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My darling wife had gone to this makan place with her friends during the recent Ramadhan. I hadn't heard much about Penang Culture before that. Many months later, we finally got the chance to visit and tuck in to some Penang-style cuisine.The first thing that surprised us after browsing through the menu was that they offered not only Penang favourites but even some other dishes that you might enjoy as well.First thing on our list was the Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles.We did some research on foods that everyone should try in Penang and this was definitely on those lists!When someone says Hokkien Mee in Singapore, the first thing that comes to mind is the Fried Hokkien Mee aka Rochor Mee which is the half-beehoon-half-yellow noodles dish with loads of prawns fried up in prawn stock. But when someone mentions Penang Hokkien Mee, we are talking a nice big bowl of soupy goodness.The first thing we tried was the stock which was full of flavour!We were told that the stock was made with prawns and chicken which is what gives it such a rich and flavourful oomph and I could not help but keep gulping it down.You will also get bee hoon and yellow noodles so you can decide which you prefer.But it's topped off with fish cake, chicken, boiled egg and 2 big prawns for you to enjoy!Here's a tip - mix in the spoonful of chilli sambal to give your dish an even more spicy kick!Here's another Penang must-try!We've had Assam Laksa before but this was a whole different story.The spicy-sour fish broth was really the bomb. I thought I had found treasure with the Hokkien Prawn Noodles broth but for those of you going for a more tangy flavour - this is for you!And the best thing is that it was not overly sour that you get tired of the taste after a few spoonfuls.This was a very flavourful broth and boy was I hooked!And here's a special touch that I never expected.You see that spoon with the black liquid? It's Petis Udang (Fermented Prawn Paste)!!Totally unexpected and added such a big difference to the dish!If the broth was not enough to convince you that this was authentic Penang fare, check out the noodles.These are not the regular thin Laksa noodles you'd normally get. These are thicker (very similar to Laksa Cap) and give you a great bite.Pile on some noodles, sardines and yummy broth and take a big delicious SLURP!!Here's the dish that so many people were telling us to try should we visit Penang Culture.One of the dishes that comes to mind when someone says Penang is undoubtedly Penang Char Koay Teow.Don't be confused with the Singapore version which has loads of sweet sauce in it.None of that here but definitely lots of chilli! Don't worry it's not going to burn your mouth off but if you're the type that likes your kway teow to have the full flavour of noodles and spiciness of chilli, this is for you!Finish it off with some greens, beansprouts, eggs and of course - cockles!A Penang hawker favourite available right here!If you're looking for something to share, consider this a good choice of BBQ goodies so you can sample a number of things at once. It's also good for you to whet your appetite while waiting for your main course!You get a nice mix of BBQ prawns, Satay and BBQ squid.In fact, it's even enough to share between 3-4 people!The prawns were great and I love it when they make it easy to eat. No messy peeling!And the sambal was good too! Similar to the BBQ seafood type of sambal you get and this one was a little sweet but definitely spicy!And I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the squid but it was tender and not at all rubbery!For all you Satay lovers, you'll probably enjoy the Satay here. The meat was tender and the satay sauce was good. Plenty of cucumber and onions for you to chomp down on but you might wanna ask for more sauce.And I know you'll probably say that if wanna east Satay then might as well go somewhere that specializes in Satay but if you're at Penang Culture, the Satay is still something you might want to try if you're there.They've actually got quite a selection of drinks at Penang Culture for to wash down all the yummy makan.One of the more unique ones (and one I've never tried before today) was the Ampla Juice.The Ampla fruit is also known by another name, Buah Long-Long, and is apparently a very healthy choice.It has a distinct veggie taste but also have a very nice tang to it. Definitely gets the appetite going and is refreshing enough to cool your mouth down with all the spicy food.They also have Pink Guava, Rambutan Juice and even Nutmeg Juice!!JENG JENG JENG!!!The King Of Cendol is the perfect dessert for you Durian Lovers.Cendol, sweet red beans and coconut milk topped off with shaved iced, gula melaka and fresh durian!!The cendol was soft and the red beans were nice and sweet. And the fresh durian was definitely the highlight!Definitely a nice and sweet end to a very very satisfying Penang-style meal!They also have other sweet treats for you including Ice Kachang and Bubor Hitam!And for those of you who do not fancy durian, don't worry! All the desserts have a version which does not have durian so you have a choice too!!What we had tonight was just the tip of the iceberg apparently.So many more dishes to try including Penang Belacan Fried Rice, Penang Hokkien Crab Noodles and even Assam Curry Fish Head!!This is a great place for a quiet meal for 2 or even for a family feast.They even have special Kids' Meals!And in case I haven't mentioned, the head chef in-charge of all the dishes used to be a hawker/chef from Gurney Drive in Penang so he must definitely know what he's doing right! I've never been to Penang but I think I've got a great idea on how delicious the food is!For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg…查看更多

