Yilmaz Western (Ang Mo Kio) - CLOSED

Edited: Closed. If you know where the owner has setup his shop can you pl let me know via foodiefc@gmail.com. 

Yilmaz Western is a stall specialising in western cuisine located in Coffee City Coffee Shop at Ang Mo Kio Ave 6. Normally, when I am in the area, I would order herbal soup from Xu Yang Tonic Soup. However, during my last visit, Yilmaz Western caught my attention.

Yilmaz Western serves some of its western dishes on hotplates (not every western stall in a coffee shop does that). On that specific occasion as I was enjoying my herbal soup, I heard a loud sizzling sound. Turning around, I saw a man carrying the sizzling hotplate with ingredients piled high up to a customer on the table next to me. Well, from that point in time, I knew that I had to try this the next time I am in the area. 

Yilmaz Western is essentially a 'one man show' (quoting the owner). Everything; from taking orders, marinating, preparing, defrosting, cooking, serving and collecting payment are all done by the owner himself (how does he cope? I am equally puzzled!). I ordered the Hotplate Grilled Chicken Chop and was expecting to wait for a long time as it was peak period. To my surprised I just waited less than 15 minutes. An amazing feat considering that there were a few other customers in front of me.

Hotplate Grilled Chicken Chop $6

The Hotplate Grilled Chicken Chop was served sizzling hot! I had to wait a few seconds for the sizzling and smoke to lessen before taking the photos. The grilled chicken chop was stacked on top of a whole lot of fries, with mashed potato and steamed vegetables (broccoli, cherry tomato and corn) at the side. With the exception of the steamed vegetables, the ingredients were all drenched in a special sauce. 

Hotplate Grilled Chicken Chop $6

A very generous amount of ingredients were given in addition, 3 sides were served; vegetable, mashed potato and fries. Mind you, its not bake beans, not coleslaw! Take a look at how much fries was given and how thick a cut the chicken chop was. The mashed potato was basically hidden behind these.

The sauce made a big difference. The more I dig into it, the more I love it. It seemed to be a kind of fusion of BBQ and Mushroom Sauce with herbal fragrant. Not too sweet, not too salty, the sauce was perfect; incredibly tasty and addictive.

As for the grilled chicken chop, it was well-marinated and had lots of pepper corns spread over it. With the sauce, it provided a refreshing flavour to the tender chicken chop unlike the norm; black pepper/mushroom sauce.

The fries were hard and seems to have been fried a second time (for those not covered in the sauce). But for the fries that were drenched in the sauce, there was a difference in texture. Crispy yet soft, tasty experience. (do give the fries at the bottom some 'stirring' as the hotplate might cause some of the fries to be charred) The mashed potato was normal, but again with the sauce, complemented it perfectly.

Hotplate Grilled Chicken Chop $6

I like the fact that the the vegetables were steamed and were very fresh. Moreover serving corn, cherry tomato and broccoli was unique. A nice change from what other western stall normal gives; coleslaw.

Overall, I was very impressed by this one man show! Fresh vegetables, well-marinated meat, generous serving and incredible sauce! The sauce stole the show. You will either love or hate it as the sauce is spread over all the ingredients. In addition, it is so value for money. Highly recommended. You won't know what you are missing till you give this a try!

Yilmaz Western is a hidden gem. Watch this stall, it has great potential to be the best western stall! I hope that this one man show can survive as it is no mean feat managing one stall alone. Can't wait to try it again!

*Edited: Went a second time on a Friday evening for dinner. This time waited for nearly half an hour as he had high volume of orders. Food-wise, it was still as good! 

Yilmaz Western (Ang Mo Kio)

Blk 728 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6

Coffee City Coffee Shop

Tel: 9144 8248

Opening Hours: Daily 1230pm to 1030pm
Location

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Pastamania (Plaza Singapura)

Pastamania is probably one of the biggest Italian restaurant chain in Singapore. Currently, they have 48 outlets in 8 countries, 29 of which are in Singapore. They specialise in serving quick casual Italian food (pasta and pizza). 

