Chicken Clinic : A Date with the Dr Chicken

I have purchased 2 vouchers through Groupon to be used at this newly opened shop that specialised in Japanese and Korean style Fried Chicken. I was there close to 1 pm for lunch with a friend and we were the only customers there at that time. We were greeted warmly by the waiting staff and the menu with an order chit was presented right after we seated. We were expected to indicate our orders on the order chit and handed it back to the waiting staff. We decided to go with Chicken Nanban ($18.50), Seasoned Spicy Chicken ($19.50), Black Sesame Fried Chicken ($20.50) and Red Ade ($4.50), their special drink. We were then informed that there is 3 levels of spiciness and it is already quite spicy even at level 1. After some thoughts, we went with the level 1 of spiciness and it was proven to be the right choice later.

Red Ade ($4.50) came first. It is amongst the 3 types of special drink and this is the most expensive and the rest is priced at $3.50. Apparently, it did not taste too special. It is supposed to be a raspberry drink served with a slice of lemon and lime in it. Somehow, it did not quite justify the price of $4.50, i would rather order 2 soft drinks at $2.50 each if i do visit again.

Chicken Nanban ($18.50) came first. It is supposed to be Fried Chicken dipped in Spicy Soy Sauce as described in the menu. It consists of pieces of fried chicken served with bits of preserved green chilli, shredded cabbage drizzled with lemon sauce and a portion of fries together with preserved pickles. And, this turned out to be our favourite choice amongst the others that we ordered.

Black Sesame Fried Chicken ($20.50) was served next. The freshly fried chicken pieces were evenly coated in their special black sesame paste. Though it might not seem to be so but it was much spicier than expected with a lingering aftertaste. My lunch partner pointed out that it did not have even a bit of sesame taste which i agreed.

Seasoned Spicy Chicken ($19.50) came last. It might looked fiery red but it did not taste as spicy as expected in fact its spiciness is milder than that of the Black Sesame Chicken. It has got a rather slight sweetness with a bit of garlicky taste but it was just pleasant tasting with not much of surprises. 

Though the dishes did not particularly standout but the attentive and friendly service left an impression. When i requested to take away the remaining Seasoned Spicy Chicken and they happily obliged. The packed it neatly in a paper box and handed it over to me with a smile. 

It was nonetheless a perfect place to chill out with friends for some Fried Chicken if you happen to be nearby.

CHICKEN CLINIC

11 Sin Ming Road #01-13 Thomson V Two SINGAPORE 575629

Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 10.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Ming Fa Fishball at Upper Thomson Road

Ever since the closure of Joo Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle at Ang Mo Kio, i have always been looking out for another worthy Bak Chor Mee but i have yet to find a good one and that included some of those big names out there. 

We were there during lunch. We took a corner seat, right outside their kitchen. We waited for quite a while still no one bothers to take our orders even after few of the customers that came later than us gotten their orders taken. When i started to wonder what happened, finally someone took notice of our presence and came over to do it. The Bak Chor Mee is at $4.50, $5.50 and $6.50, i decided to go with $5.50, in between the lowest and the highest price. And, my lunch companion decided to go with the fishball noodle for $4. We were asked to pay right after. 

The fishball noodle came first then followed by the Bak Chor Mee.

A substantial portion of mee pok was served with 3 pieces of fishball with a few slices of fishcake with a fish dumpling. The portion was rather alright for $4 but it did not taste as good as expected. The texture of fishball was quite disappointing, it did not taste as springy and as soft as expected.

The portion of Bak Chor Bee was equally good with a generous amount of ingredients like braised mushroom, minced meat, meatball, fishball and slices of lean meat to justify its price. The texture of noodle was cooked al-dente to give it a noticeable springiness.

Both bowls of noodle came with small bowls of hot soup with dried seaweed in it. Apparently, it tasted like quite a bit of MSG was added to enhance the taste as an excessive thirstiness was felt much later.

It tasted quite alright in general though i am not sure whether would i make an effort to be back.

MING FA FISHBALL 明发鱼圆

246B Upper Thomson Road SINGAPORE 574370

Opening Hours: Daily 24 hours

A relaxing afternoon on Christmas Day.

I am amongst the lucky few to be given a $10 voucher for OZ Specialty Coffee by Where to Eat Singapore. OZ Specialty Coffee is a cosy cafe off Thomson Road in the quiet estate of Sin Ming. The cafe runs by a team of young and energetic friends offers a wide range of good coffee using the coffee beans directly from Pacamara and Thailand. 

Books on coffee, cooking and design are available for reading there. For coffee lovers, bags of coffee are available at retailed price.

Water dispenser contains of iced water infused with slices of lemon and cucumber with bits of carrot added is available for self-service.

My latte ($4.50). It was smooth and aromatic.

