De Mario Pizza

Restaurant Name: De Mario Pizza
Place: Robertson Quay
Address: One end of Robertson Quay
Speciality: Pizza & Pasta

Authentic Italian Pizza with thin crispy crust. One of the better pizza that I have tried. And relatively inexpensive too when a 12" (i think) about $15.

Photos as below:
(Please do ignore the mee and beehoon as we were too hungry to wait, so....)

Fish Soup @ Jalan Besar

Stall Name: (Didnt manage to get it)
Place: Jln Besar
Address: Jln Besar Food Centre (Upper Storey)
Speciality: Fish Soup with either sliced fish or fried fish

Sorry, was in a hurry that day and only took 2 pictures while queue-ing. Will upload more picture when I go there next time.




Look out for this stall in Jln Besar market when you are there for lunch the next time.




Operating hours: 11.12am to while stock last (reckon about 1pm)
It is that good. 2 hours a day operation with consistent and persistent queue. Expect more than 10 people in the queue at any one point of time.
Only funny thing is that I dont understand why it starts at 11.12am instead of 11am or something.

They serve fried fish and sliced fish. Both are very good but in my opinion, I will prefer the sliced better because it is just so hard to get 'sweet' and fresh sliced fish.

Rating: 4.5/5. A must try.

Fei Lou (Fei Lau) Porridge

Stall Name: Fei Lou Porridge
Place: Telok Blangah Drive
Address: Blk 46 Telok Blangah Drive
(He used to be at Telok Blangah Crescent Market)
Speciality: Porridge (but must try the steamed chicken, Bee Hoon)


Fish porridge is a must try as the smooth texture of the porridge and the generous serving of the fish make it one of the best porridge at its price. ($2.50 per bowl)


Plain Bee Hoon is surprisingly tasty. ($1 per plate).


Steam chicken with peanuts below is something unique.
The peanuts is a perfect blend with the chicken gravy.


The sauce to go with the chicken.



Something which I had not tried before in Singapore, boneless chicken wing.
It is not a die die must try, but I will still recommend it to try for experience. Chicken wing without bones.

The Dragon Restaurant @ Depot Road

Restaurant Name: The Dragon Restaurant
Place: Depot Road (off Alexandra Road)
Address: Blk 108 Depot Road, Depot Heights Shopping Centre
Speciality: Chinese Food
(updated with photos)

Recommended highly by hungrygowhere, I decided to give this restaurant a try with my family.

Ambience is that of Chinese Restaurant. Not much crowd even on weekend, so it is a good place to go if you want to have a good dinner and avoid the crowd.

Whatever you order, the food is all above average standard. We order salted egg prawns, roast chicken, Mamic pork chop, vegetable, all served within good timing and taste real good. One of the better Chinese restaurants I have visited.

I was told by the manager (or was she the boss) that apart from the chines food, their HK Dim Sum is famous and whatmore, she reveals that there is a 20% discount if you visit them from 9 -11am on Sunday and PH.

Comments: The food is fantastic but dont expect a lower price because it is located in these neighbourhood shopping centre. A table of 5 cost $140+ after the ++ which is rather standard Chinese restaurant price if you go to more famous Chinese restaurant. However, i can assure you that the food that they served is just as good if not better than the other Chinese Restautant.

Rating:
4.5/5. It is that good.

Photos:
Sorry, was too engrossed in talking and eating and forget to take photos. However, I suddenly remembered and got this one:



More photos here:


Prawn balls with orange sauce (or something to the effect) is one of the best that I tired. Prawns are cripsy on the outside and crunchy on the inside.


Pork ribs is tasty and juicy.


It is called something duck. Cant remember.
Sauce and texture of the duck is not bad.


Hot Plate beancurd - Just average.

New Coke Old Coke

Ever notice that your coke on the table has changed from a slightly more colourful logo to a simple logo? This is a comparsion of the box between the old (ironically the colourful logo) and the new (the surprising plain and colourless logo).



Top Row - Old Design
Bottom Row - New Design

So the next time you want to buy a coke from supermaket, don't think that the colourful design is the new stock, for it is actually the old one.

Sore throat? No fear...

it is Chinese New year period with all those food like fried stuffs and bak kwa that you've been eating, it is easy to be 'overheated'. Getting heaty is quite common and sore throat usually follows shortly.

