Sakae Sushi: Kids Eat Free Promotion

Source: Sakae Sushi

Sakae Sushi: Kids Eat Free Promotion

- Valid every 1st Sunday of the month (for a limited period only)
- Valid at Sun Plaza, Tradehub 21 and West Coast Plaza outlets
- Kids are defined as 12 years old and below, or below 120 cm in height
- One free kid's meal valid with every $30 spent for dine-in customers
- To redeem offer, customers need to inform the staff that it is for 'Kids Eat Free' promotion
- Freebies are for dine-in families with kids, while stocks last
- The management reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions without prior notice

Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee 亚九香菇肉脞麺 (Hong Lim Food Centre) - CLOSED

*edited - stall has closed down

 I am a huge fan of Teochew Style Bak Chor Mee (Minced Pork Noodles) and have always visited Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle (Lavendar) located at Crawford Lane to satisfy my craving.

Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee 亚九香菇肉脞麺 located at Hong Lim Food Centre has been in operation for more than 60 years, like Hill Street Tai Hwa it also specialises in Teochew Style Bak Chor Mee. I have been eyeing this stall for sometime and took the opportunity to try this on a Saturday afternoon. 

I arrived slightly after 1pm and saw a long line of people queuing in front of the stall. There was more than 10 people in the queue in front of me. I contemplated patronising some other stalls as I was starving. But in the end, my desire to try this won the battle and I found myself queuing at this stall.

Other than the long queue, the only tell tale sign that this stall is famous/popular is the Singapore Hawker Legends Makansutra signboard showcased at the left of the shop front. 

Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee offers just two items; Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle and Teochew Dumpling Soup which comes in 3 difference prices (again similar to Hill Street Tai Hwa). It also offers 6 types of noodles and the prices for adding extra ingredients were clearly stated on the menu pasted in front of the stall. 

The queue was extremely slow moving and I only got my food after queuing for 40 minutes! While I was in the queue, the greedy side of me decided on getting a Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle (Mee Pok) $4 and Teochew Dumpling Soup $4. After all, I had come down just for this and since I had to spent so much time queuing I may as well kill two birds with one stone and try both! Logical? 

Mushroom with Minced Meat Mee Pok $4

As with all authentic Teochew Style Bak Chor Mee, vinegar (an essential sauce) imported from China was added into the Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle (Mee Pok) $4. The ingredients which included minced meat, meat slices, braised mushrooms, dumplings and fried crispy flat fish (扁鱼) were fresh. I particularly liked the fact that they were generous with their fried crispy flat fish and braised mushrooms. However, the dumplings were disappointing as it lacked in terms of flavour and bite. Luckily, the special chilli sauce complement well with the vinegar (I requested for more vinegar). 

Teochew Dumpling Soup $4

The Teochew Dumpling Soup $4 reminded me of Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian 兴记肉脞面 at Bedok 85 as it looked cloudy with minced meat floating in it.

Teochew Dumpling Soup $4

Teochew Dumpling Soup $4

The Teochew Dumpling Soup $4 consisted of 8 pieces of dumplings, minced meat, braised mushrooms, fried crispy flat fish (扁鱼), seaweed and Garland Chrysanthemum (Tang O).

It was a terrible mistake ordering this. The dumplings as mentioned earlier was disappointing. To add on to this, the soup was bland although it looks so flavourful in the photos above.. 

Overall, the Bak Chor Mee was a decent. It was better than most other stalls, but not a die die must try. Moreover, Hill Street Tai Hwa's version was much better. As for the Teochew Dumpling Soup? My advice would be to give it a skip.

Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee 亚九香菇肉脞麺 (Hong Lim Food Centre)

#02-42 Hong Lim Food Centre

531A, Upper Cross Street

Opening Hours: Thurs to Sun 8am to 5pm

                         Close from Mon to Wed

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Singapore Krispy Kreme: 100,000 Free Doughnuts For Offices And Tertiary Institutions

Source: Singapore Krispy Kreme

Singapore Krispy Kreme: 100,000 Free Doughnuts For Offices And Tertiary Institutions
 Krispy Kreme will be delivering free doughnuts to offices and tertiary institutions from 9th of September 2013.

