A Impromptu Visit To A Surprisingly Nice Cafe
My wifey and I decided to visit Tanglin Mall on a weekday evening. We reckon that on a weekday, there will be lesser crowd and the carpark will be empty. Guess we are right cos there was no crowd to speak off and the carpark is yours practically.
My wifey wanted to go there as she has been to Cafe Beviamo and she loves their banana cake.
I told her how I wish they serve milkshakes as I have been craving for it for quite a while.
The staff that met us at the front informed us that one of their best item on the menu is milkshakes. Oh My God.. My prayers are answered.
Needless to say, we ordered my wifey's fave banana cake and each of us ordered a chocolate milkshake to wash the banana cake down!!
This chocolate milkshake has only one description. SHIOK!!!!... It is thick and the sweetness is of the right intensity... A Must Try If You Are Having Milkshake Cravings!!
The banana cake is fantastic. It somes with a generous serving of butter and the banana cake is heated up. It makes it easier to spread the butter and I tell you.. Die Die Must Try!! The cake is flavourful and adding the butter makes it all the more better. It is moist and soft. If not for health reasons, I would have gladly ordered another serving!!
After having starters.... if you consider milkshakes and banana cake starters... we proceed to have our main course.
My wifey ordered the prawn with orecchiette. The taste is rich and the garlic is not over powering. The pasta is fresh, the prawn is succulent and the tomato sauce is ample.
I love meat. Especially Italian sausages.. so I ordered sausage spaghetti. It consist of pork & fennel sausage, garlic, peas, spinach and sesame seeds. Let's just say, I clean the plate really good. The sausage is goooood...... oh so goooooood.... again, the garlic compliments the dish and not over powering allowing the flavour of the pork sausage to come through.. a must try if you love italian sausages.
Overall a lovely experience as the staff are knowledgeable in their food, they are not shy in recommending what they think we will like and they are very very very friendly. Go give it a try when you are nearby or you have craving for milkshakes, banana cakes and pasta..
A Visit To Coffee Smith (Bedok)
I kept hearing my wife telling me about a new Korean coffee joint which we should try if we ever see it.
Did not realised that they open a joint @ Bedok Mall.
The atmosphere inside is cosy casual. Giving the people a comfortable feeling when you enter.
The staff are friendly and the coffee is good. They will not grind the beans to make the coffee till you have ordered. This is to ensure fresh tasting coffee every single time. It is definitely worth the wait!!
Their design on the coffee is plain and simple. No fuss with full body taste of the coffee. I am generally not a person that fancy unique designs..
Now.. How can you possibily want to drink coffee without any finger food. I ordered their sandwich.
Their sandwich is comparable to those served in Starbucks if not slightly better.
For my wife, she is a waffle lover.. she did not hesitate to try the waffle and I had the opportunity to have a bite. It does taste good and much better than other coffee joint's waffle. I recommend that you try it when you visit the coffee joint.
White Restaurant
I kept hearing people saying that the White Restaurant is good... the queue is long... the food is fantastic.... Therefore, I had to go check it out. Result... The signature dish does not disappoint. The soup base is oh..so..good... To be honest.. my wife and I had the largest portion.. finished everything.. the bowl could be return to the back without washing.. That is how good it is.. The chilli that they provide to go with it is fantastic, with a bit of sourness to make it all the more appetising..
The next dish we ordered was the Chilli Crayfish.. The Crayfish is fresh and the sauce is fit to finish all the fried mantou that you can order.
Definitely a place you should visit to try their signature dish. Well, as for the waiting.. why must you go so late or during peak dinner time? Visiting the place half an hour earlier will not kill you right??
Dessert @ Marche
Marche
Melvin's Durian
A bit of history on why I will keep buying durian from him.
It was a while back when my father passed away, my brother in law (wife's brother) knew I love durian and I always buy from Melvin's. It was my birthday and to cheer me up, he ordered 2 Black Gold. All this he did without informing me.
After having a late dinner with coffee, my brother in law fetched us to Ministry of Durian (now closed). To our surprise, there is only a couple eating at the place. All the durians for the day had been sold off and they were just waiting for us to come and have the 2 Black Gold durian. Normally, most stores would have gladly called us and tell us that their durian is all sold out and close shop. No, this shop waited patiently for us to arrive to serve us their durian, waited for us to finish before calling it a day. I am so touched.
