I was looking for some "mainstream" yet affordable meal at Terminal 1, but sadly there weren't many choices to choose from, even though my friends and I stood for 10 minutes in front of the Directory contemplating our choices.

In the end we went for Paradise Inn because it was the most mainstream and relatively least exorbitant of the whole lot.

And so we were seated in the restaurant, ready to place our orders. But to our dismay, we spent a good 10 minutes flailing our arms and calling out to the staff before somebody came by to take our orders. =(Steamed Peanuts

One of my favourite appetizers! The soft and savoury peanuts never fail to whet my appetite.Sauteed Kang Kong with Fermented Beancurd Paste, $12.90 (M)

I love the crunchiness of the kang kong, but I guess I'm not a big fan of the fermented beancurd paste. The taste of the whole dish was screaming of fermented beancurd paste, but I feel it lacks depth - particularly the fragrance factor. I'll probably stick with sambal kang kong next time. I also find the portion too little for a medium-sized dish.La Mian with Beef Brisket Soup (Spicy), $10.80

I actually like it that the soup was tasty yet very light, so it makes eating this la mian very enjoyable. The beef fats from the brisket tasted good, but there was just too much of it. Only trace amounts of beef meat were available. Halfway through, I had to scoop away all the fats because too much of it just took the joy of this dish away.La Mian with Dan Dan Sauce, $7.80

Dandan la mian dishes don't come with ingredients, so I feel that the gravy becomes the most important factor for determining the merit of this dish. In this case, the gravy tasted pretty ok. There was a distinct peanut taste, which was good, but other than that, I feel that this dish too, lacks depth. Other than peanut, I couldn't make out any other taste in this. The chilli oil was another factor that made me leave this dish halfway, because I didn't like it that it kept curdling too quickly even when I was constantly eating and stirring, and that it formed an oil slick on my tongue.Chilled Mango Sago, $4.00

My favourite dish in the entire meal! The chilled mango sago was sweet, thick and delicious. When I ate it, it sent this really relaxing sensation down my throat, and helped counter the oil slick leftover from the dandan la mian. I liked it, but the downside - only 1 small cube of real mango given. They could do with just a little more generosity.

After our meal, we requested for the bill, only to have the staff demand "give me your credit card", returning 5 minutes later, shove us the bill with "nah! sign here!" while pointing to the signature column.

For complete review, please visit: http://izzypeasy.blogspot.sg/2013/05/seng-kee-black-chicken-herbal-soup.html

Thanks to OpenRice's invitation, I was treated to yet another gastronomical experience, without which I wouldn't even know Seng Kee Black Chicken Herbal Soup existed. I'm aware that there are many good eateries in the East, but since I'm neither an "eastie" nor do I drive, all these good eats are like hidden gems that I'm slowly trying to discover.

Apparently Seng Kee Black Chicken Soup is really big here! You won't miss this place if you're travelling along Changi Road opposite Kembangan MRT Station. In fact, it's just 5 mins from Kembangan MRT on foot - just cross the road and walk along the park connector beside the canal to the row of shophouses up ahead.This was the stall we ordered our food from.

They are open from 5pm - 4am (read: good supper haunt), but the place was already full by 5.45pm. All the tables were taken. Needless to say, there was also a queue infront of the stall.Baby Coconut Drink, $3
I totally love this! I get a little disappointed whenever I order a coconut drink and get served an old coconut that tastes bitter, with its flesh so hard and rough that I couldn't even scrap it off with a metal spoon. Luckily they offer baby coconuts here. The juice is really sweet and fragrant! Just look at how soft and smooth the flesh is! Somebody even commented that I looked so blissful helping myself to this refreshing drink!Kidney Mee Sua (Mixed), $5
腰只麺缐
Star of the day is none other than this mouth-watering bowl of mee sua. There are a few choices: kidney, pork slices and mixed (consisting of kidney, liver and pork slices). To be frank, I like pork innards done like how I love my beef done - cooked through but still soft and tender to the bite. To achieve this, the ingredients should be immersed in the soup to cook for just a short while. The pork liver and kidney here are firmer than how I would usually prefer, BUT (this is a big BUT thus the caps) I was blown away by how overwhelming it tasted. The distinct herbal soup base had been infused with lots of pork fragrance! The delicate mee sua also soaked up the intense taste of the soup. I don't usually eat alot in terms of quantity, but I finished up this entire bowl, not even sparing a drop of soup.Teochew-style Steamed Pomfret, $25
清蒸鱼
Another highly-recommended dish here. The fish meat is soft, nicely flavoured with a balanced amount of salted vegetables and tomatoes, giving it that enjoyable slight tinge of saltiness and sourness. I like to eat the fish meat along with some delicious sauce! Deep Fried Beancurd Skin Roll with Shrimp, $15 (Medium)
脆香虾片
Although you won't be able to bite into chunks of prawns since they have been mashed up and mixed with other ingredients to be fried as slices wrapped in beancurd skin, you can still discern their obvious presence here by their taste. The crispiness of the fried beancurd skin roll is addictive. Dip it in the mayonnaise served on its side for better flavour!Stir-fried Sambal Tapioca Leaves, $15 (Big)
木薯叶
The sambal chilli here is not too spicy, and I'm glad to say that its fragrance has been successfully infused into the soft tapioca leaves.Prawn Omelette, $8
虾肉煎蛋
Perhaps it was a pity that this was the last dish to be served, but I wasn't too impressed. My palette might have been too pampered by all the stronger-flavoured dishes served before this. I've tasted plain omelettes that are delicious on their own, and prawns if well-prepared should bear some tinge of savory sweetness with seafood flavour. I couldn't make out much taste in this, but to be fair I wouldn't discredit it either, since it wasn't that bad. Probably a little more salt would do the trick to give it more taste.Our dinner table - lots of food for 6 people. Thank you for the satisfying meal! *burp*

For full review, visit: http://izzypeasy.blogspot.sg/2013/05/the-naked-fish-shoppe.html

Thanks to OpenRice's invitation and Mr James Wong's generosity, I had a scrumptious meal at The Naked Fish Shoppe.

