% Arabica @ Arab Street [Main Branch]

Previously went to their somerset 313's branch for their Spanish Latte at my last post, but was pretty disappointing. Not sure because their barista screwed up. So this time, i made another trip to their main outlet instead after brunch. Got myself a Butter croissant ($4.80) and Caffe Latte [Tall] ($8). Even at 9am, there were so many people who drove down to get the coffee. Seems that the main % Arabica branch retained their utmost standard. The Caffe Latte is definitely one of the best coffee i drank lately. Beat starbucks and Coffee Smith hands down. Butter croissant so-so, as there are better Butter croissant elsewhere. But the coffee really deserve to rinse your throat for your weekend morning !

OG Lemak @ Newton Food Center

As we just had our heavy brunch earlier, we went to tabao OG Lemak's Nasi Lemak at Newton Food Center since we are passing by this area. As usual, the queue took us about 1 hour from start to order and collection of food. Previously when we came by, food was sold out at 4pm+. This time, we tried to come by around 1pm+.

So we ordered Chicken Rendang Set ($9.90) and OG Lemak Set ($7.90). So we ate it like after another 45 minutes of travel time + bath at home. Surprisingly, it was still good. Hence I think if we will to eat it on the spot while its hot, the taste will be better. The rice is indeed very "lemak" and upon eating the rice, you know that they really spend some effort cooking the rice. For this kind of price range in a hawker center setting, the quantity and quality of the chicken is well made, especially the rendang really brings out the flavor. It really deserve the waiting and money spent for their Nasi Lemak !

Ichikokudo Hokkaido Ramen @ Northpoint

 After a long night @ work, went for Ramen for a quick dinner. Instead of getting a normal bowl of Ramen, we saw this seasonal menu that is the Hokkaido Orochon Red Hot Ramen. It stated as 2 and a half spicy level. While i didn't know how spicy it can get, I went to order that, a normal miso ramen, and a plate of gyoza. I am really worried that after a spoon, i might not be able to handle it. Fortunately, i am able to handle it, but its really spicy of course. However, what I didn't like was that it does not have much meat in this bowl. There are lots of vegetables in this ramen. Overall is ok, the miso ramen is ok and dumpling is so-so. 

[The King Coffee] Cold Brew Black Coffee

 

Originated from Saigon, Vietnam, they opened cafes in various countries like in California, South Korea, United States of America and their own country. To be frank, in order to taste whether the coffee is good or not, is to taste its black coffee. Upon sipping this coffee, immediately I'm able to identify that it is uniquely from Vietnam. Its quite hard to describe the taste, but the similarity is like you get Vietnam Coffee from our local, Mr Bean store. Vietnam Coffee and taste have a unique taste from them. But overall, is a decent coffee !

Apple Juice Review in our local Supermarket

 

I'm sure some of you noticed this brand of Apple Juice. From NTUC, i got it for $6.45. The apple juice is made from Brazil and is imported to Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. 

The content is 1.5 Litres, made from 100% Apple and not from concentrate. So from their packaging, it contains about 21 apples in this bottle. Upon opening, it is best to consume within 5 days. I consumed in 3 days. Meaning I had 7 apples in each day :O

Somehow, as compared with other apple juice products, the taste seems different. Perhaps is Brazil Apple, arbuden. So far, i think its ok, so quite worth it la. $6.45 for 21 apples worth of juice quite reasonable. Of course the taste depends on each individual, at least better than your two cups of bubble tea.

KFC Randomness @ Canberra Plaza

 

Haha so i did posted somewhere in the past that KFC at Canberra Plaza always ran out of chicken. Fortunately, I managed to get my chicken at KFC. But after I ordered, there is a large crowd forming behind and the KFC staff told them that they ran out of chicken. I mean this is dinner time at around 6.45pm. If ran out of chicken for a fast food resturant that sells chicken for their main, isn't it hilarious?

Actually it turns out that, there is enough chicken in stock, but is because they are unable to cook in time, hence an average of 30 to 45mins of waiting time is required. Ok lar, i really sympathize them, but asked them to fight on for the sake of serving out the chicken. One more thing is that KFC don't seems to have a standard issue of chicken parts. So I always order 3 pieces chicken, because 2 pieces, if they gave out chicken breast parts, i will be glad, but always not the case. 

Baileys Original Ice Cream

 

Baileys Original Irish Cream is one of the sweetest meeting of fine Irish whiskey and spirits, Irish dairy cream, rich chocolate and vanilla flavours all added together. Normally it is enjoyed in a glass.

