Big Boys Western Sizzling Hotplate : so so Western food

This Western food stall is started by an ex-chef from The Ritz Carlton in the food centre at Beauty World Plaza that opened on 8 December 2018. I have been waiting for the hype to die down before trying it. We decided to go for lunch on a Friday. We were there at about 1pm. There were some customers waiting to collect their orders at their stall. I asked, "Do I need to join the queue to order?" The friendly chap replied, "We are not taking orders now as the waiting time is about 1 hour 30 minutes." We went to eat Soya Sauce Chicken Noodle and Wanton Soup from Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Noodle Rice while waiting. My dining companion went back about 30 minutes later and he managed to order the CornFlake Chicken ($7.50) and Grilled Chicken Steak ($6.90). Each main is accompanied with a choice of side, the selection includes fries, rice or pasta. There is also black pepper and mushroom sauce to choose. A buzzer was given for collection and it buzzed in 10 minutes. It looked exactly like those not quite appetizing pictures that were circulating on social media. 

The CornFlake Chicken is one of their signature dishes and probably one of the most popular choices. The size was much smaller, not as massive as shown in those pictures on social media. My dining companion took a bite and said, "It actually tasted better than its look, even so, it is just average tasting." He added, "The texture of the fried chicken was nice but not much flavor." The fried chicken was coated with a layer of batter added with cornflakes and deep-fried to the desired crispiness, though special but not quite memorable. The turmeric rice was served with black pepper sauce, I neither love or hate it.

This is amongst one of the worst chicken chop that I had eaten. It was served sizzling hot on the hotplate but it had not been char-grilled long enough to char it and to allow the smoky flavor to be infused, it tasted quite bland with soggy skin. That might be the likely reason why it was served so fast? It tasted quite mediocre, just like those from the usual Western food stalls. The mushroom sauce was a little runny with not much flavor. My dining companion said, "I like the fries though, it is quite crispy." Those fries were coated with a layer of batter before deep-frying for a crispier texture.

My dining companion said, "The only thing that reminded me of The Ritz Carlton is the level of service. The chef is quite friendly though and he even made an effort to apologize for keeping me waiting for the food. I had recently dined at Colony, a cafe in The Ritz Carlton and its attentive service is part of the memorable experiences."

I did not like both dishes, in fact, it is as disappointing as Chef Choo's Signature at Golden Mile Food Centre that I have tried recently. 

BIG BOYS SIZZLING WESTERN HOTEPLATE

144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-25 Beauty World Centre SINGAPORE 588177

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 8.30 pm (Daily)

Ah Song Noodle House : so so Lor Mee

I came for Hambaobao, a burger stall in this food centre but the waiting time was 1 hour after placing the order. And, just like a few of other customers, I decided not to wait. After walking around, I settled for this noodle stall that is at the quiet corner of Beauty World Food Centre. There was no other customer when I visited on a Sunday for lunch. Their menu is simple, there are Fish Ball Soup ($3), Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle ($3), Fish Ball Minced Meat Noodle ($3) and Lor Mee (3) which I ordered. 

The portion was substantial and served with braised egg, fried dumpling, slices of ngor hiang and lean meat. I was asked to help myself to the sambal chilli, garlic paste and vinegar.

The sauce was a bit too light and not gooey enough to coat the noodles well. It tasted slightly better after mixing in the garlic paste and sambal chilli. They served it with the poached meat rather than the usual braised meat which did not have much taste, it might be a healthier choice or simply serve it out of convenience. I did not like it. 

AH SONG NOODLE HOUSE

144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-59 Beauty World Food Centre SINGAPORE 588177

Buta Kin : hawker-style ramen

It opened on 14 December 2015 in Beauty World Food Centre but was shut down in early 2017 as the food centre is supposed to be converted into an air-conditioned food court after the acquisition but the plan had fallen through. Most of the stalls that have moved out earlier started to move back, Buta Kin is one of them and the other is Hambaobao.

I am still on the look out for the best Ramen in Singapore. I have tried Tsuta but I did not like it as much as compared to what I had eaten in their original shop in Japan. I used to like the Tonkotsu Ramen Summer from Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King Four Seasons but it just did not seem as good as it used to be. I do not know whether it is a drop in their standard or my taste buds are getting more refined after my recent trip to Japan.

Buta Kin is one of those hawker stalls serving affordable Japanese Fare. They serve 5 different types of ramen and udon dishes with another 3 different choices of Japanese curry dishes. There are other such stalls around, like Takagi Ramen and Konomi Zen, both are in Ang Mo Kio and I have been patronising them regularly, though their standard is not comparable to the restaurant.

Some of the items on their menu are Tonkotsu Original Ramen / Udon ($5.00), Tonkotsu Black Ramen / Udon ($6.00), Tonkotsu Red Ramen / Udon ($6.00) and Tonkotsu Vegetable ($5.00) with the options to add a soft-boiled egg ($1.00), chashu ($1.80), black fungus ($0.80), seaweed ($0.80), vegetable ($1.00) or extra noodles ($1.00). They also serve Spicy Miso Pork Don ($5.00), Ebi Fry Curry Rice ($5.50), Tonkotsu Chicken Katsu Curry Rice ($6.00), Tonkotsu Pork Cutlet Curry Rice ($6.00) and also Cold Tofu with Sesame Dressing ($2.00). 

I ordered their Tonkotsu Black Ramen and added a soft-boiled egg for $7.00. The broth was a bit light in flavour and the black garlic sauce was not as fragrant as expected to be but the noodles were cooked just right though. The chashu was tender but not much flavour. The soft-boiled egg was done right with a gooey egg yolk. I should have gone for their Special Tonkotsu Ramen for $6.90 that consists of 3 slices of chashu, black fungus, soft-boiled egg with seaweed, which offers a better value. 

BUTA KIN

144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-28 Beauty World Food Centre SINGAPORE 588177

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 8.30 pm (Daily)