My archives would also be available at my new website, though sadly, I couldn’t port all the comments over.  

Please update your rss feeds and bookmarks.  See you there at my new url!

My archives would also be available at my new website, though sadly, I couldn’t port all the comments over.  

Please update your rss feeds and bookmarks.  See you there at my new url!

Ratings: 6.0/10 

Along Crawford Lane, there’s not only the lip-smacking Hill Street Tai Wah Pork Noodles, there’s also great western food located in the same coffee shop. 

According to ieatishootipost, the owners of Happy Chef have just returned from a 15-year stay in Sydney, hence explaining the Australian flavour in the western food that they sell at their stall.  The Sydney Morning Herald also voted their restaurant in Sydney as Sydney’s top 10. 

There is a great variety of western food sold at Happy Chef.  Chicken Kiev, Pork Cordon Bleu, BBQ Pork Ribs, Fish and Chips…the list just goes on.  When I first looked at the extensive menu at the stall (which is made up of delicious photos of the various food they sold at the stall), I was shortly lost for words because I got no idea what I should choose.

In the end, I tried the BBQ Honey Chicken and the Country-Style Baked Fish.

BBQ Honey Chicken 

Country-Style Baked Fish 

One thing I have to rave about Happy Chef is the lovely garlic bread with sesame seed that it serves along with each order.  The bread is very delicious.  I could definitely have lots more of that bread!

Besides that, each order also comes along with fresh vegetables (made up of carrots and French beans) which I felt had a homemade taste.  That’s another highlight of the meal because most western food stalls that I tried (i.e. those in food courts or coffee shops in general) often served salads that either are slightly staled or tasted like canned food. 

I also loved the BBQ Honey Chicken.  The chicken is tender and tasted very good.  For the Country-Style Baked Fish, although the fish was fresh, it tasted salty.  Without that salty taste in the fish, I’ll have adored the Country-Style Baked Fish a great deal, since freshness is one of the most important quality when tasting seafood.  However, I have to point out that the stewed mushrooms that came along with the fish tasted great.

Another part of the meal that I didn’t like that much was the slightly soggy fries that came along with the meal.  I am very particular about my fries, since I’m such a fries lover.  Hence, if the fries are crispier, I’ll love Happy Chef even more.   

However, I’m very sure of one thing.  I’ll definitely go back to Happy Chef to taste the rest of the items on the menu, because my first Happy Chef experience had been an enjoyable one.

Business Hours: 9.30am to 9.00pm 

Ratings: 6.75/10

Many famous food places locally have pictures of celebrities adorning their small shop front.  However, not many of them have Anthony Bourdain specially making his way there to film his Singapore episode of "No Reservation", which airs on the Discovery Travel and Living Channel.  This minced pork noodle stall in the humble coffee shop along Crawford Lane is not only "best in Singapore, Johore and Batam", but good enough for international TV.

After trying Hill Street Tai Wah Pork Noodles, I have a new favourite location to satisfy my cravings for minced pork noodles.  I have reviewed mince pork noodles quite a few times on this blog.  Among the minced pork noodles that I have reviewed so far, Tai Wah wins easily.

The noodles are solid (in both the singlish sense that means “excellent” and the dictionary usage that means that the noodles are compact in substance).  Because of its "compact in substance" nature, the noodles have a nice texture and are chewy. Coupled with plenty of vinegar and a great chilli paste, the noodles are indeed "solid ah".

Moreover, the ingredients used for the noodles, such as the minced pork, meat balls and liver, are all  fresh, a characteristic that many hawkers have neglected for the sake of selling cheaper food.  The freshness of the ingredients has definitely added lots of goodie points to the noodles!  The noodles also come with a great soup, which adds further joy to the meal.

Thus, should you be in the area, do go Crawford Lane and try these great noodles!

Ratings: 6.75/10 

Unexpectedly, HC suddenly offered to drive us out to Old Airport Road Food Centre for lunch one day.

Despite the imminent stink on our work attire resulting from the myriad of aromatic food scents, smoke from cooking, and sweat due to the hot weather that day, having lunch at Old Airport Road Food Centre, which was one of the famous local hawker centres known for its delicious food, was an irresistible option that none of us can reject.   It was a welcome break from the almost-daily mundane lunch at the food court!