Although Ministry of Durian has closed down, it has been replaced by Melvin's Durian. They do delivery now and it is good as they have very long queue (everyday during durian season). They accept Whatsapp order and PayLah. Their quality of durian..... Fantastic!! I Love Them To Bits..
Below are the durians that I have ordered. You can visit their facebook page to see what are the promotions available for that day and what type of durians they have.
Sek Tong Gai
Ménage Cafe
My first impression of the place is that it is really well managed. It is a great place for human and their furry families to interact with others. The staff manning the cafe is polite and helpful. They are attentive to the customers every needs. It is a truly wonderful experience to be there. Best of all, the food is good to make the visit worth your while. Here is the link to their facebook. As this post is all about food, let me discuss further what I have eaten or seen.
My wife's colleague ordered starters Fries with Salted Egg with Cheese. The amount of salted egg mixed with cheese is just the right amount that does not overpower the taste of the fries. It definitely worth a try on this.
When it comes to pasta, I will always chose carbonara.. Well, they do make a decent carbonara. The pasta is al dente. The sauce is of the right amount and the yolk.. super runny.
My wife's colleague had Duck Confit. From the appearance, who will not be hungry. Fortunately, the taste is better than the appearance.. the sauce that accompany it is good. Worth a try if you love duck confit.
As for my wife, she misses foie gras. This place's serving is generous and taste is good. Most cafe that has themes usually dun pay much attention to presentation of food. This.. hmmm.. is good the toast is crispy, the vinaigrette is ample together with the preserved orange enhance and embrace the taste of the foie gras .
Making My Dad's Version of Tuna Sandwich.
Below is recipe for 4 to 6 person.
Tuna (2 to 3 small cans) - use water based and drain it totally.
Eggs - depending on size. 2 max. Cut or chopped to tiny pieces. The idea is small enough to be able to chew it while eating the tuna.
Onions - 1 or 2 large ones depending on your preference for the bite. You do not need to finely chop it. Similar to eggs small enough to bite the crunchiness of it.
Lemon Juice - 1 large lemon. Squeeze it and if you want to, have the pulp inside.
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
Mayonnaise - I prefer the Japanese or Korean brand of mayonnaise. For the big bottle, just one third of it. Mix it well.
Chilli Sauce & Black Pepper - 2 to 3 table spoon of chilli sauce and pepper to your liking.
Mix it all up and leave it in the fridge overnight. Chilled Tuna Sauce always the best.
Below is what happens after all the wet sause gets absorb into the tuna.
Prepare some toast bread lightly buttered or plain. Enjoy.
A Simple Dinner @ Treasures (一点心) by Imperial Treasures
We started to order their plain noodles with ginger and spring onions. This dish is simply fantastic. the sauce and the mixture of the ginger and spring onions are in the right portions. the taste... simply delicious.
The next dish we ordered is the prawn dumpling soup. This is to compliment the noodles that we have ordered. The prawns are fresh and the serving size of each dumpling is not too big. the wanton skin is nice and soft.
We also ordered roast duck and roast pork to compliment the noodles. The condiments for the roast duck is plum sauce which for theirs, it is not overly powering. For the roast pork, mustard sauce is a must.
This fried carrot cake is one that you must order. There are many sold in restaurants but this is the best. you can still taste and see the carrot shreds instead of those that are so finely blended that you cannot taste the texture.
As in all 點心, there must be a taste of the two basic dishes. 蝦餃 (Shrimp dumpling) & 烧卖 (steam pork dumpling). For all yum cha restaurants, this two dishes will summarize how good their yam cha is gonna be. If they cannot master this two dishes, their review will generally be quite bad. Fortunately, you will not be disappointed with Treasures (一点心) by Imperial Treasures.
Desserts..... what can I say, Crystal Jade used to master this dessert but the standards has dropped drastically. Now it is Imperial Treasures that excel in this. Their mango pudding texture is rich and creamy. Adding the evaporated milk enhance the taste. It is a die die must order dessert.