How to request for Krispy Kreme to delivery free doughnuts to your office or tertiary institutions:
- Like Singapore Krispy Kreme on Facebook
- sign up at http://krispykreme.sg/cometomyoffice/

The Manhattan Pizza Company: Free Flow Wedges Night (28 Aug 2013)

Source: The Manhattan Pizza Company

The Manhattan Pizza Company: Free Flow Wedges Night (28 Aug 2013)
Buy any Specialty Pizza and get free flow wedges

- Valid on 28 Aug
- Limited to 5 pax per pizza

Ichi Tei Japanese Bento & Udon (Sunshine Plaza) 2nd Post

Whenever Sunshine Plaza is mentioned, I am sure that most of you would be thinking of Victor's Kitchen or Parklane Zha Yun Tun (Wanton) Mee House. Well, if you have missed my earlier post in 2011, there's another hidden gem in Sunshine Plaza and it is Ichi Tei Japanese Bento & Udon aka Ichi Tei!

Oh, since I am on this, I visited Victor's Kitchen 2 months ago. Standard has dropped, and their selection of dim sum and drinks has been decreased (which means several items on the menu are not available). It was a disappointing meal.

Back to Ichi Tei..

Ichi Tei located next to the Parklane Wanton Mee is a small eatery specialising in Japanese cuisine such as Bento and Udon set.  It is a small shop unit with limited seating capacity and can sit up to a maximum of 22 customers at any one time. Sounds alright? Well, there are just 5 tables with 14 seats inside the shop unit while there are 2 tables with 8 seats outside the shop unit. I would not advise you to visit if you are coming with more than 4 persons.

Although Ichi Tei was just a small shop unit, it had a cozy and homely ambience. However, the chairs were not exactly comfortable.

The kitchen located at the back was just a small narrow kitchen.

Ichi Tei is managed by two persons; a husband and wife team. The husband takes charge of the back end; the kitchen and cook the food while the wife runs the front end operation and serves the customers (takes the order, serve, collect payment and clear the tables). 

Disposable chopsticks and spoons are place on every table together with chilli powder. Two years back, I remember that the food used to be served on disposable bento plates for dine-in. I am glad that they have switched to something more environmental friendly.

The post shows a consolidation of food consumed over several occasions.

Beef Teriyaki Don $10

The Beef Teriyaki Don served with potato salad and a bowl of miso soup was listed on the menu as a 'Must Try!'. Personally, I thought it was just average with nothing much to shout about. The beef did not strike me as particularly outstanding. In addition, this was one of the most expensive Don set on the menu. Their other Don sets fared better.

Beef Teriyaki Don $10 - Potato Salad

The Potato Salad served in the Don sets was delish and left a deeper impression on me compared to the beef. It was essentially mashed potato.

Beef Teriyaki Don $10 - Miso Soup

Miso Soup was decent.

Chicken Teriyaki Don $7

On another occasion, I ordered the Chicken Teriyaki Don which was still as good as before. As with all Don set, it was served with potato salad and a bowl of miso soup

Chicken Teriyaki Don $7

Chicken Teriyaki Don $7

The Chicken Teriyaki was grilled in a Japanese styled oven where the heating element comes from the top. The chef had to adjusting the height of the pan to ensure that the chicken teriyaki was cooked. The Chicken Teriyaki was to die for - it was well executed and delish. The top layer where the skin was, was grilled till it was sightly charred resulting in an incredibly crisp texture. Beneath, the meat was tasty and succulent. With each bite, the flavours and juiciness are bound to satisfy your palate.

Shishamo Udon $7.50

On a third occasion, I ordered the Shishamo Udon which was not too bad. If you are a Shishamo fan, then this would be fore you.

Shishamo Udon $7.50

The Udon was not bad and the soup-base was light and tasty.

