SG Cafe Series: Water Drop Teahouse

Water Drop Teahouse is a unique café, located in a corner of Punggol.  Housed in Buddhist Centre, Fo Guang Shan (Buddha's Light Association, Singapore) , the cosy cafe serves vegetarian snacks and meal.  The place seems to be pretty crowded on weekends but fortunately, the café is spacious and it won't be difficult to get seats.



 

While having a cuppa, diners can also browse at the CDs, books, artifacts and accessories available for sale.  It is a good place for getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

The menu is environment friendly.  You can place your order by writing the order quantity on the laminated menu using a marker pen, present it at the cashier, make the payment and the food will be prepared. 

The café has a good selection of beverages ranging from fruit juices to coffee to tea and even bubble tea.

These were the 2 snacks that I ordered - Fried Pumpkin Patty and Kimchi Roll respectively.  They looks quite ordinary but in fact, they were delicious.

On another occasion, I ordered this tofu peanut snacks.  It was kind of chewy, like mocha.  The sauce was savoury and I thought it was quite unique.  The mocha was also delish.

Ah, and I ordered a noodle dish - 随缘面。  Oh well, I didn't know that it was a mushroom noodles dish and hence, it wasn't to my liking.  I always find that shitake mushroom taste is too strong.

Water Drop Teahouse

Address:

Fo Guang Shan (Singapore)
No.1 Punggol Place (3rd floor), Singapore 828844
Tel ：(65) 6411 0596

Opening Hours：

Tuesday to Friday	:	10am – 6pm
Saturday	:	10am – 7pm
Sunday and Public Holiday	:	10am – 5pm
Closed on Monday

 

Website: http://www.blia.sg/en/waterdrop.aspx

 

Getting there: Take MRT to Punggol Station and walk 6 mins to Fo Guang Shan.

 

 

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[CNY 2014] New Year Snacks Part 2

Bought more CNY cookies and I seem to be particularly attracted to gula Melaka cookies this year.  The second batch of cookies that I bought for this CNY is from Cedele Depot, Artisan Handmade Cookies.  Although they are a little more expensive, I think it is worth it because the cookies are hand-made, do not contain artificial ingredients and there is no trans fats.

 

Gula Melaka Coconut - Love the nostalgic taste of gula Melaka and the declicious desiccated coconut.  The cookies are really crispy.

 

 

Pineapple Pocket Pie - This isn't my first time getting the pineapple pockets for CNY.  The pineapple pockets are for those who likes buttery pastry.  Cedele's version isn't too overpowering.  Soft and firm pastry filled with sweet & sourish pineapple jam.

Website: http://www.cedeledepot.com/

[CNY 2014] New Year Snacks

It is the time of the year again!  Lunar New Year comes faster this year, just within a month from the start of 2014.  I contemplated quite a bit what new year snacks to get this year.  Pineapple tart is a must but I have yet to find one which really excites me.  While shopping at Takashimaya CNY fair, I chanced upon 2 snacks from Rasa Sayang which are rather unique and tasty.  Their snacks are made in Indonesia.

 

 

The first is Oven Baked Purple Yam Chips.  It is oven baked and there isn't other added flavouring.  It is simply thinly sliced purple yam, sent into the oven.  Sounds healthy?  I think so.  It tasted so.  The only unhealthy bit is that some vegetable oil has been used during the baking process.

The second is Gula Melaka Kueh Bangkit (literally means fragrant cake).  Tasty kuah bangkit should crumble and melt in the mouth, not too floury, not too sweet and has a fragrant coconut taste.  It is actually quite labour intensive to make kueh bangkit.  The additional plus point to this particular kueh bangkit is the gula Melaka taste.  Double coconut happiness!

Ok, I have a week to continue my search for the perfect pineapple tart this year.  Send me recommendations!

Website : http://www.rsayang.com/

[Singapore Restaurant] Korean Food: Jang Shou Korean BBQ

It has been more than 5 years since I last stepped into Jang Shou Korean BBQ.  Jang Shou also means longevity.  The restaurant is conveniently located downtown, at The Esplande.  For this visit, I tried 2 BBQ and a soup dish.

Jang Shou restaurant is generous with their side dishes.  A total of 9 dishes are served, in addition to the onion soup as appetiser.

