Korean Spicy Rice Cakes

I heard a lot about korean rice cakes so I finally got curious enough to order it from a korean foodcourt stall.

For anyone who wants to know what this tastes like, it is like not-so-sticky flour covered with tomato and chilli sauce. Around there, with a little korean flavour which I can't describe. It doesn't really suit my tastebuds but tastes much better with some dried anchovies. Those anchovies are just amazing and can make anything taste nice.

I would not recommend anyone who wants to eat a proper meal to order this if you haven't tried it before. Otherwise, go ahead on your own food journey!

Food (study) trip to Vietnam

I'm going on a food trip to Vietnam next Monday with my school. Everyone else is going to visit companies and universities and I'm going to visit the restaurants! ;)

i did a little research on myself and i'll be expecting lots of rice noodles, beef, fertilised duck eggs..... -.-

well, there'll be lots of fried insects as well!

Cheese Baked Portuguese Sauce Spaghetti with Pork Chop @ Wongkok Char Chan Teng, Bugis Junction

first time visiting this hong-kong style cafe so i decided to order something safe.

cheese baked spaghetti, what could go wrong?

well, i was wrong. although the TOP of the spaghetti was covered in juicy and yummy cheese, the bottom was just dry. I did not even have any sauce to mix with the dry spaghetti. i tried my best to finish it but could only finish half the serving.

it was my friend's birthday so we ordered this gigantic cup of milk tea. should i use the word "cup"?

ok, so we ordered this gigantic bucket of milk tea. was pretty epic when i saw it because i wasn't around when they made the order.

this spaghetti gave me a little bit of bad impression about this restaurant however it has a large selection on its menu. maybe, i might return to try something else. hopefully it'll be tastier the next time.

West Co'z Halal Western Thai Cruisine

This is a restaurant located at the top floor of West Coast Plaza. Many times, I see many people queuing up for their table so I thought the food must be great.

Hence, I decided to bring my family along to try it out. To my expectations, the food they serve are really delicious. One of their house specialties is Curry Fish Head which serves a good portion just for $15. The fish they use is fresh and overall the curry was very spicy and well prepared.

The next house specialty is Pandan Chicken. 

Don't they look like mini rice dumplings?

Each of the nicely wrapped chicken is wonderfully fried. The meat has a crispy texture around it and is really fragrant. This is really delicious and seldom seen around.

For desserts we had Red Ruby. Unlike those sold at Ice Kacang stalls, these do not have shredded ice. Instead, lots of coconut milk was used and made a really refreshing combination with the red rubies. It was really effective at taking the spiciness away from me as, other than the curry, I also had a very spicy Tom Yam soup.

There are many other dishes like crabs and prawns. The service and quality are good. This is a good place to enjoy "Tze Char" in air-conditioning. I am definitely returning here the next time I pass by West Coast.

154, West Coast Road

West Coast Plaza #02-23

Singapore 127371

Tel/Fax: 6779 1303

Goldilocks @ Resorts World Sentosa, Universal Studios Singapore

This fast-food restaurant, Goldilocks, is located in the Far Far Away section of Universal Studios Singapore. As you can see from the photo, they take hygiene very seriously. Even the counters which collects money and serves the food are separate.

In my opinion, the chicken they serve does not taste as nice as those at KFC definitely.

The criss-cut fries are great and overall the meal is really very filling.

This is one of the place you can consider dining if you got a crave for fast-food while in USS.

Making sandwich in the hotel room with a hairdryer

You should only do this if you really got no choice as hairdryers can blow dust onto your sandwich.

Otherwise, use the iron or the coffeemaker.

What you need:

1) Hair Dryer

2) Cheese

3) Bread

4) Plate

5) Butter


Steps:

1) Spread butter on one side of each piece of bread

2) Place one slice of the bread, buttered side up, on the plate

3) Place cheese on the piece of bread, you can add as much cheese as you want but it will also take a longer time to prepare

4) Add anything else that you would like to put in your sandwich. These include include ham, tomato slices, or other items that do not need to be thoroughly cooked and will not be damaged by mild heat.

5) Cover the sandwich with the second piece of bread, placing the buttered side down on top of the contents of the sandwich

6) Turn on hair dryer to the highest setting. Hold the hair dryer about 25-30cm away from the sandwich depending on the intensity of the hair dryer

7) Heat the sandwich until the cheese melts and change the placing of your hairdryer every few minutes to ensure a nice, even amount of cooking throughout the sandwich

8) Enjoy once your cheese melts completely

Making sandwich in the hotel room with an iron

Ever find yourself bored and hungry in your hotel room?

With this recipe, you can make yourself a hot and delicious cheesy sandwich for supper!

