Day 7 - Tanjong Pagar Market Food Center – Issan Thai Food - Tom Yum Seafood Soup With Rice

1st Friday of 2011 and the last day of my food theme “Something with Rice”. Had to think really hard as to what I can eat to fulfill this theme. After much debate, I walked to a stall that I have never frequent before, Isaan Thai Food (#02-23) at Tanjong Pagar Market Food Center and ordered something with rice. :p

While waiting for my food, I am really tempted to change my order. Seeing plates and plates of Phad Thai being dished out, I kind of hated myself for setting the theme this week.. Argh.. I will be back for the Phad Thai for it looks too delicious! Even Ang Mos are queuing for it!

Back to my lunch, I finally got my Tom Yum Seafood Soup ($4.00) with Rice ($0.50).

Close up of the rice 

 A close up of the ingredients inside my Tom Yum Seafood Soup. There were 3 fishballs, 2 prawns some squid rings, straw mushrooms and basil - simple ingredients easily available and suitable for people of all ages. The soup was quite sour and a little spicy, strangely addictive though it felt like it was made from a paste. I had missed out on the cooking process as I was distracted by the plates of Phad Thai :P Will have to verify it the next time round :P

Day 6 - Amara Food Court – Lotus Roots and Pork Rib Soup

4th working day and I am running out of ideas for this week’s theme. :P  We decided to head out to Amara  Food Court for lunch and my brain was already mentally scanning through the stalls for an appropriate meal to fit into the theme - "Something with Rice".

To make things simple and similar, I looked around at what the rest of the patrons were eating and settled on my lunch for today. 

My Lunch – Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup ($3.50) with Rice ($0.50) J

I opted for white rice instead of Yam rice to keep to this week’s theme. 

Close up of the lotus roots and pork rib in the soup. There were 3 pork ribs that literally melt in your mouth and plenty of thinly sliced lotus roots which were cooked so nicely that it still retains a little crunch when you bite into it. The soup is sweet and savoury, having been boiled with red dates and some cuttlefish. It felt like home made lotus root soup which is nutritious and delicious. J

Tanjong Pagar Market Food Center - Herbal Kitchen Preserved Vegetable Chicken Soup

Today, it is back to Tanjong Pagar Market Food Center for lunch. I was thinking of the theme that I should be doing this week. Since I started with Herbal Kitchen yesterday, I thought I might as well do the theme - “Herbal Kitchen Stall”, and sample all the different dishes the stall offers. The food that this stall sells is all very nourishing stuff. The main ingredient is chicken in some sort of Chinese herb.

Browsing through the menu, I found one that does not have herb in it – Preserved Vegetable Chicken ($3.50). It has been a long long time since I last ate preserved vegetables and thought that this dish would be a nice change to the soup I had yesterday. 

From the menu, I thought the dish would be a dry one but was surprised when it turned out really soupy.  

The rice ($0.40) that I add to the soup that came with some braised peanuts and drizzled with sauce.

There were plenty of preserved vegetables surrounding the chicken drumstick. The soup was a little sweet, quite a contrast to the taste I had in mind.  To me, this is a well balanced meal as you get fiber from the vegetable, protein from the meat and carbohydrate from the rice.

First Working Day in 2011

Off to a good start on the first working day of the year by starting it with a sumptuous breakfast from Burger King (BK). Decided to make a detour to BK on the way to office and ordered a breakfast set that I had never ordered before – Turkey Bacon Croissan’wich

My Croissan’wich – Turkey Bacon with Hashbrown ($5.45). Good to see that BK has come up with new initiative such as the sticktogo which acts as a stopper for the takeaway cup.  They could have made it more environmentally friendly by lengthening the stick such that it can double up as a stirrer.

The croissan’wich with the cheese, egg and crispy bacon is simply the best one can have for breakfast to kick start the year! J

For lunch, I really pampered myself by ordering a Ginseng Chicken Soup with Rice ($3.80) from the Herbal Kitchen Stall (unit #02-11) at Tanjong Pagar Market.

