SINGAPORE: Bedok South Market and Food Centre

Bedok South market holds a very special place in my heart because I practically grew up with a lot of the hawker food. In fact, I think some of them ought to be invited to my wedding :p

I remember because Bedok south marker is directly opposite temasek JC, I used to see heaps of the students there during break time and I remembered telling myself: when I grow up next time I will go to Temasek JC, because my mommy say smart people go there.
In the end, hahahaha I went to a better school la oops ( ALL HAIL HWACHONG ! )

My favourite ever dish - in fact, if I ever move back to Singapore, this would be one of the reasons. 

Hill street fried kuey teow ! 

They serve both $3.50 and $4. This is $4 because wtf, queue until like mad how can just eat $3.50?!?!
My whole family loves this char kuey teow. In fact, my granddad used to have this everyday for a few years until he passed away.
Lots of memories in this small plate.  

Hock Seng Choon fishball 

Really really love their fishball! $2.50 for this bowl how cheap is this ? Perfect for a not so filling breakfast

Bedok south market and food centre
16 Bedok South Road

SINGAPORE: HAWKER DELIGHTS @ WHAMPOA MARKET

I come from a very health conscious YET food loving (read: greedy) family, and its usually hard to reach a balance for both. How it works in my family, we ( actually just my parents because I just have too much cravings to satisfy in the few weeks that I'm back home) will have home prepared meals for all breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday to Friday and dinner only for the weekends. So lunch after church yesterday brought us to Whampoa market Block 91.

Living away from home for the past few years, one of the things I miss most about Singapore is hawker centres. Bringing together the best in local food at affordable prices, hawker centres are really a unique aspect of the Singaporean culture. I was just thinking yesterday, perhaps in the near future, when our pioneer generations pass on, hawker centres may be phased out. This is because most young adults, prefer to have our meals at more conveniently located, airconditioned places or places that have names of celebrity chefs tagged to it. Ummm, I'm guilty of that too actually ooops. But yes, I really hope hawker centres will continue to be part of Singapore's future!

Anyway, whampoa market is home to many award winning Singaporean local delights. By award winning, I mean awards like Channel U's viewer choice awards, taxi driver awards, Makan Places Lost and Found. If you were thinking Michelin stars, your very first step starts here , youre welcome :D :D :D

I'm a huge fan of gu chai kueh (steamed chives dumplings) and in the last month I've been to whampoa 3 times to try the kueh from this stall - Tanglin halt A1 carrot cake. Yet time and time again, the aunty always tells me its sold out. Church ended at 1030am, I was there by 11am and I thought " TODAY WILL BE THE DAY I HAVE MY GU CHAI KUEH"

But, no. SOLD OUT AGAIN.

Mom bought 6 png kuehs (glutinous rice cake) and 2 soon kuehs (turnip dumplings) in the end. I've tried their png kuehs previously before and I really liked it. The rice isn't hard like some others and it was pretty tasty. Soon kueh was bland.  This stall also sells black bean kueh, which had a strange texture and tasted really bland. 

All the kuehs cost $0.90 each. 

We also tried their carrot cake. This was rather tasty, except it was hard to get a firm grip on the pieces, they kept coming apart, I guess perhaps the chef could have fried it longer. It would have made the exterior more crispy too. 

Tanglin Halt A1 Carrot Cake

91 Whampoa Drive

#01-34

Had fried carrot sticks next. This is the normal carrot cake except cut into rectangle sizes and deep fried. I like how its crispy on the outside yet soft and chewy on the inside. Love it as a snack.  Cheap and good, its 12 for $1.50 and 16 for $2. 

Deep Fried Carrot Sticks

91 Whampoa Drive

#01-36

My uncle recommended this stall, touting it to be the best yong tau fu. I hope they just had a bad day yesterday because this was really expensive and tasted average. However, calls made to another uncle of mine last night confirmed that there's just nothing special about this stall. 

price ranges from $3.50 onwards. What we ordered as pictured below, cost $5.40.