Happened to have some spare time so I popped by the newly opened Bedok Mall with some colleagues over lunchtime. Heard about a lot of new and interesting makan places opening there (and some exciting ones to be certified Halal soon!!) so we figured we might try and hunt down some lunch.And we ended up at Old Town White Coffee!!You may remember our previous visits to OWTC in our Part I and Part II posts and like I've mentioned - there are so many things on the menu to try! Even after 2 visits, we've barely scratched the surface!This time I decided to try something I really wanted to try for so long.I've passed by a few places that sold this kind of steamed/stewed in a pot kind of thing with either rice or soup inside. So what they do is they pack everything into the pot and steam it to cook the things inside.Unfortunately, none of the places I passed by were Halal.But at OTWC, there was finally a chance for me to try...So the version I decided to try first was the Steam Salted Fish and Chicken Rice.So basically what they do is pack a metal bowl with rice, some chicken meat, salted fish and veggies.If you take a close look at the first pic, you'll see that the dish is plastic so at OWTC they just steam the metal bowl then put it in the plastic bowl. Not really the traditional way but it'll do I guess.They douse a little dark and light soy sauce over the rice which gives it most of the flavour.I was a little disappointed with the chicken meat. I thought they'd put a layer of minced chicken meat (which is what I saw at the other shops) which would cook in the steamer when the bowl was put in but here it seems like the chicken patty was already pre-cooked. At least there was some taste to it though.Would have been a total fail if the meat was bland.But I think the biggest disappointment was the salted fish.What? You can't see any salted fish there? Look closely. It's the tiny thing on top of the chicken.Can you see it yet? Yup it's that small.I guess despite it's shortcomings, I don't have much of a choice if I wanna eat this kind of dish.Just wish it would be a little bit more worth it but I guess it'll do for now.Just a few things to note though.1) It takes about 20 minutes to prepare so be ready for a bit of a wait2) The serving may not be enough for big eaters3) They have a special MyLunch menu where you can have this (from a selection of other dishes) plus a drink for $9.90.For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg…查看更多

So we chanced upon this place while we were actually next door buying some kain and baju.It's a good thing I stepped out for a breather and happened to notice it because it wasn't there the last time I visited (whch to be fair was quite long ago).So it's a place called Gofre.And I'm not 100% sure but my research tells me that Gofre loosely translates to 'Waffle'.Which happens to be one of the specialties here.And when you have waffles, you're almost definitely going to have Ice-Cream.Just a simple cup of ice-cream with no additional topping and it was more than satisfying!Sometimes, something simple is enough!The Triple Chocolate really lived up to its name with a rich chocolate flavour and laced with chocolate chips.You chocolate lovers will really enjoy this. You can even chocolatify (is that a real word?) it further by adding on some chocolate toppings!But if you're looking for something other than Chocolate, they also have French Vanilla, Minty Chocolate Chips, Coconut, Salted Caramel, Macadamia Caramel and my personal favourite - Strawberry.A check with the person serving us the ice-cream and we found out that the ice-cream is handmade but not on location. They actually purchase the ice-cream from a local source which means it's fresh and guaranteed to be a good quality.So my darling wife and I were almost going to try the signature offering there which was the Gofre (waffle) but we decided to try something a little different that caught our attention.So Waffle Pops are basically little balls made out of the waffle batter.You can choose from either the normal waffle batter or the Pandan flavoured one. We chose the latter.And please do not be fooled. These are not your average Pandan Dough Balls.This the real deal with a really thick one for you to chomp down on.Nice and dense and it doesn't get too soggy from soaking up all the ice-cream. Nice Pandan flavour too!So you have Pandan Waffle Balls with ice-cream and some toppings.We chose to add on some White Chocolate Chips and Blueberries to give it a nice sweet and tart finish.You could also choose from other toppings like Mixed Nuts, Fruity Pebbles, Banana Nut Crunch, Love Letters, Cocoa Crunch or Rainbow Sprinkles.And let me tell you - the Strawberry Ice-Cream is delicious!!It's not overly sweet and just tart enough that you can tell that whoever made the ice-cream use real fruits.It's a pretty small place and easy to miss but if you're in the area and you want a sweet treat (they also have coffee and other beverages like Sodas), look around the corner of Zam-Zam Restaurant and you'll find this little gem.I'm not sure if they rotate or change their ice-cream flavours and toppings but hopefully they do so that we have more variety to choose from! Here's to more Gofre soon!!For the full review and more mouth watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2014/02/gofre.html…查看更多

My wife brought me to this place back when we were dating.Even then she already knew that the way to my heart was through my stomach!And since that day, it seems that Ayam Penyet Ria has vastly expanded.Besides the original store in Lucky Plaza, they now have a total of 5 branches! Wow they must be good!Well how about some appetizers first?This is really going to get your taste buds prepared for the full meal ahead.A mix of Kerupuk Belinjau and Kerupuk Udang is a winner especially when you have it with the sambal that accompanies it. Good price for a good start!And while we were looking over the menu, we saw the waiter carrying this basket of fried stuff.No not the kerupuk lah. It was something that seemed very stringy. And then we saw the promo poster.Automatically we knew we had to order it. And for the record, that looks absolutely NOTHING like the poster lah.This is apparently a new item on the menu that I have no doubts will definitely appeal to a lot of people because, well, most people love Enoki mushrooms. And even though it would be considered a little pricey, it's still a must-try right?Well let me save you all the trouble. Don't buy it. And if you do, hope you get a better batch.I think we may have gotten the bottom of the mushroom barrel on that order.When I say Enoki mushrooms, I'm thinking long stalks all bunched together and coated nicely with batter and just frying it long enough to get a crisp. As you can see from the picture above, nothing is bunched together and the mushrooms were fried for too long.And I personally think they look like fried tadpoles.I love Sayur Asam and it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a good bowl of it nowadays.The best I've ever had was long ago at Pondok Gurame (when they were still in Katong) but I have to say the Sayur Asam at Ria is actually damn nice.At least I know where to go if I need my Sayur Asam fix.And now on to the real food eh.My darling wife had the 'original' Nasi Ayam Penyet.And staying true to tradition, it's served with a bowl of plain white rice and not the 'chicken rice' type deal.Besides that, you also get fried tempeh, cucumber, cabbage and also some blanched kangkong.And don't forget a nice big dollop of the famous Ria Sambal.