Hooked!

Hooked! (Nov 2008)

Fish & chips used to be my favourite order since young, until I realised that there's such a thing called grilled fish. Yet, whatever the case, fish has been one of the most ordered western dish (wow fish and dish just differ from just a letter!) for me!=)

Little did I know that there's such a place called Hooked! (which really gets you hooked to the place after your first visit) which serves up a huge array of fish dishes! *don't worry, there's a anti-fish section in the menu if you're bringing along those people who are not a fan of swimming muscles of the sea*
One best point is that even though the prices of the dishes are pretty steep (well, fishes are already pretty expensive, not to mention that they are fresh!), they exclude service charge!



Let's go straight to the HIGHLIGHT dish that is a MUST to order if you are a fish lover and you're at Hooked!
Steamed Red snapper in white wine, lemongrass and garlic fish broth. (served with either rice or linguine)
This has thus far, been the BEST fish dish that I've ever ate in my life. The fish is just so soft but yet not WAY too soft till the point it immediately crumbles and "nua" in your mouth. The muscles of the fish is really cooked till the tender-est point and evenly flavour-ed by the taste of lemongrass=)
Even the soup wasn't let off by us because we just can't stop slurping in the goodness of it!
Deserves NO LESS than 4.8/5! It's even featured in Urban Straits Times in Jan 2007!
Why it isn't 5? The portion is tooo little and I want to be able to cook a 5/5 fish in future! *opps!*




Even the pan fried linguine served was really good as well! Definitely I'll choose this over rice no matter how many times I'll be going to this place. Eat this when it's hot because it taste better=)
4.25/5! No joke!



All this for under $20!=) A little steep but yet, who wouldn't want a taste of heaven for the price of below $20?



Next up, something which is good, but definitely not up to par is..
Poached Fresh King Salmon with House-special Sauce.
Atypical salmon, definitely better than the one that's served in Ikea because this is more tender and the sauce is more appetising as well. However, the meat is still a little too tough- though I've yet to sample a cooked salmon with really tender muscles since it's salmon isn't it?
The portion is definitely enough for one person though.
Just a 3.75/5, probably because we were eating the number 1 fish along with this, resulting in a unfair judgement.




$2 cheaper=)



Yet, I can't help it but to keep harping on the fact that it's free from service charge since the economy isn't doing very well.



All those delights, for less than $20 per person!


Hooked! is located at Rail Station near Upper Bukit Temah road. It's a great place for family and friends especially among fish lovers! A place not to be missed if you're craving for good dish of fish!

Waffletown

Waffletown (Nov 2008)

Sorry for all the inactivity in the past couple of days to weeks because yours truly has been pretty tied up with many activities lining up in her short 1 month holidays of hers.
Anyway, for those that usually reads my main blog, you would know that I'm pretty much a fan of waffles and upon google-ing, I've found this great place which serves up pretty much decent waffles for decent prices!=)

Presenting to you, a substitute of the popular A&W (but without the really FAMOUS Root Beer float)- Waffletown USA!



The interior of the place looks pretty decent and normal, just like how a normal fast food chain in the 1990s would look like=) A very classic feeling.



Decent Belgian waffles with decent pricing!=) Not to mention, as long as you order a waffle along with a cup of coffee/tea, the drink is free flow for the entire day=) A great place to chill out to read a book and enjoy some simple pleasures of life.



Here's our order. Waffles with single scoop ice cream topped with blueberry sauce. The waffles are really crispy and yet not overly cooked or too soggy! The blueberry sauce is filled with MANY whole blueberries so they are really crunchy and not overly sweet. Not a fan of whipped cream and hence we asked for the whipped cream to be sprayed on the side.
Would love it even more if there's chocolate sauce too!
(4/5)!
Cost- $5 plus due to the blueberry toppings.



Looks really good isn't it?



