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My fellow Bukit Batok-ians, this is THE place to go to for char kuay teow and hokkien mee. I often like to ask what local food will you miss the most if you go overseas, and my answer will always be ckt. By and large it’s not a easy choice, not when there are so many nice and delicious local food around; chicken rice, rojak, laksa just to name a few, but yes, I will miss my ckt the most.
From afar, I could smell the aroma, and I’m drawn in, immediately. What is that smell? Sniff, sniff: this, is the smell of my love. Every mouthful was so good, and I wolfed down one plate in a blink of the eye. One plate was definitely not enough, I always order two plates of char kuay teow ($2). And I don’t want to share with you, shoo! go away.
I love the char kuay teow here, for a period of time initially, I was having ckt for almost four-five times a week (two plates each time). But when you have too much good food, you will become sick of it, and so was I, which brought my attention to…
Hokkien mee!
I have the black carrot cake for breakfast, char kuay teow for lunch, and hokkien mee for dinner. Sounds good right? Nah, I usually rotates between the char kuay teow or hokkien mee ($3) for lunch since the stall closes during the afternoon. I know judging from the photo, the ckt looks a lot better than the HM, but believe me, I’ll go to the extent of saying this is the best Hokkien mee, at least in Bukit Batok. He cooks every order by plate, which meant a longer waiting time; but hey, every plate is fricking good! And I like the wetness and moist version of HM, with a lot chilli and two limes squeeze in; I’m a happy man!
And oh, it’s almost lunch time. Uncle, one packet of char kuay teow, and one packet of hokkien mee with extra chilli and lime please!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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There are generally two type of restaurants; either one that has great food, but normal or almost no scenery to boost of; where you will gladly bring along your really-stable-boyfriend, bff, girlfriends whom have all seen you at your worst so dining unglamorously is not an issue. Or the other that serves average food, but has a to-die-for ambience, making it a must-go place for your date.
And Novus Cafe belongs to the latter. Theoretically Novus cafe isn’t a restaurant, it is a cafe. But I’m speaking on the broad assumption that it has great ambience, and serve average simple food.
The latter will be the type of places where you will go for your first date, or important occasions; never mind the food’s you-know-what, but it’s a great place to hang out and chill at. Period. Novus’s menu mostly comprises of simple food like pasta/risotto, pizza, and sandwich. But it is the ambience, I love in fall with it the first time I “accidentally” went to the National Museum and saw it. Okay, that’s a lie, I went there with the sole and only purpose to Reece the place for a visit.
Nestled within a Museum, artistic value checked. Nice al fresco dining area, checked. Comfy sofas and nice ambience, checked. Come for dinner and you have a night at the museum. You come to the places like this for your important date, the food doesn’t matter since you are gonna lock eyes with the partner sitting opposite and probably won’t notice what you are putting in your mouth.
I always feel sandwich is a down-sized burger in disguise. Well the similarity is certainly there; fillings stuff between two bread/bun, with the exception that sandwiches ain’t as sexy as their burger counterparts. Who wants sandwiches when you got burgers? Stop pretending to be healthy, and keep the calories chart that you are holding!
“My sandwich” ($16) certainly wasn’t what my-kind-of-sandwich would be like. Beef pastrami, gouda cheese, tomato, dijonnaise, rucola, and sunny side up. And it came with potato chips. How healthy. Anyway, I was wondering how come we can pay 16 bucks for a sandwich and not wimp, while some will scorn at the mere mention of paying the same amount for the burger? Does this means the sandwich was bad? Not at all, like I said, I’m just not that into sandwich.
I fall in love with risotto, and ever since I’d been on the lookout for better ones. So when there’s only four selections under the seemingly-comprehensive-sounding title of pasta & risotto in the menu, I chose the risotto, immediately. I’ll never forget, the sticky-almost-porridge texture, the essence of the ingredient fully absorbed and coated in every grain of the alluring aborio rice. Pesto risotto ($12).
Does that means Novus being the nice-ambience-but-average-food place was bad? Of course not. I’m so gonna come back here again! There are places where you will go for the good food, and there are places where you go to, to immerse yourself in the surroundings. And Novus belongs to the latter.
