I love watching dramas, because they got fairy-tale endings; there are moments where you smile like a fool, or weep together with the scenes, but at the end it will be a happy ending – I like happily-ever-after outcomes.
And there are always food in the show, the characters are only human, they need to eat too! So when I watch dramas, I will always get hungry. This bring us to Korean food, it’s a shame that we can’t put our hands inside the screen and grab that very delicious-looking food. So, we hunt, for Korean food.
We wanted the spicy looking Korean noodles but it was sold out; so we took the next-spicy-looking, kimchi soup set ($5.50) instead. It came with a appetiser with choices of tofu or anchovy, kimchi soup and rice. The kimchi soup was fabulous; spicy yet not to the extent of fiery, with a subtle hint of sweetness – I love it!
Bibimbap ($5) will always my choice when I have Korean food, not that I’ve eaten much, but I like the mixture of everything in one bowl. And I also like it to be in a hot stone bowl so that the rice will be piping hot! The one at Ming Jia was pretty decent, just that it wasn’t hot enough! Still, it was great to mix everything with the spicy-and-slight-sweet chilli!
(1) Ming Jia is very near my place.
(2) Ming Jia is very affordable.
(3) Ming Jia is unpretentious and homely.
(4) Ming jis is helmed by a Korean lady, and Koreans go there too.
(5) Ming Jia will be the place to go when I’m craving for Korean food.
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!
Situated in an old neighbourhood coffee shop, LavaRock is another food stall determined to bring fine food to the masses.
It's hard to miss them; their signboard is huge and bright red, while the service staff would tempt passers-by with copies of their menu.
Their style of service is somewhat similar to Kenny Rogers - you order a main and get to choose two side dishes from the array at their counter.
I decided to start with their Homemade Mushroom Soup. It was a little bland and there were some lumps of starch floating around. At $2, I guess I couldn't really ask for much. It's leaps and bounds better than canned soup after all.
Apparently they are famous for their steak, so how could I not try it? I ordered a Grilled Ribeye Steak King Sized for $15.90. Yes they have queen sized steaks too but I was really hungry... They tried to up sell me the Sizzling Grilled Ribeye Steak for $2 extra, which is essentially the same thing I ordered except it comes on a hotplate. Didn't see the point or value in that.
Anyhow, their steaks are chilled, not frozen, and air-flown from New Zealand. It really does show when you bite into it; the meat was slightly pink in the center, tender and juicy, while the fat completely melted in my mouth. Awesomeness in a bite!
With my steak, I had Mashed Potato with Gravy and a Pasta Salad. Nothing special there, just comfort food.
My boyfriend had Chicken Cutlet ($6.50) with Creamy Pasta Salad, Butter Potato and Butter Rice. Carb overload much. Anyway, the chicken was very crispy, a little oily but generally very tender and not chewy like what you get at other kopitiams. However, if you go there, don't order the Butter Rice. It's completely tasteless.
Overall, the price is a little steep for a kopitiam but great for the quality of food they provide. For the main courses, anyway. Try if you're in the area!
Yes! The good old irresistible Scotts (Picnic) Beef Noodles is back, and can be found at B4 foodcourt - Food Opera, within ION Orchard Turn. This is the same famous stall that popularise the Beef Noodle Dry ($5.00) that comes with the thick, flavourful and yummy gravy.
Paired it with Chor Bee Hoon (Thick Vermicelli), Beef Balls, Sliced Beef, Beef Brisket and Beef Tripe and one gets a satisfying bowl of noodles.
Did HFB also mentioned that the small bowl of soup coupled with the dry version also tasted really flavoursome too! Ahhhh.... such wonderful memories.
If one was there for lunch, chances were they were in for 7atenine’s “Lunch Unlimited” offering @ $37 per pax – where there’s no menu in sight, and diners are subjected to unlimited elements of surprises and heighten anticipation by the chef.
First up, we had the Tomato and Thyme on Parmesan Biscuit – this was one of the two dishes that we did not complete. Uninspiring.
