Today’s lunch features a little something from Amazin’ Graze – Blueberry Goji Coconut Granola. I made a purchase for some nut snack packs on their website recently (free shipping & free snack pack on your first order!) & this came in the mail with my shipment.
Perfect with my Chobani Greek yogurt (Redmart had a sale hehe) & big fat blueberries from my neighbourhood fruit stall.
Sunday Lunch
Spicy Mala Nut Mix, Pandan Coconut Nut Mix, Tom Yum Kaffir Lime Nut Mix – aren’t these flavours so unique!? I can’t wait to try them! 😍
Ai seh. Hawker cuisine offers some of the most comforting yet simple dishes. I don’t mean simple in that the food is easy to prepare – but rather, no frills attached. To me, the payoff is tremendous when hawker food is simple & delicious.
The spread of meaty noodley goodness at Tong Luo Wan
Tong Luo Wan 铜锣湾 is a stall within Jin Biao Coffeeshop 锦标咖啡店; a quick 5 minute walk from Potong Pasir MRT, it’s located in a corner of Potong Pasir that I’ve never explored before (block 136 Potong Pasir Ave 3, for the record).
Jin Biao Coffeeshop @ Block 136 Potong Pasir Ave 3
Look up at their signboard & you’ll see Roast Duck 当归烤鸭, Soy Sauce Chicken 油鸡, Roast Pork 烧肉, Char Siew 叉烧. All meats at Tong Luo Wan are charcoal roasted; chef explained to us that he learnt his skills from someone who honed his craft in Hong Kong.
With the option of mixing & matching the meats with Noodles 面 or White Rice 白饭, your options are plenty. Being a #noodles4eva girl, I opted for the mee kia. It was still springy even after sitting in the braised sauce for a minute, while we took photos. An added plus point is that it’s not tossed in chilli so you can go ahead & add your own to your liking – be warned, the chilli packs a punch!
A good number of options for you to choose from
My favourites were the Roast Duck 当归烤鸭 & Soy Sauce Chicken 油鸡 because of how juicy they were. Don’t be intimidated by the Dang Gui (apparently called Female Ginseng, according to Google) used in the preparation of the duck. While I’m someone who loves herbal gao gao flavours, I appreciated the subtleness of the Dang Gui in this one. The duck meat also isn’t gamey, which some people fear. So I believe this would be pleasing to the palates of the masses, without compromising on quality or the essence of this dish.
Roast Dang Gui Duck 当归烤鸭
I was surprised that the Soy Sauce Chicken 油鸡 was one of my favourites, actually. (Then again, pork is my least favourite meat!) The ones I’ve had before were truly 油/oily, but this one wasn’t. Yet somehow, the meat itself managed to remain somewhat silky, & so smooth that it slid down my throat.
Soy Sauce Chicken 油鸡
Funny story – we asked chef why the Char Siew 叉烧 is sliced so thinly, as we’d rather it slightly thicker for greater meatiness. He explained he has tried it before, but the elderly folks gave him feedback that it was difficult to chew. Ha! Really sounds like something my grandpa would say (“咬不动”), & with the surrounding neighbourhood having a strong elderly representation I’m not too surprised.
So yes, this Char Siew is sliced a little thinner than I’d like, but it IS easy to chew. As someone who has had many a tough Char Siew in her life, I appreciate this.
Char Siew 叉烧
Speaking of the elderly, I can’t wait to bring my grandpa here! Glad that it’s logistically feasible & elderly-friendly; I can drop him at the road right outside the coffeeshop, park my car & walk a short distance to sit down with him.
It’ll have to be for breakfast or lunch though, as they open at 7AM daily until sold out, which is usually mid-afternoon.
Thanks Around with Amd for the invite & Jon for the hospitality! 💕
Was here in between appointments – have never been. Enjoyed my flat white double shot ($5.50 nett) as much as the ambience here – kind of wished I could stay longer.
The coffee was good & smooth. The beans weren’t too acidic, & the amount & quality of milk wasn’t too creamy. Just right for me.
A lovely flat white by the window seats
I shall be back! I can forsee this as a comfortable place to relax your weekend away, or be productive while doing work. Being located in town, it is pretty central as well. It’s actually on the SMU campus – you lucky bastards. Maybe I should go back to school & get another degree 😂
Interior of Boyle’s Coffee & Love Bites
💳 Accepts credit cards 🌬 Air-conditioned seats available ☀ Al fresco seats available 📱 Accepts GrabPay
Winestone is a little out of the way to get to, but the ambience here makes up for it. Somewhat classy, but not pompous or stuffy. You could dine here with a friend, a date, or for business.
The interior of Winestone
I dined here in the evening, which isn’t the most ideal for food photography – but I reckon the floor to ceiling glass windows will give you ample natural light in the mornings!
