Sakae sushi with boy

Out with boy for some japanese food is love......

Was planning for sushi buffet at Suki sushi hougang mall but.......... woke up too late and sakae was the nearest solution.

Wanted sushi off the conveyor, but the selection was limited and the sushi looked the least appetizing.

We ordered 2 mains, the first is the Chicken Kaminabe Set. It comes along with rice, miso, fruits, chawanmushi, and ageshi tofu.

Ageshi tofu is not like the usual one. The name is also different. The tofu was coated with tiny shrimps and fried till crispy. Topped with the bonito flakes and dashi stock. Nice and innovative. Flavour was distinct. The shrimps gave a better texture but was a bit messy. The bonito flakes was generous.

Rice was springingly good. Topped with all the sesame and seaweed. Good effort!

Soup isn't. It was rather tasteless, the chicken wasn't marinated and it was totally bland. The vegetables werent simmered before they serve it. The inari has mochi filings ( i dont know the exact name) and it is totally yucky. The mochi was not chewy but soft and had inconsistent texture.

Chawanmushi was finished up by Boy, his comments: you can cook better.

Grilled salmon was tender juicy, and blended well with the terriyaki sauce. Brings out the fragrant "salmon fats" taste. For those who don't know, the fats of salmon is good and the more expensive parts of the salmon is the belly where there's the most fats.

But runny yoke tamago was a failure. Totally far from authentic. Not runny. Looks are deceiving. The sauce totally spoilt the taste and the egg was not cooked in shoyu.

2nd main was terriyaki and hotate bento.

Hotate was delicious, with generous amount of fish roe, and cream sauce baked with cheese, it was moist and oozing with much flavour. There was 3 so overall Sakae is still not too stingy.

The best we had for the day was terriyaki chicken. Well marinated with each and every piece tasting a tinge of sweetness. Yet it was tender and chewy with the skin coated with the sauce that makes it extra succulent. Fried with onions, it was fragrant and had an additional unique taste.

We ordered some sides to go along. Plus some sushi.
Jelly fish the all time favourite, was QQ and bouncy well marinated and in the right thickness to sink your teeth into.

Sushi was ok, the green thing on the left is slightly not well flavoured. The jelly fish on the sushi was chopped up making it lose its QQ ness as they are now minced.

Last but not least soft shell crab roll. The soft shell crab was crispy and match well with the cucumber shreds, you can go crunch crunch with it. But one thing not perfect was the size of the crab. Very ultimately small. Its like 1/6 of the length of the role.

Century Square
^ Tampines MRT Station
2 Tampines Central 5
#B1-02 / 03 Singapore 529509
Tel: 6787 3887
Opening Hours:
11:30am - 10:00pm daily

My second visit to Wasabi san

Was at Wasabi San again because of the hot hot weather. Plus bedok only has a few other air conditioned place excluding fast food. So it became the first on the list. Budget eat too!



Miss Loong had Fried Sakana fish don. The set is only $3.90 before GST. Comes with side veg plus miso soup and fruits!!!!!



Fish was well fried, not too dry and tough yet its batter was fried till super crispy. Although its not the very like and flaky kind its still considered alright....
Comes along with the egg that i thought was kind of overcooked. Normally we have it slightly runny to stir in with the rice so that every grain will be coated with the egg, but for wasabi san i guess they scared bird flu? The don had some sauce for the rice which is covered by the egg. Slighly on the salty side, not very much layering of taste, just tasted a lot like shoyu.



Miss Loong thought the rice will be dry so she added on mayonaise. This small little thing for 50cents was totally not worth it and barely touched at all. Wasted. We had a small debate over the mayo thou; the red coloured stuff is carrot or fish roe?

Miss Chua had udon with chicken! This is slightly more expensive but affordable "still".

Chicken was slightly dry but only on the outer skin layer. Most probably re fried over and over. But the soup managed to soften it a bit. Udon was ok, not too much flour taste. Chewy but can be slighly bouncier. The soup was good, not too oily and was smooth to the throat. The taste reminds me of vegetable soup that my mum makes.

