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Thursday, July 30, 2020

McDonald's Banana Pie - Seriously Worth a Purchase! #mcdonaldsbananapie

Just the other day, i made a relatively proud proclamation to a friend that i had not dined at McDonald's for quite a while but that's no longer the case when Jovyn insisted on having McChicken for brunch and i couldn't resist ordering a dessert that's only available for a short period of time.

McDonald's Banana Pie! 

From the outside, it doesn't look any different from the crunchy apple pie that we were familiar with. I do enjoy the classic apple pie from McDonald's but i am really more a banana lover; not sure if it is linked to my Chinese zodiac of monkey.

The crust was definitely the same as the apple pie but the oozy yellow filling with chunky, saccharine bites of banana was downright delicious! While a pie cannot be compared to our local fried banana (or goreng pisang), i must say i might actually prefer this over the rest of the fried banana stalls now that Lim Kee, my favourite banana stall at Maxwell hawker centre has closed down for good

It didn't have that artificial flavour that some of the limited edition pies from McDonald's have and wasn't cloyingly sweet. A pity that Jovyn is more interested in the crust than filling. Well, taste buds might change when she is older; as i did with dried mushrooms and yam paste. 

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Availability
From McDonald's for a limited time only. 

Pricing
Banana Pie - S$1.40

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Singapore's National Day - What's In The Singapore Together Pack? #ndp2020

Singapore's National Day Parade would be carried out in an entirely different format this year due to the ongoing pandemic and even the backpacks that are normally distributed to attendees of the parade are now given to all Singaporean / Permanent Resident (PR) households.

The thing is; this Singapore Together Pack wouldn't be delivered to your house. You have to collect it from Community Centres / Clubs (CC) assigned to your postal code; check for your designated collection centre by visiting the website here

There are a total of 20 designs for the tote bag and i was super happy with my HDB block design that's named "My Home" and created by Mr Mohamad Fadhil Bin Abdul Jalil from the Metta Welfare Association. 

Not sure if you can see from the second picture but the tote bag has a velcro strap to deter theft! In addition, there's also a pouch for you to keep loose change or items. I wouldn't be surprised that come national day on 9 August, we would see an entire parade of citizens carrying the tote bags!  

What else is included? I was expecting useless stuff like tons of vouchers with short expiry dates. Well the vouchers are still there in the form of e-discount coupons that can be found on this website; at least we can reduce paper wastage. Hm... what about the above pack with 4 red stickers? 

Turn around to read the instructions! With so many of us holding on to a smartphone, it's good to know that the planning committee has decided to do away with the lousy quality torches and in its place are red filter that we can paste over the handphone's torchlight! 

Temporary tattoos and iron-on stickers; i was actually thinking of putting the tattoos on Jovyn but she said we should only do it during national day. Can't argue with that. For the iron-on stickers, i don't think i have any use for them. 

A commemorative fridge magnet! Now, i love fridge magnets as they do a wonderful job in sprucing up a plain looking fridge! Whenever i travel, i would make sure i get a fridge with the name of the place i visit. Only problem is that i sometimes travel to a few places and it's not sensitive to buy one for each place! I do love a decorative fridge but i only have that one two-door fridge! 

I think most people would agree with me; in these pandemic days, the most precious and useful things are the bottles of hand sanitizer, packs of both reusable and surgical masks and the box of digital thermometer. I know where my iron-on stickers would go to now! 

A can of Yeo's chrysanthemum drink (lower in sugar)! To me, Yeo's my favourite local beverage brand and every lunar new year, this would be the brand i seek to buy although we are also more health conscious now and would consider non-sugar beverage like Pokka's Oolong Tea. 

Scan for hidden message! Of course i am not so observant; someone shared on social media and it piqued my curiousity too! 

Guess we would only know the secret on National Day; can only hope the servers don't crash even though i am not likely to remember unless someone shares it again then! A high likelihood, i bet.

Other items included a pack of biscuits from another reputable local brand; khong guan! There's also a handheld Singapore flag. For the state flag, it's not included as a default but the lady who handled my collection did ask if i would like to have one. 

Why would i reject? 
I am proud to be Singaporean! 
Majulah, Singapura! 

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Hong Kao Liao Li (烘烤料理) - The Bakery with Great Tasting Classic Cakes at Reasonable Pricing #hongkaoliaoli

What do you normally get when you are in a bakery? Likely bread which should be the case for most people but whenever i walk past Hong Kao Liao Li (烘烤料理) at its Clementi branch, something else would pull me into the shop and it's not their bread! 

It's their amazingly wide array of cakes and they are not even the fancy kind you get for birthdays! To be frank, i don't usually succumb to temptations for cakes but two colleagues of mine couldn't resist the first time we stepped in and when i was asked to partake; it's a point of no return.

I have tried a few since then; honey castella, banana cake, carrot cake, butterly peaflower etc and even their tapioca kueh. Even though i do know how to bake a mean tasting banana / carrot cake, laziness is the rule of thumb nowadays whenever i am at home and it didn't escape my eyes that the cakes are so reasonably priced (from S$3.00 for a banana cake to S$5.50 for a brownie with cheese cake)! 

