“Gin Khao” means ‘eat rice’ in Thai, which is what my Thai friends will say at the start of the meal.

This is also the name of a new Thai restaurant located at East Coast Parkway, in a standalone building, and still exudes a certain ‘kampong’ charm. The main drawback: almost need to drive or cab to get here.

Two areas you may notice about Gin Khao.

Prices are considered wallet-friendly, with dishes priced between $6.80 for the starter of Paw Pia Tod (deep fried prawn spring rolls) to $18.80 for a main of Pla Cod Tod Nam Prik (deep fried black cod with spicy Thai chilli sauce.)

Most of the mains fall between $10.80 and $14.80, making it a suitable restaurant for group gatherings and friends who are watching their budget, yet want a comfortable setting.

Secondly, some of the desserts are peculiarly different, think Green Curry or Tom Yum Gelato ($3.00 per scoop), Green Curry Gelato with Sticky Rice ($8.80) and Thai Tea Molten Lava Cake ($8.80).

Yes, the gelato was somewhat spicy and cooling at the same time. So very strange, and not sure if I will exactly order this again. For novelty sake, perhaps.

There were more hits than misses.

While there weren’t any particular dish which was a standout, the meal was an above average one. Its food would certainly beat some overly commercialised Thai restaurants, or those which used to be good but became exceedingly localised.

Both starters – the spicy marinated Tom Yum Chicken Wings ($8.80) and Deep Fried Prawn Spring Rolls ($6.80) were a reflection of the modern interpretation of the dishes here. Golden brown, crisp, juicy.

The Phat Thai Talay ($10.80) reeked of wok hei, had enough sweet, salty and spicy flavours, but was unfortunately a tad too greasy.

One item I suspect will fly off the shelves – the instagrammable Thai Flag Coloured Rainbow Cake ($7.80), made of layered butter base sponge. Food grade colouring was used for the flag colours of blue and red.

The cake was not only a good-looking. The white-beige colour white sponge had some lemon grass flavour, and the overall slice was surprisingly moist and smooth.

One thing I found puzzling. There was no Thai Iced Milk Tea available on the entire menu, only a version with rose syrup. (Ordered and it was expectedly too sweet and drowned out the tea taste). Service staff advised to order the hot version and add ice. That isn’t quite the same, is it?

Gin Khao
1020 East Coast Parkway #01-01 Singapore 449878
Tel: +65 6604 8996
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm (Mon – Thurs), 11:30am – 10:30pm (Fri-Sun)

Other Related Entries
10 Thai Iced Milk Tea Desserts
Cha Thai (Telok Ayer)
Mookata (Bugis)
Haha Thai (Ngee Ann City)
Long Chim (MBS)

* Daniel’s Food Diary pays for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.

The post Gin Khao – Thai Restaurant At East Coast. Check Out The Thai Flag Cake appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

The thing I noticed about City Square Mall is its wide range of restaurants and cafes. A lasagne café, a full-pancakes restaurant, these are some food choices not available anywhere else.

With over 200 tenants, of which over 50 of them are food-related, the family-friendly mall directly connected to Farrer Park MRT has become a popular spot for families to dine and shop at.

What’s even better is that they offer free parking on weekdays – you get the first 1.5 hours free from 12pm to 2pm (great for lunchtime!), and you can also redeem a $3 parking coupon with $60 spent at the mall throughout the day.

Here are 10 Food Places that can fill up your happy bellies.

Momiji Japanese Buffet Restaurant #05-05/06
Tel: + 65 6509 1193

This is one Japanese themed buffet which is popular among groups, as it offers more than 150 items from Sashimi, Sushi, Cold Seafood, Paper Steamboat, Teppanyaki, Tempura, Nabeyaki, Yakimono, Agemono, Desserts, to Chocolate Fondue.

If you come during dinner, there are more to expect. The highlights include Snow Crab, Deep Sea Red Prawn, Aka Ebi Mentai Yaki and … free flow Sapporo Beer (during specific hours). No wonder the long queues.

Weekday buffet lunch is at $25.80++, weekend brunch $39.80++, weekday dinner $39.80++ and weekend dinner $42.80++. Special rates for senior citizens and children below 12 years old.

Javier’s Rotisserie & Salad Bar #04-14/16
Tel: +65 6509 5751

The first thing that may catch your eye are the juicy rotisserie chickens turning slowly on a spit, the skin looking crisp and gleaming.

Javier’s Rotisserie & Salad Bar is a value-for-money casual dining restaurant serving slow roasted meats with a salad bar containing more than 30 items. Get the Signature Rotisserie Roasted Chicken ($19.90 for quarter, $25.90 for half). The chickens are coated with mixed herbs and lemon pepper spices, roasted for more than 2 hours, served with a sauce of your choice. All main course orders include a free flow salad bar!

Super Dario Lasagne Café #04-17
Tel: +65 3159 0682 (local number)

A café dedicated to sell lasagne. Yes, freshly homemade Italian lasagne. Was surprised to see it, and this is probably the first and only in Singapore. Conceptualised by the café owner’s Dario Scimone, the café’s design is also inspired by that evergreen Nintendo game. You should know which one.

There are more than 10 lasagna types, with many suitable for vegetarians. Each type of lasagna can be purchased by portion (eat in or takeaway) or by tray (6 regular portions and 20% cheaper). All made-in-house daily, no added preservatives, ingredients mostly steamed so that it is healthier. The Super Dario ($8.50 per slice) was good stuff – rich in zesty Bolognese sauce, cheesy and packed with ingredients of minced beef.

If you still have space, you MUST TRY the Tiramisu ($4.80).

Breeks Café #03-21/22
Tel: +65 6299 4339

Should I say this? Breeks Café is where my friends and I like to hang out during ‘the good old days’. This is also proof that some restaurants can stand the test of time.

The main specialties of Breeks include the Creole Chicken Leg, Hotplate River Prawns, Baked Dory with Mushroom Cream Sauce. Prices are still pretty affordable. The sizzling Hotplate Beef Ribeye Steak, with a choice of black pepper, mushroom or brown sauce, goes for $23.90, all in a sizable portion. Breeks Café is also Halal certified.

Wingstop #B1-33/34/K15
Tel: +65 6509 6571

Wingstop is known for its buffalo wings sauced and tossed in different flavours – Louisiana Rub, Garlic Parmesan, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Lemon Pepper, Teriyaki, Atomic, Original Hot, Mango Habanero, Cajun, Hawaiian, Oriental Soy Pepper. If you are up to the challenge, try the Atomic which may set your tongue (plus lips) on fire.

There is a new limited time only flavour in the house – the Kecep Manis chicken coated with a sweet Indonesian soy sauce for that unique Asian twist. While you are there, do not miss the award winning signature Jalapeno cheese fries which you should find hard to resist.

Paddington House of Pancakes #02-35/36
Tel: +65 6612 9029

100 pancakes! This is how many Paddington House of Pancakes offers. Anything from the light American style ones, skinny crepes, to small round golden pancakes.

PHOP’s Big Treasure Box ($15) is like what its name suggests, a mountain of ice cream, fruits, strawberry jam, and maple syrup. As you dig further into the ‘treasure chest’, you would find round fluffy golden dollar pancakes. Warning, eating this can get pretty messy.

–
Milk & Honey – Artisan Yogurt & Dessert Bar #02-K14
Tel: +65 6834 3040

Soft serves and froyo (frozen yogurt) is in trend now. We should be proud of this home-grown artisan yogurt shop, serving yogurt parfaits topped with handcrafted toppings. Yes, most of their added ingredients such as macarons, cake pieces and brownies are made in-house by a patisserie chef.

Our favourite was the Nuttilicious parfait, presented with earl grey macaron, Ferrero brittle sauce, almond tuile, oreo and honey almond granolo. The froyo is incredibly light and smooth, with a touch of sourness for a spring in the taste.

Cocoa Colony #01-12
Tel: +65 6509 0350

Hungry for chocolate? Chocolate lovers would thrill at Cocoa Colony, a full chocolate café serving cocoa beverages, crafted chocolate bars, chocolate gelato, chocolate cakes which can be topped with lava flowing hot chocolate sauce from a tap.

We seldom see Cocoa Bolas anywhere else and were intrigued enough to try them ($6.90). Coming in flavours such as White Chocolate Peanuts, you eat them by breaking the balls with a wooden hammer (trust me, some strength is needed), then dipping the pieces into hot cocoa or gelato. Eating the Bola is supposed to bring you good fortune!