It was still good after all. For the price what else can you ask for?

Wasabi SanBlk 206 Bedok North St 1 #01-355
For previous review, click this link http://simplelovesimplefood.blogspot.com/2010/05/wasabi-san-latest-in-bedok.html

manpuku

this local japanese craze about the food street concept has managed to bring in many new restaurants like shokudo, manpuku, and some others. but if you have noticed, the attraction slowly died down after a while as the standard and quality of food did not meet the expectations for many. i personally like japanese food and feel that the exquisite and delicate hands of a japanese chef must be able to deliver food with the right kind of cultivation. japanese food is filled w culture and pride and should not be done "anyhow" nor can it be tranformed into a fast food chain.

i visited this outlet at tamp 1 quite a few times. but its normally jus for a normal lunch outing, nv did i ever craved for manpuku. the food served was not japanese to be. but rather a quick fix for a hungry stomach. the food is not authentic and mostly quite heavily seasoned.

this is the famous Okonomiyaki (which means pancake) with its main ingredients of flour and cabbage. we order the prawn Okonomiyaki but was served quite pathetically with abt 7 prawns that was tiny. even though the prawns had the Q-ness, it gave me the impression that is was purchased de-shelled from super markets. it was rather tasteless and every mouth had to be accompanied by the sauce. the waiting time was also long. the chef told us to return after 10 minutes. wad saved the dish was the sauce. the brown and white is the takoyaki sauce and mayo respectively. its the exact sauce used in takopachi.

butter hotate. this is truely buttery. however, one big mistake made by the chef was to use salted butter. it made the hotate over salty. plus, wad kind of presentation is this???????? it truely makes me ponder if they simply added wadever is from kitchen. hotate with loads of onions and black fungus? wad a combi. wad saved the dish was the considerable size of the hotate.

this is the breaded prawn and omu rice set.

the prawn was already pre-fried and placed aside. so when i order they simply took it out from the warmer. uber disappointing. the prawn size was ok. abt the length of my index finger. the rice was soft and moist. egg was thick and covered the rice nicely. salad was served with vinegarette. wad spoilt the dish was the tomato sauce over the omu. it tasted like as thou it was diluted w water......

even though the dish had its own shortcomings, it was considered the best order for the day.

auntie note: drinks here are exp, so finish ur meal fast and move on to tea dot for their fabulous tea creations. loving it. when i visited manpuku, they were having a $6.50 promotion and abt 50% of all the dishes were priced at 6.50. not a very good deal as i feel a japanese stall in a food court would have done better at an even lower price.

thai pan

a hidden find that was introduced by one of my sec mates long long ago and i recently went to dig up this hidden gem again. Thai pan has 2 branches one at changi V the other was more secludedly hidden in a condo along parkway area in mandarin gardens.
i visited both the branches and felt that both manage to serve food of similar standards and will definitely be one of the places frequently patronized by me. it was only me and boy so we had a simple meal with some of the chef's recommendations and our fav tom yam soup.

first up will be their chef's special jing du pai gu. 京都排骨. the pork rib do have some bones and tendons which is less desireable, however the serving was considered huge for a "small" size. the sesame added was also part of the chef's extra effort that is commendable. i like the dish for the sweetness of the meat. boy says the meat was a little hard for his liking thou.
this is the best olive rice i've had. it was the first time i've eaten olive rice at thai pan (changi V branch) and it is truely addictive. the minced meat sauce was well marinated, juicy and the meat minced to the right size such that it can blend in with the rice without telling the difference. rice was fried to the right moisture level, not too oily but 粒粒分明 the cashew nuts and chilli added colour to the dish and the onions were good for digestion. something noticeable was the green mango that was by the side. i suppose it is quite difficult to purchase green mangoes in singapore, perhaps they had to direct import or get from shops in golden mile. nevertheless i love it. and is still finding khakis to enjoy it w me.

