Ramen Champion Great World City - The Third Outlet [A Media Invitation]

A media invite in my mailbox? 

In normal circumstances, i would have nicely replied to say that i am uninterested and wish the establishment all the best in their new venture / offerings. 

However, a friend got wind of this Ramen Champion invitation and persuaded me to bring her along! I wasn't very willing but eventually relented. p.s. to that person, you owe me big big! 

Anyway, the purpose was for a food-tasting session attended by invited bloggers at Ramen Champion's newest outlet at Great World City, where four competitors would also enter the arena to trash it out in order to win the coveted championship in 2013! 

Without further ado, I would start with the food now:

Bishamon Zero

Sapporo Miso Special Ramen

An existing competitor in this heated contest, Bishamon Zero offered Sapporo style ramen that had a broth cooked for a minimum of seven hours daily.

I didn't find anything exceptional about the broth (a tad too much spring onions though) although i must admit i am a great fan of thin noodles! The one thing i particularly enjoyed was its chashu; texture was incredibly soft with a sinful juiciness that any cardiologist would frown upon! 

Tonkotsu Itto 

Special Tonkotsu Ramen

Featuring Hakata style ramen (not that the style matters to me as i am not really one to go for authenticity), it was started by a Chef Sakamoto who has helmed a ramen stall that was ranked number one in the Japanese capital after merely three years. 

The noodles were even better this time round even though you might wish to note that Hakata ramen is known for their rich and savoury pork broth! I, for one, didn't like the strong porky taste. Chashu, in this case, was tougher and didn't quite manage the flavour expectation well. 

Miyamoto 

Pork and Vegetable Ramen 

A new entrant to the competition, the media write up i received only mentioned it originated from Tokyo and had received awards like 2012 Gurutto Chiba Most Impressive Ramen!

Similar to the thick ban mian noodles locals are accustomed to, this did not sit well with me. For a person who is forever trying to lose weight, the entire bowl looked too carbohydrate-heavy and i disliked to find the chashu shredded into bits, instantly reducing the satisfaction of eating it whole! 

Having said that, the broth was the healthiest-tasting and i actually quite liked the inter-mingling textures of soft noodles and the generous serving of crunchy beansprouts! 

Butaou 

Another new competitor; Butaou differentiates itself by introducing a sukiyaki ramen! Sukiyaki lovers should try this and decide for themselves if this is better than the traditionally savoury broth in authentic ramen. 

Spicy Chicken

To be honest, there were other sides placed on our tables but i didn't take any pictures! My bad. Anyway, with regards to these spicy chicken wings, the texture was not as crispy as you would expect it to be from the pictures. I would go with 4fingers anytime although my friend absolutely adored its spicy yet flavourful juiciness!

Special Sukiyaki Ramen 

Among the four ramen i tried that day, this was the best of the lot. Yes, it wasn't your orthodox kind of ramen and boasted a soup that was obviously more sukiyaki (sweet) rather than pork-bone (savoury) flavoured. 

Nonetheless, the mee was damn nice due to its immersion in the broth's sweetness! There's one other item that caught me by surprise; the addition of fattening, thinly sliced pork that was comparatively better than the usual Chashu as far as taste was concerned! 

On second thought, wouldn't it be more worth my money to order a typical sukiyaki set from Japanese restaurants? 

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Location

1, Kim Seng Promenade, 

#01-22, Great World City

Map

As above 

Opening Hours

11.30am to 10.30pm [Daily]

Pricing

Sapporo Miso Special Ramen - S$14.80

Special Tonkotsu Ramen - S$16.50

Pork and Vegetable Ramen - S$16.00

Spicy Chicken - S$5 (3 pieces)

Special Sukiyaki Ramen - S$16.00

[Subject to GST, i think]

Additional Information

Despite my resistance to attending media invited events, there are definitely some benefits in addition to the complimentary food tasting; for example, i got the above card-sized thumbdrive! 

And i didn't have to feel embarrassed for holding other people up as everyone would be taking pictures for their own blog! But ask me to attend another media event and the chance is i would still turn down the invitation. 

I honestly feel that i am socially awkward when it comes to such stuff! 

Kafe Roost - The Eco Friendly Concept @ Johor Bahru [Malaysia]

I am apprehensive when it comes to driving to Malaysia and has only ever driven once to our closest neighbour! Therefore, the food i had had were always limited to places at or near the tourist areas! 

Thanks to my new NUS colleague, i was brought to this cool cafe known as Kafe Roost in Johor Bahru. It may not look much in the above picture but all you need is to step in and walk up the stairs for a better look. 

In addition to the open area where smokers congregate, there was an air-conditioned section filled with so many unconventional furniture; it should rightfully be a unique feature for the cafe.