Close-up of my rice drizzled with some sauce and braised peanuts.

Close-up of the Ginseng and chicken drum in the soup. The soup was pleasantly light and the flavor of the ginseng was not overpowering. The chicken has been cooked so well that it takes very little effort to break it away from the bones. Yummy J

Best of all, the rain prevented us from returning to our office and we ended the meal with desserts from Dessert Hut!

My Gingko Barley Dessert ($1.50)

Shin-Sapporo Ramen @Suntec City Mall

Tonight is another cold December night and what could be a better meal to complement such a night other than to slurp a bowl of yummy and piping hot ramen?

We headed to Shin-Sapporo Ramen at Suntec City near Carrefour upon the suggestion of a col. It has been ages since I last went to Carrefour@ Suntec and the place has really changed quite a fair bit. Singapore is not exactly big since it is only a dot on the world map but to be frequenting all the corners, it may take you a bit of time :P

As with most of the ramen outlets, the seating capacity is quite limited. It looks big from the outside but can only sit about 30 customers (inclusive of counter seats) at one time. It was about 80% full when we went in at around 8pm.

A shoot of the empty interior, with the back of the main door in the center

Condiments and new Menu on the table

My col’s order of Wakayama Tonkotsu-Shoyu Ramen ($15). It is a new item on the menu. 

 He also ordered an extra egg ($1.50) Look at how the Tamago is firm on the outside, runny in the inside. Really cooked to perfection! Yum...

Another side dish he ordered was the Yakibuta ($4.00 for 3 slices of grilled char-shu).

Close-up of the thinly sliced Yakibuta. The Yakibuta is marinated using a secret blend of Japanese Shoyu and spices and grilled to perfection prior to serving. The fat to meat ratio was just nice in each slice and the brown bits on top complemented the meat. However, we were not able to make out what the brown pieces on top of the pork slices were but guessed that it could be garlic which has soaked up the shoyu and spices.

My order of Shin-Sapporo Miso Ramen ($15). This ramen is made with an authentic blend of four miso pastes from Sapporo in a white pork bone with traditional, slightly-thick curly noodles made fresh for the day. The waitress was very nice and had checked with us if it was okay if our order comes with the freshly made noodles that are slightly thicker and harder. I was a little surprised by her question but we went ahead with the order anyway. She suggested that it would taste better with butter and asked if we would like some butter to be added but we politely rejected.

Close up of the curly noodles. The soup was light and went well with the noodles, the tamago was so yummy that it was gone before I know. The 2 slices of yakibuta did seem a little miserable in the big bowl of ramen but since we had ordered extra Yakibuta, we had no complaints. :P

Overall, Shin-Sapporo is a nice place for ramen. What makes the deal sweeter is that there is a Citibank Credit Card promotion going on (till 02 Jan2011) which gets you 30% off the second ramen. Alternatively, you can opt to go during lunch as they have set lunch promotion where you get a ramen and 1 side dish for $15.80 – 16.80. Pretty value for money I would say :)

Weekday Lunch Set A 

Weekday Lunch Set B

Shin-Sapporo Ramen

3 Temasek Boulevard #01-223,

Suntec City Mall, Tower 4 S(038983)

Tel: 6836 3538

http://www.shin-sappororamen.com

Opening hours:-

Monday to Friday

11.30am to 3pm (Last order at 2.30pm)

5.30pm to 10.00pm (last order at 9.30pm)

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays

12pm to 10.00pm (last order at 9.30pm)





Ramen Culture @ Icon Village

Ramen outlets are sprouting all over the island and it is not a surprise that one came to Icon Village. It is not difficult to spot the recently opened Ramen Culture as it lies on the main eating area at Icon Village. Just enter the sliding door from Sakae Sushi, walk straight and you will be able to see it.