Traditional Homemade Yong Tau Foo

91 Whampoa Drive

#01-32

There's always a crazy queue at this stall. Nonetheless, I was determined to try and see if its really as good as what people have been telling me.

Winning point of this fish noodles - the generous portion of fried red snapper $3.50.  

Beach Road Fish Head Bee Hoon

91 Whampoa Drive

#01- 42

My mom really loves Lor Mee. Except strangely, most lor mee always gives her a bad tummyache after. My dad was really apprehensive about letting mom buy this bowl. 

Loved loved, absolutely loved this lor mee! Definitely one of the betters ones I had. For $3, there were generous portions of braised meat, chicken nuggets, you tiao and some other things I couldn't quite make out. The gravy was flavourful, their noodles lacked the common alkaline taste, which was a plus point for me. I really enjoyed their special chilli sauce. And thank God mom's stomach was fine after eating.

Whampoa Best Lu Mian In Town Lor Mee

91 Whampoa Drive

#01-19

The highlight of my lunch. 

Beancurd with gingko nuts $2

Really generous portion of gingko nuts. I made sure I had a gingko with every spoon of beancurd, and by the time i finished by beancurd I still had gingkos left. Other toppings you can add are lotus and red beans.

Two choices - $2.50

All three choices - $3

I've had all the three choices before and it was so yummy.

 Always be prepared for a queue tho!

Whampoa Soya Bean and Grass Jelly
91 Whampoa Drive
#01-52
6.30am - 4.30pm Daily
Closed on Monday

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EDIT MARCH 2019

A few years has passed, but I'm still a fan of Whampoa market. Actually nah, as much as like whapoa market, I live in the East and I try my best not to drive in Singapore because Singaporean drivers are the WORST.
They are rude, they are inpatient.
And recently alot of people seem to be getting into accidents while taking grab :/ so yeah... Unless my dad drives..... hahahahhaha otherwise, whampoa wouldn't be the place I go to.

This time I decided to try the ban mian after multiple friends' recommendations

20 minutes wait later......

$3.50. Add 50cents for egg. 

I love their meatball!  Ban mian comes with 2 prawns, but you can opt to swap the prawns for meatball. I probably will do that next time because it is just tooo troublesome to shell the prawns in a hawker centre. 

China Whampoa Homemade noodle 

Blk #01-24, 91 Whampoa Dr, Singapore 320091

Close every monday
Tuesday - sunday 7am - 2pm

An incidental find just beside ban mian store.......

This Uncle makes this really nice drink. He is a really chatty person. So yeah, he will go on and on to tell you about the health benefit of his drink. $1.50, really refreshing on a hot day.

SINGAPORE: THE BLACK SWAN

I was having such a hard time deciding on a place to take Nick on his birthday last month. With new restaurants popping up almost every week in Singapore, its almost impossible for anybody to keep up. And it's even worse for people like us, who are away from Singapore more than 3/4 of the year.

The black swan was an incidental finding for me. I was walking along Ann Siang with a friend early December, he refused to send me home because I live in the East and he's at bukit timah , so I had to get a cab and I was filled with all this pent up anger, thank God the taxi uncle drove past The Black Swan and diverted my attention.

 The Black Swan immediately struck a chord with me. I enjoyed the movie so much, I secretly wish people would invite me to a "movie" themed party instead of specifics like "Alice in Wonderland" and " The Great Gatsby" because if anything, I want to be the one and only Alice or Daisy!

The interior of  Black Swan certainly did not disappoint. Dimly lit, with a gatsby inspired ambience - the bar coincidentally quotes "Here's to alcohol, the rose coloured glasses of life."  Seductive yet glamourous.

They were still having their champagne and oyster happy hour (Monday to Friday 5-8pm) when we got there. For $21, Nick got himself a pair of shucked oysters and a glass of champagne. I had a glass of Michele Chiarlo Nivole Moscoto $17.

I suppose I got my eating habits from my mom, preferring to try small portions of different items, so I made Nick forgo ordering his lobster main (sorry birthday boy!) for more small plates.

