Chicken Champ

**First & foremost, pls be informed that this is merely my personal opinion and NOT some (official) review whatsoever. Read on with a pinch of salt, if you may.**

My mum had asked that we try out the 'fried chicken place' by the Nuradee brothers. She read an article about it in the papers.

Fried chicken? Of all things, why fried chicken? Instantly, Arnold's came to mind.

Chicken Champ

I hurriedly checked the web for any details pertaining to its location - and only came up with the online version of the newspaper article that published their story.

In my hurry to find the place (I was looking for the signboard), my parents, who were behind me actually found it instead. I don't see any signs. My bro told me that I overlooked the 'mascots' standing in front.

Namely the bosses themselves, the Nuradee brothers.

Live performance

When our food first arrived, the brothers seemed to be gearing up for a performance.

True enough, one of them started strumming and they soon belt out one top-40 hits after another. In both English & Malay.

I found a relative there with his SEVEN kids, son-in-law and grandchild; celebrating his wife's birthday. The brothers, upon knowing that; broke into a birthday song- sung in all 4 languages.

They also sang their own heart-rending song, in conjunction with Mother's Day (a week late, but nvm).

Their harmonious voices (which admittedly, I'm a big fan of) really whet our appetite as they perform right there. I was kinda 'paiseh' when eating because the mini-stage where they performed was right beside our table.

..Not to mention how I have to 'thicken my skin' to take these food photos.

The menu

As I browsed thru the menu, I can't help remarking to my bro, "Reminds me of Arnold's." Really! 80% of the menu seemed similar!

Well, I heard their current operations manager used to work for Arnold's...

The Trio set

Yes it's meant for 3pax. 5pcs chicken, coleslaw, mashed potato, fries and an 11" submarine (sandwich). All for ard $30++.

The veggies in the coleslaw are in much bigger chunks than those in KFC & Arnold's, thankfully. And more creamy.

But the mashed potato are also like that from Arnold's - hopeless!

When these arrived, my bro whispered back to me, "Eh, exactly like Arnold's.."

One just can't help comparing!

THE fried chicken

Drats. I forgot to request for NO drumsticks. My mum was quick to reach for the wing. My bro and I had to settle for those darn legs.

The flour could be more spiced and crispy. I find the taste here to be more comparable to those from Tenderbest or Do & Mi, albeit being less greasy.

Nonetheless, Arnold's still rock my boat.

Battered onion rings

I sure prefer my onion rings done this way, compared to those breadcrumbed variety (for my bro, this apply for fish & chips as well).

Needless to say, we enjoyed them.

French fries

The thick-cut shoestring type. The way I like them. Doesn't seem salted when it arrived at our table. Not that I mind anyway.

Loaded potato skins

I can't recall the name for these here. 'Potato Munchies'? Or something along that line.

Potatoes with most of their 'meat' scraped off, then dipped in batter before being fried. It's then loaded with our chosen fillings (varieties available are similar to those of the submarines). We chose Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Dengdeng & Tuna. They're then topped with squiggles of nacho cheese & mayo. Comes in sets of 3's or 6's.

We agreed that these are the best so far.
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They also serve rice with their chicken and there's also bolognese and seafood spaghetti. Not to mention spring chicken.

There's ice-cream for desserts. Also ice-kachang & chendol (but that time the ice-machine hadn't arrive yet).

At the end of it all, my family was pretty reluctant to leave because we totally enjoyed the brothers' performance (still ongoing when we left). But we gotta make way for other customers since the venue was pretty small and it was almost dinner time.

Imho, if you want good fried chicken (but equally less-than-appealing sides), go for Arnold's. Their fried chicken got oomph! But if you want fried chicken accompanied with good service and great live music; by all means, come to Chicken Champ.

Do check first, to see if the bosses are gonna sing that day.

Mother's Day Meal 2

This is soo overdue.

My mum had always wanted to come here but I can't see to see what the big deal behind this place is. Worse, I did have a meal here sometime back and the experience had been less-than-pleasant. All the more that I avoid coming here (so far it's only been the VC outlet).

And come Mother's Day this year, I ran out of ideas as to where to bring my mum. Then I recall her eagerness to come to Fig & Olive that one time so I decide to just give them another shot. I was contemplating between their numerous branches and settled on Vivo City (yikes, I know!) for its convenience.

I actually forgot to make a reservation until that very day. Thankfully, I was to dine there at 4pm, which was in between actual meal-times so we managed to secure a table. I informed them that I have a baby pram and they thoughtfully gave us a table near the entrance.
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We ordered one of their specialty platters (there's 2) but was later informed that they ran out of it. So I ordered the other specialty platter. No luck, too.

