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

Day 5 - Thai Tom Yum Seafood Soup with Rice

With back to back meetings today, we had no choice but to grab a quick lunch. Today only being the third day of the working week and it seems like my themed food post will be short-lived. Undeterred and after some brainstorming, I managed to change the theme into “Something with Rice” instead of the original “Herbal Kitchen Stall” ;P

So for lunch today, it is Tom Yum Seafood Soup with Rice ($4)

Close-up of the fish slices and prawn in the tom yum seafood soup. The soup is neither too tangy nor spicy and you get generous slices of fish, 2 prawns and some canned button mushroom in the soup. This soup has been adaptable to the local palette and is suitable for folks who are not used to eating too spicy food. 

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)

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)