Big Mama Korean Restaurant

My ex-colleagues and I decided to try Big Mama korean food after reading several positive reviews on the internet. I had to book several days in advance as it is the eve of PH and luckily mange to book a table. It is really full house and we still have to wait for a while for the patrons occupying our table to finish their meal.

Side Dishes

Big Mama serve a total of 6 refillable side dishes, and from the top left are water chestnut cake (??, found the name online on Daniel Food Diary), ikan bilis, spinach, vermicelli, kimchi, and lotus root. The side dishes are really nice, especially the water chestnut cake and the lotus root.

Dakgalbi (닭갈비) Uncooked

Dakgalbi (닭갈비) Preparing

Dakgalbi (닭갈비)

Dakgalbi (닭갈비) with Fried Rice

We order 2 servings of Dakgalbi (pan fried seasoning chicken with vegetables, rice cake, sweet potato and spicy sauce) as there is a minimum order of 2 servings for this dish. This is also one of their recommendation and for an additional of $3, u can add 1 serving of fried rice. The dakgalbi with fried rice is delicious and we totally enjoy this dish to the max.

Budae Jjigae (부대찌개) or Korean Army Stew

We also order the Budae Jjigae (Korean army stew) as it is one of the authentic korean dishes and this is also one of their new menu. There are sausages, vegetables, kimchi and ramyeon in the Budae Jjigae and this is the first time that I am trying this dish. This is a dish that I will be trying again when I visit Korea.

The service is also quite good, helping us to refill the side dishes and water when it is emptied, and also patiently explaining the dishes for us as it is our first time there. It is important to take note that due to the popularity of Big Mama, it is highly advisable to book for a reservation at least one day in advance. The foods are really awesome in Big Mama and I really look forward to visiting it again to try the other dishes.

Damage: $25 per pax

Nantsuttei

I had a impromptu meeting with my army friend today at City Hall and one of them recommended us to go for a ramen shop in Millenia Walk. It is actually located on the same level as Tonkotsu King Tokyo Ramen. The level actually has a small Japanese theme, there are quite a few other Japanese restaurant there. Next time maybe I can try Ma Maison and another Japanese restaurant which provide free-flow beer. The last time i came for Tonkotsu King Tokyo Ramen, there is also a queue over here, but luckily as there is no queue as we reach at around after 8pm, which is slightly over the dinner period.

Chashu Ramen

I order the Chashu Ramen and the soup base is delicious when taken together with the ramen. The chashu is also quite tender.

I find the ramen at Nantsuttei comparable to Tonkotsu King Four Season and is definitely better than the Tonkotsu King Tokyo Ramen.One point to note is that all the staff will greet all customer loudly when they enter and left the shop, so it can be a bit noisy sometime. The services are also quite good and prompt.

Damage per pax: $18.50

Tiffany Cafe & Restaurant

Today my friends and I decided to go for a buffet lunch at Tiffany Cafe and Restaurant, located at Furama Centre, as there is a 1 for 1 promotion. From outside, the restaurant look nice and has a classy feel. There are several sections in the restaurant and for convenience, I decided to name the section as the following: Cooked food, Salads, Sashimi and sushi, desserts, fruits and a small section consisting of mee rebus, chicken rice and dim sum.

Otah, Beancurd and Mash Potato on the left. Dimsum on the right.

The first round of food that I took is the dimsums and the cooked food. There are only 2 dimsum to choose from, Siew mai and Chee Cheong Fun. I am slightly disappointed with the beancurd as I prefer beancurd with egg. The mash potato and otah are still ok.

Chilli prawn and Salmon Butter Rice

The second round of food that I took also belong to the cooked food. I took the Salmon butter rice and chilli prawns. The chilli prawn is not as fresh as I expected and I was quite disappointed with the prawn. There are still quite a lot of variety of cooked food which I did not select as I do not like, for example stew beef, 2 kind of soups, broccoli, steam chicken and asam fish.

Tiger Prawn and Salmon Sashimi

The 3rd round of food consist boiled tiger prawn and salmon sashimi. The tiger prawns are much fresher as compared to the chilli prawns and the salmon sashimi is also good. I took 2nd and 3rd serving for both. I did not take the sushi and mussels as I do not like mussels and the sushi does not appeal to me.

Mee Rebus

For the 4th round, I decided to try the DIY mee rebus after some recommendation from my friends. It is quite simple to prepare, just boil the noodle, add the ingredients, and finally the soup base and it is done. The mee rebus are quite nice. I skip the chicken rice as I am not a fan of the chicken rice.

