Category Archives: # Die die must try!

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe 早安南洋 (Sembawang)

*Been busy lately and am going overseas for work for 1 week. Next post is likely at least 1.5 weeks later* =)

First ate at Good Morning Nanyang Cafe at its Chinatown’s outlet. Back then there was only that outlet and I have not started this blog. The Chinatown outlet was too far for me to visit frequently. I was thrilled when I heard that they have recently opened another outlet at Sembawang Shopping Centre. I have been craving for their Orange Ciabatta Toast for sometimes!

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe is similar to Yakun, Killiney and Toast Box seling breakfast sets such as Kaya Toast, half boiled eggs, coffee/tea. Their differentiation point is their kaya(which is home-made) and Orange Ciabatta Toast.

Decided to visit this place for late lunch (230pm) on a Sunday.

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe seems to have undergone some changes. The signage has changed. The menu has changed with some new items. The price has also changed. One thing I must mention is that their location at Sembawang Shopping Centre is a prime location! It is located Just along the main entrance of the shopping centre. With the glass walls, anyone who walks into the shopping centre will definitely see Good Morning Nanyang Cafe!

Moreover, noticed that the shop was quite crowded (230pm to 4pm). More than Fish & Co next door which was virtually empty except for one customer.

Notice the sink hidden at the left? Now you can crack your half boiled eggs and eat your toast with ease without the need to walk to the toilets to wash your hands.

Menu

Menu: Toast Sets and Local Delights

Tea

The tea was too sweet. Should have ordered their coffee instead since everyone (online)  has been praising about its coffee.

Queue Number Tag

Queue number tag for the rest of the orders (Orange Ciabatta, Laksa and Mee Rebus).

Laksa $4.00

Surprisingly, the Laksa was served faster than the Orange Ciabatta. There were pieces of dried toufu, fish cakes, hums, 1 whole piece of hard boiled egg, a piece of prawn accompanied by thick bee hoon. The prawn was firm and has been de-shelled, it was fresh. The laksa gravy was slightly spicy. As a whole, it was not lousy nor was it fantastic. Felt it could have been more fragrant and that more dried shrimps could be added. For now, I would still prefer 928 Yishun Laksa (have been almost 1 year since my last visit there).

Mee Rebus $3.60

I am not an expert in eating Mee Rebus (can’t comment much). The sauce was not bad accompanied by yellow noodles, beansprouts,  toufu, 1 whole hard boiled egg, 1 piece of lime and pieces of green chilli.

Orange Ciabatta Toast $2.80

Ciabatta is an Italian white bread made with yeast and wheat flour.

The Orange Ciabatta is unlike the tradition toast you get in Yakun and is much softer.   It is baked with orange peel served with butter and kaya spread. It arrived warm and came slightly later than Laksa! (though that Laksa would come later as some cooking is required. Much effort has been done to make this Ciabatta.) Oh yes, did I mention that the kaya is home-made. The Kaya tasted different from Yakun’s and was much more fragrance (not overly sweet) with a hint of coconut. I can eat this everyday! Yummy!

The Orange Ciabatta is a must try! Because of this item, I would rate this as a ‘die die must try!’ store.

Shuttle Bus Schedule

The good news is that there is free shuttle bus to Sembawang Shopping Centre for residents living in Yishun, Sembawang and Woodlands. The bus service is quite frequent. Operating hours of the bus service is stated in the flyer above.

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe 早安南洋 (Sembawang)
604 Sembawang Road
#01-01 Sembawang Shopping Centre
Tel: 8133 1882
Opening Hours: Mon–Fri 9am – 9pm
Sat–Sun & PH  8.30am – 9pm

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe 早安南洋 ( Hong Lim Green Community Centre)
20, Upper Pickering Street Singapore
Tel: 8133 1882
Opening Hours: Mon–Fri 730am – 730pm 
                          Sat, Sun & PH 830am – 530pm

 Good Morning Nanyang Cafe 早安南洋 (Shenton Way)
108 Robinson Road #01-00

Tel: 8133 1882
Opening Hours: Mon–Fri  7.30am – 7pm 
                                 (Closed on Sat–Sun)

 

The Kelong Restaurant (Bintan) (2nd Post)

This is my 2nd post on ‘The Kelong Restaurant’ in Bintan, Indonesia. The first can be found here.

Went over to Bintan over a weekend again. Things at Bintan can be expensive even food. Most people will be wondering what to eat in Bintan? What is delicious and yet value for money? Well, I have the answer for you… The Kelong Restaurant!We like it so much that we went back there again.

Shuttle Bus schedule to The Kelong Restaurant (sorry for blur photo)

There are free shuttle buses within the Nirwana Group of Resorts that will make a stop at The Kelong Restaurant.

The Kelong Restaurant is set up on stilts in the sea. It has a open concept so that the breeze from the sea will blow in. This time, the breeze blowing in was continuous and strong. So strong that we felt cold and turned our food cold within a short period of time despite it arrive pipping hot!

Menu Cover (newly redesigned)

Menu (Soup)

We ordered the Tom Yam Soup again. Small one for $14

Tom Yam Soup

Tom Yam Soup

The waiter served the Tom Yam Soup for us into 2 smaller bowls (which you see in the pictures above), yet there was still half a bowl(big) of soup remaining filled with ingredients. Consistent taste; same as what it tasted like 6 months ago. Right amount of sourness and right amount of spiciness that was perfect for me. Prawns, mussels, carrots, mushrooms, squids and even flower crab! The prawns were very fresh, the meat was firm and can be separated easily from the shell. The flower crab despite it being small was equally fresh too. The meat was easily separated from its shell and was sweet.

