Thai Express has always been our favourite restaurant for its fusion style in dishes.
We chanced upon some promotions for new items on the menu at the outlet at Junction 8 in Bishan,
The name of the new dish was interesting - Masaman Chicken Curry.
It was served with either a bowl of rice or pancakes.
There was also another recommendation - Thai fish cakes in a set of 5.

We ordered the Masaman Curry with rice and pancakes and ordered the Fish cakes as well. Of course, when the Curry arrived it smelt good and was piping hot.
However, it was just too sweet and didnt taste anything like curry at all.
It was really a letdown. It was just better to just eat the rice on its own.
The pancakes were no better. The pancakes were very flaky and they were just like our local dish, ''Roti Prata''. It was as if these were thinner and cut into triangles.
As the pancakes were flaky, they could not absorb the gravy when dipped into it.
Verdict - it was a bad idea to try the new dish.
The Fish Cake did not impress as well.
It was soft and soggy and too sweetish as well.

Overall I guess we will stick to our menu favourites in future.
No more trying new stuff for us!

A visit to the Banana Leaf Apolo at Little India always proves to be a gastronomical
experience with the never ending varieties of food in the menu.
The restaurant is always packed and it is always difficult to find a seat at the weekend.

We decided to have a mix of non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes.
After 5pm every day, the restaurant serves Indian Tiffin items.
These are the vegetarian thosais/dosas, idlis and other pancake items.
Thosai/Dosa is an Indian pancake made from rice flour and there are many different types.
We ordered the basic Plain Thosai.
It's really big and tastes best when eaten hot.
The Idli is a steamed rice flour cake that is usually served in sets of two or three.

These items are usually served with various chutneys and are popular among vegetarians.
However, we decided to team them with Chicken Curry and Mutton Masala.
Actually, these dishes go very well with Thosai and Idli - that's how we sometimes eat them at home.
We asked for NO chutney but lots of chicken curry and we also ordered Mutton Masala.
The verdict - equally heavenly - just like how we enjoy it at home.
The piping hot Thosai just melted in our mouths when dipped in the Chicken gravy.
The Idli went equally well with the gravy as well.
The Mutton Masala was absolutely finger-licking good.

It was certainly an interesting switch that paid off well.
The service was ok, given the crowd, but it does tend to get noisy when it is crowded.

This Seafood Stall is popular for its seafood dishes and BBQ food.
On this occasion, we decided to go light - minus the BBQ seafood.

First on the menu was the Sambal Fried Rice, with chicken.
It was not too spicy and full of flavour. It contained plenty of mixed vegetables, as well as
chunks of chicken.

For vegetables, we had Stri Fried French Beans and Baby Kai Lan.
The French Beans were especially good. The seasoning added flavour and the
beans were crunchy, not overcooked. The Kai Lan was fresh and tasty, as well.

We also had the Hot Plate Tofu - with seafood. The seafood - squid and prawns- were really fresh and there was lots of soft tofu as well. The dish also had mushrooms and salted beans it it, and this added to its taste.

Overall, the small portions that we ordered were all really big.
There was really so much to eat with such generous portions.
I will definitely go back for more.

This halal cafe at IMM has always been busy, from several years ago until now.
The variety of dishes leaves you spoilt for choice and the taste is very good.

Most recently, we tried the Penang Fried Kway Teow and Nasi Goreng.
The Fried Kway Teow contained chicken sausage, fish cake, bean sprouts, vegetable and egg. It was not spicy, as requested.
The Nasi Goreng was fried with vegetables, egg and anchovies. It came with a piece of fried chicken as well.

Although both dishes tasted very good, the portions were really small.
When compared with visits in the past, this time, there seemed to be quite a big difference.
Based on the small portion, the price did not seem to be very reasonable, though.

The service was fast and friendly. However I will think twice about what I order the next time.

The Chinta Manis outlet at The Village in Serangoon Gardens offers a variety of Peranakan style dishes, in addition to kuih.

On this occasion, we decided to try the Chicken Rendang and Fried Mee Siam.
The Chicken Rendang is served with yellow rice, achar (pickles) and coconut serunding, a type of grated coconut accompaniment. There are two pieces of chicken cooked in a special coconut gravy. It smells delicious, but is a little too sweet. Peranakan dishes usually have a sweetish-sourish taste, but this was more sweet than sour. The Chicken was ok; it could have been better marinated. However, the two pieces were a generous serving, indeed. The achar went well with the dish, but we didn't quite like the grated coconut. It didn't go well with the rice.

The Fried Mee Siam, had the option of the gravy. I asked for the gravy to be served separately, and the staff obliged. It tasted good, both with and without the gravy. The gravy had a lot of tamarind juice in it and had that signature sweetish-sourish. It was more sourish and the gravy went really well with the Fried Mee Siam. The Mee Siam had lots of sliced chives in it. It also contained boiled egg, prawns and diced tofu.

While the Chicken Rendang did not please, the Fried Mee Siam would definitely make me go back for more.