What you need:

1) Aluminium foil

2) Bread

3) Butter

4) Cheese and anything else you want to put in your sandwich


Steps:

1) Preheat the oven

2) ...I mean the iron

3) Lay the cheese and other ingredients like ham in between 2 slices of bread

4) Coat the outer layer of the bread with butter

5) Fold the aluminium foil so that it forms 1-2 layers over the bread

6) Put your iron on top of the covered sandwich and lift it up and lay it back on once in awhile

7) To tell whether your sandwich is done, smell

Enjoy!

Credits to Chef John from foodwishes.com for this amazing idea.

Cooking salmon in the hotel room

With this simple recipe, you won't have to worry the next time you find yourself hungry in a hotel room with a piece of raw salmon!

This would work best with a coffee maker.

1. Ask for pepper and salt from room service

2. Put the piece of salmon in a cup

3. Put in some pepper and salt

4. Put it under the coffee maker and let the boiling water slowly drip into the cup

5. Let it "cook" for around 4 minutes and you have yourself a piece of nicely cooked salmon!

Just don't ask about the random raw salmon in your hotel room.


Credits to Chef John from foodwishes.com for this amazing idea.

What is the difference between hot dog and sausage?

I decided to write about this topic when I found out that some of my friends can't see the difference between a hot dog and a sausage.

The main differences are the origins and the ingredients.

Sausages
The high quality traditional German sausages first come from Neu-Isenburg, a small town on the road from Frakfurt to Darmstadt. It is made of prime lean pork and a little salted bacon fat. It is then finely chopped into a smooth paste, put into pork casings and smoked.

Hot dogs
The stuff that we call hot dogs are made from very different ingredients and most probably came from America. These ingredients can be anything like pigs' and cows' hearts; and pigs' cheeks. Iced water is added at around 1/3 the weight of the meat and stuffed into Narrow Bullock Runners (casing) and smoked.




Sausages are my favourite! What's yours?

Correct way of cooking instant noodles

Many people are unaware of the correct method of cooking instant noodles that can minimise it's harm on our body.

The common way is to boil a pot of water, put in the noodles, put in the powder, boil even longer and serve.

However, this method of cooking instant noodles will turn the "already-very-unhealthy" instant noodles into super-duper-ultra-harmful noodles. If you boil the powder, which normally contains MSG, the molecular structure of the MSG will be altered and hence become toxin.

Also, instant noodles are coated with wax to prevent them from sticking into one another. The wax can only be excreted out of our body after 4 to 5 days. So you either only eat instant noodles once in a long while or you can simply take away most of the wax in the correct cooking method I'm going to teach you.

Correct cooking method:
1. Boil a pot of water
2. Put in the noodles
3. Once the noodles are almost cooked to your liking (depends on what texture you want), take the noodles out of the water onto a plate and pour away all the water
4. Reboil a pot of water
5. Once boiled, put the noodles back in the water and turn off the heat
6. Add the ingredients and seasoning powder at the bottom of your serving bowl
7. Pour everything in the pot into the bowl
8. A bowl of healthier instant noodles served

Additional tip: To cook the best instant noodles, put a little salt in while cooking while cutting down on the seasoning powder.

Salmon Don @ Sushi Tei

Simple yet delicious, this has become one of my favourite dishes at Sushi Tei.

The rice is so tasty it can be eaten just by itself.

This is because sushi rice is used instead of normal rice.

Good!

Dim Sum @ Just Hong Kong Dim Sum, Ang Mo Kio

The dim sum that this stall serves are of better standards than most regular dim sum you see elsewhere. I decided  to go for a try after hearing that it was featured on the television show, 超级小吃“赞”2.


I really love the century egg porridge that they serve. It consists of so many ingredients including bean curd skin, shredded chicken, pepper, century egg, dried anchovy and topped with crispy Popiah skin. The combination of so many ingredients gives it such a great flavour and it only costs $2.20 for a big bowl of it.

They also serve interesting dishes like this.

I think you can guess what is it called.

Yes... it is called Carrot.

It tastes like fried Chinese New Year Cake, sweet and sticky. Adds to the fun when having a meal with your friends and family.

It also serves about 20 more dishes from the common to the uncommon. Although some of the prices are relatively higher, the quality of the food makes it really worthed it.

Must try!

Blk 151 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 #01-3030 S560151

Beef Lasagna @ Swensen's

It wasn't bad but I wouldn't say it's one of the best. The only thing I like about this lasagna is how they 'flood' the sides with tomato sauce.

This can be something you can order the next time you look at Swensen's boring menu and do not know what to eat.