Another dish that looked better than it tasted, the pairing of Thai Asparagus Rolls with Wasabi just didn’t make the grade for HFB in this instance. The veggie was slightly tough too.
Sadly, the Homemade Ravioli with Parmesan Cheese and Ebi Bisque was flavoursome in a bad way - the cheese totally overwhelmed this dish i.e. the prawn flavoured broth waned in comparison.
To be honest, HFB certainly didn’t expect to spot the Maguro Sushi with Roe at his table. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly didn’t impressed. Perhaps the whole Japanese dish served in a western restaurant concept didn’t resonated well with him.
However, if there was any reason why HFB would be back at this establishment, the Beef Roll with Parmesan and Wild Herbs alone would sufficed as the answer. Served atop a piece of hot rock, one gets to enjoy the very bottom of the beef cooked, the middle portion medium rare, and the top raw. The play on the texture was amazing, the meat was succulent and the parmesan complemented the dish. We certainly did request for repeated servings of this dish.
The Crispy Pork Belly with Apple Puree was another brilliant dish. Nicely crisp on the exterior, the sweet and savoury combination also flourished. Marvellous!
The Jerusalem Artichoke Puree with Foam was flavourful despite its lacklustre appearance. HFB enjoyed this!
However, none can be said about the Cucumber Gazpacho with Crouton. It didn’t work well for HFB - acting as a palate cleanser, he found it too “green” for his liking.
The Caesar Salad was another one of the "ordinary" dishes that day - nothing quite wrong, yet nothing striking.
Another reorder we had was the Seared Scallops with Avocado Mousse and Red Grapefruit. The scallops were really sweet, luscious and nicely seared. HFB though craved the scallops to be bigger.
The Crab Salad Wrapped with Onion was the other dish that was left unfinished. Although in its defence, HFB had to say he enjoyed this dish pretty much. His guess was one probably need to enjoy onions to appreciate this dish. He surely did.
The Tuna Tartare with Miso Jelly was a dish of hits and misses. While he truly enjoyed the tuna, HFB felt that the miso jelly didn’t quite make the grade – its texture was chewy and the assortments of veggies within just didn’t quite gel.
Simply called the 7atenine Burger, the beef patties were really yummy and goes really well with the salsa coupled within. Only irk was that the bread was a tad oily.
One of their signatured dishes, the Udon Carbonara with Miso Scented Cream Reduction and Serrano Ham was in replacement of the beef roll, when we wanted for a third serving. Luckily for us, the Lolita of Spicc, Katharina, was gracious enough, as it was unavailable for the day’s lunch unlimited offering, to offer us a chance to savour her favourite dish. It was really a pleasant twist and in truth palatable, although HFB thought the noodles were slightly overcooked – al dente would have been much better welcomed.
Once we were done with the carbs, we signalled for the desserts to be served. The Cranberry Pastille with Chocolate Praline looked unimpressive yet it tasted oh so good. Simple yet packed a punch!
The Vanilla Mousse with Mango Ice-cream was really fruity and HFB thought it was a nice way to end the meal, along with Assorted Biscuits which went really well with our cup of coffee.
Overall, it was an out of the ordinary dining experience and although there were some misses with the dishes, there were others that makes a revisit a possibility.
The world we live in, is complex and beyond our wildest imaginations. Life is a mess, there will always be new problems arising everyday. Life is never fair and you have no control over it. But hey, who says life is ever gonna be easy? Babies cry when they enter this world don’t they? But sweetie, our world is also a beautiful place to live in, close your eyes and hold your breathe for a second; you will appreciate it a lot better.
And in life, nothing beats walking into a bakery with the smell of the freshly baked bread straight from the oven!
But I knew from the moment I stepped inside the bakery that it was a mistake. I wanted to buy everything! It was astonishing to see the number of Milkpan that they baked there - rows and rows of them, and everything smelled so good! The unbelievable softness, the light fragrance, and the creamy custard fillings, oh my god, one milkpan’s really not enough.
There was two types of anpan; I was convinced/psycho to get this one. It vaguely reminded me of the red-bean buns that I often got from the neighbourhood bakery. Nosh and nosh.
