Popeye's Chicken & Biscuit

It might come as a surprise, but this was my first time eating Popeye's! I heard a lot about it, even more after they opened another branch at the Singapore Flyer and more of my friends were getting a taste of what's on offer.

Everyone will, needless to say, compare this to KFC. Daphne's sister mentioned before that the chicken used at KFC is frozen, while the ones from Popeye's aren't, hence explaining why the latter taste better. I'm not sure how much of this is true, but after what I had, I think I would stick to my KFC. Why?

Two Piece Chicken Set: 7/10 (Fries: 8/10)


I usually order two chicken thighs at KFC, so it was no different for Popeye's. What was different though was that you're expected to pay $0.50 more for it. Fine, but then when I was peering over at another friend's drumstick, it somehow actually looked larger. The chicken pieces here are at times smaller than those from KFC.

The biscuit too seems like much ado about nothing, it was lukewarm, tasted a bit salty and plain, and adding the jam only added a bit more taste. I heard KFC was trying to roll out biscuits at some of its outlets too, but if the people from KFC are hearing this, please try to ensure consistency across your branches and you'll do better.

Popeye's saving grace comes in its sides - the mashed potato and fries. The mashed potato had more taste than KFC's, and as you can tell from the look of the fries, it's the same thing, added taste with the added spice. I didn't want the coleslaw, so they gave me an extra serving of fries. Good call.

Service
Fast-food type. Quick.

Price
2 Piece Chicken Combo Meal: $6.90
Change to double thigh meat: $0.50
Upsize: $1.00

Place
Changi Airport Terminal 3 (T3) #B2-LF1
Also: Singapore Flyer

TSC by Tong Shui Cafe III

My sister insisted on going back to Changi Airport for TSC because she likes the noodles here, and somehow or another most of us ordered almost the same thing when we came back this time round. Daphne, as she too realised, ordered the same dish three times in a row. So much for the extensive menu! Our past visits, in case you're curious, can be found in the "Changi Airport" labels.

(517) Fried Rice with SzeChuan Sauce Chicken: 5/10


You can say this was a marked difference from the last time I came here. As much as the SzeChuan sauce was minisculously different from the BBQ sauce I had previously (which should be a matter of concern), the chicken was terribly overfried that it made chewing a tiring chore, and the rice didn't taste like it was newly cooked. The mixed vegetables were horrid. The egg wasn't fried properly, much of the white was still runny. The sauce saved the rice, only just.

(372) HK Dried Noodles - Sunset Egg and Shrimp Wanton: 8/10


Daphne's consistent favourite. The crunch of the crispy wanton will always be there, much to her satisfaction.

(371) HK Dried Noodles - Sunset Egg and Chicken Chop: 7/10


The sisters' (yes, both of them) consistent favourite. The only problem between now and then is the chicken chop, because this time round it was far too oily for my liking. I can say for sure because my sister couldn't finish hers and naturally turned to me to finish it up, but it was so oily (and at many parts, dry from overcooking) that I could only allow a single bite.

Chee Cheong Fun with Sunset Egg and Luncheon Meat: 6.5/10


My dad and his chee cheong fun. Pretty ordinary if you ask me. For those of you who aren't too sure what "chee cheong fun" is, its basically rice flour with a sauce that contains, among other things, soya sauce and vinegar (at least that's what I gather). It's called "chee cheong" because it looks like pig's intestines (??!!) and "fun" because it means rice (in Cantonese probably). Anyone would like to confirm or correct this?

(295) Chicken Lor Mai Kai: 7.3/10


"Lor mai kai" (in Cantonese again) is actually glutinous rice with chicken, and this one from TSC in particular was not too bad. Never mind the stray plant used to adorn this otherwise typically cheap and common food, in a bid probably to make it look like some runaway French delicacy of sorts.

(277) Stuffed Yu Char Kueh with Black Pepper Sauce: 6/10


Whilst the TSC menu spells it as such, the more common spellings would be (in different dialects) "you tiao" or "you char kway". It refers to deep-fried dough popular in Chinese cuisines (especially breakfast) and here in the picture above, is stuffed with what I would think to be squid paste. Very ordinary stuff, and the black pepper sauce seemed out of place. Stuffed you char kway is more frequently served with mayo!

(460) Fish Steak in BBQ Sauce with Rice: 7.5/10


My mum thought this was alright. Me and Daphne, who had a bit of the fish, found it really fresh and evenly fried, as compared to my dry chicken drumstick.

(255) Thick Toast - Peanut Butter and Condensed Milk: 8/10


Since my mum did not eat much of the rice provided alongside the fish, she had room for thick toast, which she shared with my lil sister as well. As usual, I was given a forkful, and I thought this toast has continued to maintain its standard of nicely toasted bread (not too burnt, charred or dry) with a fattening glaze of peanut butter and condensed milk. It's yummy.

(155) Sago Mango and Strawberry with Ice-Cream: 5/10


This was the unique and surprise dish of the day. I suppose all of us misread the menu and took it to be something like sago mango with strawberry ice-cream. My dad expected something like a cold Chinese dessert, and we were laughing when this was served to us. It's a bit too many flavours to deal with and thus the mix wasn't entirely there.

(111) Beancurd Sheet with Gingko Barley: 8/10


This is Daphne's all-time favourite dessert, and she would almost always eat this if she has to choose from local desserts. Cute thing is that while this dessert is more commonly known as barley with gingko nut, she doesn't want the nuts in them. So I always have to order "barley with gingko nut, without the gingko nut" just so the person gets what dessert I'm referring to. This one by TSC was pretty good, came with a tiny almond cookie as well, and Daphne felt that this was even better than the one I bought for her a couple days back from Toa Payoh Central, in a dessert stall that prides itself to be from Amoy Street honour.

