Thasevi Food- That Famous Jalan Kayu Roti Prata.

You know, whenever people talk about roti prata, there's bound to be someone that will say "Roti prata in Jalan Kayu." They're as closely related as vampires are to twilight. Of course, many swears about how good it is. Therefore, me and my makan kakis went to try it out to see how good this practically legendary pratas are.

(That's some daring statement.)

Before I start talking about how their pratas were, please look at the photo above this paragraph: They actually dare hang a banner that says that they are the "Awarded Best Roti Prata In Singapore". Well Since they have to guts to put that up, their pratas better be good man... (Also, one thing's for sure: The restaurant's name is as long as heck: Thasevi Food Famous Jalan Kayu Prata Restaurant.)

Just so you guys know, their menus are mounted on the wall. And I recommend everyone to take a good look at it before offering. Trust me. (Have a sneak peak of what I mean by looking below this texts)

(Prata= $0.90. Prata + Ice Cream= $6.)

(Plain Prata- $0.90)

So yeah, about the pratas. When I saw them, my first impression was "Damn, that's some small prata." However, I must add that they prata are crispier than most prata I had. However, I have one very simple complain: The pratas are way too thick. For the curry, it was quite nice in fact! It had just the right amount of spiciness and tartness, without being too watery. One thing's for sure: This don't deserve the title of "Best Awarded Roti Prata In Singapore". 'Cause if it does, I'd have to travel overseas to try some roti pratas that actually deserve such honorable title. (4/5)

(Not exactly what you'll call happy.)

As you can tell from the photo above, most of us were rather disappointed at the prata, since it is the most famous roti prata in Singapore, you would expect something better than this, right?

Conclusion

Big time, majorly overated. Do not bother going there if you're expecting the best roti pratas you'd ever tasted. (Unless you have never eaten pratas before or have a problem with your taste buds.)

(Just so you guys have an idea how we felt when waiting for the pratas to be ready, here's an illustration.)

(He looks so happy... If he only knows what's coming up next.)

Thasevi Food
237 & 239 Jalan Kayu
64811573
Opened 24 Hours
 
P.S. If anyone sees a similarity between himself and the picture of the roti prata, it is merely coincidental. However, we do find the similarity hilarious.

Menya Shinchan- Care for some Extra Hot Double Cold Noodle?

I have to say it has been say 5 months since I last updated the blog, but it is necessary for me to once again say that this blog is solely for the sake of interest, in no means am I really caring about fame and whatnot as that only makes blogging lose its meaning.

I have also made a single yet significant change to this blog: I have deleted the tagboard. Say the truth, I find the tagboard unnecessary and therefore deleted it. Not as though it makes any difference anyway.

So I'd visited Menya Shinchan recently, it is a Ramen restaurant that is rather small and therefore gives you a feeling that you are currently visiting somebody's house. Not a bad idea but the amount of seats avaliable is rather little.

As this is a Japanese restaurant open by a Japanese, it is completely understandable for them to include their own language into the menu. Therefore, it is also completely understandable for you to not understand them. Luckily, despite the waitresses to be Japanese as well, their comprehension of english is of acceptable level and so is their pronounciation. Therefore, I urge those who lacks the skill of reading Japanese or understand Japanese phrases to approach them as what you ordered may be very different from what you are expecting.

(Look at the menu!)

An example would be the Extra Hot Double Tsukemen ($15), if you have no idea what I just said, congrats- you are just like me when I saw it. Apparently, this is cold noodle with 2 different bowls of spicy dipping sauce, hence the name. I know that it is probably my Singaporean tastebuds, but their supposedly spiciness never hit me. It all seem like it was a miso flavoured dipping sauce with chili oil on it. It is not bad, just that the flavour should be more intense (4/5)

 Extra Hot Double Tsukemen ($15)

I had the Madame Sinjiro ($12). For those for don't know, Jiro is a rather new kind of ramen, in fact, some people do not consider Jiro in the family of ramen at all. Jiro uses a thicker kind of noodle that is in between the thickness of ramen and udon, which can be compared to yellow noodle. Also, it has a hill-high amount of beansprouts and cabbage. The soup is pork broth with shoyu, and includes little bits of pork fat on top of it. I for one is quite in favour of it, with the crunchy vegetables adding to the texture. However, the ingredients plays a bigger role than the noodle, which I think that's a little awkward. Also, to those with small appetites, don't bother eating this-you'll never finish it. (4.25/5)

Madame Sinjiro ($12)

Anyone who had the most basic ideas about ramen would be familiar with the Shoyu Ramen ($11), well theirs I think is rather lacking in taste. Even though we had chose the one with a richer broth, I find that the umami taste is not quite there, Shu Yuan disagrees with me otherwise (Therefore, it's necessary to bring people to your makan trips, people have different taste preferences after all) (4/5)

