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Tamago-En
it is probably not uncommon to have an all eggs themed restaurant , considering that it is a regularly used ingredient in several dishes. but this Okinawa-based eggs eatery is somewhat special, with focus on the freshness of imported Japanese eggs and their superior quality, the eggs not only radiates an attractive golden-orange yolk, they are so fresh that they can be eaten raw or with this special soya sauce..
Tamago-En is an Okinawa based concept brought into Singapore by the folks who runs the highly successful En-Sakaba. with its only outlet on level 2 of NEX in Serangoon, the store attracts long queues eager to try variants of egg-based dishes. not only are the egg yolks bright, they have mastered the art of the trendy millennial food of cloud eggs - whipping the eggs into a fluffy cloud. the restaurant also introduces to us the Japanese culture of eating really good quality eggs mixed with rice. 
Their specialty dish is the Tamago Kake-Gohan, or Ultimate Egg Rice, essentially the special cloud eggs sitting atop fragrant steamed rice. you can mix it with other ingredients, spring onions and drizzle it with the special soya sauce. Toppings that you can add on include tuna, salmon, chicken or Tsukune chicken balls, to make it a heartier meal. being always a lover of watery fresh egg yolks mixed with rice or noodles, we lapped up this dish with glee. 
i guess being an eggs theme restaurant, you can't go without serving Omu rice or eggs omelette rice. we tried this Salmon Cream Omelette rice which came in very fragrant cream sauce and served with spinach. the omelette wraps the rice perfectly and the salmon was fresh as well. tomato lovers can go for the seafood tomato cream based Omu rice which looked very attractive as well. with a neat range of fast serving comfort food, it is no wonder that this concept is so popular with the customers. 
they have even got egg skewers for variety! we ordered this 5-kind egg skewer set that comes with neatly prepared omelette cubes topped with tomato, seaweed sauce, ikura, crab-meat mayo and salmon flakes. all the omelette cubes are spongy and served warm, with the little dollop of topping giving each one a unique taste. we would recommend this dish for first-timers to the eatery. we do observe several patrons trying out the desserts as well, and we made mental notes to check out their fresh egg-yolk milkshakes. they have a few flavours from original to strawberry, but we were very curious how egg-yolks would fare when mixed as a shake. Thats probably the only drink worth trying, as the other regular drinks were priced a tad too high, making them somewhat unappealing. in all, Tamago-En is a unique concept and makes a good family restaurant. we hope that with the success enjoyed at NEX, they'd be opening more outlets near us soon... 
Tamago-En 23 Serangoon Central #02-K5/K6, NEX Singapore 556083 Opening Hours Daily: 11.30 am to 10 pm eggs go through a process of UV sanitisation for the highest food safety standards, and are SO FRESH they can be eaten raw.. Labels: #japanesefood, #nex, #omeletterice, #omurice, #serangoon, #tamago, #tamagoen, #ultimateeggrice Mom's Touch (Singapore)
Korean fried chicken burst into the Singapore scene a couple of years back, giving the likes of traditional fast food a good run for their money. The likes of Nene Chicken, Chir Chir Chicken or Chicken Up were all concepts conceived by very enterprising local groups. While this trend has kind of simmered down for awhile, the No Signboard Group has somewhat kick started another revival by bringing in Mom's Touch Chicken & Burger from Korea.
Being a chicken lover like many Singaporeans, I lept at the chance to try out its very first outlet which opened at Paya Lebar Quarters recently. Since their opening last month, queues can often be seen at meal times on weekdays and probably round the clock on weekends. Indoor seating is limited and the long waits are probably exacerbated by their only 2 automated ordering machines, and their secret recipe of hand breaded fried chicken. The majority of the seating is al-fresco, overlooking the water feature between PLQ 1 and 2. The environment is rather pleasant and it certainly hasn't deterred many from trying their popular chicken. 
