Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House (Sunshine Plaza)

Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House is located at Sunshine Plaza. Over the years, it had gained quite a number of fans including celebrities for its wanton mee. 

Previously, Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House had two outlets. One located in Sunshine Plaza and the other at North Bridge Road just opposite Bugis Junction Shopping Centre. Recently; 1 year ago, their second outlet at North Bridge Road closed. This means that they are now located only in Sunshine Plaza.

Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House at Sunshine Plaza owns two units; directly opposite each other. There are lots of sitting capacity available. 

Menu (a)

Menu (b)

Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House's revised menu. As you can see, they sell a wide variety of food. Their most well-known food are the Yun Tun Mee (Wanton Mee) and Fried Yun Tun (Fried Wanton).

Fried Yun Tun Noodles $4

The Fried Yun Tun Noodles comes in either $4 or $5. Regulars might notice that there has been a price increased since November 2011 . Previously, it was $3.50 or $4.50.

Fried Yun Tun Noodles $4

The Fried Yun Tun Noodles (Wanton Mee) was served with fried wantons, char siew and vegetables in dark soya sauce. The noodles was QQ, springy and well cooked. Mixed with the dark soya sauce, it was not dry and added flavour to the noodles. The char siew which is also an important ingredient in a plate of wanton mee was tender and flavourful However, some slices were slight hard.  

The Fried Yun Tun (Fried Wanton) is a popular item in Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House. Many customers would order $2 worth of fried wantons to share. The fried wantons were addictive, however I wish that more meat was wrapped in it.

The  Fried Yun Tun Noodles (Wanton Mee) was also served with a small bowl of soup with two pieces of Yun Tun (Wantons) in it. 

Old Cucumber Soup $3.80

Although the Old Cucumber Soup seemed full of ingredients, this was because it was served in a very small metal bowl. The ingredients include pork meat, old cucumber, carrot and wolf berries. I thought that the soup was real decent, but it was on the salty end.

Overall, I thought that the wanton mee was not bad and certainly worth making a trip down for it.

Parklane Zha Yun Tun Mee House (Sunshine Plaza)
91 Bencoolen Street 
#01-53 Sunshine Plaza
Tel:  6835 9212
Opening hours: Daily 9.30am – 9.00pm
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Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee 福乐炒虾面 (Sunshine Plaza)

If I am not mistaken, Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee 福乐炒虾面 opened at Sunshine Plaza early last year (2012). I have walked past Sunshine Plaza a couple of times and noticed this eatery because of the aroma of its Hokkien Mee. 

I was thrilled when I found an opportunity to patronise this eatery on a weekday night for dinner at around 730pm. To my surprise, I was the only customer. When I walked past previously during lunch time, it was nearly always full. 

Menu 

Menu

Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee 福乐炒虾面 offers five items on their menus (exuding drinks), namely, Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee, Hor Fun, Oyster Omelette, Prawn Omelette and Home Made Ngo Hiong. In addition, customers can choose to order Set Meal A or Set Meal B which includes the Hokkien Mee with a Drink.

I ordered the Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee as it was their signature dish. It was served to me within a few minutes. 

Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee $4.50 (Regular)

The Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee was the wet version type. The noodles were soaked in the brown gravy till they were all brownish in colour. If you look closely at the pictures, you might have noticed that a mixture of yellow noodles and thick beehoon (white) were used. Both type of noodles had turn brownish in colour. This was most probably because it was cooked earlier, left in the work and then re-heated when a customer comes in to make an order. In addition, the squids and prawns were overcooked. There was just 3 pieces of prawns and 3 pieces of squids in this plate of Hokkien Mee. If there were many customers or if the turnover was fast, this might not have been an issue (prawns/squid over cooked and noodles turning brownish in colour). 

The gravy was another let down. It was not flavourful, instead was salty. In fact, there was an after taste which gave a strong hint that too much light soy sauce was added (or I will put it in another aspect, it tasted like light soy sauce except that it was thicker and more gooey). A very disappointing bowl of Hokkien Mee. At $4.50 the ingredients given (e.g. prawns, squids, egg) were miserable. The plate looks huge mainly because of the generous portion of the yellow noodles and thick beehoon.

