Uggli Muffins @ Jalan Besar (Near Berseh Food Centre) [Singapore]

In terms of distance from Yishun, Toa Payoh is a lot closer than Jalan Besar. However, I have been visiting Jalan Besar and its surrounding areas a lot more often than Toa Payoh. 

Hence, I have been securing my Uggli Muffins from its new branch at Jalan Besar recently, instead of its original stall at Toa Payoh, although operating hours continued to be short; opening at 11am and closing at 2pm! 

I have been blogging about muffins ever since the pandemic and to be honest, I still prefer Uggli Muffins despite its diminutive size (I need at least two) and relatively higher cost. You may read here for my review. 

When I first heard about this new branch at Jalan Besar, I was excited. Would it be a cafe? Or the operating hours would be much longer so that I don't have to wake up that early on a weekend just to buy a few boxes. 

Sadly, the above would be the picture right after entering the shop. More like a factory churning out trays after trays of baby muffins, with a counter in front to do sales. The tables / chairs were there simply for those waiting for new batches of muffins! Good thing is that service was similar to Toa Payoh; the China lady attending to us was as friendly and kept passing us muffin / cookies to try! 

While I was third in queue, I almost waited 30 minutes for the new batches so that I have more variety to choose from. Even though I like almost all the flavors (even olive), I realized macadamia is the odd one I don't quite fancy. 

Got my two boxes! Wanted to get another one but I didn't want to regain all the weight I lost when I was down with fever two weeks ago. Didn't help that I am also indulging a lot more after I got well.

The irresistible muffins! I froze one box so that I can slowly indulge over the week; to eat, just take them out of the freezer and put in the fridge the night before, and use air fryer for 3 minutes at 200 degrees celcius. p.s. I used Ninja brand air fryer, which has a preheating function.

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Address

202 Jln Besar, Singapore 208888

(near Berseh Food Centre and next to REPLYK1988)

Map

As above.

Pricing

Between S$1.50 to S$1.80.

Buy 10, get 2 free! 

Lad & Dad - British Pub Grub (Fish and Chips, Beef Stew) @ Tanjong Pagar [Singapore]

What doesn't appear on Google Map for "food" doesn't mean anything as Google needs to have a revenue stream and it's common that those paying for advertisements have a significantly higher chance in standing out from the hundreds or even thousands of commercial establishments in a limited area scope. 

Lad & Dad can be found on Google Map but that's only when I keyed in its name under search. The reason I am aware of it was due to a recommendation from some Facebook video and the one thing that caught my attention; fish and chips.

Frankly, the eatery is at a location I would not likely notice if I am walking along the corresponding Craig Road, especially with the green awnings covering the facade, and the eye-catching shophouses opposite. 

Menu wasn't extension with just four mains, and seven sides. Way more options for beverages; three types of beer, six kinds of spirits, and standard soft drinks, bottled water, tea etc.  Given the hot weather, let's go with the iced tea, served in beer mugs! 

Beef Stew - while I was there for the fish and chips, I thought it will be better to order two different dishes for a wider review, and it appeared that the stews were the first on their menu when the eatery first started operations at a hawker centre. 

I prefer grilled beef over stewed beef, although I had to admit that every piece was soft and tender, soaked in the nice, savory broth that made every bite so delectable; even the carrots were good. Alex gave the thumbs-up for the mashed potatoes! 

Fish and Chips - just a look at the dark batter and I knew for sure I would enjoy its crisp texture! Interestingly, the staff would ask if you would like vinegar for the dip, in addition to chilli and ketchup. Vinegar is supposed to be the standard dip for fish and chip back in the Great Britain. 

The thin, crispy beer batter was incredibly enjoyable and it's worth noting that the 150-gram Atlantic haddock fish was fresh with layers of moist, juicy meat! What goes perfectly with it? The combination of homemade gherkin tartar, AND chilli sauces! 

Thick cut chips were like a thinner version of potato wedges, which is less preferred than French fries. However, the use of tartar and chilli sauces made a difference and they were, in fact, pretty addictive.

Most fish and chips eateries would offer either mashed potatoes or salad but right here at Lad & Dad; it was mushy green peas! Kids hate green peas and my dislike for it never reduced over the years; till now, I would pick them out. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, I love the mushy peas; the taste was uniquely palatable and I would say it's similar to green curry; albeit not as overpowering. 

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Cleaned up! Personally, I would say this is the best fish and chips I had where I would willingly eat up everything, except for maybe the slice of lemon, although Alex, the indisputable fish and chips guru, didn't share my thoughts. 