While heatiness can be cooled down quite easily with herbal tea (liang teh), sore throat is not that simple. A persistence sore throat makes the eating difficult, sometimes to the extent of swallowing saliva.

One solution is to have a good lozenges but a good one is not easy to find.

This brand is quite effective through.

The French (Kopitiam) Stall

Name: The French Stall
Place: Serangoon Road (Opposite Shell Station)
Address: Corner of Sturdee Road North.

Before I start, let me warn you this is NOT a REVIEW. I refuse to do a review. So if you are looking for a review of this eatery, please go somewhere else.

Okay, if you are still reading on, reasons why I refuse to do a review are as below:

1) Service
2) Service
3) Service
3) Ambience vs Price
4) Quality of food

1) Service
First thing we reach there, we were greeted by this sign - '...you can be seated only if all are present' (or something to the effect). Well, do they have so many people who told them that they have more than the actual number who actually turned up? What's wrong with letting people sit down first? In the end, we sat at the entrance to wait for all to be present.

2) Service
7 of us in the group and 5 is present. We tried to talk to them and finally they let us sit down first, bending their rule slightly. Great service? Fat Hope. As 2 friends is very late, after sitting down for abour 15 mins and all 5 of us have placed our order, the 'friendly' waitress come and tell us this:

"Is your friends coming, if not, sorry, you have to give up this table and shift to a smaller table." KNN. Service at its best.

Again we have to try to talk to her pleading for 5 minutes grace. Fortunately, the 2 late-comers arrived before the grace expired.

3) Service
Any place you can find where you need to pay service charge and GST in Kopitiam? And for such service, I think I will be happier to pay service charge to the grumpy Tze cha stall aunty below my block. At least she doesn't chase you away from the table you have been allocated.


4) Ambience vs Price
At a corner of the road, no aircon throughout the whole stall, one can easily mistake it as a Tze Cha stall from far if one did not see the big but plain sign board of the name of the 'high-class restaurant'.

Well high class because price range from $15 - $25 for their main course. Well, this is French Cuisine so it cannot be considered as expensive but paying the price to ask us to dine beside the road is simply atrocious, at least all of us in the group.

5) Quality
Seriously nothing fantastic. If you want to eat French, go to La Petite Cuisine @ Serene Centre. At least the chef comes out when he is free to ask you how is the food.

Aston Prime / Aston Specialities / Aston Express

Name: Aston Prime / Aston Specialities / Aston Express
Place:
Auston Prime @ Joo Chiat
Auston Speciality @ East Coast / Cathay / Sports Club / Sembawang SC
Auston Express at Various Location
(Exact Location please refer to www.astons.com.sg)

I tried the outlet at Sembawang shopping centre. It was a new outlet and despite me hearing of Aston name, I have not tried it before. So that was my chance.

I ordered one Hickory BBQ Chicken, one pork chops and a Dinner Burger. Portion is generous and food is good. Comes with 2 side for the Chicken and the pork and one side for the burger.

My comment: Pork is just average while the chicken and the burger is good. For the chicken, I would not use the word fantastic but I would say that it is one of the better one that I have tried. And for $6.50, it is a steal.

The dinner burger is actually a bigger portion of the rest of the (cheaper) burger you see on the menu but they let you add one side. It is like buying a chicken burger and add one side. Works out to be cheaper if you have the dinner burger because you get a bigger burger and pay slightly less for the side.

As for the size of the burger, think of Carl's Junior Chicken Club. Something to the size or I would say that this is slightly bigger.

Although it seems to be like a restarant, there is
NO SERVICE CHARGE AND GOVERNMENT TAX!!!
(at least for the Sembawang Store)

So just add up the total of what you order and that's it.

And although there is no service charge, service there is fantastic. Quote this incident when I was in a queue (i need a table for 2) and there was a family of 5 that was behind me. When I was the first one in the queue, it happened that there was a big table (seats 6) that was ready. Naturally, I would not want 2 of us to hog the table for 6 and I would expect them to usher the family there before me.

They did, but before they do, they apologised to me (which I think it is not necessary) for letting me wait and they told me that they have a table for 2 that was empty but not ready. They told me to wait for another 2-3 mins and would let in me as soon as they have finished clearing the table. After doing so, then they ushered the family over.

I think that they have taken an extra step to ensure the service standards is there and I think I will be happy to pay for service charge in this case.

Menu:


More photos to be uploaded.

