Nanbantei @ Far East Plaza

The only Japanese restaurant I used to frequent at Far East Plaza was Wasabi Tei, but we would always pass by this little Japanese eatery once you come up the escalator. You can't see the interior 'cos it's mostly covered up, and the entrance covered by the Japanese cloth. I always thought it looked rather mysterious. 

The sis and I were planning to go to Wasabi Tei, but we didn't know (or maybe we forgot) it was closed on sundays, we were too hungry and tired to hunt for another restaurant, and coincidentally this place had 2 seats left, so we decided on this.

We are always craving for sashimi, so we ordered salmon sashimi. We do know that it's not always very wise to order sashimi in a restaurant that's not known for fresh sashimi or specialises in other types of food, but we still went ahead anyway. Let's just say the taste was only as good as the picture suggests - pale oily lines, not succulent, leaves much to be desired.

 Nanbantei Yakitori Bento - This was quite value-for-money, it cost $14 if I'm not wrong. 5 skewers which included quail's eggs, chicken meatballs, some pork etc, with really delicious mushrooms and minced meat over the rice.

Mushroom with minced meat - Can't remember the price, but probably along the lines of $2 - $3 per mushroom! 0.0 But it was good.

Grilled Beef Tongue 牛タン($15) - Some parts were more tender and juicy than the rest, but in general I did enjoy this (or at least the more tender pieces). Although it got a bit "je lad" towards the end 'cos the sister didn't take to the taste and only took 2-3 pieces and I had to finish them off 0.0

Chawanmushi - Taste of the parsley was too strong, I still prefer Chikuwa Tei's version which had prawns, mushrooms and clear noodles in it. The ingredients in this one was meagre.

 

 Unagi Kabayaki - The sister loves this and would always want to order this in Japanese restaurants. This was an additional order and by this time I was very, very, fully already. A bit too salty and a bit over-charred, but all in all still a good choice to order. If we did away with the sashimi and the chawanmushi, I wouldn't have felt like I was going to burst any moment...

If you like yakitori, this place serves very decent fare. The food was good, easy to catch service staff's attention, and you could look at the chef at work too! 

How much was spent per pax: Not cheap, at least $30 per pax
Would I come back again? Once in a long while, not because it's not nice, but because I don't particularly fancy yakitori and as a poor student I can only afford a $30+ once in a while! :)


Address: 14 Scotts Road #05-132 Far East Plaza Singapore

Tel: +65 6733 5666

Opening Hours

Lunch 12 pm – 2.30 pm
Dinner 6 pm – 10.30 pm

Hatched @ Evans Lodge

A bunch of us went to Hatched a few Saturdays ago to celebrate the twins' belated birthday. I love going for brunch, and brunches seem to be all the rage for a long time now! Besides Wild Honey, most of the other brunch places are at ulu places if you're taking public transport. 

Tucked away at a small street next to the NUS Bukit Timah Campus is Evans Lodge which houses Hatched. We didn't make a reservation, were scheduled to meet at 11.30am but everyone ended up reaching at 12.30am, but we didn't have to wait long for a table of 8. 

I was surprised at this location, it was right outside the gate to a student hostel, and we looked like we were breakfast at a void deck, no joke. Atmosphere = 0.

The menu however was quite cute. I visited their website before going there, and it was refreshingly interactive and cute, with different kinds of eggs having different names to them. Takes a while to load though.

 I can't really remember which photograph is which egg, but here goes anyway -

Philly $14.00 - Omelette with minced beef inside and a piece of toast. When I saw the prices on the menu I thought they were rather decent, considering one set in Wild Honey costs around $18-$24. But when the dishes came the portions were really small! I knew from one look I could not possibly satisfy my hunger pangs (from getting lost in the hot sun before finally finding my way to this place) no matter how delectable my dish might be. I was sorely disappointed at the size of the serving. The presentation looks very mediocre as well, as you can tell.

Burly Benedict $11.00 - I do like the names though, and the concept that it's all about eggs, because I simply love eggs, regardless how they're done. Hard or soft-boiled, scrambled or omelette, benedict or sunny-side up, braised or not. We lamented to one another, sigh why didn't we think of this! We could've made millions.

Anyway, this is basically eggs benedict with steak underneath.

Smoked Royale (Single Egg) $11.00 - Consists of Eggs Benedict with smoke salmon, mashed potato and salad. This was mine, so I have a bit more to say about this. The egg was nicely done as well as the sauce, and usually I don't really fancy smoked salmon (sashimi anytime please) but I was craving for anything that resembled raw salmon the slightest bit, so I chose this. The smoked salmon wasn't fishy at all, and I did like this combination. Still, the portions left much to be desired, and I polished off the plate and eagerly waited for my companions to finish theirs so we can proceed on to another place for a second round.

One thing that was really good at this place is their mocha  ($5.50).

 This is Cowboy ($16.00) I think? A steak burger.

Papillote ($14.00) -  Same as Smoked Royale, only that instead of eggs benedict, the smoked salmon comes with scrambled eggs this time.

Le Rossini ($20) - The priciest of the lot, because of that blob of brown stuff you see on top of the scrambled eggs. Foie gras!

