Original review on http://www.nahmj.com/2016/04/26/ninja-bowl-duxton-road-tanjong-pagar


Ninja Bowl has taken over the defunct Department of Caffiene, DOC. It is literally taking over the entire cafe with minimal changes in the design, the furniture, fixture and so on. Except and of course the signage of the cafe are replaced.For those who have been to Department of Caffeine, DOC previously does not require any description. In case you have yet patronised them and they were closed, basically, very much industrial. Greens and flowers placed strategically to soften the feel.At Ninja Bowl, it has a 2 page menu. A page for food and a page of drink.For coffee, Ninja Bowls uses Smitten Coffee Bean with 50% Brazil Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza Natural and 50% Colombian La Joyerla Washed. I have a 6oz with milk ($4.50). It is a medium to low acidity cuppa with medium to full body and stone fruits and caramel and cocoa notes.For non-coffee drinker, one could turn to the Ginger Lemongrass ($7) light in both the ginger and lemongrass fragrance or Earl Grey ($7), Chamomile Citron ($7) or Citrus Mint ($7) for hot drinks. Cold drink option were cold-pressed fruit juice, iced chocolate and various concoction ranging from $6 to $8.It has the Ninja Bowls as its highlight. Each Ninja Bowl at either $14 or $16 has pre-determined ingredients and diners has 4 base option. Add $3 for Quinoa. Alternatively add $2 for Ninja Rice (mixed of brown and white jasmine rice), Orzo (pasta shaped in the form of rice) or Garden Greens.

I tried the Genki ($16) with Quinoa ($3). In it consists of yaki unagi, onsen egg, pickled beets, beansprouts (seems like with sesame oil), roasted pumpkin. One get multi-flavours in a bowl with sourish, savoury and sweet senses. The beansprouts reminded me of Korean food. It is interesting that it is a blend of Korean and Japanese bowl.On the next section are the Brunch items. At this section, I observed that it uses similar ingredients from the Ninja Bowls for most of its dishes here. For something and something I don't usually order, I went for the Yogurt and Granola ($9). It is a bowl of relatively sweet granola and lots of fruits, mainly watermelon cubes, a few melon pieces, handful of blueberries and a wedge of passionfruit. Honey was added into the yogurt resulting in a even sweeter bowl. Milk was provided by the side.
Ninja Bowl also offers 4 dishes of Bites, 3 Sandwiches option and Daily Cakes and Tarts.I was recommended by a service crew to try the Chocolate Tart. I went with the recommendation since I could decide. It has a nutella cream on a rich chocolate fudge sat on a thin tart base. This is certainly a must try for Chocolate lovers.Food served at Ninja Bowl is comforting and I do enjoyed. It has good variety and it provides free Wifi too. It seems the 2016 trend of cafe food is rice bowl. Though it is healthy and delish but I certainly hope not all new cafe will go into this direction.



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Original Review at http://www.nahmj.com/2016/04/25/south-union-park-kembangan-singapore

South Union Park is nestled among a landed private property estate in the East of Singapore with Kembangan MRT station some distance away. It is walkable distance though many would choice otherwise.As it is surrounded by private residence, the area is tranquil and serene. It makes a great get away from the usual bustling shopping mall or crowded area for a peaceful meal with friends or family.It is easy to spot South Union Park as its name is printed in black and it is against a white facade, a good contrast. Most importantly, it is huge enough to be spotted from a distance.

As we pushed opened the glass door, we were welcomed by a homely feel from the interior design of the cafe. The design seems to resemble Scandinavian theme.South Union Park offered a single paged menu with 1 soup - Chicken Noodle Soup ($8), 1 Snack - Pork Crackling ($5), 5 Starters, 2 Mains, 3 Homemade Pasta and 3 Plated Desserts.