As we were very late for lunch (2pm to be exact), there was no contention for seats. :P  
The eatery is not big. This is the interior of eatery with their logo on the wall. The black “plate” at the back of the seat actually holds your order so that the staff will know what you ordered and if the dishes were served.

This is view of the counter seats we had from where we sat. The area behind the row of bowls of all sizes is actually the kitchen.  “Explosions” could be heard at times while the food was being prepared. ( I had not believe it when I read a review online that there were “explosions” but witnessing it for myself, it was quite funny. Which food preparation requires such “explosion”?? ;P ). Some food was not available throughout the day/week as specified on the 2 pages of Full day menu and 2 pages of Dinner/weekend Menu. 

Full Day Menu 01

Full Day Menu 02

Dinner/Weekend Menu 01 

Dinner/Weekend Menu 02

It was not a difficult choice since we only had 2 pages to choose from. We were wondering what the difference between the Super Black Pig Shabu Ramen and the Black Pig Shabu Ramen was. A check with the waiter revealed that the Super Black Pig Shabu Ramen had a thicker broth and more ingredients than the Black Pig Shabu Ramen. Not convinced and not too hungry, I settled for the Black Pig Shabu Ramen.  

Something else that caught my eye in the menu was the eggs. There were 2 types of eggs being offered, White Egg and Tasty Egg.

The White Egg cost $1 and looks really white on the menu while the Tasty Egg cost almost double!

The Tasty Egg that costs $1.80 which I ended up adding to my ramen to satisfy my curiosity of how tasty the egg could be! HAHA 

The Super Black Pig Shabu Ramen ($16)  that my col ordered came first.

Quickly followed by my Black Pig Shabu Ramen ($13.80) and Tasty Egg ($1.80) by the side.  It does not look very different from the super one just that my bowl was smaller. 

Another col’s Sapparo Delux Ramen ($14.80) served in a very big but shallow bowl.

Close up of my ramen. It was the curly kind and texture was just right. However, I was a little disappointed to find one lump of it at the bottom. The soup may look frightening spicy but rest assured, it was not spicy at all and we had to resort to adding the chilli powder ourselves.

Close up of the pork and my tasty egg. There was a hint of buttery taste to the pork. Perhaps they cooked it in butter before adding it to the soup.

Close up of the Tasty Egg. It was indeed tasty and the inside was nicely done. However, most would find $1.80 too expensive to pay for an egg.

Overall, Ramen Culture is a good place for lunch if you are sick and tired of the food at the nearby hawker centers or coffeeshops. Service was prompt and pricing was reasonable. DO be warned that it is not a place where you can sit and chat after you are done with your meal as space is really quite limited.

 

Ramen Culture @ Icon Village

12 Goepng Street

#01-82/83 Icon Village

Singapore 078878

Tel: 6222 5110

Opening Hours:Mon – Sun 11:15am to 10pm (last order at 9.45pm)

Quiznos Sub @ Icon Village

This was what lured us to the lunch place today!!! LOL..

How can you resist 50% off your meal? What's more, with a description that says, "Every Quiznos Sub is made wih special spices, freshly-sliced meats and veggies piled high over the soft & toasty Quiznos Bread", how can you not be tempted??

I have not heard of Quiznos Sub before and did not even know that they have so many outlets in Singapore already. The outlet at Icon Village is the 5th outlet in Singapore, with the other four at Square 2, Orchard Central, Far East Square and West Coast Plaza.

Tempted by the offer of the week, 50% off 6" Zesty Grill Steak on rosemary parmesan, thinly-sliced steak, mozzarella, cheddar, mushrooms, sauteed onions, honey boubon mustrad and zesty grilled sauce, my cols and I decided to check out the place. 

Sitting area was pretty limited and I guess the promotion coupons worked in luring the crowd as the queue was so long that it almost went out of the air-conditioned area of Icon Village. Either that or the staff were still very new and not used to the pace of work. Anyhow, after a long wait, I finally got my sandwich!!

