted hot, tender and sweet as well.
The total bill came up to $54.25 for 3 people for lunch. Which isn't too much and was reasonably satisfying.
Not too bad a restaurant though you can't compare it to Waraku, Inagiku or Keyaki on the same standing. Still, for a simple Japanese meal, you can't really go wrong with this place.
Rating given:
Other than Japanese food, I can only imagine myself enjoying delicious small bites that leave room for delectable desserts. When I know about Sugar Brown Cafe Bistro, their famous Wagyu Burger and spoilt for choice desserts, I know I have to make tummy space for them real soon.
So I made my reservation and finally hopped down last Sunday for brunch. The gem, tucked away in the quiet corner of River Valley inside Stardus Clubhouse, is suitable for quiet and laidback lunches.
I started off the course of the meal with the Organic Mushroom Soup. The button, oyster, abalone and shitake mushrooms were all extremely fresh. I especially love the creamy texture of the soup base. It was not filling at all and it actually opens up your appetite for more.
You have to try their Salad of Deconstructed Apple with Walnuts, Brie & Arugula tossed in Apple Dressing. It's their signature dish and I highly recommend this. It is thin slices of apples sandwiching all the rest of the goodness - brie cheese, bitter walnuts and arugula meld. Everything simply melts in my mouth and you will be truly intrigued by the entire taste.
It was when the much awaited Wagyu Beef Burgermade its arrival, I was left speechless. The generous serving of wagyu beef on top of foie gras and ciabatta bread definitely is worth every penny. Although I must say, I would prefer the beef as a whole slice instead of minced. The fries that accompanied the dish was hot and crispy. The price did came a bit hefty, 28 bucks a pop. But I didn't care less.
I ended the meal with the Sticky Date Pudding. This is quite similar to the one from Marmalade Pantry. Everything oozes in your mouth and the rest is heaven. Total indulgence. And this comes with a waiter's smile which the latter is lacking of.
So as I sat there wishing I could stomach up all the desserts, I was mentally making note of when I'm free to visit again. Definitely not a Monday. They are only opened from Tuesday to Saturday.
Rating given:
In the western region of Singapore lies a gem that is Restaurant Chako. Established in 1978 by Chako, the lady boss cum chef, the eatery boasts home cooked food that is cooked when you place your order and at prices that won't burst your pocket.
Located at a rather prominent row of shops along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE), Chako is ironically hidden from sight and totally devoid of human traffic on a Tuesday evening. Not that I'm complaining though. The interior was tiny and oozed a homely feel made complete by a shelf full of Japanese comics and the motherly figure of Chako, who fussed over us and explained to us in detail the items on the menu (which happens to be in Japanese by the way).
The Occha deserves a mention on its own. Unlike the usual Occha served at most other Japanese eateries, the Occha here was particularly fragrant and carried a whiff of coffee aroma. It had a tinge of coffee taste as well which was delightful.
The sides of Miso Soup and Cold Tofu came with every order of a main course. What I liked about the Miso soup was that there were cockles in it, which was something different. However the soup did come across as a tad too salty for my liking. The tofu was soft and silky but nothing out of the ordinary.
My Hanburg steak was nice and thick but a little too soft for my liking. Meat was pan fried till well done instead of the usual medium/medium rare which would have been tastier and juicier. Simply done without the frills and very decent.
Served up with various vegetables like lettuce, carrots, egg plants etc, the Yakiniku Chicken was relatively well done. Crispy on the outside and not too heavy on the BBQ sauce. Add the fact that it was topped with a generous amount of crushed peanuts and you have a nice yet simple dish.
The vanilla soya bean ice cream came across as light, tasting of soya with a tinge of vanilla. It came with cut fruits which had been carefully prepared, ie. the grapes had the head cut off and the pear has its skin removed.
I'm not exactly a fan of yoghurt but the mango yoghurt wasn't half as bad as I made it out to be. Slightly sourish with a dash of mango. I understand that both desserts are hand made by Chako herself.
We were the only 2 customers in the restaurant that evening and it was a long dinner, standing at 2.5hrs and costing $55. Expensive? A little. Food quality? Decent. Satisfaction from a home cooked dinner? Priceless. On a side note, please be prepared to wait for your food as it is a one man show. If you can't understand Japanese, please bring along something to read to while away the long waiting times.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Joe and i went all the way to clementi central to search for the famous porridge store. However, when we reach there, they have already sold out all their porridge. Disappointed but due to the two hungry stomach, we have to find the next best thing to eat.
