Singapore Zam Zam - Mutton Briyani @ 697 North Bridge Road

My visit to Zam Zam was entirely accidental and unplanned. No prior homework was done for my visit to this century-old business specializing in briyani and murtabaks.

I actually ended up here after I took a wrong turn while on my way to Blanco Court Prawn Noodle. I did not even know that Zam Zam was located in this area!

Nevertheless, I carried on my way to have my prawn noodle as that was the main purpose of my trip. After having my noodles, I figured there is still room for a murtabak so I made my way back to Zam Zam which is a two-storey shop house. 

The upper floor is air-conditioned with long tables while the lower floor is the kitchen where all the action took place and with a relatively smaller seating capacity.

Blanco Court Prawn Noodle @ 243 Beach Road

Prawn noodle has always been one of my favorite noodle dish but unfortunately, the one near my place tastes plain sweet of rock sugar which is a big turn off for me. Since I have not had a nice bowl of prawn noodle for a very long time now, I decided to google for one and go eat it.

I narrowed my selection to the Blanco Court Prawn Noodle which have a long history in Singapore. The main reason for choosing this was because the location is somewhere near my previous workplace. 

Ironically, while I was working in the area, not once did I venture beyond the Golden Landmark side as I always head to Tong Seng Coffeeshop at Liang Seah Street for lunch.

L32 Handmade Noodle @ Tampines 1

I have heard about this very famous handmade noodle stall at Geylang Road for a while now. The stall had a rather strange name called L32 which actually stands for Lorong 32, with reference to its location at Geylang.

Geylang is rather out of the way for me so when I found out that they had a branch at Tampines, I was overjoyed.

Tampines is not that near to me either but it is much more accessible than Geylang. The branch in question is located at Tampines 1, inside the food court on the fifth level. I finally found the opportunity to make my way here after sending my parents off at the airport earlier this week.

I took the MRT from Changi Airport to Tanah Merah and transferred to Tampines. Upon reaching, I realized the food court is Kapitans by Kopitiam.

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)

Aspirasi - Ayam Penyet @ Seah Im Food Centre

After Dad's appointment at NUH, he requested to have the ayam penyet at Seah Im Food Centre which we had previously. The ayam penyet that we had then was from Farisha Muslim Food (#01-31).

This time, I suggested that we try the one from Aspirasi instead as it is the famous one at Seah Im Food Centre. I mean, if you google for ayam penyet at this food centre, Aspirasi is the only name that turn up in the search results although there are more than one ayam penyet stalls here.

Aspirasi specializes in fried chicken rice served with your choice of sauces: sambal ($4); sweet & sour ($4); lemon ($4) and black pepper ($4). Other than these sauces, you can also opt for the normal chicken rice ($3.50) or penyet ($5) that comes with a whole chicken leg.

Alternatively, they have fried rice with chicken ($5) and fried rice tomato with sambal chicken ($5.50) which is quite popular as well.

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.

Shi Ji Noodle Stall - Duck Noodle @ Seah Im Food Centre

I have tried the lor mee from Shi Ji Noodle Stall located at Seah Im Food Centre a week ago and I am back to try their duck noodle.

You can read about the stall in my previous entry here.

So, I arrived a little after lunch hour and there were not many customers around. The friendly uncle is sitting outside the stall chatting with the neighboring stall owners. I ordered a bowl of dry duck noodles and he went back inside the stall to prepare my order.

It was then I overheard him conversing with somebody from the stall behind him in fluent Thai. #impressed

Fried Kuay Teaw Mee @ Seah Im Food Centre

This is yet another Hokkien mee stall at Seah Im Food Centre which is manned by an old lady with a bandana on her head.

So why do I visit a second Hokkien mee stall at the same food centre?

If you remember my previous Hokkien mee post, I mentioned that I am going to visit the notorious stall that does not allowed customers to take more than one pair of chopsticks.

Well this is the stall that I actually went to by mistake. You see, I had left the note which contained all the information (stall's name, unit number, business hours, etc) at home thus when I saw this stall selling Hokkien mee, I straight away thought it is the one.

So while composing this post at home that night, I realized the photo of my Hokkien mee looked very different from those found on the web of the stall.

For $3, theirs had about four prawns, uses thick bee hoon with round yellow noodles, had chives while mine had only one prawn, uses thin bee hoon with round yellow noodles and comes with char siew and stewed cabbage!

