Boy Burger @ KTM

Came down to Tanjong Pagar Railway Station (the 'older' foodcourt - closer to the tracks) after my son's swimming session on that rainy Sunday.

My mum and bro scrambled for their 'centrepiece'- namely, the fried items on display in the center. There were Pisang Goreng, Fried Popiah, Cucur Sayur (deep fried balls of veggie doughs) etc.

I was enthralled to see the big, fat popiahs (5-6 cm diameter!) that I asked them to get me some. A while later, it dawned on me that the reason they're big & fat could be because they're filled with curried potatoes (yeach!). Thankfully, that wasn't the case. They're generously filled with beansprouts, turnips & carrots actually. Add lashings of the free-flow chili sauce at the side and you're good to go (vaguely seen in the background of the picture below).

Beef burger

~ Egg parcel comes together by default.

I saw this burger stand and realised just how much I missed burger Ramly. The burger stall at the newer foodcourt next door proudly displayed their 'burger Ramly' sign. This one doesn't. But I gave it a go anyway, seeing that they guy handling the stall seemed free.

It seemed to me that the guy prepare his burger in 3's. I was distracted by my baby and by the time I want to make my order, there were 3 guys before me and the fella didn't even look up! Had to wait for the next batch. So meticulous was this guy in his preparation that he refused to be distracted. All his actions were like art itself.

From toasting the buns and placing them in individual foam boxes, heating up the pre-cooked patties and carefully stacking them on one side, cracking the 3 eggs and making an almost perfect rectangle on the pan. While the omelette crisp up, he place some lettuce on each buns, after which he proceed to place cheese slices on the omelette, followed by the patty.

And here comes the best part. He then took a bottle of bbq sauce and draw an actual 'hex' squarely on on each patty. Repeat the process with mayonnaise and chilli sauce. That sure was a lot of sauce! I LIKE!!!

Then he carefully fold the omelette over the 3 patties and gingerly tried to divide them into 3 parts. He placed each egg parcel onto the lettuce and cover it with the top bun. Ta-dah!

He's just so interesting to watch, so much so that one customer pulled up a chair to face him and watch him in action. I believe that food can taste good when it's made with passion. And yes, this had got to be one of the best burgers I had (those from fast-food joints not included).

The 3-sauce combo really did it for me. Especially eating it hot, with the melting cheese, the crispy omelette and the surprisingly slightly juicy beef patty. Ahhh... Pair that with a cup of ginger tea from the sarabat drinks stall... Fantastic for that rainy afternoon!
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I highly recommend that you try having your meals during the lull period (in between meal times). Like 3-5pm on Sundays, in my case.

Most of the places gives better service and prepares better food because there's nary a crowd. Less hurry, less hassle.

And oh, it's just sad, isn't it. That this antique railway station gonna close down on July 2011? Hope they retain these eateries. I tell you, the people who are gonna miss these most are the PSA staff who worked shifts. I remember these people serving out piping hot Pisang Goreng right when these PSA staff comes out for their break. At 1am!

And that fabulous Nasi Lemak that seemed to be available only at night (yes, I'm sad to miss it that afternoon). Not forgetting the ultra crispy veggie bakwan which was absent that afternoon, too.

Boo.

random eats!

Chicken cutlet

Bought at those regular mom & pop western food stall at resident coffee shops.

I don't know if they are being generous with us because we're quite their regulars. But my plate has 3 pieces of mid-sized breadcrumbed chicken fillets. My colleagues had 2 large pieces.

Did I mention that I love those soft, deep-fried buns? Then again, all these deep-fried stuff, almost felt sick at the end of the meal; from all that grease.

Check out the other stuff I bought from this stall (also in 'random' set of pics).

Beef Curry Kway Teow

I always feel overwhelmed whenever I had to order something at Enak Rasa Seafood (Bedok Reservoir Road, near my parents' place).

Their menu is pretty extensive and most of their food taste good.

My mum had the Singapore Fried Bee Hoon. Bro remarked, "Not again?" I guess she's been ordering this with everytime they came here. When it arrived, I was dismayed to see that it looked like a plate of 'birthday mee'. You know, the white, fried beehoon one normally see at parties.

Yet, I was pretty amazed when I had a taste. It was slightly sweet, somehow and yet it goes well as a savoury dish. Nice!

Bro had the sweet & sour fish with rice, which he finished pretty fast. No comment on that.

Myself, I decide to settle for something that I haven't had in a while. Curry mee. With beef (chicken is also available). Yellow noodles to be replaced with kway teow (personal preference would have been the laksa beehoon but I know they don't have that).