No surprise there. Considering it's Mother's Day and also due to their prime location, I'm not surprised if their turnover had been exceptionally high and food ran out fast.

But darn, I would love to sample the various things on their platter!

Maghribi Chicken w/ Olive Rice

"Herbs grilled chicken with Mediterranean style sauce serve with Olive rice..."

My mum's order. For once, she ordered chicken.

Honestly speaking, this reminds me of a Malay wedding. Namely, Nasi Minyak with Ayam Masak Merah.

But that is one heck of a Nasi Minyak. The rice was very fragrant and fluffy. My mum picked at the topping of olives but she eventually realised that they're aren't as bad as the ones that she's had before.

And that chicken dish was delightfully spicy with robust herb-y, tomato flavour. So not like the Malay version of Ayam Masak Merah. Maybe they really used Moroccan spices for this one. Delish!

Grilled Chicken BBQ Kebab

"Herbs grill chicken with BBQ sauce on mayo spread, onions and greens with choice of pita or herbs bun.."

I don't know if it's because my bro was watching his weight or he's skeptical of the food served at a Mediterranean restaurant (he dislikes Mediterranean food).
I was disappointed that he wasn't adventurous enough to try their gourmet sets. Not even the Fish & Chips. To me, this doner kebab is just sooo... common.

But to his advantage, a specialty restaurant should be able to transform something as simple as this into something really different. Or maybe it's just me, as someone who loves her sauces. They were pretty generous with the juicy chunks of marinated chicken that was drenched in the savoury BBQ sauce.

Zafira Zaytoon Steak

"Beef sirloin steak with Olive herbs, potato cilantro and fresh greens.."

My order and supposedly, one of their specials? I was gunning to order one of their steaks and I settled for this one cos' of that really Mediterranean-sounding name plus their side serving of baked potato, which I'm a big fan of.

The size of the steak got me kinda' taken aback. It's a tad small and thin, seriously. And the edge seemed to be where the tendon is and is kinda sinewy and tough. By the time I cut off that part, I ended up with an even smaller piece of meat. When asked about the done-ness, I was asked, "Rare, Medium or Well Done?"

I know that there are risks when I asked for Medium. The term medium, there are also medium-rare (slightly red/raw) or medium done (too cooked). Mine turned out to be medium-rare (50% reddish meat). Not that I really mind but I was worried if my dad got the same. He wouldn't have liked it.

The fresh garden salad appeased me a bit and that raw onion did go well with my slightly raw meat. I only picked at 3-4 olive bits before letting my dad relish in popping them into his mouth. He loves them olives!

The single potato was pretty small. So unlike the slightly bigger ones that I'm used to at Eatzi Steakhouse. I remember seeing in my cousin's photos that her friend had TWO of these small-sized potatoes on her plate. hmmph!

What's with the term, 'Cilantro Potato'? Where's the 'cilantro' aspect of it? Not a single green speck on it!

Figo Cyprus Steak

"Beef sirloin steak with fig herbs, fresh veggie served with choice of pasta or Olive rice..."

Sorry, but this plate was my dad's and it came out last so he was pretty ravenous by then and was not willing to co-operate with me to allow me to properly photograph his plate. Pfft.

Seeing my dad's plate made me regret my own order even more. His piece of meat was definitely bigger and come from a better part of the cow (more lean, less sinewy). And it came topped with fresh slices of figs! This dish should be the restaurant specialty then (has both Fig & Olive).

Seeing him relishing his meat, maybe the meat is done more to his liking (most likely, really Medium), thankfully.

And that clump of tomato-based pasta definitely looked more appetising than my 'cilantro' potato.
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One of the actual reasons why I was drawn to have a meal there was because of the pic that my cousin posted on Facebook; of the meal she and her friends had at Fig & Olive (Jurong Point branch).

I was pretty disappointed to see that the portions that they had were definitely bigger and slightly different. I'm aware that Fig & Olive do franchising and all but shouldn't they at least monitor to see that portions and servings are at least standardised throughout all their branches?
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Anyway, we ended our day with a picnic on the roof garden while munching on Yuo Tiao, Butterfly fritters and Ham Chim Peng (halal, from the stall in Food Republic) with perhaps hundreds other families out there. I dare say that at least 1/2 the crowd at Vivo City Mall that day pushed baby prams. And I'm no exception.

For once I enjoy being part of a crowd. These crowd of people who are out to let the women in their lives who are mothers; enjoy their day of celebration. These crowd of people where the women gladly display the prominent, yet unseen badge that label: MUM.