(which is free flow by the way)As you can see, the chicken is still very tender while having a very nice and crispy exterior. Tasty and not at all dried out.My darling wife is such a big fan of this place and it's very easy to see why. So far it's never failed to disappoint her and that means that they have a good consistent product which is a very good thing which is tough to come by nowadays especially with food chains that are expanding.I mean come on, how may times have you gone to a different brand of your favourite makan place and you felt that the food seemed a little bit off-standard compared to your usual haunt?Well, as usual, you know I've gots to have me some beef.So I had the Empal Penyet which is basically one big piece of beef which has been fried and smashed (or should I say penyet-ed) for some yummy good times.And I can safely say the words "big piece of beef" this time and I would be telling the truth.We all remember the time we had 'Dapur Penyet' right?Well this was nice and tender and well worth the money I tell you. Super!And I know I mentioned it just now but I think it's only fair that I speak a little more about the sambal.Do. Not. Mess. With. This. Sambal.Okay so maybe you die-hard hantu chili will be able to take it with no issues. I'm actually not too bad myself and this was a really really tasty sambal but after awhile... HELP ME HELP ME MY MOUTH IS ON FIREEEEEEEE okay so maybe I'm exaggerating a little.My wife keeps pairs it with the sweet soy sauce which they have and she keeps topping it up so you know it's got to be damn good right.Oh and before I forget to mention... try the Soda Gembira (literally Happy Soda).It's just Bandung with 7-Up. And it rocks.And I know I said my darling wife and I have always gotten 100% satisfaction from Ria everytime we went.But everytime we went, it was to the Lucky Plaza (4th floor) outlet.They have another outlet on the 1st floor, one at Bedok Point, one at Far East Plaza and another at Jurong Point. I cannot vouch for all the other outlets I must say. But if they are as good at the Lucky Plaza one then you're gonna have a damn good meal. For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/12/ayam-penyet-ria.html…查看更多

So the Quest for Briyani continues on this food blog.So many recommendations came in for where people think should be the next place I try.But I decided to go somewhere recommended by my dear ol' Dad.Mami Midah Briyani is a stall located in my old neighbourhood - Eunos Crescent.It wasn't around when the market and food centre were at its old location before the fire a few years ago but despite that it seems this stall has made quite a reputation for itself in just a few years.When you think of a good briyani, 'healthy' is not really the first word that comes to your mind I reckon. I mean, how many times have you heard your elders tell you not to eat too much too often right?Well I saw this article displayed at the stall.It was featured in the 'Mind Your Body' quite awhile back and was toute as a 'healthy' version of Nasi Briyani but apparently still didn't lose any of the flavour or deliciousness that you'd expect from a serving of Briyani.Evaporated Milk? Vegetable Oil? Low Sodium Salt?This doesn't seem like it's going to go well... But you'll see a lot of this at a lot of the stall here under the Healthy Eating campaign.Okay so my Dad tells me we have o go really early because this place seems to sell out really fast (especially the Mutton Briyani) especially on Fridays. Well, we were not going on a Friday so you'd think it'd be safe to arrive there at around noon right?Well we arrived at 12.15pm and guess what? The Mutton was sold out!!Apparently someone had a funeral wake and pre-ordered like this whole order of the Mutton Briyani. And since we couldn't call ahead to pre-order 2 plates of it, I guess we were out of luck.And the worst thing was that my Dad had let me taste some the last time he brought some back and it was quite good so I was pretty bummed I didn't get a chance to try it out properly.Oh well.So we decided to have the Chicken Briyani (purely out of lack of choice).The chicken itself was not bad. The masala which literally swamps the chicken was actually really good!It's not really on the spicy side though. If it was, my Dad wouldn't be able to handle it very well. But the rempah briyani taste was very strong but very tasty. Not overpowering like I expected.The acar is actually worth a mention. It really complimented the briyani well.I'm saying this because I've had Briyani where the acar is just absolutely doing nothing for the overall dish but they really put some effort here to make sure it makes a difference.As always, the rice itself is going to play a big part in Briyani and the rice here is pretty steady.It was fluffy and I guess it was pretty tasty. But I doubt I enjoyed it as much as my Dad does.My Dad says that the rice is the reason he loves this Briyani so much. And trust me, it's not often you find something that he will say is nice.As for me? It was actually the Dalcha believe it or not.It was damn tasty and really packed a tasty punch to the rice. In fact, the Dalcha seems to be quite a favourite with a lot of people. How do I know? I've seen people come to the stall and order just the Dalcha on its own. Like $2 a packet. They probably eat it with bread or something. And I don't blame them cos it's damn nice lah actually.And if you stir the bowl, you'll find out why. The secret - lamb fat (tetelan).It's an old school way of ensuring your Dalcha is the bomb and they sure as hell do it well here.So remember, if you wanna try the Mutton Briyani - go early.Hopefully I'll be able to add in a Mutton Briyani review here soon okay!For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/12/the-quest-for-briyani-part-3-mami-midah.html…查看更多

So the lot of us (meaning my darling wife, my brother and his darling wife and myself) drove all the way to the other side of the island to try some Indian Rojak. In a surprising twist, we ended up getting our very first 'BATTLE' done (which you will see very soon) but something else came to light...While doing some recce around the Ayer Rajah Food Centre, Yana ordered some Mee-teow Goreng (Kway Teow + Mee) from this stall which she says is a firm favourite when she and family is in the area.And we found out why. I'll be honest with you. I haven't had many cases where I can say that the Mee Goreng (Mamak style) is good. In fact, I would normally only swear by the Mee Goreng at Saffron's in Tampines because, quite simply, other places simply cannot cut it. So the "Damn Nice Mee Goreng List" is a pretty short one.But now I can safely say - there is a new place on the list.The noodles, the spice, the meat, the potatoes, the egg, the everything.There's no simpler way for me to put it.Some places have a problem when it comes to frying noodles. It either tastes horrible or ends up being too dry or even burnt. But they get it just right here! And for the very fair price of $3.50, definitely can see why Yana and family always order it when the go.This is a simply MUST TRY!!If you can be bothered to go all the way to Ayer Rajah that is.And in case you're wondering. I said earlier Yana ordered Mee-Teow Goreng then how come the picture shows Mee Goreng??? Because - we ordered a second plate. That's how good it is. For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/12/ks-seeni-mohammed-mee-goreng.html…查看更多

