Takasimaya

Fisherios at Takashimaya

Walking through the streets of Singapore, after 5 years the ground slipped from beneath my feet, when I noticed all the street food joints had suddenly disappeared. This was perhaps my worst heart break of the decade. Dejected and miserable, I asked the receptionist at the Somerset why this tradition has disappeared, and I could actually feel the world become a better place when she said, the street food is gone into the malls, and the shops still exist but are indoor.

Beer Battered Fish, Breaded Fish, Sweet Potato Chips & Onion Rings

Anyway putting aside that beautiful and interesting anecdote, one of the best place to eat your meals on Orchard road is Takashimaya mall. Right at the heart of orchard road, Takashimaya is a mall and office center, with a food court in the basement. The beckoning smell of both local and international delicacies casts a spell on you, that would make you never want to leave. Being tight on time I was only able to try a few places, my favorite however was Fisherios. Famous for its beer battered fish, Fisherios is a local delicacy. I ate the Beer battered fish, the Breaded fish, the sweet potato chips and the cream soup.

Breaded Fish

At the takashimaya branch you can see the chef cooking right in front of your plate, with his classic throws and catches of the beer bottle before he empties it into the batter for the fish. Just that makes Fisherois worth eating at. The fish used is basa and is just perfectly soft, with a crisp and thin coating of your choice. The chips are sweet potato and are addicting! As far is pricing is concerned, lets just say Fisherios has maintained the singapore street food tradition of being both jaw dropping and cheap. For about S$20-S$30 you can eat a whole meal, from the soup to the fish to the cola.

Fish Shaped Pancakes

All that’s missing from the perfect Meal now is the desert, isn’t it? Well takshimaya has the best asian pancakes you can eat. The pancakes here come in different filling, different sizes, different shapes, and even different batters! The green tean pancakes, much lighter than the usual one add a touch of bitterness, and with the chocolate filling, the pancakes take you to paradise with each bite.

Seems too good to be true, ehh? Well Takashimaya is at 391 Orchard Road, Singapore - 238873 (+65-6738-1111) Its about a 3 minute walk from Orchard MRT

Fresh Pancakes

Wai Yu Mun Ching

This week, one that has been a long and stressful one for me, yes, even with just 2 days down and a holiday right in the middle, but after a long day of work, when i reached back home, the only thing i wanted was a vacation to get me back on my feet, and you know its surprising how sometimes you get exactly what you wish for, maybe not in the exact for you expected it to be, but nevertheless, you do get what you wish for. That is exactly what happened with that wish i made.

Well it was a family dinner, I did not expect i'd be reviewing the restaurant that evening, it was os much of a pleasure dinner that i hadn't even carried my camera with me (Its another thing I missed it though out my meal, well just for those few seconds when I wasn't concentrating on how good the food was). This place is one in Santacruz (W), called 'Wai Yu Mun Ching', pretty catchy isn't it. I can assure you guys, it isn't only the name that sticks with you.

Specializing in their Thai food, Wai Yu Mun Ching, had the capability to take me back to the small eateries on the streets of Phuket. With every bite of the food I could recall memories of the extravagant meals I ate in Singapore, Phuket, Bangkok, and even in Hong Kong. To top it all up, the ambiance is simple, highly modest, but highly appealing. Another amazing aspect of the place is that, you as the customer can ask for subtle changes to your food (More spice, more sauce, etc.)

WHAT TO EAT

Tom Yum Prawns Soup

For Soup, without doubt, Tom Yum will be a smart choice, although the opions are numerous ranging from Munchow to Tom Kha. The Tom Yum, has the rich taste of flavor like the original Thai Tom Yum, unlike the nasty Indian Interpretations of the soup, which have the of only the red chilies to mask the other flavor. Here however, the soup brings out the vibrant flavor that define thai food. I do admit, the soup was a little stronger in taste than the one I fell in love with back in Phuket. However the difference was way to subtle for any critic to ponder on and miss out on all the other million things that are way more difficult to achieve while cooking this fantastic cuisine.

Wine cooked Fish

For the entrée, I chose the wine cooked fish, and I believe it was a great choice, the subtlety sweet and slightly hot taste are responsible for the flavor frenzy in my mouth. The color was perfect and highly tempting. I also had the 'Teriyaki Chicken' one of the signature dishes here, and again biting the tender chicken I felt myself being transported to the food i ate the Orchard ION, back on Orchard Road, Singapore. This dishes Aromas were captivating and as i was taking picture of the plate, I couldn't wait to relish the chicken.

Terriyaki Chicken

Stuffed Potato

This next dish in my opinion was the Highlight of my meal, and it might just be the Highlight of the Whole week, but the most startling thing was that this dish was vegetarian. Yeah for all you sea food and meat lover, I was in as much shock when i tasted this 'Ambrosia'. The dish not a traditional chinese or thai, was the "Stuffed Potato". The Potato's stuffed with their rich colored filling in the perfectly fried crisp shell, and tender potato starch, topped with the perfect thick sauce, was just mind blowing. The aromas the sauce gave were so full of flavor that it just beckoned everyone in the room. I'd confidently say this dish stole the show and can easily be the Signature for Wai Yu Mun Ching.

Fried Rice

Oyster Chili Chicken

For the Main Course, I had the Oyster Chili Chicken, a good combination of the tastes, and I had the Fried Rice, the 'real' Chinese Fried Rice, not the rice with only the taste of the Ajinomoto (MSG), It was almost like i had been teleported to Tsim Tsa Tsui.

Mr. Ashish Seth With me, at
Wai Yu Mun Ching

The owner, Mr. Ashish Seth, a warm man, who is also a food enthusiast, has been running this joint since 4 years now, and has managed to serve all his food without MSGs (if you request it). He also helped greatly in advising what I should eat and what will appease me the most, and frankly he did an amazing job. The cherry on the top of the cake is that, Wai Yu Mun Ching, home delivers and has a flourishing Take Out service. I know where to order from, when i feel like revisiting my travels to Thailand.

Ratings

Food               ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩

Ambience      ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩✩✩

Experience    ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩✩

Overall            ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩✩

Chili-Sugar Affair Comment - Must Try

(http://wymc.weebly.com/contact-us.html) - Website

No Signboard

The Signboard at No Signboard, Geylang, Singapore

Back in the 70's NO Signboard was nothing but a small stand among the million food stalls in Singapore. About the only thing that made it stand out among other stalls of its kind was that its chief dishes were not very mainstream, and the founder, Madam Ong Kim Hoi, ran her stall  without any name (hence the name, No SIgnboard). Selling just about 3 White Pepper crabs a day, This place didn't seem like a revolution to those who hadn't eaten here, the ones who did spread the word and today No Signboard has 4 Branches in Singapore and 1 in Indonesia and 1 in Macau!

Of the 4 Branches in Singapore, the best and the cheapest is the one in Geylang, this is a complete experience in itself, with an outside seating, different ares for smoking and non-smoking, Geylang is, in my opinion the best No signboard you can visit. For a meal of 3 we spent about 90S$ (70 US$).

WHAT TO EAT

The Black Pepper Crab (1kg)

The main reason i went to No Signboard was the Pepper Crab. Extremely mouthwatering, soaked with flavor and certainly the richest color in food you have ever seen, All Crabs are priced at about 50$ / kg, where 1kg is the minimum order, this definitely a fest for your taste buds. The most popular crab sold in the white pepper crab, but this variant is much spicier than the black pepper crab, so depending on your taste for spices, you can choose which dish will blow your mind away. To add to the epicness of the place, No SIgnboard has the all Famous "unofficial" Singaporean National Dish, Chilli Crab, and also other south East Asian Delicacies like the Steamed Crab, ButterCrab and Garlic Crab. With these 5 varieties of Crab to choose from, I did have to visit the place twice.

The Clear Sea-food Soup

For Soup No signboard has just their signature Seafood Clear soup. With in numerous pieces of King prawns, said, strip, baby octopus, fish, crab and seaweed, it is a 'clear' feast for the Sea Food Lovers.

The Hokkien Style Steamed Seasonal Fish

Another Signature Dish at No Signboard is the Hokkien Style Steamed Seasonal Fish, I was unable to try this one, as i feel short of appetite, although i'd strongly recommend this dish for you guys. Although in the sesoal fish i did try the Fried fish with the bean sauce, a beauty in itself, a must try for its crispy batter cover and its ultra soft and hot fish meat.

Fried Chicken Bamboo Rice

No signboard has its partnership with Tiger, and Tiger-waitresses often circle the floor with Ice cold Tiger and TIger Crystal, but if your not in for this locally loved beer, the best option is the Young Thai coconut, a chilled, sweet coconut in brought to your table and you can enjoy the taste of the sweet coconut at its perfect temperature. Sure does Bring a Smile to your Face.

HOW TO GET THERE

The Closest MRT station is Aljunied, on the East West Line, No Signboard is about a 2 Minute walk from here, or you could just hitch a cab.

RATINGS

Food               ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩

Ambience      ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩✩✩

Experience    ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩✩

Overall            ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩

(http://nosignboardseafood.com/)

Singapore!!

Image Link, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Singapore_Skyline_Panorama.jpg

So well my next few articles are a treat for sea food lovers and non seafood lovers alike. Finding a break from my strenuous routine I decided to visit Singapore for a week. And well the food didn't for even a moment on my trip let me forget that this land is heaven on earth

Well I am going to use this article to tell you guys a bit about the city, that will help you understand where to eat and where to not waste your appetite, on stuff that isn't worth it, here are a few pointers

• Firstly one has to understand that S'pore has had a booming economic rate in the last few years the SGD has almost doubled in the last 5 years. So if you are traveling he food prices may seem astonishingly high for a street food joint and a proper restaurant alike. But the quantities of the serving are very large indeed perhaps as a lone person you won't even be able to Finnish a small portion
• In terms of clearing the city to become even cleaner than it already was/is the city authorities have decided to remove all street stalls that don't have a seating area (the awesome places where you were able to eat a stomach full for a dirt cheap 5-8 SGD (3-7 USD). But it's not just bad news I have, the city, not ready to give up the awesomeness of the food, moved all such stalls into the city malls at not too much of a price increase *annoyingly loud roar of applause*
• Further adding to the good news the malls dont have just these stalls but many more local delicacies not only from S'pore but Taiwan, Thailand, China and even the USA and UK these stalls are simply fantastic the prices are really low and high accessible
• So as mentioned earlier these street joints are easily accessible, the MRT lines of S'pore (the subway, metro, trains, or whatever you decided to call it) are structured in such a way that the stations exit into the basements of the mall, where the food courts are.
• Lastly but certainly most importantly, DO NOT EAT AT THE COMMON FAST FOOD JOINTS eating a Mc Donald's buyer for lunch or a piece of KFC fried chicken is just a waste of your appetite. The choices in street food are In numerous anyway it's not worth missing this food for a mainstream burger but again that is my opinion you are free to choose your food