They serve up fried chicken which resembles those original KFC chicken. Less oily and a more tenderised chicken flesh compared to the famous rival KFC. Even though the skin doesn't look very appetising, I was pretty attracted to the skin! Note- Usually I don't eat skins of fried chicken, but yet I had to control myself from eating the skin of these.
Cost- $6 plus.
3.75/5 rating!=) The portion isn't very big though. I think those chicken lovers can probably finish up 3 alone.



The outlet is somewhere near bukit temah. Didn't get the exact address, but the address can be found on using the famous google search engine so don't be lazy to give this awesome place a miss! There's only one outlet in Singapore and the boss looks pretty friendly towards customers=) So that means you can probably stay there whole day, refilling your drink without getting stares from him. A place to get away from the busy concrete jungle even though it's located in one=x

Wan Dou Sek

Wan Dou Sek (Oct 2008)

Geylang has always been famous for 2 things. First the food, and second... erm you should know right? Certainly the 2nd doesn't apply for us so our primary motive for heading over to the "food light" district was for food that has been rumored to be famous and good!

It's pretty weird that dim sum can be served in 2 extreme timings. Either breakfast or for supper. Hence, perhaps in order to meet the demand for both timings, the boss decides to make this a 24 hours eatery so that everyone can enjoy it's food anytime of the day/night!

First dish that came up was fried yam puffs!
Wow this is the BEST yam puff I've ever ate! Even WAY better than the one from crystal jade restaurant! It comes in sets of 4 for about $3 or $4 I think. Even though the serving is really small, it makes you savour every bit of it!A must to order if you're there! The skin is very crispy but as your teeth sinks further down to the yam fillings, the warm yam paste just melts in your mouth! Yummmmmmmilicous~!
*WARNING- VERY very sinful as it's deep fried and you could see the oil coating on the surface and inside of the puff*
(4.75/5)!





Usually people will also order 2 accompanying dim sum dishes which is none other than ha kao and siew mai.
Sad to say, this common dim sum which is sold in most dim sum shops didn't fair very well. The skin was too dry- probably being left in the open for too long (but I ate it when it was served!). Only the fillings inside were of reasonable standards.
2.5/5 (at least it's passable larh.. )





Last of our orders was the prawn chee cheong fan *I'm a fan of this instead of the char siew counterpart*
Wow let me tell you, this prawn chee cheong fan is also the BEST one I've ever ate thus far! The sauce isn't those typical salty yet VERY watery type where they just spread it over the white sheets. Instead, it's slightly thicker but less salty and it really accompanies the soft and tender chee cheong fan! The prawns were also very bouncy (boing boing!) and fresh! The serving was a little too little though. Perhaps they want you to order some more food to accompany this wonderful dish.
Again, this also receives a 4.75/5!


To aid your digestion, maybe you can head over to any of the stalls selling fruits nearby for a fruity supper!=)

Definitely a place to go if you don't feel like going home in the wee hours of the night! However do be careful of the even numbered lanes if you don't want to be molested!=x

Address: Between Lor 15 and 17 Geylang.
Nearest MRT: Kallang

Astons *updated*

Aston (Oct 2008)
The Cathay has always been a place for friends or couples for movie watching. It used to be pretty empty except for the E3MAX gaming LAN shop and the cinema. This year, more eateries sprung up, with the emergence of a food filled basement 1 ( with Shi Ling, Ya Kun etc.) and Astons- a place for cheap steaks and western food without service charge=)

Even though Astons is famous for it's steak, we didn't order any because both of us aren't exactly steak eaters, nor are we a fan of it (especially bingyu).

Anyway, what's special over here is that each main dish comes with 2 sides (choice of either hot sides such as corn, marshed potatoes, fries, bake potatoes etc. or cold sides such as salads, coslaw etc.) so you can choose your "personalised" sides instead of the normal baked beans with coslaw and fries.






