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

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

Food Review: Casuarina Curry @ Thomson

I have eaten here once before. But I did not really like the prata. I would not say it is bad that you should not have your meal here. I would say it is different. I hate crispy pratas. My prata should be soft in the middle and crispy on the outside. But my mum loves really crispy pratas. So it really depends on what you like.

Recently went here with a bunch of friends. Decided to take some photos and do up a review. Service last time was not good. But this time, the people were more attentive and came to take orders whenever we signaled for them. Definitely improved from last time. And the waiter who served us, absolutely awesome. We had like 10 people at our table and had ordered many different dishes and different drinks and this guy remembered every single thing we ordered. Not only that, he remembered who had ordered what! Amazing.

So I ordered a Chicken Murtabak. It was tasty but the minced meat inside was quite little. More filling would make it marvelous. My girlfriend ordered one egg prata and a kosong prata. The kosong was crispy. She liked it but I didn't. The curry was not the best. A little bland. Overall, still a good place for prata if you like crispy prata. There is a great variety of dishes. Many seats to choose from. Affordable price.

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Sakhon Thai @ Serangoon North

Went to this Thai restaurant at Serangoon North with my girlfriend just to try their food. The place itself is big and spacious. It is not air-conditioned but it was airy and not too stuffy. The staffs were alright, they did their job. I went quite early, so there wasn't any queue and managed to get a seat without waiting.

I ordered Pork Green Curry, Chicken Minced Meat with rice, Thai Iced Tea and Red Ruby. The green curry was splendid. Pleasingly creamy and superb flavor. There was a good amount of meat in it as well. The minced meat rice was heavenly. The minced meat was stir fried to perfection and it tasted really awesome. We really enjoyed the minced meat. The Thai Iced tea was just so so. If you had tried out the Thai Iced tea in Bangkok, you would understand. It is supposed to be creamy and really sweet but I guess they have to change the recipe a little to suit the Singapore taste buds. But too me, it was a little too bland. It could be better. The Red Ruby was out of this world. It was one of the best I had. I think more coconut milk could be added though. The excellent point about their Red Ruby is that the ice shavings are absolutely fine. It was like snow. The best I have had so far. Totally love the Red Ruby here.

Pricing wise, it was not very cheap but not expensive as well. Definitely not the usual $3 a plate price from Zhezha stalls. But no regrets. It was a satisfying meal. Go ahead and try but be prepared to wait in line because there will be a queue during the peak hours in the evening.

UPDATE: I went here a 2nd time and would like to officially "not recommend" this place due to sky-high prices with puny portions, lousy service staff.

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Song Kee Fishball Noodles @ Upper Serangoon Road

My friends tried this and told me it was awesome. So I met them and tried the Mee Kia as well. The place is big and airy and simple. I ordered the Mee Kia dry and a coffee. There were quite a lot of people so it took about 5 minutes to come. That is fine. I'm totally fine with waiting, as long as the food is not disappointing.

So once it came, I paid the waitress and tried it. First mouth, I tasted the full flavor of all the sauces the cook put into the noodles. Somehow, at this place, the mixture of sauces did not just seep down to the bottle of the bowl. The sauce was actually thoroughly coated around the noodle. There were many different sauces in the mixture but the most distinct was the vinegar. It was really good. If you are a person who does not like vinegar, this is not for you because it was really strong and I loved it. The noodles was cooked perfectly as well, al dente. The star of this dish was the fishballs. It was really one of the biggest, bounciest and awesomest fishballs I have tried before. It was really good.

Totally no regrets trying this out even though I already had a full meal at home less than an hour before this. So go ahead, try this place. They only open in the evenings and be prepared to queue up and wait for quite some time if there are many people. It is really alright to wait for good food. :)

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Little Part 1 Cafe @ Jasmine Road

Recently went down to this place with my girlfriend after dinner for coffee. Just wanted to try this place. The place was nice and simple. The staff were really friendly and nice. We just ordered 2 coffees and a cheesecake. The cheesecake was nice, not the best and nothing special but still nice. The coffee was good too. Pricing was a little high for the beers. I think I saw the small bottle was $15. I'm not a beer person, but I think $15 is really expensive?

Anyway, this place was just real chill with nice and friendly staff. It is actually quite amazing how the staff of a stall can change your mood or your perception of that place. At first I was thinking I will not head down here anymore because of the pricing and also the fact that it seemed to me it was just another cafe. But on second thought, I really would come here if I wanted to chill and I was nearby, simply because I felt very welcome because of the staff. They were really nice, friendly and non-intruding. Appreciate such good service.

So is this place special? Not really. Would I come back? Yes. Why? Just because the place is chill and the staff are nice.

SimpleMakan

Food Review: Kombi Rocks @ Yio Chu Kang

Girlfriend heard of this place and decided to head down here for dinner one night. The place is cool. Lots of retro stuff. The decoration is simple and pleasant. The place itself is not too small. I went there on a week day night at about 7pm so there wasn't much people there yet I guess. We went in and took a seat. Some random guy gave us a menu and we took a look at it. I found the choices really limited. Pricing was terrible as well. Everything was extremely expensive. The best part is, they served mostly local dishes like Fried Rice and stuff which was I think more $8. Sorry, I forgot the price. But having a famous seafood restaurant just maybe 50 steps away from your stall and charging such prices is not going to help the business.

We still ordered anyway. She ordered Iced Barley, I got a Cappucino. I also ordered a plate of pork ribs and a plate of fried rice. It was really sad and disappointing. Seriously. It was one of the worst I have tried. The fried rice was stale. It had extremely little ingredients. The rice itself was tasteless and did not have flavor whatsoever. The pork ribs I think cost more than $15. It looked good, but when I took the first bite, I was already quite put off. The meat was slightly chalky. And I know that when old pork is used for cooking, it tends to give this chalky taste in your mouth. It was horrible. The sauce the pork was in was good and simple. A tad too salty but fine. But again, the meat was not fresh! That was really bad.

Overall, the place is quite chill. I guess if you are looking to have some drinks, thats the place for you. Other than that, just head down to any zhe char stall for better food.

SimpleMakan