Emo Snacks (饿魔小吃) - Taiwan Bentos, Fried Chicken, Milk Teas @ 223 Geylang Road [Singapore] #emosnacks #geylang

On weekday mornings, the first thing after i stepped out of my house is to tune in to UFM100.3 and on one particular day; the presenters were talking about this relatively new eatery called 饿魔小吃 which is literally translated as hungry demon's snacks! However, they used the Chinese hanyu pinyin pronunciation of hungry demon for the name; hence, emo.

Anyway, i was curious about the shop, especially all the talk about its braised pork rice and milk tea, and went all the way to Geylang one Sunday afternoon; WALKING under the hot sun from Paya Lebar MRT station and bypassing Aljunied MRT station! The strong air-conditioning that greeted us upon entering already made me super happy! 

Despite the small dining area, there were a few captivating features in the shop; one of which is the neon outline of the hungry demon mascot! It has horns, pitchfork, a forked tail, drooling mouth and the Chinese character, hunger, written on its tummy! 

With demons, there should always be a counterbalance with angels although it would just be a pair of angelic wings; waiting for a willing volunteer to wear it to defeat the hungry demon.

Not sure if we fit the bill but i think my friend looked more ready! Haha! 

There were also two claw machines in the area; i know they are popular but aren't they a waste of precious dining space? Oh well, maybe they were brought in given the safe distancing measures imposed by the authority due to the pandemic.

Interesting way to order; scan the QR code on your table! Technological changes have now rendered tablets as redundant for ordering as a high percentage of the population has a smartphone and maintaining a website is less costly than having to maintain both the tablets and the website.

My order; hardly any sweat! But for those who still prefer the manual way, as in call the service staff over and place your order; you can still do so. 

Note: there's a spicy challenge for the snacks you order with a spicy option. Known as SMLJ (same acronyms we used for a vulgar term), it's assumed you would go for the middle option if you fail to indicate the spicy level on your order; i learnt that the hard way. 

XXXL Crispy Chicken Chop - opting for the spicy version, i was expecting an uncut piece so that i can better visualize how XXXL it is compared to its competitors. With famous Taiwanese brands like Devil's Chicken and Monga Chicken setting up shop in Singapore selling Taiwanese chicken chops, the one from Emo Snacks was up for a stiff competition. 

Taste was pretty good with flavourful batter although it was too thick for my liking. I also regretting the spicy version as the default 50% spiciness was way over my threshold and it's the kind of numbing spiciness that stayed in my mouth for  a while! 

Oolong Milk Tea - up-sized, with 50% sugar and pearls, this was a thirst quencher and comparative in taste with my favourite one from Koi! I did order a normal milk tea for Alex but maybe because i took quite a while to get home (went for durians at Ah Di after the meal), the ice had melted and Alex was quite unhappy with the beverage.

Braised Pork Rice - i often shared with my friends that i don't enjoy the main meals when i was in Taiwan in 2014. One of the things i liked better then was luroufan (braised pork rice) and during the circuit breaker period in Singapore, i am a frequent patron of Jiak by Jin Feng (金峰) at Northpoint. 

At only S$4.90, it's cheaper with a bigger portion than Jiak (a takeaway outlet). Some of you might also be happy to note that the meat wasn't as fatty as the ones from Jiak and the egg had an almost runny yolk. 

The nice old taste of braised pork although those looking for something out of ordinary might be left disappointed. I thought the braised gravy was also on the bland side and hence, required the assistance of the crunchy preserved vegetables to up the flavour.    

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For the price i paid, including the mala chicken rice; it didn't burn a hole in my pocket. Food was decent (the mala chicken rice's spiciness was seriously no joke), service was friendly and i got to become an angel.   

Address

223 Geylang Road,

Singapore 389283

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

Mondays - Closed

Tuesdays to Thursdays - 11.30 am to 11.00 pm

Fridays to Sundays - 12.00 pm to 12.00 am

Website

https://emo-snacks.business.site/

Pricing

XXXL Crispy Chicken Chop - S$6.50

Oolong Milk Tea (Upsize with Pearls) - S$4.50

Braised Pork Rice - S$4.90

(No GST, No Service Charge)

Old World Bakuteh (老世界肉骨茶) - Pork Ribs Soup@ Yishun Block 747 [Singapore] #oldworldbakuteh

There was apparently some hype about a bak kut teh stall near my flat and since the weather was so cooling yesterday; i decided to pay it a visit during lunchtime. 

Old World Bakuteh - what would you have thought is the specialty here? I assumed it was bak kut teh and happily ordered pork ribs soup. Wrong! I realized after i was done with the meal that specialties appear to be the unique fried porridge and fried mee sua! Maybe next time.

