Mookata

While every restaurant had long snaky queues outside the shop and even the food court were fullhouse, we noticed that mookata is the best solution for us to have our dinner fix as there was no queues at all.

Mookata

Mookata is nothing new to us as we have seen lots of neighbourhoods restaurants and coffeeshops offering such cuisine. However Mookata in Bugis Junction is rather new to me as I don't remember seeing such a shop.

Soon we settled down and order their Set for 2 at $34.90

Menu

Interior was spacious and with dining tables by the side of the restaurant, leaving the middle a wide area for easier movement.

Dining Environment

Decorations in dining area was unique with wooden colorful umbrella hanging upside down. Interior is rather modern and does not have any resemblance in the Thai Culture.

Interior Decorations

Each table comes with a ventilator hanging from the ceiling that helps in absorbing the BBQ smoke. Upon Ordering, the helpers switched on the electricity and let our Mookata pot warms up. A flask of sweet corn soup stock was also provided.

Suction above the Mookata Table

What I like about their Mookata is their 3 versions of chilli from non spicy, mild spicy and spicy.

Gauge your spicy level

Set for 2 was a straight forward and fuss free order. It consists of a combination of marinated chicken thigh, pork collar, prawns, squids, suriyaki, streaky bacon, fishballs, pork belly, meatballs, crabsticks, otah fishcakes, Chinese cabbage, kang kong, xiao bai cai, corn, golden mushrooms, eggs, tang hoon & tofu.

Set for 2 - $34.90

Looking at the amount of meat on the set, we find that the portion was quite little for us and we decided to top up some of the meat portion.Marinated meat was served in orange tray form which can be stacked up together.

Additional Chicken Thigh - $7.50

The meat was absolutely fresh and well prepared.

Additional Pork Collar - $8

We poured some of the soup from the flask into the moat surrounding the skillet. The soup was light in taste but sweet. It allowed the essences of grilled meat juice that was placed on top of the skillet to flow down and mix with it to obtain a rich and flavourful soup. For additional taste, you may opt to have your vegetables and other items mixed in too.

One good point to take note is perhaps not to pour too much of soup into the pot while you have your grilled items still lying on top of the mookata as the juices will shoot directly onto your hands or faces. 

In the Mookata Pot, boiling & sizzling

I enjoy Mookata even it may cause me smelling like a walking BBQ food item after the mookata session and with the smell clinging onto the hair that gets away after a few wash.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Mookata
Location: Bugis Junction, 200 Victoria St #02-53 Singapore 188021
Website

Mak's Noodle [Closed]

I literally hear the screams from my foodie pals when Mak's Noodle opened its doors in Singapore. For those who has been to Hong Kong, Mak's is well known for its Cantonese fare that serve springy noodles as well as dumplings pack of chunky prawn.

Since Center point is undergoing partial renovation, the crowd in the mall is generally lesser than thrice the amount of headcounts they used to have. And for Mak's being reputable in their food, I am considered lucky as there was no queue like what I saw in their Westgate Branch.

Mak's Noodle

Service standards was fast and steady. Servers conversed in Cantonese, creating a different environment and unusual feel in that split seconds. Every table is also unique with its own table number tagging at the edge of the table.

Unique Table Number

There was no utensils available on the table like most restaurant have. To our surprise, the servers told us that they were available in the drawer attached to the table.

Open the drawers for the Utensils

Texture of the noodles were springy and noodle strands are generally thinner. Servings portion were nothing unusual from what they had been practicing all these while in their Hong Kong Branches. Such taste from the soup reminded me of my last trip in Hong Kong about 4 years back where I had the same thing from Mak's Noodle somewhere near the Peak.

Wanton & Dumpling Noodle Soup - $8.50

Since Wantons & Dumplings are their signature's we ordered such combination in the noodle soup. Just exactly like what people had been raving about, their wanton was thinly wrapped and through the translucent skin, you get to have a gauge of the size of the prawn in it.

Succulent Wanton

The style of Dumplings was similar to the wantons, just that the latter comes in a rounder shape while dumplings are wrapped in elongated shape. Ingredients like fine cuts of black fungus and fresh shrimps were added. I still can remember the bite on the shrimps, simply fabulous!

Are you hungry now?

