Ivins - Peranakan Restaurant

Ivins is a simple eatery tucked away in Binjai park (Bukit Timah) and it has value for money food. The dishes are very cheap, most of them are about $5 (or less than that), and they taste good too.

The Ikan Tempra Pomfret (Deep fried black pomfret with black sweet sauce) was peppery and crispy. ($6.80)

We tried the gado gado, which is deep fried bean curd with a variety of vegetables and spicy satay sauce. ($3.50) I particularly liked the otak otak pangang, which had the distinct smell and taste of lemon grass. Each piece was fat and juicy and filled with fish bits. ($1.60 per piece).
These two claypot dishes are the sayur lodeh, which is quite spicy and with a nice thick coconut gravy. ($4.50).
The ayam buah keluak came with a thick tamarind gravy and buah keluak nuts (but I dunno why the nuts didn't 'burst' cos they're usually nice and soft inside and you can scrape out the black stuff but I couldnt do it for this one). ($5.90)

And of course, yummy desserts to cool down our hot mouths - Best of all, they only cost $1.20 each!

Top: Pengat Pisang - Slices of banana in coconut gravy. Right: Ice jelly - Ice jelly (no fruit cocktail). Left: Gula Melaka Sago - Sago served with brown sugar and coconut milk.

We went on a weekend and I must say that they are really quite understaffed. The place is really no frills kind, so I have really nothing to say about the ambience. Just that you have to talk really loudly to be heard... Other than that, the food is satisfying and really cheap for restaurant standard.

Ivins

19/21 Binjai Park Bukit Timah Singapore 589827

Tel 6493060

(They have another branch at 2/4 Jalan Leban, Tel 64514622)

Crepe House

I like crepes! Last time bugis had a crepe place but I dunno if it's still there... And when I went to Bangkok, I ate cheap crepe too! And in Japan the crepes are so yummy - Singapore should have more of these cos they're so yummy got sweet got savory and got ice cream ones!
Apparently, this was featured in 8 days. And apparently they also employ alot of chio bus to work there. Hmm I don't think it really works cos all the people just stand at one side oggling at the girls but then there isn't much people queing up to buy.
The crepe skin is nice soft and chewy and fresh and this was the making of the tuna crepe - they put lots of mayonnaise inside so it'll taste extra yummy. If only it wasn't at such a far far place I would patronise it so more! Dessert crepes come with either whipped cream or custard. I tried the custard it's very creamy too! and it's imported from Japan. Must pay 50 cents more for custard but I don't like whipped cream.
Crepe House

Jurong Point

Equinox

Yay I finally went to the Equinox for lunch! I've never been there and the last time i went so high to see Singapore's scenery was prob in some sec school national education trip! This is one of my ultimate i-want-to-try-but-i-dont-really-wanna-pay-so-much buffet places :D lucky got the discount card :D:D

The lunch buffet either comes as a plain buffet ($40++), or a buffet and a main course (48++). The buffet has mainly starters and desserts.

Of course, I can't miss out the opportunity on stocking up my year's supply of foie gras! hehe the most overated dish according to some chefs, but its so yummy and crispy and oily and delicious with the fried piece of bread and sauce.

Anyway, they have this chef who stands at this stove cooking all the lovely yellow livers and then the yummy fat-frying-aroma will warft all around and make everyone feel like eating it. And can hear the sizzling of fats cooking in the frying pan too!

Fresh oysters, crab and prawnScallop cold dishes, sashimi, this yummy curry prawn salad with japanese cucumbersCheeses, lobster salad, tuna tataki.

It's quite obvious that it's worth it to pay $8++ more for the main course cos there was so much to choose from. The menu is organised into 3 main types of dishes - the Asian, Western and Vegetarian. The dishes all come with the lunch buffet + main course.This is the slow cooked Chilean sea bass which was very fresh and tender, and it tasted vaguely like cod, cos it was nice and oily (the fish oil kind). Soft shell crab al la plancha - Asian salad and sweet an sour chilli dressing. The Miso Glazed Lamb Yakitori stole the show. It came with shitake mushrooms and Japanese pumpkin puree and tasted the best. The lamb was juicy, slightly charred and the pumpkin sauce was sweet and creamy.The dessert selection was good and I liked the creme brulee alot cos it was so super creamy and it came in this very low dish so there was a great proportion of burnt caramel to creme brulee.

