Gerai Bumbu Desa @ Banquet Parkway

For the longest time, I've seen this stall at the corner of Banquet, located at the 4th level of Parkway Parade Shopping Centre but I've simply assumed it to be a typical 'Ayam Penyet' stall.

One day, I decide to venture to that end after I've had my meal and discovered that they serve Sundanese food. I miss having real Sundanese cuisine. Especially back in those days when 'Pondok Gurame' restaurant was still around. My family love dining there.

I was excited to see that they serve 'Iga' (spare beef ribs) here. Made a mental note to have that when I dine here the next time.

'Iga Bakar' (grilled beef spare ribs) set

Well, 'next time' comes and goes and I never really got down to trying until recently.

I tried going through their menu but they crammed so many things onto the menu board that it got pretty confusing. I tried ordering the 'Sup Sayur Asem' (sour veggie soup) but was told that it's not available. Seems to me that those that available are those being displayed out front and there sure seem to be a lot of stuff.

There are chicken, both fried and grilled. The 'iga' can supposedly be served 2 different ways- fried or grilled (as seen on the menu). But I only mentioned,"'Iga' set" when ordering and they already proceed to prepare. Hmm...

And then I saw the fish. A whole tray of them. Blackened with spices and soy sauce. Must be grilled fish. Looks a lot like the freshwater kind. I can't really determine what type. Could be tilapia or the one called 'Gurame'. Or another one that they call, 'ikan Nila'. Most likely the latter.

It looked so good, I almost regret ordering the ribs. My mom already had her meal so she'd be full. I saw later on, other patrons ordering it and it had looked really enticing!

'Iga Bakar' (grilled beef spare ribs) set

Upon my order, the lady took several pieces of spare ribs (meat only, no bones) and some fried tofu + 'tempe' (fermented soybean patty) from the tray at the display and went into the kitchen to heat it up.

When she re-appeared, the ribs had been cut into smaller bite-sized pieces and she placed them on top of some shredded lettuce. Then she poured more soy sauce on it.Those meat pieces had looked pretty sad, all limp and dark. Shen they put the re-fried/heated tofu and 'tempe' alongside that. The rice followed and lastly, some generous spoonfuls of crumbs. Whoa!

And not forgetting the chili on the side. That 'sambal belachan' was pretty fiery and complement the dish very well. And then there's a small bowl of either vegetable or chicken soup. It was pretty forgettable.

You can almost say that I don't keep my hopes too high. But then again, I'm very well-acquainted with Sundanese cuisine; being Javanese myself. I love a hint of sweetness in my food and the sweet soy gave me that much-needed taste.

The spare ribs meat still remain very tender despite sitting out for too long and re-heated later. It was marinated well and the soy sauce that was poured onto it prior to serving, was full of 'umami' goodness. Those reddish-orange chunks were actually pickled carrots! Yum.

The fried tofu was very crispy, having been re-fried prior to serving. The 'tempe' was slightly dark and seemed to be marinated like the 'iga'. I gave that away to my mum, knowing how much she'll like it. She told me that it taste a lot like 'tempe bacem', a Javanese specialty where the 'tempe' (or even tofu) is boiled in coconut water & spices and then fried.

This set taste sooo good tat I'm definitely ordering it again!

'Ikan Goreng' set

I somehow made my way back here the very next day and visions of the grilled fish remained fresh on my mind.

Then again, I went there during lunch hour the day before and there were still many items in the display. When I came back again during dinner the next day, most items were already sold out. Both the 'Iga' and grilled fish were nowhere to be seen.

Then I saw the fried fish, which seem to be of similar variety to the grilled one, just that it's, well, fried. So I ordered that. They took the fish in to be re-fried and it sure took long!

Only at the table do I realise that when I order a fried item, they'll serve the fried 'tempe' instead of the one that reminds my mum of 'tempe bacem'. Dang!

I really wish I had the grilled fish instead because its marinade would have helped to mask the muddy accent that's usually present in freshwater fish like this. And despite re-frying it for so long, it still wasn't as crispy as I had anticipated it to be.