The scary thing about the bread here, they’d sold out the moment they are out! We got ten of them, five custard, and five chocolate. And it definitely wasn’t enough.
We preferred the chocolate wassants though; the other one was lacking in flavour, while this one had the subtle sweet chocolate within the bread. And there’s even a new kaya version, but that’s for the next visit!
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!
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!
I'm a sucker for Japanese food, so having it for lunch was quite a treat. If you are working near Paya Lebar, listen up. Suki Sushi has awesome lunch deals for the working crowd!
For more details, refer to my photos, I took a photo of the promo. But imagine having a full sized main course, with a full sized side dish and a cup of green tea for only $6.99! I thought that at such a low price, the portions served would be miserable, but boy was I wrong.
I ordered a Chicken Katsudon with a side dish of Mussel Mentai ($6.99) and they were good. The chicken was served promptly and the portions were huge. Crispy and tender, my only complain was that it was slightly plain tasting. But hey, at such a price, it's a steal! The four mussels were great, juicy and not too chewy, while the sauce was potent enough.
We also ordered a Cha Soba (it was gigantic!), Shishamo side dish and a Grilled Squid side dish which name I cannot remember for the life of me. Sorry la, too busy eating.
Oh and the Chawanmushi is only $0.99! The ingredients in it were not too stingy, there was still plenty of mushrooms, crabsticks and whatnot in it.
The bill for five of us came up to $54, after including all our extra sushi off the conveyor belt. Cheap or what!
The lunch special is extended to Saturdays and Sundays as well, so if you live near the area, trust me, it's worth a visit.
Probably riding on the hype of the popular Little Nonya TV series comes Jia Chuan Steamboat – a unique Nonya influenced Tom Yum steamboat recipe of chef, Mdm Elsie Lim. With her own brand of Peranakan-Chinese familiarity, the spice quotient of the Thai inspired broth is up with an extra serving of home-made nonya paste – made with up to 10 types of herbs and spices – for that extra punch!
For the non-fiery taste buds, one can also opt for the homemade Chicken Broth, or the Fish Broth that is slowed cooked for flavours using Flounder Fish, Ikan Bilis, and other homemade ingredients. You can even throw in Fried Red Snapper Fish Head and Fried Taco for that added fish head steamboat ‘experience’.
HFB sampled both the Tom Yum and Fish broth, and thought that the former was interesting but not awe-inspiring. Perhaps HFB was not used to it, but the broth was slightly too sweet for him, yet at the same time there existed a bitterness aftertaste from the Turmeric due to the constant boiling. The fish broth though was more familiar in taste due to the ikan bilis, and thus more welcoming and better appreciated. Highlights of the steamboat are the selection of homemade specialties such as meatballs (pork or chicken) made with Crabmeat, Prawns, Chestnut, Bamboo Shoots, etc.
But the one the really stood out was the Sotong Balls with Prawns – the sotong taste was evident and palatable.
The Pork Dumplings with Prawns also did not disappoint. It was hearty with a wholesome bite.
And what’s Chinese steamboat without pork, in the form of Pork Belly Slices. The greasy strips of fat gave the meat that added marbling texture. Succulent!
HFB was also asked to comment on the Beef Glue and Beef Ball that the establishment was trying to introduce to their menu.
While the former was essentially minced beef and nothing noteworthy, the beef balls are a shoo-in for their new menu. Chestnuts added to it also gave it an added crunch.
Another point to note include their tasty sweet chilli, reminiscent to that from Coca Steamboat. The sambal though is really spicy and not for the faint-hearted.
And do look out for their lighted signboard when you are driving into the area as the "cafe" or air-conditioned coffeeshop is easily miss.
Buddy Value Meal (2pax) is valued for $25 and comes with a choice of ONE meat (Beef, Chicken or Pork) and Steamboat Party Value Meal (3 to 5 pax) is valued at $48 and comes with a choice of TWO meat. No service charge and GST.
After hearing SOOOOoOoo much about Tao's for such a long time, I finally had the chance to step into Tao's! I was so excited.