The chocolate mousse was very good too - rich and creamy and reminded me of koko black's chocolate mousse.

They also had ice cream - raspberry sorbet and lime sorbet too. and the essential chocolate fountain.Of course, while eating, we enjoyed gazing at the Singapore skylineCan see the Esplanade and the merlion and fullerton too! And all the cars look like little micromachine cars!

Yay so happy! :D Hope I will never suffer from any GI disorders / illnesses or i'll be so sad!

Eng Seng Black Pepper Crab - Crab that I will que for

Yums! This is my favouritest black pepper crab ever! Actually, I like the shimmering sand crab cos the sauce is so creamy and thick, but Eng Seng black pepper crab comes close after it.

This is my third time eating the crab (so horrible the first 2 times I nv take picture cos i was LATE and then other people had to que up >.<) So for the 3rd time I ate the crab, I went to buy it at 530pm so that I won't have to que up! hohoho! This restaurant has soooo many people queing up for the crab, that the first time I came, I thought that there was some big shot celebrity eating there - and then I realised that the whole hoard of people there were actually queing!!! And once you're late, they run out of crabs and too bad (and the que disappears too...)
The crabs are priced at $32/kg, and they are all super fresh - maybe that's why they run out of crabs so fast. The black pepper sauce is special cos it's wet(but not thin or watered down), as opposed to the dry ones that you usually get. And the best part is that the crab is super fresh! All 3 times I've eaten here, the crab was so fresh meaty and yummy! With huge flaky chunks of juicy sweet yummy meat. And dipping it into the nice wet black pepper sauce...
The picture doesn't do the crab justice cos it was dapaoed (cos the coffeeshop is so dirty and we didn't feel like eating there...) and there's usually much more sauce than this.

Eng Seng Restaurant (it's not a restaurant - it's a coffeeshop, and a very dirty one too!!!)
Joo Chiat Place (Junction of Joo Chiat Place and Still Road)

Do go there early to beat the crazy que and to avoid dissappointment cos they run out of crabs very very fast.
Btw, I didn't que for it cos i went super early...

Ah while I was waiting for the crabs, there was this very cute cat! I shall call it the swiss roll cat cos it has a whirly pattern like a swiss roll on it's side! SO CUTE right??!!!!!And it's very tame and sat down to pose for a picture infront of me! :D

I want to kidnap it and bring it home!!!!

(as you can tell from the picts, this "restaurant" is quite dirty - please go to the toilets before you eat here cos you'll surely loose your appetite after you go...

Chomp Chomp Egg Bean Curd

This is one of my more favourite bean curds, but then it's quite unlike the usual bean curds that you find in the market. It's not easily broken into pieces, and it has a more gelatinous texture, somewhat like a more fragile form of konnyaku jelly.

There's a slight milky after taste, and it's quite sweet - if you want to taste the bean curd, don't order it with too sweet toppings (ie sea coconut) cos it overpowers the bean curd taste.

A bowl of plain bean curd costs $1.50, and a bowl with toppings cos $2. Toppings include tangyuan, yam paste (ohr nee), ginko nuts etc etc there's really quite alot to choose from. Furthermore, they don't charge you an irritating extra 20cents for takeaway! :D

They've also branched out into other fruity desserts (quite like Taiwan), including yummy mango desserts. Hmm i can't remember what I tried, but its mango dessert with coconut milk - I have concluded that coconut milk makes most things taste nice! cos it's so creamy, cold, and the mango is nice and sweet, and it's really refreshing. I think it costs about $3.50 (or slightly more?) for this dessert, but there's lots of other fruity desserts to try! I'm so going back there to try the other desserts!

