Verandah@Rael's - The Star Vista

 I was spoiled for choice when my friends asked me to pick a dinner spot at The Star Vista. After some deliberation, I decided on Verandah@Rael's, as it offered the cuisine I was craving most at the moment.

Verandah 

I have been craving satay for quite some time now. These satay sticks are beautifully marinated, with tender and succulent chicken grilled to perfection. They're served with a rich and flavorful traditional peanut sauce with sides of chopped onions and cucumber for a refreshing balance.

Chicken Satay (7 Sticks) - $9.80

The broth may appear spicy with its orange hue, but the vibrant color actually comes from the prawns. This flavorful soup is enriched with a delightful pork and prawn broth blend, complemented by juicy meatballs that make it irresistibly appetizing!

Pong Tauhu Soup (per serving) - $6.90

A must-order staple, this dish features tang hoon (glass noodles) cooked in a rich, flavorful broth. It’s tossed with crispy beancurd strips, shiitake mushrooms, and cabbage, creating a hearty and satisfying combination.

Nonya Chap Chai - $13.90

A deliciously sweet and savoury stew of pork belly and turnips slow-cooked to perfection in a thick fermented soybean sauce with a subtle peppery kick. The rich, flavorful gravy pairs perfectly with steamed rice, making it a comforting and satisfying dish.

Babi Pongteh - $19.90

Overall, the Peranakan meals were quite decent. They also offer lunch and dinner set meals, making it a convenient option for a fuss-free dining experience.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Verandah@Rael's - The Star Vista
Location:  The Star Vista, 1 Vista Exchange Green, #01-33/K2 Singapore 138617
Website

Takagi Ramen One-North

Ushering the Lunar New Year in the Year of Dragon 2024, many eateries have juiced up their creativity by offering interesting and tantalising dishes on their menu. Let's look at what Singapore's ever-first 24-hour ramen Dining Concept, Takagi Ramen, is offering. 

Takagi Ramen - Ramen for the average Singaporean

They are featuring an innovation of Ramen to another level with the Pumpkin & Tomato Series.

Pumpkin & Tomato Ramen Series

Takagi Ramen's version of Pumpkin flavour-infused Tonkotsu Ramen was pretty savoury to me. The broth is of a good texture and thick consistency to my liking. Topped with thick pieces of bacon slices adorned by the tender pieces of pumpkin and a great giant piece of Nori Seaweed which creates a delectable unique ramen flavour as well as experience. 

Bekon Pumpkin Ramen 

This Konnyaku Tomato Ramen is Takagi's very first vegetarian ramen dish. The tomato-based broth reminded me of our Chinese New Year Meal's Steamboat where it is thick and tangy. Takagi had it condensed and thickened over long hours. The ramen was served with tangy tomatoes, QQ konnyaku jelly topped with a giant piece of Nori Seaweed.

Konnyaku Tomato Ramen

Pairing the Ramen with the festive drinks, they served Joyful Lychee and Lucky Pineapple Ice Blended.

For their Joyful Lychee was Oat Milk Ice Blended with fresh, sweet lychee. The oat milk was smoothly blended seamlessly offering us a refreshing cup of Lychee drink symbolising sweet happiness.

While Pineapple often symbolises Wealth. Takagi Ramen wants us to "huat" into this new year with their new pineapple and oat milk ice blended drink.

Joyful Lychee & Lucky Pineapple Ice Blended

With Takagi Ramen being popular for its 24Hrs Ramen Operating concept, patrons can enjoy a hot bowl of Ramen even when hunger pangs in the night. With 11 outlets in Singapore, more than half is operating around the clock. 

Takagi Ramen is also doing a give away of 20,000 bowls of free ramen as part of its Chinese New Year (CNY) fundraising efforts throughout February 2024. For every donation of $5 or more, patrons can relish a mouth-watering bowl of Menma Shoyu Ramen worth $6.90. This initiative is available for dine-in only from 2pm - 6pm daily at Takagi Ramen's Dhoby Ghaut and Marine Parade Central outlets. 

