Putien

Putien has been around for quite sometimes and is among one of the top Chinese chain restaurants where family tends to gather around for meals. It was mum's birthday and nothing beats having a meal that reminds her of her dialect group, Xing Hua which Putien is absolutely known for.

Putien's Wet Towel

Interior decors flashed out a luxurious and modern Chinese restaurant with ample of seating.

Environment

Family Set at $68 ++ for two was a fuss free option where you can enjoy a value meal with Starters, Main Course, side dishes, Dessert and Fruits.

Starters

Starting with Seaweed with Mini Shrimps where by seaweed were tossed with their quality mini shrimps imported from the South China Sea region. The texture of the seaweed was very inviting and delighting, giving a refreshing kick off to the set of 2.

Seaweed with Mini Shrimps

Braised Bean Curd is one of Putien's specialties and was also a perfect choice for a start as it was soft and full of flavour. It tasted on a mixture of sweet and salty side, friendly to the gums of the folks.

Braised Bean Curd

Out of the 4 main dishes, we had chosen Ma Zu Mee Sua. Symbolizing longevity, their long Mee Sua was handmade traditionally with their unique method. Premium quality ingredients were used in the production of Mee Sua thus even how moist the gravy was, it did not turn them into a soggy dish.

Ma Zu Mee Sua

Crispy pork ribs and water chestnuts had hit the right notes. They were coated with mouth watering sweet & sour sauce. I like it best especially when the chestnuts were so crunchy and pork ribs were notably tender.

Crispy Pork Ribs & Water Chestnuts

Beverages were only served halfway through our dinner. The homemade Barley's sweetness was mild even with winter-melon added. Instead of seeing the whole long pieces of winter melon in the drink, it was being cut into bits form easily for diners. 

Barley with Melon Bits -$3.50 Each (Not in the set)

Specially flew in from the habitat, the “100-Second” Stewed Yellow Croaker was stewed precisely at 100 seconds with ginger. It was a healthy dish in fact on top of being fresh and tender. For 2 pax meal, each of us was served with a fish in the claypot.

"100 Second" Stewed Yellow Croaker

Dessert of the day was fixed by the chef. However we asked if we could change to our choices and they had agreed.

Hot Yam Paste with Ginkgo Nuts was served with the right level of sweetness. Smooth yam paste with a few gingko nuts and with coconut milk in the right amount.

Hot Yam Paste with Ginkgo Nuts

While I got myself a Chilled Lemongrass Jelly with Fruits in which the lemon grass flavours was not too overpowering, in fact the scent was light with tiny bits of Fruits and wobbly jelly.

Chilled Lemongrass Jelly with Fruits

Desserts did not mark an end to our meal but the fruit platter does. A platter with watermelon, dragon fruit and big grape was served chilled with ice by the side.

Fruit Platter

Service as a whole was sincere and friendly. Staff were pretty on the ball and responsive. After taxes together with drinks included, it cost about $88 for 2 pax without the appetizers and wet towel. I don't mind returning to Putien for her food again for occasion.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Putien
Location: Jurong Point, 1 Jurong West Central 2 #02-34 (JP1) Singapore 648886

Wrap & Roll [Closed]

Having Wrap & Roll has been a thought in my mind a while ever since I visited Star Vista in Bouna Vista. Whenever I enter a vietnamese cuisine restaurant, I can't do without a bowl of their noodle soup for I'm so in love with their Pho.

Environment

Thus, I order their Phở bò, Beef Noodle Soup. The broth was decent and clear with subtle herb taste but it did not have the grabbing taste that I'm looking for.

Beef Noodle Soup - $12.90

Unlike the usual sweetened lemon grass drink I had, Wrap & Roll's had hints of bitterness but its complemented by the sugar sweetness as well as the sour taste from the little lemon wedge.

Lemon Grass Tea

Another not to miss in a Vietnamese dining place will be their dripping coffee. You can order it with or without milk.

One thing I like about Wrap & Roll is its availability of vegetarian food and it makes it easier to dine out with my vegetarian friend. Phở xào rau nấm was vegetarian friendly with Pho being stirred fried and added with ingredients like mushroom and tofu. Portion was alright and was not too oily.

Stir Fried Pho Noodles with Mushrooms and Tofu - $10.90

Replacing the summer rolls will be Cuốn rối, another vegetarian starter that you can share with your friends. Crunchy and fresh with ingredients wrapped securely by rice paper, being a non-vegetarian, I'm pretty happy with the taste. However there is a strong herb smell from the vegetables used in the roll which my vegetarian pal was not totally in favour of that.

Vegetarian Steamed Rice Crepe Rolls - $7.90

Individual Piece

Overall, dining at Wrap & Roll gives you a good introduction to Vietnamese Cuisine and a decent filling meal.

Rating: 3 / 5

Wrap & Roll
Location: The Star Vista, 1 Vista Exchange Green #B1-11 Singapore 138617
Website

Zzang Korean Food

This Korean Food Stall had caught our attention as it looked like a pop out stall just besides an escalator. In the modern malls of Singapore nowadays, it is less likely we will see food stalls appearing out of the allocated store spaces but wonderfully in Bukit Timah Plaza, there are a handful of them.

