Mrs Pho - Feeds You Like Family @ Vivocity [Singapore] #vivocity

I can't even remember when I last had Vietnamese cuisine but when a colleague suggested lunch at Mrs Pho at Vivocity; I immediately replied yes although I had never heard of it before. 

A small eatery greeted us when we arrived and to be honest, I was rather impressed with the interior design that endeavours to put you in an environment that appeared to be authentically Vietnamese. Well, I can't say for sure it's authentic as I have never been to Vietnam! 

Whatever the case, the slogan for Mrs Pho is "feeds you like family" and indicated on their website was a line that said they were "pho real" and there's no "bastardisation nor is there any ‘fusion’ on the menu here". That's some daring claims there but I guess only a Vietnamese can affirm how true that is.

The simple menu as above. I really appreciate when eateries made the effort to indicate signature / popular dishes on the menu; it's beneficial to people like me who couldn't decide what to have.

Similar to Hans im Glück German Burgergrill, you have the option to top up S$4.90 (nett) to have a complete meal. I can't resist ordering as it allowed me to indulge in an additional side (spring roll and meat ball / papaya salad) and a homemade drink (summer iced tea or lemongrass tea) at up to 60% off.

Should you have family members / friends who are big eaters, you can consider their sharing selection. A pity that my compatriots that day are not known for their huge appetite. Haha. Good also as there's a high chance I would overeat! 

Standard 'setup' while waiting for my food. Frankly, I didn't use any of them except for the cutleries since I am not adept in using my hands to eat my food. 

Lemongrass Tea (Cold) - mixed with basil seeds, this was unexpectedly refreshing with just the right level of sweetness! Not sure why it was served in a bubble-tea cup; maybe the operator was thinking of going into the competitive bubble tea scene! 

Papaya Salad - a friend got this and even though I am not a fan of unripe papaya; this was actually quite addictive with peanuts and shallots. Eventually, I ate more than 75% of it; thankfully, my friend was cool with my continuous movement attacking the small serving of papaya salad.

Fried Spring Roll with Mamma's Lucky Meatballs - one was first date spread (signature dish) whereas the other was the family's favourite (staff picks with love); for me, the supposed best of both worlds.

Spring roll had a meatier filling than the ones I tried before at other Vietnamese eateries. I was way more impressed with the meatballs; even though there's a little bit of porky taste, the insides were juicy with a sweet marination that screamed of satisfaction! 

Mrs Pho Dry Noodle Combo - ordered the combo without knowing that it also included the fried spring roll and mamma's lucky meatballs! Oh well, double the happiness then! 

Pouring the sweet sauce into the plate for a good toss; almost like what we do for the lao yusheng activity during lunar new year but this time, I didn't have to spew auspicious sayings.

Aided by the sweet sauce and well-marinated pork, it was a delightful slurp after slurp with the smooth noodles slithering down my throat! Frankly, there was nothing overly impressive yet the end feeling I got was simple satisfaction; just like how I feel whenever I have my mom's signature, home-cooked dishes.

I decided; I shall bring my parents here to try out the food next time! 

=====

Address 

1 HarbourFront Walk, 

#B2-29, Vivocity, 

Singapore 098585

Map

As above.

Website

https://mrspho.com/

Ordering List

As above.

Pricing

Mrs Pho Dry Noodle Combo - S$13.10

Top up to Meal - S$4.90

(Inclusive of GST, No Service Charge)

Attack of the Maggots!

I have lived in a HDB flat long enough to know what kind of pests lurk around. Cockroaches, lizards are common and hence, you can imagine how unbelievable it was when a friend claimed to see a worm when the group of us were chatting in my kitchen.

It was necessary to identify the source and after checking; we finally found the culprit. A bag of Japanese rice that was sealed up; it was last used maybe two months ago and had yet reached the expiry date. 

To be honest, I was a bit taken aback as I was have expected weevils in ricel definitely not maggots! Even though there were flying insects found in my house recently, they were not houseflies and I had assumed they flew in due to the rain or at night.

Take a look at the infestation!

My friend said I could still use the rice after washing but I don't think the image of maggots crawling around would be able to escape me if I decide to cook the rice and have it with my family. So I did what I needed to do; throw it down the rubbish chute! 

Danone Ultimate Yoghurt (Black Cherry) - No Doubt The Work of the Master Yoghurt Makers Since 1919

A month ago, I was chatting with two friends about a brand of yogurt that I have been purchasing for the past few years to go with apples and one of them started gushing about the ones under the "Danoe" brand. 

I am never that observant and only started checking the display refrigerator when my regular brand ran out of stock! There they were; while excited, my eyes almost popped out when they caught sight of the price. It's bloody S$7.45 and that's after discount (original price was S$9.00)! 

Furthermore, the total weight was less than 400g and my usual brand was selling at about the same price for a kilogram! Nevertheless, I was desperate to clear the Fuji apples in my fridge and decided to buy just one pack. The flavour recommended by my friend was the black cherry.

Each pack came with two stacks of two-cup yoghurt and each serving was 115 grams. In the supermarket, I only noticed flavours like strawberry and blueberry although the Danoe ultimate website had honey, mango, salted caramel and even exotic ones like italian tiramisu, new york cheese cake, english sticky date pudding and french apple tart! 

