One hour waiting in line for Tian-Tian Chicken Rice!

 Second day at Singapore and we were looking for a place to eat. We went window shopping at Marina Bay shops and for a while was tempted to try their food court but I remembered Anthony Bourdain's feature on a Chicken rice place in SG. After a few google clicks, we headed to Maxwell food center near Chinatown.

Tian-Tian Chicken rice stall.

What else can I say except the damn line was long. It was extending outside of the food court! People patiently waiting in line while other stalls barely had customers.

I found myself outside of the food court just to reach the end of the line. After 40 mins, i have reached the order counter then another line more for another 15 mins to get your order. This better be worth it!

The looong line! it extended outside the food center!

The star of the show: Chicken Rice

Anthony Bourdain got something right: rice was so tasty and fragrant that it can be eaten on its own! The chicken was succulently soft but it was a bit bland. The chicken I had at Albert food court was tastier. But really, the star was the rice.

Bean sprouts and cuttle fish

For veggies, I got an order of bean sprouts with cuttlefish and boiled bok choi with oyster sauce. Both veggie dishes were cooked just right: crispy veggies with typical starch thickened sauce. The bean sporouts had the tiniest hint of spiciness which added to its taste.
All in all, the cost of two chicken rice , 2 veggie dishes added up to 16SGD. Drinks are a bit more expensive and costs approx 1-1.5 SGD. while waiting in the line, I managed to buy a soursop (guyabano) drink at 1.50 SGD. It was really good!

Bok Choi with oyster sauce

Tian tian proudly displays Anthony Boudain's article

behind me is the oyster cake stall

There is a stall inside Maxwell food center that sells only oyster cakes. Though we were so full of the chicken rice, we ordered a piece to taste.

Oyster cake

The oyster cake is deep fried and inside contains oysters, unrecognizable veggies, and chopped shrimp. It was really artery wrenching good!

Oily yummy goodness filled with oyster, shrimp and veggies

Lau Pa Sat in SG

Cycling around SG and on the F1 race track!

After cycling our way around downtown Singapore, we needed to recharge and eat! Hawker Food in SG has always fascinated me and during this trip, we decided to try several of them.

Lau Pa Sat

Lau Pa Sat which literally means old market is located at the city center. From Bugis, we rode the East-west line (green line) and went down to Raffles. From there is was a 5 minute walk to Lau Pa Sat.

Satay : Beef, Chicken, Mutton or Shrimp

There was a lot of food stalls inside the food center but people go there for the Satay located at the street behind Lau Pa Sat. We were at a loss on what or where to eat. There were no lines just people approaching you to try their food.








 We met a Cebuana named Cely who has been working everyday for 4 hrs for the past 12 years in Lau Pa sat. She recommended their fried rice (no shrimp) and Sambal Stingray. I have never been a fan of sting ray as food so we opted for crispy squid in sweet and sour sauce. We also ordered kailan with oyster sauce as well as 10 sticks of satay (beef and chicken).

Milk tea and Red lemonade

While waiting, Paul trooped to the stall selling drinks. He got Milk tea and Red lemonade. The Milk tea was in bad need of sugar (but Paul liked it as it was) and the red lemonade tasted like kalamansi juice.










The food came after 10 mins sans the satay. Pay as food is delivered. Total cost was 25 SGD. The squid was delightfully crispy and the sauce was not overpowering the squid. The rice well, is just fried rice. The veggie was cooked perfectly and very tasty.





The Satay came after a few minutes more (0.60 SGD each). it was served with peanut dipping sauce. The pinoy in me still love the sweet salty barbeque we have back home. The peanut dip was just Ok, nothing spectacular.

Beef and Chicken satay

Total SGD 35 (including drinks) pretty pricy for hawker food but the amount was good enough to feed three people.

Food court and Hawker stalls in SG 1

Its August and barely had the waters receeded from Maring's onslaught , we boarded a Tiger Airways red-eye flight to Singapore. The three hour trip was not long but the non-reclining seat of the budget airline was a bit difficult on my neck muscles!

Anyway, first lunch in the Fine City (puro fines) of Singapore was at Albert Center which was near Bugis station and our hotel. It is composed of approx 30 food stalls. We decided to follow what Anthony Bourdain said: go for the food stalls with a long line.

So we ended up with Misua soup at 4SGD. There is a stall that seems to be family owned and only serves this dish. The line never ceases and after 12 mins or so, I finally got served this. The misua is not like what we have at home. The noodles are firm, the soup clean and clear, the dimsum that floats are a mixture of shrimp balls, stuffed tofu and fish cakes. A side sauce of thick sweet soy and spicy red sauce comes on a plastic shallow container.

Misua 4SGD

Next we looked for Chicken rice. There is not much line so I just went for whatever seemed to be the busiest. The chicken rice at meat at 4SGD is served with soup, boiled bok choi and very tasty boneless Hainanese chicken. No sauce needed as the meat was perfectly seasoned , not very oily and just the tiniest hot sauce made it complete.

