Funan Weng @ Maxwell Chambers

Funan Weng Ipoh Hor Fun stall has gone upmarket. The Funan Weng stall has a long history. It started out at Hock Lam street before moving to the old site where Funan Centre was built over. It shifted once again to Ghim Moh market. And now, it has found its new home at Maxwell Chambers.



For those who don't know where Maxwell Chamber is, it is where the former "White House" is, near to the Ministry of National Development building and Red Dot Museum building.

As with all hawker stalls gone market, the prices of the Ipoh Hor Fun has also been upgraded. A portion of a char siew and wanton Ipoh Hor Fun costs slightly less than S$6. But they don't charge service charge nor GST. So all prices are nett. And do note that just like at a hawker centre, you have to first go to their counter to order and pay first. Then find a seat and the food will be delivered to you.



The Ipoh Hor Fun is very smooth and silky. Nothing special about the gravy, but the hor fun is good quality ones. The ingredients like Char Siew, shredded chicken, wanton and half a piece of prawn is average.

One bad point about this place, is that the waiting time is very very long. I understand that today (29 Sep) is their first day of business, but when customers had to wait for 30 minutes during peak hour for the Ipoh Hor Fun is really too long a wait. Hope the management can resolve this problem fast.


Funan Weng
Maxwell Chambers
32 Maxwell Road
#01-07
Singapore 069115
http://www.funanweng.com/

Curry Favor @ Novena Square

Curry Favor prides itself for their homemade Japanese curry which is made from scratch and not from those pre-mixed curry cubes.

Japanese curry are somewhat milder and less spicy than Indians or Malays versions. Japanese curries are mostly cooked with some sweet vegetables and fruits such as carrots, onions and even apples.



Curry Favor has 2 shops in Singapore, one is at Stamford House and the other at Novena Square.



We had dinner at Novena branch. When we first arrived for dinnerround 730pm, it was still quite empty. But was 75% full when we left at around 830pm.



Every curry set comes with either Miso soup or salad. I opted for the salad. It was just a few pieces of vegetables with a spoonful of some salad sauce. Not very good.



Minced beef curry. The food is not up to our standard. Curry was too thick and the combination of minced beef and vegetables with the curry (which is a bit different from the Japanese version) is weird. Would not recommend ordering this.



A safer choice is the deep fried crispy chicken cutlet with curry. Here, the curry is the authentic Japanese version of curry. I suppose the supermarket curry cubes are of a very high standard because the taste to me is almost identical. I cannot taste where the difference lies. It's not that the made-from-scratch curry is not good, just that the supermarket curry cubes are equally tasty and good.



My piece of fried chicken cutlet to go with the curry. Quite a big piece. But would hope for it to be meatier.



Also ordered this deep fried pork loin stuffed with cheese.



It looks nice from this picture with the melted cheese all inside. But frankly the taste is pretty average. I think it lacks this special flavour which I am not sure what.


Curry Favor
238 Thomson Road
#03-26/27
Velocity @ Novena Square

Izakaya Nijumaru Restaurant @ Cuppage Plaza

I used to be a regular of Izakaya Nijumaru a few years back. Then suddenly didn't go back there for a year or so. So recently, decided to return for traditional and affordable Japanese food.

The food here is authentic as the Japanese community in Singapore love eating here, no matter how packed or crowded this restaurant is.

Their business is so good that now they have taken over 4 to 5 units at level 2. Reservation is HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED.



Had the Unajyu Bento (S$20.00). It's my 1st time ordering this as I usually eat the beef teriyaki set. Was pleasantly surprised to find 2 large Grade A unagi on top of my rice.



At this price, it's extremely value for money. The Japanese aunties sitting next to me also ordered this set. The Unagi is juicy and tasty. I have never been to Japan, but I suppose this is as authentic as you can get.



Also ordered a serving of Gyoza to share. The Gyoza fillings here are made with fresh spring onions, cabbage and pork. It's soft and juicy yet crispy on the outside.

Please do note that all the menus here are in Japanese and their English pronunciation. Those who don't understand Japanese would be glad to know that all the aunty waitresses here are Chinese and Singlish speaking. So please open your mouth and ask for recommendations if you don't know what the menu is saying.


Izakaya Nijumaru Restaurant
5 Koek Road
#02-10 Cuppage Plaza

The Handburger @ Raffles City

Had a hamburger at The Handburger for lunch during one of my lunch appointment with fellow blogger "danieru弁～～V(^o^)V".

We were there a few days after they opened.



We arrived there at 12 noon sharp, so there were still empty seats all around. The Handburger is opened by the management of The Soup Spoon, which is just next door.



Complimentary chips. More like potato chips from a bag. But complimentary lah, cannot complain.



Our orders of "The Works Burger" (S$16.80) finally arrived. The reasons we ordered this are:

1) It has everything thrown into it, making this a "everything-I-also-want" burger.
2) We were hungry and greedy.



If I didn't remember wrongly, "The Works Burger" comes with a juicy piece of sirloin beef patty, cheddar cheese, onion rings, sinful bacon, fried sunny side egg, mashed avocado, BBQ sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and others between toasted caramelised onion buns.