The humble owner, Mr James Wong, has been operating the restaurant for the past 10 years.Every month, they choose 8 different fish dishes from their Ala Carte menu for promotions.

They also offer non-fish choices; 3 of the most popular ones are Steak, Crayfish Hor Fun and Oxtail Stew.

Apparently their Oxtail Stew is something to rave about! It's one of their hot favourites, and has even won an award! The well-marinated meat is stewed for about 6 hours until it comes off the bone nicely. The Oxtail Stew is currently on promotion at $15.80, comes with soup, garlic bread, dessert, and coffee/tea. Once it's taken off the promotion, the ala carte choice alone will cost $14.80. As with the rest of their promotional dishes, this is certainly more value for money!

My food of the day:Lobster Bisque, $4.50

You can opt for it to be served in a normal bowl or a pastry bread bowl.
Other soup choices include Mushroom Soup ($3.50) or Clam Chowder ($4.00)

I had mine served in a pastry bread bowl. I got a little full after taking this (*fail* T__T) so I guess if you have a small appetite, this can be very much a meal on its own at only $4.50. I really appreciate the seafood flavour in the soup, but if you're looking for real chunks of lobster meat and other ingredients, then you're better off paying about $15+ elsewhere.Crispy Calamari, $7.50

The skin is really quite crispy, as the name suggests! I particularly like eating it with blobs of tartar sauce.Salad (part of my main course)

Fresh and crunchy vegetables, tossed with thousand island. Gives a refreshing start and healthy balance to my main course, which is the..... *behold*Mediterranean Seafood Platter, $16.80 for 1 pax (or $32.00 for 2 pax)

When this was served, my jaw dropped, and some of us exclaimed "wow!" unanimously. The portion is really huge, even for the 1 pax option, consisting of Scallop, Prawns, Mussels, Calamari, Capelin (Shishamo), White Bait and Fish Finger baked with Cheese, topped with lots of Fries, and served on a bed of Garlic Butter Rice. It not only looks very appealing, but was also fresh from the oven (loves!) that the waitress had to caution me: "Careful, it's very hot!"

I asked everybody around me to share my platter!

I have to give credit for the scallop which was nicely baked with lots of cheese, and the mussel which was deliciously topped with tomato-based sauce. The fish was also soft, tender and juicy, perfect for me. The prawn was a tad dry though, with its meat stuck to the shells, so I had to spend some time peeling it. Other than this, I really enjoyed my meal!

After getting some seafood out of the way, I realized that the garlic butter rice at the bottom was also topped with melted cheese (loves!). I usually like the taste of my garlic butter rice to be very intensive, so I thought their version could be better, but the cheese really made up for it.Honeydew Pudding with Coconut Milk

Dessert, complimentary from the owner. It sounds really unique and I haven't heard of it before this. Tastes just like honeydew, in aga-aga texture; I like it! Other choices include Caramel Pudding with Caramel Cream and Mango Pudding.

Some of the dishes ordered by the others were:Boneless Whole Milk Fish Fillet served with White Pepper Sauce, $16.80

Milk Fishes are caught from the Sea of Philippines, and is a well-liked dish because the entire fish can be served boneless. I tried some of it and thought the meat tasted rather delicious. Be cautioned though, that even after descaling, the skin can still be slightly hard and rough-textured.Deep Sea Premium Grade Barramundi Fish Fillet served with Lemon Butter Sauce, $16.80

If you like your fish medium-textured, not too firm but not too soft either, go for this Australian deep sea fish fillet. According to the owner, this is the most popular choice.

The Naked Fish Shoppe also provides catering for all types of events. They have different menus for Hi-Tea, BBQ, Seminar, Local Buffet, International Buffet, Western Menu and even Bento Menu.

The Naked Fish Shoppe is strategically located in The Grassroots' Club, about 3 minutes' walk away from both Nanyang Polytechnic and Yio Chu Kang MRT Station. Why not leave all the hustle and bustle of city life behind, and step into this nautical-themed restaurant for a delicious and relaxing meal?

Talking about seafood platter, Manhatten Fish Market is one of the destinations that'll come to my mind - MFM serves a very decent version of it, perfect for a quick seafood fix.Manhatten Flaming Seafood Platter, $37.95

One of the top sellers of MFM. It comes with a generous serving of fish fillets, oysters, calamari, tiger prawns, chips and veggies on garlic herb rice - more than enough to fill 2 people.

I love how the fish is so soft and juicy, and that the calamari is coated with delicious batter and fried to perfection. I also love the abundance of cheese melted on the crunchy and juicy tiger prawns, and the garlic herb rice that has been infused with lots of flavours!

However, I witnessed an inexperienced staff over-flaming a seafood platter at an adjacent table, charring their prawns and the rice surrounding the prawns. If it had happened to me, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the experience as much because I wouldn't fancy eating prawns that have been charred bitter. Other than this, my experience with MFM has been rather pleasant.

Prima Deli sells rather decent Durian Pancakes.The pancake is extremely soft and smooth, to the extent that if you use some strength to pick it up, you will leave your finger marks all over the pancake. It is also sprinkled with some icing for that slightly sweet taste.

The durian filling is creamy with lots of real durian flesh, although I would have preferred a stronger and more intense durian fragrance. I'd say there are better durian pancakes out there, but Prima Deli's version is still rather decent.