What to do over at Bukit Timah? Rider's cafe & Pasarbella market

Very outdated, yes. Both on the number of entries on this page as well as the topic itself. I'm only writing about rider's cafe (only because i visited it recently) now! Can you believe it? Yeap, believe it, there's a girl out there who is too lazy to catch up with the whole cafe trend.

It was a lovely surprise by SJ, Joey and Yingting for my 22nd birthday. Rider's cafe! It's definitely a place i had been meaning to visit because there were so much reviews and pictures about it sprawled all over social media aka instagram. Gotta #hashtag that place myself now! LOL

Their burgers are actually really good (despite being burgers!) Love the softness and tangy-bite of the beef (is it wagyu) when its half done. One of the cheaper options on the menu so give it a good if you are looking for recommendation (Y)

The lighting damn cui but its already 8pm so pardon the bad picture lah! A group picture with all the lovely people & their present for me (love all of you dip dip) which is a xi-guay bag from Kate Spade. Xinni was saying that she didn't know i like such things hahaha. 

Liking quirky and weird things more and more as i grew up, a feeble attempt at trying to be non-mainstream perhaps?

Head over to Pasarbella market (last minute decision for drinks and catch-up) since it was not far and all of us haven't been there before, so jiu go lor.

Prententious moment whereby you act atas and eat cheese whilst drinking wine (yeah, coming from first hand experience, i would rather eat normal meat/seafood with wine lol)

*picture from instagram so its blurry

Ending the post with a #selfie & #wefie

Happy 22 years old to myself! WOOTS (a little too late but better than never)

Thank you to everyone and the girls and the boyfriend and the parents for making my 22 years old a simple yet magical one yet again.

... i promise my alice in wonderland party will come soon, when i decide that the worth-ness > money spent. 

Maybe 23 years old? 

HAHAHA see ya <3

Battle of the KFC wings

Sponsored Post - Nuffnang SG

Hi guys, i know that my previous post left a bitter taste on this blog since it's more towards the emotional and negative vibe of life? So yeap, blogging about something which everyone loves

FOOD !

As the saying goes, 能吃是福 (loosely translated = its a blessing to be able to enjoy food), im here with a blog post brought to you by KFC, the leading quick-service restaurant chain in the chicken category in Singapore, renowned for serving its customers delicious, complete family meals at affordable prices!

KFC has recently came out with two new flavors - Japanese vs. Korea Chicken wings!

(cue sushi and kimchi theme songs)

So basically, i invited my friends (and myself LOL) down the KFC over at Cineleisure to try the store's new wings. Its time to make our choice - which team will we choose?

It's really cheap to be honest - $4.90 for 4 wings. I mean, i started work over at Raffles and to find meals under $5 (and to be filling) aren't easy anymore unless you are willing to queue and sweat (hawker food mah).

KFC also introduced a bento set which comes with rice, 4 pcs wings and a drink for only $6.90!

Quick and satisfying - it's really a good alternative to the young adults or interns like me who are saving up for trips or practically earning peanuts.

So without further ado, unrolling the new kids in the block ///

Ta-daa!

Freshly breaded instore with a special batter, these juicy wings are cooked to crispy perfection and coated in two bold flavours – the tangy yet savoury Umadare and the sweet and spicy Yang Yeum. Who will be crowned king of the wings? You decide. 

VERDICT?

Ok, it's actually 2 vs. 2. Joey and SJ chose Japanese, whilst Marc and me chose Korean. The Korean is spicier and has a longer lingering taste as compared to the the Japanese flavored, which is saltier in a sense. 

However, all of us feel that it's not worth going to KFC JUST for these wings. In fact, we like their original wings/drumsticks better than this one. Or maybe, we were given the last of the batch for the wings and well, its just ... cold and doesn't taste that good anymore.

Regardless, a good place if you are looking for affordable and a fast meal, and their bento set seems really worth it! But i might recommend you to get the freshly made ones rather than the ones left out in the cold for too long :(

It really killed the entire appeal and taste factor of the wings - i'm sure it tastes better but no food can withstand the 'torment of time' i think! 

But i do love the theme of ‘pick a side’ by KFC! It makes everything more interesting and you are part of a team with so many others of the same tastebud! Simply post a picture or video of yourself on Instagram and hashtagging ‘#kfcoishii’ or ‘#kfcmashisoyo’. (oishii is for Umadare flavour, mashisoyo for Yang Yeum flavour) 

Do it now - you can find mine on #kfcmashisoyo @itsmejunko.

