Looking for a serene place for lunch or dinner amidst the bustling city hall precinct? The historic building of Chijmes offer many dining options yet, this particular modern Australian cuisine restaurant stood out for me. The pastel interior of this restaurant exudes a relaxing vibe. Dressed in shades of pinks, forest greens and vibrant blues, the three distinct yet cohesive dining rooms, evoke a sense of home. You won’t feel the pressure to uphold certain etiquette like in other fine-dining restaurants. With a tinge of feminine touch that leans towards hopeless romantics, this restaurant is perfect for holding intimate bachelorette parties, ROM ceremonies, as well as, being appropriate for couples celebrating anniversaries or just a simple date night.

Creative owner-chef, Sam Aisbett, is very meticulous, not just with regards to the taste and appearance of his food. If you look ahead upon entering Whitegrass restaurant, you’ll be enchanted by a wall mural depicting Chef Sam’s love for the nature and its raw beauty. The mural illustrates some of Chef Sam’s personal experiences in obtaining sustainable ingredients and seafood that he uses in his kitchen. Can you spot him embarking on foraging trips to the woods, beaches and mountains, gathering pine mushrooms, chickweed and fennel?

The hand-painted mural is aligned to the name of the restaurant – Whitegrass – which represents the omnipresence of nature; the idea that nature is free of geographical limitations. On the other hand, “Whitegrass” also represents a blank slate and a fresh start for the young Australian chef. Chef Sam’s interpretation of Modern Australian cuisine is a true reflection of his personality and culinary style, combining carefully sourced native Australian ingredients, local Asian produce and Japanese influences.

Chef Sam’s love for food developed since he was a child. Born to a family of butchers and citing his mother as one of his greatest culinary influences, he was inspired by her natural talent in the kitchen. Having worked for two of Australia’s leading chefs – Peter Gilmore and Tetsuya Waku – Chef Sam’s creations showcases the inherent beauty and purity of the finest seasonal produce and incorporates differing textural elements into a dish. Chef Sam has even begun to experiment with urban farming inside the restaurant, cultivating cress, nasturtium, pea sprouts and sea succulents as garnishes for his elaborate plates.

To kickstart lunch, sourdough bread was served. Freshly baked in-house, the sourdough bread-making process takes up to three days from beginning to end. Served with a quenelle of Echire butter from France and Australian sea salt sourced from a family-run sea salt farm in South Australia, you can’t stop at one slice. I always felt that butter sourced from overseas, especially European countries, tastes much richer than the ones we have in Singapore!

At the mention of Bibimbap, most of us would immediately imagine the colourfully-filled hot stone-pot. However, the Amuse Bouche Bibimbap served at Whitegrass is distinctively different. Chef Sam made use of Nori cream, made with crème fraiche and nori. The colourful ingredients, made to resemble an actual bibimbap, consists of compressed cucumber sphere, cured trout roe, chrysanthemum petals, puffed wild rice, toasted nori, cherry bell radish and dashi jelly. I simply love the mix of crunchy and jelly-like textures, especially when the cured trout roe bursts juicily in my mouth.

Being a huge fan of sashimi, I was ecstatic when the sashimi of yellowtail amberjack was served. Caught in the Japanese region, Chef Sam sliced the fresh yellowtail amberjack delicately and dressed it in a white soy marinade with kombu, bonito and bonito oil. The fish encases a horseradish cream made simply by incorporating horseradish, crème fraiche and sea salt. Egg yolks are salted for three days, rolled out and cut into discs. You can tell how much thought Chef Sam has put into creating a dish, just looking at the plating. Doesn’t the yellowtail amberjack sashimi look beautifully decorated with the help of Japanese red radish, Japanese baby cucumber, shiso flowers, nasturtium leaves, egg yolk discs and a toasted seaweed oil infused with dry Japanese nori?

You haven’t seen the prettiest dish yet! This is a salad of slow roasted young beetroots, smoked eel and rosella jam. Target and Chioggia beetroots sourced from Victoria, Australia, are used and the beets are simply roasted, peeled and dressed with muscatel vinegar while warm. The beetroots sit on a bed of cultured cream with smoked eel from Holland. Rosella jam is made with a hibiscus flower originally from Africa but sourced locally in Singapore. The flowers are cooked down with sugar, sherry and sherry vinegar and you’ll get the end product – rosella jam! Garnished with a duo of crisps for an additional layer of texture, the first crisp is made from beetroot juice and barley while the second crisp is made from sushi rice and eel skin pepper. This is so impressive! Personally, I love the crisps! The dish is topped with grated Australian mountain berry from Tasmania.

My lunch got better and better when the Western Australia marron arrived. Freshwater marron from Western Australia is poached lightly in butter before serving with desert lime, picked cucumber that is pickled in-house in sushi rice vinegar and grilled cucumber seared on a plancha, young garlic cream, breakfast radish and beach bananas. Are you going, “HUH?!” Basically, beach bananas aka salty fingers are edible leaves that are grown by Chef Sam in his urban cultivator. The dish is completed with cucumber flowers.

Here comes the highlight of my lunch – slow cooked Mangalica pork jowl and jade tiger abalone with fermented cabbage! Mangalica pork comes from a special breed of woolly pig from Hungary! It is slow cooked in a salted brine overnight and gently poached in clarified butter before serving with jade tiger abalone from Victoria, Australia, that is poached similarly in clarified butter. The pork was velvety smooth and melts in your mouth. It absorbs the flavourful seaweed and pork broth poured tableside from a cast iron tea pot so well. The lightness of the broth cuts through the richness of the pork. Combined with fermented cabbage, a Japanese variety of turnips sourced from Melbourne and garnishes such as blanched fiddlehead ferns from Japan, hasu-imo (inner stalks of Japanese lotus yam) and white snake gourd flowers, the overall taste sends you straight to foodie heaven!

The final dish before desserts were served was this grass-fed Black Angus beef tenderloin from the Scottish Highlands. After being cooked over bincho-tan charcoal (white charcoal), the beef is rubbed with a high quality, lightly roasted white sesame oil and sits on a fermented mushroom puree that is made with Swiss brown mushrooms and fermented shitake mushrooms. It is served with wilted wasabi leaf, salsify shimeji mushroom caps, ice plant tips and a crispy rice lace that is seasoned with charcoal and shitake powder. Done medium-rare, the beef was tender and succulent.

Here’s a surprising fact! This beef was specially curated to complement a rare 20-year-old soy sauce called Kamebishi Shoyu. The soy sauce is from Kagawa prefecture in Japan and made by a family-owned company that has been around since 1753. It is one of the oldest soy sauce companies in Japan and the only one that is making soy sauce the traditional way using mushiro-koji. The soy is left to age in 200-year-old cedar barrels. Chef Sam specifically sourced for this soy sauce and built a dish around it! It is served unadorned to accompany the meat. Due to its super strong flavour, I recommend just a teeny weeny dip!

Desserts are a girl’s best friend! At Whitegrass, Chef Sam has infused local flavours from tropical fruits into his ice cream. Inspired by his visits to our local markets, Chef Sam pairs a feathery light coconut mousse with a jackfruit ice cream and ginger cake. I really enjoyed the morsels of ginger sponge that cuts through the fruits’ sweetness and brings an unexpected punch to the combination of sweet, tropical flavours. Once again, you get many different textures in a dish, which takes the form of milk biscuits, meringue, caramelized almonds, macarons, sugar shards and young coconut flesh. Edible flowers is used to beautify the dessert.

Besides the young coconut mousse with jackfruit ice cream, Chef Sam also created petit fours – Manjar blanco Alfajor and raspberry snowball. The former is created based on both Chef Sam and head chef Diego’s tributes to their home country. Head chef Diego is from Peru and created the delicate cookie sandwich filled with Dulce de Leche, made with condensed milk, caramelized sugar and vanilla bean. The latter was inspired by Arnott’s Royals Chocolate. The snowball comprises of a layer of chocolate brownie with almonds, followed by marshmallow with raspberry jam. It is then coated with 66% Valhona dark chocolate. What a sinfully sweet indulgence!

At Whitegrass, you’ll be able to gain an unforgettable experience putting all your five senses to good use! I was extremely awed by the gorgeously curated dishes and my tastebuds “struck gold”. Combined with lively and personable service in a relaxed environment, this is a restaurant worth returning to if you want to feel at ease while enjoying elegant and refined food, no matter the occasion. 2 course lunch menu costs $48++, 3 course lunch menu costs $64++ and 5 course lunch menu costs $135++. 5 course dinner menu costs $170++. Optional wine match at additional $90++. 8 course dinner menu costs $255++ and optional wine match at additional $125++.

The post Whitegrass Restaurant – Modern Australian Fine Dining at Chijmes appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Having just rolled out an all-new weekend brunch menu curated by Texas native Chef Randy Torres, Oriole Coffee + Bar is indeed a perfect spot for catch-ups with friends and families on weekends. It’s so conveniently located that you can get your breakfast and coffee fix before a full day of shopping spree (especially when it’s GSS now!). I’m certain that I will pop by this café just to chill with a cuppa coffee and watch the world go by on a bustling weekend. 

Previously, there were only six brunch items available. This time round, five more items are introduced! For the sweet-tooth, there is Mango French Toast ($16). Brioche egg battered toast is served with fresh mangoes, toasted sliced almonds, espresso mascarpone butter, maple syrup and mint mango coulis. This is a decent breakfast item but not impressive enough to motivate me to get out of bed for. I prefer my toast to be crisp on the edges yet, soft in the middle but Oriole’s didn’t meet my mark.

For the health-conscious, Wild Berries Oatmeal ($10) is the perfect dish for you! Organic rolled oats are cooked with Oriole M.A.D Milk, goji berries and brown sugar, before being topped with fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and gooseberry. The oatmeal is served with honey and chocolate chips on the side. Personally, I don’t fancy oatmeal. It’s lighter in flavour and great for those who wanted a healthy meal. But not for me. 

How can any café or restaurant exclude eggs benedict from their menu?! It’s one of the most instagram-mable dishes ever! So, here is Oriole’s version – Crab Cake Benedict ($22). Maryland-style crab cake with two poached eggs are placed atop toasted English muffins before being drizzled in lemon dill hollandaise and served with a side salad. My egg yolk wasn’t runny enough that day but the thick layer of crab cakes made up for it. 

For the savoury bunch of breakfast-goers, I highly recommend the Smoked Salmon Rosti ($16). Crispy potato rosti is topped with smoked salmon, capers, crème fraiche and fresh spring onions. The potato rosti is cooked to perfection, with a tinge of crisp while the smoked salmon enhanced the flavour of the overall dish. Salmon lovers, especially, will fall in love with this dish!

Finally, the highlight of Oriole’s new brunch items is their Grilled Truffle Cheese Sandwich ($14). Grilled buttery brioche bread is stuffed with truffle cheese, emmental cheese and oak smoked cheddar. I simply love how cheesy and flavoursome the sandwich is, even before I dipped it into the accompanying tomato cheddar soup. Oh boy! The flavours just explode in your mouth! This tomato cheddar soup is one-of-a-kind and so good that one of us was tempted to slurp it down in a gulp, instead of treating it as a dip!

Besides its five newly-launched brunch items, all of you should already be familiar with some of Oriole’s signature desserts. We tried the White Chocolate Yuzu Cheesecake ($8) and Waffle Mi’so ($12). The former is a light white chocolate cheesecake infused with citrus yuzu while the latter is made up of freshly pressed waffles topped with vanilla ice cream, served with miso caramel sauce, white chocolate and pecan nut sprinkles. 

There is also Oriole Coffee Cake ($14) and the Sticky Date Pudding ($12). The Oriole Coffee Cake is a coffee-textured cake infused with Oriole’s signature house blends, chocolate crunch sprinkles, chocolate jelly, crushed meringue and espresso crème anglaise core. It is presented impressively and you can taste the distinctively strong espresso flavour. I like the difference in textures created by the different toppings.

Having tried four different desserts (out of six) on Oriole’s menu, I like the Sticky Date Pudding most! A baked medjool date sponge cake with vanilla ice cream is drizzled with date and vanilla butter caramel. I guess I could have this as breakfast if I were a sweet-tooth!

Many of my friends have been complaining that Orchard Road lacks cafés. Oriole Coffee + Bar is a place I would recommend if you’re looking for a hearty breakfast and good coffee that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket. Take a break from squeezing with the crazy weekend crowd and just indulge in good coffee, best if it’s with good company! Moreover, the weather’s heating up ridiculously at the moment so ice cream would be a very good remedy for cooling down! Their brunch menu is only available on weekends and public holidays from 10am to 5pm. 

The post Oriole Coffee + Bar – New Brunch Items for a Lazy Weekend! appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

The vibrant, intensely colourful world of Indian food found an ever-increasing fan base in Singapore. If you are a fan of Indian cuisine, Deliveroo has a special treat for you.

From 11 July – 17 July 2016, Deliveroo is offering special 1-for-1 promotions for participating Indian restaurants. IT’S 1-FOR-1! They have curated the best Indian restaurants for your dining pleasure, from Table by Rang Mahal, Samy’s Curry Restaurant, Aromas of India, The Curry Hut, Kurry Korner, Indline, Delhi 6, Tandoori Corner, Shahi Maharani, and more! Here are 5 good Indian restaurants we recommend:

Use MTCROO for $15 off your first order. Promo code valid from now till 6 September 2016. Visit https://deliveroo.com.sg/ or download the iPhone app here.

1. Table by Rang Mahal
Book now: https://deliveroo.com.sg/menu/singapore/bugis-arab-street/table-by-rang-mahal

Having clinched Wine & Dine Singapore’s Top Restaurants Awards in 2014 and 2015, as well as, the Singapore Tatler 2015 Best Restaurants Award, food served at Table by Rang Mahal is of very high standards. Your tastebuds would transport you to the streets of India where authentic timeless Indian delicacies originated from.