I believe most of us here, would have patronise Pastamania before. I have patronise Pastamania when I was younger quite frequently. This recent visit to Pastamania is my first since a long long time (over a year). In terms of the environment, it is the same at all its outlets; the chairs, tables, walls, counter, tiles and lights. The standardisation is a good thing as I found the setting familiar despite not having patronise Pastamania for sometime.

Add on one of the Combo to make it a complete meal which allows you add different permutations of soup/ drink/garlic bread.

When ordering a pasta dish, there are 5 types to choose, mainly Penne, Fusilli, Linguine, Spaghetti or Wholemeal Spaghetti.

Clockwise from left: Garlic Bread, Minestrone Soup, Cream of Mushroom

I ordered my meal with Combo A  (Drink, Garlic Bread and Minestrone Soup) which cost an addition of $4.90. And also ordered a Cream of Mushroom soup.

Garlic Bread

The standard of the Garlic Bread seemed to have dropped drastically. It was served cold. Moreover, there was no garlic flavour which the buttery flavour did not cater to my taste bud.

Minestrone Soup

The Minestrone Soup full of ingredients was too sour.

Cream of Mushroom $2.40

Fortunately, the Cream of Mushroom fared better in comparison to the Minestrone Soup. In terms of thickness it was just nice and there were pieces of mushrooms in it. The only issue I have is that the flavour of mushroom was not sufficient. It was akin to a bowl of Campbell soup with mushrooms added in separately. 

Marinara $11.10

The Marinara which I always order when I patronise Pastamania, consisted of pasta (spaghetti) cooked with prawns, squid and clams in tomato herb sauce. Still my favourite. The squid was cooked well and it was not rubbery while the clam was fresh. The down side was that the prawn was not too fresh. Overall, still one of the better dishes at Pastamania.

Turkey Bacon Cheesy Crumble $7.80

Turkey Bacon Cheesy Crumble consisted of pasta (fusilli) cooked with turkey bacon in homemade cheese sauce topped with parmesan crumble. Somehow the ingredients such as turkey bacon seems to be lacking. It was plain and akin to eating pasta with cheese.

The dishes were served very quickly within less than 10 minutes after ordering. Their kitchen must have a very efficient system in place. Pastamania is halal certified. In terms of price, it is one of the more affordable place to have Italian cuisine. Food wise, I won't say that it was fantastic.

Pastamania (Plaza Singapura)
68 Orchard Road
#B2-07 Plaza Singapura
Tel: 6341 9871
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
Website
Facebook
Location

Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionery (Bedok)

Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionery located in Bedok is a traditional shop selling kuehs. It first started its business in 1967, serving customers through their home kitchen before setting up their own shop (at its current location) in 1987 as business picked up.

Through out the years since their inception, they have survived mainly through customers' word of mouth (WOM), no advertising on their part is required. This is not an easy feat as I notice that their location is not exactly ideal. To get to Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionery, one would need to take a bus from Bedok MRT station. It is not located in a crowded area near an attraction or shopping mall. They are located just next to Fengshan Food Centre where many people frequent at night for supper for the famous Minced Pork Noodles and Chicken Wings, but well... they are closed by evening time. Hence, to have operated for so long with just WOM, I am sure they did something, if not a few things right!

So what are Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionery's USP (Unique Selling Points) that have allowed them to operate for so long? From my perspective the USPs are:

1) Hand made Kuehs and other products. The Kuehs and fried stuff such as Yam Cake, Curry Puffs, Spring Rolls are all hand made! From pastry to the fillings, they are all hand made from the raw ingredients. Not made from factories! I feel that this is the most important USP. Despite it being a labourious task with such a wide product range, they still take the effort to make everything from scratch. Kudos to them.

2) Freshly made daily. Every thing is freshly made on the spot daily. To do this, they have to start working at 4am in the wee hours of the morning daily!

3) No/Minimum preservatives. If you are a regular customer here, you will know that most of the kuehs  and fried snacks cannot be kept for long. This is because no preservatives are added. It is best to eat it on the spot or within the same day.

4) Vegetarian. Suitable for vegetarian.

5) Halal Certified. Suitable for our Muslim friends (important point..especially in the light of Amy Cheong facebook post).

