Episode
2 of Chubby Botak Koala 2013 birthday celebrations, took us to
Paulaner Brauhaus for lunch. This time around with family members.
Enticed by their lunch menu, we decided to visit the first / oldest
microbrewery in Singapore. This is actually my second visit here, the
first was way back in 2004.
Thursday, 26 December 2013
Monday, 23 December 2013
Friday, 20 December 2013
2013 B'day Episode 1 - The Line – Marine Harvest Buffet
Tuesday
& Thursday Night buffet at The Line is one of the most salivating
event in the Singaporean Buffet Lover diary. We frequented The Line a
few times in the past, specially savour their popular generous
servings of Harvest from the Sea, on special occasion such as
friends' birthday, gathering or Christmas Party. However, we have not
been here more more than 1.5 years.
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
[CLOSED] Tandoori Restaurant – Delicious North Indian Food but Pricey
Tandoori Restaurant is a
North Indian Restaurant located prominently beside the entrance of
Mustafa Shopping Centre at Serangoon Plaza. It is more known to be
restaurant for tourists compare to the locals. However based on
Little Devil's recommendation, we popped by for lunch here.
Monday, 16 December 2013
Arashi Yakiniku – Drooling Over Wagyu Beef and Kurobuta Pork [CLOSED]
Arashi
Yakiniku Charcoal Grill Restaurant ('Arashi') is the new kid on the
block of Boat Quay dining scene in Singapore. One of the popular
dining spot and watering hole in Singapore, due to its proximity to
Raffles Place and its beautiful scenery of Singapore river. A dining
location that I hardly step foot on, but this time around I
gratefully accept the tasting invitation from Openrice Singapore and
Arashi team.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
River South (Hoe Nam) Prawn Noodle – Two Different Flavours Under One Roof
River
South (Hoe Nam) Prawn Noodle ('RSPN') is one of the most highly rated
Prawn Noodle / Mee place in Singapore. A quick google will find that
there are lots of glowing reviews of this establishment. This place
can be consider as an 'almost' 24 hours eatery. The reason being that
it is run in 2 shifts. The morning/afternoon shift is run by the
sisters from the stall in middle part of the coffee shop, while at
night to the wee hours in the morning, the brother run the front
stall. Quite a unique arrangement.
Sunday, 1 December 2013
[CLOSED] Little Pancakes – The Cute, The Mini and The Chubby
Happy Birthday Chubbybotakkoala.com!!
Yup,
it is official. Chubbybotakkoala.com turned 1 year old. Over this
short 1 year, it has garnered quite a number and supporter and loyal
readers. Thank you very much!
Just
a little milestone along the way that we have break:
- We have build up the current page view to a 67,000 ++ for this one year. Average view per month is around 11,000 per month and growing.
- Did a food photo shoot with one of the Japanese F&B establishment that I reviewed before. (Wah, thanks for the recognition)
- Posted more than 100 reviews in one year. This is actually a record breaking for my 'take my own sweet time' character (says Little Devil). So all I can say to myself, don't stop and keep on going. Ganbatte!!!
From
the month of November to the end of Chinese New Year will be Our
(Little Devil & I) feasting period and I am sure lots of you will
be on the same boat as Christmas is around the and Chinese New Year
is not that far away. So enjoy, Happy Feasting !!! ( in moderation
hopefully)
Finally,
as my birthday is also officially in the month of November. Let me
leave you with this photo of 4 out of 5 cakes that I savour during
this year birthday. Cheers!!!
Thursday, 28 November 2013
[CLOSED] Ramen Champion – Opening Our Eyes to The Ramen World
Ramen
Champion (“RC”) is a multi-brand ramen concept brought to
Singapore by Komars Group that sources popular ramen brands from
Japan and invite them to compete in the annual competition for the
prestigious “The Ultimate Ramen Champion”. Their latest outlet
after Bugis and Changi Airport Terminal 3 is located at Great World
City.
Following
their concept, each outlet will have different brand of ramen with
their own unique taste, flavour and personality of ramen. The outlet
in Great World City is represented by Bishamon Zero (existing brand),
Tonkotsu Itto (existing RC competitor), Miyamoto and Butaou (new RC
competitor).
The Four Ramen Masters |
The opening of this
outlet was kick start with inaugural Ramen Big Eater Challenge, with
the presence of celebrity competitive eater from Japan, Miss Tomoko
Miyake. I saw her on a variety show, and it seems that she has a
stretchable stomach and gigantic appetite. So without a doubt, she
was the winner of the eating challenge. If you got time, you should
check her out online, you'll envy her ability to eat so much and stay
in shape.