Shishamo Udon $7.50

The Shishamo were served separately with shredded Japanese cabbage and mayonnaise. The Shishamo were fresh and grilled till the ends were crisp. (Shishamo is capeline or what we commonly know as pregnant fish)

Overall, I would say that their food are not too bad. Ichi Tei would be a place worth checking out. The must try would be the Chicken Teriyaki Don. The Saba Don is also another item to try (based on my past visit 2 years ago). The service at Ichi Tei was prompt as it was just a small unit which can cater to limited number of customers. For such a small operation, you would be surprise that they offer quite an extensive variety of food. Although they have increased the price slightly compared to my visit in 2011, I am still of the opinion that is value for money. I noticed that during lunch time, a significant percentage of their customers prefer to takeaway the food as proper disposable bento plates were provided.

Do note, it can get quite warm if you are choose the table nearest to the kitchen. 

Ichi Tei Japanese Bento & Udon (Sunshine Plaza)

91 Bencoolen Street

#01-52 Sunshine Plaza

Tel: 91391746 

Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 8.30pm (Closed on Sun)

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The Manhattan Pizza Company: All Pizza Slices at $3.90 (27 Aug 2013)

Source: The Manhattan Pizza Company

The Manhattan Pizza Company: All Pizza Slices at $3.90 (27 Aug 2013)

- Valid on 27 August 2013 from 11am to 10pm

Au Chocolat: $5 Foie Gras Promotion

Source: Au Chocolat

Au Chocolat: $5 Foie Gras Promotion

- For a limited period only
- Valid all day from Monday to Wednesday
- Not valid on Public Holidays
- For every Entrée or Pasta ordered, you can order unlimited portions of Foie Gras at $5++ each.

SeoulXpress: 2 pcs Fat Chicks with Crispy Fries at $3.50

Source: SeoulXpress

SeoulXpress: 2 pcs Fat Chicks with Crispy Fries at $3.50 

New Korean double-fried 2 pcs Fat Chicks with crispy fries, coated with garlic or spicy glaze

- Valid for a limited period

"Lost and Found" AMK Curry Puff (Toa Payoh Central)

"Lost and Found"! The original owners of the well-known Tip Top Curry Puff located in Ang Mo Kio sold their business (Tip Top Curry Puff) away two years ago. Guess where are they now?

After selling the business, one of the owner (the minority shareholder) decided to continue to what he does best in and was passionate about, which was to make and sell curry puffs. In addition, being the minority shareholder, he had little influence when the majority shareholder decided to sell off Tip Top Curry Puff. Hence, after the business was sold, he searched for a suitable location and opened a stall called AMK Curry Puff at Toa Payoh Central. This stall located in Super 28 Coffeeshop at Blk 184 is conveniently located at the heart of Toa Payoh, a stone throw away (5-minutes walk) from the MRT station.

This explains why the signboard says 'Original AMK Curry Puff' despite the stall being located in Toa Payoh.

At this stall, you will be able to notice the staff seated down at the side of the stall  making the curry puffs by hand.

Edited to update photo (25 Feb 2015)

The uncle facing the camera in the background is one of the former Tip Top Curry Puff staff, the other being the owner with experience. 

The curry puff fillings which consists of a mixture of chicken potato, chicken, spices and egg. One of the main deciding factor in curry puffs.  

Each curry puff is made from scratch by hand with tender loving care. Everything! Even the pastry (skin) are made from hand using a rolling pin! No machines are used! Part of the battle is won whenever I am assured that the food, in this case the curry puffs are handmade! 

Noticed how each of these curry puffs looks exactly the same? They are of similar size and has a minimum of 18 exquisite folds just like Xiao Long Bao. Not an easy feat considering that these are handmade! 

The curry puffs are then deep fried in batches. This way, any person who orders a curry puff will be able to savour one that is freshly made and freshly cooked.

Curry Puff $1.40

Like how it used to be, they sell their curry puffs in plain white paper bag (whereas now Tip Top uses a white paper bag with its name; 'Tip Top' printed on it).

Curry Puff $1.40

Another look at it. 

