Bagus La Mian Yong Tau Foo

Hello lovely people!

I am finally blogging after 2 long months. It's been a hectic at school especially during April where I had to meet crazy deadlines and also study for my finals. Now, I am officially done with my Freshmen Year in University and I have a 3-month long holiday.

Anyway, I was looking back to today's post, I am going to do a review on my visit to Bagus La Mian Yong Tau Foo back in April. My sister turned 18 years old last month and we wanted to take her out for dinner. She was having this mad craving for noodles and it is so hard to find halal restaurants that sells noodles. My cousin had visited this place before and I have read positive reviews about this place. Yes, it's weird that we didn't go to some fanciful restaurant to celebrate her legal age, but the birthday girl wanted noodles.

The place was quite big and air-conditioned so it was hard for 6 of us to get a table. They had 6 different types of Yong Tau Foo - Original (Normal one with the soup), Laksa, Tom Yam, Hot and Spicy, Hakka and Ampang. We ordered the Laksa, Hot and Spicy, Hakka and the Original flavoured one with a few sides. For the Yong Tau Foo, we could have it without the noodles, but we all got with the La Mian since store is called "Bagus La Mian". La Mian is a type of handmade noodles.

Part of our spread

Hot and Spicy 

My sister got this. I expected this to be really spicy but it was more towards sweet and spicy. I thought that it wasn't that bad but my sister was a little disappointed as she does not like the sweetness of the sauce. Yong Tau Foo usually comes with the spicy sambal and sweet sauce, this was the combination of the two.

Laksa

The laksa gravy was good. I don't like my Yong Tau Foo with laksa gravy so I didn't try it with the noodles but my mother and aunt liked it.

Hakka

I thought that mine was the best among the 4 flavours that we bought. It was a little gingery and but I didn't think that it was overpowering. The hakka sauce is a thick, sweet and sour sauce. I wouldn't say that it was spicy but it reminded me of one the ramen I ate in Ramen Ten. 

I don't have a picture of the original Yong Tau Foo but that was a major disappointment. It was bland and it was lacking a lot of flavour. 

(I think this is some fried prawn and fish dumpling but I can't be very sure)

Deep fried chicken with Wanton Skin

(Fried bean curd with fishcake)

This one is best among the sides. It was crispy and it was served hot. But once it cools down the taste of the mayonnaise was just too much to handle.

Overall, it was definitely not the right place for a birthday dinner and my sister did not satisfy her craving for noodles because it wasn't fantastic. My mum always tell us "Food that isn't good, is the same as not eating anything." It wasn't bad but it wasn't fantastic either.

One thing that I like about the Yong Tau Foo is that the fried items are not mixed in with the soup and their huge portions. Also, they have interesting variety to choose from. You can have them with or without the noodles. The sides are generally not too bad. 

My family likes to eat Yong Tau Foo with chilli padi (yes, it may not be the traditional way but we LOVE chilli) and they didn't have any chilli padi available in the store which is a big minus for us. I guess opinion and preference vary. If you are around the area, give it a try because of the interesting variety that they offer!

Venue

276 Changi Rd

Singapore 419756

Contact: 6346 0276

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bagusyongtaufu

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Kublai Khan Steamboat Buffet

Hello everybody!

It's been raining almost everyday and now is the time to finally put on your favorite sweater that has been kept in your wardrobe for far too long. A hot bowl of soup will always be the best meal choice in this cold weather.

Jo and I were waiting for our exams to end just so we could celebrate our holidays. The sad truth is that it is really rare to find a steamboat buffet that is halal certified. I have been going to Seoul Garden and I must say the standard has dropped over the years. I asked my cousin for some recommendations and she mentioned Kublai Khan Steamboat. I have heard about Kublai Khan Mongolian Buffet earlier this year but never got to try them as there were mixed reviews for the place.

But I thought I should give this place a try since it is fairly new and thehalalfoodblog gave a good review about it. It was not hard to find the place, it is just beside Simlim Square facing Laselle. The steamboat buffet only starts at 5.30pm and we were the first to arrive. We were welcomed by friendly staff and ushered to our seats.

We chose Tom Yum and Chicken soup base.

We could not wait to start on the food as we were really hungry.

A big bowl of rice was served but we wanted to save our tummy for the rest of the food.

All the items were fresh. We asked for a refill for the mushrooms several times.

The yong tau foo items that we were not able to try because our tummy were bursting from the meat and cooked food. 

The chili crab is a signature dish in Singapore. Every time celebrities visit Singapore they always rave about the famous chilli crab. This was my first trying chili crab in Singapore and I did not like this dish at all. It was too sweet for my liking. My mother cooks really good crab so I guess I am not used to this taste. Similarly, Joleen felt the same way about the crab as well.