the true litmus test would be to try their original recipe fried chicken, so i went for the 2-piece chicken combo. The meal comes with fries and a drink of my choice, moreover patrons can select to mix both the original and spicy type of fried chicken within the combo. It may be an odd way to describe chicken but I enjoyed that they tasted natural. not too oily, with a crispy exterior and tender, juicy meat on the inside. Along the lines of Arnold's Chicken perhaps, where there is more meat, less oil unlike typical fast food fried chicken which is virtually more batter and oil than anything else. this was the biggest win for me. 
we also tried the Mom's Thigh Burger, which other than its somewhat amusing name, was quite a gem. the combo meal is currently on promotion, and we liked that the burger came with a large crispy chicken patty and a very generous serving of lettuce. the look is not quite as pretty as the exaggerated photos on the menu, but the burgers still rank amongst the better ones we've eaten. 
Some special mention to the drinks, after we got tempted with the $1 upgrade to their fruit ades. We went for the citrus yuzu orange ade, which is essentially orange soda with yuzu jelly. the drink wasn't too sweet and the textured jelly is something that our bubble-tea crazy clientele here would love. On our next visit, we'd also be curious to check out their spicy Korean sauce chicken, their ice-cream sundaes and their other stacked burgers. in all, the wait for Mom's Touch was a tad too long for fast food, but the quality was probably worth the wait. 
Mom's Touch (Singapore) 10 Paya Lebar Road Paya Lebar Quarter #01-37 Singapore 409057 Opening Hours Daily: 10 am to 10 pm impressing our customers not with haste or speed, but with properly made foods.. Labels: #chickenburger, #friedchicken, #koreanfriedchicken, #momstouch, #payalebar, #PLQ, #yuzuorangeade Pronto Caffe & Bar
Japanese fusion cafe chain Pronto has made its way to Singapore. with over 300 stores across Japan, the outlet concept is essentially a pasta place serving up coffees, teas and bar top drinks. its first store in Singapore is located within the CBD at Capital Square, as part of the Japanese offerings at the curated Gochi Church Street. while it might be busier on the weekdays, the cafe sure makes a cosy place to chill on weekends, to have leisurely coffee or a beer on a Sunday afternoon.
The menu at Pronto is fairly compact, with a selection of fusion Japanese pastas and cakes to choose from at lunch. We understand there are abit more bar bites options for dinner but since we visited around noon, we'll focus on the lunch menu. the interiors are bright and creates a very relaxed atmosphere. Japanese do think of everything and the drinks range from the healthy to the alcoholic; for coffee they included the recently popular brown sugar variant as well as a coffee stand facing the walkway for weekday take-outs. 
we tried the pasta and they come in very generous servings. the ingredients are also generally fairly healthy such as this Crab & Broccoli Arrabiata which is served in spicy tomato sauce with shredded crab meat, tomatoes and broccoli. chilli bits within the sauce gives the dish a pretty spicy kick and i personally found the meal wholesome and satisfying. from a straightforward single page menu, it wasn't difficult to make your choice. 
probably one of the surprise finds of this visit is their Chicken & Mushroom Cream Soup Spaghetti. maybe because its rare to find this dish locally, or because the cream-based soup is really tasty, this led us to unanimously decide that this is a good dish. despite its plain ingredients, the mix of chicken hax, mushrooms, corn and spaghetti in a thick cream based broth combined to make very flavourful comfort food. we had it with an Acai Berry smoothie, another drink choice for the more health-conscious. 
i guess when you're in a Japanese inspired cafe, we should have gone for tea and probably with Matcha. our iced Latte was fine, nothing too fancy but perhaps we should have tried their Pronto Special blend or the brown sugar coffee. Nonetheless, this place proved to be a nice place to chill out, with its comfy interior and wide drink selection. in fact, during our lunch there, we did see individuals coming in to have a beer or read a book. in all, although the food are a tad pricey for simple dishes, its delivery, quality and ambience would ensure that they would have their market of followers in time to come. 
