i MANGO - Singapore Mango Ice Mountain @ Northpoint City in Yishun [Singapore]

What follows a heavy vegetarian meal? Desserts for sure and since Jovyn was with us; I decided to go for something she likes. Bingsu or something similar, and I know just the right for it! 

i MANGO on basement one of Northpoint City mall, near Haidilao! I am so glad we arrived right on time as the queue to enter lengthened right after our group of five was seated. 

Given the limited seating capacity in the eatery, we could only thank our lucky stars! Anyway, even though there's a self ordering kiosk at the entrance, don't bother if you are dining in, as it's more crucial to get a table before ordering, and you could order using the QR code on your assigned table. 

The four key messages at i MANGO; fresh, half sugar, healthy and refreshing. Not so sure how desserts can be healthy, especially in a commercial setting although one can always argue they are already healthier if only half the sugar was used compared to its competitors. 

There were five of us and I was contemplating ordering two small shaved ice desserts. However, the above giant caught my attention. At a pricey S$30.90, I figured it would be worth it to order this attention seeking dessert, spreading the sins across five persons. 

Photograph of the Singapore Mango Ice Mountain with the birthday boy! The wait was about 15 minutes and it was so scary to carry it to my table from the serving counter (self-serviced); the whole tray was wobbling and butterfingers me couldn't stop thinking of the worst case scenario! 

"Instructions" on this mini placard, which appeared to be applicable for all shaved ice desserts; a bit of an overkill, not to mention a waste of paper and ink. Nowadays, it's all for the sake of being instagrammable whereas I am really just focusing on taste. 

Anyway, a closer look of this colossal dessert. 

Different from our local iced desserts like ice kacang, the shaved ice here was more of the Taiwanese style, shaved into layers and using ice blocks that already had milk and ingredients mixed in; in our case, mangos, hence, the yellowish tinge! 

Aside from the mango shaved ice, large cubes of mango, drizzles of mango sauce, another prominent feature for this mountain would be the popsicle which I had originally assumed to be the moulded and unshaved mini version of the ice block. Turned out it was a real, frozen mango! 

Verdict - it was indeed a less sweet version compared to many others I have had, without feeling jelak towards the end. The mango cubes (said to be from Thai mangoes) were large but not as sweet, with a sourness that some might dislike. Shaved ice didn't disappoint but they melted so fast so don't spend your time shooting millions of photographs! Accompanying mango sauce was more like a puree concentrate; not overly sweet too. 

Now, the dessert looked big but do note that it was a plate and not a bowl that the mountain was sitting on; so despite the visuals, the portion wasn't insanely large! Oh, forgot about the frozen mango; not bad tasting but if I want to eat a mango, I prefer fresh ones to protect my ageing teeth. 

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Address

930 Yishun Avenue 2, #B1-190 

SouthWing Northpoint City,

Singapore 768019

Map

As above.

Pricing

Singapore Mango Ice Mountain - S$30.90

Discount for Member - S$2.00

(No Service Charge, no GST)

Claypot King @ Central Park Bangkok [Thailand]

Claypot rice is an indulgence for someone who is always on a carbohydrate restricted diet but I just couldn't resist it when I chanced upon the Claypot King in Central Park Bangkok; the craving was so strong! 

Now, Claypot King was supposed to be quite popular in its original branch in Yaowarat and having stayed in the area so often; I really don't remember seeing it. However, a search of Google Maps refreshed my memory. I had walked past a few times as it was just a door or two away from Rabbit Hill Bar.

Anyway, I recall it wasn't exactly crowded with people. Well, it didn't matter to me as I didn't research further, other than noticing the review rating score of 4.8 on Google Maps. So, without further ado, here's what we had. 

Chrysanthemum Tea - the expensive pot of tea that had a special companion; a sandglass to tell us that the tea had been steeped sufficiently for us to appreciate its best flavour. Well, my mom would better appreciate the effort put in. 

Black Chicken Soup - tasted as nourishing as it should be albeit a bit too oily for my liking. p.s. this was Alex's order since I would personally prefer lotus root with pork ribs, if it is on the menu.

Claypot Rice with Chicken - came as a set with a separate soup that had the flavour of peppery fish maw soup, without the starchy thickness, and a serving of pickles (hidden behind the claypot) that was so addictive! 

Unlike claypot rice in Singapore, I found the rice here to be moist and wet, lacking the aromatic charred fragrance that would have been essential, and serving size was too little, even for one person. I do like both the chopped mushrooms and sliced sausage; soft and tasty! For those who prefer extra sweetness, there's black sauce available for you to mix in yourself.

Gingko and Taro Sticky Rice - despite knowing how much Thais love their desserts to be insanely sweet, I absolutely had to try orh nee when it's on the menu, especially when I read that Claypot King hailed from a Thai family of Teochew origins. 

Served hot, what I assumed to be a huge pile of mushy yam paste turned out to be a hard layer of ultra sweet yam, similar to the ones used as filling for mooncakes, sitting on a thick bed of glutinous rice. After a while, it was just too cloying for me to even force myself to eat it.

