Big Dot Chicken @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

I can never resist the lure of fried chicken hence when news of this month-old stall at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre reach my ears, I knew I had to head down for a look.

A joint venture by three entrepreneur friends, Big Dot Chicken is a social enterprise aimed at helping the unemployed by offering them jobs and providing on-the-job training to equip them with the necessary skills required to run their own stall one day. They do not need any F&B background nor even have to pay any franchising fees.

Impressed by the noble cause behind its inception, I support this business wholeheartedly. If this business module indeed works, it can help someone in need to make a living.

On the day of my visit, I dropped by the stall fifteen minutes before the advertised timing of 11am and guess what? An elderly uncle was already seated at the table in front of the stall, enjoying his fried chicken.

Waffletown USA - Bowing Out After 20 Years @ Balmoral Plaza

Update: Waffletown USA has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

The problem with people is that we tend to take things for granted. We started feeling sorry for ourselves when we realized we are going to lose something dear to our hearts.

When news broke earlier this week that Waffletown USA is going to shutter their doors for good sometime this month (18th May), a piece of me died inside.

I kind of agree with this line that I read somewhere: "We whine about a favorite place closing. When it is finally closed, we clamor to have it back but the moment it does, we visit only once and never return again". 

I am quite guilty of this myself. My last visit to Waffletown USA was in fact five years back and I have not done so since then.

However, to prove that I am still a die-hard fan, I decided to have one last meal here for memory's sake.

I thought I was being smart by coming early to beat the queue but what I did not expect was that opening hour has been delayed by sixty minutes later than usual. By then, more people have arrived and I had to stand in line for almost an hour before it reached my turn to order.

I ordered three items: two piece chicken meal ($8.30), waffle ala-mode with blueberries and rum & raisin ice cream ($6.50) and fish burger ($3.50).

There is table service here so take a seat after placing your order and someone will send the order to your table.

Jollibee - Unjolly Chickenjoy @ Square 2

Jollibee is a popular fast food giant from the Philippines which set foot on our shores three years ago.

From their very first outlet at level 6 of Lucky Plaza, Jollibee has since expanded to another four outlets here at Square 2, Changi City Point, Paya Lebar Square and one more at the basement of Lucky Plaza.

When news of them opening an outlet in Singapore first broke, the most ecstatic would be the Pinoy community here who understandably, made up the bulk of the queue.

On its opening day and the subsequent weeks that followed, the turnout was so huge that they had to use the neighboring vacant unit to accommodate the snaking queue.

I thought I will wait for the craze to die down before I visit but weeks soon turned into months. As non of the outlets are near me and I hardly see any advertisements from Jollibee, I had clean forgotten about it - for three whole years - till recently!

Arnold's Fried Chicken @ Yishun 10 Cinema Cineplex

I heard that Arnold's Fried Chicken have been around for 30 odd years. Online reviews have touted it as one of the best fried chicken around and with such raving reviews, I guess it is time for me to try it for myself.

Although they have four outlets island-wide, none are located near me. The nearest outlet would have to be the one at Yishun but then, I hardly ever go there. Perhaps, that is the reason why I have not heard of them before.

I planned a visit to the outlet at Yishun, which is located inside Yishun 10, the mega Cineplex that Jackie Chan and Carina Lau came to officiate its opening during the 1990s. (I remember it was such a big sensation then with many star-struck fans turning up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the superstars)

Farasha Muslim Food - Ayam Penyet @ Seah Im Food Centre

A while back, I brought the folks to Seah Im Food Centre to try out the lor mee from Shi Ji Noodle Stall.

After our meal, Mum spotted the next table having the ayam penyet from Farasha Muslim Stall. Tempted by what we saw, we ordered one set to share among the three of us.

The name ayam penyet translates as "smashed chicken" which means the chicken is flattened by smashing after being fried to a crisp. I have actually seen the stall at NUH's food court using a mallet.

A dish of Indonesia origins, I have eaten ayam penyet quite a number of times, but it is the first for them. 

The ayam penyet ($5) here comes with a chicken leg, cucumber, raw cabbage, a cube of tau kwa, a piece of thumb-length tempeh and sambal. The rice and soup are served separately on another plate.

Waffletown USA @ Balmoral Plaza

Update: Waffletown USA has permanently closed.

Waffletown USA is a family-owned business that had been serving American food such as burgers, fried chicken and Belgian waffles for the last thirty odd years in Singapore.

During the 1980s, it was situated at the basement of Bukit Timah Plaza before moving to its current location at Balmoral Plaza along Bukit Timah Road. It has been years since I last visited them and as I walked through its door today, a wave of nostalgia hits me in the face. 

Everything from the furnishings to the deco remained exactly how I remembered it to be when they were still at their previous address.

End Of ICT With Marrybrown At iFly, SENTOSA!

After a grueling two weeks high key ICT (which gave me a very nasty blister), it finally ended this morning with a unit cohesion at SENTOSA. What luck it was for me, as I lay in bed last night and read the news about Malaysia's fried chicken franchise, Marrybrown, setting foot in Singapore at SENTOSA's iFly!

I loved their fried chicken so much that I try to have some whenever I visited City Square at JB.

So, after the cohesion ended, everyone out pro-ed and I happily made my way to iFly. The fast food restaurant was officially opened just a week ago on the 1st of October.

I reached there 30 minutes before 11am and being the only customer, had the whole place to myself and all the privacy I needed to take photos.

Pre-Mother's Day Dinner At First Thai Food Purvis Street

The Menu

With a sibling in the service industry, we would often have to accomodate his schedule which is often quite the opposite from everybody else. 

Therefore, whenever there are any birthdays or celebratory events in the family, we would often have to hold it earlier.