Wendy's back in Singapore! @ Holland Village

So this is my ever first visit to Wendy's. It opened at the location where my favourite-childhood Burger King was.

I was expecting a more interesting menu in this fast food restaurant.

To my expectations, I saw baked potatoes and shakes!

I eventually ordered a shrimp burger combo and a baked potato with chilli and cheese. I also changed my soft drinks into a twisted chocolate frosty with Oreo.

The shrimp burger was really nothing special. I find a lack of greens in the burger. All there was was only a piece, yes... ONE piece of lettuce. The shrimp patty was slightly black showing an obvious sign that it was probably overcooked or cooked twice. I was hoping for huge chunks of shrimps in the patty but there was only a few shrimps which weren't even thick and juicy. How I wished I ordered the triple cheeseburger instead.

However, I find the idea of wrapping the burger in an aluminium wrapper interesting. It helps protects your hand from the heat of the burger when you are eating.

The baked potato is fine. It's cooked till it's so soft you can simply eat it easily with a fork or a spoon. The chilli and cheese makes the whole thing gooey and sticky which is really my 'kind' of food. I only dislike the baked beans added in.

I'd definitely come back to this outlet at Holland Village as it's so quiet and comfortable. I can even revise for my examinations here while slurping on my shakes and munching on my fries.

Laksa Mee Tai Mak & Egg Noodles @ Toast Box, Resort World Sentosa

Your regular instant noodles with many other ingredients.

It's rather spicy. People who enjoy eating spicy food would love this, especially when you accidentally swallow the chilli padi.

This bowl here comes with luncheon meat but there are several other varieties you can choose from and it costs around $3+.

Not a bad option to go to if you got nowhere else to fill your hungry stomach with something economical in a shopping centre.

Laksa Mee Tai Mak Has the same touch as Katong Laksa as you can eat the noodles with just the spoon. I'm not a fan of Mee Tai Mak but I see that it goes really well with Laksa.

Usually we don't get filled up by just eating a bowl of laksa because of the quantity. However when the usual thick beehoon is changed to Mee Tai Mak, it makes the dish much filling.

The gravy is really thick and has lots of ingredients as you can see from the picture.

It costs only $4.20 and is really worthed it, living up to its name as one of the signature dish of Toast Box.

To all cockles lover out there: This Laksa would really be much much much better if it had cockles.

Quick bites: Macaroni & Cheese @ 7-Eleven

I had always wanted to get a taste of 'microwave food' from convenience stalls like 7-Eleven. Finally bought and cooked one today. After watching cooking videos on Youtube always makes me super hungry.

 So I just rushed into the shop --> grabbed the most comforting food --> threw it into the microwave for 35 seconds --> Tada' a free meal

Just kidding, I paid $3.80 for it which isn't too expensive.

Looks like this after unwrapping. Not bad at all. Looks really appetising especially when I was famished.

Although the macaroni was a little soft, I felt that this microwaved food tastes better than macaroni dishes I have eaten in my life.

The cheesy sauce and the macaroni just goes too well together.

This is one dish I'll recommend anyone to get when their super-duper hungry.

Maybe I'll not call it a dish, let's call it a convenience food.

Very worthed it although it is obviously priced much higher than its cost since it comes from a convenience stall.

but...

Who cares about that anyway when terribly hungry?

(Not paid to say this)

Ayam Pyt President Indonesian Food @ Lucky Plaza, Orchard Road

 

So it was the end of our exams and it's class outing time!

Did not really tried Indonesian food before so I was very curious even before reaching the restaurant.

The restaurant was comfortable with soothing music playing in the background.

Ok, to the main point... the food.

Before we get served with our main dishes, we were graciously served with delicious keropoks.

I ordered Iga Penyet (Crushed beef fillets) which is the one on top.

It tastes so much chicken and was one of the most taste and delicate piece of beef (not steak-kind-of-beef) I have put in my mouth. 

It actually had some texture like chicken and that means you don't have to worry that you are going to find yourself chewing on a tough piece of meat. Must be because it's 'crushed'...

The chilli that you see is extremely spicy. Never ever put more than a tiny bit into your mouth. It's almost DANGEROUS. I only managed to finish around 1/4 portion of the chilli given.

It's only $6.90 and not only that it comes with fried beancurd and a kind of pastry that makes sure you have your tummy filled. However, you have to order rice seperately which costs $0.60 per plate.

Highly recommended, cheap and good.

Below are the other dishes ordered which includes their other specialties like Ayam Penyet (Crushed Chicken):

 

Rojak @ Soon Heng, Toa Payoh HDB Hub

When I joined the queue, I was the 10th person. Singaporeans like me do like to queue up!