Another of their signature will be Toss Noodle with Chutney Pork. Soup came in a separate bowl topped with chives. However, do note that the soup is different from the ones in dumplings and wantons as they tasted alot more peppery here.

Toss Noodle with Chutney Pork - $8.30

Is this the Chinese version of Bolognese Sauce Spaghetti (Angel's Hair) ? Seems like it! The sauce is utterly scrumptious and not any fatty. Awesome! Have a good toss of thin noodles and the Chutney Pork in an evenly manner.

Yummy

Aren't you glad that you don't have to travel all the way to Hong Kong to have a taste of Mak's Noodle? It's simply worth a try if you have not done it.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Mak's Noodle
Location: The Centrepoint, 176 Orchard Road #01-63/64 Singapore 238843

Cheok Kee Duck Rice Duck Porridge 作記鴨飯 . 鴨粥

I was kind of surprise when someone suggested to have Braised Duck Rice from East Coast Lagoon Food Village. It's kind of out of the usual days as most of the time I would prefer Satay, Rojak or even the barbecued and grilled food from the food village.

Turning up at the stall myself, the amount of media articles they had had convinced me further that I would not mind lending my stomach space to such local delicacies.

Cheok kee Duck Rice Duck Porridge

Braised Duck Platter for two looked decent with thick sticky type of braised sauce ladled onto them coupled with Tau Gua.Gravy was good and was sweet with herbs taste but it was not too overpowering.

Duck Platter for 2 - $13.50

Comparing to many other braised duck stalls I had in Singapore, this is arguably one of the decent ones and I would say exceptionally good! Duck meat was not too old, easy on the jaws.

Braised Duck

Rice was flavourful and darker than the usual yam rice. Even without the meat, I can easily finish a bowl of it.

Braised Rice

Porridge had a smooth consistency and not totally watery. Their generosity in the "Lor" gravy was something I look upon to. Total satisfaction!

Porridge - $1

For those who can't have braised duck without the chilli, this is good news. The chilli was fragrant packed with fried anchovies taste.

Sambal Chilli

On the other hand, the soup tasted abit herbal and sweet, luckily not on the peppery side.

Soup

Perhaps if you were to ask if I will want to come back again for their duck rice,I would not hesitate and answer yes!

Rating: 4 / 5

Cheok Kee Duck Rice Duck Porridge
Location: East Coast Lagoon Food Village, 1220 East Coast Parkway #01-29 Singapore 468960

Boon Tong Kee 文東記

Chicken Rice Lovers should be very familar with Boon Tong Kee. They started from a small stall in Chinatown since 1979 serving Cantonese Style Chicken Rice. With much emphasis on quality service, founder Mr Thian Boon Hua and his family established their first restaurant in Balestier Road during 1983.

With good comments through media and words of mouths, business soared and following, Boon Tong Kee slowly opened a few outlets. Keeping up with changes and competitions,their business has also been diversified in such a way that they are also selling Cze Char Food items instead of solely chicken rice.

Boon Tong Kee @ Bukit Timah

Having enjoyed their delectable chicken rice from branches like Balestier and East Coast Road, Boon Tong Kee had left me a good impression ever since my first visit.

With guests coming from aboard, we think that the best and simplest food to introduce is none other than our Chicken Rice.

This was my first visit to Cheong Chin Nam branch and it caught me by surprise with their utensils (Fork & Spoon) nicely wrapped in the green sheet of paper.

Utensils Wrapped under the paper

 Braised Peanuts 香料焖花生 - $2

Knowing that we were rushing for time, the lady who served us had handled the situation well in a polite manner. Service was prompt and courteous too.

Wet Tissue

Drinks were served prompting and quenching the thirst during a hot day while waiting for the arrival of our lunch.

Lime Juice 酸柑水 - $2.20 Per Cup

Chicken Rice was fragrant and served in a pyramid shape. Its fluffiness and the well controlled use of oil was something to look upon as you won't have a greasy feel after consumption. In fact, the rice was so good that I can actually finish them without any side dishes.

Chicken Rice 油饭 - $1

With so much raved about their Boiled Chicken, you should never miss this signature dish. Meat was fork tender, gentle on the teeth. It was lightly drench with light soy sauce and was not greasy.