Ah, well... Now I know what to avoid ordering. Maybe next time, I'll try the grilled chicken.

I can say that I like the food enough to consider a visit to their restaurant at Novena Square 2 - #B1-01 to 05. Saw a pic of the interior on other food blogger's site. Seems like it had a pretty nice ambiance.

Here's their WEBSITE.

Popeye's with bro

It's almost a routine for my bro to fetch me and my son at noon, every Saturday to bring us back to my parent's place for the weekend.

Since I woke up that morning I've been thinking of Popeye's so I've decided that I'll bring my bro to eat at Popeye's in Downtown East (which is only some 5mins drive away) before we get to my parent's place. Besides my bro would have been hungry, since he just came back from coaching.

Come noon, my bro arrived and brought with him a downpour soo heavy, it's like someone 'up there' chose to pour out from a pail instead of spraying with a shower head. My bro had thought of waiting it out under my block but I saw him arrive and promptly came down with my son. I insist that we just drive out and have our meal since we have no time to waste, considering he gotta' report for work at 2pm (yes, I can be pretty persistent at times).

Bundled my son up in a sweater with a hoodie while my bro reversed the car all the way to the void deck (there's no sheltered drop-off point where I live, hmmpf!). I got really wet, in spite of the effort but I don't care. I want my Popeye's!

Once at the restaurant, I chose a corner seat by the shopfront so as to keep out-of-view from patrons inside the restaurant but distract my son with the view outside instead. Got the little one a regular mashed potato and a couple of chicken pieces for my bro. Also got myself some coleslaw (I miss both these side items like crazy!)

Popeye's 'Wicked' Chicken

"...Playfully sticky sweet & spicy Wicked Chicken Strips, Devilishly good!..."

Saw the poster for this, got tempted and ordered it too.

I seriously don't see what's so 'wicked' about this. It wasn't spicy at all. Sure , you can taste the chili but there's no heat. But it sure is sweet. Taste a lot like the sweet & sour dish one can get from a zhi char stall.

Seems like they dipped the chicken strips in this sauce prior to serving. On its own, they would have been nice, though. Better than KFC's or BK's.

Onion Rings

I saw that they had some side dishes like onion and calamari rings. There's another one but I can't really recall what. Was it 'fish bites' or something?

I was pretty excited to see these rings because they remind me so much of the ones I had from California Fried Chicken in Jakarta, eons back. My family love those so much that they became the bar that all other onion rings need to level up to, or even surpass. Then again, that was almost 20 years ago (man, I already feel so old) and I've forgotten how it really taste like.

Over the years, I've tried various types of onion rings from various establishments. Those frozen ones (also sold at 'Western' food stalls) and the ones from BK are similar, too little minced onions, too much batter/breadcrumbs. Those seasonal ones from McD are pretty nice but a tad salty. Carl's Jr seems to do it nicely. Real onion rings with batter that's not excessive and yet has a nice crunch to them. But you need to head down to KL to get Halal ones...

This one here, my bro remarked that they have some funny aftertaste. But then again, like all things deep-fried, they're best eaten when piping hot.

Popcorn Shrimp Sandwich

Seems like almost everytime I dine here, this will be my main order. I can't seem to find any other place serving a sandwich with 4 pieces of whole, battered prawns inside, instead of a patty (cue Wendy's).

I also just noticed that their ciabatta-esque bread has some sprinkles of oats on top.

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I love dining at places when it's the off-peak period. Service staff are more at ease, hence approachable. And attentive.

I went back to the counter to make orders for some take-aways, while carrying my son. Made some small conversations with the staff at the counter and the lady working on the floor insist that she help to carry my take-away packs to my table. Soon after, she came to my son with a balloon...

...Which soon prompted him to run out of the restaurant in glee, with the balloon pointing forward (not upwards, mind you) and me making a mad dash to chase after him while my bro was left scrambling to sort the take-away stuff + our bags and follow suit.