But now, there is this ice cream being sold in our local supermarket. Yeah so there is still alcohol content in this. So better check every ice cream before giving it to children to eat.

However, the alcohol content for this ice cream is only 0.40% ABV. So typically when I ate the ice cream, i don't feel anything though. As the packaging stated "Petites", it is really very small. Nevertheless, its quite nice and worth going in for.

Aroy Viet Thai - Authentic Halal Thai Vietnamese cuisine

 

Well i didn't know this is quite famous. I just chanced upon this stall downstairs my place's kopitiam. Its an authentic Halal Thai Vietnamese cuisine. The moment I tried the dish for the first time, I immediately got hooked by it. It was better than expected. So the above should be my fifth visit to the stall and today I ordered their Tom Yum Chicken Fried Rice, Tom Yum Sauce Popcorn chicken and their free Tom Yum Soup is free for a limited time only. The tom yum soup is very "Gao" just the way i liked it. The Tom Yum Chicken Fried Rice ($5.90) really is rich in flavours and the combination of ingredients really bring out the taste. But I definitely recommend their Tom Yum Seafood Fried Rice. Just a plate is enough to carry you the whole afternoon :P Popcorn Chicken as a snack is really nice especially their sauce. This is the small size. I wonder about the big size portion. 

Roti Mum @ Northpoint

 

Roti Mum is well known at its flagship store at IMM Building at Jurong East. So it finally came to open at Northpoint. They have several flavours. The smell usually make one recalled while making our trip back to Singapore from Johor Bahru Customs, their Roti Boy is very nice and buttery !

So for Roti Mum @ Northpoint, i get the Butter and Coffee one. Priced at $2 each, but if you buy 5, they will give one free. Well, it taste ok, but I'm certainly not getting the heavy and rich taste from the flavour. But still ok for quick to eat bun :)

Earl Grey Milk Tea @ Nine Fresh Desserts

 

Still one of my local favourites from Nine Fresh. I think Nine Fresh is quite popular for its desserts. Their rewards card is something I always utilize to get my free drinks or desserts from time to time. I personally love their Earl Grey Milk Tea ($2.50). Always 0% sugar is enough. Talking about this, the danger and also its advantage is that drinking this, will keep you awake ! I always drank at the wrong time and causes sleepless nights :D So plan well to drink this. Of course everyone body is different lar. Seems like the caffeine level is high ;D

NaNa Curry @ Canberra Plaza

 

Been eating here for quite a couple of times. The dishes are good. For the starters, NaNa Curry is proudly recommended by Michellin Bib Gourmand and is a winner of Street Food Eatery Award Winner 2016/2017/2018/2019/2020 for their NA NA Curry Bukit Merah Outlet.

My overall damage for these dishes are $37.78. We ordered Hotplate Beancurd, Chicken Curry, Kyoto Pork Ribs and White rice. Their chicken curry is their signature dish, it is unique, but might not be everyone's favourite taste. But I think the quality is good and I had been trying out many of their other dishes. It certainly did not disappoint us at all. Food are good !

Blanco Court Prawn Mee 白兰阁街大虾面

 

All right ! I am finally back here after like 26 years. I usually went for Beach Road Prawn Noodle House 美芝律大虾面 as I stayed at Marine Parade from 1993 to 2017 (24 years).

Blanco Court Prawn Mee 白兰阁街大虾面 also have one of the best traditional and standard Prawn Noodles in Singapore. The only problem is that i seldom visit this area hence don't have much chance to eat here. Nevertheless, i finally made an effort to come here and i did not regret it.

So i ordered mixture of Prawn + Pork Ribs Dry Noodles (Medium Size cost $9). This bowl of Prawn + Pork Ribs Dry Noodles indeed lighten up my mood. The quality is definitely there. The only problem is the quantity. Probably I had to go for the large size which costs more than $12++. Definitely recommended ! The traditional standard is still there !

As i was eating alone but can't just order prawn mee, I forced myself to at least order something from the Ngoh Hiang. Typically this is the same outlet at East Coast one. Actually it is ok for the prawn noodle portion to be less, so as to fill up the rest of the stomach space for this dish. I just love the pink sauce together with the crispy prawn crackers ! 

