The Original Lobster Roll from Burger & Lobster @ Raffles Hotel Arcade [Singapore]

After Happy Chef and Lala Bee Hoon, I don't think it's an exaggeration to categorically state that I am literally stuffed. But when the Great Kon suggested having the lobster roll from the famous Burger & Lobster branch at Raffles Hotel, I was stirred as I had been waiting to try it ever since they opened a branch at Genting Highlands! 

So here I was, facing the bar counter and feeling all guilty as it's a fact I had over-indulged that day and there was a nagging thought that all the weight I lost in the past few months would all suddenly pile up overnight.

Nevertheless, the allure of food never fails to motivate me, especially when it comes to one of my favourite crustaceans; the lobsters!

And the ones at Burger & Lobster were huge; the above buddy had claws the size of my fist! Charged by their weight with one costing easily more than S$200, I didn't think I would spend that much money on a meal. 

Before we had our lobster rolls, it's happy hour time with cocktails retailing at S$10.00 each! No thanks to my alcoholic influencer friend who introduced me to cocktails and it's amazing how different liquor can be mixed to such delicious concoctions! Can't remember what's the short one but the tall glass was Bellini. 

Here's our beautiful lobster roll. The description on the menu mentioned "chilled chunks of lobster meat dressed in lemon mayo and served in a toasted brioche roll. Accompanied by our lemon and garlic butter"! 

Chunks of lobster meat? It wasn't an overstatement as there were so much lobster meat; to the extent the whole roll appeared 'pregnant' with pieces of lobster neat 'oozing' from the seam! 

Drenching the roll with the sauce that tasted both garlicky and buttery! Don't you think the serving jug look somewhat like the lamp from Aladdin? 

I might have a big mouth but I bet it would be a challenge for me to even chomp down half of it in one go! Never mind, I am not going to attempt that as it didn't come cheap and it's best to slowly savour our food.

Bursting with chunks of lobster meat! For S$28 a roll, you get your worth given the amount of meat hidden inside and to think I paid S$23 at Dancing Crab back in 2014 for that pathetic amount of lobster meat. While the brioche bun was toasted to a crisp with that unmistakable buttery aroma, the taste strangely felt more like a normal, boring toast. 

Eventually, I gave up on the toast and just targeted the meat; satisfaction max when you eat the lobster meat on its own with the garlicky, buttery sauce! Remember to squeeze in that slice of lemon for that light punch of sourness! Now, it was a good 'snack' but I admit that when given a choice between lobster and crab meat, I would still prefer the latter. Just my personal preference.

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Address

328 North Bridge Rd, 

Within Raffles Hotel,

Singapore 188719

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.burgerandlobster.com/locations/singapore/raffles-hotel/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Cocktail - S$10.00 each

Lobster Roll - S$28.00 

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)

Ocean Curry Fish Head @ Block 92, Toa Payoh Lorong 4 [Singapore] #curryfishhead

In August 2020, I happily arranged tp meet up with my mom to visit Toa Payoh so that we can grab some irresistible Uggli muffins. Alas, we were too late and there were only a handful of stalls opened for business; none of which caught our fancy.

We wandered around and accidentally chanced upon this snaking long queue comprising of almost 20 persons! Hunger was almost making us crazy and we eventually settled with kim keat hokkien mee! Nonetheless, I told myself to return for the source of the queue! 

It took me four months and let me, now, introduce you to the source - Ocean Curry Fish Head. My mom and elder sister's family had actually visited the place before; I know why I didn't join; to be frank, I am not that big a fan of curry fish head until after circuit breaker.

The queue was actually for the chap chye png (economic rice) dishes for takeaways although for dining in, you do order from the same dishes on display, with options to top up with their signature curry fish head.

For dining in, please don't join the queue for chap chye png; just proceed to the inside of the coffeeshop where there's a separate cashier for dine-in order. 

To be frank, I can survive with just the curry fish head and one or two bowls of plain, white rice. However, my sister and brother-in-law would be joining and it's a fact they prefer more dishes as they don't ingest as much carbohydrates. Looking at the pictures would be a good reference on what else we should order.

Sambal Cockles -  I wouldn't be a fair assessor for this as I don't take cockles at all. My mom and sister would be a more suitable reviewer and given that this would be something they order every time they are at Ocean Curry Fish Head, I presume they like the cockles here! 

Sambal French Beans - one word, delicious! The beans were crunchy and there's this addictive spiciness matched with the healthy sweetness from the vegetables. 

