My Rice (Novena Square 2)

Claypot rice had always been an all time favourite for me. But the usual long waits and the burnt bits (that gets stuck in between the teeth) puts me off a little. So when I heard of My Rice at Novena, I jumped at the chance to have a tasting since I have an appointment in the area.

An enterprise by two friends, barely a month old, they have since adapted and acted on customers' feedback and improved on the wares on offer. Willing to listen to feedback. Check. Willing to adapt and change. Check. Good food at reasonable prices. Check. What more can you ask you?

The idea behind the whole food kiosk is like a chinese style bento set. Considering the lack of sitting places there, you may want to pack and eat it on the go. Heard that many buy it back for dinner on their way home.

The main driver behind the stall. Home cooked claypot rice, without the claypot. Less oil, less salt (and less wait) is the key considerations behind this dish.

We had one of the 3 set lunch on offer. Set C priced at $5.50 ($5 now, part of festive promo) which includes claypot rice and 2 sides. They will happily include more veg if you ask.

Signature Rice (Claypot rice, without the claypot!)

The signature rice tasted just like claypot rice. You may think the lack of scallion oil and heavy black soy sauce is going to remove the punch from this classic dish, you are right. But MyRice made it up through the generous use of shitake mushrooms and dried shrimps. The lup cheong (chinese wax sausage) and chicken complete the taste. Classic homemade version. Minus the sins of the original and very much retaining the taste of it.

Oven Roasted Chicken Wing

At $1.50, ala carte. Not fried, as part of the healthy eating concept. Sufficiently marinated, at least overnight, it carries enough taste in it and still retains the moisture and taste of chicken. Nice crispy skin and they keep it in the warmer to retain the heat.

Jumbo Satay (Chicken)

I particularly like this. ($1, ala carte). Chunky pieces of meat are used and they are grilled on the order. Moist, nicely marinated and served with a hearty satay sauce. Brings back fond memories of the sate we had in Bali. Hmm... maybe I should suggest the use of kecap manis which I think brings another tasty dimension to grilled/ barbequed stuff.

MyRice also carries a special herbal (sorta) drink. Ji Bing which tend to be more popular amongst their matured customers. The addition of wu hua guo (figs) also powers up the medicinal and taste departments. Tasted a tad bit like grass jelly to be. It's meant to be good for your health and I have not seen it anywhere else. So, this drink for me anytime over a carbonated drink. :)

Overall, a good place that offers the homemade goodness of claypot rice, tasty oven roasted wings and a succulent jumbo satay. Wash it down with a herbal tea. Prices from $3 (white rice set) and $3.50 (claypot rice set) is definitely a good bargain.

MyRice is conveniently located at B1 of Novena Square 2, MRT exit level (Harvey Norman side), towards Sinaran Drive (TTSH). It is just next to Yips, the confectionary kiosk that serves up great CNY delights.

Why not pay a visit to the area and pick up some homemade goodness that yield on the healthy side?

MyRice

Square 2 (Novena)

#B1-120

10 Sinaran Drive

S(307506)

1030-2100 (Daily)

Facebook page here.

Ellenborough Marketcafe (Photolog)

Complimentary high-tea buffet at Ellenborough Marketplace, Swisshotel Merchant Court. 

Laksa - Decent

Fruit Rojak pre-mixed sauce was too spicy. Kueh Pie Tee was good.

Satay and Otah-otah was good. 

Durian Puff was good. Desserts are generally good.

Roti-Jalal. With curry chicken. Good.

Tau-suan (far) fail. Durian Paste (near) sedap!

Ah Balling (without peanut soup) fail.

Sarang @ Orchard Central

Mr Pancakes was unable to attend the OC Foodies Invitation so Mrs Pancakes and her sister went, and had a great afternoon of catching up at Sarang.

Sarang, which means love in Korean, is situated on the 7th floor of Orchard Central. Sarang's Seoul styled setting includes a show kitchen and outdoor bar, with seats overlooking Orchard Road.

We were greeted with a cup of Maesil cha, a homemade plum tea, which was a refreshing drink, with a hint of sour plum, to ready your palette for the dishes to come.

The afternoon started with a food photography workshop held by Dr Leslie Tay, of ieatishootipost. As Mr Pancakes is usually the one taking the photos, Mrs Pancakes picked up many tips from Dr Leslie Tay during the workshop: how lighting, composition and depth of field can affect the look of food, and the one third rule.