Walked through a couple of times around the clementi central, but still cannot find something that can attract us. Finally, Joe suggested to me to try out the sumo house.
Termed as the cheapest japanese food in town, i was pretty wery if i should believe them. Well, this is bascially because i have been to experience japanese restuarant but their food does not fits my taste. And now, will the cheapest japanese food fits my taste?
We did not wait for long before entering the restuarant. The restuarant does not have expensive settings and royal furniture, just simple tables and chairs. A lot of self service is also required. Take for example, we have to get the green tea on our own. But i guess, all this is bascially to cut down the unnecessary costs.
When we saw the menu, we could not believe our eyes. Yes, a don set only costs $2.90. This don set consists of fried chicken cutlet with egg, rice and not forgetting the servings of vegetable, fruits and soup. To get so much food for such a small amount of money, its really worth!
What impressed me is that, they did not decrease quality nor make the food into smaller portion just because its selling at such a cheap rate.
The chicken cutlet in my don is really a big piece (it does not have large amount of flour covering the meat). Beside being big size, the crispyness of the cutlet is another thing that make me fall in love with it immediately.
We also ordered their scallop which i think its much better than some japanese restuarant that are offering. Their scallops are pretty big in size and when mixed with the mayonnise it taste marvellous. One plate is definitely not enough for both of us.
A definite worth to try japanese food.
Rating given:
Where can i find breakfast early in the morning in a shopping center? I do not think this is possible till Joe my friend brought me here.
It was around 7 plus early in the morning and Joe initiated to bring me over to jurong point shopping centre. At the particular time, i only thought of having a simple early breakfast in those 24 hour kopitiam rather than going to shop. But he assured me that there are early breakfast there.
Since i decided to believe in him, we both make way to the jurong point shopping centre. I was rather amazed when i reach the place, true enough there are really stores that open early in the morning to provide breakfast for us people. I just wonder what time do they need to wake up in order to prepare the food.
What this store attracts me is definitely the long queue. As there are no signage at the top of their store, i could not figure out what they are selling until i reach the front of the store.
They actually sells you tiao, butterfly, salted bun, sweet bun, etc. In their open concept design, one could see how the dough is kneaded , fried and become ready to be served on the shelves.
Their stuff actually sell at quite a fast speed so at times one will have to wait for some time before the next batch of food is ready.
I loved their butterfly. I think they called it butterfly due to the similar resemblence of shape. Actually, it is just a simple dough without any fillings inside.
Although there is no fillings to give the additional taste to the butterfly, it still taste fantastic just eating it alone.
A lightly sweetened and sprinkled with some sesame seads butterly tasted real good especially when eaten hot. Not a wasted trip after all. :)
Rating given:
Was really really very hungry when i just could not find the crepe house (earlier review), so i decided to grab the egg tart first.
Ok, this is not my first time eating tong heng egg tart. In the past, my mama used to buy the tong heng egg tarts from the shop in south bridge road for me. She told me that no one can compare the egg tarts with them. True enough, when i sink my teeth into their egg tart the first time, i fall in love with it immediately.
This time round, their price increased quite substainially. In the past, i used to get egg tarts for 90 cents but now it has rose to 1 dollar and 25 cents. A rather tremendous rise i can say.
As a consumer, i think the risen price can be acceptable as ingredients price are rising up nowadays. But one importanthe thing is that their quality must not fall.
When i sinked my teeth into their egg tart, i was rather disappointed. However, let me first praise the egg tart for their egg mixture as its is very very smooth and not forgetting their egg tart crust which is very nice and crispy.
Whats more the egg tart is warm, this may be due to the quick replenish of the egg tart stock as alot of people buy them.
Now for the disappointment part is that, i taste abit sourish in their egg tart. I do not know if its because their egg tart has gone back or due to their different ingredients. But this sourish taste, really did not give me a good impression in their egg tart.
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Someone told me that this store was located in B2 and i walked twice and still could not find the store. In the end, when i was feeling rather disappointed, it suddenly appeared right in front of me.
Ok, after spending quite a bit of effort in finding the store, it is almost impossible for me not to have one of the crepe in my hands.
This pinky store uses a open concept kind of idea in its store. Thus, one will be able to see every single step in making the crepe. I quickly make my order (banana ice cream crepe).