Rainbow Wonderland Dessert Stall

Chomp Chomp

Ikea's Rubberized Fish and Chips

Ikea's rubberized fish and chips -on Fridays. I've eaten this twice, and both times they tasted the same - greasy, slightly soggy and rubberized. Its quite amazing how the Ikea food store is so crowded during lunch times - the food is overpriced and tastes terrible. The only thing that i find vaguely palatable is the salmon - and it's grossly overpriced for such a little sliver of salmon.
Furthermore, you have to que like mad to get a table, even on weekday lunch times. Sometimes i wonder how come all these people don't have tastebuds. Anyway, my major gripe is that they make you pay for tartar sauce, which I consider to be a staple for fish and chips! That little portion (it's quite runny) costs 30 cents. It's the only saving grace for the rubberized batter - I seriously wonder how they get it into that consistency - no where else can you get rubberized fsh and chips.

Seriously, save your money and go and get it from the AH canteen - it's so much better and they actually give you proper tartar sauce.

Superdog

Tried Superdog at vivocity cos i had all these coupon voucher things:D anyway, they didn't even collect my discount coupons and still gave me the discount :D:D If not I wouldn't have tried it... much prefer to eat proper food instead.

Well, obviously they specialize in hotdogs - not many hotdog fast food places around here since A&W closed down (the yummy corny dog! ahhh and rootbeer floats). These are the chilli cheese fries (which i didn't try) the chilli looks quite soppy. But apparently it tastes not bad... but i can't say.
The most commendable thing about super dog is that the service is a notch above most fast food restaurants - when we asked for extra sauces they gave us 2 big containsers of tartare sauce, as well as their spicy mayonnaise sauce (which is very nice and tangy and not too creamy).
Grilled fish grilled chicken burgers. The fish was quite unique cos most other fast food places don't have grilled fish. They use the spicy mayonnaise in both the burgers, so they were quite yummy.
Hmm I can't remember what this hotdog is called but it is a chicken sausage with Sauerkraut, fried onions and lots of mustard. It was pretty ex - abotu $5(?). I thought it tasted quite ok, but i'm not exactly a hotdog or a fast food fan so i suppose I won't really go back for this.

Superdog
Vivocity
Basement

Suanthai

After Japanese food, and Italian food I like thai food! Cos it's sour, slightly spicy and yummy - and i like all the thai spices like basil and lemongrass. But good thai food is quite hard to come across and usually I settle for the sushi tei equivalent for thai food - Thai Express. Actually, golden Mile complex has really nice thai food - but it's so far and I'm sure to get lost going there... anyway, I just found this quite nice thai restaurant which has good thai food for much cheaper prices than Thai Express.

Suanthai is this small restaurant located in a very hard to park place just outside erp. The food's quite good (a billion times better than LERK THAI). The lunch set is $7.80 and you can add $2 (I think) for a drink and dessert. The lunch set comes with a starter, a rice dish (steamed, pineapple or olive rice), a side dish and vegetables. This is the mango salad and thai fish cakes. I like the thai fish cakes cos they have nice little crunchy lemongrass bits in them, and i really like lemongrass (especially lemongrass juice!)
This is the pineapple rice and green curry. The green curry is slightly spicy with the yummy thai spices and creamy coconut milk.The pineapple rice is tasty and one of the better ones i've eaten - its full of pineapples, and has the slight curry taste and there's lots of egg inside!
I usually like the olive rice better than the pineapple rice, but I thought the pineapple rice was much nicer than the olive rice. The side dish that i tried was the chicken with cashew nuts.

Dessert was red ruby - found this a bit too sweet, but nevertheless, it helped cool down my mouth after the spicy meal.

