K.L, Malaysia: Nasi Lemak Tanglin

This Nasi Lemak stall took a little walking to get to, but since it was so highly recommended by some blogs and even a food guide endorsed by the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism we thought it would be well worth the time and effort. It's located near the National Mosque as well as close to the Kuala Lumpur Community Clinic. For Singaporeans, don't think this is a "food court" even if it has been described to be so, because it's very much a tiny hawker place.


Truth be told, I found nothing special about the Nasi Lemak, and was in fact apologetic to my peers for making them walk quite a bit to get to this place. The much-raved about Sambal Chilli was too watery and diluted, which didn't help it's star dish - the Sambal Sotong (in case you're wondering, "sotong" means squids).


The Paru Goreng (fried beef lungs) were disappointing as well, as they were too dry and came off as rubbery even. The Grilled Fish, also recommended by many, was the worst of the lot - it was stale and had a smell to it. Oh dear. The only thing that I think I should add is that, just maybe, the Malaysians prefer their nasi lemak and sambal chilli this way and we're just not used to it.

Price
About RM10 per person.

Place
Stall No. 6, Kompleks Makan Tanglin,
3 Jalan Cendarasari, Off Jalan Tanglin,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

HCMC, Vietnam: Halal @ Saigon

Flight delays are no laughing matter, especially when it means another five hours in transit in an almost godforsaken Nha Trang airport with little food, air-conditioning and wi-fi. It's an even more "interesting" experience when you can see the aviation engineers attempting to hammer the plane door, use masking tapes, squeeze paper into gaps etc., and then you find yourself scrambling to find another flight just so you don't get on that plane. No complaints about having to stay in the five-star Sheraton Hotel, since we missed our connecting SQ flight from Ho Chi Minh City and had to find a place for the night. No complaints either about indulging in familiar Malaysian fare, even at 10+pm, since it was all good comfort food.


Halal @ Saigon was opened by the lively Dr Shimi for about a year and eight months now, and to date has won at least three local awards in recognition of its good food. Halal @ Saigon is located across the road from Sheraton Hotel and is close to the shopping belt of Ho Chi Minh City. Do take note of its namecard (above) though, because you wouldn't want to confuse it with a competitor who had set up shop nearby, with a large Halal sign to boot and with similar fonts too.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls: I'm not a fan of these, but my colleagues liked it a lot. This is one of the staple dishes of the typical Vietnamese diet, but I would take pho anytime. The food I mean, not the euphemism.

Rice Pancake with Chicken: I took the picture (left) of the rice pancake off the Internet just so you could see what it looks like. I'm not a bean-sprouts person so I have to reserve my comments on this, but at least my colleagues (again) seemed happy with it.

Fried Shrimp with Salted Eggs: I've eaten the crab variation of this in Singapore, but with prawns it's really much saltier. Probably better eaten with noodles or rice rather than on its own.

Curry Chicken: No pictures from the late dinner, but the chicken curry is worth mention because it's not our usual Singapore-type curries. It has a more distinct Indian flavour, and can be mind-numbingly spicy if taken in large and repeated doses. Still, it was hugely addictive to me, and I went on and on drinking the curry as it is. Curries are comfort food to me!

Nasi Lemak


We returned to Halal @ Saigon the following morning, and most of us ordered the Nasi Lemak because of the favourable opinions of it from the night before. The rice was fragrant and tasted alright, but people who appreciate balance would especially love the chicken rendang and sambal chilli because they were not too spicy. Me, I would like it with a more spicy kick, but overall it was still quite good.

Roti Canai



The Malaysian equivalent of the Singaporean roti prata, where the only difference is in name actually. The Roti Canai was disappointing because I doubt it was "hand-made", and going by the taste and exact dimensions it should be from a frozen pack. At least the curry (note: different from the à la carte chicken curry mentioned above) that came along with it saved the dish.

Teh Tarik: Make sure you order this delicious full-bodied beverage, it's sweet and warms you up inside all over.