And for myself, who is celebrating my first Mother's Day as a mum, with my own mum - well, that day is indeed unforgettable.

Mother's Day Meal 1

Hubby's bro-in-law had arranged for a Mother's Day celebration dinner on that Friday night at Makmur Restaurant (PKMS Building). Our big group was seated at their private dining area on the 2nd level (didn't know that place exists!).

I've had my meal there before and wasn't that very impressed by their zhi char style, which I deem to have been done the 'Malay way'.

Tom Yam Soup

Tom Yam Soup is getting to be pretty boring. It's everywhere, isn't it?

And yet, there ain't many variations. Same old, same old. Next time, I'm gunning for either Mock Shark's Fin Soup or Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup.

Deep-fried prawns

There was a slight debate on our side of the table, as we wondered what actually is the method of cooking.

I strongly felt that it's Butter Prawns cos' I've had something similar at Bali Thai before. Aunt insist on calling it Breadcrumb Prawns (cos that's what it seem to look like to her).

Whatever it is, it's the best dish on the table to me. Like the cereal bits in the popular Cereal Prawn dish, I took scoopfuls of that crispy bits to eat with my rice.

Spicy Squid

I have no idea what style of cooking this actually was. Spicy and slightly sweet. Tasted almost like sambal sotong, except for this certain taste that makes it somewhat different.

Not bad. Know what would have been good to add here? Leeks. Thickly cut leeks that's stir fried with the squid ringlets. Yum!

Black Pepper Crab

They used the Sri Lankan Crabs here, albeit the small-sized ones. Maybe it's because this is a Malay zhi char place, but I half expect them to use blue or flower crabs instead.

The sauce isn't that bad and the crab meat is slightly sweet. But I much prefer the sauce of the Chili Crabs that came after this one (not phtographed- hands already dirty).

I miss those kind of sauces where the egg is slowly stirred in and still remain visible, in the form of thick strands. And the egg-y taste give a totally different flavour. That would have been really yummy!

Sweet & Sour Seabass

Pardon the poor picture quality, here. Like the crabs, it seemed like they only serve small-sized seafood. Wished that the fish was fried till much crispier. If I'm not wrong, this fish is still swimming in the display tank prior to being fried. So it's fresh. Hubby like this dish enough to finish the remnants of the fish (and even asked if there's anymore).

The sauce was alright. It hard to go wrong with a sauce as common as Sweet &
Sour, rite?

Good reason why I still post this pic is to show you the chunks of onion wedges. Look back at all my pics. The onions seem ubiquitous! And they sure could've cut them smaller! Myself, being a fan of onions, was silly enough to sample the onion from every single dish just to know how they taste like with different flavours. Hence the major case of dragon's breath, post-meal. Ugh!

Other dishes that's not photographed were the Chili Crab, Onion & Chili Omelette, Oyster Sauce Kailan & Kangkong Belacan. Free dessert was provided, in the form of a large bowl of fruit cocktail.

The food here is pretty decent, imho. But I much prefer my Chinese-style zhi char to be cooked by Chinese hands. Maybe it's such a stereotypical notion - a cliche even. But that way, it's more authentic!

more random eats

Oh fish! I really need to get inspired...

Individual photos call for them to simply fall into the 'random' category.

Grilled chuka idako

My sis-in-law ordered these Chuka Idako (seasoned baby octopus, done Japanese style) during a recent family chalet cum bbq. From what I remember, these things are usually eaten cold as a side dish. However seeing it all skewered up like that and the local tendency of preferring their food eaten hot; we grill it just like the satay.

Thing is, the seasoning that coat these baby octopus were on the sweet side so naturally sweet things burn pretty easily at the grill, even before they got crisp. :P

That got the elders got all curious about the 'red sotong'. But they taste good all the same.

Chicken chop

Ordered from one of those western food stalls at your typical neighbourhood coffee shop. This kinda' thing rocks. In fact, better that the western fare served in some pricey restaurants out there. Portion-wise and even in terms of the taste.

The fillet of chicken thigh, though a little inferior compared to the one from Western Chow; tasted a little more than just decent and is not dry. The sauce, though the amount appeared a little measly, carried the robust black pepper taste without much of its heat.

The coleslaw was so-so. The thin shoestring fries are so typical, you should know how they're like. That bun rocked btw. I love those soft buns!

Let's not get to that straight-out-of-the-can baked beans shall we. That one is hopeless, la (makes a pretty decent dip for the fries, though)!

Well, I shouldn't complain much when it cost all of $5...