One thing that i found out when ordering, is that they actually can choose the flavour of the ice cream. So, if the display item say vanilla ice cream, you can actually request to change it to chocolate ice cream (which i did). However, the green tea ice cream will cost an additional 50 cents more which i can't figure out why till now.
I almost thought that i could see how they make the crepe. To my disappointment, the crepes are ready make. So, off she went to put in some fresh cream and bananas plus one scope of chocolate ice cream. The end product looks kinda nice.
The first bite into the product was how come the crepe skin is soft. Orginally, i thought that the crepe skin is hard so when you bite the crepe, you can feel the crispness of the skin.
The soft crepe skin make the whole thing rather flimsy thus it requires some skill to rather eat the crepe with style. One thing to comment is their ice cream taste fantastic. I think that is the only thing i love about this crepe.
Price wise, i think its abit steep for such crepe to cost more than 5 bucks.
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Something different for Singaporeans. I have heard of Trolley Noodles but this was the first time I tried one.
Owned by Old Hong Kong Tea House in Katong. Trolley Noodles first appeared in Hong Kong in the 1950's where the standard of living was much lower and many Chinese refugees were flooding into Hong Kong.
Each noodle stall was manned by one single boss who offered quick but yummy, cheap food. Their illegal stalls were constructed on wheels in order to run away from the law enforcement officers. Trolley Noodles was the staple of many locals who had limited spending power but still needed to fill their stomachs with yummy fare.
Noodle is bathed in a broth and you choose freely from a wide variety of tasty ingredients like curry fish balls, beef brisket, curry squid, pigskin, dried bean curd, vegetables ....etc. (It's like our local Yong Tau Foo 酿豆腐.) You can request for a bowl of rice instead of noodles. (It's like our Mixed Vegetable Rice 杂菜饭.)
Trolley Noodles costs S$4 (noodles with 5 ingredients). You can pick meat only or vegetarian or both. I love braised and stewed meats.
Try their Iced Blended Milk Tea (冰沙奶茶 S$2 ). The lady Boss thought of an ingenious way to retain the flavour of the drink, even though the ice has melted, the tea didn't taste diluted.
There is a selection of 6 specially concocted sauces to go with your noodles or as a dip!!
There is the Signature Spicy Chilli (spurt fire!!), Braised Brisket Sauce, Curry Sauce, Hong Kong Sha Cha Sauce, Special Sweet Sauce and Spicy Sauce. I love the first 4. The sauces were a treat!
Now, if Hong Kong immigrants and even Hong Kong chefs from hotels come to eat this Trolley Noodles, the flavour must be right!
Old Hong Kong Tea House
6 Raffles Boulevard #04-101/102 Marina Food Loft, Marina Square
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I don't know if it was because I ordered the wrong thing or what, somehow it didn't feel to me like I had as good an experience there as bobo and feizhu did.
I, too, ordered the Grilled Half Shell Scallops with Linguine. Sounded really good to me, what with the scallops and the whole set meal. However, I was pretty disappointed when my order came. Felt like the scallops were done in 4 different ways - Well done, medium well, medium and rare. Yes, it certainly did look so. The scallops weren't sweet either. The linguine did not really have much taste other than the spice on it and loads of Olive oil. It was very dry, like fried noodles left over, re-fried. I thought that I had to mix it, but even until the end when I had less linguine and a lot of olive oil left, it still didn't work. In the end, my pasta became very oily, you can feel all the oil around your lips.. =s
The soup, though, was not bad I felt. It wasn't too diluted and was rather tasty. Served with 2 small slices of bread, which, for me, didn't seem to hard after dipping it into the soup. But I'm more of a smooth-texture-soup kinda person, so I didn't quite like the little bits and pieces of carrots (I think) in it. It's like an ice-blend drink not well blended.
Though what I had wasn't exceptionally good, I think I would still go back and give the place a try. I did get to try abit of their pan-fried dory which I thought was not too bad, hence I wouldn't conclude that the quality of the food there is poor. Also, I find the restaurant somewhat welcoming. Could be due to the fact that the waitress in there seemed pleased to welcome us in. Just feels very comfortable.
In addition, the interior is simply decorated, with cute wall paper. Somehow adds a tinge of cosy-ness and comfort to the place. Plus, there's television too! I like watching TV and eating at the same time.. Haha.
On the whole, I think the place is nice and the price is decent. Service is good. Plus!! There's no GST inclusive - kinda important, especially if your meal totals up to be quite expensive right. Would give the place another try, since it was only my first time there. ;)
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