Uncle Lee Confectionery - Vanilla Peanut Cake @ Pop Up Booth at Northpoint City Mall in Yishun

I seldom crave for cakes and never thought I could even be mildly obsessed with them, until I couldn't resist the numerous reels on my social media feed featuring the cakes from Uncle Lee Confectionery, and eventually got one! 

Since that very first experience, I will keep a lookout for pop up booths at the atriums of Northpoint City Mall. Funny thing is that once I catch sight of the booth for Uncle Lee Confectionery, I will get into a serious mode of procrastination. Should I, or should I not buy. 

It didn't help that only whole cakes were available (massive calorie intake when I really just want one slice), and you wonder what the fuss is, when the cakes were hardly put on display and you don't even get to have the visuals tempting you! 

Oh well, the lack of visuals didn't stop me from forking out $16.35 for this box of cake. p.s. this would be my third cake in less than four months and if not for my determination, and that the pop-up stall appears only occasionally in Yishun, I would have indulged much more often.

Unravelling the cake within, noted it will not have generated much interest given its plain, cheap-looking, peanut-covered facade without any decoration that is literally the norm for its many many competitors that would love to stand out from the competitive industry! 

Don't discount it so fast! Immediately upon opening the top of the box, your nostrils will pick up the wafts of deeply aromatic crushed peanuts, and before you knew it; the desire to eat it deepens and you start frantically looking for the knife to slice it up, even though one can go the barbaric way of eating with your hand.

I am civilized, and cut just a small slice, since I am on diet. Amazingly soft vanilla sponge cake, sufficiently slathered with butter cream and covered in a generous sprinkling of roughly grounded peanuts. Every mouthful was an assured texturized bite of simple, nostalgic goodness and plain nuttiness!

Before I realized, half was gone; damn the diet but it was so worth it! This is my fourth cake from Uncle Lee Confectionery and I guess more will come. Maybe the next time, I should try their other cakes. Sigh... time to jog more!

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Address

Temporary Pop Up Booth,

Northpoint City Mall, Level 1,

Yishun, Singapore 769098

(near Dyson)

Menu

As above.

Website

https://uncleleeconfectionery.cococart.co/

Pricing

Vanilla Peanut Cake - S$16.35

Bird's Nest Soup from Tuck Sang Thong (德生堂) @ First World Hotel on Genting Highlands [Malaysia]

Walking past the above shop a few times a day finally piqued my curiosity and we decided to give our legs (clocking more than 30,000 steps) a rest and get a bowl of bird's nest soup to nourish the body!

Specialising in "traditional Chinese herbs, dried seafood and tonic stews", Tuck Sang Thong was founded in 1941. Aside from bird's nest, you can also spend your money on dried sea cucumbers, dried scallops, dried abalone and even deer tail retailing at RM 864! How do you even eat that?

Double Boiled Cave Bird's Nest with Ginkgo & White Fungus - with fifteen types of bird's nest soup ranging from RM 39.80 to RM 298.00, I went for this slightly version one that cost RM 59.80 (less than S$20.00).

My serving of warm bird's soup nest, which turned out to be a deconstructed version of a sweet broth of ginkgo nuts and fungus, accompanied with a bottle of double boiled cave bird's nest.

Which I had to take the extra effort to open the cap and pour in the precious contents. So much for expecting a soup that was combined and brewed slowly in a large container. Well, only S$20, so I should stop complaining.

In life, the older Chinese generation would ask the young ones to "先苦后甜"; meaning bitter first, sweet later, as in enduring hardship for a better future. In food, I practice the same philosophy. Attacking the least desirable white fungus first! 

And finally savouring the soup, the red dates and the ginkgo nuts later! Bird's nest? Well, that thing is literally tasteless and I can only pray my body has been strengthened by the "magical" powers of the swallows' dried saliva. p.s. soup was like cheng tng, and not insanely sweet. 

Didn't take me long to slurp up everything! 

After cleaning up my bird's nest, I realized something from the glass counter as I exited the shop. Darn, that's my ready to drink "Double Boiled Cave Bird's Nest with Ginkgo & White Fungus"! And I noticed there were bottled of concentrated cave bird's nest that cost just RM 55.00 a bottle! 

In addition to chrysanthemum and ginseng tea, the men can also consider the tongkat ali drinks that came in yellow, black and red! For those who are unacquainted with tongkat ali, it's well known throughout Malaysia for its aphrodisiac effect.

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Address

Ground Floor, First World Hotel,

Genting Highlands, Malaysia

(near escalator leading to casino level)

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Double Boiled Cave Bird's Nest with Ginkgo & White Fungus - RM 59.80

Durians at Kafe Mountain Top Garden on Genting Highlands in Malaysia

It's the durian season in Malaysia and as a huge fan of the king of fruits; we couldn't resist not ordering a fruit when we were at Genting Highlands a few days ago and chanced upon baskets and piles of durians for sale at Kafe Mountain Top Garden!

Our mao shan wang (cat mountain king) durian at RM45 (about S$14.50) a kilogram, with the above fruit costing us RM70. And the price came with two small bottles of drinking water! 

Taste didn't disappoint; a texture that wasn't too wet and blessed with an inner creaminess that hovered between bitterness and sweetness. The kind approved by my mom for sure and it's a pity she wasn't with us.

Only thing was that the seeds were pretty big even though still satisfying. Eating the durian with gloves which turned out to be so restrictive, and not finger-licking good!