Signature Boiled Chicken 美味白切鸡- $14 (Half Portion)

Sweet & Sour Pork was the hit on the table! Pork was deep fried and coated with sweet & sour sauce. Even though it was coated with sauce, the style of the dish retained the crunchiness and crispiness of the food. Texture was extraordinary and in my opinion better than the jelly type ones we had in Hawkers. What's more, each piece of the cube really contains meat and not solely fats.

Sweet & Sour Pork 酸姜咕噜肉- $12

Egg Plant was not bad either. They were cut into bite size pieces and deep fried. The softness of the egg plant was something we looked out for. Along with the sweet sauce spread on top of the dish and sprinkled with the yummy minced pork meat floss, there was nothing more we could expect.

Egg Plant with Minced Pork 风味茄子- $10

With 4 pieces of prawns, it might sound way expensive but hold on first before you decided to skip this dish away. Prawns used here was generally bigger perhaps one of the reasons why it costs more. Not mentioning that the experience with the dish was pleasant and most importantly we were very happy about the freshness of the prawns and the uniqueness of the cereals used.

Crispy Cereal Prawn 金丝麦片虾 (四只) - $28 (4 pcs)

While most of us were expecting the dry fragrant and crispy flakes loaded onto the fleshy prawns, this dish gave its name a change with its impressive soft and fluffy cereals among the few curry leaves that touched up the overall taste! So if you have the budget, do not miss this out!

Closer View of the Prawns

Overall, Boon Tong Kee not only have delicious poached chicken that is popular among the diners but also a range of delectable Cze Char Dishes that are remarkable. The place is recommended for family dining and even for guests from aboard.

Rating: 4 / 5

Boon Tong Kee 文東記
Location: 18 Cheong Chin Nam Road Singapore 599742
Website

Adrift

Adrift is a 4,000 sqft restaurant-bar located in the hotel Tower 2 lobby of Marina Bay Sands, offering a good range of dishes that incorporate Southeast Asian Flavours and Californian flair by Celebrity Chef David Myers, also, not forgetting the list of cocktails created by Sam Ross, a famous New York-based bartender.

Adrift

With restaurant week, i managed to secure a booking slot for their 3 courses meal through the online system. Booking was a breeze and coupled with a few phone calls reminder from the restaurant nearing the date.

Interior

Interior was superb, comfortably arrange to suit the modern taste of diners, creating a unique dinning scene.

Dining Environment

On my table

Welcoming us, the chef had given every table a plate of rice crisp as a compliment to his guests. It was a kind gesture as it gave customers some time to settle down and feel comfortable in the environment while enjoying the rice crisp dipping into the Wasabi flavoured mayonnaise.

Complimentary

Something to Start

Kicking off our 3 courses meal with Edamame Soup which never failed to impress. We detected hints of pleasant  favour from the Edamame  and vanilla soy milk emulsion elevated the presentation among the pool of velvety soup. Despite its thickness, it was not too overwhelming and we managed to polish off everything including its tomato confit and peas from the edamame.

Edamame soup

An intriguing dish with ginger seaweed vinaigrette & kinome. It packs a mouthful of flavour and both the citrus as well as sourly taste left my stomach welcoming more food.

Heirloom Tomato and cucumber salad

Larger Plates

Their Wagyu Cheeseburger is strongly advocate for! Medium done Wagyu beef patty was better than what I could ask for.With the just right fat marbling, its juiciness along with the melting gruyere cheese were such an awesome combination as well as with pickled jalapeno and rocket leaves topping up the taste of the cheeseburger.

Wagyu cheeseburger

Shaved cheese scattered all over the tomato jam that were generously spread on the toasted bun and were yummy!

On usual occasion, this burger would cost about $25.

Cheese over tomato jam

Sake marinated salmon were topped with poached broccoli flowers. Despite having lemon vinaigrette on the seared salmon, the man who tasted my food still find it tasted a little on the fishy side and felt that the meat was with medium done-ness. Given a choice over the two mains, I would prefer the burger.

Sake-marinated salmon

Soft Brocooli

Dessert

Finally to the 3rd and also the last course of our lunch. We have both their desserts stated on the menu and Calamansi threw a surprise on the table. Dessert is cooling and made up of Creme Fraiche (meaning Fresh Cream) and also creamsicle.