Honestly, I doubt that I am going back to Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee 福乐炒虾面 again. There are other eateries in Sunshine Plaza that I would rather visit such as Victor's Kitchen, Ichi Tei (Japanese Bento & Udon) and Aroy Dee Thai Cafe. 

Just in case you do not know where Sunshine Plaza is, it is located in between Bugis and Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. It is a 5 minutes walk away from POMO and Peace Centre. It is just across the road from the new Singapore Pools building along Middle Road. 

Fu Le Fried Hokkien Mee 福乐炒虾面 (Sunshine Plaza)

91 Bencoolen Street

#01-54 Sunshine Plaza

Tel: 90401840

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Hot Spot Cafe Restaurant (Burlington Square)

Hot Spot Cafe Restaurant dishes out fish soup and cze char cuisines. Located at Burlington Square, just directly opposite Sim Lim Square's food court and also LASALLE College of the Arts. It is located about 15 to 20 minutes walk from Bugis/ Dhoby Ghuat / Little India MRT stations. 

When you are here, take a quick look at what people are eating. Chances are more than 80% of the people here ordered from the fish soup stall. In fact, the fish soup business is so good that they have expanded taking up another unit inside. So now there can serve twice as many customers. So don't just queue blindly, chances are that the queue inside (2nd queue) is much shorter. 

They have also just revised the prices to account for inflation.

another view (taken on a different occasion)

Displaying the sliced fish, fried fish, squid, prawns and also beaten fried eggs.

Sliced Fish Soup (thick beehoon) $4

Sliced Fish Soup (thick beehoon) $4

The Sliced Fish Soup with thick beehoon came with something unique, which we seldom get at fish soup stalls! It's the fried egg. Besides the fried egg, there were toufu, vegetables, tomato, seaweed and of course the slices of fish. The slices of fish were very fresh and the milky broth was sweet and tasty. The fried egg gave this dish another positive impression. Yummy!

Fried Fish Tom Yum Soup (thick beehoon) $5

Fried Fish Tom Yum Soup (thick beehoon) $5

I ordered the Fried Fish Tom Yum Soup with thick beehoon. It was served with fried fish, tomato, toufu, vegetable, onion and a piece of lime. What I liked about this stall was that they were very generous with the ingredients, giving lots of fried fish which were fresh. 

The broth, in this case the Tom Yum Soup was delicious with its well balanced spiciness and sourness. Ideal for savouring when it is raining.

The standard of the Fish Soup and Tom Yum Fish Soup is quite good. Let's hope standard can be maintained.

Hot Spot Cafe Restaurant (Burlington Square)
175 Bencoolen Street
#01-34 Burlington Square
Tel: 6835 7752
Opening Hours: Sun to Fri 1030am - 4pm
                         Closed on Sat
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LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry (Middle Road) 2nd Post

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry has come a long with over 50 years of history specialising in confectioneries, pastries and cakes (including wedding cakes). They do not use any pork and lard in their products. 

The exterior of LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry along middle road.

The many newspaper and magazine articles cutting pasted outside the show featuring their products. Along with photos of celebrities patronising their shops. 

LE Cafe Confectionery & Pastry are the first in Singapore to produce pineapple tarts that are round. 

Part of the price list.

Chocolate Cookies $13

I had meant to buy their Coffee Cookies as I tried it several days ago. And it was so good. Crispy with caffine and nutty flavour. Addictive! But well, I bought the cookies in a rush and instead bought their Chocolate Cookies instead. =S

Pineapple Tart (10pcs) $9

LE Cafe is famous for their Pineapple Tart aka "Golf Ball" Tart. Any guess why "Golf Ball"?

Pineapple Tart (10pcs) $9

Well this is the reason! The pineapple tarts are so big, fat and round that they look like golf balls. I wonder how they managed to squeeze 10 such pineapple tarts into the bottle. The pineapple tarts are not cheap, each piece cost around 90 cents. 

