Aiya..No more kaya @ Chin Mee Chin

The first thing that struck me was how small the coffeeshop was. So many people have eaten at Chin Mee Chin Confectionery, so naturally I assumed that Chin Mee Chin was at least twice its actual size. In fact, there are only 7 tables in the coffeshop, no wonder they are always crowded.

Side view of Chin Mee Chin

With a little colour from the vibrantly dressed passerbys 😛

Old school cupcakes on display

First up, I tried their adorable old school cupcakes which were on display.

Close up on the adorable cupcakes.

The cupcakes are basically fluffy butter cupcakes.. maybe with a teeny hint of coffee, topped with chocolate icing and a sprinkle of hundreds and thousands. I rarely see such simple cupcakes around nowadays, especially since most cupcakes are piled high with icing, and have more interesting flavours such as red velvet, or salted caramel. In fact, we almost never see cupcake bakeries selling something as simple as a butter cupcake anymore.

 

COMPARE HOW THESE CUPCAKES FARE:

Look at this red velvet cupcake (not my photo) topped with icing…

Salted Caramel Cupcake (not my photo)

Check out that mound of icing! :O

In comparison to the no-frills butter cupcake:

Taste wise, this is nothing spectacular. What you see is what you get. Just like in the old days, you bake a butter cupcake, you get a butter cupcake, no surprises in a special icing or filling. I do think you should order it though, just for the sake of nostalgia, of having something simple to remind you of your childhood.

Now, on to the drinks..

Hot Milo

This was nice and thick. There’s nothing better than some rich Milo on a cold morning.

Teh

It’ll provide a nice slightly bitter contrast to the sweet cakes and kaya toast.

TIME FOR TOAST!

The kaya was incredible. Eggy, smooth and sweet. Delicious on the toasted round buns which were a nice change from the usual rectangles/squares of toast.

The bread was topped with generous slabs of butter, which melted nicely when you sandwiched two pieces of bread together like a hamburger.

Aiya, no more kaya. Hahaha, I feel like rhyming today. Anyway, just one teeny problem, a few slices of the toasts weren’t covered very well with kaya (as seen above), which really is a pity cause their kaya is delicious. Of course, you could always do what I did, and buy a tub of kaya to bring home… and of course sneak some out to slather on your toast.

But its not all smooth sailing for Chin Mee Chin, with their obvious lack of a system, it took us 3 or more reminders to get our eggs to our table.. and they only came after we were done with the toast. What’s more.. take a look at the eggs:

The eggs were nothing impressive. To be frank, they were bad. One egg was watery, and the other was overcooked.

Here, do have a closer look so you’ll believe me!

So much for food porn. :S My apologies. I had to give you an honest review about all aspects of Chin Mee Chin.

Don’t let the unsatisfactory eggs put you off though! The kaya toast is more than worth it to make the trip down to this crowded little old school coffee shop for a nice tummy warming breakfast.

There are even cosy corners for you to enjoy your toast and a hot cuppa..with an authentic mosaic from the sixties.

Chin Mee Chin Confectionery is a nice no-frills old school eatery to bring back waves of nostalgia with fuss-free homemade goodies, and authentic furniture from back in the day.

Rating: 7/10

Wild Honey @ Scotts Square

Get ready for some visual feasting my friends, you’re in for a treat!

There’s no place like home indeed.

With its eclectic and comfy furniture, well thought out displays and architecture, Wild Honey had already won me over with its decor.

Adding on brilliant service, and tasty food, Wild Honey is out to impress.

I made a reservation for 2pm, and when I arrived around 1.45pm, Wild Honey was teeming with hungry locals and expats alike. I had to wait until around 2.15pm-2.30pm or so to be seated, but I have no qualms about that since the staff were extremely pleasant, and Guy Wachs, my former neighbour, even came around to offer the waiting customers complimentary cakes to nibble on while in line. Talk about good customer service!

Sugar cubes! Such a simple touch that added to the quaint atmosphere.

The menu

I’ve been wanting to go to Wild Honey pretty much ever since they opened a year or so back, and I’ve always had my eye on the Tunisian breakfast, but more about that later. Here are our drinks!

Lemon Tea

Drizzling some honey into the cute tea cup. This was some form of Lemon Tea.