Part of the product range

Kuehs

Pulut Int and Fried Snacks

6) Wide variety of product range. They sell a comprehensive range of kuehs (from Nonya Kuehs to Ang Koo Kuehs to Soon Kuehs) and fried snacks (from Curry Puffs, Spring Rolls to Fried Yam Cakes) which are all hand made by them.

During this visit, the partner and I had the opportunity to view and learn (hands on experience) how some of the kuehs are made. First up, Ang Ku Kuehs.

Filling for Ang Ku Kuehs (Peanut, Bean, Gula Melaka Coconut)

These are the Peanut, Bean and Gula Mekala Coconut fillings used for the Ang Ku Kuehs 红龟糕 aka   Red Tortoise Cakes. This is a traditional kueh with a tortoise shell shape with a soft sticky glutinous rice flour skin and sweet filings inside. Back then, Chinese believe that eating tortoise will promote longevity, bringing prosperity and good luck to people. Hence, the tortoise shell shape. The Ang Ku Kueh is an auspicious kueh that is often eaten during important Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year and also during birthday celebrations.

Left to Right: Mould, Ang Ku Kueh - making in process

This is the mould used to make Ang Ku Kuehs.

Ang Ku Kuehs before steaming

It was not an easy making the Ang Ku Kuehs. There are not supposed to be any cracks on the kuehs, but well, this is our first time making it. A hands on session that allows us to appreciate the effort gone into making this. This excludes the effort and man hours required for making the pastry and fillings as these were already prepared for us.

Ang Ku Kuehs

I liked the Ang Ku Kueh ($0.50 each, $2.30 for 5) with peanut fillings in it. Because the peanut fillings were thick, moist and crunchy. Providing a nice contrast to the glutinous rice flour skin which was soft, sticky and chewy. Moreover, I must say that they were generous with the fillings.

Pulut Int

Pulut Int

Also had the opportunity to learn how to wrap the Pulut Int ($0.50). The Malay Auntie was able to wrap it so fast and quickly. It seems easy, but upon attempting it, I realised that it was harder than it seems. Well, I guess I am better at eating. The Pulut Int consisted of sweet blue (clitoria flower) glutinous rice topped with gula melaka coconut toppings and wrapped banana leaf.

Soon Kueh

The red mould as seems above is the mould used to make Soon Kueh ($0.70) and Ku Cai Kueh ($0.70). I believe that this mould can be used to make curry puffs too.

The filling that is used in the Soon Kueh.

Soon Kueh

Each piece of Soon Kuehs are handmade. A labour intensive process and as seen in the above photo, each piece looks exactly the same as if they were made by machines.

Mould

This is the mould used to make Rice Kueh ($0.80).

Kueh Salat

Freshly made Kueh Salat!

Kueh Salat

The Kueh Salat ($1.20 per packet) with the top layer consisting of a pandan crust with sticky glutinous rice at the bottom.

Kueh Lapi

Kueh Lapis

Kueh Lapis 九层糕 ($1.20 per packet) aka 9 layer cake / Jiu Cheng Gao, one of my favourite childhood snack which I peeled off layer by layer.

Yam Cake

Customers can choose between their Fried or non-fried Yam Cakes. I enjoyed both versions and though that this was one of the better yam cakes I have had. Because, their Yam Cakes ($0.80 per piece) were full of yam chunks along with mushrooms and other ingredients. In addition, it was soft and fragrant. Yam lovers will like this.

Tapioca Kuehs; Kotoh Ubi

Keeping the best for the last..

Both kuehs above are Tapioca Kuehs - Kotoh Ubi ($1.20 per packet). The one on the left is mashed tapioca with gula melaka mixed in it. While the one on the right is mashed tapioca topped with gula melaka coconut (This is my favourite among all the kuehs I tried). The tapioca at the bottom was soft and fragrant with generous chunks of tapioca in it. On top, the gula melaka coconut enhanced the flavour making this incredibly delectable.