Pork Ribs - supposed to be sweet and sour pork but they were sold off. Replaced with the boneless pork ribs which tasted not bad although not impressive enough to warrant a re-order in the future.

Curry Fish Head - served in a claypot, it was so boiling hot I couldn't take a decent photo! Even Jovyn was taken aback once the lid was removed! p.s. her intended meal wasn't curry fish head though; she had kim keat hokkien mee.

Just to show you how boiling hot the gravy was! 

S$40 was said to be expensive, according to some of the reviewers on Google but my mom, a curry fish head lover, reasoned that it's a full fish head and not the usual half fish head that many other stalls offer. To her, it's a reasonable price.

Curry fish head had a few variances depending on which stall you go to and this one was in the assam style that had an interesting combination of being spicy and zesty, yet giving your mental state an explosive satisfaction that locals would term as shiok! Fish meat was fresh and chunky; my mom, a fish meat lover, gave it a thumbs-up! 

For me, it's a need to have the curry fish head with rice! I do not even need the fish as the curry would be the most important companion! Usually exercising self-control by limiting myself to just one bowl of rice; I had almost two full bowls as the curry was just too addictive with a light, sweet aftertaste; turned out the sweetness came from the pieces of pineapple I found in the curry.

Satisfaction max; almost ordered a third bowl of rice to clean up the remaining gravy! 

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Address 

92 Lor 4 Toa Payoh, #01-264, 

Singapore 310092

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

Mondays to Fridays - 11.00 am to 3.00 pm

Mondays to Fridays - 4.30 pm to 9.00 pm

Saturdays to Sundays - 11.00 am to 9.00 pm

Alternate Tuesdays - Off

Order Sheet (in Chinese)

As above.

Pricing

Sambal Cockles - S$10.00

Sambal French Beans - S$4.00

Pork Ribs - S$6.00

Curry Fish Head - S$40.00

Rice - S$0.70 a bowl

(Subject to GST)

The Western Food Stall @ S-11 Yishun 744 Coffee Shop Near Yishun MRT Station [Singapore]

While some had gained weight during the pandemic, I actually lost about eight kilograms starting from the period of circuit breaker. 

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Jogging at least five kilometers daily did have an impact but I was also a lot more determined in cutting down my carbohydrate-intake. Hence, I often have only fried chicken for my dinner. Only problem; one piece can cost as much as almost S$4.00 and that's too pricey! 

The saviour came from this unassuming western food stall at S11 kopitiam that's a stone's throw away from Yishun MRT station. I started patronizing this stall about a year ago but the frequency increased dramatically during the circuit breaker; to the extent the staff members knew my special order.

Happiness Plate - for the purpose of blogging, this would be the three-piece fried chicken that came complete with French fries, coleslaw and a fried bun. My special order would be just the fried chicken, and nothing else. In this case, Jovyn was with us and she loves the French fries here as they were thinner and hence, crispier. 

Even though the chicken was juicy, I had to admit that frozen chicken was used and marination was definitely not the11 herbs and spices used by KFC. Thankfully, the chilli sauce did a great job in elevating its palatability and for the price of just S$6.50; it's definitely more friendly on the wallet. 

Aside from the price, another key highlight was the crisp layer of deep fried chicken skin! I always leave them to the last as they give me so much joy and are the perfect conclusion to my meal.

It might seem rather worth it for my to get one rib, one thigh and one wing but you know what's the best combination; one wing, one thigh and one drumstick! 

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Address 

744 Yishun Street 72, 

#01-197, S-11 744 Coffee Shop

Singapore 760744

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Happiness Plate - S$6.50

KL Try Fresh XO Seafood - XO Seafood & Salted Egg Lala Bee Hoon Soups @ Sultan's Kitchen [Sultan Plaza, Lavender, Singapore] #lalabeehoon

After another satisfying meal at Eat 3 Bowls (呷三碗) with a friend, we walked past a coffee shop located within Sultan Plaza and immediately noticed a stall that had a long queue. As my tummy was already on the verge of bursting, there was no way I can stomach another morsel. 

Turned out the Great Kon had also taken notice of the stall when he was last in the vicinity and since we still had some space after Happy Chef; we unanimously decided to check out the stall under the large sign "lala bee hoon"! 

Basic background about the stall; it originated from Kuala Lumpur where there were a total of five branches in Malaysia, and Singapore is its first overseas venture. Kon queued for about 20 minutes before he got to order, pay for the food and collect the above pager. Food came faster; at about seven minutes later. 

Salted Egg Seafood Bee Hoon Soup - I am familiar with the conventional lala bee hoon but the salted egg version, with a thumbs-up logo on the menu, interests me more. 

Sadly, the broth didn't impress; it's just a wetter, slightly saltier form of our usual tze char bee hoon. However, the soup was just secondary. I was a lot amazed with the springy bee hoon that looked more like tang hoon; it was slurpy and super nice! 

Operator obviously didn't stinge on the ingredients; there were seven pieces of lala, five pieces of scallops, one prawn and a generous sprinkling of crispy pork lard, latter of which was a tad too salty for my liking. 

XO Seafood Bee Hoon Soup - first item on the menu with a thumbs-up and I guess it would be a waste if we were to leave without trying! Since time was already on queuing, we might as well just order this too! 

Featuring the same, nice bee hoon, I was expecting a strong XO-flavored soup; which didn't materialise! The XO taste was weak although interestingly, my taste buds caught a whiff of longan. Refreshing nonetheless but it was a weird combination that failed to whet my appetite. 

Otah Balls - Kon made the executive decision to top up the soup with otah balls that cost S$2.00 for three balls. I enjoyed them; tasted just like otah with a nice spiciness even though old school otah wrapped in banana leaves still appealed to me better.  

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Address

100 Jln Sultan, Sultan's Kitchen,

Sultan Plaza, Singapore 199001

Map

As above.

Menu

As above. 

Pricing

Salted Egg Seafood Bee Hoon Soup - S$8.90

XO Seafood Bee Hoon Soup - S$8.90

Otah Balls (3s) - S$2.00 

Happy Chef Western Food - Happy Chef Chicken & Lamb Chop @ North Bridge Rd (near ICA Building & Lavender MRT Station) [Singapore]

Knowing my love for lamb chops, which are pretty pricey at many Western food stalls in Singapore, the Great Kon kindly shared about the ones he had at a coffee shop near ICA building at Lavender. 

And it turned out to be the Western stall I had always wanted to try whenever I sent my friend back to her home at the nearby Crawford Lane! Back then, Happy Chef was located at Block 466, which faces the carpark gantry.

Menu might look like your typical one from old-school Western stalls but look closer and you would notice unique names like chicken kiev, everbroom pork chop, fish shnizel. In addition, you are allowed to choose two sides (ranging from rice, mashed potato, coleslaw, potato salad, spaghetti, sunshine egg, french fries, garden veg to spicy veg pickle) to go with your mains.  

Our main objective is the lamb chop but since there were two of us, let's also have their happy chef chicken as the man taking our order appeared happy and friendly; and it just seemed appropriate to order something of their namesake. 

Lamb Chop - with garden vegetables and mashed potato, the first thing I noticed were the two huge slabs of lamb chop; that's pretty generous given that it only cost us S$8.50! 

Taste wise, I thought it was normal; didn't wow me as much since I recently had a real good one at El Carbon Grill House in Yishun! Nonetheless, Happy Chef's lamb chops were darn worth it, given the price and that not many Western stalls serve lamb chops that were less than decent. 

Happy Chef Chicken - frankly, it didn't look much different from your typical chicken chop, except for maybe reddish brown sauce poured over it. 

Not really in a carbohydrate mood and with that in mind, I opted for the fried egg and coleslaw. Well, can't say much about the sunshine egg as it was what to be expected. Coleslaw was alright. Garlic bun was peppery and superbly crispy; surprisingly, I prefer it softer and fluffier. 

Chicken, by itself, was as expected; didn't deviate much from your old school chicken chop, sans the light sweetness from the Western Barbeque stall at Old Airport Road. What's most impressive was the sauce; there was that addictive sweet, savoury flavour that totally elevated the chicken! You absolutely need it to go with the chicken. 

Friends would know I don't like mashed potato but the Great Kon insisted on giving me a portion from his lamb chop! Most mashed potatoes had the gravy drenched on them but the one from Happy Chef had the gravy mixed in. Interestingly, I like it much better served in the Happy Chef way and surprise, surprise; I actually eat it all up! 

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Great meal, great company! Guess I would be back to try the other mains on their menu; for example, pork chop, farmer's chicken dinner, teriyaki fish. Maybe I should ask my friend who used to stay there to give her take on what to eat too! 

Address

Block 465, North Bridge Rd, #01-5041 

465 Foodcourt, Singapore 191465

Map

As above.

Pricing

Lamb Chop - S$8.50

Happy Chef Chicken - S$7.00