Fish & chips

And this platter here is merely $4.50.

That price just seem so old skool, rite? And the length of that piece of bread-crumbed fish fillet is the diameter of the plate!

Not exactly a healthy meal for lunch but it works well when you crave for something... well... sinful. When you're stressed, y'know?

Chicken, mutton & beef tripe satay w/ the works

Satay bought from one of the better stalls at East Coast Food Centre. But it sure is weird should we be seated near a certain satay stall yet we bought from another? Or that we ordered seafood from a stall that also sell satay yet we bought satay from another?

Hmm...

Anyway, my hubby asked for mutton so we got that for our red meat option instead of the usual beef. Tasted a little gamey and more tough. I would really have preferred the beef.

Both the chicken and tripe meat were tender and well-marinated. I like that the satay here was cooked nicely. The meat was cooked through and tentalisingly charred at the edges.

Kinda' missed the ketupats that used to come with the satay instead of these slices of lontong that's becoming more of the norm nowadays. Where else can we get that aside from the satay stall at Haig Road?

Cereal Prawns

This was the only dish that we ordered from our favourite seafood stall - Adimann Seafood. That day my mum decide to go back to ordering the usual stuff from a stall that we used to frequent - Musa Ikan Bakar BBQ; to see what we've missed all this while.

I dare say that we didn't miss much. All of us agreed in unison that next time, we should just stick to Adimann. However, I'm curious about this Halal Chinese BBQ seafood stall on the other side of the food centre... I hope to give that stall a try someday.

Hubby first thought that we'll be ordering from that stall. From his expression, he seemed to have taken a liking the the food from there. Hmm...

Anyway, this has gotta be my favourite version of the now ubiquitous cereal prawns (available at almost all zhi char places!). A good reason is that they don't skimp on the curry leaves and chili padi. Also, they actually use the Nestle (Nestum) brand of cereal which is kinda premium in my book.

And mind you, they serve a pretty big portion for this one. That includes the size of the prawns.

seafood lunch

My colleagues and I, we finally got tired of the same old lunch foods from around our office area (colleague who drives was on looong leave).

We went to this Malay seafood (zhi char) stall nearby. Usually it's always those quick fry-ups stuff like the mee/nasi goreng, hor fun, chicken rice etc. However, that one time, we saw this group of people at the nearby table ordering the fried calamari and they looked so enticing that we reminded ourselves to order that, one day.

And one fine day, since the bosses aren't around, we decide to have a slightly-longer-than-usual lunch. And order that fried calamari with maybe the hotplate tofu. Simple, regular dishes at a zhi-char, aren't they?

deep-fried squid fritters

We looked high and low for 'fried calamari' on the menu signboard before finally telling the proprietress, "Sotong goreng tepung, yang garing tuh..." (batter fried squid, the crispy one...).

I figure out why we can't find the word 'calamari'. It's because they used only regular squid - namely, small and thin ones.

The ones here...The batter could have been a little bit more spiced, you know? And served also with mayo instead of a small platter of diluted chili sauce. If I make this at home, I'll make for myself; fresh wasabi mayo for dipping. Mmmm....!

The one I had at East Coast recently would have been more like it.

hot-plate tofu

One look and I know that it's gonna be a disappointment. Why was it that the silken tofu ain't coated with corn flour and fried, prior to being added to the gravy?

And the meager amount of egg at the base of the hotplate - so thin was it that it got too crispy and slightly burnt midway through tucking in.

And that reddish sauce... Shouldn't the gravy be oyster sauce-based and brown? The taste actually reminded me of the Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup - salty & sourish (heavy on the vinegar there). That's just so wrong, wasn't it?

Ok, lesson learnt. Next time, we shall just stick to those quick fry-ups or the chicken rice. Period. -_-

random eats

Eh, I almost forgot to post this. Been in draft-mode since... last week?

These are just random posting of foods from last week or so.

macaroni in creamy cheese sauce & mexican drumlets

Cooked a pot of this the night before, as requested by my bro; with some good-size tiger prawns for added flavour. He wanted to bring some to work early that morning. We ran out of his fave pasta, the penne so I used these humongous macaroni instead.

I only managed to grab a block of Kraft Cheddar cheese and a carton of full-cream milk from the petrol station late that night. I would have preferred some parmesan and evaporated milk so that I can make Mac&Cheese instead.

Anyway, I woke up only to be told by my mum that she and my dad had finished up the sauce. So I cooked another batch for myself. This time, I got pretty indulgent with my garlic & onion bits. Lazy to peel & clean them prawns so I just deep-fry these mexican drumlets as a side.