Menu (Chicken)

Crispy Chicken (Half Portion) $13

We had to order Crispy Chicken again. Again the quality of food was consistent! The outer chicken skin was so crispy and delicious that it would have been a waste if we did not eat it.

Menu (Sizzling & Clay Pot)

Sze Chuan Tofu $12

Thought that this the Sze Chuan Tofu will be very spicy. Surprisingly, it was not. There were lots of toufu, mushrooms, squids, prawns and carrots. The toufu was deep fried and there was a layer of egg at the bottom of the hot plate. Some slices of salted fish might enhanced the taste more. Quite a decent dish of hotplate beancurd that is much better than those at restaurants and coffeeshops in Singapore.. But due to the first 2 ‘stars’ this was an average dish that day.

Menu (Fresh Vegetables & Beancurd)

Baby Kailan with Oyster Sauce $12

Kailan is one of my favourite vegetables. Crunchy and taste great with oyster sauce. The vegetable look so green and taste so fresh! Well cooked!

Damage to the wallet: SGD64.13. Singapore dollar is used here, so Singaporeans do not need to change currency to Rupiah.

We were looking at the next table with 5 person (4ladies and a guy) and we realised that we ordered a similar amount of food as them. Only then did it occur to us that we have ordered alot of food for 2 person! Are we that big eaters I wonder..

If you are going to Bintan. Most of the prices there are similar to singapore prices and you might feel rip off if you insist on dinning in the resort itself. If you are willing to spend, why not go to Kelong Restaurant. At least, you get great tasting food instead of paying more and yet getting lousy food. Considering what we ate, $32 per pax was value for money. Worth it! Moreover, despite the place being filled to the brim, service was very good as they had many waiters and waitresses.

The reason why the food is so fresh:

(sorry for blur picture)

If you are in Bintan, this is a ‘die die must try’ place. Wish that it was located in Singapore.

Tip: If you are going there for dinner on a weekend at around 7pm to 9pm, do ask the hotel to make reservation for you.

The Kelong Restaurant
Nirwana Gardens, Jalan Panglima Pantar
Lagoi 29155, Bintan Resort 
Tel: (62) 770 692 789
Opening Hours: Daily 11:00 – 22:30
There are free shuttle buses within the Nirwana Group of Resorts that will make a stop here.


Lao Ban Soya Beancurd 老伴豆花

Please kindly comment in this post instead. http://foodiefc.blogspot.com/2011/09/lao-ban-soya-beancurd.html Thank you

*Edited 11 Sept 2011* Lao Ban Soya Beancurd has opened a new branch at Maxwell Food Centre. Location and operation hours are stated at end of this post.

Lao Ban Soya Beancurd 老伴豆花 is a must try if you ever step into Old Airport Road Hawker Centre.

As I am writting this, I got to know of an article which was written by KF Seetoh about this stall. Click here for the link.

This was taken when I was there the first time during lunch time on a weekday. It was sold out, there was only almond favour left. (not a fan of almond) Instead, we went to try its competitor ‘51 Soya Bean‘. Will do a separate review at a much later time. The comparison is that Lao Ban Soya Beancurd is so much better/nicer.

On the 2nd visit, also during a weekday lunch time. My colleague went to queue for it. At least 15-20 minutes wait. I was told by my friend who went over during weekend that he queued 40minutes for this! If you notice carefully as you queue or eat in the hawker centre, some customers can buy 20 packets of this!

Their soya beancurd comes in original or almond flavour. The more popular favour is original which gets sold out first.

Beancurd (Original) $1.50

The beancurd looks so ordinary, plain. But well, looks can be deceiving! This beancurd is so soft, smooth, silky and looks like a jelly pudding. And unlike the normal beancurd (Tau Huay) that most Singaporeans are familiar with, this does not comes with sweet syrup. This beancurd practically melts in your mouth and liquid seems to burst out in your mouth. Moreover, it is just slide down your throat. At $1.50, this is a relatively cheap dessert!

Trust me, give this a try and you will not regret it.If it is sold out in the afternoon, there will be another batch out in the evening.

Warning: once you eat this, it will never be the same eating other type of beancurds. 

*edited 11 Sept 2011*
Lao Ban Soya Beancurd 老伴豆花 (Main Branch)

51 Old Airport Road
#01-127 Old Airport Road Food Centre
Tel: 81812201
Main enquiry line: 8299-8211 (For SMS orders)

Opening Hours: Tue–Sat  1130am – 8pm  (1130 and 1830 2 batches)
                                 Sun 1pm – 8pm (1300 and 1900 2 batches)
(Closed on Mon)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Laobansoya 

Lao Ban Soya Beancurd (Maxwell Food Centre)
Maxwell Road

#01-91 Maxwell Food Centre
Tel: 8299 8211 (For SMS orders)
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 1130am-4pm (1 batch)
(Closed on Sun) 

Please kindly comment in this post instead. http://foodiefc.blogspot.com/2011/09/lao-ban-soya-beancurd.html Thank you