Warning: This dish comes in a pretty big portion. There's a whole load of curry there. Despite how it looked, they aren't heavy-handed with the curry. Not as mild as laksa but not as robust as the real deal.

Very good thing to have during cold weather. Or when you're hungry.

The other kind of curry noodles that I had one time before.

Somehow I'm really missing the simple one available from this take-away foodshop available at Eunos mrt sometime back (can't recall the shop name). The fact that they topped the bowl of curry noodles with crispy, deep-fried curry leaves - well that really rocks.

Tango Mango Smoothie

Fantabulous for beating the scorching heat nowadays, this drink is like 80% mango. Taste really good and was so refreshing! And those cubes of fresh mango on top were such a bonus! Especially when this drink cost only $3.

Bought from Smoothy de Cafe @ Singapore Post SC. Yes, the bubble tea shop that also serves the superb crispy waffles.

Been recommending this place to my bro. First, he wasn't convinced that there are thick waffles that can be crispy at the same time. Secondly, he can't accept the fact that someone would want to put fresh mango on the smoothie itself.

I really hope that he drop by here and have a go.
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So there goes another episode of random eats. Hope these help to give you an idea of what to have the next time you have a mental block; when you need an idea of what to eat.

Korean Food

@ Banquet Eastpoint

Dolsot Bibimbap

'Dolsot' literally translate to 'Stone Pot'. In this case, it's a stone bowl - unlike the iron pots served at the formerly known Fresh Bulgogi. This one here is just like the granite mortar our mothers use to pound the spices.

Only the stone bowl impressed me. The rest of the items just fell short of being... really Korean. Maybe I've gotten too used to the ones from the former Zingdo & Fresh Bulgogi, where the Bulgogi beef is nicely marinated and they used actual mung bean sprouts.

Banchan?

Haha. More like condiments.

I tell you, the initial serving of kimchi was even lesser than the one pictured. All the patrons before me made the same request for more kimchi so by the time it's my turn, she automatically added more onto my condiment platter.

Man, should have asked for more of those spiced anchovies.

They squeezed the gochujang into the small condiment dish that one use to put chicken rice chili. Definitely wasn't enough! Should have asked for at least another portion. Due to the measly amount of sauce, my bowl of rice turned out pretty bland.

I almost thought that this is the other branch of that Korean foodstall in Fork & Spoon @ Square 2 (as recommended by 1 of my commenters), which also serve seaweed soup on the side and some banchan. But I guess not. The one there supposedly had ddeokbokki and kimbap too, whereas some of the foods served here seemed reminiscent of Japanese food. Fusion, perhaps?

Other plus points are the actual condiments they had. White pepper (good for soup), chili/red pepper powder (to add more kick to food - like what I did) and even black/white sesame seed mix. Me like! I wouldn't have known had I not seen other customers (seemingly regulars) lavishly sprinkling all 3 condiments onto their foods.

So will I come back here? Ermm.. perhaps. Seeing this is the one closest to home. Just that I won't go for the bibimap again. :P

J's Wok & Grill catering pt. 2

~ Nyayi's 69th Birthday celebration

And continuing from yesterday...

**The incandescent lighting in there was pretty dim so most pics didn't turn out quite as nicely**

White rice & Seafood Fried rice

I took the fried rice. True to it's name, they never hold back on the seafood. I have to put back some of the big, fat tiger prawns that I scooped up because I already had some with the Tom Yam and there's still the Masala Prawns.

Prawn overdose, liao.

Mi goreng

Fried noodles.

I gave this one a miss. So many other good food to fill my belly! This one is plain unecessary. Not a big fan of this kind of yellow noodles, anyway.

Seafood Tom Yam

Oooh, I love their tomyam. You know how this popular Thai soup is practically ubiquitous at every seafood eateries. So there are just so many versions and sadly, not many fared well.

This soup here was savoury and filled with the slight sweetness from the chockful of seafood simmering inside. Spicy but not TOO spicy. Not too sour either. Maybe they did consider the kids that'll be in attendance.

Kacang Panjang Tumis Hati Ayam

Long beans stir-fried with chicken liver.

I grimaced upon seeing that this had chicken liver (me think it's disgusting). But seeing that this was the only cooked vegetable dish that night, I dug around for the green beans anyway.

Hubby's aunt chose this dish to replace the one that's actually on the menu: Pumpkin Stewed in Spicy Coconut Gravy. Man, I LOVE that dish!

Actually, she's quite right about how some people might not be able to appreciate the taste of the pumpkin, hence the replacement. Yeah, like how some people can't appreciate chicken liver... Pfft!

