Eighteen Chefs @ Yishun Ten

I know there are eighteen luohans (arhats) of a buddhist origin but who are the "good" eighteen chefs??

If i had been an avid reader for Jin Yong books (famous for his wuxia novels), i would have associated this eighteen chefs with some kind of chivalrous gang in the dynastic era that takes pride of their combined culinary skills with superb, sky-flying marital arts.

It's not to be. Except for its culinary skills.

And i don't think there are 18 chefs in that limited kitchen area.

Despite the above, we have to patronise in order to know how good (or how bad) an eatery is.

The ordering system here is similar to the Cafe Cartel; you write your order on an order form, make payment at the cashier, collect your cutlery and wait for your food.

Pretty simple?

It is, provided you are getting ala-carte items.

Eighteen chefs (i am calling it 18 chefs; too lazy to type the e-i-g-h-t-e-e-n) has this special menu item called "Be Your Own Chef".

As the name suggests, you can choose the base (pasta, cheese rice etc), one of eight sauces and one of twelve ingredients, with an option (pay extra money) to add additional ingredients.

Not wanting to use my-terribly-over-used brain,
i chose ala-carte.

Ice Lemon Tea

The one here tasted suspiciously like the ice lemon tea from Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Not that i am complaining; i have always loved the ice lemon tea from KFC.

Chicken Soup

How many times have you tried a bowl of chicken soup that does not contain any chicken meat? Don't tell me it's the essence of chicken that we should be having (this can be easily done using Knorr chicken cubes).

I took pleasure in biting a few pieces of chicken meat while having a bowl of chicken soup; which was exactly what i experienced in 18 chefs!

EggsChipsBeansDogs

This is a really classic name for a dish that contained eggs, chips (fries), beans (baked beans) and dogs (hot dogs lah!).

With the exception of the eggs, the others were pretty normal. Alex said the baked beans were pretty good though.

Seafood Aglio Olio

One of my favourite pasta, seafood aglio olio is desirable due to its perceived "lightness". When the dish arrived, the first thing that attracted my senses was the delicious aroma.

The calamaris were cooked to just the right softness. And the prawns were really good! Anyone knows where to buy prawns that are partially white when cooked and have a really "crunchy" bite?

Now the pasta. Unlike other aglio olio i tried, the one here tasted more flavourful with lesser olive oil; the feeling it gave was almost like eating hokkien fried mee!

Nonetheless, the overall dish was delicious.

E18hteen Banana Explosion

First and foremost, do not expect 18 bananas (note the singular). There are no such good deal in Singapore at a price of just S$5.90!! Be realistic!!

In any case, this is a normal dessert that had 3 scoops of ice cream (two vanilla, one chocolate), diced up bananas (from one banana) and chocolate fudge.

I should have tried the recommended E18hteen Funky Strawberry!

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The price breakdown as follows:

1) Eggschipsbeansdogs @ S$5.90

2) Seafood Aglio Olio @ S$12.90

3) E18hteen Banana Explosion @S$5.90

4) Combo A (Drink & a scoop of Ice Cream) @ S$2.50

5) Combo C (Drink, Chicken Soup & Garlic Bread) @ S$4.20

Plus GST @ 7%

Total: S$33.59

Location:

At Yishun Ten Cineplex, which is beside Northpoint Shopping Centre, which is across the road from Yishun MRT Station. In the event you need something more visual, please access streetdirectory.com and type "Yishun Ten".

Additional Information:

The owner of 18 chefs, Uncle Benny, is quite famous. Numerous newspapers have featured him as a local entrepreneur and he was the Yellow Ribbon Ambassador in 2007.

Uncle Benny used to work in "Fifteen", a world class restaurant owned by Jamie Oliver and that might explain why "18" is used partially as a namesake for his eatery.

Your first time eating at 18 chefs?
No problem! A friendly staff member will explain to you the ordering system (at least it helps to save some brain cells). 

Overall service was friendly and the food were served pretty fast!

Most importantly, especially for my Muslim friends,

Eighteen Chefs is a Muis-Certified Halal restaurant.