Banoffee Brulee

Thick banana milkshake with nice accents of caramel and honey. Topped with meringue which was a nice touch. It was pretty good, but is rather rich.. more like a liquid dessert, so do order this to share, or in fact, drinks aren’t really necessary as the food is the star. (Feel free to order drinks to “complete the experience” or for the novelty of being served cool drinks)

Mandarin Wilderness

A tower of pretty pink icy goodness. The drink, or rather ice-blended mocktail did not taste too artificial and had some raspberries served alongside it. Be warned though, this is huge! Here’s another photo to show its height.

One should not try to attempt this alone. Especially with the generous servings of food to be enjoyed later on.

Similarly, this is more of a dessert than a drink, so share it with a friend. It is a pleasant treat on a blistering hot day.

Do eat the tower of pink quickly though, because when it melts, you’ll have to slurp up the liquid part before the cup overflows.

Now, on to the best part…the food!

The English Breakfast

A hearty serving of the full english breakfast. Sausages, bacon, potatoes, baked beans, scrambled eggs, tomato, mushrooms, freshly toasted brioche… Delicious and extremely filling! My foodie in crime is  a big eater like me (all us girls can eat!), so she could finish the whole set on her own. [Actually all three of us finished all our sets on our own.. big eaters party!]

The food was of high quality, and everything was cooked well. The brioche in particular was very fluffy. If you like to stick to something safe, go for the familiar ol’ english breakfast, you can’t go wrong.

Portobello Road

This is similar to their Norwegian, but instead of wrapping the eggs in smoked salmon, its served on a bed of wilted spinach and portobello mushroom.

Simple, but well executed. The mushroom and spinach were well seasoned, and the eggs were beautifully poached.

Are you ready for some yolk porn? Wait for it….

Just look at that yolk oozing onto the wilted spinach and mushroom, mingling with the rich hollandaise sauce, and finally flowing down the thick brioche like golden lava. Are you on your way to Wild Honey yet?

Tunisian Breakfast

Finally! My long awaited Tunisian breakfast 😀 A tasty tomato stew with chorizo sausages and topped with two eggs. Oh but wait, that’s not all. Its served with two generous slices of brioche to dip into the glorious stew. I loved it! Slightly spicy, the Tunisian is unlike any breakfast I’ve ever eaten. I highly recommend you to order this dish if you’re the adventurous sort. The Shakshouka was delicious, and extremely satisfying. Like the previous two breakfasts, the portion was generous, but being a big eater, I could handle it on my own.

Here’s a closer look at the tummy-warming stew served in an adorable pan.Yep, that’s all yours. Feast your eyes.

With great service, a nice homely atmosphere, and generous portions of delicious food, Wild Honey deserves a perfect score! If you want to be picky, the only problem would be that it is always too crowded, so you have to make reservations before hand, and still be prepared to wait. Or if you wake up late, have a light breakfast, and come down around 3pm or later when its less crowded so you won’t have to wait for too long.

Wild Honey definitely wins my vote with its prompt, polite service and more importantly delicious food. As for the complaints earlier this year about favouring foreigners? I’d say that was a rare occasion that kicked up unnecessary fuss. Good restaurants are bound to be crowded, so expect to have a few occasional slips in service.

Rating: 9/10

Wild Honey
6 Scotts Road
Scotts Square #03-01
Tel: 6636 1816
Open Sundays to Thursdays from 9am to 9pm;
Fridays to Saturdays from 9am to 10pm
Website: www.wildhoney.com.sg

Bukit Purmei Lor Mee

Look at that rich gravy, generously poured over the noodles, and topped with chilli, garlic, vinegar, and many other garnishes. Every ingredient combines with the others so well to create this amazing bowl of Lor Mee.

I can see you drooling… Fret not! I am about to share this bowl of deliciousness with you.

Here’s another photo to whet your appetite before I begin my rant about my all time favorite hawker fare, Lor Mee.

The Lor Mee is sold at 3 prices, ($2.50, $3, $3.50) and are served in colour coded bowls, red, green and yellow respectively. This is the first time I have eaten Lor Mee with so many toppings, all of which enhanced the dish. There was charsiew, crunchy fried bits of flour, braised pork meat, fish cakes.. absolutely delicious, and these toppings help differentiate it from the others. But that’s not all! The “lor” or gravy, is another winner, the gravy is thick, yet smooth and flavorful, without being overly gloopy (if you get my drift). The gravy is the right kind of savory, and is not too overpowering that you would get tired of it halfway through the meal. I savoured every mouthful of noodles, enjoying the different textures from the various ingredients, whilst slurping up the hot, mouthwatering gravy.