Curry Puff $1.40

The Curry Puff was superb! It had a good mix of chicken potato, chicken, spices and egg. I loved the mix as it was moist with lots of ingredients in it and had the right amount of spiciness. In addition, the crust was thin and crispy! It really does tasted very similar to the Tip Top Curry Puff which I purchased when I was in Upper Primary, when it cost only 60 cents! Nostalgic! Such a pleasure to sink my teeth into it. After trying one, I actually went back to the stall (a few hours later) just to purchase some back home!

I like how AMK Curry Puff focused their attention on the essential components; on the core business and product. Focusing on the ingredients, the execution and making sure that the food is delicious, instead of widening the product range, branding and marketing.

No wonder in my last two blog posts on Tip Top Curry Puff (The Puff Factory), I mentioned that the size and standard of the curry puff seems to have dropped. Now, everything makes sense. 

AMK Curry Puff is certainly one of the best curry puffs around. I would rate it as a die die must try! Nevertheless, it is best to try this for yourself. You will never know what you have been missing until you try it!

AMK Curry Puff (Toa Payoh Central)

Blk 184 Toa Payoh Central #01-372

Inside Super 28 Coffeeshop

Singapore 310184

Tel: 9672 6621

Opening Hours: Daily 10am - 9pm (they might be close at 830pm if its sold out)

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Carl's Jr. Singapore: 1 For 1 Breakfast Combo at Changi Airport T3

Source: Carl's Jr. Singapore

Carl's Jr. Singapore: 1 For 1 Breakfast Combo at Changi Airport T3

- Limited period only
- Breakfast starts at 7am
- Flash coupon to redeem 

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品 (Chinatown)

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品 a well-known traditional dessert stall, also owns the Farmer Brand groundnuts 农夫牌花生. The stall expanded last year and open a branch at ION Orchard.

Although Mei Heong Yuen Dessert occupies three units of the ground-floor shop house in Chinatown, the place was full on a Saturday night. Luckily, the staff were efficient and the turnover was fast. We found a table fairly quickly.

Menu

Menu 

Look at the menu, Mei Heong Yuen Dessert offers a wide variety of desserts.

Peanut Paste $3

I decided to try the Peanut Paste after all they own the Farmer Brand groundnuts. Where else would be a better place to try peanut paste.

The Peanut Paste was amazingly fragrant and smooth. There were no peanut bits present. In terms of thickness it was just nice and not overly diluted. Initially I feared that it would be too thick. The perfection of this peanut paste allowed me to polish off the whole bowl without feeling jelak and had me longing for more. What a satisfying bowl of Peanut Paste.

Walnut Paste $3

Walnut Paste $3

On another occasion, I tried the Walnut Paste. It was priced at $3 too. Mei Heong Yuen's Walnut Paste did not disappoint. It had a smooth consistency and thickness. Full of walnut fragrant and flavour, I have to admit that this is one of the best Walnut Paste I have tried. It would be worthwhile to note that not many dessert stalls sells Walnut Paste.

Sesame Paste $3

On the third occasion, I had the Sesame Paste which was priced at $3. It was a hat trick (3 times) of paste. Similarly, it had the same consistency and smoothness. Quite a decent bowl of sesame paste.

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert is a good bet if you are looking for desserts. They sell a variety of desserts such as paste and shaved ice. 

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品 (Chinatown)

65-67 Temple Street

Kreta Ayer Conversation Area

Tel: 6221 1156

Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 1030am to 8pm

                        Sat - Sun 1030am to 10pm

Website

Location

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert 味香园甜品 (ION Orchard)

2 Orchard Turn

#B4-34 ION ORchard

Tel: 6509 3301

Opening Hours: Daily 1030am to 10pm

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Carl's Jr. Singapore Lunch Promotion: Lunch Combo From $6.90

Source: Carl's Jr. Singapore

Carl's Jr. Singapore Lunch Promotion: Lunch Combo From $6.90

- Available on Mon to Fri from 11am to 5pm

Chili's Singapore: Kids Eat For Free Promotion

Source: Chili's Singapore

Chili's Singapore: Kids Eat For Free Promotion
One free Pepper Pals meal with every purchase of an adult main course  

