Zhen Zhen Porridge 真真粥品 (Maxwell Food Centre)

Century Egg and Shredded Chicken Porridge with Egg 皮蛋鸡肉粥加蛋 $3.30

You may have heard of this well known porridge stall at Maxwell Food Centre (hawker centre) called Zhen Zhen Porridge 真真粥品. Although there are several stalls in the food centre selling porridge, this is the most popular stall with long queues during peak hours.

Zhen Zhen Porridge serves Cantonese style porridge where the rice grain is cooked till it is of a semi-solid consistency.

Menu

They are also famed for their fresh raw fish (Song-fish) salad. But they have temporarily stopped selling this after the National Environment Agency (NEA) asked more than 70 raw fish porridge stalls to temporarily stop selling raw fish dishes made from Song fish, also known as Asian Bighead Carp, and Toman fish, also known as Snakehead. This arose because of the link between the consumption of raw fish and Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection.

Century Egg and Shredded Chicken Porridge with Egg 皮蛋鸡肉粥加蛋 $3.30

Century Egg and Shredded Chicken Porridge with Egg 皮蛋鸡肉粥加蛋 $3.30

This is the Century Egg and Shredded Chicken Porridge with Egg 皮蛋鸡肉粥加蛋 $3.30. All the rice grains were cooked till they were all dissolved. The porridge was thick and silky. The porridge was delicious and tasty. For $3.30, this is so value for money they were so generous with the ingredients.

ps: the pictures does not do the porridge any justice as it tasted way better than it looks. 

Zhen Zhen Porridge 真真粥品 (Maxwell Food Centre)

#01-54 Maxwell Food Centre

1 Kadayanallur Street  

Singapore 069184

Opening Hours: Wed to Mon 5.30am - 2.30pm

                          Closed on Tue

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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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Ramen Keisuke Tori King (100 AM)

Ramen Keisuke Tori King is an eatery that serves authentic Japanese ramen opened by Mr Keisuke Takeda who has won several ramen competitions. Mr Keisuke Takeda has opened several ramen eateries in Singapore such as the Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King (Orchid Hotel and Bugis) and Gyoza King (Orchid Hotel). 

As we were at the 100AM shopping mall (Tanjong Pagar), we decided to give this a try. We were there at 630pm and there was no queue. But by the time we left at close to 8pm, there was a short queue. 

Menu

The menu.

There would be a bottle of cold marinated bean sprouts and basket of boiled eggs on every table. There would also be slip of paper for each individual to fill in their orders along with a small bowl and a wooden stick for grinding the sesame seeds (just like Saboten). Pepper and bonito flakes are available at each table too. 

Hard Boiled eggs

Free flow of hard boiled eggs. 

Bean Sprout

Free flow of cold marinated bean sprouts. Do not under estimate this dish dish. It was very addictive. So tasty and so crunchy. We kept on opening the bottle to take more out! 

Tori King Ramen Special (All Toppings) $15.90

The partner ordered Tori King Ramen Special (All Toppings) $15.90. It included all the toppings such as seaweed, flavoured egg and pork.  

Black Spicy Tori King Ramen Special (All Toppings) $16.90

I ordered the Black Spicy Tori King Ramen Special (All Toppings) $16.90. The main different was that this was the spicy version. To be frank, both of us did not like these two bowls of ramen. The stock was too thick and the saltiness just overwhelmed the other flavours in the stock. The only positive aspect was the drumstick which was meaty and tender. Other than that the other ingredients were average.

Ironically, we preferred the marinated bean sprouts more than the main dish. Service wise, the staff were very attentive! 

Ramen Keisuke Tori King (100 AM)

100 AM (next to Amara Hotel)

100 Tras St #03-15

Singapore 079027 

Tel: 6604 6861

Opening Hours: 1130am to 10pm

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A Noodle Story 超好面 (Amoy Street Food Centre)

A Noodle Story 超好面 located in Amoy Street Food Centre has differentiated itself by being the first and only Singapore-style ramen. This is the brain child of two Shatec trained friends who decided to create ultimate noodles dish through a combination of modern European techniques and Asian flavours providing gourmet quality noodles at hawker prices. 

A Noodle Story has announced on Jan this year that due to increase in operating cost (rental and cost of raw ingredients), their prices have increased by 50 cents. Hence, please note to increase the prices by 50 cents for all the prices stated in this blog post. 

Singapore Style Ramen $6

The Singapore Style Ramen $6 consisted of Noodles, Hot Spring Egg, Cha Su, Potato Wrapped Prawn, and HK Style Wanton topped with scallions. The soup was served separately in a small bowl. The noodles were very springy and were similar to mee kia. 

