In the same tiny coffeeshop that houses Fong Kee Duck Rice lies this small unit called Hong Shan that sells a small variety of hand made Kueh. We bought the Ang Ku Kueh, Soon Kueh and Png Kueh to try.
Soon Kueh is so called for a reason. There is supposed to be Soon (Bamboo) in it and not Mang Guang (Turnip) which is pretty prevalent in most of the Soon Kueh that is sold today. Therefore it came as a surprise that the Soon Kueh we bought was filled with Soon and not Mang Guang. For those who didn't know, Soon is crunchier and tastier and emits a slight fragrance as compared to Mang Guang. The Soon Kueh's skin was slightly translucent and slightly elastic, which made for a very good eat.
The Ang Ku Kueh's skin was slightly thicker than usual, but when consumed, didn't feel too starchy. The peanut filling was tightly compacted and every bite guaranteed a mouthful of grounded peanuts. Taste wise was above average, but I've tried better.
The Png Kueh was huge for its price (70cents) but a tad too oily. But hey, all Png Kuehs are oily aren't they? Could never really differentiate between good and bad Png Kuehs so this one was ok to me.
My first entry on Carl's Junior. Yes I know it's very common but please bear with me as I seldom eat Carl's Junior, with the last time probably being around mid 2005 when I first learned of their existence.
I had their Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger, which was quite a size, relative to other fast food outlets in Singapore. The beef patties were a little juicy and moist but I couldn't quite taste the natural beef flavours as it was masked by the strong greenish looking sauce. The bun tasted ordinary and overall it was a decent eat and extremely satisfying.
Funny how the chilli fries weren't spicy and tasted of curry instead. Not impressive, but I'm a sucker for fries, especially for ones which have gound beef and cheese in it.
Turned into Holland Village, one would probably missed a minimalist store furnishing decked in white – but with its colourful slogans and buttons SCREAMING on the exterior walls, one cannot help but stand up and take notice of this new outlet in the vicinity – Frolick. Following right after another icy haven that opened in the surrounding area – Ice Cold Rock, run by savvy young owners, May Chan and Lynn Ong, Frolick opened by Mr John Tan, 25, is essentially pursing the frozen yoghurt route.
At Frolick, customers are given free buttons with naughty slogans with every purchase, with mine suggesting “I Like It Topless”. This politically incorrect theme – an appeal to the now younger and rebellious generation – is also adopted in their various tabletops – “WE STAY HARD LONGER than ice cream” and “POP MY CHERRY POP MY CHERRY POP MY CHERRY…” and serving size (Cup A, Cup B, etc). But with all the impishness aside, how does Frolick stand against the only other direct competitor in the market – Yami Yoghurt?
Its texture is definitely smoother and taste more refreshing, compared to Yami Yoghurt, which tends to get rougher and slightly heavier. I also discern that Frolick’s natural flavoured yoghurt is slightly sourer – a good dose to tingle the taste buds, thus will bring a nice complement if you pair it with a sweeter topping.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
My gf bought some pastries from Gobi Dessert at The Central for my birthday. For those who didn't know, Gobi specialises in bite sized finesse pastries and has its main outlet at Katong Mall.
$24 netts you 12 different aesthetically pleasing pastries, all of which are simply delectable. I honestly don't remember how each individual one tasted like but I do know for a fact that I liked all of them! I guess the pictures will be able to tell you a better story.
Read quite a bit of good reviews regarding sgkueh, thus decided to take a short walk from my office to try out their famous Orh Nee.
$2.50 gets you a reasonably sized portion of Orh Nee, about a small bowl full of it, like in any Teochew restaurant. The paste was smooth and a little watery, but I found the flavours rather lacking. It wasn't as robust as I would have liked it to be and it just didn't ooze goodness like the Orh Nee I had at Huat Kee. The Gingko nuts were dull and tasteless. But its just about the best Orh Nee you can find in any Hawker Centre in the CBD area at least. So do try it if you are in the vicinity and have a craving.
Finally tried the Onde Onde. $2.20 bought me 5 bite size pieces of Onde Onde. The skin was soft and chewy and coated with lots of coconut shreds with the interior filling of Gula Melaka not too thick or sweet. Quite good.
Dropped by the Goodwood Park Hotel Deli after our dinner at Chummeez to pick up some of their famous Durian Puffs. I was hoping to get 50% off as all pastries go for half price after 2000hrs everyday. Alas, it only applied to the cakes and not the Durian Puffs. Nevertheless, I bought a box of 20 at about $35, which roughly works out to be $1.80/puff. Ridiculously expensive if you ask me, especially when the puffs from 717 Cakerie go for only about $0.55 each and they serve a pretty mean Durian Puff.