Drying our entire bedsheets and blankets [Routine]

Ok so these public washing machines and dryers are quite popular in SG. Just in my small neighbourhood, there are like 4 of these concept occupying the store spaces. My flagship washing machine which can wash heavy duty up to 16KG bought and used in 2016 is already 5 years old. Only issue is there is no dryer option. Of course fast forward to 2021, the modern washing machine have both washing and drying option. In terms of drying, I meant "fully dry". Our old washing machine and in fact most washing machine have partial dry function.

So nowadays, these facilities are extremely important. For drying with high heat to also kill bacterial, it costs $1 per 5 minutes of drying. We spent about $8 to fully dry all the bedsheets and blankets. So it takes 40 minutes for the process to run accordingly. Of course, if you are washing your clothes and depends on the quantity, average 25 minutes is more or less sufficient !

Sin Ming Roti Prata @ Sembawang Hills

Finally I had made my trip to try Sin Ming Roti Prata. I visit their branch at Sembawang Hill area. They are famous for their Coin Butter Prata. So I order one Coin Butter Prata ($4.50), one egg prata and one cheese prata.

Chilling with my Teh Tarik, while waiting for my Coin Butter Prata to arrive. So their Coin Butter Prata, two words i can say is "100% Crispy". Its so crispy that it taste like crackers. Since it is their signature dish, I would say is ok, but I want to state that not everyone will like the coin butter prata. For myself, I think its ok. Besides their main dish, the cheese prata and egg prata is pretty good. Most likely because of the dough they used. Curry wise, but sure what it is, probably chicken curry, but we requested for one more fish curry. So far still acceptable. 

Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum 潮粤轩点心 @ Junction 9

 

Chao Yue Xuan Dim Sum 潮粤轩点心 is opened by ex-St Regis Chef, Vanness Chai. Its a small eatery located within Junction 9 at Yishun. They offer many dishes, mainly dim sum, noodles and porridges.
So its a good location to go to for your breakfast, lunch, dinner or late supper till 9pm.

 I didn't expect to queue for almost half an hour before having my meal there. So as usual, since it is my first visit here, i ordered their signature dishes. There is some standard for their dishes, especially the Char Siew Pau, Chee Cheong Fun and of course their Swan Crisp and Pumpkin Ball which is prepared by chef during 2017 World Cantonese Cuisine Master Chef competition.

So the overall damage for this testing is $48.15. I think its a place to chill out and good dining place to enjoy your bite of each dim sum. 

Starbucks Reserve @ United Square

Happened to be around the area so I visit this Starbucks Reserve outlet at United Square. The structural design is beautiful and it really reminds me when I was at Hokkaido Starbucks outlet. The whole vibe is calm and quiet. At times, it can be even quieter than our local libraries.

Another 1 for 1 deal during the period when I visited. So I ordered Strawberry Frappuccino and S'mores Frappuccino. These promotional drinks are quite ok, but i think their regular menu are better. So I have yet to tried their premium selections from their special counter. Probably will drop by again to try their "Reserve" menu when I revisit the next time.

KFC Original Recipe Burger @ Serangoon NEX

So I tried this new Original Recipe Burger from Serangoon NEX KFC, I ordered the box with the Original Burger. Yeah it taste exactly the same as you order 3 piece Chicken Original. The meat patty is tender and soft. So yeah nothing surprising, but still taste good for those KFC Original Chicken lovers. 

As extracted from their website, the KFC Original Recipe Burger is layered with a large and juicy Original Recipe chicken fillet, fresh crunchy lettuce, and a specially concocted pepper mayonnaise sandwiched between two toasted sesame buns. Made from the same 11 Herbs and Spices from Colonel Sanders' Secret Recipe, it's bound to appeal to the Original Recipe Fans!

J Town Cafe @ Midtown Orchard

Another recommended store by my colleague. He mentioned that this store used to be very crowded and need to wait a long time for a seat. But today, we do not need to queue. Many available seats. First of all, it is very affordable. I got a Crispy Chicken Bakmie and my colleague got the Popcorn Chicken Bakmie and of course Teh Botol for his drink.

I didn't take the Popcorn Bakmie as my colleague said that other dishes are better. So the above image is the Crispy Chicken Bakmie that I ordered. It looks simple, but after mixing around with all the ingredients, it is delicious ! Just the way I like, heavy in taste. 

It is pure Indonesian Street Food. It is well done and a simple bowl can fill your stomach. Will come back again for other dishes for sure :D

As i was saying, the overall damage is $14.90 for two person. In summary, its affordable, simple and certainly a good bowl of Chicken noodles.

