Mr Baguette and His Lava Tarts @ Golden Mile Food Centre [Singapore] #goldenmilehawkercentre

I remember I visited Mr Baguette around two years ago for his baguette toast but it turned out that the stall was way more famous for its lava tarts which were out of stock then. 

This time round, while the lava tarts were available; many flavors were out of stock. According to the Greatest Kon, the apple lava is a must-try. Sadly, it was already sold out. Another hot favorite would be matcha but as some of you are aware, I love matcha only if it is a beverage. 

As we had a pending dinner, I shall be conservative and go with just two lava tarts. The owner very kind as he proceeded to toast the tarts in his industrial oven, despite the obvious waste in energy.

If you are in the area and decide to go for takeaways, do note to heat up in the toaster / air fryer for about 2-3 minutes! There is a reason for the bold sentence "must heat up before eat"; and not doing as per advice would mean a much less optimal dining experience. 

Here were my two lava tarts; cookies and cream and orange pomelo! Other flavors include hazelnut, chocolate, cheese, red velvet, apple, peach aloe, cherry cranberry, matcha azuki and blueberry.

Orange Pomelo - on my gosh, my first bite was such a surprise that it would immediately warrant a second bite! The exterior shell was baguette-like with an ultra crisp texture, and inside was the softer, fluffier bread that burst with a beautiful pool of cream containing slices of orange! Layer after layer of unforgettable texture! 

Cookies and Cream - while the orange pomelo lava tart dilated my pupils, it was this cookie and cream flavor that totally blew me away as it gave me the feeling that I was having melted cookies and cream ice cream! 

This sensation was similar to the uniquely Singapore way of eating ice cream with bread! In many places, the fillings would likely be ultra sweet to counter the blandness of the bread but here at Mr Baguette, the sweetness was on point, and good enough for me to want to crave for another lava tart! 

Ending with blissfulness and already looking forward to my next visit! I must be mindful to arrive earlier so that I can secure the apple one! Just wondering if I can buy more and freeze them so that I can eat them sparingly across a few months.

Need a potent kopi to complement the tart? Do check out the espresso style coffee stall that's just one stall away from Mr Baguette. p.s. the coffee was a tad too potent for a non coffee connoisseur like me. 

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Address

505 Beach Road, 

 Golden Mile Hawker Centre, 

#B1-51, Singapore 199583

Map

As above.

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Two Tarts for S$5.00

Six Tarts for S$12.50

BHC Chicken Singapore - Platter C with Bburinkle Fried Chicken & Tteokbokki @ Marina Square

First thing, what does BHC stand for? I thought it meant British High Council until it was revealed that BHC is an acronym for "Better & Healthier Choice", and the signature dish was fried chicken! That's such a contradiction, don't you think so?! 

However, with over 1,900 outlets around the world, this famous fried chicken chain should not be discounted and given my deep love for this sinful dish; it's just a matter of time for me to check out BHC's first outlet in Singapore, at Marina Square.

This 108-seater outlet was always so crowded on weekends; with an off-putting long queue! Hence, my friends and I decided to take half day leave on a Monday to check out the food. A great decision for sure as there were plenty of seats when we arrived at about 1.30 pm. p.s. photo was taken at 2.30 pm when we left. 

Scan the QR code on your table to make your order. There's actually a physical menu, which was extremely helpful for people with presbyopia; those small photos on the screen are major irritants. 

Order made! For four of us, three of whom are ladies, it would make better sense for us to take the platter, which gave us one whole fried chicken, fries, Korean spicy rice cakes, and two drinks. Frankly, it felt like it can feed four persons, but the drinks were strangely for two.

Self-serviced with the plates, utensils at the self service station. Hm... 10% service charge was added to the bill, which didn't seem right when we had to self serviced.  No? 

Drinks - no introduction required for coke. I am more interested in the unique dragon fruit vitamin water. Those looking for more bang for their buck for platters should consider the vitamin water as it cost S$4 ala carte, whereas the rest were at most S$3.

Fries - options of either bburing or plain. Obviously had to go with the unconventional and while the seasoning was said to contain cheese, I would say it was negligible. They were well fried though and I love the crisp texture. Jovyn would have been okay with the fries.

Tteokbokki - also known as Korean spicy cakes, you can also opt for the version with ramen. A fellow friend said this was spicy and told us to be prepared for the fury! 

