To put it plainly, I like the Durian Puff. The durian is rich and creamy, although the pastry is pretty normal. However, the pastry rides on the delicious taste of the durian and all in all, a good eat. However prices are a little steep and I personally still prefer the one from Puteri Mas.
My first impression of the Hokkien Mee was bad. The noodles looked like they were soaked in gravy. Even after leaving it to dry for a while, it was still very watery. Surprisingly, it tasted pretty good and light, unlike the usual Hokkien Mees that are heavy on the flavours and kicks you in the stomach if you consume too much. A very decent rendition at a affordable $3. Not cheap, but not expensive either.
PK Xpress fish & chips. This store is reputed for their Aussie Fish & chips, and selling at $6 per set in a “hawker centre environment” they really got quite a lot to live up to.
Aussie Fish & Chips ($6) The aussie fish & chips certainly does not fail to disappoint. Cripsy on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside. Plus the serving is quite huge. Another thing worth mentioning is the accompanying salad, there’s nothing special about the greens, the slices of mango mixed with the greens are really sweet!
I don’t like the fries though, its just like normal potato fried and served. Anyway we got 2 portions of it and cannot finish because we had other food as well.
Banana Walnut cake ($2.50) Besides having fish and chips, the store also serve some awesome home-made desserts and cakes. The banana cake may looks quite small at $2.50, but my friend finish it in a mouth-full!
Chocolate Cake ($2.80) The home-made chocolate cake is really a steal with such a large slice at $2.80. After eating so much food, we really struggle to finish the cake. The chocolate cake can be better if there’s more layer of thin chocolate in between the cake as i find it a tad on the dry side.
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!
Serangoon Gardens is a food haven for all food lovers out there, besides the long stretch of restaurants located there, Chomp Chomp is another name that comes into mind when you think of Serangoon Garden. But no, we are not looking at Chomp Chomp today, there’s another place which is worth a visit, Serangoon Gardens Food Centre!
In case you are wondering where is Serangoon Gardens Food Centre, its near Lorong Chuan, just before turning in into the Serangoon Gardens’ roundabout.
I always love Kway Chap but nowadays we can’t seem to be able to find really good ones around. My friend recommended Garden Street Kway Chap, so lets give it a try!
At first glance, they are supposedly quite famous being on so many different media publications already!
Kway Chap serving of 3 person ($15) We didn’t get the small intestines because my friend didn’t eat that. The rest is pretty good, but i don’t quite like the roast pork though. Kway Chap is actually a very simple and nice dish, but i don’t always eat them firstly because you can’t find much good ones around.
And secondly, the stores usually charged a very high price, as in the price is not really fixed and its up to their call. If anyone know of good and cheap kway chap please let me know!
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!
When we are talking about Joo Chiat Wanton Mee saga, the actual battleground isn’t really well, at Joo Chiat. Instead we tell the tale from Whampoa Food Market.
In the middle of Whampoa Food market, there are two stores selling Wanton Mee, and coincidently both stores claimed to be the first store to sell Wanton Mee from Joo Chiat. With the constant renovation, or rental problems, food stores are constantly on the move, and this cause a major problem when we lose track of where our favourite hawker store shifted to.
Joo Chiat Lane Wanton Mee (#01-60) says that they have start selling Wanton Mee in Joo Chiat since the 1960s, while Wanton Mee store 1.90 (see below) also maintains that they are from Joo Chiat and have re-located to Whampoa Market, earlier than Joo Chiat Lane Wanton Mee.
The rivalry arises when both stores claimed to be the undisputed No1 store from Joo Chiat, and LIC brings you to taste both the Wanton Mee to find out who really is the better deal!
Joo Chiat Lane Wanton Mee ($2.50/$3) The main criterias for a good plate of Wanton mee are without a doubt, the noodle, the char-siew, and the wanton. Personally if the noodles are really good, i will like the store even if the char-siew and wanton are average. In the case of Joo Chiat Lane, the texture noodle is quite smooth and flavorful, coupled with the chili its actually quite good.