Casa Italia B1-K2/K3
Tel: +65 8218 3117

“Casa Italia” translates to “Italian home”, and is a gelato parlour which serves coffee (and even cold brew). The micro-roasted coffee is called OTTO (meaning ‘eight’ in Italian) because coffee beans used are never older than eight weeks. Fresh-tasting brews!

They produce more than 50 gelato flavours, with no artificial flavours, chemicals, colorants or preservatives added. After trying a few flavours, my favourites were the Baileys and Dark Chocolate Truffle – rich, dense and smooth.

You can also order waffles ($9.90 with 2 scoops, $12.90 with 3 scoops) to go along the gelato.

Whips Cupcake #B2-K9
Tel: +65 8281 9078

The basement of City Square Mall contains many exciting kiosks, such as Stuff’d (kebabs, burritos), Ya Kun Kaya Toast, KOI Café Express, Dunkin’ Donuts, The Old Pontian Café and Paradise Inn.

For tea-time snacks, birthdays and special occasions, you can head to Whips Cupcakes which provide a wide selection of cupcakes. The popular flavours are the Red Velvet, Salted Caramel, Valrhona Chocolate, Strawberry and Cookie Dough.

The Mini Cupcakes (Box of 12 for $10) are pretty colourful treats for sharing in the office.

City Square Mall
180 Kitchener Road Singapore 208539
Tel: +65 6595 6595
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm Daily
https://citysquaremall.com.sg

By train: Farrer Park MRT Station Exit I (North-East MRT line)
By bus: 21, 125, 130 (Kitchener Road before Tai Hoe Hotel)
21, 23, 64, 65, 66, 67, 125, 130, 139, 141, 147, 857, NR6 (Serangoon Road outside Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple)

* This entry is brought to you in partnership with City Square Mall

The post The City Square Mall Food Guide – The Must Tries At Singapore’s 1st Eco-mall appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Sweet treats continue to invade Singapore. After soft serves, frozen yogurt, Korean Bingsu, Thai style ice cream, the next item that will be in trend (may we boldly guess)… will be fried ice cream rolls.

‘Fried’ ice cream rolls. Though they may have other names such as pan ice cream or instant ice cream rolls.

This trendy fad has made its rounds among street vendors in Thailand 2-3 years ago (or even much earlier). What made these cool things hot again?

Could be due to Happy Rollies, the bazaar stall at Geylang Serai which attracted long long queues just to get a cup.
A new shop at Scape Orchard, 21 Cube Artisan Ice Cream, has also got into the bandwagon.

Here’s how it works. You order a base flavor (chocolate, matcha, plain, vanilla, yogurt, yakult), and add in mixes of fruits, cookies and sauces such as nutella.

$4.90 for base with 1 mixer, $5.40 for 2 mixers. Customers decide what you go into their ice cream. Ah, the autonomy, freedom, and ‘creativity’ in deciding your very own ice cream flavours.

The young service staff in black T-shirt with nimble hands, poured a mixture of green onto a cold metal surface, added in the mixes, ‘chopped’ up the blend with two trowels, and spread that across like a thin sheet. The whole process will take about 2 minutes.

After which, the thin was rolled up like love letters, then rolls were placed into a cup. This looks suspiciously likereinventing the wheel of Cold Stone Creamery.

The pros. I liked the ice cream’s smooth creamy texture, easily eaten as they are cut into bite-sized pieces. Pop the entire roll in the mouth, and chomp away. On the flipside, if you do get some clashing flavours, who’s responsible? The person who chose them.

21 Cube Artisan Ice Cream
SCAPE Orchard #02-29 Singapore 237978
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm (Mon-Fri), 11am – 10pm (Sat-Sun)

Other places to get Ice Cream Rolls
Happy Rollies – Jurong East Bazaar beside Jurong East MRT (till 31st August 2015)
Coyoro – 430 Upper Changi Road East Vilage #01-13 Singapore 487048
Go Frost – Within Wednesday Café, 220 Tanjong Katong Road Singapore 437011

To be continued…

Other Related Entries
20 New Waffles & Ice Cream Cafes In Singapore
15 Soft Serves & Frozen Yogurt In Singapore
15 Korean Bingsu In Singapore
Juicy Slush (Scape)
Pong Gelato (Scape)

The post 21 Cube Artisan Ice Cream – Fried Ice Cream Rolls Is The Next Food Trend appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Brother Bird took over the defunct Honeycomb at Bali Lane and nestled itself there. For your info, Brother Bird belongs to the Stateland Boys too.

Stateland Café first made an impact with their Red Velvet Waffles (good move), whereas Honeycomb was riding on the Korean soft serve wave (and we were worried for them).

At Brother Bird, there’s no more froyo. Instead, flavoured soft serves are available on a rotational basis. Are they trailing the softserve trend? (Read: 15 Soft Serves & Frozen Yogurt In Singapore)

In case you are wondering why is it call Brother Bird, one of the Stateland Café’s owners is nicknamed Bird because he likes eating granola.

(In Chinese, this would have been called 哥鸟 which will be really, really weird.)

Alas, something different at Brother Bird would be the Mochi Donuts with Softserve ($9), came with dual swirl of cookie butter and coconut softserve with almond crunch, dehydrated raspberry and salted caramel sauce.

On a closer look, it is shaped like bird’s ahem (poop) and ahem… pretty apt for Brother Bird’s image.

The mochi donut used was fried to crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Not too tough and good for shaping our jawlines. The entire cross- sectional area was filled with glutinous rice and the mix of warm doughnuts with cold soft serve was comforting.

We preferred a single flavour for our softserve as it felt less complex. Simplicity can be beautiful too.

Mochi Donuts ($4) were available separately in 2 flavours: Lychee & Raspberry and Madagascan Vanilla. We preferred the former with a sweet and floral taste. The Ispahan flavour would be complete if there’s rosewater added to it.

Only 2 soft serves were available, Cookie- Butter and Honey-dew Sago, both priced at $5.50. The latter was a rich, smooth and creamy coconut taste. We liked it.

Topped with coconut tuiles and fresh honeydew, it tasted like the traditional dessert that we were all too familiar with, except in the form of a soft serve.

The Cookie Butter on the other hand wasn’t as impressive and a tad salty with the sea salt added.

From normal doughnuts to mochi donuts, from liquid honeydew sago to soft serve. Brother Bird brings an innovative twist to the traditional desserts and we are excited about the future flavours that they will create.

Brother Bird
30 Bali lane, Singapore 189966 (Bugis MRT)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brother-Bird/934414279953685
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm (Wed-Mon), Closed Tues

Other Related Entries
15 Soft Serves & Frozen Yogurt In Singapore
10 Thai Iced Milk Tea Desserts
10 Best Shibuya Toast In Singapore
21 Cube Artisan Ice Cream (Scape)
CoolPlay Soft Serve (Toa Payoh)

* Written by Daniel’s Food Diary Cafe Correspondent Nicholas Tan. Find him on instagram @stormscape.

The post Brother Bird – No More Honeycomb. Stateland Café Opens Another Soft Serve Cafe appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Originally, I had wanted to publish a SG50 book on old-school bakeries and cake shops in Singapore, to remember bits and pieces of memories of my childhood.

Finding these shops, getting the owners to share their histories and stories, and documenting through photos and recordings, was way more challenging than I envisioned. Especially when I am still holding on to my day-job.

However, I WILL NOT GIVE UP, and hope that 2016 will be the year I can complete this piece of work. I probably have about 50-60 on my list already, and will comb one by one.

If you are the owner of an old-school bakery, or have personal contacts to any, do let me know.

10 Singapore Heritage Bakeries and Shops – For Old School Cakes And Kueh (in alphabetical order)

Balmoral Bakery
105 Clementi Road Street 12 (Sunset Way) #01-06 Singapore 120105
Tel: +65 6779 2064
Opening Hours: 9:00am – 8:00pm Daily

While Singapore gained her independence in 1965, Balmoral Bakery opened in December the same year, founded by Hainanese ‘Ah Kohs’ (big brothers) as a complement to the famed Balmoral Steak House at Holland Village which was frequented by the British armed forces.

The owner then loved all things English, named his shop after a castle in Scotland, and sold English treats such as butter cake, rum balls and beef pies. Balmoral’s pastry chef picked up his baking skills at the cake section of Robinson’s Department Store (which was destroyed by fire in 1972).

The shop continues to be frequented by customers, many to buy their Cream Horns filled with rich buttercream, and old school buttery Beef Pies.

Hainan Xiao Chi
22 Toa Payoh Lorong 7 #01-35 Singapore 310022
Tel: +65 93381903
Opening Hours: 7am – 1pm

The Hainanese has a saying, that a piece of kueh cannot be complete without coconut. This represents the importance of coconut palm sugar in their cakes and snacks.

