Old Fashioned Hamburgers @ Wendy's (Lau Pa Sat)

 

To tell you the truth, never had i heard of this fast food chain from America until our dear Mr Kon told me about it (psst. especially the humongous hamburgers and how popular it was supposed to be).

A google search revealed that it had over 6,000 outlets (Year 2006) worldwide and that generated a question: why did it take so long to come to Singapore?!!?!! Hallo!!!

Oh ya, it was here more than 10 years ago. The death must be pretty fast then (nods nods). That explains why i never know about it.

Brought in specially by Kopitiam this round, we needed a dinner fix after our three-hours fight in Left4Dead 2. Being so near to Lau Pa Sat and no specific plan for dinner venue, Wendy's the one for the five of us.

The slogan for Wendy's is "Quality is our recipe". Not a good one since I deeply believe that "Taste should be the recipe".

The fried chicken was bland, dry and normal; definitely not comparable to my all time favourite: Arnolds Chicken.

However, as the name suggests, Wendy's specialty is on hamburgers.

Using uncommon square-shaped ground beef patties which were thicker than those in Macdonalds and Burger King,  the hamburgers were really nothing to scream about.

Not to say there's nothing good about Wendy's though. I love the frosty float!!

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Location:

At Lau Pa Sat. Singaporeans who don't know where this is, go kill yourself give yourself a knock on YOUR head. For foreigners, please visit http://www.laupasat.biz/.

Opening Hours:

7.30am to 10pm.

Other Information:

For those who drive, please do not park at the double zigzag lines!!! Get the car into one of the many carparks within the office buildings.

The traffic police department just sent the letter of offence today!

=(

Bak Kwa (肉干) - The Way to Eat It

Discussions on Bak Kwa (肉干) or dried meat have always been intense and insighful, judging by the thousands of search results on google. Especially so during the Chinese New Year period, when it's a MUST to have a piece, many pieces of bak kwa!

Usually not very picky with food, most bak kwa tasted pretty good to me; regardless of its thickness, smokiness, subtle differences and.......... fattiness.

Nevertheless i do have some personal favorites. Lim Chee Guan (林志源), during non Chinese New Year season and Fragrance (香味) during Chinese New Year. No, I shan't go into the nitty gritty fights on which brand is the best in the whole of Singapore.

The mouth is yours; you decide.

With an approaching Chinese New Year (CNY) in less than two months, it's best that all Chinese embark on a diet as CNY has always been a festive period of binge and drink. For me, bak kwa takes a really big, yet special place in my stomach. 

Aside from eating Bak Kwa by itself, i found another healthier way!

1. Toast the bak kwa till it is sizzling but not burnt.
2. Slice the cucumber.
3. Place all the above on a piece of wholemeal or softmeal bread.
4. Cover with another piece of bread.

Viola, a more nutritious meal!

*craving for it now*

but no more bak kwa......

The Dream On Pigs

In case you are thinking of the freaking cute three little pigs, you are so so wrong.

Don't even think you are right if you are thinking of the "Terrific" Wilbur from Charlotte's Web.

Some of you might think it's related to food; the used-to-be-favourite suckling pig. Somewhere there but not exactly right!

It's something more sinister than the above; the only common trait they share with the one i had in my dream is their color. Pink... light pastel pink.

In this dream, i had a change of job. From a desk-bound job to a chef in a tze char stall. If you think "chef" is too grand, you can use cook. But i like to use the chef designation.

Sounds more high class.

Anyway, i don't know why but in my dream, i have to chop up this pig (whole) on a long alumunium table. Being a 'high class chef', the cleaver must be used professionally in order to achieve my aim.

Aim of this dream

Chop up the pig and arrange the parts according to the head, the ears, the ribs, the trotters, the intestines, the heart, the liver etc etc etc.

(As i am typing this, i am controlling the half-digested food in my stomach from spewing out)

Alas, i failed....................

I was thinking then; place this male pig (correct term: boar) with its back lying on the table, cut the skin from bottom-up, strip the layer of skin and proceed to chop up the parts.

To spare you from destroying your LCD screen, i am going to stop here. Message me for further details!! Wahahaha. You will also understand why i said the pig is male.

The finale of this dream?

It's impossible for me to continue this food preparation so i did what i know many people will do.

I ran up to my house (apparently the tze char stall is very near my house) and asked my mom for help. 

Mommy ALWAYS knows.

With Suspense - Traffic Offense for Parking along Double Zig Zag Lines

What more can i say?

I can only wait until our efficient and hardworking (it's only the second day of 2010) traffic police officer, Jerome, submits his "returns" to the headquarters before the final verdict is out.

• Would it be 6 demerit points or 9 demerit points?
• Would it be S$150 fine or S$200?
• Pity it's not election month. =(

Although it is damn deserving of me to park at double zig zag line, i will treat it as a lesson well learnt.

Karma is what i believe in and with that in mind, i hope i will get a significant sum (in S$) for performance bonus coming 18th January 2010.

Fine, had heard that performance bonus is going to be pathetic! Not gonna be hopeful in that then!

At the very very least, a guaranteed first prize in 4D tomorrow!!!

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Don't say i never give valuable information hor!

There are a few numbers in the attached picture (above) you can play around for 4D and TOTO. If you win, generous donations are sincerely welcome!

And stop blaming yourself, WY!! It's Wendy's fault!! Wahahahaha. 

Ju Shin Jung Korean Charcoal BBQ (주신정) @ West Coast

My first humble experience with Korean BarBeQue (bbq) started with Seoul Garden @ Marina Square almost 15 years ago. I was then blown away by the Korean style of meat-marination, which differs from the spice-based, char-siew based or honey-based marination we have in Singapore.

Yesterday, i was again impressed by this Korean bbq restaurant that i heard so much from my NUS colleagues. Though we spent over S$100 for 4 persons, it was a worthy meal we had!

Why??

First

Charcoal bbq!! Meat cooked over charcoal has always tasted better than any other modes of cooking. For a barbeque lover like me, this is the ultimate enjoyment (for food of course).

Second

Two jars of cold barley tea and plain water were dispensed for each table. You finish one bottle, you can request for another. At no additional charge!!

I love Korean barley tea! By the way, it's different from the barley water all of us are accustomed to.

Third

Impressive side dishes!

To name a few, there were kimchi (of around 2-3 types), fried pumpkin cakes (mini), seasoned onions, pumpkin soup (i thought this was more paste like than soup), 江鱼仔 (what's it called in English), some seaweed in seasoned water, cold tofu with spicy paste and a tray of leafy vegetables (not sure if it's given because of the BBQ items ordered)!

I remember a delicious dish of fried lotus roots from my last visit (had only set lunch then) but it was missing this round.

The best part of this wide array of side dishes?? You can refill them too!!!

Fourth

The well-marinated meat of course!

We ordered a portion of chicken, pork and beef. Two ways of bbq-ing; you could ask the staff to bbq on your behalf or you could always do it yourself. Simple enough right?

The beef was nothing extraordinary but we were really impressed with the chicken and pork. How should i describe it? Although i could use japanese teriyaki chicken and pork satay to define the taste, it was really something more than that.

Fifth

Remember the leafy vegetables i mentioned at "THIRD"? It has a special role to play for this bbq meal!

Smeared with sesame oil, garlic, special Korean savoury paste and if you prefer, with any of the side dishes, the crunchy vegetables were delegated as a "wrapper" for the cooked meat; just like the Natsumi burgers from MOS Burgers!

A playful way to eat your meal (like homemade popiah) and a really healthy way of eating!

Good for me!

Sixth

No, it hasn't ended! What comes after all the above?

A slice of heart-shaped watermelon and a fantastically refreshing bowl of cold rice tea!

This special tea concluded the whole meal; sweet, balanced and fulfilling

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Total Damage

$110.65, with the following:

1 portion of Chicken @$22

1 portion of Pork @$22

1 portion of Beef @$30

1 bowl of spicy seafood + tofu soup @$16

4 Water/Tea/Towel @$4

Service charge @10%

Goods and services tax @7%

Location

The addresses and contacts are listed in the below below.

Additional Information

Remember to make a reservation!! It could get pretty crowded and waiting time could be long.

Service was overall good with friendly, helpful staff and relatively quick deliverance of our orders. However, i would strongly suggest that the restaurant has a staff member stationed permanently at the front desk to handle walk-in customers and reservations.

For families with children, there is a play-ground within the restaurant! And for those who prefer more privacy, rooms are available.

Lastly, be prepared to smell really bad after your meal.

Money Faces

Could someone please tell me why is it necessary to have a picture of a country's who's who on its currency? One reason i could think of is historical; Ancient Roman coins, from my understanding, have the face of its ruler (at the time of minting).

Anyway, a creative group (i believe they were really bored) of people found a way to prove that money could also be used as a mode of entertainment instead of being a medium for entertainment!

 Interesting yah?

It must be, because someone tried using Singapore currency too!

Saizeriya (Again) @ City Square Mall

I was not exactly that hungry when i stumbled onto this newly-opened branch in newly-opened City Square Mall.

With its incredibly-priced dishes, always immaculate service and for this shop alone, ample seats, there's no way i am going to ignore its pulling presence!

Since we were pretty full, we only ordered two dishes! Including free flow of ice water. Don't you love restaurants that don't force you to buy bottled water?!?!?

Oh, i forgot. You do have a choice. You can choose not to drink.

Oven-baked Scallops in Cheese (i think)

Steaming HOT!! I might have preferred the dry ones from Hokkaido but the ones here were not too bad too!

The tomato sauce and cheese dampened the usually strong fishy taste of scallops. The overall result turned out to be better than expected.

Pork and Hamburger Steak

This is one dish i must have, every-single-time i visit. As i have blogged about this before, i shall spare you the main details.

Although playing a minor role in this dish, the corn kernels were really flavourful!!

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Location:

This second branch is located at 180, Kitchener Road, City Square Mall, #B2-55/56 and connected to Farrer Park (not Road hor) MRT Station.