Almost everything appeared to be made of recyclable materials! 

Sofa made of cardboards; they were actually very sturdy! 

Key attraction was mainly on the appearance and not so much on comfortability for the users; this chair was a literal pain in the ass! 

Items as simple as a cutlery holder were made from reused materials you and i can easily identified with. It's a pity that nowadays, we are offered much cheaper alternatives and this has unfortunately stifled the creativity we used to have. 

Bloody; even the hanging lights had that cool, ingenious vibe to them!! 

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Location

Not sure where exactly although it was supposed to be an heritage area quite close to the old Malaysian checkpoint. 

According to my checks, the google map coordinates should be 1.45730,103.76411

Seoul Garden Hotpot (SGHotpot) - Premium Seafood Hotpot @ IMM Mall [Jurong East]

Seoul Garden was actually the pioneer to introduce Korean barbecue to Singaporean and mind you, that was way before the unstoppable K-wave starting from year 2000! 

Sadly, there was a period of time that the quality of food suffered in the face of intense competition from businesses keen to tag onto the K-wave; even i stopped patronising (my last visit should be more than eight years ago). 

A glimmer of hope came in the form of Seoul Garden Hotpot! For those hoping to find unlimited servings at a fixed price, be disappointed as the menu was purely À la carte! 

Please find above on what to expect from the menu which centered on mainly bibimbap and hotpot plus a limited selection of barbecue. You may top up S$5 during dinner for sides, pickle of the day and white fungus sweet soup; an option i regretted not making! 

At S$15.90, i thought my order of the chef-recommended premium seafood was quite pricey for supposedly quality ingredients like scallops, clams and mock abalone! 

My skepticism was thrown out when i drank a scoopful of the soup; the kimchi based broth sure had a hearty flavourfulness to it and its spiciness can be summed up using two words: super shiok!!

All the ingredients were devoured by me without any hesitation and i must say i love everything from the fresh clams to the crunchy kimchi! It has been ages since i last had such a nice bowl of Korean soup!

Satisfied!

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Location

2 Jurong East Street 21 

#01-112 (IMM Mall)

Price

Premium Seafood Hotpot - S$15.90

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

Pulau Tioman - My 3 Days 2 Nights Trip via Discovery Tours & Travel @ Pahang State [Malaysia]

I am never known to be extremely diligent when it comes to posting my itinerary for overseas trips as i believe that nice surprises have that opportunity to pop out in a loosely planned free and easy tour.

It really depends on individuals; some would prefer to have tightly packed attractions typical of tour packages sold by travel agencies whereas others (like myself) love the freedom to slowly relax and absorb the local culture of that place i was travelling to. 

Day One

Anyway, much has been said and i shall now begin with a pretty detailed itinerary of my most recent Tioman island trip. It all started from 6.40am on 12 October 2013 when i was in a half dead mode to board the coach (CEO Classic Coach Cruiser) from Galleria (DFS) entrance in Orchard. 

By 7.20pm, we were already crossing the causeway to the Malaysian checkpoint. With Second Link being favoured by coaches traversing the Singapore-Malaysia route, i realised it has been a long time since i last took this route via a travel coach. 

Within an hour, we were brought to this coffeeshop for breakfast! 

Don't ask me its location which was way beyond my comprehension (only remember it was slightly further than AEON Tebrau City). I can recall the RM 5 wanton noodles though (duh right); not very sweet yet won my heart with its tastefully made savoury sauce and generous serving of tender minced pork!

Our next stop was to Tanjung Gemok ferry terminal; one of two gateways to Tioman Island. More on that later but i thought i should just highlight that the time taken to reach the terminal from the coffeeshop was roughly 150 minutes and the coach didn't come with entertainment like movies or even games! :(

It started pouring halfway through the journey and i was superbly worried that this might result the boat ride later on. You can't blame me as i have heard stories of very rocky conditions along the route and news reports on capsized ferries were not exactly uncommon. 

Weather was not as bad when we reached the terminal. Ferry tickets were issued as part of the full board package i bought from Discovery Tours. 

By the way, please be prepared for RM 5 conservation charge for entering the marine park. Money collected would be used to support their conservation and heritage programmes. 

Health advisory tips! 

Besides Tanjung Gemok ferry terminal, there was another terminal that used to be the only gateway to Tioman; Mersing ferry terminal. According to the locals i spoke to, Mersing is slightly nearer to Singapore but it has a problem; when the tide is low, no boats can enter and this can be problematic when ferry delays are so frequent! 

No-frill ferry to our destination; frankly, no difference at all from the ferries we took to the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan. Oh, there's one key difference.

How the hell is anyone supposed to shit in this small hole?!

The uneventful journey took us approximately 105 minutes to reach the first stop; Kampung Genting.

I was more in awe of those weirdly shaped mountains that provided a scenic backdrop to the village. At certain angles, it did appear to be a turtle with its snout facing the sky. 

Divers-to-be in training! Would i be one of them in a year's time!?

In less than ten minutes, we arrived in Kampung Paya where we were supposed to stay for the next two nights! In all, the journey from Singapore to the village took us six and a half hours; comfortable compared to the ten over hours ride i had to endure to Pulau Redang! 

After checking in and dumping our barang barang, we started to check with Paya Beach Resort's activities counter for our half day snorkeling trip that came with our package. 

Wandered around the small village and marvelled at trees with very smooth bark. For my post on Kampung Paya and its nearby surroundings, click here. 

Water was still relatively chopping when we first arrived. 

Conditions improved by around 4pm and we decided to go for snorkeling at a hidden spot just a short distance away from the resort. Given the love Alex and I have for snorkeling, we figured it would be better for us to get our very own snorkeling mask set at RM 90 each! 

For the location of the hidden spot and pictures of the underwater scene, click here. As you can see, i had donned a life jacket which was rented from the resort. 

We were famished after all that kicking under the water! Time for a buffet dinner provisioned in the full board package. To know how the food was, please refer to the following link here. 

Day Two

Rise and shine for a beautiful day two! We managed to secure enough people for a full day snorkeling trip instead even though there was a top up of roughly RM 70 each. 

The sea was much calmer compared to the day before and i can see many people sunbathing and snorkeling right outside the resort!

Waited quite some time for the speedboat and we only departed 45 minutes later. Damn, how come i get the feeling that i was being short-changed?!?!

Had so much time that i started taking more and more pictures; like the one above.

Finally leaving for our trip. For more information on the full day snorkeling package (RM 110 or RM 120 and came with a packaged lunch), you may click the links in accordance to the places we were brought to; Tulai Island, Kampung Salang, Marine Park and Renggis Island. 

That package ended at around 3pm; bloody hell, 4 hours would be considered as half day, not bloody full day! Anyway, it was insufficient to satisfy us and we went back to the hidden spot for an additional two more hours of fascinating snorkeling! 

Ended the night by having a fabulous cultural exchange session with a group of new friends we made on the full day snorkeling package. I was supposed to sleep early but before we knew it; it was already midnight! Must meet up with them soon! 

Day Three

After another restless night and a boring breakfast, we proceeded to return the rented life jackets and settle our bills. For my review on Paya Beach Resort, click here. 

Proceeded to the jetty after a filling lunch at Pantai Paya seafood restaurant.

A sea-facing cafe that appeared to be very popular! It was actually quite empty in the first two days i was there so i am unsure what has resulted in its spike on the popularity chart. 

Mid-day sun was just too torturing for leaving visitors who would prefer to jump into the inviting water yet couldn't because the ferry crew would likely bar them from boarding! 

Last look of Paya Beach Resort! 

More photographs as the ferry was late!!!!!!! 

Arrived almost 40 minutes late! I was more relieved than angry to see it arriving! Would not want a situation when i reached Singapore only at midnight and have to wake up early the next day for work. 

Going to Kampung Genting again to pick up passengers. The jetty stops were pretty straightforward; from Tanjung Gemok, it would be Genting followed by Paya, Tekek and then Salang and then the ferry made a U-turn for passengers who are going back to Tanjung Gemok from Tioman island. 

Biding a final goodbye to the tortoise island.

I would be back!

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My package was purchased via Discovery Tours and you may book your package via their official website at http://www.discoverytours.com.sg/tioman.html. 

Should you prefer to go through a local travel agent in Malaysia that specialises in Tioman Island Package, you may check out Holidaygogogo Tours. The website is http://www.govisittioman.com/ and you may get in touch with a representative at +6010-2216385 or via email at simon@holidaygogogo.com

Price of Package

S$376 for two persons which included the following:

2-way coach from Singapore to Tanjung Gemok 

2-way ferry transfers to Tioman 

2-night stay at Paya Beach Resort (standard chalet) 

2 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 2 dinners 

Snorkeling Excursion to Renggis Island & Marine Park 

Additional Information

Am appending some photographs taken on the coach from Tanjung Gemok back to Singapore via the Causeway. The one above was a cemetery! 

This was a bird house where bird's nest can be harvested! I counted no less than twelve such houses on the way back.

Want to guess where this was? Mersing!

Oops, yet another cemetery. Remember, i have always been fascinated with the land of the dead. Check out this link if you share the same interest.