denise tan blogs

I know the craze for Ayam Penyet has died somewhat, but my craze for deep fried chicken will never die – especially if it’s done Indonesian style!
This is one Indonesian restaurant you shouldn’t visit if you’re on heart medication or a diet! But for the rest of us greedy guts, this is a must-try! With a real flair for fried foods, Ayam Penyet Ria packs a powerfully tasty punch, with their specialty dishes marinated in spices direct from Indonesia.
Obviously, their signature dish is Ayam Penyet (or smashed chicken!). It’s fried chicken served with crumbs, blanched kangkong, ulam (raw salads), tahu (beancurd), tempe (fermented soy cake), sambal belacan (shrimp paste chilli) and rice. Shiokalicious!!!
If you aren’t in the mood for chicken, their serve up other yummy deep fried versions, ranging from beef balls (bakso), fish (pomfret & catfish) and prawns. Also on the menu are a range of soups, including Surabaya beef soup, soto ayam and sop buntut. But really, my advice is to stick to what they’re famous for – the deep fried chicken – you can’t go wrong with it!
Wash down all that delicious grease with their drinks that could double up as dessert – they’re THAT rich and decadent!
I recommend the Soda Gembira (Happy Soda) – it’s been described cross between Bandung and F&N Cherry! Other standout drinks are their Ice Chendol and Avocado juice.
Ayam Penyet Ria
Lucky Plaza #01-45 & #04-25
Tampines Mall #04-27
Jurong Point #B1-06

Peking-style Steamboat buffet

I know steamboat buffets have become increasingly commonplace in Singapore – it seems there’s a steamboat restaurant just about everywhere you look. But what varies is the price and quality of the buffet.
Today’s recommendation offers both good quality and good prices for lunch and dinner. So let’s dig in!
Jade Room Restaurant is 40-year-old Chinese culinary institution at Hotel Royal, famous for its popular “Tropical Peking-style Steamboat Buffet”.

They have an excellent steamboat spread with up to 32 fresh ingredients to choose from like prawns, cockles, sea cucumber, fish balls, meat cuts, dumplings, tofu, mushroom and some tasty dipping sauces. And while you’re waiting for your food to cook, the cooked-food station offering up delicacies like crispy fried chicken wings & peking duck will keep your tastebuds entertained!

Prices are very reasonable – Lunch time buffet costs about $18 including service and tax, dinner buffet about $20.

Jade Room Restaurant
Hotel Royal
36 Newton Rd
Tel: 6251-8135
Lunch: 11.30am-2.30pm; Dinner: 6.30pm-10.30pm daily

The Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge
Perfect for Lunch, Tea and tête-à-têtes! I stopped by this acclaimed restaurant for the first time last week for a late lunch with a friend and was very pleasantly surprised! Here are some of the goodies we devoured off their new menu:

Foreground: The hamburger sandwich described below. Background: Salmon fishcakes!

As you can see, the menu photo was not misleading in any way! The real thing looks just as scrumptious.

Close-up of the hamburger patty, chock-a-block full of onions, capers and other tasty morsels.

In-house version of achar! Pickled cauliflower, peppers and onions provide a contrasting tang to the savoury meat.

The salmon fishcakes also didn’t disappoint – they were very soft, tender, light and fluffy.

The danish curry remoulade went great with the fishcakes, giving them a spicy lift.

Just one of the MANY indulgent cakes chosen from their display at the entrance – they get you right when you walk in!

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge

This is a casual little dining room that offers great views of Orchard Road from it’s floor-to-ceiling windows! Tucked away in a corner of Takashimaya, the food here is a mix of Scandinavian and Asian, all served on the elegant Royal Copenhagen china. When you hold one of their finished cups or plates your hand, it has already passed through up to thirty other pairs of hands which have taken the porcelain clay through molding, painting, firing, glazing & packing.

At $24.90++ and $28.90++, their three and four-course set lunches are pretty reasonable prices for Orchard Road and delicious too!

Other dishes I’d recommend are:

ASSORTED HERRING OF THE HOUSE $19.90
Spiced, curried and rollmop herrings served with apple puree and chip, rye breads and seasonal salad mix with house dressing.

SMÖRGÅSBORD “SAMPLES OF SCANDINAVIA” $39.90
A wonderful shared platter for 2, featuring all their popular dishes – Herrings, Cold water shrimps, Smoked salmon wrapped with fluffy scrambled egg, Warm cheese and Corned beef. A variety of breads, fresh fruits and dips complete the dish.

RC SIGNATURE CURRY CHICKEN $16.90
Their signature homemade curry with rice, papadum, mango chutney and pickles tastes authentic but is actually healthier and lighter because they don’t use coconut milk or milk!