Follow me on instagram for more food adventures too!

xoxo

Tanuki Raw - A review

Decided to give Tanuki Raw a go because i've heard loads of reviews about it and the other time we walked pass it, it has a long queue of people lining up for their food.

Reached there at around 6.15pm so its better, we waited for around 5 minutes because we wanted to sit indoors instead of outdoors.

5pm - 8pm = Happy Hours!

We ordered 6 oysters (limit to this per alcoholic drink ordered) and it's goodddd. Not amazing amazing, but amazing good. So perhaps a 2nd tier delicious-ness (does such a word exist lol) for me. I still love the ones from Sunset Way - their oysters are divine.

Oysters are at $2 each during happy hours

We did not want to order any alcoholic drinks in the beginning because its pretty expensive to buy something of that amount for $10?

In the end, because we really wanted the oysters, we forgo the rockstar sushi rolls and went for this honey sake as recommended by the waiter.

ITS DEFINITELY A GOOD CHOICE

Really recommend everyone to try this out if you are popping over Tanuki Raw :D

Tried their signature beef don which reminds me of the one Ikumi made for the Shokugeki with Soma. I love the beef - so so so delicious! The beef is very tender and soft, super good.

But the rice was pretty substandard. I dont think it goes well with the entire dish. The egg doesn't complement the rice, and the rice is pretty ... meh? Even white rice would be better to be honest. But of course, its just my personal opinion.

Selfie to end of the post! We spent a total of $44 in total for the entire meal, inclusive of service charge (10%). There's no GST so yupp - or maybe its inclusive in the prices stated on the menu?

Regardless, really like the service here but it seems a little rushed if you are looking for a romantic dinner with your partner. I would say this place is good for small groups/couples due to the space, but don't expect a romantic ambience or whatsnot.  Its more of a like a fuss free dinner with food served up quick - kinda like a mid class diner?

Time flyyyy and we've been together for a good 1000 days already. I know it sounds pretty weird when you look at it like this, but haha, i always have this 'woah-ness' about being together with your partner for 1000 days. Something like 1001 Night - that arabian style storybook or something?

Would write more personal entries instead of advertorials/sponsored posts! :D

I try

Review - My Dining Room // June's muse

Hi! Its gonna be July soon and i'm really excited that SJ's ORD date is getting closer and closer. But of course, also the motivation to find a job and my official convocation in August as a university graduate. 

Went for interview today, albeit its for an internship. They told me that earliest they would get back to me by tomorrow, and latest by this week. Fingers crossed i get the job! I'm pretty sick of staying at home and nua-ing like some potatoes.

In any case, my family and i celebrated my dad's birthday in lieu with father's day over at My Dining Room, which is really because my mum bought the Groupon voucher for this place. Its $148 for a 9-course meal and we brought my grandmother and le maid along, haha.

Setting wise, i feel that its pretty elegant and classy for social gatherings, company dinners or even family dinners. I really love the entire decoration of the place because it exudes a particular sense of expensive dinner even though we did not pay that much lol

These are the dishes served for our 9-course dinner meal (excluding the dessert) and i love the layout and presentation of the food! They pretty much served us with accordance to the number of people present (i guess a way to save $$? Cause if you were to serve a dish, there's a set of prawns inside and if there's only 2 people, you kinda 'lose out'?)

Zoom in on the waitress dissecting the duck for us LOL. 

Yeap, this course comes with a Peking duck! But i still love Beijing's de most - its unbeatable

Not shark fins #savethesharks , but more of sea cucumber and whatsnot

This is the same duck which we ate the skin of

Behind-the-scenes

Overall, really love the service rendered to us! The waitresses were very attentive and meticulous despite the crowd during the peak hours. They were also fast and friendly with their attitude and that really makes my day! :D

Super recommend to anyone who's looking for a place which is affordable and yet kinda 'formal' in a sense for good food and HK Cantonese cuisine? 

========================================================

Address:

3 Temasek Boulevard #02-314/316 

Suntec City Mall Singapore 038983

Meal includes:

Claypot herbal drunken live prawns 

Roasted Peking duck 

Thick soup with sea cucumber and fish maw 

Braised fresh 6-head abalone with wild mushrooms 

Traditional steamed sea fish fillet 

Sautéed duck meat with ginger onion and XO chilli sauce 

Poached seasonal vegetable with bean dough in superior stock 

Stewed ee-fu noodle 

Dessert of the day

Click > Groupon voucher 

Back on the day, it was kinda like a family day for us and it was really enjoyable because i get to hang out with my grandmother and my family over at town (really rare since we dont have a car)

My grandmother whom i lived with since 5 years old - 12 years old. Those were the times whereby i would head to the coffee shop with her every morning to eat breakfast and play with her friends' grandchildren over at the nearby playground. Going over to this shop which sells all the small tidbits and toys, and forever taking $2 from her to buy this, buy that.