Singapore Style Ramen $6

Potato Wrapped Prawn

Cha Su

Hot Spring Egg

The noodles were cluttered together in a lump making it hard to eat. The chilli added at the side lacked spiciness and fragrance and was too dry. The ingredients such as the Potato Wrapped Prawn, Cha Su and Hot Spring Egg were quite good whereas the HK Style Wanton was ordinary with nothing much to shout about.

As a whole, the presentation and concept of this Singapore Style Ramen was unique. It looked real good. But taste wise, it was not mind blowing. Nevertheless, I still must say that I admire the spirit of these two young men for their innovation in creating such a dish. Moreover, the effort taken to arrange the ingredients in the bowl although this was not a restaurant.  

A Noodle Story 超好面 (Amoy Street Food Centre)

7 Maxwell Road 

MND Building Annex B 

#01-39 Amoy Street Food Centre

Tel: 9027 6289

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 11am - 230pm, 330pm - 730pm

                         Closed on Weekends and PHs

Website

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Café 2000 Seafood and Barbecue Buffet Dinner (M Hotel)

Café 2000, a restaurant located at M Hotel (Near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station) serves International Buffet Dinner at daily from 6pm to 11pm. On Fridays, Saturdays and Eve of Public Holidays, the restaurant serves Seafood and Barbecue Buffet Dinner.

We visited Café 2000 on a Saturday evening and tried out its Seafood and Barbecue Buffet Dinner. 

When we arrived at 630pm, the restaurant was around 70% full.  The first few rows of the tables near the entrance were not occupied. Whereas those inside the restaurants were all occupied, most probably because everyone wanted to be strategically near the food since it was a buffet.

I was surprised to see so many people at the restaurant as I thought that we were early. The spread available included Cold Seafood, Barbecue, Bread, Soup, Salad, Zi Char (which was the month special), Satay, Sashimi, Sushi, Dessert and Live Cooking Stations. To sum it up, the spread was reasonable, enough to keep me busy eating for 3 hours. 

Cold Seafood

The Cold Seafood Section was impressive. There were Oysters, Prawns, Scallops, Crabs and even Crab Claws! In addition, each of them were fresh. I particularly like the Oysters (plump and juicy), Prawns (sweet and firm) and Crab Claws. It would have been perfect if they were more prompt in refilling the Oysters.

(Clockwise from the top left) BBQ Section: Lamb, Beef, Chicken Wings and Salmon

The Barbecue (BBQ) Section was a unique differentiation that makes Café 2000 stand out compared to most other buffets. There was a variety of raw meat; Lamb, Beef, Chicken Wings and Salmon. 

BBQ Seafood Section

In addition, there were also BBQ seafood section with Jumbo Prawns, Scallops, Crayfish, Fish, and Fish and Squid Otak. All you have to do is to select the raw food you want on a plate, then peg your table clip to the plate. The BBQ food would be cooked and served to your table. 

(Clockwise from the top left) BBQ Meat: Lamb, Beef Chicken Wing and Salmon

BBQ Seafood 

The BBQ food was delish. I was most impressed with the Jumbo Prawns. Look at the size of it. It was fresh and the shells were easily taken out. In addition, the meat was firm. The otahs were quite good too, slightly spicy, there were fish chunks in it.

Scallop Au Gratin

The beautifully cooked Scallop Au Gratin did not disappoint. The warm melted cheese complemented the scallop well. 

Pork Ribs and Bratwurst

Pork Ribs and Bratwurst

The Bratwurst was a tad too salty for our liking. However, the partner loved the Pork Ribs which were folk tender and flavourful. 

Angus Beef

The Chef’s signature Angus Beef. 

The Angus Beef was well executed by the Chef. The natural flavour and juices in the beef was retained. I have seldom been impressed with pizza during a buffet. But Café 2000's thin crust pizza certainly made an impression on me. So much so that I had to tell the partner to try it.

Laksa

There was a live cooking station for the Laksa. All you have to do is to select the noodles and items you want for your Laksa on a plate, then peg your table clip to the plate. The Laksa would be delivered to your table.  There was an extensive variety of items including seafood (squid, prawns, mussel), yong tau foo and quail eggs.

The laksa gravy was fragrant and rich with the right amount of spiciness. It was so delectable that I finished the whole bowl by myself and quite full by the time I finish this.

Royal Chocolate Cake

Desserts

There was a wide variety of Desserts available ranging from Assorted Nonya Kueh, Cakes, Durian Puree, Chocolate Fondue to Shaved Ice. The Durian Puree stood out. Made from fresh durian, it was thick (not diluted) and bittersweet. Durian lovers will definitely love this.

It was a pity, I was just too full and did not manage to try every single items. I did not even manage try the chilli crab!