Truffled egg & bacon confit $14

I definitely have some obsession with truffled eggs recently. Yummy as with most other truffled egg dishes. I just wish the toast was more crispy and less charred. 

 Baked bone marrow, chilli, kombu $18

Similarly, wish the toast was less charred. Also, i had some difficulties spreading it on the toast and it felt more like I was eating pieces of fat. I'm also really sensitive when it comes to smell, and this dish, really smelt like an animal. 

Char grilled beef tartare (USDA 365 days grain fed beef, nashi pear, toasted sesame) $26

I'm a sucker for all beef tartares so... its a definite must order on my list! Except, I wasn't really used to beef tartares having a tinge of smokiness. Perhaps this dish is to serve as a stepping stone for diners who are unused to the idea of raw beef. Thumbs up to them for incoporating the nashi pear, giving this dish a refreshing aftertaste. 

French onion soup $19

 I have tasted better *cough* db Bistro *cough*. I probably would trade this dish for something else.

 Crab salad (handpicked crab, avocado, mango, orange, grapefruit, toasted sunflower seeds, citrus vinaigrette) $21

Crispy calamari $18

 I've always had reflux problems, and one of the ways to ease my discomfort is cutting down on oily food.  I was sick of this dish after a few calamaris and felt so sick and bloated the whole night. Even kaffir lime sauce could not do anything to negate the oiliness of this dish.

Truffled cut fries $14

Loved how the truffle taste was so well infused into the fries! 

Duck Leg Confit $36

 We had this 18 hours sous vide duck for mains. I love this ! The duck was moist on the inside yet super cripsy on the outside. Definitely on my order list! So glad I stood my grounds and didn't give this duck up for Nick's choice of the lobster main.

I made a booking thru chope.sg and wrote a remark saying that it was Nick birthday. I was pleasantly surprised when our dessert came out with the words " Happy Birthday Nicholas"
Thank you Black Swan for this personal touch !

Dark chocolate dome (varlhona guanaja, vanilla creme, seasonal berries) $16

We shared this yummy chocolate dome because we were seriously stuffed. Really wished I had more space for desserts, I would have definitely wanted to try the coconut creme caramel. Ahhh, will just have to try it the next time I'm back again!

The Black Swan
19 Cecil Street, The Quadrant
Singapore 049704

Reservations: www.chope.sg
Website: http://www.theblackswan.com.sg/

Operating hours:
Closed Sundays
Lunch – Mon-Fri: 11.30am-3pm
Dinner – Mon-Sat: 5pm-11pm
Supper – Mon-Thurs: 10.pm-1am, Fri-Sat: 10.30pm-2pm

SINGAPORE: ANTI:DOTE @ FAIRMONT HOTEL

Our first high tea experience of 2015 took us to Anti:dote lounge at Fairmont Hotel.

There are three sets available on the menu -- the Anti:dote Tea Set ($38++), Oriental Tea Set ($38++) and the Regal Tea Set ($75++) , all of which features a different creation as their main star. The black truffle scrambled eggs for the Anti:dote tea set, dimsums (scallop siew mai, har gao and chives dumpling) for the oriental tea set, smoked salmon blinis with caviar and a glass of champagne for the regal tea set. 

With each set was also a wide range of TWG teas to go with your afternoon delights. However, only 1 choice from the $11 teas were included in the set and refillable only once. Yup, that was my only disappointment ):

Anyway, all of us chose the Anti:dote tea set and so we started of with the yummiest ever scrambled eggs.

And I absolutely loved the golden toast too! It was so crispy yet not oily.

Was never a fan of lemon pound cake, however Nick and Min really enjoyed this. 

After the starters came the much awaited 3 drawers chest set, featuring a medley of sweet and savoury surprises !

I love how the desserts are so colourful and aesthetically pleasing, definitely a hit among the ladies!

Desserts: chocolate tart, earl grey eclair, apple delight, chocolate dipped strawberries, antidote rum baba, yuzu macaron, handmade truffles

The first drawer consist of savoury treats such as coronation curried chicken, boston lobster roll, proscuitto, cucumber and dill and smoked salmon. They were absolutely amazing I wished they were all free flow !