Potato Salad, Chicken Salad and Penne with sausage

I decided to took some salads just for tasting, and both the potato salad and penne are quite good. There are also some other type of salad and other kind of foods like kimchi, but I did not take as I am not a fan of salad.

Durian Parfait, Honeydew sago and Mango Cake

The last round are the desserts. For the dessert, I decided to go for the durian parfait, honeydew sago and mango cake. The durian parfait are my favourite, the durian flavor is strong have a bittersweet taste, which feel like eating some high quality durian. I skipped the other cakes, chocolate fondue, other desserts and the fruit as I am really very full after the last round of dessert.

Overall the spread of the buffet are still quite acceptable, and I think that due to personal preference, I only tried about 60 to 70% of the spread. Most of the food are also quite okay, with the chilli prawn being the only minus point. My favorites will be the durian parfait, salmon sashimi and the tiger prawn. The mee rebus is also quite nice. Personally I feel that this buffet is worth the price at $20+, but abit too expensive for the orginal price of $40+. Another minus point for the buffet is that the location is quite difficult to find, and it took us about 15 minute to find the restaurant, as it is actually located at the back of the furama center, in furama hotel.


Damage: $25 per pax (1 for 1 promotion)

Tonkotsu King Tokyo Ramen

Today my ex-colleague and I went to the other Ramen Keisuke outlet at Millenia Walk to try the ramen as they have not tried any of the Ramen Keisuke outlet before. There is a queue and we need to wait for about 30 minutes. This outlet does not provide free-glow hard boiled eggs, only free-flow beansprout.

Tonkotsu with Chashu

Unlike the Tonkotsu King Four Season, they only allow you to customize the soup base and ramen, while you can add the chilli oil yourself. This time, I ordered the Tonkotsu with Chashu with a light base and normal ramen. This time I order the lighter soup base as the normal soup base seem a bit too strong when I ordered the Summer last time, and this time I really like the soup base. The chashu, however, is a major disappoint as the meat is too tough and I have some difficulty chewing the chashu. The service is ok, but we have a bad experience of being served by a lady who does not seem to understand English well and have difficulty taking our order. Luckily, another guy come over and help to answer our queries and also to take our order.

In conclusion, the Tonkotsu is nice but the tough Chashu really spoil the ramen. It does not help that I ordered the Tonkotsu with Chashu, hence i have more chashu den normal.

Damage: About $20 per pax

Tonkotsu King Four Season

Today I finally got the opportunity to try out one of the Ramen Keisuke outlet in Singapore, Tonkotsu King Four Seasons. I have always want to try the ramen and I arrange with my friend to have ramen for lunch. Luckily, the haze started to clear in the afternoon and there are no queue as it is near the end of the lunchtime.

It is a small outlet and I think it should be able to seat about 30-40 people. The decorations are also nicely done and is unlike the other usual Japanese restaurants.

Table Arrangement

Menu

They provide a free-flow of beansprout and hard-boiled egg. They also allow you to customize the ramen according to your own personal taste. Due to the weather (hot and slightly hazy), I decided to  choose the King special instead of Summer or Autumn (both spicy flavour) with normal soup, less chicken oil and normal texture.

King Special (All Toppings)

The broth is really sweet and delicious, while the chassyu meat is also quite tender. The noodle is also quite nice.

I really enjoy the King Speical and I look forward to try the other favor available and also other the TonKotsu King outlet. The service is also quite fast and pleasant.


Damage: $20 per pax

Addition:

I went for the 2nd time on the 25th of June to try the other favor.

Summer Special

Decorations

This time I tried the summer special with normal soup, less oil and normal texture. It is a spicy favor and I felt that slightly disappointed with summer as the spicy favor overcome the sweet pork broth and also the broth are also slightly stronger. I think i will choose the non-spicy broth when I visit the other Tonkotsu King outlet.

Gurney Drive @ Jubilee Square

Today i meet up with my ex-colleagues in Ang Mo Kio and we was scouting for a decent place for dinner when we chance upon Gurney Drive at the new Jubilee Square. It is a small restaurant selling Penang food and we decided to give it a try. I ordered a total of 3 dishes, the Hokkien Prawn Mee as the main course, the Penang Side Dish Platter for sharing and Ice Kachang for dessert.