Takagi Ramen One-North
Location: 1 Fusionopolis Way, #B1-12 Connexis, Singapore 138632

Monki 台灣小吃部

After going to so many Taiwanese cafes, we are back at Monki again. Here's our repeated orders for their beverages and luckily, there was no price hike in the food we had ordered.

Osmanthus Plum Juice 桂花乌梅汁， Monki Milk Tea (Iced) 猴奶茶 - $5 Each

 

We ordered the Mix Mee Sua with Big Intestine and Oyster. There is definitely improvement with their taste for it was more savoury and stronger in taste with hints of bonito. Oysters were plump and fresh. Definitely better than most of the Taiwanese Cafes now.

Double Mix Mee Sua 双享面线 - $11

Their Taiwan Sausage is authentic and tastes different from what we are having from the supermart. Love its charred flavour and juiciness as we sink our teeth into the meat.

Taiwan Sausage 烤台湾香肠 - $5

We also had this favourite street food in Taiwan. The taste of Salt & Pepper Chicken was flavourful and crispy. 

Taiwan Fried Salt & Pepper Chicken 炸盐酥鸡 - $6

I'm glad that this return trip to Monki had given me more confidence in the tastes of their food and I will want to be back again for Taiwanese fare.

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Posted 28th January 2022

Monki 台灣小吃部 was previously at Holland Village and they have relocated to The Star Vista. Perhaps due to the restrictions in travelling, the urge and the constant search for Taiwanese Food seem unstoppable. We joined the queue outside Monki and waited for our turn to dine in.

Monki 台灣小吃部

Picture on Wall

While in the queue, we get to see the address signage on the wall. If you take notice of it, such style exists in Taiwan.

Signage on Wall

It's a disappointment as quite a number of items was sold out when we were there. Eventually, we ordered the Peach Milk drink from the can after learning that their Taiwanese Milk Tea sold out.

Canned Drink - $3.20

The Century Egg has nothing special in particular. A normal appetizer paired with spring onions and strips of ginger drizzled with some sweet black sauce.

Taiwan Century Egg 台湾皮蛋 - $2

We are glad that the sides' portion is not that big and it's good for sharing without overeating. The popcorn chicken was well flavored and addictive. Its suitable for snacking if you want to have just some bites over drinks.

Taiwan Fried Popcorn Chicken 盐酥鸡 - $6

The braised meat rice was served in a stainless steel bowl coupled with yummy braised pork that has a substantial amount of both fatty and lean meat. The braised meat was sweet and tantalizing. 

Taiwan Braised Pork Rice 台湾卤肉饭 - $9

The bowl comes with braised eggs, preserved vegetables, pickles and some greens. 

Delicious Braised Pork on the Rice

The Plum Juice was on the bitter side no doubt sugar has been added.

Osmanthus Plum Juice 桂花乌梅汁 - $5

It's hard not ordering a bowl of Mee Sua whenever I visit a Taiwanese 小吃 place. The Mee Sua was decent accompanied by a smooth texture filled with generous slices of big intestines and these are cooked till soft without having any gamey taste.

Double Mix Mee Sua 双享面线 - $11

We topped up the bowl of Mee Sua with Oysters. Overall, I find that the Mee Sua can be better if the taste is stronger.

Additional Oysters

The milky taste of Yam Snow Flake Dessert is topped with colourful marshmallows and Atap Seeds drizzled with sweet condensed milk. It's refreshing but I still prefer the traditional flavours of a Snow Flake Dessert without having fanciful toppings.

Yam Snow Flake Dessert 芋头雪花冰 - $8

Comparing the Taiwanese food places that we had gone to, I will still prefer the oriental taste of their staple food like Braised Pork Rice and Mee Sua. Nonetheless, I will still want to go make a return visit hoping that I can try the rest of the items that were sold out during this visit.

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Posted on June 2022

We were looking for additional food after dinner nearby as our dinner was not satisfying. A return trip to Monki for Taiwanese Drinks and food since there were a lot of items sold out when we visited Monki. At least on this trip, I get to try out their house Milk Tea. 

