Helping out my cousin who's currently studying at a university in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. He conduct 'Ibadah Korban' (animal sacrifice) in Mekkah during Eid al-Adha annually.
'Aqiqah' (sacrifice of an animal on the occasion of a child's birth) is also welcome.
His name is Dzulqarnain and can be contacted on his mobile at +966 546789085 or through his email at dzul_kebab@hotmail.com for bookings and details.
Preferable to register before 25th October 2012. A verification certificate will be given after the procedure is done.
I've been hankering for a good ol' fish sandwich (or burger as you may call it) since the past few days. I guess I can attribute it to me just getting sick of Malay food in general, considering I've been gorging on those since Raya Day 01.
And by 'fish sandwich', I'm referring to those battered fish fillets and not the el cheapo, supermarket-bought, breadcrumbed ones. Yeah, yeah... Being picky, I know...
I almost bought the Fish Wrap from Long John Silver and by gosh, thankfully, I didn't. Honestly, their batter seemed to be harder and saltier nowadays. Plus I don't like their wrap. I much prefer the corn-dusted buns which they used previously.
Menu board
Anyway, I recall that there's a Fish & Co Express at Downtown East- some 10 mins walk from home. And the food fared wayyyy better. Oh, did I mention that their pricing is more value-for-money (burger value meal comes at $5.95)?
Plus, I totally adore the varieties that they offer. Burgers, seafood sets, spaghetti/rice sets, mixed platters and snacks. There's even their 'international' range of Fish & Chips. And there's not just seafood. For eg, their burgers; there's also chicken, veggie and even Philly cheese steak! And their platters comes with either nachos or rice. Whoa!
I really, really hope that they won't partake in drastic cost-cutting measures where they slash many items off the menu to minimise the available options. That would have been really sad. :(
My only gripe was that they use those generic, thin shoestring fries, unlike those thick ones served at their main restaurants. Well, what can we expect?
Fish chowder
They have the 'soup-of-the-day' option and somehow it's always Fish Chowder whenever I'm there. I really wonder, what other soups do they serve besides this?
But this soup wasn't as starchy as those serve at other fast-food outlets, thankfully. And when eaten warm, it's most comforting. Comes with bits of dory fish inside.
Fried calamari
Something that I never fail to order when here. Be it at Fish & Co. or their express outlets. I just love their generous cuts of calamari and the batter used to coat them!
...Scrumptious!
Famous fish burger
I only had my eyes on this, prior to making my order. I'll excuse the fact that the bun wasn't those corn-dusted, sourdough kind because the thick slab of battered fish fillet was awesome! There's cheese and surprise, surprise... onions! So all you onion-haters, you'd better ask for them to omit that pet peeve of yours when ordering this.
You can also check out this pretty informative article for more details. And HERE is their FB.
Fish & Co. Express
No.1 Pasir Ris Close #01-40B
E!Hub at Downtown East
Singapore 519599
They have branches at NUS & Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital too.
Disclaimer: The term 'Geylang Ramadhan Bazaar' in this case, refer to that tiny section at the very end, where Northlight school is. The area close to Kg. Ubi CC. Where the famous 'Aniz' set up their hee-yuuge stall.
I'll be personally amazed if I ever ventured to the whole of Geylang Bazaar on my own. Even in the search for great food. Because I make it a point to never venture there. Last year, I didn't even bother. The year before, I only walked through the area close to Paya Lebar MRT, in search for male 'Baju Kurung' (traditional Malay garb).
Which is also the reason why I'm doing so this year. Hubby strangely refused to buy a pair of those even when I'm already purchasing one for the kiddo. And he fell sick on his following day off, leaving me to purchase a pair for him after work one day. Pfft. There was only a handful of people when I reached there before Maghrib (the evening prayer call). I was honestly embarrassed to be walking around there alone, when everyone else came with their partner, friends and even family. Doesn't help that I was wearing a bright red top with matching bright red shoes. Haihh... By the time the prayer call came on and everyone scrambled for their first bite of food or first sip of drink, I was still walking around, clueless as to what to proceed with next.