So you guys remember the first visit to Sri Kamala Vilas?Well we found out that the thosai was absolutely the bomb there but people kept insisting that we tyr the supposedly delicious Chicken Masala. Sure or not??? Well obviously gotta go back and try right?And this time I brought the family.So my darling wife and I brought Mum, Dad and my brother to try it out.(Don't worry Yana we will go back again okay!)Well anyways I'm not gonna be posting much about the thosai because we already went that route in the first review of Sri Kamala Vilas.I had the Ghee Masala Paper Thosai again of course. Mum had a Paper Masala Thosai and she says it was "nice" and she agreed with the original review that the Masala in the thosai is really good cos its creamy. Dad had a normal Thosai and says that "all Thosai tastes the same lah" (but I saw him take second helping of the sambar!) and my brother had a Ghee Masala Thosai. He actually seems the most enthusiastic and said that "it rocks". Safe to say - they all enjoyed the Thosai too.But, the actual reason we came back was not for the Thosai...After my last post, I received a few messages telling me to try the Chicken Masala there. I'll be honest and say that Chicken Masala is never even on my mind when I go and eat at this kind of place. Come to think I won't even mention Chicken Masala because... well... it's nothing special to me...So my darling wife took the plunge.So that's a pretty big serving of briyani I can tell you. It's just nice for one if you're hungry but I reckon 2 could probably share it. And at first glance I guess you would probably assume it's your normal run-of-the-mill briyani. I mean, this place is known for its thosai and not its briyani right?And I guess it wasn't so bad. Rice wasn't as tasty as some places I've been. The usual raita and pappadum.The dalcha was okay as well but nothing special I'd say. I do however wish they'd use a different achar pickle. This one didn't really have any kick.But I say again... we did not come back for the thosai. Nor the briyani...Now THIS is what I'm talking about. This is what we came to try.So many people recommended this exact dish here. So it must be damn good right...Like I said, I'm not really the type to go crazy for Chicken Masala when we go out to eat.I mean how good can it be right? Well.........THIS WAS THE BOMB!!Okay lah don't say the chicken or whatever lah (because everyone has their own preference on how they like their chicken) but I'm talking about the masala!! OMG!! It's damn nice lah. In fact it was so nice that even after we were done eating I was still dipping my fingers into the masala and eating it on its own. No more rice no more thosai no more chicken. I was just eating the Masala on its own!It's got a very good taste. Super tasty.And I think the best part is probably the fact that it's spicy but it doesn't burn your mouth or put you off the dish. It's the right amount of spice to make you keep going back for more and more and more.Whoever recommended for me to go back and try this - THANK YOU!So there you have it.So many more things to have at Sri Kamala Vilas but I actually have a strong feeling that when we go back we will probably have the Thosai and Chicken Masala again!For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/11/sri-kamala-vilas-restaurant-part-ii.html…查看更多

Okay so I've heard SO MUCH about the "delicious" Indian Rojak at the Adam Road Food Centre that might actually be the best Indian Rojak in town. Supposedly.I remember seeing one of those makan shows on TV when I was younger and they featured this famous stall at Adam Road Food Centre. It had this giant pot of Indian Rojak gravy that was on constant heat so you get it piping hot and thus ensuring you have a great serving of Indian Rojak.And after years and year and years of saying I've simply got to try it, the time finally arrived.Okay let me start of by saying that my darling wife and I went there on a Saturday evening at about 6pm.Now, I'm not sure if this is the prime time for Indian Rojak but the selection at the stall was not very impressive to be honest.Was it because we went at the wrong time?Or is it because this Indian Rojak is so damn nice that the good stuff was all sold out by the time we arrived?Hmmmmm.....Well we still managed to get some of the usual like Fish Cake, Paru (BeefLung), Hotdog, Prawn Wadeh, Potato and Flour with Egg. The individual item range between $0.70 to $1.50 (Minimum Order $3.00) which is pretty normal for Indian Rojak I guess... But the problem with Indian Rojak is... no matter whatever you choose, in the end you just pay the guy whatever price he mentions. Like in this case - I don't think that plate above costs $8.00...One thing that was good about this place is that they will quickly fry your items in a giant kuali of boiling oil ensuring a nice crisp to the rojak. Butt if you're looking for anything more than that, sorry. That's it.And now - the most important part of Indian Rojak (in my humble opinion)The kuah is oh so the important lah!!And in this case, this is what you will encounter...First - Sweet. Second - Spicy. Third - Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.And it definitely helps that it's served piping hot! One of the best Indian Rojak gravy ever!And in case you were wondering, the sweetness isn't because of sugar.Interestingly, it's because of little sultanas that they add into the gravy... Smart!Last but not least I simply have to mention this.The first time the guys passed me our plate of Rojak, it turned out to be the wrong one. Meaning some other dude also got the wrong plate. So we had to go back and tell them "We didn't take any Tahu".Okay to be perfectly honest, I really wasn't impressed. So much for the Best Rojak in Town?But then again, it really might have been bad timing. So many reviews saying it rocks must count for something right? Right?So i reckon we might go back for a 2nd try. Plus I saw some other stuff I wanna try too.For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, check out my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/11/adam-road-food-centre-adams-indian-rojak.html…查看更多