Zzang Korean Food

With no GST as well as extra service charge, it gave us another good reason to dine there on top that they have a reasonably priced dishes on their menu.

Zzang Korean Food Menu

Fried Pork Dumpling was deep fried and served in a crispy money bag shape filled with minced pork. It is best to be eaten with a dab on the black vinegar as given.

Deep Fried Pork Dumpling - $6 (Small)

Kimchi Omlette was pretty decent. While I'm expecting big kimchi pieces to be found in it like those kimchi pancake, it proved me wrong with fine cuts of kimchi bits instead. Eggs were fluffy and definitely go well with the mains.

Kimchi Omlette - $5.50

The korean style of Jjajang spells a difference in the kind of meat used. Instead of having minced meat in a chinese style, Zzang Jjajang Noodle came with meat dices / cubes. Noodle was soft, served with shredded cucumbers and half a boiled egg. Sweet black sauce used in coating the noodle was heavily lavished with sesame seeds to enhance its fragrance.

Zzang Jjajang Noodle / Rice - $9

There are timings between 9am - 11am & 3pm -5pm where you get some dishes at discounted price and Chicken Bulgogi is one of them. With the promotion, it costs $7 instead of $9. Served with plum and short rice grains with generous amount of chicken as well as seaweed added I find that the promotion is quite worthwhile as it comes with a bowl of soup and kimchi as side dish.

Chicken Bulgogi with Soup & Kimchi - $9

Zzang offers a series of simple yet authentic korean food less out the BBQ ones. To enjoy such cuisine without having too much on your pocket, you can try Zzang Korean Food out.



Rating: 3 / 5

Zzang Korean Food
Location: Bukit Timah Plaza, 1 Jalan Anak Bukit #02-K46 Singapore 588996

Bukit Merah View Carrot Cake

It's hard to find Carrot Cake that is homemade nowadays especially when automation took place in food industry due to Technology Advancement. Luckily, that left a few carrot cake in Singapore who still insists that the traditional way is still better. Thanks to their persistent for that we are still able to enjoy traditional pieces of fried Carrot cake.

Bukit Merah View Carrot Cake

Unlike the commercialized version where every piece of Carrot cake comes in uniform shapes and sizes, the traditionally made carrot cake here came in various sizes, some were big blocks and others small chunks with dark sauce not evenly coated on the each piece but having said that still retains the kind of traditional flavours from the soft and  you can even taste the ingredient from radish. The egg crisp on the carrot cake was good too.

Fried Carrot Cake - $2.50 Black (Small)

The white version in this case was more savoury and fragrant with eggs somehow though it is usually I'm more bias towards the black version of a plate of fried carrot cake.

Fried Carrot Cake - $2.50 White (Small)

It is a self service order thus you will have to queue for some time before you can savour some traditional bites. Well, I will think its all worthwhile!

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Bukit Merah View Carrot Cake
Location: 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre, Blk 115 Bukit Merah View #01-37 Singapore 15115

1 Tyrwhitt Bistro & Bar [Invited Tasting]

If you have been around Lavendar area for cafes, Trywhitt road is possibly not a stranger to you. With about 10 minutes walk from nearest MRT station and in its strategic location which is at the prominent corner of the road, let me introduce this place to have your Italian fix without burning a hole in the pocket.

1 Tyrwhitt

1 Trywhitt Bistro & Bar is relatively new and she's only about 2 months plus old. 1 Tyrwhitt is a Family owned business with their relatives working in the operations. With an industrial-chic vibe and tall ceiling as well as the dim environment, it's definitely a good place for chilling. Opening daily from 11.30 to late-night except for Tuesday, this is another piece of good news for drinkers.

Bar Counter

Dining area

Our Beer Tower

Have a beer

The standard size of the Pizza is 12" thin crust whereby they were made from scratch, handcrafted and achieving its standard of crisp with oven-baked method.

The Truffle wave is such strong that it hit me the moment when it was brought in front of me. Thin crust was covered up with black and red which I did not take any notice on its ingredients earlier on as I was too taken away by the Truffle hit. The pizza was a total good start to our meal with generous servings of mixed mushroom, Mozzarella & Parmesan cheese, on a bed of even spread pasta sauce. Well that's not all about the Black Truffle and I would say the one stealing the scene will be the Egg placed in the middle as a centre attraction which kept the table lively with question like "who's going to poke the egg". Eventually, the friendly owner took the lead and spread yolk evenly on the pizza and everyone of us enjoyed the bite without further wait.

Black Truffle Egg Pizza - $23.80

My Portion after the egg was spread

While the Meat Lovers Pizza was rather ordinary with ingredients like American pork pepperoni, ham, bacon, chicken and pork sausage and mozzarella cheese as toppings.

Meat Lovers - $19.80

An ultimate choice for those who adores cheese, especially blue cheese. It is also labelled as one of the healthier choice pizza. I was literally engulfed by the blue cheese when the pizza was about some distance away. A cheese heaven with 5 types of cheese catered in, Mozzarella, Scamorza, Gorgonzola blue cheese, Taleggio and Feta Cheese.

