23 Jun 2014
Chicken Up - Calling All Chicken Lovers! (Korean style)
I was quite surprised that the entire street along 48 Tanjong Pagar Road
had tons of Korean restaurants. Despite such competition, Chicken Up stood out
from the rest, specializing in a huge variety of Korean style chicken
dishes.
For all buffet/chicken lovers out there, there is a
all-you-can-eat chicken buffet!
($25 for weekday, $30 for weekends)
The Watermelon Soju made a grand entrance onto our table
with smoke produced from dry ice. Soju is originally from South Korea and
is traditionally made from rice, wheat or barley. With blended watermelon flesh
that gave a less boring texture to the drink, the overall feeling was crisp,
clear and definitely refreshing.
Besides the Watermelon Soju, I also tried the Yakult and
Pear Soju. The yakult soju could be defined by its milky white colour as well
as its taste. My personal favorite would definitely be the pear soju, which I
would highly recommend to ladies, since it was so soothing and sweeter as
compared to the others. Soju made great accompaniment to chicken dishes!
A popular snack that has been highly raved is available here
too! The Truffle Fries, with its thick cut and perfumed with the earthly
truffle fragrance.
My personal favorite was the Soy Sauce Chicken Wings!
Firstly marinated and then deep fried, this combination really made the wings
distinctive. Not only that, I just loved the umami sensation from the juices of
these wings due to the naturally occurring glutamate found in soy sauce. Thankfully
I did not leave it on the table for long or else the marination would start to
make the semi-crispy skin soggy.
Up next with its deep fried crispy skin would be the Spicy
Up. One would clearly be reminded of KFC, Popeyes or any other fast food
establishments that serve a similar crispy fried chicken. Just be reminded that
not all fried chicken would taste the same since the tender flesh and the batter
would be the deciding factors. Thankfully it wasn’t spicy at all, not that I
could take spicy.
Another favorite of mine would the Yangnyum (Korean fried
chicken)! It was glistening due to the lovely coating of the sweet and spicy
sauce. Although a bit messy to eat, it proved to be worth it and for non-spicy
eaters, rest assured that you won’t have a hard time.
Last but not least would be the Andong Chicken Stew. The
first thing I noticed was the generous sprinkling of sesame seeds, as well as
the entire pot was brimming with tons of ingredients such as chicken, potatoes,
carrots, rice cakes and thick glass noodles. I guessed they were quite generous
with the chilli padis as well since my mouth was burning hot after a sip of soy
sauce broth. (The soju saved me!) The chicken was fork tender and managed to
absorb the spiciness too.
(A post which did not get posted, thanks for the invite.)
17 Jun 2014
An entire day spent in Johor Bahru City Square
This post was like a month back and I was actually still considering whether to post this up since it would be a rare lifestyle post. My friend and I decided to go over to Johor Bahru during the weekend and spent our entire day 'overseas'. We as JB noobies, spent our entire day hanging out within Johor Bahru City Square itself! Can you believe it? In a shopping centre?
Well after the almost an hour wait at the dreadful custom, we quickly headed to buy our movie tickets for X- men, which had started its screening that week itself. Satisfied that we had good seatings, we headed to El Migos for our brunch! We were starving so badly as it was almost 12 and we have yet taken our breakfast...
Well after the almost an hour wait at the dreadful custom, we quickly headed to buy our movie tickets for X- men, which had started its screening that week itself. Satisfied that we had good seatings, we headed to El Migos for our brunch! We were starving so badly as it was almost 12 and we have yet taken our breakfast...
El Migos serves really decent food and they came in huge portions too! I went to change my fries to salad for a healthier choice.
After our brunch, we headed to beans talk for a bowl of Taiwanese dessert! We ended up ordering the same thing *facepalm*.
Our movie starts at 3 and we went to takeaway a bear paw set (burger + lrg drink) to munch in the theater.
NomNomNom..... My 4th time at Bear Paw Cafe and I felt that they had changed the fish patty. It was less meaty and had shrank in size as compared to the few previous times.
It was a last minute decision to sing karaoke that day! We just walked in, paid and started singing! The place was really spacious and I kept wondering what they have for the dinner buffet spread which was inclusive in the package.
I just love the metallic maze-like feel, just like escaping from a techno dungeon. I almost got lost a couple of times since I am a screwed up direction person at times. Oh no! I forgot to take picture of the room! The first song I picked was 'Let it Go'! Really addicted to that song and I knew I was not the only one singing that song around here!
After singing for 2 hours+, the buffet spread was ready! I quickly snapped a few pictures before stacking my plate with food although I felt that my tea break have not been fully digested.
It was quite a spread but some food was under my 'not-worth-eating' list.
Some of the finger food which I could munch on while waiting for my turn to sing my heart out and my voice off.
Some details you might be interested in:
During the normal hours, 1700 and later, it costs RM 46 per person which includes the dinner buffet. There was an additional charge of RM 12 for a pathetic bowl of chips, which was compulsory. With government tax and service charge, the total cost was RM 60.30 per person.