Although this was a tasting session, I was impressed with the quality of food. The spread was less than Todai Singapore, but Café 2000's quality was way well better (which makes it more value for money). Most people would 'spam' on the Cold Seafood section to make their money worth while. At, Café 2000 beside doing that you can also 'spam' on the BBQ section (Something I would do if I go back again =P). In addition, I would also go for more servings of the Laksa and Anges Beef.

Would I be back? Yes, I can forsee myself going back! I already know what I want to go for when I am back. 

Thank you Lindy for the invite and hosting us.

International Buffet Dinner
Sunday to Thursday from 6pm to 1030pm
 $50++ Adult, $28++ Child

Seafood and BBQ Buffet Dinner 
Friday, Saturday and eve of Public Holidays from 6pm to 1030pm 
$62++ Adult, $32++ Child

Café 2000 (M Hotel)

81 Anson Road, M Hotel

Singapore 079908

Tel: 6500 6112

Opening Hours: Daily from 630am to 11pm

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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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Kko Kko Nara 꼬꼬나라 (Tanjong Pagar)

Kko Kko Nara 꼬꼬나라 a Korean restaurant located at Tras Road, is only a stone throw away (i.e. five minutes away) from Tanjong Pagar MRT station. It is located close to the Maxwell Food Centre too. 

Korean Fried Chicken

Kko Kko Nara specialises in Korean cuisine and their signature dish is their Korean Fried Chicken which has been highly raved. 

The restaurant was cozy and air conditioned. They have quite a small sitting capacity. When we visited during lunch time on Saturday, the restaurant was fully packed. I took this photo as we were leaving at 230pm, by then most of the customers had left and the restaurant was closing (230pm). 

Each table has a box of tissue paper utensils and a metal bin for disposal of bones. I like their menu cover. It was artistically and colourful. The fried chicken looks so appetising! 

Ban Chan / Side Dish (반찬) 

The Ban Chan / Side Dish (반찬) were just normal - average. One of the rare occasions where I did not ask for more side dishes. 

Combo Chicken Set (S) $20 (clockwise from top: Sweet, Special Garlic Soy Sauce, Original)

Since we were here, we just had to order the the signature Korean Fried Chicken! The Combo Chicken Set (S) $20 consisted of 9 pieces of chicken - 3 pieces of 3 different flavours chicken. The flavours were namely Original, Sweet and Special Garlic Soy Sauce Chicken. We notice that the price of this dish during dinner time was $25 instead of $20.

Left to right: Special Garlic Soy Sauce, Sweet

Having tried the Fried Chicken, I now understood why it had been so highly raved about. Each piece was crispy, crunchy, well marinated and fried. The meat were tender, and had the right blend of spices and sauces. In addition, the immense flavour had penetrated all the way into the meat. My favourite was the Special Garlic Soy Sauce Fried Chicken which was made of hand-crushed garlic and 41 kinds of ingredient with soy sauce. 

In terms of execution, I thought that they did quite well. It's a common perception that its easyto cook chicken wings. But its hard to make one that's nice, well seasoned (with the flavours penetrating into the meat) and not oily. 

Bu Dae Ji Gae (부대찌개) $35

We also ordered the Bu Dae Jji Gae (부대찌개) to shared. The Bu Dae Jji Gae when translated, literally means The Army Stew. It was named this way as this dish originated during the Korean War. Back then, the Americans who assisted in the war brought their own food such as spam (canned meat), baked beans, sausages and hot dogs which was not introduced in Korea before. As the Koreans were facing a food shortage, they cooked a spicy stew which consisted of kimchi and gochujang (red chili paste) and mixed the American's surplus food into the stew. This was how The Army Stew / Bu Dae Jji Gae came about.

Kko Kko Nara's Bu Dae Jji Gae consisted of noodles, spam, sausages, mushroom, korean rice cake, baked beans, tofu, kimchi, gochujang and a mixture of vegetables. Red and Green Chilli were added to further enhance its taste. 

Bu Dae Ji Gae (부대찌개) $35

Mix the Bu Dae Jji Gae and once it boils, this is how it should looks like. After that you can let it simmer and slowly savour it. The best part is that the longer the stew simmers, the more robust and flavourful it becomes. Kko Kko Nara's Bu Dae Jji Gae was 맛있어요 (delicious)!! We indulged endlessly into it. The more we dig into it, the more we love it. 

Although the Ban Chan / Side Dish were average, the Special Garlic Soy Sauce Fried Chicken and Bu Dae Jji Gae were just simply delicious! I will definitely be back to fulfill my Korean cravings at Kko Kko Nara 꼬꼬나라 again. Price wise, although some may feel that its on the expensive end, I thought its quite value for money considering the taste and quality of food. 

Kko Kko Nara 꼬꼬나라 (Tanjong Pagar)

#01-0157 

Tras Street

Singapore 078996

Tel:  6224 8186

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 230pm, 5pm to 3am

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