Alcove Asian Restaurant Bar @ NUS University Cultural Centre

Colleagues and I got curious recently and went 'all the way' to the NUS University Cultural Centre to have lunch! We heard there's a new 'zhi char' style food eating place in NUS.

It was a very hot and bright afternoon, it's no wonder no one sits at the outdoor seating area! The outdoor area is most probably for those who come for drinks at night. We don't know if anyone will go there except maybe during performance nights at the University Cultural Centre?




"Alcove. Asian Restaurant. Bar" has taken over from KR50. We notice something when we got there. It's another Pines Catering food outlet! The staff uniform has the Pines logo!

But we like the Filipino service staff here! They were so helpful and when we said we were cold (yes, the aircon was blowing so strong!) they offered us another table and came back to check if we were still cold 2 to 3 times after!




The place as you can see look quite modern. But looking at the menu, I was reminded of my student days in Melbourne! It's the kind of menu that has nice border, super simple with just the dishes and the price.

If you know what I mean, it's the kind of menu used in Malaysian / Vietnamese or Singapore restaurants in Melbourne that sells food to students!

This was the express lunch menu. ;-)




A colleague tried their congee and found it pretty decent. $5.50
It's a huge bowl and it was served very hot. Taste was OK and ingredients not too stingy too.




Another colleague had the beef stir fry with rice. $5.50
He's a big eater so he found it a bit too small the portion.




I also had the rice dishes from the menu. I picked Mongolian Pork Ribs and Rice. $5.50
I found the pork ribs rather tender and quite a few pieces too.

Portions are OK to last till 4 pm before you need to snack. ;-)




Another colleague had the Claypot Noodle $5.
We all think hers is the most 'worth' it. Portions are bigger than ours, she said it was delicious too, and the food stays hot because it's a claypot.


NUS Staff and Student producing identification gets discounts too. They serve plain water FOC too. So we thought it's a place we can come back. We want to try their a la carte dishes one of these days.


Alcove. Asian Restaurant. Bar.
University Cultural Centre, NUS.
50 Kent Ridge Crescent,
Singapore 119279.

Burger King Tendergrill @ NUS Deck Canteen

Since I am doing all burger posts these few days, I might as well blog about this burger craze today.
I am sure most people would have seen the $1 Tendergrill advertisement by Burger King.

Colleagues and I decided to join the queue today!

Time is precious and why waste it by queuing for burgers?

Well, if you have been working hard the whole morning, giving presentations (I was) or sitting the whole morning, it's ok! You deserve doing something totally different and enjoy it as well. Your eyes needs rest, you need to laugh and chat with your colleagues or friends. It really brings sanity back.

But if you have already been wasting time the whole day, then don't waste your time queuing. You can't afford too because you have not been a good steward of time ;-p





Colleagues and I went to the nearest Burger King outlet that we know of. The Burger King at Singapore's 1st Eco-Food Court! At the Deck Canteen, NUS.

BK is on the 2nd floor, but the queue went all the way to the 1st floor!




People do know how to queue. No fights here, they are a civilized lot here!

In fact, as you queue, you notice there are students or academics reading (academic) papers!
No wonder in today's newspaper, NUS is ranked 27th in the world and 3rd in Asia! (read the news here)




So many people? No, not everyone was in the queue for Burger King. The rest of the stalls also have queues. If you visit this canteen like colleagues and I sometimes do, the queues here are always long.

But the longest queue for the day was at Burger King. You add around 20 minutes more to your normal waiting time if you queue at Burger King today.




Finally at the upper floor.
When you are at this canteen, you can tell which faculty the students are from! It's as easy as ABC!

(A)rts, (B)usiness and (C)omputing students hang out here and you can tell by their dressing!
No prize for guessing where the nerdy ones belong to!




Hmm. Why is the girl scratching her head? (She must be an Arts student!)
There was only 1 burger to order for the day! Tendergrill.





One of the early birds who got his burger.
He seems to be really enjoying it. He was on that pose for some time!
Some more he is 'kiao-kar-ing'! (crossing-his-legs)




Colleague and I finally got our burgers.



Wow, the burger today had a big piece of meat! It's protruding out of the bun!
It was well worth the $1. The only complaint was that it was not warm enough. The kitchen staff must be rushing like mad today, cutting a few seconds off the grilling over the flame timing?

I had this burger few weeks ago with normal queuing and waiting time, it is nice and warm. Today's version is definitely a rush job.




Overall, it was a fun and a bit silly queuing for the $1 burger. But colleagues and I had a good time!

Try the burger another day when it's not so busy. You will enjoy it more.

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.

***

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.

***

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

KR50 - Seafood Linguine - Oriental Duck Confit

We had 5 of us. We ordered 3 Linguine and 2 Duck Confit.

Seafood Linguine - $16

A colleague who ate this says its really good. The other do not like it.

Oriental Duck Confit - $22

The duck's prepared really well. I like the duck. Not everyone prepares duck well. They did. I would have preferred more veggies. I am not a mash person, so if there was a choice to have whole potatoes, I would be very happy.

Total Bill: $134.20 (incl of 10% Service Charge)

KR50 - Pumpkin Bisque - Vegan Broth

Here's the soup that we ordered. As it was the 2nd day, less than half the items on the menu was available. (sigh...)

The Pumpkin Bisque with Caviar - $6


The caviar is right below if you are wondering. :-p Smooth texture. A 4 out of 5.

The Vegan Soup with Enoki - $6


Colleague said, it soup we drink at home daily. Her mum's version better. :)

KR50 (University Cultural Centre) - KR Salad

KR50 - This is a new dining place in NUS. Yes, it might just be NUS' first fine dining place. It's situated at the University Cultural Centre.

We visited this place on her second day of opening - 8 Dec 06.
Food's not bad, the things I ordered was quite good! But some colleague says it is a tad to expensive for an eatery in NUS.

It's also a place that has a vegan menu.


Here's the interior.




KR Salad - Avocado with prunes and quail egg - $12

Western Food - Arts Canteen at NUS

Chicken Cutlet with Extra Egg, Arts Canteen, National University of Singapore.



I love runny eggs, do you?