You guys remember my previous post about HalalDeals.sg right?Well one of the deals I purchased was for this place called Olivye.I actually first spotted it when we went for supper at Mr Teh Tarik Cafe at Changi.But of course, it was closed at that late hour of the night. Well it wasn't going to be closed this time because we're going for some Gelato!So Olivye is this nice little cozy nook in the middle of Changi. In fact, it's just beside Mr Teh Tarik!At first I thought it was just a gelato cafe but apparently they have a food menu too which apparently includes ribs! Something to try in the future!! And I've never come across a place that sells Halal Gelato so this was definitely something very unique.But when it comes to the gelato, believe you me - they have a long list.Check it out.Okay so they won't have ALL the flavours at one go but they had at least 19 flavours on offer that night when we visited the cafe. So don't look at me because I had a hard enough time choosing just the few out of that long list okay.Well the easiest way for me to classify the flavours is 1) fruity and 2) non-fruity.We decided that were going to have two cups (with two flavours in each cup) so we had a good idea of what we might like.We actually had the pleasure of meeting Mr Gregory when we visited.He introduced himself as one of the siblings who proudly opened and operated Oliyve.The Changi Village outlet was not the only one however. They also had smaller stalls at NIE and NTU which served mainly the food aspect of their menu.Well on with the gelato!!!There are a few choices for sizes...Small ($3.00-$3.90), Medium ($4.50-$5.50) and Large ($6.50-$7.50)They also have take-away sizes by the way.So for the non-fruity cup, we decided on Strawberry and Salted Caramel.Yeah yeah I know you think it's boring but I like it okay.The Strawberry was delicious I have to say. It was very smooth and not too sweet.But for the Salted Caramel, I can't put my finger on it but I found that something was amiss.Maybe I was basing my taste on my previous encounters with Salted Caramel so I didn't really like this one because it tasted different. Kind of like a burnt taste you know what I mean?We were so busy with the other cup we neglected this one and it started melting!!But this fruity cup was the bomb.The Chempedak and the Melon gelato had such a natural fruit flavour.It was not overpowering or anything but once you taste it you know that it's the real deal.And we didn't select the flavour but Mr Gregory gave us a sampling of the Durian flavour...And we immediately regretted not choosing the Durian... It tasted like the real thing!Next time it's a must!So the next time you want some place to relax and have some gelato with some buddies after makan (or in fact you can even makan there) check out Olivye.PS they also have an ice-cream buffet on weekends! Check it out! For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, check out my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/10/olivye-gelato.html…查看更多

I love Thosai.To be more precise, I love Ghee Masala Paper Thosai.(I know somone is saying "It's DOSAI lah!)Many many many years ago, one of my best buddies and I were in the vicinity of Serangoon Road one afternoon and we decided to have lunch. He brought me to the famous Komala Villas (the old one at Buffalo Road and not the newer one along Serangood Road itself) and treated to me to thosai.But not just any thosai.My buddy, Raffiq, ordered for me a Ghee Masala Paper Thosai.I'd always ordered just normal Masala Thosai in the past and it definitely used to be my favourite.But - my life was changed forever that day.And I know the extra ghee gives it the unhealthy edge so we should definitely enjoy it in moderation. But, I tell you, the few times that I DO have it, it's the bomb!Now every time I have thosai, it has to be Ghee Masala Paper Thosai.And I always went back to the Komala Villas at Buffalo Road because I knew I was guaranteed a delicious meal.But recently, my darling wife told me that one of HER best buddies, Marina, recommended a new place to try some thosai. And it was just a stone's throw from Komala Villas.Sri Kamala Vilas is just at the block opposite Tekka Market. It seems like a humble enough place but the food inside is waiting to take you for a delicious and sinful trip.Okay first things first - what's the difference between a normal Thosai and a Paper Thosai.Well, as the name implies, in the latter the thosai is 'paper thin' (just like the difference between a normal prate and a paper prata). A layer of the dough batter is scraped off while on the pan resulting in a thin crusty pancake known as the Paper Thosai. Now for those of you who have had Paper Thosai before, you will also know that it is very obviously bigger in size as compared to a normal thosai.That picture seems like it's small right? Well that's just the camera angle so I could fit the whole thing in the frame. That Paper Thosai there is as long as my arm!The thosai itself was very crispy and despite being 'paper thin', make no mistake - it will fill you up.And the ghee which is drizzled on the batter as it cooks definitely gives it the extra 'kick' that many of us enjoy albeit a very unhealthy one. Another important factor is the filling.And this was one part that had me pondering quite a bit.The masala filling at Sri Kamalas was different from most other places where I've had Masala Thosai.It was a little more 'mashed-up' to put it one way. Most other places I went to had a more chunky texture to their masala where you can see the chunks of potato and carrots etc.Make no mistake the masala was super tasty but it had more of a 'creamy' texture if I could put it that way.And because I was so used to a more 'chunky' masala, my initial reaction was one of surprise.But the more I think about it, maybe it wasn't so bad after all.I guess one of the main advantages of having it this mashed-up is that it's not too dry! Of course you'll the usual assorted accompaniments all of which were tasty.In fact, my darling wife seldom has the coconut chutneys but even she was going for it!Wash it down with a nice cool Lassi to finish off the meal! Well after years upon years of going to Komala Villas, I finally have another place to go.And to be perfectly honest, it's been quite a long time since I went to Komala Villas for a meal so it would not be fair to compare the 2 right now.Maybe I sense a Food Battle on the way yes? :)Well whatever your taste may be - normal or paper, ghee or masala, egg or plain - I seriously recommend you try out this place if you have not yet done so.But I'm sure you thosai lovers will agree with me on the next statement...If it doesn't have one of these... it ain't a thosai joint!For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/09/sri-kamala-vilas-restaurant-ghee-masala.html…查看更多