You may ask, which is better? The Bukit Purmei Lor Mee or the renown Old Airport Road Lor Mee? Well, the two Lor Mee’s are different despite being the same dish, and both are delicious in their own unique way. Honestly, with two highly skilled hawkers with different cooking styles, you simply can’t choose between the two. Its like asking me to choose between Yakult and Vitagen, both similar yet different products. Of course, the one you prefer is up to your personal preference.. but both are winners to me. (On a side note, the Bukit Purmei Lor Mee is starchier than the one at Old Airport Road, so if you’re watching your waistline, you know what to do!)

Also, its time for a special feature!

Our beloved Pandan waffle commonly found at any old school bakery!

Just a stone’s throw away from the Lor Mee stall, this old school bakery sells amazing pandan waffles. Maybe I was simply hungry while waiting for my food to come, but it is one of the best pandan waffles I’ve eaten. I followed my nose towards the tantalizing smell of freshly baked goods, only to see A WAFFLE STATION! Without hesitation, I ordered my usual peanut butter waffle and watched them make my waffle while attempting to hold in my drool. The smell was so fragrant, service was prompt, the pricing was affordable, and the taste was great. The waffle was moist yet crunchy on the surface, and it was thick and fluffy, and just dense enough for my liking. What’s more, the waffle was slathered in peanut butter, which was oozing out as it melted in the freshly made waffle.

This is a must try! Especially while you’re waiting for your glorious bowl of Lor Mee to arrive.

Rating: 8.75/10 (both Lor Mee and Waffle)

Lor Mee (Bukit Purmei)
Blk 109, Bukit Purmei Road
Singapore 090109
From 7am till 3.30pm
Closed on Mondays

Ippudo Tao @ Orchard Central

So I can’t remember the exact orders of ramen, but what I do remember was the quality of the noodles and service.

We went there around 11-12pm so it wasn’t very crowded, thankfully. The service was prompt and they were very polite. Upon stepping into the restaurant, we were greeted with clean, minimalist tables and chairs, and a chorus of greetings from the staff. Although the ramen may be a tad expensive, especially since the toppings are not included (e.g. egg, cha su..), it is well worth the price because the quality of the ramen is very high. The noodles are springy, and delicious, not the type that leave your stomach feeling heavy. The stock was extremely flavorful too.

A word of caution, for those of you with voracious appetites, especially the guys, the portions may be rather light for you so you might want to add more toppings, or order a side dish or two.

Rating:8.5/10

Cold Stone Creamery

Apple pie a la Coldstone

Now, this is the only flavor I’ve tried, and I love it! Its really unhealthy though, but the occasional indulgence is fine. Its basically apple pie filling, mixed with vanilla ice cream, cinnamon and crushed graham crackers, and it really does taste like apple pie!

Do give it a try if you’re going to Cold Stone Creamery.

I think Cold Stone Creamery is worth a visit for the novelty of watching skillful people throw your ice cream in the air, or simply put your ice cream together, teppanyaki style. With so many flavors to choose from, and even the option of creating your own mix, Cold Stone Creamery is a great and fun place to chill with your friends.

Since you can’t go wrong with ice cream, the added fun factor of having it teppanyaki style helps add to the overall score. Tastewise, the ice cream is nothing special and very very high in sugar and fats so make this a rare treat.

Rating: 7/10 (minus one for the unhealthiness!–>if you’re health conscious, that is OR add one for the fun factor)

Tan Hock Seng

Old School Treats

Now that I’m more aware of what I’m eating, I enjoy going on food expeditions to have a look at where I’m getting my food from, especially from old school places like Tan Hock Seng. When I was younger, I used to love beh teh soh, but I never knew what it was called. I remember asking my parents for the nice sticky chewy thing, but I never could remember its name. Well, going down to the source of my favorite traditional snack has been an extremely enjoyable experience, which I am going to share with you!

Tan Hock Seng

See the man in white? He’s da boss, literally. Be careful not to walk pass rather non-descript stall! I always imagined it to be a huge shop, but its just like any small traditional bakery well stocked with fresh goods coming out of the oven.

Some items on display

More items on display

Crispy “Horse Hoof” Biscuit AKA Beh Teh Soh

Haha, “Every day famous one” indeed.

Stacks of freshly baked goodies.

Now, on to what I ate!

I’m embarrassed to say, I don’t even know what this is called. Its like a hunk of fried sweetened flour, probably stuck together with honey. This tasted like most of the usual ones, not bad but nothing amazing either.