Different Bowls use Ramen Champion, including "Ramen Big Eater Challange " |
We begin this ramen
adventure with Bishamon Zero's Sapporo Miso Special Ramen ($14.80).
Originated from Sapporo, the broth is cloudy, robust filled miso
texture. The ramen has a medium thickness, springy (qq) and tasty.
The pork belly Cha Shu is tender and does not overwhelmed with its
fattiness. The egg is cooked to perfection. In the soup, there is
mild chilli flavour with subtle spiciness to give the warmness in the
ramen.
Bishamon Zero's Sapporo Miso Special Ramen |
Tonkatsu Itto's Special
Tonkotsu Ramen ($16.50) from Tokyo follow next. The ramen size is
very thin, similar to Angel hair pasta size. It is springy, not very
flavourful, but carry the broth well. The pork base soup is robust
and full of collagen taste from part of the pork bones. The egg is
cooked nicely with the soft yolk in the middle. The cha shu is
tender, however it is tasteless. You might want to eat it while its
hot, or you will be overwhelmed by the richness of the broth.
Tonkatsu Itto's Special Tonkotsu Ramen |
Narita's City Miyamoto's
Pork and Vegetable Ramen ($16). Once we saw the bowl, we decided to
named it Army Boys Ramen, due to its humongous size. It seems the
chef is throwing everything except for the kitchen sink in this dish.
The noodle size is pretty big, similar to Mee Pok, but thicker and
very resilient. The broth is difficult to spot as it is basically
buried under the the layers of ramen, bean sprouts, sliced cabbage,
cha shu and diced pork. Once you get through the layers above, you
can taste milky robust broth with a strong garlic presence.
Narita's City Miyamoto's Pork and Vegetable Ramen |
The half boiled egg here
serve in full, as it is slightly under cook compare to the previous
two ramens, the yolk just ooze out when you poke the egg. The cha shu
is tender and flavourful, but I find the most tasty and tender part
is the diced pork. Little Devil ('LD') and I feels that this bowl can
easily filled two person.
The Oozing Yolk |
The last bowl of ramen
that we tried was Butaou's Special Sukiyaki Ramen ($16). Originated
from Saitama Prefecture in Tokyo and inspired by Sukiyaki, the broth
of this ramen originated its taste from sukiyaki sauce. The broth is
robust and sweet, while the ramen is thin and springy. The egg was
slow boiled with the yolk ooze out as soon as we break it. The cha
shu is the tender, flavourful and the tastiest of all ramen, and the
shabu-shabu style pork is just tender. Something different, but take
a lot to get used to due the sukiyaki soup base and it will be a
favourite to those who love sweet soup.
Butaou's Special Sukiyaki Ramen |
The Oozing Yolk |
For the sides, we tried
Okonomiyaki Gyoza with bonito flakes ($5.80 for 5 pcs) and Mentaiko
Gyoza ($5.80 for 5 pcs). The gyoza are tasty with a combination of
crispy skin and juicy fillings. We prefer the Okonomiyaki gyoza as
the combination of bonito flakes and the sauce create a more
flavourful gyoza. The Mentaiko sauce, seems to lack the punch, it can
do better with stronger taste with extra mentaiko mayonnaise or
mentaiko toppings.
Okonomiyaki Gyoza with bonito flakes |
Mentaiko Gyoza |
Tori Karaage ($4.80) is
quite delicious. Crispy on the outside, with well seasoned juicy
succulent chicken thigh meat inside. While Spicy Chicken ($5 for 3
pcs) is quite ordinary. It lacks of seasoning, crispiness or even
spiciness. The meat is tender, but it seems lacking in the obvious
seasoning.
Tori Karaage |
Spicy Chicken |
Overall, we find the
Ramen served in Ramen Champion does have a certain standard. It is
very difficult to decide which as are the best as individual
preference and taste can be different. For LD's and mine, we decided
that Bishamon Zero's Sapporo Miso Special Ramen as our 1st
preference followed by Tonkatsu Itto's Special Tonkotsu Ramen. Why
don't you give it a try and let us know which ramen you like.
Kanpai!!! Cheers!!!
Thanks to Malcom and
Ramen Champion Team for the tasting invitation.
Food
& Drink: 8/10
Value:
7.5/10
Service:
N/A
Ambiance:
7.5/10
Saturday, 23 November 2013
No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak – Supposedly One of The Best Nasi Lemak In Singapore
Adam Spread Nasi Lemak |
Have
you been to Adam Road Food Centre around lunch time? If you have,
then you definitely seen this stall or even tried it before. The
queue from this shop and the rival next door are just tremendous,
basically nobody wants to seat at the tables near their stalls.