It was only after checking the unit number did I realize that I had visited the wrong stall! Therefore, I had to make a trip back to the food centre and visit the correct one. So, what do I do with this review from the wrong stall in the meantime?

Since the photos are already edited and post drafted, then might as well just complete it and publish.

Banana Leaf Pork Briyani & Rainbow Prata @ Woodlands Wave 9

Update: Banana Leaf Pork Briyani has permanently closed.

Pork Briyani, anyone? 
 
I know what you are thinking. I could not believe it myself when I first heard of it recently. I got to know about this when a small commotion erupted among the Muslim community on Facebook because they were creating awareness and warning each other to be careful of it.

Although technically not a Malay dish, briyani are usually sold at food stalls run by Indian Muslims therefore I understand their concerns when this dish, which is not Halal, suddenly pops up in their midst.

Initially, I thought the fiasco is about somebody being caught selling pork at a Halal-certified stall but as it turns out, the business owner, who is a  non-Muslim is actually selling the pork briyani at his own non-Halal stall.

After visiting the stall for myself, I must say their worries are redundant. The pork dishes on the menu are clearly labeled and with the image of a sexy sow on the signboard, it is unlikely that any Muslims would have accidentally consume something haram.

Cheng Ji Chao Xia Mian Hao Jian @ Seah Im Food Centre

While researching about Seah Im Food Centre, I learned about this notorious Hokkien mee stall who had, for reasons unknown, set some weird rules for its customers.

According to the accounts of several past customers, the owners do not allow them to take more than one pair of chopsticks. Those unaware of the 'law' ended up being chided for doing so. This has caused much distress among the 'victims' but the owners seem adamant about it.

This really piqued my interest hence I decided to pay this stall a visit. However, I have no plans to use myself as a bait to prove if the rumor is indeed true!

Shi Ji Noodle Stall - Lor Mee @ Seah Im Food Centre

During my second trip to Seah Im Food Centre, I decided to try out Shi Ji Noodle Stall.

This stall sells duck noodle, prawn noodle, tom yum noodle and lor mee (braised noodle). I decided to go for the lor mee as I was craving for it that day.

It is self-service here. You queue to order your food, wait to collect and pay for your food.

I am pretty much impressed by the generous serving of ingredients in my bowl. There are plenty of ngor hiang (five spice rolls), lor bak (braised meat), fish cake and a certain fried stuff which I was unable to identify.

There is also half a braised egg and topped with minced garlic and coriander. I added two spoonful of black vinegar into the bowl which is the SOP for me.

Eat 3 Bowls - Lu Rou Fan @ Seah Im Food Centre

Update: Eat 3 Bowls has relocated. The new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

Recently, I decided to visit Seah Im Food Centre for breakfast before heading over to Sentosa for Sentosa Sandsation 2017.

This is my very first visit to the food centre and I had my sight fixed on Eat 3 Bowls, a relatively new hawker stall offering Taiwanese street food like lu rou fan (滷肉饭), intestine mee sua (大肠面线), salted crispy chicken (盐酥鸡), etc.

What I learned from the online reviews is that what the stall serve tasted quite close to what they had had in Taiwan. 

This is quite an achievement considering the business owners are not even Taiwanese but two Singaporean guys who made repeated trips to Taiwan to make sure that they got the taste right.

Encouraged by all the positive reviews, I had to order their signature, the lu rou fan which translates as "braised meat rice".

Cai Ji Boneless Braised Duck Rice Porridge @ Seah Im Food Centre

Duck meat is not my favorite choice of poultry as I dislike the texture especially the breast meat. In Cantonese terms, I called it 嚡熠熠 (hai3 sab4 sab4).

That is why I do not usually eat duck unless there is a craving for it.

But all that is set to change after my discovery of this braised duck stall at Seah Im Food Centre!

Among the very few braised duck rice that I have eaten throughout my life, none could excite me as much as Cai Ji Boneless Braised Duck Rice Porridge can!

It all started when I saw a photo of it on Instagram. Just like the photo I took above, it was a plate of braised duck rice with several coils of braised pig's skin.

In all honesty, it was the pig's skin and not the duck meat which tempted me at that time.

Xie Kee Hokkien Mee @ Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre

After Dad's hospital appointment on a Monday, we decided to drop by Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre for dinner since we are traveling by the downtown line.