Among the starter choice of Roasted Veg Salad ($10), Butter Lettuce Salad ($8/12), Fried Chicken ($9), Poutine ($12) and Crabcakes ($12), we chose the last item. I didn't imagine the crabcakes to be in a mini balls that is good bite size. It came as a pleasant surprise. The crabcakes has visible crab seen and it has a distinctive herb taste. Depending on whether do you like the herb flavour. We were neutral to this herb taste though. At least, the strong seafood fragrance was absent.3 pasta offered, Short Rib Ragu ($22), Duck Confit Pasta ($19) and Butternut ($17), we chose the 2nd option with no regret. It was amazing. We could savour the duck flavour laced on the surface on the tagliatelle. The hazelnut cream unique and it complemented all the ingredients well. And some sauteed spinach with abundant shredded duck confit were throughout the dish.Among the 2 Mains, Cheeseburger ($22) and Poached Salmon ($20), the former is more intriguing but we chose the latter as one diner doesn't consume beef.
Looking at the pale salmon steak with raisin abundantly in the couscous, I was skeptical about its taste. Since both isn't my preferred ingredient. I have a change of impression after trying it.3 Plated Desserts choices of Brownie ($9), Souffle of the day($13) and Apple Crumble ($10) which was our choice of dessert for the meal. On the plate was an entire baked granny smith, a scoop of vanilla ice cream with butterscotch sauce drizzled sat on butter crumble. Apple remains crunchy. As it has a core in it, making it difficult for consumption. It would be perfect if the core could be removed before baking or serving it.It is interesting that all of us ordered the same drink, the Cappuccino ($4.50). And among the drinks, one of which has a variegated look. It has a distinctive layer of milk, coffee and foam. Not sure what went wrong while brewing the coffee. The cuppa was low body, low acidity with nutty note. We find it decent.I thought well of South Union Park. All the food served were above average at a reasonable pricing. My friends and I enjoyed our meal at South Union Park.

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Original review on http://www.nahmj.com/2016/03/14/tanuki-raw-national-design-centre/

Tanuki Raw has opened an outlet at Kapok, within the ground of National Design Centre. I have heard a lot of good reviews about Tanuki and I thought I should pop over to try out their food. In case, you are wondering what’s the meaning of Tanuki. It is a mythical, mischievous, shape-shifting creature according to the Japanese lore.At Tanuki Raw at Kapok, besides the dinning area, it is surrounded by lots of merchandise. The dinning area is certainly casual. I was at Tanuki Raw at Kapok for lunch only.At lunch, Tanuki Raw At Kapok serves the 7 different Don (Rice Bowl). One could add $2 for the regular lunch set which comes with the miso soup, green salad and a green tea. Alternative, add $5 for the premium set, instead of green tea, it is with coffee.If diners love beef, do not miss out the Truffle Yakiniku Don ($14.80). There is a more luxurious Don, the Foie Gras Truffle Yakiniku Don ($19) which I opted. This Don is so amazing. I never know that Foie Gras could go so well with rice. I don’t usually finish an entire bowl of rice but I did with this Don.Each slice of the beef was tender, flavourful and succulent. The Foie Gras simply melt in the mouth. The best part was the rice was flavoured and with the sauce that dressed the Foie Gras mixed with rice, it brought the Don to the next level of enjoyment. And I couldn’t help but finished the entire rice bowl. This was rare.Black Garlic And Roasted Leek Negitoro Don ($14.80) was the second rice bowl I tried on my second visit. When compared to the former, I felt the Negitoro Don was pale in comparison. Nonetheless, a delish bowl of rice. So if you are planning to try all or a few Don at Tanuki Raw, my suggestion is to leave the Foie Gras Truffle Yakiniku Don to the last to try.The Don are also available during dinner hours but at a different price.The food served at Tanuki Raw At Kapok is too good not to be missed, especially my top favourite Foie Gras Truffle Yakiniku Don. I wouldn’t mind having this for lunch every other day. Lol!

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Asia Grand Restaurant is a quite a long established brand in Singapore, previously it was located at the former Asia Grand Hotel. Since the demolition of the hotel, it has relocated to Odeon Tower. I have a friend who is a fan of their Dim Sum, though I have never tried them. This remind me to try them out one day. Meanwhile, this post is devoted to the Dinner I had with a group of ex-colleagues.It is interesting that throughout the meal, the diners felt that the food served at Asia Grand Restaurant is closer to Teochew cuisine despite them being a Cantonese Restaurant. One other point to note, Asia Grand Restaurant is one of the few restaurants that offer a table big enough for 15 pax. 