Parking wasn't too much of a problem at Selegie Centre... however 3 hours cost us $10 . If it weren't raining so heavily when we arrived I reckon we would have parked elsewhere. The parking area was a little hard to find but easy (for the driver) to work her way about.
Because it was a weekday and it was just after lunch @ 2pm, the place was empty!! *happiness* We did make reservations though. I was told by my friend that reservations are a must if you wanted a weekend lunch/dinner.
They charge $19.80 (or was it $19.90) for a 6 course set lunch. I shan't dwell on the system they have here since everyone's talked about it.
We just went about picking whatever we liked from the menu.
I shall only comment on those I did taste. :)
Food ordered: Bacon & Mushroom Gratin, served with Toasted Bread This is an item we didn’t have a choice with in the menu. I’m not really a fan of gratin so I was a little hesitant. I didn’t quite take to the smell of the cheese they used for the gratin but it was generally alright for non-cheese lovers. A definite stay away if you dislike cheese though. The bread was heavenly. I LOVEEDDD it. I wished I could have more (it’s free flow) but I was afraid I couldn’t finish the rest of my meal. The bread was well toasted and can be eaten alone without the gratin at all.
Smoked Salmon Salad My choice. My companions had the Fruit Salad and the Prawn Roll though. Nothing fantastic about my salad though I had some trouble finishing it as I found the salmon a little too salty after a few bites. The serving was just right though.
Cream of Pumpkin I absolutely loved this soup. I was the only one not having the Shark fin one, which my companions raved about. But I loved the thickness of this pumpkin soup and the slight sweetness which made me finish it really quickly.
Grilled Snapper with Japanese Sauce This is my main complaint I think. I definitely regretted this choice. The snapper was unevenly grilled and charred on one end but fine on the other. There was so much sauce poured over it and it certainly didn’t help that it was too salty. In reality, the snapper was quite tasty on its own, after much cleaning away of the sauce. I liked the pumpkin mash served with the snapper though. I would definitely go for the flounder next time.
Ice Rose Apple Tea I like how the smell of the rose blended together with the taste of the apple in this one. And they even provided a fork for you to eat the apple. They serve their teas in this nice little pot with a tiny cup, so we had fun tasting each other’s tea.
Ice Summer Peach Tea I LOVE THIS TEA! I like the aftertaste of the peach!
Brownie served with ice cream Or should I say, ice-cream served with brownie? I finished it in 2 bites. Either my mouth’s big or… to give credit, the brownie is quite moist and not too dry. The nuts below should be cut up a little more so that it can be evenly distributed with each bite.
The total bill came up to $115 for 5 of us which is quite reasonable I guess. Topped with great service and smiles even though we were overstayers, it was a good experience after all.
Arab St is considered to be one of my favourite food haunts because they have so much good food there! My friends and I settled with Zac Cafe instead of Nabins because first, it's cheaper, and second, I was lazy to walk.
Since my friend knew the manager, he was very nice and friendly to us and accommodated most of our requests. Even though the rest of the service staff had deadpan faces, at least our food, drinks and cutlery arrived promptly.
I tried the Mixed Grilled Platter ($19.50), which consists of chicken and beef kebabs, grilled mutton, a couple of sausages of unknown meat origins and potato wedges. The waiter said it's enough for two to share, but it definitely wasn't enough for my friend and I! At least, she was full but I had space for more :(
Anyhow. The spices were great, meat was pretty okay, grilled nicely so it was still quite tender and juicy. Not exactly value for money, but it's considered to be one of the cheapest if you compare it to places like Cafe Le Caire, where the mixed kebabs could easily cost you over $20.
We also tried the Grilled Kofta Kebab ($7.50) served with rice and the Lamb Bamya (8.80) served with rice and salad. Pretty much the same as the grilled platter (:
Didn't manage to try the sheesha here though. I still prefer having my sheesha where I can sit and lounge around like a bum. Maybe next time (:
1=SGD 0.0587
I love watching dramas, because they got fairy-tale endings; there are moments where you smile like a fool, or weep together with the scenes, but at the end it will be a happy ending – I like happily-ever-after outcomes.