I had this mussel dish all by myself. Firstly, the mussels were really fresh. However, the sauce was a little sweet but the more you eat the spicier it gets due to the black pepper.

This fried food platter is really good. I must say one of the best chicken satay I have ever tasted. Well seasoned and tender. Although the mutton/beef satay tasted good I felt like I was chewing on gum. The ebi, crab meat and scallops were all really good and fresh.

I love cereal prawns and this dish was an absolute pleasure. The manager told us that it is a popular dish and I totally understood when I had my first bite. Cereal prawns should be eaten hot with it's skin.

We had several refills and by the time it came to dessert we were too full. For desserts they only had 4 basic flavors of ice-cream and I am not complaining for the lack of variety because I would have been able to try them all.

Overall, my first dine in experience was an absolute pleasure. Both the soups and cooked food tasted really good with the exception of the chili crab. But I must really mention the excellent service. I am very particular when it comes to service and I was impressed with the service. The manager personally served us and he constantly checked if we had enough food.He told us that the tour groups frequently visits the place. The place is big enough to cater for big gatherings for friends and family. There is also a private room if you plan to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries there.

The best part is the affordable price for all these amazing food and service we got. Also, the price is the same during public holidays! How amazing is that?

Adult: $23.50 nett

Child (3 – 12yrs old) : $12.80nett

Student: $20 nett

If you have NTUC link card, you get an additional 10% off your total bill. Personally, I felt that it was really worth it. 

Royal Kublai Khan

Steamboat Buffet & Seafood Restaurant

175 Bencoolen Street

#01-56 Burlington Square

Singapore 189649

For reservations please call:

68362389

Website: http://kublaikhanbbq.com/royalkublaikhan/

You can walk from Bugis Mrt or Dhoby Ghaut Mrt.

Steamboat buffet is what you need in this cold and chilly weather. Visit the place with your close friends or families to celebrate this wonderful year!

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Jai Siam, Halal Thai Food Corner

Hello everyone!

It's June and GSS is everywhere which is the perfect time to go shop for all the items you've been eyeing for quite sometime now, myself included. I've been waiting for the big sale especially at H&M to get myself pretty printed pants which has been in my shopping list for a long time.

I met Roslina and Nazreen to shop at town. Since we were going to shop we decided to dine in somewhere affordable. It is rather hard to find cheap and quality food places that are halal in town but there is a small corner in Dhoby Xchange where you can find halal Thai Food called Jai Siam or Jai Thai.

I have been there a few times and I've been wanting to write about it but I didn't have enough pictures at that time. Now that I do, please refrain from staring at the photos if you are starving right now because I have done that many times and it is not fun.

Just a little information on this food corner, majority of the staff there are Thai. I found out from the accent and the service really good. For those muslims who have difficulties finding Halal food places which only sells Thai Food, this is a place you would want to visit.

This is part of their menu. They have individual set meal that comes with a main course, drink and a small dessert. They also have family set lunch where dishes are already preset. I find set meals so much easier because it definitely makes ordering faster.

For starters, you can consider getting this Mixed Platter which comes in 3 different sizes. This is the small one which costs $7. It consists of fried tofu, prawn cake, fried fish bites, spring roll which is served with the sweet and spicy Thai chili sauce.

Drinks comes with the set meal. I would recommend the lime juice. But I love the Thai Ice Milk Tea which you can get if you top up $1.50. Do not get mixed up with the Thai Ice Lemon Tea because I tried it once and it was a huge mistake.

I love this Pad Thai Dish. It is basically Thai noodle served with seafood, tofu, beansprouts and peanuts. Thai Food are generally spicy and if you cannot take the heat, try this dish because contrary to most Thai dishes the spice is this one is very mild.

I tried my first Green Curry dish at this place and I absolutely love this. For the set meal you can only choose the chicken but it comes with beef. It has the right amount of spice and richness and went so well with the white rice. If you are someone who can't take the heat, request for less chili. You can choose to have it either with the noodles or rice but I would recommend eating this with rice.

They have 2 types of Tom Yam soup. This is the clear based soup.

This is the chili based soup. Just like the green curry, you can choose to have this either with the rice or noodles.

This is the small dessert that comes with the set meal. Usually it is coconut jelly but it depends on what they have on that day.

Mango Glutinous Rice is one thing you must have when you go to Thailand. The last time I went to Thailand was ages ago and I can't remember eating this (kill me now). For someone who hasn't eaten this dish from where it was originated, I enjoyed eating this. But Roslina said it was okay compared to the one she had BKK. Once you have tried the best it is very difficult to match up to that standard.