Order the main course Murgh Angaar to enjoy 1-for-1 deal. All the other accompaniments in the set will be included. This boneless chicken pieces are marinated in a yogurt and red chilli paste mixture and cook in the tandoor. For the 1-for-1 vegetarian item, go for Choley, featuring boiled chickpeas with a kick! It goes well almost with all rice/flat bread dishes.

Need to cater to a corporate group lunch? Check out their vegetarian executive at $20++ per person. All sets include Roasted Papad Indian lentil crackers, 3 homemade dips, Choley, Chickpeas. The main dish is served along with Dal (Yellow lentil), Patiala Aubergine (Baby eggplants, tomato gravy, pickled spices), Saffron Rice and Naan(Plain / Garlic/ Tandoori Roti).

2. Samy’s Curry Restaurant
Book: https://deliveroo.com.sg/menu/singapore/dempsey/samys-curry-restaurant

Samy’s Curry’s humble beginning dates back to the 1950’s. Founded by the late Mr. M. Veerasamy, whom himself was an excellent chef, is credited with creating signature dishes such as Chicken Masala, Fish Cutlet and Mysore Mutton. Later in 1982, his son, Mr. Maheyndran took over the restaurant and brought it to new heights. Both locals and tourists alike patronize this restaurant for their Fine South Indian Cuisine. There are three dishes that you cannot miss out on – Fish Head Curry, Chicken Masala and Mysore Mutton!

For the 1-for-1 deal, you can enjoy one Masala Chicken FREE for one order of Masala Chicken OR a plate of mutton. If you are a huge fan of curry fish head like me, order their curry fish head and you get a plate of mutton for free!

3. Aromas of India
Book: https://deliveroo.com.sg/menu/singapore/little-india-farrer-park/aromas-of-india

India, a land of diversity, is known for its people, colours, festivals and food. It is the land of exotic spices where food varies with changing landscapes. Aromas of India aims to bring alive the rustic flavours of Indian cuisine, traditionally famous for its savoury tandoori dishes and exotic curries. They offer a huge variety of dishes for you to select from on Deliveroo.

Having a house party? We recommend ordering from Aromas of India as there are plenty of choices to please every guest of yours! Besides, Samosas would serve as a very good finger food. The 1-for-1 free items include Chicken Tikka, Samosa, Chicken 65 and Palak Paneer. Super worth it leh, especially when you are having a big party at home!

4. The Curry Hut
Book now: https://deliveroo.com.sg/menu/singapore/holland-village-coronation-drive/the-curry-hut

As its name suggests, you would already know that this restaurant is famous for their curry. They believe that real Indian curry is a wonder of coordination and uses precise spices that make a balanced dish. Each single spice that goes into making the curry has a specific role in aiding digestion, toning digestive system and helping the absorption of just the right nutrients from food. If you’re a Curry-fanatic or just have a random curry craving to satisfy, Curry Hut is your best choice. Besides their main focus on curry dishes, they offer other Indian Tapas and soups as well.

5. Kurry Korner
Book now: https://deliveroo.com.sg/menu/singapore/orchard/kurry-korner

Interested in savouring North-Indian cuisine prepared with a traditional blend of Indian spices? Look no further as Kurry Korner is bound to hit all the right spots. Famous for providing best quality tandoori chicken and curry dishes, it’s no surprise to wait for seats if you’re at their physical stall.

Why not order their dishes while relaxing at home? Deliveroo saves you the trouble of jostling for tables with other diners. We recommend ordering their Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken and Briyani. GOOD DEAL! 1-FOR-1 Chicken Biryani ($12) LEH! Now you can get two plates of Chicken Biryani for $12. That is 50% savings! Do check out their menu for more options of soups, salads and other Indian favourites catering to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

ABOUT DELIVEROO

The 1-for-1 Indian promotion is available from 11 July to 17 July 2016 at Table by Rang Mahal, Samy’s Curry Restaurant, Aromas of India, The Curry Hut, Kurry Korner, Indline, Delhi 6, Tandoori Corner, Shahi Maharani and more! After Indian week, look out for Thai week (18-24 Jul), Japanese week (25-31 Jul), Western week (1-7 Aug) and Cafe week (9-14 Aug). Top spenders from 20 June to 14 August will be invited to attend Deliveroo’s first ever food tasting event where one lucky winner will walk away with 12 months’ worth of free food to enjoy!

Deliveroo – With just a few clicks, you’ll have food conveniently delivered to you within 32 minutes at the comfort of your own home or office.

Placing an order is as simple as just these five steps:
1. Type in your postal code
2. From the options presented, select your preferred restaurant and food you wish to enjoy
3. Checkout
4. Key in your credit card details to confirm your order
5. Wait for your meal to arrive

Use MTCROO for $15 off your first order. Promo code valid from now till 6 September 2016. Visit https://deliveroo.com.sg/ or download the iPhone app here.

The post 5 Best Indian Restaurants with 1-for-1 Deliveroo Deals appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Yesterday, Michelin Guide Singapore has released their Bib Gourmand selection. 17 hawkers made it to the list. While we haven’t tried them all, some of my makan kakis are already questioning about the selection process and quality of some of the hawker stalls. For the team of MissTamChiak.com, it’s more baffling why are some of the good hawker dishes not included in the list. After all, our hawker culture is what makes Singapore stand out from the rest of the world and we think the list on Bib Gourmand is not enough to represent the vibrant hawker scene we have in Singapore. 

Nevertheless, we present you with the list of 17 hawker stalls from Bib Gourmand before sharing our thoughts on which other hawker stalls should be included in the list. 

Bib Gourmand Hawkers

1. Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa
Address: Blk 119, Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-75, Alexandra Village, Singapore 150119

This hawker originated from Depot Road’s Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa. The present owners did a little tweaking to the recipe from the original owners but loyal customers would still continue supporting. The gravy is spicy, lemak and very tasty. It’s hard to resist not slurping till the last drop.

2. A Noodle Story
Address: Amoy Street Food Centre, #01-397, 7 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069111

A Noodle Story is a contemporary take on traditional wanton noodle as the bowl served here has some influence from Japanese Ramen. Consisting of thin and springy Hong Kong style wanton noodle, Japanese charshu, Japanese-style braised egg and potato-wrapped prawn fritter, the flavours are enhanced by lemongrass scented oil, konbu and dried shrimps.

3. Famous Crispy Curry Puff
Address: Amoy Street Food Centre, #01-21, 7 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069111

Curry puffs here are handmade and always served hot. There are only two options available – sardine and the usual potato filling. The unique crust has many layers in a circular pattern and comes generously filled. This is the perfect tea-break snack so do go before 3pm or you’ll run the risk of leaving empty-handed.

4. Hong Kee Beef Noodle
Address: Amoy Street Food Centre, #01-42, 7 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069111

This hawker has been selling beef noodles for almost sixty years, since his father’s time. There are soupy and dry versions but many prefer the latter for its flavoursome gravy. Beef served here is succulent so look forward to a satisfying bowl of dry Beef Kway Teow when your craving kicks in.

5. Hoo Kee Rice Dumpling
Address: Amoy Street Food Centre, #01-18, 7 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069111″ phone=”6221 1155

Bak Chang can be overly-oily and taste “gelat” at times but Hoo Kee’s bak chang is well-prepared and doesn’t contain fatty meat. Chunks of lean meat are used, complemented by chestnuts and mushrooms that are of good quality. The pork is tender and savoury while the chestnut gives the overall taste a tinge of sweetness and crumbly texture.

6. The Fishball Story

Using only pure yellow tail fish with no flour, the result is a firm texture with a natural sweetness of the fish. Coupled with sambal, shallots and pork lard, this bowl of fishball noddle is so delicious. Hawker for the first time, we’re glad that up till this day, Douglas still has the right formula towards making a simple dish extraordinarily yummy. Read more about it here.

7. Wedang
Golden Mile Food Centre, 505 Beach Road, #B1-28, Singapore 199583

Serving Indonesian food and satay that tantalize your tastebuds is what this hawker does best. It’s hard to find tasty and authentic Indonesian food in Singapore so we’re lucky to have this hawker whipping up good and simple Indonesian fare to satisfy our cravings.

8. Famous Sungei Road Trishaw
Address: Blk 531A Upper Cross Street, Hong Lim Market, #02-67, Singapore 051531

This slurp-worthy bowl of Fruit Juice Crayfish Mee Siam comes with a very light gravy and we simply love indulging in a light, spicy, sweet and sour gravy. One mouthful is so full of flavour that it gets addictive and you probably can’t resist another bowl. We haven’t got the chance to try it, perhaps we have to do it now before the queue starts forming!

9. Na Na Curry
Address: 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre, #01-48, Singapore 151115

As its name suggests, this hawker is famous for their fish head curry and pork rib curry. The gravy is done till the right consistency. It is spicy but not tongue numbingly so. Made with fresh spices and fresh coconut milk, no wonder its strong fragrance lingers in the air. The chilli which packs a good punch too.

10. Chey Sua Carrot Cake
Address: #02-30, Toa Payoh West Market and Food Court, 127 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310127

Using the traditional cooking method passed down from the previous generation, Chey Sua only does white carrot cake. They will pan fry one side till crispy while leaving the other side lightly fried. Chilli sauce is pan-fried together with the crispy surface, which makes your dining experience so much more enjoyable. Read more about it here.

11. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Address: Stall No. 10&11, Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore 069184

With smooth and tender chicken cuts and warm, fluffy, fragrant rice that is good enough to just eat with the chilli sauce, this hawker is prolly one of the most prominent chicken rice stall in Singapore. Tourists all over the world flock to Maxwell Food Centre just have a plate of this goodness.

12. Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun
Address: Mei Ling Food Centre, Blk 159, Mei Chin Road, #02-33, Singapore 140159

At the mention of Hor Fun, this hawker will always pop to mind! The Hor Fun was excellent and you should go for the pork ribs, mushroom and chicken feet hor fun.

13. Alliance Seafood
Address: #01-27, Newton Circus Food Centre, 500 Clemenceau Avenue North, Singapore 229495

Newton Circus, in recent years, has been blacklisted for being a food centre that touts tourists. Well, there are still hawkers like Alliance Seafood that maintains the quality of their food for customer’s gratification. It’s a good stall to patronize for dinner with a big group of friends and family due to their wide array of food items offered.

14. Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice
Address: Tiong Bahru Market, #02-82, 83 Seng Poh Road, Singapore 168898

Usually, boneless chicken flesh is flattened with a cleaver after deboning the chicken so it’s hard to expect sinking your teeth into a juicy chunk of meat. That aside, many were impressed by both white and roasted chicken as they were prepared so well, with tender and tasty flesh. The sauce was savoury, with a hint of sweetness and the chilli gives a really good kick.

15. Hong Heng Fried Sotong Prawn Mee
Address: Tiong Bahru Market, #02-01, 83 Seng Poh Road, Singapore 168898

Hardcore fans of fried noodles will enjoy this dish but others might find it a tad too dry and lacking in flavour. The sotong was chewy and fresh though. This hawker has done a great job in removing the pungent seafood smell from their sotong and prawns. 

16. Balestier Road Hoover Rojak
Address: Blk 90, Whampoa Drive, Whampoa Food Centre, #01-06, Singapore 320090

Fear Factor aside, we’re pretty sure only locals can appreciate what goes into this dish. We can’t imagine tourists taking a bite of century egg without wincing or squirming in their seats. Hoover Rojak is fantastic as they still add jellyfish in the mix and use Torch Ginger Flower to give it the typical rojak fragrance. Yummy!

17. Liang Zhao Ji
Address: Blk 90, Whampoa Drive, Whampoa Food Centre, #01-07, Singapore 320090

This hawker selling braised duck always has a snaking queue, whether on weekdays or weekends. Braised duck is quintessentially a Teochew dish and the “lor” here is thick enough, with a balance between sweet and savoury flavours. The subtlety of 5-spice aromatics managed to permeate through the rice and gave the overall dish a thumbs up!

Which Hawkers have Bib Gourmand missed out on?

Besides the list of hawkers in Bib Gourmand list, we feel that there are some other excellent hawkers whom we thought should be in the list but didn’t make it. How can our char kway teow, roti prata and bak chor mee not appear in the list? That’s our unique dishes too! Perhaps, it is time for the Michelin inspectors to explore our country a little more. Here’s some of our favourite hawkers which we felt should be included.

Sungei Road Laksa
Address: Blk 27, Jalan Berseh, #01-100, Jin Shui Kopitiam, Singapore 200027

This is one of the last few existing hawker which still uses a charcoal burner to prepare their super delicious broth. You can smell the spices in the gravy – sweet yet mild spicy and infused with coconut flavours and hae-bi in it! The crunchy bean sprouts added texture to this already perfect bowl of Laksa. Read more about it here.

Hong Chang Eating House
Address: 2 Braddell Road, Singapore 359895

This is a hidden gem that is a MUST TRY! Their sambal stingray is BBQ-ed till crisp on the outside, yet retaining a moist flesh within. The sambal is the killer but it’s so shiok! The porridge with kong pao frog leg was impressive as well. The umami dark sauce has a nice smokiness and you get the ultimate enjoyment with piping hot porridge. Read more about it here.

Tai Hwa Bak Chor Mee
Address: Blk 466 Crawford Lane, #01-12, Singapore 190466

Behold the ultimate bak chor mee – mee kia done al dante, springy and don’t have the alkaline taste which is present in many noodles. The sauce, packed with chilli and vinegar, is a robust mix of savoury, spicy and sour. Lastly, the fresh ingredients used were well-marinated and cooked to perfection. There is also fried ti poh which is very rare nowadays! Simply irresistible! Seriously, how can this not appear in the list? Read more about it here.