Of course, at Old Airport Road Food Centre, how can I not have Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee, especially since Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee is one of Makansutra Hawker Legends! 

Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee - $3 a plate

Hokkien Mee is yellow noodles and rice flour noodles fried with seafood stock and topped with prawns, pork strips, and squid rings.  There are two versions of Hokkien Mee in Singapore: dry and wet.  Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee will fall into the dry Hokkien Mee category since there isn’t much gravy in the noodles, as you can see from the photo. 

I can never understand why Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee tastes so good.  If you ask me to imagine how a smashing plate of Hokkien Fried Mee will taste like, I’ll probably describe a hot and aromatic plate of Hokkien noodles.  The entire plate of noodles will be very well fried, with each strand of noodles emitting the characteristic wok hei taste (meaning taste of the wok) that is the defining characteristic of a good plate of fried noodles. 

On the contrary, the plate of Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee that I had was not hot.  Besides that, not every strand of noodles was equally fried and there were a few strands of slightly uncooked noodles.  Whatever that I have just described might make you start wondering why I am saying that Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee is delicious in the first place.  Yet, this is the exact reason why I can never understand why Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee tastes so good. 

The first mouthful of noodles may just taste slightly above average from the usual Hokkien mee that you can get elsewhere.  However, Nam Sing Hokkien Mee is one "Mee" that grows on you.  Each mouthful of noodles taste very pleasant and without you realising, the entire plate of noodles is finished.   I attribute the pleasant taste of the noodles to the delicious seafood stock absorbed by the noodles during the cooking process.  Overall, the noodles are very well fried.  As for the few strands of slightly uncooked noodles that "stood out from the crowd", they actually added a crunchy yet soft texture to the plate of silky noodles, making the plate of Hokkien noodles really interesting to eat.

One plate of Hokkien Fried Mee costs about $3.  That’s a really good price to pay for a plate of fingerlicking good Hokkien Fried Mee.

I had a good lunch that day.  Hot weather?  Stinky food scents that had attached itself onto my clothes?  Who cares about them?  It’s the great lunch that matters ultimately. 

Ratings: 5.75/10 

(edited: Actually, the ratings for Sushi Tei is in between 5.5 or 6, but I never gave any in-between ratings before.  Thus, setting a precedent, I shall have my first in-between rating of 5.75 in order for me to do some justifications to the ratings I have given Sushi Tei.)

Sushi chains have colonised the shopping centres of Singapore.  Some of the popular sushi chains have lost the X factor that have made them popular in the first place, while some of these sushi chains are gaining great momentum as they continue their never-ending expansion plan.

Out of these sushi chains, my favourites are Sushi Tei and Ichiban Boshi.  For this entry, I was having my meal at the Sushi Tei in Raffles City. 

If you are looking for high quality and absolute freshness in your sushi, these sushi chains are definitely not the place to go.  However, if you are looking for relatively cheap and decent Japanese food to satisfy your craving for sushi, Sushi Tei and Ichiban Boshi (mainly the outlets in town), are the best places to go.

I love Sushi Tei for the classy design of its outlets.  For the outlet at Raffles City, there were string-liked curtains separting each table, giving each table some privacy.  Yet at the same time, you can see the chefs busy in the kitchen preparing your sushi.  The dim lighting at the restaurant also added some nice dining atmosphere to the place. 

I took the photos some weeks back, hence I can’t remember what I had wanted to blog about.  However, I shall let these photos speak for themselves, while I give some short commentaries along the way! 

Hanasaki Ika Cuttlefish and Smelt Roe - Somehow I wasn’t expecting it to be raw when I order it, but it tasted fresh.  I quite like this dish.

 
Udon - the udon had a very nice bouncy texture to it.  One of the best udons I tasted among the sushi chains in Singapore

Raw Fish - I am a raw fish fan ever since I had my first piece of raw fish some time back.  There’s tuna, yellow tail and salmon here.  My favourite is the yellow tail.  The raw fish at Sushi Tei was decent, not exactly top-notch in terms of freshness, but was reasonable. 

