Posts Tagged ‘Chicken Rice’

Go-Ang Pratunam Chicken Rice – Affordable eats at NEX

November 28th, 2018 365days2play

[Media Invite]

If you frequent Bangkok often, you might be familiar with Go-Ang Kaomunkai Pratunam, an eatery that specialises in Thai Hainanese chicken rice. The eatery was established all the way back in 1960 and was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand Awared in the 1st Bangkok edition of the Michelin Guide.

The good news is that Go-Ang has opened its first overseas outlet in Singapore. The Singapore outlet is called Go-Ang Pratunam Chicken Rice and is located in NEX in Serangoon. To ensure that the dishes served in Singapore are authentic, all kitchen staff are trained by Go-Ang founder Mr Sombat Pruekpaiboon at the original restaurant in Bangkok. Go-Ang is managed by The Minor Food Group Singapore, the restaurant group behind Xin Wang Hong Kong Café and ThaiExpress.

I was invited to Go-Ang’s recent launch and had the opportunity to taste quite a number of the dishes available. I’ve never tried the version in Bangkok, so let me compare this version here vs other chicken rice in Singapore that we are more familiar with.

Go Ang Chicken Rice

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1983 A Taste of Nanyang

August 3rd, 2012 365days2play

Just found out that a new food court has opened in Marina Bay Sands. It’s located below Carnivore, at the exact opposite end of Rasapura Masters Food Court and the Skating Rink. I think the Marina Bay Financial Centre people would be most happy as they now don’t have to walk to the far end of MBS to have lunch! When I was at 1983 A Taste of Nanyang, I saw a lot of office types wearing lanyards from various banks, so lots of people from MBFC must be making the hot and unsheltered trek to MBS.

1983 A Taste of Nanyang is owned by Koufu, who are also the owners of Rasapura Masters. I did a quick look of the place, and it seems that 1983 A Taste of Nanyang is somewhat more affordable than Rasapura Masters. If you’re in the vicinity of Marina Bay Sands and you want to find cheap food in MBS, 1983 A Taste of Nanyang’s probably a good bet. Speaking of affordability, ToastBox also has some affordable items like Laksa and Chicken curry for about $5 or so, but the selections are limited. So the secret’s out, now you know where to dine on a budget.

There are cosy booth seats available at 1983 A Taste of Nanyang. I actually like the look and feel of this food court more than Rasapura Masters. Rasapura Masters is good for those who want to watch the skaters while they dine, or if you’re at the skating rink / theatre / ArtScience Museum end of MBS.

1983 A Taste of Nanyang MBS Foodcourt (3)

1983 A Taste of Nanyang MBS Foodcourt (2)

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Food Republic at 112 Katong – Rice and more

April 20th, 2012 365days2play

*Media Invite*

Ju Shin Jung Korean Cuisine Stall Mixed Vegetables Rice in Hot Stone $7.80

Food Republic @ 112 Katong - Ju Shin Jung Korean Cuisine Stall Mixed Vegetables Rice in Hot Stone $7.80

Ju Shin Jung started out as a simple family business in Korea, which has now expanded to 3 full fledged restaurants in Singapore, with Ju Shin Jung at 112 Katong being their first express counter. I have always liked Bi Bim Bap aka Mixed Vegetables Rice due to the colourful assortment of vegetables and the mandatory raw egg right in the middle. But, when compared to Thunder Tea rice, Bi Bim Bap $$$ is on the high side, and when compared to Chinese mixed rice, this is a few times more expensive. But I guess that’s the price to pay when you want to savour non Singaporean dishes. This Bi Bim Bap was a little special as the rice was purple in colour! I forgot to ask them the reason for the colour, but the rice tasted pretty much like white rice, perhaps just a little bit fluffier.

Dapur Padang Stall Nasi Kuning set $6.90

Food Republic @ 112 Katong - Dapur Padang Stall Nasi Kuning set $6.90

What you see here is Nasi Padang, which is a traditional Indonesian cuisine. I love the way they presented the dish, don’t you find it so appetising? When you order the Nasi Kuning set, it will also be presented this way, minus the little cap on the top of the rice. Speaking of the rice, it is nice tasting but a little on the hard side, perhaps due to the fact that it was pressed into a conical shape. Of all the dishes, I found the mutton to be the most outstanding. It was supremely tender and every mouthful had the melt in the mouth sensation. Mutton tends to be stringy but this wasn’t at all. The pile of cracker looking thing on the right bottom is a pile of crispy potato and tempeh (fermented bean). I’d never had anything like it before. It was on the sweet side but I loved the crunchy texture!

Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice Stall Chicken Rice with Dumpling set $6.50Food Republic @ 112 Katong - Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice Stall Chicken Rice with Dumpling set $6.50

I think chicken rice fanatics should be pretty familiar with the name Wee Nam Kee. The flagship store is located at 275 Thomson Road, opposite the Novena Church. Rings a bell now? The restaurant was also invited to participate in the Singapore Day in Shanghai. I can imagine all the homesick Singaporeans lining up to taste Singapore’s most famous local dish! The Wee Nam Kee stall at 112 Katong is actually a mini restaurant within the food court. You can order stuff like cereal prawns, assam fish head and chilli crab amongst other things. Hey I would have liked to try the chilli crab, how come we only got to try the chicken rice???

Indian Express Stall Butter Chicken with Garlic Naan $9

Food Republic @ 112 Katong - Indian Express Stall Butter Chicken with Garlic Naan $9 (2) Food Republic @ 112 Katong - Indian Express Stall Butter Chicken with Garlic Naan $9

Have you heard of the Song of India restaurant? I’ve never been there but I love Indian food and I know that it can get expensive dining in an Indian restaurant. Now you can try the dishes without paying through your nose at Indian Express, which is owned by the Song of India. I tell you, that Naan looked absolutely beautiful when it arrived at the table. It had such an appetising and glossy sheen. Went so well with the butter chicken curry. The butter chicken curry would appeal to tomato lovers as there is a strong sweet tomato flavour too. Will definitely be back.

Fragrant Hot Pot Stall Hot Pot Ma La Triple Set $21.90Food Republic @ 112 Katong - Fragrant Hot Pot Stall Hot Pot Ma La Triple Set $21.90

Ok this Ma La Hot Pot, I will only recommend to my enemies. The dish was so so so so so so spicy that just eating 1 sliver of cabbage was enough to make me surrender! Luckily I was warned by the victims before me or else I shudder to think what would happen. In that 1 sliver of vegetable, I did detect a very strong peppercorn and peanutty taste in the broth. Unfortunately I am unable to comment beyond this for obvious reasons. I am told that Fragrant Hot Pot originates from Beijing and the Hot Pot is widely popular with Chinese nationals. What you do at this stall is that you choose the individual ingredients that you want, kind of like how you choose your yong tau foo items. The items will be weighed and you will be charged accordingly. They have lots of meat and vegetable dishes to choose from.

Pepper Lunch Stall Pepper Steak $15.90Food Republic @ 112 Katong -Pepper Lunch Stall Pepper Steak $15.90

Pepper Lunch is the 2nd mini restaurant within Food Republic. To be frank, I have never liked Pepper Lunch. I find it to be a novelty feature that I have to cook the steak myself. It is different from steamboat because if you ruin or overcook something, its a small item and there are many more items in your steamboat anyway. Ruin or overcook this steak, and there goes your lunch. Besides, I like my steaks to be medium rare. Maybe the 1st piece is fine but by the time I reach the last piece, the steak would have been well done. The one and only time I ate at Pepper Lunch, I found myself hurrying to eat the steak, and as a result I burnt my tongue. Not a very good impression eh.

Read more about Food Republic at 112 Katong Mall

https://365days2play.com/2012/04/20/food-republic-at-112-katong-snacks-and-drinks/

https://365days2play.com/2012/04/20/food-republic-at-112-katong-oodles-of-noodles/

https://365days2play.com/2012/04/20/food-republic-at-112-katong-rice-and-more/

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Singapore Food Trail

February 27th, 2011 365days2play

Checked out the newly opened Singapore Food Trail Food Street at the Singapore Flyer today. Costing $2m in investments, it is Singapore’s first 1960s-themed food street (opened by Select Group Ltd) and boasts a mix of heritage hawkers who represent Singapore’s original and most famous hawker foods.

One look at the place, and I kinda fell in love with the concept already. I’m a sucker for nostalgia and it is one of my regrets that I didn’t get to experience “old Singapore” before it disappeared. This place is a replica but at least it’s better than nothing, and certainly much better than the generic and soulless food courts you find so often at shopping malls. You will also find some of the stuff here prepared the old fashioned way, such as sugar cane being pressed with a hand cranked machine, ice for ice kachang shaved by yet another hand cranked machine. You can even find ice balls here!

The food we ordered in general is quite good, but not superb like I was hoping it to be. There are however quite a number of established names here, who have been in the food business for 30 – 50 years.

The place was bustling like mad and each stall had a queue 3 or 4 people long on average. This is a testimony to the fact that Singaporeans still have feelings for the past, so let’s think twice before we raze down anything that doesn’t look remotely modern in the name of profits.

Check out the photos I took at the Singapore Food Trail Food Street below. Will post more up tomorrow!

Singapore Food Trail (3)

Singapore Food Trail (5)

Old Airport Road Satay Bee Hoon & Satay Celup

Singapore Food Trail (8)

High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodle

Singapore Food Trail (10)

Singapore Food Trail (17)

Soft Drinks in bottles! Think the shape of the bottles aren’t the same as those in the 60s and 70s, but still, I find it fun to drink out of a glass bottle than a plastic bottle or aluminium can.

Singapore Food Trail (16)

Sugar cane being juiced the old fashioned way.

Singapore Food Trail (12)

Hokkien Mee $5 – Was tasty and light, but didn’t have the lard taste that would have brought it up a few notches. This would be perfect for healthy people.

Singapore Food Trail (13)

Chicken Rice Set $8 – Found the chicken to be really tasty. Would definitely try this again.

Singapore Food Trail (15)

Fish Ball Noodles $4 – Not bad, and the chilli was pretty good. The fishballs are slightly larger than usual.

We also wanted to order the Popiah. Each costs $2 but you have to order a minimum of 2. Be warned lest you line up for 10 minutes only to be disappointed.

For more photos, please see Singapore Food Trail Part 2

The Singapore Food Trail is open from 10.30am to 10.30pm from Sunday to Thursday, and from 10.30am to 11.30pm on Friday and Saturday.

Posted in Food, Others, Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments »

Marina Bay Sands and RISE Restaurant

October 27th, 2010 365days2play

The other day, thanks to a conference I had to attend, I finally made my maiden trip to Marina Bay Sands. The Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre was just awesome. It was as grand as can be. Everything looked so polished, the whole place looked so humongous and spacious, and even the doors looked 3 times my height.

On the 4th floor where my conference was held, you could look out onto the Singapore River and at all the buildings along Shenton Way. For the 1st time in my life, I could actually see Singapore from an angle that just 1 year ago did not exist! It was just a very awesome and inspiring feeling, and if I as a Singaporean can feel this way, imagine what it would be like for all the foreign delegates. I have no doubt that we now have one of the finest convention centres in the world.

A friend who works at MBS went to London for a holiday recently. He commented that Big Ben was not as impressive as MBS. I’d thought he was joking because how can something so steeped in history be compared to MBS? I may still disagree with him but I can certainly now understand why he felt so.

I have one advice for MBS though, do something to the noisy doors! Every time a delegate leaves the conference, the door slams shut loudly. If there were a bad speaker, half the room would leave in boredom, the other half would leave in irritation at the noise from the slamming doors.

Anyway….that was the Convention Centre. After the conference, we tried out the Rise Restaurant. There was the buffet going on, but after all the canapes I had at the conference, I wasn’t too keen on a full fledged buffet, at $70+ no less! Decided to go local in the end.

MBS Rise Restaurant -Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng – It was not bad, but I think the hawker centre nasi goreng is far better. Only the satay was good enough to have to pay hotel prices for local food. The peanut sauce was also very flavourful and crunchy.

MBS Rise Restaurant - Chicken Rice

Hainanese Chicken Rice – Shockingly, this was quite bad. The rice was only warm, and it felt mushy. There was no fragrance to the rice, the type you’d expect when eating chicken rice. The chicken fared only slightly better. It’s a disaster if you ask me. The only thing good there is the soup and the sliced cucumber. Hotels always charge an arm and a leg for local food, so at the very least, I expect them to deliver a pretty good meal. If you had me blindfolded, I would not have guessed that this was produced by a chef working in a hotel.

MBS Rise Restaurant - Chicken Rice 2

Marina Bay Sands

Conclusion: I was awed by the Convention Centre, and brought back to earth by the Rise Restaurant.

RISE Restaurant

Marina Bay Sands

10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956

Tel: +65 6688 8868

http://www.marinabaysands.com/Restaurants/Rise.aspx

Posted in 1.1 Hotel Restaurants Tags: , , , , , , , 6 Comments »
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