White Cake

Once again, I don’t know the exact name of this, but I shall call it “White Cake” since that is what it is. Its basically light butter cake, coated with flour (i think). It was alright, I bought it just to try cause I’ve never seen it before, but it wasn’t delicious. In fact, eating it was quite a messy affair cause the flour just fell everywhere and coated everything! But it was fun eating something my parents ate when they were kids.

Tau Sar Piah

This was the traditional kind of Tau sar piah, (unlike the Loong Fatt Tau Sar Piah), but it was quite nice! Its quite high quality, so if you like the more traditional form of tau sar piah, you should try this.

Beh Teh Soh

Now, for the “Every day famous one”! Here’s my favorite snack of all time, sticky chewy goodness. These taste best when they are hot, and the filling is nice and generous. The crunchiness of the topping is probably what people enjoy in contrast to the soft filling, making this the perfect snack! This is all you need to try when you come here, after all it is what they are famous for.

Phong Piah

I always thought that there wasn’t much of a difference between Phong Piah and Beh Teh Soh. Well, I learnt something new. Phong piah is a larger, flatter version of Beh Teh Soh, and it doesn’t have a crunchy exterior. In fact, the pastry casing is thinner for the Phong Piah, so the texture when you bite into it is like biting into a Lao Po Bing (Wives’ Biscuit). I actually like this better than beh teh soh. My favorite part of the beh teh soh was the filling, not so much the crunchiness of the casing. So the Phong Piah is the ideal choice for me, since it is softer and has more filling.

Of course, choosing between the Beh Teh Soh and Phong Piah is based on personal preference, so do give both a try and cast your own verdict! The lady boss was pretty shocked that I decided to try one packet of Phong Piah in addition to the Beh Teh Soh, since she said that most people came here for the Beh Teh Soh.

I would highly recommend you to drop by, you don’t even have to park your car, I’ve heard that you can tell them your order and they’ll serve you. Great food and friendly service, what more could you ask for?

Rating: 9/10 (for Beh Teh Soh/Phong Piah)

Breakfast blues. (in a good way)

Just a short post, here’s one of my recent breakfasts, wholegrain flaxseed waffles topped with blueberries and crunchy peanut butter.

Waffles 😀

 

I just toasted the waffles, and then added the blueberries and peanut butter halfway through. Look at the blueberries! They are indigo blobs of goodness, on the brink of exploding like pretty purple paintballs.

Simple and healthy, this is a breakfast idea for you to try 🙂

Here’s a nicer shot,

Who says healthy eating doesn’t taste good?

 

Tiong Bahru Bakery

Tea time!

Its time for tea! I look forward to tea time every day, as I get to take a break from whatever I’m doing, and just sit down to savour some delicious treats with my mum. This round, we went to the much raved about Tiong Bahru Bakery.

The first thing that caught my attention was the unique door which swung both inward and outward at the same time. I can’t really describe it. Its kind of like a revolving door that you see at fancy hotel lobbies, just that with only one door. Nonetheless, it adds to the novelty of dining at a new place!

Earlier on, I’d actually gone to Tiong Bahru Bakery around 7pm to grab a chocolate croissant (they ran out of the original, of course). And it was still good, even though it wasn’t hot! The chocolate was nice and rich, and the croissant was buttery.

This time round, I dined in, and it was a good experience overall.

 

Lemon tart

Lemon tart

I heard about their lemon tart before coming, and was looking forward to some citrusy goodness. But this other version of their lemon tart was extremely blah. The lemon rinds were hard, and I could barely bite through them. The tart was hard too, and a little too sweet. I’d strongly recommend you not to order this.

I was expecting something like this: credits

But apparently it wasn’t on the menu that day 😦 I was so shocked when my foodie in crime brought this lemon tart back. I check 3 times with different staff, whether this was the lemon tart.. and although they share the same name, I’m sure they taste nothing alike.

 

Apple Crumble Tart

Apple Crumble

This was better. The apple was fragrant, and paired nicely with the sweet, buttery crumble topping. They sell a mixed berries crumble too, which looked pretty good as well. Be sure to order a drink though, cause after eating this, I could feel the beginnings of a sore throat.

 

And I saved the best for last….

THE OH-SO-FAMOUS-SUPPOSEDLY-BEST-IN-SINGAPORE CROISSANT

Croissant

Buttery and flaky, this was delicious! Unfortunately it wasn’t hot out of the oven, but it was tasty nonetheless. This is clearly the best item, and they kept baking batches cause pretty much every table had a croissant (of some form.. chocolate, almond, original…) on it. This is a must order! I loved how the croissant was layered so prettily, I’ve never seen a croissant with such intricate twists before. It adds to the pleasure of eating such a pretty and yummy item.