Sixth Avenue Nasi Briyani Specialist
Address: 12 Sixth Avenue, Singapore 276475

Famous for their Mutton Briyani and Chicken Briyani, this hawker is very crowded during lunch time so go earlier as their mutton, especially, is usually sold out after lunch. Both meats are flavourful and tender. We liked that the spices used for the rice were evenly distributed and almost each grain was close to uniform in colour. They serve different flavours of prata too! Read more about it here.

Haig Road Putu Piring
Address: Blk 14, Haig Road Hawker Centre, #01-08, Singapore 430014

Putu Piring is the Malay version of our Kueh Tutu. The hawker uses gula Melaka for the filling and serves with grated coconut. Having taken your first bite, you’ll notice gula Melaka oozing out of the kueh, especially when it is piping hot. We always devour it on the spot after purchasing cause we just can’t wait till we get home before tucking in.

Dong Ji Fried Kway Teow
Address: 51 Old Airport Road #01-138 Old Airport Road Food Centre Singapore 390051

The queue here is always horrendous! Be patient as the hawker cooks every plate individually, to ensure that it’s served up fresh and warm. A plate of char kway teow consists of cockles, bean sprouts and fried pork lard to complement the tasty egg. You can detect the distinct wok hei and this hawker is definitely worth the wait. Read about it here.

Keng Eng Kee Seafood
Address: Blk 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-136, Singapore 150124

One of our best zichar in Singapore, THIS SHOULD BE IN THE LIST. The wok hei in their Moonlight Hor Fun is excellent. You get a smoky flavour from the flat noodles that was stir fried with lard, chinese sausages, prawns, squid and dark sauce. Add the egg yolks in the middle, mix it up with the noodles and you get an excellent plate smooth and delicious hor fun. Read more about it here.

Mr and Mrs Morghan Prata
Address: 7 Crane Road, Poh Ho Eatery, Singapore 429356

It’s hard to find artisanal prata nowadays but this hawker is admirable! He makes his own dough, cooks the curry and flips the prata all by himself. So much work with just a pair of hands! They have 3 types of curry – mutton, fish and dhal so let them know in advance upon your order. Read about it here.

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Singapore has an abundance of hawker food and our list is non-exhaustive. We might be small in land size but there are many parts of Singapore we have yet to discover. Through food, we experience and learn things about another culture so let’s take this opportunity to embrace the Michelin Singapore Guide and celebrate our hawker culture!

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With the recent screening of ‘Finding Dory’, I believe aquariums all over the world are seeing a drastic increase in the number of visitors, both locals and tourists alike. ‘Finding Nemo’ formed part of my childhood and I’ve always been curious about marine life. Don’t ask me why but my favourite animal’s the great white shark! I used to camp in front of Discovery channel with a notebook, especially during shark week. Okay, back to today’s focus – Resort World Sentosa’s Ocean Restaurant by Lady Iron Chef / Celebrity Chef Cat Cora.

Located inside the S.E.A. Aquarium, just beside the Open Ocean habitat, I was awed by the panoramic view of the enthralling marine world. There are two huge glass panels for diners to be mesmerized by over 100,000 marine animals. The colours and materials in Ocean Restaurant’s main dining room echo the deep sea palette.

Ocean Restaurant serves Mediterranean-Californian cuisine with an Asian flair and a sustainable ethos. The new menu uses sustainably-sourced seafood and local seafood produce which echoes S.E.A. Aquarium’s beliefs in conservation and caring for our oceans and marine life. Celebrity Chef Cat Cora, who has hosted, guest-judged and appeared in numerous variety programmes works closely with resident chef Yew Eng Tong to curate a menu that impresses your senses of sight, smell and taste.

Start off with their small bites such as the Kueh Pie Tee or Ravioli. The former is a spice crispy cup containing braised jicama (Mexican turnip), Laksa “sphere” and coconut foam. You get a crispy texture with delicious creamy fillings. The latter consists of pickled radish, tuna tartare, caviar and charred aioli. This is a very refreshing start to a meal and whets your appetite for more food.

My favourite was the other small bite served – Parma Ham Aerated Crème. It’s so fluffy and bursting with flavours and I simply love the crunch! You’d be surprised that only sherry onions, croutons and crispy pork skin goes into the making of this amazing small bite!

Ocean – Harmony of Sea Life is beautifully presented in a shimmering shell. You get a combination of different seafood and roe with three different sauces/dips. There’s Salsa Vert, a kind of green sauce made mainly with herbs and tastes a little minty. There’s the very refreshing watermelon sorbet, as well as, charred aioli. There’s a distinct taste of ginger essence in this dish too. Trust me, it tastes as good as it looks.

Sous Vide Scottish Salmon is decorated with edible flowers. The raw salmon, cured in salt, sugar and dill is drizzled with chilled cauliflower milk and topped with horseradish crème and roe. This is one of those times where you can’t bear “destroying” the beautifully-curated dish but you know it goes into your stomach eventually.

Crisp Brick Duck Foie Gras, as you all know, refers to duck liver and this is an acquired taste. In Singapore, I’ve known many people who shuns away from this luxurious food. Consisting of tamarind-balsamic reduction, ginger candy, cocoa nib and puffed buckwheat, I would give this dish a thumbs up! It tastes light and smooth and smells heavenly.

Lobster Milk is actually lobster wanton, topped with coriander and Mentaiko and sprinkled with Szechuan pepper. I enjoyed sinking my teeth into the fresh and juicy lobster wanton which is generously filled. Milk and Szechuan pepper sounds like a strange combination but both of these actually complemented one another for this dish.

The following two dishes are my favourites! First up, New Zealand Sustainable Fresh Cod Fish with a ratte mash that people often mistakes as scallop. I’ve to admit that the mash potato does indeed resemble the shape and even, the colour of a scallop. The taste is enhanced by crustacean aioli and caviar vinaigrette.

The final savoury dish before dessert was the highlight of the meal – Braised-Seared Beef Short Rib and Charred Grilled Wagyu Primecuts. These succulent slabs of meat were perfectly done medium-rare. You can feel the juices gushing out while chewing the meat. It’s so flavourful, accompanied by puff barley and oatmeal, as well as, carrot-kaffir (citrus) puree. I wished I had the stomach space to indulge in more meat!

The 6-course Entice set dinner ends with Chocolate Ends dessert. Consisting greek yoghurt, grand marnier-mango “sphere”, cocoa nib tuile and tarragon gelato, this dessert was so well executed. I was delighted by the contrasting taste of rich, dark chocolate, paired with the slightly sour-ish taste from the yoghurt and mango.

3-course Delight set lunch costs $58++ while 5-course Leisure set lunch costs $72++. 4-course Excite set dinner costs $128++, 6-course Entice set dinner costs $158++ and 8-course Inspiration set dinner costs $208++. There’s even a 5-course Vegetarian set dinner available at $108++. The 6-course Entice set dinner was so satisfying that I decided to take a stroll back from Sentosa to Vivo City.

This restaurant is great for couples due to the romantic atmosphere but I’m sure family and friends who love marine life and are concerned about ocean conservation will be interested to dine here too. You just can’t take your eyes off the two large glass panels and you’ll get a kick out of trying to guess and recognize the type of fishes you see swimming by every moment.

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Food is a representation of our national identity and a unifying cultural thread. Being Singaporeans, we’re proud of our hawker heritage and the long history of different iconic hawker centres on our little red dot.

This July, we celebrate our hawker culture with a list of exciting achievements and events. First, some of our hawkers made it to Michelin Guide Singapore’s Bib Gourmand. And
the Annual Singapore Food Festival is back!

This year’s Hawker Spotlight 2016 was held at East Coast Lagoon Food Village, which opened in 1977. A media tour was conducted by food connoisseur, Mr. Moses Lim, and we were introduced to five distinctively Singaporean hawker dishes. Take this opportunity to gather and catch up with your family and friends, over scrumptious meals.

With more than 20 years of experience in the F&B industry, hawkers Mr. and Mrs. Er have been running their own tze char stall at coffeeshops before moving their business to East Coast Lagoon Food Village in 2013 after the food centre’s renovation. We had one of their bestselling items – curry fish head. The curry was thick, with just the right amount of punch! The fish was very fresh, well-prepared and tender. Other ingredients in the curry include lady’s fingers and vegetables. This delicious dish is perfect for sharing when you have a big group.

This stall was first set up by Mr. Ang’s father at the back alley located at MacPherson. Currently, Mr. Ang, a 2nd generation hawker, is running the stall at East Coast Lagoon Food Village. Having operated for 55 years, this stall was originally well-known for their fried carrot cake. It was only 13 years ago that Mr. Ang started selling popiah after leaning the secret recipe from a friend. Mr. Ang’s popiah won the “Best of the Best” popiah in City Hawker Food Hunt last year. The popiah was generously filled and has a good combination of textures. We love the juiciness, as well as, the crunch from the beansprouts.

Originating from the back alley of MacPherson, this stall has been in operation since 1963 and Mr. Han is a 2nd generation hawker who took over the business since the passing of his father. Mr. Han is a field service engineer by training, but was interested in the hawker trade. We’re glad he decided to carry on the business as his Bak Kut Teh was selected as the Top 10 Bak Kut Teh in City Hawker Food Hunt in 2011. The soup was not extremely peppery and perfect for a rainy day. However, we felt that the highlight of this stall is their pork trotter, which are so tender that they melt right in our mouths.

The expert Char Kway Teow hawker, Ms. Mui Mui, has been hawking since the age of 12. Since young, she had been accompanying her mother and helping out at the stall at MacPherson every day after school. After their relocation to East Coast Lagoon Food Centre, Ms. Mui Mui took over and she’s also a 2nd generation hawker. Her Char Kway Teow was selected as the Top 10 Char Kway Teow in City Hawker Food Hunt in 2008. We were amazed by her cooking demonstration as she started off by cooking the eggs till a little dry before adding the rest of the ingredients for her Char Kway Teow. It contains a strong taste of wok hei, just the way we love it!

There are plenty of stalls selling satay at East Coast Lagoon Food Village but this particular one has been in the business for the past 38 years. Ms. Lynna is a 2nd generation hawker who took over the business about 6 years ago when her father fell ill. The satay, rice cakes and satay sauce here are all handmade. If you’re observant enough, they use chicken pieces instead of minced and the portion is quite generous. We enjoyed dipping the succulent meats into their homemade satay sauce, which contained quite a generous amount of peanuts in it. Simply flavourful!

Celebrate Hawker Heritage at Singapore Food Festival

The Annual Singapore Food Festival is back, bigger and with much more food offerings, with the theme, “Savour the Past, Taste the Future”. Get ready to celebrate Singapore flavours through the amazing talent of our hawkers and understand the rich depth of our culinary past and future. The Festival takes place in various locations across Singapore from 15 to 31 July 2016. Visit www.singaporefoodfestival.com for more details on the events happening islandwide.

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The older generation would be familiar with the former Riverview Hotel at Havelock Road. However, after more than 16 months of renovation and remodeling work, the space has been transformed and re-branded to Four Points by Sheraton Singapore, Riverview. This 21-storey hotel is the first Four Points brand in Singapore and is now part of a family of 200 Four Points in nearly 40 countries worldwide. It caters mainly to businessmen as every room is designed to meet the needs of businessmen. You’ll be happy to know that every safe is big enough to store laptops and the mini bar / fridge is empty so you can bring your own food.

This newly-furbished hotel boasts two hidden wining and dining gems that sit along the iconic Singapore River, which light up in the evenings and turn the entire atmosphere very romantic.

Four Points Eatery is an all-day dining concept with an occupancy rate of 170 guests. With their ceiling-to-floor glass windows overlooking the Singapore River, this restaurant exudes a sunny interior during the day. You can choose to dine al fresco as well, taking in the serenity of the beautiful river. Four Points Eatery serves up a notable range of signature a la carte dishes such as the ever-popular Slipper Lobster Laksa ($20.80++) and classic Old Time Bak Kut Teh ($22.80++).

Slipper Lobster Laksa features a full-bodied coconut gravy redolent with spices such as galangal, turmeric, dried chilli, lemongrass, candlenut, balachan and dried shrimps. This super gigantic, value-for-money Laksa consists of rice vermicelli and beansprouts, accompanied by an array of savoury ingredients like two slipper lobsters cut into halves, juicy clams, fishcake slices, dried tau pok and a hard-boiled egg. The spice-filled gravy is added to and drained from the dish several times to warm up the noodles and ingredients before the bowl is topped with a luscious broth. Finally, Laksa leaf is sprinkled generously to provide an aromatic finish.

Old Time Bak Kut Teh is a staple dish for guests. Its impressive ensemble on the tray includes a large oriental ceramic bowl of piping hot bak kut teh, surrounded by side dishes such as you tiao for dunking in the soup, braised salted vegetables, a bowl of fragrant yam rice and premium dark soya sauce with a heap of sliced fresh chilli. The secret behind this robust peppery and flavoursome broth is the tedious preparation and cooking method. Pork trotter and bones are simmered for 8 hours to extract the richness of the marrow. Collagen from the meat gives the broth a cloudy appearance. A generous amount of pepper and garlic adds depth of flavour to the concoction. We enjoyed the pieces of meaty pork ribs that are steeped long enough in the broth till they become fall-off-the-bone tender. Good news – there’s unlimited topping up for this bak kut teh broth!

Other Asian dishes include Nasi Goreng Istimewa, Seafood Char Kway Teow, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Tom Yam Seafood Fried Rice. Not craving Asian food? No problem! Guests can also dive into a delectable spread of pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, burgers and other main courses to tackle your hunger pangs.

Besides the usual ala carte dishes, SOMETHING NEW IS COMING YOUR WAY! Starting from 1 August 2016, the current international buffet spread will take on a new and delicious persona. Look forward to an extensive range of Seafood buffet spread every day during lunch and dinner. There are about twenty items for the buffet, with 80% of these mainly seafood-based. This Seafood buffet offering resembles a symbolic connection to the beautiful river along the restaurant. There is a live prawn station and an oyster shucking station during dinnertime and on weekends.

