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.

Windy Weather - The Return of Kite Flying

The Straits Times has written on this before. The once-popular hobby is making its comeback!

Yes people! I am talking about Kite Flying! The leisure activity that kids before the 1990s love to do!

Remember, it was the time when computer games were almost non-existent, handheld gaming devices were limited to the privileged few, shopping centres were concentrated at a few places (like Orchard) and some of us live in kampongs (villages) where greenery was everywhere!!

Anyway, the chilli-hot place to fly a kite (literally) in Singapore is the two huge plots of field near to Sengkang Sports Centre!

On weekends, you can see fathers bringing their families to these plots of land. Although it may seem pretty educational, i strongly believe the real motive is for the fathers to relive their childhood.

Regardless the reasons, it is quite a sight to see so many kites in the sky. And the design of the kite is no longer just quadrilateral!

Call me sua ku but they have become so attractive with so many different shapes, lengths and patterns!!! To think we used to make our own kites using paper, glue and some sticks!

With that, i cannot help but think how kites will look like 50 years from now!

Sunset @ Woodlands MRT Platform

I have never been an early bird, at least not for the exclusive purpose to catch the sunrise.Though i have been lamenting for a long time to catch the rising sun from the far off horizon, well.... sleep is more important.

As a consolation, i do have my fair share to catch the sunset. This evening, i found a really good place to have a good view of the setting sun. 

The platform at Woodlands MRT Station.

What's That Stink @ Food Junction, Lot 1, Choa Chu Kang

The smelly specialty has finally arrived in the west, making it easier for the western dwellers to try one of my favourite food of all time.

As you can see from the picture, this smelly tofu is of the Taiwan variant. Not my favourite strain but with smelly tofu being so scarce in food-rich Singapore, ANY smelly tofu is desirable.

Other than the lack of a strong, nose-piercing smell, the smelly tofu here was really not that bad. Like low fat milk, i would term it as a lighter version.

Besides the smelly tofu, we ordered fried dumplings! Crispy on the outside but disappointing for the inside. The minced meat filling just wasn't flavourful enough.

The Taiwan food stall sells other popular dishes from Taiwan!

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Location:

At Lot 1 (besides Choa Chu Kang MRT station) and within Food Junction (Level 4).

Rider's Cafe - Where Horses Trot @ Bukit Timah

Unlike most cafes with fanciful names that may not necessarily relate to anything visible, Rider's Cafe stands out for offering what you hope to see when you are dining there; horse riders.

Due to its close proximity to the saddle club, it is not surprising to see horses trotting leisurely along the dirt path. The laid back atmosphere gives an impression that you are overseas, far away from stressful and fast paced Singapore.

The cafe itself is located within an old, black and white building that hails from the colonial period. So you can imagine, all the aforementioned factors point towards a place that is so different from what we thought we had in Singapore.

Enough about the cafe's outlook and surrounding!!!

In food-abundance Singapore, the most important factor to assess an eatery is the taste of the food. For budget constraint ME (i am just a poor chap), another equally important factor is the price for dining.

Peanut Butter & Raspberry Jelly Milkshake

It's been so long since i had such a fabulous milkshake!! On one hand, both Kon and I love it when we can suck up (using the straw of course) the partially solidified peanut butter with a noticeable hint of raspberry. On the other hand, both Alex and Van find the taste to be too weird.

Crabmeat Vin Blanc

I ordered this. The pasta was nicely done and should have been a good meal for me. Unfortunately, i found it to be too spicy... although i had to agree that a lot of crabmeat were given! Definitely worth the price!

Seafood Marinara

This dish is commonly found in many western food stalls in the hawker centres. Personally, i tried a really good one in Sembawang Hills Food Centre. The one served in Rider's Cafe was definitely not bad but with so many competent competitors that offer a lower price, its seafood marinara did not stand out.

Gorgonzola Ravioli

Not the best i had; the taste was nothing exciting. The Ravioli i had in La Petite was definitely more memorable.  Poor Kon.... He ordered this. :P

Death By Chocolate

My recommendation? Eat this after everything else. Although the title of the dish might sound a little exaggerated, four of us almost died after eating it.

Yes, FOUR of us!!!

The large slice of chocolate sponge cake drenched with bitter-sweet chocolatey sauce....... Oh, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream which always go SO well with chocolate.

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Overall, we spent roughly S$90.00 on this meal. I would have been able to give all of you a price breakdown but our dear Alex had happily dumped the receipt into the dustbin (i knew of this only two hours later).  My review on Rider's Cafe may not astonishing but one thing i am pretty sure, i would be back there soon.

Location:

51, Fairways Drive.

Motorists can turn into this road from Eng Neo Avenue.

Additional Information:

Always call for reservation!! Tel: 64669819.

The place might be booked for private functions. In addition, making a reservation is good when you prefer to have a seating area near to the window, where you can have a better view of the surroundings.

Since the cafe is quite far from the main road, driving would prove to be more convenient. Of course, exercise freaks may consider walking in. 

For drivers, drive carefully when you turn into fairway drive! Horses do appear suddenly and you would not want to know the implications if you ever knock them!

Do look carefully when you walked outside the cafe. The horses are not toilet trained and their output is not small.

Lastly, for those who cannot do without air-con (yes Karen, i mean you!), the place is NOT air-conditioned!

French Sweets Parfait @ Marvelous Cream

In addition to my posting HERE, i forgot to mention that Marvelous Cream is now available at Ion Orchard and 313 @Somerset.  

And i think it's only fair that i should show all of you the arduous effort used to make the final product (shown below) affectionately named as Twinkle Night Cinderella.

Enjoy this pictorial process by a really pretty (and polite) lady.

By the way, she's too tall for me. Or i am too short for her.

The second sentence is more believable though.

Censored!

I didn't notice anything amiss when i took the following pictures.

The first one: Mother (grandmother in fact) was looking for something within the unholy cavity. This thing was causing the baby much distress! Hence, the helpless look!

The second one which I assumed on behalf of the baby.

Finally, she found it!