Jane Thai Food restaurant

Date: 17 July 2012

Address: 400 Orchard road, #04-30 Orchard Towers / 314 Bedok road Bedok shopping complex

Opening hours: 5pm - 4am / 11:30am - 3pm, 5 -10pm ( Bedok )

Nearest MRT: Orchard 

I have always wanted to try Jane Thai and I finally got my chance when a few of my friends decided to have thai for dinner. 

I've been back from bangkok for only a week and i am already sorely missing thai food. I've had 4 bowls of tom yum noodle soup for the last 7 days and I still want more so i'm going to another thai place this friday woohoo. 

Anyway, my friends and i visited the branch at orchard towers just because it's more convenient for us. 

I've seen the one at simpang bedok and that one seems more "posh" looking but I've yet to try the food there. If you don't mind watching streams of caucasian men enter dodgy, loud pubs and exit with their arms around scantily dressed women while you drink your tom yum soup, you should totally visit this hidden gem! 

Given that this place closes at 5am, it's an excellent place to stop by for food late at night, say if you're hungry after a movie. 

Hoi Kheng : Cockles - $5 

For sure, this small bowl of cockles seems like a rip off when you can get a large bucket of them at the market for the same price and boil it yourself to get the same result. We ordered it anyway since we felt like having it. 

 Phad Pak Bung : Sambal Kang Kong - $6

Sweeter than usual and crunchy enough. Just a little disappointed with the portion being rather small. 

Phad Thai Beef - $5 

I didn't try this but my friend said it was average. 

Tom Yum Seafood Soup - $10 

This pot of soup was enough for 3 people. Lots of people think that the clear soup isn't as spicy as the red soup (maybe cos the colour red lets you think its spicy) but i've always preferred Tom yum nam sai (clear soup) to the red one because I think its less oily and honestly spicier. 

The prawns weren't very fresh and there was too little seafood in there, hardly enough for the 3 of us. Then again, the portion may have been intended for only one or 2 persons. 

How i miss having tom yum soup at half the price and double the ingredients (esp mushrooms) back in bangkok. 

Peek Gai Thod : Fried Chicken Wings $5 

So - So. I prefer barbecued wings. 

Thai Iced Milk Tea - $2 each 

Tastes just like "Teh-bing" to me just slightly sweeter. 

I might come back again if i happen to be in orchard and craving for thai food but I wouldn't plan for it. 

The food was average but the service was good. 

I'm on to more thai restaurants in Singapore to find my favourite one. 

Aroy Dee

Date: June 2012 

Address: 91 Bencoolen Street, Sunshine Plaza

Opening hours : 12pm-10pm (Closed on Sundays) 

Nearest MRT: Bugis / City Hall

I was meeting an Italian friend who lives in London and she wanted to have some thai food. 

Initially, i thought of going to Aloy Thai but the thought of having to queue put me off. Besides, I've eaten at Aloy Thai (haven't blogged about it) so i wanted to check out Aroy Dee.

My companion ordered the Phad thai and said it tasted just like the one in thailand, which probably means they did a good job. 

Sorry i dont have the price but it'll probably be like 5 bucks or something. 

My tom yum soup was awesome! S$6. It was everything tomyum should be, spicy and sour. It wasn't so spicy that i couldn't feel taste buds so that was good. 

Compared to being in thailand, 6 bucks for what would be 2 seems abit too much but to me, if paying 6 dollars gives me authentic tomyum soup that takes me back to thailand, i'm all for it! 

I LOVE Aroy Dee. Such a quaint a nice place for good thai food. Up next is to see if Aloy Thai keeps up to the impression i made of them 3 years ago. 

Saveur

Date: 1st May 2012
Address: 5 Purvis street
Opening hours: Daily 12-230pm , 6-9.30pm
Nearest MRT: Bugis/City Hall

I finally got to try this new gem in the city and I am so glad i did! The food is different from anything i've tried and it came at such a reasonable cost. Furthermore, it doesn't charge GST and service charge and it's situated in a centralized location, somewhere in between Bugis and City hall. Seating area is not big but  it could probably fit a big group if you come during non-peak hours. 

I especially like the decor on this wall. It looks like they chose not to plaster bits of the wall and it has turned out to be a unique design. Gives the whole place a different texture. 

Before we stepped in, we read a sign that warned us about having to wait for quite a bit because they were short handed or something like that so, we expected to wait. 

Fortunately, our food came almost immediately (maybe 5-10 mins later) so our stomachs didn't need to wait at all. 

Angel Hair pasta with Tiger prawn and lumpfish caviar. - S$6.9

This was THE dish i had to try, after reading countless of food reviews on Saveur. It did not disappoint AT ALL, in fact it left me wanting more after the first bite. The pasta itself was extremely fragrant, olive oil perhaps (?), i honestly don't know, it was some kind of a wonderful, light but flavorful burst of emotions in my mouth. 

