Mata Thai - Halal Thai Cuisine @ Bishan (Near Bishan MRT Station) in Singapore

I expressed my disbelief when my elder sister mentioned a few years ago about a Halal restaurant, Mata Thai, that served Thai cuisine near Bishan MRT station with served pretty good food, priced reasonably.

Reason being they weren't as common then and I thought it would be an appropriate place for meals should I meet up with my Muslim friends. Opportunity didn't arise and I eventually visited with my family to celebrate my sister's birthday! 

Ordering via the self service kiosk.

Which means no service charge.

No service charge also means we had to self-service to the bowls, the plates, the cutleries and the sauces. I think nowadays Singaporeans are very accustomed to such self-servicing. What I took issue with is that for some eateries, service charge is still applicable despite the lack of full service. 

Laying our table 33 ourselves. p.s. just a note here that despite the lack of a service fee, the service from the staff members were polite and friendly. 

Iced Lemongrass Tea - not bad tasting but S$3.00 for such a small cup!? Seriously, I should take out my double walled insulated Oasis water bottle more often, and fill it up with honeyed water so that I can stop paying exorbitant prices for sweetened beverages. 

Green Mango Salad - specially picked by the birthday girl, this was refreshingly spicy with a touch of sweetness; an appetizing start for the upcoming dishes! 

Pineapple Fried Rice - as a fried rice, I loved this for the generous inclusion of chicken floss to the fragrantly fried rice sweetened by the bites of raisins, and weren't' oily! Problem was; I prefer more pineapples to enhance the zestiness. p.s. fried egg was separately added, and charged.

Boiled Beef Soup with Mixed Balls and Radish - should I be having the meal alone, this would be something I might consider; broth was not too heavy on the tummy and exhibited a herbal-sweetness that came with vegetables, slices of beef and beef balls. 

Steamed Lime and Chilli Squid - looking absolutely shiok with the sprinkling of cut chillies, I must admit that squid might not be the right ingredient as the continuous cooking by the fire means that the texture turned rubbery quite fast and the "soup" that the squid was swimming in tasted mismatched. 

Steamed Sea Bass with Lime and Chilli in Thai Style - the "soup" was way more suitable for the seabass and packed a spicy pinch so suitable for the rainy weather we encountered that day. Fish wise, I had no complaint but do keep in mind that I seldom order whole fish. 

Honey Chicken Fillet - this was almost like Korean style honey butter chicken; I like the crispiness and they would be better with a plate of white rice! 

Fried Sliced Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce - this wouldn't be a stranger to most Singaporeans as it's really like your typical gu-lao-rou from economical rice stalls. Okay tasting but too saucy; I would definitely go for a crunchier texture. Like the honey chicken fillet, do have these with white rice. 

Stewed Sea Prawns with Glass Noodles - after having this at Nummun Thai Kitchen last year, I had been craving for it and almost immediately chose this over the rest of the dishes! Keeping my fingers crossed that it wouldn't turn out to be a dud. 

Flavourful, slurpy, not overly oily; this was sufficient to placate my craving even though the noodles lacked the herbal taste that I remember from Nummun Thai Kitchen. Prawns were okay only. 

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Would I be back? A firm yes as the prices were so reasonable; there were eight of us and the bill came up to less than S$120. While the taste wasn't ranked top; it was more than good enough for the bill we paid for. 

Address

Block 508, #01-390,

Bishan Street 11, 

Singapore 570508

Map

As above.

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/matathai/

Pricing

Iced Lemongrass Tea - S$3.00

Green Mango Salad - S$6.50

Pineapple Fried Rice - S$6.00

Boiled Beef Soup with Mixed Balls and Radish - S$9.80

Steamed Lime and Chilli Squid - 18.00

Steamed Sea Bass with Lime and Chilli in Thai Style - S$25.00

Honey Chicken Fillet - S$7.90

Fried Sliced Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce - S$9.80

Stewed Sea Prawns with Glass Noodles - S$12.80

(Subject to GST)

Taking the Traditional Bamboo Basket Boat (aka Coconut Boat) - Part of Hoi An Village Experience Cycling Day Tour

I thought it's all about lanterns for my trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An but as I researched deeper about the ancient town, an interesting activity popped out; taking the coconut boat!

 So here we were; about to arrive at the "jetty" for the most iconic activity of the Hoi An Village Experience Cycling Day Tour! 

Smiling and taking a quick photograph with the uniquely-weaved, vividly-painted basket boats that could have been just large plastic tubs from afar. 

After almost two hours of cycling, I guess we deserved to take a breather first; hot tea and what I thought were plates of fruits. Turned out they were coconut candy which I didn't like as they were chewy and not as crispy as they looked. 

After a good 15-minute rest, it's time to board! We were asked beforehand, if we would want to get wet. A pity none of us would want to; hence eliminating any hopes of me being able to get videos / photos of dizzy and / or wet travellers. 