Total 12 seeds! It might not seem like much given that these were shared between Alex and I. However, this amount didn't stop me from burping throughout the movie we watched later on; colony! Imagine the stench floating in the air whenever I couldn't suppress my burp.

Anyway, this is the season to indulge in durians given the bumper crop and service at Kafe Mountain Top Garden was good! We were even given a free serving of chendol, which we had to decline as we had already maxed out our calories that day.

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Address

Lot No. G/G6.00, Opposite Genting Grand Hotel,

In front of RW Hotel, Genting Highlands,

Pahang, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Yuen Kee Dumpling (袁记云饺) @ Yishun Northpoint City Mall [Singapore]

In less than two years, Yuen Kee Dumpling had already opened more than 20 eateries in Singapore, with a mix of stalls in food courts and sit-down eateries. 

Knowing it hailed from China, where there were more than 3,000 branches, I was finally motivated to check out the branch at Northpoint City Mall, after seeing that the queue had finally died down. Furthermore, it came strongly recommended from the Greatest Kon, the ultimate foodie!

Truly spectacular to see the open kitchen in front of us! Not sure about the workers but I sure would feel uncomfortable to see the many pairs of eyes if I were the one skillfully wrapping the dumplings / wantons in front of every customers! 

From the display in front of us, I am guessing you could even purchase raw dumplings so that you can add them to the steamboat meal planned for home; from S$10.80 - S$14.80 per 500 grams. Not for me, I prefer the convenience of buying straight and eating them almost immediately.

Anyway, please be prepared to wait! There were like only two or three persons in front of me, yet I waited for more than 20 minutes! Hungry max.

No choice; payment was already made.

And I had to wait patiently for the beeping. 

Secure your condiments at the counter, which included chopped chili, chili oil, spring onions, cut green chilli, shredded ginger, soy sauce, vinegar and mixed nuts sauce cubes. I am the traditionalist; cut green chilli for my noodles, a ton of spring onions for my soup, and shredded ginger for the dumplings.

My order for the two; just to highlight it's for my dad and me! p.s. the soup didn't impress, with a slight porkiness, but it's not the main draw that day. My targets should be the wantons and dumplings! 

Shrimp and Crab Roe Pork Wantons Noodle - this would be the kind of noodles you would expect from Cantonese cuisine; plain and seasoned with a light and mildly sweet soy sauce, yet surprisingly palatable! No complaints even though I was simply craving for noodles that day. 

While the wantons were said to contain shrimp, pork and crab roe, the roes were definitely not the real deal as crab roes wouldn't be shaped like those tobiko roes found in Japanese eateries! Not sure if this would be considered as false advertising although it's a norm in China to term tobiko roes as crab roes. 

Nevertheless, unlike the pathetically small wantons you get in Singapore; these best sellers were sizeable with fresh, sweet prawns and delicious minced pork! The so-called crab roes didn't seem to enhance the flavour though. 

 

Shrimp and Vegetables Pork Dumplings - said to be the house signature, I ordered just the dumplings, which were sitting on a bed or beansprouts! Can you spot the difference between dumplings and wantons?

Frankly, these dumplings were seriously good; generous with the fillings and absolutely delightful with the shredded ginger and vinegar! I had them with the viral mixed sauce with chilli oil but it felt more like just chilli oil with peanut sauce. I think I can do without the sauce. 

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Would I be back? Definitely for the shrimp, vegetables and pork dumplings without the sauce. Honestly, I can't wait for the next visit! 

Address

930 Yishun Ave 2, #B2-12, Kopitiam,

Northpoint City Mall, Singapore 769098

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Shrimp and Crab Roe Pork Wantons Noodle - S$7.80

Shrimp and Vegetables Pork Dumplings - S$9.80

(Inclusive of GST)

Berempah Bros - Unconventional Nasi Lemak by MasterChef Singapore Season 2 Winner @ Beauty World Food Centre in Singapore

Nasi lemak is a local dish that I would crave occasionally despite my dislike for carbohydrate heavy meals! And when I see a stall opened by the winner of MasterChef Singapore Season 2; I knew I had to give it a try! 

Menu for your reference; going for the signature ayam berempah and it's an absolute no brain between thigh or breast, The former it shall be, even though breast meat has higher protein.

Plated on the brown hawker paper commonly used by hawkers in Singapore, it was a picture-perfect sight that played with colors aimed to generate interest and curiosity. Is it just a visual gimmick? But hey, winning a MasterChef is no easy feat! 

Let's start with the rice; tasted just like your typical nasi lemak rice cooked with coconut milk, these grains were softer, fluffier, and lighter in flavour.

Portions for the meat were quite little; they were boneless and juicy alright but I am the weirdo who prefers to gnaw on bones, like a doggie! You do get the touches of the berempah spices; however, the crumbs that covered the meat stole the limelight! Called typhoon shelter crumbs, they were like the less sweet version of the cereals in cereal prawns even though the real thing contains no cereal! 

Sambal belachan was too spicy for me (I get sweat oozing from my hair follicles) and the one thing I absolutely 101% love at Berempah Bros would be the unforgettable achar! The perfect balance of cold sweetness, crunchiness, sourness and spiciness! Would love to get a bottle for home! 

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Food was enjoyable but the hot weather was a killer in a non-air-conditioned food centre. Experience should be better at night. p.s. crispy fried egg was normal; I expected an exceptional one. 

Address

144 Upper Bukit Timah Rd,

#04-51, Beauty World Food Centre,

Singapore 588177

Map

As above.

Pricing

Ayam Berempah Thigh - S$7.50

Crispy Fried Egg - S$1.50