Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Bras Basah)

Irish Butter Baked Salmon

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub was first established in 2010 to provide quality Irish Pubs in Singapore for dining and entertainment. The pub's first outlet is at the heart of Singapore; at Bras Basah. In fact, this outlet is just opposite Singapore Management University (SMU) and is in front of Exit D of Bras Basah MRT station. Today, Molly Roffey's Irish Pub has a total of three outlets, the other two locations are at Esplanade and Dorsett. 

Its outlet in Bras Basah serves an extensive variety of draft and bottled beers, house pour and premium wines and spirits, Western food and traditional Irish cuisine. 

The pub with its wooden interiors and Arsenal banners and flags on the walls, shows live telecasts of sports matches. If you are wondering why the Arsenal banners and flags are there, it is because Molly Roffey's Irish Pub at Bras Basah is the Arsenal Supporters Headquaters in Singapore. 

For the record, I am not an Arsenal fan.  

Dinner Specials

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub at Bras Basah offers Dinner Specials (Dinner Set Meal) daily from 5pm to 10pm, including weekends. The Dinner Specials consist of Soup, Main Course (choice of Molley Roffey's Ribeye Steak, Fish & Chips, Chicken & Mushroom Pomodoro, Golden Roast Half Chicken or Irish Butter Baked Salmon), Dessert of the Day and Soft Drink (choice of Coke, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Soda or Tonic) for $18.80++. 

We both ordered the Dinner Specials. I ordered the Molley Roffey's Ribeye Steak which is their bestsellers while my partner ordered the Irish Butter Baked Salmon. 

Mushroom Soup and Ginger Ale

For our choice of drinks, we both ordered the Ginger Ale.

Mushroom Soup

The Soup of the Day was the Mushroom Soup. It was decent, fully of mushroom flavour with lots of grind mushrooms bits in it.   

Molly Roffey's Ribeye Steak

The signature Molly Roffey's Ribeye Steak is served with potato wedges, salad and madeira sauce. 

Molly Roffey's Ribeye Steak

My Molly Roffey's Ribeye Steak was overcooked, arriving well done instead of medium. During my previous visit, I ordered this same dish which was cooked perfectly; medium. Nevertheless, the steak was still delicious despite being tough (due to overcooking during this visit), it paired off well with the madeira sauce.

Being fans of potato (wedges), we polished this off although most people would find the wedges normal - nothing to shout about. 

Irish Butter Baked Salmon

The partner orderd the Irish Butter Baked Salmon in homemade egg-yolk sauce served with wedges and mixed salad. Found the salmon average only.  

Marble Butter Cake

The Dessert of the Day was Marble Butter Cake which was CMI (cannot make it). It was cold, hard, dense and dry. It was so bad that we both just tried one bite only. 

Hazelnut Cake

Their Dessert of the Day on a previous visit was the Hazelnut Cake. The Hazelnut Cake was fantastic... way better than that marble cake. They should just stop serving the marble cake.

During my visits at Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Bras Basah), there were hits and misses. I will certainly come back if I am looking for their Ribeye Steak despite the screw up during the last visit (overcooked steak). After all, with the set dinner its quite value for money and has a great atmosphere.

ps: Molly Roffey's Irish Pub at Bras Basah offers daily Lunch Specials from 12pm to 3pm too. The prices range from $12.80++ to $15.80++. 

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Bras Basah)
51 Bras Basah Road
#01-02A Manulife Centre
Singapore 189554
Tel: +65 6238 0989
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm to 12am
Website

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Esplanade)
8 Raffles Avenue
#01-13E Esplanade Mall 
Singapore 039802 
Tel: +65 6238 1875
Opens Hours: Sun to Thur 3pm - 1am
                       Fri to Sat 3pm - 2am

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Dorsett)
313 New Bridge Road
Dorsett Residences #01-04 
Singapore 088764
Te: +65 64445313 
Open Hours: Daily 12pm to 12am

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Starbucks Singapore: Buy 1 Get 1 Free Venti-sized Christmas Drink (26 to 30 Dec 2014)