McD's Cinna Melts

The most talked-about and overrated item a fortnight ago. Or was it last month?

I ate it right after it was cooked and ended up scalding my tongue in the process. This is best eaten hot, when the sugar have not yet fully caramalised so it ain't that sweet.

Once it cool down, that's when the cloying-sweetness really kick in that you realise that this thing is just not worth the hype.

Cakes from Cedele

My lady-boss came in and joyfully remarked that she's bought us some cakes. I was crestfallen to see Cedele Depot's brown/orange box. Last I recall, their cakes ain't that very nice.

This time, she bought us the (L) Real Dark Chocolate Cake (choc. fudge cake with a hint of mocha flavour), (C) Chocolate Banana Espresso Cake (I don't recall any coffee taste with this one but I like the strussel on top), (R) Chocolate Truffle Cake (very rich taste!).

Ok, some of their cakes are pretty nice after all. Just hope my boss buy me the better ones next time...

mee soto

From that popular 'red-signboard' stall @ Adam Road Food Centre. 'Amirah & Nur Aniqah Mee Soto & Mee Rebus'. I finally cave-in after persistent urges from my foodie-of-a-colleague to give it a try.

Been a long time since I queued THAT long for my food. Those huge bagedils (potato patty) seem to be calling out to me while I was still in the queue. Of course I had to order those. Soto is not soto without the bagedil!

The free-to-scoop cili kicap (chili in soy sauce) in the big jar outside makes it tempting to just take a whole scoopful (doesn't help that they use a ladle) but I'm aware of my lower tolerance for spicy stuff nowdays so I controlled the urge and gingerly took a tablespoonful or so.

My verdict? Ok, more like MY MUM's verdict. She of pure Javanese descent, who had sampled a fair share of Soto (which is really Javanese chicken soup) in her 50+ years; declared its taste to be 'not-authentic'. She remarked that the soup had too many spices and she even detected the taste of curry powder in it, which is not right.

Real soto, she said; should have a robust chicken taste (free range or 'retired chicken is used to prepare the stock) and only a slight hint of spices.

Authentic or not, I have to agree with others who willingly queued for this stuff that it sure taste good. Especially on a cold, rainy afternoon. Shiok! The only issue is for me to have a personal debate with myself, whether to queue for this or the equally famous Selera Rasa nasi lemak the next time I'm there.

I want their chicken wings!!

TCC desserts

This was from ages back. Boss asked if we'll be interested in some desserts, post lunch.

:)

How can we say no?

TCC = ...

I like those. My take..?

This Cheesy Chick. That'll be me, for even attempting.

Snowy Espresso

My boss kept flipping the pages, going back and forth, determining his choice of coffee. His choice for coffee had been easy. Problem was the fact that he's at TCC. Do you have any idea how many varieties of coffee drinks they have?

After contemplating the size, flavour, mix etc... He chose one that came in the smallest of glasses. A single shot of espresso with caramel & cream - in a short SHOT GLASS. All of 3.5 inches tall.

Not that he hadn't been warned. There was this characteristically cute waitress who was over-zealous in her explanations & recommendations and she kept reminding him as to how small the portion for that one was.

ChocoNana Parfait

My choice of dessert.

A single scoop of chocolate ice cream at the bottom, with a layer of chocolate parfait, topped with a couple of chocolate biscuits, a stick of choux pastry and a fence of nicely-arranged sliced bananas with oodles of whipped cream. Oh, and that thin chocolate disc with the TCC logo.

Caramel Soy Pudding & Citrus Jello

A colleague's choice.

My first comment was that it looks like Creme Caramel. My boss remarked that it looked more like a flan. Well, it turns out that 'flan' is the general name for this wobbly custard (the milk replaced with soy) pudding, after all.

There's this jelly at the bottom of the martini glass that has a light citrus & gingery flavour. Then topped with more ooddles of whipped cream, cut strawberries, marshmallows and and stick of loveletter-esque wafer roll.

Dark Devotion

Another colleague's choice.

Warm chocolate lava cake topped with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and covered with this interesting-looking tuille with specks of black sesame seeds. Then there's dollops of berry compote on the sides, with fresh cut-strawberries.

My boss was eager too see the liquefied chocolate inside so he had the honour of doing the 'first cut'. The 'lava' flowed out alright, albeit a little to easily.

"Not cooked enough," he said. Here's coming from someone who had the 'best lava cake' whenever his friend got down to baking them.
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TCC do have great-tasting desserts alright. Not too sweet (very good - in my books). And given the presentation, one can see that they're meticulously prepared. And I like the variety of items available in a single serving.

