Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff 東陵酥皮咖喱角 (Maxwell Food Centre)

Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff 東陵酥皮咖喱角 is located in Maxwell Food Centre. I still remember then when I was walking around the hawker centre and the owner making the curry puffs on the spot caught my attention. After all, how often do you get freshly made curry puff? Nowadays most curry puffs are made in a central kitchen or factory before being sent to the stores to be fried. 

This stall speciailses in only curry puffs. They sell 3 varieties; Potato Chicken and Egg Curry Puff $1.50, Potato Sardine and Egg Curry Puff $1.50 and Fish Otah Curry Puff $1.60. 

The unique selling points are definitely the fact that the curry puffs are made freshly on the spot and their Fish Otah Curry Puff is not something can that be bought elsewhere. 

Potato Chicken and Egg Curry Puff $1.50

This is the Potato Chicken and Egg Curry Puff $1.50. The price of the curry puff has increased quite a fair bit from $1.20 to $1.50 (2011 - $1.20, 2013 - $1.40, 2015 - $1.50). Fortunately, the size (big and plump) and taste of the curry puff remains the same. 

The thin, crisp and flaky crust had a slight buttery fragrance. The fillings comprised of moist mashed potatoes with chicken bits mixed with a blend of aromatic curry powder. In addition, a small piece of hard boiled egg in the curry puff. Overall, the Chicken Curry Puff was quite decent. I would eat it if i pass by this place.

Fish Otah Curry Puff $1.60

The Fish Otah Curry Puff $1.60 is something that is executed differently that I do not see elsewhere. It was surprisingly good. Instead of moist potatoes or chicken meat, it was filled with generous amount of fresh succulent fish chunks mixed with curry powder. 

If you are at Maxwell Food Centre or at Tanjong Pagar, this is a snack worth trying. Try it immediately upon purchase as curry puffs taste best when they are freshly cooked. They tend to taste different when you reheat them. 

Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff 東陵酥皮咖喱角 (Maxwell Food Centre)

1 Kadayanallur Street 

#01-06 Maxwell Food Centre 

Tel: 9740 8408 

Opening Hours: Daily 7am to 7pm

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Jack's Place (Woodlands Civic Centre)

 NZ Ribeye Steak with Mushroom Brown Sauce 

Jack's Place is one of my favorite restaurant for a decent and affordable steak set lunch. I have been patronising Jack's Place for a long time, since the 1990s. 

Jack's Place was started by a Chinese man (i.e. Mr Say Lip Hai) from Hainan island. He joined the British Army as a cookboy and learnt how to cook steak and Yorkshire pudding. With the skills, he opened his first restaurant called Cola Restaurant in 1967 at Sembawang. This was the very outlet which I used to visit. Today, it has evolved to include several concept restaurants such as Eatzi Gourmet, Seafood Harvest, Brewbaker's, Hoshigaoka and Jack's Place under the JP Pepperdine Group.

Daily Set Lunch Menu

The reason why I always visit during lunch time instead of dinner time is because of their daily set lunch which is available day from 11am to 3pm. The Set Lunch is affordable as it comes along with Wholemeal Garlic Bread, Soup of the Day, Day's Dessert and Coffee / Tea.

They have revamped their menu and the N.Z. Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce (which used  to cost $16) has been removed from the Executive Set Lunch and placed under Main Course instead with a different sauce.

I visited on a Monday and ordered the N.Z. Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce (by replacing the Onion Demi Glazed with brown sauce at no extra cost). Price wise, it is now $19.90.

Wholemeal Garlic Bread, Lobster Bisque and Cream of Potato Soup

They now use Wholemeal Bread for their Garlic Bread to promote healthy living. As for the soup of the day, it was the Cream of Potato Soup. It was surprisingly delicious. 

We upgraded one of our soup to Lobster Bisque by adding $2.30. Ever since I tried the Lobster Bisque Soup, I could not resist the temptation to order it again. Great soup, rich in flavour and great balance in taste. In addition, there were several chunks of lobster meat in the soup. The Lobster Bisque Soup is one of Jack's Place house specialty.