My Fuji apple; dinner for the day.

Opening the cup of Danone Ultimate Yoghurt; do you know that on the label, it claimed to be the "Master Yoghurt Makers Since 1919"?! I love it when brands expressed such confidence as most of the times, they turned out to be a lot less impressive.

One notable observation; the texture was one of the thickest I had from yogurt and it's to the extent that the content remained stuck to my spoon. The last tub of yogurt I had, from Paul, was slightly less thick but the taste was a bit too sour for my liking; hope this wouldn't be the case here.

One bite and I was sold; it was super delicious with an aromatic creaminess and a noticeable cherry flavour that reminded me of black forest cake! You can definitely eat it on its own without the apples to increase its sweetness. Speaking of sweetness, it wasn't cloyingly sweet even though the sugar comparison with my usual brand indicated an almost double amount! 

Swept up in no time! 

Given the texture and taste, I wonder if it would be ice-cream worthy should I throw a cup into the freezer. Well, we shall know in the next few days! 

=====

Purchased From 

NTUC Fairprice (Northpoint)

Pricing

Danone Ultimate Yoghurt (Black Cherry) - S$7.45 (Discounted)

Vegetarian Thunder Tea Rice from Temple Street Lei Cha @ Bugis (Near the Famous Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple) [Singapore]

Visually, many people would assume the thunder tea rice (a Hakka specialty) is vegetarian until they give it a try and realize there are hidden dry shrimps (those super tiny ones) and sometimes, ikan bilis (anchovies).

While the "meat" is not likely to be substantial, it still isn't vegetarian. But is there a vegetarian option for thunder tea rice? There is and to be honest, I wouldn't have tried if not for the fact that I was accompanying my mom on the 15th day of the lunar month; one of two typical days (the other being the 1st day) most Buddhists would go on a strict vegetarian diet. 

I was near the famous Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, an area also known for its concentration of vegetarian eateries, and chanced upon Temple Street Lei Cha. Their thunder tea rice isn't vegetarian, except on the 1st and 15th day of every lunar month. 

The concentrated green puree before hot water was added to make it into the broth we know of. Maybe next time I should have a taste beforehand to see what it tasted like. 

My nutritional, vegetarian meal for the day! Frankly, I did ask if I could have the meat version but the stall only offer vegetarian thunder tea rice on the two auspicious days. Oh well, I should be happy as I am gaining some merit for not eating meat; I think.

It's so hard to remember what vegetables go into the thunder tea rice; I know there's preserved radish, beancurd, long beans and cabbage. The rest would be lost on me. By the way, I simply love the addition of peanuts; the crunch with burst of nuttiness in every mouthful! 

On its own, the broth wasn't that flavourful but the magic came when I soak the rice with the broth and mix up the contents! It was such a comfortable and healthy lunch; my father would have been proud of me as he feels I am too much of a meat eater.

For S$4.00, this would be one of the cheapest thunder tea rice around in the city area! Although I wouldn't say it's the best (I found the overall taste to be a bit too bland for my liking), it's still worth the effort for me to clean it all up! p.s. brown rice is available at a top up of S$0.50.

=====

Address

Block 269B, Queen Street,

Stall 5A, #01-237, 

Singapore 180269

Menu

As above. Note that only vegetarian thunder tea rice is available on the 1st and 15th day of every lunar month. 

Pricing

Vegetarian Thunder Tea Rice - S$4.00 each

Song Zhou Fried Carrot Cake (松州萝卜糕) @ Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre [Singapore] #bedokinterchangehawkercentre

Some hawker centres have stalls that are so well known; people remember the stall's name better than the name of the hawker centre! One good example is the New Lucky Claypot Rice which is located at Holland Drive Hawker Centre. 

While Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre was no stranger to many, the most famous stall was said to be Song Zhou Fried Carrot Cake. Don't be deceived by the lack of queue as you would be given a duration, like 15 minutes, to collect your food. 

Take note; you can't mix! Not an issue for me personally as I have always preferred the black version. Even though I am sharing with my elder sister, I bet she wouldn't mind aligning with my preference.  

After fifteen minutes; the plate of black carrot cake with an extra egg. The shade was dark enough and my only complaint, at least from this first impression, was that there were too many large pieces of carrot cake. 

Complaint was thrown out of the window after I took my first bite; the carrot cake had an amazingly soft texture that I never encountered before for carrot cake, and there was an alluring, smoky aroma that went well with the crisp, caramelized edges of every diced piece and the occasional crunchy, sweet-salty bits of preserved radishes (chai po)! 

There were so much flavour and sweetness was just right; to think that I didn't ask for extra sweet sauce when I ordered. For an egg lover, I totally didn't regret the extra egg option. Maybe also because I feel less guilty with the higher egg / carrot cake ratio.

What's there to improve if I were to re-order in the future? Hm...... Maybe I would still ask them to dice up the carrot cake to even smaller pieces. Although the current method was sufficiently good on their own, I can't help thinking how great it would be if there were more of the crisp edges! 

=====

Address

208 New Upper Changi Road, 

#01-37, Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre, 

Singapore 460207 

(Next to Bedok MRT Station) 

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Black Carrot Cake - S$3.00

Add Egg - S$1.00