 You can choose whether you want one or two eggs for some items. This is Smoked Royale with twin eggs.

Overall I would say the taste was quite decent (I mean how wrong can you go with eggs right), but the portions were really meagre. Worth a try though. Service is good as well, which does contribute to the overall dining experience.


How much was spent per pax: Around $18 per pax
Would I come back again? Hm maybe once in a long while...

Address: 26 Evans Road #01-06 Evans Lodge Singapore

Tel: +65 6735 0012

Opening Hours:

Sun–Thu: 8am – 10pm
Fri–Sat: 8am – 12am
(Closed on Mon)

5 Star Corner Western Food @ Hougang Central

A few days ago, Future MP (FMP), Floorball Player (FBP) obligingly followed Kiasi Phtographer* (me) on her recommendation for cheap and good western food to a nondescript neighbourhood coffee shop near Hougang Mrt.

Many coffee shops have the token Western food stall serving run-of-the-mill stuff, and are there as symbolic alternative food choices just in a case a wandering ang moh comes by, or to cater to kids who disdain the typical hawker fare. These kopitiams usually have the Bak Kut Teh or Bak Chor Mee or Nasi Lemak as the main draw, with posters of some food awards or celebrity posing with the owner, plastered proudly at any available space-- the more the merrier. However, this is not the case at Food Park at Hougang Central. The western food stall there is actually the star attraction and it is located at the corner of the coffee shop. On most nights a section of the coffee shop is smokey with sizzle and steam from the western food hot plates that the stall offers. So it is rather apt that the name of the Western food stall is 5 Star Corner, literal and straight to the point.

Both FMP and FBP heeded my recommendation and ordered the hot plate black pepper steak, it was by chance that our orders for doneness of the steak range from medium, medium well to well-done.

Here's a photo of the stall and the guy taking orders and the menu which is actually on the signboard.

You have to go to the stall to place your order with Herbal Essence Guy (he's the only one facing the camera, the toss of the head and flyway hair iconic of the Herbal Essence advertisement "yes yes!"). Normally there's a queue to place orders so I occupy my time by scrutinizing Herbal Essence Guy's lustrous locks and wonder how he keeps them so shiny.

Our orders arrived in no time at all, served by a Uniquely Singapore Beng.  5 Star proudly houses a few of these guys with blond-streaked hair and multiple piercings, but they are actually friendlier than they look.

Pardon the smokey-looking photo, it was partly due to actual smoke sizzling upwards, and mostly due to the fact I didn't have time to take 10 photos of the same steak then choose the best looking one and pretend I got it right at the first try.

This Black Pepper Sizzling Steak was accompanied by standard side servings of a baked potato, assortment of indiscernible veggies and gooey baked beans. Perhaps the best part aside from the meat is the generous dollop of black pepper sauce slathered on just about every part of the dish. FMP, FBP and I then tucked into our steaks with all gusto and from here it was sort of like the Goldilocks and Three Bears scenario. FMP found the sauce nice but very spicy, FBP thought that the sauce was shiok, while I think the sauce is a little spicy but good.

For those of you unsure of what doneness to order, it was fortunate I had three types of doneness to compare with, all three steaks were tender and not hard or dry for the well done, or too bloody for the medium one.

 I've always eaten steak medium because it is the best combination of juiciness and firmness. This steak here oozes juice but not blood (very important) because I have had steak that made me feel like I was half vampire. A nicely medium steak has a blushing pink interior. I'm quite amazed that for a coffee shop stall, 5 Star has always managed to get the doneness just right almost every time.

Having tried the different doneness, we unanimously agreed that mine was the best, of course. Not because I'm always right, but because the medium steak encapsulates both tender succulence and a robust flavour without being too dry or raw. I have often wondered at this subtle sweetness present in the steak that steaks from other restaurants do not have, but FMP said it was probably in the way they marinate the steak.

*Here's a bonus picture and the reason why I am the Kiasi photographer, I saw a little girl in her pram tugging at a pair of jeans as if she's trying to judge whether to buy it. Adorable photo op moment, however I was too timid to take a close shot of her and instead stood far enough to take this picture with so many other things inside so that people wouldn't know what exactly I'm supposed to be taking.

FBP bravely offered to stand closer to take the photo for me and I let her, she stood so close that she looked like a suspicious kidnapper, but managed to take a shot. However! The shop auntie saw her and shouted at us and demanded we delete the picture in case we were spies from other shops, so we did.

Moral of the story: beware the shop auntie near the 5 Star Western food stall.

I have this theory that anything that comes from the cow or chicken can be turned into comfort food. I give 5 Star, the full 5 Stars for a no-hassle, cheap and consistent comfort cow food. Not sure about the rest of the other meats at 5 Star, but I expect that it should be around the same standard. In comparison with the other steak restaurants I have visited, 5 Star offers the best value for money without a compromise on taste and quality. It might not beat Shashlik for quality but it has its own charms at the affordable price of $8.

How much was spent: $8 per pax

Would I come back again? Absolutely, any time I need a cheap, quick steak fix.

Address:

5 Star Corner Western Food

Blk 805 Hougang Central

Food Park S530805 (3-5mins walk from Hougang MRT depending on how fast you walk.)