Special Unagi Roll - Unagi, my favourite Jap food.  I can’t get enough of them.  I kept grumbling to my friends that I have unagi craving all the time.  The unagi at Sushi Tei tasted great, smooth and seemingly melted in my mouth.  Yummy!

Dragon Roll - Nice but not exceptional.  One complaint that I had about the sushi at Sushi Tei was the rice.  The rice was not bind sufficient tightly to give that extra X factor to the sushi.  However, the presentation of sushi was very exquisite, giving an additional unique touch to the dining experience at Sushi Tei.

 Chicken Katsu Don - The chicken katsu don tasted really bad.  The chicken was tough, the rice seem soggy.  One of the worst chicken katsu don that I have tried.

 
Sesame Ice Cream - Excellent!  A nice dessert to round off a hefty meal.

Operating hours:  Sun/Wed/Thu: 3.30pm-12am, Fri/PH: 4.30pm-1230am,Sat: 3.30pm - 1230am

Ratings: 6.0/10 

New York Cheesecake or was it American Cheescake?
Sorry, I’ve forgotten the name of the cheesecake 

 
Peach and Jelly Cheesecake 

The Cheesecake Cafe was recommended to me by Bal.  When I first heard the name "The Cheesecake Cafe", the first image that comes to my mind was a very happy image: a bright and cheery cafe selling lots of delicious-looking cheesecake.  

I was so wrong.

The only thing that I was right about was the delicious-looking cheesecakes that you can see the moment you stepped into The Cheesecake Cafe, but it was definitely not a bright and cheery cafe.

The Cheesecake Cafe is a cool chill-out spot in the Siglap area.  With comfortable sofa seats, dim lightings with candles dotted around the cafe, chill out music in the background, and a lovely angel fountain, The Cheesecake Cafe has the perfect laid-back ambience where you can sip some wine and enjoy some cheesecake with a group of your friends as you chat the night away.

With such an ambience, you might be thinking along the line of a hotel lounge or a cool spot in town.  But no, located in the Siglap neighbourhood, you’re warmly welcomed even if you are clad in just your berms.  There’s absolutely no pretence at The Cheesecake Cafe.   

The moment you step into the cafe, the service staff will warmly welcome you.  They’ll also never hesitate in making their recommendations to you.  I can only nit-pick on the fact that they seem to clear the plates really quickly the moment you finish the food, which makes the service a tat intrusive to some, but I was okay with it. 

Too bad I didn’t take any photos of the drinks that I had when I was at the Cheesecake Cafe.  I love the drinks best at The Cheesecake Cafe.  I love the tinge of bitterness in the ice milo that I was having that night.  I also took a sip of the Cafe Latte.  It was great coffee and definitely not the sweet and mild Lattes I usually get at the coffee joints such as Starbucks and Coffeebean.

As for the cheesecakes, which is the focus of the cafe, I was actually slightly disappointed by them.  At $6.90, I thought the price for the cake was expensive, especially since the slices were small.  The peach with jelly cheesecake was delicate with a nice peachy flavour and a soft jelly layer in the middle of the cake.   Similarly, the New York Cheesecake was delicate and pleasant.  Maybe it was the delicate taste of the cake; somehow, the cakes just didn’t leave any impression in me or cause me to develop any cravings for it.  Maybe it’s because I prefer my cake to be more strongly-flavoured, so that there’ll be a oomph factor when I taste the cake.

However, I do like the variety of cakes that they offer at The Cheesecake Cafe.  They have plenty of unique flavours for the cheesecake (unique because I have never seen most of these flavours before).  Besides the all-time favourites such as the New York Cheesecake and Oreo Cheesecake, they also have Blueberry Cheesecake and Peanut Butter Cheesecake, which I’ll have loved to try if I have additional stomach space.   

I will definitely visit The Cheesecake Cafe again if I’m in the Siglap area because I love the ambience there so much.  However, should you want to grab some of those sofa seats in the cafe, I suppose you’ll have to make reservations in advance, because those seats are really popular.