Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Xin Mei Xiang Zheng Zong Lor Mee : One of the Best!

This stall has been in this food centre for quiet a long while and they used to sell Lor Mee and Prawn Mee but only just Lor Mee now. There are 3 sizes for selection, the small ($3), the medium ($4) and the large ($5). The small one is served without the shredded fish meat. You could also choose the $6 portion with extra ingredients. 

The queue was still long with at least 10 customers right in front of me at 1.30 pm on a Monday. The wait is definitely worth while for a Lor Mee fan like myself. Their Lor Mee is slightly diffferent than those out there, they do not serve those fried fish nuggets but shredded fish meat just like the other famous one at Amoy Street Food Centre. I decided to go with the $5 portion with extra chilli added. 


Such a big bowl of Lor Mee consists of a generous portion of shredded fish meat, braised meat and braised egg. It tasted so good with extra sambal chilli added and there is a slight hint of spiciness.


To start, mixed it slightly to stir in those sambal chilli with the thick and sticky sauce. My first mouthful was a satisfying one, it tasted really good and i really enjoyed it. 


Such a delicious bowl of Lor Mee is my source of happiness and i will definitely come back more often from now.


XIN MEI XIANG ZHENG ZONG LOR MEE
51 Old Airport Road #01-116 SINGAPORE 390051
Operating Hours: 6:00 am to 1.45 pm (Closed on Thursday)

Saturday, January 24, 2015

CAFE WOK INN : Fish & Chips

This stall has been featured often on TV programme but they have been moving from location to location as often too thus hunting them down can be quite a challenge. They was on the latest series of 'Makan Lost & Found' to make known of their current location. They are currently in a coffee shop next to the Food Centre at Toa Payoh Lorong 7. Some of the items on the menu including their signature Beef Stew were not available on that day. I am not sure whether it was only for that day or it has been off the menu permanently. 

I ordered their famous Fish & Chips for $5.80, i was told to wait at the table and they will serve it. A gentleman served it later, he passed me the bottle of chilli sauce only and that got me to wonder why did he left out the Malt Vinegar. I guess he read my thought, he came back in a bit with a bottle of it. 


No, there is no tartar sauce. That was my first time eating Fish & Chips with Malt Vinegar. I drizzled slightly on the fried fish fillet and tasted it, the taste was acceptable but it did not manage to make me a fan. I could not quite appreciate such a combination though it is a typical English way in enjoying their Fish & Chips. I would rather have mine with just tartar and chilli sauce. 


The set consists of a rather big piece of fired fish fillet with a portion of fries and coleslaw. It was fried well to give it the desired texture, not overly greasy but with a delightful crispiness. I did not like those fries though, it did not taste good after it turned soggy, i would rather have more coleslaw. 





The overall taste was nice but not good enough to get me to travel all the way to this part of Toa Payoh just to eat it. 


CAFE WOK INN : FISH & CHIPS
Block 21 Toa Payoh Lorong 7 SINGAPORE 310021
Opening Hours: 12 pm to 2.30 pm / 6 pm to 9.30 pm (Closed on Tuesday)

UPDATE: They have moved to Block 206 Toa Payoh North in a coffee shop about 100 meters from SPH News Centre. Their operating hours: 11.30 am to 3.00 pm / 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm (Closed on Mondays).

As of February 2016, they have moved again. This time is to 1 Selegie Road #01-20/21 Singapore 188306. Their opening hours are from 11.00 am to 10.00 pm.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Thursday, January 15, 2015

BurgerUp : Burger Up or Down?

BurgerUp is the newest burger joint that took over the space vacated by Wendy's at Yishun Ten Complex in mid December. As stated on their FB page, they are the first and only premium burger restaurant chain created in Singapore. And, they stand for Quality Up, Freedom Up and Service Up. 

I was there at about 1 pm on a weekday. There was only a few tables occupied right at that time, it was unexpectedly quiet. I was expected to order via their Self-Service Kisoks, stating what type of burger with my choice of side and my selection of drink. I wanted a Classic Beef Burger Combo at $9.50 that consists of fries and a regular drink and received a 10% discount for a combo set.

I proceeded to the service counter and paid up, i was given my drink first and asked to pick up the rest when my number is flashed on the LED panel. That was the same number printed on the receipt. While waiting to collect my order at the counter, it was sent over to my table. Such initiative is commendable. Service Up!