The char siew from Joo Chiat Lane store is your lean juicy type, and they pack quite a punch if you like your char siew lean and tender.
The wanton at Joo Chiat Lane store is also bigger and has more ingredients than your average wanton.
Next up we have the Wanton Mee store 1.90. Prices wise they have more variation with the cheapest at 2 bucks. Where else can you find a bowl of wanton mee at 2 bucks nowadays? Rare. This is one of the point which they won the dual. Having a big advertisement with TV Variety show “Hawker food lost & found” at your store will likely gain you more benefits than harm.
Wanton Mee store 1.90 ($2/2.50/3) Comparing both noodles, i’ll actually say that i prefer Joo Chiat Lane’s noodle to store 1.90. The noodle from store 1.90 isn’t bouncy and springy enough, and its really too dry considering that it just arrived on my table.
The Char siew at store 1.90 is totally different to the one at Joo Chiat Lane. While the latter one comes in the lean version, the one at store 1.90 has slightly more fatty meat in its char-siew. I actually prefer my char siew to have some fatty meat as it will provide more crunch to the taste.
This can actually be very subjective as some people prefer lean one, while some like me like the char siew to be slightly fatter. Anyway, the char siew at store 1.90 does it for me.
The wanton at store 1.90, is well quite pathetic. Hardly any ingredient inside, i wonder do they do the wanton for the sake of doing really.
Rounding off the Joo Chiat Wanton Mee Saga, LIC will say that noodle wise, Joo Chiat Lane win the contest with its more springy and flavourful noodles. For the char-siew however, LIC prefer store 1.90 fatty ones to Joo Chiat lane’s lean type. And wanton, Joo Chiat Lane win hands-down.
Actually i do believe that there is really no point in debating for the first store from Joo Chiat, so long both stores are doing a good job feeding their customers, thats the spirit to go! The past is after all the past, why not focus on doing better wanton mee instead?
Its a rather tough call to separate the two stores, but it really depends on what you look for in your wanton mee. And again taste is subjective, so what LIC likes might not necessary for the same for you. Do go down to Whampoa Market to try both stores and be the judge yourself!
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!
Its rather uncommon when you see the word “Singapore” in the name of a company, not least in the name of a food store. How many company actually has the word “Singapore”, not many, think Singapore Airlines, Singapore Telecommunications, Singapore Post, and almost all of them are actually Government-related entity.
Opposition party please don’t get it wrong, Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee is definitely not related to the Government, how it got its name remains a mystery, but thats not really the focus here. Leaving the name-issue aside, their Hokkien Mee is really good! Ever since finding out about them a couple of years back, one of the few stalls that comes into my mind when i think of Whampoa Market will be the Hoover Rojak, and this, Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee!
Hokkien Mee ($3) While some places do their Hokkien mee either too dry or too wet, Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee is done exactly the way i like my Hokkien Mee, the perfect balance of the wetness of the noodles.
The sambal chili is also there to “die” for, literally. For someone like me who can’t really “hold” their chili well, i can’t help myself getting more of the chili. Mixed together with the Hokkien Mee, and with a few drops of the lime, awesome!
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!
Ah Hock Fried Oyster Hougang is another pretty famous stall in Whampoa Food centre also. I always like fried oyster omelette, but not because of the oyster, i just like to eat the eggs! So usually people who eat oyster omelette with me gets to eat the oyster while i targeted the egg.
Fried Oyster Omelette ($4) A good plate of Oyster Omelette always go together with good chili sauce, in this case their chili is just right, not too spicy and not too diluted. Its a expensive hobby for me if i were to spend 4 bucks and just eat the eggs, in that case eating fried carrot cake will be a better alternative.
While not really an expert on oyster omelette, i do know the way i like my eggs to be done, and i think Ah Hock rendition did a pretty good job, and the oyster is quite fresh too. Compared to other mediocre stores, i think Ah Hock can be considered the better one.