Curly Truffle Fries Topped with Parmesan Cheese $8.80

The Curly Truffle Fries Topped with Parmesan Cheese $8.80 is a new dish that was introduced recently when they revamped the menu. The fries were essentially fried curly fries with truffle oil and topped with parmesan cheese. It was delicious and not overly oily. It was a tad too salty towards the end. 

 NZ Ribeye Steak with Mushroom Brown Sauce 

The NZ Ribeye Steak arrived on a sizzling hotplate along side with carrots, baby corn, french beans, onions and baked potato. The brown sauce on top complement the steak perfectly. I love the brown sauce! so much that we would always request for extra serving of the brown sauce (kudos to Jack's Place for not charging extra for such request). Anyone knows how I can make the brown sauce?

The baked potato deserves a mention too. It was well baked, not dry not powdery. Topped with Sour Cream Sauce, Chicken bits and Spring Onions, it was yummy!

Day's Dessert and Coffee & Tea

They should bring back the desserts which they served in the past such as the cakes or tarts. The current dessert that they serves are terrible.

In summary, other than the desserts, this is still my favourite restaurant for an affordable yet good steak. Definitely will be back for more!

Jack's Place (Woodlands Civic Centre)

#02-05/06 Woodlands Civic Centre

Tel: +65 6363 4803 

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 1030pm

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Starbucks Singapore: 1 For 1 Venti-Sized Christmas Beverage (till 23 Dec 2015)

Source: Starbucks Singapore

Starbucks Singapore: 1 For 1  Venti-Sized Christmas Beverage (till 23 Dec 2015)

- Valid from 21 to 23 Dec 2015, from 3pm to 7pm
-  While stocks last

Cold Stone Creamery: Free Ice Cream Vouchers at Orchard Central (till 20 Dec 2015)

Cold Stone Creamery: Free Ice Cream Vouchers at Orchard Central (17 to 20 Dec 2015)

- Valid from 17 to 20 Dec 2015 from 2pm onwards
- Complimentary ice cream vouchers valid for first 250 shoppers daily
- Limited to 1 per shopper only
-  Redemption of ice cream voucher at level 1 concierge counter
- Ice cream redeemable at Cold Stone Creamery for Signature Creation in "Like It" size.
- While stocks last.

Häagen-Dazs: 1 For 1 Flavoured Latte Promotion (till 31 Dec 2015)

Source: Häagen-Dazs

Häagen-Dazs: 1 For 1 Flavoured Latte Promotion (till 31 Dec 2015)

- Valid till 31 Dec 2015
- Bring a friend along
- Free Flavoured Latte is limited to Chocolate Latte only

Northern Thai Restaurant 泰北 (Peace Centre)

Traditional Clear Tom Yam Soup $4

I still remember my first visit to Northern Thai Restaurant 泰北 in 2011. Back then, this eatery was located in a coffeeshop along Tyrwhitt Road at Jalan Besar area and everyone at this coffeeshop was patronising this stall. I wanted to visit the eatery a couple of years back, but got to know that it shifted out from Tyrwhitt Road to Upper Paya Lebar Road. Hence, I was surprised to find see this stall at Peace Centre when I walked past it recently.

Northern Thai Restaurant is now located at level 1 of Peace Centre. It is located together with Isle Cafe. As its name suggest, the eatery serves Northern Thai cuisine.

The menu is pasted on the facade. Generally, they now focus on offering a fewer variety of dishes due to the difficulty in getting manpower. They no longer sell dishes such as Stewed Pork Leg, Spring Rolls and Fried Kang Kong.

Phad Thai $3.80 and Northern Thai Special Tom Yam Soup $4

I visited the stall on several occasions to try their food. During the first occasion, I ordered their Phad Thai $3.80 and Northern Thai Special Tom Yam Soup $4.

Phad Thai $3.80

The Phad Thai which is the Thai version of fried kway teow cost $3.80. It was fried with egg, beansprouts and prawns, and served with grounded peanut, chilli powder and lime. They were generous with the ingredients and this is a relatively cheap plate of Phad Thai as a similar portion elsewhere (e.g. other thai eateries - note not restaurant) would have easily cost $5.50.

While this plate of Phad Thai was quite well fried and decent in terms of taste, if I may compare, it lacks the taste (wok hei) and fragrant of the Phad Thai at Ah Loy Thai. However, for $3.80, I should not be complaining too much as its so value for money.