The second drawer had warm ginger and raisin scones and the third drawer stored homemade strawberry jam, devonshire clotted cream, lemon curd and nicely packed sugar buttered cookies to take home! Such a thoughtful gesture by the chefs !

Our total bill came up to $106.70 with a 20% discount (AMEX platinum card holder). Overall, I really enjoyed anti:dote's quality high tea set and cosy ambience. In fact, I can't wait to be back with more friends the next time! 

Anti:dote Lounge

Level 1, Fairmont Singapore

80 Bras Besah Road

Tel: +65 64315315

High tea opening hours

Daily, 3pm-5pm

SINGAPORE: MIKUNI @ FAIRMONT HOTEL

Asian or western for lunch? More specifically, db Bistro by Daniel Boulud or Mikuni?

We decided on Mikuni @ Fairmont in the end even though we will be leaving for our highly anticipated annual Japan feasting trip next week because our Far Card Dining membership card had just arrived and that meant 50% off dining at Mikuni yay!

Helmed by Korean executive chef Moon Kyung Soo, Mikuni offers diners three different dining experiences (Sushi, Teppanyaki, Robatayaki) all under one roof.

Priced from $58 to $120, Mikuni offers set lunches, allowing diners a taste of their signature dishes without breaking the bank. View full menu here.

To start off, complimentary prawn crackers and a refreshing organic salad with Mikuni's special dressing.

We ordered the truffle sea urchin tofu (beancurd, tofu, truffled soya, caviar) $38++ to share. This was so good, definitely on my recommend list !

Nick had the Mikuni Chirashi $90++. It was a really generous portion, 2 pieces of every item.

I decided on their Premium Bento "Miyabi" set and as the name suggests, its the most premium and priciest of the lot at $120++ (SO THANK YOU FAR CARD for getting me a 50% discount on it! ) It started with 3 kinds of Sashimi (hamachi, toro, scallops) followed by an exquisitely tiered clay bento set which unlayered to give

Just on the bottom right is their kyoto onion soup, served chilled. Growing up in a traditional cantonese family, where mom always makes sure dinner is served with hot clear soup, chilled soup with a thick consistency doesn't sit well with me. I would opt for a bowl of hot miso soup over this anytime.

 I am not a prawn fan at all. If given a choice I would opt out of all prawn dishes. However, I was really won over by this king prawn with golden sauce , asparagus and ebiko. They were really generous with their succulent prawns, vaguely I think there were about 8 pieces.

 Tempura - I really enjoyed the mint leaf wrapped fish meat one.

My favourite dish of the set ! Kagoshima Waygu Ishiyaki. I would actually trade the onion soup and tempura just for another stick of this! Was actually thinking of ordering an ala carte of this except that it would set me back another $39++ or a whooping $78++ for those without the Far card! :o

I was probably about 80% full by the time I got to this Unadon. Nick told me to just have the eel and leave the rice out since I was already quite stuffed, but, HOW TO SAY NO TO JAPANESE RICE?! Ended up eating 3/4 of the rice ooops hehe.
Really loved the way una was cooked. The meat was soft yet still firm and the best thing about this unadon was, I only picked out 1 bone.

Included in both this set lunch and Nick's chirashi was expresso ice cream with chocolate crumble, green tea chocolate and red bean jelly.

Our bill came up to $145.08 (after 50% Far card discount and inclusive 17% GST and service charge) which we both thought was a really good deal for such an upscale restaurant delivering both in presentation and quality.


All set menus are available for lunch from Monday to Sunday

Mikuni
Level 3, Fairmont Singapore
80 Bras Besah Road, Singapore 189560
Tel: +65 6431 6156
Reservations email: dining.singapore@fairmont.com
Online booking: www.mikunirestaurant.com.sg

Opening hours:
Lunch: 12pm - 2.30pm
Dinner: 6.30pm - 10.30pm