Jew Kit Chicken Rice @ Bukit Timah Shopping Centre

We noticed this new sign board has been up for sometime at the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. You know something? The sign board is placed right opposite the 5 Star Chicken Rice and Boon Tong Kee across the road (Cheong Chin Nam Road). Chicken rice war? Another chicken rice place? Do we really love our chicken rice so much that there's always room for more of it?

Doing some online search, I realise that this stall seems to be popular with Bukit Batok folks. It's fairly decent and their pricing is also attractive. Looks like they are expanding. From Bukit Batok to Bukit Timah. Maybe soon to Bukit Panjang, Bukit Ho Swee and all the way to Kaki Bukit. :-)

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We were a bit late (around 8pm plus) for dinner so there was not much chicken left "hanging" at the counter. They said we could have a 'mix'. So we had half a chicken with a mix of Steamed and Roasted Chicken.

The Roasted Chicken is fairly decent. The colour of the skin looks good and the taste is not bad too. The meat was firm and overall quite pleasing when you eat it. It comes with "Kiam Chai" (Salted vegetables) at the side.

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Turning to the other side of the plate, we had the Steamed Chicken.
For me personally, I prefer the Roasted side, because I will eat roasted skin, but the steamed skin is a bit too soft to eat. (I know steamed chicken fans will disagree with me!)

(Their pricing for half a chicken is $12 and whole chicken $23, what I saw on the menu)

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They also had zhi char (stir fry) dishes. We ordered the French beans. Lots of garlic and also some pounded fried shrimps, it was really fragrant. Err.. they are also heavy handed with the oil too.

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We also had "Paul the Sambal Sotong". The sambal was quite good. Mr Paul was stir fried not too long so it was not chewy at all.

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Their rice is fairly decent too, and not very oily.

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We did noticed they were a little forgetful. (Old lady taking our orders had a tiring day maybe? Forgivable lah)

We ordered the stewed bean curd and eggs and they forgot to serve it. It was only when we asked them then they 'went to check'. It was cold, so half of us on the table was not happy. But the other half who likes to eat tofu cold said it was good. For me, the beancurd and egg were not memorable. :-p

***

I guess some competition along this area is good. The two chicken rice shops opposite the road is getting really expensive! The pricing here was good. It was around $30 for the above and 5 plates of rice, soup plus drinks. There was a decent crowd too.


Jew Kit Chicken Rice
Bukit Timah Shopping Centre
170 Upper Bukit Timah Rd
#B1-17
Singapore 588179

Keisuke Tokyo @ Parco Marina Bay

Momo and I both took weekday leave to go 'walk walk' around town last week. Momo still had loads of leave to clear and I was taking my Labour Day replacement leave. We realise walking around can be quite tiring!

It was around dinner time and since we were picking up some things at Marina so we thought we would eat nearby. Momo, Aromacookery and Camemberu tried the Ramen here before but I have not, so we decided to pay Keisuke Tokyo a visit. They are famous for their Ebi Ramen (prawn ramen) which stock is made out of 3000 Ama Ebi (sweet prawns) daily.

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If you love crabs, you might want to try their Kani Ramen (Crab Ramen) ($15.80) that they only prepare about 50-60 bowls a day. When you are seated you will see a different menu telling you about it. It's seasonal, so if you are a crab fan, try it while it lasts.

The broth is like having a mix of consomme and bisque (it's hard for me to describe it!), thick and very flavourful.  The oil on it gives it a fragrance that really charms your nose. You see the egg there because I was tempted when they ask if I wanted to add the Ajitsuke Tamago, I said yes. ($2 extra).

The texture of the ramen was just nice for me, not soft and not super al-dante, springy.

As the broth it's very thick and 'seafood' (ok, some people will say it is fishy) taste, they serve some grated ginger on the sides. You can add it in the broth to mute the 'seafood-ness'. But I appreciate that the broth was not very crabby in taste and smell, it's not too overwhelming.