Service
More attentive than the last few times that we came here. Friendly too. The crowd began coming in only after 8.30pm, probably for supper or light snacks.

Price
(517) Fried Rice with SzeChuan Sauce Chicken: $9.88
(372) HK Dried Noodles - Sunset Egg and Shrimp Wanton: $6.88
(371) HK Dried Noodles - Sunset Egg and Chicken Chop: $8.88
(295) Chicken Lor Mai Kai: $4.88
(277) Stuffed Yu Char Kueh with Black Pepper Sauce: $4.88
(460) Fish Steak in BBQ Sauce with Rice: $8.88
(255) Thick Toast - Peanut Butter and Condensed Milk: $3.88
(155) Sago Mango and Strawberry with Ice-Cream: $5.38
(111) Beancurd Sheet with Gingko Barley: $3.38

Usual 10% service charge and prevailing gst rates apply.

Place
Changi Airport Terminal 2
Viewing Mall, Level 3

Additional Comments
1. Halal-certified, but the only Tong Shui Cafe branch that is.
2. Open 24 hours.

TSC by Tong Shui Cafe II

Daphne joined my family for dinner and this was after our Bangkok trip. You can read more about TSC by TongShui here and know more about its Halal and 24-hour concept. Daphne ordered her HK Dried Noodles with Shrimp Wanton again, and so did we with the chicken wings, so we're not going to do another review on those. Here's a few other things that we tried.

Fried Rice with Black Pepper Chicken: 7.7/10


I found this to be pretty good actually, though the chicken was a tad overfried I have to admit. The gravy was pretty good and went well with the fried rice, which otherwise would have been quite plain on its own.

I was pretty hungry and the chicken looked so good, that I hurried with the picture shot haha. Apologies for the blurriness.

HK Dried Noodles with Chicken Chop: 7.5/10


My two sisters ordered this and they liked it quite a lot. Chicken chop seemed pretty tender and well-marinated. Noodles otherwise were the same as the one Daphne was having with her shrimp wanton.

Thick Toast with Peanut Butter: 8/10


Crispy on all sides and oozing with peanut butter goodness. It's fattening and sweet yes, but hey, it's worth the try really.

My dad also ordered the "lo mai kai" but because we were too busy eating, didn't get to take a picture. But it looks like any lo mai kai, and my dad says, it tastes like any other lo mai kai as well.

Service
They missed out an order, and it seemed that the staff were very slow, probably because of the slow pace of business. My mum was telling me that they went for the buffet a week ago during Mother's Day and the staff were quite impatient as well.

Price
A brief estimate of:
$8.88 for the Fried Rice
$2.88 for the Thick Toast
$7.88 for the Chicken Chop Noodles

Place
Changi Airport Terminal 2
Viewing Mall, Level 3

Additional Comments
1. Halal-certified, but the only Tong Shui Cafe branch that is.
2. Open 24 hours.

TSC by Tong Shui Cafe

Tong Shui has its quirky element of Italian fusion in it with its baked pasta, and yes a variety of Western dishes as well, making its menu pretty extensive. In fact, it boasts close to 600 items!

TSC by Tong Shui Cafe is the chain's first attempt at reaching out to the Muslim community in Singapore with its Halal certification, and to me it's a pretty impressive concept (and effort) that's worth some praise. Of course, they could have done better with the naming, TSC still stands for Tong Shui Cafe if you think about it, but perhaps it's all under one simple branding strategy.


The interior is quite pretty, the usual Tong Shui design actually. One thing I found odd was that yes, I know it's Halal, but you don't have to play Suria channel on the television right?! I think to make it more authentic, it's fine playing some HongKong serials instead. The other television was showing MTV. Well, on to the food!

(1) HK Milk Tea: 6/10


The milk tea wasn't particularly milky, nor did it have a strong tea taste. Should have gotten the yuan yang coffee-tea combination.

(72) Mango Cooler: 6/10


Daphne had this, but she found it too fizzy for her liking. Still, she liked the fruits and jellies in the drink.

(557) Macaroni Mat Tu Loh: 7/10


"Mat tu loh" refers to what I would call the "processed meat trinity" HAHA - chicken sausage, chicken ham and chicken salami. The macaroni tasted pretty good actually, the cheese was yummy. The processed meats may have made the dish a tad saltier than it would otherwise been, but mixing it with fried chicken wings (chicken again!) did the trick.

(372) HK Dried Noodles - Sunset Egg and Shrimp Wanton: 8.3/10


Daphne liked this a lot, and was grinning everytime she bit into the crispy crunchy fried wanton. The noodles were evenly cooked and if you look at it, it's like a balanced meal in itself.

(300) Half Dozen Chicken Wings with Fries: 8/10


Half a dozen makes 6, but in essence it really means six chicken wing parts rather than six full chicken wings. We liked the spices and marinate used for the chicken, which made them a good complement to our main dishes.

Service
Friendly, and it wasn't really a long wait. Then again, it was close to 8.30 on a Monday evening and there weren't many people around. The airport was pretty quiet, you could play bowling if you wanted to with all the clear lanes.


You've got to write your orders on a piece of paper and pass it to the waitress. If you hadn't known by now, the numbers preceding the food names above refer to their menu item numbers.

Price
HK Milk Tea: $1.88
Mango Cooler: $3.88
Macaroni Mat Tu Loh: $9.88
HK Dried Noodles Sunset Egg & Shrimp Wanton: $5.88
Half Dozen Chicken Wings with Fries: $9.88

Yeah "88" indeed!

Place
Changi Airport Terminal 2
Viewing Mall, Level 3

Additional Comments
1. Halal-certified, but the only Tong Shui Cafe branch that is.
2. Open 24 hours.