Chicken Rice Set meal 4SGD

We split the meal and it was good enough for two. We downed our meal with grass jelly drink at 0.80 SGD each. Less than 10SGD for two is definitely within the budget and hits just the right spot!

Recovery food at Global City , Fort Bonifacio

It was a Sunday, and as our house is in the midst of its renovations, I was scouring the Metro for ideas and supplies. So on this particular day, our target was MC depot at Global city. After a few hours of walking around the stalls that displayed all sorts of home decor, knick knacks, lighting and furniture, our hungry stomachs came calling and we crossed to the nearby building where there are a few restaurants. We chose Recovery food. We were kinda intrigued with its name.

We asked the waiter what their food is and he answered Asian fusion. And we browsed over the menu and ordered one noodle dish and one rice dish which we requested to be both split in two.

Rau Men

Our Noodle dish is Rau Men which is a fusion of Japanese and Thai flavors. its made up of Ramen
noodles but it has shitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots , and bean sprouts. The soup is peanut flavored with a mild spicy kick. A good start to the meal. It was a bit sweet but it was Ok as the sweetness came from the peanut butter they probably used to flavor the broth. (Php 240)




The Main dish was Happy Beef (php 220): tender braised beef served over brown rice. It was ok except after the sweet noodle dish, the braised beef came cloyingly sweet. I would be needing serious recovery from a toothache!

Happy beef

With two sodas and service charge, our bill came to approx 600+ php. I took home almost all my share of the Happy Beef as I was not hungry enough . My taste buds became too much saturated with the sweet Rau Men to enjoy another sweet dish. To be fair though, I reheated it and ate it later at night and let me say that I enjoyed it far better on its own!




Recovery Food
G/F Crossroads, 32nd Street corner 8th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, The Fort (near Starbucks Drive-Thru)

Abe Restaurant: Reliable tasty Pinoy food

I have enjoyed Abe's offerings a lot of times for the past three years and often took it for granted. The one day I realized that I should write about one of the restos I have dined and will most likely do again the future.

I has been a favorite place of Med reps to treat us MDs , and it is also a favorite place to bring my balikbayan friends and relatives who crave for genuine pinoy food. It is also the second place where I have eaten insects. Too bad I have not ordered it recently. None of my friends wanted a taste of Kamaru which are crickets. It actually taste like dried shrimps.

Anyway, one thursday lunch, I was invited (again) to eat at Abe. This time, with my trusty iphone on hand took pictures for this blog.

First came the appetizers: Pako salad , Baby squids in olive oil and garlic and the heart stopping Chicharon bulaklak.

Chicharon Bulaklak

Baby squid in olive oil and Garlic and Pako Salad

  The Pako salad was light, refreshing with a sweet and sourly vinaigrette. I could eat an entire bowl of this.The Baby squids have always been favorite and I always order it whenever I am at Abe . The pinoy in me loves the cholesterol laden chicharon bulaklak specially when dipped in garlic and chili infused vinegar.

The sinigang na bangus belly sa bayabas tasted great....at first. The broth was too thick from the pureed guava rinds. It was far from the light guava- tasting broth that my dear mom made for us.It was  coyingly sweet and after a few spoonfuls, I stopped.

Sigarilyas and Sitaw sa Gata

The sigarilyas and sitaw sa gata tasted like gising gising that I thought it was it. Well, I love this dish whether it be made of sitaw, sigarilyas or green beans. It is reminiscent of food from my Bicol hometown.

Crispy Tadyang

A perennial favorite is Crispy Tadyang. Beef ribs simply salted and deep fried. A bit of a jaw exercise, but I guess that is part of what I enjoyed with this dish. I will choose this over Crispy Pata anytime.












Deep Fried Tilapia which was butterflied and served with burong rice is one of Abe's well known dishes. The outer part is crispy but the meat is delightfully soft and flaky.














Crispy pata is well.....cripsy Pata. Enough said.

Pakbet

The Pakbet came with crispy veggies and instead of the usual bagoong alamang they used bagoong isda which I feel is more true to the dish's Ilokano roots. 

 Chicken Adobado is one of Abe's latest offerings. Its similar to adobo but on the sweet side. Again, I am not a great fan of sweet viands so after one taste I moved on to more savory dishes. For me this dish is a confused fusion of adobo and asado.












Last came the Kare-kare. I was too full to get a taste but then, what could go wrong with this traditional fare? I just wished they made it with real atswete and thickened it with real galapong and peanuts the traditional way. But then, the tripe and the nguso was fork tender as it should be, the vegetables not overly done and the sauce with enough peanut flavor to be loved again and again.

The whole group was so full that we took half of the food home and passed on the dessert. Too bad as they have good native desserts. Oh well, maybe for next time's blog.