Located along the picturesque Singapore River, Clarke Quay Central offers an eclectic range of more than 150 retail stores and F&B outlets spanning across five levels. The mall has been known for its international gastronomic selection especially its wide range of specialty Japanese dining options with inviting river view and well-known local delights; grab your friends and family for an international gastronomical trail. For the last quarter of 2016, there are 4 Japanese outlets at Clarke Quay Central offering Miss Tam Chiak’s readers with exclusive discounts.

Mitsuba Japanese Restaurant

Opened in May 2014, Mitsuba allows guests to enjoy premium Japanese cuisine without burning a hole in the pocket. If you’re interested in savouring premium quality Thick Cut Sashimi, this is the restaurant for you. The atmosphere is romantic, especially in the evenings if you choose a window seat to get the wonderful view of Singapore River. You can also enjoy dining in authentic keyaki booths (train seats) or chat with the chefs over a beer at their sushi bar. Their a la carte buffet menu consists of items such as sushi, handrolls, maki, grilled dishes, deep-fried dishes, hot griddle dishes, rice, noodles and more.

SPECIAL DEAL
From now till 31st December 2016, there is 1-for-1 Asahi Super Dry promotion. You can also enjoy 25% off buffet lunch with every 4 paying adults and their signature dish, Mitsuba Chirashi, is only $28 when you flash this article.

Santouka

Santouka took its baby steps in the 1980s in Japan, with its very first restaurant in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. The restaurant only had 9 seats and a single item on the menu at that point of time: shio (salt) ramen, served with a small, pickled plum in a unique round bowl. A gentle flavour will spread throughout the moment you put a spoonful of soup in your mouth, and it continues with a rich and delicious taste. Under the original production method, the white tonkutsu (pork bone) soup was produced and features a mild flavour, which is slurp-worthy to the last drop.

SPECIAL DEAL
From now till 31st October 2016, you just have to flash this article to enjoy a complimentary Aji Tamago (味たまご) per person, with an order of Tokusen Toniku Ramen.

Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice Cream

In Japan, Hokkaido is famous for its dairy products, particularly the farm-fresh quality of its milk. The milk’s richness and creamy texture contributed to the creation of internationally renowned Hokkaido Gelato Ice Cream. To ensure the health and wellness of guests, Azabu Sabo’s Hokkaido Ice Cream is made from fragrant and rich Hokkaido milk, with no chemical addictives. It is especially soft and creamy and comes in a variety of flavours ranging from green tea, mango, tiramisu, black sesame to sweet potato, just to name a few.

SPECIAL DEAL
From now till 30th November 2016, you just have to flash this article to enjoy 15% off double scoop ice cream in a cup! (Usual Price $5.90)

Yamakawa Super

If dining at Japanese restaurants at Clarke Quay Central still hasn’t satisfy that Japanese cravings you have, why not head over to this Japanese specialty store that offers different types of Japanese products like chocolates, biscuits, snacks and ice cream so as to bring home some “souvenirs” and continue getting a taste of Japan?

SPECIAL DEAL
From now till 30th November 2016, you just have to flash this article to enjoy 20% off your bill, with a minimum spending of $15.

MissTamChiak.com will be giving away $20 Far East Organization Mall Vouchers to TWENTY LUCKY READERS! The contest will end on 30 November 2016.

How to win?
1. Like Clarke Quay Central Facebook Page.
2. Share this article on Facebook and tag Clarke Quay Central Facebook Page.

With its prime location, exciting activities and dining options available, there’ll always be something for everyone here. Whether you are pampering yourself in a spot of riverfront shopping or indulging in a riverside dining experience, you’ll always find something refreshing at Clarke Quay Central. For more dining and shopping options, visit http://www.clarkequaycentral.com.sg/

This post was brought to you by Clarke Quay Central.

The post 4 Japanese Outlets at Clarke Quay Central with Exclusive Discounts + GIVEAWAY appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Fu Zhou Poh Hwa Oyster Cake, is perhaps, one of the very few stalls that still sells oyster cake now. Shaped like a UFO, this traditional Fuzhou snack is made from oysters, flour, peanuts, chinese parsley. Boasting flavoursome fillings that are enveloped within a thin crispy crust, it’s impossible to stop at one!

Owner Mr. Tan said Fu Zhou Poh Hwa Oyster Cake was set up to commemorate his wife Jenny’s grandmother. Jenny grew up helping her grandmother sell oyster cakes along Ophir Road in the 1950s. They stopped selling in 1970 when her grandmother’s home was destroyed by a fire. However, in 1986, Jenny decided to sell oyster cakes again, in memory of her grandmother.

Already in his sixties, Mr. Tan still arrives punctually at 8am to set up his stall and prepare ingredients for the oyster cakes. He has no helper and works together with his wife Jenny. They have to stand the entire day and after taking their last order at 6pm, they will have to clean the stall before going home around 8-9pm. His children aren’t interested in taking over so he has no successor so while they are still frying up really delicious oyster cakes, better take the chance to visit them or you might not even know what oyster cakes are in future.

The normal oyster cake costs $1.80 each and consists of 1 prawn while the oyster cake with extra ingredients costs $2.30 each and consists of 2 prawns. You can differentiate them as the normal one has either ikan billis or peanuts on the exterior while the oyster cake with extra ingredients has both ikan billis and peanuts on the exterior.

We really enjoyed the oyster cakes as it comes out nice and crispy, without any remnants of oil. Upon splitting it into half to “kaypo” what fillings the oyster cakes contain, the aroma took us by surprise and whetted our appetites for more. Each mouthful gives a burst of savoury flavours and different textures – fluffiness from the pancake and crunchiness from the ikan bilis and peanuts and juiciness from the fresh and plump oysters. Perfect combination! These oyster cakes are simply perfect for snacks or even, as sides, accompanying whatever food items you’re having. Oh yes, Go for the chilli! It has a power-packed level of spiciness – super shiok!

The post Fu Zhou Poh Hwa Oyster Cake – So much flavours within a crispy sphere appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Queuing must be Singaporeans’ favourite pastime but would you queue 30 minutes or more for something that will be devoured in less than 5 minutes? Well, when it comes to Hougang Muah Chee, we would! Following his father’s footsteps, Mr. Teo started making muah chee at a tender age of 14 and took over his father as a second-generation hawker. Mr. Teo has been in the business for about 60 years and in the past, he prepares all the raw ingredients by hand, from milling rice to flour, to roasting and grinding peanuts for the muah chee coating. Some of these processes have been taken over by machines nowadays but Mr. Teo strongly insists on manually proportioning each ball of muah chee, meticulously pinching each small globule and dabbing a dollop of shallot oil on them before tossing them in either grounded peanuts or black sesame. Mr. Teo explained that the muah chee loses its springy-ness if snipped with scissors.

Indeed, the muah chee here tastes artisanal as it is so much “tenderer” than the typical chewy types we get elsewhere. We actually went around trying other muah chee stalls after trying Hougang Muah Chee just to make our own comparisons. Another good thing about Mr. Teo’s muah chee is the coating of grounded peanuts and black sesame. It wasn’t overly sweetened with sugar unlike the other stalls where we could detect sugar bits in their peanut coating. The coating here is fragrant and gives a good crunch! It’s so addictive we couldn’t help popping one after the other into our mouths. Moreover, it is served warm so you really get the maximum enjoyment out of this snack!

This nostalgic Hougang Muah Chee brought us back to our childhood days and it’s almost impossible to find such artisanal muah chee that’s still made by hands in the 21st century. Although the big portion we had was priced steeper at $5.50, we felt worthwhile paying due to the tedious, back-breaking manual work that goes behind serving you their delicious plate of muah chee.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

The post Hougang Muah Chee – Delicious Little Black Gems worth Queuing for appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Started in 2010 by Aussie Ben Lee, Sarnies is a vibrant café located at Telok Ayer, right in the heart of the bustling Singapore Central Business District. To celebrate their 6th year of serving up comfort café grub and specialty coffee, Chef Zak has revamped the dinner menu, with new items packed with rustic flavours. Sarnies has always placed an emphasis on providing wholesome meals made from scratch using only fresh, quality ingredients such as grass fed beef, chicken free from hormones and antibiotics, and bacon cured in-house, just to name a few.

With 26 years of experience in the kitchen, Chef Zak (formerly from NYDC, Open Door Policy and Open Farm Community) is the creative brain behind the newly crafted dinner menu. He feels that cooking is an art and he looks forward to discovering and creating new items every day. He wants the dishes at Sarnies to be classic, with a special twist to the flavours so as to stand out from others.

Our night began with Sarnies’ Spicy Buffalo Wings ($14) which really packed a good punch! It arrived looking fiery hot, with an aromatic smell of spices. For Sarnies’ unique rendition of Buffalo wings, Chef Zak used 20 spices for the marinade before slow-cooking the wings for approximately 4-5 hours, followed by frying. You get a slight crunch upon sinking your teeth into the Buffalo wings before reaching the tender, well-cooked meat. If you can’t really take spicy food, prepare a glass of water as the spiciness only kicks in awhile later! FYI – we perspired in the air-conditioned café!

New items include slider trios, with a choice of Grilled Haloumi with Onion Jam & Roasted Cherry Tomatoes ($13) or Pulled Pork with White Coleslaw & Homemade BBQ Sauce ($14). Every component is made from scratch and each bun is lovingly kneaded and baked fresh in-house daily. We loved the cheesiness as it wasn’t too overwhelming and the caramelized onions enhanced the overall flavour. The juices from the cherry tomatoes burst sweetly in your mouth, so wonderful! It usually comes in a portion of 3 but we only had 2 due to the heavy mains that were served later on.

Big eaters would enjoy the Texas-style Burger with Overnight Smoked Brisket, White Slaw, Dijon, Gherkins, BBQ sauce and Hand-Cut wedges ($26.50). It’s stacked so high with smoky, tender brisket, it’s almost impossible to take one full bite of the burger in a mouthful. We fell in love with the BBQ sauce as Chef Zak blended the usual BBQ sauce with his secret Moroccan spices to make it special. The buns are also done in-house on a daily basis.

For those with a more adventurous taste bud, go for the Southern Indian-style Hand-cut Pappardelle with Prawns, Coconut Milk and Curry Leaves ($19.50). The pasta is made by hand, cooked al dente to order and coated in a light creamy curry sauce. Chef Zak does his pasta dough every 2 days to maintain the freshness of all ingredients and ensure you get premium quality food at Sarnies. This hearty pasta was the highlight of our dinner!