This branch at Yishun was fairly new to me as the two branches i initially knew of were at Clementi and West Coast, and i only got to know about it when i was jogging! Honestly, I wouldn't expect a branch to be so far from the rest as logistically speaking, branches under the same brand would benefit from being closer to each other, especially when they are limited numbers. 

Very old school packaging! My favourite, out of those i have tried so far, is their banana honey castella cake but sadly, it's not available at the Yishun branch! 

I shall make do with my second favourite, the honey castella cake that cost just S$4.00! As i don't have good slicing skill, i had requested the staff to help me slice the cake and she did it so quickly with nice, smooth strokes. Darn, i need that knife. 

Loving the crispy, sweet bits on top that differentiated from those sold by most bakeries! Texture of the cake was also soft and what i enjoyed most was that Hong Kao Liao Li's cakes, in general, were not overly sweet and had that home baked feel. It's always a fight to control the temptation as Yishun Ring Road, where the bakery is located along, is my frequent jogging route! 

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Address
Block 291, Yishun Street 22, 
#01-355, Singapore 760291

Map

As above.

Website

Pricing
Honey Castella Cake - S$4.00 each

Sunday, July 26, 2020

泰好吃 - Thai Hao Chi Mookata @ Upper Thomson Road (Near Nee Soon Camp) [Singapore] #mookata #thaihaochi

It was after one of my occasional jogs to the rocket tower at upper seletar reservoir; i met up with a friend for dinner at Han's (Springleaf) and was walking to the bus stop after my meal when i chanced upon a bustling eatery which was easily the busiest along the long stretch of shophouses.

泰好吃 - Thai Hao Chi Mookata. There was no way i could stomach another morsel although i did take the advice from one of the staff that i should make a reservation if i would like to visit in the future!

And i did follow his advice a few weeks later; bringing my parents to share the calories too! As we usually prefer to have our dinner early, a reservation slot for 5.30 pm was made. Guess how i made my way there? Jogged there of course!

Oooo, i didn't know 泰好吃 - Thai Hao Chi Mookata was one of the top ten outstanding food masters in the north back in 2018! That could have explained its popularity and an outstanding review score of 4.5 by 189 reviewers on google map.

Ordering was straightforward; that middle section was the basic set (costing S$39.90) and you can top up with more ingredients on the right; left was the beverage section. I regretted not getting a beer but well, there's always a next time.

With the pandemic, i guess there would likely be feedback about the risk of cross contamination about the placement of cutlery (including tongs, metal spoons and disposable chopsticks) in a metal box on each table.

The chilli dip and old school kettle that was filled with the same broth eventually going into the steamboat section of the unique Thai style charcoal barbecue and hotpot pan; i personally think it's more efficient for everyone as the broth always boils too quickly!

Arrival of our set of ingredients.

Each basic set is said to be good enough for two persons and the plate of meat included marinated pork, marinated chicken, pork belly, pork liver, prawns, squid, crabstick, meatballs, fishballs and hotdogs.

Less appealing items in the basket, at least from the point of view from a meat lover; chinese cabbage, xiao bai cai, spinach, vermicelli, beancurd skin, enoki mushroom and two eggs.

A staff member would help kick start the process after bringing in the hotpot barbecue pan!

No electrical wires as it's "powered" by traditional charocal! Do note that you would likely exit with the strong smell of BBQ sticking onto your clothes after you are done with your meal.

Let's now wait patiently for the meat to be cooked; that piece of pinkish white stuff on the middle of the BBQ dome played a darn important role of lubricating the pan so that the meat wouldn't stick to the pan. In addition, it's also my favorite item!

Replacing with meat after meat; for an impatient person, it's so frustrating to wait for the meat to be barbecued and it didn't help that my butter-fingers kept making the meat roll to the steamboat moat!

To be frank, most meat (pork, beef, chicken) for mookata had that signature sesami marination that i enjoy very much. The dealbreaker is often the chilli and this didn't disappoint with an acceptable level of spiciness, further enhanced by the addition of minced garlic.

That pinkish white stuff would be ready for my stomach once it reaches the above colour and texture. Crunchy and sinful, this is the irresistible pork lard that i look forward to indulging every time i have mookata!

Just when i thought i was done with my meal; the staff put two trays of meat on our table. What the heck; after 35 minutes?! I did order extra pork and chicken but i was under the impression they were already included on the plate of meat earlier! 

I shouldn't be complaining but as the charcoal was already expended; we had to ask for replenishment. No changing of hot plate (the barbecue dome) as it's tied to each basic set.

More meat for me though as my parents were already full.

End of the meal; with so much juices from the meat, it's inevitable that we get a delicious yet oily broth towards the end. I was so glad i jogged instead of taking the public transport to the eatery!

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Address
908 Upper Thomson Road, 
Singapore 787111

Map

As above.

Operating Hours
5.30 pm to 11.00 pm 

Reservation
Call +6585535581.

Website

Menu
As above

Pricing
Basic Set - S$39.90
Pork - S$10.00
Chicken - S$10.00
(No Service Charge, No GST)