Tiong Bahru Bakery is a nice place to dine at, although finding a table might be a problem since it is always crowded. Of course, if you don’t like the idea of squeezing into small tables, closely packed with other diners, you probably wouldn’t enjoy yourself. But the smells, and omnomworthy display of freshly baked breads and pastry makes the ambience even better.

Is this place worth the hype? So far it hasn’t been particularly outstanding. I’m still on the fence, since only their croissant has managed to impress me. Maybe I’ll give their lemon tart a shot to see if they can win me over to the right side of the fence.

Rating: 7/10

Tiong Bahru Bakery
56 Eng Hoon Street
Singapore 160056

Contact Number:             6220 3430

Operating Hours:
Mondays, Wednesdays to Sundays, 8.00am till 8.00pm
(Closed on Tuesdays)

Everything with Fries

Everything with Fries

40 Lorong Mambong

Holland Village

I’ll tell you guys outright that I’m not a fan of fries, so it does seem rather ironic that I went to Everything with Fries for a meal. Well, let’s just say that EwF is so good, I actually ate all my fries (and it was a huge serving!)

Disclaimer: I didn’t take many photos cause I was ravenous and the food just looked so delicious, I could barely wait to tuck in.

Cheeseburger with straight cut sour cream and onion fries

Cheeseburger with straight cut sour cream and onion fries ($11.90)

The bread bun was super duper moist, beating the potato buns at Food for though by a clear mile. In fact, this burger is way better than the burgers at Food for thought and Burger Shack.. which is quite funny, especially since burger should be the specialty at Burger Shack.

The bun was so pilllowy soft that you could barely taste it when you ate it with the patty. The cooks must know what they are doing cause without any bread to distract you, the star of this burger is the generous amount of succulent beef. The beef patty was moist, flavorful and perfectly seasoned. Definitely the best burger I’ve ever eaten. As for the fries, you could actually taste the potato (unlike Mickey Ds and some places), and the seasoning was nice.

King NZ Salmon

King NZ Salmon with Shoestring Garlic and Herb Fries ($18.90)

This photo does not do it justice. The salmon was cooked perfectly, and melted in my mouth. It was quite amazing how well the salmon was executed considering the fact that they only fried one side of the salmon with crunchy browned bread crumbs, and somehow the salmon remained just nice throughout the entire meal, unlike some places where the salmon continues cooking in its own heat, and ends up becoming hard. The salmon was served with yummy lemon butter too. My only problem with this, was that I do not like the idea of an already oily fish being fried, but nonetheless the texture and taste of the salmon was great.

The fries were crunchy and delicious! They were generously seasoned with the garlic and herbs, and since I don’t usually eat fries, these are a must try cause I finished nearly all my fries! They were so addictive.

Both the meals came with a caesar salad at the side topped with cheese and bacon bits with added a lighter and pleasant contrast to the rich food we were eating.

When you eat good food, you don’t need to add condiments, so even though there were sauces readily available, most people did not even use it, let alone glance at it. Good quality food is good on its own. (See the contrast with McDonald’s and other fast food chains? Everyone loads up on the condiments.. its cause the food doesn’t taste good, but people still eat it anyway 😐 )

Oh yes, I saw someone ordering a Ham and Cheese sandwich, but I don’t recommend you order it cause it looks really simple, just a normal ham and cheese sandwich you can put together on your own, (x2 since they gave 4 slices of bread). Order the cheeseburger instead!

Furthermore, the meal kept me full for 6 hours, actually even longer, but I’m not one to skip meals, so I ate dinner anyway. 6 hours is quite a feat, considering I get hungry every 3 hours or so. In fact, it kept my dining buddy full for a good 8-9 hours, so if the meal seems expensive to you, its actually reasonable since you don’t snack until the next meal!

I have yet to try the nutella tart and mille crepe, but it looks amazing.

On a final note, the ambience here is nice and simple, (and they even have a mini library, just a few shelves) like awfully chocolate, mainly white and black themed.

Oh wow, this was a long post, and it was so much easier than writing an academic essay, that’s what passion does for you. Haha, when I have lots to write, it means that the place is good, so you should head on down!

Rating: 8.9/10 

I couldn’t help myself: Word Count: 699 words XD