The portion isn't big but for me, it's filling enough. If not, you can always just order 2 dishes because this pasta is freaking 6.90. It tastes SO MUCH MORE than 6.90. Even if this were 16.90, I'd still order it. 

We ordered a starter - the Confit of Salmon with apple and fennel salad - S$8.90

I only have 2 thumbs but i wish i had more to put them up because this was amazing. 

Salmon is already nice on its own, whether raw or cooked, but the black thingy on top gave it a zesty oomph. The whole thing blended smoothly together and made a splendid starter. 

The waitress taking our order told me this was their specialty - Confit of duck with orange segments and saute shittake (mushrooms) - S$8.90. If you're wondering what 'confit' means, it refers to a technique for preserving meats such as goose, duck or pork that involves cooking the meat in its own fat, and then storing the meat in a covered container.

The duck was adequately crispy, almost a little hard but I think its because i took so long to eat (while taking photos) that it turned cold and slightly hard. It still tasted incredibly good though, with the buttered mashed potatoes that came in a generous portion. The mushrooms were too oily for me and the orange segments are a little redundant but not much harm was done. This dish didn't disappoint me at all, it probably exceeded what I had expected anyone can do with duck. 

Barramundi with Crab potato and french beans - S$12.90. The potatoes had a familiar taste to them, my friend said it was something like the "wok's smell." I felt it reminded me of the hashbrown nuggets. The waitress said it contained bits of crab but I couldn't tell. Well anyway, the potatoes tasted unique and good so just go try it! Fish was alright, soft and tasty enough. I didn't like the skin though, it had a very fishy taste. Might have been better if it was fried or just not there at all. 

Pistachio nuts are one of the few nuts i'm okay with and boy i'm glad we tried this!!!! The Pistachio Panna Cotta was a breath of fresh air that warmly rounded up our lunch. The smooth and dense composition of the panna cotta was nicely accompanied by the sweet tasting nuts that had a salty after taste. For ONLY S$6.9 , this is a must try when you visit Saveur. 

Saveur has only been at Purvis street for about a month and it has already won the hearts of many with its good food at extremely affordable prices. They started out like how Astons did, at a humble stall in a coffee shop and have now blossomed into a nice quaint gem located near the CBD. I wish them all the best and hope they'll grow to become more successful. The fact that the owners are only 25 and 28 is impressive and inspiring to all budding entrepreneurs.

Everyone should go to Saveur to have a piece of this treasure! 

East Coast Lagoon

Date : 26 May 2012

Address: 1120 East Coast Parkway
Opening hours : 8am-11pm ( varies for different stalls )
Nearest MRT: Bedok (transfer to bus/taxi)

My family loves going to the East Coast Lagoon, we hardly have dinner together so when a text comes in from Dad requesting " East Coast Dinner tonight? ", we all try to make time for a nice family get together. We'll put our dog in the backseat while he waits for us to finish dinner and then bring him for a nice stroll to the Bedok Jetty. 

We only ever eat the same few dishes but they satisfy our cravings all the time and I don't think ill ever get sick of BBQ

First up are the chicken wings! There are a few stalls selling them but this stall is our favourite. Each chicken wing is $1.20 and the stall number is 14.

I like them because they taste the same every time we order them. Great consistent bbq-ed taste and the edges of the skin are perfectly crispy. They taste well with or without the garlic chili. 

For wanton mee lovers, this, in my opinion, is SO MUCH BETTER than pontian. I've never understood the craze about pontian noodles because they don't even taste that good and they come in such small portions. 

This may be slightly more expensive than a regular plate of wanton mee -S$4 but look at the amount of charsiew there is on the plate. Compared to the normal few slices, this plate is almost fully covered with char siew. This is perfect for people like me who always have to ask for extra char siew. 

I don't fancy thinly sliced char siew because they tend to be too dry or just not satisfying at all. 

Some stalls have thick slices of char siew but they end up being too tough. 

This stall's char siew is tender and chewable! Chewable as in you can actually bite into every slice and savour the roasted aroma of the pork. 

Noodles are great too, with a tangy texture. 

 Find your plate of wanton noodles at Hwa Kee BBQ pork noodle - stall number 45. 

There are quite a number of seafood stalls selling stingray and i can safely say we've tried almost all of them. Out of all we've tried, we like this stall's stingray the best. For the smallest portion it's S$12. The stall is 16 BBQ Seafood. 

I like the sambal sauce they use to mask the stingray, it's not too spicy and slightly sweet. The meat is thick, fresh and sweet. I love stingray and this is probably one of my favourite stalls to have it. 

If i had to pick my favourite stingray stall, it'd probably be one in Clementi. I'll just have to go back to do a food post on that! More excuses to eat whooohoo. 

The best satay i've tried is definitely the one in JB. But this one is not bad too! I don't really fancy chicken satay but i like mutton. I say this stall is good because every stick is consistent and tender. Veeerrrrry tender actually. And they burn just enough of the edges to make it extra tasty. 

