Toa Payoh Lucky Pisang Raja - Banana Fritter & Fried Chempedak @ Toa Payoh Central Block 177 [Singapore]

A long time ago, i used to be employed by Pet Lovers Centre as a 'floater'; where i would work at any branch that required manpower. One of the branches i frequented was at Toa Payoh and one of the stalls i love to visit was the nearby Toa Payoh Lucky Pisang Raja.

Time flies and i was once again in the vicinity last weekend; the old madam who used to helm the stall had now been taken over a much younger lady but the large bunches of hanging banana continued to draw attention from unknowing passersby.   

I am always in a dilemma when faced with a variety of fried food. Fried banana is a must although my heart would tell me to get one of everything! Control, control, control; i just had a plate of hokkien mee and could do with lesser calorie-intake! 

Conservative i shall be; just one each of fried banana and fried chempedak. Although my mum was with me; she specifically warned that she would only be agreeable to sharing. Jovyn was there too but she doesn't like such "old school" snacks. 

Banana Fritter - at just S$1.20 a piece, i thought it was quite a large piece considering that i paid more for a smaller piece at Changi Village Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang Fried Bananas. 

As mentioned before, i enjoy Chinese-style banana fritters and this has to do with a signature alkaline (known as kee) taste in the batter. Crust here was thicker than Mei Xiang and the texture felt unripe (not mushy) yet strangely, sweeter than expected. A thick crust is usually a no-no but in this case, there wasn't the usual, cloying sensation. 

Fried Chempedak - many goreng pisang stalls would commonly have tiny fried chempedak for sale at maybe 3 for S$1.00. You needn't complain too much about the supposedly hefty pricing at Toa Payoh Lucky Pisang Raja as you get a fried chempedak that's slightly larger than a golf ball. 

The batter was the same as the fried banana and you can hear the noticeable crunch as your teeth bite through the crust. This was so good; the irresistible fragrance, the sweetness and the simple shiok satisfaction from the thickness of the 'meat'! I should have bought extra for takeaways! 

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Address

177 Toa Payoh Central,

#01-176, Epic Haus Coffee Shop,

Singapore 310177

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

1.00 - 9.00 pm*

*note that operating hours appeared to have changed due to COVID-19. 

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/ToaPayohLuckyPisangRaja

Pricing

Banana Fritter - S$1.20 each

Fried Chempedak - S$1.20 each

Update to The Scalding On My Thigh

Many thanks for all the concerns with regard to the unfortunate scalding i had on Singapore's National Day; three weeks had since passed and i think the time is about right for me to provide an update! 

With the use of the miracle burn cream (from China) and a topical skin healer (for pets), the condition of the injury saw a stark improvement within one day; the water blisters were still there but at least the skin didn't seem as red. 

The protective layer, otherwise known as the dead skin covering the wound, felt a bit strange and as you can see, i can totally move them up, left and right. 

Problem was with sleeping and showering; a wrong movement and the blister would break, showing a raw red wound that pulsated with pain when in touch with water. There were also times when i just happened to brush the wound against my mattress and the thin skin would just easily tear apart; eliciting a loud moan from me!

Condition one week later.

Love-hate relationship with the scabs; love it for the fact that the skin is healing and hate it because i was so tempted to tear them off my body! And the itch was so unbearable! 

Looking like a piece of molted snake skin; this actually fell off naturally. Guess I did manage to resist the temptation to pluck them after all although the issue with natural detachment is the mess on my bed. Luckily, they were dry and easily removable using the vacuum cleaner.

Progress over the next few days! 

I did mention earlier that i used a cream and a topical powder to treat the scald; didn't bother seeing a doctor as the condition didn't deteriorate and i could do without an MC. Above are the two items; Baofuling cream and Pet Heritage Topical Skin Healer.

Former, which is only available in China, works miraculously with scalds and burns, and the latter is a herbal powder that i chanced upon when Rubee was alive and love how it heals up an open wound so quickly! 

Three weeks later; no more scabs, no more raw skin, no more pain and no more itch. The mark is there but time would reduce its scarring. I am speaking from experience as burns and scalds are not that uncommon in my life, given how clumsy i usually am. 

Super Dario Lasagne - Super Dario Extra (Beef with Pecorino Cheese) @ City Square Mall [Singapore] #citysquaremall

City Square Mall is one of the few shopping centres in Singapore that i would visit every few months for the Decathlon and Don Don Donki stores. There were plenty of eateries in and around the mall but there's one i have been dying to check out. 

Super Dario Lasagne - this small, unassuming eatery has been around for quite a few years now and although i don't see many customers; it's puzzling that this no-pork place still manages to survive in this cut-throat F&B industry. I have also been wanting to try because of the dish that Super Dario Lasagne is supposed famous for; lasagna! 

To be honest, i have not tried enough of the Italian dish to be able to make a fair judgment and the one that i found extremely enjoyable was from Pizza Hut, back when pizza buffet was the rage and lasagne was included. Hence, i was caught by surprise with the over ten types of lasagne available at Super Dario Lasagne! 

Aside from the wide range of lasagne displayed at the counter, another thing that would have caught your attention is the wall on the side with its massive exhibit of serviettes that contained handwritten reviews from customers.

It felt just like the Polaroid wall at Island Creamery when it was at Serene Centre even though i thought the effort going into writing and decorating the paper serviette is way more laudable. 

Waiting for my food; just some nuggets of information about Super Dario Lasagne. Both the founder and partner are Italians and most of their ingredients are also imported from Italy; therefore, what i would be having soon is likely to be as authentic as it could be. 

Frankly, all the lasagne had almost the same look but internally, the ingredients could range from beef to chicken, lamb, to even vegetarian options. Even the cheese could differ from Parmesan, Scamorza, Ricotta to Gorgonzola! 

The one i ordered was Super Dario Extra which is beef with pecorino cheese, and it weighed at about 300g a potion! Noticing the collection of water on the bottom of the serving plate, i had a suspicion that the lasagne was microwaved, instead of baked. 

Taste wise, it was just so rich of tomato puree and i thought i did make a good choice by paying slightly more for the Pecorino cheese. Made with with sheep's milk, the intense cheese flavour did a fantastic job in elevating the overall flavour. However, microwaved food had a tendency to turn soggy and this is apparently a common grouch from some of the google reviewers who rated the eatery poorly. 

Thankfully, the boss did clarify online that even though the lasagne were indeed made daily, it would be microwaved if you order a portion onsite so that it would be warm. You do have the option to have it warmed in a convection oven but your waiting time would be longer.

Guess i need to visit again to try the "warmed by convection oven" method and pray that it would be a better experience. I do like the lasagne but texture wise, it's really quite a disappointment. 

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Address

180 Kitchener Rd, #04-17

City Square Mall, (opposite Daiso)

Singapore 208539 

Map

As above.

Website 

http://superdariolasagne.com/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Super Dario Extra - S$11.00

Mineral Water - S$1.80
(NETT)

Macpherson Minced Meat Noodle (麦波申肉脞面) @ Marsiling Mall Hawker Centre [Woodlands, Singapore] #marsilingmall

My elder sister often tagged me on Facebook and just about two weeks ago; she shared a posting on a Macpherson Minced Meat Noodle that had just moved over toMarsiling Mall Hawker Centre and asked me (with THE tag) if we should check it out on the coming Saturday. 

Well, why not!? Especially when i can blog about it. I was expecting a queue but there were just about 3-4 persons in front of us; maybe because it was still early at about 8.00 am although there were other stalls commanding a much longer queue. 

Not knowing which to order, we just went with the two recommendations (that had the thumbs-up sign next to pictures); the minced meat noodle and dish & noodle. Former had all the ingredients on the noodle with a small bowl of soup whereas the latter (S$2 more expensive) featured a bowl of soup with ingredients and a separate bowl of noodle.

Mine - the classic minced meat noodle. It's common to have pork liver included and i had forgotten to inform my sister to notify the operator not to add any! 

A thorough mix later, it's time to enjoy the noodle; to be honest, i am not a minced pork noodle fan as there's always too much vinegar for my liking. This, to me, was good as the vinegar was manageable! The minced pork was soft and of course, the crispy pork lard never fails to elevate the taste. 

For those huge on minced pork noodle (generally known as bak chor mee), this might fail to meet your expectations. p.s. from the conversation we overheard between two customers with the operator; they seemed to be loyal customers from the stall's previous location. 

My sister ordered the dish & noodle and i must say the soup, chockablock full of ingredients, was rich and amazingly flavourful. Only issue; the faint taste of pork liver which was still manageable. 

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Address 

4 Woodlands Street 12, #01-18, 

Marsiling Mall, Singapore 738620

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Minced Meat Noodle - S$4.50

Dish & Noodle - S$6.50

Desserts in Maccha House @ Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ Mall) [Singapore] #PLQMall

Closed friends would know that there are a few things in my life that i enjoy eating or drinking in its original form; one example is durian. Another one is green tea; i like it better as a beverage then as a dessert.

Therefore, when Alex insisted to have desserts at Maccha House; i was

apprehensive as i am not keen to waste my calories on foods that have a higher risk of being disliked by me. But he offered to pay; and that's a sweetener.

I don't remember ever visiting Maccha House although i recall a branch at Suntec City Mall. To be honest, i did have the intention to check it out for the green tea latte which i am personally fond of after having an incredulously amazing one at O'Sulloc Tea Museum on Jeju Island.

Ordering the green tea latter was definitive but i couldn't decide on the desserts. On one hand, Alex strongly endorsed the maccha cheese dorayaki and on the other hand, i was drawn to the best selling dessert at the flagship store in Kyoto; maccha tiramisu.

Decided on the maccha cheese dorayaki instead as our dear Alex would be paying for the desserts and i simply did not have the stomach space to squeeze two desserts at the same time.

Green Tea Latte - actually, the main reason i have yet to check out Maccha House for their green tea latter is because a friend didn't think it was fantastic. Alex, however, was full of praise about it. Now that i tried it, i am afraid i am not sold as i couldn't accept the bitter aftertaste following the sweet, milkiness. O'Sulloc (Jeju Island) is still way better.

Maccha Cheese Dorayaki - i looked at this as three separate desserts! Aside from the stack of dorayaki, you also get soft serve ice cream and shirotoma dumplings with azuki beans.  Three different types of filling for the dorayaki are available for your selection; chocolate chips, strawberries (most expensive) and mangoes (least expensive). I went with the priciest since i am not paying for it.

The dorayaki was pretty good despite having denser sponge cake like texture. Thankfully, the chantilly cream, the cream cheese glace and strawberries did a fantastic job in increasing its overall palatability, sans the strong bitterness of green tea that i ahbor.

Dumplings were okay; more than plain, tasteless tang yuan which required the essential assistance of the well-cooked, sweet azuki beans. Soft-serve ice cream was delicious; creamy and smooth, i was grateful that it's not full green-tea soft serve. p.s. the set was too filling for one person; would be better to share!

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Address

10 Paya Lebar Road,

 #02-20, Paya Lebar Quarter,

Singapore 409057

Map

As above.

Pricing

Maccha (Green Tea) Latte - S$4.40 (Regular)

Maccha Cheese Dorayaki (Strawberry) - S$11.99

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)

Additional Information

Aside from beverages and desserts, you can in fact have a full meal at Maccha House; just like Hoshino Coffee. At the moment, it has the pair set meal where you get S$10 off on your total bill.