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!
” SINGAPORE - Singapore’s annual inflation rate hit a 25-year high of 6.6 percent in January, according to Department of Statistics (DOS) data released on Monday.
The inflation rate, as indicated by the consumer price index (CPI), was the highest since the 7.5 percent hit in March 1982… “
You must be thinking whether LIC has gone nuts writing food reviews, or you must have step into the wrong place, not quite like your impression of a food blog. Don’t just read the start, you need to finish the story!
Back to food, the point i am trying to bring across is, in this day where inflation rises like nobody’s business, and price of food soars, where can you even see food that just cost 2 bucks? Fishball noodle, Chicken rice, fried kuay teow, all your familiar local delights, $2.50 is the norm, with more selling at even higher prices in the hawkers nowadays.
The store we are looking today has a signboard with an ambiguous name of just Fried Kuay Teow Mee may be deceiving, and unknown to the rest. But this store at Seah Im food centre opposite Vivocity, cooks a mean plate of fried kuay teow, all for just 2 bucks.
Char Kuay Teow ($2) Walking past the stall, the fragrance of the char kuay teow already caught my attention, looking at the board, $2 for all their stuff, fried kuay teow, fried carrot cake, fried hokkien mee, mee goreng. Gosh!
The char kuay teow did not disappoint. Not the most good-looking one around, no fancy plates to go along. The greasy plate of char kuay teow may not looks welcoming to your calorie intake, but once in a while, you got to spoil yourself.
Not too soggy, and not too dry, the savouring plate of char kuay teow is simple, and at 2 bucks, you really can’t complaint.
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!
Attended a dinner at Tetsu one weekday evening with my gf. Tetsu, which is owned and operated by Food Junction (yes, the foodcourt operator), prides itself as the first Japanese restaurant to offer Kushi style (food is served in skewers) tempura and Tonkatsu menu which is prepared live in front of you (assuming you take the counter seats of course).
Located on the top level of Tanglin Mall, Tetsu stands out with its chic interior that oozes sublime class without the frills. A partial open concept kitchen coupled with white washed pillars, wooden beams and clever layering of light add to the sophistication. Seats are decidedly comfortable but the tables do seem a little too low for comfort (maybe its just my table).
Kami Tofu - The Kami tofu, or century egg with tofu, was rather easy on the palate and provided a good start to the meal. The tofu was silky yet firm through the addition of eggs (a tad too much egg though), while the finely diced century egg cubes had but a faint aftertaste, ideal for people like me who do not really fancy this variation of eggs. Parallels can be drawn to chawamushi in terms of taste, albeit being much lighter.
Kajiki Tataki - The Kajiki, also known as swordfish or Pacific blue marlin, was another excellent starter. Lightly seared till faintly charred along the edges, the fish, coupled with what I believe to be Ponzu (ポン酢) sauce and spicy radish atop, emanated a nice savoury taste. Only gripe I had was that the texture of the fish did seem a tad too hard and dry.
Salmon & Yellow Tail Sashimi - I'm not too big on sashimi so neither the salmon nor yellow tail wowed me. Both were fresh, but I've had fresher cuts before. The wasabi or わさび,ワサビ was probably just a mixture of horseradish, mustard seed and green colouring, tasting nothing like the real wasabi, which usually comes grated. But no complaints here as very very few places in Singapore actually serve up the real thing because of its prohibitive prices.
Yasai Takiawase - The Yasai Takiawase, or simmered seasonal vegetables, consisted of white radish, carrot, pumpkin & snow pea stewed in a pot for 3 hours straight. Honestly, this dish just didn't do it for me. Everything was soft to the extent of being mushy and nausea inducing. According to the chef, this dish is very popular with the Japanese and it tastes better with every try. I would like to give the chef the benefit of the doubt, but I seriously can't bring myself to try the same dish again.