They also have a wide selection of teas, coffees, cold drinks and the alcoholic Akvavit, which goes really well with their traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches.

The Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge
2/F, Takashimaya Departmental Store, Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Rd, 6735-6833.

HATCHED
A fun, quirky, kid-friendly cafe that serves up egg-inspired all-day breakfasts!
Just a stone’s throw from the lush Botanic Gardens and the College of Physical Education, Hatched @ Evans Lodge is a lovely lunchtime getaway.
With over 40 egg dishes to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice whether you prefer your eggs fried, baked, poached, scrambled or boiled! Don’t panic if all those eggs sound overwhelming, there are other menu choices – “friends of eggs” – that include Bacon & Mozzarella with fig-dip and french onion bread with mash.
Sweet treats include waffles and pancakes, bubbly drinks and Belgian beer pairings with your all-day breakfast!
www.hatched.sg

Cafe Jamaica
Get a feel for that Island hospitality and amazingly good Blue Mountain Coffee at Cafe Jamaica @ 65 Circular Road. From fresh siphon-brewed blue Mountain coffee, to High mountain espressos in cappucinos, lattes and mochas, coffee is their speciality. Add a splash of Sangster’s rum cream for a bit of an alcoholic kick and you’ve got yourself a party! Cakes, muffins, cookies, sandwiches and the Jamaican version of our curry puffs – the Patty – are the available nibbles. And there’s even a retail corner to purchase your 100% authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans and other products like the rum cream and scented candles.

MIZ – JAPANESE FOOD
Miz is an casual Japanese eatery serving favourites like sushi, sashimi, donburi and udon at at hawker centre prices. Good value for money, tasty food and all in restaurant comfort.
The chef there is a true blue Nagoya native and former five-star hotel executive chef who’s always dreamt of making Japanese food an affordable and authentic experience for everyone.
No wonder Miz is such a popular place for the office crowd in the Tanjong Pagar area – most of the set lunches go for under $10 and there are almost 20 sets to choose from!
Some hot favourites include sets featuring udon and sashimi with rice, grilled mackerel and for the less health conscious, tasty deep fried breaded morsels like oysters and chicken with cheese!
Be prepared to wait though, it can get pretty full during lunch hours and all orders are made from scratch. Good thing they serve you complimentary edamame to snack on as you wait.
Miz
7 Craig Road (Tanjong Pagar area)
S089667
Tel: 8354 7477
Open: Mon to Sun: 1203pm (Lunch), 6-10pm (Dinner)

NORTH-EASTERN THAI CUISINE

This one is a personal and fresh-from-the-kitchen recommendation, folks!

If you’re looking for REALLY GOOD Thai food, this is the golden ticket and yes, of course it’s found at the Little Thailand of Singapore known as Golden Mile Complex. It’s so authentic that it doesn’t even have a name I can understand – it’s entirely in Thai. The chef is Thai, the waitresses are Thai and so it took a lot of charades and pointing at the picture menu to get our orders in. But let me tell you, it was so worth it!

This little hole-in-the-wall restaurant specializes in Esarn (North-Eastern Thai) cuisine and my friends and I were blown away by how tasty everything was when we went to try it out last night. Don’t worry, though, it’s open for lunch and stays open till midnight.

Highlights of our meal (refer to pictures above, clockwise from top left):

• Deep Fried Pork (or as the hilarious sign on the wall says, “fried deep pork”!) – highly addictive, crispy, salty & slightly sticky sweet. Cut into french-fry-esque strips, these go perfectly with beer.
• Chicken Green Curry - very rich, and with generous portions of (my fave) Thai eggplant!
• Singha Beer (maybe not for lunch, huh?)
• Tom Yum Goong – possibly the best soup I’ve ever had in Singapore! Very piquant, very spicy, very creamy & rich, served in a big metal bowl over a burner. We couldn’t stop at one portion and ended up ordering two!
• Papaya Salad – looks mild, but this amazing dish has a very powerful kick (some of us were crying from the spice – but in a good way!), from the chillies, fish sauce, crunchy long beans, dried shrimp and peanuts.

We actually ordered more food, but would you believe I forgot to take pictures ‘cos I was too busy inhaling everything in sight? Their stir-fried pork with mint, rice and egg is yums and so is their minced beef with basil.

The bill – 9 dishes plus white rice and 4 bottles of beer for 5 people – $96. Less than $20 per person – not bad at all!

Now all you need to do is go try for yourself! No need to thank me, but your tastebuds might just thank you!