And now for the food:

The dishes had very interesting names like DJ Rice, Rooster Booster, Angry Piggy. They serve cocktails as well but we did not have a taste of them.

L-R: Makgeolli Berry, Makgeolli Cucumber, Makgeolli Mojito, Makgeolli Orange

First on the menu was Sarang japchae, stir fried vegetable vermicelli tossed in sesame oil. It was a delightful dish, with springy vermicelli, seasoned nicely with sesame oil.

Next up was Sarang's signature freshly tossed Kimchi. The cabbage was crunchy but was a tad too spicy for our palates.

The first main that we tried was the Drunken pork - Grilled, wine-marinated pork belly served with kimchi on a sizzling hot plate. Heard from one of the servers that the pork belly was marinated in red wine for 2 days before it is cooked. One of my favourites for the day, the pork was juicy, with a hint of red wine. Lovely!

The next main we tasted was the Sun and moon, Kimchi fried rice with a sunny side up. Flavourful, with the frangrant taste of the Kimchi seasoning with every mouthful. Mrs Pancakes' sister describes it as seasoning wrapped around every grain of rice. :)

Army Stew was served next, with Kimchi, sausage, spam and pork served in Seoul’s favourite hotpot. The stew was good, tasty, spicy. The sausage, spam and pork didn't wow me though.

One dish worth mentioning, is the Godmother, 300gm grilled beef steak marinated in chef’s special fruit sauce. Mrs Pancakes does not eat beef, but her sister was wowed by the beef, full of flavours, thoroughly cooked, but the meat still tender and juicy. Yum!

Next up, Ginseng porridge, another Chef’s signature dish. Korean ginseng and chicken porridge, the taste of Ginseng was not overpowering, the porridge was tasty, but flavours not too strong. Good for someone who is looking for a light meal.

Lastly, we had dessert! Pappa pancakes. If you like the taste of cinnamon, this is the dessert for you. Fried cinnamon pancakes, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside with cinnamon sauce on top. Mrs Pancakes' sister had a second helping for this.

Suited for the Singaporean palate.  Good food with reasonable price, mains costing below $20 (except for the beef steaks).  Outdoor seating did not feel warm though it was in the afternoon. However, if you can't take the heat, there is always indoor seating.

Liang Ji Seafood

Had heard about this place for the longest time and also from the Mediacorp Channel 8 series of 煮炒来咯. 

First up was the Nonya Garoupa. ($30) The blend of spices used in the nonya soup is self blended and apparently from a secret recipe. We love it for the acute balance of sourness, sweetness and spiciness (The three S's.) And it wasn't overbearing spicy that it kills your taste buds but enough to make you sweat, slowly. Fish was fresh. Best part of the dish for me? The lady's fingers (okra) and brinjals, which goes superbly well with the sauce. Loving it.

虾米生肠 ($8) or dried shrimps with intestines is a very interesting dish. Stir fried in oyster sauce with dried chilli and enough onions the taste is slightly on the salty side but is great with rice. The dried shrimps provided a nice crunch as you bite in and the intestines has a nice chewy texture to it. To me, this stole the show. 

蒙古豆腐 ($10) had a very unfamiliar taste that I can't put a finger to. Nicely fried and topped with meat pieces, this again is slightly salty. I can't decide if it's really good or just normal. I guess it hangs in between these two categories.

双味螃蟹 ($24) was the star of the night. Black Pepper and Salted Egg flavours combined. The result? Awesome. The peppery flavour permeates the fresh crab and the salted egg lifted the tasted really well. Creamy, sweet with a tint of pepper. What more can you ask from a crab dish? 

Here is a cut from the episode.

<br /> <a href="http://video.xin.msn.com/watch/video/hougang-double-flavoured-crab-%E5%90%8E%E6%B8%AF%E5%8F%8C%E5%91%B3%E8%9E%83%E8%9F%B9/1b96h3jnu?fg=sharenoembed" target="_new" title="Hougang Double-flavoured crab 后港双味螃蟹">Video: Hougang Double-flavoured crab 后港双味螃蟹</a>

Overall the dishes were alright and of course with a few stars that are unique to this place. But most of the dishes are slightly on the salty side and probably more MSG than I can personally take was used. (I get numbed cheeks on overdose of MSG). Nevertheless a delight and I will be back for more. And of course the next time, order lighter dishes. 