Be prepared to be enticed by grilled seafood such as prawns, fish, squid, yabbies and stingray, done local-style or with Australian or Mediterranean marinades. The seafood buffet selection also include NZ Mussels in Pot prepared with white wine, Baked Big Head Prawns with Garlic, Grilled Boston Lobsters, and a selection of steamed, grilled and baked fresh fish. The chilled seafood assortment includes a Sashimi counter where generous slices of fresh salmon, white tuna, tuna and tako are prepared upon request. Finally, the Cold Seafood spread features snow crabs, prawns, crabs, mussels and scallops with a variety of dips. The entire buffet will be backed up by staples like noodles, rice, side dishes, vegetables and salads.

Seafood Lunch Buffet is available from Monday to Saturday, 12 noon to 2.30pm and costs $38.80++ per adult and $19.40++ per child between 5-10 years old. Seafood Brunch Buffet is only available on Sunday, 12 noon to 3pm and costs $52++ per adult and $26++ per child between 5-10 years old. This price includes free flow Prosecco or Moscato and soft drinks. Seafood Dinner Buffet is available daily from 6pm to 10.30pm and costs $49.80++ per adult and $24.90++ per child between 5-10 years old. This price includes oyster bar, live prawns station and free flow soft drinks.

The Best Brew is a comfortable and laid back bar-cum-lounge for you to chill with friends, colleagues and business associates while downing a wide array of local and international beers, tipples and cocktails. An upbeat menu of bar bites and sumptuous mains make this social hangout more than just a drinking hole. The Best Brew includes live music by several acoustic groups almost every evening of the week, while three wide-screen televisions are ever-ready for live airing of prominent international games that dot the annual sporting calendar.

The Best Brew has specially curated weekly bar promotions, encompassing a range of international brews paired with delicious nibbles. These bar bites will be complementary with the promotional beer of the week. Good deal right?

You get choices such as Kirin Beer + Yakitori Chicken Balls ($15++) and Max Beer + Korean Grilled Pork with Homemade Kimchi ($15++). The former consists of a skewer of four perfectly marinated and grilled chicken balls, served with a soft-boiled egg. We’re pretty sure many of you would simply dunk the meat into the egg before downing it in a gulp. The latter contains grilled fillet of pork loin and leek, served with a generous helping of homemade kimchi and a sprinkling of lemon-pepper salt. Your choices also extend to Australian Brewery Pilsner / Pale Ale + Chicken Sliders ($40.80++) and Tiger Beer Pint + Chicken Rice Ball ($16++).

The bar menu also showcases some substantial bar nibbles such as Spicy Crispy Buffalo Wings ($10.80++ for 3 pieces) and Panko-Crusted Soft Shell Crab ($15++). The former is tossed in a piquant sauce comprising soya sauce, lemon, honey, Chinese wine, coriander and cinnamon while the latter is a note-worthy choice. Each piece of tender crab is encrusted by a coat of crunchy panko. The bar also offers Pork Frankfurter Dawg ($17++), The Best Brew Club Sandwich ($16.80++) and Beef Fajitas ($22.80++).

Happy Hour is from 3pm to 9pm from Monday to Saturday and 11am to 11pm on Sundays.

With so much food offerings at Four Points Eatery, you can fill your tummy before heading next door to The Best Brew just to unwind and relax. You’ll definitely get spoilt for choice and it’s not surprising if you find yourself heading back more than once!

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Located in the middle of lush greenery, Open Farm Community aims to bring fresh seafood and meat, specially curated using herbs, vegetables and edible flowers from the restaurant’s “farm” to your table. A year after opening, the restaurant is emphasizing on the possibility to go local, support local farming and source local produce here in Singapore. When you understand what you eat, you begin to bring to life local heritage greens and produce from local farms for modern interpretation.

Helming the kitchen is Benjamin Darnaud, a French Chef who started his career at a tender age of 15. He has been trained in various kitchens, including Michel Bras’s three Michelin-star restaurant. Benjamin is passionate about using local produce and works closely with local farmers in Laguiole, France, that became a huge source of influence towards his agricultural efforts today. In Open Farm Community, he hopes to celebrate local produce, showcase possibilities of modern interpretation with local produce and bridge the gap between farmers and chefs.

The ingredients used for preparation of our food are 100% sourced locally. With that in mind, the first dish consisted of snake beans from Quan Fa, garlic shoot from Ghim Moh market, mud crab from Gills & Claws, sayur manis leaves from the restaurant’s farm, as well as, curry leaves, also sourced from their own farm. Perfectly executed, the snow white meat of these mud crabs was distinctively sweet, tender and moist. We enjoyed the textural difference in this dish, especially the crunch from healthy and tasty snake beans and garlic shoot.

The okra (ladies’ fingers) featured here comes from the restaurant’s own garden and from Green Circle, golden spring mushrooms and oyster mushrooms from Kin Yan Agrotech, quail eggs from Seng Choon Farm and Rojak flower and leaves, also from Open Farm Community’s own garden. Okra is a kind of vegetables with very low calories and is rich in dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins while mushrooms have high antioxidants. These are beneficial to maintaining a good health.

The third dish contains barramundi from Kuhlbarra farm, charcoal cooked sweet potato gnocchi from Cynthia’s house, Indian borage, pickled eggplant and sweet potato leaves from Open Farm Community’s garden. Barramundi fish are hardy and fast growing, which makes them suitable for aquaculture. Hence, this fish is currently farmed in Singapore. Barramundi’s buttery sweet flavour and mild taste, with its delicate yet meaty texture will appeal to almost everyone. Worldwide, this fish is also used as a sustainable replacement for other popular overfished species. We enjoyed the chewiness of the charcoal cooked sweet potato gnocchi too.

Last but not least, dessert here came in the form of lemongrass and sour plums from Green Circle, together with ice-cream made in-house at Open Farm Community, hibiscus jelly and sweet jasmine flowers also from Open Farm Community themselves. This is beautifully decorated with dried meringue. It’s indeed a refreshing dessert to cleanse your palate after a satisfying savoury meal but it was too sourish for our liking.

Open Farm Community hopes to scatter their seeds of discovery island-wide. This is the place to patronize if you’re a nature lover and interested in finding out more about growing your own herbs and vegetables. You know … It’s not as hard as you think!

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Hainanese Chicken Rice is Singapore’s national dish and can be found island-wide at almost every dining spot, from humble hawker centres to major restaurants and even hotel cafés. The chicken is usually served with fragrant rice and a spicy chilli sauce, with ginger paste. In Singapore, chicken rice recipe can be roasted or braised in soya sauce for a different taste (we still like it poached). For some people, it might be the rice and chilli sauce that makes or breaks the dish. As we celebrate Singapore’s National Day today, we’ve hunted down 17 chicken rice stalls in Singapore that are among local favourites.

1. Ah Boy Chicken Rice

Local celebrity chef, Eric Teo, has raved about Ah Boy Chicken Rice on his Facebook about 3 years ago so we decided to check it out. The roasted chicken has a crispy and thin skin that we enjoyed but a pity, the meat was a little on the dry side. Poached chicken, however, fared much better. It was tender, sweet and cooked till perfection, maintaining a smooth texture. We thought the rice itself is fluffy and loose with a nice aroma and not overly greasy. The tangy chilli dip didn’t make much of an impression as it was a little watery. If you’re in the area and craving for chicken rice, you should drop by.

2. Chen Ji Hainanese Chicken Rice

Chicken here is tender and perfectly complemented by the flavoursome oyster sauce. The chilli is bright and tangy and contains a spicy kick. Sadly, the rice did not fare so well as it was dry and although it has the flavour of the chicken broth, it doesn’t stand out at all. What’s worth mentioning here is their chicken feet soup that’s only available on Mondays and Fridays after 11am. Chicken feet is full of collagen, which is good news for ladies! We loved the crunchiness of these chicken feet and the flavoursome broth made the entire package simply wonderful. So, if you come here for chicken rice, remember to go only when they’re serving chicken feet soup!

3. Chin Chin Eating House

Founded in 1934, this eatery exudes a nostalgic feel and is reasonably clean. Dishes offered here are very Hainanese, including steamed chicken rice with chilli sauce and ginger dip, pork chop, chap chye and more. Today’s focus is on chicken rice so we’ll just skip the rest. Chicken rice at Chin Chin is drizzled with light fragrant soy sauce and sesame oil, enhancing the flavours of the tender and juicy chicken. Cooked just right, the chicken has retained its moisture with every bite. The rice is less oily but still fragrant and tasty with aroma from ginger and garlic. The chilli sauce consists of a little tanginess which made our meal very satisfying.

4. Hua Kee Chicken Rice

This stall is now run by Mr. Lim, a second generation hawker, together with his mother, Mdm. Tan who founded Hua Kee over 30 years ago with her husband. Unlike other stalls, the chicken here is chopped in large chunks with skin and bone still attached to ensure the meat retains its natural juices and flavours. We liked that the chicken was tender, juicy and full of flavours. The aromatic rice was not too oily and fluffy, with grains that separate easily. There’s nothing impressive about their chilli and ginger dips but we’ve got to say that this is the tastiest cucumbers from any chicken rice stall. The savoury and sweet juices from the chicken clung to the sides of these crunchy slices of cucumbers.

5. Kampong Chicken Rice

What makes Kampong chicken different from the usual chicken we get at chicken rice stalls? Well, the yellow skin kampong chickens have more distinctive features such as their skinny legs and leaner bodies. They are allowed to run free and are corn fed, thus containing less fat and are healthier for consumption. The meat here is definitely not as fatty. It is leaner but still, very tender. Ladies will jump for joy and feel guilt-free for indulging in this plate of healthier kampong chicken rice due to it being less fat. Even though the rice is not as fragrant and amazing as compared to others, it complements the chicken well. The highlight was their kicky chilli sauce, which is properly thick and spicy. One word – SHIOK! Read about it here.

6. Leong Hainanese Chicken Rice

Uncle Leong used to be the head chef for “稻香村山芭鸡” shop in Novena Ville, which unfortunately, closed down in 2007 due to the outbreak of bird flu disease. His passion for the kitchen still burns strong hence, he set up his own Leong Hainanese Chicken Rice in Shunfu Market. The meat served here has a textural difference compared to others. The chicken breast is very tender and flavourful. Little soy sauce and sesame oil were drizzled onto the chicken and we could really taste the sweetness of the meat. As for the chicken drumstick, you can see the glistering chicken skin and the meat was very succulent. The rice was infused with ginger and chicken stock and the grains are very fluffy. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal as Uncle Leong’s chicken rice gave a very warm, homely feel to it.

7. Ming Kee Chicken Rice

Ming Kee Chicken Rice is well-known for those staying in Bishan. It’s not surprising to queue for at least an hour just to satisfy your chicken rice cravings over here. Unlike others, this stall has no chicken displayed so if you’re here for the first time, you might get the wrong idea that the stall has already ran out of chicken. In actual fact, once the chicken is cooked, they will dunk it in ice water and it will be left there till it is ready to be chopped.

Shocking the meat in ice water after cooking creates a jelly under the skin. This results in the meat tasting more flavourful and succulent. Surprisingly, it tastes even better when these chilled chicken are eaten with some steaming rice. We enjoyed the skin which glided smoothly into our mouths. Chicken gizzards are also soaked in cold water here to retain the crunch. Their chilli dip, however, was a tad disappointing as it’s too watery for our liking.

8. Nam Kee Chicken Rice

Nam Kee has over 40 years of experience under its belt and is a household name for many families across the island. It serves traditional Hainanese chicken rice with meat ever so tender with the unforgettable chilli sauce – and at affordable prices too! The velvet-smooth skin of the chicken is enticing enough and tucks in just the right amount of fat beneath. The meat is juicy and goes very well with the dipping sauce, which is a combination of chilli sauce, ginger paste and a not-so-salty dark soy sauce that delivers the right punch. The rice served here is aromatic and has a good consistency, complementing the chicken perfectly.

9. Nan Xiang Chicken Rice

Nancy Lim, founder of Nan Xiang Chicken Rice, took charge of her first chicken rice stall at Whampoa food centre in December 1986. Nancy and her husband takes turn to manage the hawker stall. It looks like another unassuming chicken rice stall but when the plate of rice was served, it was so fragrant you can’t resist taking a mouthful even if your camera usually eats first. Chicken rice here is first stir-fried with garlic, ginger, shallots and chicken soup before cooking it in rice cooker. Not a lot of chicken rice stalls do this now because it’s laborious and takes extra time to prepare the rice. Well, all we can say that it’s worthwhile because frying the rice before cooking makes it even more fragrant, which is a plus point when the chicken meat is already succulent and cooked just right, leaving a gelatin layer beneath the skin. The addition of lime juice to the chilli sauce also makes it refreshing and delectable! Read about it here.

10. Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

This should be the most well-known stall among both locals and tourists. Growing the business from an unknown stall in Maxwell Market from 1986, Madam Foo and her daughter, Ms. Loi, still preside over the quality of food at all outlets with a watchful and experienced eye. Tian Tian chicken rice is cooked with American Broiler breed of chicken and remember – they defeated Gordon Remsay at the Hawker Heroes Challenge! This already speaks a lot about their food. Their steamed chicken is served slightly chilled which is very refreshing and light on a hot day. The soothing coolness is also a perfect counterpart to the “fierceness” of the chilli. Most importantly, their light, smooth and slightly buttery rice, with just a hint of garlic, sets them apart from the rest. Even celebrity chef and host Anthony Bourdain said that the rice here is so good that you can eat it on its own! There are many outlets and the one we’re featuring is at Joo Chiat and it’s air-conditioned too!