(with special kudos to Lush 99.5FM DJ & Thai foodie X’Ho for paving the way)

JAPANESE CURRIES
For those who are in a flurry for curry in a hurry! Japanese curry is one of my favourites and here are 2 of my recommendations for a scrumptious, spicy lunch today:

CURRY FAVOR
@ Stamford house or Velocity, Novena
They serve up a range of authentic Japanese curries that are carefully created by their Japanese chef in a process that spans more than 5 hours daily, using only fresh vegetables & carefully selected curry spices. And what I love about their curries is they aren’t or gooey, unlike many instant curries.
Curry Favor – Stamford House
39 Stamford Road
#01-08/09 Stamford House

Curry Favor – Velocity@Novena Square
238 Thomson Road
#03-26/27 Novena Square

GO!GO!CURRY!
@ ION ORCHARD or 313 SOMERSET
GO!GO!CURRY! was first introduced at Tokyo’s popular Shinjuku district in May 2004.
This Japanese curry is sweeter and more pungent in flavour, with a unique recipe that has a distinctive dark brown colour, a thicker texture and a more pronounced peppery taste. Set meals come with either a choice of Shrimp, Sausage, Pork or Chicken cutlet, accompanied by a mix of cabbage along with a generous portion of rice in four variations – Healthy, Economy, Business or First Class (representing size and a flight of fantasy, I’m assuming, for your tastebuds!) You can also order extra goodies to go with your meal, like boiled egg slices, cheese and extra portions of curry.

Nectar

Want a sleek lunchtime getaway, good even for a casual business lunch? This stylish dining lounge offers up contemporary European fare and also some yummy local dishes. $26 gets you three courses such as crispy soft-shell crab, gratinated beef lasagna or pan-seared barramundi and a dessert. Menus change every day so you get constant variety.
Nectar is located in Tiong Bahru’s Wangz boutique hotel, near enough to the CBD, but without the maddening crowds.
Nectar
Wangz Hotel
231 Outram Rd

Kko Kko Nara

This is a small, unassuming family-run eatery that dishes out what is rumoured to be some of the best Korean-style fried chicken.
Other Korean faves like bibimbap and bulgogi are available, but the fried chicken (in 4 different flavours and marinades, including hot & spicy and garlic-soy) is a must-try! Prices are cheaper during lunch than dinner, with half a chicken going for $13-15 (as opposed to $18-20 at dinner-time). Best of all, no GST! Also, if you work around the Tanjong Pagar area, delivery is available for orders of $50 and above.
Kko Kko Nara
#01-01, 57 Tras St

Spices of India

Takeaway trivia:
Britain’s first Indian restaurant opened more than 50 years before the first fish-and-chip restaurant!

Today’s lunchbox lab recommendation comes from Gold 90FM listener Danny Chue:
A delicious Indian buffet lunch (all-you-can-eat) at the Spices Of India is only $12.90++ (Mon-Fri). With both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, there’s something for everyone. The mutton curry is tender-soft and delicious. Other good things to try are the vegetables, chutneys and sweet desserts. The buffet meal also comes with coffee and according to Danny, after having eaten from many Indian kitchens, he rates the Spices of India buffet lunch as good.
Spices Of India
#01-01 Rendezvous Hotel
9 Bras Basah Road

Saravanaa Bhavan

If you have been to Chennai, you will know of this very famous restaurant chain. Many have said that this is the only place in Singapore which has food that tastes like it does in India. So with such accolades, you know this is a must-try! This vegetarian restaurant features a very extensive menu, but some choice dishes include dhal, dosai, potato (aloo) pepper fry, mushroom pulao, chat, chapatthi and panner kurma (a mild cheese curry). When you’re done indulging veggie-style, be sure to wash it all down with a glass of satisfyingly spicy, sweet masala tea!
Saravanaa Bhavan
86 Syed Alwi Road
7.30am – 11pm daily

FUNAN WENG IPOH HOR FUN
Fancy traditional hawker dishes in a clean, modern, air-conditioned setting? Well, if you’re hankering after a shiok plate of Ipoh HorFun, Funan Weng Ipoh Hor Fun is one noodle house you should definitely consider visiting!
Funan Weng has a long history stemming from the 1950s out of the famed Hock Lam Street, where hawker stalls plied their delicious trade.
Today, with monthly meal promotions at under $10, this Ipoh Hor Fun restaurant is still reasonably priced and tasty too!
This month, for just $8.20 you get a substantial portion of crispy wanton and char siew Ipoh hor fun; oyster sauce vegetables and a drink (choose between homemade barley and lo han guo).
Other yummy choices include their crispy tofu with thai-style sauce and their gourmet dumplings, which are made fresh, completely free of MSG & preservatives.
For info and a full menu, check their website out: www.funanweng.com
Funan Weng Ipoh Hor Fun
#01-07 Maxwell Chambers
32 Maxwell Rd

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