Bought myself a bottle of 'Air Katira' (rosewater-scented milky drink with basil seeds & 'pong tai hai' or 'buah semangkuk'). Cold, refreshing drink that immediately alert my senses. I decide to grab a bite and wonder what will be suitable for me to munch on the go.
And I saw my favourite bazaar food item - Takoyaki! Ball-shaped Japanese snack that start off with having only octopus meat as filling (hence the name 'tako' balls) and soon evolved to have other food items inside, i.e shrimp & ham+cheese.
As I ordered my favourite 'tako', I saw that this particular stall also have an additional variety for the filling - Chilli Tuna! My favourite!!! For your info, this flavour is spawned by the 'Ayam' brand of canned tuna where tuna flakes are marinated in chilli oil with WHOLE pieces of fiery red 'chili padi' inside.
Chilli tuna Takoyaki
With 2 boxes of piping hot takoyaki, I then wondered, where can I feast on these? I saw clusters of people gobbling up their food as they squat around outside the tentage. Ermm.. I'm too shy for that. I saw some seating area at the very end but there was NO ONE there.
I decide to just munch as I walk around and I thought that I was being smart when I chose to walk inside where the small stalls selling non-food items were. Besides, most of the stall hands/owners were also busy eating or praying. they won't mind me (I guess).
What I didn't know was that these balls were really, really hot. Almost scalded my tongue, there. And they were big! Bigger the the ones we normally get at those regular 'pasar malam' Takoyaki stalls. Like, if the one we usually get were around 3cm diameter (estimate) this one here was a whole 1cm bigger. I was struggling to take a whole bite on each ball. Eventually settled on 2 bites each and boy, was it a messy affair! Doesn't help that they were generous with the bonito flakes, mayonnaise & sauce (which is a good thing, btw).
And that chilli tuna Takoyaki were da bomb! Spicy tuna flavour bursting with every bite which goes darn well with the mayo-sauce-bonito flakes combo. Om nom nom...
Now, where do they set up stall next?? I really should have taken a good look at the lady who made these!
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Eventually bought my hubby's garb from Joo Chiat complex across the road. I crossed back to Geylang Serai market to take a cab and decide to buy some chips for Raya goodies at my in-law's place. that's when I realise that I should at least make an attempt to check out the burger stalls (another favourite bazaar food item).
Having walked to and fro that 'food lane', I'm aware of the generic burger stalls that offer the same fare. No one seemed interested in burgers that night so no one seem to be patronising these stalls. I also don't feel like being the first one to walk up and order. However, as I crossed the small road from in front of the old Singapura theatre, I noticed the signage for some 'Jumbo Burger' and got curious.
This stall, managed by Charisma Catering (I recognise them to be a bridal services company) sold limited food items, amongst which were the Jumbo burger and 'Ayam percik'. I looked at the burger grill and saw these…
Check that out!
Were those handmade beef burger patties??! Needless to say, I was sold. Immediately asked the guy behind the grill, "Bro, are the Jumbo burgers available?"
Nevermind the fact that I was their only customer at that moment. Need to brush my apprehension aside. I-must-try-that-homemade-burger-patty!
Ordered 2 burgers for hubby and myself. Didn't even bother asking him if he want any. I just told him that I got him a burger. :)))
Jumbo burger
Just look at that! Jumbo enough for you?
Handmade beef patty with lettuce & tomato and sunny side-up egg, melted cheese, mayo, chilli & black pepper sauce. Only for $4.50.
Everybody say, "OH YEAH...!"
Ayam Percik
Saw the 'Ayam Percik' on display (that same stall). It is actually grilled chicken coated with spicy peanut sauce.
Looks authentic enough, with the chicken wing being stretched out and held between 2 sticks and tied with aluminium wire. Very rugged. Looks like effort was being put in to grill the chicken meat well. Besides, the meat looks nicely grilled with char-marks in the right places. And from the colour, I can tell that it was decently marinated.
Upon ordering, they take the chicken wings and dipped them into a pot of the spicy peanut sauce thats bubbling away on a stove.