My Wife's Favourite Breakfast (Rochor Hawker Centre)
1st Item is none other than the beehoon. Cooked by the granny and portion is small but the texture of the beehoon is good. It is not soggy like most other stall and the taste is just right.
Next is the porridge. Their peanut porridge is to die for.. it has crunchy peanuts and the taste is just right. They will add condiments like crispy tang hoon.
These are not the only dishes they sell, most customers will order their chee cheong fun and rice dumpling.
Do patronises their stall should you be there. Note: Be early. The queue can be scary but definitely be worth it.
Taiwan Trip 14 Jan 2018 to 19 Jan 2018
The hotel of my choice when I stay in Taipei, Taiwan is 永安棧 Westgate Hotel @ 西門町 Ximending. There is nothing to shout about from the exterior but the interior gives you the warmth feeling. The rooms are clean and neat and the staff are friendly.
Brunch
After checking in the hotel, it's time for some food. There is no other food more appropriate then a stop over at this store TienTienLi. 天天利美食坊.
They serve one of my fave food 滷肉饭 Ru Rou Fan aka Minced Pork Rice. (pic below). The rice is moist and the meat is well marinated and the sauce.. omg.... what can I say.. heavenly..
Do remember to ask them not to overcook the egg. Ask for sunny side up with runny yolk so that you can mix the rice together.
I recommend their fried carrot cake to compliment the rice.
If you got cravings for soup, I highly recommend their soup. It is meaty and the soup is not too thick.
Once our stomach is filled. It is shopping time... It does aid your digestion for the next meal. Dinner.. haha
Dinner
Dinner is surprisingly not Taiwanese in nature.. It is a Hong Kong Restaurant (紅磡港式飲茶餐廳) in Ximending 西門町. 西門町紅勘港式飲茶.
What is surprising is that their yum cha taste better than those in Singapore. It is worth a try when in Ximending 西門町. Below is what we had.
Supper
Had such a full meal that we decided that we should shop around Ximending 西門町 before retiring for the day.. but the street food is so so tempting. My wife and I decided to buy deep fried cuttlefish to treat my mother-in-law and aunt. Below is the store which you should keep a look out for in the small alley. They do not pre-fry the cuttlefish.
The flavour I chosen is pepper & salt. Taste good.
Day 2 15 Jan 2018
Lunch
After the usual breakfast by the hotel, we went shopping. For our lunch, we went to Du Xiao Yue 度小月 for lunch. 度小月.
We ordered their famous noodles. The must order food is 担担面, dan dan mian. Below is the pic..
The other dish to order is the 虱目鱼肚 which is Milkfish belly.
Those that love chicken will definitely order their 陳皮雞 (Orange Peel Chicken).
Last dish is my favorite. Its 大腸炸. Words cannot describe the crispiness of it.
Dinner
For dinner, we brought my mother-in-law and aunt to the traditional Taiwanese restaurant 欣葉 Shin Yeh. 欣葉總店. This is an old Taiwanese restaurant that is highly recommended.
Below are the dishes that we ordered.
1st is chicken marinated with rice wine. 
2nd dish is the 猪肝. This is the die die must order dish.
3rd dish is 猪腰.
You will be surprised at the next simple dish that goes well with porridge. 菜脯蛋. This taste really really good.
The last dish that we ordered that is worth eating is 九孔鲍.
Day 3 16 Jan 2018
Lunch
After a late breakfast at the hotel, our 1st destination for the day is to the famous market at 士东市场 ShiDong Market. Besides the normal wet market that we have in Singapore, the beauty of this market is the cleanliness of it. On the level where they sell dried goods, there are a few coffee stalls selling pretty decent coffees.
The surprise comes when you are in the middle of the market. There is one stall that you Must Must Patronize. It sells really really fresh sushi and sashimi. There is no menu, the sushi chef will only ask you to point out to him which fish do you not take. The rest, he will choose it for you. 士東市場-阿吉師日本料理
Needless to say, this is my wife's favourite stall. The price is reasonable when compared to the freshness of the fish. A really must try when you are there.
Tea Break @ Tamsui (淡水老街)
Walking along the old shops. I came across a store selling their Taiwanese version of Croissant. 
I recommend you buying it and go to this old coffee joint. 83號現煮咖啡.
