The Boiler Seafood Bar and Beer @ Esplanade Mall [Singapore]

Despite being somewhat of a national icon in our little red dot, I don't really visit the biggest durian inspired structure in the whole wide world; Esplanade.

Famed for holding world class arts events, my objective for visiting last week was sadly for food, once again, and the destination was at the Annex wing of Esplanade mall. 

The Boiler Seafood Bar and Beer; said to be voted as the best seafood in Singapore! That's an incredible accolade as we have no lack of seafood restaurants in Singapore, although a closer look at the smaller print on the glass revealed that it was quite a few years ago.

Whatever the case, I was drawn to the seafood-in-the-bag dining concept and when it comes to the best seafood, the secret is ultimately on their freshness! Best is right out from the sea which can be a challenge for lazy people like me.

Main reason for the visit; to celebrate Alex's birthday! 

p.s. he was given a special apron to commemorate the occasion. 

Items to make the eating easier; the crab cracker, gloves to protect your hands and even a plastic bag to keep your mobile phones. Latter was quite useless for iPhone 12 Pro Max though as the bag was too small. One item that should have been included is the ultra helpful crab pick! 

Four seafood bag combos to choose from and since it's Alex's bird day, let's go with Duo Plus and another Chilli Crab (Sri Lankan Crab). Boy, I am really having too much seafood nowadays; cholesterol for the win. 

Bundaberg Root Beer - for carbonated drinks, my choice would always be root beer. However, I am happier with the memorable yet cheaper A&W root beer; the Bundaberg one didn't really appeal to me. One brand that I personally feel can compete with A&W is Stewart's. 

Duo Plus Seafood Bag - here comes our main meal. I was expecting a long waiting time but from the timing of the photographs, the wait was only about 10 minutes. 

Frankly, this content in the bag appeared to be insufficient for two seafood lovers like Alex and I but once we got started; it was substantial and included ingredients like mud crab, prawns, mussels, clams, smoked sausages, pearl sweet corns, and fried buns which I initially assumed were for the chilli crabs! 

Our sauce was garlic butter as their original sauce was spicy and I guess it might be too much for us to handle since we would also have a chilli crab. Sauce of the month was laksa, which we didn't consider for the same reason! The sauce was all concentrated on the bottom; so do remember to dig further in! 

Ingredients were fresh and as I mentioned earlier in this post; that's vital. One surprise I got was from the smoke sausage as it was delicious! Sauce has the magic to enhance the taste and while the garlic was aromatic and appetizing, I thought the butter could have been a tad more saltier and flavourful. 

Loving the concept of seafood in a bag as there's no plates and I could literally eat like a barbarian without any fork / spoon / knife! Oh ya, almost forgot about the chilli crab.

Chilli Crab - said to be a version of "sweet and savoury tomato and chilli based sauce", I must say the disappointment hit hard as I personally feel that it had more a sambal chilli twist to it and lacked the sweetness that would make it comparable to its competitors. 

Thankfully, the 600 to 650-gram Sri Lankan crab was fresh and the meat was pulpy and satisfying enough to our birthday boy here. 

Restaurant prepared a slice of red velvet cake for Alex as his birthday cake! This kind gesture caught Alex by surprise as he totally didn't expect and I noted on the bill later that it cost S$9.90! Kudos to the service staff! 

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While I can't say I would be back for the chilli crab, the seafood bag combo is something I would bring my parents to in the near future, given that it's going to be Mother and Father's day soon! And a gentle reminder for me to try their Signature Haddock Fish & Chips next time.

Address

8 Raffles Ave #01-13A,

Annexe Esplanade Mall,

Singapore 039802

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.theboiler.com.sg/

Pricing

Duo Plus - S$89.00

Chilli Crab - S$48.00

Bundaberg Root Beer - S$4.50

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)

House of Prawn (蝦之家) - Prawn Noodle Dry @ Ghim Moh Hawker Centre [Singapore] #ghimmohhawkercentre

The one worrying thing about my health is likely the cholesterol level that I had managed to control a few years ago; however, I have been eating seafood quite liberally in recent months and it's a nagging thought that I should just go participate in the health screening exercise conducted by the organisation I worked for. 