Pineapple Tart

Don't play play, LE Cafe's Pineapple Tart are not only big, but also incredibly tasty. The crust was thin, soft, flaky with a buttery fragrance. I was quite shocked to see the amount of pineapple jam given. LE Cafe was so very generous with their jam. The homemade pineapple jam was rich, moist with intense sweetness of pineapple flavour. Extremely addictive. This is the type of pineapple jam required for a hallmark of good pineapple tart. Even the partner who is not a fan of pineapple tarts gave LE Cafe's golf balls a nod of approval as she went for another round. Irresistible!

After trying it, I can only say even at 90 cents each, this is quite value for money considering the quality and quantity of the pineapple jam and of course the pineapple tart as a whole. For a even more value for money option, one could purchase 20 pieces at $16. If you are keen to buy this for the Lunar (Chinese) New Year, you are advised to pre-book a few months ahead as these are always sold out during the festive period.

They are also famous for their Beancurd Tarts which I posted in my earlier posts.

Edited: Went over to buy some other cookies and this time I got to sample their freshly baked Pineapple Tart  (golf ball). It blew me away. Hot out of the oven, so fragrant, so crispy. As I bite into the tart, the warm the pineapple jam added an extra dimension into the taste. Shiok!

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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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
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Aroy Dee Thai Cafe (Sunshine Plaza)

Aroy Dee Thai Cafe is located at the first level of Sunshine Plaza facing NAFA. Ever since I tried the Tom Yum over here, I have been back several times. Over the few visits, I have noticed that Aroy Dee Thai Cafe is always very crowded during lunch time.

Aroy Dee Thai Cafe

Thai Royal Family Portrait

Thai people are very patriotic. Thai Royal family Portrait are proudly displayed in most eateries, restaurants and shops in Thailand. Recently, I have noticed that most Thai restaurants in Singapore are displaying the Royal Family Portrait too.

Set Lunch Menu

Set Lunch Menu

If you are there during lunch, they have the Set Lunch Menu (rice/noodle) that includes a main course and a drink (Lime/Guava/Mango/Freshly Brew Lemon Grass/Roselle Flower) for just $5.50.

Tom Yum Chicken with Steam Rice $5.50

I ordered the Set Lunch 'Tom Yum Chicken with Steam Rice' and my choice of drink was lime.

Tom Yum Chicken

Tom Yum Chicken

The Tom Yum (Tom Yam) Chicken was delicious! It was not oil and did not look spicy (not fiery red or orangey in colour). But well, appearances are deceiving... it was very spicy. Still it was so addictive  that I finish everything! In addition, they were generous with the ingredients (button mushrooms, chicken chunks and tomato). The chicken chunks were tender and soft! A must order! Shiok!

Drink - Lime

Aroy Dee Thai Cafe although is not very accessible; not near any MRT stations. The nearest MRT stations are Bugis and Dhoby Ghaut stations. Despite this, Aroy Dee Thai Cafe is very popular. The place is frequently packed. Well, the reason is because the food is great! 

If it is too crowded, no worries, there is Victor's Kitchen (great dim sum place) nearby! 

Aroy Dee Thai Cafe (Sunshine Plaza)
91 Bencoolen Street
#01-12 Sunshine Plaza
Tel: 6336 8852
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 12pm - 10pm
                         Closed on Sun

*Editor Note (Mar 2013): Aroy Dee Thai Cafe has shifted to a new and bigger location which is just 5 minutes away from Sunshine Plaza. 

New address: 262 Middle Road, Singapore 188989

Tel: 6336 8812

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

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Tao's Restaurant (PoMo) 2nd Post

Another visit to Tao's Restaurant located at the basement of PoMo (formerly known as Paradiz Centre). Tao's Restaurant is a fushion restaurant that serves a combination of Western and Asian Cuisine. It is well known for its concept of set menu; serving 6 to 7 course meal at affordable prices. 

Modern classy design.