Suanthai also has a buffet menu of 23 dishes including green mango salad, pomelo salad, thai fish cake, tom yum soup wiht chicken, green curry, panang curry, pandan leaf chicken, chicken with basil leaves (i like this dish!) etc etc. There's also 3 desserts to choose from (or you can eat ALL) - the red ruby, tapioca with coconut milk and mixed fruits. Lunch buffet is priced at $14.90++ and dinner is $16.90++.
From what i sampled during lunch, I have quite high hopes for the buffet :D
YOu can add $1.50 for a free flow of pineapple fried rice too!

Suanthai
101 Killiney Road
Tel 62354126

Pasta de Waraku

Tried Pasta de Waraku (finally) at the central. It's Japanese Italian with lots of interesting dishes such as lots of roe with pasta and wafu sauce. It's also where doria means baked rice. So amusing - Doria = Baked Rice!!!

All the main courses come with a salad (so healthy!).
This is the Mix Cutlet ($8.80) appetiser. It's deep fried assorted seafood (I think there was salmon, fish etc etc not too sure) which comes in a delicious creamy mayonnaise like sauce.

I tried the Half and Half set with 2 different kinds of pasta.($19.80). (Cos I couldn't decide on what to eat, and i wanted to try more). It comes with a salad, Hokkaido cream of corn soup (very thick, creamy and nice! I think this is the nicest corn soup i've tried) and either Japanese Wine or a soft drink. No guessing which one I chose.I tried the Wafu Cod Roe pasta, as well as the Cabonara Waraku. I quite liked the Wafu Cod Roe pasta, which wasn't too salty and with lots of little balls of roe.

The carbonara wasn't very impressive - the egg was well cooked (as opposed to runny and stirring it into the sauce) and the sauce tasted very normal. Anyway, the egg is the ex kind i think cos it's so orange - not like the usual eggs you eat else where. This is Annalisa the poster girl posing with her Wafu Scallop and asparagus. Check out the seaweed garnish as opposed to the usual sprig of parsley. ($12.80)This is the Scallop and mentai (roe) gratin ($12.80) which is really good and stole the show - I'm going to eat this the next time i come here! The sauce is creamy and sweet cos of the scallop, and there's lots of roe floating aorund. Really lots and lots and lots of roe. And the cheese is baked to a brown crisp too!This is the Kimchi peppercorn which comes with this interesting hair like garnish. ($12.80). The guys think the portion for the pasta is a little small, but I found it ok. Be warned that the pasta comes in HUGE plates, though the serving isn't very huge. It's about the portion size of pasta mania.

Here's the Carbonara oyster and bacon - the oysters are very fresh and when you eat it, the oyster smell will warft aroud and make everyone salivate. However, there are only 4 oysters which wasn't enough for the person who was eating it...

Another interesting thing is that they always ask you if you want garlic with your pasta - I think it's probably cos Japanese don't really like garlic??

Okay (rather intersting) food with less than okay service - I don't know how the not so junior employees are so retarded - especially when it comes to seating - I suppose if they were any smarter they won't be working here... I think they were just junior to the manager, and more senior than the usual waiters.

But we had really good service by the waitress (I think her name was Elsa)

Ah this is one of the last few pictures I'm taking with my nice Sony Ericsson K750i! It's retiring after 1.5 years and it was my first camera phone! The camera rocks! Nearly all the pictures here are from it:(

Pasta de Waraku

#02-82 The Central

Tel 65348085

Shun Tuk Chee Cheong Fun

This mordern cheecheongfun makes me think of sushi cos of the seaweed. It's stuffed with minced chicken, shredded carrots and an omelette. I think it's called the zha jiang chee cheong fun ($3).The sauce is quite similar to the normal thick black chee cheong fun sauce, and it comes with chilli. Though the skin is slightly thicker than normal (probably so it won't break so easily), its smooth and soft and goes very well with the sauce.

They have lots of other types of chee cheong fun - such as curry yong tau foo chee cheong fun, and cheecheongfun with pork floss etc etc The mushroom and chicken chee cheong fun is not bad, with the chicken and mushroom being put on top the chee cheong fun instead of in it.

Shun Tuk Chee Cheong Fun
People's Park Food Centre (next to OG in Chinatown).