Kushi Age Style Hotate, Soft Shell Crab, Hire Katsu & Ebi - This is an area where Tetsu differentiates itself through its live preparation of Kushi style food. I see it more as a marketing gimmick. Honestly, how difficult is it to prepare food on skewers live? For starters, the food wasn't served hot, not even warm. And I personally found the batter a tad too thick and oily for my liking. The soft shell crab had an overdose of salt while the scallop, though huge and purportedly flown in from Japan, was tasteless. The Hire (pork) Katsu's taste was overwhelmed by black pepper while the prawn didn't come across as sweet. All in all, definitely not my idea of a must try.
Consomme - The clear consomme tasted to me like egg drop soup. By and large there's nothing much to comment on it except that it was light and definitely something you can get anywhere else.
Salmon Sushi Roll - Served up with compliments from Tetsu, the salmon sushi roll was definitely one of the better dishes that evening. What was interesting was the usage of flakes of fried tempura batter to coat the sushi's exterior, resulting in a nice crunchy piece of sushi that carried a lightly sweet overtone from the drizzled teriyaki sauce. Couldn't quite make out the cooked salmon taste though, save for a very faint smokiness.
Udon & Kushi Tem Lotus Root, Mushroom, Green Capsicum - I found the udon quite decent, with the noodles chewy and not too "fat" and the broth lightly salty with lots of tempura flakes. The sides of mushroom, lotus root and capsicum provided some frills to this simple dish but proved to be rather flat.
Goma Ice Cream - Rock hard, straight from the freezer and totally uninspiring. My 3 adjectives to describe the Goma ice cream.
As it was a prearranged dinner, the cost was capped at $30nett per pax. Portions were sampling size and I personally felt that $30 for the stuff we ate wasn't exactly such a great deal as nothing on the menu seemed really expensive. Service was good, but then again thats subjective. Overall the dinner was an average affair for me and I seriously doubt that I'll be back.
Alright many of my friends told me that this place sucked, but I saw the waffle on the menu and went in nevertheless.
Service here is slightly raw, but hey, at least they tried. The feeling of the restaurant is like hongkong cafe, only that it feels like 'newyork cafe' but not really lol. They tried. They really tried.
Anyway, water refilling was prompt, I had cheese fondue vegetable fritters (tasted like tempura) and it was rather good. The cheese tasted like the cheese on KFC's Cheese fries, and I get the feeling it's the same kinda cheese. Though it's heated on tealights, when the light was gone, it didn't really harden so I don't see where the fondue part comes.
The waffle, I had chocolate waffle. It's accompanied by maple syrup, so the experience itself is like having macdonald's hotcake with syrup, PLUS chocolate ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup.
It was an orgasmic experience until you got tired of it halfway through the waffle. So lesson learnt, pls share your waffle.
The subsequent time I went, I shared salmon sandwich and bacon&ham sanwich with my friend, choice of bread was foccacia. It didn't really taste like foccacia, but it's toasted nicely...so it's forgiven. Salmon tasted not sashimi fresh, but fresh for smoked salmon, light, and tasty. Ham is normal picnic ham, bacon tasted like it was fried 3 hours ago. Verdict: Salmon Sandwich tasted better. (One thing I really like, is the extremely fresh green/purple veg that was drizzled with something sour. It's not only included in the sandwich, its like a side. Much better alternative than cliched coleslaw or boiled baby carrots etc. It was really fresh and crunchy. But my friends said it taste like grass and didn't like it.)
Meanwhile our male friend is trying to devour a whole chicken and he said he got tired of the taste, a quarter through it.
After that, we were served freeflow green apple flavoured candy floss, and then we got a 'Lake Chocolate', which is actually deep fried breaded bananas and sour strawberries, drowning in a 'lake' of chocolate fondue, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle.
As my friend describes, it feels like giving blow job with ice...right. Crude but the feeling is the warm fried bananas mixed with the ice cream coldness and the warm again with warm chocolate...wow the feeling....
Anyway I do not think it sucked, as long as u noe wad to order.