Doraemon Set from McDonald Singapore

 

After 4 weeks of McDonald Happy Meals, I think I start to get sick of McNuggets and Fries. But of course this is for the sake of collecting the whole McDonald 2021 Set of Exclusive Doraemon. My wife is a hardcore fan of Doraemon. Unfortunately Singapore doesn't have much Doraemon related event or fan store. Most of the stores are from Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia.

Xin Xin Cafe @ Plaza 8

As I am visiting my colleague for work matters at his territory, he brought me and recommend this place called Xin Xin Cafe where he always frequent just after the lockdown period. As he said that this place used to be very crowded, but now business is quite bad since majority of the office workers are still working from home. 

Anyway I tried this bowl of Thai Basil leaf rice, i think is about $5. My colleague know the working staff well, so I think we were given a lot of meat :P

But as what my colleague had recommended, this dish really is flavorful and ignore the chilli and soy sauce i added to the bowl. The meat is very well marinated. The veget goes well when mixed together with all other ingredients. Didn't tried the drinks there as it was a quick before we rushed to our work site. But the ambience is all right, they have their own mini decoration the walls and it certainly make the mood less stressful :D

My Delonghi Coffee Canister

 

This is an impressive product that I decided to get my hands on. As a regular Coffee drinker in my house, I'm the only person who drink Coffee. So typically, coffee beans upon opening of the package, it only lasts (in term of premium taste) a week. With this, i can prolong the freshness of my coffee beans to grind for the correct amount before i sealed it back into this Coffee Canister.

The only scary part (to my Wife) is it will auto vacuum sealed every 12 hours for additional freshness. Pushing out air to remain air tight. Hence I think there is no such thing as 100% sealed. Even for a Vacuum flask, I think hot water after sealing for 2 days, will still get cool. Well, so I think this is a great product for keeping your food products fresh for a longer time, so this is not used specially for Coffee beans and can be used for other stuffs as well.

SmartPac - For your mailing essentials.

 
This is a fuss-free way of mailing your items to local address in Singapore. Of course, there many other ways of doing. Some even DIY their packaging and mail out. BUT the topic here is hassle free and for busy individuals who wants minimum work to handle your parcel.

For Smartpac, its simply a postage-paid letterbox delivery with free packaging. Smartpac comes with several sizes, ranging from $3.20 to $3.80 at this point of writing. For this example, I am using Smartpac Box. First of all, I feel that Smartpac Box (3.80) is the best as it also help protect your items comparing with their $3.20 options.

Above is one example on how I send out items to buyer.

1st) I purchase a Smartpac Box from Singpost Post Office.

2nd) I put in the items, and seal it. Then write both sender and reciever's details on the box.

3rd) Take a picture of the tracking number and drop into the local Singapore mailbox at the post office.

4th) You are done. Keep and share the tracking number to the receiver.

Easy as that !

[Late Post] Migration as Primary Phone failed.

Yay ! Finally got iPhone 13 Pro Max (256GB). Yes, this capacity allows for 4K capturing. Supposed to post in the afternoon, but was busy with other matters and something stopped me from migrating as my main phone.

The only reason that stopped me is the whatsapp backup. It seems that iPhone to iPhone and Android to Android transfer is ok. BUT from Android to iPhone is a painful process. One way to solve is using $$$, but i do not want to do that. Hence, my wife suggested me to let go of my iPhone 12. Very reluctant to do that, but seems that i have to hang on to my Samsung S21 Ultra just for the whatsapp sake. Of course, people can say just use new whatsapp on iPhone lar. 5 years worth of work information, I can't just dump it into the drain. Unless... I change job, yeah that is an option. 

Anyway thanks to my wife for the lovely Birthday Gift in advance ! :D

Look Out for Afternoon Special Post today !

 

Prepared for later VIP Session at Marina Bay Sand once again this year ! Stay Tuned later for the afternoon post :)

The Alley - New Coconut Slush Drink

Tried their new Coconut Slush since coconut lately is the "IN" drink. But pretty disappointing. In terms of price, quantity and quality, totally not worth it. Ok lar, this is my personal opinion. But my wife also bought the same drink and feel it too. Think they gotta put in more effort for this. Definitely my first and last time of ordering this.

Wee Nam Kee [Main Branch]

I had personally ate Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice most of the time at its Northpoint Branch since I stayed around the area. But I finally get to try the Wee Nam Kee chicken rice at the main branch instead. 

