McDonald's Open Door Kitchen Tour

Went for McDonald's Open Door Kitchen Tour today at the McDonald located at Sun Plaza, Sembawang. You can register for the Open Door Kitchen Tour here. There are limited slots for the tours as each tour is limited to 20 person and is held only once a month, on the 3rd Sunday of the month.

No photography was allowed. Hence, I am unable to have any photos of the kitchen

The Open Door Ambassador (ODA) was the one who conducted the tour, showing us the storage area, crew room and kitchen. He also explained to us how burgers and fries were cooked. Automation seems to play a big role in today's kitchen operations. Even the fries that are dispensed are automated. The duration to cook food, be it fries, patties or even burger bread are automated having a count down timer.The ODA kept emphasizing on hygiene, food safety, quality standard, freshness and best quality ingredients. I am very impressed with the ODA. He certainty did a good job in driving these messages during the tour and did well to engage us.

After the tour, this was given.

Again, it drives the key messages that McDonald wants to send to consumers. Whoever though of this Open Door Kitchen Tour is a genius! What a way to promote their key message and counter 'Super Size Me' without being seen as defensive. Or well, maybe I thought too much, this is not meant to counter the documentary. =)

Food for thought:

1) There are two different stoves. One for cooking only the beef patties, the other for chicken patties. This is to respect those who do not eat beef

2) The stoves for cooking the beef and chicken patties are automated.

3) The beef patties are kept for a maximum of 15 minutes before it is thrown away. This is to ensure that customers get juicy beef patty which are not dry or overcooked.

4) There are 2 sets of gloves. Blue ones for frozen/uncooked food. White ones for cooked food. This is to ensure high hygiene standards.

Conclusion:

I always wonder how McDonald's keep their food standards similar with their high turnover rate in the kitchen and with hiring of youngsters. Now I get it! The answer is due to automation in the kitchen and having count down timers for cooking duration. Moreover, kudos to their training and also supply chain operation which played an important role.

Facebook

Song Huat Bak Kut Teh (Rochor)

Song Huat Bak Kut Teh is located at Rochor Centre. Rochor Centre is slated for redevelopment in the next few years to make way for the new North-South Expressway. If you want to try the stalls in Rocher, try it fast before it is gone.

Needless to say, Song Huat Bak Kut Teh specialise in dishing out Bak Kut Teh.

Menu (sorry for unclear picture)

Bak Kut Teh ($5), You Tiao(油条) ($1), Rice ($0.50)

You Tiao(油条) ($1)

The You Tiao (油条) (also known as Dough Fritter) is basically fried dough. It was not crispy, however I like to dip it into the Bak Kut Teh Soup so that it absord the soup. Shiok!

Bak Kut Teh ($5)

The Bak Kut Teh comes with 4 big and long pieces of soft and tender pork rib. I was surprise at how tender the meat was and it was easy to separate the meat from the bone. Perfectly cooked pork ribs. The soup was full of flavour from the spices, garlic, pepper and pork meat. Not too peppery too. Quite a nice, decent bowl of bak kut teh. I was tempted to take my empty bowl and ask for more soup.

If you pass by Bugis, this stall is worth a try before it moves away. I will definitely be back after all it is so near my office.

Song Huat Bak Kut Teh (Rochor)
1 Rochor Road
#01-506 Rochor Centre
Opening Hours: Tue to Sun 8am - 10pm
                         Closed: Every Mon (Except Public Holiday)

View FoodieFC's Singapore Food Map in a larger map

Hotel Saravana Bhavan (Chennai, India)

Just back from Hong Kong. First to clear backlog from India. Stay tuned for food to eat in Hong Kong at later posts.

Hotel Saravana Bhavan is a restaurant chain based in Chennai serving South Indian vegetarian cuisine. In India, restaurants are called 'hotels'. Hotel Saravana Bhavan was found in 1981 in Chennai (of course). Today, it has 24 outlets in Chennai and multiple outlets all world wide including UAE, USA, UK, Canada, Malaysia, France..many more and even Singapore with 4 outlets. To be honest, I have never seen this restaurant in Singapore.

In Chennai, this hotel (restaurant) is very popular. In fact, my Singaporean friend based in Chennai told me that the coffee here is very good. Hence, since we were nearby, we had to try it.

Entrance

Cashier

This is where you pay.

This is where you make your orders and wait for the food as it is self-service.

Notice the round tables without chairs at the foreground? This is where people can just stand around and drink their coffee or tea. In the background, there are tables and chairs for patrons to eat their meals.

Menu

Look at the variety of items available! So many dishes.

Special Coffee

Special Pure Filter Coffee (INR 24 per cup)

Tata~! 3 cups of Special Pure Filter Coffee! There was another order for a cup of Special Tea. But let's start with the coffee first.

Noticed how the Special Pure Filter Coffee was served. Here's how you are supposed to drink it. Pour the coffee into the metal container holding the metal cup. (Be careful, it is hot as the container is made of metal.) Then pour the coffee from the metal container back into the metal cup. Do it as many times as required to cool it down. Reminds me of Teh Tarik. I just did it once and then tried it. The coffee was very     aromatic. Shiok! You got to try it if you are in India. I certainty want to try the coffee served by the hotel in Singapore. Moreover, it provided a fun experience too!

Foreground: Special Tea (INR 24 per cup)

The Special Tea arrived much later. Did not try it. Looks normal. I am glad I tried the coffee instead.

I got to check out it's outlets in Singapore one day and see if they serve such a coffee here. Good coffee with fun experience! Who knows, the food might be fantastic too.

Outlets in Singapore

Outlets in Chennai

Hotel Saravana Bhavan (Chennai, India)
Website 

View FoodieFC's India Map in a larger map