Honestly, the spiciness was manageable for me and what I took issue was how watery the sauce was although the soup like consistency would have been nice on a rainy day! I would have preferred a thickened sauce that would have been picked up easily by the rice cakes and fish cakes. 

By the way, the rice cake was super soft, easily one of the better ones I had throughout my life. No complaint on the fish cakes which are seldom unpalatable. 

Fried Chicken - now on the signature dish! There were eight flavors to choose from, with non-spicy Bburinkle and the spicy Macho King as the signatures. Problem was; there wasn't a half portion and itg was decided that ordering two whole chicken would be an overkill.

We decided to go with Bburinkle first and should that proved to be insufficient, we would then order another serving of Macho King. Once we saw the chicken that was delivered, we decided there and then that one whole chicken should be the max for us! 

Check out the coating that consisted of "cheese and vegetable flavored seasoning"! Sadly, despite its visual appeal, the flavor wasn't breathtaking. Maybe I expected too much given the hype. I did like the smaller cuts for the whole chicken, which I guess would be preferred for those with not too big mouths.

Flavoring and seasoning aside; the chicken meat within was juicy and fresh; with no clear signs (usually bones that had a dark shade) that they were frozen. 

Batter was also the kind I enjoy; crunchy with a layer that wasn't overly thick and cloying. Even though the flavor of this Bburinkle failed to impress, I am actually keen to check out the other seven flavors; bet at least one would appeal to me.

Almost missed out on this Bburing dip, which you absolutely have to douse your chicken with! It's cheesier than the cheese and vegetable flavored seasoning; like a less sinful version of cream cheese frosting! Sedap! 

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Would I be back? Sure, but you know what would motivate to revisit sooner? If BHC has option for half chicken portion, as it would allow me to try other flavors like macho king, hot retro, gold king etc! 

Address

6 Raffles Blvd, #02-332A/332F,

Marina Square, Singapore 039594

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

11.00 am to 10.00 pm

(Last order at 9.00 pm)

Website

https://www.bhcchicken.org/

Menu

As above.

Pricing

Platter C - S$52.90

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)

Lunch as Part of Our Day Trip to Ninh Bình @ Vietnam

On one hand, the good thing about a full day tour is that lunch is always provided. On the other hand, a disadvantage is when the food wasn't up to your expectations. 

For our trip to Ninh Binh, we were brought to Nhà Hàng Minh Quân Ninh Bình. Honestly, we were famished as we expended quite a long of energy earlier at Mua Caves.

Buffet style; highlight was goat meat, said to be a specialty in the region given the free ranging wild goats that benefited from a great exercise regime involving climbing up and down the many limestone mountains dotted all over the place. 

Funny thing was that no drink would be provided, unless you are paying for it.  You are advised to ask for the price before paying and I recalled they were about 20-40K dong. 

As there were too many people, my primary objective was to secure my food first! Almost like mixed vegetables rice but I am happy to note that they were more Vietnamese dishes, rather than Westernized cuisine. p.s. Alex would have preferred the latter.

Lunch was alright; not particularly amazing and I admit I didn't have a liking for the goat meat even though I can accept its usually gamey flavor. Issue was more its texture; too tough for my liking. No issue with the braised pork belly although the hair in the skin was quite a turnoff. 

Dishes for our lunch or the leftovers once everyone was busy digging into their food. There were more than ten to choose from, with additional options for fruits, raw vegetables and two separate vegetarian dishes (I think curry and spring rolls). Want to guess my favorites?

I love the bananas and surprise, surprise; the fried peanuts were delightful! A spoonful of bland fried rice with a few peanuts resulted in a moment of simple blissfulness. How could the peanuts taste so good?! 

Should you be a fast eater like me (some friends claimed I inhale, not eat, my food); please do check out the convenience stall along the same stretch that's just two doors away.

You can get some local specialties (again, no sampling) and even local products like the kim giao chopsticks, which was said to be able to detect poison, by turning red.

I was more curious with these glass containers of what appeared to be medicine wine that had some kind of meat within. I thought they were heart even though the shape and its attached piece was a bit strange.

Of course I had to take a picture and ask our tour guide.

Turned out it was penis wine from the wild goat! 

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Address

Tràng An, Hoa Lư District, 

Ninh Bình, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Click here for my Week-Long Itinerary to Hanoi - City of Lakes @ Vietnam