this is brocolli w crab meat. it was one of the recommended dishes. however, the amount of crab meat was too little to let even notice its existence. even thou it was barely noticeable, the taste of the crab was still "valid", the fresh crabby taste manage to seep into the spaces of the brocolli "leaves" and boosted the simple veg to the next level. brocolli was not too hard not too soft, the sauce tasted slightly starchy thou.

next up is the all time fav tom yam soup. the soup had lots of liao. button mushrooms, baby corn, carrots, and prawn, and sotong. but it missed the benchmark as it was too mild. imagine drinking non spicy tom yam? so resorted to adding the chilli padi from the olive rice into the soup to suit our taste buds.

auntie note: the branch at mandarin garden has got free parking as opposed to the one at changi V (car park always full) thus, if unable to make a choice this will be the well deciding factor.

changi V: 2 Netheravon Road Civil Service Club Changi Clubhouse

mandarin garden: 13 Siglap Road Mandarin Gardens

small eatery

Just a neighbourhood eatery yet full of surprises.
this upcoming post will definitely leave you hungry for the night.
tucked at the corner of bedok this not very accessible place was experiencing long queue when i arrived at approx 8pm on sat. nth special with the decor or ambience, no particular strong aroma, yet the queue was nv ending even till 9pm.
NAKHON
if i am not mistaken. location wise was off bedok interchange, i got to know this place because i used to attend tuition at one of the nearby blocks. the eatery used to be a saloon. but now transformed to serve the bedok population.
looking at the interiors, nth exquisite, perhaps you will be interested to look at the picture of thai king and queen if you haven seen them before. but yes, thais are very respectful of their king.


shall start w the dish that i didnt enjoy that much. this is chicken in thai chilli paste. i imagined the dish to be fried with dry chilli or of similar sort, but it turned out tasting like thick curry with an extra strong smell of coconut milk. coconut milk taste great w "or ni", "melon sago" and i do appreciate it when its free flow, but this dish turned out too over powering. perhaps its not coconut milk that created the less pleasant taste.

looking at the nex picture, the combination looks kind of weird right?

normally we associate onions with satay? cashew nut with paella? and red chilli with ba chor mee? put them together they become the main characters for olive fried rice.

i used detest olive esp when its like not looking very appetizingly black. but let me warn you, once you start u cant stop. olive fried rice is heavenly fragrant. this may not be the best olive rice i've tasted but it does leave a good impression. perhaps i may soon judge a restaurant by the olive fried rice they offer.

a closer look at the olive fried rice, the black substance inside is actually minced meat. they give a extra texture to the rice. together with the peanuts, this is not like the ordinary tzi char fried rice any more. $6

simple dish yet given the right balance of 色香味. look carefullly at the various mixed veg that comes along w a simple dish of kai lan. there's carrots, huge dried mushrooms, and also straw mushrooms. Thumbs up. great effort put in as u seldom see this in tzi char ba.

auntie note: kailan only cost a mere $6!!!!! must order!!!!!

wads thai food without the famous flying fish? hahaha. this is actually a name i learnt since young. fish served in thai or indon restaurants are always served with the fish deep fried and soaked in their famous chilli sauce that is sweet and bring out the succulence of the fish. nakhon did a great job. fish was crispy, but not over fried, the sauce was slightly not enough but still good, fish was fresh and fleshy, overall presentation caught my attention tats why i ordered it. as a geo student, please look at the fork thats placed beside the fish. the size comparison shows the exact size of the fish. perhaps for ppl with smaller appetite one fish plus a veg will make a perfect meal. this fish is astounishingly cheap at $22!!!!!!