Check out my sidebar 'Off to Johor Bahru' for other food options around Johor Bahru.
28 May 2014
Little Part 1 Cafe - A corner to cozy up!
Chilling in a cafe has always been my favorite hobby, especially when it was my friend who decides on the location. (So I need not crack my brain and stress on where to go!) Having been to Upper Thomson countless times to dine, I was surprised that I had actually missed out this 'Little Part I Cafe' which was located near Upper Thomson Plaza. Took a shot of the entrance since it portrayed a retro feel. (Stupid black car spoiled my photo!)
Despite the range of beers and other alcoholic beverages available, the desserts option was quite limited, roughly about 5-6 choices only. My friend took the walnut cheesecake since he had cravings for cheesecakes that day. Every mouthful of cheesecake had plenty of walnut bits in them, nuttier than cheesey! He got an apple cider beer to pair with his cake!
As the selection of cakes did not persuade me to try them, I went for the waffle instead. The pale yellowish looking waffle came with a scope of vanilla and chocolate ice cream that tasted rather decent. However, the texture of the waffle was not what I had expected it to be - Crispy. It was soft, chewy and soon soggy. (Somehow my friend liked the chewy texture.) Anyway, I still enjoyed the dim, homely and cozy ambient, the company of my friend and the night view of the quiet road outside.
27 May 2014
Sushi Megumi Japanese Resturant - Quality > Quantity
My friend brought me all the way to Sentosa to have lunch at a Japanese Resturant which he often patronize and rave about. The place is quite inaccessible for non-drivers like me, since it is located within Sentosa Golf Club. Be prepared to view some pictures of authentic Japanese food prepared by the Japanese chef himself!
Not the typical outdoor view you usually get! A segment of grassy plains where people play golf - OMG so beautiful!
Golf carts parked neatly along the road. This picture could be a perfect painting inspiration!
Despite the beautiful view of the golf course, we still dined indoors to escape the afternoon heat. The indoor seating is definitely much more 'Japanese' and comfortable too. I noticed that the other guests were mainly golfers or businessmen having a meal with their client.
My friend had the Chirashi bowl! (Close to $40)
It definitely was tempting to see his entire bowl of rice being covered with a variety of fresh ingredients! Uni! Toro! Unagi! Etc....!
My other friend and I decided to go for the Bento set which came with a bowl of rice and miso soup. The lighting was dim and my pictures did not give justice to the yumminess of the food. (About $40 a set which I felt was worth the value!)
Going a little into details, strips of carrots, black fungus and maybe prawn paste (felt the tingling due to my allergy to crustaceans), coated with a light batter and fried. It was so addictive as a snack itself!
Salad, bacon wrapped oyster, prickled ginger flower, fried chicken karaage, grilled salmon and tamago (sweet egg)! I am no fan of tamago but this was quite an exception!
Snapper and tuna sashimi, raw shrimp, 1/4 of a scallop and kelp! 1 word - Fresh
My favorite fresh and crunchy bamboo shoots infused with dashi broth with bonito flakes! I wished I had more...
Last but not least, we had citron sorbet and a cup of tea! (Not sure if it was hojicha or brown rice tea though.)
Another cup of tea which I guessed would aid digestion. See the cute baby crawling up....
If I had the chance, I would be back again!
25 May 2014
Artisan Boulangerie Co - I am a Crust Lover
Back here again at Artisan Boulangerie Co's Great World City outlet with another group of friends! I just love baked crusts, no matter they are from flaky dough or mealy dough.
Although the peach tart was petite in size (to me), the sweetness was well balanced with the tart shell. Too bad the somewhat firm tart shell was a bit underbaked at its base that day (did not really affect the taste). Burnt or caramelized at its surface would be up to you to judge.
The same old smoked salmon and dill quiche which I had tried the previous time I was here. To be honest, it was not exactly the same as last time. It felt drier, shrank a bit in height and had dropped in standard. Kind of disappointing I would say.
Looking like a solid foundation silo structure, the chicken pie was nicely caramelized, perhaps a bit too dark to some people. I could not wait to destroy a segment of the wall to reveal what laid inside!
The dough was in between flaky and mealy, containing a mixture of chicken chunks, carrots, peas and creamy sauce! It was a challenge trying to be neat while eating as the compact fillings toppled out slowly. I ended up eating the crust and the piping hot fillings separately.
24 May 2014
Gelare Waffles - Nothing impressive, really...
Have been wanting to update my blog but was quite busy with work recently! I am working in a small cafe right now (about a week only), doing some 'mise en place' and preparing for the cafe's opening that is scheduled next week. Just a short post before I head off to my dreamland!
I have been wondering why people get so crazy about waffles, especially crispy ones. I have tried a couple of waffles from other cafes which fared much better than the waffles from Gelare. It felt so 'instant' and slightly crispy. I had mine drenched with maple syrup with 2 humps of ice cream that did not impress me.
Maybe I should also compile a list of good waffles found around Singapore??
Dozing off soon......Hopefully, I should be able to post another of my lagged post by the end of this week.