Well, I wish I could tell you more, but most of us were ordering similar dishes and sticking to our comfort zones. This is definitely a place to go to if you need a break from traditional Vietnamese food, fusion French dishes and international buffets. We know this for sure because we've been having quite a bit of all that, and as you can tell we even missed the breakfast spread at the Sheraton just for some comforting Nasi Lemak and Teh Tarik :)

Service
Very good, most of the staff can manage orders in English. Do chat with Dr Shimi if you see her around, she's a very passionate person who loves food. There's only one Halal @ Saigon by the way, because she doesn't want to compromise on quality that usually follows with expansion.

Price
VND 70,000 for the vietnamese spring rolls
VND 45,000 for the rice pancake with chicken
VND 99,000 for the fried shrimp with salted eggs
VND 90,000 for the chicken curry
VND 72,000 for the nasi lemak

* The roti canai is not on the menu but you can still order it.

Place
31 Đông Du, District 1,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Additional Comment
The picture of the airport and the rice pancake are from external sources on the Internet.

Pictures taken with the Canon Ixus 80 IS.

It's All About Taste @ Ibis Hotel

It's past midnight but I'm just about game to start typing on this potentially long post about my recent dinner at It's All About Taste, an Asian-cuisine restaurant located at Ibis Hotel along Bencoolen Street. On quieter nights like these, it's my blog that keeps me company as my fingers race across the keyboard... Type, type, type. It does gets me hungry though.


It's All About Taste features some of the most popular local delights all under one roof, and if you're thinking where you can give your friends from overseas a quick run-through of the "must-eats" in Singapore, this could just be the place. Note that I'm not suggesting the food here is the standard, for I'm sure it would take you all around the island to find the "best" (subjective, subjective) rendition of each dish on It's All About Taste's menu.


So as the name and tagline of this place suggests, it's really more about "simply trying everything" that Singapore could offer. A good introduction surely, and especially one that is endorsed by celebrity food guru KF Seetoh of Makansutra. I heard he helped to develop the recipes and design the menu, so you can imagine that I had some measure of heightened expectations for dinner.


Just a shot of a small part of the dining area, which is quite large, well-lit and fairly comfortable as a mid-range restaurant would be. This is after all within the premises of a budget hotel (albeit part of a well-known international chain) so don't expect much fine-dining here. Service however is tops, you feel very welcomed here amidst the smiles and polite service crew.


A glimpse of the menu, recognise many local dishes yes? It's All About Taste goes by "set meals" where you choose three, four or five dishes for $15++, $18++ and $22++ respectively. I applied for the DBS Platinum Visa Card and got a one-for-one voucher, so it made a visit here all the more worthwhile. Do check your cards to see if there's any promotions.


Finally, food here is served "tapas" style, so don't be too alarmed about ordering three to five main courses in a single sitting. Smaller portions of course, but the larger the group you come with, the more variety you get :)

Char Kway Teow: 2.75/5


We'll start with the char kway teow since it's the first dish on the menu. This serving of fried noodles turned out to be a disappointment as it tasted quite bland, and even despite the rather generous amount of ingredients.

Chilli Crab: 4.25/5


Probably the best dish of the night, though I wished I didn't leave it to turn cold. It looked almost too simple, just a small mantou bread with a similarly small crab pincer, but underneath the thick, sweet gravy was an unexpected amount of yummy crabmeat. All there without having the need to pry open any shells. If there is a "full" version of this dish, I would love to come back for more.

Chicken Rice: 3.75/5


Yeap, chicken rice can definitely come cheaper elsewhere but I had a sudden craving for it then. It turned out better than expected, the rice was fragrant and flavourful while the chicken was tender and fresh. I liked this.

Popiah: 3/5


The springroll looked quite big when it arrived, but on closer look it was only because the popiah "skin" was wrapped around the fillings quite a number of times, making it a bit too thick for my friend's liking.

Carrot Cake: 2.5/5


This was edible, and so was... passable. Thing is, it was really just the radish cake with fried egg, and was devoid of the crunchy "chye poh" (salted radish) that is a quintessential ingredient to any decent carrot cake. Quite bland too.

Wok-Fried Beef: 3.5/5


Pretty tasty, tender slices of beef. Not the most filling dish to order though, but good as a side.

Sweet and Sour Prawns: 4.25/5


Very satisfying dish, and we really should have ordered more of these. Crunchy prawns in a crisp batter, cooked with a sweet lip-smacking sauce. Yums.