-__-

But a happy boy makes a happy mummy. And a happy sister makes for a happy brother. So thank you bro for accompanying me! Finally satiate my craving hankering to dine at Popeye's.

:)))

Cafe Galilee

A geek's meal…

Whenever I had a bad not-so-good day or when I feel a little more moody than usual, I usually seek solace at a little corner of this little cafe located within the library at White Sands, Pasir Ris. More often than not, I always end up here when I'm PMS-ing.

Armed with a book from the adjacent library, I place myself in such a way such that I can people-watch through the clear glass panels overlooking the shopping mall below and yet, remain inconspicuous from other's attention. It sure helps that most patrons almost similarly, chose to be reclusive.

Then again, once I get lost in the action between the pages, it all doesn't really matter.

Mushroom & cheese sandwich

Looks very 'green' eh? If not for those chips, you'll think that I'm eating healthy or going vegan or something.

Actually there's supposed to be a small portion of pasta (macaroni) served in this set. However they ran out of that and I wasn't really fussy about it. So they tried to compensate by adding on a little more greens. Cute.

That cute foccacia bun makes this sandwich look like a... burger. Other than that, don't expect anything fancy. The button mushrooms are the generic canned type. Then covered with a cheese slice. After which, maybe heated for a while. If only the cheese is all charred and gooey… That would have been nice.

Potato chunks with cheese sauce

The reason why I keep coming back here, has got to be these spuds.

Ok, so maybe there are other places which serve freshly-fried potato wedges (I miss the one from Mustafa Cafe!) but nowhere with a great ambience like this.

You think the ones in the picture looks really indulgent? Well, let me tell you- I usually have them with both the cheese sauce AND mayonnaise. Oh yeah...!

Also, I've seen some good-looking cakes in the display on days that I've been lucky but I've always managed to will myself from trying. Maybe one day, I might just succumb to the temptation and get myself that Lava or truffle or even the cheese cake.
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Hmm… Those of you who really know me, please uh, don't tell my hubby of this favourite hangout location of mine. Can…?

Please help give this geek some of her precious, 'me' time. thankyouverymuch.

Chicken Schnitzel from Charcos

Note: 
Charcos has closed their Marine Parade branch and is now at - 
Blk 608 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 #01-2771 Mr Teh Tarik, 560608
Tel: 6455 3711

Chicken Schnitzel w/ 3 salads .

I can't help thinking about the Chicken Schnitzel that my bro had that one time. So when my colleague asked for a suggestion on a place to lunch at, I eagerly brought up, "Charcos!"

It's just like the way it looked. Not that ...erm.. very nice. Maybe I had my expectations way too high. It could be that my bro was very hungry during the time that we dined here and that helped to paint a rosier picture. Or maybe I just come on a bad day?

The chicken was on the dry side and it's hard. Like the 'over-fried' or 'fried-many-times' kind of hard. Disappointing, to say the least. Plus that brown sauce served on the side... I can't really figure out what it should have been. Both the taste and consistency is neither here nor there. I chose to dip the chicken meat in the (free-flow) BBQ sauce instead.

Have I ever mentioned just how much I love BBQ sauces? Plus, Charco's version is awesome! Wonder if it's their own creation or those off-the-shelves type?

The 3 salads

Clockwise from top, egg salad, Caesar salad (order this everytime WITHOUT FAIL) and tuna pasta (new favourite).

I think I can just keep coming back here for the salads alone, lah. Where else can I get cheap affordable and good decent and Halal salads under 1 roof?

Streats Hong Kong Cafe (Liang Court) - pt II

Here's moving on to Part 2 of the ♥Mother's Day♥ dinner…
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I'm not trying to gloat or anything like that but mums usually end up sacrificing their own whims & fancies to accommodate their lil' ones. That weekend alone, I had porridge for 2 days straight, just because I want to feed my son (or so I thought).

