Peperoni Pizzaria

There is a number of Peperoni Pizzaria outlets in Singapore and this outlet that is open in the cozy environment of Binjai Park happens to be their 2nd outlet and also their largest outlet that offers alfresco dining.

Menu

Having passed through this area for uncountable times, I have never noticed their existence till my pal who gave us a treat in the closing of her joyous event (Her Wedding) also appreciating the efforts for our assistance on her big day. There then, I start to realize such stylish Italian chic environment exists somewhere in Bukit Timah Estate.

Into the Restaurant

With mainly Italian food served, they are also serving alcoholic beverages . For those who enjoy having beverages over the bar counter, Peperoni Pizzaria do have such in place.

At the Bar Counter

Antipasti (Appetizers) 

Before welcoming the lunch, these deep fried squid rings were served. The flaky, rough textural and crispy exterior of the deep fried squid rings were simply delicious in its lemon mayo and arrabbiata sauce.

Calamari Fritti - $14

In addition to the start off, we had delicious fried chicken wings too. These finger food were good as we chat along while waiting for the mains to come. Wings were crispy and you could even feel the deep fried batter at its exterior. Do be careful as you bite on it as the piping hot juice was seen oozing out.

Deep Fried Chicken Wings - $8

Salad 

With fried food in place, it would be very much self convincing for the girls to order a dish that was deemed not as sinful as the rest. Mixed greens was dressed with mayo and topped with parmesan cheese, not forgetting the sauteed chicken fillets were the special highlights of in the bowl.

Chicken Salad - $15

Pasta

The Carbonara was that yummy that even though the portion was to share among the ourselves, the gentlemen had finished them up before passing them to the ladies, thus the host has to order once more and we got 2 choices of pasta here, spaghetti and penne.

Carbonara - $24 (Spaghetti)

They used light creamy sauce in pasta with sauteed bacon. In this case, their pasta standards were uniform, both Spaghetti and Penne were cooked to excellent texture.

Carbonara - $24 (Penne)

Choice of pasta was limited to Spaghetti, Tagliatelle, Linguine, Penne, Fusilli, Capellini.  For Alle Vongole, we had Linguine with venus clams in white wine sauce. Taste was elevated with the used of chilli and garlic to eliminate the seafood smell if any. 

Alle Vongole - $25

Pizza

I had the largest pizza in my life, finally! A 21" (XXL) Pizza out of choices of 9"(Medium) & 12" (Large). And seriously their range of choices for pizza had spoilt us.

Spin & Select Pizza Flavours

We had Hawaiana with Suprema & Prosciutto Crudo Di Parma with Pancetta on 2 XXL Pizza. The names of the Pizza sounded so foreign to me that I only understand Hawaiana which is the common Hawaiian Pizza we had.

Their pizza was amazingly big and stunning (almost the length of the table size), thin crust and filled generously with ingredients. Hawaiana ingredients were the standards, topped with bell peppers, pineapples and ham (pork) while Suprema consists of Shitake, chicken sausage, onions & red chilli. However the spicy level from the chilli was not too hard to handle, for those who want additional kick, toppings like chilli flakes and cheese are readily available on every table.

2 XXL Pizza - $55

With such a spacious environment, Peperoni Pizzaria is actually a good place for gathering if you wish to stay away from the bustling area. Moreover, the food were better than the average fare.

All prices stated on Peperoni's menu is inclusive of GST and also there are no additional service charge require which I find is a plus point for visiting them.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Peperoni Pizzaria
Location: 7 Binjai Park Singapore 589821
Website

Super Chicken

It was one of the Saturday nights that we went for supper after our concert as all of us still had not taken our dinner. As we were not party goers, thinking about a place in town that serve late night food was nearly impossible for us.

We drove along Tanjong Pagar and gradually we had kind of attracted to the rows of Korean Eateries. Subsequently, we parked our car and headed into Super Chicken.

Super chicken is a Sister outlet of the popular korean BBQ Restaurant, Super Star K. To me, both Super Star K and Super Chicken sells the same kind of food.

Interior was comfortable with round tables. Black is the main theme color of the restaurant and with many Korean Stars advertisement pasted on the wall. The restaurant is very opened with the sharing of WIFI and stated the keys to the access. I thought it is a very good move to let tourists connected to the world.

Super Star K

Since it was rather late for dinner, we decided to have Army stew for a table of 3 with additional items like ramen and tteokbokki (rice cakes) added. As the usual practise in a korean restaurant, we were so blessed to have the different kinds of appetisers / sides served shortly after ordering.

Kimchi, the most well associated side dish to represent Korean Cuisine. This traditional fermented Korean side dish is made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings.

Sides - Kimchi

Eomuk Bokkeum which is also known as stirred fried fish cake is a comfort side dish at home. The fish cake was different from the chinese ones and were stirred fried with chilli as well as sesame seeds.

Fish Cake

Seaweed

Gamja Salad also known as Potato Salad is quite similar to the Japanese style mashed potato that incorporates diced carrots. Texture is creamy and together with hard boiled egg used, I would not mind having repeated servings but these carbo fills up the stomach space fast, so be wise on your choice for dinner.

Sides - Potato Salad

Kongnamul-muchim is also one of the most common seen side dishes eaten by korean. Economical and healthy, this dish is very popular among them and you get it in almost every meal.

Bean Sprout

Nothing beats the hot pipping serving of steam egg that looks like a custard-liked egg casserole. Gayeranjjim is simple yet attracting the most attention out of the rest of the side dishes as it always had the sizzling hot noise while serving in its hot stone pot.

Korean Steam Egg

Friend suggested that we should have some Korean Wine and Makgeoli is served in a traditional kettle instead of its original packaging. Wine is chill and tasted not too bad. It is good to give it a stirred first so that the taste is more even, else you will get to taste something powdery, giving a bitter aftertaste.

Makgeoli - $20

The Army Stew, also known as Budae Jjigae was an awesome dish to share among us. Guys are guys as they deemed to have bigger stomach space than the females. Just for this army stew, we had added additional ramen and rice cake to ensure that portion is good enough to stuff into the guys' stomach without living much empty space in them.

The stew is good enough for 3 pax and includes spam, hot dogs, baked bean and cheese. Seasonal ingredients such as mushroom, tofu, kimchi and pork are also added.

Budae Jjigae - $38 with additional Army Ramenat $6 & additional Rice Cake at $8

Having been to their sister's company, Super Star K, I will say that service are of not much difference in Super Chicken. Also, if you are looking for late night supper, just head along Tanjong Pagar Road and have some Army Stew.

Rating: 3 / 5

Super Chicken
Location: 98 Tanjong Pagar Road Singapore 088519

Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa

I have been craving for Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa but have not got the chance to visit them in Jalan Berseh. Thanks to my colleague who brought me down to Jurong East and enjoy similar bowl of Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa without travelling too far.

Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa

Unlike the original stall in Jalan Berseh, this stall offers other food items like Mee Siam & Mee Rebus. Not only that, healthy choice option is adopted here with whole grain noodles used.

Laksa comes in 2 sizes, $3 and $3.50. The $3 portion is already quite good enough for a meal as ingredients like fishcakes & fresh cockles together with the noodles were rather filling. However if I were to compare them to the one I used to have, I will comment that Laksa gravy spelled the differences. Their gravy was diluted and lack of the usual fragrance even though the taste was rather distinct. For additional spicy kick, do remember to add in their sambal chilli.

Laksa - $3

Taste in overall was close and it was really good that at such a price without travelling too far, I still can enjoy a stomach warming bowl of Trishaw Laksa like this in Jurong.

Rating: 3 / 5

Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa 
Location: Yuhua Market & Hawker Centre, Blk 347 Jurong East Ave 1 #01-225 Singapore 600347

Sherwood Snack Bar

We chanced upon Sherwood Snack Bar when we visited the Supermarket in Bukit Timah Plaza sometimes back. Usually in the evenings when we were there for grocery shopping, Sherwood Snack bar would have their food sold out and we could still see the helpers are still busying in the kitchen washing up, marinating the meat, preparing for the next day.

Sherwood Snack Bar

The snack bar sells more than just snacks. In fact, it is a family style cafe (kind of Hong Kong Style to me), where diners can get to sit at the counter for food and the dining area perhaps can only cater up to 10 customers.

They offer food ranging from Economical Rice to noodles and a one stop coffeeshop where you can enjoy your traditional cup of Kopi-O too.

Having ordered their dumplings noodle, I was stunned by the kind of standard that I'm receiving. Texture of the noodles were springy and what's more, the kind of noodles were thinner.

Dumplings Noodle with Mushroom Add Ons - $4

Adding $1 of mushrooms to the delicious plate of home taste noodles was not a bad choice either. Slices of mushrooms were fragrant and from its rich taste, it told us that the mushrooms had been braised for a long time and had well absorbed the gravy. Besides having good impression on the noodles and mushrooms, the shrimp dumplings are also another noteworthy items to talk about. Shrimps were fresh and generous too!

Shrimp Dumplings were good!

Chicken Cutlet Noodle on the other hand was scrumptious! Deep Fried Cutlet may not be piping hot from the oil wok but its crispy texture had my appetite! Really hope to revisit them again!

Chicken Cutlet Noodle - $4

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Sherwood Snack Bar

Location: Bukit Timah Plaza, 1 Jalan Anak Bukit #B2-14 Singapore 588996

Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork Noodle 華記雲吞麵

Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork Noodles has always been my pal's favourite hangout whenever he is back in Singapore. He would request a trip to East Coast Lagoon Food Village just for a plate of Wanton Mee even if it requires him to queue for about 15 minutes.

What makes the plate of Wanton Mee so addictive when the noodles they served was just run of the mill? Well, the starring ingredient on the plate is none other than their Char Siew meat that was generously served on the plate.

Wanton Mee - $4

Yes! You did not read wrongly, instead of having the wantons as the scene stealer, the Char Siew had claimed all credits here and you can forget all about their Wantons as they are pretty ordinary.

Presentation of Char Siew is special as it was not the uniform slices we would have on a plate of Wanton Mee, instead they were served in elongated / shredded forms. Sweet tender Char Siew are addictive, not to mentioned such richly glazed, slightly charred and caramelized portion on plate. Together with the usual Char Siew red sauce mixed in, it kind of gave a special old school taste that stirred my childhood memories where I can finish anything ~ a bowl of plain porridge alone with just the red sauce.

Wanton Noodle

For sure, this style of Wanton Noodle is rather unique in Singapore. For those who prefer spicy noodles may want to add in more of their chilli than the red sauce. Though it may be spicy, it taste just as good in exchange for a comfort plate of food.

BBQ Pork Version

Rating: 3.25 / 5

Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork Noodle 華記雲吞麵
Location: East Coast Lagoon Food Village, 1220 East Coast Parkway #01-45 Singapore 468960 

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