Ikea Cafe / Restaurant

NAME: Ikea
PLACE: Alexandra / Tampines

If you are looking for quality food at a bargain price, Ikea Restaurant will be one place that I will recommend you. Notice that I didnt use the word 'cheap' because comparatively it is not really cheap but you do get quality and aircon comfort.

Must try: Everything on the menu from poached salmon to nasi padang (less those side dish which you take out from the fridge.

Really must try: Swedish meatball for it uniqueness, chicken wing for its favour and nuggets.

Funny thing is that where isn't there a Halal section in Ikea Alexandra?

Ishi Mura @ Northpoint Extension

Name: ISHI MURA Japanese Theme-food Court
Place: Northpoint New Extension Level 3

Fresh and new concept of Japanese Theme Food court by the people who came out with this concept. In the food court, you find a variety of Japanese food range from Bento set to Ramen to Pizza to heated Stone Bowl Don to Japanese Burgers.

Price hovers at around $4.90 - $6.90, which most dish at $5.90. Reasonally cheap for Japanese food.

Heard that they are opening another similar outlet at Paradize centre, so if Yishun is too far, there could be another alternative soon.

Photos:

Kopitiam Tze Cha @ Toa Payoh

NAME: Unknown
PLACE: Toa Payoh
ADDRESS: Blk 124 Toa Payoh Lor 1
MUST TRY: Pork Ribs, Fried Rice, Hotplate Beancurd, Vege, Cereal Prawns, etc

Simple Kopitiam Tze Cha stall that serve great food. Food are simply yet tasty enough.

Comments:
A rare find among dozens of Tze Cha stall around Toa Payoh. A simple Kopitiam yet a Tze Cha stall that can produce food that can shame some more reputable restaurants.

Rating: 4.5/5. A must try.

Photos:

Working mobile?

[Invalid Post. Subway decides that electricity is too precious for them and they would rather keep it to themselves rather than sharing it with patrons.]

If you have the opportunity to work mobile with your laptop and have need to have a power socket to charge your battery or power up your laptop, one good and cost effective alternative suggestion other than the often crowded MacDonalds is Subway.

Located in major shopping malls and popular neighbourhoods, it is usually not hard to find a subway whereever you are. Majority of their stores have power sockets at some corner of the store and they are usually generous enough to let you tap a little bit of the power without approaching you.

The cost effective part is that buying a drink from them will cost you only $2 plus dollar and should you need a refill, you just need to top up $1 for the 2nd cup and beyond.

A meal, like many fast food, will set you back $6 - $8 but you eat healthier stuffs rather than junk food in MacDonalds or other fast food restaurant. Cheap, I'll say for using the place for a few hours i say. Put it the other way, a normal coffeeshop meal cost you about $4 - $4.50 with drink and a difference of $2-$3 frankly isn't a lot more to pay for for a air conditioned comfort and an area for you to do your work.

Yes, there are other alternatives but to me Subway offers a cheap, non-crowded environment for me to have a good meal and to do my work there at the same time.

The Best Bubble Tea.

If you are around bugis area and dying to have a drink, try this stall in Bencoolen Plaza. (The one that sell watches beside OG). The stall is located on Level 1 of the complex, somemore in the centre.

Its attraction: 1 cup for $1.
(For most of the drink there)

Bubble Tea is one of the better one around in terms of sweet-ness, blend. I particularly like Blue Coral from the stall.

Awon Korean Restaurant [Closed]

NAME: Awon Korean Restaurant
PLACE: Town
ADDRESS: Excelsior Shopping Centre, Level 4
MUST TRY: Korean "Traditional" Steam-grille steamboat

I want to say one thing all other reviews on other food blogs or website say about the buffet.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A BIG SPREAD BUFFET, THIS IS NOT FOR YOU.

In fact, there are only
3 types of meat(Chicken, pork, beef), prawns, vege, mushroom, noodle and tanghoon, Kimchi, orange

The whole spread there can be sum-ed up in less than 2 lines here.

Okay, so if there is no big spread, what is the point then? After-all for buffet, we want to eat as much as we can.

Okay, first there is steamboat pot / pan, whatever you call it that is special. I guess we are all tired about the normal flat pan bbq grille style which we find everywhere including Seoul Garden, one of this restaurant's competitors. The steam-grille style make the meat tender and juicy, yet allow the 'cook' (who is yours truly, me) control the kind of outcome. Want to make meat more steamed, add soup on top. Want to eat BBQ style, dont add soup on top. (Trust me, it is not so simple when you do it yourself)

Then there is the meat. Not the freshest or the tastiest, but something different. The meat (chicken and pork) actually taste a bit sweet while the seasoning is not overwhelming. In fact, from the serving tray, it is hard to tell that the meat is seasoned before.