However, the Durian Puffs are really good and undoubtedly live up to their reputation. The pastry is soft and fluffy, even after being left in the fridge for some time. The durian filling is simply finger licking good. Made from D24 durians, it is smooth and sweet, yet doesn't come on as being too strong or overwhelming. There's quite a huge durian filling between the pastries so you can be sure of a durian overload. Try it to believe!
Was walking along Joo Chiat Road when I spotted this brightly lighted shop selling Paos and some other pastries. Saw an award (can't remember from where) for their Char Siew Pao, so thought I would buy a mini Char Siew Pao and Dao Sa Pao to try.
The Char Siew Pao's skin was nice and soft with just the right amount of bite. The Char Siew filling was not too sweet, which was a good thing, but I would have preferred less fatty meat in it. It also lacked the slightly roasted taste that good Char Siews should have.
As with the Char Siew Pao, the Dao Sa Pao's skin was nice and soft and the filling was rather smooth and not too sweet as well. I personally prefer this to the Char Siew Bao. It could do with an increase in size though, because both Paos are really small for the price. Stuffing 2 Paos at one go doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
Popped by Checkers for lunch with my ex colleagues from my previous company. I forgot to take a photo of their signage though. For those who are interested, Checkers used to be known as Dennys, which used to be situated at Holland Village (at least it was when I was a kid). It has since shifted and renamed itself to Checkers (the name change is only in Singapore. The other outlets in other countries are still called Dennys).
Situated along Shenton Way, Checkers now sits where Partyworld Shenton used to partially sit (I'm not sure if Partyworld is still operational though). The interior is simple and the crew friendly. The air conditioning could be upped a little though.
International Delight - I had a craving for breakfast items, so I had the International Delight, which was essentially French toast, waffles, eggs, bacon and sausages. Everything was as normal as they get, with the exception of the waffles, which had a rather odd aftertaste. But all in all, it did satisfy my cravings.
Apple Pie with Ice Cream - Decent tasting, but nothing close to good. The apple pie was not warm as I would have expected it to be and the ice cream was obviously from the supermarket.
Overall it wasn't too expensive and the food offered no surprises nor disappointments. The good thing about this place is that it opens 24hrs a day and only closes on Tuesdays, so if you need a place to chill out till the wee hours of the morning, this might just fit your bill.
After our dinner at Hong Kong Cafe, we proceeded to Ice³(Ice Cube) at Serangoon Gardens for some dessert. Ice³ is a trendy looking place with bar top tables affixed with blue neon lights below to give that hip and modern feel. We settled into a cozy sofa seat tucked right at the end of the cafe and hidden from the view of passers by. After much contemplation, we had a single Fondue set, a double Fondue set and a Waffle with Chocolate Syrup and Ice Cream.
We were very surprised by the size of the Fondues when they arrived. The single Fondue set was actually meant for 2 pax, whereas the double Fondue set was meant for 3-4 pax! And all the while, we thought a double set was only meant for 2! The variety of ingredients was much better than that of Max Brenners. However, only one type of Chocolate was given, as compared to three given by Max Brenners.There was Ice Cream, Bananas, Marsh mellows, Peaches, Crushed Nuts and Strawberries. The Chocolate was quite concentrated and sinfully sweet.
The Waffle was undoubtedly the star of the day. Crisp and decadent with the generous drizzle of Chocolate Syrup and the smooth home made Chocolate Ice Cream. Size is also not an issue here. The waffle is huge.
All in all, the desserts cost us to the tune of $44.75/-, which was a little on the high side. It is still slightly cheaper as compared to other outlets which offer similar products, but my main peeve is that service charge is levied when there is not much service to speak about. Not that the wait staff are unfriendly or what, but I had to pour and refill my iced water myself, walk up to the counter to order and make payment as well. So whereabouts does the service come from?
Had lunch at Rasa Sayang Western Food, a rather popular western food stall situated at the S11 coffeeshop just next to AMK Jubilee. Hoards of people used to patronise it for its fish & chips and chicken cutlet.
Chicken Chop - I didn't quite fancy eating something deep fried so I had the milder version - the humble chicken chop. Honestly, it was as good as it looked - average and flat tasting. The gravy wasn't rich nor was it tasty, even with the slices of mushroom in it. The coleslaw must have been the most outstanding item on the plate, which is rather sad isn't it?
Fish & Chips - Okay this dish fared slightly better. It was a little too heavily battered and lost quite a bit of the fish goodness with the over frying. The fish wasn't as good as Botak Jones's when served piping hot, but certainly didn't become unpalatable after turning cold like the latter.
