Good Morning Nanyang Cafe - A Fusion of Time

早安南洋 - 时光的撮合

人说:
往事已去不能重回,
将来未是只能期待,
今日眼前必要紧珍.

时光阶段真的无法并存吗?

那倒未必.

身座在唐城坊三楼的一间小型咖啡厅, 早安南洋, 就恰恰具备了时光桥梁的条件, 巧妙而几乎完美地撮合了过去与现在, 成功地赢得我的心.

如果说菜单是平面, 原汁原味摆在面前的食物是 3D, 意大利式 Ciabatta 白面包涂上香厚的加椰酱的混合种类食品是 4D, 那综合六十年代浓郁咖啡和千喜鲜橙味的情感必定是梦寐以求的 5D 佳肴.

Orange Ciabatta
The look of a toasted white bread is delightful as the colour white always is. When I accidentally shifted my head nearer to the bread for a sip of the coffee (which was served first), the strong kaya fragrance whiffed past my nose. I couldn't help but quickly put down the coffee so that I could taste the ciabatta.

On the first bite, I tasted orange. On the second, I tasted the light salt of the bread. On the third bite, I noticed the crunch of the toast. There was a gleeful new joy on the senses with each new mouthful. This is what I call effective layering, a basic to pave the way for tip top good food.

For those who like spreads, you will be glad that the kaya is served in very generous amount.

Rating: 4.9/5
Very close to perfection. But I was wondering if slightly tastier kaya (like more coconut ones or a teeny bit sweeter ones), would work better. I have no idea why, but this is quite the same as Ya Kun, which are both on the mild side of taste. The bread is perfect, so have to be careful that whatever kaya is used does not takes over the bread's pure taste.

Kopi
The Kopi is surprisingly unique. This is my first taste of slight charred java. This could be due to over-roasted coffee beans, of which, some purists might say that Good Morning Nanyang's Kopi is not good and blah blah. However, I think I have had quite enough of so-called perfect coffees, and I more than welcome something this special on the local kopi scene.

Moreover, I have a weak spot for food on the verge of "chao tar" (burnt/charred). So nice!!! (I just tasted "chao tar" ramen chashu today. Soooo Shiiiok ah!) I think the barbecue level is quite a challenging one to achieve in culinary terms, because when food burns, it burns QUICKLY, which is why cake is so easily spoiled in an un-monitored oven and cranky oven.

Apart from the bbq fragrance of their Kopi, my cuppa also tasted strong and thick enough, yet not over (as in espresso level). I also must applaud Good Morning Nanyang for not overpouring the milk and sugar. I hate cheap coffeeshop/hawker centre coffees because they all don't seem to care about what the cup of coffee tastes like, and simply add milk and sugar as if no need money. Super diabetic. *shivers* can't stand the sweetness outside. But Good Morning Nanyang absolutely tasted like a thoughtful cup. =) Really love everything about this coffee. I do not compare this with places like Oriole Cafe & Bar or Starbucks etc, because it's just different. I wouldn't even compare it with Old Town White Coffee, which is my personal No.1 and also one of my family's favourites (apart from Nescafe, Gold Kili, Indocafe, Cafe Nova, Japan UCC etc.) Good Morning Nanyang is truly one of a kind, and now, I find it quite on par with Old Town White Coffee. Really, really like the mild burnt taste.

Rating: 5/5
5/5 basically means my favourites or No.1s.


Synergy
Now, it comes to the point where I should explain my rave (in Chinese) above. I am super, duper inspired and always write in Chinese when I have a strong positive feelings for something.

I have the bad habit (or is it good habit?) of dipping bread, biscuits, and almost anything and everything (like French fries) into my drinks. So since I get 4 quarters of ciabatta, of course I couldn't let the chance run. hahaha. There goes the 2nd quarter of ciabatta into my coffee! (Don't dunk it like Oreo, bread is not firm enough, just dip lightly and remove immediately.) And WOW! When I tasted the orange and then the coffee, whoa, wow, whoa, orange really goes well with coffee. Especially since Good Morning Nanyang's Kopi is not espresso-strong, it doesn't kills the ciabatta.

For those of you who were as crazy as me during CNY, you would have tasted all the orange coffee/chocolate offerings by McCafe, Starbucks, Coffee Bean etc. And you would have already learnt that orange coffee/chocolate/mocha etc is an excellent combination if you can balance them. Otherwise, I would like to suggest trying Starbucks one. It's the best. Coffee Bean was not very nice. Haagen Dazs's orange chocolate ice cream was quite a failure as well.

Yes, that's why my poetic dedicated writing for Good Morning Nanyang. I do hope it's befitting enough. =) (Look out for my Ippudo one, I am shamelessly saying that it's good. haha.)

Raisin Scone
According to comments on ieatishootipost about Good Morning Nanyang, the scone is quite a popular item, and some are bent on waking up early and reaching there right on time (10.30am) to catch the freshly baked scones.

I personally am not fond of scones or things like muffins. Have always been quite disgusted by butter smells and butter tastes, and I will not eat butter creamed cakes, only fresh cream. But since the good reviews, I thought I should just give it a go.

And it turns out that like what they say, the scones at Good Morning Nanyang are not buttery at all. They are equally perfectly layered such that there is the scent of maple on smelling, and the sweetness of raisins on eating. It also has a biscuit-like crust but bread/cake-like soft layers inside. This makes for excellent texture in your mouth.

I also like the way this rather more Chinese style cafe serving butter and solid jam and a spread knife! Quite amazing, as Chinese are a bit stubborn when it comes to things like this. I find the butter really healthy as it's not those salty super yellow ones, but really quite the Western light ones you get on planes or hotel breakfast buffets. I am very happy with the solid jam that tastes so similar to McDonald's grape jam for Big Breakfast. Again, this is also like the hotel buffet kind. So thumbs up for Good Morning Nanyang on giving some healthy quality for traditional Singaporean Chinese breakfast/tea.

Rating: 4/5
Tasted not bad to a person who dislikes scones.

******

I couldn't help it but decided to order a Set Meal as there really is no excuse to not taste traditional bread from a traditional 60's style cafe.

Took Set A, which comprises of the olden day rectangular bread, 2 half-boiled eggs and a tea/kopi.

Teh-O
I deliberately chose Teh-O as I feel that there is no other way to taste a tea than pure blend. By rights, I should take Teh-O-Kosong, which means no sugar no milk, but it's not on the menu, so I didn't want to make a special request for it. I believe it would be possible though. (Kopi is normally a lot stronger, so one should still be able to sniff out the blend unless milk and sugar is added in diabetic amounts. It's not the same with teas which are more delicate, especially if it's Chinese Tea, Floral or Fruit Tea.)

According to comments, the Teh here is brewed from Lipton, so I don't think there is going to be much surprise. And true enough, there wasn't. I was slightly disappointed by the sugar smell when I accidentally shifted my head near the cup while eating the egg.

The moment I detected sugar, I knew the teh taste would be gone. =( Don't get me wrong, Good Morning Nanyang still does it very thoughtful by not being over with the sugar. It's probably the blend of tea to start with. I am rather sensitive with sweet and saltiness. My mum would probably call this level mild, and okay only, but I am calling it slightly sweet, since I only smell sugar, not tea. But this is Teh-O, not Teh-O-Kosong, so I may be over-expecting.


Rating: 3.5/5
Will do.