Another bigger plate we had was the Blackened Grass-fed Sirloin, Columbian-style Chimichurri and Olive Oil Mash ($24.50). Chef Zak re-stocks his steaks every 2 days and he vacuum-packs and chills his steaks and never purchases frozen steaks. The combination had a balance of savoury flavours, with a hint of zest.

All meals need a happy ending so we had Sarnies’ Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream ($8). They usually serve the original flavour and sometimes, Peanut Butter flavour, but we went on a lucky night as they had the Matcha White Chocolate Brownie available. It wasn’t too sweet and we could taste the subtle matcha flavour. What a great end to the night!

Besides serving amazing food, Sarnies also whips up a good range of cocktails, with spirits, beers, ciders and wines on their drinks list as well. This café boasts a really relaxing atmosphere and is easily accessible when you get off work in the CBD. Moreover, it’s quite romantic to dine al fresco on a breezy night. With their variety of delectable sides, mains and desserts, Sarnies is bound to gain many loyal customers.

Note: This is an invited tasting.

The post Sarnies – New Dinner Menu Packed With Rustic Favours appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Specializing in making traditional authentic Peranakan delicacies, HarriAnns began in the 1940s when Grandma, Madam Chia Nguk Eng, started a push-cart selling her Nonya Kueh and Teochew-style sweet and savoury glutinous rice in the Tiong Bahru vicinity. She had to feed her two sons after losing her husband so she did what she did best – cook!

In 1950, Grandma Chia moved to Tiong Bahru market as the Ministry of Environment clamped down on street hawkers. Her delicious foods quickly gained her a huge following and her elder son, Harry, quit school to help her at the market. Grandma Chia retired in 1996 and handed down her treasured family recipes to Harry and his wife, Ann, hence the re-naming of their stall as “HarriAnns”. Towards the end of 2013, Harry handed the reins of this business to his son, Alan and in July 2014, HarriAnns Nonya Table café was born.

This unpretentious café, located in Bugis, draws a huge crowd as the set meals for the scrumptious Nonya cuisine are really affordable. It’s the third generation running the operations now but they still faithfully uphold Grandma Chia’s traditional techniques of making each kueh painstakingly by hand and using the freshest premium ingredients.

HarriAnns Nonya Table offers customers the All Day Breakfast Menu and the Peranakan Meals. There are 6 different sets of All Day Breakfast for you to choose from and we had Set A6 ($5) which includes Grandma’s Signature Glutinous Rice, 4 pieces of bite-sized Nonya Kueh and a cup of coffee or tea. Although the café is situated in a modern shopping mall, having the Nonya Kueh paired with coffee brought us back to the nostalgic days of the old Singapore. Each kueh had a good soft consistency and we liked that it doesn’t get stuck onto our teeth. The tasty glutinous rice mixed with braised soft whole peanuts is very fragrant. This breakfast set will certainly begin our day on a chirpy note!

There are 4 Peranakan Meals to choose from, namely Nonya Laksa set, Nonya Curry Chicken set, Mee Siam set and Ayam Ponteh set and these dishes are all prepared following the instructions of Grandma Chia’s traditional recipes. All set meals come with 1 Honey Iced Lemon Tea or Calamansi with Lime drink. We went around 7pm in the evening for dinner but they’re already sold out on the Nonya Laksa so we settled for the Nonya Curry Chicken set and Mee Siam set.

The Nonya Curry Chicken set ($8) boasts chicken that’s cooked till tender and moist in their signature thick and rich curry rempah. Complemented by aromatic pandan rice and a portion of Nonya Achar, which gave a hint of a refreshing sourish-spicy twist, we couldn’t stop taking one bite after another. The Nonya Curry Chicken is simply enjoyable and satisfying.

The Mee Siam set ($7) consists of stir-fried vermicelli served with a spicy sweet and sour gravy made from rempah spice paste, tamarind and salted soy bean. Topped with fresh prawns, half a hard-biuled egg, chives and fried bean curd cubes, it arrived looking fiery spicy, with the fragrance whetting our appetites. Imagine slurping one mouthful which gives a burst of flavours in your mouth! We found this dish to be the highlight of our meal.

HarriAnns Nonya Table is the place to go if you’re looking for affordable and delectable Peranakan food in a casual setting where you can catch up with friends over the weekend or unwind with colleagues after work. Don’t forget to take-away some of their kueh as they make a good snack!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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Besides offering delicious hawker fare, Tiong Bahru has become quite a hipster area in recent years, with the popping up of many cafés in the neighbourhood. Some of these cafés boast a really tranquil and cozy ambience, which make you feel like snuggling in a corner with your desired novel while others are vibrant and lively, making it an ideal place to chill your weekend afternoon away. No matter what food you desire, here is a list of 11 cafés in Tiong Bahru that is bound to satisfy your particular craving.

Sin Lee Foods

Tucked in an old neighbourhood on Bukit Ho Swee, this café is converted from an old coffeeshop. They have kept the name and original signboard, but modernized the menu that many people love. You can expect bestsellers like Salted Egg Sweet Potato Fries ($12) that’s made with salted duck’s egg sauce and Beef & Grain ($25) featuring seared marbled striploin served with wet orzo ‘rice’, runny free range hen’s eggs, ginger, furikake and scallions. The striploin is tender and the orzo rice has bold flavours. Sin Lee Foods also offer their specialty – Fried Chicken & Waffles ($21.90) which is topped with a seasoned, juicy leg piece, accompanied by a creamy homemade slaw. We’re impressed with how Sin Lee Foods try to be creative in combining different ingredients together to create unique yet delicious dishes.

Tiong Bahru Bakery

Founded by master baker Gontran Cherrier and operating under the Spa Esprit Group, Tiong Bahru Bakery is an artisan bakery that serves coffee and a wide variety of freshly baked premium quality breads and pastries. They are famous for their croissants, which you must try fresh in the bakery. It’s buttery and light, with very crispy and flaky skin. First bite into the croissant, you get a chewy yet soft texture. For the savoury, there is the Mozza & Ham Focaccia ($8) which is so colourful that it puts you in a good mood instantly. It’s one of the rare few cafés that is open on Mondays! Avoid going on weekends as it can get very crowded and too rowdy for relaxing.

Cream and Custard

Resident baker, Melissa, started with home-baked brownies before moving on to higher order recipes supplied by her aunt, who had received training at Cordon Bleu. She was previously from The Pattisier on Mohamed Sultan Road as head of the section for customized cupcakes. The team at Cream & Custard believes in using top-quality ingredients so they have scoured the region and beyond for the best such as Valrhona dark chocolate feves, President full-fat cream and 100% pure fruit puree. They bake their cakes from scratch in-house fresh daily and make limited quantities, offering only five to six servings per cake flavour. We had the Galaxy Cake ($8.80) which captured our attention immediately, with its shimmering coat of glitter on the exterior. The interior consists of a rum-soaked, mildly sour cherry which was a refreshing contrast to the bitterness of the dark chocolate and blackcurrent jelly.

Drips Bakery

The serene interior with sofas makes one feel at home at Drips Bakery. It’s a perfect place for afternoon tea as you sink your sweet tooth into the bakery’s dainty tarts that are freshly prepared daily. We were delighted by the wide variety of colourful tarts on display. Whether you’re looking for a fruity, nutty, sweet or savoury tart, you’ll be spoilt for choices at Drips Bakery. We had the Special Seasonal Mix Fruit Tart ($9.20) which is a wonderful combination of raspberries, blueberries, custard and crunch all put together perfectly into one big yummy treat. The custard was light and fluffy while the tart was not too hard like those you get elsewhere and the berries were refreshing, with a subtle sweetness. Simply enjoyable!

Flock Café

This indie café has indoor and outdoor seats so take your pick but we prefer the indoor ones due to the scorching hot weather. They had 4 new items on the menu when we visited and Fish & Pancakes ($16.80) sounded unique to us so we had to give it a try. 2 tiny fillets of crumbed dory fish are served atop 2 savoury pancakes with mesclun salad and a side of French fries. The fish fillets are fried to a crisp golden brown and we love biting into the crunch before we reach the fork-tender meat. Our only complaint about the fillets was that the portion was too stingy. As for the pancakes, we felt that they were mediocre, nothing impressive to shout-out about.

Forty Hands

Forty Hands first opened in October 2010 before the café was given an entire facelift and reopened in April 2014. It is created by Harry Grover, in collaboration with Spa Esprit Group, as one of the very first coffee joints in Singapore to offer a taste of Third Wave Coffee. Nowadays, the brunch crowd packs this café on weekends for their tasty menu offerings. Some of their desserts are unique such as the Bacon Cheesecake ($8) that we tried. The cheesecake is infused with purple sweet potato flavours and topped with roasted walnuts and caramelized bacon. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for us as our tastebuds were confused with the mixture of sweet and savoury flavours.

Plain Vanilla Bakery

The culinary talents behind this café hope to provide customers with childhood-reminiscent flavours made from seasonal ingredients worthy of a home kitchen. The cupcakes are always baked fresh daily and they only use tip-top quality ingredients from French butter to pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, bittersweet Belgian chocolates and perfectly ripe bananas, just to name a few. No artificial preservatives have been added and they purchase from local suppliers to ensure that their eggs are always fresh and their coffee beans newly roasted. They use a different cake recipe for each flavour offering before pairing the sponge with their delicious frosting. We had the Vanilla Bean cupcake ($3.90 / cupcake) and really enjoyed the fluffiness of the sponge. It was so good we finished it within minutes. If the frosting was a tad less sweet, the cupcake would’ve been rated a perfect 10!

The Orange Thimble

The Orange Thimble has many nice corners for you to relax with a book or gather with a group of friends and family over the weekend. You can also take some time to admire the art pieces that have been hung on the walls within this café. We shared a Ondeh Ondeh cake ($8) which looked really pretty with the clearly-defined layers. The gula Melaka cream was light yet flavourful while the sponge had a hint of pandan-coconut flavours to it. Their menu also has savoury items, which is perfect for a weekend brunch.

Whisk Café

Drawing inspirations from European interior designs, the white minimalistic café is hard to miss – you can even spot it from afar! Besides being in the limelight for their sweet desserts, baked pastries and savoury food, we had a wonderful afternoon catching up over a cup of Latte ($5.50) and Hot Chocolate ($6.50). The former was smooth and featured a strong aromatic taste while the latter was our favourite. The hot chocolate had the right amount of thickness, not too overwhelming such that it becomes ‘gelat’ after a few sips and it also had the right amount of sweetness, just enough to make you yearn for more, especially on rainy days.