That Saturday, I got him a bowl of fish porridge at Banquet, Parkway Parade. Naturally, he ate barely 1/2 of it so it's up to me to finish up the rest. That portion isn't really enough to fill me up truly, yet I can't really order the 'Iga Bakar' (grilled spare ribs) that I've been aiming to get from the Sundanese food stall. That'll be too much already. Hmm...

Century egg w/ chicken congee - $5.80

Here at Streats, I ordered the above dish since it's already his dinner time. The portion wasn't as big as the one at Banquet so I thought that I might just get the stewed beef noodles that I wanted, should he finish at least half of this porridge (congee is the Cantonese way of calling it??).

After the first spoonful, he decided that my mum's beef 'hor fun' taste wayyy better and chose to share that with her instead. As for the porridge, well, no points for guessing who had to finish it up eventually. And forget about the dish that she intend to get for herself.

I have to admit that this porridge was a lil' on the bland side. Thankfully, there was an abundance of the chicken floss on the fried brinjal (in previous post). So I use bits of that to aid me in finishing up that bowl of porridge/congee.

Beef Hor Fun (Gravy) - $7.80

I seems that their 'hor fun' is quite a well-recommended dish and my mum didn't hesitate to order one for herself.

I can eventually see why. The gravy is nicely flavoured and the texture wasn't too gooey with starch. Since my mum ordered the beef version instead of the seafood, they make up for the lack of ingredients with the use of vegetables. Not that my mum mind.

HK Dumpling Noodle (Soup) - $6.50

As I've mentioned in part I, my dad was eventually convinced to order his own mains and he asked for something soupy.

I scanned through the menu and got him this simple bowl of noodles.

My brother deemed the broth 'refreshing'. The noodles were nicely springy and the wontons are similar to the ones with chili sauce, as seen in the previous post (my dad can't finish them all, saying that they're too 'filling').

Black Pepper Beef Fried Rice - $7.80

My bro claimed that he was tempted by a plate of fried rice ordered by someone who sat near the entrance. He wasn't too sure what variety of fried rice that was, so he randomly chose one from the fried rice selection in the menu.

His dish has got to be the plainest of the lot. Guess he can always rely on the appetisers to make things more exciting…

Chicken Floss French Thick Toast - $3.80

Apparently, someone declared that he still had room for more so I suggested ordering some desserts. I then come across a page on the menu where they were featuring the trademark HK thick toasts and showed them to my bro. He got really intrigued.

Err… more carbo, after the meal we just had? Then again, before this, he had to head straight to coaching the little swimmers, right after knocking-off from work so I guess the exhaustion kinda' make him hungry.

From the looks of it, it seem like he can't get enough of the chicken floss. It's funny, how they placed the butter on the chicken floss layer instead of directly on the warm toast. Maybe for presentation's sake? We eventually put the slice of butter right where it should be and let it melt a wee bit.

Ooh, I can't help think how this will make such a fantastic breakfast!

Mango Pomelo With Ice-cream - $4.50

Eversince I knew of this dessert's existence, I was eager to get some for myself.

Eventually got my big break when I came across a desserts stall at a certain hawker centre. For $2.50, it was reasonably priced and the hawker didn't skimp on the fruit bits.

This one here, seems like more mango essence is used, instead of puree from the actual fruit itself. And the mango + pomelo bits are lacking. My mum wasn't even aware there are pomelo sacs inside. Seems like there's more sago & 'biji selasih' (basil seeds).

The ice-cream just add some fancy touch to an otherwise, simple dessert. If the dessert is well-executed, I guess the ice-cream isn't even necessary.

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Whoa, can't believe I finally stepped into Streats HK Cafe, after passing by the branch at Downtown East dozens of times - each time telling myself that, "I'll dine here one day."

Sure, there are hits and misses. But the hits are well-worth coming back for. Although the pricing isn't really cheap, it's still affordable. This Mother's Day dinner set me back less than $90, with GST & svc. charge included.