I can't help but emphasis on the quality and freshness of the kuehs and snacks that Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionery sells. In addition, these are hand made with manual labour at such an affordable price. I must say, I really admire the spirit of Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionary, for taking such effort to bring these delish kuehs to consumers in the traditional way (hard way). They could have easily just purchase a few machines to do the work (less staffing issues to handle, higher throughput). With our developing society modernising and as quality of life improves, who knows if kuehs will still continue to play a role in our daily life. From my own personal observation, it seems to be going on a down trend, people we now prefer to eat fanciful buns/bread, cupcakes, pancakes, swiss rolls, bubble tea, beancurd, ice cream, crepe and more. Hopefully, I am wrong. Hence, if you are wondering where to get kuehs, this could be one of your options.

Thanks Gavan for the invite. 

ps: the Spring Rolls are quite good too. Big and full of ingredients such as turnip, carrot, beansprouts. No photo as we well... ate it while on the way home.

Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionery (Bedok)
84 Bedok North Street 4
#01-21
Tel: 6449 0815
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 4am - 6pm
                          Sun 4am - 2pm
Website
Facebook
Location

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The Prata Place (Upper Thomson Road)

As its name suggest, The Prata Place specialises in serving Prata and Indian Cuisine such as Thosai and Murtabak. It is located along Upper Thomson Road and is Halal certified. The Prata Place is actually quite well known and is frequently packed especially at night.

Visited The Prata Place on a Saturday morning. Quite empty compared to the other time I came at night it was full house. Looks like it is better to come here in the morning!

Menu (a)

Menu (b)

Menu (Drinks)

Plain (Kosong) Prata $0.90

Curry

The Plain (Kosong) Prata was absolutely delicious! It arrived pipping hot. The Prata was crispy on the outside (including the edges) and fluffy on the inside. Moreover, it was not oily, they certainly managed the heat well. Dipping it into the curry will make the Prata taste even more heavenly. Although the price is a little steep compared to else where, its worth the money.

Mushroom with Egg Prata $2.80

Mushroom with Egg Prata $2.80 (Close up)

The Mushroom with Egg Prata was elongated rectangular in shape. It was simply a Egg Prata with stuffed with slices of button mushrooms. Personally, I prefer ordering the egg prata as the taste of the button mushroom did not mix well with the prata. Well its a matter of personal opinion.

Lots of variety of food at The Prata Place. Even looking at the menu for Prata itself, there are even Red Bean Prata, Floss Prata and Onion Chilli Prata available. This place is likely to be filled to the beam at night. Ironically, this place is air-conditioned..which is something that bothered me. Because your hair, shirt, basically your whole body will end up smelling of curry and prata. But the food (prata) is too good to resist!

The Prata Place (Upper Thomson Road)
1 Thong Soon Ave
Springleaf Garden
Tel: 6459 5670
Opening Hours:Daily 7am to 12am
Website
Facebook
Location

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Arnold's Fried Chicken (City Plaza)

*Edited Mar 2014: Paris Outlet has closed down*

When it comes to fast food fried chicken, I am sure most of us have eaten or heard of  KFC, Popeyes and Texas Chicken. What about Singapore's very own fast food; Arnold's Fried Chicken? Arnold's Fried Chicken specialises in serving fried chicken, has been around for more than 25 years and is one of the first Singapore fast food joint to be certified Halal.

A visit to Arnold's Fried Chicken (Main Branch at City Plaza) on a weekday for lunch. Look at how crowded the place is! You will need to queue up and wait for an empty table.

Interior 

Interior

Brightly lit and decorated.

Menu

Once you have been assigned an empty table, make your order at the counter before going back to your seat.

Expect to wait 15 to 25 minutes as the fried chicken are cooked upon order!

Half Spring Chicken Set $5.90 and 1 Root Beer $1.90

Ordered Half Spring Chicken Set which consist of 1/2 young chicken which is marinated and deep fried served with Potato Fries and Mashed Potato (should actually be Coleslaw, but I requested for a change). I also ordered a Root Beer to quench my thirst!