11. Uncle Chicken Rice

Uncle Chicken Rice is very persistent in using good quality ingredients. Their fresh chicken is simply poached, sits in cold water, chopped and served with the flavourful rice. The chicken is cut chunky with an ultra smooth skin and the flesh is tender and sweet. Served with aromatic rice that was not too greasy and loose, it has a subtle garlic flavour. Chicken stock was used to cook the rice hence, you won’t get a soup here to pair with your chicken rice. The chilli has a hint of sweetness which cuts the oiliness of the rice.

12. Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice

Wee Nam Kee started from a humble beginning and now, has a few outlets islandwide. They serve three different types of chicken – namely the poached, soy sauce and fried. We tried the poached chicken and it was executed really well in a flavourful broth. The chicken turned out to be juicy and tender, gently gingery with subtle chicken flavour. The broth is tasty enough to boost your appetite. Each long grain rice is well-oiled, mildly fragrant, yet not too greasy and separates easily into loose grains. Lastly, the chilli is amazing! It contains a well-balanced blend of ginger, vinegar and spice. It was tangy with very little sting.

13. Yeo Keng Nam Chicken Rice

Having grown up eating chicken rice here as it’s just a stone’s throw away from where I stay, the taste is special to me. The chicken is so plump and juicy and it has managed to retain a lot of its natural flavour since the stall owner here makes it a point not to soak the chicken in ice water for too long. I love the roast chicken here as well, due to its super tasty skin that whets my appetite for more. Rice here is whole and coated with a thin layer of oil, making the texture just right. The chilli has a tangy twist to it. Hence, I always enjoy my chicken rice experience dining here.

14. Sin Kee Famous Cantonese Chicken Rice

About a month ago, Benson is back on his feet and re-opened “Sin Kee Famous Chicken Rice” at Holland Drive with his young partner. Nothing much changes, Benson still chopes the chicken in huge chunks. His movements are still clean and brisk, each piece of meat is tender and smooth in the mouth. He will leave the leftover bones from the chicken to prepare that soup, which is used to poach chickens and rice. The slightly aromatic rice is well paired with the chilli that is spicy and tangy done right with vinegar and lime, just the way we like it. Read more about it here.

15. Yishun 925 Chicken Rice

It started with just one hawker stall within Yishun but over the years, they have expanded and now, there are a few stalls around Singapore. We’re always happy for these successful hawkers who started out very humbly. Chicken meat here is cooked just right, making it smooth and palatable. We liked that it was served deboned, which makes it more convenient for consumption. The soya sauce which the chicken was drenched in is not overly salty, just perfect! Rice here is very ordinary and not as aromatic as compared to others but you know the saying, “mai hiam buay pai”. Since it’s so affordable, we’ve nothing much to complain about.

16. Yet Con Hainanese Chicken Rice

This is another time-honoured establishment lying along Purvis Street. Yet Con has been serving their style of authentic Hainanese chicken rice here since 1940. Notice that chicken at Yet Con are being laid on trays instead of being hung up – this is to prevent the juices from dripping so that flavours are bette retained. There’s no silky gelatin layer under the chicken skin but we enjoyed the super “chickeny” flavour here. The chicken is lightly salted without any overwhelming drench of soy sauce seasoning, making every bite full of natural “chickeny” taste. The rice is aromatic, with the lovely scent of ginger, shallots and chicken stock. We like that it isn’t overly greasy. The only downside was the chilli and ginger dip that we found too watery for our liking.

17. Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice

It was already 3pm and we were still queuing for Delicious Boneless Chicken Rice. 30 minutes queue just to get my chicken rice fix, but so worth it! We paid $11 for 2 pax meal with soup and achar. The chicken is chopped into big chunky pieces and topped with fried garlic, which is quite unique. Achar brings a refreshing touch and the rice has a pleasant garlic aroma. We are so in love with their (refillable) cabbage soup that is peppery and full of vegetables and meat. The owner is in good mood on our day of visit so he gave me an extra bowl of lotus root pork ribs soup filled with generous amount of lotus roots and peanuts.

There are plenty of other stalls that might be good but not mentioned above. Do comment and share your thoughts with us, let us know which other chicken rice stalls in Singapore are worth our calories! Enjoy your hunt in finding the best chicken rice stall in Singapore, HAPPY NATIONAL DAY!

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Hidden deep within the first floor of Thomson Plaza, just opposite Koufu foodcourt, lies this premium sushi bar. It’s not even a year old yet but snaking long queues have been sighted during lunch and dinner times. Waiting time can take up to 45 minutes as the space at Sushiro is very limited. However, don’t be deceived by its unpretentious setting as prices for its palatable sashimi and donburi sets are far from being exorbitant.

Thomson Plaza is not an attractive mall and I guess only residents staying in the vicinity know about this place. I used to be from Ai Tong Primary School and used to hang out at this mall quite frequently more than a decade ago, just because it’s only two stops away from my school. Fast forward to now, I never imagined myself returning to Thomson Plaza, if not for this highly raved about wallet-friendly Bara Chirashi Don.

Bara Chirashi Don ($12.90) comes with generous portions of salmon, prawn, tuna, ikura and octopus in a palm-sized sushi rice bowl. These chunks of fresh seafood served atop fragrant Japanese rice marinated with sesame sauce were amazing. There was so much seafood toppings that we couldn’t see the rice underneath. Each mouthful gave a burst of flavours and textural differences, guaranteed to satisfy the sashimi-lover in you. If you’re feeling extremely hungry, go for the Premium Chirashi Don at an additional $10. This premium rice bowl consists of salmon belly, scallops and prawn tako instead.

If you prefer savouring slices of sashimi instead of having them cut into small bite-sized cubes, you should go for Kaisen Don ($14.80). Similarly to Bara Chirashi Don, the rice exudes an aroma from sesame oil and the entire bowl gave a sweet finish and umami-ness. For the price, I don’t feel shortchanged by the serving or the ingredients.

Besides donburis, Sushiro also serves Temaki-Zilla, literally translated to upsized hand-rolls. There are two options for you to choose from – Salmon Explosion Temaki and Bara Chirashi Temaki – each costing $6.80. Believe me, Sushiro isn’t exaggerating when they name it “explosion” and categorized it as “upsized”. Imagine your normal hand-rolls, with plenty of salmon sashimi spilling out. It’s almost impossible to hold this hand-roll in your hand. The surprising twist was that the hand-roll was so overwhelmed with salmon sashimi that you can even find these fresh meats stuffed in-between the aromatic sushi rice wrapped with seaweed.

Remember to ask the servers for “Today’s Special” and look for interesting items that are “off the menu”. As you scan the menu which offers other items such as sushi platters and the usual Japanese food, you’ll start to realize that their rice bowls are the only really affordable items. Overall, dining at Sushiro is a great experience and it’s a place where I’ll specially travel to, even though I might not be in the area.

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There are hundreds of coffeeshops in Singapore so needless to say, there might be thousands of hawkers across our little red dot. Competition is certainly tough and everyone’s fighting for survival so these hawkers have to constantly revamp their menus and come up with creative dishes or give traditional flavours a modern twist. With the recent increase in the number of residents in Seng Kang and Punggol, we thought it’d be a good idea to explore these areas.

Hidden under a block in Seng Kang West Way lies Happy Hawkers Coffeeshop, which “houses” their newest tenant, Legitimeat – a Western food stall. Opened on 18 June this year, co-owner Mr. Julian Peh used to run a hipster Western food stall in a coffeeshop at Bukit Merah that served steak and tacos. However, they had to fold their business in April this year due to the non-ideal location that doesn’t draws any crowd.

Almost every coffeeshop’s Western stall sell common dishes such as chicken chop, bolognese pasta, carbonara pasta and fish and chips but at Legitimeat, some of these Western dishes are fushioned with Thai spices while others are creatively modernized while still catering to our local tastebuds.

Say hello to the ultimate sinful Chicken Mac & Cheese ($5), served piping hot with melted cheese in a claypot. Where can you find such affordably priced Mac & Cheese right? This dish requires a 15 minutes wait as it’s baked individually upon order. We were quite surprised that it was almost filled to the brim because sometimes, hawker portions can be quite pathetic. Cheese lovers would instantly be drawn to the fragrance – imagine macaroni baked in béchamel sauce, nacho cheese sauce made with cheddar and mozzarella. You can forget about dieting! Toss the macaroni, peas and chicken slices together and we promise that one mouthful sends you to foodie heaven.

Pasta flavours offered here are unique as there are Tom Yum Seafood ($6), Thai Basil Seafood ($6.50) and Black Pepper Seafood ($6.50). The only commonly seen flavour is Bacon Alio Olio ($6.50). We tried Tom Yum Seafood pasta and wow! We were really impressed. The sauce has a distinct hot and sour flavour and it goes perfectly well with the spaghetti. Topped with fresh prawns and mussels, this dish is definitely value-for-money!

We also tried their Grilled Pork Chop ($6). Although it’s stated as “grilled”, they actually pan-fry the pork chop to ensure that their marinade, consisting of paprika and chopped herbs, does not turn bitter when over-cooked. The pork chop arrived hot and fragrant but we found it disappointing that the meat was a little too tough. Lastly, we shared Cheese fries ($3) which we found average.

Just a little piece of advice – be there early! We reached the coffeeshop around 7pm and finished our dinner around 7.45pm. When we walked past Legitimeat, most of their dishes are already sold out. You should also sit near the stall as Mr. Peh shouts out the order numbers, which is easy to miss, especially in a noisy coffeeshop.

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With the ongoing K-pop wave, as well as, the recent craze over “Descendants of the Sun”, “Doctors”, “Uncontrollably Fond” and Korean variety programs such as “Running Man”, there’s no doubt that the popularity of Korean food will increase. Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel’s Marriott Café will tantalize the tastebuds of foodies with a preference for Korean food between 16 August and 31 August 2016.

Specially curated by guests chefs Choi Dae-hwan and Lee Jae-Bin from JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, you’ll get spoilt for choice with a delectable spread of hearty Korean delicacies. Korean Chef Choi Dae-hwan began his career in Yongsusan, one of the best Korean cuisine restaurants, and he worked his way up the ranks to become the Assistant Chef at just 24 years old. Shortly after joining JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square, Chef Choi brought Seoul’s dining scene to greater heights and received raved reviews when he crafted the Korean menu at the “2015 Cruise Collection” after-party by Chanel at the Seoul Dongdaemun Design Plaza. His passion for cooking stems from the desire to be creative in presenting unique local dishes to the discerning palates of both Korean and international diners.

Soup lovers can find comfort in the beef turnip soup, kimchi stew, dry Pollack soup, as well as, the soup of the day. Looking for something healthier to balance out the filling meal? Go for Korean salads such as bok choy namul, shitake mushroom and bean sprout namul.

Our favourite and the highlight of the buffet has got to be the Beef Bulgogi that is marinated overnight to give the beef its flavourful taste. The beef tasted sweet, juicy and tender. We couldn’t resist going back for second and third helpings.

There are also other meats such as An Dong Style Chicken Stew with Soy Sauce and Roast Chilli Halibut Fillet. The former was fork-tender and we felt that the chicken has soaked up the flavours of the broth just right. The latter, however, tasted a little average and we felt there’s nothing much to shout-out about.

The other Korean meat that’s well-liked by Koreans back in Seoul is Pork Belly Bossam. This thinly sliced pork belly is boiled in spices and the method of eating it is somewhat similar to BBQ pork belly in Korean BBQ restaurants where diners wrap the pork, together with rice, kimchi and some sauces, within a large lettuce leaf.

The ultimate crowd-pleaser is the Kimchi Pancake, primarily made with sliced kimchi, flour and other vegetables. This is normally served as a banchan (side dish) in Korea. We found this savoury and enjoyable. The pancake was fluffy and light yet crisp on the outside. Furthermore, we really loved the glass noodles with sautéed vegetables (japchae).

Your meal isn’t complete without a sweet ending and there is Korean sweet treats such as Sweet Red Bean Soup, Black Raspberry Tea Punch, Yakgwa (Korean pastry), as well as, an array of homemade cake, puddings, crèmes, curds and mousse.

There are also other international cuisines in the buffet that you can try, including sushi, sashimi, pasta, bread, cheese, seafood on ice etc.

The Taste of Korea Buffet lasts from 16 August to 31 August 2016. Korean Lunch Buffet from Monday to Saturday is priced at $59++ (adult) and $35++ (child) while on Sundays, it is priced at at $75++ (adult) and $46++ (child) inclusive of free flow juices and soft drinks and $98++ (adult) inclusive of free flow sparkling wine, beer and soft drinks. Korean Dinner Buffet from Sunday to Thursday is priced at $70++ (adult) and $38++ (child) while on Fridays and Saturdays, it is priced at $80++ (adult) and $40++ (child).

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Myanmar is a country full of mystery and excitement. From the temple-strewn plains of Bagan to the glassy waters of Inle Lake, Myanmar’s beauty is unmatched. Adventure-seekers have the choice of floating away in a hot air balloon, hiking up mountains for panoramic views or scuba-diving to explore the underwater world. For those who wish to seek refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life, Myanmar has numerous pristine beaches for you to relax on. Party-goers who like soaking in the atmosphere of festivities, it’s good news to know that Myanmar celebrates many festivals throughout the year, ranging from pagoda festivals to spirit ceremonies that boast plenty of music, dancing and eating. Here’s a list of 10 things to do in Myanmar.

#1 – Explore temples and understand Buddhism

Over 80% of Myanmar’s population practices Buddhism, making this country one of the most devout Buddhist nations in the world. Hence, visiting temples and satisfying curiosity of Buddhism is a central part of any traveler’s visit to Myanmar. Pagodas and temples dot Myanmar’s landscapes, whether in city centres or remote islands and even mountain tops. Tourists can either join a guided tour or do some self-discoveries. The top two most-visited temples in Myanmar are Yangon’s 2,500 years old Shwedegon Pagoda and Bagan’s Thousand Temples with ancient structures. Our favourite is the impressive and sacred Shwedegon Pagoda that began at 8.2metres but stands close to 110metres today. Hundreds of glittering gold plates surround the pagoda, with 4,531 diamonds encrusted at the top, of which the largest is a 72 carat diamond!

