Arabian night.

Middle-eastern food is one of my favorite cuisines, but it's really difficult to cherish something which burns a hole in your pocket. In Singapore, people run to Arab street to get a taste of their favorite Middle-eastern/ Mediterranean dishes (and it's literally just a taste as you won't be able to afford more than that.) But yesterday we discovered this place near Tanjong Pagar which caters to Mediterranean as well as Western palates. Located on the side of a desolate (thankfully, not dark) street, it makes you question why you are going there, but once you enter and realize that you're not the only customers, you heave sighs of relief. The food is not exceptional, but it's pretty palatable. The restaurant serves its fair share of Shawarmas, Koftas, Kebabs, Hummus, crepes, pizzas and Mediterranean desserts. It's called Urban Bites Mediterranean Restaurant.

So here's what we ordered:

1) Cheese Rolls: Rolls filled with three cheeses and herbs, they were slightly on the greasy side, but it's supposed to be like that, apparently. Taste-wise:  average.

2) Hummus: (How do you pronounce it anyway?) Chickpea paste mixed with olive oil, spices and lemon juice, it's my favorite vegetarian Mid-eastern dish and I HAVE to order it every time I go to this sort of  restaurant. This one lived up to its expectation. Lebanese bread complemented them well.

Clockwise from left: Falafel, Hummus, Lebanese bread

3) Falafel: Can't judge, didn't taste, vegetarian friend said it's good, or did he? But in general, falafels are scrumptious. They are basically pakora sort-of fritters with Fava beans as the filling, served with salads and a sesame dip.

4) Mixed grill: This was the showstopper (obviously, because it's non-vegetarian :P ). Skewers of chicken, beef and lamb served with salad, yellow and aromatic Arabic rice and garlic and mayo dips was enough to feed two hungry souls, and that's what it did. The kebabs were tender, especially the chicken one were flavorful and filling.

"Woah, this looks awesome!"

5) Assortment of desserts: We concluded the meal with some random sweets picked up from the counter. Some of them were recognizable, such as the Backlava and Turkish delights. Some resembled Indian sweets, both in texture and taste.

As the reviews say, the food and the ambiance deserve a thumbs-up but don't expect much regarding service, even though it's quite quick. An Indian waitress was cordial but the rest were quite curt in their manner (and honestly, I'm not being racist). So if you can bear that, I'd suggest you give this place a try. We spent around 20 $/person.

I'd rate this place a 4.2/5 and definitely visit again.

A little Nepal in Little India

Dumplings, Gyozas, Dim Sums: None are at par with Momos, I reiterate for the 10 millionth time. And that's why I took a trip to a shady lane in Little India to have a taste of sinful Nepali momos. The 'Gurkha Palace' Restaurant is the only decent Nepali restaurant in the city and it was non-technically my 1st visit to the place. Technically it was last week when we had to stand in queue for about half an hour for entry to taste the famous Onam Sadya in a neighboring Malyali restaurant. Tempted and famished, we ended up packing Paneer Tikka from the place and as we were waiting to get it packed, we got free flow of Poppadums and Nepali Chutney. Nepali cuisine, as such, doesn't have much variety so the restaurant even caters to North-Indian palates.

So now for the actual visit! Obviously Momos were the highlight with spicy tomato and garlic chutney! And free flow of Papad kept us munching! There was a variety of Nepali snacks in the offering: Sekuwa, Choyla, Momo, Aloo Chutkauni, Piro Kukhura, etc. But what we ordered was Chicken Momos, Rice and a simply delectable Saagwala Kukhura (Chicken cooked in Spinach Gravy). The ambience was that of any restaurant in Kathmandu with huge paintings of the Annapurna Range, Bhaktapur town and a Doko Bokeko Aimai (Lady carrying the traditional Nepali basket, Doko). The staff was very hospitable, as Nepalis are amiable people and are masters of the art called 'small talk', which is a skill I lack so much! The cost came upto around 12$/person. I'll give this place a 4/5 and will definitely visit soon again!

We are big eaters

So, as my year in Singapore approaches a full circle, I finally get to taste the much talked about Singapore Chili Crab. Thanks to my Singaporean/ Malaysian/ Chinese friends whom I met during the Overseas Learning Project to Laos, who know exactly what to order, how much to order and what best complements Singapore's most popular and the world's 35th most popular dish according to CNN in 2011.