And there are always food in the show, the characters are only human, they need to eat too! So when I watch dramas, I will always get hungry. This bring us to Korean food, it’s a shame that we can’t put our hands inside the screen and grab that very delicious-looking food. So, we hunt, for Korean food.
We wanted the spicy looking Korean noodles but it was sold out; so we took the next-spicy-looking, kimchi soup set ($5.50) instead. It came with a appetiser with choices of tofu or anchovy, kimchi soup and rice. The kimchi soup was fabulous; spicy yet not to the extent of fiery, with a subtle hint of sweetness – I love it!
Bibimbap ($5) will always my choice when I have Korean food, not that I’ve eaten much, but I like the mixture of everything in one bowl. And I also like it to be in a hot stone bowl so that the rice will be piping hot! The one at Ming Jia was pretty decent, just that it wasn’t hot enough! Still, it was great to mix everything with the spicy-and-slight-sweet chilli!
(1) Ming Jia is very near my place.
(2) Ming Jia is very affordable.
(3) Ming Jia is unpretentious and homely.
(4) Ming jis is helmed by a Korean lady, and Koreans go there too.
(5) Ming Jia will be the place to go when I’m craving for Korean food.
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:
Situated in an old neighbourhood coffee shop, LavaRock is another food stall determined to bring fine food to the masses.
It's hard to miss them; their signboard is huge and bright red, while the service staff would tempt passers-by with copies of their menu.
Their style of service is somewhat similar to Kenny Rogers - you order a main and get to choose two side dishes from the array at their counter.
I decided to start with their Homemade Mushroom Soup. It was a little bland and there were some lumps of starch floating around. At $2, I guess I couldn't really ask for much. It's leaps and bounds better than canned soup after all.
Apparently they are famous for their steak, so how could I not try it? I ordered a Grilled Ribeye Steak King Sized for $15.90. Yes they have queen sized steaks too but I was really hungry... They tried to up sell me the Sizzling Grilled Ribeye Steak for $2 extra, which is essentially the same thing I ordered except it comes on a hotplate. Didn't see the point or value in that.
Anyhow, their steaks are chilled, not frozen, and air-flown from New Zealand. It really does show when you bite into it; the meat was slightly pink in the center, tender and juicy, while the fat completely melted in my mouth. Awesomeness in a bite!
With my steak, I had Mashed Potato with Gravy and a Pasta Salad. Nothing special there, just comfort food.
My boyfriend had Chicken Cutlet ($6.50) with Creamy Pasta Salad, Butter Potato and Butter Rice. Carb overload much. Anyway, the chicken was very crispy, a little oily but generally very tender and not chewy like what you get at other kopitiams. However, if you go there, don't order the Butter Rice. It's completely tasteless.
Overall, the price is a little steep for a kopitiam but great for the quality of food they provide. For the main courses, anyway. Try if you're in the area!
Rating given:
Yes! The good old irresistible Scotts (Picnic) Beef Noodles is back, and can be found at B4 foodcourt - Food Opera, within ION Orchard Turn. This is the same famous stall that popularise the Beef Noodle Dry ($5.00) that comes with the thick, flavourful and yummy gravy.
Paired it with Chor Bee Hoon (Thick Vermicelli), Beef Balls, Sliced Beef, Beef Brisket and Beef Tripe and one gets a satisfying bowl of noodles.
Did HFB also mentioned that the small bowl of soup coupled with the dry version also tasted really flavoursome too! Ahhhh.... such wonderful memories.
You can view all the photos here.
Rating given:
If one was there for lunch, chances were they were in for 7atenine’s “Lunch Unlimited” offering @ $37 per pax – where there’s no menu in sight, and diners are subjected to unlimited elements of surprises and heighten anticipation by the chef.
First up, we had the Tomato and Thyme on Parmesan Biscuit – this was one of the two dishes that we did not complete. Uninspiring.