Half Spring Chicken Set $5.90

The Spring Chicken was served pipping hot. The chicken was fried perfectly! On the outside, it (skin) was crispy. On the inside, it was very tender, soft and juicy! It was a surprise to me that all the parts of the chicken was so tender and soft. Normally even for KFC, there will be certain parts of the chicken that are hard and dry. But this was not the case for Arnold's Fried Chicken. How did they do it? However, in terms of the marination; usage of herbs and spices, KFC's eleven herbs and spices fare better. The mashed potato and fries are average, nothing to shout about.

Overall, I quite like the chicken at Arnold's Fried Chicken. Now I know why everyone has been raving about this place! If you are coming here, you must order their chicken! So soft, so tender, so juicy and it is freshly cooked! They need to open one outlet at the North!

They have 3 outlets at the moment. For the locations please refer to the end of the post. Arnold's Fried Chicken does delivery too.

Delivery hotline: 6276 6537

Delivery Hours:  Daily 1045am to 10pm

                          Last order 945pm

Arnold's Fried Chicken (City Plaza)
810 Geylang Road
City Plaza #02-99
Tel: 6746 2372
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm
Website
Facebook

Arnold's Fried Chicken (Hougang)
21 Hougang Street 51
#01-49 Hougang Green Shopping Mall
Tel: 6386 9015
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm


Arnold's Fried Chicken Express (Pasir Ris)
94 Pasir Ris Central
Pasir Ris Town Park
Tel: 6858 0584
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am to 10pm

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LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry (Middle Road)

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry has a long history and is possibly one of Singapore's oldest cake and pastry shop. They have over 50 years of history with a reputation for their quality product. The cakes and pastries are crafted by hand and contain no lard or pork. Today, LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry has 3 branches in Singapore (For its locations please refer to the end of the post)

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry has received many recognition from food shows, newspapers, magazines and celebrities. The whole shop is full of articles and photos endorsing their quality products.

Wedding cakes

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry is known for their 'golf ball' pineapple tarts, bean curd tarts, cakes and  wedding cakes. Look at the above picture! What a beautiful customised wedding cake!

Menu

Some of the items and their prices that are being sold in LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry. I went to LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry on a weekday afternoon at around 130pm. I wanted to buy the Beancurd Tart. However, it was already sold out when I got there. What is amazing is that the Beancurd Tarts are only available daily after 1230pm yet it got sold so quickly. I was told I can call in to reserve the next time.

Mixed Beancurd Tarts $9.00

I decided to purchase the Mixed Beancurd Tarts instead for $9.00.

Mixed Beancurd Tarts $9.00

The Mixed Beancurd Tarts consist of 7 different kinds of Beancurd Tarts.

Clockwise from Top Left (above picture): Longan in Beancurd, The Original, The Original, Peanuts in Beancurd.

Clockwise from Top Left (above picture): Grass Jelly in Beancurd, Gingko Nut & White Fungus in Beancurd,  Egg White in Beancurd, Red Beans in Beancurd.

Most of us would have tried Portuguese Egg Tart before. Beancurd Tart will be something new to most of us. The beancurd tarts will need to be kept in the fridge and are best served chilled. It has to be consumed within 2-3 days.

The crust of the beancurd tart is hard yet crispy, crunchy and sweet! The beancurd filling is soft, silky and with melt in your mouth sensation. Moreover, the beancurd taste is not overwhelming. Among the beancurd tarts, the Original Beancurd was the best! A nice change from Portuguese Egg tarts.

Oh yes, to further reinforce that this shop has a long history, my parents told me that their wedding cake (30 years ago) came from this shop! This is a interesting shop. The only downside is that it is not located near the MRT station. Anyone tried their wedding cakes before?

ps: best to call and reserve the Original Beancurd Tart

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry (Middle Road)
264 Middle Road
Tel: 6337 2417
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday 1030am - 730pm
                          Sundays and Public Holidays 1030am - 4pm
Website

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry (Cambridge Road)
Blk 42 Cambridge Road #01-02
Tel: 6298 1477
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday 1030am - 7pm
                          Sundays and Public Holidays 1030am - 3pm


LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry (Veerasamy Road)
Blk 637 Veerasamy Road #01-111
Tel: 6294 8813

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday 1130am - 4pm

                          Sundays and Public Holidays 1130am - 3pm

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