First up on the menu is the mushroom soup served with 2 pieces of garlic bread.
This mushroom didn't disappoint me any one beat! It was thick, creamy and filled with slices of mushroom floating around it's rich medium! The garlic bread served were crispy but yet not overly crispy and it's accompanies the soup very well=) Very "wu hua" (worth the price) mushroom soup as appetizer and I almost ordered another bowl.
4.25/5!



Hickory BBQ chicken served with onion rings and baked potatoe.
The sauce and chicken was good but not very fantastic. The portion of the chicken was pretty small as well, so I guess guys will probably have to top it up with more sides or appetizers for a filled stomach. The potatoe was of the correct hardness but it was a pity that it wasn't accompanied with the usual SBC (sour cream, bacon chips and chives). Onion rings were good choice for a side because it tasted as though they just fried it upon order instead of pre frying it beforehand to meet demands.
(4/5)
$6.50



I've a soft spot for grilled fish so my order was grilled fish with herbs with marsh potatoe and corn as sides.
Marshed potatoe was really really fantastic! It didn't taste like those instant ones and the sauce that accompanies with it suits both the potato and the corn.
Plus, the serving of marsh potatoe is quite an amount compared to all the chosen sides we've ordered! Value for money leh!
*do ask for more sauce if you are thick skin enough!*
The grilled fish was soft yet crispy on the outside. One drawback is that the fish was sliced toooooo thinly such that you can hardly appreciate the tender fillet inside. Again, the sauce suits really well with the fish so you can probably ask for more sauce as well!=)
(4/5)
$7.20




There are many other Astons outlets located around Singapore so it's really worth the try!=)
However, for the outlet at Cathay, it's better that you head that at about 5pm or so because once the clock strikes dinner time, you won't feel like standing at the end of the queue outside the shop which extends up till 10 metres or more on weekends!
The early bird gets the food!

**updated**

There's this thing on the menu called double-up chicken, in which you choose 2 types of chicken from the list in the menu for the price of only $10.50 and it comes along with 2 sides as well!=)
Great for those who wants more varieties and those with bigger appetites because the portion of each chicken isn't exactly enough to fill a guy's tummy.

The serving of the food went down a little already. Especially the amount of onion rings they gave and the portion of marshed potatoes. The onion rings on my second visit tasted pretty soggy and it wasn't as crispy as the first time I went. However, the quality of their main dish and mushroom soup is still good! =)

Do give this place a try if you're at town and looking for quality food at good prices! Plus, all the prices displayed are nett price! *though you need to pay 30 cents for their ice plain water*

Ikea's Breakfast *updated!*

Ikea's Breakfast
Time: Starts at 930 and ends at 1030.

Going to Ikea has never been so convenient before because it's just a 5 minutes walk away from my home=) For those who live further, the number 1 thing that you'll most likely buy when you're there will be the $1 hotdog right?

Seriously speaking, Ikea's hotdog has been the BEST hotdog bread I've ever eaten! Perhaps you guys can try Ikeas hotdog with "President" brand sandwich cheese because it blends with it extremely well!

Anyway, even though Ikea's opening hours are 10am and people are more likely to know about their daily lunch menu, Ikea actually serves up pretty decent breakfast!A good breakfast gives a good start to a great day isn't it?

My personal favourite would be their french toast set!
Cost- $2.80
Comes with Ikea's signature hotdog, 1 scoop of baked beans and 2 french toast.
In the past, their frech toast looked much better than those in this picture. Thankfully their taste didn't become worst though.
4/5 for me=)
They also sell fried 'man tou' (buns) which cost $0.90! They are really addictive even though it's a little dry (as expected of fried stuffs). 3.5/5


Tuna croissant.
Cost- Roughly about $2.
Review from George- Not bad as he's a fan of tuna! Plus, why not just add a couple of cents for tuna when the plain croissant cost about $1.50?
Personally, I feel that the croissant looks pretty fresh as it was light and crispy, unlike those overnight ones which tends to lose it's crispy-ness and it turns hard.
3.75/5=)