I'd love 'BOH' tea Cameroninan Blend to be on. But quite stupid since I can buy and boil a teabag myself. Also, this blend would cost quite a bit more. Not sure if people (most of Good Morning Nanyang's customers are uncles/aunties like Old Town) will pay for it. But for tea lovers out there, you do want to stock a box of this blend in your house! =))) Swept me off my feet, and snatched the 20 consecutive years crown from Lipton Yellow Label as my No.1 home tea. Gosh. Love Cameronian Blend so much. Nothing ever came quite close to Lipton over the two decades, due to the fact that I grew up on it.

Half-boiled Eggs
Again, I am not a fan of half-boiled eggs. haha, so you can really tell that, me, the Gen-Y is quite anti-60s breakfast. :PPP I think I only like white bread. No habit of drinking caffeine. Grew up learning that caffeine is BaD.

(Favourite is Western style sunny-side-up. LOL.)

So Good Morning Nanyang would be glad to know that I think their half-boiled eggs are good! Better than the ones my mum can achieve at home. It's really not easy to make good half-boiled eggs. Most people either get it too raw or too boiled, which is why I don't like it.

Seriously, how many times have you bought half-boiled and got something you'd rather not eat? Apart from the one at Canteen 2, NTU, there really is no other good half-boiled egg that I've eaten. (Canteen 2 is extremely famous for the breakfast bread and eggs, and also the waffles. Not sure if the standard is still there, but if any student goes in 4 years and haven't eaten them, really is lost out on food.)

I am so glad to know that I can now get my half-boiled egg fix from Good Morning Nanyang if I do for some weird reason crave them. (Really not a fan yeah.)

Some more ramblings: Those half-boiled you get at house downstairs coffeeshops are mostly bad because they give it to you in a plastic mug of hot water. For goodness sake, eggs cook easily, but they are never going to cook in 40-60 deg C water, which cools at a rate of maybe 1 deg/min? You can do a simple experiment by timing how long it takes when the water feels like room temperature water. And also, for goodness sake, putting a red plate over that plastic mug really isn't going to help keep the heat in, because the water is not boiling, hence no steam to simmer it, and most of the heat would escape from the biggest surface area, that is, the sides of that PLASTIC mug. It might help if they give you a wooden one, or thick ceramic (which is commercially unviable).

I didn't spy how Good Morning Nanyang cook their eggs, but whatever they do, they are able to control the heat well and get the timing right. =) The eggs crack very well into my plate, with a nice round shape, yet breaks easily upon slicing with the teaspoon, and flows without leaving solid yolk. This means it's all creamy inside. Excellent. There is a thin thin layer of white left on the shell, but it's really minimal, and I find it not worth me picking on, although some people may insist they want every single bit to flow out. Maybe I not a half-boiled egg fan, so I wouldn't really care about this detail...

The egg was also fresh, as it stays together good.

Rating: 4.75/5
I'd go for Good Morning Nanyang should I want a half-boiled egg fix.

Traditional Bread Toasted
Here comes the star that everybody is probably most interested in. (Sorry, I was quite full from ramen, so I didn't rush into eating this first.)

Like very a lot. Normally I only get 2 pieces cut in half with other set meals. Here, I get 4 slices, and 4 halves. Set A is $3.80, worth it. =)

BEWARE! One paragraph of me ranting. Skip it if you wish.
I think the biggest question is how does this compares with Ya Kun. To be honest, I am anti-Ya Kun. I am not going to pretend I am not biased and stuff. I am really anti-Ya Kun, because I find them too commercialized, and many outlets have probably lost the essence of Ah Kun along the way. I find them too overrated, as I was at no point in time smitten by their kopi, teh or roti. It's pretty much like Old Chang Kee. What 1956? Are you sure their curry pok tastes like that since 1956? It tastes like yucks right now, and a dozen other shops have better curry pok than OCK. Moreover, it's so unhealthy. I don't get the crowd.

Nevertheless, I have no choice but to admit that the bread at Ya Kun is crispier. Ya Kun's break into two cleanly like biscuits. BUT Good Morning Nanyang has an equal crisp in the mouth, if you don't try to break it in two.

As for the kaya, both are the same. Both are mild, non-coconutty, non-pandanny, not so sweet type. Those who are into nonya will find it bland. But non-nonya is definitely healthier.

Roti, Guyu, and Kaya.

Good Morning Nanyang spread the butter on the left, and the kaya on the right of the bread, while Ya Kun is that slab of butter one. Old Town White Coffee also does it in slabs of butter method, that leaves it to melt rather than spread the butter. Or you can open the pieces and spread it on your own. Not much difference to me though.

Serving is generous, be assured that your whole bread will get the spreads. If you are super into health, remember to ask for lesser. Otherwise the standard is very generous proportions. haha.

Rating: 4.5/5
Despite the unhealthiness, I do prefer slightly tastier kaya.

Service
Service is really good for a small scale family business. A lot better than some Japanese restaurants I've been to. I am impressed by their Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), as they periodically check and clear the tables. They also smile, even though I've grown quite accustomed to non-smiles by now. It's really a bonus to me.

Settings
As usual, I like marble top tables when it comes to old kopi. One of the good places to be at (other than 5 times more expensive Starbucks) in Chinatown! I don't quite like that place lah... Hard to walk, weird shops. So now I know where to go when I want to take a break if I go to Chinatown.

Overall
I really like the way they fuse time with youthful orange ciabatta and strong kopi. I walked from Raffles Place MRT, walk like crazy in the hot sun (because it looks near on the map). And all I want from the walk is good food. I got it! Thank you Good Morning Nanyang. I must repeat, the 5D Time Fusion dish! Must try Orange Ciabatta and Kopi.

At Delifrance Chinatown MRT exit (Chinatown Point), go into the aircon, turn to the left, and there, at the arrowed position. =)

Will I recommend it?
I already am. =)

Will I go back?
Yes, of course. Very convenient actually. Chinatown Point is just directly outside one of the exits (the one with Delifrance), and in fact visible the moment you enter the aircon of Chinatown Point. Can't miss it.

Overall rating: 9.5/10
Very good standards of food, service, and generous proportions, plus convenient location if you are in Chinatown.

PS: Seriously, where else can I get Starbucky ideas like orange ciabatta, cheap, good, and a lot, and sit in nostalgic kopi settings... ... haha. (Only other place I've eaten ciabatta is Bakerzin.)

If only there is nice tau huay and pandan cake there... hahahaha. I think I am very demanding. But it's a good idea since ieat has quite the perfect recipe for these, I heard. Read more "Good Morning Nanyang Cafe - A Fusion of Time..."

Yummy Wanton Mee at Tampines Round Market

Considering that ieat of ieatishootipost is a doctor, then I must be the evil witch. I am seriously beginning to sound like some sort of myth buster, going around counter-checking all the food, reevaluating them, and often killing the queue with a razor sharp exam-style checklist as some may call it. Well not yet, probably never will. The more someone tells you no, the more you're going to try. Human nature, hence the saying, curiosity kills the cat.

The saying is pretty true, as I have often taken up the role of the cat, and then ended up being killed by my curiosity. Especially when reviews are mixed, be it beauty wise or food wise. And then you just get so frustrated at all the raves that you set up a blog. Hahahaha.

Okay, enough story for this post. Basically, I had a craving for Wanton Mee for the last one week, so I couldn't help it and went to Tampines Round Market in an attempt to settle my craving. And to my horror, I found out that Singapore style Sarawak Kolo Mee is nothing like my idea of kolo mee. Different nevermind, not nice to eat is what matters. =( So here's why:

Yummy Wanton Mee - Mushroom Char Siew Dumpling Noodles + Egg

Available: Blk 137 Tampines Round Market & Food Center #01-45

Opening time:  5am - 3pm daily

Star properties: Rows and rows of awards.