1=SGD 0.0587
To put it plainly, I like the Durian Puff. The durian is rich and creamy, although the pastry is pretty normal. However, the pastry rides on the delicious taste of the durian and all in all, a good eat. However prices are a little steep and I personally still prefer the one from Puteri Mas.
Rating given:
My first impression of the Hokkien Mee was bad. The noodles looked like they were soaked in gravy. Even after leaving it to dry for a while, it was still very watery. Surprisingly, it tasted pretty good and light, unlike the usual Hokkien Mees that are heavy on the flavours and kicks you in the stomach if you consume too much. A very decent rendition at a affordable $3. Not cheap, but not expensive either.
Rating given:
PK Xpress fish & chips. This store is reputed for their Aussie Fish & chips, and selling at $6 per set in a “hawker centre environment” they really got quite a lot to live up to.
Aussie Fish & Chips ($6)
The aussie fish & chips certainly does not fail to disappoint. Cripsy on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside. Plus the serving is quite huge. Another thing worth mentioning is the accompanying salad, there’s nothing special about the greens, the slices of mango mixed with the greens are really sweet!
I don’t like the fries though, its just like normal potato fried and served. Anyway we got 2 portions of it and cannot finish because we had other food as well.
Banana Walnut cake ($2.50)
Besides having fish and chips, the store also serve some awesome home-made desserts and cakes. The banana cake may looks quite small at $2.50, but my friend finish it in a mouth-full!
Chocolate Cake ($2.80)
The home-made chocolate cake is really a steal with such a large slice at $2.80. After eating so much food, we really struggle to finish the cake. The chocolate cake can be better if there’s more layer of thin chocolate in between the cake as i find it a tad on the dry side.
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:
Serangoon Gardens is a food haven for all food lovers out there, besides the long stretch of restaurants located there, Chomp Chomp is another name that comes into mind when you think of Serangoon Garden. But no, we are not looking at Chomp Chomp today, there’s another place which is worth a visit, Serangoon Gardens Food Centre!
In case you are wondering where is Serangoon Gardens Food Centre, its near Lorong Chuan, just before turning in into the Serangoon Gardens’ roundabout.
I always love Kway Chap but nowadays we can’t seem to be able to find really good ones around. My friend recommended Garden Street Kway Chap, so lets give it a try!
At first glance, they are supposedly quite famous being on so many different media publications already!
Kway Chap serving of 3 person ($15)
We didn’t get the small intestines because my friend didn’t eat that. The rest is pretty good, but i don’t quite like the roast pork though. Kway Chap is actually a very simple and nice dish, but i don’t always eat them firstly because you can’t find much good ones around.
And secondly, the stores usually charged a very high price, as in the price is not really fixed and its up to their call. If anyone know of good and cheap kway chap please let me know!
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:
When we are talking about Joo Chiat Wanton Mee saga, the actual battleground isn’t really well, at Joo Chiat. Instead we tell the tale from Whampoa Food Market.
In the middle of Whampoa Food market, there are two stores selling Wanton Mee, and coincidently both stores claimed to be the first store to sell Wanton Mee from Joo Chiat. With the constant renovation, or rental problems, food stores are constantly on the move, and this cause a major problem when we lose track of where our favourite hawker store shifted to.
Joo Chiat Lane Wanton Mee (#01-60) says that they have start selling Wanton Mee in Joo Chiat since the 1960s, while Wanton Mee store 1.90 (see below) also maintains that they are from Joo Chiat and have re-located to Whampoa Market, earlier than Joo Chiat Lane Wanton Mee.
The rivalry arises when both stores claimed to be the undisputed No1 store from Joo Chiat, and LIC brings you to taste both the Wanton Mee to find out who really is the better deal!
Joo Chiat Lane Wanton Mee ($2.50/$3)
The main criterias for a good plate of Wanton mee are without a doubt, the noodle, the char-siew, and the wanton. Personally if the noodles are really good, i will like the store even if the char-siew and wanton are average. In the case of Joo Chiat Lane, the texture noodle is quite smooth and flavorful, coupled with the chili its actually quite good.