The environment is another factor to consider. Cheerful lady boss, friendly waiter / waitress, etc, etc.

Comments:

Still that word, don't go if you are looking for a big spread. You can, however, order items from the menu ala carte rather than buffet.

Rating:
4/5 for the orginal-ness of Korean Cusine.

Photos:

Korean Starters for every diner there.


The STEAMBOAT GRILL!!!


THE STEAMBOAT GRILL - TOP VIEW!!!

Commercial Break

Laugh yourself away, because they like to say:

Laughter is the best medicine

Cafe Cartel Weekday Lunch

If you are in town or major shopping centre and looking for something that is relatively fill and yet not spend too much, try the Cafe Cartel Set lunch at
$9.50 nett.

Includes:
- Soup
- FREE FLOW Bread
- Main Course
- Drink
- Desert

Choose from 2 different set menu per day and only available on weekdays.



Cafe Cartel Set Lunch Menu

Pizza @ Anchorpoint Foodcourt

Stall name: Pizza Pazza
Place: Alexandra
Address: Anchorpoint Shopping Centre, B1 foodcourt
Speciality: Pizza, Pasta

I personally tried the Pizza only and I dare say it is better that most of the larger pizza stores that offer delivery. Crust in thin and cripsy and I believe that their Pizza is stove baked. cant confirm on that though. Gives you a very old school, authentic pizza feeling.

Comment:
What is the best part? Price.
7" for $6.50 and 12" for $12. As comparision, 12" or from Pizzahut cost $20 plus.
They used to be located on level 1 of Anchorpoint and moved together with the Food court to the basement when the foodcourt area is now taken over by a HK cafe.

Rating: 4/5
Value for money plus the authentic taste.

Photos:

Heng Ji Chicken Rice @ Chinatown Market

Stall Name: Heng Ji Chicken Rice
Place: Chinatown
Address: Chinatown Market
Speciality: Steam Chicken Rice

Cheap and very good steam chicken rice. Chicken is tender and juicy and most important salty enough yet not too salty. Some steam chicken rice that I add simply has no taste.

1/2 Chicken $10
Whole Chicken $20
Rice - $0.30
Individual - $3 I think.

Closed on Sunday. Operates till 8 plus everyday or until all chickens are sold out.

Comments
Rice - Service of rice is one standard soup ladle size, which is very small. So if you are chicken rice fanatic, order at least 2 bowls.

Be prepared to queue for 15 mins during peak period.

Rating
4/5 - good, very value for money.

Photos:

Popeye Chicken

Well, for those who are really into fried chicken, it taste better than kfc,is more value for money than kfc and the atmosphere is also much better as compared to kfc.

Beside airport, which most will be familar with, there is also a city outlet at Singapore flyer, that is if you don't know it by now.

Comment: The standard between the 3 outlet does vary a little, and I rate the outlet as follows from good to best

3. Singapore flyer - good to popeye standards but chicken a bit dry n less customer service. Will still go because of the location.

2. Changi Airport PT3 - quality better than Singapore flyer but still lose to PT1

3. Changi Airport PT1 - quality n service superior over the 2 other outlet.

Rating:
4/5 - Not the best fried chicken I ever tried but one of the better one.
As a comparison, I would give KFC a 2.5 rating.

Photos:
To be uploaded soon

Kuay Chap @ AMK

Stall Name: Zhen Ji Pig Organ Soup
Place: Ang Mo Kio
Address: Ang Mo Kio Blk 327(I think0 Market
Speciality: Kuay Chap ($3), Pig Trotter ($3)

Kuay chap is rich in taste and reasonable price. I consider this a hidden secret as it serves kuay chap better than most famous stalls (those with long queues) yet not many people knows about this store.

One of the better Kuay Chap I had tried.

Rating: 4/5

Also, when you are at the Coffeeshop, do try the self made lime juice or lemon tea as well as the mixture of the syrup is one of the best I have tried. Like they always say, it is often the most difficult to make simple food / drink taste good.

Photos:


This is the stall.


One serving of Kuay Chap.


The Lime juice.