Another dish that looked better than it tasted, the pairing of Thai Asparagus Rolls with Wasabi just didn’t make the grade for HFB in this instance. The veggie was slightly tough too.
Sadly, the Homemade Ravioli with Parmesan Cheese and Ebi Bisque was flavoursome in a bad way - the cheese totally overwhelmed this dish i.e. the prawn flavoured broth waned in comparison.
To be honest, HFB certainly didn’t expect to spot the Maguro Sushi with Roe at his table. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly didn’t impressed. Perhaps the whole Japanese dish served in a western restaurant concept didn’t resonated well with him.
However, if there was any reason why HFB would be back at this establishment, the Beef Roll with Parmesan and Wild Herbs alone would sufficed as the answer. Served atop a piece of hot rock, one gets to enjoy the very bottom of the beef cooked, the middle portion medium rare, and the top raw. The play on the texture was amazing, the meat was succulent and the parmesan complemented the dish. We certainly did request for repeated servings of this dish.
The Crispy Pork Belly with Apple Puree was another brilliant dish. Nicely crisp on the exterior, the sweet and savoury combination also flourished. Marvellous!
The Jerusalem Artichoke Puree with Foam was flavourful despite its lacklustre appearance. HFB enjoyed this!
However, none can be said about the Cucumber Gazpacho with Crouton. It didn’t work well for HFB - acting as a palate cleanser, he found it too “green” for his liking.
The Caesar Salad was another one of the "ordinary" dishes that day - nothing quite wrong, yet nothing striking.
Another reorder we had was the Seared Scallops with Avocado Mousse and Red Grapefruit. The scallops were really sweet, luscious and nicely seared. HFB though craved the scallops to be bigger.
The Crab Salad Wrapped with Onion was the other dish that was left unfinished. Although in its defence, HFB had to say he enjoyed this dish pretty much. His guess was one probably need to enjoy onions to appreciate this dish. He surely did.
The Tuna Tartare with Miso Jelly was a dish of hits and misses. While he truly enjoyed the tuna, HFB felt that the miso jelly didn’t quite make the grade – its texture was chewy and the assortments of veggies within just didn’t quite gel.
Simply called the 7atenine Burger, the beef patties were really yummy and goes really well with the salsa coupled within. Only irk was that the bread was a tad oily.
One of their signatured dishes, the Udon Carbonara with Miso Scented Cream Reduction and Serrano Ham was in replacement of the beef roll, when we wanted for a third serving. Luckily for us, the Lolita of Spicc, Katharina, was gracious enough, as it was unavailable for the day’s lunch unlimited offering, to offer us a chance to savour her favourite dish. It was really a pleasant twist and in truth palatable, although HFB thought the noodles were slightly overcooked – al dente would have been much better welcomed.
Once we were done with the carbs, we signalled for the desserts to be served. The Cranberry Pastille with Chocolate Praline looked unimpressive yet it tasted oh so good. Simple yet packed a punch!
The Vanilla Mousse with Mango Ice-cream was really fruity and HFB thought it was a nice way to end the meal, along with Assorted Biscuits which went really well with our cup of coffee.
Overall, it was an out of the ordinary dining experience and although there were some misses with the dishes, there were others that makes a revisit a possibility.
You can view all the photos here.
Rating given:
The world we live in, is complex and beyond our wildest imaginations. Life is a mess, there will always be new problems arising everyday. Life is never fair and you have no control over it. But hey, who says life is ever gonna be easy? Babies cry when they enter this world don’t they? But sweetie, our world is also a beautiful place to live in, close your eyes and hold your breathe for a second; you will appreciate it a lot better.
And in life, nothing beats walking into a bakery with the smell of the freshly baked bread straight from the oven!
But I knew from the moment I stepped inside the bakery that it was a mistake. I wanted to buy everything! It was astonishing to see the number of Milkpan that they baked there - rows and rows of them, and everything smelled so good! The unbelievable softness, the light fragrance, and the creamy custard fillings, oh my god, one milkpan’s really not enough.
There was two types of anpan; I was convinced/psycho to get this one. It vaguely reminded me of the red-bean buns that I often got from the neighbourhood bakery. Nosh and nosh.