Big Eater Restaurant, true to its name, since it caters to the needs of savage gluttons such as myself, is a small restaurant in Jurong West St 91 and is quintessentially a Zi Char eating place, Zi Char being defined by Ladyironchef as: "a wallet-friendly, home-style cuisine from a Chinese stall, which serves a variety of ala-carte dishes and leaves you spoiled for choice."

It is popular among West Singapore dwellers for its Hokkien Cuisine, crab and other seafood dishes and Hor Fun. So why go all the way to Chinatown or East Coast Park when you have an excellent seafood restaurant just walking distance from your home!

There were 10 of us and here's what we ordered:

1) Singapore Chili Crab

Does justice to its hype

2) Salted Egg Crab

Little bland for my liking

3) Pork Ribs

Scrumptious

4) Long beans with minced meat

Was on my side of the table, devoured most of it :D

5) Tofu and prawn hot plate 

Cute, right? Delicious too!

6) Egg Fried Rice

Wasn't on my side of the table, couldn't devour it, but it was tasty nonetheless! :P

7) White Rice and Chinese Mantou: The dish which best complements Chili Crab is undoubtedly the Chinese Mantou. These are small deep fried buns ($4 for 10 pieces) which you stick your fork onto and dip in the sinful tomato, chili and egg-based Chili Crab sauce. These are addictive. 

8) Roasted peanuts (complementary)

All in all, the food quality was commendable, the ambiance breezy (round table, open air) and the prices cheap. Where else can you get Chili Crab along with so many side dishes at 25$ per pax! We guzzled down the food with carbonated drinks! While one of our friends was attending a dental appointment, we were all getting one step closer to tooth decay, but it was totally worth it! 

On an end note, here's me selecting 1$/1kg mangosteens as part of our dessert treat from Yong Zen

Laos baby!!

 So, I was in Laos for two weeks as most of you know by now for an overseas learning project. We mainly visited Vientiane and Luang Prabang and traveled to and from the villages and Luang Prabang by boat along the Mekong river. Even though the trip was both physically and mentally taxing, we had quite a bit of relaxation time and with the sponsorship and assistance of YMCA and engineering companies Rezeca Renewables and Yingli Solar, the project was overall a success. During the strenuous course, the food helped us to a great extent to unwind. Even though the food was quite bland for an Indian's taste during the stay in the villages, our freelance guide and self-proclaimed chef did his best to give us a bite of all the famous Laotian dishes and he did so by cooking them on his own, with some guidance from Mr. Phuviang, the translator/ receptionist who accompanied us as well and few villagers.

The first night that we arrived in Luang Prabang, we were in for a grand treat. They took us to an elegant restaurant called Tamnak Lao Restaurant. We had a fair share of a typical Laotian fare: chicken cooked in coconut milk, watercress soup, Lao special sausages, bamboo shoots fried in rice flour batter, sticky rice and Mok Pa which is fish steamed in banana leaf. We ended the meal with fresh fruits.

While we were in the village Mr. Tae cooked various authentic dishes for us namely Luang Prabang salad which is watercress mixed with peanuts, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs in a salad dressing; Khao Poon or Lao Laksa which is Lao style rice vermicelli noodle soup with watercress and beansprouts; variations of bamboo shoot dishes; Rice porridge with pork/ chicken; caviar with lemon grass; different types of soups and meat dishes. His cooking deserves a thumbs up, even though I'm not used to that kind of rice. The salad and porridge especially deserved and received three helpings.

During the Rest and Relaxation ( R & R) weekend in between, we tried out local dishes such as sausages and pineapple fried rice and an extremely posh Western restaurant where we had a sumptuous quota of pizza, tartines, pasta, quiches, steaks and desserts. The bigshots from the various companies chose to be welcomed by a Mookata restaurant in Luang Prabang.

In the first village we were bid farewell with a dish of a fresh catch from the Mekong river. In the second village, a pig was slaughtered in front of the leaders' eyes and its various parts were cooked differently to be served for the farewell/ appreciation dinner. At night, not only did we get the pork but some of the pig's hair and blood on our platter. 'Dubious' is the most subtle word that I can use to describe both experiences.

Among the other miscellaneous items that we ate/drank, the Khao Tom (sweet dish made of rice wrapped in banana leaf cooked in coconut milk), Tam Mak Hoong ( spicy papaya salad, which was too spicy for most of our tastes), Lao Iced Coffee, BeerLao and Lau Lao (rice whiskey) were the most memorable. The pineapples from Luang Prabang outskirts are the sweetest I've had so far and the rambutans, litchis and mangosteens are commendable as well.