I get sick of some satay stalls who put too much butter on their satay but this stall does it just right so their meat aren't dripping with oil. Doesn't make you feel too guilty while eating. 

Each stick is 60 cents. This stall is number 51 called Musa! 

The food here is considered comfort food for my family. We expect great food and great food is what we get every time we visit the lagoon. It helps to walk off some of it along the beach, toward the jetty where it's windy and quiet. It's an alternative place to have a great dinner with a group of family or friends. Of course, transport is an issue because it's best to drive here, but if it's not a problem for you then this place is highly recommended for good BBQ food!

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh

Date: 23 May 2012

Address: 11 Bridge Road, Upper Circular road

Nearest MRT: Clarke Quay 

The lunch crowd filled the place when i was there at about 12:45pm. People come and leave really quickly though so finding a seat is not difficult. 

Soup is too diluted. Portion of meat is reasonable though. Meat is tender, not too hard and not too soft. Bak Kut Teh is probably only about the soup and the meat. The side dishes can only go so far to complement them. You can ask for soup refills, but as i've mentioned, it's too diluted for me. The bak kut teh flavor is not strong enough. 

For S$6.00 a bowl, it's acceptable, given its location. But they charge you 60 cents for your bowl of rice, 20 cents for a packet of wet tissue and 20 cents for water. Which is all quite normal for bkt stalls i guess. 

Not my favorite bkt stall for sure but if you work around the area and are craving for a hot bowl of lunch, this could be an option i guess. 

Not bad, not great, i'm gonna search for more bkt stalls. 

Tian Tian Chicken Rice - Maxwell

Date : 23 May 2012

Address: Maxwell Market , 1 Kadayanallur Street

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar

Chicken rice is one of the delicacies in Singapore and there are countless of places to find them. I am quite determined to find my own list of top 5 chicken rice stalls. It may take me a few years or even longer than that, but what else do I have but time to spare? 

This day, I tried one of the many chicken rice stalls in Maxwell food centre. I wonder how all of them compete against each other, there are at least 5 of them I think, all closely positioned away from one another.

I chose Tian Tian Chicken Rice because it was the biggest (made up of 2 stalls instead of one). There were also alot of other people who had ordered from them. The fact that they had alot of backing from local cuisine shows intrigued me a little too. 

The soup was fine. 

The rice was too soggy for my liking. And a little too oily in my opinion. Chicken was decent. Chili was "meh" (which means average) and so this place of chicken rice is basically a typical plate of chicken rice. It was S$3.50 for a plate. 

For S$2.50, I could have had a much better plate of chicken rice elsewhere say for example, in Tiong Bahru market. 

This plate of chicken rice? Mediocre 

Restoran Surabaya

Date : 31 March 2012

Address : 304 Orchard Road Lucky Plaza #02-63/64

Opening Hours : 11am - 9pm

Nearest MRT : Orchard station 

This semester I took Bahasa Indonesia as one my modules for school and i absolutely loved it. The language was easy to pick up and it would be really useful for when I travel to Indonesia! 

Of the many kinds of food available in Singapore, I really love exploring places with good indonesian food! Restoran Surabaya is one of the places I would really recommend if you were in town and want some cheap and delectable indonesian food. 

Ayam Penyet - S$6 

This is just basically fried chicken with toufu and REALLY SPICY chili at the side. 

I don't know what kind of chicken they use but it always seems to be tastier than the normal kind of chicken. Anyway, this dish was cooked well with just enough crisp and not too much oil! I really hate fried dishes that are too oily cos they get gelat after a while. 

This is Tahu Telor ( Deepfried beancurd with shrimp paste ) - S$6 

I'm not a big fan of tahu so I can't say much about this dish. The sauce was not bad though, a little sour and salty. 

Ikan Bawak Bakar - S$9  

Ikan means fish and Bakar means grilled (i think) so in very basic terms this is just grilled fish. It was not bad, except I think we waited for too long to dig in (possibly my fault cos i had to take 100000 pictures of every dish before everyone could eat haha) 

Ayam Bakar - S$6 

Grilled chicken, Once again, wish we had gotten to eat it while it was hot but I think i only tried after 15 minutes into dinner cos i was too busy taking pictures/trying out the other dishes. I like the sweet gravy they used on the chicken and it was rightly grilled, not too burnt. 

This is my least favourite dish of them all. Bakso Kuah Mie (beefball soup) - S$5.50 

I naturally shun away from yellow noodles so this dish was kind of a turn off for me. Then again, it's just ME. 

This is Pempek - a south sumatra styled fish cake, made of fish and tapioca eaten with kuah cuka (vinegar sauce). This was S$7 and a little too hard for me but very tasty! 

Overall, I usually go for just the meat dishes if i'm having indonesian food. I think they have another outlet in Fareast plaza so their outlets are all located in pretty convenient places. If you're in town and you don't fancy an expensive meal, then this is an alternative!