Also, just like their lunch menu changes daily, same goes for their breakfast set. Buddies and I went on Sunday morning and their set happened to be Mee Siam!
Looks and taste pretty decent. The price was quite a draw point because one plate only cost $1.80!
Hard to find food that cost about $2 in this economy already isn't it? What's more for those that cost under $2?
3.5/5


One warning though, if you're intending to head over to Ikea on a weekend morning, it's better to go early (which means before they even open for business) because there will be a queue outside the entrance to the cafe. Length of queue will always be there once you reach on the dot at 9.30am. The early birds gets the breakfast!

*UPDATE!!*

Now Ikea breakfast no longer serves the french toast for breakfast because it's nearing Christmas=(
Instead, they replaces it with...

Christmas Breakfast Plate ($3.00/set)
Available from 07 Nov - 29 Dec

A piece of butter croissant served with 2 pcs of (mini) chicken sausages,hashbrowns and scrambled egg.

*information and picture taken from http://www.ikea.com.sg/store_services/restaurant.asp

Went down to try it personally today.

Initially I was pretty skeptical about the mini sausages because they don't look and smell as good as the orginal Ikea's famous hotdog. Thankfully it was pretty decent, just that the skin of the hotdog was pretty hard to cut.
Scrambled eggs were not bad, but definitely not as good as those from KFC breakfast (which I may talk about it in future), Mac breakfast or those from LaFondue.

I prefer the previous breakfast set though.

Rating for this breakfast set- 3/5.

Le Cafe Confectionary & Pastries

Bean Curd Tarts (Oct 2008)
Rochor Road has always been famous for it's very smooth bean curd and it is opened till about 12am almost every day. The shop also sells many fried pastries which are at affordable rates but yet it gets sold out pretty fast, especially if you reach the place at about 10 to 11pm plus.

However, there's this little shop which is a couple of shops away and it's famous for it's bean curd tarts ( I doubt there's any affinity with the Rochor bean curd even though they are located at such close proximity.).

Well, it's not easy to find really tasty egg tarts, however, it's even harder to find rarer tarts such as this bean curd tart which sells in a box of 8 at $8. (They don't sell in small amounts though.)

Each of the tarts are topped with the fillings really close to the brim so they aren't stingy with the amount of fillings they put in there. What was the plus point that made me really love the tarts is the really crispy crust and the really soft and smooth fillings which really melts in your mouth!

Take it out of the fridge for too long and it won't taste that fantastic anymore though. Hence it's best that it's always kept in the fridge so that the crust remains crispy and that the bean curd doesn't go bad=)





As I've mentioned, they are really generous with the fillings!=D

Golden Mile

Golden Mile Hawker Centre (Oct 2008)

Golden Mile has always been famous, especially among those army guys who frequents there to get cheap bargains and steals for green green stuffs. It's also famous for being a passport making place as it's situated near Lavender MRT as well.

A walk of about 15 minutes from the MRT station brings you to this 2 storeys hawker centre filled with many famous stalls selling local delights. However, this time round we went to try the more "exotic" hawker fare which are pretty famous.

Surprisingly, the famous ice-cream and pasta stalls are located next to each other, plus, the famous ah balling stall is just opposite them. The only stall that's much further (but yet still on the same level) is ROC pizza.



3 flavours for $3.80! Where to find such cheap gelato right? Yet, don't be mistaken that the price compensated the taste because these 3 flavours which we've tried is seriously highly recommended! (4.25/5)!
Black sesame is a must try! It seriously tastes like the real traditional black sesame paste.
The other 2 flavours that are really worth the try are peanut and hazelnut chocolate. I was given a sample of the milk tea flavoured ice cream but the taste wasn't as strong as those real milk tea.
The only fault that I can find with this ice cream is that it melts really, and I mean really really fast. What to expect in a non-air conditioned place right? However, at least that makes you savour the ice cream before it quickly melts away.


