Jiamuses: makan

[Food Review ] Everyday I'm Ramen-ing- Nantsuttei Singapore (Orchard Central)

by JH - Tuesday, January 20, 2015

[Cafe Hopping in Singapore] Chock Full of Beans (Changi)

by JH - Wednesday, December 17, 2014

[ Food Review in Singapore] The Provision Shop @Everton Park

by JH - Wednesday, July 09, 2014

First Written: 7/9/14. I have added on a Second portion as of 23/12/14 when you scroll down.

Heard raves about The Provision shop amidst the 'makan (dining) treasures' in the Everton Park area and headed there one day. Really love the very serene and peaceful setting of the dining place and it wasn't crowded when I was there on a weekday evening.

The deco was simple and homely, mixed with some nostalgic elements.

Here's my order. I had their famous polish dumplings- Belinda's Perogis $6.00 (1 pcs)

These dumplings filled with warm mash potatoes and ricotta cheese makes a wonderful comfort food and were oh-so-very-soft. Topped up with sautéed bacon bits, onions and sour cream, which bring forth enhancement to the taste.

The dumplings may look simple but they are actually handmade by the chefs daily. I often read comments that 1 pcs is enough for sharing but seriously I think 1 is not enough, order 2 pcs, simply because they are good.^^
Pity they are not served warm.

Next on the order was Mocha $5.00.

This Mocha packed some serious caffeine as my heartbeat really increased by leaps and bounds after consumption. ( which is what happens to me when I take highly caffeinated coffee ). Of course that's good news for any coffee lovers, just don't drink it too late.

The aromatic and fragrant Mocha didn't disappoint.

~~I hope to drop by The Provision Shop again someday and try out their other selections.~~

~~Will update again when I get the chance to~~~

~~The Provision Shop is definitely the place to check out and they do get crowded with the brunch crowd on the weekends, so plan in advanced!~~

What you will be reading below was updated on 23/12/14 when we visited The Provision Shop again for the 2nd time.

Yes we were back!! How will the rest of the menu fare?

Here's our order this time round:

Ruben- Corned Beef sandwich with Russian Dressings and Swiss Cheese $14.

Tasty on the first bite but as you devoured further, the beef gets too salty and that was a real pity. Otherwise the bread with its slight crisp makes quite a yummy sandwich. However for the price this serving size is slightly too small.

We ordered another of their hits- Traditional Carbonara $16 and were excited to try out how the homemade Fettuccine would compare to those sold at other places.

Sprinkled with only a handful of bacon bits, the pasta was mixed in barn-raised raw egg yolks. To be honest, there were no surprises and the lacks of other ingredients was not very appealing. Perhaps that's how the dish should be but seriously at this pricing I am pretty sure I can get better pastas elsewhere.

It was simply too plain a pasta and gets "boring" after a few mouthfuls. For me, perhaps I am allergic to raw eggs, since I don't ever/hardly take them, I had a painful stomach cramp after eating this. My friend was alright though. I could not pinpoint exactly if it was due to the food but the pain came on as I was eating this pasta. Perhaps it was a coincidence?

But just a note for you guys if you are not comfortable with raw egg yolks and the pasta was not served warm.

I for one, wasn't even expecting a negative reaction else I would have avoided.

Anyway, this time round, the food was slightly disappointing and does not live up to my expectations. There was nothing much to shout about and I am sorry but don't think will be returning again. However, their polish dumplings might still be worthy for a visit.

Location:

Blk 3 Everton Park #01-79 SP 0800003

6225 9931

The Provision Shop Facebook

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[Food Review] Gyoza King Singpaore

by JH - Friday, March 14, 2014

Here we are at GYOZA KING.

As mentioned, I have not tried Gyoza King prior to Gyoza Ya, but I had them both back to back the next day, so as to have a fair comparison. Read on.

Under the Keisuke group, Gyoza King is their 4th outlet at Orchid Hotel, Tangjong Pagar. Their other outlets are all ramen stores respectively at Tonkotsu King at Orchid Hotel, Tangjong Pagar ( 2 stores away from Gyoza King), Tori King at Amara Hotel, AM 100 and Tonkotsu King Four Seasons at Bugis.

You won't miss their huge flag sign indicating fried dumplings.

Lunch menu is an awesome deal, I have to say.

First, choose from 3 gyoza choices- Pork, Chicken and Prawn 5 pcs each.

Next, choose 2 side dishes from 8 selections shown below... Many varities.

Step 3, choose Rice Size: Small, Regular or Large at no extra charges. Rice can be topped-up Free of Charge

AND Choose the kind of soup: Miso or Vegetable

For $13.90 a set, you get all the above plus a free flow of Marinated Bean Sprouts and Cabbage Pickles and water served.

We went shortly before 2pm and there were only us in the queue but we waited for quite some time for the customers inside to leave due to the limited 18-seater space available.

While you are waiting help in line, help yourself to some drinks from the blue cooler, FOC.

At times, 4 people are at work in this tiny space, but we observed a very systematic flow to the operations.

Doesn't the rice cookers resemble vaccum cleaners? About as huge too.

Here's the seating plan.