Leong Ji Seafood
量记煮炒
21 Hougang Street 51
#01-51


(They have a branch at AMK Ave 5 too)


9459 5822/ 9026 1882

Bread Society 2

Second post of Bread Society. D-Lemon Cream ($1.50) is light fluffy and the nice tangy lemon cream within is woo-hooo..... especially for us who adore our lemon cream, lemon custard, lemon tea... you name it.

Pine Nut Rce Loaf ($1.80) Nice and light with enough pine nuts for you to taste it.

Chic Marsala Naan ($1.60). Chicken filling could had been more generous. A special combination of marsala and chicken. The naan part is far away from the Indian bread that we are used it, but nevertheless not too shabby.

Bread Society

Ion Shopping Centre

#B2-19

Bishamon Ramen

A quick meal and ramen is the pick of the day. Nestled in the food street of Bugis Junction, it has it's own seating area.

Miso Ramen ($13.90). Nice flavourful, the touch of black garlic oil added depth and fragrance. Char Siu could had been more tender though.

Kogashi Miso Ramen ($14) apparently their signature dish. Decent soup base and ramen came with a bite. Not too bad. Nothing outstanding. Decent.

Gyoza (6pcs) at $5.80. Normal.


Overall a decent fast meal if you are looking for one. Slightly expensive as compared to normal food court fare but cheaper than a sit-down ramen experience. 

Bishamon 
230 Victoria Street
#B1-K27
Bugis Junction

Nolboo Hangari Galbi (Korean BBQ)

Korean BBQ. Had been craving it for awhile and finally had the chance to visit this joint at Orchard Central. My sister-in-law (SIL) raves about it. Let's see how "foodie" she is. Ha.

Right after taking our orders, a tea and porridge was served. The tea tasted like those gen-mai tea (rice tea?), tasty and with a distinctive rice taste. It is meant to get you ready for the ooooh-la-la BBQ. Thought the porridge was a good idea, lines your internal before the onslaught of meat. Ha. 

Three dipping dishes. The first one is some kind of soy, a very light one. Second one, salt and third tasted like miso. Not too sure... any Korean cuisine expert to advise? No particular love for any of them. Love the BBQ meat on it's own.

Full complements from ordering the pork ribs set. Love them. Combination of salad, marinated stuff and of course... kim chi!!

Romaine lettuce (huge leaves) with carrot and cucumber. We used it to wrap the BBQ meat. Awesome.

Iceberg lettuce salad with mayo dressing.

Kimchi, bean sprouts, seaweed and potato salad.

Marinated cucumber and lettuce.

Marinated lettuce

Pork belly ($18) comes with pork sausages and grilled at your table. Onions inclusive.

Pork ribs set ($28) came in a clay pot. Great presentation. Apples included.

BBQ pot set up right beside our table. They have this super exhaust system. No BBQ smell on your clothes and they do the cooking for you. And that's quite an experience. Alternatively, if you are dating and don't want anyone overhearing your sweet-nothings, you can opt for your food to be cooked in the BBQ room and they will serve it to you.

Kimchi stew with pork ($16). Decent but small serving for the price. Serving of meat is small but the kimchi soup is awesome. Chase the chills away, especially on a rainy day.

Cooked ribs. Yes. No bones. A delight. Very well marinated but not overbearing, the meat is oh-so-moist and tender to bite into. Someone bring me to Korea! The accompanying seared apple slices? A perfect companion to the fatty meat. Light, crisp and sweet... awww.....

Some of the rib pieces came with bones, but the meat do slide off them. The corn was a bit dry and the prawns, nothing to shout about. Stay focused on the ribs. Ha.

We opted for the pork belly to be grilled at the BBQ room instead of at the table. A mistake maybe. It was allowed to chill when it was served to us, making the meat a little tough. But nevertheless, it was again well seasoned (different base from the ribs) and juicy.

The full complements. :)

Complimentary dessert. Stewed red beans on shaved ice, some cocktail pieces and cream. Nice touch but just normal. We didn't finish it.

Overall a good place with more than decent food. The meats are well marinated and cooked to perfection (at the table). The vegetables and marinated stuff that came with the set was awesome. Eat your greens dudes. Service was great too.

Nolboo Hangari Galbi

181 Orchard Road

Orchard Central

#08-04

+65 68849151