I’m a sucker for ambience.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Read a rave review about Claypot Fun in one edition of the Sunday Times so made it a point to try it out one weekday afternoon (The very day the article was published, I attempted to try it out but was put off by the 45min wait for a table). Apparently the outfit is a collaboration between the Jumbo Group, Palm Beach and Seafood International.
This newest entrant to the culinary scene at Big Splash is tucked in between a ramen shop and Starbucks. The interior is tiny and can probably seat about 20 odd pax while the tiny alfresco area can take another 10 tops. You probably wouldn't want to sit outside unless you don't mind the queue forming just behind you. One thing that irks me about this place is the seeming biasness in table allocation. Apparently the booth seats are meant for 4 pax and above and we only had 3, so we didn't qualify. However I spotted 2 people sharing one such booth and when I questioned the waitress, she said that there were 4 people. Well I sure didn't see an extra 2 people when they paid up and left.
Watercress Pork Rib Soup - I thought that the watercress soup was a good start to the meal - light yet savoury. However the ribs were limited to 3 small pieces that looked more like a joke then anything else. Then again, its $5.20, so I probably shouldn't be expecting much.
Sesame Chicken - I'm no fan of sesame chicken and this one wasn't just about to change my mind. The chicken pieces, though soft, were very oily and portion size was small. Overall an average dish.
Claypot Rice with Chinese Sausage - Amidst all the hype about the claypot rice, I was disappointed to say the least. And I'm sure I echo the sentiments of my dining partners as well. Apparently the claypot rice was done (according to the waitress) HK style, which meant no black sauce. In lieu was a concoction of sesame oil and soy sauce, which had to be added by the customer himself/herself or by the wait staff upon request. I noticed that the "sauce" was segregated into 2 layers because oil floats and what went into our rice was mainly sesame oil. That obviously didn't sit well with any of us as the rice was quite oily yet dry at the same time. The Chinese sausages were alright but I prefer mine drier.
See all my pictures here.
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Oh man, She’s grabbing all the good stuff; the big pincers, the meatier crab legs, all gone! Everybody behind the woman, stared at her as she made away with the “goods”.
With the crab tong in hand, it was used to hammer the shell. The fellow diners on the same table immediately dispersed, “watch it! The crab gravy is flying everywhere!“
The lady eyed the seafood section, carefully choosing the biggest white fresh oysters on the bed of ice. She proceeded on to squeeze lemon wedges onto each of them, not wasting a single drop. Taking a fork, she slurped down five oysters, in one shot.
Wash your hands clean and crab-free in the lemon water, we are going for the second round!
The team of eight sat down at the table to discuss their plans, like true elite commando fashion; they attacked the crabs in the precise and deadly manner that they were known for.
“Mommy, I want that slice of very delicious-looking, oreo cheesecake!” The small girl told her mother, even though their stomachs are bursting from all the crabs.
* * *
(1) The commentaries were some of the conversation that I’ve overheard, and observed during the buffet, and I thought it would be interesting to write about this.
(2) I don’t like to eat crabs; I’m too lazy to dirty my hands shelling the crustaceans. And if I do, the chili crab will be my favourite; I love the thick, spicy chili gravy. And there’s the best company in the form of the deep fried mantou; I always poked a hole in the middle of the fried bun and poured lots of gravy inside. Then the soaking of the whole bun within the goodness of the gravy, they are oh, so-good! And I kept a bowl of chili gravy filled throughout the buffet, dipping everything in it.
(3) The crab buffet at Ellenborough market cafe is only available for dinner at $46 per head, and will last for two weeks, starting from the 25th June. Singaporeans, love (read: love), their crabs, I went during the first day of the promotion and it was full house, on a weekday dinner! So if you are heading down, please remember to make reservations in advance. And my appreciation to Sok Hoon, the marketing communication manger for the invitation to the food tasting session.
(4) Just some more information about the buffet: There’s chefs-on-the-spot cooking crab risotto, frying mee goreng, and wrapping crab popiahs, the seafood area which has sashimi, prawns and seafood, the usual western/Asian cuisine selections, the omnipresent chocolate fondue, with a pretty decent choices of desserts ranging from cheesecake, to shooters, and their famous Durian Pengat. And I love having some Chinese desserts like tou suan with you tiao too!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
I was enticed by the prospect of stuffing myself with dim sum for tea so headed down to Peach Garden @ Thomson one Sunday afternoon. The last time I had dim sum at Peach Garden, the fare was decent and I was under the impression that if food quality remained consistent, this dim sum buffet could be well worth the money.