Although the consistency is there, but I felt the main branch have significantly more sauces and oil in their main chicken dish. So i ordered half chicken for two. The main branch somehow carries more flavor in their chicken. So the sauces definitely goes well with their fragrant rice. Mind that I am talking about the chicken sauce and not referring to the Ginger, Chilli Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce. To enjoy this dish, you will have to remove the bone in the chicken. Place the meat onto a spoonful portion of rice, place the ginger, chilli sauce and dark soy sauce on top and eat it in one go. The standard is still here and certainly recommended to try Wee Nam Kee, of course they do offer other dishes like the curry fish head, fried rice, noodles, etc. But if you strictly want to go for their best quality control, go for their main branch. 

Last but not least, I ordered half chicken, two bowl of rice and one cup of warm water. It cost less than $20.

Magnolia Limited Edition Low Fat Milk

 

What I had for breakfast is a full Strawberry Meal. I love strawberry flavor stuffs except the actual Strawberry fruit. Well I feel that that is strange enough. For durian, i love the actual durian and of course durian flavor desserts.

But for Strawberry, I don't really like the fruit. Probably due to the acidity level of the fruit. I still can accept the fully riped strawberry fruit which has decreased their acidity rate. But for those partials ripe kind is the worst. 

Somehow the flavor Strawberry are made to perfection, hence I enjoy them the most. So coming back to this milk product, it actually taste great since their regular magnolia milk are probably the best tasting milk locally.

Simple Cooked Dinner

 

Simple dinner cooked by my wife after I finished work.

So what we have here is Brown Rice, Sunny Side Up Egg with Soy Sauce :P, Stir Fry Vegetables - Broccoli and Carrot Sliced with Garlic, Fried Potato Slices, Beancurd and Farmland Chicken Nuggets.

Tori Q Bento Set

 

Tori Q is another popular store in Singapore for its Yakitori Sticks infused with their sauce. So i got two Bento A sets and added a braised egg specially for my wife. In fact their Yakitori is affordable and taste great !

I also added additional $1 for Miso Soup on top of the Bento. But Miso isn't taste good, probably it might be because i "tabao" home. But the bento is great, i guess its fitting to have it for lunch or dinner. Definitely for the meat lovers. The rice is good as well. I do hope that we can request for additional sauce to go with the bento.

Delifrance Croissant and Cappuccino

 

Delifrance had been operating in Singapore for over 30 years. I still can remember like in the mid to late 1990s, they were very famous for their baguettes. My parents always buy their baguettes for us to toast or even eat with home made curry chicken.

So fast forward today, Delifrance's Croissant had always been made with its best quality and standards. Thats why their Croissant costs $3.40 on the high side. Just happen that I need to spend time waiting for appointment, so I ordered a Croissant and a cup of Cappuccino. Haha can say the cappuccino is just ok since they are using those automatic dispenser machine. But the Croissant is really still good by today's standard. 

Grove Cafe 素林

Something not related to the topic, but had finally lead to us having this for dinner eventually. We supposed to have KFC at Canberra Plaza. Seeing there is a many vacant seats, we walked in, however the KFC staff told us that they are out of chicken now and will need to wait for at least 45 minutes for the chicken to arrive at the store. We left the store while trying to contain our laughter.

So we decided to have our dinner here at Grove Cafe. Basically a store that sells vegetarian dishes. So we ordered Chee Cheong Fun, Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf and Laksa La Mian Set. In general standard, these foods are fine. Simple meal and can taste ok. Not too bad. Price is ok.

Scoop Wholefoods Australia

Upon going back from Suntec City, I walked past one particular store at Raffles City Shopping Centre basement and think probably an interesting place to explore. Upon going in to do the necessary checking in, we were told to put on their gloves to shop in the store. Probably for hygienic purpose. 

They basically selling Australia's natural and organic wholefoods and they made it affordable for all. I personally do recognized Australia's best growers and they imported the world's best produce. They also did their part to save the earth by using materials to build their stores are either recycled or sourced from sustainable materials.

From my visit, they do sell a large varieties of nuts, dried fruit produce, and also non-food products as well. Do visit the store if you want to get something good for yourself and your family.

They have six stores in Singapore at the following locations:
Paya Lebar Quarter | Great World City | Tanglin Mall | JEM | Paragon Shopping Centre | Raffles City

So i get myself a Organic Marmalade jam. It costs $9.50. Yet to try it, but i'm sure its good stuff. I need to find myself a good time to enjoy this on my premium bread selection. :D

And yeah, they also have some DIY thingy to mix their product since I also saw them selling similar empty bottle. They also have some brewing juices in their shop for one to try it freshly there.