Kindred Folk Ice Cream Cafe @ King Albert Park (KAP) Residences Mall [Singapore] #kindredfolk #kap #kingalbertpark

My only memory of King Albert Park was the McDonald's and since the building was rebuilt; i had never stepped foot until a week ago when my family was craving for ice cream after a tze-char meal along the nearby Bukit Timah road.

A google search brought us to Kindred Folk, an ice cream parlour in the building that faces the main intersection of Bukit Timah Road, Upper Bukit Timah Road, Clementi Road and Jalan Anak Bukit. 

Selling handmade ice cream, the ground floor only had outdoor seating! For those looking forward to having ice cream in an air-conditioned arena away from the hot and humid Singapore weather; go up to the second floor where more seating beckoned.

Choosing our ice cream which is always so hard when there are so many selections! The love icon refers to popular choices whereas one crown is specialty (more expensive) and two crowns are premium (most expensive). 

Toppings for the kids; sugar laden stuff that wouldn't benefit my age. Back at home, i would keep in store a few packets of nuts like macadamia, cashew, walnut as they would be more nutritional as toppings for an unhealthy dessert. Rule of thumb; eat in moderation! 

Let's now walk up the pastel-coloured stairs to level two.

It wasn't humongous, with seats for less than 30 persons, but the high ceiling gave one the impression that it's much bigger than that. With natural light streaming in, the setting was comfortable and i thought it would be a great place to work on my blog (free wifi in the cafe) on a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

The simple yet pretty artwork! With mini-paper-cutouts, it should be rather easy to replicate and i do need some unique paintings on my plain, white walls at home. 

Hammock at one corner! Even though this would be considered as a waste of expensive retail space; its one chillax area popular with Jovyn and Jerald.

Counter where you take the cutlery, sauces, sugar syrup, serviettes and complimentary water. With manpower constraints across Singapore, such self service is becoming increasingly common. 

Patiently waiting for the delivery of our ice cream and waffles. 

The kids' order - belgian dark chocolate with loaded cookies and cream (topped with rainbow sprinkles) with a base of two charcoal waffles. The chocolate would appeal to those who prefer bitterness as it contained 72% chocolate but i am better taken in by the creamy cookies and cream! 

Adults' order - three scoops of nutty nutella with spring rose and rum and raisin ice cream on the same bed of charcoal waffles. There were only the options of charcoal and red velvet for waffles; pity they didn't have buttermilk / butter waffle as i would most likely give it a try.

Toppling of the ice cream; thankfully, i managed to contain all of them to the plate. Anyway, rum and raisin was satisfactory although i can't say the same for the nutty nutella; Island Creamery version is still way better. Credit to the season special; spring rose which tasted like a light yet white bandung drink with bits of pistachios! 

I am most disappointed with the charcoal waffles which was said to have a lavender flavour. It was bitter with a burnt aftertaste (which we can't confirm given the natural colour of this waffle). Fluffiness is a foregone attribute for this waffle, as you can see from the photo and i did find the taste overwhelmingly eggy. I should have diversified by getting 2 pieces of red velvet instead of throwing everything into charcoal waffles. 

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Address

9 King Albert Park, 

#01-09, Singapore 598332

Location Map 

As above.

Operating Hours

Mondays - Closed

Tuesdays to Thursdays - 12pm - 10pm

Fridays to Saturdays - 12pm - 11pm

Sundays - 12pm - 10pm

Ice Cream Menu

As above.

Additional Information

Pets are welcome but only limited to the outside seating area.

Koongtung (Seafood on a Table) with Air-Conditioning! @ The Market Bangkok [Thailand] #themarketbangkok #koongtung

Alex can't forget the great meal we had at Holy Shrimp in Ratchada Train Market and he had his neck all stretched out to check out what diners had at this restaurant, with a similar concept, known as Koongtung when we were shopping at Bangkok's newest downtown mall; The Market Bangkok!

Koongtung is supposedly the first to bring in the Louisiana seafood dining style to Thailand back in 2015 and its popularity over the past four years can be attested from its expansion that reached seven branches as of now.

Seafood in a bag / on the table is as popular in Singapore and we even have the option of home delivery via Shi Fu Ge (食福閣)! It's, however, more common to have crabs as the star. I am therefore quite attracted to the black crab and lobster options at Koongtung!

Maybe the live lobster as they were heavily discounted at only 999 baht each!

Sadly, my companions were happy with just prawns and we eventually opted for the mixed seafood (comprising shrimp, river shrimps, clams, mussels and squids) with a top up of corn and a small portion of shrimps.

Here comes our food, in a paper container that reminded me of Kentucky Fried Chicken. It's important to have it though as it works as a trash bin for the shells later!

Our first bag; the shrimps!

The mouthwatering aroma as the shrimps swimming in Koongtung's original bang bang sauce were poured out onto our table. It was like a switch to the hungry ghost in our tummy as we couldn't help feeling we could do with more.

The luxurious mixed seafood; there's an option between crabs or squids but the crab is more the blue / flower crab species which my family doesn't like. Hence, we went with the squid.

Having tried Holy Shrimp just two days back, the comparison was easier for us. The sauce at Koongtung was more peppery, saltier; maybe we should have gotten a bowl of white rice!

There's one thing at Koongtung that impressed me so much; i would likely go back again the next time i am in Bangkok. It's this special green chilli dip which i enthusiastically used for all the seafood.

Garlicky, spicy with a touch of vinegarish sweetness; a perfect complement to the fresh seafood. Gosh, i am feeling hungry as i typed this out. Argh!

Gloves were provided even though i always feel that it's nice to eat with your bare hands! The problem would be the washing but there was a box of tissue paper and it's quite easy nowadays to procure wet wipes.

Service was good despite our language barrier. Alex actually complained about the prawns (top up that we had) which weren't fresh and they actually replaced a bag for us, at no cost!

Satisfied? Definitely!

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Address

The Market Bangkok,

111 Ratchadamri Rd, Khwaeng Lumphini,

Khet Pathum Wan, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10330,

Bangkok, Thailand (Near Platinum Mall and Big C)

Location Map

As above.

Website

http://www.koongtungseafood.com/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Mixed Seafood - 499 baht

Corn - 25 baht

Shrimp (small) - 199 baht

(Subject to taxes)

Bedok Cooked Food - Char Siew, Roast Pork & Roast Duck @ Kovan Hawker Centre [Singapore]

I am trying to restart my visitations to Singapore's hawker centres but it's a chore without a car and i am so in love with my own house; i prefer to stay home and laze on most weekends.

However, i recently signed up for a hair treatment package at Kovan which means i would be in that area at least once a month and i can definitely explore the nearby Kovan food centre! Frankly, i didn't bother checking any review online and thought of just going for the stall with the most number of people.

My sister, a frequent patron to the hawker centre given that her in-laws stay nearby, was with me and suggested Bedok Cooked Food as the usually long queue was only two-person long when we dropped by. Don't be deceived by its name and thought it's mixed vegetables rice as the stall's main products were roasted delights! 

It's a hard decision to make as my heart was aiming the roast duck and roast pork even though their best seller was supposed to be the char siew. My sister, payer for the name, understood my dilemma and ordered the 3-in-1 combination. Yeah!

Roast pork was acceptable with that required cackling crispiness; this brought to mind the epic roast pork i had in Bangkok at one Michelin pig's organ soup shop! It's a pity i didn't take photos for a review in this blog. :(

The appearance of an extremely appealing roast duck can drive me crazy and that's the reason why i was so keen on the roast duck! It didn't disappoint with a juicy, flavourful taste that left my lips smeared with oil! It would have been perfect if there was a light crisp to the skin.

Char siew - my all time favourite when it comes to roasted delights. One look and i know for sure this would be the kind of char siew i enjoyed. Want to guess why?

Not enough fats which is key to the taste! Nevertheless, i must say the sweet marination with charred bits on its edges did help to enhance its palatability. Maybe i could have specifically asked for a fatty piece of char siew next round.

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Address

209 Hougang Street 21,

#01-32, Kovan Food Centre,

Singapore 530209

(Next to Kovan MRT Station)

Location Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

3-meat platter - S$12.70 

(including one plate of plain rice)

Phat Thai Big Shrimp - Big Portion Noodles & Fried Rice @ Chatuchak Weekend Market [Thailand]

A few months ago at Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok, i chanced upon an eatery that had humongous plates of large river shrimps at its kitchen area facing the internal road. I didn't have the stomach to eat anything there and made a mental note to return the next time i drop by Bangkok! 

I was back five months later and after walking myself crazy at the Weekend Market; it's now the right time to have lunch. What's a right time? To me, it's anytime before and after the peak mealtimes like lunch or dinner.

Seats were located within a confined yet air-conditioned space within Soi 32 of Section 23; as the sign had indicated; the menu would only be given to you when you have seats. 

It's a tiny space; the likelihood of knocking into a fellow diner is high, especially you are holding on to bags of shopping! p.s. the air-conditioning wasn't strong enough to cool us down. 

Lemonade - in the 'peanuts' comic strip, i often see kids selling lemonade on a hot day and figured a glass of lemonade would be helpful to quench my parched throat. What i didn't expect was that it came in a large teapot! My throat was moisturized even though my taste buds couldn't quite get used to its sourness. 

2 in 1 Thai Noodle & Fried Rice - nah, the eye-popping plate of pad thai and fried rice topped with six river shrimps! I am already quite conservative in my spending as this was the cheapest for the range at 1,100 baht (close to S$50)! 

The other two options were 1,500 baht and 2,500 baht; while the portion of the rice and noodles remained unchanged, you get comparatively bigger prawns! For the price of 2,500 baht (slightly more than S$100), i would be able to get a large Sri Lankan crab from a restaurant in expensive Singapore.

Now, i can't say i enjoyed the phat thai and fried rice. The former was overly oily with a sourish aftertaste whereas the latter lacked the essential wok-hei to perk us up. It did help the palatability when a ton of eggs were fried together with the rice. p.s. egg lover here. 

Furthermore, i think i don't particularly like river shrimps; the supposed prawn taste wasn't as sweet and as intense as expected. Freshness wise, i think it's acceptable and the shells didn't take much effort to remove. 

Feeding one to Alex as he is a lazy bum! Anyway, must reward him sometimes as i am the picky one when it comes to travel and it's not easy following my pace. 

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Despite our misgivings for the food, the five of us managed to clean up everything! The taste was an obvious letdown, unlike its initial visual appeal, but i was more taken aback by the pricing! For the price we paid for, i could have eaten about ten plates of the superb pad thai from Thipsamai near Wat Saket. 

Address

Section 23, Soi 32,

Chatuchak Weekend Market,

Bangkok, Thailand

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Lemonade - 65 baht

2 in 1 Thai Noodle & Fried Rice - 1,100 baht