I ordered Set A, Mushroom Char Siew Dumpling Noodles, and added egg, because this seemed like the one with the most number of ingredients, a bit of everything, so that I can write my review.

Personally, I also like mushrooms and char siew, so it was killing two birds with one stone. =))

Mushroom
Not well cooked, as it has that bitter taste. Softness wise, I would say it's okay. Can bite, of course can bite. But it can be a lot softer and better.

Sauce, which is actually the star, not the mushroom, is not nice at all. Just some sort of anyhow mixture of dark sauce, oil, and seasoning. Nothing special.

Rating: 3/5
Which again, means okay only.

Dumpling
The taste is good! Towards the salty side, but not over. Enough crunchiness and prawn taste, and the dumpling is quite big and well-filled by today's standards.

Only gripe is that the skin is still slightly cold and plastic from the freeze. Yes, they use frozen dumplings that I saw taken out from the refrigerator. Don't think it's handmade.


Rating: 4.25/5

Vegetables
Bitter and miserably few. Nothing much to say.

Rating: 3/5
Really just normal. I don't expect much from coffeeshops as well. Most coffeeshop food would fall under the "okay" label, meaning, can eat, cheap, to just fill your stomach.


Char Siew
This is good! The meat is well cooked such that it's not too hard or too soft. Serving amount is little, but expected, and with quite a lot of fats.

But the sweetness is just right.


Rating: 4.25/5

Egg
Horrible. The skin is rubberized, so it forms a layer that almost cannot be eaten, or rather that I really don't want to eat. According to what I am studying, this sort of feeling essentially means that there have been molecular chemical changes, in which the proteins somehow re-bonds in another pattern, or disintegrate into another structure etc, so much such that you detect a macromolecular change in visible properties. Very bad. Don't know what I am eating.

In any case, even discounting the chemical changes, the flavour isn't good! That egg yolk is so hard and dry I really couldn't bring myself to finish it. =( Don't know how to swallow.

The auntie did dip the egg into that mushroom black sauce before serving. But I can honestly tell you, it made no difference because the sauce is not nice, and did not add any taste to enhance.


Rating: 0/5
No point adding $0.50 for the egg.


Noodles
Now, about the main thing, noodles. I really don't know... I don't even think my noodles look the same as those posted in ieatishootipost. =( Much less smelling fragrant like ieat describes. To fill your tummy, it's okay. But seriously, if you were me, looking for a nice bowl of wanton mee to satisfy the week long craving, it's not okay. It's so not okay.

The noodles were overcooked, soggy, no fragrance, no looks, nothing. I really could have got that at the nearest Kopitiam.

And I think one of the greatest secrets to Wanton Mee is the sauce. I don't really care what sauce they put, because I know of a bowl that uses ketchup and chili which is really nice! So all they have to do is get the combination right. And this stall certainly couldn't. Trust me, there is NO secret in their recipe. With your eyes blind folded, take the soy sauce bottle, salt, sugar, pepper, oil, throw a pinch here and there, you'd probably get something like this.

I do not even think they bother to try their sauce or use a constant ratio. You know what hawkers always say, "agar agar". It's this "agar agar" and this "agar agar" attitude that makes the difference between the stalls with queues and those without.

The sauce here is pretty much tasteless even though it looks really dark, and thick enough, and nice. I'd suggest a bit more sweetness, and slightly less oil.


Rating: 3/5

Hawker Attitude
For some reason, the auntie is telling the cook (maybe husband) how to do what! Amazing for a stall that has been around for some time and won so many awards. I got the idea that the cook doesn't knows how to cook. Maybe that explains the mediocre food.

Overall rating: 5.8/10
Not worth coming specially at all. Not even worth even though this time I only traveled 5 busstops. Seriously. Can I remove all that awards? =((((( I wish the food award administrator would periodically go back to check. Things like Ch U and Ch 8 are getting way out of hand.

Even my brother who is not a foodie can tell me the logic. Here's what a non-21 said, "you know right, if the program has to go around saying something is nice (for viewership to hold) once a week, that means that over time, every stall in Singapore will have an award what!".

Yup, so don't believe so quickly when you see Kym Ng's face or Quan Yifeng etc pasted on signboards. And from my experiences, don't believe extremely old newspaper cuttings as well. They are really too outdated, and food standards DO drop because most hawkers just cannot be bothered. They are just there to sell as many bowls as possible in a day and rake in the $$$.

Walking Directions
At the round market, from the Hakka Yong Tau Foo stall (which is right opposite a small goldsmith shop outside the hawker center), Yummy Wanton Mee is right behind Yong Tau Foo.

As for Tampines Round Market, I got there by taking bus 28 from Tampines Interchange, past a church, Holy Trinity, and Shell Station, drop one busstop after Shell station. If you overshot, get down at Safra Tampines before it goes too far. It's a slightly longer walk backwards.

PS: As ieat suggests, the dumpling is worth buying a bowl to add ingredients if you are having porridge or mixed rice etc.

P/S/S: If you are looking for nice tasting wanton mee, and kolo mee at the same time, try the one at Toa Payoh Central a.k.a HDB Hub. Look for gaps in between the shops like SK Jewelery, Hock Hua Chinese Tonic, Hang Ten etc. Go into the back alley, Kolo Mee is at the end of the row from the obvious roast pork rice stall.


I do not have stock pictures to post right now. But that one is the delicious one with secret in the transparent sauce they coat every bowl of noodles in. I may just go there to get my wanton mee craving fixed.


I have eaten there for a whole year when I did part-time, and the quality is extremely consistent. Read more "Yummy Wanton Mee at Tampines Round Market..."

Bengawan Solo Pandan Chiffon Cake - No idea why it's hyped + Recommend Me A Cake =)

I think I am going to get kicked for this one again. It seems that everything I post about is bad. But that's because I haven't yet posted about all my delicious adventures and favourite foods! I should link in the post on Watami Singapore. I can be impressed, and very easily impressed. Give me some time, will definitely roll out aaaallll the goodies in Singapore. Now, it's dispelling the hype time, so naturally the foods are not so nice.

[I am just being truthful. I always get that, "hey, actually I also think this is normal" response, when I speak up and pound that hot food.]

Bengawan Solo Pandan Chiffon Cake

I have not eaten this before because my mum stopped buying from Bengawan Solo a long time ago after we all agreed that their foods are not that good and overpriced. I used to have their egg tarts and onion sausage rolls quite often.

However, when I heard that their pandan cake is good, I felt like trying, since my mum really likes this. I myself have never been quite so in love with pandan cakes or chiffon cakes. I guess this belongs to the previous generation. What I thought was, if this is truly one of the best in Singapore, no harm buying a few pieces back for my family.

It then so happened that I had to pass by a Bengawan Solo outlet today, so I walked in to get a piece. Thank goodness I decided on the single piece first before plunging in to grab that box of 5. (I am always quite kan chiong, and will rush to pick things up, without trying.)

So here goes:

Looks

No point talking about food without talking about looks because it is a fact that people eat with their eyes. So yes, like they all say, the one at Bengawan Solo has got a really, really evenly browned skin. And has pattern from the container on top. Pretty cake I must say. And stands well.

While the green on the inside is so green, so green. I don't know it's colouring or they really put in so much pandan extract, but again, it's appealing.

Then the holes. This is one of those really dense chiffon cake in which you don't see big holes. Very well beaten batter (they probably use industrial/business grade machine), even tiny pores rather than holes, making it look all the more perfect.