Given the need to balance, it can be quite unnerving stepping onto the bamboo boat. I prefer to use bamboo instead of coconut as the material it was made from is bamboo. And the only similarity I can find with coconuts could be that they resemble coconut bobbing on water.

Anyway, some basic info about the bamboo boats - they were not merely for tourists and have a functional use. Aside from being cheaper and faster to produce, its round shape contributes to stability and even on low tide, you can still easily move them by rolling them! 

One bamboo boat can typically sit about five persons and do you know that bamboo boats are also commonly put on normal boats as they could be used as rescue boats?! 

Let's cross the concrete bridge first! 

Those who are too tall should be mindful and bend down! No issue for shorties like me; it's still a few inches away before my topmost strands of hair could even touch the base of the bridge.

Coconut forest ahead of us! Again, coming from a Southeast Asian country, I don't think the trees on the riverbanks were coconuts; they appeared to be the much shorter palm trees typically found in swamps. 

Alex and our tour mate giving it a go as the rower of our respective bamboo boat! I am unsure why Alex chose to stand up as common science should have taught him that standing up increases the centre of gravity, and correspondingly destabilizes the boat! 

I was just busy taking selfies. 

After just a short row, we were left puzzled when the boat operators rowed toward the riverbanks and either stopped there or in between the palm trees. 

Turned out we were supposed to fish! Even though I did read through the tour brochure, I had assumed I was supposed to "see" how they catch! But this was a notch better as we could actually experience it ourselves! 

Throwing a fishing line attached to a bait into the shallow water, the key to success was to bring the bait closer to the rocks where our preys laid hidden.

That's one interested party!

One hit! As you can see, the meaty bait didn't have any hook and since it was such a small crab; it's better for us to let it go back to nature. 

I almost wanted to keep it as a pet. 

Now "seeing" the locals using the traditional fishing nets to catch fishes, not the play play activity we had earlier with the crabs. You can check out the video here for the dispersal of the fishing net!

Time to go back! 

Entire experience was just about 30 minutes which I thought was sufficient as the weather was so hot and it was getting a tad boring going down a waterway that didn't seem to change much. p.s. fishing is so not for me. 

YouTube video here for your viewing pleasure!

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Additional Information

Part of the Hoi An Village Experience Cycling Day Tour

Click here for my 8 Days' Itinerary to Danang (The City of Bridges) & Hoi An (The City of Lanterns) in Vietnam

Slow Bakes in Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre @ Yishun Central (Overlooking Yishun Pond)

Despite living in Yishun for a few decades, development is a constant feature and there are often new things that escape my radar. For example, it was only in recent months that I knew of this cafe known as "slow bakes" even though I do jog past it occasionally! 

I have a valid excuse; it only opens from 7am till 2pm and my jogs along that route take place mostly in the evenings or at nights! Overlooking Yishun Pond, and located within the premises of the former Yishun Polyclinic, Slow Bakes was said to be very popular on weekends.

You can also secure freshly baked artisan loaves from the cafe! 

Taking the opportunity of meeting up with the Greatest Kon for Kerabu by Arang, we met slightly earlier to check out Slow Bakes. Outdoor space was more popular given the pond view but we were informed that we could also dine in the air-conditioned space of the related "Real Food Yishun" instead. Obviously, I was delighted! 

Ordering and payment at the counter. Frankly, I thought the menu was messy to the extent of confusing even though there were relatively limited choices. Put it this way, just beverages, toast, buns etc, with additional selections for the glass display and next to the cashier. 

Let's wait for the pager to beep! 

Here's our food for two persons and please be mindful that we would be expecting to have two servings of Nasi Kerabu Lamb Ribs from Kerabu by Arang in less than two hours' time! 

Kopi - my local coffee was acceptable but it tasted more like a cross between local and Western coffee, and was a tad less creamier and thinner in consistency. Nevertheless, it wasn't bad tasting.

Garlic Bun - I had high expectations for garlic bun after having the oily yet epic Best Ever Garlic Bread from Paris Baguette. While aromatic, this was chewier and my preference is for softer, bread.

 

Cinnamon Roll (back of the photo) - looking promising, please note that I will compare it with the ones I baked myself. And sadly, the texture was a firm no from me; too doughy and again, chewy. Mine had a crisp shell with soft insides. 

Avocado Toast - the appeal was definitely the generosity of the avocado spread; so thick! Interestingly, there didn't appear to be much seasoning and it's as raw tasting as I could make it myself with an avocado purchased from the supermarket. 

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If you are looking at healthy rather than tasty food, and are too lazy to make it yourself, I guess Slow Bakes would be a great place to start the morning. I am not going to cancel it out as I have a feeling that what it offers would appeal to my mom.

Address

30A Yishun Central 1, 

Within Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre,

Singapore 768796

Map

As above.

Pricing

Total - S$15.05