The Yi Buah is something I have never really seen before, a Hainanese kueh made of glutinous rice flour then stuffed with fillings such as coconut, sesame and peanut. The word “Yi” represents memories, and the cake has come to symbolise bliss, joy and harmony among families and friends.

Hainan Xiao Chi continues to make Yi Buah by hand, and sells other Hainanese food such as “ji shi geng”, literally meaning chicken poop soup because the ingredients look like it. Don’t worry – it is actually cooked from the root of a herb.

Harriann
230 Victoria Street #01-01A Bugis Junction Towers Singapore 188024
Opening Hours: 8am – 9pm
Original outlet: 30 Seng Poh Road, Tiong Bahru Market, #02-25 (Closes 2pm)

Behind the signature homemade glutinous rice and Nonya kueh of Harry Ann, is a wonderful story of love and family ties.

The stall was founded by couple Harry and Ann who learnt traditional Nonya kueh making from Harry’s mother. Harry’s mother Mdm Chia had to raise the family up single-handedly through selling glutinous rice, after their father passed away suddenly in a freak accident at the Singapore River.

So the taste of the chu bee png has largely remained unchanged, and cakes continue to be made by hand.

Le Café Confectionery & Pastry
264 Middle Road (Opposite Wilkie Edge behind Rochor Beancurd)
Tel: +65 6337 2417
Opening Hours: 10.30am – 7.00pm Mon–Sat ; 10.30am – 4.00pm Sun & PH

Le Café’s lady boss Betty, still clothed in a 60s style of sleeveless dress and orange spectacles, is proud that heavenly king Andy Lau had once ordered his Golden Horse awards celebration cake from her – and it was Le Cafe’s signature black forest cake.

Le Café was established in 1949, and has been in same the Middle Road location for 60 odds years. But few would know they started off as a zhi char shop, and started selling cakes in the 60s when ‘Guo Da Li‘ (betrothal gift exchange) cakes became widely sought after. Though they are more known for their pineapple golf balls and beancurd tarts now.

These ‘Guo Da Li’ cakes were traditionally given to the bride’s family two weeks before the wedding to be distributed to friends and relatives together with the invitation card.

Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionery
Blk 84 Bedok North Street 4 #01-21, Singapore 460084 (Near Feng Shan Food Centre, Tanah Merah MRT, take bus no 14, 4 bus stops).
Opening Hours: 6:30am – 6:00pm (Mon-Sat), 6:30am – 2:00pm (Sun)

Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionery, located at Bedok North, started back in 1967 in a simple kampong kitchen at Changi Village. Although the family is Teochew, owner Madam Sing learnt the skills of nonya cake making from her father’s Peranakan ‘shi-fu’.

While she was initially happy making kueh for the kampong, her ‘Ang Ku Kueh‘ (red tortoise cake) became too popular in the 1980s precisely because Singapore had a baby boom, and many families ordered that as first month cakes for the newly born to symbolise blessings. She eventually opened her official shop in 1987 which, until today, has remained at the same location.

Love Confectionery
Bukit Merah Lane 1 #01-50 Singapore 150122
Tel: +65 6278 2385
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm

This is one bakery where residents around Bukit Merah (opposite the Alexandra Village Food Centre) continue to go to for their butter cakes, custard pastries and hotdog buns.

Nothing much has really changed in terms of décor and offerings from as far as I can remember, where an uncle would be behind a counter, and you can get slices of creamy cakes covered in chocolate sprinkles.

Ng Kim Lee
4 Chun Tin Road Singapore 599591
Tel: +65 6466 3515
Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm (Mon-Sat), 9pm – 1pm (Sun)

Ng Kim Lee at Bt Timah has been around for more than 60 years, selling Teochew-style pastries and old school Western cakes.

Some Teochew families still continue to order wedding cakes and betrothal baskets from them. Other than the old-school tau sar pia, they are known for their mushroom pies, muffins and butter cakes.

Sembawang Confectionery
Blk 6, Beach Road #01-4869 Singapore 190006 (near Beach Road Army Market)
Tel: +65 6295 3965)
Opening Hours 10:30am – 7:00pm Daily

Sembawang Confectionery was first set up in Katong back in 1962, then at Thomson Road and was well-liked for its chicken pies, curry puffs and sausage rolls. However, popularity of these items went down due to the widespread opening of modern bread shops.

Even then, the owner refused to be stingy on ingredients, while insisting on keeping prices low. He shared three formulas to keep his customers loyal: Use quality ingredients; make good food; and sell them cheaper than others.

Its present location at Beach Road would zap you into a time machine back to the past, with its tiled flooring, red lanterns and sale of old-school cakes. Of course I was surprised to find the Traffic Light Cake ($1.20). I haven’t seen these since I left primary school.

Tiong Bahru Galicier Pastry
55 Tiong Bahru Road #01-39 Singapore 160055 (5 min walk from Tiong Bahru Market)
Tel: +65 6324 1686
Opening Hours: Tue-Sun 9am-9pm, Closed Mon

When asked the year Tiong Bahru Galicier was founded, owner Jenny Soh looked a little stunned (as if nobody ever asked that question before), “Before the world war, before I was born!” and laughed. She still had a photo dated 1975 of her old shop located at Orchard Road, and said she would have been a very rich woman had her shop not made way for the shopping centres.

Fans of nonya cakes have to be careful stepping into Tiong Bahru Galicier. It sells so many old-fashioned kueh you would feel like buying the entire shop! Getting to know their products is an excellent food history lesson!

Their variety include the orange Pandan Tapioca Cake (60 cents), Ondeh Ondeh (60 cents), Kueh Kosoi (70 cents), Kueh Ambon honeycomb cake ($1.20) and Kueh Salat (90 cents).

Traditional Haig Road Putu Piring
970 Geylang (Onan Road Mr Teh Tarik Coffee Stall) #01-12 Singapore 423492
Tel: +65 94229017
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon-Thurs), 11am – 11pm (Fri-Sat), 10am – 11pm (Sun)

This stall at Onan Road was very busy during noon time, with 4-5 ‘makcik’ dressed in ebony white, making putu piring in quick precision and systematic rhythm.

These Malay desserts look like the Chinese kueh tutu, but the origins are said to be from India.

The round cakes were made of ground rice flour, filled with gula Melaka (palm sugar) in the centre, covered with another layer of rice flour and then steamed in metal conical moulds for about 5 minutes.

Owner Mohamad Hashim first learnt how to make the putu piring from his grandmother, and had continues to do so for 20 years. His son and daughter-in-law continued to manage one of the two stalls.

As Singapore celebrates its 50th birthday, many of these treasures are fast-disappearing, replaced by machinery, I find it even more crucial to document them before they are long gone.

Some of these interviews, turned out to be reflective and emotional, as owners retold their journeys from learning to selling cakes. Many of them were forced by circumstances, to raise a family during times of uncertainty. It was during these conversations I learnt more about Singapore and appreciate what I have more.

I have done many many food posts, but this is something I have always wanted to do. Happy Birthday My Singapore!

* Thank you to the owners of several heritage bakeries for sharing your stories. If you are the owner of an old-school bakery, or have personal contacts to any, do let me know at DanielFoodDiary@gmail.com

The post 10 Singapore Heritage Bakeries and Shops – For Old School Cakes And Kueh appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Brother Bird took over the defunct Honeycomb at Bali Lane and nestled itself there. For your info, Brother Bird belongs to the Stateland Boys too.

Stateland Café first made an impact with their Red Velvet Waffles (good move), whereas Honeycomb was riding on the Korean soft serve wave (and we were worried for them).

At Brother Bird, there’s no more froyo. Instead, flavoured soft serves are available on a rotational basis. Are they trailing the softserve trend? (Read: 15 Soft Serves & Frozen Yogurt In Singapore)

In case you are wondering why is it call Brother Bird, one of the Stateland Café’s owners is nicknamed Bird because he likes eating granola.

(In Chinese, this would have been called 哥鸟 which will be really, really weird.)

Alas, something different at Brother Bird would be the Mochi Donuts with Softserve ($9), came with dual swirl of cookie butter and coconut softserve with almond crunch, dehydrated raspberry and salted caramel sauce.

On a closer look, it is shaped like bird’s ahem (poop) and ahem… pretty apt for Brother Bird’s image.

The mochi donut used was fried to crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Not too tough and good for shaping our jawlines. The entire cross- sectional area was filled with glutinous rice and the mix of warm doughnuts with cold soft serve was comforting.

We preferred a single flavour for our softserve as it felt less complex. Simplicity can be beautiful too.