The char siew from Joo Chiat Lane store is your lean juicy type, and they pack quite a punch if you like your char siew lean and tender.
The wanton at Joo Chiat Lane store is also bigger and has more ingredients than your average wanton.
Next up we have the Wanton Mee store 1.90. Prices wise they have more variation with the cheapest at 2 bucks. Where else can you find a bowl of wanton mee at 2 bucks nowadays? Rare. This is one of the point which they won the dual. Having a big advertisement with TV Variety show “Hawker food lost & found” at your store will likely gain you more benefits than harm.
Wanton Mee store 1.90 ($2/2.50/3)
Comparing both noodles, i’ll actually say that i prefer Joo Chiat Lane’s noodle to store 1.90. The noodle from store 1.90 isn’t bouncy and springy enough, and its really too dry considering that it just arrived on my table.
The Char siew at store 1.90 is totally different to the one at Joo Chiat Lane. While the latter one comes in the lean version, the one at store 1.90 has slightly more fatty meat in its char-siew. I actually prefer my char siew to have some fatty meat as it will provide more crunch to the taste.
This can actually be very subjective as some people prefer lean one, while some like me like the char siew to be slightly fatter. Anyway, the char siew at store 1.90 does it for me.
The wanton at store 1.90, is well quite pathetic. Hardly any ingredient inside, i wonder do they do the wanton for the sake of doing really.
Rounding off the Joo Chiat Wanton Mee Saga, LIC will say that noodle wise, Joo Chiat Lane win the contest with its more springy and flavourful noodles. For the char-siew however, LIC prefer store 1.90 fatty ones to Joo Chiat lane’s lean type. And wanton, Joo Chiat Lane win hands-down.
Actually i do believe that there is really no point in debating for the first store from Joo Chiat, so long both stores are doing a good job feeding their customers, thats the spirit to go! The past is after all the past, why not focus on doing better wanton mee instead?
Its a rather tough call to separate the two stores, but it really depends on what you look for in your wanton mee. And again taste is subjective, so what LIC likes might not necessary for the same for you. Do go down to Whampoa Market to try both stores and be the judge yourself!
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:
Its rather uncommon when you see the word “Singapore” in the name of a company, not least in the name of a food store. How many company actually has the word “Singapore”, not many, think Singapore Airlines, Singapore Telecommunications, Singapore Post, and almost all of them are actually Government-related entity.
Opposition party please don’t get it wrong, Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee is definitely not related to the Government, how it got its name remains a mystery, but thats not really the focus here. Leaving the name-issue aside, their Hokkien Mee is really good! Ever since finding out about them a couple of years back, one of the few stalls that comes into my mind when i think of Whampoa Market will be the Hoover Rojak, and this, Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee!
Hokkien Mee ($3)
While some places do their Hokkien mee either too dry or too wet, Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee is done exactly the way i like my Hokkien Mee, the perfect balance of the wetness of the noodles.
The sambal chili is also there to “die” for, literally. For someone like me who can’t really “hold” their chili well, i can’t help myself getting more of the chili. Mixed together with the Hokkien Mee, and with a few drops of the lime, awesome!
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:
Ah Hock Fried Oyster Hougang is another pretty famous stall in Whampoa Food centre also. I always like fried oyster omelette, but not because of the oyster, i just like to eat the eggs! So usually people who eat oyster omelette with me gets to eat the oyster while i targeted the egg.
Fried Oyster Omelette ($4)
A good plate of Oyster Omelette always go together with good chili sauce, in this case their chili is just right, not too spicy and not too diluted. Its a expensive hobby for me if i were to spend 4 bucks and just eat the eggs, in that case eating fried carrot cake will be a better alternative.
While not really an expert on oyster omelette, i do know the way i like my eggs to be done, and i think Ah Hock rendition did a pretty good job, and the oyster is quite fresh too. Compared to other mediocre stores, i think Ah Hock can be considered the better one.