Northern Thai Special Tom Yam Soup $4

I remember that this is one of their signature dishes - Northern Thai Special Tom Yam Soup $4. This was quite a unique bowl of tom yam soup. It was cloudy and orangey in appearance and was served with fish slices. The fried fish soaked up all the essence of the soup!

Phad Hoon Sen $3.80

On another occasion I had the Phad Hoon Sen $3.80 and Traditional Clear Tom Yam Soup $4. Both were quite well executed.

The Phad Hoon Sen $3.80 is a Thai stirred fried glass noodles dish. This is a dish that is not easy to execute and fire control is essential to ensure that the glass noodles are cooked to the right texture and not overcooked. This was delicious as taste wise, it was just nice and cooked just right too. The plus point was that it was not oily at all.

Traditional Clear Tom Yam Soup $4

The Traditional Clear Tom Yam Soup $4 was not bad. Just that I found it a tad too sour. Could have been a little more spicy. 

Generally, the food here was not bad. Price wise, it was so value for money. During lunch time, it can be quite crowded and hard to get seats. If you intend to come on a Saturday, do give them a call as some of their popular items could be sold out as early as 1pm.

Northern Thai Restaurant 泰北 (Peace Centre)
#01-46 Peace Centre
1 Sophia Road
Singapore 228149
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 10am to 5pm (or sold out)
                          Closed on Sun and PH
Tel: +65 9851 6386
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Starry House Cottage 清境觀星園景觀山莊 (Taiwan, Nantou Country)

Complimentary Breakfast

 Starry House Cottage 清境觀星園景觀山莊 is a popular guesthouse (minsu) located in Cing Jing.

 We chose this guesthouse because of the following reasons.

1) It has the best view as it is strategically located at the highest point of Cing Jing

2) Great reviews on the hospitable and and friendly service

3) Complimentary steamboat dinner and breakfast that garnered good reviews

I am not joking when I wrote that it has the best view. Look at the sunset! We had an unblocked view as we were at the highest point. We arrived just in time for sunset. The owners immediately told us to go to the porch to view the sunset, and leave the luggage with them and pay the remaining payment later.

If you thought that this view was great wait till you see the photo on sunrise at the end of this post. 

Complimentary Steamboat Dinner

Located so high in Cing Jing, the temperature was so cold, making it perfect for having steamboat dinner. The portion of food was for 4 persons.

Complimentary Steamboat Dinner

The food was wrapped up in cling wrap to keep the food fresher till the guests were ready for dinner. Such thoughtful gesture from the owners! As for the meat and soup, they were served only after the guests were ready.

Complimentary Steamboat Dinner

Complimentary Steamboat Dinner

Complimentary Steamboat Dinner

Complimentary Steamboat Dinner

The ingredients provided were all very fresh. The only complain I had for the dinner was that there should have been more meat.

Complimentary Steamboat Dinner

This is their homemade chilli dip. Spicy and addictive.

Everyone staying at the guesthouse all woke up early and waited for the sun to rise. This is the photo of the sunrise. Beautiful right?

Complimentary Breakfast (Toast and egg)

After watching the sunrise, everyone went for breakfast which consisted of toast, egg, fruit, salad and coffee or tea. The breakfast was cooked by the owner's wife.

Complimentary Breakfast (salad and fruit)

The breakfast was simple yet delicious especially the toast. However, the portion was too little =(.

Nevertheless, we had a great stay at Starry House Cottage. Highly recommended! 

Starry House Cottage 清境觀星園景觀山莊 (Taiwan, Nantou Country)

台灣南投縣仁愛鄉大同村博望巷96號

No.96.Bowang Ln,Ren'ai Township

546 Nantou  Taiwan

Tel: 049 280 2242
Website

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Starbucks Singapore: Free Tall-Sized Christmas Beverage With A Donation To The Salvation Army (3 Dec 2015)

Source: Starbucks Singapore

Starbucks Singapore: Free Tall-Sized Christmas Beverage With A Donation To The Salvation Army (3 Dec 2015)

- Valid on 3 December 2015, from 3pm to 7pm