Posing with the fresh Mekong catch

Laotian speciality and airline food

Banana flowers and pineapples

Mookata: Thai-style BBQ Steamboat

Pig being slaughtered for our farewell dinner

Mr. Tae's Luang Prabang Salad

Pineapple fried rice with stir-fried vegetables

Rice porridge with pork and egg, delicious!

Western food is a hot favorite among tourists in Luang Prabang

Preparation for Khao Poon, Lao style noodle soup

Watercress soup and chicken cooked in coconut milk

Sticky rice with Mok Pa 

Lao special sausages

Mr. Tae's caviar with lemongrass

Maggots anyone?

Go gaga over Lao iced coffee with condensed milk

Cheers

Photos from: Wei Sum's, Grace's, Jia Wen's and my camera

Peri Peri

I've passed by Nando's a hundred times and wondered about the kind of cuisine they serve, never had a chance until now to explore it. I was somehow under an extremely wrong impression that it serves Malaysian food. Among others, someone said it's Indian food which horrified me even more, another confidently said - TexMex, I gullibly believed. But no, its origin is pretty twisted. It is a South African food chain serving mainly Portuguese-Mozambiquan dishes with an amalgamation of western, middle-eastern and Mediterranean cuisines.

Nando's pungent sauces suit my palette

Its signature dish called Peri Peri Chicken is worth every cent. Peri Peri is actually a kind of capsicum also known as African Bird's Eye Chili and is the main ingredient in the marinade. The chicken is marinated along with spices and one of Nando's many Peri Peri sauces (you can choose from Mild, Lemon & Herb, Hot or Extra Hot) for 24 hours, grilled and served. If you're a bread person, the wraps, pitas and burgers with sides make a good deal. The spicy rice is too high on turmeric, you can literally taste the turmeric. The potato wedges dipped in garlic sauce are finger licking good. If you're a chicken lover, quit going to KFC for the umpteenth time, visit Nando's for the rustic seasonings, unique salads and the 'something specials'.

Peri Peri Chicken with fries and corn on the cob

15$ will get you a fulfilling meal. I give Nando's a 4 out of 5.

Picture Sources: Internet

Mind Games

Go here for the games, don't go here for the food I say! The food is not abhorring but it's not great either - a diplomatic way to say it, but the board games make it worth the experience. The Mind Cafe, Singapore, is no ordinary cafe, and proves that the proverb 'Don't judge a book by the cover' holds true. It boasts around 2000 board games (and many more to be added soon)- from the common favorites such as UNO and snakes and ladders to some unheard, but equally fascinating ones. Do pay it a visit with a relatively large group of friends. As for the food, no high expectations please! The waiters were confused, ran out of few desserts and main courses, messed up some orders, cropped me out of the group photo where everyone was supposed to be in. *grumble grumble* Anyway, the games are fun.

Looks scrumptious

This kept many awake throughout the night

Dubious salmon-containing pasta dish

:)

:D

:P

Candid

Dirty mind

Once a klutz always a klutz

Everyone doing what they do best

Are you one of them?

Mustard, a Punju-Bong fusion!

Mustard, the only commendable Bengali restaurant (and that too, half Bengali) is one which serves both Punjabi and Bengali fare as "mustard" is a common ingredient for many popular Bengali as well as Punjabi dishes. It has a pretty decent list of authentic Bengali items to choose from - Mochar Ghonto and all that jazz and an award-winning Chingri Maacher Malai Curry (prawns cooked in coconut milk, and in this case served in a coconut and also having coconut oil as one of the major ingredients) is not worth the hype and is pretty much dubious. The snack we ordered was pretty good and the main courses just average. The dessert tasted totally different from what it's supposed to taste like. So if you're craving for Bengali food in Singapore, do give Mustard a shot, but let me warn you, the portions are going to be paltry, the taste mediocre and it's going to burn a big (I mean really big) hole in your pocket. Unless of course, you have an aunt who owns the restaurant, I know a guy like that, but not well enough to get free meals from Mustard. :P

Fish cutlets with aam-kasundir chaatni 

Ilish Maachher Paturi

Kosha Maangsho

Malai Curry

Kesar Pista and Phirni