My grandfather, whom had passed away, walking all the way to my school just because i forgot to bring that particular book (and he lugged everything to me because he doesn't know English and Chinese)

Now that i think about it, i do really act like a spoilt brat when i was younger. I took many things for granted and i expected them to treat me like this because they are my grandparents and hence should treat me like this. 

I still think this way at times when i hear about my friends' parents voluntarily giving them money when they head overseas, or buying things for them because their original items are faulty. In retrospect, my parents expect me to pay for my own trips and most of the luxury stuffs that i own now (that includes handphone, camera, clothes, offering to pay for drinks when i am out with them every now and then etc) 

I do feel unjustified at times and even lament at my own family culture, but i realized that it made me independent against people of my age. My aunt and uncle spoils me a lot when i was young, and practically buy anything and everything i want despite the price. Unconsciously, it shaped my behavior and i projected this concept on friends and strangers as well. 

Its hard when your friends have parents who would slog and do anything for them (some lah, not all), or just buy them stuffs. I'm not saying that i'm damn poor or that my parents just don't care about me, because my mum and dad does ok. Its just that with the financial capacity of my family, its hard for them to do anything over their basic expenses.

Yeah but to be honest, i am glad i went through all that because i can definitely survive the high and lows in my life now. 

The experience forced me to save and always have a Plan B, and to think of all critical risks/potential problems that will arise and weave a safety net before it happens. It probably made me much more independent and in control of my life.

If i want something, i have to do it myself. 

There's no other ways, you only have yourself - you are your own best bet.

Ah, late night muse. I hope you enjoy the review and pictures of the restaurant's though! I definitely love it and would recommend to anyone who wish to give HK Cantonese cuisine a try to visit this cosy place. 

People's Park Complex - Hotpot

Restaurant Review - People's Park Complex Hotpot

Hello guys! Back with a short entry on this really awesome place which was introduced to me by Emily a long time back. This is definitely a hidden gem strewn across the numerous travel agencies in the shopping mall.

Ta-daa, hotpot set at a super affordable price! (Think $6-10)

They have choices such as Chicken, Pork (my fave!), Beef and they recently added on Wagyu Beef and some other new sets into their menu.

A set usually include your personal hotpot, main carbo (rice, maggie, bee hoon, mee sua) veggies, and your chosen main meat (look above picture for a sense of how a set looks like). Drinks are not included and can be purchased at around $1 - $1.50, of which i can't remember the exact amount as of now. 

Soup base include Clear soup, Tom Yum etc etc. & they also have a 'sauce table' for you to mix and match your own preferred sauce!

Maggie mee + Tom Yum soup base is like my fave LOL. 

SJ ordered their beef (which was around $12-$14 for the set) but i can't remember the exact name of the dish. It's actually pretty good and satisfying for a simple meal if you are around that area.

Rating: 4/5 

Definitely one of my fave place to head to when i am around that area or has a craving for hotpot, but with a tight budget. -1 because the area is pretty much full of PRCs as of now, and not trying to be rude or racist or anything, some of them can be pretty rough when it gets crowded, especially on weekends. SJ and i had to literally "push" our way through the crowd last Sunday, and it was RAINING.

Other than that, its not a bad place to go to if you are budget constraint but yet, wants to try some hotpot! Their meat are probably frozen meat, which explains the low price i suppose?

People's Park Complex

Unit No: 02-78 (if i'm not wrong)

It's not really a restaurant, more of like an eatery but its air-conditioned. It can get crowded on peak timing due to its cheap pricing of food so do take note of that. 

Random//

Found this off a shop along the pavement outside of the shopping mall! Reminds me of this ah-mazing noodle which i love when i was back in Beijing. Its kinda like "cold noodle"
, but its soooo good. 

I found this version to have an overdose of vinegar (mygod, i was literally down-ing water), and a poor duplicate of the one i had back in Beijing.

Nevertheless, it was a cheap thrill for SJ and me to reminiscence about China on a cold Sunday with some good food (read: hotpot)

I hope this would serve helpful for people who works around that area and wants to have some cheap hotpot for lunch/dinner one of these days! :)

Till then, xoxo