But before then, let's continue with our food bingeing and in relation to my first paragraph; it's a meal at the House of Prawn (蝦之家) at Ghim Moh Hawker Centre! 

My order - prawn noodle dry with mee pok. To be honest, I am not really into soupy stuff unless the weather is cold and when there's option for mee pok and mee kia, generally reserved for dry noodle, I would likely take it.

Awwwww! The addition of fried shallots and pork lards was an immediate visual appetizer although the latter didn't taste that fresh. Oh well, so long they haven't gone soft and bad, which would have been even more off-putting.

Didn't feel like the typical mee pok I am accustomed too; texture was hard but thanks to the sauces it was mixed with, the taste was palatable. Their signature leek fish cake was surprisingly tender; nothing's perfect as I found the flavour a bit on the bland side. 

Leaving the prawns to the last; as you would have gauged from the initial photo showing my noodles, the prawns were of a good size and the meat was fresh and crunchy! Utter shiokness! 

The prawn broth was not as sweet as expected even though the taste was decent enough for a not-so-picky-me. As you can see, I drank up everything.

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Address

20 Ghim Moh Road, #01-62,

20 Ghim Moh Road Market & Food Centre

Singapore 270020

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

6.00 am to 8.00 pm

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Prawn Noodle (Dry) - S$5.00

Bukit Panjang Dessert (武吉班让六味汤) - Cheng Tng and Ice Jelly with Sea Coconut @ Jalan Legundi (Opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre) [Singapore]

Iced Cheng Tng is my favourite local dessert yet right where I stay, I couldn't find even one that meets my standard. Things somewhat changed when I chanced upon a small hole-in-wall eatery just about 10-15 minute bus ride away. 

Bukit Panjang Dessert (武吉班让六味汤); though the store isn't housed in Yishun, I frequently visited the location due to the Giant Hypermarket and the Daiso outlet at the Sembawang Shopping Centre right across.

Bowls of Cheng Tng and Ice Kacang on my first visit; latter was for Alex who wasn't that impressed with what he had. His verdict was that the portion was big although I should point out that this cost S$2.00 which was slightly pricier than those you can get from neighbourhood stalls / hawker centres.

For my second visit, I brought along my mom and due to terribly hot and humid weather, she opted for a rare cold dessert; Ice Jelly with Sea Coconut.

Sauce used appeared to be a lighter, less sweet variant of gula melaka and the jelly, hidden beneath the bed of shaved ice, was pretty bland with a bitterness that's pretty interesting as we were expecting something way sweeter. Put it this way, my health conscious mom wasn't complaining.

My focus was obviously on the Cheng Tng and given that I had patronized twice in a span of about two weeks; I guess it's no secret that I feel that this was definitely one of the better ones around. 

Pricing was steep at S$2.50 a bowl but as with the ice kacang, the serving size was bigger than elsewhere. Nevertheless, I was a lot more attracted to the soup's traditional flavour, which wasn't overladen with sweetness. Furthermore, it's shiok max to have cold dessert on a hot day.

Old school ingredients like barley, sago, ginkgo nuts, dried longan, dried persimmon, strips of candied melon etc, were added; the way I like it! Most stalls fail in serving good ginkgo nuts but the ones here were soft and full of flavour! 

I am so looking forward to my third visit! 

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Address

8 Jln Legundi, #01-01, 

Victory 8,Singapore 759274

(opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre)

Map 

As above.

Operating Hours

12.00 - 9.00 pm

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Cheng Tng - S$2.50

Ice Jelly with Sea Coconut - S$3.00

Mian Jia Noodle Bar (麺家料理) - Prawn in Lobster Supreme Broth Noodle @ Holland Village [Singapore]

Without recommendation from friends, I doubt I would ever check out Mian Jia Noodle Bar at Holland Village; reason being there are too many eateries in that area and I am more a hawker-centre fan. 

Can't wait to step into the air-conditioned eatery as it was so bloody hot! Decor had a bit of that Hong Kong feel with the shop's name lighted in neon on the ceiling and the display of an uncommon Chinese term for the washroom. 

The eatery is famous for its Live Boston Lobster Broth Noodle and they said to be flown in live daily! Since you would need to keep them anyway, why not just put them in tanks right at the entrance! 

Scanning the QR code to view the menu and make order directly! To be honest, I am old school as it just feel much more enticing when you have large pictures of mouthwatering dishes staring at you and asking you to give them a chance.

Anyway, we noticed a promotion for "Prawn in Lobster Supreme Broth Noodle" and decided to give it a try since it's buy one, get one free! Please note that the incredible deal 

has ceased as of 23 March 2021.

Taiwan Soy Milk - when I ordered this, I was totally not expecting it to come from a can! It's not that cheap at S$2.80 a can and I think it's somewhat the same taste as our local favourite; Yeo's Soy Bean Milk drink! 

Prawn in Lobster Supreme Broth Noodle - At point of order, you can choose your noodles (one out of four), spicy level (from non spicy to less spicy and spicy) and whether you want to upsize noodle or soup; note that the upsize is available at a charge, respectively. 

My thin noodle tasted just like those ramen noodle; had bite, nice and slurpy; thanks to the delicious broth! Said to be made daily after simmering the content for four hours, I am aware that whole prawns were likely the essential ingredients to make the soup but what caught me by surprise that another important ingredient is chicken feet! 

A key highlight to the meal and once that I found to be unforgettable would be the handmade prawn balls. Unlike those lousy ones you get from the supermarket, the inside was filled with springy prawn meat and was an absolute delight in every bite! 

Leaving the prawns for the last.... 

Fresh and succulent. 

There's even a bowl for you to discard the prawns' head and shell. As you can see from my bowl, it was satisfying even though I am unsure if I would pay the original price for the same noodle. Maybe I can try their dry noodles next time! 

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Address

19 Lorong Liput,

Holland Village,

 Singapore 277732

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

11.00 am to 10.30 pm

Website

https://www.mianjianoodle.com/

Pricing

Taiwan Soy Milk - S$2.80

Prawn in Lobster Supreme Broth Noodle - S$17.90

(Subject to GST Only)

Canopy Park - Comprising Discovery Slides, Foggy Bowls, Topiary Walk and Petal Garden @ Jewel Changi Airport [Singapore]

<<< Summary Post

I was wondering if I should take the trouble to create a separate posting for Canopy Park @ Jewel Changi Airport as it can be quite confusing given that media tends to lump the entire top floor as Canopy Park even though in reality; it's also a section comprising of four activity areas.

This specific section starts after Mirror Maze and Hedge Maze and with many trees planted along the path; you would deem it more like a walk in the park, albeit with air-conditioning. 

Typical of parks, you can find little ponds and fountains. 

Problem is that the four activity areas would draw your attention and I didn't spot some of the areas (like that pair of Mandarin ducks in one of the ponds) until I checked out the site again at night! p.s. with the tickets, you can re-enter Canopy Park throughout the day.

I did notice this interesting tree; known as ficus microcarpa, it's known "for its unusual S-shaped trunk and can grow up to 30 meters high"! Guess its growth would be stunted at Jewel Changi Airport.

View of the HSBC Rain Vortex! 

Maybe due to the fact that it's Wednesday, the place was deserted and we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. Compared to the first time I went to Canopy Park, this much quieter atmosphere made the environment super relaxing and comfortable! 

Now, this imposing sculpture is sure to draw your breath; what the hell is it? A spaceship, a gigantic modern stainless steel chair, a metallic mountain!? It's the Discovery Slides; one of four activity areas within Canopy Park.

Two others were the mystical Foggy Bowls and Topiary Walk! The fourth one was Petal Garden but it was closed for upgrading on the day of my visit. Given the large area, I seriously think it's worth it as a play area for children since you can enter numerous times and ticket price is just S$5.00 per person!

Do note that Mirror Maze, Hedge Maze, Canopy Bridge and Manulife Sky Nets (Walking / Bouncing) are separate ticketed attractions and admission is just one time.

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Address 

78 Airport Boulevard, 

Jewel Changi Airport,

Singapore 819666

Map of Canopy Park

As above.

Website

https://www.jewelchangiairport.com/

Pricing Menu

As above; second photo is for annual pass.