Penang Hokkien Prawn Mee

The Hokkien Prawn Mee is really nice, particularly the soup. The soup are thick and rich in flavour and the prawns are quite fresh. The ingredients also include pork ribs and overall it is not too spicy.

Penang Side Dish Platter

We ordered the Side Dish Platter so that we can tried the various side dishes without ordering them individually. It consist of Lor Bak (which is something like ngor hiong), Cheese Tofu, Belacan Chicken Wing and Lemon Mantis Prawn. All the four side dishes are quite ok and is a good side dish for a small group, as all the side dishes come with 4 pieces each, except or the Lemon Mantis Prawn.

Penang Ice Kachang

I order the Ice Kachang as dessert as I saw that it has peanut in it. However, the peanut just occupy a small corner of the ice kachang. In addition, there is shedded nutmeg in it and I personally dislike the taste. Overall it is just like the usual ice kachang and I am slightly disappointed with it.

The price is still quite affordable as we managed to order some foods without breaking the $20 mark even with the GST and service charges. Excepted for the ice kachang, I also enjoy most of my food and it is a place where I will not mind coming back again.

Damage: $16 per pax

Hifumi

Today I went to Plaza Singapura for an impromptu dinner meeting with some of my ex-colleagues and we decided to try out at this Japanese restaurant call Hifumi.

Appetizer

Their set meals included an all-you-can-eat appetizer bar and you can add an additional $1.90 for free flow drinks. It might seem little variation from the pictures but that is only because I am picky on my food, especially vegetables. Their appetizer bar include potato, fried tofu, chawamushi, macaroni with ham, gyoza (all in the pictures), rice cake, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatos and etc (not in the pictures as I does not eat them). I like the potato and the fried sweet potatos, the rest are just quite average.

Sukiyaki Set

I ordered Sukiyaki set for the main course and I am glad that I ordered this as both the stewed beef and the hot pot are nice. The beef are not too tough and it complement nicely with the hot pot. I am also surprised by the the speed of the service, as the main course are served even before we had finish our first round of appetizer.

It is important to note that there is a maximum limited of 90 minutes allowed in the restaurant, although it is not much of a problem for us as we finished our meal around 1 hour. In general both the food and the price are quite okay, thus I will not mind coming back again if there is an opportunity.

Damage: About $20 per pax

Tim Ho Wan

My first post will be on Tim Ho Wan, which recently just opened it first outlet in Plaza Singapura.
After hearing the news that Tim Ho Wan is opening a branch in Singapore, I have made up my mind to try it since I do not have the opportunity to try it in Hong Kong. Luckily, I manage to go during the off-peak weekday morning, and manage to avoid the queue.

Menu 

As seen from the menu, the selection for the dim sum is quite limited as compared to the other dim sum restaurants, and some of the dishes are currently unavailable at the moment.

Baked Bun with BBQ pork,

In the picture above is one of the 4 heavenly king, the Baked Bun with BBQ pork. The crispness of the skin together with the sweetness of the BBQ pork make it my favorite dish in the restaurant. Tim Ho Wan currently limit the order for the Baked Bun with BBQ pork and the maximum order per person is one plate (3 pieces).

Pan Fried Carrot Cake

Steam Egg Cake

The other heavenly kings, Pan Fried Carrot Cake and Steam Egg Cake, pale in comparison with the Baked Bun with BBQ pork but are still alright. The steam egg cake is soft and the sweetness of the cake is perfect.

Pork Dumpling with Shrimp

 

Beancurd Spring Roll with Shrimp (Fried)

Glutinous Rice Dumpling

Spring Roll with Egg White

Osmanthus Cake

The other dim sums are also nice and on par with the other dim sum restaurants. All the dim sum are prepared only upon order and is piping hot when served, which helps to enhance the favor of the dish. The service are also quite good, and the serving time for the dish are also quite fast. My personal preference in Tim Ho Wan will be Baked Bun with BBQ pork, Steam Egg Cake, Spring Roll with Egg White and finally the Osmanthus Cake. In conclusion, I felt that 30 minutes to 1 hour of queue are still acceptable, but definitely not for 2 to 3 hours of queue.

Damage: $25-30 per pax

Food Blog

I decided to start a food blog so that I can remember the nice dining places that I had visited before. Initially I planned to post on facebook but I decided to create a simple blog instead as I dislike posting information on facebook.

All the date and time of the posting is based on the actual date and time that I visited the place.