PoTeaTo

As its name suggests, this café is marrying potatoes and tea, which might sound a bit unusual for most of us. Well, it’s not that bad as you have the clean, soothing element from a good pot of tea to cut the heaviness from a potato dish. We paired the PTT Platter ($16) which includes truffle fries, sweet potato fries, wedges and hash browns, with the Honeydew Green Pot O’ Tea selection ($6.80). The truffle fries are really amazing as the strong truffle flavour has been well brought out. Our PTT Platter also came with our desired choices of three dips – wasabi mayo, nacho cheese and Thai chilli. We felt that the wasabi mayo hit all the right spots while the nacho cheese will make cheese lovers out there scream for more. The Thai chilli however, tasted very ordinary.

Chapter 55

Chapter 55 is a spacious café, with a wide food offering and dessert choices. They have an ongoing 1-for-1 lunch promotion that is available on weekdays between 11.30am and 3pm which we felt was super value-for-money. We shared Buffalo Wings appetizer (Usual Price $16) and the Bonito Thin Crust Pizza (Usual Price $23) and paid $23++. The buffalo wings are marinated with a tasty spicy herbs buffalo sauce and it was really fiery hot when devoured. The Bonito Thin Crust Pizza took us by surprise as it was superb and contains ham, button mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, tonkatsu sauce and generously topped with savoury bonito flakes and Japanese mayonnaise. There are too many items on the menu so we have made a date to return to Chapter 55 to try other dishes.

Tiong Bahru is really full of hipster cafés and has numerous food choices to satisfy whichever craving you have. It’s also a good idea to have your meals at the hawker centre or coffee shops before making your way to one of the cafés just to relax and have a dessert. Hope our Tiong Bahru café guide will be useful for you.

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

The post 11 Wonderful Tiong Bahru Cafes to Laze the Weekend Away appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

[BANGKOK, THAILAND] In the late 1970s in Brussels, Belgium, Blue Elephant’s Master Chef Nooror Somany’s brother studied Hotel Management and persuaded his sister to join him for further education. He held a part-time job at an antique shop owned by Mr. Karl Steppe while he was studying. It was love at first sight for Mr. Steppe and Master Chef Nooror. Besides sharing the same interest in antiques and history, they both enjoy good food and share a great passion for cooking. In 1980, Master Chef Nooror’s good friends and Thai restaurant pioneers in Belgium, Mr. Chai Wayno and Mr. Somboon Insusri, convinced the married couple to start up a Thai cuisine restaurant, hence the first Blue Elephant restaurant was born in Brussels.

Over the years, Blue Elephant London opened in 1986, followed by Copenhagen in 1990 and Paris in 1991, just to name a few. The couple’s successful efforts made Blue Elephant one of Europe’s leading Asian restaurants. In year 2000, the couple came across the Old Thai Chine Building and was instantly drawn to its rich history and accessible location along Sathorn Road. Housed in a century-old building, creating a feeling of time travel, in addition to an exquisite dining experience, The Blue Elephant Cooking School and Restaurant Bangkok officially opened in 2002. The menu is a palette of traditions and novelties and you’ll be spoilt for choice with the variety of unique dishes, from the past, present and future of Thailand’s gastronomic culture.

Our Thai feast started with Blue Elephant’s Signature Zakouski. “Zakouski” is a Russian word which means “cold dish”. We had Betel Leave Snack Wrap and Tapioca. The former is a Thai traditional snack made up of an assortment of desiccated coconut, roasted peanuts, ginger, shallot and green lime, enveloped within betel leaves and served with caramelized sauce made from palm sugar, tamarind juice and shrimp paste. “Wow” was the first thought upon popping this wrap into my mouth! There’s a good crunch, with a rainbow of flavours tantalizing my tastebuds. The latter, on the other hand, features steamed tapioca stuffed with caramelized Kubota pork, sweet turnip and crushed peanuts. It has a milder taste, with a soft, chewy exterior.

Blue Elephant treated us to 3 of their best-selling starters such as the Foie Gras, consisting of seared French goose liver from “Landes”, paired with Thai North-Eastern style chilli sauce. As tamarind is one of the ingredients in making the chilli sauce, it gave a zesty punch. The foie gras is accompanied by potato that has a melt-in-your-mouth texture.

The other starter is River Prawn Salad with Mangosteen. Grilled Ayutthaya river prawn salad comes with mangosteen and a spicy tamarind dressing. This was a very unique dish for us as we’ve never tried any food elsewhere with mangosteen incorporated into their cooking. The prawn is very fresh and juicy. We really liked that the mangosteen enhanced the flavours of this dish.

The final starter came in the form of Crispy Crab Soufflé. Deep fried crab shell is stuffed with minced prawns, chicken and crab meat and Blue Elephant’s special red curry paste. It is encrusted and topped with crispy egg and served with sweet chilli sauced mixed with ground roasted peanuts. You’ll first sink your teeth into the crunchy exterior before its tender, flavoursome interior.

We had the Duck Longan Soup, boasting a spicy and sourish base with roasted duck and organic longan. You first get hit by the spiciness of the soup and the savoury taste of the roasted duck before a sweet aftertaste. This wonderful combination of ingredients reflects Master Chef Nooror’s culinary creativity.

Moving on to the main courses that we savoured – Blue Elephant’s Phad Thai and Crispy Snow Fish. While the Phad Thai consisted of fried rice noodles with fresh prawns and ground roasted peanuts with tamarind sauce, the Crispy Snow Fish was topped with stir-fry bird’s eye chilli, garlic and sweet basil. Both dishes were perfectly executed! Just a fun fact – The world renowned Phad Thai dish was actually created during the Second World War in the period of Prime Minister General Por Phiboonsongkram.

The next main course that arrived aroused everyone’s curiosity as we all wondered, “how to eat?!” The dish is called Loong Reur Chilli Relish, which is an Ancient Thai dip with Parkia seeds and served with crispy catfish and assorted vegetables. Just dip the fresh, raw vegetables in the dip and you’re good to go. We also had Crab Curry with Betel Leaves, an extremely spicy Phuket specialty so remember to order their Steamed Coconut Rice to neutralize the spice. Our last main course was Massaman Curry with Lamb and Sweet Purple Potato. Australian lamb is stewed with Massaman curry paste in coconut milk, tamarind juice, palm sugar, sweet purple potatoes and cashew nuts. The succulent lamb was well-soaked with the rich, strong curry flavour and fork-tender.

Every meal will not be complete without desserts for a sweet ending! We had Egg Custard with Pumpkin, Ruby Sago and Jasmine Ice Cream. Each dessert is unique in their own way – Egg Custard with Pumpkin had a creamy texture which wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet while our favourite, the Ruby Sago, was made with tapioca and topped with lots of shredded young coconut, which gave a very refreshing twist and the jasmine ice cream managed to top off our meal on a good note.

We would consider taking up Blue Elephant’s cooking lessons if we had more time in Bangkok. It was an extremely satisfying dining in an elegant setting with a plethora of delicious food. Note that Blue Elephant Restaurant’s preferred dress code would be smart casual, which means long pants for guys.

We would like to thank Thai Airways, (Amazing Thailand) Tourism Authority of Thailand and the World Tourism Organization for organizing the ASEAN Bloggers Media Trip to Bangkok.

The post Blue Elephant Bangkok – Enjoy Authentic Thai Food in a Century Old Building appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Timbre+, a hipster joint by Timbre Group, has been offering diners delicious food and great live music. You can find different graffiti designs and spray paint art splashed all over shipping containers and vintage Airstream travel trailers transformed into food trucks at this traditional-meets-modern gastropark. Timbre+ is home to 21 hawker stalls that usually close around 6pm, and 15 restaurant brands that serve you till late night.

* GOOD DEAL * Between 1 to 30 November 2016, a $1 Good Eats campaign will be rolled out from Monday till Saturday after 6pm. This is the perfect chance to savour the dishes/drinks that you might have missed out on your previous visits, at only a dollar! Yes, you heard us right, ONE DOLLAR per dish or drink, with an additional $1 for tray deposit. To be eligible for purchase of the $1 item, note that payment must be made with UOB Cards using Apple Pay, UOB Mighty Pay and Android Pay only.

There are over 200 items available at $1 each day. Whether you crave Indian, Vietnamese, Western, Japanese or other food, Timbre+ offers a wide variety of food choices to satisfy. You name it, they got it! We’ve selected a few items to try, ranging from local favourites to best-selling fusion food.

1. Slurp a bowl of Stew Beef Pho from Tuk Tuk Viethai Cuisine

Chef-owner Shaun See delights in experimenting with improbable flavour combinations that result in a free-world gastronomic dining experience. He favours food that is crafted from a memory or sometimes, even an emotion – shuffling you between the past and future with every bite. Tuk Tuk Viethai Cuisine serves Thai and Vietnamese inspired food. Their menu changes every few weeks to keep things refresh and to ensure variety and uniqueness to set them apart from other similar restaurant concepts. We tried the Stew Beef Pho which came with generous thin slabs of succulent beef. The broth was light yet flavoursome, which made this noodle dish very enjoyable. Now you can have it for only $1!

Usual Price: $10.90
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 90.8%!

2. Grab the Chicken Katti Roll from Chit Chaat Chai

This restaurant’s name originated from the punning of English word, ‘chit-chat’ for conversation and the Hindi word, ‘chaat’ which refers to a variety of snacks. “Chai”, as everyone already know, refers to a hot cup of Indian tea that owners of this restaurant hope to add a fitting beverage for customers to quench their thirst. Entwining traditional flavours from North India with the snack-bar atmosphere of the West, this restaurant aims to reinvent Indian street food in Singapore. Our first bite of the Chicken Katti Roll gave an explosion of flavours in our mouth. It packed a good punch, which made this dish very satisfying.

Usual Price: $6
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 83%

3. Enjoy a bowl of Chicken Curry Bowl from Kush

Chef-owner Chung Deming made his passion for food a full-time profession, with his unique take on ModSin (modern Singapore) cuisine. Kush is short for ‘Kushiyaki’, which means grilled meat and vegetables on skewers. Kush is the first to introduce ModSin-inspired charcoal grill skewers and rice bowls concept in Singapore. The Chicken Curry Bowl is complemented by an onsen egg, celebrating Singaporeans’ infectious love for runny yolks. It is also accompanied by sambal kangkong, giving the dish a spicy kick. The curry features strong coconut flavours, peppered with a hint of nostalgia and a touch of modernity. Chef Deming hopes to preserve local traditions and food, as well as, present humble yet amazing local ingredients to the world.

Usual Price: $10.80
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 90.7%

4. Drink the Bak Kut Teh Soup Set, with rice and 3 sides from Soon Huat

Behind this bowl of Bak Kut Teh is the inspiring story of Jabez Tan, who once spent 12 years in jail. As Soon Huat is a social enterprise, 80% of workers employed here are ex-offenders, as Jabez wants to help them reintegrate back into the community. Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh stands out from the rest as its specialty is the pig innards that come with the full bodied broth that gives a slight sweet aftertaste. Jabez explained that Argentinean pork is used so customers get to taste its natural sweetness and juices. This is the ideal comforting dish on rainy days.