This is good. Though not as good as my favourtie sliders at Barracks Cafe, but is good enough to be one of the top few burgers I tried before.



Diners have a choice of chilled poached tomato or fries. Decide to go for the "healthier-choice". I'm glad I chose the tomato. Don't you think it looks very pretty?



It's stuffed with crunchy coleslaw. The tomato doesn't has this "raw vegetables" taste. And it's poached with some kind of savoury sauce. The tomato side was so good that it overpowered the burger. I think they should make the tomato their signature dish.

Definitely will come back to try their other burgers such as the tea smoked duck burger.


The Handburger
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-77/78
Raffles City Shopping Centre
http://www.thehandburger.com/

Sin Hai Sai Eating House

This weekend, it is good to avoid the city area as the F1 is being held here in Singapore.

Would recommend this Chinese tze char shop along East Coast. I am not sure if they are related to the one at Tiong Bahru, but I believe they share the same name.



There are 2 sections. Air con and non air con. I prefer the air con area as it was quite warm on that night and I don't exactly like to take in carbon monoxide from the roads.



The menu is wide ranging but nothing exciting. It's really just like any other tze char shops in Singapore. But the quality of tze char is quite good. And this shop has been in East Coast for many decades.



Prawn paste chicken. The chicken was marinated long enough for the prawn paste to go into the meat. Coating outside was crispy too. Still, I think I had better ones at Hong Kong Street before.



Claypot Tofu. Full of ingredients. The best part for me was the gravy which is great with white rice.



Guinness pork ribs and stir fried beef with kai-lan. The Guinness Pork Ribs is suppose to be one of the specialty from this shop. The pork ribs is cooked in this thickened sweet and sour sauce made from stout. I couldn't taste the stout, but felt the entire dish tasted more like Pork Ribs King.

On the other hand, the simple dish of beef kai-lan was delicious. The beef was tender and the kai-lan was fresh.

Overall, one of the better tze-char shops in the East. And I think diners would welcome the air-con sections during a warm and humid night.


Sin Hai Sai Eating House
187 East Coast Road

I Need to Take 1/2 of a Permanent Vacation

In a case that has potential ramifications for future divorce litigation, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday about the divisibility of accumulated vacation days. The Quad City Times reports that at issue is whether a non-employee spouse is entitled to a share of the value of accumulated vacation days. The trial court had awarded the wife $15,000 as her share of her husbands days finding that the days were akin to money in a savings account. The ruling was reversed on appeal and then granted discretionary review.

It should be interesting to see how this pans out. I would imagine that the Court's ruling would have to take into consideration how the accumulated days are treated by the employee spouse's employer. For instance, if the days are treated as a benefit that can be liquidated or compensated upon separation from employment, I believe there would be much more support for a ruling favoring their divisibility. However, if the employer's benefit package is more of a "use it or lose it" form, I do not see how the Court can divide an asset in which the employee spouse is not truly vested.

The next step could very well be an argument that one spouse is dissipating marital assets by using vacation days to take off from work to attend divorce proceedings in which the vacation days are being divided by the court. Stay tuned.

Skinny Pizza @ Dempsey Road

Was attracted by the review done by IS magazine on Skinny Pizza's Savoury Ice-Cream. It was mentioned that their Mexican Chilli ice-cream was really good.



Skinny Pizza had an outlet at Suntec City, but instead we went to Barracks Cafe at Dempsey which also serves Skinny Pizza.



There were 3 flavours of the ice-cream. We had the Mexican Chili which was highly recommended, and the Truffle Mushroom flavour.

Do have it in a cone. The cone is actually thin pizza crust rolled into a cone shape and baked till very crispy.



Indeed, the Mexican Chili flavour was very very good. Every bite is full of flavour. It's not very spicy yet you can eat the chilli inside the ice-cream. Compared to the milder flavoured but equally delicious Mushroom Truffle, I prefer the Chili version. But fans of creamy ice-cream would prefer the Mushroom Truffle taste.



No trip to Barracks Cafe is complete without eating their famous Strawberry Shortcake. Warmed in the oven before serving, the shortcake is moist and flavourful.

The savoury ice-cream is also available at their shop in Suntec City too.


Barracks Cafe
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village (Dempsey Road)

Skinny Pizza
3 Temasek Boulevard
#01-002 Suntec City Galleria

TCC - The Coffee Connoisseur @ The Pier Robertson

We are back again at TCC over at their Robertson outlet as we were nearby.



Had this Nougat Milk Shake. It was one of the best shakes I ever tried. The Nougat is blended with fresh milk and ice. Really creamy and there are bits and pieces of crushed nuts and caramel inside the shake.



Had the Curry Beef Spaghetti again. This time, the curry felt a bit watery. Nevertheless, this is quite tasty especially with the crispy beef fillets.




Tropical Tamarind Chicken. I like the mashed potatoes. The Tamarind sauce was slightly sour and was quite appetizing. Chicken was boneless chicken thigh meat.


TCC - The Coffee Connoisseur
80 Mohamed Sultan Road
#01-02 The Pier @ Robertson

TCC - The Coffee Connoisseur @ The Pier Robertson

TCC is one of a handful of chain cafes in Singapore which serves pretty good food at a nice environment.