The scary thing about the bread here, they’d sold out the moment they are out! We got ten of them, five custard, and five chocolate. And it definitely wasn’t enough.
We preferred the chocolate wassants though; the other one was lacking in flavour, while this one had the subtle sweet chocolate within the bread. And there’s even a new kaya version, but that’s for the next visit!
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:
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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I'm a sucker for Japanese food, so having it for lunch was quite a treat. If you are working near Paya Lebar, listen up. Suki Sushi has awesome lunch deals for the working crowd!
For more details, refer to my photos, I took a photo of the promo. But imagine having a full sized main course, with a full sized side dish and a cup of green tea for only $6.99! I thought that at such a low price, the portions served would be miserable, but boy was I wrong.
I ordered a Chicken Katsudon with a side dish of Mussel Mentai ($6.99) and they were good. The chicken was served promptly and the portions were huge. Crispy and tender, my only complain was that it was slightly plain tasting. But hey, at such a price, it's a steal! The four mussels were great, juicy and not too chewy, while the sauce was potent enough.
We also ordered a Cha Soba (it was gigantic!), Shishamo side dish and a Grilled Squid side dish which name I cannot remember for the life of me. Sorry la, too busy eating.
Oh and the Chawanmushi is only $0.99! The ingredients in it were not too stingy, there was still plenty of mushrooms, crabsticks and whatnot in it.
The bill for five of us came up to $54, after including all our extra sushi off the conveyor belt. Cheap or what!
The lunch special is extended to Saturdays and Sundays as well, so if you live near the area, trust me, it's worth a visit.
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Probably riding on the hype of the popular Little Nonya TV series comes Jia Chuan Steamboat – a unique Nonya influenced Tom Yum steamboat recipe of chef, Mdm Elsie Lim. With her own brand of Peranakan-Chinese familiarity, the spice quotient of the Thai inspired broth is up with an extra serving of home-made nonya paste – made with up to 10 types of herbs and spices – for that extra punch!
For the non-fiery taste buds, one can also opt for the homemade Chicken Broth, or the Fish Broth that is slowed cooked for flavours using Flounder Fish, Ikan Bilis, and other homemade ingredients. You can even throw in Fried Red Snapper Fish Head and Fried Taco for that added fish head steamboat ‘experience’.
HFB sampled both the Tom Yum and Fish broth, and thought that the former was interesting but not awe-inspiring. Perhaps HFB was not used to it, but the broth was slightly too sweet for him, yet at the same time there existed a bitterness aftertaste from the Turmeric due to the constant boiling. The fish broth though was more familiar in taste due to the ikan bilis, and thus more welcoming and better appreciated. Highlights of the steamboat are the selection of homemade specialties such as meatballs (pork or chicken) made with Crabmeat, Prawns, Chestnut, Bamboo Shoots, etc.
But the one the really stood out was the Sotong Balls with Prawns – the sotong taste was evident and palatable.
The Pork Dumplings with Prawns also did not disappoint. It was hearty with a wholesome bite.
And what’s Chinese steamboat without pork, in the form of Pork Belly Slices. The greasy strips of fat gave the meat that added marbling texture. Succulent!
HFB was also asked to comment on the Beef Glue and Beef Ball that the establishment was trying to introduce to their menu.
While the former was essentially minced beef and nothing noteworthy, the beef balls are a shoo-in for their new menu. Chestnuts added to it also gave it an added crunch.
Another point to note include their tasty sweet chilli, reminiscent to that from Coca Steamboat. The sambal though is really spicy and not for the faint-hearted.
And do look out for their lighted signboard when you are driving into the area as the "cafe" or air-conditioned coffeeshop is easily miss.
Buddy Value Meal (2pax) is valued for $25 and comes with a choice of ONE meat (Beef, Chicken or Pork) and Steamboat Party Value Meal (3 to 5 pax) is valued at $48 and comes with a choice of TWO meat. No service charge and GST.
You can view all the photos here.