Grass Jelly Milk Tea 仙草侯奶茶,
Monki Milk Tea (Iced) 猴奶茶,
Soya Bean Milk (Iced) 冰豆浆  - $6, $5, $2

We ordered the Century egg as an appetizer again to share among ourselves.

Taiwan Century Egg 台湾皮蛋 - $2

Likewise, the double mix Mee Sua is also a repeated order for this visit. The standard still remain the same. 

Double Mix Mee Sua 双享面线 - $11

Besides the drink, the only difference in the food order is that we had ordered the Taiwanese Oyster Omelette for sharing. As this style of preparation is totally different from what we have in Singapore, not many of us can get used to the taste. Its sticky starch with egg, oysters and lettuce accompanied by the thick sweet sauce drenching them is a good reminiscent of what I had in the night market of Taiwan.

Taiwanese Oyster Omelette 台式蚵仔煎 - $10

Rating: 3 / 5

Monki 台灣小吃部
Location: The Star Vista, 1, #01-41 Vista Exchange Green, Singapore 138617

Dan's Steaks

Recently I passed by Dan's Steaks in Greenwood and came to know its Story of it. Dan's Steaks came about during the circuit breaker period 

Dan's Steaks

My friend and I started off our meal by ordering 2 cups of Honey Lemon for our meal.

Honey Lemon - $5 / Cup

The scallops they used are Sashimi grade and were served in a small saucer in yummy miso garlic butter sauce. It was served with sourdough too.

Pan Sear Hokkaido Scallops - $32

We had Dan's house cut and each cut comes with one side of choice. They recommend medium rare to medium for their cuts. 

The Wagyu Hanger Tender Onglet is Dan's Signature steak. Love the juicy and charred taste of the meat. For the side, we ordered pan-roasted mushrooms which comprise a trio of mushrooms with white wine, balsamic and garlic.

Wagyu Hanger Tender Onglet (220-240G) - $46

The slab of ribeye was paired with red wine bordelaise and we simply love its taste as well as texture. We were recommended the Amazing Frizzled Cauliflower as its side. The cauliflower looks interesting and was prepared with caper and beurre noisette.

NZ Riverlands Black Angus Ribeye 280g - $42

We ended our meal with savoury and rich chocolate brownies. It was paired with vanilla ice cream and pecan.

Double Chocolate Brownie - $11

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Dan's Steak
Location: The Star Vista, 1 Exchange Green #02-22 Singapore 138617

Website

Chen's Mapo Tofu

Recently, I have been seeing too many posts of Chen's Mapo tofu on social media and was wondering what the hype is. Moreover this dish Mapo Tofu is what I have been craving for a while.  

Chen's Mapo Tofu

We went to the outlet in Star Vista which is just a few minutes walk away from the MRT station. The Interior was rather outstanding with its modern theme in red and yellow colour.

Counter of Chen's Mapo Tofu

Interior

We ordered a set and side dishes for sharing. The set meal comes with a choice of drink in a bottle and we had Calamansi.

Drinks

The Kombu Mien is one of their popular mains. We had the Kurobuta Tonkatsu with Kombu Mien and it was served with vegetables and onsen egg.

 Kurobuta Tonkatsu with Kombu Mien - $20 (Set)

Let's try out their award-winning Mapo Tofu! It's known for its spiciness, fragrance and super tastiness. You can even select the spicy level from 1 to 3 but do think twice before you ordered level 3. Their Tofu is soft and silky with a good consistency in the taste of the sauce.

Mapo Tofu

We ordered the Szechwan Popcorn Chicken too. The taste was rather decent and not overly spicy or had great effects on numbing our lips.

Szechwan Popcorn Chicken - $5.90

Hot and Sour Soup was rather appetizing with a strong vinegar taste.

Hot & Sour Soup - $5.50

Not very used to the taste of the Duck Karaage no doubt that the exterior was crispy.

Duck Karaage - $6.90

While spicy food like this is not often my ideal choice of food selection, it will be unlikely that I will be back again for it.