Winestone’s bar
Burpple Beyond’s 1-for-1 brought me here; I was dead set on their pastas, & had a bit of dilemma on what to order from their Taste of Italy menu. Everything sounded good.
Eventually ordered the Ragout Tagliatelle ($25.00++) & Fettuccine Ai Funghi ($22.00++) to share with my friend. I originally thought these wouldn’t fill me up when they were served, but I was wrong.
Ragout Tagliatelle
Being a beef lover, I thought I’d enjoy the ragout more, as it is generally a hearty solid dish right up my alley. I generally prefer shredded meat ragout over minced meat ones, & this was minced meat town. I did enjoy my half of this while it lasted, but on a comparative basis, it was definitely heavier on the palate which I can’t guarantee everyone would appreciate.
Fettuccine Ai Funghi
Don’t look down on the Fettuccine Ai Funghi ($22.00++) for being a vegetarian dish. This was delightful. A great mix of juicy sliced mushrooms & confit tomatoes, with creaminess from the ricotta cheese & some acidity from balsamic vinegar that cuts through the heaviness of this dish. What a winner.
💳 Accepts credit cards 🌬 Air-conditioned seats available ☀ Al fresco seats available 🍽 Burpple Beyond partner
Burpple Beyond is rolling out their new Premium & Lite plans, & I’m giving away 1 of each to 2 lucky winners. Visit the contest posts on @wobblethebui & Bui Bui Eats below to participate! Giveaway closes 8th Oct 2019.
I took a gamble on Yong Zhen Lor Mee Prawn Mee 永珍卤面虾面 (#01-40), not because there isn’t anything famous/worthy at ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre (just Google), but because I came here for a late lunch & several lunch stalls had closed, & dinner stalls hadn’t opened.
My eyes lit up as I tasted the soup of the Prawn Mee ($3 nett). It was umami, slightly herbal, & very tasty. I slurped it again just to confirm – yep, it’s good.
Prawn Mee – soup & dry versions available
The noodles they use for the prawn mee is the lor mee noodles – the thick & flat yellow ones. I don’t actually like lor mee; I’ve never tried this combination before…. But I really like it! The silky smooth kuay teow mixed in upon auntie’s recommendation adds a nice texture variant, too.
Can’t complain about the ingredients in this dish. This bowl is priced affordably, & the prawns (only 2 pieces, wish there were more!), fishcake & pork slides were of decent quality. I finished everything in the bowl… Except the prawn tails. Mmmm yes I will be back for more.
Yesterday was International Coffee Day – I found this out only when the day was almost over! But perhaps it’s this special day that gave me the good luck I needed to uncover a great coffee stall at ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre.
My dad regularly orders coffee from Hylam Street Old Coffee 海南街老咖啡, after a friend introduced it to him & he got hooked. He then did the same to me, & now I’m hooked too.
Kopi C Kosong + Kopi
We’re always here during off-peak hour (past 2pm on a weekday), so the queue is minimal if even there at all. During crowded times, the queues can get pretty snaking long, I’ve heard!
This is clearly for good reason. The amazing fragrance of roasted beans, superb taste, & affordability. When I walked forward to place my order, I could smell the beans immediately. That made me change my order of tea to a coffee before I blurted it out to the uncle.
In terms of taste, I really can’t ask for more. It has the socksy kopitiam taste that you want in a cup of hawker centre coffee. It’ll definitely give you that kick awake that you need in the morning/mid-day.
& the price? $2 total for this kopi & kopi C kosong. Who needs volume when you’ve got quality; want more, just buy 2 cups lor. Still cheaper than Starbucks.
Afuri‘s specialty is yuzu ramen – they have all sorts, but I chose the Yuzu Tsukemen ($15.90++), the dipping ramen, which a friend had highly raved about earlier. Obviously, because this is dipping ramen, don’t expect it to be piping hot like a soupy ramen is. Please hor.
Pick up some noodles with your chopsticks, dunk it in the sauce, & slurp. As I slurped on my noodles, I felt pleased with my good judgement. The citrus flavour from the yuzu adds a refreshing twist to the savoury sauce.
Yuzu Tsukumen dipping ramen
It doesn’t look like it in this photo, but the dipping sauce is plentiful. You won’t run out, nor will you want to finish it all because this isn’t a soup & it is too salty on its own to drink. Being a non-fan of Japan (haven’t been there in >15 years), I can’t say for sure how authentic this is. But I can tell you I definitely enjoyed it.
The pork chunks had little layers of fat on it, but I still felt the meat was a bit too dry for my liking. Thankfully, it wasn’t overly tough to chew, so I finished it all. The other ingredients – half a boiled egg (with a nicely runny yolk in the middle!) & bamboo shoots, were in good proportion with respect to the ramen noodles.