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After hearing SOOOOoOoo much about Tao's for such a long time, I finally had the chance to step into Tao's! I was so excited.
Parking wasn't too much of a problem at Selegie Centre... however 3 hours cost us $10 . If it weren't raining so heavily when we arrived I reckon we would have parked elsewhere. The parking area was a little hard to find but easy (for the driver) to work her way about.
Because it was a weekday and it was just after lunch @ 2pm, the place was empty!! *happiness* We did make reservations though. I was told by my friend that reservations are a must if you wanted a weekend lunch/dinner.
They charge $19.80 (or was it $19.90) for a 6 course set lunch. I shan't dwell on the system they have here since everyone's talked about it.
We just went about picking whatever we liked from the menu.
I shall only comment on those I did taste. :)
Food ordered:
Bacon & Mushroom Gratin, served with Toasted Bread
This is an item we didn’t have a choice with in the menu. I’m not really a fan of gratin so I was a little hesitant. I didn’t quite take to the smell of the cheese they used for the gratin but it was generally alright for non-cheese lovers. A definite stay away if you dislike cheese though. The bread was heavenly. I LOVEEDDD it. I wished I could have more (it’s free flow) but I was afraid I couldn’t finish the rest of my meal. The bread was well toasted and can be eaten alone without the gratin at all.
Smoked Salmon Salad
My choice. My companions had the Fruit Salad and the Prawn Roll though. Nothing fantastic about my salad though I had some trouble finishing it as I found the salmon a little too salty after a few bites. The serving was just right though.
Cream of Pumpkin
I absolutely loved this soup. I was the only one not having the Shark fin one, which my companions raved about. But I loved the thickness of this pumpkin soup and the slight sweetness which made me finish it really quickly.
Grilled Snapper with Japanese Sauce
This is my main complaint I think. I definitely regretted this choice. The snapper was unevenly grilled and charred on one end but fine on the other. There was so much sauce poured over it and it certainly didn’t help that it was too salty. In reality, the snapper was quite tasty on its own, after much cleaning away of the sauce. I liked the pumpkin mash served with the snapper though. I would definitely go for the flounder next time.
Ice Rose Apple Tea
I like how the smell of the rose blended together with the taste of the apple in this one. And they even provided a fork for you to eat the apple. They serve their teas in this nice little pot with a tiny cup, so we had fun tasting each other’s tea.
Ice Summer Peach Tea
I LOVE THIS TEA! I like the aftertaste of the peach!
Brownie served with ice cream
Or should I say, ice-cream served with brownie? I finished it in 2 bites. Either my mouth’s big or… to give credit, the brownie is quite moist and not too dry. The nuts below should be cut up a little more so that it can be evenly distributed with each bite.
The total bill came up to $115 for 5 of us which is quite reasonable I guess. Topped with great service and smiles even though we were overstayers, it was a good experience after all.
I’m looking forward to going there again!
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Arab St is considered to be one of my favourite food haunts because they have so much good food there! My friends and I settled with Zac Cafe instead of Nabins because first, it's cheaper, and second, I was lazy to walk.
Since my friend knew the manager, he was very nice and friendly to us and accommodated most of our requests. Even though the rest of the service staff had deadpan faces, at least our food, drinks and cutlery arrived promptly.
I tried the Mixed Grilled Platter ($19.50), which consists of chicken and beef kebabs, grilled mutton, a couple of sausages of unknown meat origins and potato wedges. The waiter said it's enough for two to share, but it definitely wasn't enough for my friend and I! At least, she was full but I had space for more :(
Anyhow. The spices were great, meat was pretty okay, grilled nicely so it was still quite tender and juicy. Not exactly value for money, but it's considered to be one of the cheapest if you compare it to places like Cafe Le Caire, where the mixed kebabs could easily cost you over $20.
We also tried the Grilled Kofta Kebab ($7.50) served with rice and the Lamb Bamya (8.80) served with rice and salad. Pretty much the same as the grilled platter (:
Didn't manage to try the sheesha here though. I still prefer having my sheesha where I can sit and lounge around like a bum. Maybe next time (:
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