In case you don't know by now - I loves me some otah-otah!But believe it or not, it's not that easy to find a place where you can call a go-to place for otah-otah.I mean think about it. Where do you normally get your otah-otah?At the odd pasar malam when it pops out? At some random dude selling it from a table in your neighbourhood? (that's illegal by the way)Well, now you can pop by Geylang Market when you're itching for some otah-otah!Otak-Otak Kampon Wak Murset seems like a joint that really know what they're doing.Their main product is of course - otah-otah. In fact, it's "100% Otak-Otak Kelapa Anak Melayu".But they do also sell otak-otak rempah and other things needed for making otah-otah like coconut leaves and even the toothpicks!But was their otah-otah any good?Doesn't that look lovely?The otah-otah paste is made daily so you know it's going to be fresh.And when I went there was a queue... which is not necessarily a bad thing if you think about it. If there is a queue, this means the product is gonna be freshly cooked when you get it.This means piping hot fresh otah-otah hot off the grill!!The otah-otah I normally buy (from the pasar malam) is usually red-ish and quite a solid chunk of otah.Meaning it's actually got quite a lot of flour in it and it becomes a solid piece which you can flap about (you know what I mean right) As you can see above, the otak-otak from Wampong Wak Murset do not really resemble that type of otah-otah at all. It's nowhere even close to the shade of red I was expecting. I guess the closest comparison I can make it that this version is... drier.This is because it's made up mostly of coconut and you still get substantial chunks of tasty fish in each bite.But because of that, my darling wife didn't really fancy the strong coconut influence on the otak-otak. She says it's good and tasty but those of you who don't fancy coconut... Ehhhh...And although some might point out that this is actually the traditional way of making otah-otah, I'm guessing some people may feel that they still prefer the type we are so accustomed to nowadays.So there's no denying that this is a tasty otah-otah.I guess it just boils down to your preference whether you are dead-set on the type of otah we get at the modern day pasar malam or whether you like the more coconut-y traditional version.For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/08/otak-otak-kampong-wak-murset.html…查看更多

I remember having Ramen Ten quite a few years back.It was situated at Century Square in Tampines back then and it seemed very popular because it was pretty much one of (if not the only) place you could get Halal Japanese cuisine.I remember there was even a commercial shown on Suria where some Suria actress (whose name I can't recall) tells you about Singapore's first Halal Japanese Sushi Restaurant and exclaims at the end - "Oiishi!!". Unfortunately I couldn't find the ad but (believe it or not) Ramen Ten has their own "Corporate Video".So I went to Ramen Ten almost 10 years after my first visit and I didn't know what to expect.I decided to have something that seemed like something I would enjoy.Super Spicy Ramen consists of yummy ramen noodles, delicious minced chicken in a super spicy broth.Only the spicy part was true by the way.When they say Super Spicy boy do they mean Super Spicy.You can definitely feel the heat from the chilli oil that comes with the minced chicken and the broth.So all you lovers of spicy food can rejoice.But here's where it all went wrong for me.If there is one thing I cannot stand food with that 'hanyir' or 'hanching' taste/smell.(I developed my own word for it - 'hamching')This is the 'fishy' taste/smell you get if you don't wash meat or fish properly.And this was the case with this dish.From the very first taste of the minced chicken, I literally had a look of disbelief on my face.I simply could not fathom that this supposedly fine establishment had served me a dish that was hamching!Okay so maybe I'm very sensitive to this kind of thing (I take after my mum in that sense) but even my darling wife agreed with me something was definitely wrong taste-wise.Well it may taste perfectly fine to a lot of people no doubt.But to me, if with that much chilli and spice and you can still taste the hamching - something is so wrong.I stopped eating my dish after less than 10 bites.I tried oh trust me I tried.My wife decided to have the Tom Yum Beef Ramen which seemed like it might be nice.(Well it was deifinitely better than the Super Spicy Ramen I can tell you that much)The tom yum flavour in the broth was very nice. Not too strong yet very typical tom yum.Not too spicy though so don't expect the spicy type of tom yum.The one thing my wife and I both agreed on was that the beef itself was excellent. It absorbed the tom yum flavour very well and was very tasty.Best part? The texture of the beef.It was cooked just nice so that it was melt-in-your-mouth tender! Needless to say, all the beef was completely wiped out from the dish!Perhaps it's worth mentioning however that there is not much beef given to start with (as you can see form the picture above). Which is kind of weird because it's actually one of the more expensively priced Ramen on the menu @ $11.90.A few more pieces of tender beef in the bowl would have definitely made it worth the price.So we've covered the meat (both hamching and yummy) and the broth...there's only one thing left to cover...Something my darling wife definitely wants me to mention the Ramen noodles.She says that it was more like Maggi Mee than ramen.I agree with her that the noodles were not fantastic but I wouldn't go as far as to say they were like Maggi noodles at all.Sure they may look a bit thick but I think the biggest problem is that they fail to compliment the broth.You may think me silly but I found it a real chore to have to chew those tasteless noodles.I'd rather just eat the beef and drink the broth. Just not my kind of noodles I guess.The most consistently delicious part of my meal was this thing called the Blue Lime Soda.Citrus. Sweet. Refreshing. I love it.Well there you have it. The first dish I've reviewed on this blog that got a ZERO rating.Blame it on the 'hamching'.For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/08/ramen-ten.html…查看更多