Rating: 5/5

Feel

Call me psychotic or what, but how could I not press this chiffon cake when I can hold it in my hands? Moreover, it's so soft like those comfort pillow one may have at home.

I know, it makes it ugly, but I just wanted to feel the texture, that's all. I didn't like squeeze my entire cake, that would be quite stupid.

Okay, so the feel is sweet and nice as well. hehe.

Rating: 5/5

Fragrance

And then after buying it out of the display, the first thing to always do with food is to take in the fragrance! =)) You can bet this is super nice from the colour. =)

I don't think it's just pandan. I can't tell because the smell is too mixed up to me. But it's fragrant and made me keep indulging on the smell like one would to one's favourite perfume. It's like when you hug your lover... ... haha, that kind of sniff.

Rating: 5/5
I do give 5/5 when I can't find anything to fault.

Taste & 口感/Texture

It's flatly sweet. I don't really like the texture as well, because I prefer my chiffon cake to the sort that can be bitten down to say, 0.5cm? Then another bite and yes, it breaks!! Gives a great deal of satisfaction, and layering in terms of texture, rather than just one flat, oh-bite-down-and-it-will-break feeling.

Frankly speaking, this did not give me that ooo-aah and eye light-up sensation as I expect from a food that is highly raved about. In fact, I'd rather prefer the pandan cake that sells at Shop & Save because of that resistance.


Rating: 3/5
It means okay lor... ...

Would I buy again?
No. $0.90 a piece for a non-favourite food that I feel I can find better at the supermarket is a tad expensive to me.

Would I recommend?
No. Have no idea why the hype. From Bengawan Solo, still the thousand layered cake is the best. =) If you have to eat sinful cakes and have to buy Bengawan Solo, spend the $$ on that.

Overall rating: 6/10
Really okay lor.

Recommend Me A Cake
I wouldn't mind traveling for good food, so if you also think that there are better Pandan Chiffon than Bengawan Solo's, recommend it. =) However, please also state why you think it's better. I have been cheated into all that long journeys so many times because of baseless raves. Thanks in advance! Read more "Bengawan Solo Pandan Chiffon Cake - No idea why it's hyped + Recommend Me A Cake =)..."

Tampopo Part II - The Side Dishes

I am slightly more satisfied with the side dishes in general, although there are some I really would not order again.

Light Cheese Chiffon Cake

This is an easy one to review. It is just as its name suggest. Light, a bit of cheese on top, no cheese taste in the cake, ultra holey and spongy = chiffon, and in the shape of a cake.

The crust was not crispy, and it didn't have resistance. I am not sure if chiffon cakes should have resistance, but the pandan cake that I can get from no name shops at the neighbourhood market has resistance, so I don't see why others shouldn't. What I mean is you bite the cake all the way down to something like 0.5cm, and feel a sort of stop because all that sponge packs up to a point, like when you squeeze a dish sponge, you can't squeeze it all down till 0.00001 mm right. Then you give a final bite, and it breaks.

Rating: 0/5
Have no idea what this is supposed to be. A creation to waste your money. I ordered because I saw that this only left one in the display refrigerator, while the others had more left. I know Hokkaido steam cakes are a delicacy, but light chiffon cake??? More like a modern creation.

Red Bean Green Tea Ice Cream

Ah, yes, this is good. I quite like to see the red bean in whole (even though I like prefer red bean to be slightly mashed because the best red bean desserts around all have slightly mashed beans, such as Toa Payoh ice kachang).

I like the way the red bean doesn't taste like sugar soaked, because it is unhealthy and also void of any bean taste. Well, if you had the misfortune of venturing so far as to eat the red bean glutinous rice ball green tea ice cream at Ramen Play, a spin-off of BreadTalk, you'd get what I mean by sugar soaked. If you haven't tried that, then thank your lucky stars, because it's not nice.

The green tea ice cream is very strong with green tea taste! I always say bringing out the matcha green tea taste is another culinary art. Green tea taste in green tea is already not easy to bring out, and lots of times, you will find that tea bag green teas are bland. Trying to make that taste into the main character and bloom is a challenge especially when Singaporeans are lovers of strong tastes, because it means you get your money worth and the ingredient is what we call 真才实料, real and truthful, not just out to make $$$.

The consistency of this ice cream is more Westernized, and closer to cream than ice. Japanese ice cream is actually more towards ice than cream. In fact, you'd find that most Japanese ice creams are close to 100% ice, like Azabu Sabo's. So this really depends on whether you're a purist or just want to eat ice cream.

I like both, and I think if want to make an ice cream, either you make it ice, or cream. If the quality is somewhere in between, then the review marks given will also only be somewhere in between. Yup, this is nice. I really don't mind going in to Tampopo and sit down with some friends for chit chat, just eating this. =)


Rating: 4.5/5
I think Haagen Dazs is still the best for cream green tea ice cream, so no full marks.

Pan-fried Gyoza

I ordered pan-fried because the waitress said it's better, even though they have deep fried, which is the latest.

I think this is okay. It passes, but okay. The juice doesn't squirts out, and it's kind of really, really tiny. The taste is quite nice.

Rating: 3/5
Eat if you die-die must have gyoza that day. But not a must-try. And it's tiny, so not worth it. You can get better ones at the same price nearby.

Salmon Sashimi Sushi

This looks very appealing. I think I can announce that gone are the days when you get tiny pieces of ingredients, especially salmon, like those at Sakae. I have been seeing more and more and more of sushi with size of ingredients like this and little rice (preferably in the range of 250 - 300 grains).

However, the salmon wasn't quite as fresh as I'd like it. I think Watami has the freshest seafood so far, and Itacho is above average too.

Also, the rice wasn't really vinergarized. And even if it was, it is not the sweet that should be. Try Itacho for this feeling.


Rating: 3/5
Okay. Again, no need to order unless you are craving for salmon sashimi.

Will I go back?

Maybe, merely for trying the rice dishes. However, there are too many Japanese restaurants in the Clarke Quay area that it is highly unlikely.

Will I recommend this place to people?

No. Despite the commendable service, and big space, I find it hard to give a reason to people to come here. It's like Yoshinoya. I tell my friends, go there during peak hour when you can't find seats no matter how, because it's always empty.

Overall Restaurant Rating: 5.5/10 Read more "Tampopo Part II - The Side Dishes..."

Tampopo Part I: The Ramen - Net voted best. Really the best?

The hunt for best ramen in Singapore continues with Tampopo, a must try since it's hungrygowhere's voted best thus far.

I was stunned to see the results, because I expected Ippudo at Mandarin Gallery to garner the most votes after reading Daniel's Blog, and having tried it myself. My own review of Ippudo on hungrygowhere.com is here. For a summary, yes, I find it overrated and no need for a queue, HOWEVER, I was very satisfied with the quality and taste of the food as I've rated.

My quest at Tampopo was really to find out if it is truly better or if the votes are unfairly swayed for whatever reason (maybe people just wanted to win the top prize from Standard Chartered Bank, or it could be internal voting for all we know).

Prior to my visit, I already had an inkling of what I would taste since there are truthful feedback on the post from ieatishootipost. I did not go with high expectations just to make sure I don't get disappointed the way I got with Ippudo, and thereby weeding out possible bias while making room for myself to be impressed. (Well, I rated their food very good despite the disappointment.)

Tampopo

Location

This place was easy to find as it is the Level 1 tenant at Liang Court, which is a mall famous for great food. The space is also overwhelmingly big and therefore has enough wall area of huge signs/posters.

Huge wall area.

