Plaza Singapura is a wonderfully located shopping mall being close to orchard road and neighbors to The Cathay. Its central location allows it to be a easy pit stop regardless of which side you are prone to visit and having the Dhouby Ghaut MRT with the north east line converging on it is a godsend for the retailers housed within.
Talking about retailers, the place is packed with them. Carrefour, Giordana, Baleno, Marks and Spencer, Lee Hwa Jewelry, Burger King, Levis, Starhub, Singtel, San Bookshop, Apple Retailers and even Bose. Its a shoppers easy to access location with a huge and extensive selection.
Add to that a movie cinema, a videogames arcade and a Yamaha school for further entertainment and diversity and basically, its easy to see why PS is an acronym alot of youngsters are saying when they go out.
As for myself, the reason i go to PS is because of the location and ease if i take an MRT. There's nothing much to it. Its just easy to reach and hellishly simple to shop there. Thats my take.
Amk Hub is a new addition to the AMK central region and boasts a multitude of stores and parking lots for the main community.
In the beginning, the Hub was highly praised for its excellent melding of department stores, underground passages and most importantly, the synchronisation and incorporation of the bus interchange with a major department store. It still stands as a shining example of space maximization and the combination of various functions into one building.
The hub itself holds numerous restaurants which range from New York New York, Fish and Co to Mcdonald's, and Dian Xiao Er. Which is a great convenience along with a rather big NTUC outlet for groceries and lots of shopping outlets for clothes, computers, video, electronics and even houses 2 banks, DBS and UOB for easy cash withdrawal.
Parking lots are plenty and spacious while the Hub itself is generous with space such that it never feels too crowded.
A good place with all the necessary things you need and then some.
It was a weekday and i met up with my gf for a meal. Unsure of what to have, we proceeded down to Serangoon Garden in hope of having some nice western but the places were filled and thus, we settled for Sushi Tei instead.
The outlet was decorated simply with the conveyor belt that is all the rage with Japanese restaurants. Having had a prior bad experience with Sushi Tei at Big Splash, this was the second chance they needed to get back into my good books.
We ordered a Unagi Yanagawa and Ebi and Yasai Don to share.
The Unagi Yanagawa came in 6 rather big pieces and cost $12 which was a little steep. However, the fresh unagi and nicely done cooking which managed to retain the sweet and slightly springy taste managed to make the dish feel at least acceptable.
The Ebi and Yasai don on the other hand was value for money @ $8 since it came with 8 nicely fried prawns and plenty of fried vegetables as well. Rice is the usual japanese sticky sushi rice which tasted bland but was salvaged by the teriyaki sauce and the accompaniments.
We had a few sushi dishes as well which struck me as rather normal for the value plates of $1.60 and $1.80 plates. However, the more expensive plates served better items but were upwards of $4 to $6. So its really a personal preference for the sushi part. As for me, i'd rather return for the ala carte in future.
Service was respectable and decent.
All in all, this is definitely better then the Big Splash branch.
What better way to wrap up a meal and combat the cold weather than a bowl of hot Ah Balling soup? $1.50 gets you a bowl of the peanut based dessert with 4 large Tang Yuans or Glutinous Rice Balls with your choice of either Peanut or Sesame filling. The Tang Yuans had a relatively thin yet elastic skin which was not too starchy. Bite into one and the sweet fillings ooze out to greet your teeth. They say goodness comes in small packages and I do not wonder why.
My parents have been buying Hum Chin Pengs from this stall ever since I was a kid (Think 20 years ago). The old man used to be the one doing up the dough and the daughter would fry the Hum Chin Peng . It used to go for 5 cents for 2 pieces, but now times have changed and you have to do your own frying, which can be quite fun and the Hum Chin Pengs go for a dollar for 7 pieces now. Don't worry if you are an idiot at cooking because the lady will ensure that your Hum Chin Pengs turn out just right. After frying, there is the option of coating it in icing sugar. I had a dollar worth of the sweet version (there's the salty version as well) and I must say that the Hum Chin Pengs tasted really good, especially with the icing sugar. Each piece is quite small, so it is quite light and can be taken as a snack. One downside is the oil which is used to fry the Hum Chin Pengs. Last I looked, it was black, owing to the charred pieces of dough. May I add that this is extremely bad for health, but once a while is fine right? ;)
Tian Tian Chicken Rice has got to be one of the better chicken rice stalls in Singapore. The chilli is just great, although a tad spicy for me(I wish I knew the recipe for it). The chicken itself is rather normal, but the rice is fragrant and tasty without being too oily. $3 gets you a huge plate of rice with about 10 sizeable slices of chicken. Talk about cheap and good! There's a very long queue to boot as well so if you are not the kind to wait 30 mins or more for your food, you might just want to visit during the off peak hours like 4-5pm.