I always hesitate trying this dishes as I was afraid that the onion taste will be too over-powering.  But thankfully, the onion soup was quite refreshing.  It tasted sweet and a little sourish.  The restaurant serves set meal only during lunch.  Each set meal costs $23 and comprises 1 grilled meat dish (choice of beef, pork and chicken) and 1 stew dish (choice of soybean paste stew, spicy soft tofu stew, buckwheat noodles in cold broth and dry buckwheat noodles in spicy sauce).  For such a combination, I personally think that it is pretty worthwhile. 

But for this lunch, I decided to order BBQ meat instead of the set meal.  For some reason, the restaurant uses charcoal for BBQ only during dinner.  And during lunch, it is cooked over gas.  The first BBQ meat I ordered was the Jang Shou Galbi, marinated pork ribs in olive and honey.  There are 3 BBQ pork choices.  Besides pork ribs, they also serve olive-wine marinated pork belly and hot-pepper marinated pork belly.

The second BBQ meat that I had was Jang Shou Dak Galbi, grilled spicy chicken.  In fact, the choice of BBQ chicken is only limited to the spicy flavour.

While the spicy chicken looks more appetising than the pork ribs, I like the pork ribs more than the spicy chicken.

The soybean paste stew was average.  I like it more when the beanpaste taste is stronger.  But I guess the restaurant would have to cater to the majority's preference.

Overall, the dishes are decent but variety is limited for non-beef diners.   But I like the variety of side dishes served.  There are very few restaurants that provides such elaborate side dishes.

Note: WAH! Korea Club members enjoy 5% discount on regular food items from Monday to Thursday, excluding set meals.


Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ
Address : 8 Raffles Avenue, #01-13A/B Esplanade Mall, S039802
Tel : +65-6337-8880
Business Hour:
Mon to Sat: 11.30am to 2.30pm / 5.30pm to 10.30pm
Sun and PH: 5.30pm to 10.30pm.

Website: http://www.jangshoukoreanbbq.com/

Getting there: Nearest MRT station is Esplanade Station on the Circle Line.  Follow the walking directions with the MRT station to Esplanade - Theatres by the Bay.  Go to level 1, take the exit next to Harry's.  Keep left and turn left into the entrance to Jang Shou Korean Restaurant.




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SG Cafe Series: Charlie Brown Cafe

There aren't many cartoon-themed café in Singapore.  In fact, I think Charlie Brown Café might be the one and only one.  Located in 313 Somerset, it is easily accessible by public transport, food is reasonably-priced and is a pretty good place to chill out.  Good thing is - there is no service charge but GST is still applicable though.

That's a Charlie human-sized figurine that welcomes all guests into the café.  If you're a Peanuts comic strip fan, this is a place to check out.  Other than food and beverages, character souvenirs are be purchased here.

The café adopts a open concept, which means that it may get a little warm and humid especially during the warmer months.

Besides coffee, tea, baked pastries, they also serve all-day breakfast, soup, salad, sandwich, finger food and ala carte meal items.

Tried the fried chicken wings.  It was quite delicious.  The colour may appear a little dark but it was in fact, flavourful.

The café runs a membership programme and members are entitled to 15% discount.  Do make good use of the discount ^^

Charlie Brown Café
313 Orchard Road #01-25/25A (Discover Walk; facing open carpark)
Singapore 238895
Tel: 68365344
Website: http://www.charliebrowncafe.com.sg/

Getting there: Take the MRT and alight at Somerset Station.  At Exit B, turn left and walk in the direction towards Marche, until the outdoor section.  The café is on the right side.


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[Singapore Restaurant] Korean Food: Wang Dae Bak Korean BBQ Restaurant

Wang Dae Bak - this is a restaurant that I had wanted to visit since some time back but only get to do so now.  Friends, who are fans of Korean food, have been raving about this restaurant and after trying, there's no doubt that this is possibly one of the few Korean restaurants that serve pretty decent BBQ!

The restaurant isn't very big and the size of table is good for 4 pax.  The deco of the restaurant ie. the BBQ chimney, seats with round metal chairs, cylinder tank beneath the table top, resembles what you see in BBQ restaurants in Korea!

Side dishes - a total of 5 and all were really delicious.  We asked for refill and the service staff topped it rather speedily.

 

Each person is also given individual portions of condiments comprising salt, ssamjang for the BBQ meat and sesame oil. 