Tampopo

Setting & Ambience

Being an enclosed ground floor space, this didn't have the location advantage to give a good view that Santouka has. It doesn't matters that much to me, since I believe there is a time and place for every setting.

First step into the restaurant gave me a slight wow due to the size and extreme spaciousness. Lighting is pretty much the same as many other Japanese restaurants, that dark room with hanging lights thing. I don't know why, but you'd find similar backdrops in Sushi Tei Ang Mo Kio branch, Ippudo, and Watami. Or perhaps, it's just a popular interior design right now... ...

Although so, I do like these dark settings because it makes the meal more romantic by eliminating your sense of time, and it somehow allows extremely good photos to be taken. You can really forget whether it's day or night in places like these. Trust me, especially if the food is good, you wouldn't want to leave.

Service

Service is very good throughout as they are obviously well-staffed. They have to be with a gigantic restaurant by today's standard, because of the space constraints and land pricing in Singapore.

They always make it a point to take note of me, gave me time to look through the menu, and came up at the right moment.

Table setting. Cup of hot tea served almost immediately.

Even while going about the daily chores, such as packing the chopsticks in the paper wrapper, the waitress mainly on duty made sure she sat in a position that she would not miss me if I looked up and signal.

Every dish was set down with an "enjoy your meal", and when I asked for takeaway, it was gladly done, and the waitress even asked if I wanted takeaway for my ramen even though I didn't ask for it. I appreciate the extra consideration, as good service is few and far between in modern day Singapore.

Rating: 4.75/5
I am taking away marks for not so authentic way, as in Japanese service, such as that you can find at Watami Singapore. But I was very much impressed, and this is probably one of the best you can find in mass market restaurants. Ippudo, being slightly more upmarket, doesn't even comes quite close.

Food

I ordered the "biggest" bowl of ramen on the menu, the Black Pig Ramen with Dragon Ball, which even has poster cards of it hanging from the ceiling as if you're in MacDonalds. LOL. A bit strange for a restaurant. But okay, I am not complaining since it does serves its purpose of giving new patrons like me an idea of what to order.

I was sufficiently curious about Dragon Ball to go for it although I did detect gimmick in it. Dragon Ball is my childhood favourite comic series, and it has also spun-off a movie by the Westerners! Furthermore, the movie is good! hahahaha.

I also ordered some things that I more often than not use as benchmarks for a Japanese restaurants, since Tampopo is not a dedicated ramen restaurant. And these items were Light Cheese Chiffon Cake, Red Bean Green Tea Ice Cream, Pan-fried Gyoza, and Salmon Sashimi Sushi.

I will start of with the ramen since that's what this post should be about. Although I will eventually evaluate Tampopo as a whole restaurant like I have done for all the previous posts. Do just keep your eye on the ramen if you are also on the search for best ramen.

Ramen

Dragon Ball
I tested the Dragon Ball first, since the bowl of ramen costs more if you choose to add this.

The ball is huge, like the size of a large egg, except round, or a good big scoop of Haagen Dazs ice cream. Good impression since it costs $1 more. Can't be paying for a quail egg size right, it's not fish roe or foie gras.

Taste is okay. It's not those super tasty pork some people might like. So if you are looking for pork taste, perhaps not this. However, based on the lack of fats and salt, I'd actually qualify this minced meat ball as good. Reason being, you are cheated if you are sold more than 50% fats. Even Bak Kut Teh lovers and Vinegar-ed Pig Leg lovers would agree that the meat needs to has meat rather than just bone coated with fats or fats in sour black sauce.

This entire issue of being sold fats deserves a separate post, which I will do as soon as possible.

Texture wise, the meat ball is also rather firm, okay, in fact very firm, yet highly breakable with your teeth. Not hard, just firm.

Overall, this is a good meat ball that for meat ball lovers, you might just want to try. You might also want to try if your quest is to look for the best meat ball in Singapore. Yet due to the lack of real taste, as in unique taste that can make your eyes gleam, I do not see the need for the mass market to pay for it. Based on this, I find the entire Dragon Ball and poster card on the ceiling a gimmick. Don't fall for it, since you wouldn't be missing out any great taste if your Black Pig Ramen comes without it.


Rating: 3.5/5
Marks given because I don't want to kill the person who in the kitchen who makes this, and on second thought, it does makes my photos of Black Pig Ramen quite a lot better. Added element. lol. Moreover, it was really just a dollar more, not like $2.50, which people would crazily pay for tiny macarons, yeah?

Soup
Okay, the disappointment kicks in from here. In the course of eating and taking picture of Dragon Ball, I accidentally tasted some soup, and my face changed immediately.

What would you say if a bowl of ramen tasted like instant noodles from any brand you can make at home?

I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay for overly-seasoned instant noodles!! I swear this tastes like what you get when you pour the whole packet of that seasoning in. Extremely salty as layerless.

I would definitely forgive the salt and give credit for layer in flavour like I did with Santouka, whose soup was salty but kept reminding me of miso, and made me take more scoops to find the secret. In culinary terms, the Chinese know it as 层次感. It is detectable when you put something into your mouth, first get an initial taste, then another, and another, and some main taste slowly creeps in, even leaving what is called an aftertaste at the back of your throat after swallowing, much like a good cup of kopi for the Chinese or fine wine and chocolate for the Westerners.

Rating: 0/5
Fails miserably, since I wouldn't even make the mistake of pouring in all the seasoning for my instant noodles. I can't stomach it.

Noodles
The noodle sealed the impression that this bowl of ramen is instant noodles.

It was not Q. It isn't bad. Not overly soaked and squishy or undercooked and hard. It breaks easily with a bite. But that's it. It doesn't have the resistance.

The reason why I emphasize so much on Q (spring or bounce) is because even people who make instant noodles for themselves to eat at home ask that of themselves.

The first time I came across this term was 5 years ago, when a friend reviewed to me that she can make the noodles Q by dipping it in cold water, hot water then cold water again, right after it has been cooked in the boiling water. So you see, if a normal person bothers to go through these steps to make instant noodles at home, what excuse does it gives restaurants? Unless of course, one claims that the cook doesn't knows of such thing as Q noodles.

Rating: 3/5
Good just bite and break noodles, but lack that bounce that I would like to be paying for. I have also given a little bit more marks since Tampopo is not a dedicated ramen restaurant.

Pork
I am glad to say that the pork did not disappoint. =)

I couldn't taste if this is really black pig or white pig or what, but the slices of pork I could scoop up from underneath was quite a lot, and every piece was delightfully soft and tender. This is an art that hawkers somehow fail to grasp.

Yet, the taste was lacking. Great texture and feel in the mouth, but there was no real pork taste or any unique seasoning taste. Just good feel pork. All I ask for is that I can at least tell it's pork rather than super tender piece of flour or something.


Rating: 3.8/5

Overall Ramen Rating: 2.55/5
Based on a pass and fail system that I used for commenting on ieatishootipost, I actually failed this, since everything fails from the purely ramen point of view. Like I wrote there, as a ramen, fail, as a bowl of instant noodles, barely pass. I have gotten over an initial disappointment (even though I came with not much expectations!), and use a rating system instead, which gives credit to things like the person cooking, how something would add looks to the dish etc. So I guess, this rating system goes in line with it being an extremely normal bowl of noodles which you can cook at home, rather than a contender for Top 10 ramen in Singapore.

I tried, and I cannot find a reason for those who haven't visited Tampopo to try their ramen. =( Considering the large variety of food in the much, much more accessible Orchard Belt, and a lot, a lot that are nice, I really don't want to make people run down to Liang Court for something that can be left to the last to try.