Perhaps it has to do with my expectations, the taste of the burger did not manage to impress me. Though it was supposed to be a Beef Burger but it did not have a bit of the beefy taste and the texture of the patty was slightly tough too. Maybe it would be nicer if they have served with the cheese melted. The overall taste was quite plain but the ingredients tasted quite fresh.


Perhaps i have left it for  abit too long the fries though still tasted firm but it was quite bland. I wonder is this their usual standard or it just happened to be their off? I might just give it another chance if i happen to be here with no better lunch option. 




They might be putting in effort to make their burgers differently but they still have a long way to go before so. 




BURGERUP
51 Yishun Central 1 #01-03 Yishun Ten Complex Singapore 768794.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Dove Desserts : Best Chendol in Singapore!

I was rather skeptical when being told that one of the possibly best Chendol in Singapore is available at this stall. I have been wanting to try and i finally managed to do so when happened to be in the vicinity on the New Year Day. Most of the stalls in this food centre were closed on that day. 

Chendol at $1.50, is amongst one of the best sellers. You could add an extra 0.50 cents for extra ingredients. The Durian Chendol is available at $2.00. Another popular choice is their Ice Jelly for $1.20. I added a scoop of Juice Pops for only 0.50 cents. 




Their chendol was a love at first taste. It reminded me of what i have eaten at Melaka, the taste was rather familiar as the stall owner insists in using only the Gula Melaka from Melaka. The texture of the shaved ice was rather fine but it melted a bit too fast. This is the something that will get me to travel all the way just for it.




DOVE DESSERT
Block 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7 #01-21 Kim Keat Palm Food Centre Singapore 310051
Operating Hours: 11 am to 8 pm (Mon to Thu & Sat) / 11 am to 6 pm (Fri) (Closed on Sun)

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodles

This is one of the famous stalls in this food centre, they used to be at Cuppage Hawker Centre but moved here for years now. There is always a constant queue even during the off-peak hours and many of these customers are their regular supporters. I tasted years ago, it was quite good then though not amongst the best in my list. I joined in the queue and waited for about 15 minutes this time for my regular order which is Sliced Beef with Beef Balls for $5. 


The texture of sliced beef was quite disappointing, it was overcooked thus it ended up to be quite tough.  Those beef balls tasted just decent. The thick starchy sauce was good though with a nice beefy taste. It was garnished with bits of salted vegetable and chopped spring onions to serve. 


Overall, it was good though not quite worth the time to queue as it was moving rather slowly.


HAI NAN XING ZHOU BEEF NOODLES
Block 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7 #01-06 Kim Keat Palm Food Centre SINGAPORE 310051
Operating Hours: 8 am to 7 pm (Closed on Monday)

Monday, January 5, 2015

Lau Pa Sat Fishball Minced Meat Mee

I remember having eaten at this noodle stall in this food centre quite a long while ago and i remember it tasted rather nice then. I was eager to have it again when i happened to be there for lunch. It was a Saturday and slightly after 1 pm, i expected to queue just like the last time but there was none there as i was the only customer at that time. I wanted the smaller portion of Fishball Minced Meat Noodle at $3, there is a larger portion at $4. For mushroom lover, there is an option for Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle. 

I requested to have extra chilli added. Though the level of spiciness ended just right but slightly overwhelmed as i could hardly taste the tomato sauce in it. It came in a substantial portion of mee kia with ingredients like handful of beansprouts and minced meat together with a piece of dumpling and fishballs then topped with bits of chopped spring onion and fried pork lards.



The overall taste was nice but not particularly memorable as compared to my last visit. The texture of mee kia was cooked right to give it an al-dente texture. And, despite its not quite appealing appearance but those fishballs actually tasted nicer than expected as it has got a noticeable bounciness and rather fresh tasting.

As i seated near the stall to eat, i took notice of a constant stream of customers ordering from them. After being in this food centre for a while, they do have a good base of regular customers that actually enjoyed their noodles and that is the main factor to keep them going.



LAU PA SAT FISHBALL MINCED MEAT MEE
Block 22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7 #01-02 Kim Keat Palm Food Centre SINGAPORE 310051
Operating Hours: 8 am to 2 pm (Closed on Monday)

Friday, January 2, 2015