Surrounding the kitchen in a U-shaped, customers are seated in close proximity to the chefs and can view the preparation process. Usually packed to the brim during lunch hours by all the office workers in the surrounding Tanjong Pagar area, it's best to avoid lunch hours if you want to eat at a slower pace and not elbow-jam everyone.

Even though the place is packed full, the staff are still friendly and curteous with rounds of " Irasshaimase!" for welcoming customers.

Upon seated down, if it's your first time in, like me, you will be bombarded with a packed table

Concoct your own Gyoza Sauce with the Soy Sauce, Vinegar and Chili available.

Marinated Bean Sprouts and Cabbage Pickles Free flow, help yourselves to them on the table

Hello to the Marinated Bean Sprouts and Cabbage Pickles. The bean sprouts tasted similar to the Korean style's side dish. YUMMY! I chomped down many plates while waiting for food to be served..

Serving time was relatively fast, not much of a wait. And here comes the much anticipated GYOZA SET!

Pepper away with the condiments available on the rice. I had chicken gyoza with vegetable soup.

If you are hesitant about finishing a whole set, get a friend and share, just order a large rice bowl and I think it can be pretty filling as well since rice can be refilled.

This is how a Large rice bowl compares with a Regular rice bowl. Using the same bowl size, the large version is filled to the brim while the regular is about 3/4 filled. That's alot of rice!

Here comes the most important deciding factor. How's the Gyozas' taste?

The gyozas were hot from frying and tasty, with rich Tonkotsu broth oozing out from the inside. These are the moist warm gyozas I was looking for! The skin wasn't too thick and had a slight crisp, enveloping the moist and tender well-flavored chicken meat. The gyozas were a joy to tuck into with us slurping up on the broth. Awesome!

The ala-carte gyozas cost $8 and it's more economical to order the set menu at $13.90

Here are the side dishes we ordered: Stired Fried Pork and Cabbage with miso, Stired Fried Eggplant, Chicken Nanban with Tartar Sauce and Deep Fried Chicken with Spicy Sauce and mixed Sesame.

Even though they are similar to Zi-Char style, but we are not complaining as they added varitey to the gyozas we had and it rounded up to be a completed happy meal altogether. These side dishes were deliciously good too.

We left the place feeling like a king and happily filled. It was a very satisfied first experience at Gyoza King for me and though the seatings might be cramp and uncomforatbale for some, just avoid the lunch hours and I am sure you will be able to enjoy your meal. I look forward to returning to Gyoza King soon~~ :)

Do check out GYOZA KING!

Location: 1 Tras Link #01-15 Orchid Hotel S 078867

Tel : (65) 6604 6674

Fax : (65) 6604 7644

Connect with them on FB https://www.facebook.com/KeisukeTokyoSG

How does GYOZA YA compare? Read on to see my review.

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[Food Review] Real Food- Your Healthier Choice

by JH - Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Real Food is your health dining cafe, grocer, bookstore all in one. If you are into healthy diet or looking for vegetarian cuisines, look no longer! Real Food affords affordable, tasty and healthy dishes to cleanse your body system. If you ever need to detox from all the fried, sweet food stuff you have been indulging, there is no need to starve. Real Food provides you a guilt-free, filling meal with health benefits .

YEA to cleaner food and a healthier body system!

Real food also stocks up many healthy food products be it cooking ingredients or just off the shelf snacks, imported overseas.

I bought home this Sunflower Mulit-grain chips. Cost about $4 plus... not cheap for a small packet (44g) and it was still a tad too salty.

Now for the food~

Organic Fried Rice $7.80 vegan/soy

Brown rice stir-fried with garlic. I love how tasty the fried rice comes together with all the ingredients like pineapple cubes, French beans, corns, carrots, peas, tomatoes and capsicum. Though the portion is not huge, it's huge on taste and will keep your tummy filled nevertheless. Just nice for you not to overeat.

Organic Fried Noodles $7.80 vegan/soy

Udon rice noodles, stir-fried Hongkong style, this dish is light on oil and salt, yet doesn't compromise on the taste. Very refreshing with all the assorted vegs, mushrooms, carrots, capsicum and cabbage, you will feel happy and satisfied after the meal.

Bento Brown Rice Set(not on the menu)

You have to approach the counter staff on it's availability.

I was attracted by other dinners tucking into this humongous lovely display set and went asking what it was. Strangely, it was not on the menu and yet customers knew about it. I wanted to try it for myself.

It's basically a very simple dish of brown rice with sides, much liked economic mixed rice.

A plate of vegetables, beancurd lookalike, and another mixed veg was all about it.

I love brown rice and their version was really good.

Simple, comforting and filling. Sides vary daily.

Mushroom Aglio Olio $8.80 contains garlic/ onions, with chili

Yet another simple dish, with assorted wild mushrooms but yummy enough.

They also hold health talks regularly so Real Food it's definitely not to be missed!

Plus Real Food has a nice soothing ambience which allows you to chichat with your friends for a long time esp on the weekdays, where there are plenty of seats around.

Real Food is loved by many expatriates whom you can see dining in-house. Who says healthy food are boring and tasteless? Real Food prides itself on its food preparation and produces the best combinations possible. Head on to Real Food!

6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #B1-52 The Central, Singapore 059817

( They do have other outlets as well)

http://www.realfoodgrocer.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Real-Food-cafe-grocer-books/157013014339616