Nasi Lemak: 3.75/5


Here's a small sample of one of our favourite breakfast dishes. Delicious rice with delicious fried chicken. My friend enjoyed this more than she thought she would.

Barbecue Stingray: 2.25/5


Ah, the stingray, I've no idea where to start. This has got to be the worst barbecue sambal stingray that I've ever eaten. The meat was so tough and dry that I actually thought it was the cartilege, while the sambal chilli was too clumpy, cold and paste-like. Eeks.

Beef Hor Fun: 4/5


As you can tell, there's hits and misses at It's All about Taste, but at least hits like the beef hor fun here (or the chilli crab and sweet and sour prawns) still make it a fairly decent and filling dinner overall. The stir-fried noodles here had a slight "wok hei" flavour, which can be quite difficult for most hotel restaurant kitchens to achieve. I like the thickness of the gravy and how it went well with the soft noodles and tender beef.

And there you have it! Not the best pictures I know, they were all taken in record time, but I hope you enjoyed the review. It's 1.30am now and I'm hungry, hungry, hungry! More food posts lined up, stay tuned :)

Service
Excellent.

Price
$15++ for three dishes,
$18++ for four dishes,
$22++ for five dishes.

Place
Ibis Hotel, Bencoolen Street.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.

Niqqi's The Cheese Prata Shop II

For many NUS students, especially those staying in halls or campers during orientation camps, Niqqi's one of those favourite haunts in the middle of the night when stomachs rumble or mouths yearn to munch or sip on something. More affectionately known as "Fong Seng" (from the name of a nearby Nasi Lemak shop that has a sort of "alliance" with Niqqi's in which both allow customers to eat food from either place and sit in their areas), Niqqi's is open 24-hours.

Nasi Lemak Kampung: 7/10


Although it is on friendly terms with Fong Seng Nasi Lemak, Niqqi's has its own nasi lemak on offer here too, but tries to distinguish it by saying its standard-fare nasi lemak as compared to the one at Fong Seng where there's a variety of ingredients to choose from. I like the nasi lemak at Niqqi's because the chicken wing is good, and the sambal is not as sweet as Fong Seng's.

Niqqi's Special: 3/10


As I've always said time and again, taste is after all subjective. A couple of my friends like this, but I don't think my taste buds like it at all. It's a roti prata with egg, cheese and mushroom filling, and at first bite I was already wincing at the salty-type of taste from the cheese. I dumped sugar on it and ate it like a sugared doughnut haha.

Plaster Prata


Interesting name, eh? It got its name from the way that the egg is merely "plastered" on the top of a prata without it really being mixed into it like the typical egg pratas.

Sausage and Cheese Prata


Another one of Niqqi's roti prata variations.

Teh Ping and Syrup Limau (Lime)


Cool down with sweet, iced drinks!

Service
Okay.

Price
$2+ for the nasi lemak
$3+ for Niqqi's special
$1.30 for the plaster prata
$3.00 for the sausage-cheese prata

Place
Niqqi's The Cheese Prata Shop
16/18 Clementi Road

Additional Comment
Open 24 hours.

Adam Road Food Centre

A couple of stalls were closed in the previous time that I was here with my friends, but this time round all were open as I brought my family here for dinner on a Sunday evening. We arrived at 6pm, so there wasn't much of a crowd yet. Adam Road Food Centre has just been renovated, it's been a month or so already actually, and looks like a miniature version of East Coast or Newton Circus food centres.

Nasi Lemak: 8.5/10


This is probably one of the best nasi lemak I've ever tried in Singapore. It explains why this stall has the longest queue in Adam Road (the queue for prawn noodles is also another long one) and for me, it was well worth the wait.


I chose the "Royal Flush" set, which consists of a fried chicken wing, otah otah (grilled fish paste), begedil (fried mashed potatoes), egg and anchovies. The chicken wing was really tasty and fried to a golden crisp, while the smabal chilli was spicily good! The best part of the dish, and often neglected by others, is the rice, which wasn't too soft nor too hard, was very fragrant and piping hot. Great stuff, went well with everything.

Place


Elera Rasa Nasi Lemak

Price
$4.50. A little on the high side, but worth it.