Journeyed to Big Splash for lunch one afternoon and chanced upon a newly opened Sushi Tei outlet without the usual crowds that throng its other outlets. Decided to give it a try since the last time I ate at Sushi Tei was probably about 4 years ago at the outlet near my place. As Sushi Tei is relatively well known, I shall just do a quick writeup on it.
Located just opposite The Seafood International Market & Restaurant, Sushi Tei offers a view of the carpark driveway and a glimpse of East Coast Park through its floor to ceiling windows. And the problem with huge glass windows in the afternoon is the heat that penetrates through, which fortunately, was minimal during my visit.
Jo Una Ju - This was essentially unagi with rice. I didn't get to try it but I understand that it was quite salty from the excessive sauce and I guess the substantial leftovers supported that point.
Oyako Don - A staple dish in most Japanese restaurants, the oyako don didn't really impress much with its less than flavourful egg and chicken cubes. But served steaming hot, it was actually still quite palatable especially with its soft sticky rice. And for $8 a serving, it sure beats what sakae sushi's offering hands down.
Golden Roll - Its actually the first time I'm trying something like this and honestly, I liked it quite a fair bit. Prawn pieces sandwiched between rice, just like sushi and layered with mango strips. Sweetness from the prawn and the mango - a very complementing taste. But its $13 for 6 rolls, which is really quite expensive.
Overall an average meal for a not so average pricing, standing at about $44. But having said that, I would definitely prefer dining at Sushi Tei as opposed to Sakae Sushi, which IMHO serves unpalatable food. Service could be friendlier but I like the place for being crowd free - something that would probably change soon given the brand's popularity.
Having watched the television program "No Reservations" hosted by Anthony Bourdain, i was surprised to find a foreigner actually endorsing his name and effort on this one particular chicken rice stall which is meant to signify all chicken rice stalls in Singapore.
To say the least, the intrigue brought me to make the long trip down to visit the stall to verify if it is indeed THE best chicken rice stall around.
I was not disappointed. The chicken is tender, succulent and has a texture and taste all its own. Unlike the copycats and soothsayers around, the chicken had a gingerish taste which is difficult to discern and the chicken is not served hot. In fact, its a little cool when served, possibly due to dipping the chicken into cold water to retain the texture.
The rice is another matter which needs to be tried. Its fragrance is better then average and easy on the stomach. I'd recommend adding chili sauce to the rice, mixing it up and eating it with some chicken dipped in dark sauce but thats just me.
Living in the East side of Singapore has its perks, being close to the East Coast is one of them. Thus it was that it was another random day after work that me and my gf visited the coast in search for food. Our choices were aplenty as Mingles, Sushi Teh, OldTown White coffee and many more are located at within the vicinity. However, we settled for some fast food instead. And do forgive me if i sound utterly weird as this is the first time i've eaten at Carl's Junior. To say the least, it surprised me.
Located at the Big Splash, this branch is the newest of the bunch and boasts a rather nice, quiet and relaxed atmosphere that is easy to appreciate. The relative lack of being totally packed during dinner time helped alot since squeezing and waiting for food is not something i can grow accustom to in a jiffy. Service was fast and friendly while the place looked spic and span.
The advertising campaign for Carl's Jr is totally hit or miss in my opinion. The tagline of "Its Gonna Get Messy" carries a pun which they have ran with to signify everything from sex to murder whereby the burger sauce is splattered across different mediums. Now that i've tried the burger, well, i must say, they aren't too far off the mark.