Source: Starbucks Singapore

Starbucks Singapore: Buy 1 Get 1 Free Venti-sized Christmas Drink (26 to 30 Dec 2014)

- Valid from 26 to 30 Dec 2014 from 3pm to 11pm
- Limited to 2 orders per customer
- While stocks last

Myeongdong Kyoja 명동교자 (明洞餃子) (South Korea, Seoul)

Dumplings (Mandu) 만두 8,000 KRW (S$10)

If you have been to Myeongdong in Seoul, you would have probably heard about Myeongdong Kyoja 명동교자 (明洞餃子). This restaurant chain has two stalls located less than 100 metres apart along the same stretch of street in Myeongdong!

Myeongdong Kyoja established in 1966, is popular among the locals and tourist. The restaurant is famous for their knife-cut, handmade kalguksu noodles in chicken broth. In fact, they have self proclaimed themselves as the inventor of kalguksu noodles in Korea.

Myeongdong Kyoja does not offer a wide variety of items on its menu. Just 4 main dishes [Choppped Noodles (Kalguksu) 칼국수, Bibimguksu 비빔국수, Dumplings (Mandu) 만두 and Soybean Noodles (Kongguksu) 콩국수] as seen above and with Kimchi as the side dish (banchan / 반찬). 

Dumplings (Mandu) 만두 8,000 KRW (S$10)

The Dumplings (Mandu) 만두 8,000 KRW (S$10) is also another of their popular dish. You would see this dish at nearly every tables. The Kimchi given are refillable.

Dumplings (Mandu) 만두 8,000 KRW (S$10)

These dumplings are bigger and contains more filling compared to the Xiao Long Bao which you can find in Singapore/China. The outer skin is smooth and thin so much so that it is nearly translucent and you can see the fillings. Although the dumplings do not contain any broth in it, the filling which consisted of a mixture of pork and vegetable was juicy, tasty and addictive. The two of us had no issue finishing all the dumplings!

Choppped Noodles (Kalguksu) 칼국수 8,000 KRW (S$10)

This is the signature Choppped Noodles (Kalguksu) 칼국수 8,000 KRW (S$10) which is a must order!

Choppped Noodles (Kalguksu) 칼국수 8,000 KRW (S$10)

The handmade noodles cutted using a knife was served in a bowl of chicken broth filled with minced meat, small dumplings, vegetables and garlic. Both the noodles and broth taste so tasty. In addition, they would give you a small bowl of rice for you to pour into the bowl once you have finished the noodles.

ps: The soup and rice are refillable.

Soybean Noodles (Kongguksu) 콩국수 8,000 KRW (S$10)

The Soybean Noodles (Kongguksu) 콩국수 8,000 KRW (S$10);  a summer delicacy for the locals consist of cold noodles in soybean soup. The noodles are made with flour and chlorella (hence the noodles are green in colour).  The soybean soup is made by grinding black beans and big beans with a small amount of water. As the soybean soup spoil easily, they are made twice a day to ensure freshness.

Soybean Noodles (Kongguksu) 콩국수 8,000 KRW (S$10)

The Soybean Noodles (Kongguksu) 콩국수 was too exotic for us. None of us liked the taste and we could not finish it. We were too adventurous and really regretted ordering this..

The restaurant which I want to has two levels. Although there would normally be a queue during peak hours, the turnover is very fast due to their large sitting capacity. If you find the restaurant too crowded for you, you can try going down to the other branch located in the same street 90 metres away. Directions are appended below.

I have been to this restaurant chain several times over the past 7 years, it never disappoints and the quality is consistent! 

Myeongdong Kyoja 명동교자 (明洞餃子) (South Korea, Seoul)
The Main Restaurant of Myeongdong Kyoja
25-2 2-ga, Myeong-dong
Jung-gu, Seoul 
Tel: +82 2 776 5348 
Opening Hours: Daily 1030am to 930pm
Website
Directions: From Myeongdong Station Exit 8, turn left onto Myeongdong 10-gil Road. This is the alley btween Family Mart and Tous Les Jour. Go straight about 200m, the restaurant is on the right. 