Cheese Lovers - $19.80

The generous batter, its crispy and crackling exterior completely taken me away with a tad spiciness in between the bites.

Chicken Mid Joint - $10

As a chef recommendation and healthier choice, the grilled salmon definitely lives up to its name for its skin was well grilled to crisp yet having the orange flesh of salmon succulent. Lemon butter sauce had elevated the dish with a zesty flavor. If you are worried of any fish odor, worry not, you are safe here. Grilled vegetables & potatoes had also complimented the dish well.

Grilled Salmon - $20.80

Luscious slab of chicken chop grilled to its robust flavors with brown sauce complimenting the dish was awesome. Sides like sauteed mushrooms, mashed potatoes and vegetables were great as well. A popular choice you might not want to miss out.

Chicken Chop - $16.80

Dressing up in its savoury brown sauce with potato wedges and home-style vegetables as sides. The slow cook pork chop was tender and it just felt like having a medium well done steak.

Pork Chop - $16.80

Having known of its simplicity as a dish, I did not have much expectations on such basics of the pasta. It gave me a surprise opening with its Al Dente Perfection pasta, traditionally flavoured with garlic topped with wild mushroom and Tiger Prawns.

Aglio e Olio - $16.80

Close Up on prawn

Seafood Marinara was good whereby assorted seafood like Mussels, squids, prawns, fish, scallops and prawns were served in simmered tomato sauce. The tangy broth and the Al Dente texture from the pasta is something worth to take note of.

Seafood Marinara- $17.80

If you are all about creamy and rich pasta, their style Carbonara bacon will simply floats your boat. Creamy sauce is derived from egg yolk, cheese, black pepper and streaky bacon. However, even though my preference is towards creamy, I will like something watery base as it can taste a little bit dry over here.

Carbonara Bacon - $16.80

Have been looking around for a Panna Cotta that suits my taste-buds and I was pretty impressed that the chef had it freshly made by their own. Panna Cotta was wobbly, silky smooth, served with mixed berries and Raspberry coulis strike the right notes, giving it both a sour and sweet aftertaste.

Panna Cotta - $8.80

Besides Panna Cotta, their velvety Tiramisu is one of the hits too! Besides serving with mixed berries, it was strongly infused with Espresso and liquor which ends the night perfectly with satisfying desserts.

Tiramisu - $8.80

To enjoy 1 Tyrwhitt at value price, do visit them over lunch till 2.15pm (last serving) for a 30% off daily except Tuesday.

Thanks Karen, Paul & Elle for inviting.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

1 Trywhitt Bistro & Bar
Location: 1 Tyrwhitt Road Singapore 207522

Good Chance Popiah Eating House

Good Chance Popiah Eating House has been around for more than 30 years. They are not only known for its traditional Hokkien Popiah and also giving customers hands on to roll their own kind of popiah. It is hard to find this style of serving as nowadays, popiahs are served wrapped.

Good Chance Popiah

Environment is a typical Chinese restaurant setting with dining area space maximized leaving little rooms for walking. Walls were plastered with celebrities photos taken in their Eating House over the years.

Upon ordering, ingredients of the popiah had spread all over on our table shortly. Dining in a table of 2, the table was kind of small to hold our orders altogether. Nevertheless we still enjoy dining in a cozy corner.

Shredded turnip was served in a claypot and we can still hear the bubbling sound from it. It has a robust taste from the little dried shrimps used, acquiring an old school taste, different from the usual ones I had from most places.

Shredded Turnip

Standard ingredients like shredded egg,chilli, garlic, lettuce, beansprouts, chinese parsley were served shortly one another another.

Ingredients

6 pieces of popiah skins were folded into quarters and stacked on a small plate. If you are thinking if they made their own popiah skin, here's the answer to your question. They have been ordering the skins from their long time supplier, Kway Guan Huat, one of Singapore's heritage stall.

Hokkien Popiah (6 pcs) - $19.80

Eggs

Chinese Parsley

Beansprouts & Lettuce

Apart from the traditional fillings, you can enhance the roll's flavour by topping up additional ingredients like chinese sausage, prawns and even crab meat.

Chinese Sausage - $4.80 & Crab Meat - $6.80

My Art

Pork Trotter Bee Hoon was delectable, pleasing to the palettes. Bee Hoon was evenly braised and moist, not too wet. A wonderful pairing with tender pork trotters that literally disintegrates into my mouth without giving it too much pressure. A rare find of good traditional taste with items like braised mushroom and chinese chestnut. Recommended!

Pork Trotters Bee Hoon - $15.80

A bowl of the Bee Hoon

The disadvantage of dining 2 pax was that we could only order limited variety. No questions about holding groups in the eating place, in fact it is best recommended to get your family together and enjoy a good session of Popiah party like this. Be early or do reservations before heading down to avoid disappointment.


Rating: 4 / 5

Good Chance Popiah Eating House
Location: Blk 149 Silat Ave #01-58 Singapore 610149