Let's focus on bak kut teh here. At S$6.00 a bowl (not including rice), there wasn't a pork loin version which i personally prefer as the premium meat is usually a lot more tenderer. 

However, this non-premium option didn't disappoint with meat that easily fell of the bones and it wasn't tough. In fact, i found it to be fattier than expected. Only grouch was that there were just too many bones and it was hard scrapping out the meat with my poor chopstick skill.

Soup is the primary determinant to a good bowl of bak kut teh and while i am a fan of Singapore style bak kut teh; this was just peppery to me. Compared to my favourite Ya Hua Bak Kut Teh (Havelock), this was just pepper soup without that additional oomph to set it apart from the rest. Oh well, still acceptable on a rainy day. 

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Address

747 Yishun Street 72, 

Within Hiap Hoe Eating House, 

Singapore 760747

Pricing

Pork Ribs Soup - S$6.00

BBQ Boneless Chicken Leg with Cheese Fries from Smokin' Joe @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre [Singapore] #yishunparkhawkercentre #smokingjoe

There are two western food stalls at Yishun Park Hawker Centre and i always thought that Shaker Lakers is the more famous one. Point is, Smokin' Joe has an equivalent rating on Google but with double the reviewers! And i don't usually see a queue whenever i am there because they issue you with the 'pager' thing upon payment.

With a few chef-recommended dishes to choose from, i narrowed down to BBQ Boneless Chicken Leg, with a top up to cheese fries, as it was the cheapest. I was thinking then that if the food is good; maybe i can consider ordering the more expensive ones in the future.

Frankly, it didn't visually appealing but looks are nothing if the taste is sucky. I took a bite of the garlic bread; garlic intense which i enjoyed although the interesting part was the infused grilled and smoky aroma that i thought was irresistible! p.s. on a side note about the mashed potato, Alex said it's the best he ever had.

I expected more from the cheese fries. Maybe i just have cheap taste as i prefer the cheese fries from KFC (even though i have not had it for quite a long time). The ones from Smokin' Joe were drenched with cheese that were more fluid than melty and no, i wasn't impressed. Loves the fries though for its crunchiness.

Now on the meat. One word; amazing! I have had plenty of grilled chicken at hawker centres before but i have never had one that tasted like it belongs to a michelin-starred restaurant! Moist, tender texture that spoke length of the chef's mastery experience in controlling charcoal fire and marination was herb based with a unique flavour that i couldn't quite pinpoint! Guess i would checking out Smokin' Joe's other offerings in the near future!

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Address

51 Yishun Avenue 11,

Yishun Park Hawker Centre,

#01-37, Singapore 760350

Map

As above.

Website

http://www.smokinjoe.com.sg/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

BBQ Boneless Chicken Leg - S$8.00

Top Up to Cheese Fries - S$1.00

(10% discount if you pay via the Tuck Shop app)

Blanco Prawn Noodle House (月蘭亭大蝦麵) @ Jalan Kayu [Singapore] #jalankayu

In usual circumstances, i would be lazing around at home on Sunday morning but this particular day; i was already on a double-decker bus towards a place that i had not visited ever since i scrapped my car! 

A familiar sight. The row of shophouses along Jalan Kayu that brought back nice memories from around 15 years ago when i first got my driving license. Back then, the area was more known for the roti prata and given its proximity to Yishun; it was a great, chill-out place at night for my friends and i.

I am not here for roti pratas though; i heard of this famous prawn mee noodle eatery and was there to check it out! The name sounded familiar and upon a search on this blog; i realized i had blogged about a Blanco Court Prawn Mee; like same, same yet different. 

Roaring business and we were lucky to secure a table as a family was just about to leave upon our arrival. Timing was about 10.30 am; not the expected peak breakfast / lunch timing!  p.s. it's non-air-conditioned. 

Prawn Noodle - order at the counter and wait for your food to arrive. Waiting time wasn't insane and this bowl of prawn noodle came after an acceptable 10 minutes. 

Took a sip of the broth; the most important thing in any soup-based prawn noodle, at least for me. The strong flavour of prawns satisfied me (as well the bits of crispy pork lard) although i was also looking forward to a heightened seafood sweetness which was, sadly, not found.

Noodle was okay and the prawns were decent; none of which stood out from others in the competitive food industry. I was hoping for the normal bee hoon and the one given was like a version in between bee hoon and thick bee hoon. 

Leaving the prawns and a few mouths of broth for the last! 

Still feeling a bit empty? Order wu xiang (Ngoh Hiang, 五香) in the same eatery; it was the same arrangement at Blanco Court Prawn Mee but this one at Blanco Prawn Noodle House tasted way better! 