Usual Price: $8.90 per set
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 88.7%

5. Savour the Barramundi Fish and Chips from Dancing Crab Shack

Dancing Crab Shack is a refreshing, American counterpart to Singapore’s equally famed preferences for seafood, shellfish and rich flavours. As this establishment is supported by one of Singapore’s oldest seafood restaurant leaders, TungLok Group, Dancing Crab Shack sources their shellfish from the same vendors used at the group’s best seafood restaurants. Dancing Crab Shack aims to mirror the happy atmosphere in New Orleans, Louisiana, popular for lively music and high spirits. The Barramundi Fish and Chips feature two fresh barramundi fillets fried to a crisp golden brown, with fork-tender interior. It comes with the usual fries which were very addictive.

Usual Price: $15
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 93%

6. Have a plate of Signature Seafood Paella (single-portion) from Portico Platos

Portico Platos use the freshest and finest ingredients to deliver a unique Spanish experience, working closely with local farmers to source fresh produce such as sea bass, frog legs and a variety of mushrooms. These fresh local produce are supplemented with authentic Spanish ingredients, like thinly sliced jamon iberico and harlequin olives. The Chef put a lot of thought into curating flavours, textures and presentations in order not to neglect the soul and essence of each dish. The highlight of Portico Platos is their paellas, which are cooked right in front of you. Limited portions are prepared each day so you get the highest quality and freshness. Their signature seafood paella consisted of a huge prawn, mussels, squids and fresh fish. Each mouthful whet our appetite for more and we had such a gratifying meal.

Usual Price: $9
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 88.9%

7. Meal Platter (3 cubes) from Food Anatomy

Chef-owners Sean Wong Xin Hong and Gee Jia Xin both graduated with a Diploma in Culinary Arts from At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy and founded Deli and Daint in 2012, selling a variety of Western cuisine which allows customers to create their own salad. Later on, this entrepreneurial couple decided to set up Food Anatomy, with the concept of “design meets culinary”. They believe that dishes should not only be tasty but aesthetically pleasing as well, hence they sell layered food in blocks. We tried Cold Soba, Organic Lasagna and Pork Cheek with Fragrant Rice and found the soba jelly very unique.

Usual Price: $10.80 per platter
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 90.7%

8. Enjoy a slice of Fat Samurai Pizza from The World is Flat

Originally from the US, Howard grew up in the shadow of Disney World, so the hospitality industry always beckoned to him. He first opened Standing Sushi Bar in 2009 before setting up Tanuki Raw, Shinkansen and running Liberty Spirits Asia and The Secret Mermaid. The World is Flat is Howard’s latest establishment, going into a “revamped” pizza concept, inspired by Californian deep-dish pizzas, fushioned with Japanese tastes. We had a humongous slice of Fat Samurai, which consisted of duck confit, bacon, prawn, burnt onions, smashed US beef, roasted cabbage, Konbu mayo, balsamic Okonomiyaki sauce, crispy bonito flakes, mozzarella and brie, atop an Umami charcoal crust. Honestly, one slice can be shared among 2-3 people as the toppings are very generous. Moreover, with such a deep crust, if can be too heavy if you savour it alone.

Usual Price: $9 per slice
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 88.9%

9. Finger Lickin’ Good 6-piece Chicken Wings Set with rice/fries and drink from Two Wings

Owner Jeremy learnt to fry chicken wings from his granduncle and further fine-tuned the flavours to cater to the current tastebuds. Using fatter wings from Brazil, Jeremy marinates these wings in a secret formula overnight. Hence, you can smell the distinct aroma of sesame oil for the original-flavoured wings as the flavours have already been well-soaked into the wings. Every morning, Jeremy will meticulously massage the wings to drain off excess marinade before deep-frying them to a golden hue and presenting them on wooden boards that makes this package ‘picture-perfect’. These wings are only freshly fried upon order so you can expect delicious, fragrant wings to arrive piping hot on your table.

Usual Price: $12.90 per set
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 92.2%

10. Indulge in 12-hour Crispy Pork Belly from Garçons

Founded in 2015 by Chefs Enoch Teo and Immanuel Tee, Garçons is a casual French dining concept that serves up hearty, unpretentious and affordable European food in a casual setting. They believe that French fine dining cuisine should be accessible to everyone hence their focus is on creating fuss-free gourmet dishes using only the best quality ingredients. You can expect authentic French classics with a modern twist. The 12-hour Crispy Pork Belly is one of their best-selling signature dishes, boasting a spice marinated pork belly served with a honey-balsamic glaze.

Usual Price: $17.90 per portion
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 94.4%

11. Delight in Yakitori Bento (A/B/C) from Teppei Daidokoro

The latest Japanese yakitori concept of Chef Teppei Yamashita, Teppei Daidokoro (‘Daidokoro” means “kitchen” in Japanese) offers yakitori skewers with charcoal-infused yakitori sauce, with a selection of chicken meatball, chicken thigh, pork belly, pork sausages, salmon belly, quail eggs and many more. Chef Teppei spent many months formulating and perfecting his own special charcoal-infused yakitori sauce set to give an intensely charcoal-flavour for yakitori lovers out there. You can look forward to feasting on Yakitori Bento set A, B or C depending on your desired choice of yakitori.

Usual Price: $8.80 per set
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 88.6%

12. Pig out on Spicy Bellychon with Rice from Iskina Cebu

In the past, the suckling pig was imported from Holland but now, you’ll get a taste of Spanish suckling pig, with generous stuffing of lemongrass, spring onion and other secret Cebu ingredients. Chef owner, Christian Calledo, is very particular with MSG and insists on not using it so customers get to fully experience the depth of each part of the meat. For Cebu cooking, it’s all about salt so Chris wants to remain congruent yet he lowered down the usage to suit localized tastebuds. The crackling skin and soft juicy fats goes perfectly with fragrant rice.

Usual Price: $10 per set
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 90.0%

13. Chow down Big Bern’s Beef Whoopass Cheeseburger from Big Bern’s American Grill

Chef-owner Bernie Utchenik, also the culinary talent behind Botak Jones and other restaurants and clubs in Singapore since 1996, has set up Big Bern’s at Timbre+. This “American Diner” concept serves up genuine American comfort foods with Southern Louisiana accents. You’ve to go hungry in order to sink your teeth into Big Bern’s Beef Whoopass Cheeseburger! It’s a really big beef patty, with cheese and chilli con carne smacked deliciously between two layers of hamburger buns. You get a savoury, hearty burger which finishes with a tinge of sour and spicy taste.

Usual Price: $13.50 per set
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 92.6%

14. Relish in sets of 3 Galbi Short Rib Tacos from Vatos Express (opening on 4 Nov 2016)

Behind this successful chain of Korean restaurants are three creative Korean-Americans, hailing from Southern California and Texas. They spent their lives growing up on authentic Mexican food but they were fed a steady diet of homemade Korean food lovingly prepared by their first generation mothers. Thus, leading to the natural progression towards Korean-Mexican fusion cuisine. Vatos Urban Tacos was named the “Hottest New Restaurant in Seoul” and has since garnered many praises for providing exciting new tastes using only the freshest ingredients. You can look forward to devouring the Galbi Short Rib Tacos at Timbre+.

Usual Price: $18 per set
Now: $1
YOU SAVE: 94.4%

On top of mouthwatering food, the $1 Good Eats Campaign also offers 14 bottled beers (choose from Archipelago Brewery’s Singapore Blonde Ale, Vedett Extra White or Little Creatures Bright Ale) and 15 Jim Beam Citrus Highball from the Bottle Shop (usual prices at $10 and $11 respectively) at $1 each daily to complete your night at Timbre+.

Hurry down to Timbre+ as the $1 deal campaign is only limited to 10 to 15 $1 item per restaurant per day and each customer can only purchase one $1 item per restaurant. Note that purchases are for dine-in only and not available for take-aways. Timbre+ boasts a great atmosphere for winding down after a hard day at work, with live music every night after 7.30pm.

Chase away your Monday blues with Johan Lee and Jerome Mak whose music covers a diverse range of genres and eras from the 80s, 90s, to the current top 40s. Relax on Tuesday nights with Good Karma, the band that promises nothing but a great musical sensation, with an innate love for rock and roll, blues and folk songs. Celebrate TGIW and TGIF with SuperSonic, who plays a wide repertoire from Top 40’s to rock to evergreen classics and more, catering to all ages. Unwind on Thursday nights with The Common People, playing the Top 40’s pop rock and party tunes from the 80s, 90s and today’s repertoire. There isn’t any prearranged set list so expect to hear something new everytime and do put down your requests with The Common People. Finally, rock it out on Saturdays nights with O.K READY!, a fresh four-piece band which is entertaining, versatile and massive sounding. They will perform classics and current chart toppers.

So, with such a vibrant scene at Timbre+ every night, wait no further as $1 Good Eats are limited and on a first-come-first-serve basis. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to feast on restaurant food that’s made extremely affordable in a casual, unpretentious environment!

This post was brought to you by Timbre+.

The post Timbre+ – Over 200 $1 Good Eats Daily Deals with UOB Cards & Apple Pay appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Conceptualized to pay tribute to the decadent glamour of 1980s Hong Kong, Sum Yi Tai (meaning “Third Wife” in Cantonese) propels traditional Chinese cuisine into the realm of designer bars. This restaurant is spread over 3 storeys of a conservation shophouse in the vicinity of our Central Business District. Upon entering, the wall of delicious-looking ducks will capture your attention immediately.

The first floor offers tapas-style dishes in a crimson-lit gangland bar while the second floor houses the Mona Lounge where the DJ starts playing after 7pm from Wednesday to Saturday nights. At the rooftop, Sum Yi Tai used decorative screens and rattan to create an intimate cove and this Rooftop Bar attracts the after-work crowd in search of good whiskies, wines and cocktails.

We visited on a weekday afternoon for their “Lunch Express” menu which consisted of sides and mains. We had Maple Honey Char Siew ($12) for our side dish to share. Honestly, we found this Maple Honey Char Siew to be the highlight of our meal, comparing this to the mains we had later on. There is a good layering of fats within layers of lean meat, giving the char siew a soft, chewy texture, retaining its juiciness and moisture. Drenched in a honey sweet sauce that was not overwhelming, this char siew was full of flavours. Each bite whets your appetite for more. It’s actually possible for one to finish the entire plate!