Ambience
The place has a typical Chinese restaurant setting and looks deceptively small from the outside. The interior however, can seat probably in excess of a hundred pax. Though the place was packed to the rafters with people, I appreciate the fact that tables are spaced adequately apart, which makes for more privacy.
Variety
There is a "live" station where service staff dish out carrot cake, fried chicken, ice cream and the likes. Usual suspects like porridge, fruits and desserts can also be found at the station. Dim sum trolleys are pushed around periodically and you merely have to inform the wait staff of the dishes you desire. I counted less then 20 different dim sum varieties off the trolley, which include both steamed and fried variants. I found it quite a pity that Peach Garden didn't include their much loved (by me) custard bun in the buffet lineup.
Quality
Personally, I thought that the quality was average at best. The best dishes were probably the Har Gao and the Walls ice cream served up between 2 wafer biscuits. Everything else either tasted out of sorts or was too oily. We threw in the towel after only about half an hour when the whole buffet was suppose to last for two. I guess that says a lot doesn't it?
Service
Service was quite acceptably decent. No big boo boos or anything and our tea got refilled quite constantly.
Value for money
At about $20/pax after taxes, the buffet is not expensive per se but factor in the quality and I'm better off having ala carte elsewhere. This deal is only good if quality isn't of the utmost priority and you just wish to gorge yourself silly.
See all my pictures here.
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Dear diary,
I have sinned. I have a confession to make: since the start-of-don’t-know-when, I found myself deeply enthralled by her, I just couldn’t stop thinking about our past encounters - all the more needless to say, to take my eyes off her. I’m head over heels, so deeply in love, with..
Desserts!
As sinful as they are, I couldn’t stop myself; every time after we are done, I rested on my back and sworn not to get involved with you again. But it happened again, and again, and again. Our messy affair, the love-hate relationship, oh dear.
You speak torta alla gianduia? No? How about crème brulee, panna cotta, charlotte aux poires, or mille-feuille aux fraises? Come on, I’m sure we have a common language.
I don’t know about you, but I always, always have problems passing by a patisserie without trying to splurge my monthly allowance there. The beautiful shop-front attracted and suck me in like a magnet; I couldn’t bear to leave without saying hello to those pretty and delicate desserts!
And remember the time when something terrible happened? One slice of mousse will wash those tears away. It can even heal all your scars! When you are with your loved one, even a spoon of the simplest cheesecake would do wonders, creating memories for eternity.
You know that thing when you see a cutie and she smiles; your heart skipped a beat and your legs go wobbling like a jelly? Well that’s what feels like whenever I see a dessert.
I’m a dessert-holic.
* * *
The carrot cake came across as rather dry, like I’ve mentioned before; I’m not a good judge of carrot cake since I’ve not tried Queen cedele’s, yet. What’s there not to like about a slice of really good strawberry cheesecake? Big, bright red strawberries sitting prettily on top of creamy thick cheesecakes! And my weakness, chocolate cake. Heat it up and you got the molten texture, paired with a scoop of chilled icy cold ice cream, ding, the elevator reached level heaven.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
I will have never imagine myself shelving out thirty bucks at a coffee shop.
But that’s what I did, for a piece of Kurobuta pork ($28), at Big D Grill. Oh man, I don’t know what to say, but I did that. I always have a thing for you, all the more I couldn’t miss it when so many people had praised you to the sky; now that I’ve you, I’m not so sure.
You were great that night, I couldn’t help gaping at your assets; they were huge. I carefully took a small nibble to start our foreplay, I moved downwards and craved for more, I took bigger bites; it was good, but the thing was, I’m not sure whether that justified the high price I’m paying for.
I’m sorry, but I’m a visual creature. I love sitting in nice, pretty ambience, sipping my drink and enjoying the food. I’m a sucker I know. But somehow, you lacked the “wow” factor that I so desired, maybe the lack of ambience was the reason.
We opted for the crabmeat linguine ($10.90) for our second main. It was hot, it was red, spicy, fiery hot. The crabmeat was overflowed generously; spicy crabmeat and linguine, I would prefer it to be slightly wetter though.