Oh, with this dessert-outing, I finally got to use my TCC membership card after like... 3 years?? 15% off my boss's treat! =)

halo halo

Been a long time since my last update, eh?

Blame it on twitter! Micro-blogging never been so addictive (and convenient).

Check out my food-pic tweets until I find enough time to blog. Work is picking up in the office and I'm usually dead beat once home. Weekends, I'm away at my parents'.

Besides, the baby needs some time with mummy too; given that he's sometimes still asleep as she leaves for work and already asleep for the night when she comes back. boo hoo!

I know, I know... EXCUSES! I have tonnes of pic, I tell you! pfft!

from the kitchen

mi rebus

Out of the blue, my mum-in-law (MIL) thought of cooking Mi Rebus - literally translated as 'boiled noodles'. The gravy is made from either the stock derived from shrimp (dried) or beef. Then added with flavour given by 'tauchu' (preserved soybeans), peanuts and curry powder before being thickened with sweet potato (which gives that slight hint of sweetness).

My MIL used 'tetelan' (parts of beef that's close the the bones) as the base for this Mi Rebus.

Please note that this is the actual Malay version of Mi Rebus that one gets in either Singapore or Malaysia. Ask for this in certain parts of Indonesia and you'll be served in the soupy version of instant noodles. No joke. After all, those noodles are boiled too, right?

When that's the case, you can try asking for Mie Jawa or Mie Celor instead.

spicy grilled prawns

This was an ingenious idea by my MIL who was wondering how to cook the prawns that she just bought.

It's tough being a housewife isn't it? Everyday asking (my MIL's case, singing), "What do I cook today..?"

Then she saw the leftover sambal used to stuff the grilled 'cencaru' (torpedo scad) fish, from the previous dinner. Then she took the banana leaf that she brought back after staying over at someone's kampung (village) house. She placed the fresh prawns inside and covered them in the leftover sambal.

She then folded the banana leaf and wrapped the package in aluminum foil before putting it back into the fridge. Before dinner that evening, she tossed the whole package onto a hot pan and covered it.

And there you are.
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There's just something about home cooked meal, doesn't it? They taste so good and made with so much passion; yet we took them for granted, choosing instead to relish over foods prepared outside.

Guess it's because we paid for those food, that's why. Thus our eagerness to feel the worth of the money we spent.

Sigh... It always comes back to money, doesn't it?

lamb chop

I was seriously thinking of having Chicken Chop (from the western food corner) for lunch but was somewhat drawn to this Indian stall.

As I stared at the menu board, wondering what to order and it somewhat dawn upon me that the lamb chop is the closest thing to a western meal anyway.

lamb chop - Indian style

This plate here took quite some time to arrive. Seeing how meticulously the tomato & cucumber slices had been arranged, my colleague jokingly remarked tat she figured out why it had taken that long.

Other than that, this plate's nothing special anyway. The pieces if mutton tasted too gamey and were more fatty than I preferred. The sauce was suspiciously tinted a tad too reddish and was pretty salty.

Those fries were the typical shoestring type. Maybe they ordered from the same source as the neighbouring western food stall. The real deal would have been those homemade potato cuts/wedges made from the actual spud and slightly salted before being fried.

The saving grace were the fresh slices of tomato and the pretty runny sunny-side-up egg. As I've mentioned before, I like my egg to be somewhat half-done and this was just nice. I love to break the yolk into the remaining sauce towards the end and try to lap it up as decently as I could. Yum!

Oh another thing. Where's the peas? A decent Indian food stall would have rows of canned peas on display and use them peas in almost every dish!

Man, I sure miss the real deal from Haig Road or Ayer Rajah Food Centre...

BK with the baby..

.. was such a baddd idea. I'm talking about having a meal in there when it's just me and the baby, wrapped around me in the sling. NO pram.

Thankfully, I was in the right mind to order bottled water instead of soda dispensed into that cup with the flimsy cover. And bless my ego, I crazily refused the help from the guy at the counter to help me carry my trap. I really should kick myself.

The baby wasn't asleep either, so he was kinda trashing his legs around when all I want was to have a peaceful meal. So 1 of my arm was fixed around him the whole time.

Imagine me unwrapping and eating the burger, tearing open the packet + squirting chili sauce and opening the bottled water.. with 1 hand. Oh did I mention the kind of effort it takes to open the Hershey's sundae box??

I almost asked the 2 guys having a business discussion 2 tables away from me for help.

