Saturday, May 23, 2015

Yap Kee Wanton Noodles

It is their egg noodles that distinguish them from other wanton noodles to be one of the better ones around. Read my article on MAKANSUTRA.


YAP KEE WANTON NOODLES
Block 44 Holland Drive #02-04 Holland Drive Food Centre Singapore 270044.
Operating Hours: 6.00 am to 2.30 pm (Daily)

Friday, May 22, 2015

Hilltop Cze Char : Not as Good as Expected

This Cze Char is located in the housing estate of Bukit Batok, just a stone's throw away from the Bukit Batok MRT station. It is about 5 minutes walk from there. I went specifically for their Kuala Lumper (KL) style black Hokkien Mee as i was told it is a must-try and tasted rather close to the real thing in KL. Apparently it was sold out then as i gotten there slightly after lunch. A friend was telling me, "Having the KL Mee there is more like fishing but there is a way if you know them." I will take this as a challenge and i am going to make sure i will get to taste it soon.

I decided to go for their usual Hokkien Mee at $4. It actually tasted not too bad. A good portion of nicely braised flat yellow noodle served with fresh tasting ingredients like slices of lean meat and fishcake with prawns and greens. A handful of crispy pork lards was added to enhance the flavor. I liked it so much that i would definitely ask for an extra portion of these addictive pork lards to be added if i do visit again. 




Though i did not like the Fish Sauce Bee Hoon at $4 as much but it was not disappointing. The wok taste was a bit too strong and it ended up tasted a bit like the burnt taste at some part though it might not be the case. The ingredients found were rather similar to the Hokkien Mee. There were bits of salted fish and dried shrimps in it to supposedly enhance its flavor.



Overall, the taste was not quite memorable and if it is not because of that particular KL style Hokkien Mee, it might not quite worth making an effort to dine there if you are not staying in the west side of Singapore. 


HILLTOP
Block 207 Bukit Batok Street 21 #01-118 Food Park Coffee Shop Singapore 650207.
Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 11.30 pm

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Fishii Tales : Noteworthy Fishball Noodle

Read my article on MAKANSUTRA about Fishii Tales, a noteworthy Fishball Noodle by 2 young hawkers.




FISHII TALES
7 Maxwell Road #01-54 Amoy Street Food Centre Singapore 069111.
Operating Hours: 6.30 am to 3 pm (Monday to Friday)

Monday, May 18, 2015

The Cheese Steak Shop : Philadelphia is Disappointed With You

It took me quite a while to locate the shop, though they are located at Kallang Wave Mall but do not try looking for them in the mall. Exit the MRT and do not enter the mall but keep going straight, it is right at the corner. I was there on a Sunday and there was a promotion of 1-for-1 sandwich going on when you liked a particular FB page. Even so, the place was almost empty with just only 1 table occupied then. This is supposedly the franchise of the original The Cheese Steak Shop from the USA that started in 1982.


While standing in front of their service counter and looking at their menu board, a service staff came over with a menu and quickly ushered me to the table just next to it. The same staff took our order  at the counter later. I asked him whether i could upgrade it to a set by paying the extra. He said yes. I took notice that there is a Daily Special for selected Chicken Cheese Steak with a side and drink for only $8.90. 


I wanted 2 sets and i should have 4 sandwiches since i have liked that particular FB page together with that particular post and shown it to the service staff. I decided to go with Deluxe Cheese Beef Steak ($10.90), Garlic Cheese Steak ($10.90), Mushroom Cheese Steak ($10.90) and Barbeque Cheese Steak ($9.90). I initially wanted Steak Hoagie ($10.90) and Spinach Cheese Steak ($10.90) but i was told that some ingredients were not available at that time. 

As for drinks, i went with 2 large Pepsi at $2.70 each. For the sides, i decided to try their Cheese Fries ($3.90) and Twister Fries ($2.90) as recommended by that service staff. The total bill came to an unexpected $34.00. When done a check, i realised the drinks and sides are not part of the set but ala-carte orders. When i questioned the service staff, he kept apologising and no explanation was given. The least that he could have done is to explain why he did not include the drinks and sides as part of the set as we clearly communicated upon placing the order. He should really be honest about it even if there is no sets available for Cheese Beef Steak or the 1-for-1 promotion is only applicable for ala-carte order. This is bad customer service. 

The drinks came first. It was served in tall plastic cups instead of those disposable cups. 


The 2 different types of fries came next followed by the 4 different types of sandwiches.




The Cheese Fries and Twister Fries did not taste as special as expected. The thickly cut fries were rather soggy when left it for a bit. Those Twister Fries were just normal. You should just forget about ordering their fries. 


The presentation of those sandwiches was pretty shabby. As for the beef, it looked more like beef stripes or even towards shredded beef and not those slices of beef that are expected of a proper original Philidelphia style Cheese Steak sandwich. 


The Garlic Cheese Steak was not amongst the favourite. I felt those bits of garlic did not enhance its overall taste much thus not very special. This was partly so as too little cheese was placed underneath the pile of beef stripes and slices of onion. The cheese could only be tasted at both ends but was missing in the centre part of the sandwich. 



The Deluxe Cheese Steak was not the favourite too, the paste sauce was a bit overpowering and too little cheese added so very little cheese taste to the extend that you could hardly taste any and somehow reminded me of eating a pizza sandwich.



The Barbeque Cheese Steak did not fare too well either, the barbeque sauce was again overpowering and with too little cheese added. I could not help but wonder why is this even called a cheese steak when not much cheese taste is detected. They should just called this a Barbeque Beef Steak Sandwich.