But the rojak is worthed every minute and money. As you can see, the packet of rojak is covered with peanut (looks abit like sand lol). There are so many ingredients inside this famous rojak. However, there is 1 ingredient that I found most unique. It's a pinkish flower on a stalk and the person preperaring the rojak will just slice and dice a little into the dish. Can anyone tell me what is it? Leave it in the comments please!

Peach Garden buffet @ Thomson Plaza

This was the place for our Mother's Day celebration with *almost* everyone in the family including my grandmother. It's Dim Sum buffet!!!


They had a pretty standard range of dishes to offer which included both steamed and fried dim sum. To sum it up, there were many prawns in most of the dishes and the dim sum were of much much better quality compared to those I have tried before.

However, I feel that they lack dishes which are unique to their restaurant. I was expecting some special dim sum that I never tried before but to my disappointment, there was none.

But to cover it all, the porridge they had was superb. Super texture and it is a combination of preserved eggs and chicken. I had another bowl even after I was full.


They had several desserts but the one I liked most was this Bo Bo Cha Cha. As you can see, it's not exactly like the regular white coloured Bo Bo Cha Cha. This one has a thick flavour like a soup and is served warm/hot. Even though it does not have many fancy ingredients, the soup itself will make you want another bowl of this.

I'll end my post here. Go try it out yourselves!

Happy Mother's Day!

Claypot delicacies @ Singapore Polytechnic, Foodcourt 4

This is by far the newest and best stall in Singapore Polytechnic.

There are over 10 choices of claypot dishes like claypot beancurd and claypot hokkein mee.
We ordered Chinese Pork Chops and Chicken Chops (with strawberry and mayo sauce).

So well prepared that you can compare these dishes to 'Zi Cha' restaurants' food.

Everything in the photo + 2 bowls of soup costs only $7 in total.

To the other stalls in foodcourt 4: You are facing a very strong competition.

*Update*

Claypot Beancurd

Korean Food @ Gourmet Paradise

One of the best korean dishes I have ate at affordable prices.

So far I have tried their BBQ Chicken and BBQ Saba.

Their rice is the thing that left such a deep love for this stall in me.

I will update with photos the next time I eat there!

*Update*

BBQ Saba (Sorry for the presentation of the fish, already started eating when I took this photo)


BBQ Beef

480 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh Basement 1
Singapore 310480

HK Rice Rolls @ Central Restaurant, 313 Somerset

Personally, I do not prefer my rice rolls to be sweet. I like the other version with prawns and soya sauce. The rice rolls served as this restaurant only wins those at coffeeshops by appearance. In terms of taste, it's the same.

I would like to know what's your preference of rice rolls. Sweet sauce or salty sauce with ingredients?

Central French Toast @ Central Restaurant, 313 Somerset

Let me summarise the texture and looks of this French toast in 2 words.

"Dao pok" (fried wheat gluten)

I'm not a really big fan of French toasts so I can't say much about the taste. However I really feel that it is a little boring, except for the bottle of honey that can be poured on the toast.

I rather it be more compact rather than fluffy. It may look big and thick in the picture but it is just filled with air.

I don't feel that it is worthed $4++. I rather have a cup of coffee and toast at Ya Kun.

Iced Coffee @ The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

From what I can remember, the description read "Espresso over ice". Well it seemed like a simple drink for me, so I ordered it.

I could see how they prepared it and I felt a little discomfort by the way they did it. There were 2 cups. 1 to contain the ice and the other to hold the coffee. The person who prepared it, poured the ice into the coffee then she simply walked over to the tap after taking a peek at whether I'm looking. She on the tap for awhile, to let tap water fill the cup to the brim. Is it really supposed to be like this? If they just wanted to add some water to it, can't they do it in another way? Like using a container of water instead of just straight from the tap?

Well, it soon got off my mind. I never ever had black plain coffee before although I like my coffee to be a little bitter. It really wasn't what I expected. However, I had to drink it anyway as it'll be a waste to leave it.

When I first started sipping on it I thought, "Oh man, this is going to be real torture."

It was bitter without any trace of sweetness. Furthermore, because it was cold and closed in a cup, I could not really appreciate the fragrance of the coffee.

I took little sips, trying my best to finish it. After about 15mins, I started to find a way to taste the goodness of it! I will take a little sip, let it sit in my mouth (not gargle) and then swallow it by pushing it back with my tongue. I could feel the sweetness of this coffee which did not have any sugar or cream in it . There was really this sweetness and I was amazed.

This experience is wonderful. To be able to change my perception from being the "worse" order I ever made to the cup of iced coffee that gave me a little sip into the taste of life. Afterall, life is much like this iced coffee. Takes time to appreciate the pure and good things even though it may be horrible at first.