💳 Accepts credit cards 🌬 Air-conditioned seats only 📱 Accepts FavePay 🍽️ Earn points with your J Passport membership 📶 Free WiFi (Funan is a CapitaLand Mall) 💦 Water is not chargeable
Took me a while to get acknowledged by the staff at The Oyster Bank – waiting at the “please wait to be seated” sign for almost 5 minutes didn’t exactly give me a very good first impression to begin with.
Happy Hour here is from 12 – 9PM daily, & Happy Shucking Hour is 5 – 8PM on weekdays, 3 – 6PM on weekends. Double reasons to be happy. This was the reason why I came here in the first place.
The Oyster Bank’s bar area
During Happy Shucking Hour, naked oysters go at $2++ a pop (usual price $3.90++). You can order a maximum of 6 naked oysters per drink.
6 naked oysters
I ordered a glass of Somerton Cabernet Sauvignon ($10++ HH / $13++ U.P.); was shocked to find a glass of white wine delivered to me. They messed that up, but nothing unforgivable lah. Sent it back & got a glass of the correct wine shortly after.
Naked oysters with red wine? Yes.
The oysters are pretty delicious; not crazy plump, but I love how they are quite creamy & with a hint of brineyness to them. Wine was not bad, so in all I’d return for Happy (Shucking or otherwise) Hour again.
💳 Accepts credit cards 🌬 Air-conditioned seats only 🛋 Bar & table seats available 📶 Free WiFi (Funan is a CapitaLand Mall)
I still remember my first trip to Fat Belly, before Burpple Beyond even existed. Fond memories, & glad to be back here again. They still have their regular menu, but the Tasting Menu ($80++) is something new.
You get 6* courses in this tasting menu, & if you’re a Burpple Beyond member you can swipe to redeem the 1-for-1 deal on this here. The Consommé & Starter Duo were served together, so I consider this as 1 course on its own.
Scallion oil was drizzled over the Consommé, which is made from clarified beef bone broth. Delicious & comforting, it was a good way to warm my tummy by waking it up gently.
The Starter Duo was a savoury tart & a financier. I preferred the former; the tart base crumbled nicely in my mouth with the softness of the truffle mascarpone. & the air dried beef, aged for 24 months, added a nice saltiness to it. The financier was a bit dry, its saving grace was really the foie gras mousse & duck fat to give it flavour & moisture. But I’m still not really a fan.
The Short Ribs were served with a Potato Pavé; both were easy to cut through, I enjoyed these cute cubes together very much. In fact, the greedy devil in me wished the cubes were bigger.
I appreciated the thinly sliced layers of potato that gave the Pavé good texture, & the little bit of Crème Fraîche balanced it out fairly well.
The meat was juicy & tender – & to be honest, I didn’t need the smoked sea salt flakes, as it was flavourful enough on its own already. I did dip it in the chimmichurri on occasion just to switch it up, but it was mighty fine on its own.
The Char Siew is one dish I’d kick the habit for – that is, my habit of always peeling fat away from my food. Nicely charred, the beef rib fingers were a little bit sweet & pretty dang orgasmic with the fats melting slowly in your mouth.
Served on a bed of wilted kale that does not have the characteristic bitterness of kale that most don’t enjoy. In fact, it was slightly crisp & I polished the whole plate of it clean!
Fat Belly’s Bikini was served quite quickly after the Char Siew – but don’t be mistaken, these are actually separate courses. I can’t decide what the best part of this dish was – the cheese (which you can see), or the bak kwa (which is hidden but is sizeably thicccc).
I actually don’t like bak kwa, but I loved this. Maybe because it’s wagyu beef. Maybe because it wasn’t dry or tough. Maybe because it was tasty. Probably all of the above. Enveloped by the melty emmental cheese, & sandwiched with 2 slices of crispy bread. I’ve probably just had pretty nasty bak kwa all my life. I’m glad this is one of the good ones!
We waited a while for the Tri Tip Wagyu to be served. The timing in between courses was quite inconsistent, but it might not matter to you if you’re dining with someone you can make good conversation with.
Tri Tip Wagyu. Hot damn.
Just look at that beauty. AusKobe F1 Wagyu Marble Score 4-5. If none of that matters to you, just know that this was hunky juicy tasty. The smoked king oyster mushrooms were also juicy, but had an unusual tangyness to them which raised an eyebrow or two.
I will preface this that it isn’t the best steak I’ve ever had. But I was fairly happy at the end. It paired nicely with the pomme puree – super creamy mashed potatoes, & the fragrance of the sprinkle of burnt shallots on top.
The last dish in this tasting menu – the Sweet. I was worried this would actually be too sweet, but my fears were unfounded. I surprisingly enjoyed it! It wasn’t too sweet. The pistachio mousse was smooth & light; the 2 little cherry cubes & 2 meringues on the side provide good variety between sour & sweet that you can alternate between.
Bui Bui Eats 