#2 – Soar above the skies with Hot Air Balloons

Whenever someone mentions “hot air balloon”, one might immediately think of Cappadocia in Turkey where you get a view of rocky landscapes or Australia where you get to admire their blue oceans and gorgeous shorelines. It’s time to add Myanmar’s hot air balloon onto your bucket list! This is a signature activity in Myanmar and the city of Bagan is the ultimate destination to experience it. You’ll get a picturesque view of thousands of pagodas with unique and beautiful architecture, as well as, take in the lush greenery of vegetation across acres of Myanmar land. Rides typically take place at sunrise or sunset to offer you the best breathtaking views of Myanmar’s landscape washed in a golden hue. This will be an unforgettable ride over such an alluring city. Remember a champagne toast at the top!

#3 – Watersports, not for the faint-hearted

With a plethora of spectacular beaches across Myanmar, one can be adventurous and do some water rafting, snorkeling, scuba diving and kayaking. Water rafting is perfect for thrill-seekers and the best spots lie in the Northern part of Myanmar. Malihka River has rapids with ratings of 4 and 5 on a scale of 6, which gives rafters a blood-pumping opportunity to enjoy their river experience to the fullest.

Scuba divers, listen up! With more than 800 islands in the Andaman Sea, diving in this mostly undiscovered area should be on the top of your wish list. Myanmar scuba diving operators offer packages to the most beautiful dive sites in the Southern Mergui Archipelago, as well as, to the Bay of Bengal in the west of Myanmar.

Those who just want to get a glimpse of colourful and harmless fishes and marine inhabitants, you can opt for snorkeling at Ngapali beach or Ngwe Saung beach. These two beach destinations offer kayaking as well.

#4 – Have a cocktail on Myanmar’s exotic beaches

This activity suits everyone, from families to friends, as well as, couples. Parents can unwind with a drink while their children build sandcastles or go swimming in the beaches. Friends can celebrate, with or without any reason and soak up the sun, sand and sea. Couples who are looking for a romantic end to the day can catch the sunsets while indulging in fanciful cocktails. You can also purchase snacks from locals. Myanmar has plenty of beaches to offer. Head to Ngapali Beach for an upscale beach vibe with white-sand beaches, lined up with luxury hotels and seafood restaurants. Budget traveler? Fret not as you can head to Chaung Tha Beach which offers affordable activities that won’t burn a hole in your wallets. Looking for crystal clear waters to swim in? Ngwe Saung Beach is perfect for you! If you’re interested in island-hopping, travel to Northern Myeik or Southern Myeik. Not only will you get an insider’s perspective on rural lifestyle of local fisherman, you’ll be enchanted by what the different islands offer you. Whatever kind of beach you seek, Myanmar has what you need.

#5 – Trekking and Hiking Myanmar’s Diverse Landscapes

We always believe that getting up to the peak allows us to get a vantage point so blood-pumping adventure in Myanmar comes in the form of trekking and hiking. You can see this as an excuse for exercising so that you can feast on more local delicacies later on. We recommend some of the best places for trekking – from Kalaw to the vast Inle Lake, Myanmar’s beautiful Shan state and up North by Putao. People who love to ski, hike and mountain bike can head to Putao too. Besides being rewarded by breathtaking scenery, you can hike the Northeast of Mandalay through Hsipaw and be wow-ed by their majestic waterfalls and soak in their soothing natural hot springs. Daredevils who want to step foot atop a volcano, go for Mount Popa where you’ll hike up hundreds of stairs to the ancient volcano’s summit.

#6 – Enter the Unknown Mystical Caves

Myanmar has numerous caves for an out-of-the-world experience in Pindaya, Kalaw, Hpa-An and Monywa. The Pindaya cave is the most popular as it serves as an important pilgrimage site for Burmese Buddhists. We recommend taking a leisure horse-cart up to the foot of the hill as you need to reserve your energy for the 200 steps up a covered stairway leading to the entrance of the cave. Don’t be taken aback by the sculpture of a giant spider at the entrance of the cave! Shall keep you in suspense so ask the locals or your guide for the interesting legend!

Upon entering the cave, you will be greeted by the unusual sights as every nook and cranny within the cave is cramped with Buddha images up to the ceiling. Between the images stand small pagodas, stalagmites and stalactites. These images are from different eras from the early Konbaung dynasty to present day and the number of images is still growing. As of now, there are about 9,000 images that are gold-plated, made from teak wood, marble, bronze and other materials. These images vary in size as well, from being really tiny to life-size.

Here’s the fun yet challenging part – some smaller sections of the cave can only be entered by crawling through them so be careful when finding your way around the dimly-lit meandering maze as the floor can get slippery.

#7 – Travel along Myanmar’s scenic routes via their Old-School Railways

Myanmar has a convenient network of railways all around the country. Be prepared to be transported to the trains that existed in the olden days as Myanmar’s trains often don’t have air conditioning and are not always fixed with modern conveniences. Besides the only downside of having to sweat it out during your journey, Myanmar’s train travel between most major towns and cities, which make traveling and exploring the country so much more convenient. Tickets start from as low as $5 so there’s nothing to complain about. This is perhaps, a fantastic way to enjoy a scenic trip through Myanmar.

#8 – Exploring Myanmar on a Bicycle

Besides getting around on foot to touristy spots or local haunts, you can rent bicycles on your own or join a cycling tour for a fuss-free and multifaceted way to sightsee. Cycling is a popular activity in Myanmar and provides a close-up and scenic tour of the country. Whether you’re a hardcore active cyclist who’s interested in tackling mountain biking or just someone looking for city cycling at a leisurely pace, bike rentals are everywhere. Sick of the city? There are cycling tours that include countryside biking as well. The best months to cycle are December and January as the weather is not too hot and there is little rainfall during this period.

#9 – Celebrate Festivals with the Locals

Myanmar celebrates many festivals all year round so we will just recommend a few festivals that have graced the presence of huge numbers of tourists and locals alike. In January, look forward to the Ananda Pagoda Festival, offering traditional entertainment, food, games and pop-up markets selling artisan crafts. There will also be sermons given by monks and this is the most authentic way to understand the culture and lifestyle of locals in Myanmar. In February, the Salone Festival celebrates the seafaring Salone people who live in the Myeik Archipelago. You’ll be invited to observe spiritual dances, folk singing and treated to traditional Salone feasts.

In March, there’s the Kakku Pagoda Festival, a three-day yearly harvest celebration paying homage to thousands of pagodas nestled on a hill overlooking the Hopon Valley. Travelers will get a peek into Myanmar’s centuries-old traditions. In April, Myanmar holds the Thingyan Festival, which is similar to Thailand’s water festival, to mark the Burmese New Year. In July, the Waso Moon Festival takes place to signify the path of Siddhartha on his journey to become Buddha and honour present monks observing lent. Nearing the end of the year, in the month of November, the Tazaungdaing Festival, also known as the Hot Air Balloon Festival, takes place over a period of three days. This festival marks the end of the rainy season and is arguably the most mesmerizing event of the year. Imagine gazing at countless illuminating paper balloons floating up into the night sky.

#10 – Eat to your stomach’s fill

In the 21st century, you can only leave a country after you’ve tried scrumptious local delicacies which have a plus point if it’s instagram-worthy. Every country’s food has a special identity that is beloved by locals. A typical Myanmar meal consists of rice and accompanying dishes of fish or meat, cooked in onion and garlic-based gravy. Soup can be clear, creamy of tart and is sipped during the meal to cleanse the palate. Salads are a popular side dish and Mohinga, a thick fish broth with thin rice noodles, is Myanmar’s national dish, typically eaten for breakfast. Locals also favour Ohno Kaukswe, a coconut-based chicken soup with noodles. Tea is a staple drink in Myanmar, commonly served hot and with sweet condensed milk added to cut its strong natural earthiness. As for desserts, Myanmar locals love including ingredients such as coconut, tapioca, rice flour and fruits. Mont Lone Ye Baw – rice dumplings stuffed with sugar and topped with shredded coconut – is one of the top favourites among locals.

With its stunning landscapes, spectacular rock and limestone formations, as well as, the array of activities to do in Myanmar, isn’t it time to book your adventure here? To make things easier for tourism in Myanmar, Flymya has launched an online portal which allows small-scale tourism operators to upload itineraries and tour packages to Flymya’s website. Tourist agencies can then, save on costs that goes into handling their own websites, payment gateways, online banking, marketing operations and sales operations. These hassles will be handled by Flymya and connect the businesses with global travelers. Wondering what Flymya does? Well, it’s Myanmar’s largest one-stop shop for domestic air tickets, tour packages, car rentals and supplying travelers with customized itinerary plans.

Whatever you have in mind, you can contact Flymya via email at booking@flymya.com or on their hotline at +95 9797 978888 (24 hours). You can also visit www.flymya.com for more information.

The post 10 Fun Ways to Experience the Wonders of Myanmar appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

‘Omakase’ – a Japanese phrase that translates to “I’ll leave it up to you”. Nowadays, it’s a trend at Japanese restaurants to offer Omakase sets, whereby customers will leave the selection of the day’s dishes up to the chef’s creativity and innovations, as opposed to ordering ala carte. The chef will generally prepare a series of palatable plates, beginning with the lightest fare and proceeding to the heaviest dishes, giving your dining experience a hearty finish. The phrase is not exclusive to service of raw fish with rice and can incorporate grilling, simmering or other cooking techniques of other meat selection as well. Customers typically received the highest quality fish available at a lower cost than if it had been ordered ala carte.

Bistro Du Le Pin is a hidden gem along Orchard Road, tucked cozily in a corner on the second floor of Orchard Plaza. Helming the kitchen is Chef Shigeru Shiraishi and he is offering Omakase at $60 per set. This is relatively affordable as compared to others, yet the ingredients and quality of food are not compromised here. Bistro Du Le Pin’s previous owner was a friend of Chef Shigeru. He wanted to close the restaurant down so Chef Shigeru decided to take over, retaining the same name. Chef Shigeru has been living in Singapore since 2010 and re-curated a brand new menu after taking over the restaurant in May 2015.

Chef Shigeru has been cooking since a tender age of 17 years old in Japan. He chose to hone his culinary skills after an exhausting life of moving around countless times with his parents due to his father’s work commitments. He was certain that he didn’t want to move around anymore so he decided to start his career as a chef, staying put in Japan. Over the years, he has travelled a lot between United States of America, Japan and Singapore, just to refine his culinary skills and finally, decided to make Singapore his home. His dishes are influenced by the experiences he gained all through his life while travelling around.

The restaurant sits about 14 people so do expect some waiting time. There are 8 counter seats where you can feast your eyes up close on the delicious dishes that Chef Shigeru whips up. I found the way he handles different groups of customers who order different dishes concurrently very impressive as he never mixes up any orders. The $60 Omakase set comes with 8 dishes, with complimentary potato salad to start off and yuzu sorbet, a delightful end to your meal.

The Potato Salad contains eggs and crunchy onion bits. It’s so creamy, with good savoury flavours from the mentaiko.

Burrata Cheese features a chewy outer layer, with its inner core so velvety smooth and silky. Its fluffiness makes the melt-in-your-mouth cheese superb and not too overwhelming.

The highlight of my meal was Hiroshima Oysters. The oysters were surprisingly deep-freezed and microwaved but it tasted nothing like microwaved food. I found it extremely fresh and very well-marinated. This is what I will return to Bistro Du Le Pin for! Simply the best!

Crabcake was chockfull of ingredients like crab meat, bread crumbs, milk, mayonnaise, eggs and seasonings. You can taste fresh crab meat in each bite as Chef Shigeru is very generous with portioning his quality ingredients.

Asparagus with Salmon and Ikura was topped with shredded truffle. I love the burst of flavoursome juices from the salmon roe as soon as they enter my mouth. The asparagus added a crunch to the overall dish.

Spicy Tuna was so fresh and I really enjoyed the fragrant fried garlic, which gave this dish its character.

Next up, Black Cod Fish with Truffles and Spinach Miso sauce. The cod fish tasted very succulent and fresh. It is done just right, not too tough nor too mushy and perfectly marinated such that there isn’t any fishy taste. Chef Shigeru does the sauce himself, in-house.

I was feeling quite full from the previous dishes but the scent of this wonderful creation of Iberico Pork whets my appetite for more! The pork was really tender and had a good balance of lean mean and fats, making it not as sinful as you thought it would be.

Uni Pasta, showcasing spaghetti done al dente, with plenty of ikura, seaweed and most importantly, delicious uni. This amazing pasta dish was drenched in a savoury rich sauce that was simply gratifying.

Your meal will end with yuzu sorbet, which is perfect as it cleanses your palate after devouring so many flavoursome dishes. Dining in this unpretentious setting puts your mind at ease and you have the luxury of catching up with friends and family over heartfelt conversations. Besides, let me remind you that their Omakase set is one of the more affordable one in Singapore! I’m planning to return to try the ala carte menu soon.

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By Mu Qin & Maureen

Seafood white bee hoon shot to fame after a coffee shop in Sembawang a couple years ago. Enhanced with shellfish such as “la la” (clams) and crayfish, as well as, prawns, it sounds like a simple dish, but the stock makes or breaks this dish. Riding on this trend, hawkers have set up stalls, specifically specializing in seafood white bee hoon. We bring you 8 seafood white bee hoon places from all parts of Singapore that foodies flock to.