Fried Kway Teow: 5/10


In contrast to my nasi lemak, the fried noodles paled terribly in comparison. Lack of flavour, non spicy and ordinary, this dish could not impress anyone on the table.

Place


Unit #01-22. This stall is not the one with the longer prawn noodles queue by the way. It also claims to have "no pork, no lard", which is why my parents bought from this stall.

Price
$3.00. At least it was cheap.

Fried Oyster Omelette: 7.3/10


I'm not exactly a fan of fried oyster omelettes, but this came out to be a bit too oily and not crispy enough. I liked the way it was served though, in a small boat-like dish haha.

Place


Same as the above, Unit #01-22.

Price
$5.00.

Bee Hoon Goreng: 7.7/10


"Goreng" is a Malay word for "fried" actually. When used by an Indian stall like the case we have here, what you would get is fried (noodles) in tomato sauce, with egg, vegetables and mutton. The portion here came out to be pretty large, and it tasted good as well. Smelled so good that my mum found three pairs of chopsticks reaching for her noodles within seconds that it arrived.

Place


Naina Mohamed. I couldn't get a proper shot and had to zoom with my camera phone as well.

Price
$3.50.

Grilled Stingray: 6/10


Contrary to WanHua's rave comments, this turned out to be disappointing. After talking to her about it, I realised that she prefers her stingray with a sweeter chilli taste, which is what this stall from Adam Road offers. I prefer mine extra spicy with that sambal kick, like the ones you would find at East Coast. Taste is subjective, it always is. Perhaps this stall is trying to cater to the expats who frequent this place and would go for the less spicy options. Good that we ordered a smaller portion.

Place


Adam Seafood BBQ. Closed on Mondays.

Price
$6.00.

Mutton Murtabak: 8/10


If you aren't sure what murtabak is, you can see it as stuffed roti prata, cooked with an egg and onion filling with (usually) chicken or mutton. I like this one from Adam Road because it was very crispy and they weren't very stingy on the mutton bits. The curry was good too and went very well with the murtabak, which probably explains why I see quite a few people sharing murtabaks or having at least roti pratas as dessert, not willing to miss it while on a visit here.

Place


Adam's Delights.

Price
$4.00.

Overall
Food Quality
Generally fine, and it's quite clear that the nasi lemak is the best selling item here. I would of course recommend the Indian food as well, which is quite good.

Place
Adam Road Food Centre
Located at the junction of Dunearn Road and Adam Road,
Near Serene Centre.

Qi Ji

I've always wanted to eat at Qi Ji for quite some time already, but somehow Daphne was usually not in the mood for nasi lemak for either lunch or dinner. This time, when she already had lunch at home, I figured it was the best chance for me to have lunch at Qi Ji. She was staring at me, at the boards, and at people throughout lunch, and then after our movie, asked if we could have dinner there haha. So cute la. I was completely fine with that, and ate the exact same thing as I ate for lunch.

Nasi Lemak Set 3: 7.7/10


I chose this set because I wanted the chicken wing and not the little fried fish, and I wanted otah too. The rice wasn't too moist nor was it too dry, while the sambal was so spicy! I still like it quite a lot (which explains why I didn't mind eating it twice within a few hours) and oh yes, the peanuts and anchovies are very crispy too, which makes it all the more yummylicious.

Laksa: 7/10


Daphne misses her laksa so she ordered this. She liked it spicy, though I felt that it had a slightly bit more curry flavour to it than laksa. I'm very discerning when it comes to laksa, trust me. You can tell from the colour too. I prefer mine with a reddish hue rather than the curry orange.

Ice Lemon Tea: 4/10
Iced Milk Tea: 8.3/10


They didn't have thai iced tea haha, so I settled back for Singapore's teh peng! Very thick, sweet and good, though Daphne found her ice lemon tea to be too sour with an odd after taste. Iced tea yums!

Service
Fast.

Price
Around $3.50 each.
Some other combinations of Nasi Lemak could go up to $4.80, if you choose ingredients like chicken cutlet or fried fish tempura.

Place
Marina Square
Level One #01-06
Also available: Marina Square Food Loft

Additional Comments
1. Certified Halal.
2. You should try the Mee Rebus and Popiah which are pretty popular here.