Thinking about it now, it's making me drools. The seperate thin layer of sweet crisp was topped with shredded calamansi zest which gave a sweet, sour and bitter combination among the chilling dessert.

Calamansi

Not to mention their caramel french toast whereby Toast was thick, decorated with zig zag kopi syrup and topped with a scoop of coconut sorbet, giving both a warm and cold moments in this dish.

Caramel french toast

We had another round of complimentary items by Adrift as soon as we paid our bills and they were special packaged popcorns. It was a nice guesture to end our meal, also leaving a good impression to diners like me.

Popcorns in Package

Talking about Professionalism in their service, that is definite, not mentioning their food that was never fail to amaze me throughout. This is a great place to hangout if you are looking for a better environment and have abit more to stretch on your wallets.

Rating: 4 / 5

Adrift
Location: Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue (Tower 2 Hotel Lobby)  Singapore 018970

Teo's Noodle

Taking the weekend mornings, we headed into the East of Singapore and into Bedok Hawker Center to check out what they have. I was amazed by the number of stalls closing on a Saturday morning and like the usual scene of a Hawker Centre, it was still packed with people.

After making a few rounds in the Hawker Centre, I decided to join Teo's Noodle Queue, hoping that the choice that majority made will be a great one.

Teo's Noodles

It took us about 20 - 30 minutes of wait before we could get our 2 bowls of noodles. Teo's noodles is special in the sense that if you are ordering big bowls of noodles from them, you are entitled to a few clams. The clams are from New Moon brand where quality is definitely assured by this reputable company.

The smaller portion of the Bak Chor Mee is pretty average, however the amount of ingredients we had on the bowl of soup includes button mushrooms, orange and original fishcakes, fishball, meat ball with a substantial amount of minced meat sinking to the bottom of the soup.

If you want to add clams, you can upgrade the small portion into the medium at $4 per bowl.

Bak Chor Mee - $3 (Small)

The bigger portion looked more promising and of course with a higher price paid. Generally the noodles were covered up by the good use of minced pork with a few clams making my $5 worth.

Bak Chor Mee with Clams - $5 (Big)

The difference in size and ingredients were visually spell out when compared to the default bowl of noodles.

Big Portion

The soup that comes with the bigger portion has 1 more meat ball and perhaps a few more slices of fish cakes.

Big Portion of Soup

Overall, the style of the noodles may be a little different but still worth the one-off experience I had. I would not rate it as the best Bak Chor Mee I had but I still think its a bowl of simple and comforting food to the heartlanders.

Rating: 3 / 5

Teo's Noodle
Location: Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre, 208B New Upper Changi Road #01-26 Singapore 460208

Pin Wei Seafood

Passing by Pin Wei Seafood uncountable times, I was so glad that we had finally came into conclusion to visit this Cze Char Place under the estate housing of Toh Yi Drive.

With a closer look onto the walls at Pin Wei Seafood, I had realized that they were actually one of the recommended stall for Cze Char and was being featured in one of the Television Programs "Where the queue starts".

Pin Wei Seafood

The serving of bean curd was surprising. The bean curd topped with braised minced meat was as big as my palm size. Utterly decadent with its fried crisp exterior and wobbly soft interior which tasted of egg and Tofu. Pairing with the braised minced meat and greens, it not only complete the presentation but also elevates the healthy contents in the dish! It's a must try!

Braised Meat Sauce Beancurd - $10 (Small)

San Bei Ji or the Taiwan Style Wine Chicken was better than the average in my opinion. The curry scent which had infused from the used of curry leaves were pleasant. Chicken cubes were tender and sweet in the wine.

Taiwan Style Wine Chicken - $10 (Small)

Ee Mian is one of the common noodle that I would most probably order when I visit any Cze Char Stall. Frying with pork lard, there are no doubts about the fragrance level. A good thing to note that even though pork lards were used, it was not as oily as I had thought.

Assorted Fried Ee Mian - $6 (Medium)

Overall, Pin Wei Seafood had given me a very good experience. Even though dishes ordered were limited due to that we were dining in a pair, I believe their reputation is there thus they were being featured on the TV.

Rating: 4 / 5

Pin Wei Seafood
Location: 19 Toh Yi Drive Singapore 590019