I had a Western Bacon Double Cheeseburger meal with my fries exchanged for onion rings. Now, the onion rings were huge compared to Burger Kings rendition and that's not supposed to be a good thing by the way. Why is that so? Because the upsize only gave me 6 onion rings in all. The rings themselves also felt overfried because it was way too dry and didn't have the same moist and fragrant onion ring taste from BK. The burger however, managed to redeem the situation because its definitely huge. Size wise, this is pretty much on par or bigger then BK's double whopper. The beef taste is extremely strong as well, thus you might either like it or hate it with a passion. Fillings were also generous as bacon slices, cucumbers, cheese and meat fight to gain control of your taste buds. And sooner or later, something will spill from the burger whether you like it or not.
My gf had the Portebello Mushroom Burger with cross cut fries. Her order was much better since the fries were infinitely better then my onion rings. The fries were thick, nicely fried till golden brown while still remaining moist inside. The only gripe is that you can practically see the oil you are consuming. Her burger also had a char broiled beef patty within which is accompanied by greens, cream, tomatoes and mushroom. She enjoyed it but wasn't a fan of the strong beef taste. I had a go and found it a little too salty due to the soaked mushrooms but otherwise, its decent as well.
The bill came to about $18 or $20.
Fast food is something that has permeated everyday life to the point that if a brainless food decision is needed. Any fast food joint will simply pop into mind. Carl's is more or less vying for the niche market that is currently dominated by BK and i must say, it is a pretty strong contender in that field. Price wise, its quite steep for fast food but the burger more or less blows away doubt of what you are paying for. Give it a go at least once to see for yourself.
Zouk, one of the most famous clubbing spots in Singapore and one of the best places to go to if you are too young and still wish to experience what the clubbing scene woo ha is all about.
I've only ever been to the place once and it was during the CNY celebrations a couple of years ago. What i can say is that the place is dark, dangy and lacks a certain finesse which should be the order of the day.
Drinks were hellishly expensive and the crowd consisted of little girls and army boys. And on that fateful day, the army boys outnumbered girls by 10 to 1. It was a scene to behold.
The positive notes would be that the songs were rather connectable and there were lots of people on the dance floor. Some were doing synchronised dances on the floor as well which was rather interesting but otherwise, i really don't see the draw for people to actually patronize the place.
Maybe i'm just a bar person but Zouk is just not for me.
1=SGD 0.0587
Plaza Singapura is a wonderfully located shopping mall being close to orchard road and neighbors to The Cathay. Its central location allows it to be a easy pit stop regardless of which side you are prone to visit and having the Dhouby Ghaut MRT with the north east line converging on it is a godsend for the retailers housed within.
Talking about retailers, the place is packed with them. Carrefour, Giordana, Baleno, Marks and Spencer, Lee Hwa Jewelry, Burger King, Levis, Starhub, Singtel, San Bookshop, Apple Retailers and even Bose. Its a shoppers easy to access location with a huge and extensive selection.
Add to that a movie cinema, a videogames arcade and a Yamaha school for further entertainment and diversity and basically, its easy to see why PS is an acronym alot of youngsters are saying when they go out.
As for myself, the reason i go to PS is because of the location and ease if i take an MRT. There's nothing much to it. Its just easy to reach and hellishly simple to shop there. Thats my take.
Rating given:
Amk Hub is a new addition to the AMK central region and boasts a multitude of stores and parking lots for the main community.
In the beginning, the Hub was highly praised for its excellent melding of department stores, underground passages and most importantly, the synchronisation and incorporation of the bus interchange with a major department store. It still stands as a shining example of space maximization and the combination of various functions into one building.
The hub itself holds numerous restaurants which range from New York New York, Fish and Co to Mcdonald's, and Dian Xiao Er. Which is a great convenience along with a rather big NTUC outlet for groceries and lots of shopping outlets for clothes, computers, video, electronics and even houses 2 banks, DBS and UOB for easy cash withdrawal.
Parking lots are plenty and spacious while the Hub itself is generous with space such that it never feels too crowded.
A good place with all the necessary things you need and then some.
Rating given:
It was a weekday and i met up with my gf for a meal. Unsure of what to have, we proceeded down to Serangoon Garden in hope of having some nice western but the places were filled and thus, we settled for Sushi Tei instead.
The outlet was decorated simply with the conveyor belt that is all the rage with Japanese restaurants. Having had a prior bad experience with Sushi Tei at Big Splash, this was the second chance they needed to get back into my good books.
We ordered a Unagi Yanagawa and Ebi and Yasai Don to share.
