Food Review: Mayim @ Northpoint

The first time I tried the food at Mayim was during my army days. A couple of my buddies loved this place and brought me to try as well. This time round, I brought my girlfriend here to try the food. They have a very similar concept to restaurants like Crystal Jade and Din Tai Fung. All these restaurants are quite good in my opinion.

We ordered a Fried Rice with Soup promotion set, Roasted Duck with Braised Peanuts and Xiao Long Bao. The Fried Rice and soup was quite horrendous. I told myself never ever buy something on promotion again. The fried rice was extremely tasteless and the soup was even worse. I was really shocked and felt like returning the dishes but my girlfriend just ate it anyway, with the help of abit of soy sauce. The duck was excellent! Really cooked to perfection. Good tender meat and slightly crispy skin. We enjoyed the duck totally. The Xiao Long Bao was really awesome as well. The whole dumpling on its own was really delicious. One of the best I have had. I think it actually beat my previous favourites. We also ordered a milk tea to share and it was nice and creamy as well. No regrets.

Overall, a pleasant experience. Staff were nice and friendly, except one or two, who were actually bickering in the restaurant itself. Quite a turn off for patrons, in my opinion.

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Wimbly Lu @ Jln Riang

I went to this place quite some time ago with my girlfriend. She visited this place before with her friend and she kind of liked it. So she asked me along to try out as well. We already had our lunch so we just came for a drink and maybe a snack.

First impressions, the place was well-decorated and seemed very cosy. The layout of the place was quite unique as well. We got seated quickly even though the place seemed full. I ordered an iced-chocolate because they were famous for their chocolate. She ordered an iced-mocha if I'm not wrong. The drinks were definitely superb. The chocolate was super rich and delicious. I could not stop drinking it. I finished it rather quickly because it was really that good. Her coffee was very nice too. Then I ordered a set of Tuna Toasties, I think that was what it was called. This was really quite ordinary. Almost reaching to the level of bad. It was just edible. It was just plain white bread with tuna in the middle and toasted in a sandwich making machine. I guess as a very simple snack, it would be fine. But I personally was disappointed. I'm not sure what I was expecting but when it came, I wasn't satisfied.

Overall, it is a nice place with good service and nice people around. I think the drinks and desserts are awesome. I did not get to try the desserts but maybe next time I'll try it and review it. :)

SimpleMakan

Recipe: Brownie!

I have no idea where I found this recipe. But all I can say is that it makes the best brownie ever! It is a little sweet, but come on, where can you find a brownie that is not sweet? I've put the recipe below. I'm sorry but I accidentally deleted my photos. I will make it again and then post it up. :)

Ingredients

115 grams butter
150 grams semi-sweet chocolate drops, not chocolate chips
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
200 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 eggs
95 grams plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degree celcius and prepare a 20cm square baking tin. Placing parchment paper at the base and oiling/buttering the sides will help prevent the brownie from sticking to the pan.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl over a pan of boiling water.

3. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder and sugar.

4. Then whisk in the vanilla extract.

5. Make sure the mixture is not very hot, then mix in the eggs one at a time.

6. Stir in the flour and salt.

7. Pour into your pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a little batter a few moist clumps clinging to it. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Let it cool and serve at room temperature.

Pictures will be updated soon! Try it out and enjoy!

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Mei Yuen Duck Noodles @ Katong

I'm so sorry but I forgot the name of this shop. I will find it out as soon as I can. My friend works at Katong on weekends and he always talks about this duck noodles store. He spoke about this so much that I really had to try it because finding good quality roasted duck is just so hard nowadays.

So on a Sunday morning, I washed up and met him at Katong just to have this for lunch. The place was super nostalgic. The furniture, the people, the walls, the ceiling, the floor, everything was old but still in good shape. We ordered a plate of duck noodles each and just chilled before he needed to go for work again.

The noodle itself was cooked very well. It was al dante, not too soft and not too hard, just perfect. The sauce was excellent. And the duck itself was one of the better ones I have tried. It still had that distinct smell which I do not like but it really was not very obvious. Definitely better than most other places.

Overall, it was a good and simple lunch which makes you think back at the old times when you were younger. Very nice.

SimpleMakan

Food Review: I-Steak @ Serangoon Gardens

This shop is now at the same location as where Astons used to be at. Their logo and design and menu system is somewhat similar but I have to say they are good as well.

I have eaten here a few times and it is yummy. So thought of reviewing this meal just for fun.

I had the black pepper chicken chop with coleslaw and macaroni and cheese. I also ordered the mushroom soup as well as a plate of calamari. This chicken chop is quite standard. Juicy and succulent. Coleslaw was tasty as well. Macaroni and cheese was quite heavenly. My girlfriend loves it. The mushroom soup was good but a little too watery to my liking. I would prefer a thicker soup. And lastly, the calamari, they were the worst I have tried. The squid was not fresh, it was hard and the batter was horrible. The calamari was very oily as well. Only hated the calamari on the whole.

So for a simple and affordable meal, I-Steak is nice as well. :)

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Jerry's Bar and Grill @ Jalan Kayu

I have always wanted to try the ribs here because I saw a show on them long long long time ago. So when a few friends were meeting up and wondering where to have dinner, I suggested this place.

They have some outdoor seats, some indoor seats and some seats which seemed to be in the basement. The place seemed clean and homely. We met up, had a chat, looked through the menu and wanted to order. But guess what, no one was around to take our order. And even when there were waiters serving food to the tables outside, they disappeared very quickly and we still could not order. This was the major problem at this place in my opinion. I mean, it was a peak hour but having so few workers around was definitely not a good idea. And I wasn't the only one waiting for my order to be taken. Almost all the tables around were frantically trying to get the attention of the waiters. This was a real letdown here.

Now lets talk about the food. My girlfriend and I shared the slow-cooked ribs with half a roasted chicken. I have to say, it was really awesome. The meat fell off from the ribs with minimal force and the sauce used to marinate the meat was equally splendid. We could choose two side dishes with this main course so I ordered the broccoli and potato salad. Both were simple and delicious. Our friends ordered fish and chips and chicken chop. I did not try it, but it looked quite good as well. Oh yes, for appetisers, I ordered the fried mushrooms. They were somewhat tasty, but I prefer the ones I had at Coastal Settlement.

Overall, this was a filling and satisfying meal, but service was simply too slow and minimal for comfort. Even our bill took almost twenty minutes to complete. And refilling of water took ten minutes. If the service was fast and if the workers were friendly, this would be a spectacular place to chill at.

SimpleMakan

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