Pronto Caffe & Bar 23 Church St #01-02/03 Capital Square Singapore 049481 Opening Hours Mondays to Thursdays: 7.30 am to 11.30 pm Fridays: 7.30 am to 2 am Saturdays & Sundays: 11 am to 10 pm ready to serve you throughout the day.. Labels: #asianfusion, #capitalsquare, #pastaplace, #prontocaffe&bar Famous Treasure
The local palette is a melting pot of dishes from various dialect groups, and over the years, we have featured some really authentic Teochew, Cantonese and Hokkien restaurants. Famous Treasure at Capitol Piazza only has a fairly short 1 year history, but its turning out to be the space to watch for serving up popular local dishes in style. often, you'd think alot the lines of White or New Ubin Seafood perhaps, when you think of Tze Char dishes in a restaurant setting. but nothing prepares you for the ambience you'd get when you step into Famous Treasure.
from its posh exterior to the whiskey counter and the service game that they deliver, visitors can expect that Famous Treasure focuses on providing an experience. We understood that local media personalities would often frequent this eatery as well, racking up its reputation as a Chinese restaurant that serves up a wide variety of Nanyang dishes with excellent service. 
We tried a classic Teochew dish to get started with this Soy braised duck platter, which comes with slices of braised duck, bean curd and duck wings. the braised sauce was good and went well with steamed rice, and the duck wings were surprisingly easy to eat as they literally could be licked off their bones. alas, the duck meat slices itself had a rather hard texture and would have been perfect if they could have been more tender. 
this Cantonese dish of Champagne Pork Ribs turned out to be surprisingly good. the grilled ribs were so well done with pieces that had ample meat, grilled to a very soft texture and served in orange sauce. if anything was needed to boost this dish, we felt that the marination of champagne sauce for this dish could have been more flavourful. for me, this was still one of the dishes i enjoyed most here. 
The main event of the evening was indeed this KL Hokkien Mee. it is not easy to find a good interpretation of this dish locally, that had good enough Wok Hey and resemblance to that authentic KL taste. the version at Famous Treasure was fairly close and came served in generous portions of prawns, squids and scallops. Throughout the dinner, the level of service standards was top notch, with the staff regularly attending to us, replenishing our tea and even offered complimentary parking. If you're one who'd want to bring either colleagues or family for local fare in style, then Famous Treasure would be one place you could take them. 
Famous Treasure 13 Stamford Rd #02-28 Capitol Piazza Singapore 178905 Opening Hours Daily: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 6 pm to 10.30 pm signatures imbued with local influences and a bold showcase of nostalgic flavours.. Labels: #capitolpiazza, #champagneporkribs, #chineserestaurant, #famoustreasure, #klhokkienmee, #localfood SPRMRKT
any food establishment that succeeds to have more than one outlet really ups its game. For SPRMRKT, not only does it have a a couple of outlets to allow more patrons the chance of trying their food, it also differentiates itself through its unique name and concept. pronounced as "supermarket", the name is a unique play of words to spell it without vowels. the idea itself is essentially fusion food, with a focus on local art as well.
The restaurant is essentially a bistro serving up western mains and brunch food, the fusion element comes from its choice of ingredients, often adding a local flavours to the dishes. The decor for the Cluny Court outlet where we visited has a Chinese restaurant look, with modern fittings and a bar counter as well. the tie up with artist Benedict Yu adds to the Chinese feels as several of his paintings are put up on display as well. we like it that the eatery celebrates local art, it adds another dimension to the overall dining experience. 
it was a group outing and we had to wait for some others to arrive. we ordered this Chilli Cheese Fries that's totally vegan. with all these patented vegan meat these days, the fries here are splashed with cheese, chilli sauce and minced Beyond meat - which is not exactly meat, since its vegan. the fries tasted really good and having these options probably underlines the commitment that SPRMRKT has to stay inclusive. 
classic SPRMRKT favourites from its original McCallum Street store can be found here as well. this Spicy Prawn Linguine is one of them and it lived up to the hype. the dish comes with an abundant serving of king prawns, special spicy sauce and nicely textured Linguine pasta. you can also find the Blackened Fish & Chips, where the fish batter is prepared in squid ink, making it charcoal black. nonetheless, its very good quality fish and chips, with the meat really soft within a crispy crust, great taste as well. 
there's also more mainstream brunch food like Eggs Benedict available, or you can go for more adventurous mains such as this Chicken Confit in pesto sauce. if anything it was a very generous portion of chicken thigh, grilled tender, served with potatoes, cherry tomatoes and pesto sauce. we do get a feeling that chicken lovers will be biased towards this one. besides the food offering, the outlet at Cluny Court is a nice place for gatherings. the place gets busy on weekends with the expat community and folks living around the neighbourhood coming by for a late brunch, as well as Botanic Gardens visitors stopping over for lunch. reservations would be encouraged to get the same fuss free experience that we enjoyed. 