The Branch Restaurant of Myeongdong Kyoja 
33-4 2-ga, Myeong-dong
Jung-gu, Seoul 
Tel: +82 2 776 3424 
Opening Hours: Daily 1030am to 930pm
Directions: Myeongdong Station (subway line 4) Exit 8, turn left onto Myeongdong 10-gil Road. Go straight about 290m, the restaurant is on the left.

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618 Sim 菜頭粿 Carrot Cake (Yishun)

White Carrot Cake $2.50

618 Sim 菜頭粿 Carrot Cake is located at a coffee shop called Fujo Eating House tucked away at a quiet corner of Yishun estate. This stall is located at Blk 618 and is nearer to Khatib MRT station compared to Yishun MRT station.

I visited on a weekday and was surprised that there was still a need to wait for 10 minutes. I wonder what will be the waiting duration on a weekend.

618 Sim 菜頭粿 Carrot Cake sells both White and Black Fried Carrot Cake with the option to add prawns. Interestingly, the Black Carrot Cake is sold only on weekdays from 630am to 930am and they do not sell it on weekends or public holidays. Whereas the White Carrot Cake is sold during all opening opening hours.

White Carrot Cake $2.50

As we visited just slightly after 930am, only the White Carrot Cake $2.50 was available. We did not have to wait long as it was a weekday.

White Carrot Cake $2.50

The White Carrot Cake served with lots of diced preserved radish (chye poh) was beautifully cooked and delicious! Each piece had a crisp texture, and was firm and soft on the inside. At just $2.50, this carrot cake is totally value for money considering the huge portion. In addition, this carrot cake was not oily!

On another occasion, we visited on a Sunday morning just slightly after 10am. We ordered the White Carrot Cake with Prawns $3.50. We had to wait for a good 15 minutes before it was served to our table.

White Carrot Cake with Prawns $3.50

The prawns were cut into smaller pieces and fried together with the carrot cake. We all preferred their fried carrot cake without the prawns.

This White Carrot Cake is the best I have tried in this area! As such, I am going to rate this a must try. If you are staying in Yishun or in the North, you should give this a try! I will definitely go back for more and also try its Black Carrot Cake!

ps: I went on a weekday recently at 8am. But they were so busy that they decided not to fry the black carrot cake. In the end, I ordered the White Carrot Cake and had to wait half an hour! 

618 Sim 菜頭粿 Carrot Cake (Yishun)

Fujo Eating House

#01-3230 Block 618

Yishun Ring Road 

Singapore 760618

Opening Hours: Wed to Mon 630am - 3pm
                          Closed on Tue

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Bindaetteok, Mayak Kimbap and Boribap at Gwangjang Market (South Korea, Seoul)

Bindaetteok (Mung Bean Pancakes) 빈대떡 5,000 KRW (S$6.25)

Gwangjang Market 광장시장 established in 1905 is one of the oldest and largest traditional market in Korea. The market with two levels has over 5000 stores selling a wide variety of products ranging from silk, satin, bedding, fabric, hanbok, kitchenware, clothing and food is popular among the locals. In recent years, the number of tourists visiting the market has increased significantly. Despite that, Namdaemun Market and Dongdaemun Market are still more popular among tourists compared to Gwangjang Maret.

We visited the food section of Gwangjang Market which is located at the right hand side of exit 9 of Jongno-5(o)-ga Station.

The food section is located at the ground level of the market. This is one of the 3 food alleys where the street food is located at. The Boribap 보리밥 (which you will read about towards the end of the post) is located near the toilet signage in the background of the above photo. 

The first food we went for was the Bindaetteok 빈대떡, also known as Mung Bean Pancakes which the market is famous for. You will be able to find several stalls (located next to each other) selling this at the center of the food section in the market where the three alleys meet. Despite the presence of so many stalls, you would need to wait for a seat. Turnover was relatively fast as it was essentially a eat-and-leave concept. We ate ours from the stall shown in the above photo. 

At each stall, you would see stone pestles which are constantly revolving, grounding the mung beans into paste. 

We sat long enough and saw stall owners making the Bindaetteok (Mung Bean Pancakes). They first add the grounded mung beans paste into a large container. Then added beansprouts, green onions, and garlic along with condiments. Then after that give it a good mix using their hands with their gloves on of course.

