The Beast : the Yum Seng to SG52 promotional set for National Day

And, to get to eat this, we made 2 trips in total. The first one, we were there at about 1.30 pm but was told that the Yum Seng to SG52 set was sold out for lunch. The service staff asked whether we would want to come back for dinner on the same day. And, he mentioned that we could actually call to make a reservation. We strongly felt that there was a lack of flexibility in handling this. There is totally no mention that there are limited sets available for their lunch on their Facebook page when they open from 11.00 am to 12.00 am during weekends. At that moment, we felt that this promotion was an insincere one and we even tempted to leave a bad review on their Facebook page but we decided to give it a second chance. This time, we called right after they opened on a Sunday to reserve a table for 2 and also that promotional set before going there at about 1 pm. 

This Yum Seng to SG52 set consists of Nasi Lemak Burger, Salted Egg Yolk Chicken & Pandan Waffles, Beef Rendang Cheese Fries and 2 glasses of Pandan Arnold Palmer at $56++. It would be $52++ if you "yum seng" (make a toast) with their staff and agreed to record a video. We decided to skip it. This set is only available for the month of August. 

The 2 glasses of Pandan Arnold Palmer were served in just a while. My dining companion could not quite tell the flavor of it. He said, "It tasted a bit strange and a bit too sour." He did not like it. This drink is none other than pandan infused lemonade with southern sweet tea.

Nasi Lemak Burger, the most talked about in town about Macdonald's launched its version and sold out soon after that. It has recently announced that they will be bringing it back at the end of August. I wonder how good could their Nasi Lemak Burger be since it is served without the rice which is one of the main components of the Nasi Lemak. I did not get to try it the last round and I doubt I would do it even when they are back.

The Nasi Lemak Burger by The Beast is pretty legit. They served it with a fried egg, a fried chicken together with lettuce and cucumber, sandwiched in between 2 pieces of rice patties and served along with luncheon meat fries. 

The hand-shaped coconut rice patties were coated with bread crumbs and deep-fried to achieve the desired crispiness and it stayed crispy even after left for a while.

The fried chicken thigh was smothered with their house-made sambal tumis. My dining companion said, "It is the sambal chilli made it tastes so authentic." I shared the picture on my Facebook and a friend asked for the review which I replied, "They got the taste and combination correct."

Salted Egg Yolk Chicken & Pandan Waffles. This consists of a piece of salted egg yolk chicken served on a crisp pandan waffle with a side of creamy milk sauce. 

At this point, after just done with the Nasi Lemak Burger, this was a bit overwhelmed. It is like the typical American food, it came in massive portion and it was quite a challenge to finish it. It happened to the table next to us too, that group of guys did not manage to finish their food as well.

The moistness of the fried chicken caused the waffles to be soggy pretty fast and we left most of it unfinished. Just like the fried chicken for the Nasi Lemak Burger, it tasted quite bland if without the salted egg sauce.

The fries were topped with their rendang using their secret recipe and melted mozzarella cheese. This was not bad though not quite memorable.

THE BEAST

17 Jalan Klapa SINGAPORE 199329
Operating Hours: 5.00 pm to 12.00 am (Mon to Wed) / 5.00 pm to 1.00 am (Thurs & Fri)
/ 11.00 am to 12.00 am (Sat & Sun)

Twenty Grammes : amidst the heartland

This cafe nestled in the heartland of Ang Mo Kio, near to Cheng San Food Centre and a stone's throw from Ang Mo Kio MRT station. They are currently at 2 locations, their main outlet at North Bridge Road and this outlet that opened in October 2015. They are famous for their waffles and handmade ice-cream, and this particular outlet is also known for its exclusive Yuan Yang Waffle ($15) which consists half of Charcoal waffle and other half is Belgian classic waffle with soft-serve ice-cream and hazelnut sauce.

The Charcoal waffle itself is priced at $8.50 and it is at $12.00 if with a single scoop of ice-cream. I opted to have it with the Seasalt Caramel ice-cream that is also served with their signature salted egg sauce. Subsequently, an additional scoop of ice-cream is at $3.00 each if I remember correctly.

I also ordered an Iced Cafe Latte ($6.00) to go with it and it was served in a couple of minutes upon seated down and waited for another 5 minutes more for the waffle to be served. The Iced Cafe Latte had a mild coffee flavor with just enough of milk taste to balance up the bitterness in the coffee and to give it the desired sweetness. 

Even though the Charcoal waffle though tasted just normal but it was fluffy and slightly crispy on the outer layer. The salted caramel ice-cream was rather creamy with a slight hint of saltiness which balanced up the level of sweetness. 

The salted egg sauce did not have much of the salted egg flavor and it also did not enhance the overall flavor as much. Or, maybe, it just did not go well with the salted caramel flavor.

TWENTY GRAMMES
Block 529 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 #01-2353 SINGAPORE 560529
Operating Hours: 12.00 pm to 10.00 pm (Sun to Thu) / 12.00 pm to 1.00 am (Fri & Sat)

Double Scoops : A Hideout in the Heartland of Ang Mo Kio

This was the 2nd time that i walked past this cafe. That particular signboard that displayed their hi- tea promotion from 11.00 to 6.00 pm on the weekdays definitely caught my attention. It was a really hot day and i could not quite resist the temptation of enjoying a waffle with a single scoop of ice cream and tea or canned drink for just $7 rather than the usual $10.30. I decided to give in to the temptation that very moment when i pushed the glass door to enter the cafe.

I was immediately greeted by the male server. When i ordered and could not quite decide which flavor of ice cream to go with my waffle, i was offered to test the flavor first and decide later. After tasted their Thai Ice Tea flavor and Strawberry, i decided to go with the latter. Then, i was asked whether i want my waffle to go with their hot tea or canned drink. I was told most of their younger customers would actually prefer to enjoy it with a canned drink. Their Strawberry flavor is in their premium range and i was expected to pay an additional 0.50 cents for that which brought the total bill to be $7.50.

I was asked to take a seat and my canned drink came right after.

The waffle took another 5 minutes to serve. The pretty ball of strawberry ice cream rested on a sugar dusted fluffy waffle served with maple syrup was a pretty sight on a lazy afternoon.

The texture of waffle was rather moist and fluffy with a slight crisp on the outer layer. The strawberry ice cream did not taste too sweet with a slight creaminess that i enjoyed.

I was the only customer after the 2 customers at other table left to enjoy my waffle.

I was greeted with a smile by the counter staff upon existing the cafe and one of them actually apologised for messing up the icy sugar on my waffle. And, i did tell them that i enjoyed the waffle. 

DOUBLE SCOOPS

Block 226 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 #01-627 SINGAPORE 560226

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 10.00 pm (Mon to Thu) / 11.00 am to 10.30 pm (Fri) /

10.30 am to 10.30 pm (Sat) / 10.30 am to 10.00 pm (Sun)

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.