(To be continued... ...) Read more "Tampopo Part I: The Ramen - Net voted best. Really the best?..."

Santouka 山头火 Ramen - A Recommendation by ieatishootipost & gang

I have no idea why I am only blogging about ieatishootipost now, given that I have been reading it for a few years and also own a handful of blogs prior to this. Moreover, I always recommend my friends to read it if they really wanted to find something good to eat in Singapore, because that blog seriously only blogs about good food, and nothing else.

This time round, ieat has gone on the search for the best ramen in Singapore to list down the Top 10, and I, being a Japanese lover, just had to get into the fun and excitement of the search! Enjoying the adrenaline rush that builds up. =)

[Since History was my most-hated subject in school, after Literature, I shall not post much on beginnings and whatnot. Furthermore, I think the writeup on all food at ieatishootipost is already so perfect! Read Santouka on ieatishootipost here. I prefer to focus on the entirety of the restaurant, as we all know we are paying for it in cosmopolitan Singapore. Yes, so don't waste your $$$ on yucky food.]

Santouka 山头火 Ramen

Setting & Ambience

First step in Santouka was delightful with the wide-open view of Singapore river and very much unblocked blue sky, together soft sunlight setting in on the entire restaurant.

It's always nice seeing greenery and water during mealtimes.

The furniture is well-spaced despite the narrow and not very big place, unlike many Chinese restaurants which squeezes me up at too close a proximity to the next diner, for comfort, and no space to place my belongings.

The surroundings certainly goes into my book as a place that couples can have a good meal at.

However, the decoration is slightly sparse in contrast to glitzy restaurants like Ippudo and Watami. Perhaps not the first date, but yes for a regular hangout.

On a side note, there is a long line of cushioned sofas outside the restaurant, so that people may queue in comfort during peak hours. I really take my hat of that as most places would give you a row of single chairs, and strange ones like Ippudo give you a big waiting table to stand around at.

Rating: 4/5

Service

I was greeted nicely by a new staff, who very promptly brought me a jug of water, the menu and a basket to be placed on the floor and hold my bags.


I wanted to change seats for more lighting, and she gladly shifted everything to the next table. In the process, she was also well-aided by the more experienced staff, which was heart-warming, since I know that this kind of peer help do not exists in many restaurants.


Throughout, service was prompt, polite, and pleasant, with a lot of thank you as the cashier.

Rating: 4.5/5

Food

Menu

The menu is sparse in the sense that this is a dedicated ramen restaurant, so you do not get the dizzying array of sashimi, rice dishes and dessert, as you would as chains like Sakae, Sushi Tei or Watami.

All you see will be the different types of ramen.

Ramen - Toro Niku Kara (Spicy) Miso Ramen

As the title goes, I ordered the Toro Niku Kara (Spicy) Miso Ramen, as the pork cheeks are highly recommended by one of ieat's gang.

I put them all together and decorated it myself! hehe.

I didn't really like the way that you have to order the pork cheeks separately and then the noodles, as it ups the price this way. =(

The Pork Cheeks

The pork cheeks are good, such that I could finish them despite having eaten two other ramen meals right before visiting Santouka. Also, normally, no matter how great the taste is, I'd still control myself and don't eat so much fattening meat. So pork cheeks is one of the exceptions.

The serving is quite a lot, with 6 big pieces, and I only bite about 1/4 of the piece for each mouthful of noodles I take. So by the time it finishes, I ate enough noodles and drank enough soup to be very full.

The taste, though good, was a little bit disappointing, as it reminded me of Narcissus brand canned stew pork. I was a little surprised at the quite normal taste since I have eaten this from 20 years ago. It is a good taste, and I do not compromise on the taste of my canned stew pork. I only buy Narcissus. So yes, the pork cheeks tastes good, but not unique for me.

Besides that, I like the taste of pork neck in teppanyaki better than cheeks.

However, the texture and amount of fats (which is little and not visible, so is good grade meat) is definitely something you would not get outside Santouka. =) So yes, I do like the taste, and the meat as a whole.

As far as I know, on the mass market, Santouka is the only place that serves pork cheeks.

Supposedly, for maximum taste and best texture, you dip the cheek in the boiling hot soup and melt the interwoven fats, so that the cheeks would melt in your mouth. However, I enjoyed the plain version as much, so I basically soaked half in the soup and ate half plain.

Rating: 4/5

Soup

The soup is strong and tasty, and has that special slightly herb-y taste. It was so refreshing that I drank 1/3 the bowl until I finally figured out the secret behind that great taste.

It is miso, as I ordered of course! haha, but I sort of forgotten because I was taken aback by the shot of eye-gleaming (which is a grade lower than eye-PoPpInG. hahaha.) curry-lookalike soup.

It is on the salty side and I would advise not to drink it, since Japanese also do not usually drink ramen soup. They use it as flavouring for the noodles and ingredients.

See! Got sesame one! Cute.

Also, I need to point out that I felt very thirsty after that, and so it could be an overdose of MSG.

The part that wasn't satisfying for me is the apparent lack of spiciness despite the menu calling it spicy. I take that as failure to do as promised, which I feel is very important for products.

If you are looking for the same taste of soup (in fact, I think better), Beppu Japanese Noodles at Tiong Bahru Plaza is better. I drank up every drop, and if you choose spicy, it is really spicy. However, the meat and noodles are definitely no match for Santouka (which is also expectedly more expensive). =)

Rating: 4.5/5

Noodles

Yes, the noodles pass the QQ-test. =)

I would set this as the minimum pass benchmark for Q ramen, and I'd expect all ramen joints/chains/restaurants to produce this grade of standard round and long noodles.

Rating: 4/5

Drink

The green tea here is good, because you get a whole boiling teapot to yourself with the tea bag. I guess that means no free flow. But the two cups that the one pot poured was more than enough for me.

Side - Egg

The half-cooked hard-boiled egg is good too, with very flowy yolk, which can be a bit messy if held slantedly. I'd prefer slightly more cooked yolk, and slightly less salty, yet more flavourful egg though.

For egg only, I recommend O-An Japanese Restaurant, which I will blog about in later posts.


Rating: 4/5

Price/ Value-for-money

The normal ramen are reasonably priced at around $14 before service charge. However, the pork cheeks really ups the ante quite a bit. So I am posting to psychological prep anyone who needs it.

1 Japanese Tea $2
1 Toro Niku Kara (Spicy) Miso Ramen $20.50
1 Komi-Tamago (Half-cooked Hard-boiled Japanese style ramen egg)
10% Svc Charge $2.35
7% GST $1.81
Total $27.65

I find it a tad expensive, as this is not a 5/5 dish for me. However, this is the best bowl of ramen for holydrummer of ieat makan buddies. So, go try. It is good, and probably wouldn't garner complains.

Rating: 4.8/5

Would I go back?

Yes, to try the other styles. But I am not in love, and so maybe not so soon. I do not really find the cheeks die-die must eat, and I must have it again. But I feel, yes, they are must-tries in your life. And once in a while. =)

Would I recommend?
Yes, but no need to rush, no need to make special trips. For the next time the girlfriend complains nothing to eat since the location is quite central, or a friend reunion, yes. =)


Overall rating: 8/10

RAMEN SANTOUKA
6 Eu Tong Sen St S'pore 059817
#02-76 The Central
Tel 62240668


Walking Directions:
From Clark Quay MRT Station, turn left on exiting the barricades, and left again to the exit saying "To Central" (besides the flight of 90 steps staircase). Seeing Subway at the end of the escalators, turn to Azabu Sabo's side, take the one level escalator to 2nd floor, you should see lots of banners and Japanese words already. Walk all the way pass Manhatten Fish Market and Billy Bombers, it's the tiny shop at the end! =)

PS: Quite sad that the pictures are not very good for this. Sat at the wrong place. I actually feel like going back for better pictures that will do Santouka justice. So tired after long walks that day. haha, just felt like pouncing on the food due to the recommendation. Read more "Santouka 山头火 Ramen - A Recommendation by ieatishootipost & gang..."