I especially like the branch at Robertson Quay. Quiet yet chic.



Dinner at TCC on a weekend night. This is their killer spicy wings. The wings, without the dip, is really spicy. Think of Buffalo Wings spicy and not KFC hot & crispy spicy.

In fact, it was so spicy that all we wanted was to quickly finish the wings. The sauce was even more spicy. I wonder who can take such spiciness.



Pasta in tomato paste. I don't really like tomato base pasta, but I tried some and it taste quite ok to me.



Had this Curry Beef Spaghetti. It's actually quite good. The surprise is that the beef fillets are actually fried till crispy in a bread crumbs coating. The curry was tasty without being too spicy. The combination of the fried beef fillets and curry sauce actually is quite a good match.


TCC - The Coffee Connoisseur
80 Mohamed Sultan Road
#01-02 The Pier @ Robertson

Canele Restaurant @ Raffles City Shopping Centre

Canele opened its first restaurant shop in Raffles City. Beside serving a wide range of cakes and its very famous macarons, the restaurant also serves some great mains to diners.



Seafood stew with bread. Quite a small portion if you are a big eater. Some chilli are present in the stew, so non-chilli eaters should be wary of this. Stew is served with mussels, prawns and calamari rings. No complains.



I had the ham and cheese baked rice. Portion is quite hearty for a big eater like me. The cheese is sticky and tasty. Rice inside is cooked with some special stock, so it is not just plain white rice you are eating. Generous with their ham slices too. Enjoyed this dish a lot.



No trip to Canele is complete without ordering their famous Macarons. Macaron is quite difficult to make due to it's multiple texture. Of all the macaron we ordered, I like the rose and violet the most. The salted caramel one was also good.


Canele Restaurant
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-81/82
Raffles City Shopping Centre

Wine Connection @ Robertson Walk

Wine Connection, a premium wine shop selling wines at affordable prices, has a unit at Robertson Walk which sells ham cheese and hot mains for lunch and dinner.



Had this pasta in a light tomato base. I wasn't a fan of tomato base pasta, as I have always prefered cream base or Japanese style pasta. The pasta here are a little too al dente for me.



Grilled chicken with potatoes. Some special sauces are served together with the chicken - tamarind sauce. The chicken was tender and potatoes was tender yet firm.



I like the Tiramisu. It is served in a rectangular porcelain cup. Rich and tasty down to the coffee liquid underneath. One of the best version of the Tiramisu dessert in Singapore.


Wine Connection
11 Unity Street
#01-06 Robertson Walk

Thanying Restaurant @ The Amara

My 1st time at Thanying Restaurant at The Amara. It has been in Singapore for quite some time, serving authentic Thai food to Singaporeans for years.



The design inside is spacious, with hints of Thai royalty on the chairs, tables and walls. But the whole place was quite empty on a weekend evening.



Tom Yam Soup (clear). This is very very spicy due to the chilli padi. Even though we asked the kitchen to go easy with the chilli, but it is still very spicy. Ingredients inside are fresh though. Can't taste the soup well due to the spiciness.



Dried grilled beef - Very tasty snack. The beef taste like beef bak kwa from Lim Chee Guan, just that it is more dry and more fragrant. Goes well with the chilli dip.



Crispy rice with spicy coconut milk dip. Very special, first time eating this dish. The rice crackers is crunchy, and the spicy coconut dip goes well with the rice crackers.



After watching this TVBS Asia show on Thai food, we decided to order this which is an assortment of fillings (salted fish, green lime, onions, peanuts, etc etc) wrapped in fresh green leaves. The tangy chilli sauce have the rolls an extra ommph. Refreshing and healthy dish.



Special Thai pork curry. Comes with a plate of crispy fried fish. The bones and fins are very crispy.



The pork is very tender, and the curry gravy goes well with plain white rice. Something to order again next time when we are back!



By now, we are very full. But we still have to polish off these Pandan Chickens, a favourite among Singaporeans. The ones here are very very big in portion. One Pandan chicken is good enough for one diner. Very flavourful and tender. But the chef should maybe skin off some fats from the chicken.

Overall, one of the best Thai food restaurant in Singapore, in terms of taste and experience.


Thanying Restaurant
165 Tanjong Pagar Road
#02-00 The Amara

Tsukiki Gindaco @ ION Orchard

Gindaco is a chain stall selling Takoyaki balls in Japan, with over 200 to 300 stalls.



It opened its 1st shop in Singapore at ION Orchard shopping mall. Everyday, it will attract looong queues of customers eager to get a taste of Japan's authentic takoyaki balls.



As of now, the Japanese chefs are still there teaching the locals how to make the balls. But understand that they should be returning to Japan soon.



I love the takoyaki balls. Big and crispy on outside, moist and soft inside. Each ball had a large piece of crunchy sotong meat inside.

I also like the thick green tea drink. Great for those on diet because it does not contain any sugar at all.

Certainly one of the best takoyaki balls in Singapore.


Tsukiji Gindaco
2 Orchard Turn
#B4-64
ION Orchard