The dry version of Zha Jiang La Mian ($8) with spicy minced pork sauce was an average dish. It would have been better if the spicy minced pork sauce was more flavourful. As the sauce was not on the generous serving side, the noodles dried up very quickly and became slightly lumpy. However, there is a very generous portion of vegetables for the health conscious.

The biggest disappointment for us was their Signature Chinese Sausages & Preserved Meat Clay Pot Rice ($26). Personally, we feel that good clay pot rice is supposed to be richly flavoured by the sausages and meat, with a hint of smokiness from the dark soy sauce and a satiny smooth texture from the oil but Sum Yi Tai’s clay pot rice failed to meet our expectations. They were a little stingy on dark soy sauce hence our rice lacked flavours. For the portion we were served, we also felt that it is way too overpriced.

Perhaps, Sum Yi Tai is a good chillax place after work, with their wide offering of alcoholic drinks and delicious Chinese tapas especially when it is conveniently located in the CBD.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

The post Sum Yi Tai – Lunch Didn’t Impress, Dinner Maybe Better appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Bukit Merah View Food Centre is labeled as one of the best food centres in Singapore by taxi drivers. This food centre also caters to the working crowd around Henderson Industrial Park. It’s quite a big-scale food centre even though it’s not that accessible from MRT stations. You’ll be able to find our favourite local hawker fare, as well as, some many delicious food options from different countries. We bring you 7 delicious food stalls that made us shout, “MORE!”

Sisaket Thai Food

Owner-chef Viparat Saibua, affectionately known by her loyal customers as Cat opened this stall in 2014 and has since gained a huge following. Her Thai Mango Salad ($4) consisted of good textural crunch, with a distinct sweetness from the mangoes that balanced out the usual spiciness of Thai salads. Thai Seafood Tom Yam Soup ($5) consisting of fresh, tender fish slices and prawns came with a bowl of white rice which came in handy as the soup lit our mouths on fire. Pineapple Fried Rice ($4) was fragrant and had a good consistency. The pork floss topping enhanced its flavours. Lastly, Phad Thai ($4) were slightly moist, with a strong eggy flavour. The squids were cooked just right and isn’t hard unlike most stalls that tend to overcook their squids.

Na Na Homemade Curry

We’re pretty sure this stall needs no introduction as everyone went crazy over the extremely spicy fish head curry ever since it was included in the Michelin Bib Gourmand list. Ang Go Li (Goldbanded Jobfish) and Ang Sai (Red Snapper) are usually used as they can grow to quite a large size so their heads fit nicely into the large claypot. Due to its large size, their heads also contain a lot more gelatinous bits, which Chinese really enjoy savouring. Moreover, the meat from these fishes are able to hold its shape yet absorb the curry very well when lifted from the bones and not flake apart. Each bite was filled with fine, tender and juicy meat, with an excellent texture.

Not a fan of fish as you’re too lazy to pick the bones, go for the Curry Chicken ($3) or Curry Chicken Drum Stick ($3.50). You can pair your meat with a bowl of Curry Vegetable ($3), as well as, bread and rice at an additional 50 cents. The chicken meat falls off easily from its bones and it’s so tender. Basically, all the curry dishes are extremely spicy but so well executed that it’s really savoury and delicious.

Bukit Merah View Carrot Cake

Having been in the business for over 60 years, the hawker is still painstakingly making carrot cake the traditional way. If you’re wondering why carrot cake here is served in bigger chunks, it dates back to around 50 years ago. The original carrot cake came in big chunks and fried simply in sweet black sauce. This hawker believes in sticking to tradition. There was no chye poh or eggs in the past but it evolved to suit the young crowd’s tastebuds. This is also how the white version came about. Bukit Merah View’s Carrot Cake is served in chunks that feature a crispy exterior. It has a good texture inside, soft but not mushy. It was very flavoursome, with its savoury taste coming from fish sauce, eggs and chai poh. The small portion only costs $2.50.

71 Lor Mee

There wasn’t any queue around 11.30am when we ordered a bowl of Lor Mee but we only realized later on that they cater mostly to the early morning marketing crowd as they were sold out around 1pm when we were about to leave Bukit Merah View food centre. Affordably priced between $2.50-$3, the portion is very reasonable. You can request for a mixture of beehoon and yellow noodles or either one. There were fishcake, wu xiang and little pork bits which gave the lor mee a unique crunch. The lor (gravy) was savoury and did not turn starchy even after it had been left out for awhile (due to photo-taking).

Hong Xing Handmade Fishball and Meatball

This couple makes their fishballs and meatballs every morning before boiling them in a mouthwatering fish and meat stock. Yellowtail is used to make the fishballs which turned out super bouncy, springy and tender. You can taste the freshness and natural sweetness of the yellowtail fish. It’s perfectly executed such that you can’t detect any fishy-ness. The meatballs, on the other hand, are firmer in texture and contain lots of teepo (dried sole fish) which gave it a savoury finish. Our kway teow soup costs $5 as we requested for a mix of both fishballs and meatballs. If you’re observant, you’ll notice that the size of each fishball and meatball differs as they are truly made by hand, unlike those purchased from suppliers that are mass-produced with a uniformed shape at factories.

Charcoal Grilled

This hawker only opens for business in the evenings for approximately 4 hours only. They sell cuttlefish kang kong, rojak and their highly sought-after satay. You can opt for pork, chicken or mutton satay. Pork and chicken satay costs 50 cents per stick while mutton satay costs 60 cents per stick. We shared 15 sticks of chicken satay and 2 ketupat for $8.60. Each stick was glistening but only lean meat is used. One bite of satay was full of flavours, with a slightly charred exterior. The meat was tender and goes very well with the soft ketupat that has a melt-in-your-mouth texture. It was so addictive that we devoured stick after stick and before we know it, the plate was completely empty.

Chai Chuan Tou Yang Rou Tang

It’s hard to miss this hawker stall when there’s always snaking queues. The queue might be very long but the hawker aunties were super efficient and managed to clear the crowd quickly. We paid a total of $7.50 for mutton ribs, mutton stomach and mutton meatball soup, with a bowl of big rice. The soup contained a peppery punch and was full of coriander leaves, with a distinct gamey mutton aroma. The meat falls off the ribs easily and was fork-tender, with pleasant layers of fats and skin. The mutton was not overpowering and had a touch of its natural flavours so for people who don’t really know how to appreciate mutton soup, this is considered acceptable. The good news is that the soup is refillable! Our only disappointment was the chilli as it had no kick and we found it a tad too saltish.

Bukit Merah View Food Centre seemed like a rest-point for taxi drivers so if you’re driving, do go earlier to avoid long waiting time for a parking lot. Besides the above mentioned 7 food stalls, we’re certain that residents staying in the vicinity have their personal favourite stall that we might have missed out. We would return to this food centre due to the wide variety of delectable hawker fare!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stalls featured here.

The post 7 Outstanding Stalls at Bukit Merah View Food Centre appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Tsuta made global headlines after being awarded a Michelin star in 2015, becoming the first and only Japanese ramen eatery to receive the prestigious accolade. Ever since soaring to fame, hundreds of hopeful diners in Japan began queuing at 6am for a ticket to dine at the nine-seater establishment, which only serves 150 bowls of ramen daily. From 6 November onwards, Singaporeans will be able to have Tsuta ramen right here at Pacific Plaza!

Founded by Chef Yuki Onishi, the name, “Tsuta” is birthed from his conviction that ramen is a noodle dish that Japan is proud of. Chef Onishi learnt the art of making ramen in 1997 at his father’s ramen shop, “Nanae no Aji no mise, Mejiro” after graduating from high school. He opened Tsuta in 2012 and is renowned for his experimentations with unique flavours and careful selection of natural quality ingredients. Noodles at Tsuta are handmade, as it is Chef Onishi’s motto to prepare ingredients by hand, thus ensuring that the final products are safe for consumption. Chef Onishi has also specially curated 4 types of whole wheat flour and whole grains to create the noodles. He ensures that the flavours marry well with that of the ramen soup bases. Therefore, in Tsuta Singapore, flour for making the ramen is imported from Japan and made in-house.

The base of the soy broth is made with three types of shoyu. One of the shoyu is formulated in-house. Chef Onishi has personally visited a shoyu brewer in Wakayama Prefecture and requested for it to brew the other two soy sauce to his specifications. This shoyu is made with whole soy beans that are matured for two years. The special sauce is then blended with the two shoyu and mixed with dashi (soup stock). The dashi is made with whole chickens, vegetables, clams and other seafood ingredients and boiled over controlled heat to bring out the umami flavours of the ingredients. Unique to Tsuta, this dashi-shoyu forms the base of the ramen broth, imparting natural and umami flavours.

Dining at Tsuta Singapore is very convenient as you simply order and make payment via the kiosk at the entrance of the restaurant before the server will show you to your seats. You can pick either Shoyu Soba ($15) or Shio Soba ($15). Don’t be mistaken, the ramen is named “soba” as in Japanese, soba basically means noodles so Chef Onishi wants to keep Tsuta as traditional as possible to the Japanese culture. After choosing your soup base, you have a choice to add on char siu and flavoured egg. Big eaters can also order side dishes such as Ro-su Meshi ($6), Niku Meshi ($6) or Soup Chazuke ($2).

We had the Char Siu Ajiama Shoyu Soba ($22.80) which consists of 4 slices of pork collar char siu, bamboo shoot, leek, flavoured egg and truffle pureed in truffle oil. Pork collar is used instead of the usual pork belly as it is lower in fats yet retains the same texture and tasty flavour. Each bowl contains 100grams of ramen, a relatively hearty portion. Shoyu-based broth tastes earthy and is very flavoursome, with a distinct flavour of truffle.

Char Siu Ajiama Shio Soba ($22.80), on the other hand, is created by adding a careful balance of Okinawa sea salt and Mongolian rock salt. The ingredients are similar to Char Siu Ajiama Shoyu Soba and the only difference is the green olives pureed in truffle oil. Hence, for this broth, it’s lighter on the palate and not as strongly flavoured as the Shoyu broth, yet still savoury and delicious. We couldn’t resist sipping till the last drop!

Among the Shoyu and Shio Soba broth, I prefer the former as my tastebuds love stronger flavours. Tsuta Singapore only serves wheat tea as Chef Onishi went around trying tea at many places and specially selected wheat tea as he feels that this tea complements his ramen most. Tsuta is a small restaurant with only 18 seats so you will be served on a first-come-first-serve basis. Be there earlier or risk being disappointed when the ramen is sold out. Chef Onishi supervises the Singapore kitchen strictly so rest assured that the same high standards as the flagship outlet in Japan is maintained. If you’re looking for authentic Japanese ramen amidst a cozy setting, Tsuta is the place for you! Although it’s located along the bustling streets of Orchard Road, dining here makes us feel at home.