Mochi Donuts ($4) were available separately in 2 flavours: Lychee & Raspberry and Madagascan Vanilla. We preferred the former with a sweet and floral taste. The Ispahan flavour would be complete if there’s rosewater added to it.

Only 2 soft serves were available, Cookie- Butter and Honey-dew Sago, both priced at $5.50. The latter was a rich, smooth and creamy coconut taste. We liked it.

Topped with coconut tuiles and fresh honeydew, it tasted like the traditional dessert that we were all too familiar with, except in the form of a soft serve.

The Cookie Butter on the other hand wasn’t as impressive and a tad salty with the sea salt added.

From normal doughnuts to mochi donuts, from liquid honeydew sago to soft serve. Brother Bird brings an innovative twist to the traditional desserts and we are excited about the future flavours that they will create.

Brother Bird
30 Bali lane, Singapore 189966 (Bugis MRT)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brother-Bird/934414279953685
Opening Hours: 12pm – 10pm (Wed-Mon), Closed Tues

Other Related Entries
15 Soft Serves & Frozen Yogurt In Singapore
10 Thai Iced Milk Tea Desserts
10 Best Shibuya Toast In Singapore
21 Cube Artisan Ice Cream (Scape)
CoolPlay Soft Serve (Toa Payoh)

* Written by Daniel’s Food Diary Cafe Correspondent Nicholas Tan. Find him on instagram @stormscape.

The post Brother Bird – No More Honeycomb. Stateland Café Opens Another Soft Serve Cafe appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

Don’t you use love it when our Singapore restaurants execute some creativity into their food? Using our Singapore National Dish Hainanese Chicken Rice as a form of inspiration, these foods are created to inject an element of fun. Okay, some worked, some needed getting used to.

Chicken rice on pizza? Bread dipped into chicken rice chilli sauce? (I am so waiting for Chicken Rice Gelato to surface.)

So step aside Tian Tian and Chatterbox for the moment. Here’s 7 Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice Based Food – Pizza, Salad, Bread, Xiao Long Bao, Sushi!

Beer Market
3B River Valley Road #01-17/02/2 Clarke Quay Singapore 179021
Opening Hours: 6pm – 10am (Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sun), 6pm – 3pm (Fri, Sat), Closed Mon

Chicken Rice Pizza
Weird. Chicken Rice on Pizza ($17.90)!! The creation of this dish according the owners “was an accident”, but ended up being one of their most popular bar bites. Almost everything that should be on chicken rice is on that pizza – roast chicken, RICE grains, cucumber, garlic, oil, BUT the chilli sauce. A pity.

I wished I had better ways to describe the taste, but it was exactly like oily chicken rice topped on pizza. Baby, sometimes love just ain’t enough.

Crown Bakery & Cafe
557 Bukit Timah Road, #01-03 Crown Centre, Singapore 269694 (5-10 min walk from Botanic Gardens MRT)
Opening Hours: 7.30am – 8.30pm (Sun-Thu), 7.30am – 9.30pm (Fri-Sat)

Hainanese Chicken Bread
Imagine the aromatic smell of chicken rice drifting right in front of your nose, only to realize that it is a loaf of bread instead of that plate of glistening chicken skin and white tender chicken meat.

The Hainanese Chicken Bread ($4.50) from Crown Bakery Café, is made from chicken soup, skinless chicken thigh, garlic, ginger and shallots. Wished there were more chicken chunks though.

Do not forget to dip the bread pieces into the chicken rice chilli sauce, which is one of the key players in a successful plate of chicken rice.

Meat and Green
84 Circular Road Singapore 049436 (Boat Quay, Raffles Place MRT)
Opening Hours: 11am-9pm (Mon-Sat)

Hainanese Chicken Salad
For those of you who on diet but still craving for chicken rice (I know how it feels). Meat and Green deserves a mention for its inventive variety of salads and wraps.

Priced between $10 and $12, there are local inspired items such as Chicken “rice” (no rice, but there is still the chilli and garlic), and Pulled Pork Bakutteh Salads.

Probably for those who usually order chicken-rice-without-the-rice.

Cook and Brew Singapore
The Westin Singapore · Level 33 · 12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2, Singapore 018961
Tel: +65 6922 6948
Opening Hours: 11am – 12am (Mon-Thurs), 11am – 1am (Fri), 6pm – 1am (Sat), Sun (for private events)

Singapore Chicken Rice Wrap
Chicken, pickled cucumber and sticky glutinous rice in a tortilla wrap, served with ginger, dark soya sauce and chill sauce on the side, and clear chicken soup in a little glass bottle (which reminded me of chicken essence).

The texture and taste bore huge resemblance to the dim sum Lo Ma Gai. Executive Chef Aaron Foster who is Canadian, just wanted to have some fun and creativity.

Lepark
1 Park Road Level 6 People’s Park Complex, Singapore 059108
Opening Hours: 4pm – 11pm (Tues-Thurs), 4pm – 12am (Fri), 11am – 12am (Sat), 11am – 11pm (Sun)

Poached Chicken Sushi
It is only a matter of time that local chicken rice finds its way into Japanese sushi.

Lepark’s Poached Chicken Sushi ($8) combines a homemade chicken rice recipe infused with fresh herbs and garlic rolled into a sushi ball, topped with traditional poached chicken, a dollop of garlic chilli and all tied together with a strip of seaweed. Can image that it is almost like the real deal.

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Takashimaya S.C. #04-27, Jurong Point JP2 #03-96, Holland Ave 241, Great World City #02-043, Bugis Junction B1-04A
Crystal Jade Jiang Nan Vivocity #01-52

Hainanese Chicken Rice Xiao Long Bao
An SG50 special. Crystal Jade incorporates Singapore signature dishes Hainanese Chicken Rice and Chilli Crab into Chinese dumplings Xiao Long Bao ($7.80 for 4 pieces). Two red and two white XLBs. Almost feeling patriotic.

With fillings of minced chicken, there is a faint tinge of resemblance in terms of the stock within the XLB. Minced garlic is on the side for more likeness. Otherwise, quite gimmicky leh, but every almost table was ordering this.

The Diner by The Travelling COW
CT Hub, 2 Kallang Ave #02-16 Singapore 339407

Chicken Rice Burger
I went down wanting to try The Travelling COW’s Chicken Rice Burger – deep fried rice bun with chicken leg meat as the ‘patty’. The owner said that it would not be ready yet in the new few weeks during to labour shortage.  Two more weeks. (I will be back).

Let me know if there are other chicken rice based dishes you see.

Other Related Entries
10 Singapore Heritage Bakeries and Shops
10 Favourite Stalls From Tiong Bahru Food Centre
5 Heritage Chinese Restaurants in Singapore
5 Favourite Zi Char Places in Singapore
5 Stalls To Try at Maxwell Food Centre

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Zi Char (or Cze Char) is the kind of food that can warm your heart, especially when you dine with your entire family and friends over dinner, each ordering their favourite dish of hor fun, kang kong and har cheong kai. My family used to order zi char only during special occasions, and we usually frequent Hillman and Pok Kee (which is sadly gone).

Fatty Weng, Lai Huat, Sum Kee, Hong Kong Street Chun Kee, Ka-Soh, Hong Sheng, JB Ah Meng, Le Chasseur, Joo Hing and Sin Hoi Sai are some of those that continue to be the choice of many Singaporeans – many of which have decades of history and stand through the test of time. (Read: What Is Your Must Have Zi Char Dish?)

Rather than call this the 8 Best Zi Char in Singapore, these are some of my favourite ‘zhu chao’ places – each already very popular for their wok-fried dishes.

Most have a stand-out signature dish, quite unseen anywhere or where others fail to replicate as well.

New Ubin Seafood
Block 27 Sin Ming Road (behind Block 26), #01-174 Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector A, Singapore 575680
Opening Hours: 11am – 2pm, 5:30pm – 10:30pm (Tue-Fri), 11:30am – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 10:30pm (Sat, Sun), 5:30pm – 10:30pm, Closed for lunch on Mon.

Though New Ubin Seafood has its beginnings from a restaurant Pulau Ubin’s north shore, they really made its name when it moved to the rustic Sin Ming area, where the décor is still quite kampong-style.

Not the typical zi char dishes, you would find US Ribeye, Chocolate Alexander, Fish Roe Masala, BBQ Baby Back Ribs, Satay Foie Gras, and BBQ Pork Collar among the top selling dishes

Some customers call this the ‘ang moh’ zi char restaurant, and order the US Black Angus Ribeye Steak ($12 for 100 grams), served together with caramelised onions, Idaho potato wedges, sea salt flakes, and my favourite… fried rice cooked with beef drippings. Super flavoursome.