Took a quick snap of my sandwich after picking it up from the counter. This looks nowhere near the pic on the coupon! It looked like a big mess of beef, cheese, onions and mushrooms slapped on the bread.

A pic of my col's sandwich after adding the honey mustard and horseradish sauce which we had to self-help at the counter.

We had to add-on a combo in order to get 50% off the sandwich. For the combo, it comes with drink and a selection of either a soup, cookie or chips. The picture above is the chicken noodle soup that my col opted for.

This is the broccolli cheese soup that I chose. The black bits are freshly ground black pepper.  I might have been a little too zeslous with turning the pepper grinder :P

This is my meal from Quiznos Sub that cost me $6.15. Not very cheap afterall but the beef tasted fresh and nicely grilled. However, it was a little too thinly sliced, to the extent that it looked like minced beef instead. The portion of beef was also deemed insufficient by Moi. Soup was not bad and the bread was very soft and  nicely toasted. A little disappointment was that the 'veggies piled high' was no where in sight. 

Overall, all of us decided that it is decent food given the pricing but there are definitely better options available. DO expect to wait a while for a seat if you arrive at the standard lunch timing.

 

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Quiznos Sub
12 Gopeng Street
#01-45 Icon Village
Tel: 6225 4473
http://www.quiznos.com/subsandwiches/

Photos taken with SE C905 (resolution reduced)

Rocky Master @ Mapletree Anson

For lunch today, my col suggested going to the newly opened café, Rocky Master, at the new building at Anson road called MapleTree Anson. A casual chat with the friendly staff there revealed that the place has only been opened for a few days, very evident with the congratulatory flowers at the side entrance.

Not knowing what to order, we did a quick scan of the posters in the interior and the food on the neighbouring tables.

One of my col ordered the Black Pepper Chicken Spaghetti ($7.90). The portion appeared very decent and the serving of the black pepper chicken was so generous that it hid the spaghetti. :P She even commented that there was so much chicken that she got sick of eating it! LOL

Another col ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Spaghetti ($7.90). When it was served, I could smell the sweetness of the teriyaki sauce. When my col ate it, he said that it was a little too sweet. Other than that, the food is not bad.

After seeing the food that my cols ordered, I waited in anticipation for mine.

When my Beef Stew Spaghetti ($8.50) finally came, I was quite happy. The beef was chunky and generous, covering the entire surface of the spaghetti. The meal was balanced with some carrots and onions nicely included in the stew. It was served piping hot too. Yummy.. The beef was tender and flavoursome too! One of the staff actually told us that the snappy meals were actually prepared in a factory and delivered to each outlet where they will heat up the food so that they can serve it quickly in order to catch the lunch crowd. Although the food was not prepared in the kitchen, the quality is definitely there. My beef stew spaghetti did draw some envious look from my cols. LOL

We also ordered 2 6”pizzas from the PICKAPIZZA menu to share as we observed a lot of people eating it. It was a long wait for the pizzas as they were prepared at the café. However, the wait was worth it as we were served pizzas that were freshly out from the oven and for that price, value for money.

This is the Mushroom Pizza ($5.50). There were shiitake and button mushrooms, onions, topped with 3 types of cheese-Mozzarella, Cheddar and Parmesan. Yum..

This is the 6” Hawaiian Pizza ($5.50). Again, the ingredients of chicken ham and pineapple are topped with 3 types of cheese. :)

We received a 10% discount for all our food items. We were not told the reason of the discount but gathered that it could be an opening promotion. Overall, this is a nice and affordable air-conditioned place for lunch. There is a wide variety of food you can choose from Pasta to pizza to briyani, sandwich, soup, cakes and pies. You can also chill with a nice cuppa at one of the few sofa chairs available. However, if you are heading there in big groups for lunch, do make a note to go early.

Rocky Master
60 Anson Road
#01-02 MapleTree Anson
Tel: 6224 5220



Photos taken with SE C905 (resolution reduced)