Chubby
Botak Koala & The Little Devil survived 60 minutes wait here to
get the taste of the ever popular nasi lemak here. We have heard of
these notorious nasi lemak place, but this is our first ever visit
and it was unplanned as well.
While
I was waiting for my turn, I was listening to other customers on the
phone checking with their office or family if they want any takeaway
for their lunch. Apparently the sight of customers ordering between
10 to 15 packets each are normal here. When it is almost my turn, I
heard that they are actually preparing order for 100 packs. No wonder
the line is moving at turtle speed.
I
ordered the Adam Spread ($5) consist of mutton rendang, chicken wing,
fried egg, bergedel, ikan bilis & nuts, acar and of course the
coconut rice. LD ordered Sutra Special ($4.50) consist of otah, fish
cake, chicken wing, ikan bilis & nuts. While LD requested for
extra chilli, I asked for extra rice and the lady just build rice
mountain on my place and with no extra charges.
Adam Spread Nasi Lemak |
So
after 1 hour in line, how is the Nasi Lemak? The rice is very
fragrant and unique. They use basmanti rice, which is more healthy
than normal long grain rice resulted in more al dante version of
rice. Ikan bilis and nuts is crispy and crunchy. The chicken wings
are pipping hot, crispy and juicy. However the marination is only
skin deep, while the meat is tender but tasted bland.
For my mutton rendang,
the gravy is thick and sweet. The mutton is tender, but more on the
dry side due to the lean meat used. Begedil is very tasty. LD's otah
is huge in size, creamy and very flavourful. The fish cake is springy
(qq) and in her opinion, the sambal (chilli) is the top notch and
star attraction here. It is sweet, not to spicy, with multiple layer
of flavour and very appetizing. No wonder people willing to line up,
like bees going for their honey.
Sutra Nasi Lemak |
The service here is very
friendly but your patience will be tested while waiting. Normally
there will be two lady serving, however today she is flying solo.
Also, the popular stall next door was on holiday, so their customers
went there to overcome their cravings for nasi lemak. The positive
side of the slow service, is that the kitchen can keep up with demand
and churn out pipping hot food.
As we ordered the two
most expensive set, the rest on the menu are chicken set and fish set
($3.50 each). Consist of chicken wings / fried fish, fried egg,
coconut rice, sambal, ikan bilis & nuts. There are some other
dish you can add to your set, unfortunately you can't order extra
chicken wings.
Overall, we can now say
we tried No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak.
The pricing here is very reasonable. However, if you ask me to wait
for another 1 hour for a grub of Nasi Lemak here, I will say NO! But
if I am around the area before or after the peak hours, I might try
my luck and eat here again. Cheers!
Food
& Drink: 8/10
Value:
8/10
Service:
9/10
Ambiance:
6/10
No.1 Adam's Nasi Lemak
2 Adam Road
Stall 1 Adam Road
Food Centre
Singapore 289876
Op Hours: 08.30 –
15.00
Closed on Tuesday.
Thursday, 21 November 2013
Peperoni – All They Knead is Love
Benvenuto!
(Welcome in Italian.) The motto of Peperoni Pizzeria, from Les Amis
Group. Peperoni @ Frankel is the third branch of Peperoni when they
expand their dough kneading adventure to the east side of Singapore.
This is actually our
first visit to the east branch. We were looking for a place to catch
up with our friends D&C, and after shortlisting a few
restaurants, we decided on Peperoni. As it was on Monday night, we
manage to find parking at the roadside with ease. Once we start
chatting, D&C told us that they had Peperoni at Suntec the night
before with their family, however, since the pizza is good, they
don't mind to have another round.
Peperoni @ Frankel looks
very casual and Italian. The colours of Italian national flags of
green, white and red are well represented in the establishment. The
entrance is painted in green, the walls are painted in white, while
the chairs and wood fire oven are red. Both the chairs and wood fire
oven are so eye catching, you won't miss them.
For starters, we decided
on Prosciutto Crudo di Parma & Melone ($18), Mozzarella Fasciatta
Con Prosciutto ($18), and Wedges ($8). Prosciutto Crudo di Parma &
Melone is the traditional pairing of Prosciutto di parma and rock
melon. The combination of salty and sweet from these two ingredients
are just irresistible. The Prosciutto flavour is just intense, multi
layer but the best part it just melts in your mouth. The rock melon
is a bit small in size though.