The Unagi Yanagawa came in 6 rather big pieces and cost $12 which was a little steep. However, the fresh unagi and nicely done cooking which managed to retain the sweet and slightly springy taste managed to make the dish feel at least acceptable.
The Ebi and Yasai don on the other hand was value for money @ $8 since it came with 8 nicely fried prawns and plenty of fried vegetables as well. Rice is the usual japanese sticky sushi rice which tasted bland but was salvaged by the teriyaki sauce and the accompaniments.
We had a few sushi dishes as well which struck me as rather normal for the value plates of $1.60 and $1.80 plates. However, the more expensive plates served better items but were upwards of $4 to $6. So its really a personal preference for the sushi part. As for me, i'd rather return for the ala carte in future.
Service was respectable and decent.
All in all, this is definitely better then the Big Splash branch.
Rating given:
What better way to wrap up a meal and combat the cold weather than a bowl of hot Ah Balling soup? $1.50 gets you a bowl of the peanut based dessert with 4 large Tang Yuans or Glutinous Rice Balls with your choice of either Peanut or Sesame filling. The Tang Yuans had a relatively thin yet elastic skin which was not too starchy. Bite into one and the sweet fillings ooze out to greet your teeth. They say goodness comes in small packages and I do not wonder why.
Rating given:
My parents have been buying Hum Chin Pengs from this stall ever since I was a kid (Think 20 years ago). The old man used to be the one doing up the dough and the daughter would fry the Hum Chin Peng . It used to go for 5 cents for 2 pieces, but now times have changed and you have to do your own frying, which can be quite fun and the Hum Chin Pengs go for a dollar for 7 pieces now. Don't worry if you are an idiot at cooking because the lady will ensure that your Hum Chin Pengs turn out just right. After frying, there is the option of coating it in icing sugar. I had a dollar worth of the sweet version (there's the salty version as well) and I must say that the Hum Chin Pengs tasted really good, especially with the icing sugar. Each piece is quite small, so it is quite light and can be taken as a snack. One downside is the oil which is used to fry the Hum Chin Pengs. Last I looked, it was black, owing to the charred pieces of dough. May I add that this is extremely bad for health, but once a while is fine right? ;)
Rating given:
Tian Tian Chicken Rice has got to be one of the better chicken rice stalls in Singapore. The chilli is just great, although a tad spicy for me(I wish I knew the recipe for it). The chicken itself is rather normal, but the rice is fragrant and tasty without being too oily. $3 gets you a huge plate of rice with about 10 sizeable slices of chicken. Talk about cheap and good! There's a very long queue to boot as well so if you are not the kind to wait 30 mins or more for your food, you might just want to visit during the off peak hours like 4-5pm.
Rating given:
Journeyed to Big Splash for lunch one afternoon and chanced upon a newly opened Sushi Tei outlet without the usual crowds that throng its other outlets. Decided to give it a try since the last time I ate at Sushi Tei was probably about 4 years ago at the outlet near my place. As Sushi Tei is relatively well known, I shall just do a quick writeup on it.
Located just opposite The Seafood International Market & Restaurant, Sushi Tei offers a view of the carpark driveway and a glimpse of East Coast Park through its floor to ceiling windows. And the problem with huge glass windows in the afternoon is the heat that penetrates through, which fortunately, was minimal during my visit.
Jo Una Ju - This was essentially unagi with rice. I didn't get to try it but I understand that it was quite salty from the excessive sauce and I guess the substantial leftovers supported that point.
Oyako Don - A staple dish in most Japanese restaurants, the oyako don didn't really impress much with its less than flavourful egg and chicken cubes. But served steaming hot, it was actually still quite palatable especially with its soft sticky rice. And for $8 a serving, it sure beats what sakae sushi's offering hands down.
Golden Roll - Its actually the first time I'm trying something like this and honestly, I liked it quite a fair bit. Prawn pieces sandwiched between rice, just like sushi and layered with mango strips. Sweetness from the prawn and the mango - a very complementing taste. But its $13 for 6 rolls, which is really quite expensive.