Woon Woon Pek Beehoon

At the east of Singapore, Woon Woon Pek Beehoon offers only White Bee Hoon, accompanied with various seafood. There are standard offerings and you have the option of adding on la la, crayfish, sliced fish, flower crab or prawn at an additional cost. White Bee Hoon here comes in three sizes – small, medium and large. We had the small portion of La La Prawn White Bee Hoon ($6) which came with very generous toppings of fried pork lard. The broth is light, yet very flavourful, with a hint of sweetness from the vegetables and the seafood was fresh.

Jin Hock Seafood

Jin Hock Seafood is popular zi char stall among East-siders. Although White Bee Hoon is supposedly their signature dish, you won’t notice it on their signboards or any related food pictures. There are four different sizes and we went for the $9 portion (medium, perhaps). Out of all the seafood white bee hoon we’ve tried, this is the only one that came with plenty of sliced cuttlefish, adding a layer of texture to the super moist white bee hoon here. There are truckloads of eggs, and a few prawns and we enjoyed the white bee hoon that was well-infused with flavours from the broth.

XIAN Seafood White Bee Hoon

Owner of Cafe De Hong Kong, Mr Francis Mak, opens XIAN Seafood White Bee Hoon in a Ubi coffeeshop together with two other partners. They first quick fry the bee hoon to give it a little smokiness and set aside. Made using old mother hen and pork ribs, the light milky broth is cooked with fresh seafood and bee hoon. Crayfish is sliced into half to absorb the essence from the broth as well as to release the crustacean flavour. We had the crayfish white bee hoon which ones in three different sizes – $15, $20, or $25. They also have la la white bee hoon or flower crab bee hoon. Oh ya, those pork lard… so generous!

East Seafood White Meehoon

Most stalls at the hawker centre were closed in the evening but it’s hard to miss East Seafood as the queue only stops when they’re sold out. The bee hoon are first wok-charred before being braised in the seafood stock. We had La La and Prawn White Meehoon ($8) and felt that the stock lacked flavours as they cut down on salt and soya sauce. The noodles were soft while the lala and prawns were fresh but it would’ve fared better if the stock was thicker and richer. Good news for fans of East Seafood as they have just opened a branch in Ang Mo Kio in July, as well as, another in Hougang in August.

72 小厨之家 White Bee Hoon

Hidden in yet another centralized estate in Ang Mo Kio lies this moist and palatable white bee hoon. The $5 portion comes with generous servings of sliced pork, sliced fish, prawns and la la. The fresh seafood enhanced the sweetness of the broth, which already tasted a little eggy. This is no doubt a comforting plate of noodles, especially on rainy days. We were also ecstatic to find chunky cubes of pork lard which made the entire package more aromatic.

Sunny Seafood

Sunny Seafood is a hawker stall that specializes only in serving up good-tasting white bee hoon. We had the medium size portion ($4.50), served with fried fish fillet, prawns, squid, eggs and vegetables. On the whole, this white bee hoon was light, not greasy and well-balanced in flavour. The ingredients were fresh and we enjoyed the savoury and tender fried fish fillet. However, we felt it could’ve been better if the noodles were softer and soaked up more of the tasty stock.

吃家 Kitchen

This is another hawker stall selling “Zi Char” in a coffee shop that West-siders frequent. We believe that their white bee hoon is a dish that is added onto their menu at a later time after they started business. The La La White Beehoon ($6) only has one standard size. Served with plenty of fresh la la, the dish had sufficient moist and flavours. The soft noodles were simmered to a perfect timing as it arrived well-soaked with the richness of the broth. One portion is only enough to fill the stomach of one man. 吃家 Kitchen should consider serving their delectable white bee hoon in different sizes to cater to different groups of diners.

You Huak aka White Restaurant

Up North, lies the originator of all white bee hoon(s) in Singapore, which has now expanded their business from their humble start-up in Sembawang. They have outlets in Punggol, Sun Plaza and Toa Payoh. So, what’s the secret to their superb white bee hoon? Firstly, the noodles are full of flavour! Squeeze some lime onto it, mix well and you get mouthfuls of really tasty white bee hoon! Secondly, the broth is very rich and thick which whets your appetite for more. Thirdly, their generosity with their ingredients gives a really good impression and stirs up your appetite upon being served on your table. There are prawns, squid, egg and vegetables all soaked up nicely in the stock. There are three sizes, small ($4.50), medium ($8) and large ($12).

The post 8 Seafood White Bee Hoon in Singapore That Foodies Love appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Singaporeans love a good short and relaxing weekend to get away from their hectic lifestyles. All of us have the tendency to visit neighbouring countries to escape from our usual bustling city life. Just 75 minutes of ferry ride away from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal brings you directly to the doorstep of Bintan Lagoon Resort. This is the only resort on Bintan Island that has its private jetty with immigration officers stamping your passports so you have the luxury of breezing into the resort without waiting impatiently in queues at Bintan’s main ferry terminal.

9am (Singapore time) – Board the ferry at Tanah Merah

Obtain your ferry boarding passes at the Mozaic Ferry counter at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. The direct ferry only departs to Bintan Lagoon Resort two times per day, punctually at Singapore time 9am and 4.10pm. Due to the one-hour time difference, we took the 9am ferry and arrived at Bintan Lagoon Resort at 9.30am Indonesian time. Check-in to the resort only starts at 3pm so we recommend you leave your luggage with the reception/concierge before you begin exploring the resort.

10am (Indonesia time) – Guided Bike Tour
11am – Archery
12pm – Buffet Lunch at Fiesta Restaurant

After leaving your belongings with the reception/concierge, take a Guided Bike Tour around the resort to orientate yourself. Believe us, the resort is so huge that you need buggies to move around. After working out your leg muscles, channel Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and aim for the bull’s-eye in a game of Archery! These two activities will fill up your morning, after which, you’ll have worked up a good appetite for buffet lunch at Fiesta restaurant.

2pm – Relax on the hammocks
3pm – Check into your room
3.30pm – ATV
4.30pm – Jetski
5.30pm – Snorkel

Take some time after lunch to digest your food and relax on the huge hammocks at the lobby of the resort before checking into your rooms/villa at 3pm. You should settle down quickly so that you can move on to other thrilling activities that will guarantee an adrenaline rush! You can start off with All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) that brings you along the seashore and into a “jungle” where you can spot monkeys and monitor lizards if you’re lucky.

Bintan Lagoon Resort doesn’t just offer land activities. If you love the sea, indulge in some sea sports after your ATV adventure. Go for the Jet Ski ride and accelerate like a daredevil. It’s wonderful to taste the salty waters while feeling the wind gently brush past your cheeks. If Jet Ski isn’t enough to satisfy your love for sea sports, you can opt to snorkel, surf and kayak. All these activities will keep your busy till your hunger pangs kick in during dinner time.

7pm – Pre-dinner drinks at The Terrace

We recommend pre-dinner drinks at The Terrace before treating yourself to a good seafood feast at Nelayan Restaurant that’s on the beach. Savour fresh seafood on the terraces of the restaurant, overlooking the majestic South China Sea and listen to the waves crash against the seashore.

7.30pm – Dinner at Nelayan Beachside Restaurant

We had the Deluxe Surf & Turf (RP425,000) which features grilled beef, lamb, fish and the best of all – grilled squid! It is served with your choice of baked potato or rice and sautéed vegetables. The grilled squid tasted so tender and full of flavours we wished we could have more. It was simply grilled to perfection! Besides, remember to try the different types of chilli sauces offered at their “chilli sauce counter”. Some were tangier while some packed a really good punch! We also had a Grilled Lobster (RP180,000/100grams) which we thought was alright but could be done better. We found it to be a tad on the blend side. You can opt for the lobster to be steamed-cooked Chinese-style as well.

9pm – Sky Lanterns or Fireworks
10pm – Party away at Silk Nightclub or enjoy an in-room massage

When you’ve finished a satisfying dinner, you can make wishes and personally see your sky lanterns float off. You can even request to purchase fireworks and put them off into the sky yourself. If the night is still young for you, head over to Silk nightclub for a round of drinks. However, if you’re already feeling the exhaustion of the day’s activities, you can book their 24 hours in-room massages and slowly drift off to sleep.

8.30am – Breakfast buffet at Fiesta Restaurant

Wake up feeling refreshed the following day and squeeze in a morning swim or dip in the resort’s gorgeous swimming pools before heading for buffet breakfast at Fiesta restaurant. Choose to sit at their patio, overlooking the swimming pools and beach while savouring a delightful breakfast spread. We enjoyed their beehoon, especially when paired together with chicken ngoh hiang and a fried egg done sunny-side up.

9.30am – Shop at Plaza Lagoi shopping mall or Pujasera village

Unwilling to leave Bintan without some “souvenirs”? Approach the friendly resort staff to help get a transport to bring you to either Plaza Lagoi shopping mall that’s 10 minutes drive away or Pujasera (village) that’s 20 minutes drive away. You can get popular traditional local delicacies such as kueh lapis and tidbits. We recommend Pujasera’s Bintan Layers Cakes (kueh lapis) that are freshly baked at 4am daily. Besides the original version, they offer coffee, prunes, pandan, cinnamon, chococolate, cheese and mocha flavours. Look out for the shop house of kota sebong block 907 no.2.

Guess what we bought? IndoMie Mi Goreng potato chips! It can only be found in Bintan and not other parts of Indonesia! We bought one packet from the resort just to try and it was so good that the chips were sold out when we went back and wanted to buy more. Having searched high and low, we finally managed to find the chips at a provision shop in Pujasera and sorry everyone, we bought everything that the shop had!

11.30am – Pack your belongings and check out of your room
12.30pm – Check into your ferry back to Singapore

The check-out time is at 12noon. The direct ferry returning to Singapore from Bintan Lagoon Resort leaves at 1pm and 5.10pm from Saturday to Thursday and 11.45am and 5.10pm on Friday. Now it’s time to plan your short weekend getaway!

Bintan Lagoon Resort is an ideal getaway for leisure and golf and even has the biggest convention centre in Bintan Island to hold corporate meetings. The resort has 470 contemporary rooms, suites and villas, complemented by an impressive range of 12 dining options. We stayed in a Deluxe Sea Facing Room which consisted of a king-sized bed and a “sofa” that’s large enough to be a bed, as well as, our own furnished private balcony. There’s also a leisure centre with a gym, children’s play room, karaok and massage.

The post 24 hours Ultimate Fun in the Sun at Bintan Lagoon Resort appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Opened in November 2014, Guksu Restaurant is a neoteric Korean restaurant that specializes in Jeongol – a hearty Korean stew. This classic and elaborate stew dates back to ancient times where it was served to the upper class and at the royal court. It was also rumoured that wartime soldiers used to combine whatever rations they have in their iron helmets for cooking, hence the term, “jeongol”.

Guksu Restaurant has just rolled out a new lunch menu where you can choose between 4 different personal jeongol to pair with your choice of steamed rice, instant noodle or glass noodle.

We had the personal Budae Jjigae ($11.90) which is a Korean traditional stew boasting luncheon meat, pork ham, chicken sausages, kimchi, bean curd, instant noodle, rice cake and vegetables soaked in a delicious beef broth with a blend of Korean chilli paste.

Usually, adding a tablespoon of chilli paste is sufficient but if you’re the daredevil who’s looking for a good kick from the spice, feel free to add more. They are very generous with the ingredients and the beef broth was so comforting that we couldn’t resist slurping up the last drop.

If you’re coming with a group of 2 to 4 friends, we recommend sharing the Hankook-style Bulgogi Jeongol ($49.90) consisting of sliced wagyu beef, vegetables and mushrooms that you get to BBQ personally on their hotplate. Following the footsteps of Thai Mookata, Guksu Restaurant’s hotplate is also surrounded by vegetable broth where you can cook your glass noodles. This set is served with 2 bowls of rice and a Korean sweet soy sauce that enhanced the tastiness of the wagyu beef. We really enjoyed the succulent beef and found it very well-marinated.

Korean Fried Chicken is the latest trend nowadays. We like our fried chicken with meat that’s tender inside, yet retaining its crispness of the skin outside and wow! Guksu Restaurant has managed to perfect their fried chicken. A platter of chicken wings costs $29.90. The good news is that you’re able to mix and match the three flavours – classic, soy and spicy – at the same price too!

The mustard dipping sauce that accompanied the classic chicken wings is our favourite. As for the wings, their soy chicken wings were lip-smacking good! These platters come with mashed potato and fruit pickles. While the latter wasn’t to our liking, we found the mashed potatoes one of the best we’ve tried as it has a creamy texture and a balanced buttery flavour.

There’s a saying – “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” – so when dining in a Korean restaurant, have your meal like local Koreans which means, lots and lots of soju. Guksu Restaurant has watermelon soju ($38) which we felt was decent but no “wow” factor. They do offer bottled Korean soju as well and we found the peach flavour the best.

Chefs at Guksu Restaurant are all Korean and the menu is curated by them, so their food is as close as you can get to authentic Korean delicacies. Here’s a tip – be there early to avoid the queue. We’ll certainly return for their Korean fried chicken.

The post Guksu Restaurant – Heavenly Jeongol & Superb Korean Fried Chicken appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

We’re pretty sure you’ve heard of many good hawkers, whose standards deteriorated after they turned famous and became so overwhelmed with crowds.

Tiong Bahru Boneless Chicken Rice has recently been recognised in the Michelin Bib Gourmand List. Having been around for more than 30 years, the stall owner was once one of the chefs preparing chicken rice at Mandarin Hotel. Such great credential, that really sets the expectation!

We arrived around 11.30am on a Thursday to avoid the lunch crowd. There was already a queue forming so we joined the queue. Four uncles are handling the stall that particular day and one of them was in charge of taking orders. Upon reaching our turn, we placed our orders and merely asked a question “uncle, 你们早上几点开?” (Translate: what time do you open in the morning?) but before we finished our question, we were rudely cut off by him, “问问问, 看不到后面很多人排队啊?!” (Translate: Ask ask ask, can’t you see a long queue behind?)