Streats Hong Kong Cafe (Liang Court) - pt I

**First and foremost, I would like to apologise for the less-agreeable picture quality. The interior of the restaurant is a wee bit dark, plus the incandescent lighting used is on the slightly dim side.

If you have recognised my photography style by now, maybe you can spot which one of the pics were taken by yours truly and which one was taken by my bro, who helped out when I had my hands full with my toddler's antics.**

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Late on that Mother's Day afternoon, we were supposed to fetch my brother after he was done coaching some little swimmers in one of the swanky condos at Robertson Walk.

Weeks before he had told me of his discovery: A Halal Hong Kong restaurant at Liang Court. I assumed it to be Streats Hong Kong Cafe, as it recently got Halal-certified and told him that they have a branch at Downtown East, some 5 mins from my home.

However, he insisted that the place had some Chinese name so I guess it's another restaurant that recently got Halal-certified. Hmm...

So why wasn't I surprised when the place is INDEED Streats Hong Kong Cafe?! Pfft.

Thankfully, the branch here has a more 'chic' and 'posh' look so it seem suited for this special occasion. There's the lounge corner with the cushy armchairs, the dark wood veneer for the dining furniture, the similarly dark walls and dim, intimate lighting (photography nightmare!!).

Ok, moving on to the food…

Ice Lime Tea cooler - $3.50

This somehow come across like some Oriental-Italian soda because this drink is actually carbonated. Fizzy ice-tea with lime…? Bring it on, I say! Great for the scorching hot weather nowadays.

And as you can see, this drink is served in a medium-sized carafe. Good for sharing!

Lychee Aloe Green Tea - $3.80

I was surprised when my mum ordered a cold drink, for a change. I figured it out when the drink arrived and saw that there were also some wolfberries floating on that drink.

Maybe that's why. She loves those shrivelled-up, red berries. She always refer to them as 'Lycii', a lesser know scientfic name for the fruit which is otherwise known as Goji Berry.

Another drink that's great for the mercilessly hot weather. If green tea isn't enough, there are aloe vera bits and sweet (canned) lychee as well.

Iced milk Coffee - $3.00

My friend had recommend that I try their milk tea but I don't know why but I feel like having coffee instead.

My dad had the hot HK milk coffee ($2.00).

As soon as we took a sip of our respective drinks, I looked up to see my dad smiling. I can't help smiling myself. The coffee is done just the way we like it. Dark, rich, slightly bitter with a hint of mocha. Love it!

BBQ Chicken Pastry - $3.00

We had initially ordered the 'Siew Mai' and Fried HK Dumplings (potstickers). But they actually ran out of those. I almost ordered the egg-tarts but they cut me to it; to declare that unavailable too. Dismayed, we simply chose these 2 dim sum items.

I really don't recommend this one. This had been really dry. And I can hardly detect a hint of the BBQ chicken inside. Eugh!

Wanton w/ Chili Sauce - $4.50

Each wonton is generously filled with minced chicken and shrimp, not unlike a siew mai. However, siew mai is steamed while these dumplings are boiled.

The chili sauce that these dumplings sat in are more vinegary (sour) than I had expected. Not that it is a turn-off, it's just that I'm not use that that kinda' taste. Not yet, anyway.

Crispy Coriander Wings - $5.20

I had pretty high expectations when I ordered this dish. I can't help it when I saw the name of the dish in the menu.

As soon as the dish arrived, the sight of it alone already surpassed half of my initial expectations. Look at those crispy bits! There's an obvious *crunch* upon biting and the crispy batter seem to be somewhat spiced but I'm not sure if it's coriander.

Will surely order this dish again in the future.

Six Treasures - $7.80

My dad had initially requested this dish for himself (I think he wanted to eat it like some salad) but he was later convinced into getting for himself some soupy noddles.

And we forgot to cancel this order.

So we end up having a plate of lonesome veggies that doesn't really complement the individual mains that we got for ourselves. So we take bits of them veggies every now and then. It helps they they weren't over-cooked and still retain some crunch.