Wendy's: Quality is Our Recipe Part II (Lunch)

haha, so I stayed from 10am breakfast time till 11am lunch time, just to wait for the menu change and get a taste of the famous fried chicken.


The standard menu look really delicious, unlike Popeye's Chicken. I've always felt that there is a lack of variety there. Unfortunately, I can't try the signature beef burger.

Sumptuous non-breakfast menu. So colourful!

When I saw the Frosty and milkshakes, I just knew I had to try them because the comeback milkshake from McD is lousy. 18 years ago, it was so thick, creamy and good. Food nowadays always gets worse.

Frosty ($1.30 for the small cup)

This is a cup of... ... hmmm, half milkshake drink, half ice cream??? hahaha. I actually exchanged my drink in the burger meal for this. So I sort of expected a drink. But when they served it to me in the cup, it looks more like an ice cream. Funnily, I took a straw and a spoon for this!

I used the spoon and ate it like an ice cream in the end.

Frosty, small.

So you see, it actually looks like McD soft-serve cone ice cream. At a few tens of cents more, you do get slightly more than the cone ice cream.

This tastes like soft-serve cone ice cream as well, just quite a bit more milky. It really is in between soft-serve ice cream and milkshake! lol! It is also very smooth and creamy as Wendy's promise.

Rating: 5/5
I do like the flavour of it, and I like milk ice cream taste, so I like this. And I think there was really nothing for me to pick on even though I was a little disappointed that it wasn't more of a milkshake. But well, I have decided to order the Frosty Milkshake the next time.

Spicy Chicken Burger Meal ($6.85)

Burger and fries.

haha, I do like the way this photo has turned out. It's sooo cuuute. The two of them, burger and fries, best friend side by side.

Burger

Spicy chicken burger.

Such the cutest flower bread this has. So lovely.

But I was a little sad that this burger looks so ordinary on the outside. It's just two buns, the normal looking chicken and cabbage, and tomatoes. I feel that the other joints like KFC Zinger Burger, Subway, Mos Burger has so much more interesting outlook than this.

Ordinary-looking handful of chicken meat too.

However, the magical moment came when I put this ordinary-looking burger into my mouth. The moment I bit down, the juices just all went, SPLASH! into my mouth, like I were eating Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai -style flour-wrapped minced meat, to look like a tiny bun, often containing the soup stock)!! Whoa-oWow! I love it. The juice.

And so I thought, it might be the oil. But when I look at the chicken, it's like, NO FATS at all! It's like those really well-cooked, pure, pure chicken, and it does reminds me of kampung chicken, of which, I ate in Malaysia, and it has that only meat, no fats, but super juicy feel too.

Ultra tender, firm and resistive bounce smooth, soft, juicy meat.

At this moment, I think I realised what Wendy's logo means by "Quality is Our Recipe". It's just amazing.

I took one more bite, and another bite, and another, and another. It was gone. I love this thing. There is no such chicken burger in Singapore. Firm, soft, tender, smooth, no fat, and so juicy, it squirts out like Xiao Long Bao.

And then there is the bun.

Besides the cute flower shape, it is also slightly buttered.

Special, buttered, flower-shaped bun with sesame on top. Love this!

Actually, the chicken ate alone is very salty, but when ate with the bun and vegetables altogether, the tastes just comes through as really refreshing with the juice. Not the full chicken taste anymore, they just blended altogether. =) First time I've eaten a burger whose tastes really blends.

Rating: 5/5
Must try!

I also ordered the nugget and fried chicken wing as this was a special out of the way trip down, so I am not sure when I would go back and have the chance to try Wendy's again.

Nuggets

I chose the 4 piece nugget. They look very cute with all that seasoning on top, but slightly smaller than McD's.

They are very soft!  And has meat that looks and feels more real than the minced fats in McD's nuggets. However, probably also because of the more healthy parts, less seasoning and all, this is not as tasty as many would like.

Nuggets, my favourite from fast food!

I feel that these are very healthy nuggets with really good texture in the mouth, so yes, I would choose it over McD's about 50% of the time.

Rating: 4/5

Last but not least, the much-awaited famous chicken!

Ah, the box reminds me of 20-pieces nugget from McD.

I asked for takeaway for the chicken and the nuggets, as I know I can't possibly finish breakfast and lunch by myself, and I wouldn't want to throw them away.

Fried Chicken

I am not sure if you can request parts like KFC allows, but I didn't. I think I did briefly mention wings though. So they gave me one wing and one breast part.

Breast and wing portions.

These are good! They really, really do remind of the kampong chicken I had in Malaysia! The skin is not exceedingly crispy or anything, but crispy enough. The real good part comes with the juice and firm yet tender smooth and soft white meat you feel after the crispy crunch. I'd say, these taste better than Popeye's!

Tender juicy meat.

Not really THE best chicken wings ever, ever, but they are one of a kind. And you probably will not find similarly juicy one from Chinese coffeeshop stalls, nor Popeye's, much less KFC!

I also like the way it perfectly cooked. Not too hard, not bloody. However, I was disappointed that despite them having the option of spicy or original, this spicy wings that I chose is not spicy at all. Same goes for the burger. Not spicy at all.

Rating: 5/5 Must experience the juice and tenderness. Love this.

Overall

Something else worth mentioning are the chili and ketchup. They are self-service, so stored in dispense units, and I couldn't see what brand they are. But the chili is amazing. It's sweet on first taste, but as you swallow it down, it has that spicy spicy near your throat. Great chili that doesn't makes me tear, yet has that spice taste. The ketchup has some sort of herb taste too. Quite strange.

In my takeaway, they gave Heinz brand sauces. So it might be Heinz.

Rating: 7/10
I'd definitely go back for the main courses again. I still want to try the baked potato and the Frosty milkshake. But I deducted marks for the not so charming breakfast and houseflies. So yes, buy the coffee, chicken burger and fried chicken! Read more "Wendy's: Quality is Our Recipe Part II (Lunch)..."

Wendy's: Quality is Our Recipe Part I (Breakfast) - Americanization in Action

Americanization is a term that first appeared to me in one of my General Paper (GP) articles for A' levels. I vividly remember that this term came along with synonyms such as McDonaldization and consumerism. Basically, it is Westernization as we all already know it.

Westernization has inevitably been around since Singapore was a former British Colony, and we couldn't have stopped McDonald's from coming in during the 1970s. From then on, the local food scene has not stopped seeing new fast food chains, like KFC, Burger King, Long John Silver, and fondly remembered A&W.

In recent years, the emergence of new malls has seen more and more Western fast food chains opening. One of the most popular one being Subway. And now, there is lesser known Quiznos Sub, still yet to really expand Popeye's Chicken. And Singaporeans do love it, from the way Subway has expanded, and the queues at Popeye's.

The latest edition then, would be Wendy's in December 2009. Apparently, as report in the news here, there were queues then. I think the buzz has pretty much died down now because I did not quite see the lunchtime working crowd coming in when I was there this morning.