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:
” SINGAPORE - Singapore’s annual inflation rate hit a 25-year high of 6.6 percent in January, according to Department of Statistics (DOS) data released on Monday.
The inflation rate, as indicated by the consumer price index (CPI), was the highest since the 7.5 percent hit in March 1982… “
You must be thinking whether LIC has gone nuts writing food reviews, or you must have step into the wrong place, not quite like your impression of a food blog. Don’t just read the start, you need to finish the story!
Back to food, the point i am trying to bring across is, in this day where inflation rises like nobody’s business, and price of food soars, where can you even see food that just cost 2 bucks? Fishball noodle, Chicken rice, fried kuay teow, all your familiar local delights, $2.50 is the norm, with more selling at even higher prices in the hawkers nowadays.
The store we are looking today has a signboard with an ambiguous name of just Fried Kuay Teow Mee may be deceiving, and unknown to the rest. But this store at Seah Im food centre opposite Vivocity, cooks a mean plate of fried kuay teow, all for just 2 bucks.
Char Kuay Teow ($2)
Walking past the stall, the fragrance of the char kuay teow already caught my attention, looking at the board, $2 for all their stuff, fried kuay teow, fried carrot cake, fried hokkien mee, mee goreng. Gosh!
The char kuay teow did not disappoint. Not the most good-looking one around, no fancy plates to go along. The greasy plate of char kuay teow may not looks welcoming to your calorie intake, but once in a while, you got to spoil yourself.
Not too soggy, and not too dry, the savouring plate of char kuay teow is simple, and at 2 bucks, you really can’t complaint.
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:
Attended a dinner at Tetsu one weekday evening with my gf. Tetsu, which is owned and operated by Food Junction (yes, the foodcourt operator), prides itself as the first Japanese restaurant to offer Kushi style (food is served in skewers) tempura and Tonkatsu menu which is prepared live in front of you (assuming you take the counter seats of course).
Located on the top level of Tanglin Mall, Tetsu stands out with its chic interior that oozes sublime class without the frills. A partial open concept kitchen coupled with white washed pillars, wooden beams and clever layering of light add to the sophistication. Seats are decidedly comfortable but the tables do seem a little too low for comfort (maybe its just my table).
Kami Tofu - The Kami tofu, or century egg with tofu, was rather easy on the palate and provided a good start to the meal. The tofu was silky yet firm through the addition of eggs (a tad too much egg though), while the finely diced century egg cubes had but a faint aftertaste, ideal for people like me who do not really fancy this variation of eggs. Parallels can be drawn to chawamushi in terms of taste, albeit being much lighter.
Kajiki Tataki - The Kajiki, also known as swordfish or Pacific blue marlin, was another excellent starter. Lightly seared till faintly charred along the edges, the fish, coupled with what I believe to be Ponzu (ポン酢) sauce and spicy radish atop, emanated a nice savoury taste. Only gripe I had was that the texture of the fish did seem a tad too hard and dry.
Salmon & Yellow Tail Sashimi - I'm not too big on sashimi so neither the salmon nor yellow tail wowed me. Both were fresh, but I've had fresher cuts before. The wasabi or わさび,ワサビ was probably just a mixture of horseradish, mustard seed and green colouring, tasting nothing like the real wasabi, which usually comes grated. But no complaints here as very very few places in Singapore actually serve up the real thing because of its prohibitive prices.
Yasai Takiawase - The Yasai Takiawase, or simmered seasonal vegetables, consisted of white radish, carrot, pumpkin & snow pea stewed in a pot for 3 hours straight. Honestly, this dish just didn't do it for me. Everything was soft to the extent of being mushy and nausea inducing. According to the chef, this dish is very popular with the Japanese and it tastes better with every try. I would like to give the chef the benefit of the doubt, but I seriously can't bring myself to try the same dish again.