Menu

During my visit last year, I was expecting the price to increase. But to my surprise, there was no increase. Well, this year, there was an increase in price, which was expected. Their new menu now looks so classy!

Lunch: 6 Course Set Meal at $21.80++
Dinner: 7 Course Set Meal at $31.80++

I visited during lunch time with a group of friends (6 to be exact), hence it was a 6 Course Set Meal.

Starter - Bacon & Mushroom Gratin

Bread (2 pieces per person)

Course 1: Starter - Bacon & Mushroom Gratin with toasted bread (soft and fluffy). Bacon & Mushroom Gratin baked with mushroom, bacon and cheese. It was perfect using it as a spread on the bread. Delicious! You can request for more pieces of bread!

Salads - Prawn Roll with Pork Floss

Course 2: Salads - Prawn Roll with Pork Floss. Light, refreshing and sweet. It is akin to popiah. The pork floss inside added unique texture and taste to the prawn roll! I have also tried Top Shell Salad, Farm Boy Splendour and Fruit Salad during my past visits. My favourite is still Prawn Roll with Pork Floss!

Salads - Huai San & Tofu

Course 2: Salads - Huai San & Tofu. Will not comment on those that I did not taste. 

Soups - Cream of Mushroom

Course 3: Soups - Cream of Mushroom. Another of my favourite! This bowl of soup is for mushrooms lovers only, contains 100% mushrooms! Chunks of mushrooms in each spoonful. The whole bowl of soup has a strong essence/flavour of mushroom. Definitely made themselves and different from the ones you get outside from cans. Can't help but notice that the bowl is the same colour as the bowl. 

Soups - Cream of Pumpkin

Course 3: Soups - Cream of Pumpkin. I am a mushroom person! Having said that I am sure you know which soup I prefer. 

Main Entrees - Spicy Stingray

Course 4: Main Entrees - Spicy Stingray. This stingray is different from those at Chomp Chomp, East Coast Park or other restaurants. The stingray was very fresh and well cooked. It was definitely not barbecued or fried. Most likely steamed? The sambal chilli on top was very spicy and certainty complement the stingray well. For those who can't take spicy food, you are strongly advised to avoid this! 

Main Entrees - Grilled Sea Bass with Japanese Sauce

Course 4: Main Entrees - Grilled Sea Bass with Japanese Sauce. During our last visit, the staff actually informed us not to order this dish as the Sea Bass was not fresh. Where else will the staff tell you not to order certain dish as the ingredients are not fresh? So far this is the only place that I know that does this! Kudos to Tao's Restaurant.

Main Entrees - Slow-cooked Pork Back Ribs

Course 4: Main Entrees - Slow-cooked Pork Back Ribs. 

Desserts - Brownie with Ice Cream 

Course 5: Desserts - Brownie with Ice Cream. Nothing to shout about for this dish. 

Desserts - Tiramisu

Course 5: Desserts -  Tiramisu.

Desserts - Yangsheng Poached Pear with Red Dates

Course 5: Desserts - Yangsheng Poached Pear with Red Dates. 

Beverages - Iced Rose Apple Tea (left), Iced Tropical Grapefruit Tea (right)

Course 6: Beverages - Iced Tropical Grapefruit Tea.

Beverages - Iced Rose Apple Tea

Course 6: Beverages - Iced Rose Apple Tea. This is my favourite! Refreshing, light drink with hints rose tea fragrant. Inside, there are pieces of apple (can be eaten) and rose buds.

Beverages - Iced Grassjelly Mint Tea

Course 6: Beverages - Iced Grassjelly Mint Tea. 

Despite the price increase, I still find the lunch at Tao's Restaurant value for money. I especially like the Bacon & Mushroom Gratin, Prawn Roll with Pork Floss, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Iced Rose Apple Tea and Tiramisu. 

*Edited: Tao's has moved to Central #04-86 (Clarke Quay)*

Tao's Restaurant (PoMo) 
1 Selegie Road
#B1-19 PoMo
Tel: 6339 8858
Opening Hours: Daily 1130am - 10pm
Website: 
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