Masala Prawns

'Masala' is a term used to describe a mixture of spices. They can either be the dry mix or a thick paste (some gravy). For these prawns here, they are stir-fried with dry masala. I love my prawns done this way (aside from Cereal or Butter prawns, of course). Flavoursome!

Honestly, in my opinion, prawns taste good when prepared in any way whatsoever, as long as they are fresh. The flesh sweet, firm and the shell peel easily.

And these prawns here are no exception.

Another seafood dish on the menu is the 'Ikan Tiga Rasa', which translates to '3-flavoured fish'. The pic I took was sooo bad that it was beyond salvation.

The 3 flavours are sweet, sour & spicy. And it's no surprise that this dish originates from Thailand. The battered fish fillets though, were less crispy than what I had envisioned. Maybe they were soaked a little to long in the sauce prior to our consuming them.

But the sauce was nicely done. Just like the popular sweet & sour fish, albeit spicier.

Daging Goreng Kunyit (apologies for the bad quality pic)

Beef stir-fried with Tumeric.

I never understand this dish. Or how it's prepared, by the way. I expect some jaundiced meat pieces, given the yellowish nature of tumeric but the they look more like beef rendang cooked lightly.

Taste-wise, I have no complaints. Maybe I need to source for the recipe online to find out how it's prepared.

Chicken Rendang

Red meat rendangs are getting to be too common nowadays, so it's refreshing to see the chicken version instead. To me, chicken rendang reminds me of Hari Raya for that's when they're easily available.

However, unlike the traditional way of using 'retired', free-range chicken that's stewed in spicy coconut paste for hours at end, this one here seemed to be cooked simply.

Normal chicken that's prepared just like how one cooks curry. But it still taste good all the same.

the Birthday Cake

Also supplied by J's W&G (not in the package). The aunt said that this was chocolate fudge cake. I remembered that it had layers of blueberry jelly between each layer of sponge. And the outer layer was dark chocolate mousse... Decadent!

They had everything planned upon presenting the cake. First they switched the lights off. The Happy Birthday song started being played on the karaoke. Then the staff came in with the cake that's lit with a lone candle.

The lights are switched on only when the candle has been blown out (hence total darkness).

Very pleasant surprise, ain't it? I hope the old lady is happy. Well I sure am happy for her, to have children who still care to celebrate her big day with such a bang! Being in the presence of her children, grandchildren AND great-grandchildren as she celebrate her birthday in her twilight years...

Honestly speaking, I'm more than satisfied with what J's W&G did here. In fact, am very pleased with the service altogether. The manager was around most of the time to accommodate us. Appetisers and beverages were checked regularly and topped up where needed. They even provide plastic containers for us to pack the remaining food, considering we've paid for them and it'll be such a waste.

There's a small room provided for praying and the toilet on that upper floor is nice & clean with the front section designed specially for taking ablutions.

I'm wondering if there'll even be an occasion when I'll need their services similarly...

Oh and the western fare served at the restaurant below is fairly good, actually. The steak is pretty worth it!

J's Wok & Grill (a subsidiary of Jamiyah Singapore)
Blk 527 Bedok North Str 3
#01-514
T: 6345 7155

J's Wok & Grill catering pt. 1

~ Nyayi's 69th Birthday celebration

Hubby's aunt announced that there'll be a family gathering cum dinner to celebrate his grandma's birthday.

When I was told that it'll be held at J's Wok & Grill, I was apprehensive. From what I know, they serve mainly Western fare. How are they gonna serve ala carte mains to such a large group of people? And the premise is a tad small for our group.

I later found out that the unit on the upper floor is specially meant to cater for events/receptions with a max. capacity of 60 pax. And we'll be served with a buffet of Asian fare instead.

Ahhh... sohhhh....

**The incandescent lighting in there was pretty dim so most pics didn't turn out quite as nicely**

The buffet corner (food spread)

There's a soup, 6 different dishes, 2 types of rice, noodles and others.

The buffet corner (inc. beverages section)

And yes, there's karaoke provided as well, with 2 flat screen tv sets on 2 ends of the room; so that one can sing, no matter which part of the room one is seated at.

And now for the food...

There're way too many pictures so I'll split this post up into 2 parts. Appetisers-Desserts & Mains.

Appetisers - Vegetable Springrolls & Fish Fingers

The veggie filling in the springroll was more of the curried version instead of the lighter-tasting Chinese style.

For the fish fingers, they use dory fish fillets that's coated with breadcrumb and deep-fried. A hit with both the kids and adults alike.

They actually top both these items up when they almost ran out midway through the party. And they came piping hot!

