Food review: The Coffee Daily @ Brighton Crescent (close to Serangoon Gardens)

A few days ago, I went here to relax with my girlfriend. She has been here before and loves it. So she brought me here as well before her tuition lesson just to chill.

The place it real cosy and welcoming. There was no one there at that timing, about 3pm. So it made it even more comfortable because we could sit wherever we wanted. There were some nice decorations which was very pleasant as well.

I ordered an Iced Americano, she ordered a Strawberry and Banana Smoothie. And we also ordered a Egg, Ham and Cheese Sandwich on Foccacia Bread. The drinks were amazing. My coffee was bitter but definitely rich. Her smoothie was just the way she likes it but to me, I thought it would have been better if it was slightly sweeter. But it was still awesome! The sandwich was mouthwatering!! I think simply because it was freshly made. It was warm and the bread was crunchy and the egg, ham and melted cheese just made the whole sandwich the best thing ever. I enjoyed our chill out time there.

Overall, definitely a recommended chillout place. Very cosy but I'm not sure how it will feel like when it is super crowded. :)

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Broers Cafe @ Petain Road

I just went to this cafe today to kill a few hours with my girlfriend. It is located in quite a hidden place but there is a lot of parking around, though not always available.

First impression when I walked in, very simple, clean and friendly environment. Makes you feel welcome. The aircon was at a very good temperature and we just sat down and got comfy. I ordered an Iced Cocoa and she ordered Mango Iced blended. Both our drinks were splendid! My Iced cocoa was good, for sure. Rich and creamy and definitely made properly. 

I was surprised with the Mango Iced Blended. Not many people can do this well. It is always either too sweet or sometimes sour or sometimes the ice itself is not crushed properly. This was close to perfection. The sweetness level and the smoothness, all was really good! Very rich and authentic taste of a really tasty fresh mango. Not sure how this was done, but it felt like I was drinking up a really wonderfully ripe mango.

Did not really get to try any food because we just had lunch but the food seemed normal. Salads, cakes, sandwiches, nothing much you can go wrong with. I'll try next time and update again.

Overall, this is an amazing place to chill and read a good book or just to have a chat or to spend some quality time with a friend or lover. Love this place!

SimpleMakan

Recipe: S'ngao Chruok Moan (Sour Chicken Soup)

Alright, I randomly chose this recipe because it looks very easy and it is a clear soup recipe. I love clear soup, so I tried it out. But I did change some parts here and there. Very simple as well and it turned out superb! I loved it and girlfriend loved it even more! :)

Ingredients

1. 500g of Chicken, boneless or not is up to you, cut into smaller pieces, I used a chicken thigh and cut into small pieces
2. 5 cups of water
3. 1 tablespoon of uncooked rice
4. 3 lemon grass stalks, wash, cut in half and use the knife handle to just crush the thick part of the lemon grass to bring out the smell/flavor
5. 3 pieces of sliced galangal/blue ginger/lengkwas (different names, same thing), remove skin, crush as well to bring out the flavor, just crush slightly
6. 2 tablespoon of fish sauce
7. 1 tablespoon of salt
8. 1 teaspoon of sugar
9. 2 lime
10. Coriander leaves for dressing at the end (I did not use this because I do not like coriander)

Instructions

1. Place the rice and water in a pot and bring to a boil.

2. Throw in lemon grass and galangal and simmer for about 5 minutes.

3. Throw in chicken pieces and let it simmer for about 10 minutes till the flavors are released.

4. Throw in the fish sauce, salt, sugar and mix well and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

5. Take 1 lime, slice in half, remove seeds and squeeze the juice into the soup and throw in the part of the lime which we will usually throw away. Simmer for about 5 minutes and then remove the green part of the lime which was thrown in 5 minutes ago.

6. Simmer for about 5 more minutes or until chicken is properly cooked and it is done!

Wonderful clear and sour Cambodian Chicken soup! Very easy to do and it tastes awesome!