Rating: 3 / 5

Chen's Mapo Tofu
Location: The Star Vista, 1 Vista Exchange Green, #02-08 Singapore 138617

Hai Nan Hometown Curry

As we walked past the last stall of the row of hawker stalls, this curry rice stall caught our attention.

Hai Nan Hometown Curry

Items like Pork Chop, Chicken Cutlet, Tempura Prawns and Fish Fillet were all fried upon order, this give the diners an assurance that its fresh to eat and for me, I always like to have my food hot upon serving. 

The Pork Chop was breaded and fragrant. Meat thickness and the cuts were uniform. The Curry Pork Chop Rice came with some softened potato chunks too. Curry gravy on the other hand was on the starchy side and was disappointing without having the curry spice/lemon grass fragrance that we are looking for.

Curry Pork Chop Rice 咖喱肉扒饭 - $5

We took up Value Set A which is the Chicken Wing Set. We were given drumlets, curry vegetables, boiled potatoes and half a hard-boiled egg with a generous amount of curry.

Value Set A - Chicken Wing Set 鸡翅膀套餐 - $4 

With a purchase of Main dishes, we get to enjoy the side dishes at an additional price. The Curry Vegetables is a version of Sayur Lodeh which contains a lighter taste in curry.

Curry Vegetables - $1.50

The curry lacks the flavour and depth that we are looking for. Though it's consider decent eat, a return trip to the same stall is tough.

Rating: 3 / 5

Hai Nan Hometown Curry
Location:  20 Ghim Moh Road Market & Food Centre, 20 Ghim Moh Rd, #01-49, Singapore 270020

Ishiro Fusion Bowl [Media Invitation]

Ishiro Fusion Bowl at Timbre+ One North is housed in a mobile van but it is actually permanently situated there. There are a few outlets of Ishiro Fusion Bowl in Singapore and I guess this in One-North looks rather cute. 

Ishiro Fusion Bowl

I visited Ishiro during the lunch hours and was amazed by the non-stopping orders going out of the kitchen, be it taking away or dining in. The fast pace of serving was creditable. Besides serving just rice bowls, they have Udon bowls as well as finger bites.

Menu

The 5 pieces of Tempura prawns were perfectly deep fried to golden brown with its crispy bread crumbs exterior. Simply love its non-greasiness despite going through the deep frying process. 

Tempura Prawn - $6.90 (5 Pcs)

Enjoy the light and crispiness of these prawns with a dip in the mayonnaise sauce given.

Let's dip the prawn

The Breaded Oysters were served on a plate of 5 too. The exterior crispiness was laudable and likewise, though these items were deeply fried, they are not greasy.

Breaded Oyster - $7.90 (5 Pcs)

Enjoy the crispy bite down from the breaded crust into the juicy plump oyster that is encased within. There is n funny smell and its all good.

Oyster

A thick slab of breaded fried chicken was cut into pieces with a generous amount of mentaiko sauce slathered on top of it. It was then torched under the flame. The rich creamy sauce was sprinkled with roasted and black sesame seeds to elevate its flavour. Breaded chicken katsu was tender and moist.

Mentaiko Chicken Katsu Bowl - $9.90

The Onsen Egg and tempura crispy bits do their part in making up yummy the bowl of Mentaiko Chicken Katsu Bowl.

Chicken Katsu Slice with Mentaiko

Thinly sliced pieces of cooked beef that are not fatty nor oily and consist of sweet marinade. The caramelised onions added a touch of sweetness to the tender sliced beef. The Suki Ya Beef Bowl is coupled with crispy tempura bites and a wobbly runny egg. 

Suki Ya Beef Bowl - $10.90

The combination of smooth and rough texture from this fusion bowl of food is simply yummy. Not to mention that having the runny egg mixed in the rice tasted good too.

Beef & Rice.

The hearty and filling meal served by Ishiro Fusion Bowl is of quality and hearty which is definitely worth a return trip here.

Thank you Lao Niang Agency & Ishiro Fusion Bowl for the Invitation.

Rating: 4 / 5

Ishiro Fusion Bowl
Location: 73A Ayer Rajah Crescent, Singapore 139957