So I want to do this whole series on Nasi Briyani for the blog but there are simply too many for me to cover in just a few short posts or to just have a Battle on its own. So I decided to start on this epic quest...The Quest for Briyani!Quite a few recommendations came in on where I should start this epicurean journey but it just so happens I was in the area of Geylang Serai so what better place to start than the Geylang Serai Market.At this melting pot of delicious food already got so many choices for Nasi Briyani alone I reckon I'll be visiting quite a few times so I can cover all the stalls!And I'm not covering the stalls in any particular order just so you know.All of the them have been recommended at one point or another so it's going to be random and at the of it all you can form your own decision on which is your favourite.At the extreme end of the 2nd level of the market (the Joo Chiat Complex end) you will see a stall with a bright yellow sign and it will most likely have a long queue as well.My darling wife received a recommendation to try "Yusoff Briyani" at Geylang Market.This is not to be confused with Yusof Power Beryani Dam by the way. Completely different stall okay.And when we arrived it seemed like the stall was living up to the hype because there was a considerable line of people waiting to get their briyani fix that Saturday morning.And you'll see picture hanging around the stall - former President SR Nathan ate at the stall!A little research showed that they stall was mentioned in The President's Award For The Environment in 2009. But was their briyani any good? Let me start of by saying that the spices used in the curry are very strong.If you're the type that likes their curry to pack a strong punch, you're gonna love this one.But although it's a strong curry, it's not too spicy to the point that you're gonna burn your mouth. It's actually just right now that I think about it.However, because the curry itself is already packing so much heat and taste, you may end up not using the accompanying bowl of dalcha even though the dalcha on its own is actually quite tasty.In fact, I didn't have more than 2 spoons of the dalcha because the curry on its own was enough. When I did have the dalcha with curry together, talk about flavour overload.The rice itself was fluffy and fragrant. Quite a typical quality of rice you might get when ordering a decent plate or briyani anywhere. It pairs extremely well with the curry and the meats.As for the chicken...I'm not sure if the meat and chicken were cooked within the rice from start to finish (which how supposedly 'authentic' Dum Briyani is supposed to be prepared) but I'm guessing they may have been in the rice at some point or rather.But then again, I saw them scooping the rice from a separate pot and then the meat/chicken with curry out of a another pot onto the plate before topping it all off with some more rice to cover the meat.Cooked together then separated before serving? Or not at all? I'll be honest - I'm not sure.But whether it's Dum or not, the chicken was exceptionally tender.As you can see from the first picture, the meat is literally shredding itself from the bone and you can just use a fork to rip that tender chicken off. And the strong curry flavour really penetrates into the chicken flesh (a sign of the chicken being cooked in the curry?) so you really have an explosion of spice flavour when you chew.Now as you may have noticed by now, the Briyani is very attractively priced.$4 for a plate of either Chicken or Mutton Baryani and $4.50 for the Fried Chicken version.This is definitely cheaper (as much as almost half the price) of some other famous stalls where a plate can go for as much as $8 or more.But this also means that the serving size is considerably smaller.That's the mutton briyani above and that's the only piece of meat that you'll get in one serving.And to be honest - it's not enough. I'm guessing that's not even going to be enough for people who consider themselves small eaters.Sure there's rice but for people expecting what they normally get at other places and think that they're getting a really good bargain, well, the price fits the serving size is all I can say.Oh and a little bit more on the mutton itself.It wasn't tough or hard or anything like that but let's just say it wasn't the most tender briyani meat I've tried.And it also tended to be a little dry (and stringy) so I wasn't really impressed with the Mutton Briyani.And by the way - the achar wasn't really spectacular and a little on the sweet side.Okay so it may not be the best briyani I've ever had but it's actually not so bad.But I have to say that the only reason it gets a passing mark in my books is because of the intense flavour which somehow grows on you and you keep wanting to take bite after bite of the chicken and rice.And I'm a fan of Mutton Briyani so I was quite disappointed with that.But at $4.00 a plate, I reckon it's reasonably priced... unless you're DAMN hungry. For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/08/the-quest-for-briyani-part-1-haji-mohd.html…查看更多

I never really had a good impression of Mad Jack.It had a reputation of being a good place to get some decent food at a good price (where have I heard that one before eh...).I went there a few years ago with my Dad and his steak came out raw.That's right. Not even rare. But RAW. (And no it was not Monday Night).But I must say that the service was top notch then. My dad pointed out the steak to the waiter and they didn't just take it back to the kitchen to further cook the same piece of meat but served a brand new cut of steak. Now that was definitely impressive.And now after so long we finally decided to give Mad Jack a try because we had a hankering for some western food and Botak Jones was a no-no.So the Blue Mountain Burger boasts itself being the "Tallest Burger in Town".The one I ordered above is only the 3-tier one. For those really really really hungry people out there - they also have a 5-tier option.So it consists of 3 self-made beef patties, a pineapple ring, a slice of tomato, cheese, lettuce and some mayonnaise between 2 buns. And they serve it with some french fries. Seriously.I just read out to you ALL the components which you can verify from the picture above.Seems a bit simple yes?Firstly let me start with the patties.They are definitely made with a good quality beef which is quite flavourful.You can tell they make their own patties when you get chunks of onion and strips of carrot in each bite.The patty itself may be respectable but I'm afraid the cooking of the patty is not.The cooking was thoroughly inconsistent for my burger.The top patty was just barely at the point of medium-well done with the middle of the patty being the rarest part. The center patty was the most well-cooked patty between the 3. It was juicy and still packed a great beefy flavour. The patty on the bottom was overcooked on the outside but completely rare on the inside.I'm not sure what the aim of the cook was.Was he trying to give me 3 different varieties of patty so I could try them all out?Did he cook the patty at completely different ends of the grill hence the varying temperatures?I guess for that price I should not be complaining right?I know this is not the kind of place where the maitre'd is going to ask how well I would like my burger meat to be cooked but if he's not going