Kushi Age Style Hotate, Soft Shell Crab, Hire Katsu & Ebi - This is an area where Tetsu differentiates itself through its live preparation of Kushi style food. I see it more as a marketing gimmick. Honestly, how difficult is it to prepare food on skewers live? For starters, the food wasn't served hot, not even warm. And I personally found the batter a tad too thick and oily for my liking. The soft shell crab had an overdose of salt while the scallop, though huge and purportedly flown in from Japan, was tasteless. The Hire (pork) Katsu's taste was overwhelmed by black pepper while the prawn didn't come across as sweet. All in all, definitely not my idea of a must try.
Consomme - The clear consomme tasted to me like egg drop soup. By and large there's nothing much to comment on it except that it was light and definitely something you can get anywhere else.
Salmon Sushi Roll - Served up with compliments from Tetsu, the salmon sushi roll was definitely one of the better dishes that evening. What was interesting was the usage of flakes of fried tempura batter to coat the sushi's exterior, resulting in a nice crunchy piece of sushi that carried a lightly sweet overtone from the drizzled teriyaki sauce. Couldn't quite make out the cooked salmon taste though, save for a very faint smokiness.
Udon & Kushi Tem Lotus Root, Mushroom, Green Capsicum - I found the udon quite decent, with the noodles chewy and not too "fat" and the broth lightly salty with lots of tempura flakes. The sides of mushroom, lotus root and capsicum provided some frills to this simple dish but proved to be rather flat.
Goma Ice Cream - Rock hard, straight from the freezer and totally uninspiring. My 3 adjectives to describe the Goma ice cream.
As it was a prearranged dinner, the cost was capped at $30nett per pax. Portions were sampling size and I personally felt that $30 for the stuff we ate wasn't exactly such a great deal as nothing on the menu seemed really expensive. Service was good, but then again thats subjective. Overall the dinner was an average affair for me and I seriously doubt that I'll be back.
See all my pictures here.
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Alright many of my friends told me that this place sucked, but I saw the waffle on the menu and went in nevertheless.
Service here is slightly raw, but hey, at least they tried.
The feeling of the restaurant is like hongkong cafe, only that it feels like 'newyork cafe' but not really lol. They tried. They really tried.
Anyway, water refilling was prompt, I had cheese fondue vegetable fritters (tasted like tempura) and it was rather good. The cheese tasted like the cheese on KFC's Cheese fries, and I get the feeling it's the same kinda cheese.
Though it's heated on tealights, when the light was gone, it didn't really harden so I don't see where the fondue part comes.
The waffle, I had chocolate waffle. It's accompanied by maple syrup, so the experience itself is like having macdonald's hotcake with syrup, PLUS chocolate ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup.
It was an orgasmic experience until you got tired of it halfway through the waffle. So lesson learnt, pls share your waffle.
The subsequent time I went, I shared salmon sandwich and bacon&ham sanwich with my friend, choice of bread was foccacia. It didn't really taste like foccacia, but it's toasted nicely...so it's forgiven. Salmon tasted not sashimi fresh, but fresh for smoked salmon, light, and tasty. Ham is normal picnic ham, bacon tasted like it was fried 3 hours ago.
Verdict: Salmon Sandwich tasted better.
(One thing I really like, is the extremely fresh green/purple veg that was drizzled with something sour. It's not only included in the sandwich, its like a side. Much better alternative than cliched coleslaw or boiled baby carrots etc. It was really fresh and crunchy. But my friends said it taste like grass and didn't like it.)
Meanwhile our male friend is trying to devour a whole chicken and he said he got tired of the taste, a quarter through it.
After that, we were served freeflow green apple flavoured candy floss, and then we got a 'Lake Chocolate', which is actually deep fried breaded bananas and sour strawberries, drowning in a 'lake' of chocolate fondue, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle.
As my friend describes, it feels like giving blow job with ice...right. Crude but the feeling is the warm fried bananas mixed with the ice cream coldness and the warm again with warm chocolate...wow the feeling....
Anyway I do not think it sucked, as long as u noe wad to order.
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