'Angry Whopper' Jr. meal + Hershey's Sundae Pie

Got into BK because I was somewhat yearning for their Hersey's Sundae Pie. Then I saw the promo poster for the 'Angry Whopper' and decide to give it a go.

And that point, I totally forgot that I have a baby hanging beside my torso. Until I had trouble carrying the tray and the counter guy gave me an alarmed look. Right then the bottle toppled over (luckily it's a bottle!) and he volunteered to go around the counter and help me carry my tray.

I looked behind and saw a queue. Last thing I need was to have people cursing me & my baby for holding their time so I kindly refused his offer.

Despite struggling with the baby and the tray of food, I chose the table at the very most end (imagine the relief when I finally put the tray down!). I don't want people to see the mess I'm gonna make for myself.

'Angry Whopper' Jr.

Apparently, there are 3 levels of 'anger', which kinda define how much heat you want in your burger. Right then, I have NO freaking idea what it was that makes the burger spicy, anyway. And my tolerance for spiciness had dwindled so I was somewhat apprehensive.

"Is it really spicy?" I asked. He assured me that, "It's NOT SO.." and recommend the mid-level (Frustrated).

Imagine, in my curiosity to see what an 'angry' burger look like; what with me fumbling to unwrap it with 1 hand and all I saw were merely the rings of fresh red chillies that did it.

Just. That.

How 'innovative'! How... boring. There's lettuce, tomato, onions and now chillies. Wow! Salad in a bun! Pfft!

Hershey's Sundae Pie (Packaging)

And then, there's the reason why I came here in the first place.

Hershey's Sundae Pie

Alas! After all the anticipation, my pie was all soft and no longer cold by the time I'm done with my main meal and struggle with the box.

And I was wondering why the heck I'm yearning for this pie even. I finally remembered how sweet it is. Totally missing the mudpies from Island Creamery, Swensens & Coffee Club.

Eh, all my sweet-tooth pals. My partners-in-dessert-crimes... You reading this?

cbtl brekkie

That morning, I set out to Downtown East alone in search for McD's Deluxe breakfast. Thing was, I'm alone and my self-esteem's nowhere up there when I'm gonna eat alone so I was hoping and hoping that McD won't be crowded..

Fat chance! I got jittery as soon as I saw that there's no available seats left. So I went for my 2nd option. KFC. Also packed. Huhu...

Well, it's Sunday morning after all. I really thought people won't bother to wake up early on a rainy morning like that... ):

I gave BK a miss since I've had their breakfast recently and settled for the last option, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL), which was almost empty. ahhh... Comfort at last!

salmon & egg muffin set

Of course, with coffee. Okay, I'm not sure of the name for the sandwich, there but it goes along that line. There's smoked salmon, there's egg in between muffins! Sounds a bit like something from McD, doesn't it?

Initially, I thought of their Break-O-Day set but I remembered not being impressed by it. I've already had the Egg Benedict previously. Then I saw the word, 'smoked salmon' and I finalised my choice. I love salmon - be it smoked, sashimi, breadcrumbed or teriyaki.

up close, inside

I've always wondered how the staff at CBTL prepared the food when they don't have stoves. By now I figured out that they used the microwave oven. Even for the eggs.

Yeach!

I thought for sandwiches like this, the egg is supposed to be soft and runny (albeit slightly)? That-was-one-overcooked-egg. I dislike having my egg overdone. Oh, I don't know how I could have tolerated such dry yolk.

If not for the salmon, salad and coffee, I would have discarded this. And I'm not one to waste my food.

All in all, it's quite a healthy breakfast...

And I'm still thinking about McD's Deluxe brekkie!

nasi lemak @ KTM

I happened to be in a hardworking mood that day. Drove from Bedok to Pasir Ris and send Hubby to work, then managed to reach Redhill from Changi North in 15 mins. To fetch my bro, since I'm sleeping over at my parents' that night.

Strange but true- bro was actually hungry (there goes his diet!) and suggested going to KTM. Ok, those in the unknown, 'KTM' refers to Tanjong Pagar train station. KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu) is the name of the company that govern over that building and the train services. So youngsters & yuppies simply refer to that place as 'KTM' for short, esp. when talking about the eating haunts in there.

When we arrived at the carpark, we saw a commotion at the small hill near the HDB block opposite. I saw the Police truck and told my bro that the vehicle is used when there's an animal to be caught; usually snakes. True enough, they were carrying the contraption meant for trapping snakes and a gunny sack...

Anyway, we went to the older eating house and I was looking forward to their freshly-fried vegetable fritters (bakwan sayur) but they ran out of it. Oh, we arrived at 10+pm and that place is almost full! Singaporeans do eat round-the-clock don't they?