Another must try if you're at golden mile is the Belgium Waffles from Sweet Stone Parad Ice. The waffles here are also one of the best I've tasted (a standard which I can never achieved in years I think.)
You can either only order the waffles alone, which cost $5 for 3, (If my memory doesn't fail me) or it comes with authentic Belgium chocolate dips (alone, or with a platter of fruits and served with ice cream)


This was the fondue set. Usually they'll serve the chocolate over a lighted candle, however we were a little too late and the shop was already closing, so that they had to served us in disposable utensils=( Quite a pity though.


Also, if you are a fan of really thin crust made-on-the-spot type of pizzas, ROC pizza is just for you!=)At a cost of just $6, the serving is enough for 2 to share=)
What I've ordered was mushroom with ham (all time favourite!) and the you could really taste the freshness of the pizza since it's baked upon order!
What was a little disappointing was the crust at the sides, which was really too crispy for me and I could really taste the chao ta (burnt) dough. I skipped the sides of the pizza and I'll give it a 4/5! ^^




Cabonara was our next order (which disappointed me because they forgot to add the egg in.) from the stall next to the eyes scream (ice cream!).
Serving was pretty little which I doubt it could fill a guy's tummy. Yet the taste (without the egg) was really good! *Imagine if there was egg..... it would be perfect!*
It cost us $5, which I won't mind paying because other places would sell pasta at MUCH higher prices.
Verdict? 3.75/5 without egg yolk.


Eating after eating certainly makes us really full but we just can't give the ah balling stall a miss because where else (except chinatown food street which is a franchise) sells ah ballings at $1.50 for 4? Plus, there were many flavous to choose from- red bean, peanut, black sesame, green tea (personally I'm not a fan of green tea) and yam. Soups available were peanut soup, ginger soup and almond milk.
Anyway, the tang yuan(s) here were SUPER kissable! You can try kissing it the next time you order. It was rich with the fillings but yet the skin was smooth, soft but strong enough to hold the fillings well!
4.5/5 for the tang yuans!=)
However, the peanut soup wasn't as thick as I expected, but I love chewing on those really soft peanuts. 3.5/5 for the soup=)

LaFondue

LaFondue (Sept 2008)
People always know that Demsey Hill is famous for it's seafood and a romantic getaway for couples due to it's not-very-lush-but-lush-enough greenary and it seems to escape from the bustling city life even though it's just located between Holland V and Orchard.
Well, a check online to see what are the shops located there led me to a great finding! Which is none other than LaFondue=)

It's probably not very well known and famous due to it's location behind Long Beach Seafood which steals 99% of the limelight.

Prices here are really really VERY steep as well. This place is famous for it's breakfast pancakes and definitely, cheese and chocolate fondue because there's more than 10 varieties each for you to choose from. We only went there for the breakfast because that's what our pockets allowed us to as a set for 2 which includes appetisers, main course, cheese fondue and chocolate fondue is going to cost about $150++

Scary eh?

To cut things short, here are some pictures=)


This is LaFondue's breakfast set which comes with extra toasts at no additional charge. The egg was really VERY well done! Though I would advise them to use Ikea's famous hotdogs instead of theirs because it was pretty bad. Thankfully the eggs gave them an edge. Overall, pretty average, about a (3.25/5)


Fruity pancake topped with ice cream was next. The pancake was already good on it's own, fluffy and light but yet enough taste to keep me wanting more. A drawback here would be the strawberry syrup because it makes the pancake way TOO sweet again. Perhaps those who have a sweet tooth will really enjoy this. Deserves a (3.75/5)


I've read that the cheese fondue over there is really fantastic=) For cheese lovers, perhaps you should give this place a try if you're in a mood for dipping bread, meat and veggies into cheese=)

Fans of Ben's and Jerry's should also head towards the outlet here because this outlet reflects the country side of the famous ice cream chain. For those who wants to know how does the place look like, there's some pictures on my blog at http://skull89.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html

Max Brenners

Max Brenners (July 2008)

Here am I introducing a nice little shop over at Esplanade where it's famous for nothing but chocolates=)
Definitely a place to go for a small little chat with small groups of friends, though the space in the shop is pretty limited.
Warning, this is definitely not a place for anti chocolatey people because once you enter the shop, the smell of chocolates immediately diffuses right into your nostrils and sending a wave of shiok-ness down your spine, relaxing your body from all the hard day's work.