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Address

235 Jalan Kayu 

Singapore 799459

Map

As above.

Operating Hours
7am to 4pm 
Closed on Tuesdays

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Prawn Noodle - S$6.00 

Bismi Briyani - Lamb Chop Briyani @ Yishun Park Hawker Centre [Singapore] #yishunparkhawkercentre

Despite graduating with a diploma of marketing, i continue to be drawn by the various marketing tools adopted by businesses; the one that i fail miserably is that of visual appeal. 

An eye-catching signboard accompanied by mouth-watering pictures is often the deal breaker and that's exactly what happened when i was at Yishun Park Hawker Centre again this afternoon; instead of hokkien mee, i decided to have Bismi Briyani for brunch! 

No queue and i managed to secure my plate of Lamb Chop Briyani in no time! 

The rice with a brownish tinge was interesting and i can't wait to dig into the pickled vegetables (comprising of cucumbers, onions etc). I was, however, greatly disappointed with the portion of the meat. Well, it should have been expected since lamb is more expensive than mutton. 

Texture for the lamb was extremely tender and flavorful; most importantly, the meat didn't get stuck in between my teeth like mutton! Very little meat in my opinion which means i had to resort to rationing so that i would at least have meat in as many spoonfuls of rice as possible.

Loved the pickles vegetables although i thought they were chopped a bit too finely. To me, the cubed shaped acar at the now defunct Hassan Rabit Mutton Dam Briyani at Ayer Rajah Hawker Centre was the best so far! Rice was strange; although it was infused with spices and herbs, it didn't quite taste like good, old basmati. 

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Address

51 Yishun Avenue 11, 

Yishun Park Hawker Centre,

 #01-05, Singapore 768867

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Lamb Chop Briyani - S$7.00
(10% discount if you pay via the Tuck Shop app)

A Stroke of Bad Luck on National Day - Scalded by Hot Coffee!

Happy National Day! Yes, it's Singapore's 55th birthday and although we remain guarded against COVID-19, i had a celebratory steamboat lunch with two friends who had known me for about 26-27 years! Alas, it could have been more enjoyable though. 

Don't get me wrong; it was a great meetup. It's just that an unfortunate incident happened right at home before lunch and it had to do with a mug of boiling hot coffee. Clumsy me accidentally toppled the mug and the content not only stained my documents and dirtied floor; it also resulted in injury. 

To my thigh! This was taken a few minutes after i scalded myself as i was busy trying to save my computer from being damaged! As you can see from the picture, the skin had reddened and appeared to be peeling off. 

Within a few minutes, blisters started appearing. While the burn was uncomfortable, i found the pain to be quite manageable; either my tolerance was high or that i could have been in shock. 

The state a few hours later; three large water blisters and it felt a bit like water balloons with the liquid swooshing around as i walked. Jovyn came over and thought i had purposely put plasters over the burn! It did feel leathery even though i could continue my daily exercises without much discomfort. 

Two blisters broke when i was jogging though. Let's just pray that the conditions improve tomorrow and it would be a better day as in addition to scalding myself; i also had the "luck" to shatter an empty glass bottle at home this morning. 

The Seafood Rice Cracker Peanut Snack from Don Don Donki @ Singapore #dondondonki

Is there anything you would specifically look for when you are at Don Don Donki Singapore; the equivalent of Japan's Don Quijote? In the past, my must-purchase was the freshly baked sweet potatoes.

It's a different story now and it has to do with my trip to Hokkaido in 2017. Back then, we opted for self-driving and given the long distance, munching on snacks is a necessity and the one snack we continuously bought was this seafood peanut snack from 7-11 convenience stores! 

Coated in thick batter with four different flavours, crab, squid, bonito and shrimp, i was so in love with it that i bought 20 packs on my second last day in Hokkaido, rummaging through at a few 7-11 to get as many as i could. 

Imagine my happiness when i finally found the snack at  Don Don Donki Singapore! 12 bags were immediately put into my basket and since then; it became a frequent companion whenever i am watching movies / dramas. p.s. it was said to go very well with beer! 

For the purpose of illustration as i usually just eat from the bag. While it's not uncommon to find such snacks in Singapore, this particular brand won me over with the 4 seafood flavours that were just too addictive! I believe i am not the only one with such adoration for the snack as it periodically goes out of snacks at Don Don Donki. 

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Purchased From

Don Don Donki Singapore

Pricing

S$1.90 for the 50g pack

Additional Information

Smaller packs are available at about S$5.50 for a pack of five (totaling about 115g). Price differential is quite minimal but with so much packaging, i always opt for the larger packs.