We initially wanted to have the white bee hoon but the stall was closed. Instead, I was surprised to see Xie Kee Hokkien Mee opened for business because according to Burpple, Monday is their off day.

The uncle is sitting outside of his stall all alone without a single customer in sight. My immediate thought is how lucky we are, to be the first in queue thus we do not have to wait for long. I immediately placed an order for two $3 plates of Hokkien mee and took a seat beside the stall. 

He Zhong Carrot Cake @ Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre

He Zhong Carrot Cake has been at Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre for as long as I could remember. They have been operating their business at this location long before the renovations when their stall was still facing the carpark near the stairs then.

You will not be able to find the black carrot cake here as they only specialize in the white variety. Unlike the black carrot cake where the radish cubes are fried to a complete mess along with all the other ingredients, He Zhong fries theirs into rectangular blocks where the radish cubes are held in place by the beaten eggs mixture.

The surface was fried to a crisp with a medley of flavors coming from the egg, chye poh, fish sauce and their chili sauce smeared on top.

Peter Pan Western Food - Chicken Chop @ Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre

Update: Peter Pan Western Food has permanently closed.

Managed by a husband and wife team, Peter Pan Western Food, as its name suggests, is a food stall serving western fare at Bukit Timah Market & Food Centre. What drew my attention to this food stall was actually its catchy name - Peter Pan.

This is probably one of the more popular stalls at the food centre due to their generous food portion at affordable prices.

The husband is the one behind the stove while the wife is at the stall front, taking orders and collecting payments.

It is self-service here. You place your order, make your payment and wait to collect your food.

I ordered my usual chicken chop ($6).

Sentosa Sandsation 2017

As part of the island's 45th anniversary celebrations, Sentosa will be hosting Southeast Asia's largest sand festival "Sentosa Sandsation 2017" at Siloso Beach.

Spreading over 2,400 square metres, Sentosa Sandsation 2017 will feature more than 30 larger-than-life sand sculptures with some measuring over 5 metres.

The exhibition have three zones, each offering a different experience.

Yong Kee Fish Ball Noodle @ ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre

Located directly opposite Fatty Cheong is another famous stall called Yong Kee Famous Fish Ball Noodle which is famed for it's handmade fish balls.

Other than fish ball noodle ($3/$4/$5),  they also serve mushroom minced meat noodle aka bak chor mee ($4/$5) and canned abalone noodle ($12).

Since the stall is revered by foodies, I had to give it a try.

While queuing to place my order, I heard a commotion between the lady boss and the customer in front of me. Apparently, the customer wanted the $3 bowl but did not inform the lady boss who had already prepared the $4 serving.

Fatty Cheong Wanton Noodle @ ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre

A week ago, I visited ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre specifically aiming for the wanton noodle from a roast stall called Fatty Cheong because I have heard so much about their bu jian tian char siew which is actually BBQ pork made from the pig's arm pit.

In order to avoid the lunch crowd, I intentionally arrive slightly after 11am - their stipulated opening hour listed on hungrygowhere and burpple.

To my dismay, they seem far from ready for business as the lights are not on and there are no roasts hanging on the racks. 

I did not want to waste any time so I went through my food list and decided to go for the next available stall opened at that time which is Wow Wow West.

The plan was to wait for Fatty Cheong to get ready while having my chicken chop but as fate would have it, I am too full from my western food to have anything else.

Furthermore, by the time I finished, it was nearing noon and Fatty Cheong is still not opened yet.

I have to leave in disappointment and plan another trip back soon.

Wow Wow West Western Food - Chicken Chop @ ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre

I have long heard of this western stall called Wow Wow West that serves big portions of western food for reasonable prices at ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre.

Even though I go to the nearby IKEA Alexandra quite frequently, I was often too lazy to make a detour to the food centre.

Wow Wow West used to be located at the school canteen of Raffles Institution (RI) however, the school holidays meant that income would be badly affected so they had no choice but to relocate first to Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre before finally settling down at the current location.

I was full of anticipation for their chicken chop after reading many raving reviews about them online.

Furthermore, I feel there is a need to support the stall because they support the Yellow Ribbon Project by hiring ex-offenders. I personally think it is awesome of them to give the ex-offenders a second chance to set their lives straight and contribute to society.