I always like restaurants with outdoors seats. Enjoy the sunshine. =)

Wendy's has been around since 1969, and they were in Singapore more than 10 years ago, but pulled out. This time, they are brought in my Kopitiam, which plans to open up to 35 branches in the years to come. You may read more of Wendy's history and its founder, Dave, on their official website here. There, you will also find the pdf files of the nutrition values in each of the food items.

Since Wendy's is opening their 2nd branch at Jurong Point soon, I decided that it's time I make a special trip down to Lau Pa Sat to try it out! =)

The Breakfast

I chose the McDonald's Big Breakfast style of course, which is called the Turkey Whole Breakfast at Wendy's, because that's my favourite, and the others, like the burger and wrap are basically the "mini" version of the Big Breakfast.

It comes in the standard English breakfast style, as we all probably already know it, that is, an egg, bread, some sort of fat, like bacon, sausage or ham, and coffee or tea. In Singapore, we have hash browns as well.

English-style breakfast with custom coffee.

From a health point of view, the English breakfast is definitely very well-balanced and nutritious. Only, I'd substitute the fat with unsaturated fat like olive oil on the toast bread, nuts or salmon instead. Bacon is just... ... Not to my liking. It reminds me of kian he, which is salted fish.

The real problem only comes when you overload it with oil, like in McDonald's (of which I am still a loyal fan of). KFC is slightly better. But really not much. LJS is a LOT better in terms of health, but so lacking in taste nobody can palate it. I do believe in the existence of nice-tasting healthy food.

That said, I'd like evaluate to this from a slightly different perspective of health and quality real food, rather than just whether it's tasty or not, because I believe that in terms of taste, nothing can beat McDonald's, for me. So if I only look at that, it'd be very biased. I am more looking out for a unique proposition that can make me choose this new fast food over my childhood McDonald's. (Nothing beats childhood memories and tastes that one grows up with.)

The Egg

I attacked the egg first because I can't live without my daily dose of the nutritious yellow cutie pie. Yellow just brightens your Monday like the sunshine. Don't you think? Especially when I was sitting by the almost full-length glass window of an air-conditioned place, watching the soft sunlight streaming in after days of thunderstorm that roared way into my dreams, that gleaming breakfast looked all the more welcoming in contrast of black days before.

Folded omelette that is achievable at home.

I really like the texture of this omelette. It squishes up in my mouth, rather than crumbles like the scrambled eggs from McD. This was a surprise as the holey rolled-up piece of yellow didn't half look like anything silky or smooth or creamy.

It tasted blend, as I couldn't even detect a pinch of salt. This very much reminded me of the days when McD had tasteless eggs as well, that was a good 18 years ago. However, the difference is that Wendy's gave that home-cooked feeling because of the oh-so-normal look. I mean, to be honest, which part of my photo makes it look super tasty to you? I just wanted to convey that sense of no-frills, no patterns, that clean and neatness that would come from my mum's breakfast, if she were to make omelette with toast bread and bacon.

McD obviously looks ultra spiced up to appeal with all that oil. I only have to roll the scrambled egg away, and I can see those liquid underneath. This doesn't happens with Wendy's at all. It's just that plain-cooked simple egg. Therefore, very, very healthy I'd say.

Health Point of View (POV): 5/5.
Taste Point of View (POV): 2.5/5. I only pass it because of the good texture.

Bacon

I hit the bacon next because it reminded me of Burger King, whose breakfast I do miss because of the tiny round hash browns. LOL!

This pretty much tasted like bacon should. What else but salt? It wasn't fried till ultra crispy, but it really didn't matter to me, because I would still be eating salty fat anyway.

I was actually impressed with the leanness of the bacon they choose. No thick white strips of fat at all! I'd say, yes, very quality food. Seriously, if any eatery sells you more fats than meat, it's selling you rubbish. Please do not waste your money on that. Unless of course, the dish is pork belly or pork leg.

Bacon with no clear thick white fatty strips.

I remember eating pork ribs in China that were cut into tiny cubes, and 98% fats. My friends and I were so disgusted we learned our lesson never ever to order pork ribs anywhere. Beijing is weird. That's just the way they sell food.

Rating: 5/5
Given that this bacon tastes like all other bacon, I feel that the distinguishing point to it is the well-chosen lack of fat part. So much better than Burger King's, which shows no effort to weed fat bacon out at all.

Bread

Looks nice. As a bread lover, I can't say no to soft white bread.

Clean and neat soft white slightly grilled bread that looks appealing to me.

This was slightly disappointing as it tasted pretty normal. It gives me the feel of supermarket bread being toasted lightly, that's all. It is, a bit, teeny teeny bit buttery, and had a little little little bit of fragrance. But it is definitely far from nice to eat. Just a normal bread.

Rating: 3/5
I do like that homely plainness. But for this, I really did rather choose McD's special airy toasted breakfast burger buns that I have not seen replicated anywhere else in this world!

Hash Brown

I love this hash brown! I really do love it. This is so healthy, well crisped, yet with that hue of butter infused inside rather than spread on top. The others just feels like salt-loaded or MSG-loaded potatoes when put besides this.

Crispy with a hue of butter. Just a hue. Feel healthy enough for me to eat.

Rating: 5/5
Give me another Wendy's Hash Brown any time!

Coffee

I was pretty excited over this because I saw the word "custom" printed on their cup. I really love brand-unique coffees, and I wasn't disappointed.

Custom Bean, as they call it.

Wendy's cup has that pure espresso feeling. Just purely coffee kind of bitter. Thick enough yet not over-powering for people who do not like coffee. I think this is very much drinkable by everybody, as I myself do not like bitter tastes, and I cannot take Nescafe pure dark coffee, but I did manage the whole pure cup of this, no sugar, no creamer added. (I always feel forced to add sugar to the bottled Nescafe, because as mentioned, I cannot take it.)

Dark, and thick enough pure coffee.

It actually really reminds me of Oriole Cafe & Bar. Really. It's the same taste. I just know it's that same espresso taste. However, the Piccolo Latte has more milk. (Of course, because Piccolo Latte means a bit of milk added.)

Yup, so coffee lovers, if you want a big, big cup of that kind of pure not so thick espresso (that you can only can a tiny tequila shot of), here's the one. And cheaper too! It's nothing like supermarket. Supermarket coffee, no matter how pure, will not yield this taste. Strange, but that is just so.

Rating: 5/5 *** Can I give this 6/5? haha.
If you work in the Lau Pa Sat area, this is the cuppa java to go to. =)

Restaurant Ambience/Condition

It is well-lit, well-spaced, has nice paintings and all, but unfortunately, I'd choose not to dine in if I had to go again. I'd rather takeaway, and go sit in some non-airconditioned tables in LPS, because there are houseflies ALL over. I was actually trying to find a seat without those flies, and I failed, even though I was one of the 5 customers there early in the morning, and I had pretty much every seat to myself.

Well-lit all over, with relevant posters framed up and hung on the wall.

I have half a mind to write in to NEA for them to check and rate this fast food joint again. The flies landed on my bread, my coffee, my... ... everything. =(((( This is when I bring in the dialect, "sian", which here means sickening and tiring.

Rating: 0.5/5
I cannot emphasize how important it is to provide a clean and hygiene dining place, especially when there is air-con.

Service

Many of the staffs were new to service line, and don't quite know how to even take orders and pack the food etc. So I will try to find fault. Generally, they are okay, they follow standard operating procedures (SOPs), greet, take your order etc.

Rating: 3/5 Can be improved.

To be continued in Part II, LUNCH! =)) Read more "Wendy's: Quality is Our Recipe Part I (Breakfast) - Americanization in Action..."