Chef's Salad

My personal highlight for the night. Generous amounts of romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, capsicums, tomato, boiled eggs, chicken meatloaf & chicken ham. Topped with Caesar & Thousand Island dressing plus a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

If only there's croutons, then it would've been purr-fect!

While everyone rushed for the mains as they start their meal, I gunned straight for this plus the fish fingers on the side. Appetiser, all right.

Ulam2x Kampung

aka Kampung Salad. This is to be eaten with the fiery sambal belacan (fresh chili grounded w/ toasted shrimp paste) that's provided on the side.

Mango Pudding

Kinda lacked the mango flavour but works well as a palate cleanser.

Tropical Fruit Platter

Honeydew, papaya, watermelon, grapes, maraschino cherries and some canned longans.

Cheng Tng

Not too sweet, maybe due to the abundant amount of ice. Generous amount of dried longan & white fungus inside.

And there were 2 kinds of flavoured drinks - lime & blueberry. There's also ice water, tea and coffee.

Will update on the main foods in the next entry!

Mad Jack Cafe

@ White Sands Mall

My MIL was telling me how she was keen to eat at 'that open restaurant where they serve food with mayonnaise'. Haha.. That's how she express her term for Western food.

So I brought this up with the hubby and got him to bring his mum out for dinner there.

And coincidentally, his grandma just came back from her stay at her daughter's place so we got her to come along. And little did we know, it was her birthday the following day so it coincidentally became a birthday treat of sorts for her.

Yes, this was the time where I got tired of waiting and had a cuppa at McCafe...

Mad Cow Burger set

Believe it or not, this was grandma's order. She said that the other mains had portions that were too hearty for her.

In case you are wondering, no - she didn't have this Big-Mac style. Very demurely, she tore at the burger with her hands. She then nibbled at the chips till' the plate is clean.

I'm impressed.

Grilled Fish in Cream Sauce

Hubby's order. Was surprised that he asked for a grilled item, actually. However, I kinda like the way the fish fillets looked nicly-crisp despite being grilled only.

...Not surprisingly, he left the greens behind. Pfft!

Fish & Chips

My order. I thought of getting their dinner set but since everyone simply ordered the mains I just settle for this. I was contemplating to order the Premium Fish & Chips instead but, oh well...

I have preference for Fish & Chips done this way, over the breadcrumbed ones. But if not done properly, the crispy batter might just be a grease trap of sorts.

MIL was apprehensive about ordering this cos' she fear that it might be too crispy for her new dentures. After she had a sample bite, she decide that this will be her order; next time.

Anyway, MIL's order of Grilled Fish in Honey Lemon Sauce was actually overlooked by the folks in the kitchen. After more than 15mins wait, I enquired with the server who was later seen having a tense discussion with other staff at the counter. I looked at my receipt and saw that the dish was indeed paid for.

He came back and apologetically told us that the order is on its way. At this point, I was half-hoping that he'll offer a complimentary slice of cake to make up for that error.

What?! I can't help it. Those cakes seem to call out to me everytime I pass by the display fridge! Have u seen their chocolate cakes? Especially the MAD & Rich cake? Drives me nuts everytime I pass by there to get to the bank!

Anyway the dish arrived and I discovered that it was meant to be served with mashed potato instead of rice, as displayed on the menu. Darn, I can see my MIL was actually looking forward to the rice! Should have read properly.

And I finally know how unnerving it can be, to eat at this eatery with its open concept. To have passers-by gawking at you as you eat; it's pretty disconcerting, I admit. I shall stop doing that to other diners the next time I walk past. Heh.

Totally dig the idea of a free-flow bottle of tartar/chile/tomato sauces on every tables.

You can check out the menu HERE.

McCafe break

After 1/2 hr of waiting in front of Mad Jack White Sands, hubby finally called to tell me that they're-still-at-home!!!

Grrr.....!

So I stomped over to McCafe below to see if there's anything to satiate my growling tummy.... and my overall pissed-off self.

Saw the small cuts of mini-brownies and mango cake. Looks tempting enough. Also saw something else that's on display together with the other confectioneries...

Mochaccino & CinnaMelts

Yeah, baby. They're baaaaack!!!

Honestly, I have every intention to order those chocolate brownies. Nothing like chocolates to ease a ruffled soul, eh? Somehow upon ordering, I said, "One small Mochaccino and Cinnamon Melts, pls."

Was that EVEN me, making the order? I didn't know I miss them Melts!

Totally digg McCafe's efforts at presentation when it comes to their hot beverages. One can't help appreciating a bit of caffe art, can't we? :)))