I was wondering about the name of this dish (the Cantonese has this habit of naming dishes after proverbs/idioms) so I sought to count the various 'elements/treasures' in the dish. There's 'bok choy', lotus root, carrot, broccoli, button mushroom & 'enoki' mushroom. Six different ingredients, alright.

Deep-fried Crispy Brinjal w/ chicken floss - $6.80

Now this dish is awesome! As a lover of everything eggplant/brinjal, I was curious as to how this dish is prepared.

Pieces of cut brinjal are dipped in slightly spiced batter and fried, tempura-style. Then they're topped with diced bell-peppers and onions before some chicken floss are generously heaped on top.

I love, love, love this dish! Even my bro got curious and tried. He can't stop himself from having more after that. And he supposedly despise brinjal so much that he never eat them. He got the cheek to remark, "So this is how brinjal taste like?" Hmmph!

Another dish that's worth ordering again. Maybe to be eaten with rice?

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I think I'll just stop here for now. I still have another 6 pics or so. Will save them for the next post.

So here we have the beverages and starters/appetisers. Next up will be our individual mains and desserts!

Look out for part II then!

Enak Rasa Seafood - More!

Ugly, but niiiice!

Been quite awhile since I last dined here with my family. I can never be thankful enough, to have a branch from the popular Rasa-Rasa Seafood opened so close to my parent's (also my former) place.

Thai-style fried tofu

My bro had wanted to order this particular tofu dish but it was already striked off the menu. So we randomly chose another tofu dish instead. Anything but the hotplate tofu, which had been ordered once-too-often.

Why haven't we discovered this dish before? This is awesome!

Tofu that's crispy on the outside and really soft inside, yet it doesn't disintegrate that easily. And that Thai chili sauce - sweet, sour & spicy… nice! Sooo gonna order this again when I come back here..

Deep-fried baby squid

This dish was pretty forgettable. We didn't even finish it. Not all the bits are crispy, though. Some ended up being chewy/tough.

But taste-wise, it was alright.

Kailan with beef

Very common dish. Nothing much to comment, except about those beef slices with this weird reddish hue. Tenderiser overload?

I wonder what it was marinated with, prior to being cooked. Seems like this beef is used for all the beef dishes so remind me to stick to chicken and seafood only. Thankyouverymuch.

Sweet & sour seabass

Ahhh... An eternal favourite with my family.

My mum used to prepare this quite often but since I wasn't around and my bro hardly eat at home, it became pretty rare.

So I was really, really glad when my mum chose this dish. I chose my favourite fish - seabass. Oh, the battered skin was done beautifully. Really crispy, despite having the sweet & sour sauce poured over prior to being served. I nibbled on every crispy bit, no matter which anatomy of the fish it came from. And the sauce taste homely. Nicely sweet and sour at the same time.

Will never forget this dish, evah!

Banana split!

There's quite a variety of beverages and desserts served over the drinks counter. But I sure did not expect this!

My parent's neighbour happened to dine at the next table and she was pretty taken in by my precocious toddler. Next thing we knew, towards the end of our meal, she jovially came by our table and serve this.

Quite a pleasant surprise, eh?

And the banana split, well don't keep your standards high, like expecting it to match up with that served at Swensen's. Otherwise, it's decently done. 3 scoops of ice-cream, 3 different flavours - strawberry, vanilla & chocolate; topped with crushed peanuts before being doused in a thick layer of whipped cream. And then, there's the chocolate sauce.

Not bad, eh? I wonder how much it was. Betcha' it's not even $5.

So there you go. Another episode here.

Mel's Drive-In @ USS

Finally got down to visiting Universal Studios Singapore. I've been holding back because of the un-opened Battlestar Galactica rides. To me, those rides alone are worth the (exorbitant) ticket price.

Most of us kinda' skipped breakfast, in our hurry to meet up in the morning. So come lunchtime, we were ravenous. Besides, I made sure I took those roller coaster rides before I really fill myself up.

With many Halal eateries available within the theme park, we were kinda spoilt for choice.