Por Kee Eating House
#01-02 69 Seng Poh Lane Singapore (10-15 min walk from Tiong Bahru MRT)
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 11:30pm Daily

They closed, and they reopened. Yeah. Say hello back to Por Kee’s signature dishes like the Champagne Pork Ribs, Homemade Beancurd ($16), Cereal Prawns ($22), Crispy Butter Prawns ($22), and Yam Basket with Chicken and Shrimp ($16).

My favourite dish is easily the Homemade Beancurd with mushrooms ($16). While deep fried, the inside remains very smooth and silky, poured over by a flavourful sauce with super-power wok-hei. I swear you can feel the wok-hei breathing in your body after taking a bite.

Kok Sen Restaurant
No 30-32 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089137
Opening Hours: Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm, Dinner: 6.00pm – 10.30pm (Closed on Mon)

This Cantonese-style restaurant’s most famous dish is its Big Prawn Bee Hoon, costing a pricey $15 for a seemingly humble zi char place. Yes, 15 bucks for hae mee! But quoting L’Oreal, it is worth it, and I have been ordering it almost every single time I come.

My tip is to share the bowl with a friend as it is quite heavy in taste (actually most of the other dishes tend to be richer and saltier as well). Plus, you should leave some space for other dishes like the awesome Claypot Yong Tau Fu, which is quickly sold out by the evening. (Read: Kok Sen Restaurant (Keong Siak Street))

Diamond Kitchen
87 Science Park Dr #01-01 Oasis Singapore 118260
Tel: +65 6464 0410
Opening Hours: 11am – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 11pm (Mon-Sun)
Main outlet:
5000F Marine Parade Road, Laguna Park (Condominium), #01-22/23, Singapore 449289

Many calamari dishes tried elsewhere failed big time, usually tasting rubbery and overpowered by salted egg yolk sauce. Singaporeans may love salted-egg-anything, but let us not drown our food in it.

Diamond Kitchen’s Salted Egg Sotong ($14) was spot on – crispy deep fried, dusted with some spicy powder, evenly tossed in salted yolk mix, and did not taste overly chewy.

Yong Kee Seafood Restaurant
Boon Hwa Food Centre, 43 Jalan Besar (opposite Sim Lim Tower)
Opening Hours: 5:30pm-3am (closed on every first Wed of the month)

Every table orders the chao tar bee hoon (burnt vermicelli) at Yong Kee. This crispy vermicelli ($5) is a must try at Yong Kee located within a coffeeshop along Jalan Besar Road. You might have seen this dish before in Malaysia, but it is definitely uncommon here. The wait of 20 minutes was long, but it was worth every minute.

Arriving like a round pancake, the beehoon was crusty on the outside layer, yet moist and flavoursome on the inside where the bee hoon had soaked up the rich stock. (Read: Yong Kee Seafood (Jalan Besar))

Two Chefs Eating Place
Blk 116 Commonwealth Crescent, #01-129 Singapore 140116, Tel: +65 6472 5361
Opening Hours: 5pm-11:30pm (Mon), 11:30am – 2:30pm, 5pm- 11:30pm (Tues-Sun), Closed last Mon of the month

Two Chefs describes themselves as “high class dishes at zi char prices”. Hmmm. The dish that everyone talks about is the Butter Pork Ribs ($8/$12/$16) which is pork chop (no ribs) covered with a specially made powdery butter.

The pork cubes are indeed quite tender (can’t complain because I always get tough pork in Singapore), covered in this snowy white textured, sweet tasting butter power which takes four hours to prepare. It tastes like dried up condensed milk, while the traces of curry leave add a hint of fragrance. The dish used to be much better though, recently the power got clumpy.

Keng Eng Kee Seafood
124 Bukit Merah Lane 1 (next to Alexandra Food Village) Singapore 150124, Tel: +65 6272 1038
Opening Hours: 11:00am-2:00pm, 5:00pm-11:00pm Daily

Keng Eng Kee is one of those Zi Char places that actually have good service (no grumpy aunties) – prompt (in fact too prompt my dishes arrived in minutes) and friendly. The originality of the dishes is quite mixed. Owner Mr Liew is Malaysian who learnt his craft from his Hainanese father-in-law, and serves mainly Cantonese styled dishes.

The eatery frequently introduce new dishes such as Thai style Claypot Chicken, and Royal Stew Pork Ribs, but it is the Mingzhu Roll ($9 for 6 pieces) that look overly elaborate and creative. It is fried tau pork stuffed with a variety of ingredients – salted egg yolk, prawn, ham, mushrooms and parsley served with a sweet cream sauce. Customers like to order the ‘Moonlight Horfun’ where an egg yolk is crack in the middle of wok-fried rice noodles.

Mellben Seafood
232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, Singapore 560233 Tel: +65 6285 6762
Opening Hours: 4:30pm – 11:30pm (Reservations needed, except weekends when you have to queue)

Service is almost atrocious but people still come in droves to queue during the weekends. After about an hour wait, we finally got a table. Quickly order the crabs because they may run out (yah, that sounds ridiculous for a crab place).

For their Crab Bee Hoon served in claypot, I am prepared to overlook all the trouble. The soup is richly flavoursome with a multi-layered creamy taste, and that is also when you can savour the sweetness of the crab meat. If you want more, just request to ‘jia tang’ – add beehoon with soup for a price without the crabs.

So what are some of your favourite zi char places and must-have signature dish?

Other Related Entries
10 Singapore Food Bloggers And Their Fav Hawker Food
10 Singapore Heritage Bakeries and Shops
Time To Award Singapore Hawkers Their Own “Michelin Stars”
One Ocean Seafood (Toa Payoh Industrial Park)
Kok Sen Restaurant (Keong Siak Street)

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Chanced upon this humble non-descript café along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, joining Murphy’s, Workbench Bistro, Mojito Café, Double Scoops and Hang Out Café in this vibrant GRC. (GRC is the buzz word now).

Rainbow Cottage Café did have a cottage and homely feel – wooden panels on the exterior, some Barney-coloured purple sofa at the side, a portion of its wall painted in sky blue with children’s toys.

Not sure why, but I think of lollipops, unicorns, ponies and Care Bears when I hear “Rainbow Cottage” and wished there were more whimsical elements around.

The cafe serves a typical selection of ice cream, waffle, cakes, coffee, tea and savoury bites of pizza, pasta and lasagne.

Cakes are baked in-house, some looking more inspiring than others. I was obviously drawn to the SG50 Cheesecake ($7.50), which was while to the sweet and dense side, was pleasurably smooth and enjoyable.

Even though I had two slices of cheesecake, the other being Rainbow Paddlepop ($7.5), they were surprisingly manageable and not exceedingly rich.

While Rainbow Cottage is a small cafe, they also offers some fun ice cream flavours such as Cotton Candy Bubblegum, Hazelnut Rocher, Chendol and Sea Salt Caramel. The intensity in hues made me wonder the amount of colourings which went in.

A waffle with a scoop of gelato at $7.50, wasn’t expensive. The batter belonged to the airy and crisp though, while the ice cream was contrastingly creamy and sweet.

Service was down-to-earth friendly, with decent cheesecakes. If you are in the AMK vicinity, can consider showing them some support.

Rainbow Cottage Café
Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 Blk 452 Singapore 560452
Tel: +65 64512483
Opening Hours: 11am – 9:30pm

Other Related Entries
Murphy’s (Ang Mo Kio)
Double Scoops (Ang Mo Kio)
The Little Prince Creamery (Toa Payoh)
21 Cube Artisan Ice Cream (Scape)
Dessert Project (Havelock Road)

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Wanton mee, yes. I used to eat wanton mee at least 3 times a week. Whether it is the Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong or Thai-style, I love all of them. The thin noodles tossed in savoury sauce, those sliced melt-in-your-mouth char siew and wrapped juicy dumplings in soup.

Eric Khoo’s movie “Wanton Mee” rekindled my love for a plate of simple old-school noodles. The director mentioned that his favourite was Guang Zhou Wanton Noodles at Tanglin Halt, which was where I would go if I needed some midnight supper.

My mum usually bought us Hua Feng from Tiong Bahru market (which has unfortunately closed) every Saturday morning when I was in primary school, and I would wait wide-eyed in anticipation for her return. The springy noodles mixed with green chili, and that salty oily base sauce that the noodles would soak up was just pure bliss.

Another stall I would frequent was Nam Seng from the coffeeshop outside the old National Library. I would save up pocket money to have a plate after borrowing books. (I would tell my parents I was going to the library for revision, but there was this other major reason which I didn’t tell them.)