tom yam soup, my dear ee hui cannot take spicy food so she won be interested in this. hehe. prawn, chicken and seafood to choose from. portion was jus nice for 2. spice level 4 out of 5, the taste of prawns lifted the taste of the soup quite a lot, prawn was delicately peeled leaving behind the head and tail only. applause for this great effort. but be careful when taking this hot soup, don choke on it because your throat will be burning hot. $6

thai ice tea. good choice. i wonder wad kind of tea leafs do the thai ppl use. because the drink had an orange tone to it. but it was good! on par with bubble tea from KOI. the milk added was jus nice, sweet and thirst quenching. $3

overall, i will rate this eatery 4.8 out of 5. its simply a precious find. i decided to post this because since there are alr so many ppl even if i try to hide it its no point. prices are cheap, food is good. keep it up nakhon.

auntie note: the chilli stn provided on each table has got different kinds of chilli, sweet thai chilli, belachan, chicken rice chilli and green chilli, free flow!!!! plus no GST, no svc charge wad can be more attractive than this!!!!!

blk 136 bedok north st 2

happy birthday to you....

EAT OUT FOR MS QUEK’S BDAY!!!!

Another outing to celebrate the 21st birthday of our LPY (lao peng you) gang. Hahaha.
Sometimes I wonder why the celebration of the 21st is so important. Anyway, I won have a post of my 21st bday cos most of the time I was running ard, and my fav desert which is the crème brule wasn’t the desert of that day. (turns out to be some sio ba looking thing)

anyway, location wise the place seems to be not very accessible. the nearest MRT station will be bugis stn. approx 15 minutes walk in the direction of the mosque. located at the corner of the street where neon lights are brightly lited in the dimmed restuarant. i would say this is a great chill-out place for u and ur girl frens.

wide range of alcohol available. from housepours to hard liquor, whiskey to mojito, wine to cocktails. you name it, they serve it. looking at the menu out of 20 pages, 15 are beverages. but yet, don be surprise by the food they do serve, plain jane.

the best recommendation, seafood platter.

i went back for a sec visit with boy to let him taste the soft springy rice filled with moisture, smelled of melted butter, and taste out of the world. it may sound like as thou this is an advertorial but i dont like to boast. it is the best butter rice i've eaten. perhaps many will criticise the "ordinaryness" of butter rice. but come try it, and you'll understand how i fell in love with THIS butter rice to let me patronise them again and again.

alright, wads seafood platter without seafood?

the seafood had a wide selection, pan fried dory, sotong, and one giant prawn. the prawn was fresh but not the crunchy kind that is cooked to perfection. the dory was a bit over done turning a bit dry and tough. the sotong was good, QQ. there was some kind of sauce over the seafood and the fish somehow got soaked in it and turned softer. thus overall the seafood was UPS to a certain standard again.

Next up we have the very ordinary chicken chop that everyone laughed when ls ordered them. but it turned out well done. its not the pan grilled chicken chop that hawker centres or coffee shops sell. it tasted different. very much more fragrant and the sauce that accompanied the chicken brought out the taste of the tender and juicy chicken thigh. At a closer look, the vegetables that was served looks nua nua and yucky, but when i tasted them it was great. the brinjal (eggplant) tasted good (i don even eat brinjal that my mummy cooks) and when i realise it, it was one after another!!!!

this was my main. somehow it pales in comparison with the rest of the meaty stuff. spag was al dente, prawns were fresh, crisp and tasted well marinated. i have to say served with courtesy but fail to produce the right oomph. will be better if it had better presentation? or perhaps some chilli padi to add to the colour.

i went for a return trip and had the seafood platter again. it did amazed me again with the butter rice. however the only regret was the small portion of rice served. thus i ordered extra butter rice to go along and it only cost me a dollar more!!!!

ordered another chicke dish, forgot its name. i think its chicken with some sauce, not bad. shall not talk much abt it cos it doesn;t come with a pic. :(

before i end, many of u would have guessed. the place of all drinks and food is blu jazz cafe located at haji lane.

Auntie note: the place serves goood alcohol as jugs are served with shooter glasses of hard liqour. so you won be disappointed with diluted alcohol thats normally served in clubs. $35/jug of vodka redbull will be my best pick.

address: 11 Bali Lane

tel: 6292 3800