And for the only dessert available, the bonet ($4). I was half expecting chocolate lava to ooze out in the middle, but it wasn’t Instead, you got a very good chocolate pudding, served cold.
* * *
Now I’m not saying the kurobuta pork wasn’t worth the money, or for any of that matter, I’m not against stalls in coffee shop selling restaurant food, on the contrary I thought it’s good to have more options. But somehow I guess I still can’t fix my mentality to accept paying thirty bucks at a coffee shop. If, I had this at a restaurant, I’m sure it will be pretty much worth the money.
And frankly speaking, I really can’t see people shelving out thirty to forty bucks for premium meat, at a coffee shop, at least not yet. It’s only the crazy folks like us who will really pay top money for food, but I will definitely go back to try some of the other cheaper items on the menu.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Mortons has introduced the USDA prime burger, nicknamed "The Million Dollar Burger" by one of its founders, to its sole outlet in Singapore and according to history, it was this very burger that launched Morton's of Chicago, not a piece of steak which Mortons is known for. Surprise surprise.
You can choose to have the burger either at The Bar at Mortons which is on the fourth and a half storey, or at the steakhouse itself on the fourth. However, if you choose the latter, you will be subjected to a compulsory extra $5 /pax surcharge because of the humongous onion loaf that is served.
USDA Prime Burger - If you make an order for the burger before 8pm, its $30 . After 8pm and its $25 . The beef patty weighed about 12oz or 340g, which dwarfs almost all of the current competition, served up on a nicely toasted sesame bun. Although I was never a proponent of quality beef (apparently its grain fed and aged) being minced up into burger patties, I have to admit that Mortons did a pretty good job with it. The medium rare patty was tender and carried plenty of juices without the natural beefy taste being too overwhelming. However, the texture was rather smooth, indicating that it was probably machine chop/minced rather then hand. Not that it mattered much though as this burger ranks as the one of the best burger I've eaten in Singapore so far. The sides are decent as well so make sure you ask for all of them (sauteed onions, bacon, mushrooms) but just don't get too excited over the hand cut idaho potatoes, which failed to wow.
Upside Down Apple Pie - The apple pie was as good as I remembered it to be - not too sourish with raisins for a light sweetness and a scoop of smooth vanilla ice cream. Prices remain the same ($20 ) as 2 years back, which is a rarity in restaurants nowadays.
Morton's Hot Chocolate Cake - The stuff that makes people throw all diet plans out of the window and another signature dish of Mortons - its decadent hot chocolate cake. The crust was a little hard and held up pretty well while the rich molten chocolate was viscous almost to a fault. Admittedly, it's expensive ($25 ) for its size and though good, I find it rather ridiculous to pay so much for it.
$30 sure isn't cheap for a burger, but given its quality, I would gladly pay. Service was lacking that evening and we had a hard time trying to get any wait staff's attention. To compound our woes, the wait for our burgers stretched to more then an hour - something which Mortons needs to look into. But hey, it was a great evening and great place to chill.
See all my pictures here.
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ONIM. Since we have TGIF to show our appreciation that the weekend is here, I thought it will only be appropriate to have ONIM as well, Oh no it’s Monday! I know, I know, it’s the day of the week that you dreaded the most, what they called Monday blues. To soften the blow, let’s make the Monday blues go away, by having some sweets!
I love (read: head over heels with) nutella. It ought to be the most amazing creation this world ought to offer. Never mind the bizarre increase in price (a 375g bottle used to cost $3.90, but it’s $4.90 now at fairprice), I still need my nutella fix regularly.
Toast, which is under the Marmalade pantry, has got some of the best cupcakes, and by that I didn’t meant that they were fanciful. Hell no, they are anything but pretty. There’s no frosting, no beautiful decorations on top, but just a messy spread of the cream. But it’s good. It’s damn good!
The nutella cupcake, which was basically chocolate cupcake with nutella frosting, was so nutella-ish! I did find the cupcake to be slightly dry, I guess the nutella’s the cause for it, since the other cupcakes were not as dry.
The carrot cake came highly recommended by the staff. At the slightest mention of the two words, carrot cake, it’s bound to have the question asked back in return, “Is it better than Cedele (read: Sir-deli)?”