Childhood memories. Granny Leong aka Poh Poh still works at her eatery Far East Square. Still healthy and going strong, and when I asked, she revealed she is 86 this year.

There are so many childhood foods that disappeared without a trace – because they have moved on, or that the younger generation do not want to take over the food business.

Nam Seng Noodle House started way back in 1957 the former Catholic High School in Queen Street selling macaroni and chicken porridge.

However, it was their signature Wanton Mee when they moved to the National Library at Stamford Road where they earned their accolades. Of course, the sad thing was that the library had given away to an ERP gantry.

During my lunch trips there, Granny Leong was still there taking orders, but it was a group of workers cooking the food items. She was feisty and strong, and I could hear her nagging at her Chinese staff in Cantonese from time to time. Hugely amusing.

I used to eat this during my childhood days every 3 weeks when I went to borrow books, and it taste ALMOST EXACTLY the same. The same springy noodles, thin sliced red char siew, and the oily clear sauce that I miss so much.

Nam Seng’s version ($4/$5) is most similar to Kok Kee’s. Some may not like this because the sauce is not like your typical wanton mee. Made with vegetable oil, salt, sesame oil and some secret ingredients, it somewhat salty, but very tasty which blends almost perfectly with the noodles.

Another popular dish among the lunchtime crowd is the Venison Horfun ($5) appearing brown and drenched, with tender slices of meat. Although there is no usual ‘wok hei’ flavour, the gooey sauce could win you over.

The sad reality is – what would happen if Granny is gone? I shudder to think. Let’s wish her the best of health, and continue to bring us this wonderful heritage dish.

Recently, I have been on a search for the best wanton noodles, the old school Singapore type, and found my way to Kok Kee, Fei Fei, Koka, Hua Kee, Cho Kee, Eng’s… some didn’t quite taste how it used to. What are your thoughts?

Nam Seng Noodles & Fried Rice
25 China Street, #01-01 Far East Square, Singapore 049567
Opening Hours: Mon to Fri: 8.00am – 8.00pm, Sat: 8.00am – 3.00pm (Closed on Sun & PH)

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Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint (Suntec City)

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Not located in California but in Singapore (there is a Bakersfield city in Southern California), Bakersfield is full of bakers’ feel.

That is how we feel about this newly opened patisserie at Fusionopolis.

Bakersfield can be difficult to find for those not familiar with One-North. Some cab drivers still cannot differentiate Biopolis, Fusionopolis and Mediapolis. ”Simi-polis, they asked?”

Friends working at Biopolis had trouble locating it after walking in rounds as it is located on the other side of the main road.

The patisserie’s opening hours is limited to Monday to Friday during office hours (for now), making it impossible for recurrent café-hoppers to stopover during weekends.

“All look so pretty! Which one should we get?” #FirstWorldProblems. Instagram-worthy desserts, spoilt for choices.

A simple sandwich bar & patisserie with 20 seater capacity. We were able to see the bakers in action through the glass wall of the kitchen, while anticipating our bakes

A selection of cakes, tarts and quiches were available. The Caramelised Apple Mousse Cake ($8.50) caught our attention with its shiny bling bling yellow appearance. Snow White would probably be tricked into ordering it.

Made up of crème fraiche sponge, apple mousse, caramelized apple core and hazelnut crunch, it reminded us of an apple pie crossbreed with Ferrero Rocher, and it was pretty light on its own.

The Pistachio Strawberry Tart ($7.50) was an interesting combination of pistachio cream shaped like tear drops (Don’t worry, it won’t make you cry) and fresh strawberries.

The pistachio taste was pretty distinct whereas the crust was crispy. We wished that the crust would have a more buttery taste to it.

The Black Glutinous Coconut Mousse Cake ($8.50) seemed pretty ordinary as compared to other bakes on display. And it’s always the ugly duckling that got neglected.

Layered with Black glutinous sponge, pumpkin creamux, coconut panna cotta and lime sable, each layer gave a different sensation on its own and combined harmoniously when eaten together. This ugly duckling was the true swan in our hearts.

Bakersfield had an entire field of interesting bakes that tasted as good as it looked and we hope to see some changes to their operating hours to attract customers during the weekends.

Bakersfield
2 Fusionopolis Way, #01-06 Innovis @ Fusionopolis 2, Singapore 138634 (-10 min walk from One-North MRT)
Opening Hours: 8.30am – 6pm (Mon-Fri), Closed Sat, Sun
https://www.facebook.com/bakersfieldSG

Other Related Entries
Curbside Café & Winebar (Biopolis)
Boufe (Phoenix Park)
Dessert Project (Havelock Road)
The Monocle Cafe (Holland Village)
Old Habits (Telok Blangah)

* Written by Daniel’s Food Diary Café Correspondent Nicholas Tan. He can be found on Instagram, Weibo and Snapchat @stormscape. Daniel is also on all 3 platforms now @DanielFoodDiary. Support Support.

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Carpenter & Cook opens The Bakehouse at Alexandra Central, which is just next to IKEA and has Alibabar, Otoko Ramen and Toast Box as neighbours on the ground floor. The other levels are half unoccupied, the other half taken by random manicure, aesthetic and electronics shops.

Carpenter & Cook was a breath of fresh air when it first launched at Lorong Kilat, boosting a combination of whimsical English décor, vintage furniture, elegant teacups and delicious tarts.

Lorong Kilat, has itself turned into a café hopping stretch over the years.

The Bakehouse has something extra to offer, with truffle mushroom soup, wood-fired pizzas, gourmet sandwiches along with C&C signature pastries. Opened 7 days a week.

Their tarts and loaves, some of my favourites are the Passionfruit Meringue, Chocolate Sea Salt and Lemon Drizzle ($5 – $6.50), have remained quite consistent. Though I must add that several cake places have caught up and serve very decent tarts. Competition is stiff.

The Chocolate Banana Cake ($8) was an impeccable slice to go with coffee, lusciously moist, and not excessively rich or sweet. It reminded me of another brand which served a similar cake, but this tasted of better quality.

I was initially half-sceptical if the bakery café could excel in their pasta. Its Fettucine with Crab Meat, Pink Sauce and Brandy ($16) did not disappoint, surprisingly al dente and well-tossed with sauce and crab meat of generous portions.

One area to note is the ‘powerful’ aircon system, so some seats can get rather cold, and hot food should be quickly consumed.

The Bakehouse by Carpenter & Cook
Alexandra Central, 321 Alexandra Road #01-14 Singapore 159971
Tel: +65 6250 0040
Opening Hours: 8am – 10pm (Sun-Thurs, PH), 8am – 11pm (Fri, Sat, Eve PH)

Lorong Kilat Cafe
19 Lorong Kilat #01-06 Singapore 598120
Tel: +65 6463 3648
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (Tues-Fri), 9am – 10pm (Sat), 9am – 9pm (Sun, PH), Closed Mon

Jasmine Road Takeaway
17 Jasmine Road Singapore 576585
Tel: +65 6457 1510
Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm (Tues-Sat), 9am – 7pm (Sun), Closed Mon

Other Related Entries
Bakersfield (Fusionopolis)
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* Daniel’s Food Diary pays for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.

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The Japanese’s dedication to perfection just amazes me again, and again. There we were at Hashida Garo, a Japanese tea gallery (‘Garo’ means ‘gallery’) where we sat around a U-shaped tea-ceremony performance stage.

Our matcha was to be prepared skilfully by a Japanese Tea Master in kimono on the tatami platform, almost like a formal procession.

The price of the Matcha preparation and presentation at the table was $30.

“That is $5 for that sip.” We might have joked a while, but the Master was dedicated in her craft from preparation to serving.

“Hold the cup like that on left hand… support like this…yes, yes…”

Hashido Garo is the second venture by Chef Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida from Hashida Sushi, specialising in traditional Japanese sweets wagashi and Japanese tea.

The sweets available included a mixture of Japanese Wagashi and more modern interpretations, such as Yuzu, Matcha and Hojicha Macarons ($3.50) each, Chocolate Yokan ($5), Hokkaido Cheese Cake ($3), and Kobosu Sorbet ($5).

One of my favourites was the Mizu Manjyu Water Dumplings ($15) where sweet white bean paste and fruit are wrapped in translucent jelly, in refreshing chilled mint syrup.

There was a touch of yuzu zest that was uplifting, and interestingly this dessert was inspired by the local ‘ang gu kueh’.

The Chocolate Yokan ($5) looked like a cake, but had jelly-like texture, red-bean meet chocolate taste and a dash of sea-salt. Eat them slowly and appreciate their intricacies.

If you are still in the SG50 mood, get the Merlion Monaka ($5) with sweet kaya and white bean paste fillings. For a limited period. The sweets though small, are satisfying.