The Mushroom Cheese Steak was the better one amongst the 4 different types that i ordered, but again not much cheese taste as not enough cheese was added to be called the Cheese Steak. I have no doubt that it would definitely taste much better if more cheese could have be added and perhaps they should really do it the traditional way by placing the cheese on top rather than at the bottom. 



Some pictures to show the miserable bit of cheese added to the sandwich.


Could you see any melted cheese in there? Where is the cheese? With such a premium price charged for the sandwich, there is absolutely no reason to have so little cheese added to each sandwich.



Again, only a bit of cheese spotted at the side.


In this picture, only a bit of cheese at the end of the sandwich. Honestly, these sandwiches do not deserve to be called Cheese Steak since too little cheese was added to make it to be one. By the way, this was half of the Mushroom Cheese Steak, it was the one with the most cheese and even so, not enough was added.


"Caution: May be habit forming". I seriously doubt so.


It was just slightly after 2pm, the place was almost empty. I guess most Singaporeans are not lover of Cheese Steak or maybe they shared the similar bad experience too?

As for their tag line 'We're Bringing Philly to you", what i have tasted did not even remind me a bit of the truly great Cheese Steak that i had eaten in Philadelphia. It was an absolutely disappointing experience though i could felt the owner must have a great passion for Cheese Steak to start such a shop.

And NO, it is definitely not worth the value, i would rather go for a sandwich at one of those Subway outlets anytime.


THE CHEESE STEAK SHOP
No 1 Stadium Place #01-10 Kallang Wave Mall Sports Hub SINGAPORE 397629.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Noodle Evolution

Read my article on MAKANSUTRA about Noodle Evolution and their worth trying Garlic Mushroom Noodle. 





NOODLE EVOLUTION
18 Raffles Quay Stall 29 Lau Pa Sat SINGAPORE 048582.
Operating Hours: 11 am to 9 pm (Monday to Friday) / 12 pm to 9 pm (Saturday/Sunday)
Closed on Alternate Sunday

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Yilmaz Western : Simply Comforting

Some of the regular customers even called this western food stall in a coffee shop at Ang Mo Kio Central a hidden gem. This stall is operated by an elderly Uncle all by himself. He used to have a female assistant for a while but it seemed he is back to be alone. He has done everything by himself, from taking order to cooking to serving and collecting payment. This stall has been around for a few years and it seems most of their customers are the regulars here. The waiting time could be a little longer if you come during dinner particularly during the weekends.

I have been their regular customer for a bit and my usual orders are Chicken Cutlet ($6) and Chicken Chop ($6). It is served in massive portion that consists of fries, coleslaw and salad for Chicken Cutlet, he included the blanched broccoli and mashed potato for Chicken Chop but exclude as it is served on the hotplate.


Chicken Cutlet consists of 2 pieces of perfectly deep fried breaded chicken. It was nicely marinated to give it the desired flavor and without the greasiness. The coleslaw complemented it and it has always been a favourite, i would say one of the better coleslaw that i ever tasted as i particularly enjoyed the refreshing taste. 


The Chicken Chop is a must-try for black pepper lover which apparently i am not one but i still enjoyed it pretty much nonetheless. It served on a sizzling hotplate and this kept it warm throughout your meal, you could even see the amount of herbs and pepper corn nicely coated the piece of chicken meat. For healthier alternative, it accompanied with quite a few pieces of blanched broccoli and a sweet corn, the mashed potato is good and those fries though a little soggy as it were drenched in the pool of black pepper sauce but still tasted good.



The Uncle even came to our table to ask, "How's the food? Is it OK?". I guess that is what kept his customers to keep coming back. Though not the best ever tasted but it is simply comforting. 


YILMAZ WESTERN
Block 728 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 Coffee City SINGAPORE 560728.
Operating Hours: 12.30 pm to 10.30 pm (Daily)

Monday, May 11, 2015

Rumah Sayang : A Pleasant Surprise

It was a dinner on the eve of Mother's Day, there were queues at most eateries at that time, this was one of those that without a queue but almost all the tables were taken up in the cafe. This cafe is serving Nasi Padang, Lontong, Mee Siam, Laksa and some snacks. There was a promotion for a Curry Fish head with Tahu Goreng and 2 plates of rice for $19.90 which i ordered together with a plate of Mee Siam at $4.50 and a canned drink at $2.00. Though the prices are not particularly cheap but rather reasonable given its location. 

Order is expected to be done at the Cashier's counter with payment collected there. I was asked to collect the Mee Siam and the canned drink, the rest will be served to the table later as they assigned a number tag for that purpose.


It was served in a short while to the table. The Curry Fish Head tasted much better than expected. It did not taste particularly spicy with just the right balance of sourish taste. It consists of half a fish head with vegetables like brinja, long beans and cabbage added. The fish head tasted rather fresh and nicely infused with curry flavor though it was steamed first then added in later. 

The Tahu Goreng was quite decent, the sauce was a bit sweet but still acceptable. It would be nicer if more shredded cucumber and carrot, onion, bean sprouts with grounded peanuts were added. 




The Mee Siam was quite a good choice. It has got a good balance of sweetness and sourness taste and in a good portion together with a hard boiled egg with bean sprouts and bits of crunchy peanuts in it.



The service was alright though not particularly attentive.


RUMAH SAYANG
50 Jurong Gateway #B1-41 JEM SINGAPORE 608549
Operating Hours: 10.00 am to 10.00 pm

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Brothers Ramen : Ramen From The Heart

We should support our homegrown ramen shop to ensuring their survivability is not threatened by the proliferation of ramen shops in the close vicinity. Read my article on MAKANSUTRA.





BROTHERS RAMEN
10 Anson Road #01-20 International Plaza SINGAPORE 079903
Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm / 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm (Closed on Sundays)