SimpleMakan

Recipe: Cambodian Lok Lak

I went to Cambodia recently and was very pleased the kind of simple local food they had there. So I bought a cookbook there and tried some of the food at home. I am actually shocked that it turned out awesome! Here is the recipe for Cambodian Lok Lak. It is a simple meat dish, which is almost like our sweet and sour dishes we get in Singapore. Very simple to do and very delightful.

Ingredients

About 300g of Chicken, cut into cubes or just small pieces.

1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of chilli sauce
1 tablespoon of tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon of sesame oil or any cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce (even if you do not have this, it is fine)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Crushed black peppers, put any amount you desire

Mix all the above in a bowl and this mixture will be used to marinate about the chicken pieces for about 30 minutes, lesser time is fine as well.

1 tomato cut into 8 wedges
2 fresh chillies, sliced into small pieces
Oil for stir frying

Instructions

1. Place about 2 tablespoons of oil in a big enough frying pan. Heat it up.

2. Throw in the onions and stir fry it for about 2 minutes till it is golden brown.

3. Throw in the tomatoes and chilli slices and stir fry for about 2 minutes.

4. The throw in the marinated chicken pieces and stir fry until cook. It should take roughly 10-15 minutes on a low heat. Just slowly cook it so that it won't burn and for the flavors to seep into the chicken.

You are done! Delicious Cambodian Chicken Lok Lak is ready!

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Chung Cheng Prawn Mee @ Golden Mile Food Centre

I was meeting 2 of my friends very randomly at Gold Mile Food Centre, so I thought of having this Prawn Mee. I have tried it before and I loved it. So I thought I can have it again and post up a review here.

The queue was quite long, so I waited for about 7-8 minutes in line and was served. I ordered 2 bowls and went on to eat it. 

I'm glad to say that it tasted the same as before. It was delicious. The picture looks scary, but trust me, it is not that spicy. It is spicy though, and it is bearable. If you can't take too much spice, then maybe just ask for lesser chilli. The noodles were cooked perfectly, the meat was cooked perfectly and the soup was amazing. I enjoyed my meal and I wish I ordered a bigger bowl of soup at the beginning. I saw some people carrying trays with bigger bowls of soup instead of the smaller bowl. So maybe you should order the bigger bowl as well. :)

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Prive Cafe @ Keppel Bay

First of all, I am very sorry for not updating my posts for so long. Please accept my apologies. :)

My girlfriend heard about this place and wanted to head down just to chill. It is located right beside the water and there are many boats docked there. I guess this place is really where the rich stay at and where they dock their priced yachts and boats.



The cafe itself was quite spacious. Lots of seats and the staff were quite alright. We only ordered coffee, croissant and calamari. The coffee was good. Comparable to other places. The croissant was also good. Both of these were nice, nothing special, nothing you can't get elsewhere but still nice. The calamari was the problem for me. When it arrived, it was hot, I immediately took one and bit into it. It was crunchy and the squid itself was soft and perfectly chewy. I was really pleased. BUT when I took the second piece and bit into it, this was like less than 10 seconds after I ate the first piece, the calamari was room temperature! It was not hot anymore. And it was not crunchy. I used my fingers to feel every piece and now all was at room temperature and all were soft and no longer crunchy.



From my experience at home, I understand that this happens when you microwave something. Microwaving makes your food hot and sometimes crispy but this heat and crispiness can "disappear" in a very short time. So I am guessing, I am not sure, but I am just guess that these were pre made and they were put into the microwave to heat up. I was really disappointed but I did not bother to get it changed or to complain. I just finished up the soft and non-crunchy calamari and went off to walk beside the water with my girlfriend.

The prices there are very high but it is understandable because of the location and also the target crowd there. 

I would recommend this place to chill and relax. But I think I will have to try the main courses to give a more in-depth review of this place. But I say again, just for coffee and a chat session with your friends or lover, this place is perfect!

SimpleMakan