That's when I saw the queue at this stall.

dishes on display (check out the signboard!)

And that signboard did me in. I may be pretty full but I suddenly felt like sharing the nasi lemak with my bro after seeing the the word 'panas'. Plus, the array of food on display looked tempting!

Bro was hesitant at first. Nasi lemak at such a late hour sure isn't good for the system (he's watching his food after all). But I coaxed him into it by pointing at the freshly-fried chicken wings (his weakness!).

Needless to say, he joined the queue. =)

Since the place was pretty full, my bro ordered a take-away and remarked that he will feast on it right at our flat's void deck.

When we stepped out, we saw the policemen on the other side of the road, where the block of flats are. Seems like the snake managed to cross over! The python was fairly big-sized, like the sized of a man's arm. And the person to stuff the snake into the sack was this old ah-pek (chinese man) wearing a motorcycle helmet.

"Like in the kampung!" my bro said. The old man must be reliving his kampung (rural village) days by partaking in the snake hunt!

my bro's packet of nasi lemak

Well, yes, as soon as we reached the seating area under the block, he opened up the packet. Very hungry, I guess. Sorry that I don't bother to tidy that packet up a lil' bit. As you can see, my bro already start tucking in when I was snapping this shot!

All that's chosen was my pick actually. I was so enthusiatic at seeing all the various dishes (hey, I'm one for variety!) that I pointed out, "That prawn fritter! Wah, looks good. The paru (beef lungs) looks crispy. Of course the chicken wing! Oh, the egg! Don't forget the egg!"

And I saw the ikan-bilis & peanut mix (my bro's own pick). Finally, the ubiquitous cucumber slices and sambal. All for $4.70. Not bad, rite?!

The sambal is good. They didn't use the instant pre-mixed chilli 'boh'. Can easily taste the grounded dried chili paste and it's only a lil' spicy. I can't believe they gave 3 big pieces of that prawn fritter. And the paru was nicely spiced and not chewy. And the omelette was thick and filled with loads of onions. And all the stuff I picked still remained crispy and warm. And sedappp!

I thought that's it's pretty incredulous to see so many dishes just for nasi lemak alone. My bro informed me that the person in front of him in the queue ordered white rice. Oh, I see....

I'm sooo going back there for that nasi lemak! And I'm gonna dine in!

adimann seafood

After the previous unsuccessful attempt to have our meal there, we come back with more resilience. Brought along a distant relative who's based in Blakang Padang (10mins boat ride from Batam). We took him sight-seeing at Changi Airport and was pretty hungry by then.

Despite it being a weekend, we came to East Coast Lagoon Food Centre at ard 4pm, so it's pretty easy to get a parking lot and our desired seating (the gazebo that faced the lagoon).

coconut drink

A refreshing, cooling drink for that hot afternoon. It came with ice-cubes inside. Seeing the warning look on my mum's face (iced drinks not good for women who just gave birth), I hastily fished them out.

Honestly speaking, I'm glad the ice was in there long enough to chill the drink a bit. It's a hot afternoon after all.

beef & chicken satay

Starters. Hah!

How can one resist ordering when nearly all the stalls have someone furiously fanning away at the charcoal grill? The aroma of freshly-grilled (marinated) meat and slightly charred scent in the air...

fried calamari

Highly recommended by my colleague whom I recommended the stall to. The previous time I was here, I had the cereal prawns (which was superb, btw). This time I ordered this. The calamari was fresh, nicely springy and come in fairly-sized pieces. The batter was nicely-spiced and crispy.

But don't take too long to finish this or the batter will get soggy over time.

ikan bakar - grilled fish

My mum was hemm and hawing as to what fish to have as she scanned through the fresh catch on the ice-bed. I can see that she was tempted to have the lone red grouper.

So I said, "The red one looks good..."

Immediately, she pointed at that fish. Heh.

The fiery-red sambal that's spread over the fish wasn't that spicy after all. Love that cinchalok in that tiny saucer, there.

veggies

The ubiquitous kangkong belachan & kailan in oyster sauce.

fish soup

I don't say I regret ordering this but I felt that this dish was unnecessary. The other soup available is the tom yam and we were in no mood for anything spicy after the ikan bakar.

I think they used either the sea bream or the red snapper. Thick cuts of fish fillet which I sadly can't appreciate because I was pretty full by then.

Ah, well...
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My dad kept raving and raving about this stall. How the food is fresh and tasty. And the prices are reasonable, too.

I still can't forget their cereal prawns....