Prosciutto Crudo di Parma & Melone |
Mozzarella Fasciatta Con
Prosciutto is pan fried mozzarella wrapped with Parma ham. The
prosciutto is cover the chewy but soft mozzarella nicely and has a
crispy texture from the pan fried. The glaze of balsamic vinegar on
top of it, just seal the deal. It helps to counter the intense
saltiness from prosciutto while bind the whole ingredients together,
especially with the rocket salad. Big thumb-up from LD.
Mozzarella Fasciatta Con Prosciutto |
The wedges has a crispy
texture on coating, with a nice seasoning and soft on the inside.
Served with mayonnaise as a dipping sauce although sour cream will
taste better with it. Actually a good food for the little ones if
they don't like pizza.
Wedges with Mayonnaise |
For the pizzas, we
ordered 2 large pizzas of half and half ($24 each). The first
combination is Fungi & Margerita - Button, shitake & porcini
mushrooms; Mozzarella 'di bufala', cherry tomatoes, basil and
oregano. The pizza base is thin and crispy. The toppings are generous
combine with cheese and tomato sauce is just create a juicy toppings.
The fungi and margerita pizza just allow its natural ingredients to
speak for it self.
Pizza Menu |
Fungi & Margerita Combo Pizza |
The second combination is
Pancetta & Prosciutto Crudo di Parma - cured bacon, sliced
tomatoes and egg; Parma ham and rocket salad. This pizza has more
intense salty flavour because of the cured meat. The egg and rocket
salad on each size of the pizza helps to counter the saltiness, but
this combination just 'scream' meat, cured meat & meat; and I
simply love it.
Pancetta & Prosciutto Crudo di Parma |
Satisfied with the mains,
we took our time before we move to desserts. Creme Brulee ($9) and
Tortino al Cioccolato ($13) - rich molten valrhona chocolate cake
served with strawberry ice cream.
The crème brulee has a
nice thin layer of caramelized sugar. The custard however is more
dense in texture which constrain us to taste full taste of the
custard. For the Tortino, it is actually suppose to come with vanilla
ice cream, however they are kind enough to switch ours to strawberry.
The molten chocolate cake is overcook, no chocolate ooze out when we
cut through the cake. Meanwhile, the strawberry ice cream with the
walnut crust was just superb to compensate the disappointing
chocolate cake.
Creme Brulee |
Tortino al Cioccolato |
If you are looking for a
non alcoholic drink, give Gunner ($7) a try. The combination of
Ginger Ale, Ginger Beer and Agostura Bitter is just refreshing.
Considering this is a Les
Amis group establishment, there are works needed to be done on their
the service side. During the dinner we were served by two service
staff, one of them is very friendly and attentive, while the other
was just grumpy with a don't care attitude. Hopefully, they can
deliver more consistent service standard. After all, they are the Les
Amis Group.
Overall, when it come to
Entrees and Pizzas, they are almost faultless. This has been the case
in their other establishment as well. The desserts need some fine
tuning, but the ice cream is just great. All we can say, if you are
looking for a good pizza, Peperoni is one of the place. Saluti!
Cheers!
Food
& Drink: 7.5/10
Value:
7.5/10
Service:
5.5/10
Ambiance:
8/10
Peperoni @ Frankel
95 Frankel Ave
Singapore 458221
Ph: 6445 5661
Website:
Facebook:
http://peperoni.com.sg/
Mon – Sat: 12.00
– 22.30
Sun: 11.00 –
22.30
Closed on certain
PH.
For Other
Branches, check the website.
Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Monster Curry – Monster in Size, Monster in Flavour
Monster
Curry sounds more like an animation rather than a restaurant.
However, in Singapore Monster Curry is restaurant serve a jumbo size
Japanese curry with different type of protein such as chicken, eggs,
pork, prawns, fish and scallops.
I
was looking for a place to grab a quick bite after collecting my
rewards from one of the food review website. When I spotted Monster
Curry, my cravings for Japanese curry just get the better of me.
Quick look at the menu, I decided to order Cheese Chicken Katsu Curry
($14). You actually has a choice of spicy level from 1 (normal hot)
to 5 (monster hot). I decided to went with normal hot.
When
I grab a seat after ordering, then after looking around the area, I
realised that I was in a deep trouble. I saw how huge the plate was
and normally each couple is sharing one dish. So when the dish come,
I was staring at a 30cm in diameter huge plate. The rice filled more
than half of the plate and the protein is the same size as the rice,
with shaved cheese covering the top of my pork katsu. On the side, a
few pieces of Japanese pickle and shaved cabbage. Staring blank at
the plate, I was starting to wonder how am I going to finish it.
The
pork katsu is quite tender and the batter is very thin and crispy.