***

Momo had the Spicy Ebimiso Ramen Special ($20). It was served in an unique bowl, it is as if the contents might flow out soon! The broth is a different from the one I had. This taste more 'prawny'. (obviously. haha)

So why is there a 'special' in the name of the dish? Special means I want all the toppings, the works! There's fish cake, wontons, pickles, etc...

Momo said the texture of the ramen served is to her liking this time. The previous time she was here it was a bit too soft. 

Also, when they say spicy, they really mean it. You really break out in sweat. It's a double whammy too, with heat coming from both the soup and the chilli. Woo hoo!




The "special" also includes a side dish that has Ajitsuke Tamago, pickled lettuce stems (which I love), and some really tasty cold chicken that taste similar to the usual 'white chicken' in Singapore Chicken Rice.



Just in case you want to see the chicken pieces. Looking at the smooth sides of soy stained egg, I feel like having one now!

***

We enjoyed our ramen, away from the usual miso, soya, shio, shio butter or tonkotsu based broth. Some say it taste like a glorified hae-mee (prawn noodles). Well, Ebi Ramen literally means Prawn Noodles. You should probably try it and see if you like it.


Keisuke Tokyo
9 Raffles Boulevard
#P3-02 Parco Marina Bay (Millenia Walk)
Singapore 039596

Tel: 6337 7919
Hours: Weekdays - 11.30 to 22.00, Weekends and Public Holidays - 11.00 to 22.00

Marmalade Pantry @ ION Orchard

The story today. Momo and Dino was meeting up for dinner for the ladies catch up session and I gatecrashed. They have been saying the food's here so nice that I was yearning to try it!

***

The ladies opted for the healthy stuff in the menu.

Momo had the "Chopped Grilled Vegetable Salad". $21

My fork seemed to have grown legs and walked over to this plate and I tried some.
It consisted of grilled vegetables with butternut, eggplant, asparagus, sweet corn, peppers and mesclun. Very good mix and it tasted rather good.

***

Dino had something that was light too. She had the Miso Tofu with vegetable tempura. $18.
Looks nice doesn't it?

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For me, I needed meat. I had The Marmalade Burger with roast tomato chudney. $24.
I requested it to be "medium done" for doneness.




It might look simple, but it taste rather good. The patty was really moist inside. The mango chudney (hidden below the upper bun) went really well with the burger.

I was watching an episode of Chef At Home and chef Michael Smith was preparing burgers. He said something that I remembered. He said when we are grilling patties, we should never press patty when we are cooking it, the juices will all flow out and you won't get juicy in the inside burgers.

I have a feeling the kitchen at Marmalade Pantry did not press it too. It looks nicely grilled, but inside it was juicy. I should have taken a photo of the inside. I grabbed the burger and ate it with my hands, so I did not want to hold my camera anymore. ;-)




Had a really pleasant meal with the ladies.




The Marmalade Pantry
Orchard Ion
Unit 03-22
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801

Tel: 6734 2700
Hours: mon - fri 11.30am to 9.30pm, sat 10am to 9.30pm, sun 10am to 4.30pm

You can also view other info including their menu at http://www.themarmaladepantry.com

Authentic Korean Cuisine @ NUS Business/School of Computing Canteen.

Those working in NUS/NUH/Science Parks will be happy with this new discovery. A new Korean food stall has replaced the chicken rice stall at the NUS Business / School of Computing Canteen.

The name of the stall is simply "Authentic Korean Cuisine". It opened this week and many people have been trying it and giving it a thumbs up. It seems they are only offering part of the menu now as they sort out opening headaches.

One thing we noticed is that they are Korean ladies and teenagers manning the stall. You know in many so called 'korean' stalls, when you order beef bulgogi, the person will shout 'niu rou' or when you order daeji bulgogi they will shout to the kitchen 'zhu rou'. Well here, they read out the orders in Korean to the Korean 'aunties' in the kitchen. They also mumble some Korean that we don't understand. Colleagues and I think it's quite authentic (for now!)