More affordable tea from sencha handpicked by Chef Hashida ($10), Fukamushi Sencha Ei ($5) to Black Tea and Vegetable Tea are also available. They come without the elaborate ceremony.

Time seem to take a stand-still during those 10 to 15 minutes or so while the master was working her craft. For once, we working class Singaporeans who couldn’t keep our hands off the mobiles and chatting, were just observing how the tea was prepared.

Every step was slow and meticulous, and it brought me to another world.

Hashida Garo
333A Orchard Road #04-16 Mandarin Gallery, Singapore 238897
Tel: +65 91593177
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm

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The post Hashida Garo – Japanese Tea Ceremony and Wagashi Space. Beautiful appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

After two years, Jamie’s Italian opened its second in Singapore at Forum Shopping Orchard, possibly a suitable location considering the sizable expat community in the area.

The difference between the Orchard and the original outlet? Forum’s restaurant helmed by Head Chef Kwek Xiu Rong has a smaller menu featuring favourites, alongside hand-made baked to order pizzas.

However, Jamie’s Italian at Vivocity might have a roaring start, but its inconsistent food quality didn’t get it overly positive reviews. During the restaurant’s earlier days in Singapore, I also thought that the food was underwhelming for its brand name.

I ordered the signature Prawn Linguine ($18/$26) again, with freshly-made pastas cooked with fried garlicky prawns, shaved funnel, tomatoes, chili and rocket.

The dish tasted better this time – the pasta had suitably chewy texture, though I wished the sauce was more bold and robust.

The Epic Brownie ($12.50) with amaretto ice cream and caramelized popcorn had a likeable moist and smooth texture. If the fudgy brownie wasn’t so sweet, I would have easily ranked it as one of the best available in Singapore.

Service was professional and prompt. I liked the ambience of this branch, an open-kitchen concept with woody-meets-brass décor and high ceilings. Will be back to try its artisan pizzas.

Jamie’s Italian Orchard
583 Orchard Road #01-01/04 Forum Shopping Mall Singapore 238884
Tel: +65 66557676
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm (Sun-Thurs), 10am – 11pm (Fri-Sat)

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The post Jamie’s Italian – 2nd Singapore Restaurant At Forum Orchard Opens appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

The last time we heard about Crystal Jade was when Stanchart invested close to S$70 million in Crystal Jade Group Holdings for its overseas expansion in June this year. Many of us should be familiar with this home-grown brand.

I saw my old post about Crystal Jade being shared again, and noticed this Facebook entry, written by a son of an old-time Crystal Jade employee.

This is a look at what possibly led to Crystal Jade’s success and growth in the past.

Its leader, and its staff.

(In my rough translation) My mother has worked for 10 years with Crystal Jade. Today, she received the message to make a trip down to the Vivocity branch….

Basically, after many years of negotiation, Crystal Jade was finally sold for a hundred US million dollars.

But what I did not expect was for Mr Ip to return the money back to the old employees who worked with Crystal Jade throughout the years.

It will be sensitive for me to reveal the exact amount as staff gets different sums based on seniority and position. In short, they each received an amount equivalent to several months of bonuses.

He did not need to do that. Because no one would expect that, especially after the company has already been acquired.

Your former boss returning to give you money and appreciation.

Such a businessman, which values relationship with staff, is worthy of our admiration and respect. Really.”

[Original entry dated 30th April 2014] French luxury group buys over Crystal Jade. Not exactly a piece of news I am excited about. I am proud of this home-grown brand, and think that some tastes are best left untouched. Just my view.

The home-grown Chinese restaurant chain was bought over by Paris-based luxury group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which is set to market and brand Crystal Jade further with expansions to Europe and the Middle East.

Why shouldn’t I be happy for a Singapore brand to spread its wings overseas?

Let’s take a look back home first. We are in a situation where we are losing our hawkers; foodcourts graduating towards manufactured unauthentic tastes; independent cafes and restaurants are shutting like nobody’s business; and high rentals plus labour crunch is squeezing the F&B industry left-right-centre.

Are we in deep s***?

Now, a home-growth successful restaurant brand we can proudly call our own is taken over by a luxury company. Not just a minor percentage of the stakes, but over 90 per cent of ownership.

Crystal Jade has been the restaurant I find comfort Chinese food, and where families celebrate numerous special occasions such as birthdays.

How much would this change in time to come?

Can I ask you why Crystal Jade is so successful, and why do local families love to frequent it?

It is really not just about the food. Because frankly, Crystal Jade’s has strong competitors in the likes of Imperial Treasure, Paradise and other smaller players which offer quality Chinese food, if not a notch better in presentation.

To me, it is the heart, the core, the service.

If you have observed long enough, a majority of Crystal Jade’s service staff are the ‘auntie’ type, the older experienced workers who have probably been there since Year One.

Sure, some of them may sound arrogant (may be typical Cantonese restaurant fashion), but many provide that very homely feel, fussing over your meals and make appropriate recommendations for your mother-in-law.

Crystal Jade group chairman and CEO Mr Ip Yiu Tung once shared with me that the restaurants success can be solely attributed to its people. His staff who stays with the company year-in-year-out, journeying with customers through good times and recessions.

Mr Ip himself would visit his restaurants every day of his work day. He shared that there is no one restaurant he hasn’t personally been to.

That to me, is the heart of doing a food business well. (Of course, I am thinking of the naïve non-monetary way.)

Perhaps Crystal Jade will still expand with its Hors d’œuvre Xiao Long Bao or Poulet à la Mian, and still retains that unique family ambience. Who knows? Yes, who knows?

I conducted an interview conducted with Mr Ip Yiu Tung years ago and you can sense his dedication to staff and family.

* I end this post with a heart-fed Thank You to the Crystal Jade uncle and aunties for your dedication to work, the delicious dishes you cook, and smiles when serving my family when we dine there for birthdays and special celebrations. Almost always a good meal there.

The post What Crystal Jade’s Former Owner Did Recently, May Touch You appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

The buzzword in food trend is “Instagram worthy” or “Instagrammable”. Waffles, rainbow cakes and flowing lava cakes all have their moment of glories. The next to step into the picture is the oh-so-familiar milkshake, but with a dessert twist.

Foodies went in high demand for Pâtissez’s café in Australia for their “Freakshow” – milkshakes topped with cakes, cream, Nutella, sauces and cookeis in the most exaggerated OTT manner possible. Get them on social media (Pinterest them, Snapchat a video) and ta-dah, a high demand is formed.

In Singapore, Benjamin Browns Bistro & Bakery had food instagrammers and followers going on a slight frenzy with their aptly named “Over The Top” Shakes.

They come in flavours of Coffee Avocado, Nutella Banana, Old School Vanilla and Caramel Crunch. A portion is at $16 (without taxes). Not cheap though, considering the type of ingredients that go in.

My cup of Nutella Banana came overflowing with a brownie here, two wafer sticks there, some pretzel cookies stuck to the side with Nutella, some others with sprinkles and cream.

What every other table is doing: Take a hundred photos before consumption.

Half of my ingredients dropped on the table while I took my first suck, I mean sip of the shake.

The shake was rich, but fortunately not so sweet to send drinkers on a saccharine coma. But I would encourage 2-3 people to share if you still bother about your waistline. (It’s tough to Shake it off, shake it off.)

The cup was aesthetically every Instagrammer’s dream come true. The post that could launch a hundred (or thousand) likes. (Note: Pinky Candy Floss Old School milkshake was sold out by late noon when we arrived. Ah, the power of social media.)

I wished they had better quality ingredients though. The Strawberry Cheesecake flavour contained a strawberry, quarter of a cheesecake, and two pieces of digestive biscuits. $16.

Benjamin Browns Bistro & Bakery also offer a 3-course Omakase breakfast ($24) which included Pumpkin Soup (good, I liked this), Foie Gras Scrambled Eggs (not creamy enough) and Pancakes (not fluffy though).

Like a beauty pageant, looks do manner in the food world now. Milkshakes will bring all the boys (and girls) to the yard.

Benjamin Browns Bistro & Bakery
Forum Galleria, #01-20/21, 583 Orchard Road, Singapore 238884 (10 min walk on Orchard MRT)
Opening Hours: 10am – 9pm (Mon – Thurs), 10am – 10pm (Fri), 9am – 10pm (Sat), 9am – 9pm (Sun)

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* Daniel’s Food Diary pays for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.

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A flaming pineapple, Chow Mein, Chop Suey, bottles of Sriracha sauce and English pop songs, these are some of the things you can expect at TungLok Group’s Lok Kee at Plaza Singapura.