On the table, before our dinner began were plate of appetizer of fish cake and peppers. Most of us find it strange that this appetizer was served instead of the usual peanuts or pickled.We ordered a Special Set Menu for 10 person at $598 ++. As we have 15 pax, we added for 5 pax. In this set menu for dinner, 8 dishes were served.
To get the dinner rolling, we started with the Steamed Fresh Prawn, 白灼生虾 as the first dish for this special menu. Anything that is fresh when steamed, the natural flavour and its sweetness were emitted. And this was the case for our Steamed Fresh Prawn.As we have diner who doesn't take shark fins, as such the Braised Minced Chicken Thick Soup with Egg White, 西湖鸡茸羮 was a good choice as soup. The texture and taste resemble the usual shark fin soup. But personally, I am never a fan of soup, and not even to mention the thick gluey kind. Anyhow, I still went ahead to try and I could savour the chicken aroma in the soup and there was a good amount of minced chicken in it.It was shortly followed by the Braised Sliced Sea Whelk with Vegetables & Abalone Sauce, 鲍汁碧绿海螺片. Nothing worth mentioning about this dish except that the seasoning added to this dish was at a perfect ratio.Who doesn't welcome the Roasted Whole Boneless Suckling Pig, 南乳去骨猪? With a layer of fats in between the crispy skin and tender succulent meat with sufficient marinate, most couldn't resist the charm. This truly is an indulgent.The fifth dish of the night is the Fried Crispy Duck, 脆皮香酥鸭. True to its name, it is indeed crispy and salty. Other than that, no other characteristics. I heard many, even one of the diner in our group was raving about its Peking Duck. Maybe it is better than the fried one.Moving on was the Steamed Fresh Pa-Ting Fish with Olives, Garlic and Chilli, 榄角蒜茸辣椒蒸八丁鱼. I thought usually the Teochew would use olives in dishes. I suppose this was the dish that cause confusion and most thought Asia Grand was a Teochew Restaurant. Another usual was the fish for the dish, it uses Patin Fish, a Malaysian fresh water fish. I am not a fan of fresh water fish as it usually has soil taste in the flesh. At least, this unpleasantness wasn't in the fish.The last dish before dessert was the Crispy Rice In Seafood Soup, 金银海鲜泡饭. Many diners always associate rice in soup as a Teochew dish. Some how I am puzzled with this phenomenon as we Teochew (I am one.) don't eat that way. And my Dad always complains about this highly debatable dish as Teochew dish too. Anyway ... I suppose this is another element that contribute to the thought Grand Asia Restaurant as a Teochew Restaurant.Both white rice and fried crispy rice were both added to the bowl of seafood soup. Hence it provided both texture to the the dish and together with aromatic seafood soup, most would not refuse this comfort food.The meal was ended with the Red Bean Pan Cake, 豆沙窝饼 as dessert.

Quantity was sufficient for all 15 person at the table and quality was beyond satisfactory. Food was considerably delish at a reasonable price. The ambience was the typical Chinese restaurant that gets noisy. As such, I would recommend Asia Grand Restaurant for dinner to all.

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I am pretty sure many enjoy Mookata since it has both the barbeque and the steamboat. ChokChai Mookata at Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 is one of which that serves this category of food. I went down with a four foodie friends to check them out. By the way, in case you are curious of the name, ChokChai means victory.
ChokChai Mookata is located at a coffeeshop at Block 334 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1. Since it is a coffeeshop, so there isn’t air-conditioned, neither are there great ambience. All you get are the usual normal tables that are seen in most coffeeshop.The staill occupied a relatively large corner stall as compared to the other stalls operating at the same coffeeshop. It is standalone from the rest, since there isn’t any stall on either right or left.
ChokChai offers primarily Mookata. It has 2 sets for either set for 2-3 ($28) and set for 4-5 ($45). In each set, it consists of Thai Black Pepper Chicken, Thai Garlic Lean (Pork) Meat, Honey Pork Belly, Prawn, Sotong, Scallop, Pork Ball, Crab Stick, Fish Ball and Hot Dog.And with quite some variety of greens too; Xiao Bai Chai, Cabbage, Golden Mushroom, Sweet Corn and Carrot. 2 others are Tang Hoon and Egg.

Should diners need more ingredients, there is an ala carte menu. A few others that are not found in the set are Luncheon Meat, Dory Fish, White Clams, Cheese Tofu, Cheese Ball, Quail Egg, Beancurd Skin, Oyster Mushroom, Rice and Thai Instant Noodle.The most sinful but best part of Mookata is the Pork Lard. Use it as oil on the skillet to bbq the meat.

The highlights at ChokChai Mookata are the marinated meat using their secret recipes from Thailand. They are Thai Black Pepper Chicken, Thai Garlic Lean (Pork) Meat and Honey Pork Belly.Generally, the meat are heavily marinated, strong in flavours. Some may also find it a little salty too. The Black Pepper Chicken is richly black pepper flavoured best for black pepper fan. Thai Garlic Lean meat was mainly salty with garlicky scent. And lastly the Honey Pork Belly which has a good ratio of fats and meat. It tasted a little like the Chinese BBQ Pork, Bak Kwa.Lastly, of course the 2 special chilli sauce concocted for the dip. The red is a hot spicy chilli dip while green is the at mild spice and more sourish. This is more suited for the seafood.
Oh ya, and the soup is worth a mentioned too. Each soup is so flavourful filled with pork fragrance and radish sweetness.

We thought the set for food served at ChokChai Mookata was pretty delish. The marinated are stronger in flavour and a little salty. It is certainly a great way to enjoy Mookata with a group of friends and family.