SPRMRKT (Cluny Court) 501 Bukit Timah Road #02-13 Cluny Court Singapore 259760 Opening Hours Mondays to Thursdays: 8 am to 8 pm Fridays & Saturdays: 8 am to 10 pm Sundays: 8 am to 7 pm accented with Southeast Asian flavours, wholesome ingredients and freshly baked goods.. Labels: #beyondfries, #blackenedfishandchips, #brunchcafe, #brunchfood, #bukittimah, #clunycourt, #spicyprawnliguine #fusionfood, #sprmrkt Sushi Jiro (Keppel Bay)
Although Japanese food is not difficult to find in Singapore, top quality Japanese food with an Omakaze option is not that easy to come by. its often a luxury to dine at such a restaurant here and more so to find one with a great view. Sushi Jiro has taken up the space vacated by TCC at Keppel Bay, yes the place down South of Singapore where you can go yacht watching, stroll along the boardwalks and have posh dates. we managed to visit it to celebrate an Anniversary recently and found that it was good value for what it was worth..
The restaurant has the option of being seated at the sushi counter to watch the chefs in action. this not only presents patrons with the showmanship of preparing the sushi and sashimi, but also emphasizes the concept of bringing out the best Japanese dishes through good quality ingredients with minimal seasoning and condiments. the menu is extensive in terms of authentic Japanese food choices, both raw and cooked, including a good selection of wines, beers and fruits. 
we came for lunch where the menu also have curated some signature sets priced between $70 to $100 that brings out the best of their offering. we tried their Sushi and Sashimi Course that comes with a hearty selection of Nirgi Sushi, seafood sashimi, Chawanmushi, Miso Soup and a couple of other dishes. the focus of course was on the sushi, each piece was prepared individually and served one at a time. authentic sushi lovers would enjoy the fact that each piece already comes with the intended amount of freshly-grated wasabi and applied with an ample amount of soy sauce. one can just pick them up to enjoy, tasting the freshness of the seafood which we understood were all air-flown from Japan. 
the course also comes with other dishes such as this bowl of Uni and Ikura with rice, which was essentially fragrant Japanese rice topped with fish roe and sea urchin. these small rice bowls with premium ingredients are probably one of the highlights of the restaurant and once again, the freshness of the seafood was evident. that's practically the key to good Japanese food as they are often served raw without much condiments to spice up their true taste. besides this dish, the warm bowls of Chawanmushi and Miso Soup also went well to accompany the cold dishes. 
perhaps it was due to us celebrating a special occasion but the desserts came with some fanfare, we had Japanese melon and ice cream served in individual martini glasses, presented in a platter of ice. it was a good way to cap off a fine meal, and it was great to taste the premium fruit which can come up to quite a hefty sum if you purchased it from any Japanese grocer. in all, our experience at Sushi Jiro was fantastic due to the excellent service, the very filling lunch sets and the top quality ingredients used to prepare them. probably not the type of Japanese food one can enjoy on a casual dining basis, but certainly one to go for the occasional indulgence. 
Sushi Jiro (Keppel Bay) 2 Keppel Bay Vista #02-01 Marina at Keppel Bay Singapore 098382 Opening Hours Daily: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm; 6 pm to 10.30 pm only top quality Japanese produce that’s set to satisfy palates.. Labels: #japanesefood, #keppelbay, #premiumjapanesefood, #sashimi, #sushi, #sushibar, #sushijiro, #uniikuraricebowl |
..ThE lEgEnD..
Last Movie: Ad Astra
Golden Village, Singpost Centre 
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