Eventually chose Mel's Drive In because it serve generic fast food items like burgers, fries & milkshakes so there won't be issues with any fussy eaters. It also has one the bigger floor spaces so that we won't have a hard time getting seats (we eventually waited for the coveted booth seats). And lastly, it also has a great view out to Hollywood Lake.

The interior reminded me so much like 1950's America. Gaudy colours, shiny chrome metals and leather booth seats. I somehow expect to have John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John to break out their 'Grease' hit: "You Are The One That I Want" while I was there (that's the 70's, I know). But they do have like live singing & dancing performances right outside, singing oldies to suit the atmosphere.

The cashiers, where we made our orders + payments were offset from the main servery counter. A good way to contain the queue and it's hygienic. Just so that the staff handling money wouldn't handle food at the same time.

Anyway, moving on to the food…

Chili fries

My cousin's order of chili fries. Not sure how much it cost though. She add-on this to her burger combo order.

They also have cheese fries! Something I'm gonna get (if I ever go back there).

Not sure what type of cheese they use but it was a pale shade of yellow and is almost translucent. Emmental cheese, perhaps?

Chicken fingers w/ Mel's special sauce - $5.50

Another cousin don't feel like having a burger or even a full meal so she asked for some 'finger food'.

I kinda like the flour they used to coat these chicken strips. Btw, that 'Mel's special sauce' is some sweet & sour tasting sauce; very tentalising.

Crispy chicken burger

This was a picture taken by my cousin, of her Crispy Chicken burger. Breadcrumbs!

Coke float - $4.90

We didn't see root beer float on the menu. So this was the next best option.

See that foam? That happen because they top-up more coke after scooping the ice-cream in. Not that I mind. Just don't look in to see how the ice-cream look like. Disgusting much.

Fries - $3.00

Thick-cut fries. I like!

Now if only they're served piping hot like in McD. I'll be sure to queue for more!

Mel's chocolate treat - $2.50 (add on)

This brownie + ice-cream dessert would have cost around $4 when ordered on its own. However, when we order it as an add-on to our combo, it'll only cost $2.50.

The catch? It comes together with your meal, so you gotta feast on this first or you'll end up with an ice-cream puddle at the end of your meal. Pfft.

The brownie's texture had been more cake-y than it was fudge-y, albeit more dense than a regular chocolate cake. And it wasn't served warm. What do you expect from a fst-food restaurant?

But it was very nutty. That, I like.

I heard that their apple crumble is pretty ok. They also have chocolate mousse cake, rite? Hope that'll be served appropriately cold.

"Shiok" burger

As soon as I saw the poster for this "Shiok" burger, I knew I had to get it.

The combo cost only $12.80 (u.p. $16.30).

Whoa!

Seems like I've finally met the burger of my dreams.

Spiced chicken floss, Onion rings, Turkey Bacon, Guacamole(!), Mel’s special sauce, 100% beef patty…

Not forgetting the regular cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato. And the beef patty seems thicker than McD's or even BK's. Maaaybe it's a 1/4 pound patty (I don't really know).

Wow.

I'm not sure about the chicken floss but having the turkey bacon AND guacamole already did me in. One heck of a messy eat but it's something I surely enjoy. Mmmm...!

I seriously don't mind paying the $5 to come into the park after 7pm, dine here and then view the fireworks. Definitely having that 'Shiok' burger again, simply because it live up to its name- imho.

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Other Halal-certified eateries @ Universal Studios Singapore:
- Celebrity Café & Bakery
- Oasis Spice Café
- Goldilocks
- Friar’s
- Casa Del Wild

Not bad, eh? Maybe to cater to the regional Muslim crowd. Now, if only the food here aren't THAT expensive!

Oh yeah. Since I'm on the topic of USS… Look what I got for myself!

A science lab-esque drinking flask from Fairy Godmother's Juice Bar!

That's at Far Far Away (Shrek) section of the theme park, btw.

'Act cute', I know. But I can't help it! This comes with a lanyard, too.