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

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

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

Paris Baguette Cafe

Cute brochure

435 Orchard Road, #02-48 to 53 Wisma Atria, Singapore 239977

I was out for a walk with my fellow food lover when we caught a glimpse of this brightly lit, squeaky clean and new-looking bakery. Despite looking so new, Paris Baguette Cafe was attracting a steady flow of customers. Being me, I joined the queue. After all, long queues = good food, no? (Most of the time at least)

First thing that shocked me was that this bakery is from Korea. That’s right, not Paris, despite its name. And they are authentically korean. The staff were even speaking korean to some of their customers! If the true-blue koreans come here for good eats that they are familiar with, I’m joining in.

Now for the food!

Freshly baked Baguette

I thought since they’ve got Baguette in their name, they must be good for it right? Well, their baguette was not bad, unfortunately not as good as I thought it would be. This clearly isn’t their signature item, tastewise, even though they may be called Paris Baguette Cafe. Give this a miss, and go for their other unique bakes.

Giant UFO (aka Custard filled bun of omnom deliciousness)

If you look really closely, you can see specks of vanilla bean. 

This Giant UFO bun is a custard filled bun shaped like a UFO. It has a sweet biscuity crust, with a soft pillowy centre. The bun is so thin, just enough to hold the generous filling of fragrant, wobbly custard within. You definitely have to give this a try! This is such a unique item, and it has one of the best custard fillings I’ve tasted.

Sonoma

Sonoma… hmm, maybe its a korean word for peanut. Well, this bun is covered with a fragrant crunchy peanut exterior which adds a nice oomph to this bread. It doesn’t look very appetizing, and I didn’t think just having a peanut coating would add much taste. But I was pleasantly surprised by the fragrance of the peanut coating. You could really taste and smell the peanuts. The crunchiness of the coating also nicely complemented the softness of the bun. I’d recommend this as well.

Paris Baguette Cafe offers dine-in options as well, but judging from past reviews, you’re better off going for the takeaway bakery options which are value for money, and tasty. The dine-in options are more expensive, and after paying so much, I’m sure you won’t be as satisfied with your food (even if it is above average).

Rating: 8/10

Blueberry bread

Its time for a recipe!

Look at the burst blobs of blueberries! (alliteration)

I came across this recipe on Dawn’s blog a while back, and I decided to give it a go.

Homemade Blueberry Bread

 Recipe (makes 12 slices)

Dry

1 cup bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Wet

1 cup milk

1/4 yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract (or more if you’re a vanilla fan)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients EXCEPT the blueberries with a whisk in a large bowl.
3. In another large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.
4. In the ‘dry ingredients’ bowl, make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Combine all the ingredients by mixing. Note: DO NOT OVERMIX. About 25 seconds of mixing should do the job. There may seem to be some lumps here and there but it’s totally fine – it’s meant to be like that! 
5. Fold in the blueberries.
6. Grease a baking tin with oil or butter and pour in your batter.
7. Gently tap the baking tin to remove any air bubbles within the batter.
8. Bake for about 40 – 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This is definitely a healthier bread recipe since yogurt substitutes the butter/oil. Of course, that comes at a cost since this bread is denser than most. However, it still tastes good, and is even better eaten when its toasted and topped with peanut butter.

Another suggestion is that you could spread honey on the top of the bread after baking to add some sweetness. 

Do give it a try and let me know how it went! 😀

Have a great day.

Food for thought

Botanic Gardens outlet

Hey hey. I’ve been wanting to try the pancakes at Food for thought for quite awhile now, and I’m proud to say, I found time, like I always do, to give it a try. I didn’t take photos on my first trip there, but I had their pulled pork burger, and their mushroom soup. Thumbs up for the pulled pork burger, I’d give it a 8/10, with brownie points for their homemade potato buns. The burger buns were really good, they weren’t just there to hold the meat together, like the usual tasteless burger buns out there. These freshly made potato buns were fragrant, perfectly chewy and delicious!

The mushroom soup was pretty good too, with chunks of mushroom swirled in the rich mushroomy goodness, so this gets a rating of 8/10 as well.

Now, on to the items that I did that a photo of (on my second trip).

Original Burger:

To be honest, I forgot the name of this burger, but it was the original beef burger patty. It was topped with a lime mayo type sauce as you can see, with just simple veg like tomatoes and lettuce as toppings. The fries and drink comes separately if you order a set. (I suggest you order a set as the burger looks quite sad without the fries)

The burger buns were once again awesome, and the patty juicy. But I think that its rather small, especially for the full grown men out there. Maybe they should use smaller plates so it looks like you’re getting more, cause at the moment, the burger only takes up slightly more than half the plate without fries. This burger wasn’t out of the world though, I still prefer their pulled pork burger.

Rating: 7/10

AND NOW, I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST…

*drumroll please…*

Raspberry and dark chocolate pancakes!!

Now, doesn’t that look ahmazingggg. It actually fills up the entire plate, which is about 12 inches? I’m not sure, but its one (or rather two) big pancake(s)!

The dark chocolate chips were melting on the freshly made pancakes, so I just had to spread them around to ensure an even spread of chocolatey goodness. They were very generous, so I didn’t have to worry about splitting the chocolate between the two pancakes, because… they had even more chocolate chips on top of the second pancake!

The pancakes were fluffy, and delicious, and the sweet, and slight tanginess of the raspberries paired excellently with the bittersweet dark chocolate. A matchmade in heaven.

And that’s not all! The fresh whipped cream served at the side, with rich gula melaka syrup made this dessert all the more indulgent. Usually, they top the pancakes with the whipped cream and drizzle the gula melaka over, but I didn’t want my cream to melt, so I had it served on the side.

To me, the toppings on the pancakes were more than enough to flavour it, so I didn’t use much of the gula melaka.

Here’s what it would look like if you order it with cream on top (the normal way):

(credits to steelwool.wordpress.com)

One day, I’ll try the banana walnut pancakes (above)

Rating: 9.5/10

I would go back there just for their pancakes! Its going to be awhile before I find (if I ever find) pancakes that are better than these.

Oh and I love the ambience there. Somehow once I step in, I feel so happy. Maybe its cause I know that some of their proceeds go to the needy.. Do visit Food for thought if you haven’t! They are definitely worth a try 🙂