The post Tsuta – World’s First & Only Michelin-starred Ramen Shop opens in Singapore appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Whenever I travel abroad, people always ask, “What is a typically Singaporean thing to do over the weekend?” to which I often reply, “Shopping and Eating”. There aren’t many places for you to shop at in Singapore and I usually head to Orchard Road. Orchard Central is one of the better malls I prefer as it looks modern, sophisticated and new. There is a range of local and international brands and as a foodie, I was taken on a unique gastronomical experience at Orchard Central. Furthermore, all Japanese enthusiasts can look forward to a spectacular repertoire of all things Japanese within Orchard Central with an array of fashion, beauty and dining offerings.

Uniqlo (Global Flagship Store)
Unit: #01-01/02-01/03-01
Website: http://www.uniqlo.com/sg/

We’re pretty sure Uniqlo needs no introduction but do you know that Southeast Asia’s first Uniqlo’s Global Flagship store is situated at Orchard Central? This Japanese brand boasts comfortable clothes that cater to different age groups and keeps its designs updated, according to the ever-changing seasons in Japan. My friends and I like purchasing Uniqlo’s high quality clothes which are affordably priced. Selected designs from UT collections have been made available for the first time in Singapore at the Flagship store.

Beginning from 4 November 2016, Magic for All Project will be launched with fun new items featuring vintage styling. The two new lines for this season are Varsity and Outdoors. The inspiration for Varsity line was fashion and athletic lifestyles of college campuses across the United States, presented in vintage styles. Knits and sweats feature college-style logos incorporating popular characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The Outdoor range extends from knits and flannel shirts to popular Ultra Light Down styles for keeping warm, and looking cool while out and about. This lineup includes retro styling in chic hues and fun items featuring popular Disney characters.

Carine Roitfeld Collection for Fall/Winter 2016 will also be launched from 11 November 2016, focusing on the beauty of career women. This charismatic fashion editor with a huge influence on the fashion world hopes to bring stylish elegance to women with active lifestyles. The lineup features popular imitation fur and a Chesterfield overcoat and adds items that help create the ideal wardrobe for career women, from outerwear to knits, suit separates, belts, tights and accessories.

TOKYU HANDS
Unit: #B1-07
Tel: 6834 3755

TOKYU HANDS deals with all kinds of products, such as high quality and high functional living-ware, fancy made-in-Japan bags, convenient travel goods, the latest Japanese stationery, unique articles and topical beauty products. Moreover, this is a shop where you can find innovative and interesting gadgets and accessories that make your life more comfortable and enjoyable hence, making Tokyu Hands the one-stop shop chock-full of all kinds of goods arranged under different categories.

Tanuki Raw
Unit: #04-01
Website: http://tanukibar.com/
Tel: 6636 5949

Tanuki Raw is popular for its Happy Hour cocktails, oysters and sashimi. Owner Howard wants to create tasty, fun, flavourful food in a relaxed environment. You can choose to dine indoors if you’re afraid of the heat or enjoy the view outside from a high vantage point. Tanuki Raw introduces unique creations that are first-of-its-kind in Singapore such as savoury donuts and Herumetto. We also tried the Mini Salted Duck Egg Char Siew Sliders which has a good balance of fats and lean meat, giving a tender and chewy texture. Simply delightful! The highlight for us was the Foie Gras Truffle Yakiniku Donburi which manages to hit all the right spots. A generous portion of perfectly pan-seared foie gras, accompanied by tender and flavourful US Black Angus short rib with an oozy onsen egg, mixed with truffle soy and black garlic brown butter over Tanuki’s signature rice. It’s irresistible! This is a great spot for gatherings with friends after work.

POMPOMPURIN Café
Unit: #04-08
Tel: 6509 8672
Opening Hours: 11am to 10pm daily

POMPOMPURIN Café has made its first appearance in Southeast Asia and it’s located at none other than Orchard Central. Die-hard fans can expect to be surrounded by all things Pompompurin at this café. Besides being greeted with a canine-themed decoration, the full menu consists of cute-looking food and drinks in the shape of Pompompurin. If you’re someone who must begin your day with caffeine, you can opt for the Love Love Hot Marshmallow Latte. As for the food, we tried Taco Rice in a Cup of Friendship but we prefer Pompompurin’s Coconut Milk Chicken Curry more. There are other mains which include Pompompurin’s Beef Stroganoff, Spaghetti Napolitana and Everybody Gather Around! Picnic Plate, just to name a few.

End your meal on a sweet note with the Bagel’s Special Pancake Tower ($21.99) for dessert, which includes a Pompompurin take-home souvenir mug. This is a decadent dessert with five layers of pancakes filled with various sauces such as caramel, chocolate, custard and more. This dessert is accompanied by some fresh chopped fruits too. You can also purchase Pompompurin merchandise and bring it home as a souvenir.

Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant
Unit: #08-01/02/03
Tel: 6736 1216

Kiseki always has a full house and snaking queues, especially on weekends. For a very reasonable price, you get cold seafood, sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki, robatayaki (Japanese grill), yakitori (skewers), nabemono (hot pot items), agemono (deep-fried items), mushimono (steamed items), Japanese Western pasta and pizza and so much more, unlimited! If you want something healthy, there is also a salad and soba corner accompanied with different Japanese sauces and salad dressings prepared from home-made recipes. There are live cooking stations where you get to enjoy piping hot food off the stove using the freshest ingredients, prepared right before your eyes.

There are some dishes where you just have to leave a clip of your table number at the station and the food will be conveniently delivered to your table. There are also cakes and puddings available and did we mention, fruit chocolate fondue?! With such a large variety of food offerings, Kiseki Japanese Buffet is affordably priced, making the restaurant a good place for unwinding after a week of hard work.

Tonkichi
Unit: #07-06
Tel: 6238 7976

If you’ve been to Japan, have a slight inclination towards Japanese dining culture, you’d be familiar with that breaded cut of meat which the Japanese hold so dearly to their heart. “Tonkatsu” meaning “fried pork cutlet”, is a staple in the menus of most eateries in Japan. Bringing this culture to Singapore is Tonkichi – the specialist in Tonkatsu locally for the past 20 years. Tonkichi has thoughtfully balanced the original native taste to suit our local preference. The interiors of the restaurant are decorated in a manner such that local diners get a feel of Japan. Hearty diners will be in for a treat as rice and cabbage slices can be refilled at no additional cost for all set meals. You also set a selection of Sashimi, Sushi and side dishes besides the best-selling Tonkatsu.

Nantsuttei
Unit: #07-12/13
Tel: 6337 7166

Owner-chef Ichiro Furuya found his life’s calling at the age of 27 years old. The moment that changed his life was chancing upon a mass of people lining up in front of a ramen shop while he was watching television. At that moment, he thought to himself, “That’s what I want!” Soon after, Ichiro went to Kyushu to learn the secrets of the art of ramen and after wandering around trying ramen at various shops, he found a flavour that he loved in Kumamoto. He began to study there and opened Nantsuttei in his hometown of Hadano a year later.

Be prepared to indulge in a rich, creamy broth made from pork bone. Floating on the surface of the broth is the fragrant black roast garlic oil, a flavour that has not changed since the restaurant first opened. This oil is an iconic component of the Nantsuttei flavour created by frying garlic over seven phases and mixing it into a balanced blend for an exquisite harmony of flavours. This oil complements the soup, noodles and toppings and come together to create a perfectly balanced and slurp-worthy ramen.

Whether you’re shopping or dining at Orchard Central, you’re bound to have a good time. Besides the Japanese shops and eateries we have mentioned above, there are other Japanese establishments you can check out such as En Sakaba, Henri Charpentier, Datsumo Labo, ES Beauty Tokyo and many more.

This post was brought to you by Orchard Central.

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The culinary talents behind RedRing Treasure are Boss David and Lady Boss Esther as they gradually improve on their recipes, based on the original RedRing Wanton Mee at Holland Drive, which was developed by Roy, a Chemistry Student from NUS. After tweaking it to Version 5, they kept their recipes locked in a safe and the exact formulation is only known to 4 family members. RedRing Treasures specialize in frying up crispy, succulent chicken, pork and fish cutlets, served either with their signature red sauce noodles or curry rice.

David and Esther believe in serving up quality food hence, they make their own sauces, boil their own broths, slice cutlets and marinade them all painstakingly by hand using their secret recipes. Everything at RedRing Treasures is made meticulously on a daily basis from fresh ingredients obtained from local wet markets.

We tried all the cutlets – chicken, pork and fish – and felt that the chicken cutlet was the star of RedRing Treasures. These cutlets are marinated for 24 hours in their secret marinade to allow maximum infusion of flavour into the meat. Their cutlets are freshly fried upon order so you get a crispy exterior with a tender and juicy interior. The noodles that are made using special high protein flour and whole chicken eggs boast a springy texture and a full-bodied flavour when accompanied by RedRing Treasures’ signature umami rich sauces, which complement the cutlets very well. We really enjoyed RedRing Treasures’ signature red sauce, made with a strong pork bone broth boiled for 4 hours, before it is combined with their secret ‘rempah’ paste that consists of 14 ingredients.

The Chicken Cutlet Noodle costs $5.90 while the Pork & Fish Combo Cutlet Curry Rice costs $7.10. Curry is served in a bowl, with a huge chunk of potato. It really packs a good punch and goes well with the cutlets and rice. Being located in a central area, RedRing Treasures is easily accessible and almost always crowded so you should go earlier to avoid long queues. They also offer squid cutlet and sides such as mushroom fritters, FuPi dumplings and onion blossom.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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Opened in 2014, owner-chef Ms Viparat Saibua, affectionately known by her loyal customers as Cat, has been whipping up simple classic Thai dishes that make you feel as though you’re physically in Bangkok savouring authentic Thai food. She came to Singapore 14 years ago and worked at a food court below Orchard Road’s Meridien Hotel, handling both Thai and Korean stalls. Influenced by her own ethnic background and tastes that she has grown up with, it’s no wonder the Thai food served at Sisaket at Bukit Merah View draws a huge crowd.

We went on a Friday night for dinner and waited about half an hour as there were many customers who called in to place their take-away orders before they went down to collect their food. We started with Thai Mango Salad ($4). The vegetables and peanuts gave a really good crunch and the flavours of mangoes were really distinct. We’re glad that the mangoes’ sweetness managed to neutralize the usual spiciness of Thai salads.