What does the menu offers you may ask, it ranges from hot chocolate drinks to cold ones, to desserts and chocolate fondues=) Not a place to settle your tummy for a decent meal. Perhaps this would be a perfect place to go after eating out at the nearby lau pat sat or Glutton's Bay which is famous for it's fried oyster omlette.

Personally I've went to this place twice, each ordering different items to satisfy my chocolate desires. Who says diamonds are a girl's best friend?

First thing on the menu that attracted my attention was the chocolate fondue for 2=)
2 pots of chocolates (WAY too little for a chocolate lover like me), very thick and definitely not the type that will make you sick even after drinking it. The chocolate gets wamed up pretty fast as well, maybe because it was too little=x There's this option of buying additional pot of chocolates and they come in 3 "flavous". White, milk and dark chocolate. I've yet to try those though, even though the couple sitting next to us seems to be enjoying the taste of it.


Comes with fresh (yes, not those preserved and frozen types) strawberries and bananas. The serving was a tad too little for 2 as compared to the one at Coffee Club.


Comes with marshmallows and most importantly, banana cakes! Never did I knew banana cakes blended so well with chocolates! Not to mention the fact that the banana cake is of the right moisture and texture. Not too hard, not too soft, and not too dry (which is very typical of banana cakes). The marshmallows given was pretty typical. Guess I'll switch the marshmallows for more cakes and fruits in future=)
This fondue deserves a 3.8/5 (drawback was mainly the quantity, not quality.)


This is my second trip over there, ordering mainly desserts.
Due to my failing memory, I really couldnt recall what is this dish called. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is a chocolate truffle. Serious apologies for that.
Yup, from the picture it looks ordinary, and yes, it tasted pretty ordinary as well. Though just like the previous chocolate fondue, the chocolate doesn't make you sick of it, which is a pretty good sign=) Warm chocolate sauce flows out of the 'truffle' as you sink your fork down this little sinful treat. Deserves about a (3.5/5)


While savouring the previous dish, I couldn't resist ordering waffles especially so when the table next to us were eating it!
Plus, the waflfes were cheaper than the previous dish we ordered!
To keep this short, the waffles were good! Really fantastic, just as crispy as I want it to be (since it's going to be served with ice cream). The raspberry sauce they gave was really WAY too sweet. Not to be accompanied with this already great tasting waffle. It'll be better if the small dish of raspberry could be changed to chocolate though (perhaps I would ask for that if I'm going back there in the future). Deserves a 4/5!


This was the drink out of the whole list of chocolate drinks we chose. Bad choice.
We ordered white chocolate with yoghurt (I think). Well, I guess this place is really famous for it's chocolate drinks so I guess it's better that you stick to ordering chocolate. It was our bad to order this because initially we didn't want to have a chocolate supercharge due to the upcoming desserts. It'll be bad for me to give this a rating so I shall skip that=)


Their cup is pretty unique. Plus, you savour the drink using the non-detachable metal straw provide (lets just hope they wash their untensils really cleanly ya?).


Overall, the ambience is just right for couples and a small group of friends to do some light catching up. It might be a little rude to occupy the seats too long especially so if there's a long queue waiting outside as the shop is still pretty small.

Decent chocolates served=)

Price -$10 for desserts (good to share with friends)
Quantity- Small stomachs and food samplers, it's a dessert shop!