The end result is this - a well mixed mixture. They did not add any water.

They would then scoop out the mixture and fry it in a shape of a thick round pancake.

Bindaetteok (Mung Bean Pancakes) 빈대떡 5,000 KRW (S$6.25)

The Bindaetteok (Mung Bean Pancakes) 빈대떡 which cost 5,000 KRW (S$6.25) is a must try!  It was served with soy and onion dipping sauce. The freshly fried Bindaetteok was so crisp and tasty. The addition of the beansprouts was a fantastic idea as it provided a crunch to the otherwise soft ingredients. Perfect snack. Despite the large portion, we finished it and in fact I was wishing that we had the (stomach) capacity to order another! Considering the ingredients, I was amazed by its taste - Simple + Fresh ingredients = Delicious! 

Next we went for the Mayak (Drug) Kimbap 마약김밥. We visited the stall with the bright red signboard as shown in the above photo. This stall is also located at the center of the food section in the market where the three alleys meet.

This is the stall which was featured on Running Man Episode 186 with CNBLUE as the guests.

Mayak (Drug) Kimbap 마약김밥 

The Mayak Kimbap 마약김밥 are similar to kimbap; dried seaweed rolls stuffed with carrot, pickled daikon radish and rice. The main difference was that they were in bite-size. These small Mayak Kimbap are also known as as "Drug Kimbap” because they are so addictive! With its dipping sauce (mustard or sesame ), I was told that you would never stop at one!

Eomuk 어묵

The stall also sells Eomuk 어묵 - fishcakes served on a skewer in broth.

We followed what the locals in front of us did. Order, pay and collect our food. The food are placed in small black plastic bag. Then walk to the side where you would enter the area where customers could sit. It was not very spacious and customers would normally eat and go. There was a water cooler inside, and toilet papers and fans placed at strategic locations.

Mayak (Drug) Kimbap 마약김밥 2,500 KRW (S$3.13)

This was the Mayak (Drug) Kimbap 마약김밥 2,500 KRW (S$3.13). True to its words, it was addictive. But personally, the Bindaetteok surprised me more.

Eomuk 어묵 500 KRW (S$0.63)

We also ordered a Eomuk (fishcake) 어묵 500 KRW (S$0.63). This is a popular street food which you will see everywhere in Korea. Their Eomuk are thin and rectangular in shape.

After that we went on a quest to hunt for the stall which Running Man visited for its Boribap 보리밥. The above picture shows the stall which Running Man visited.

Featured in Running Man Episode 186 with CNBLUE as their guests.

Boribap 보리밥 and Miyeok Guk 미역국 5,000 KRW (S$6.25)

The Boribap 보리밥 which cost 5,000 KRW (S$6.25) was served with a bowl of complimentary  Miyeok Guk (Seaweed Soup) 미역국.

Boribap 보리밥 5,000 KRW (S$6.25)

Boribap 보리밥 is similar to Bibimbap. The main difference is that instead of plain rice, it comes with a mixture of rice and barley! It was served with fresh vegetables such as lettuce, bean sprouts, zucchini and pickled greens, and topped with gochujang (red pepper) sauce and sesame oil,

Boribap 보리밥 5,000 KRW (S$6.25)

Boribap 보리밥 5,000 KRW (S$6.25)

Give the Boribap a good mix and its ready! The Boribap was refreshing and tasted surprisingly delicious. The addition of barley added a lot more crunch into this dish. Shiok and healthy!

The food at Gwangjang Market was yummy! I wished we had the time to make a second trip down to this market. Nevertheless, I will definitely visit this market again when I next visit Seoul! I highly recommend the Bindaetteok and Boribap! Must try! 

Bindaetteok 빈대떡, Mayak Kimbap 마약김밥 and Boribap 보리밥 at Gwangjang Market (South Korea, Seoul)

6-1 Yeji-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

서울특별시 종로구 예지동 6-1

Directions: From Jongno-5(o)-ga Station (subway line 1) exit 9, turn right into the first alley.

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