Another thing we like about this new stall is their prices.

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Over the last few days, colleagues and I have been eating from this stall. This Bibim bap was quite nice and it only costs $3.50. There are some meat hidden below the egg by the way. You scoop your own spicy sauce over it from the table.

I think a colleague is now addicted to this as she has taken the same in 3 straight days! LOL



It came with a bowl of soup (which we notice varies by the day) and some kimchi and peanuts/anchovies.

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This was the Daeji Bulgogi (Spicy Marinated Pork) that one colleague tried. (I also tried it another day). They were quite generous with the meat. The pork had been well marinated and it was spicy. It also has lots of onions (my favourite) but some of you who hate onions, too bad lah...

You actually finish your rice before the meat. This only costs $4 with a stainless steel bowl of rice and the kimchi and peanut/anchovies side dish.

***

Another colleague tried their Beef Bulgogi. A few of us tried the beef and we liked it. But the colleague who ate this was the fussy eater. He said the meat is too marinated so the flavour is too strong for him. 

So, if you like your beef and you like well marinated meat, maybe this is for you. If you like light tasting food, we would suggest you try the yong tau foo stall next door. :-p

The beef bulgogi costs $4.50 with rice and side dishes.

***

Another colleague tried the Ginseng Chicken Soup. (on another day) The chicken piece was quite big. The flavour according to my colleague is nicer than Kim's Family Food (For Kim's you need to add your own salt, but the ones here salt is already added).

The chicken had glutinous rice stuffed in the cavity of the chicken. It looks quite a filling meal. It costs only $4.50 with a bowl of rice and the side dishes.

***

So far, we think this place is good. We just hope it's not the opening bonus that we are getting what we see now. We hope their quantity and quality stays. It seems most things are under $5 here, probably the most affordable Korean cuisines around from a real korean kitchen.

I think Science Park folks will be taking the free shuttle buses into NUS now. It's still the university break, so there are lots of seating places. We see NUS staff and students forming a snaking queue now.


Authentic Korean Cuisine
NUS Business/School of Computing Canteen,
National University of Singapore. 
15 Computing Drive
Singapore 117418

Marvelous Cream @ CityLink Mall

We walked past Marvelous Cream a few days ago and saw there was empty places to sit. It is usually packed with the younger crowd and it is almost impossible to remain sane with the noise and crowd.
It shows I am getting old!

I must be outdated because I did not know that:
 1. It was Japanese chain of ice cream shops! I thought it was some French related ice cream place because it says French Sweets Parfait. It was only when we were greeted in Japanese as we stepped in then I realised it was Japanese.

2. They have the 'teppanyaki' style ice cream. (ie, they mix the ice cream over a cold slab like Cold Rock or Raffles Creamery) I only noticed it when I heard loud clanging sound! I thought they dropped something.

But their ice cream is not bad though.

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The "Dark Choc New Yorker" ice cream combo I had. It was a mixture of Parfait, Brownie, Cocoa Powder and Chocolate Chips.

I like all things chocolate, so I enjoyed this.

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This was the Macaron Rouge Framboise.
It was a mixture of Parfait, Raspberry, Raspberry macaron and Fresh Cream. We had it on Chocolate Waffle Bowl.

I particularly like the Chocolate Waffle Bowl! The waffle tasted good and the chocolate on it makes it better.

For this mix, it taste fruity and it's a combination of a little sourness with sweetness. Definitely a ladies kind of dessert.

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Some of you always ask for the price. I remember to snap a photo of it with my phone this time.

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When we were sitting down enjoying our ice cream, we noticed many people coming in to buy the waffle sandwich. Maybe I should try that the next time.



Marvelous Cream
Citylink Mall
1 Raffles Link
#B1-04
Singapore 039393

Tel: 6238 1683

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