1=SGD 0.0587
In the same tiny coffeeshop that houses Fong Kee Duck Rice lies this small unit called Hong Shan that sells a small variety of hand made Kueh. We bought the Ang Ku Kueh, Soon Kueh and Png Kueh to try.
Soon Kueh is so called for a reason. There is supposed to be Soon (Bamboo) in it and not Mang Guang (Turnip) which is pretty prevalent in most of the Soon Kueh that is sold today. Therefore it came as a surprise that the Soon Kueh we bought was filled with Soon and not Mang Guang. For those who didn't know, Soon is crunchier and tastier and emits a slight fragrance as compared to Mang Guang. The Soon Kueh's skin was slightly translucent and slightly elastic, which made for a very good eat.
The Ang Ku Kueh's skin was slightly thicker than usual, but when consumed, didn't feel too starchy. The peanut filling was tightly compacted and every bite guaranteed a mouthful of grounded peanuts. Taste wise was above average, but I've tried better.
The Png Kueh was huge for its price (70cents) but a tad too oily. But hey, all Png Kuehs are oily aren't they? Could never really differentiate between good and bad Png Kuehs so this one was ok to me.
Rating given:
My first entry on Carl's Junior. Yes I know it's very common but please bear with me as I seldom eat Carl's Junior, with the last time probably being around mid 2005 when I first learned of their existence.
I had their Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger, which was quite a size, relative to other fast food outlets in Singapore. The beef patties were a little juicy and moist but I couldn't quite taste the natural beef flavours as it was masked by the strong greenish looking sauce. The bun tasted ordinary and overall it was a decent eat and extremely satisfying.
Funny how the chilli fries weren't spicy and tasted of curry instead. Not impressive, but I'm a sucker for fries, especially for ones which have gound beef and cheese in it.
Rating given:
Turned into Holland Village, one would probably missed a minimalist store furnishing decked in white – but with its colourful slogans and buttons SCREAMING on the exterior walls, one cannot help but stand up and take notice of this new outlet in the vicinity – Frolick. Following right after another icy haven that opened in the surrounding area – Ice Cold Rock, run by savvy young owners, May Chan and Lynn Ong, Frolick opened by Mr John Tan, 25, is essentially pursing the frozen yoghurt route.
At Frolick, customers are given free buttons with naughty slogans with every purchase, with mine suggesting “I Like It Topless”. This politically incorrect theme – an appeal to the now younger and rebellious generation – is also adopted in their various tabletops – “WE STAY HARD LONGER than ice cream” and “POP MY CHERRY POP MY CHERRY POP MY CHERRY…” and serving size (Cup A, Cup B, etc). But with all the impishness aside, how does Frolick stand against the only other direct competitor in the market – Yami Yoghurt?
Its texture is definitely smoother and taste more refreshing, compared to Yami Yoghurt, which tends to get rougher and slightly heavier. I also discern that Frolick’s natural flavoured yoghurt is slightly sourer – a good dose to tingle the taste buds, thus will bring a nice complement if you pair it with a sweeter topping.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
My gf bought some pastries from Gobi Dessert at The Central for my birthday. For those who didn't know, Gobi specialises in bite sized finesse pastries and has its main outlet at Katong Mall.
$24 netts you 12 different aesthetically pleasing pastries, all of which are simply delectable. I honestly don't remember how each individual one tasted like but I do know for a fact that I liked all of them! I guess the pictures will be able to tell you a better story.
Rating given:
Read quite a bit of good reviews regarding sgkueh, thus decided to take a short walk from my office to try out their famous Orh Nee.
$2.50 gets you a reasonably sized portion of Orh Nee, about a small bowl full of it, like in any Teochew restaurant. The paste was smooth and a little watery, but I found the flavours rather lacking. It wasn't as robust as I would have liked it to be and it just didn't ooze goodness like the Orh Nee I had at Huat Kee. The Gingko nuts were dull and tasteless. But its just about the best Orh Nee you can find in any Hawker Centre in the CBD area at least. So do try it if you are in the vicinity and have a craving.
Finally tried the Onde Onde. $2.20 bought me 5 bite size pieces of Onde Onde. The skin was soft and chewy and coated with lots of coconut shreds with the interior filling of Gula Melaka not too thick or sweet. Quite good.
Rating given:
Dropped by the Goodwood Park Hotel Deli after our dinner at Chummeez to pick up some of their famous Durian Puffs. I was hoping to get 50% off as all pastries go for half price after 2000hrs everyday. Alas, it only applied to the cakes and not the Durian Puffs. Nevertheless, I bought a box of 20 at about $35, which roughly works out to be $1.80/puff. Ridiculously expensive if you ask me, especially when the puffs from 717 Cakerie go for only about $0.55 each and they serve a pretty mean Durian Puff.