I'm not sure how they prepared the chicken. There are some who bast the chicken meat with the peanut sauce as they were grilling the meat (preferably over charcoal fire). Then the sauce will caramelise over the heat… Mmmmmph! And these chicken wings were delish! The marination was already nice. Plus that yummy peanut sauce? It's awesome! Makes waking up for 'sahour' the next morning very worth it!
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Aside from those, I also joined the queue for 'Twist Potato', a franchise of those deep-fried potato swirls on skewers that originate in S.Korea..
You can check out the video here.
I chose the small stick with 'chilli' flavour, where the crispy potato was rolled around in chilli powder, prior to serving. There were also BBQ & cheese flavour.
Also it'll be best if I can simply bite-off from the skewer, I know it won't be a nice sight so I simply pell them off the skewer as I munch along while looking for Hubby's baju kurung. And I made a mental note to NOT TOUCH anything as I peel & munch along. I don't wanna leave chilli powder stain on anything (esp. clothes)!
So there, my pathetic adventure of wandering around a tiny corner of Geylang Ramadhan Bazaar... But I got what I want and most importantly, I love them. However, I do wish I got companions who can join me to try those piping hot Belgian waffles made on the spot, the brownies from Breeks and the handmade chocolate.
After my kiddo's swimming lessons which obviously went past the scheduled time, (given that the kiddo refused to leave the pool) our rumbling tummies put us on an urgent quest to get get them filled; with our favourite food, no less.
Eventually settled on Seah Imm Food Centre since it's pretty much nearby Delta Swimming Complex.
There I was contemplating between what I've always had whenever I'm there- Thaksin Beef Noodles or to finally try the famous Aspirasi Chicken rice.
The odds finally fell in favour of my chicken & rice-loving son so I ordered the Sambal Chicken Rice from Aspirasi, to be shared with him (the sambal was more for me, ok?).
Aspirasi sambal chicken rice
My 1st time trying food from the famous Aspirasi. My bro was the one who ordered from their stall and when this arrived, I was like, 'Whoa!" Those crispy bits look good!
But seriously, I eventually didn't get too crazy about those crispy bits anymore . They are after all, greasy.
This Sambal Chicken Rice was highly recommended and I can't help raving about its awesome sambal (chilli paste). I let my mum have a taste and she too, agreed. Just the right amount of heat and sweetness. And I like that it's a tad runny, so there's enough to go around.
The rice was kinda fluffy and goes down well with my kid. So much so that my bro had to contribute sme of his rice.
My bro had the Black Pepper version and the taste wasn't too bad too. Some recomment the fried rice with chicken. Hmm... Next time, I guess.
Thaksin Beef Noodles My dad had the norm. Kway Teow 'Value'. Where the soup contain beef brisket, tripe, fresh lean meat with kang kong, bean sprouts and garnishes like fresh cilantro and basil leaves.
My mum prefered a smaller portion so I got her the 'Standard' version, where they omit the fresh lean meat for a dollar less.
This being their original branch, the seem to more or less maintain their regular standards. Elsewhere, there seem to be a decline, especially in terms of their presentation. :(
Some nice pics from the time when hubby's aunt informed us of her son's invitation to come over to his workplace some time in mid June (yes, I obviously lagged behind in my updates).
The kids had a whale of a time swimming away at the infinity pool at the top of MBS. My helper was more than happy to jump in and mind the kids (while putting to good use, the swimwear that my mum gave her).
And I went trigger happy as I walked back and forth the whole area, going ooh-ahh over the magnificent views from up there.
The stretch of infinity pool
Gorgeous!!
The kiddie pool
My kiddo's haunt for that day.
The infinity pool
Spot Bukit Timah in the distance?
Jacuzzi with views facing the other side
This is the view that remind me just how much I miss the sand & surf of Gold Coast, Australia.
MBS shadow
...Over Gardens By the Bay
Parachuters
Headed over to the Sky Park; right on time to catch the parachuters jumping off, for the NDP rehearsal.
Sun set at the Sky Park
Managed to catch the gorgeous sunset views, when we're THAT high up. Awesome!