Address

7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, 

#01-108, Singapore 081007

(beside Block 8)

Map

As above.

Website

https://ladanddad.oddle.me/en_SG/

Operating Hours

Refer to above.

Closed on Mondays

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Beef Stew - S$19.00

Fish and Chips (S) - S$19.00

(No Service Charge, Inclusive of GST)

The Pork BBQ Satay from Shio BBQ Chicken Wings and Nasi Lemak @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre [Singapore] #yishunparkhawkercentre

Chong Pang Hawker Centre had just completed its 6-week renovation and to be honest, I had been craving for Xu Zhong Xing pork satay, which I used to have every two to three weeks! 

The craving hit a new high last week and when I saw satay being offered at the Shio BBQ Chicken Wings and Nasi Lemak from Yishun Park Hawker Centre; I decided to give it a go despite the fact that satay wasn't on its signboard. 

Waiting for the pager to beep! 

Less than 15 minutes' wait as it was almost 9.00 pm. A few days earlier, I actually attempted to order from Shio but the wait was said to be at least an off-putting 45 minutes long. 

At 80 cents a stick, the pork satay didn't come cheap but with 10% off from the tuckshop app, plus the fact that there appeared to be more meat, I thought it was still quite reasonably priced.

For better comparison with the can of Pokka Oolong Tea; while not necessarily generous in height, the deal-breaker was the thickness of the meat, which would result in a heightened satisfaction! 

Good marination; not incredibly sweet, although the chunky meat did result in a tougher texture until I bit into the delicious, sinful pieces of pork fats! Satay must have charred bits but I noted that it was a bit inconsistent at Shio; two or three sticks were badly charred! Personally, not an issue. 

Gravy wasn't ultra watery and was full of chunky peanut bits that added a layer of nuttiness to the satay's savoriness and sweetness. 

Craving satisfied! Departing from my usual process, I checked Google reviews only after my meal and it was shocking to see a review of 2.6, which were mainly due to bad customer service and, inconsistency in taste. So, I guess I was lucky then. 

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Address

51 Yishun Avenue 11, Yishun Park Hawker Centre, 

#01-42, Singapore 768867

Map

As above.

Menu

As Above.

Pricing

Pork Satay - 80 cents a stick (Minimum 10 sticks)

(10% discount if you pay via Tuckshop App)

Yean Heng Pancake (炎兴麺煎粿) @ Pek Kio Hawker Centre [Singapore] #pekkiohawkercentre

I first heard of Yean Heng Pancake around ten years ago due to a television show that was talking about local heritage food popular with residents of our little red dot. 

With a history spanning more than half a century, my curiosity was piqued but the few times I visited, Yean Heng Pancake was always sold ou,t and without a car; it's not as convenient to travel to this hawker centre that's also known as Cambridge Hawker Centre. 

This time, I purposely woke up much earlier and arrived before 10.00 am! Full operations for the pancake stall, with three large pancakes, hot and fresh from the pan, right ahead of me. 

While I think they could sell you by that big portion, the modus operandi would be to divide it into smaller pieces for ease of selling as customers typically treat this more as a snack / dessert than as a main meal.  

My order of one coconut pancake and one peanut pancake! The stall is famous for its crispy, rolled pancake but it's only available on weekdays. At 80 cents per slice of pancake, it's also one of the cheapest in Singapore at the moment.

Aside from the affordable pricing, they were pretty generous with the fillings which were also sweeter and henceforth, tastier, even though not necessarily healthier. Personally, I prefer coconut over peanut. Dough wise, I think it's bland with the fillings playing a more important role. 

Eat it while it's hot, when the edges were still crisp! 

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Address

41A Cambridge Rd, #01-32,

Pei Kio Market & Food Centre, 

Singapore 211041

Map

As above.

Pricing

Pancake - S$0.80 a slice

Unknown Insect @ Home

I am not an observant person and wouldn't have noticed anything amiss on the 1.5-liter plastic bottle, placed outside my flat, that was used to water my plants. 

But, I needed to water my plants that day and a movement on the bottle made me retreat two steps back. Being short sighted and presbyopia mean I took a longer time to focus. That's an interesting insect.

My limited bug knowledge told me I have never seen this before and it appeared to have the markings of a traditional tribal shield. A search on Google revealed that it's the western conifer seed bug, and it's not native to Singapore! 

I always believe in leaving bugs and insects alone, so long they are not in MY house. Nevertheless, I did wonder if they would taste good deep fried. It's been a while since I last had any insects as snacks!