Nasi Ambeng (Deluxe Set for 2) from Coba Coba @ Yishun [Singapore] #cobacoba

Nasi Padang is like the Malay equivalence for the Chinese mixed vegetables rice and nasi ambeng, with origins from Indonesia, is similar but takes it a step further by serving the food in a large plate to be shared with a few people. 

Coba Coba had opened for business for quite a few years and although it's near my parents' place and I had noticed its use of wooden furniture and artifacts to portray the 60s ambience (including an Indonesian trishaw); my first visit was last month! 

While you can order the nasi padang way (whereby you choose the dishes of your choice), lazy me opted for the pre-determined sets instead. There are options like classic and deluxe; I was impressed with the classic I had the first time and for this visit with my parents, it shall be the pricier deluxe then.

The positioning of food on a platter always looked so appetising! 

So what do we have for the deluxe? The translated dishes included white rice (nasi putih), sambal sotong (chilli calamari), beef rendang, chicken curry (atam kalio), chilli brinjal (sambal terung), sambal with shredded coconut meat (serunding), potato patty (begedil), green chilli prawns (udang balado hijau), chillied egg (telur belado), dried fish (ikan kering), fried chilli, beef lung (paru), steamed vegetables (urap), anchovies and peanuts in chilli (sambal kacang ikan bilis) and spicy chilli (sambal gila)

As there were so many dishes, there are bound to be some I like and those that definitely can be improved. I personally think that the dried fish can be replaced, the curry could be thickened and that the beansprouts were undercooked. Other than that, the spicy chilli (gila means mad by the way) was way too hot for me! 

The rest were not bad; cuttlefish was surprisingly soft even though it was a bit bland. Rendang was delicious, loved the potato patty and I took a special liking for the beef lung which was like jerky that was full of spices! 

Best way to enjoy the dishes would be to eat them with the plain white rice! If you ask me, I thought my first time (classic set for 2) was good enough and should I need to host any Muslim friends, it would definitely be the preferred choice over the deluxe. 

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Address

Block 156, Yishun Street 11, 

#01-106, Singapore 760156

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

8.00 am to 7.30 pm

Pricing

Nasi Ambeng (Deluxe for 2) - S$32.90 

Fu Zhou Poh Hwa Oyster Cake (福州寶華蠔饼) @ Berseh Food Centre [Jalan Besar, Singapore] #BersehFoodCentre

When it comes to oyster cake, you can't blame me for being fixated on the Teochew Meat Puff (that now has a permanent location in Woodlands) as I am just not keen on the oysters. Furthermore, I had tried the famous one at Maxwell Hawker Centre and it turned out to be a letdown! 

By all means, I typically wouldn't want to try the oyster cake from this Fu Zhou Poh Hwa Oyster Cake stall at Berseh Hawker Centre but many stalls were closed on the day of my visit and while the queue was non-existent, the wait was at least 30-45 minutes; precious time I didn't want to waste, especially when there's a likely chance it might be a disappointment. 

I actually returned for a second visit to the hawker centre as I was in the vicinity and since it was about 5.00pm, the wait was a lot more bearable. Luck was on my side too as the stall was down to its final tub of batter. 

The pager started beeping about 8 minutes later.

Collecting the oyster cake that was placed in a paper bag; was expecting a plate actually for ease of eating since I would prefer to eat it right away; piping hot from the boiling oil! 

Unlike Teochew Meat Puff, there's only one type available for sale; the authentic oyster cake and at S$2.30 apiece, it's also much cheaper than my favourite stall. The toppings can vary between silverfish and peanuts but don't think too much; the filling would be the same.

One bite down and the immediate thought was how thin and crispy the outer layer was! I was glad I didn't take a larger bite as I would have accidentally eaten the oyster! Don't judge me but I don't enjoy oyster; although I did think it's more edible compared to cockles. 

Oyster was rather big but it shall be given to my mom who was with me. 

She appreciates it much better than I do.

Aside from the oyster, there were also prawn, minced pork and chinese parsley. Surprisingly, the combination was delicious even though I wish there were a thicker layer of the palatable pork. Next time, maybe I would try my luck to ask if they can replace the oyster with more of the marinated pork! 