The Thai Seafood Tom Yam Soup ($5) consists of fresh, tender fish slices and prawns and it came with a bowl of white rice. The rice came in handy as this Tom Yam soup lit our mouths on fire. Thais really like their food spicy – “phet”. In fact, they like it really spicy – “phet mak”! If you can’t handle too spicy food, ask Cat for something “mai phet” (not spicy) or “phet nit nawy” (a little spicy).

How can one not order Pineapple Fried Rice ($4) when patronizing a Thai hawker or restaurant? The plate of yellow rice arrived looking very ordinary but don’t be deceived! This was actually the highlight of our dinner. The rice was fragrant and had a good consistency – each grain was well-flavoured with the sweetness of pineapple. Furthermore, it was topped with pork floss that made the rice tastier.

Another dish that you can’t miss out on at a Thai eatery is their Phad Thai ($4). Rice noodles are stir-fried with generous amounts of eggs and chopped tofu. Cat’s assistant controlled the fire and timing really well as the noodles were slightly moist, with a strong eggy flavour. The squids were cooked just right and isn’t hard unlike most stalls that tend to overcook their squids.

Sisaket Thai Food stall also offers other commonly found Thai food such as basil leaf minced chicken or pork with rice, green curry chicken and some other dishes. If you’re looking for an affordable place to satisfy that Thai food craving, Sisaket Thai Food is a good choice. Cat is also very friendly and eager to recommend what’s good on the menu. Our dining experience left us in a really good mood!

READ: 7 Outstanding Stalls at Bukit Merah View Food Centre

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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Yoi Sake Bar and Kurama Robatayaki opened its doors in early August 2016. This 2-in-1 destination is a collaboration between two passionate, highly-experienced and very talented chefs, Raymond Tan and Max Lai. The two distinct spaces enable customers to not only enjoy authentic Japanese dishes, yet at the same time, let loose and unwind with Japanese sakes. In October 2016, a dessert chef from Hong Kong’s Tenku RyuGin, the first overseas branch of prestigious Michelin 3-starred Nihonryori RyuGin in Japan, has joined the team, introducing finely-crafted Japanese desserts.

Step into the entrance and you’ll be greeted by a riot of colours at Yoi Sake Bar, from the row of dancing “koinobori” (carp streamers), bar tables made out of plastic crates to the anime-inspired imagery that decorates the walls. Yoi Sake Bar is inspired by the tiny watering holes lining the narror alleys in Japan where hordes of “salarymen” head to after work for a drink, or ten. Housed within the chillers at Yoi Sake Bar are more than 50 types of sake, of which Kokuryu, Jyuyomdai and Isojiman, are exclusive. Warning: this isn’t a somber place to hang your head after a long day’s work.

You’ve to fill your tummies before beginning your round of sakes hence, embark on a gastronomic journey at Kurama Robatayaki, an intimate space further inside. You’ll be awed by the culinary performance as chefs prepare a feast in full view of customers, with produce imported from Japan and other parts of the world. Thus, on any given day, customers can expect to savour scallops from Australia, king crabs from Alaska, lamb from New Zealand, as well as, beef and vegetables from Japan.

We started with the Truffle Onsen Salad, a colourful bowl of fresh lettuce, cherry tomatoes and garden salad, topped with a wobbly onsen egg and sprinkled with aromatic truffle oil. Toss everything together and you’ll get the contrast of crunchy vegetables against the silky texture of the egg. If you’re wondering why your onsen egg has a missing yolk, fret not as it might have been broken and flowed to the bottom of the bowl. Or, you can tell yourself that your bowl of salad is healthier – the “no cholesterol” version.

Most of the seafood at Kurama Robatayaki are flown in from Japan and we had the Grilled Hotate (scallop). The chefs would de-shell and clean the plump fresh scallops right in front of your eyes before dicing and plating them attractively back into the shell, adding mirin rice wine and generous amount of butter. Grilled to perfection, you can taste the natural sweetness of these succulent scallops, which finishes with a hint of smokiness.

Kurama Robatayaki are famous for their skewers and our favourite dishes are the Tsukune and Lychee Ham. The former is made up of a mixture of minced chicken with hidden chopped-up soft bones and drenched in a savoury sauce. It is served with a single raw egg yolk. Dip your chicken skewer into the egg and you’ll get a fantastic combination of taste and textures!

The latter, on the other hand, leans towards a sweeter note as lychee, flown in from Thailand or China, depending on season, is enveloped within slices of ham before being grilled. This dish is specially curated by the chefs and one bite gives a surprising burst of sweetness in the middle, which is balanced well with the savouriness of the ham.

Other skewers include grilled chicken, chicken wings and wagyu omi beef cubes. Japanese believed that omi beef was originally used over 400 years ago to show hospitality to the warrior, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Later on, in the Edo period, it was presented as a gift to the Shogun, and the average person only began to eat it after the country was reopened in the Meiji period. Kurama Robatayaki is where you can try how fatty yet tender omi beef is.

We also had Mackerel Pike, where the chef explained that the stomach area of this fish is meant to be a little bitter as this would mean that the fish is fresh. Mackerel Pike fish is only available during autumn. If its stomach doesn’t taste bitter, it would mean that the fish isn’t in season anymore. The cooking process is very simple as the chef only sprays sake (not the drinking type) to keep the meat moist before grilling and season the fish only with salt. Dip the fish meat in Ponzu sauce and you get a nice flavour.

You can also order grilled sweet potato, kinoki butter yaki (mushrooms), garlic fried rice and many more items on their menu.

We had not one, but three, sweet-treats to end off our night. The best dessert was the Houjicha Crème Brulee as the custard was smooth and neither too eggy nor overwhelmingly sweet. It has a subtle flavour of roasted tea running throughout, simply enjoyable. The beautifully curated dessert – Peach Bavarois – is peach compote with Bavarois cream and raspberry jam, decorated with rose gelee and gold foil. This was amazingly light, with a pleasant sweetness. Lastly, the Gooseberry Panna Cotta looks impressive but unfortunately, didn’t manage to impress our palates.

Kurama Robatayaki is the place to go if you want an intimate and exclusive dining experience as there are only 15 seats, ensuring that the chefs get to interact with customers properly while doing the cooking. You can drop by after work and challenge Godzilla to a round or two of sake too! If you want a bottle of sake to enjoy at home, Yoi’s range is also available for purchase. Overall, we had a great dining experience at Kurama Robatayaki and enjoyed watching the chefs work their magic and serving our food on oars.

Note: This is an invited tasting.

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As its name suggests, PoTeaTo combines potatoes and tea, which might sound a bit unusual for most of us. Well, it’s not that bad as you have the clean, soothing element from a good pot of tea to cut the heaviness from a potato dish. PoTeaTo’s ode to the spud is best sung in its lovingly curated potato dishes comprising potatoes mashed, thick cut, drizzled with truffle oil or just classically baked. Those with a sweet tooth may find an affinity for PoTeaTo’s sweet potato fries, which tantalize with its savoury sweet flavour. Not only are these sweet spuds delicious, they are complex carbohydrates, high in fiber and Vitamin A. It’s time to have your spud and eat it!

We paired the PTT Platter ($16) which includes truffle fries, sweet potato fries, wedges and hash browns, with the Honeydew Green Pot O’ Tea selection ($6.80). The truffle fries are really amazing as the strong truffle flavour has been well brought out. Our PTT Platter also came with our desired choices of three dips – wasabi mayo, nacho cheese and Thai chilli. We felt that the wasabi mayo hit all the right spots while the nacho cheese will make cheese lovers out there scream for more. The Thai chilli however, tasted very ordinary. As for the Honeydew Green Pot O’ Tea, we really enjoyed the subtle sweetness from the honeydew, balanced perfectly with the natural bitterness of tea.

For our mains, we tried Gone Swimming ($18.90) which consists of creamy mashed potatoes with grilled salmon and served with peach salsa. The well-marinated salmon was grilled to perfection and tasted fresh and tender. The fruity peach salsa was a good complement as it enhanced the flavours of the grilled salmon, giving it a refreshing twist and a good textural crunch.

We also had the Laksa Cream Spag Pasta ($17.90) boasting spaghetti cooked to al dente and fresh seafood such as prawns and clams, tossed in a creamy Laksa sauce. The sauce was slightly spicy, with a strong coconut milk flavouring. It’s quite a heavy base and we recommend sharing this pasta among two persons, so that it doesn’t feel too “gelat” after a few mouthfuls.

Besides serving hot tea selections, PoTeaTo also offers their own concoctions of iced tea such as the Iced Peach Lychee Tea ($5.60) we had. Its sweetness isn’t too overwhelming and it manages to perk us up almost instantly.

PoTeaTo also serves brunch on weekends. This is a really cozy café set amidst Tiong Bahru estate. You can pop by on a lazy afternoon with a good read and enjoy their tea and cakes or you can catch up and chillax here with your friends or colleagues after work. We found their tea pairing with potato dishes unique and somewhat tasty.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visits and paid its own meals at the stall featured here.

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Conceptualized to pay tribute to the decadent glamour of 1980s Hong Kong, Sum Yi Tai (meaning “Third Wife” in Cantonese) propels traditional Chinese cuisine into the realm of designer bars. This restaurant is spread over 3 storeys of a conservation shophouse in the vicinity of our Central Business District. Upon entering, the wall of delicious-looking ducks will capture your attention immediately.

The first floor offers tapas-style dishes in a crimson-lit gangland bar while the second floor houses the Mona Lounge where the DJ starts playing after 7pm from Wednesday to Saturday nights. At the rooftop, Sum Yi Tai used decorative screens and rattan to create an intimate cove and this Rooftop Bar attracts the after-work crowd in search of good whiskies, wines and cocktails.

We visited on a weekday afternoon for their “Lunch Express” menu which consisted of sides and mains. We had Maple Honey Char Siew ($12) for our side dish to share. Honestly, we found this Maple Honey Char Siew to be the highlight of our meal, comparing this to the mains we had later on. There is a good layering of fats within layers of lean meat, giving the char siew a soft, chewy texture, retaining its juiciness and moisture. Drenched in a honey sweet sauce that was not overwhelming, this char siew was full of flavours. Each bite whets your appetite for more. It’s actually possible for one to finish the entire plate!

The dry version of Zha Jiang La Mian ($8) with spicy minced pork sauce was an average dish. It would have been better if the spicy minced pork sauce was more flavourful. As the sauce was not on the generous serving side, the noodles dried up very quickly and became slightly lumpy. However, there is a very generous portion of vegetables for the health conscious.

The biggest disappointment for us was their Signature Chinese Sausages & Preserved Meat Clay Pot Rice ($26). Personally, we feel that good clay pot rice is supposed to be richly flavoured by the sausages and meat, with a hint of smokiness from the dark soy sauce and a satiny smooth texture from the oil but Sum Yi Tai’s clay pot rice failed to meet our expectations. They were a little stingy on dark soy sauce hence our rice lacked flavours. For the portion we were served, we also felt that it is way too overpriced.