As someone who pays frequent visit to this place, I must say they have tried their best to maintain the standard of the service and quality of food. If you decide to drop by do make a call because if I am not wrong on weekdays they are not open from 3pm - 6pm at Dhoby Xchange (not too sure about the other outlets). I would definitely recommend this place to my friends.

Check out their website for more information on their outlets, menu and even catering services.

I mentioned earlier that we were so excited to get our printed pants from H&M but sadly they are no longer available. It was so disappointing, so Nazreen treated us to Cold Stone at 313 (yay!). Plus the weather is being so mean we had to treat ourselves with something.

Just some unrelated pictures of ourselves. Take care everyone, the weather is so bad so drink up lots of water and try to stay indoors as much as possible. There are so many fun ways to spend your time wisely at home and I'll tell you how on my next post. So stay tuned!

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The Chicken Rice Shop

Hello everyone! It's been almost a month since my last post and it feels so good to be back. Well, I didn't have a proper job so I tried my best not to go out and spend money. Plus my mum is one great cook, can't bear to dine out. My sister's birthday just passed a few weeks back and we went to Sofra for a good lunch. (Check out my review by clicking the link)

That being said, now I finally got a decent job as a relief teacher and I also got a few students to tutor so my holidays are rather meaningful. More importantly, I can treat myself to good food with really awesome company. So last Friday, Roslina and I went to have lunch at The Chicken Rice Shop at Vivocity. It was my first time there but Roslina was telling me that the place served really nice food with excellent service which was what we needed with our stomach growling. Some background information: The Chicken Rice Shop is a Malaysian company which has originally started in Malaysia. Now it has franchises in Malaysia as well as abroad such as Singapore, Philippines and Taiwan.

One good thing I like about this shop is that they have preset meals to choose from. In our case they 3 different sets to choose from. When asked for recommendations, the staff kindly shared his opinions and we went for the Set B (Priced $25.90nett) which introduced their new chicken, "Ayam Sodap Belado" which will be further shared in the post.

Photos were all captured with my iPhone 4S and blame my tummy for the poor photography skills. I couldn't wait to dig in so that explains why my pictures didn't turn out as well. Another thing I like about this restaurant is that they serve all the dishes together so you can enjoy the meal without having to wait for the other dishes. The picture shown above was our spread for two.

The rice was fragrant and had nice flavors. I have tasted rice which has an overpowering ginger and garlic taste but this was to my liking. We were served with the chilli as well as some ginger paste. The chilli was not too spicy and went well with the other dishes. I am not a fan of ginger so I did not like it but Roslina said it was nice.

We chose the Roasted Chicken over the steamed one and the chicken was tender and the sauce was light. Nothing special about this chicken but it was well made.

This is the Ayam Sodap Belado. We were told this was rather new and as a chilli lover I absolutely loved this dish. It had a bit of a sourish spicy taste which I didn't mind at all. Plus the chicken meat was really tender and soft.

I am sure most people are familiar with this dish, Pak Choy with Oyster Sauce. It was nice having some greens along with the other fattening food. I loved this. The greens were not overcooked which is plus and the sauce complemented the chicken rice dish. It tasted good just by itself as well.

This is called the Pai Tee which I found it rather interesting. I am sure everyone has tried the popiah. This was another version of it. They had the radish and carrot filling stuffed in a crispy pastry topped with crushed peanuts. Although it was quite big, we were able to fit the whole thing into our mouths. It was a nice twist to the normal popiah you find in coffee shops or food kiosks.

We were also served some fishball soup which I did not really like it because the taste of the fishball was really fishy. Yes, it might sound lame cause after all it is FISHball. But in defence, I have tasted my mum's fishball soup and never once it has tasted fishy.

Overall, this place filled our empty stomach and we even had to force ourselves to finish the food so that we won't waste them. I am rather particular about service and this restaurant provided us excellent service as they will check with us how our food was and if we needed anything else. I was really surprised that we only had to pay $25.90 because the set meals were already inclusive of GST and service charge with was another plus point from me. We spent about $13 per person. I would definitely visit this place again and it's HALAL.

The Chicken Rice Shop

Vivocity

1 Harbourfront Walk

#B2-37

Singapore 098585

Tel/Fax: 02-6376 9388

OR (another outlet)

Causeway Point

Woodlands Square

#B1-16

Singapore 738099

Website: http://www.thechickenriceshop.com

We were so full afterwards we went to my favorite coffee place Starbucks to redeem my free coffee (yay!) and chill. The place I was sitting at seemed to be emitting too much light which explains my white face.

PS: I made some fudge brownies today and they were really good so I will share it in the next post. Stay tuned! 

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