For the BBQ, we order a portion of pork belly and marinated chicken.  It came with tteokbokki and a bunch of enoki mushroom.

For lunch, the BBQ isn't cooked over charcoal.  Instead, it was cooked over the Korean-style hotplate.  Notice that the side of the hotplate is used the scrambled egg?  This is the first Korean restaurant, amongst the many that I have visited that uses such hotplate. 

Between the pork belly and the marinated chicken, it was unanimous amongst me and my friends that the BBQ chicken was really delicious!  And just to clarify, it is not the case that the BBQ pork wasn't delicious.   It was!  Just that the chicken BBQ was better!

And none of us would object that the seafood deonjang jjigae (bean paste soup) was delicious!  But note, for those who have not tried Korean bean paste soup before, the taste of this dish may take a while for one to used to.  Deonjang jjigae is made from fermented soy bean and hence, the fermented taste may be a little overpowering for some people.  Otherwise, for seasoned Korean food eaters, this is one place that I will recommend for deonjang jjigae.  

Andong Chicken is one dish that is quite subjective.  For people who haven't tried this dish and likes spicy food as well as stewed chicken, it is actually quite delicious.  But for those who have tried Andong Chicken in Korea, this would not be able to match up to the standard.  But overall, it is not a bad dish though.

The haemul pajeon (seafood pancake) is uniquely served on a bamboo-woven plate.  The portion was bigger than what we expected.  The pancake was quite nice too... thin and crispy at the edge.

We had also ordered the gamjatang (potato and pork ribs soup) and the dish was not impressive.  There wasn't any distinctive taste from both the potato and the pork ribs.  So... this is one which I will give it a miss.

Good news is that diners are entitled to 15% discount during lunch except for BBQ meat dishes.  You may also wish to try out the new dishes on their lunch menu.

Overall, the food, ambiance and value of food at Wang Dae Bak is good!  I will be back for more next time!

Wang Dae Bak
98 Amoy Street, Singapore 069918
Tel: 62260450
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat, 11.30am to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 10.30pm
Website: www.wangdaebak.com.sg
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wangdaebak

Getting there: Walk from Raffles Place MRT station, Exit F.  It is approximately a 7 to 10 mins walk, depending on your individual speed.  With the opening of Downtown Line, it is in fact nearer to walk from Telok Ayer MRT station to the restaurant.



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[Singapore Restaurant] Dim Sum @ Bosses Restaurant (黑社会), Vivocity

What's your favourite dim sum?  For me, it has to be liushabao (流沙饱 aka Lava Bun or salted egg yolk custard bun).  And we typically can judge the standard of the restaurant's dim sum from the quality of liushabao because this is one difficult recipe to master - in order to achieve the right consistency and flow of the filling.  The liushabao has certainly created a deep impression on me.  It is far better than those from other renown chinese restaurants serving dim sum.

If you're looking for a place for afternoon tea / dim sum, consider going to Bosses.  There are close to 50 items on their menu and they offer 30% off for their dim for orders between 2.30pm and 5pm.  Here's a list of what I like in order of my preference.

 

Signature Custard Lava Bun - soft bun skin filling with warm salted egg yolk custard

 

Fish Skin - Fresh and Crispy (Highly Recommended)

 

Ace Durian Mochi -  Filled with D24 durian.  It is beat eaten when chilled (Highly Recommended)

 

Famous Chilli Crab Tart - Bite-size crab meat that's fresh and springy.

 

Har Gow (Prawn Dumpling) - Fresh prawn dumpling in 3 different coloured skin.

 

Pan-fried Carrot Cake with XO Sauce - Not bad, not bad.

 Crispy Sesame Mango Prawn Salad Roll

 Shanghai Xiao Long Bao - Minced pork steamed bun.  There are better ones than these.

 

Premium Fish Maw steamed dumpling - I am not a fan of fish maw, that explains why it is on my low priority list.

Here's the full menu for the dim sum.  Prices range from $4.50 to $9.50 before taxes.  I will be back for more!

Bosses Restaurant
1 HarbourFront Walk, Vivocity #02-156/157, Singapore 098585
Tel: 6376 9740
Website: www.bosses.sg
Operating Hours:  11am to 9.30pm

Getting there:  Walk to Vivocity from HarbourFront Station



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