Their coffee is good and the price is reasonable. 
Dinner
We chose a seafood restaurant that we have visted before and wanted my mother-in-law and aunt try it. Did not regret our decisions. Below are pics of what we have ordered. 海風餐廳
Guess all of us had too much for the day.. so we visited my favorite and most underrated drink stall in Taiwan. I will always order their Mango with Yakult. Give it a try and tell me what you think.
Day 4 17 Jan 2018
Lunch... hmmm..... brought my mother-in-law and aunt to ROU. A place where they serve higher end 滷肉饭 Ru Rou Fan aka Minced Pork Rice. 肉 RÒU by T-HAM.
We started with a cured meat platter where we tasted all the different type of smoked and cured pork. We were told to eat those dried fruits and nuts in between to enjoy each type of cured meat.
Next was the bread that compliments the cured meat that we had.
The main highlight for this lunch is the 滷肉饭 Ru Rou Fan aka Minced Pork Rice. The unique part of this dish is that they use Kurobuta pork and Japanese Soft boiled eggs.
As my wife does not like 滷肉饭 Ru Rou Fan aka Minced Pork Rice, she ordered a meat ball soup which is very nice too.
Dinner
Taiwan has many famous food to try and one of those is Barrel Roasted Chicken. You would have to call them to place booking. 炫庄桶仔雞海產.
Here is the pictures to show what we ate.
What you see in the bowl is the oil and spices that dripped from the chicken that is roasted in the barrel. You have to dip the chicken in the broth to taste the goodness of the chicken. Yummy.
Our side dishes for the dinner as as below.
Day 5 18 Jan 2018
Lunch
This is one place where if you love pork, you have to go there. It's the famous 四平街富霸王豬腳.
Do note that they start @ 11am and you will be advise to queue around 10.30am to get a seat. To order take-a-way, there is a separate queue. Do not queue at the wrong queue. haha
Dinner
My wife and her family are Hakka. What is more appropriate than to eat at the Old Hakka Restaurant. 客家放山雞莊. Do note. The old they use are made from Chicken. That explains why it taste so good.
This meal wraps up the food we have for the day.
Oops.. Forgot desserts.... My wife and I snicked out to have Cold Stone Creamery.
Day 6 19 Jan 2018
Lunch @ Tao Yuan Airport
My wife noticed that the Burger King @ T1 has a burger that is rather unique. It's none other that Salted Egg Chicken Burger. It is surprisingly good and definitely worth a try if you are there.
That totally wraps up my trip to Taipei, Taiwan in search of food.
A trip to Chomp Chomp with my old school friend.
A blessed cool evening after a warm day. Came early and caught this magnificent view opposite the Chomp Chomp Hawker Centre. Could not resist taking this picture. Absolutely no filters. God is great.
As my friend and her family are residing both in Hong Kong and Australia, we knew that we have to feed them with our local delights. We set about ordering of usual Satay & Chicken Wings.
Thankfully, they are yummylicious.
Another friend of ours came and before even sitting down, asked are we hungry. He and his wife proceeded to order more yummy food. Mostly seafood and other local delights.
Needless to say.. all of us were so full after dinner.... but ladies always have a 2nd stomach for desserts.. so off we went to enjoy some sweets. In Serangoon Garden area, there is only one place to satisfy our cravings. Best of everything.
At the end of our session (Typical of Singaporeans), we parted ways with heavy hearts and heavy stomach..
Welcome To My World Of Jiak Buay Teng.
A visit to Madam Kwan (KLCC - Suria)
The price of the food is on the high side but it is not exactly that expensive to cost an arm or a leg. Below are the food we ordered. 
The satay is served hot and the meat is tender.. the sides provided are the normal ones that comes with the order of satay but the onions and cucumbers are freshly cut. Nice.
I ordered their famous Nasi Lemak and I am not disappointed. The curry chicken is good and the fish floss adds flavour to the food. Nicely done.
Wow.. love the achar.. compliements the nasi lemak.
My wife ordered the fried fish soup with bee hoon. Fish is fresh and nicely fried. The soup is flavorful. Only draw back, guess they added lots of MSG.. was damn thirsty after finishing the soup.