However, the Durian Puffs are really good and undoubtedly live up to their reputation. The pastry is soft and fluffy, even after being left in the fridge for some time. The durian filling is simply finger licking good. Made from D24 durians, it is smooth and sweet, yet doesn't come on as being too strong or overwhelming. There's quite a huge durian filling between the pastries so you can be sure of a durian overload. Try it to believe!
Rating given:
Was walking along Joo Chiat Road when I spotted this brightly lighted shop selling Paos and some other pastries. Saw an award (can't remember from where) for their Char Siew Pao, so thought I would buy a mini Char Siew Pao and Dao Sa Pao to try.
The Char Siew Pao's skin was nice and soft with just the right amount of bite. The Char Siew filling was not too sweet, which was a good thing, but I would have preferred less fatty meat in it. It also lacked the slightly roasted taste that good Char Siews should have.
As with the Char Siew Pao, the Dao Sa Pao's skin was nice and soft and the filling was rather smooth and not too sweet as well. I personally prefer this to the Char Siew Bao. It could do with an increase in size though, because both Paos are really small for the price. Stuffing 2 Paos at one go doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
Rating given:
Popped by Checkers for lunch with my ex colleagues from my previous company. I forgot to take a photo of their signage though. For those who are interested, Checkers used to be known as Dennys, which used to be situated at Holland Village (at least it was when I was a kid). It has since shifted and renamed itself to Checkers (the name change is only in Singapore. The other outlets in other countries are still called Dennys).
Situated along Shenton Way, Checkers now sits where Partyworld Shenton used to partially sit (I'm not sure if Partyworld is still operational though). The interior is simple and the crew friendly. The air conditioning could be upped a little though.
International Delight - I had a craving for breakfast items, so I had the International Delight, which was essentially French toast, waffles, eggs, bacon and sausages. Everything was as normal as they get, with the exception of the waffles, which had a rather odd aftertaste. But all in all, it did satisfy my cravings.
Apple Pie with Ice Cream - Decent tasting, but nothing close to good. The apple pie was not warm as I would have expected it to be and the ice cream was obviously from the supermarket.
Overall it wasn't too expensive and the food offered no surprises nor disappointments. The good thing about this place is that it opens 24hrs a day and only closes on Tuesdays, so if you need a place to chill out till the wee hours of the morning, this might just fit your bill.
Rating given:
After our dinner at Hong Kong Cafe, we proceeded to Ice³(Ice Cube) at Serangoon Gardens for some dessert. Ice³ is a trendy looking place with bar top tables affixed with blue neon lights below to give that hip and modern feel. We settled into a cozy sofa seat tucked right at the end of the cafe and hidden from the view of passers by. After much contemplation, we had a single Fondue set, a double Fondue set and a Waffle with Chocolate Syrup and Ice Cream.
We were very surprised by the size of the Fondues when they arrived. The single Fondue set was actually meant for 2 pax, whereas the double Fondue set was meant for 3-4 pax! And all the while, we thought a double set was only meant for 2! The variety of ingredients was much better than that of Max Brenners. However, only one type of Chocolate was given, as compared to three given by Max Brenners.There was Ice Cream, Bananas, Marsh mellows, Peaches, Crushed Nuts and Strawberries. The Chocolate was quite concentrated and sinfully sweet.
The Waffle was undoubtedly the star of the day. Crisp and decadent with the generous drizzle of Chocolate Syrup and the smooth home made Chocolate Ice Cream. Size is also not an issue here. The waffle is huge.
All in all, the desserts cost us to the tune of $44.75/-, which was a little on the high side. It is still slightly cheaper as compared to other outlets which offer similar products, but my main peeve is that service charge is levied when there is not much service to speak about. Not that the wait staff are unfriendly or what, but I had to pour and refill my iced water myself, walk up to the counter to order and make payment as well. So whereabouts does the service come from?
Rating given:
Had lunch at Rasa Sayang Western Food, a rather popular western food stall situated at the S11 coffeeshop just next to AMK Jubilee. Hoards of people used to patronise it for its fish & chips and chicken cutlet.
Chicken Chop - I didn't quite fancy eating something deep fried so I had the milder version - the humble chicken chop. Honestly, it was as good as it looked - average and flat tasting. The gravy wasn't rich nor was it tasty, even with the slices of mushroom in it. The coleslaw must have been the most outstanding item on the plate, which is rather sad isn't it?
Fish & Chips - Okay this dish fared slightly better. It was a little too heavily battered and lost quite a bit of the fish goodness with the over frying. The fish wasn't as good as Botak Jones's when served piping hot, but certainly didn't become unpalatable after turning cold like the latter.
Rating given: