Discounts / Rebates at Singapore Food Courts

Most of us dine with foodcourts.  These are the foodcourts that offer discounts:

Kopitiam
Pay using the Kopitiam card and you get 10% off your meals at foodcourts and selected stalls at the Kopitiam neighbourhood coffeeshops.  You can top-up your cards at the foodcourts (at the self-service kiosks) and at the coffeeshops (usually at the drinks counter).

Website: http://www.kopitiam.biz/kc_card.html

Food Republic
They used to issue their discount cards annually but this year, they have partnered with Passion Card.  Pay using Passion Card on weekdays (ie. except for Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays) and you get 10% off your meal!  This discount is valid until 30 April 2014.

Website: http://www.passioncard.com.sg/merchantlistinfo.aspx?bg=merchant&menuid=456

NTUC Foodfare
Earn link points when you produce your NTUC Plus, Nebo Plus or Plus Card.  1 link point for $1 spent on the 1st 2 cards and 2 link points for $1 spent on the 3rd card.

Website: http://plus.com.sg/grocery-food-and-shopping/ntuc-foodfare

Koufu
Get 5% rebate from the Singapore Food Festival (SFF) 2013 Nets Flashpay card or the McDonald's Flashpay card.  You can get these cards from the Transit Link office at MRT stations.  Because these are limited edition cards, there are separate charges to get these cards.  The promotion using the SFF card and McDonald's card is valid till June 2014 and March 2014 respectively.  A minimum monthly spent of $30 is required before you can enjoy the 5% rebate and the maximum rebate is capped at $10 per month.  Other than Koufu, the rebates can also be earned at selected merchants. Details are available from the Nets website.

Website: http://www.nets.com.sg/offers-a-promotions/nets-flashpay

If you gave other lobangs, do share!

Chocolate Lava Cake from Chocolate Origin

Seriously, this lava cake in a cup ~ try it and you will love it.  The cake is almost perfect, at least to me, in terms of firmness, richness and sweetness.
 

It is an excellent idea to hold in a cup with the cold vanilla ice cream at the bottom with the warm and moist cake with the chocolate lava on top. Better still, there is no fuss, no mess and you can scrape the cup till the last bit of ice cream. At $5, this is an affordable indulgence when you need something to perk up your mood. ;)
 

 

Chocolate Origin

313@Somerset, #B3-10A, 313 Orchard Road

Opening Hours: Mon to Sun 10am to 9.30pm

Website: http://www.chocolate-origin.com/ 

 

 

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Starbucks at United Square

Café culture in Singapore is getting better!  Check out this Starbucks at United Square.  It would be really cool to savour a cuppa at the 2nd level, sitting by the full-length window, enjoying personal times with friends and watching the sun goes down.  I got so excited when I saw it this evening!  That's the way to enjoy life!

 



 

[Recipe] Korean Potato Pancake [감자전]

Korean Potato Pancake is one delicious dish that I really really like!  Gonna learn how to cook it!



Ingredients:
1 pound peeled potato
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup water
¼ cup chopped Asian chives
vegetable oil

Garnish:
red and hellow bell pepper, slice into 1 inch strips

Dipping sauce:
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
a pinch of roasted sesame seeds

Preparation Direction:
1. Cut the peeled potato into small chunks and add to a food processor
2. Add water, chopped chives, and salt. Blend it well until creamy puree
3. Put the mixture in a strainer over a bowl to strain. Press it down with a spoon gently so that the starch water will go through the strainer.
4. Put the strained potato mixture in a bowl
5. Wait for 1 minute for the starch to sink in the bowl
6. Pour out the water to get the starch. Add the starch to the potato mixture and stir with a spoon.

Cooking:
1. Heat up a non-stick pan over medium heat
2. Add a few drops of vegetable oil and spoon the mixture and place it on the pan. Spread it nicely to make about 2 inch disks. Repeat this to fill it your pan depending on your pan size.
3. When the bottom part starts a little light brown, turn it over.
4. And add the garnish strips and press it in with a spatular. Cook about 1 minute until the bottom part turns golden brown.
5. Turn it over and cook 10 seconds so that the top part won't brown.
6. Transfer it to a serving plate. Repeat it. You will get about 10 pancakes

Serving:
Combine soy sauce, vinegar and sprinkle sesame seeds in a small bowl.
Serve hot with the dipping sauce

[Non-food] Which N95 Mask to Fight the Haze and How to Use it? (Updated)

I seriously doubt the haze situation will be resolved anytime soon unless there is a huge downpour over the sky of Sumatra within these few days.  In the meantime, life must go on and the best we can do to protect ourselves is to minimise exposure in the outdoors and therefore limit the intake of toxic pollutants into our body.  Depending on your personal physical condition and the the pollution level, you may want to use the N95 mask when appropriate.  There are several types of N95 masks available in Singapore and an extract from a piece of info found online about the differences for the different N95 masks models.

Health Advisory
There is a recent advisory from MOH that "N95 masks are not certified for use in children; pregnant women in their 2nd and 3rd trimester shouldn't wear N95 masks for more than 15-20 mins each time."  Details can be found in this photo.

Also, there isn't a need to change a N95 mask everyday!  MOH advises that the mask only needs to be changed when it is soiled or when it has gotten out of shape.  For more questions on managing your health in times of haze, do visit the MOH's website.  Also, all of us should familiarise with the health advisory issued by MOH which has info on the medical scheme for those affected by the haze.

N95 Stock
MOH has also recently released stocks of N95 to various pharmacies.  On last Friday, some friends have shared that the pharmacies they had gone to had no more N95 masks.  On Saturday morning, Unity Healthcare had replenished it's stocks and also publicly announced the arrival time of their stocks to manage buyers' expectation.  N95 can also be purchased from Cold Storage and Watsons.  NTUC Fairprice will also start selling from 24 Jun onwards.

Price of N95 Masks
Updates from friends show that the price at Unity is the cheapest.  $2.25 after the 10% discount for almost all models.  At Cold Storage, the price is $56 for 1 box (20 pieces) of N95 8210 and $77 for 1 box (20 pieces) of N95 9210.  Watsons had also started the sale of N95 at the price of $2.50 each for N95 1860 and 1860s.  Each person can buy up to 10 pieces. 

Donning the N95 Mask
The N95 mask is rather tight-fitting and hence, a little difficult to put on.  Here's some tips from HPB on putting on the N95 masks.

The video from Raffles Medical is useful - watch the hands-on demo on putting on and removing the mask.






[Recipe] Korean Dried Pollock Soup (with Radish) [북어국]

This soup, although the main ingredient is dried Pollock, the other key ingredient is radish.  This is a traditional dish that is still very popular in Korean.  This is known to be good for health and has healing effect.  Check it out if you'd like some variation from the Chinese Radish Soup.  Enjoy!



Ingredients (for 2 servings):
2 oz (60 grams) dried shredded pollock, radish, garlic, fish sauce (or salt), water, green onion,sesame oil, egg, and water

Directions:
1. Take 2 oz (60 grams) of dried and shredded pollock from a package and tear each strip into thin pieces by hand. They should be about 2 ½ inch long (6 cm).
*tip: 1 package of dried shredded pollock that I use in the video weighs 150 grams (about 5 oz), so you could make 5-6 servings with 1 package.

2. Peel a radish and slice it into small pieces (2 x 3 inch and 1/8 inch thick) to make 2 cups' worth.

3. Slice 2 stalks of green onions. Mince 4 cloves of garlic. Beat 1 egg in a small bowl with a fork. Set them all aside.

4. Heat up a pot and add 1 tbs sesame oil.

5. Add the dried pollock strips and the minced garlic to the pot and stir it for 30 seconds with a wooden spoon.

6. Add 7 cups of water and the radish.

7. Close the lid and boil for 20 minutes over high heat.

8. 20 minutes later, open the lid and add 2 tbs fish sauce.

9. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

10. Open the lid and pour the beaten egg into the boiling soup.
*tip: Don't stir the soup until the beaten egg is cooked and floating.

11. Turn the heat off and add the green onion.

12. Stir it with a ladle so the green onion is cooked a little by the boiling soup.
Serve with rice and side dishes including kimchi.

[Recipe] Radish Daikon and Carrot Pork Soup (青紅白蘿蔔瘦肉湯)

Daikon (白萝卜) is one of the food recommended by TCM for removal of heat and toxin substances from our body during this period.  Daikon soup can be easily purchased from our local food courts but if you prefer to stay indoor and cook it at home, here's one recipe you can refer to.

 

Source: www.chinesesouppot.com

 

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 10 mins

Serves: 8

 

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb of green radish (also called Chinese or Oriental Radish)
• 1 lb of daikon
• 1 lb of red carrots
• 1.5 lb of lean pork meat
• 1 tsp of Chinese south almonds
• 1/2 tsp of Chinese north almonds
• 2 slices of ginger
• 10 cups of water

Instructions

1. Boil a small pot of water to blanch the pork. Cut the meat to 2-inch cubes while the water cooks. Blanch, drain and set aside the pork.
2. In a separate large pot, boil 10 cups of water.
3. Peel and slice the green radish, daikon, and carrots to 1-inch thick slices. Rinse the Chinese almonds and set aside.
4. When the soup water boils, put all ingredients into the pot. Cook covered on high heat for 5 minutes or until the soup water boils.
5. Reduce the heat to Low and simmer for 2 hours. Set the timer. When ready, sprinkle a pinch of salt to taste and serve.

 

Note:

Green radish is said to be a cooling food. As such, pregnant women and those with a cold should drink this soup with caution.


Related Post:
Old Cucumber Soup 

[Recipe] Old Cucumber Soup

Looking for a recipe for Old Cucumber Soup?  The common ingredients include old cucumber (of course), porkribs, red dates and cuttlefish.  Typical traditional soup will take a while to cook, typically a few hours if you wish to taste the authentic sweetness from the ingredients.  Here's a few recipes that I've found.

Website: http://www.noobcook.com/old-cucumber-soup/

Website: http://www.smokywok.com/2011/05/chinese-old-cucumber-soup-recipe.html

 

Website: http://annieliciousfood.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/old-cucumber-soup-%E8%80%81%E9%BB%84%E7%93%9C%E6%B1%A4/

Related Post:
Radish, Daikon and Carrot Pork Ribs Soup

[Recipe] Green Bean Soup

One of the recommended food to consume during this hazy season is the green bean soup.  Green beans are able to help expel the heat and toxin substance from the body.  Green bean soup can be consumed warm or cold.  Unconsumed green bean soup can be kept in the fridge.  Heat it up before consuming if you like it warm. 

Found this rather simple recipe for Singapore-style green bean soup from another website noobcook.

Green Bean Soup 绿豆汤

• Serves: 4
• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 60 mins

Where yin and yang of foods go, green bean soup is "yin" (cooling) while red bean soup is "yang" (warming), so this is perfect for the hot summer weather. If you do not wish to add any sago to your green bean soup, skip step 1.

Ingredients

• 100 grams green beans (aka mung beans/lu dou/綠豆) soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
• 2 pandan (screw pine) leaves dried ends cut, tied in a knot
• 1.7 litres water
• 70 grams rock sugar (冰糖) to taste
• 10 grams (or 3 small pieces) dried orange (tangerine) peel (陈皮)
• 80 grams canned or vacuum-packed lotus seeds or ginkgo nuts optional
• 50 grams (1/3 cup) small sago (small tapioca pearls)

Instructions

1. Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add sago and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove, cover the pot with lid and let the sago continue to cook on its own for another 10 minutes, until all the sago turns translucent. Run the cooked sago through a fine sieve and running water to remove excess starch. Set aside. Check out this step-by-step photo tutorial for preparing sago.
2. In a bigger soup pot, add green beans, 1.7 litres water, dried orange peel and pandan leaves. Bring to a boil.
3. Add lotus seeds/gingko nuts and reduce heat to a simmer, partially covered, for about 50 minutes (or until the beans are soft), stirring the sides and bottom of the pot occasionally. Top up with hot water at any time if necessary.
4. Stir in rock sugar (to taste) until the sugar is dissolved. Discard orange peel slices and pandan leaves. Add the cooked sago prepared in step 1 to the green bean soup. Serve warmed or chilled.

Health Tips for Beating the Haze

The Haze situation in Singapore isn't going to go away anytime soon.  We can't control a situation that is beyond our country but we are in control in what we consume.  Take care!

 



 

Source: Eu Yan Sang