Ok, that’s really rude.

Nevermind about the service, because they are probably busy after all. But sadly, our chicken rice didn’t quite live up to expectation. The thing about boneless chicken is that the hawkers tend to flatten the flesh with their cleaver after they debone the chicken. Forget about sinking your teeth into chunks of meat as the meat here is flat and dry. It’s not as succulent as many other good chicken rice stalls around Singapore, of which a couple of hawker names have already popped up in our heads.

If we ever return to patronize again, we would skip the normal white steamed chicken and just go straight for the roast chicken. Its fragrant skin saved the day. Furthermore, the rice lacks consistency and does not exude the usual chicken rice aroma. The chilli was a little watery.

That’s our personal experience after all. Some of you probably have had it better. But Tiong Bahru being such a heritage enclave, I am sure there will be better options than this?

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Compiled by Mu Qin & Maureen

Singapore, with her plethora of delicious local hawker delicacies, is a foodie’s heaven. We’re pretty sure no one can resist the scrumptious yet artery-clogging char kway teow. Flat rice noodles and egg noodles are often stir-fried over very high heat with eggs, cockles, Chinese sausages (lap cheong), fish cakes, bean sprouts and Chinese chives. Traditionally, hawkers fried the kway teow with generous amounts of delightful lard but in the 21st century where more people are becoming health-conscious, the healthier version of char kway teow is executed with oil and vegetables. Char Kway Teow is a common dish at hawker centres across Singapore but it’s tough to find one that really suits your personal preference. So, here’s a list of 17 Char Kway Teow hawkers for your enjoyment.

Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee

Touted by many as one of the best char kway teow in Singapore, this stall is often swamped by crowds during lunch hours. It was first started by Mr. Ng’s father at Metropole Cinema in Tanjong Pagar in the 1950s but is named after their tenure at the second outlet in Outram Park. Mr. Ng helped since the beginning and officially took over about 10 years ago. Each $3 portion comes with cockles, bean sprouts and fried pork lard to complement the tasty egg. The noodles are smooth and thoroughly coated with special black sauce, packed with a wallop of wok hei. Each bite gives a textural crunch from the deep-fried lard. So shiok!

Hill Street Fried Kway Teow

Wok hei is very well-done at Hill Street Fried Kway Teow as you can distinctly taste the smokey flavour of the noodles. Go closer and you’ll notice that the owner uses a very shallow wok which is probably only 5 inches deep to ensure that the kway teow is fried uniformly. A plate of $3 fried kway teow comes generously packed with ingredients. We enjoyed the crunchy bean sprouts and bits of crunchy pork lard, with lots of eggs and sweet dark sauce. Chives are also added to enhance the flavours of the noodles.

Dong Ji Fried Kway Teow

Uncle Teng, the man behind numerous plates of delectable char kway teow, fries each plate individually to ensure the flavours are concentrated and the dish is served piping hot. With more than 40 years of experience in frying char kway teow, his movements are swift and rhythmic. He single-handedly takes orders and fries the kway teow. Fresh prawns and squid are added into the oil before the noodles. Each mouthful of fluffy noodles were well-coated with spicy, eggy goodness, giving it a lovely taste and texture. The dish also had enough wok hei and plump cockles, completed by strips of chives. Instead of the usual sweet finish, Uncle Teng’s char kway teow is more savoury, with a good amount of smokiness.

No. 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow

Judging by the framed newspaper article of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hanging proudly at the stall, it says a lot about the reputation of No. 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow. Despite his fame, owner Mr. Ho is friendly and approachable. He cooks each batch upon order and the portion is one of the most generous in Singapore. The basic $3 plate has everything from Chinese sausages, fish cakes, cockles, eggs to bean sprouts and chives. The noodles were soft and moist and perfectly enveloped in the greasy sauce that was savoury with a hint of sweetness. To be honest, it is still our favourite thus far.

Choon Hiang

Since the age of 12, Ms. Mui Mui has been accompanying her mother and helping out at their stall at MacPherson every day after school. She only took over after their relocation to East Coast Lagoon Food Village and her char kway teow was selected as the Top 10 Char Kway Teow in City Hawker Food Hunt in 2008. Her cooking style differs from other char kway teow hawkers as she started off by cooking the eggs till a little dry before adding the rest of the ingredients for her char kway teow. It was flavourful and contains a strong taste of wok hei, just the way we like it.

食得福 Fried Kway Teow

When a few readers introduced me to the same CKT stall, it made me very curious (especially when it is located in Ang Mo Kio)! I dropped by for lunch at 食得福 CKT opposite AMK Hub and was pleasantly surprised how simple but tasty their noodles were. The aunty has been frying CKT for more than 20 years and even though her ingredients and sauces are nothing special, it all depends on how the hawker controls the fire and makes the noodles come alive. This is a very good plate of char kway teow which is wet enough and smoky enough. Plus, they even have stir fried mee tai mak which has become my new favourite.

Armenian Street Fried Kway Teow @ Seng Kang

Started in 1949 by Mr. Lim’s father back in Armenian Street, this street side stall was well-loved by many char kway teow fans. Mr. Lim helped his father since young and took over in the late 1980s. The moist noodles are well-coated with sweet dark soy sauce and fried to perfect goodness, with sufficient wok hei and small, crunchy pieces of pork lard. Generous portions of Chinese sausages, cockles, eggs, bean sprouts and chives added on the desired flavours to this culinary wonder. We found that it tasted better when chilli is added into it. There are other outlets in Tampines and Sin Ming. Read more about it at http://www.misstamchiak.com/armenian-street-fried-kway-teow-seng-kang/

大众美食 @ Changi Village

The elderly couple works in harmony at this hawker stall – while the wife takes order, the husband whips up a superb plate of char kway teow, with its fragrance and smokiness lingering in the air. He makes it a point to fry only one plate at a time so be prepared to wait for his wonderfully charred kway teow that’s out to tantalize our tastebuds. A plate consists of your usual eggs, cockles, Chinese sausages, bean sprouts and chives. Somehow, this elderly uncle’s char kway teow gave us a tad of homely feel.

Amoy Street Fried Kway Teow

This stall originated from a push cart along Boon Tat Street in the 1960s. Having been in business for over 5 decades, it’s not surprising to see huge office crowds queuing for a plate of this goodness, especially during lunch time. Boasting a nice texture and good consistency, this char kway teow leans towards the more savoury side. The kway teow was moist but not overly wet and the cockles were fresh and plentiful. The standard is not consistent because some days, the char kway teow appeared a little too dry for our liking. But we like that it had a lime to give a tangy dimension to the sweet and smoky dish.

Mr. Chee’s father started the business more than 30 years ago. Mr. Chee used to run a car workshop and only took over the stall about 10 years ago. His char kway teow is a little different. He doesn’t use lard and uses sausage and ham for his char kway teow. His homemade chilli sauce is pretty solid, packing a really good punch. We ordered the $3 and $4 version and found the $4 plate of char kway teow bigger, with an additional big prawn. However, the $3 is good enough with decent wok hei. The reason behind Mr. Chee being labeled as the “Dancing” char kway teow man is because he sways along with his frying movements. He explained that this helps him keep fit. Read about it here: http://www.misstamchiak.com/char-kway-teow-circuit-road/

Lai Heng Fried Kuay Teow & Cooked Food

What makes this stall stands out from the rest is its uniqueness in offering otah that surprisingly complements a plate of char kway teow. Instead of tasting the usual charred and smokiness flavours, you get a super moist and slippery plate of kway teow here. Don’t be mistaken – there’s still a hint of wok hei and the aroma is fantastic! You’ll notice a lady helming the wok and she’s the daughter of Mr. Saw, the original owner and hawker. Sorry, but Mr. Saw’s char kway teow still fares better so when you’re ordering, remember to request for Mr. Saw to prepare it for you.

Katong (Peter) Fried Kway Teow Mee

Owner Peter Lim learned how to make his char kway teow from one of the best char kway teow “masters” in the late 1960s when he was offered a chance to help out at the coffee shop beside Odeon cinema in Bras Basah. Later on, Peter set up his own hawker stall at Jago Close along East Coast Road before moving to Tanjong Pagar Food Centre and roped in his son, Benny, to help whip up tasty plates of local and Penang char kway teow. We tried the traditional black fried kway teow and Penang white fried kway teow. The former consisted of a strong wok hei taste and came with abundant pork fats, yet it’s not very oily. The latter fared really well too. White kway teow is used and it’s more savoury than sweet but we enjoyed the spicy-tangy twist the most. What amazed us was that Peter and Benny use a prawn and chicken stock instead of water during their cooking.

91 Fried Kway Teow Mee

This is perhaps, one of the rarest char kway teow stall in Singapore that has chye sim and ikan billis as toppings. We found the wok hei really gratifying and enjoyed the crunchy texture and savoury-ness coming from the ikan billis. It changed the overall taste of traditional char kway teow. Owner Mr. Tan explained that his char kway teow is stir-fried with a special broth that takes about 10 hours to prepare. He replaces the sinful pork lard with vegetable oil for a healthier choice. It’s quite amazing that we could smell the aroma a few stalls away, while Mr. Tan is frying char kway teow. However, the only downside is that we found his portion too small and ingredients too little.

Meng Kee Char Kway Teow

Run by a father-daughter team, this char kway teow tilts towards the sweeter version. We haven’t tried the father’s version but the daughter is the one who is frequently manning the stall nowadays. Char Kway Teow here is moist and smooth. More sweet sauce is added to enhance the sweetness, as compared to the savoury ones we commonly find in Singapore. We enjoyed the strong wok hei and pork lard flavours and found the noodles to be well-coated with eggs and the highlight was their chilli which gives a good kick. Their cockles are served a little raw and much juicier and larger than usual but we would’ve liked it better if these were cooked longer.

Seah Im Fried Kway Teaw Mee

Run by a very friendly aunty since 1985, Seah Im’s char kway teow serves customers perhaps the most generous portion of noodles priced as low as $2.50. This stall is designed especially for those super health-conscious as she doesn’t use pork lard, yet lesser oil. Ingredients used are the standard Chinese sausages, cockles and eggs. We’re quite contented that she still manages to bring out the wok hei flavour and serve up a decent and delicious plate of char kway teow. Besides, it’s only $2.50 so what have you got to complain about?

Heng Huat Fried Kway Teow

For years, there have been mixed reviews about Mr. Tan’s char kway teow. He has tweaked his recipe many times just to satisfy that tastebuds of those who prefer a guilt-free indulgence. We went on a Saturday evening for dinner and his stall is already lined up with customers. Char kway teow here is stir-fried with bean sprouts, cockles, eggs, chye poh and topped with a mountain of chye sim. It’s so abundant that we had to re-position the chye sim so as to capture the noodles in our photos as well. This is a decent plate of char kway teow but we cannot comprehend why people will queue for it.

Yong Huat CKT

At the modern coffee shop AlibabaR, there is a old school stall Yong Huat that was started since 1949. You can either have the black style or white style (with the sweetened black sauce) which my grandpa usually prefers. But hey, char kway teow is all about the black sauce right? So go for it if you want a plate of CKT. What’s the draw here? That countless amount of pork lard that is added to every plate. OH MAN. So sinful but yet we can’t resist! Besides Fried Kway Teow, they also do Fried Mee Suah, Fried Tong Fen and Fried Mee Tai Mak.

After two weeks of tucking into char kway teow, we concluded that our personal favourites were No. 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow and the Penang version from Katong (Peter) Fried Kway Teow Mee. Guess it’s time for us to hit the gym!

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misstamchiak.com made anonymous visits and paid its own meals at the stalls featured here.

The post 17 Sinful Char Kway Teow That Make You Exercise Hard for appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

R K Eating House got into the limelight a couple of years ago after the “NO PORK, NO PORK, I CALL THE POLICE, I TELL YOU!” prank someone played on the owner. It goes without saying that this is a Muslim-oriented eatery, so don’t worry, there is no pork in the premise.

They have later became more popular for its humongous Tissue Prata ($5.50) that has to be shared among at least 4 people or you wouldn’t be able to finish this “tower”. You can choose to top it off with strawberry or chocolate sauce, maple syrup or honey. The tissue prata is really crispy, yet fluffy at the same time. The prata dough has been kneaded to perfection before it was cooked to a perfect golden brown. It’s really a value-for-money!

The second highlight that draws the young crowd here is their 5 litres Teh Tarik ($17) and Milo drinks tower! We never thought we could finish so much Teh Tarik in a night but we really have to commend them for using the right amount of powder, water, condensed milk and ice. The last drop of Teh Tarik tasted as good as our very first sip!

Whenever we step foot into a prata stall, we will never miss out on ordering prata! We had an egg prata ($1.70) which was executed really well. The dough had generous portions of eggs spread out nicely within it. Every bite was full of eggy goodness! The prata was really fluffy and chewy at the same time, with a really enjoyable fragrant buttery taste.

We also tried their Chicken Murtabak ($9) which boasted an overwhelming taste of the Indian spices, a little too much for our preference. Nonetheless, the murtabak consisted of plenty of chicken bits and each mouthful was very flavoursome.

The Butter Chicken ($6) complemented the Cheese Naan ($3) wonderfully well. while the chicken has a creamy and tender texture, with a hint of spiciness, the cheese naan neutralized the spices. We really enjoyed devouring the cheese naan and felt that it was one of the better ones we could find around Singapore.

Prata shops that open 24 hours are aplenty across our sunny island but it’s not easy to find a really delicious one that hits all the right spots, just so you can satisfy your midnight hunger pangs. R K House’s menu is extensive and service is efficient. The servers there are also very friendly and jokes with us at times. They’re also good at recommending the right dishes to satisfy whatever cravings you have. This is a prata place that we would return to if we’re in the vicinity.

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