The curry is thick, flavourful and generous in portion. As I have
only ordered a spicy level of normal hot, they added only one chilli
sauce heart shape. Although the katsu is tender, it is also very
lean, so you can feel on some part to be dry, instead of juicy all
over. For the curry, it is served just like a sauce instead of with
potatoes and carrots like other normal Japanese restaurant.
Cheese
Chicken Katsu Curry
|
Service
wise is very minimum. You place your order in the counter, make
payment and they send the food to your table when it is done. So
interaction with them is very minimum, other example of Japanese fast
food culture with low labour cost involved. Like a normal Japanese
establishment, we are still greeted very warmly as we enter or exit
the restaurant.
Overall,
I find the portion is tremendous and generous, so you won't mind
paying a little bit more. Thus, if you are looking for a place to
satisfy your Japanese Curry, give this restaurant a try. I assure you
that you won't come out unfulfilled. Kanpai! Cheers!
Food
& Drink: 7/10
Value:
8/10
Service:
6/10
Ambiance:
6/10
Monster Curry
2 Orchard Turn
#B4-52. Ion
Orchard
Singapore 238801
Tel: 6509 8081
Website:
http://www.monstercurry.com.sg/
Op Hours: Daily
11.00 – 21.30
For other
location, check out their website.
Note:
Monster
Curry is part of En Group. A group that are well known for their
passion in Japanese food. The founders not only want to showcase
Okinawa style of food, but also traditional and modern Japanese treat
as well. For their complete profile, check it out here:
http://www.endiningbars.com/
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Little Vietnam – Vietnamese Flair
Bun
Ga Nuong Xa
Grilled lemongrass chicken with fresh vegetables and
rice vermicelli
|
My
Little Devil always have Vietnamese Pho cravings, especially during
rainy days. Instead of going to our regular Vietnamese pit stop in
Joo Chiat, we decided to try something new. A quick research, we
notice that Little Vietnam keep popping up in some food review.
Located
at the outer side of the main entrance of Grandlink Square, Little
Vietnam has both outdoor and indoor seatings. The indoor section is
air conditioned, while in the evening you can dine under the stars at
the outdoor seating. Giving it a familiar feeling as if you are
dining in Vietnam with their outdoor deco of red lanterns. Parking is
a breeze as the retail outlet in the building are pretty empty.
We
started with Fresh Rice Paper Roll / Goi Cuon ($3 – for 2 pcs).
Filled with rice vermicelli, prawns and vegetables this dish are the
popular choice during the summer in Vietnam. The prawns are fresh,
however the rice paper wrap is slightly dry and chewy. The sauce is
bland, although the crush peanuts give a different texture to the
dish. Slightly disappointing.
Fresh Rice Paper Roll / Goi Cuon |
Fried
Rice Paper Roll / Cha Gio ($4.80) has a unique texture of crispy and
resilient. The fillings is fresh and the fish sauce is just elevate
this dish further. Better than the fresh paper roll.
Fried Rice Paper Roll / Cha Gio |
For
main, LD ordered Pho Tai Bo Vien - Sliced beef and beef balls with
flat noodle soup ($6.50) and I ordered Bun Ga Nuong Xa – Grilled
lemongrass chicken with fresh vegetables and rice vermicelli ($5.50).
According
to LD, the rice noodle in the Pho is al dente while the sliced beef
is very soft and tender. However, the soup base is on the light
side, not very robust. The beef ball is quite dense and not springy.
So its kind of ordinary on the Pho side.
Pho Tai Bo Vien - Sliced beef and beef balls with flat noodle soup |
My
grilled lemongrass chicken thigh is very tender and well seasoned.
You can feel the lemongrass marinate absorb into the chicken. The
textures combination of rice vermicelli, raw vegetables and the
chicken is just so diverse and the fish sauce just bind them well
together. I do wish the portion of the food can be bigger though.
Bun Ga Nuong Xa Grilled lemongrass chicken with fresh vegetables and rice vermicelli |
Service
here is very minimum, but the food are delivered quite fast.
Decoration of the place is very minimum, but the pictures Vietnamese
people and cultures on the wall just hit the spot. They only accept
cash payment only.
Overall,
there are some good dishes is Little Vietnam unfortunately Pho is
not one of them. We actually wanted to ordered some Vietnamese
Baguette, but they run out of stock. Maybe this will be the reason
for us to come back. Vô! Cheers!
Food
& Drink: 6/10
Value:
7.5/10
Service:
6/10
Ambiance:
6.5/10
Little Vietnam
511 Guilemard Road
#01-25 Grandlink
Square
Singapore 399849
Tel: 6547 8587
Op Hours: Tue –
Sun: 16.00 – 01.00
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