I’m sorry, but I have not tried Cedele’s legendary carrot cake yet! I’m a simple person with a simple taste bud, and anything with thick & generous cream cheese frosting works for me.
How about some cheesecakes to make you happy? Add in some blueberry, I offered. From my vague memories, the cheesecake was light and airy, the blueberry toppings were sweet and combined well with the light cheesecake. But the base wasn’t the crunchy type that I’ve in mind. My dear, have some blueberry cheesecake to chase your blues away!
This, was THE cupcake, Limonata. Whimsical name, and that’s it. The lemon tart limon graze cake, let’s just call it the lemon cupcake, was one of the best cupcake I’ve, the lemon taste was infused and spread throughout the whole tiny cake, it was moist, and fluffy. I love it!
There might be an identical crisis since the William looks rather similar to the Limonata. Note the colour of the base, the latter is lemon cupcake, while the former is a chocolate cake filled with William pear & topped with a delicious layer of the butter crème frosting. There’s bits of william pears within the cupcake, and I’m a sucker for the sweet butter crème frosting, but still, I preferred the Limonata, and the rose.
You winked at me when I entered the shop. I was deeply captivated by our first encounter; I couldn’t stop looking at you, and for a moment you’ve stolen my breath away. Without taking my eyes off you, I told the assistant, the “lemon meringue tart.”
You tasted as good as you looked, the curvy golden brown wisp, blond is beautiful; the delightful lemon, with the crispy tart, and the sour-sweet meringue, now I know what they meant when they say, love at first sight.
* * *
The desserts served at Toast are all part of the Marmalade Pantry’s offer, but at a slightly cheaper price. A hidden gem, that’s how I will describe toast. I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t noticed Toast while you are shopping at Takashimaya, since I also wasn’t familiar with it until a friend brought me there. This post is a compilation of my three visits.
I hope by now, you are already feeling happier, at the sight of all the lovely creations. Desserts always make us cheerful, have some sweets my dear, they will chase your monday blues, far far away.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
We searched for the button with the 37th label on it, and pressed. Zoom, the elevator, or I preferred to call it the express lift-off, shot up into the sky. Looking downwards as everything became miniature - we were so insignificant. I was actually quite scared when I took a peep. It shouldn’t be, since I’ve been to higher ground before, but still. It always happened. Ding, we reached 37th level, welcome to Hai Tien Lo.
The Steamed shrimp dumpling ($4.80 for 3 pieces) was pretty with the chopped celery giving it a tinge of green.
It must be short-sightedness, but it often occurred with carrot cake. Somehow I always missed out the word steamed, when I ordered carrot cake. So instead of my favourite fried carrot cake, we were surprised when they served a steamed rendition; but it was good! I like how the sauce brings out the flavour of the soft and nice carrot cake. Okay, the full name, steamed carrot cake with preserved meats ($3.90 per portion).
The Steamed pork dumpling with fish roe ($4.80 for 3 pieces) was a piece of art. The curvy lines, with her yellow outfit, topped with the pretty bright orange fish roe.
This was a special, they called it the dim-sum-of-the-week. Sophisticated yeah? It was essentially a shrimp with fish roe on top of a mushroom. An innovative way to do the overdone-to-death prawn in dim sum.
Surprise number two came in the form of pan-fried rice flour roll with crispy conpoy ($3.90 per portion). Well actually it’s not much of a revelation since I asked about the fillings beforehand. Or rather, the lack of fillings. I like the slightly char pan-fried surface of the rice roll with all the crispy toppings. The rice roll on itself was rather bland, but drizzled with the gorgeous sauce; it was good, no, it was tasty!
Since my favourite char siew sou wasn’t available, I just had to make do with the Steamed barbecued pork buns ($2.80 for 2 pieces). White fluffy buns, with sweet char siew fillings, what’s there not to like? I like it sweet, extra sweet please!
Instead of the usual prawn filling, Hai Tien Lo’s rendition came across as the Deep-fried sea perch wrapped in vermicelli ($5.40 for 3 pieces).
* * *
With the to-die-for magnificent view of the marina area, dining at Hai Tien Lo was definitely something that evoked the visual senses together with the taste buds. We chatted, appreciated the skyline, nibbled at the dim sum, drank more tea, and I’m so in love with dim sum! xoxo
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given: