Monday, September 09, 2019

Hoshino Special Sets - Worth The Deal @ Hoshino Coffee in Plaza Singapura [Singapore] #hoshinocoffeesg #plazasingapura

2015 was the year i made my first visit to Hoshino Coffee. Since then; i had patronized its various branches a few times; mostly for drinks after meals until i was introduced to their special sets! 

Personally, i thought it's pretty worth the deal with mains, drinks and dessert for 2 persons, 3 persons and 4 persons! And you can choose any item that falls under the respective category on the menu.

Which means; you can choose a double strawberry pancake instead of a single! It's best to do your own calculation though; a S$17.80 dessert is a lot more worth it than your S$6.50 matcha cheesecake. 

This time round, i finally managed to bring along my parents for a meal and it was hard deciding on the mains to order, as mom is not really into western fusion cuisine and doesn't indulge in beef due to religious reasons! p.s. she likes French food though. 

Iced Sakura Latte with Ice Cream - looking pretty with a dried, salty sakura flower and strawberry shavings topping the ice cream; i have no idea what sakura tastes like although this beverage was pretty good with a nice, creamy taste that's more strawberry like.

Omu Rice and Angus Beef Steak with Salad - i had this about a month ago with the Great Kon and enjoyed it so much that i made it a point to order it again this time. 

The medium-doneness, sliced-up angus beef steak didn't disappoint once again with its utter juiciness although i did find the portion significantly reduced compared to my visit to the same branch one month ago. I didn't do justice to the omu rice though as there's a sizeable portion of tasty tomato fried rice buried underneath the egg!

Salmon with Wasabi Cream Sauce - mom opted for this as it contained one of her favourite meat; fish. Specifically for this case, salmon. Frankly, i didn't notice the word wasabi on the menu and hence, didn't inform my mom. She took a huge bite when it was served and almost choked on the burning after sensation! 

I actually like it more than my omu rice and gladly exchanged my main with her. Well, the key is to eat slower so that the "spiciness" was easier to manage. The only thing is that i am not a huge fan of cooked salmon. 

Omu Souffle Curry Rice - dad's order and i happily stole a bite. After which, i almost wanted to snatch it away from him and have it all for myself as it was surprisingly delicious! 


Gravy had that signature Japanese curry sweetness that's just a tad spicy with a few beef chunks that's absolutely delish when you mix in the rice. The star was obviously the souffle omelette which had that unmatched fluffiness that would be well-liked by legit egg lovers. 


Strawberry Pancake (Double) - an absolute attention drawer, i was afraid my mom wouldn't want to touch it as she doesn't like to have cakes during dinnertime.

Thankfully, it turned out she enjoyed it very much; finding it soft, airy and of the right sweetness. For me, i still prefer to add some maple syrup for that additional saccharine kick. 

Fruit Tea - there's always a reason why i chose to talk about this the last; it's either the most memorable or downright disgusting item in my visit. Came in either hot or cold; it's a must order whenever i drop by Hoshino Coffee.

It's fruit infused tea that's so rich; you can almost feel the antioxidant level in your body spiking up after taking a sip! My preference had always been cold but for the benefit of my mom; i also chose the hot option.

Look at the amount of fruits; orange, lime, peach, kiwi and mango (i think)! 

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Address
68 Orchard Rd, #03-84, 
Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839

Website

Pricing
Hoshino Special Set (3-person) - S$79.90
(Subject to GST and Service Charge)

Saturday, September 07, 2019

Revisit to Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Monastery (天恩弥勒佛院) in 2019 @ Batam Island [Indonesia] #MahaViharaDutaMaitreyaBatam

Frankly, no drastic changes at Batam's Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Monastery (天恩弥勒佛院) since my last visit in Year 2015 but since i am there; i would still take some pictures as proof of my stopover.

For details about the monastery, do check out my original post here.

Like most monasteries, there is the main Mahavira Hall (大雄寶殿) and according to my blog entry i made in 2015; this was then the only hall.

Different story now; there's the side hall with what appeared to be a humongous statue of the Chinese God of War, Guan Yu! I couldn't be too sure as Guan Yu is associated more with Taoism and the statue is missing its most identifiable asset; his weapon that's known as the Green Dragon Crescent Blade!

To the right of the main hall is another chamber that housed a commonly known Bodhisattva; the compassionate Goddess of Mercy.

I don't know why but i always feel at peace in the presence of the Goddess of Mercy. Although i associate myself more with Buddhism, i am not particularly devout.

Divination slip! It seemed popular among the devotees at the monastery even though the guanyin temple Waterloo Street in Singapore had a way higher number!

Our main objective; the vegetarian restaurant where my parents can purchase cartons of non-meat buns to indulge back at home (especially during the first and fifteenth day of each lunar month when they would have vegetarian food). Sadly, we were too late and all the frozen ones were already sold out.

Photo-taking time! As mentioned in my original post here, there are just too many photo opportunities; maybe i should do a live-story next time, so long someone is willing to be my model.

Compare 2015 with 2019! Well, they did try their best to replicate the same pose; Jerald is now sporting glasses (and taller) whereas Jovyn has obviously been too liberal in her eating!

Ending with a meaningful message from the above notice; i thought the translation is a bit off and my understanding is more that if you have an upright and good heart, it doesn't matter whether you pray or not.

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Address
Komplek Maha Vihara Duta Maitreya Bukit Beruntung,
Sungai Panas, Kec. Batam Kota, Kota Batam,
Kepulauan Riau 29432, Indonesia

Location Map

As above.


Thursday, September 05, 2019

Wey Wey Live Seafood - A Popular Seaside Restaurant @ Batam Island [Indonesia] #weyweyliveseafood

In Batam, there's a stretch of seafood restaurants near Harbour Bay ferry terminal where you would have a hard time deciding where exactly to have your seafood craving!

The philosophy of choosing the one with the most customers might not be 100% accurate although i did do my research by going online and got to know that Wey Wey Live Seafood is popular with Singaporeans.

As it was a long weekend for those living in Singapore, it's expected to find the place filled to the brim! Compared to Wey Wey's competitors nearby, the difference was stark as many had only a handful.

Seaside dining for those who preferred to be closer to the salty sea-breeze. I am less adventurous and prefer someone sheltered. Not that we have a choice anyway as tables were high in demand and short in supply.

Checking out the menu; typical tze char style with Indonesian words and no translation. Thankfully, we can recognise some words like ayam (chicken), telur (egg) and there were pictures of the dishes to help us in our ordering.

Drinks menu which had some English translations; what the heck is apel? After ordering (which wasn't straightforward given the language barrier), it's an expected long wait for the food.

Avocado Juice - this is the first item served after twenty minutes! Nevertheless, it's a must to have avocado juice when one is in Indonesia as they make it so delicious! This one at Wey Wey had a siap aftertaste though. 

White Rice - came in a tub, it's not free flow and as our family isn't that big on rice, we requested for 5 servings to be shared among 5 adults and 2 kids.

Ayam Mongolia - translated to Mongolian chicken, these tasted more like salted egg chicken and while they were extremely nice and not overly sweet; it would be convenient if they don't come with bones.

Telur Dadar - literally omelette, this came plain and i was expecting more than just egg with no toppings! However, the plain omelette was a perfect companion for plain rice.

Tahan 3 Warna - pretty good silky beancurd with egg, salted egg and century egg; those who have been following my blog would know this is a common dish in our order whenever we din with the kids.

Kepiting Telur Asin - salted egg crab! Super rich in salted egg but i did find the sweetness a bit over the top. Shell of the crab was thin and you could easily bite through to get into the meat. The size of the crab wasn't big and it was shocking (upon payment of our bill) to see its price of almost S$35.

Why did we go to the live seafood section?

Because we ordered a Live Barramundi and the kids wanted to see the action! I am the hypocritical kind of person when it comes to food; i love to eat although i wouldn't want to see the ingredients alive as it feels too cruel!

Its sacrifice wasn't in vain! Steamed in Hong Kong style; you can't deny the freshness of the fish and it was so meaty. Definitely met my mom's picky expectations.

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Cleaned up literally everything! To be honest, pricing for some dishes were cheaper than Singapore although the big-ticket items were the shocker. As mentioned above for the crab, to pay S$35 for such a pathetically-sized crustacean was hard to stomach.

And Jovyn remained hungry. p.s. that's for show only even though i was definitely not full and had to visit a supermarket down the road to procure some snacks.

Address
Harbour Bay Downtown Sei Jodoh,
Jl. Duyung, Kota Batam, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia

Map

As above.

Pricing
Avocado Juice - 24,000 Rupiah
White Rice - 7,000 Rupiah a serving
Ayam Mongolia (M) - 70,000 Rupiah
Telur Dadar (M) - 35,000 Rupiah
Tahan 3 Warna (M) - 60,000 Rupiah 
Kepiting Telur Asin - 350,000 Rupiah
Steamed Barramundi - 280,000 Rupiah a Kilogram
(Subject to 10% Tax)

Additional Information
The queue can be long! 

Now, i would suggest dining at night, especially for those who are sensitive to sights that could affect their appetite. I actually didn't notice the dense netting across when i walked past early and only took a closer look after my meal.

Here's a much clearer picture taken further down the stretch; tons of rubbish underneath the concrete-stilt restaurants and i can imagine the stench in the daytime, under bright sunlight.


Tuesday, September 03, 2019

The Original Egg Waffle & Salted Egg Yolk Custard Grid Cake from 么么DA雞蛋仔 @ Humphreys Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui [Hong Kong]

I was actively seeking out the location of the egg waffle recommended by the highly regarded Michelin Guide and when i saw the queue; i assumed we had arrived and immediately proceeded to order the original waffle!

Must be fast in case the queue were to build up! That aromatic waft of eggy waffle and the well-used waffle pan; signs that didn't raise any suspicion that i might not be at the correct store.

Got my pack of hot egg waffle in about five minutes; thought it was a rather quick wait for a Michelin-recommended stall. Nevertheless, time to dig into my first egg waffle in Hong Kong!

Lightly flavoured with a slight crisp; it wasn't as tasty as i expected it to me. To be totally honest, the egg waffle i had at Guangzhou's Baiyun airport was better. Furthermore, it was disappointing to find the texture going soft after a while. p.s. turned out i went to the wrong shop! 

Salted Egg Yolk Custard Grid Cake - Alex insisted on having this even though it's dead similar to the classic waffle we have in Singapore! Turned out to be a saving grace as it's better than the egg waffle!

The waffle was fluffy and there's an incredible amount of salted egg yolk custard! As it was relatively oily and heavy on the stomach, i strongly recommend that you share it with at least three or four persons.

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Address
8A-8K號 Humphreys Ave,
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Map

As above

Menu / Price List
As above.

Pricing
Original Egg Waffle - HKD $25
Salted Egg Yolk Custard Grid Cake - HKD $38