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Not exactly a satisfying meal... and the claypot rice with chicken felt more like sesame oil chicken, in claypot format. Maybe I should have gone for the claypots with a love logo; claypot rice with taro and claypot rice with pork. 

Address

Central Park, 5F, Rama IV Rd, 

Silom, Bangkok, Thailand

Map

As above.

Website

https://claypotking.com/

Pricing

Chrysanthemum Tea - 180 Baht

Black Chicken Soup - 160 Baht

Claypot Rice with Chicken - 180 Baht

Gingko and Taro Sticky Rice - 160 Baht

(Subject to Service Charge and Tax)

Huangshan International Hotel (黄山国际大酒店) @ Huangshan City in Anhui Province [China]

Our second hotel for the Eight Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China was at Huangshan International Hotel (黄山国际大酒店)! 

First thing that strikes us was the blossoming trees lined up next to the main entrance! In the midst of greenery, the pinkish flowers absolutely stood out, and screamed right into the faces of flower fanatics.

Flower fanatics like my dad, who adores flowers! 

I love flowers yet my knowledge of them is severely limited. Thanks to Google Image search, these were confirmed to be the "Kanzan Cherry tree (Prunus 'Kanzan'), a highly popular variety of double-flowered Japanese cherry tree".

Stepping into the grand lobby of Huangshan International Hotel. Classified as a five-star hotel with 336 rooms, it was first built in 1995, with the last renovation taking place in 2010. From the exterior, it did look pretty dated although the lobby looked impressive! 

Collecting our key card.

Comfortable hotel room for the night; not as cold as the top of Huangshan City, with warm comforter that was welcoming for a body that couldn't stand the freezing temperature the day before. 

Making use of the gym while waiting for dinnertime!

p.s. not very well maintained. 

Breakfast the next morning on second level of the hotel, with guests seated in what appeared to be the grand ballroom, and the buffet spread right outside the entrance. 

Snippets of what were available. Nothing too fanciful and the spread was more suitable for the locals, including things like fermented bean curd etc.

Nowadays, I would just go for plain porridge with condiments I think I would like. The best thing on the above plate had to be the juicy, flavourful beef ball! 

I didn't notice the above on the ground floor but on the second floor, I noticed there's a small garden that would no doubt, feel extremely eerie at night with creepers all over! 

Getting both Alex and my dad to go down so that I can take a few shots from the second level. It's actually very nice, in the daytime. I didn't even notice the garden when we checked in the day before.

Last few photographs before we checked out to take the coach. 

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Address

31 Huashan Rd, Tunxi District, 

Huangshan City, Anhui, China, 245061

Click HERE for our 8 Days Huangshan, Tunxi, Yixian, Wuyuan, Mount Qiyun, Thousand-Island Lake, Hangzhou Tour Package to China via CTC Travel Agency

Hitoyoshi Ramen & Grill @ Mapletree Business City near Labrador MRT Station in Singapore

I was craving for Sakana-No-Suppu at Alexandra Retail Centre (ARC) but my suggestion was overruled by two friends who decided to check out Hitoyoshi Ramen & Grill at the next door Mapletree Business City.

Whatever the case, the craving could be satisfied on another day and the eatery did appear promising, especially with its alcohol selection that appealed to one alcoholic friend, who is in severe denial of his addiction! 

Buta Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen - my main aim was their signature tonkotsu ramen, which sounded extremely appealing on a rainy day! And the above came with a thumbs-up on the menu and included all toppings! 

By all toppings, it meant the onsen egg, chashu, aburi belly chashu, seaweed, spring onion, black fungus and tender bamboo shoots; latter of which didn't give off a bad smell. 

Noodles were slurpy and satisfying for the weather and credits of course were also shared with the thick and intensely rich pork broth hearty for the tummy. Do keep in mind to drink it while it was still hot as the broth got a bit cloying towards the end. 

Toppings didn't disappoint except for one; the chashu which was overly tough with a veiled porky taste. What I loved most were the delicious, shogayaki; said to be made with "thinly slice pork that is cooked in a sweet fragrant sauce and ginger", and the well marinated onsen eggs! 

Free flow beansprouts and corn kernels from the containers on your table, that you can further use to "top up" your bowl of ramen! They were nice additions, although not essential.  

Truffle Unagi Maki - playing it safe, we opted for the maki with a thumbs-up log on the menu and we assumed truffle unagi maki would be an enhancement to the more common unagi maki. 

Didn't disappoint at all even though we found no traces of truffle! The unagi was grilled until the edges were crisp and slathered with a sweet marinade that were perfect for the cold, crunchy cucumber enveloped by the soft, grainy sushi rice. p.s. the wasabi looked as if it was freshly grated, and didn't had that sharp, numbing sensation! 

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Happy with what we had. And the next time, I would just go for the Buta Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen with all the toppings, and a serving of Truffle Unagi Maki with a pint of Japanese beer. That would be blissful for an after-work relaxation. 

Address

40 Pasir Panjang Road, 

Mapletree Business City, #02-38, 

Singapore 117440

Map

As above.

Pricing

Buta Shogayaki Tonkotsu Ramen - S$19.90

Truffle Unagi Maki - S$26.00

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)