Overall an average meal for a not so average pricing, standing at about $44. But having said that, I would definitely prefer dining at Sushi Tei as opposed to Sakae Sushi, which IMHO serves unpalatable food. Service could be friendlier but I like the place for being crowd free - something that would probably change soon given the brand's popularity.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Having watched the television program "No Reservations" hosted by Anthony Bourdain, i was surprised to find a foreigner actually endorsing his name and effort on this one particular chicken rice stall which is meant to signify all chicken rice stalls in Singapore.
To say the least, the intrigue brought me to make the long trip down to visit the stall to verify if it is indeed THE best chicken rice stall around.
I was not disappointed. The chicken is tender, succulent and has a texture and taste all its own. Unlike the copycats and soothsayers around, the chicken had a gingerish taste which is difficult to discern and the chicken is not served hot. In fact, its a little cool when served, possibly due to dipping the chicken into cold water to retain the texture.
The rice is another matter which needs to be tried. Its fragrance is better then average and easy on the stomach. I'd recommend adding chili sauce to the rice, mixing it up and eating it with some chicken dipped in dark sauce but thats just me.
Rating given:
Living in the East side of Singapore has its perks, being close to the East Coast is one of them. Thus it was that it was another random day after work that me and my gf visited the coast in search for food. Our choices were aplenty as Mingles, Sushi Teh, OldTown White coffee and many more are located at within the vicinity. However, we settled for some fast food instead. And do forgive me if i sound utterly weird as this is the first time i've eaten at Carl's Junior. To say the least, it surprised me.
Located at the Big Splash, this branch is the newest of the bunch and boasts a rather nice, quiet and relaxed atmosphere that is easy to appreciate. The relative lack of being totally packed during dinner time helped alot since squeezing and waiting for food is not something i can grow accustom to in a jiffy. Service was fast and friendly while the place looked spic and span.
The advertising campaign for Carl's Jr is totally hit or miss in my opinion. The tagline of "Its Gonna Get Messy" carries a pun which they have ran with to signify everything from sex to murder whereby the burger sauce is splattered across different mediums. Now that i've tried the burger, well, i must say, they aren't too far off the mark.
I had a Western Bacon Double Cheeseburger meal with my fries exchanged for onion rings. Now, the onion rings were huge compared to Burger Kings rendition and that's not supposed to be a good thing by the way. Why is that so? Because the upsize only gave me 6 onion rings in all. The rings themselves also felt overfried because it was way too dry and didn't have the same moist and fragrant onion ring taste from BK. The burger however, managed to redeem the situation because its definitely huge. Size wise, this is pretty much on par or bigger then BK's double whopper. The beef taste is extremely strong as well, thus you might either like it or hate it with a passion. Fillings were also generous as bacon slices, cucumbers, cheese and meat fight to gain control of your taste buds. And sooner or later, something will spill from the burger whether you like it or not.
My gf had the Portebello Mushroom Burger with cross cut fries. Her order was much better since the fries were infinitely better then my onion rings. The fries were thick, nicely fried till golden brown while still remaining moist inside. The only gripe is that you can practically see the oil you are consuming. Her burger also had a char broiled beef patty within which is accompanied by greens, cream, tomatoes and mushroom. She enjoyed it but wasn't a fan of the strong beef taste. I had a go and found it a little too salty due to the soaked mushrooms but otherwise, its decent as well.
The bill came to about $18 or $20.
Fast food is something that has permeated everyday life to the point that if a brainless food decision is needed. Any fast food joint will simply pop into mind. Carl's is more or less vying for the niche market that is currently dominated by BK and i must say, it is a pretty strong contender in that field. Price wise, its quite steep for fast food but the burger more or less blows away doubt of what you are paying for. Give it a go at least once to see for yourself.
Rating given:
Zouk, one of the most famous clubbing spots in Singapore and one of the best places to go to if you are too young and still wish to experience what the clubbing scene woo ha is all about.
I've only ever been to the place once and it was during the CNY celebrations a couple of years ago. What i can say is that the place is dark, dangy and lacks a certain finesse which should be the order of the day.
Drinks were hellishly expensive and the crowd consisted of little girls and army boys. And on that fateful day, the army boys outnumbered girls by 10 to 1. It was a scene to behold.
The positive notes would be that the songs were rather connectable and there were lots of people on the dance floor. Some were doing synchronised dances on the floor as well which was rather interesting but otherwise, i really don't see the draw for people to actually patronize the place.
Maybe i'm just a bar person but Zouk is just not for me.
Rating given: