We had a late dinner as we were still full from our late lunch haha~ We were in marina square and decided to just settle for dim sum at 包今天 (the mere mention of it makes me wanna sing the 包青天 theme song haha)!
http://www.baotoday.com(Their webbie has the 包青天 theme song with lyrics about their dim sum haha~)
Their pan-fried radish cake ($2.80) was decent enough, albeit a tad oily. Made me kinda sick of it after awhile~
Their chicken porridge ($4.80) was substandard; it was horribly bland and we couldn't contemplate eating it if not for a saviour which came in the form of soy sauce!
I couldn't remember much about their paper-wrapped chicken ($2), which is really only a single chicken wing wrapped in paper except that it's way greasy~
The char siew baos which they called the honey-glazed bbq pork buns ($1.80)~ They were alright i guess~
I dun see us returning to this place again; i would much rather have my dim sum fix at victor's kitchen!
And so, we were undecided again on what to have for lunch haha~ We were in bugis, so we just went ahead to this char chan teng since we've never been there before~
Bugis Junction 200 Victoria Street #02-50 Singapore 188021
That's their 冰镇鸳鸯 (Chilled Coffee-Tea - $3.60)~ Note that it's chilled, not iced! 鸳鸯's a mixture of coffee and tea, and the drink's being put into a bowl of ice cubes so that it would be nicely chilled without being diluted by ice!
Their 鸳鸯 wasn't really nice~ It was almost like having coffee; we could hardly taste any hint of tea!
Baby's fried rice with honey grilled pork ($6.90)~ The portion was a tad small; he had to order an extra portion of rice ($1)! Other than that, no complaints about this dish~
My luncheon meat soup noodles ($5.50), which is really only instant noodles with luncheon meat, an egg and some veggies! It's so simple but it's like a staple in hong kong char chan tengs!
Just like how i like to use fish and chips to gauge a place selling western food, i like to use this simple luncheon meat soup noodles to gauge a char chan teng~ Coz don't they always say, the simplest dish is actually the hardest to make?
I actually prefer wong kok's version to xin wang's~ The former's soup was more flavoursome!
We also shared a peanut butter and condensed milk thick toast ($2.30)~ It was just alright~
I personally think that a lot of char chan tengs here offer too many items on their menu; resulting in many of their dishes in being just average~ Think it's true?
If i'm not wrong, i believe man jia le (full house cafe) first opened in far east plaza offering hong kong-style snacks, desserts and drinks. I dunno how many outlets they have now, but we always frequent the one in central for their superb 功夫奶茶 (kung fu iced milk tea)!
They have recently expanded their menu to include mains like 公仔面 (instant noodles with luncheon meat, egg and veggies), 猪扒饭 (pork cutlet rice), 卤肉饭 (braised pork rice) and the likes.
This is odd, but 卤肉饭 (braised pork rice) is actually included in the menu. Isn't it like, taiwanese?!
Anyway, Baby and i couldn't decide what to have for dinner (this happens frequently to us haha), so we decided to just try out their new mains. We didn't think they would be any good but curiosity killed the cat!
The Central 6 Eu Tong Sen Street #B1-30 Singapore 059817
That's their 功夫奶茶 (kung fu iced milk tea)(regular - $1.90, large - $2.30) we order almost every single time we're in central! We love it so much simply for the fact that it's so milky and sweet without being overwhelmingly so!
We both had their 卤肉饭 (braised pork rice)~ There was a portion of minced braised pork, hard-boiled egg, chicken (or pork - can't tell) floss and this little piece of fried beancurd which tasted weird~
Both of us didn't like it. I can't say that it's god-awful, but it's certainly bad!
We ordered their egg wrapped carrot cake coz i saw it being recommended on 超级小吃赞 (ch8 food programme)~
The carrot cake itselt was alright, but we both felt that the addition of the egg and floss was redundant~ There are too many layers; it made the taste confusing and took the limelight away from the main character - the carrot cake.
I would say just go for the pan-fried carrot cake - it doesn't really need any fancy dressing to taste good!
In a nutshell, we probably won't be back for their mains; just the safer options like fries and such, and the ever foolproof 功夫奶茶 (kung fu iced milk tea)!
This bak kut teh place opened just last year and it's just opposite central; along the stretch where fishermen's wharf is~
11 New Bridge Rd (Upper Circular Rd) #01-01 Singapore 059383
Tel: 6533 6128
Baby had the loin ribs ($6)~ It was just okay; a bit tough even. I can't help feeling that the soup's got a homely feel to it; it tasted kinda familiar to me! (I'd know why later - read on!)
As for me, i absolutely love love love pig's kidney! Hence i always order pig's kidney soup ($6) whenever i'm at a bak kut teh or kway chup stall!
I hate it when ppl overcook pig's kidney! Thank goodness Song Fa didn't - u can still see the blood!
We were pleasantly surprised when an auntie topped up our soup when she saw that our soup was almost finished; that was a rather thoughtful gesture!
We'd always order a side of mei cai or in this case; salted vegetables ($1) to go with our dishes~ It's almost like the perfect complement!
Their disappointing you tiao (dough fritters - $1)~ It wasn't fresh at all; they have pre-made and stored all their you tiao in this big container. That resulted in their you tiao being horribly rubbery and tasteless!
And as i've mentioned earlier, their soup tasted very familiar~ It turned out that my mum has always used Song Fa's bak kut teh spices (in packets)! No wonder i thought the soup had a homely feel to it!
This year's prosperity meal was exactly the same as last year's; the same black pepper beef / chicken burger and twister fries. I think only the chicken burger remains available right now!
We only tried the chicken last year, so i had the beef this year!
Baby's birthday was a few weeks back (before chinese new year!), and we celebrated for 4 days! Haha told u we're suckers for celebrations! ^_^
Hence, dun be alarmed at the amount of food shown here; they were consumed over the period of 4 days! Heh~ It's like a food trail similar to what i did last year!
1st Day
It's the actual day! It's a thursday, so Baby had to work~ He got off work earlier though, and i prepared a bento (sort of!) dinner for us!
See, the long candle on the right cannot tahan already haha~
Mini supper:
Seedless grapes from sun moon, central~
Prawn crackers from Cheers~
3rd Day
Our hearty breakfast!:
Good old Big Breakfast from McDonald's!
Our lunch!:
We shared a 6-inch sandwich from Subway~
and...
popcorn chicken and cheese fries from KFC!
We went to chinatown to soak in the chinese new year atmosphere and we decided to search for the chicken rice place we went to last year. We couldn't remember much about the place coz we were in a hurry at that time; the only thing i could remember was that their staff wore shirts with "tiong bahru" emblazoned on the back and that their chicken rice was yummy haha~
We could only rely on our very vague memory to locate the place and i swear chinatown's practically a maze with all those chinese new year booths!
皇天不负苦心人, after we walked some 冤枉路, we finally saw it!
We were quite disappointed actually! We felt that their standards have dropped quite abit and their chicken rice wasn't that yummy anymore!
Mini supper again!:
Hahaha we were scared that we'd undercooked the yakitori, so we chucked it into the microwave oven for the second time! Slightly chao tar but still edible la! Haha~
4th Day
Our lunch!:
I has some mini steamboat thingy with noodles at a foodcourt~
Baby's fishball noodles~
Remember the ferrero rocher bouquet i made for Baby (his birthday present!) that was shown in the previous entry? Here's 2 more pics!