- Valid for kids age 12 and below
- Valid till 6pm everyday at Central & JCube only, Valid on Monday to Friday till 6pm for Tanglin mall outlet
- Valid for dine-in only
- Not valid on public holidays and eve of public holidays
- Not valid with any promotion or discounts

Whole Earth Peranakan Thai Vegetarian Restaurant (Tanjong Pagar)

Whole Earth Peranakan Thai Vegetarian Restaurant (oh such a mouthful!) is as its name suggest a restaurant that serves Peranakan-Thai style Vegetarian cuisine - such a unique concept. Their concept includes using healthy and fresh ingredients to bring out the flavours targeting healthy freaks individuals, providing a healthier choice to customers.

Whole Earth first opened its doors for business in 2003 (this year marks its 10th anniversary). The restaurant is located at Peck Seah Street within a minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Exit A. It's hard to miss this place as they used the huge wall to their advantage advertising their restaurant. 

8 Treasure Cooling Tea with Rosehip

The 8 Treasure Cooling Tea with Rosehip was not bad. But to my friends, they mentioned that it smell and tasted like medicine (cough mixture). So a word of caution, not everyone would like this. 

All the dishes that we ordered and ate were their best sellers.

Sambal Kang Kong $12

The Sambal Kang Kong was well cooked and was still crunchy. The unique belachan sauce in this dish stimulated the different senses of taste (sweet, spicy and salty), to its extreme at times. It was very spicy and yet salty at the same time. I suspect that they had added Marmite to it, and if they did, they have added too much of it. If this dish was less salty, it would have been perfect. Interestingly, this dish was incredibly addictive, I wonder if it was the Marmite flavour (salty) or spiciness that made it so addictive. Beats me.. 

Oatmeal Tofu with Curry Leaves $15

The chunks of tofu in the Oatmeal Tofu with Curry Leaves were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. An addition point to note was that it was not oily. However, the oats were a disappointment. They practically tasteless. Somehow the flavours of the curry leaves was not brought out. On a side note, the Oat Tofu with Curry Leaves looks uncanny similar to Cereal Prawns.

Broccoli with Braised Monkeyhead Mushroom $19

As the name of this dish suggests, the Broccoli with Braised Monkeyhead Mushroom was made up of mushroomhead mushrooms (as mock meat). It was then braised together with broccoli, tang gui herbs and wolfberry. It was well executed and quite a decent dish (though not fantastic). 

Penang Rendang $19

Similar, mushroom was used as mockmeat in the Penang Rendang. This was another spicy dish, thought not as spicy as the sambal kangkong. In terms of taste, I thought that it was quite decently executed and similar to those found elsewhere (which uses mockmeat).

Nyonya Curry $19

Leaving the best for the last, the Nyonya Curry was outstanding. 8 hours of preparation and cooking was required for this dish. This dish was made of shiitake mushrooms (as mock meat) and potato in a thick Nyonya style curry sauce. The curry was incredibly flavourful and appetising. The potato and mockmeat tasted wonder in this sauce! Taste as good, if not as even better than other Nyonya Curry found elsewhere. The curry goes well with steamed rice! Yummy!

One of the aim of Whole Earth was to create a place where vegetarians could bring their friends non-vegetarian friends to. I must say that the food was impressive. Some of them not only taste just like the real one, but was even better! You may have noticed by now that mushrooms are commonly used as mockmeat by Whole Earth instead of using soybased or flour mockmeat.

Price wise I would say that it was on the expensive end and the portions were small. The ambiance and environment of the restaurant made it difficult to chat as it amplify and hence cause the place to be very noisy. This was despite the fact that it was only half full. Overall, I would conclude that, the vegetarian food served here are unique and quite good (in terms of taste). 

Whole Earth Peranakan Thai Vegetarian Restaurant (Tanjong Pagar)

76 Peck Seah Street

Singapore 079331

Tel: 6323 3308

Opening Hours: Daily Lunch 11:30am to 3pm (last order at 2:30pm) 

                                               Dinner: 5:30 to 10pm (last order at 9:15pm)

Website

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