OZ SPECIALITY COFFEE

11 Sin Ming Road #01-13 Thomson V Two SINGAPORE 575629.

Kampong Chicken Rice

CHICKEN HOUSE (KAMPONG CHICKEN RICE)

225 Upper Thomson Road SINGAPORE 574502.

Duke Bakery

Where would you be on a beautiful Sunday? I went to the Grand Opening of Duke Bakery, the most talked about bakery in town. I gotten the news from the facebook page of 'What To Eat Singapore' about their opening.

Duke Bakery is originated from Taiwan serving tasty Japanese European style of breads that indirectly in promoting healthy eating. Their breads are freshly handmande and baked daily using the freshest ingredients including the yeast from fermented fruits for a natural flavours. There would be 60 different types of breads available daily to get their customers to keep coming back for more. 

I was there at about 10 am. There was already a small crowd of mostly invited guests crowding the entrance of the bakery. A brief introduction of the bakery was given by the DJ while waiting for the arrival of Fann Wong to initiate the Opening Ceremony at about 10.45 am.

Fann Wong arrived with Jerry Huang, an artiste from Taiwan together with the founder of the bakery for the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. The bakery was then declared officially opened and this followed by a private party for the VIPs and the invited guests from 11 to 12 pm. 

To celebrate the Grand Opening, a 40% discount given store wide from 12 pm to 9 pm. I heard most items have been sold out by 7 pm. If you happened to be one of the disappointed ones then you might be delightful to know there is a 20 discount given to all items with no minimum spending required. And for purchase above $20, a life time membership Privilege Card is given that entitled you to a good 10% purchase each visit thereafter.

I joined the queue right outside bakery at about 11.25 am. The queue though long but was rather systematic and everyone waited patiently for their turn to enter the bakery. I waited till about 12 pm before being ushered into the bakery.

There are a good range of breads available from about $3.30 to $8.50. Unlike other bakeries, tasting is allowed before you decide what to buy. A plastic container consisted rather big pieces of nicely cut bread displayed with toothpick attached to each piece for tasting purpose. 

After tasted quite a few, i settled for Chocolate Buns (5 pieces in a bag) at $4.50, Carlbell at $6.60 and Swiss Chocolate at $3.30. The discounted amount for all is $12.60 from $21.00. These would be for my dinner later.

I met Esther Gan, a long lost friend there. We used to be ex colleague working in the same company and left contact after we both left. She was with the 6oz Expresso Bar there. We chatted for a bit. We exchanged the contact and she initiated a meet up with our ex colleagues then. 

A gentleman spotted us chatting and came over. Esther mentioned to him that i keep a Blog too. The gentleman went away and came back with a brochure contained the Privilege Card and then a goodie bag for me. There was a bag of Chocolate Buns and the Signature Crown in the bag. This made me happy.  I wanted the Signature Crown earlier but none left on the shelf.

And, i am indeed the privileged fews to be given the Privilege Card. This means i will get to enjoy more of these fantastic breads at a 10% discounted price each time. 

Signature Crown is one of the recommended items promoted as one of the Four Kings. Thus, this is a definite must try. It has a beautiful crown shape nicely formed by 5 buns that contained of generous filling of cream cheese. This would likely be the new found love for cream cheese lover like myself. The texture of bread has a delightful chewiness together with a noticeable softness. It still tasted so good even after left it for hours and to best enjoy it is to heat it lightly to give it a slight warmth. 

A bag of 5 Chocolate Buns is affordably priced at $4.50. This is another item in the range of Four Kings. I'd think this is a must eat particularly for chocolate lovers. I could taste the good quality chocolate is used as part of the ingredients to bake these lovely Chocolate Buns. The texture is rather fluffy and moist within with a ball of chocolate and cocoa filling in it. The rich chocolate taste is simply irresistible. 

Swiss Chocolate. A beautifully looking bun on its own for $3.30. A simple bun with delightful fluffiness though it is without filling but it still tasted pretty good on its own. 

Carlbell is another personal favourite listed as part of the Four Kings. This is quite a big bread for $6.60. It is of a substantial size to have it for lunch or even for dinner. The sourness of the dried cranberry incorporated nicely with the light sweetness of the cream cheese to surprise your taste bud pleasantly. 

There is a Post Grand Opening Special Promotions going on now. A good 20% discount off storewide with no minimum purchase required from 28 October 2013 (Monday) to 4 November 2013 (Monday). You can choose from a delightful range of freshly baked Japanese European style artisan bread with a twist of Taiwan. And, you will be give a FREE Lifetime Membership with 10% discount off future purchase if you spent a minimum of $20 worth of breads.

NOTE: Re-visited on 31 October 2013 (Thursday) at about 2.30 pm. The shelves were almost empty. When checked with the staff on the next batch of Carlbell, i was told there's only a batch per day. I felt a certain amount of efforts should be put in to ensure there is enough supply to meet the demand particularly when there is an on-going promotion of 20% discount. 

DUKE BAKERY

101 Thomson Road

#01-02/03 United Square

SINGAPORE 307591.