This is not the typical Chinese restaurant. It reminded me of Chinese restaurants in cities of New York and London.

Black coloured tables, deep red chairs, Chinese brush paintings of Star Wars AT-AT Walkers and Jessie J going ”Bang bang into the room” while chomping down a Pork Crackling Bao can be disconcerting (for the older generation).

The menu features reinterpretations of classic Chinese take-out dishes – Orange Chicken ($18), Mongolian Beef ($36), ‘Kung Pao’ Chicken Nest ($24), and Mapo Tofu ($16) cooked using minced wagyu beef. Not forgetting the current trendy Chinese dish – London Duck ($25 for half, $48 for whole).

One dish you could find in overseas Chinese restaurant is the Flaming Pineapple ($28), and Lokkee’s version has coconut braised beef served in a dug-out pineapple.

Gimmicky it may sound, but the beef pieces were pleasantly tender and sweet, with the gravy of the dish reminding me of Chinese style satay sauce.

Chinese style steamed buns are popular and faddish items in Western countries (think Momofuku). Lokkee’s Spicy Fried Chicken Bao ($6.50) has an added element of Korean spicy gochujung, but I wonder how would local customers take to something that are already familiar with, at a higher price point.

The Custard Egg Roll ($10) dessert has an enjoyable crisp, with smooth crème patissiere inside. The side dip is also quite special, a Sriracha-resembling berry and carrot sauce.
.

I generally liked most of the dishes. Some of them sound rather experimental, and Lokkee may need to be more certain which would be the star recommendations that would appeal to the local taste buds.

Lokkee
Plaza Singapura, #03-01, 68 Orchard Road, Singapore 238839
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 3:00pm, 5:00pm – 10:30pm

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The post Lokkee – Burning Pineapple? TungLok’s New Chinese Restaurant Sells Modern Fun Dishes appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

There will come a time when you get bored of the usual subs and sandwiches. I have friend who eat the same old same old sandwiches, complains about how bland they are, and continues chomping them down behind the cubicle. Unfortunately, we are no where near the CBD.

Park Bench Deli will bring some excitement. Think about melt-in-mouth kong bak aka braised pork belly within Banh Mi, and southern fried chicken marinated in buttermilk in a sandwich. Ooh la la.

This is a collaboration between Chef Ming (ex-chef from Lolla, and hey I attended his cooking class before, great guy), Chef Andrei Soen (Chef of The Cajun Kings) and business partner Aamir Ghani.

The sandwich place at Telok Ayer, diagonally opposite the popular Amoy Street Food Centre, has been packing in the crowds during lunch time.

There is a selection of Fried Chicken ($14), Torta ($15), Kong Bak Banh Mi ($14), Cheese Steak ($16), and Turky RBC ($15). For a healthier fix, Acai Bowls ($8 each) are available during the breakfast hours of 9 to 11am.

Breads are hollowed out so that fillings fit better. Our favourite was the Cheese Steak Sandwich ($16) and were amused with the menu description “sliced beef many many”.

True enough, multiple slices of beef topped with sautéed onions and cheese sauce that oozed out with every bite.

Might be a little tricky to eat. But it is time to get your hands dirty.

The Fried Chicken Sandwich ($14) was a southern fried chicken kiap with corn & cabbage slaw with Russian dressing. Well executed crispy fried chicken with tender meat with refreshing slaw to balance the taste.

However, ’da-baoing’ and eating it an hour later, proved to be a greasy affair.

The Turkey RBC Sandwich ($15) had generous serving of alfafa, though the cream cheese ranch served in larger proportion overpowered the taste of the roasted turkey breast and bacon.

Note that the space is cramped and more a takeaway place. Music is loud (okay, a bit too loud at times), and the chefs can be seen humming, dancing while filling up their buns. There are some lunch hours when DJs come to spin music.

Happy people make happy food.

Park Bench Deli
179 Telok Ayer St, Singapore 068627 (Telok Ayer MRT)
Opening Hours: 9am – 3pm (Mon-Fri), Closed Sat, Sun
https://www.facebook.com/ParkBenchDeliSG

* Written by Daniel Ang @DanielFoodDiary and Nicholas Tan @stormscape. We visited Park Bench Deli incognito over a few occasions. You can follow their food adventures at Instagram, and now Weibo and Snapchat.

The post Park Bench Deli – Sandwiches Need Not Be Boring Again appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

There is a Chinese saying, “Hang hang chu zhuang yuan”, which literally means there is a scholar in every line of work.

Immanuel’s story is one which can inspire, the former sous chef of the now-defunct Keystone Restaurant, and went on to open Immanuel French Kitchen at Salut Coffeeshop, By The Fire at East Coast, and now Garçons at Essen Pinnacle.

A few shops within a short span of time, but he did have of resume of working at Jaan par Andre, Restaurant Andre, Guy Savoy Singapore previously.

Lessons learnt: Get the relevant experience, build the right connection, and never give up.

Garçons is a collaboration with Enoch from Enoch’s European. They met “as boys” in the kitchen of Restaurant Andre years ago. Another lesson: Remember your friends.

This is a French stall within a food court at the bottom of Pinnacle at Duxton. Two Wings, also from Salut Coffeeshop is neighbour (so someone might have done some poaching, I mean asking).

You get highlights from both kitchen. Escargots ($12.90 for half dozen), Pan Fried Foie Gras ($16.50), French Onion Soup ($5.90), Duck Rillettes ($8.60), Chicken Liver Pate ($7.90), Pork Belly ($16.90) and Pork Ragout Baked Rice Gratin ($11.50) are on its menu.

Atas foodcourt.

The French Duck Confit ($16.90, a dollar more than at Immanuel) was better-than-some-restaurant quality, mouth-watering crisp skin and fork-tender moist. I didn’t even need a knife to tear off the meat. Swept the plate clean. Good stuff.

Its Pan-Fried Foie Gras ($16.50) coated with black miso and served with dashi broth was slightly overcooked.

Immanuel noticed me dining from another table and asked for feedback. I told him about it, and the reply was, “Oh yah, don’t worry because we are looking at changing foie gras suppliers.”

All right… Man of few words. Not the most politically-correct or PR-savvy answer, but he is young and frank lah.

Garçons reflects a trend I like to see, that you can get quality food at a food court, while keeping the price point competitive. Hopefully more young chefs with the right resources can be bold enough to step out.

Garçons – Essen At The Pinnacle
1 Cantonment #01-01 The Pinnacle @ Duxton, Singapore 080001 (Tanjong Pagar MRT)
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 11:00pm

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The post Garçons – Affordable European Fare In A Foodcourt appeared first on DanielFoodDiary.com.

The first instagram photo of Worker’s Party chairperson Sylvia Lim tucking away at Orh Luak (Oyster Omelette) earned her some space on the papers, speculations and remarks all over.

An (innocent) photo that launched a thousand ships. So many MPs posted photos of hawker food, but also never end up in the papers.

Must be because it is at the popular Feng Shan Food Centre otherwise known as Bedok 85, matched with the caption “The taste of Fengshan – heavenly! #reasontowin”

People use hashtag for various reasons – for humour, to gain followers, it was a typo, etc etc. The same when we see #OOTDs with #gorgeous #goodlooking #cute #hottieoftheday and you know they don’t quite mean what they type.

Anyway, I am more interested in the food.

Fengshan Food Centre has been famous for its Bar Chor Mee, BBQ Chicken Wings, Pork Porridge, Stingray and other local delicacies. The kind of place that you go at midnight and can even find people from the West (meaning Jurong, NTU) supper-ing there.

Seeing that yellow plate on the photo, I spontaneously went on a search. Emm… the Orh Luak didn’t look too inspiring.

Instead I went for the Bedok North 85 Fried Oyster, occupying two stalls, with 7-8 staff in red polo shirts taking orders, preparing and frying. WAH, they have more staff than some restaurants in Singapore have.

The workers at the stall were quite ‘media-savvy’. “Come take more photos, put them online, write good things ah…”

More videos at Snapchat -> DanielFoodDiary

Portions were generous for $3, though I went on a search for 3-4 plump oysters. The Orh Luak was the crisp, starchy kind, drenched in oil that could send you to grease-land. Used to be better, right?

There are many good hawker stalls at Bedok North 85. The taste of Fengshan is really heavenly. #reasonstoeat

Just for the fun of it…

Bedok North 85 Fried Oyster
85 Fengshan Food Centre, Blk 85 Bedok North St 4 #01-09/10
Opening Hours: 11am – 11pm

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Author’s note: It is pure coincidence that I am wearing blue. Friends will know blue is my favourite colour anyway.

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