Perhaps, Sum Yi Tai is a good chillax place after work, with their wide offering of alcoholic drinks and delicious Chinese tapas especially when it is conveniently located in the CBD.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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Bukit Merah View Food Centre is labeled as one of the best food centres in Singapore by taxi drivers. This food centre also caters to the working crowd around Henderson Industrial Park. It’s quite a big-scale food centre even though it’s not that accessible from MRT stations. You’ll be able to find our favourite local hawker fare, as well as, some many delicious food options from different countries. We bring you 7 delicious food stalls that made us shout, “MORE!”

Sisaket Thai Food

Owner-chef Viparat Saibua, affectionately known by her loyal customers as Cat opened this stall in 2014 and has since gained a huge following. Her Thai Mango Salad ($4) consisted of good textural crunch, with a distinct sweetness from the mangoes that balanced out the usual spiciness of Thai salads. Thai Seafood Tom Yam Soup ($5) consisting of fresh, tender fish slices and prawns came with a bowl of white rice which came in handy as the soup lit our mouths on fire. Pineapple Fried Rice ($4) was fragrant and had a good consistency. The pork floss topping enhanced its flavours. Lastly, Phad Thai ($4) were slightly moist, with a strong eggy flavour. The squids were cooked just right and isn’t hard unlike most stalls that tend to overcook their squids.

Na Na Homemade Curry

We’re pretty sure this stall needs no introduction as everyone went crazy over the extremely spicy fish head curry ever since it was included in the Michelin Bib Gourmand list. Ang Go Li (Goldbanded Jobfish) and Ang Sai (Red Snapper) are usually used as they can grow to quite a large size so their heads fit nicely into the large claypot. Due to its large size, their heads also contain a lot more gelatinous bits, which Chinese really enjoy savouring. Moreover, the meat from these fishes are able to hold its shape yet absorb the curry very well when lifted from the bones and not flake apart. Each bite was filled with fine, tender and juicy meat, with an excellent texture.

Not a fan of fish as you’re too lazy to pick the bones, go for the Curry Chicken ($3) or Curry Chicken Drum Stick ($3.50). You can pair your meat with a bowl of Curry Vegetable ($3), as well as, bread and rice at an additional 50 cents. The chicken meat falls off easily from its bones and it’s so tender. Basically, all the curry dishes are extremely spicy but so well executed that it’s really savoury and delicious.

Bukit Merah View Carrot Cake

Having been in the business for over 60 years, the hawker is still painstakingly making carrot cake the traditional way. If you’re wondering why carrot cake here is served in bigger chunks, it dates back to around 50 years ago. The original carrot cake came in big chunks and fried simply in sweet black sauce. This hawker believes in sticking to tradition. There was no chye poh or eggs in the past but it evolved to suit the young crowd’s tastebuds. This is also how the white version came about. Bukit Merah View’s Carrot Cake is served in chunks that feature a crispy exterior. It has a good texture inside, soft but not mushy. It was very flavoursome, with its savoury taste coming from fish sauce, eggs and chai poh. The small portion only costs $2.50.

71 Lor Mee

There wasn’t any queue around 11.30am when we ordered a bowl of Lor Mee but we only realized later on that they cater mostly to the early morning marketing crowd as they were sold out around 1pm when we were about to leave Bukit Merah View food centre. Affordably priced between $2.50-$3, the portion is very reasonable. You can request for a mixture of beehoon and yellow noodles or either one. There were fishcake, wu xiang and little pork bits which gave the lor mee a unique crunch. The lor (gravy) was savoury and did not turn starchy even after it had been left out for awhile (due to photo-taking).

Hong Xing Handmade Fishball and Meatball

This couple makes their fishballs and meatballs every morning before boiling them in a mouthwatering fish and meat stock. Yellowtail is used to make the fishballs which turned out super bouncy, springy and tender. You can taste the freshness and natural sweetness of the yellowtail fish. It’s perfectly executed such that you can’t detect any fishy-ness. The meatballs, on the other hand, are firmer in texture and contain lots of teepo (dried sole fish) which gave it a savoury finish. Our kway teow soup costs $5 as we requested for a mix of both fishballs and meatballs. If you’re observant, you’ll notice that the size of each fishball and meatball differs as they are truly made by hand, unlike those purchased from suppliers that are mass-produced with a uniformed shape at factories.

Charcoal Grilled

This hawker only opens for business in the evenings for approximately 4 hours only. They sell cuttlefish kang kong, rojak and their highly sought-after satay. You can opt for pork, chicken or mutton satay. Pork and chicken satay costs 50 cents per stick while mutton satay costs 60 cents per stick. We shared 15 sticks of chicken satay and 2 ketupat for $8.60. Each stick was glistening but only lean meat is used. One bite of satay was full of flavours, with a slightly charred exterior. The meat was tender and goes very well with the soft ketupat that has a melt-in-your-mouth texture. It was so addictive that we devoured stick after stick and before we know it, the plate was completely empty.

Chai Chuan Tou Yang Rou Tang

It’s hard to miss this hawker stall when there’s always snaking queues. The queue might be very long but the hawker aunties were super efficient and managed to clear the crowd quickly. We paid a total of $7.50 for mutton ribs, mutton stomach and mutton meatball soup, with a bowl of big rice. The soup contained a peppery punch and was full of coriander leaves, with a distinct gamey mutton aroma. The meat falls off the ribs easily and was fork-tender, with pleasant layers of fats and skin. The mutton was not overpowering and had a touch of its natural flavours so for people who don’t really know how to appreciate mutton soup, this is considered acceptable. The good news is that the soup is refillable! Our only disappointment was the chilli as it had no kick and we found it a tad too saltish.

Bukit Merah View Food Centre seemed like a rest-point for taxi drivers so if you’re driving, do go earlier to avoid long waiting time for a parking lot. Besides the above mentioned 7 food stalls, we’re certain that residents staying in the vicinity have their personal favourite stall that we might have missed out. We would return to this food centre due to the wide variety of delectable hawker fare!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stalls featured here.

The post 7 Outstanding Stalls at Bukit Merah View Food Centre appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

The culinary talents behind RedRing Treasure are Boss David and Lady Boss Esther as they gradually improve on their recipes, based on the original RedRing Wanton Mee at Holland Drive, which was developed by Roy, a Chemistry Student from NUS. After tweaking it to Version 5, they kept their recipes locked in a safe and the exact formulation is only known to 4 family members. RedRing Treasures specialize in frying up crispy, succulent chicken, pork and fish cutlets, served either with their signature red sauce noodles or curry rice.

David and Esther believe in serving up quality food hence, they make their own sauces, boil their own broths, slice cutlets and marinade them all painstakingly by hand using their secret recipes. Everything at RedRing Treasures is made meticulously on a daily basis from fresh ingredients obtained from local wet markets.

We tried all the cutlets – chicken, pork and fish – and felt that the chicken cutlet was the star of RedRing Treasures. These cutlets are marinated for 24 hours in their secret marinade to allow maximum infusion of flavour into the meat. Their cutlets are freshly fried upon order so you get a crispy exterior with a tender and juicy interior. The noodles that are made using special high protein flour and whole chicken eggs boast a springy texture and a full-bodied flavour when accompanied by RedRing Treasures’ signature umami rich sauces, which complement the cutlets very well. We really enjoyed RedRing Treasures’ signature red sauce, made with a strong pork bone broth boiled for 4 hours, before it is combined with their secret ‘rempah’ paste that consists of 14 ingredients.

The Chicken Cutlet Noodle costs $5.90 while the Pork & Fish Combo Cutlet Curry Rice costs $7.10. Curry is served in a bowl, with a huge chunk of potato. It really packs a good punch and goes well with the cutlets and rice. Being located in a central area, RedRing Treasures is easily accessible and almost always crowded so you should go earlier to avoid long queues. They also offer squid cutlet and sides such as mushroom fritters, FuPi dumplings and onion blossom.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

The post RedRing Treasures – Go for their Juicy Chicken Cutlet Noodles! appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.

Opened in 2014, owner-chef Ms Viparat Saibua, affectionately known by her loyal customers as Cat, has been whipping up simple classic Thai dishes that make you feel as though you’re physically in Bangkok savouring authentic Thai food. She came to Singapore 14 years ago and worked at a food court below Orchard Road’s Meridien Hotel, handling both Thai and Korean stalls. Influenced by her own ethnic background and tastes that she has grown up with, it’s no wonder the Thai food served at Sisaket at Bukit Merah View draws a huge crowd.

We went on a Friday night for dinner and waited about half an hour as there were many customers who called in to place their take-away orders before they went down to collect their food. We started with Thai Mango Salad ($4). The vegetables and peanuts gave a really good crunch and the flavours of mangoes were really distinct. We’re glad that the mangoes’ sweetness managed to neutralize the usual spiciness of Thai salads.

The Thai Seafood Tom Yam Soup ($5) consists of fresh, tender fish slices and prawns and it came with a bowl of white rice. The rice came in handy as this Tom Yam soup lit our mouths on fire. Thais really like their food spicy – “phet”. In fact, they like it really spicy – “phet mak”! If you can’t handle too spicy food, ask Cat for something “mai phet” (not spicy) or “phet nit nawy” (a little spicy).

How can one not order Pineapple Fried Rice ($4) when patronizing a Thai hawker or restaurant? The plate of yellow rice arrived looking very ordinary but don’t be deceived! This was actually the highlight of our dinner. The rice was fragrant and had a good consistency – each grain was well-flavoured with the sweetness of pineapple. Furthermore, it was topped with pork floss that made the rice tastier.

Another dish that you can’t miss out on at a Thai eatery is their Phad Thai ($4). Rice noodles are stir-fried with generous amounts of eggs and chopped tofu. Cat’s assistant controlled the fire and timing really well as the noodles were slightly moist, with a strong eggy flavour. The squids were cooked just right and isn’t hard unlike most stalls that tend to overcook their squids.

Sisaket Thai Food stall also offers other commonly found Thai food such as basil leaf minced chicken or pork with rice, green curry chicken and some other dishes. If you’re looking for an affordable place to satisfy that Thai food craving, Sisaket Thai Food is a good choice. Cat is also very friendly and eager to recommend what’s good on the menu. Our dining experience left us in a really good mood!

READ: 7 Outstanding Stalls at Bukit Merah View Food Centre

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

The post Sisaket Thai Food – Affordable Thai Food at Bukit Merah View Hawker Centre appeared first on Miss Tam Chiak.