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Address

166 Jalan Besar, #02-34, 

Berseh Food Centre,

Singapore 208877

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

10.00 am to 6.00 pm

(Closed on Tuesdays)

Pricing

Oyster Cake - S$2.30

The White Tiffin - I Will Be Back! @ Changi City Point [Singapore] #changicitypoint

It was a casual remark; I registered my indifference towards Peranakan food except for their desserts and a friend had to proudly express his utmost love for the cuisine! 

According to him, The White Tiffin at Changi City Point is his favourite and I decided to make a trip down one weekday afternoon when I was on leave. It was convenient for me anyway as I had intended to procure some shirts from the G2000 outlet shop in the same mall.

Don't you just love the excessive use of traditional enamel plates and bowls with flower motifs? Some were hanging from the ceiling; as if they were floating! As it was past lunch hour, the place had just a few tables taken up by diners. It wasn't quiet though as we were serenaded by the beautiful songs from Teresa Teng; such a nice setting. 

Menu that was relatively limited with individual mains separated into rice, noodles and nasi lemak (coconut rice). What I like better were the options to top up to a set! With three of us, it shall be two Set B (top up S$1.90)  and one Set C (top up S$3.90); how could I resist nyonya kueh and chendol?!

For Set B, you have a choice of either cake or kueh. For cakes, I had the options of traditional buttercream cake, peanut cake, chocolate cake and coffee cake. The usual me would have opted for buttercream cake.

However, I was more keen with the kueh! Options were kueh salat, tapioca ubi and kueh dadar. It's a pity there wasn't any ondeh ondeh as my friend was raving about it; turned out it's available only on weekends. Sad. 

Sets without the mains; except for the chendol ice cream which was requested to be served after meal. Two hot drinks and the one in the bubble tea cup was my teh o iced.

Kueh Salat - unlike many of its competitors, this had a thick layer of custard kaya! It was aromatic, sweet and contrasted perfectly with the light bitterness from the blue pea flower glutinous rice.

Tapioca Ubi - maybe I should have gone with the kueh dadar as this was overly sweet for my taste buds, even though I could still make out that strong flavour of tapioca. Some tapioca ubi I tried before had just that light hint of tapioca! 

Our mains; nasi lemak with whole fried seabass, mee siam with prawns and eggs and babi pongteh with rice! To be honest, I was almost taken aback by the nasi lemak as I didn't expect such a large fish! 

Nasi Lemak with Whole Fried Seabass - since we are on the topic of the seabass, let's start with it first then. This is really worth it as you get the fish, a nicely molded blue pea flower rice, peanuts, ikan bilis, fried fish skin, hardboiled egg, acar and papadum; all for just S$14.50, nett! 

Among all, I was least impressed with the blue rice. Supposed to be infused with coconut milk, the rice was dry and tasteless; certainly didn't meet the mark as a decent nasi lemak. We were most impressed with the fish; loads of moist, fish meat and blessed with a thin, crunchy skin.

Mom totally enjoyed her fish and the accompanying acar! No complaint about the peanuts and ikan bilis and I quite liked the salted egg fish skin although I think I would prefer if it was replaced with a more generous serving of acar.

Sambal chilli was too salty for my liking but my mom took a liking for it; she even requested for extra so that she can use it as a dip for the crispy papadum! 

Mee Siam with Prawns and Eggs - huge portion for just S$5.90 nett! Sadly, the taste was bland. I love mee siam with a right balance of sourness, sweetness and spiciness and this was just sour (coming from the lime), without much of a flavour.

Babi Pongteh with Rice - this hardly looked filling but don't be deceived by the small container containing the braised pork as towards the end, I was almost on the verge to ordering another serving of plain, white rice.

Braised pork was fatty yet ultra delicious! The pork fat was almost a literal melt-in-your-mouth texture and the flavour was amazingly delectable; real comfort food that I would crave for on a bad day at work! 

Gravy from the braised pork was an excellent companion to the white rice and there wasn't enough white rice to soak up all the decadent gravy! On second thought, maybe I should have requested for the extra gravy to be taken away so that I can have it for dinner later on.

Chendol Ice Cream - chendol actually referred to the greenish things and they were too bitter for me. Thankfully, the sweetness, from the coconut ice cream and the addictive, crispy flakes on top, managed to balance out the bitterness. Maybe a drizzle of gula melaka might be able to make it better? 

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I would definitely be back for the babi pongteh and maybe a chance to try the ondeh ondeh, said by my friend to be the best he ever had! Special mention for a particular service staff (he seemed like a Filipino) who was attentive and friendly. 

He even shared that the menu for dinner was different; I wouldn't have known if he hadn't passed me this piece of information. Dishes were more for sharing and they were more Peranakan options like cincalok omelette, nyonya chap chye etc. You may refer to the menu as appended above for more information.

Address

5 Changi Business Park Central 1, 

#01-44, Changi City Point, 

Singapore 486038

Map 

As above.

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/thewhitetiffin/.

Pricing

Nasi Lemak with Whole Fried Seabass - S$14.50

Mee Siam with Prawns and Eggs - S$5.90

Babi Pongteh with Rice - S$8.90

Top Up to Set B (Drink and Kueh) - S$1.90

Top Up to Set C (Drink and Chendol Ice Cream) - S$3.90

(Inclusive of GST, No Service Charge)

Korea Mini Honey Apples from NTUC Fairprice

An apple a day keeps the doctor away - this age-old saying remains etched in the back of my brain and while I don't have an apple everyday; I do try to take a crunch every now and then.

With over 7,500 species (yes, there are indeed that many) available throughout the whole world, it's a given that we don't get to see even 1 percent here in Singapore. Hence, when I saw these packs of Korea mini honey apples at NTUC Fairprice for the first time, I couldn't help but bought one pack! 

Costing S$4.95, each pack had 14 mini apples, weighing a total of about 500 grams. Look how small they are; I think I could hold maybe 3-4 in one hand. 

They do appear to be a bigger version of a cherry! Now, I don't really have that good of a experience with Korean fruits. I ever purchased Korean persimmons before and although they were not nasty tasting; it was far down the ladder compared to the Israel persimmons. 

One teeny weeny bite and half was gone! For a name that included the word honey, I don't think I am being unreasonable for expecting something sweeter. Sadly, it tasted like a normal gala apple without generating any surprise. Well, I should be glad they didn't have the powdery texture I dislike.

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Purchased From

NTUC Fairprice @ Yishun MRT Station

Pricing

S$4.95 a pack

Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Bar from Xiao Mei - Like Tiger Sugar in Ice Cream Form

I was more a bubble tea fan in my younger days and totally enjoyed chewing the pearls!  Nowadays, I would just go for the milk tea with reduced sugar and try to say no when the cashier asks if I want the calorie-laden pearls.

But my interest in pearls was rekindled in recent months when I overheard from a radio station about this particular brand of ice cream that contained bubble tea pearls that finally tasted much better than any of its competitors. Apparently, the rest had the taste of hard pieces of nose-shit; well, I have never attempted putting nose shit into my mouth so I can't comment further. 

Imported from Taiwan, the brand is Xiao Mei (小美) and I heard it had already created quite a storm in the lion city, with our huge bubble tea fan base! 

With just 4 packs in 1 box that cost about S$10.00, the ice cream definitely doesn't come cheap! And for purist bubble tea fan, I bet they would prefer to splurge a bit more on a proper cup of bubble tea drink. 

Nonetheless, I think this would still appeal to people who enjoy anything and everything with bubble tea pearls! Despite the expected high expectations, I must say I remain highly impressed after I chomped off the top of the ice cream bar. 

The rich, creaminess of milk enhanced with the burnt sweetness of brown sugar; this was literally the Brown Sugar Boba Milk from Tiger Sugar, in ice cream form! And the pearls were still soft and chewy even though they were encased within the ice cream. Do eat it quickly as the ice cream melts pretty fast! 

Now that Xiao Mei had caught my attention, should I be tempted and try their new pearls offerings like taro chunks and boba ice cream bar and, pudding and boba ice cream bar? Darn, I think I will be regaining the weight I lost during this pandemic! 

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Ingredients List

As above in case some of you have allergies.

Pricing

Brown Sugar Boba Ice Cream Bar - S$10.50 (4-in-1 Pack)