to ask then the least the cook can do is make sure the patties are cooked thoroughly.And another thing to note - there's no way you can pick this burger up and chomp down.You're gonna have to deconstruct each layer so you end up eating the patties separately.And because the ingredients are individual (ie pineapple at the top, mayonaise only on the bottom etc) you might get the feeling that you're eating 3 different types of burgers. So my darling wife had the lesser of two evils - The Chicken Chop.I took a bite and I have to say the sauce was actually very peppery. But nothing to grind about.My wife says it's very tender and not too bad.We also paid an additional $9 to add the Soup of the Day, the Dessert of the Day and a glass of Pepsi. This mushroom soup was definitely made from scratch. It definitely is not the instant type.Unfortunately it's also not the delicious type.The do have minced mushrooms in there somewhere but a little too much cream makes it tastes like a bowl of mushroom-infused milk. Prepare to add your own salt and plenty of pepper. Mad Jack isn't really the first name that comes to mind when you think of cakes.And we found out why.Mad Jack actually has a wide variety of cakes to offer including Apple Pie, Banana Chocolate and Black Forest which happened to be the Dessert of the Day and it's served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream with chocolate sauce drizzled all over.Okay okay I'm not going to say so much about the cake because there really isn't much to say.Simply put, it wasn't the best Black Forest Cake I'd ever had.But I will say this - they served it on a teacup saucer. An actual teacup saucer. Let me end by saying the service was still impeccable.The staff were attentive and helpful as they were on my last visit all those years ago.Hopefully they will still be as helpful when I next visit in a few years down the road.For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, visit my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/07/mad-jack.html…查看更多

So a friend hands me a leaflet in the office and it seems there's a joint claiming to offer the "Real Penyet Cuisine"... Hmmmm... Definitely something worth checking out yes?Dapur Penyet claims to be the "pioneer of Ayam Penyet for Singapore in 2004".Kinda weird because it's not really a name that comes to mind when someone mentions "Ayam Penyet" to be honest. But such a claim must surely not come without some serious conviction am I right?So the leaflet shows 6 locations (Tiong Bahru, Causeway Point, Toa Payoh, GIANT Tampines, Orchard Cineleisure and AMK Hub). It also makes reference to an outlet as East Coast but weirdly no address is listed. (But fret not, it seems that that particular outlet is along East Coast Road.)It's also worth noting that all the outlets are actually situated within food courts.So the wife and myself dropped by GIANT Tampines with the specific intention of checking out this "pioneer" of Ayam Penyet and see if it lives up to the title.So the wife had the Nasi Ayam Penyet.Firstly, let me point out that the rice served is the normal white rice which is actually the authentic way to serve it with Ayam Penyet.I personally prefer to have the type of rice they serve with normal chicken rice.Not very authentic I'll admit and definitely a very Singaporean touch (which is why I always seem to head to Sri Bistari for my ayam penyet fix most of the time).Many migt tell you that the best and most authentic Nasi Ayam Penyet you can get is from Ayam Penyet Ria (which I am yet to officially review) and they do serve plain white rice.So I guess for you 'authentic' Penyet lovers, you can be happy they do the same here.Next up would be the chicken itself. And I'm afraid the news is not good.The chicken itself was tender and fried well I guess.But the batter coating the chicken itself was nothing impressive.In fact I'm willing to go as far as to say that it was bland and really sucked. It really reminded me of the same bad coating you might get when you buy lousy goreng pisang.And because this is the same stuff that makes up the 'kremes' aka the crispy crumbs, I'm afraid the crumbs suffer the same sucky fate as well.But surely the sambal rocked right?Wrong.The sambal was very very spicy. But unfortunately it was spicy without much taste.Rather than try and mix up something tasty that will not just set your mouth on fire but at the same time enhance the overall flavour of the dish, they decided to throw as many chillies into the sambal as possible to make you reach for water and somehow forgot the part about enhancing the flavour.I decided to have the Empal Penyet instead because you know I love me some red meat.Well I saw red alright.Please do not be fooled by my excellent photography skills.Those 2 pieces of meat are not as big as they seem. They were each about as big as the palm of my hand.And instead of penyet-ing them after frying, they obviously penyet-ed the meat before cooking so you get 2 nice, small, flat pieces of beef.Again nothing to applaud in the taste department.The meat was hardly seasoned and more of the lousy goreng pisang batter made it worse.It just tasted like oil.As an additional side dish I actually wanted to order the Bakso Penyet (which is actually just batter-fired beef balls) just to see if it tasted as good as it looked in the picture but unfortunately it was sold-out (a blessing in disguise??)So instead, I ordered another Indonesian favourite - SiomayThis is actually very similar to Gado-Gado.It's got fried potato, cabbage and tofu and it's covered in peanut gravy.The actual Siomay part is a fish cake (inspired by the Chinese Siew Mai).I'd actually never tried Siomay before despite hearing about it a few times and even a foiled attempt at trying it in Bali once.It's quite a simple thing made out of fish mean and flour blended together and then steamed to make the fish cake.For this dish it's cut quite thickly and actually looks like lontong (rice cakes) until you actually bite into it.In this particular case however it does have a bit too much flour in it so when you bit into it you might actually think you were biting into fish-flavoured lontong.But I guess for a first try it wasn't so bad.I am hoping I get to try this dish again if I ever go back to Indonesia and then I'll get the chance to see if the stuff they serv here is anywhere close to the real deal that originated over there.There are actually a few other things on the menu that I wouldn't mind going back to try.The Bakso and Iga (Ribs) are definitely on the list and their roasted items (Ayam Bakar and Empal Bakar) might do better than their fried counterparts maybe?For the full review and more mouth-watering pics, check out my blog!http://thehalalfoodblog.blogspot.sg/2012/07/dapur-penyet.html…查看更多