Shoyu Ramen ($11)

Out of all the dishes we tried, I found the Spicy Pork Ramen ($11) the most disappointing. Just like the Extra Hot Double Cold Tsukemen, I do not taste the spice. Therefore, I think I will skip the supposedly spicy dishes the next time I come here. (4/5)

Spicy Pork Ramen ($11)

Of course, there is the Pork Tsukemen ($13) which I will say stole the spotlight for the whole trip! It is really about the dipping sauce, which is thick and creamy, similar to those braised sauce. This is a must-try if you come here! (4.6/5)

Pork Tsukemen ($13)

Conclusion

Simply put, this is a rather home style restaurant, all the way from the size to the decor. Just come in, grab a manga magazine that is next to the front door and enjoy a scrumptous bowl of ramen!

Oh yeah, who would like to try some Salty Dog!

(Salty... Dog?)

Minor details:
Charshu (4.25/5)
Ramen (4/5)
Jiro (4.25/5)
Tsukemen (4.25/5)

Menya Shinchan
30 Robertson Quay
#01-05 Riverside View
Singapore 238251
Tel: 67320114
11.30a.m. to 3p.m.
6.30p.m. to 10p.m.
6p.m. to 10p.m. (Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays)

Dog Meat- It's not cruelty!

First up, I really want to apologise for not updating this blog for so long, it's been more than a month since I touch this blog! I'm sorry that there will be no photos for the time being until I manage to upload it through someone else's computer.



I would want to say that unlike many other people, I do not at the very least believe that eating dog meat is anywhere considered animal cruelty. Think about it, we eat chicken, duck, pork. To us, they may be merely animals cultivated in farms to be on our dinner table. However, other countries keep them as animals. So? Does it mean that just because we keep dogs as domesticated animals, eating them is wrong? Just like there are chicken cultivated as our dinner, the same goes to dogs, so there is absolutely no meaning to go all teary eyes about it.



Anyway, it was I myself who asked my buddy's parent to bring me to go somewhere to try dog meat. Actually, there is a whole list of rather exotic food that I am interested to try- and balut is definition at the top of my list. So they brought me to a korean restaurant to have my first taste of dog meat!



To get myself ready, first come the 2 appetisers: Kimchi and Dried Tofu. They aren't really anything extraordinary and I am never fan of kimchi so I would rather not elaborate on them.



Next is surprisingly, probably my favourite dish in my whole China trip (Actually, it may not seem such a surprise as we have almost the same breakfast, lunch and dinner thanks to the school's systematic- not to mention boring, planning.)! It was simply called Cold Noodle. Actually, the real version of it was to have crushed ice to be poured on the noodle. As they ran out of ice, we have to make do with iced water.



It was nothing fanciful, really. All it was was a bowl of noodle with soup, accompanied by cucumber slices, beef slices, half a hard-boiled egg and corriander (Which I took out as I have close to zero tolerance to that soap-tasting vegetable.). Maybe it was due to the ice cold soup, but the noodle was super springy, the bite is so good that you can tell which strand of noodle you are biting at distinctly. The soup was also pretty good with a hint of sour, but it was really the noodle that made this dish stand out.



Finally, the dog meat's here. To taste the very flavour of dog meat, I decided to order the Dog Meat Mixed Plate, which is thick dog meat that has been simply boiled and sliced. To accompany it, there was a bowl of chili which I would say taste really similar to the chili used for duck rice, just without the ikan bilis.



The dog meat look like a piece of overcooked pork with pig trotter's skin and fats and the taste is pretty much like how I just described. The meat was really dry inside and there is a gelatinized layer on the outside, making it a little chewy on the outside.



According to my buddy's parents, dog meat is commonly eaten in the Northern part of China not as delicacy but as a way to keep warmth. How true is that I do not really know as the temperature in the area I went to is around 20 degree celcius so it was rather unncessary to keep warm.



Would I eat dog meat again? Sure, but I wouldn't spend the effort to go all the way to China just for it. It's just a 'heatier' version of pork in my opinion.

Qing Xiang Ting Hot & Cold Dessert- If only I don't have asthma...

(Will be overseas next week and having a lot of camps and chalet going on, so won't be updating much.)

Just in case you guys wonder why I have such a weird title for this post, I had asthma about 2 days after this lil makan trip, and I can safely say that the desserts from this stall is the main culprit- along with weather that turns from sunny to rainy every 15 minutes.

Oh also, I can say that this is a lucky find for me, as I was actually planning to try another dessert stall at the same food centre but forgotten the name of the stall. But hey, I can safely say that this is the best stall I tried in the whole trip, with the rest being food that simply does not match my taste bud one bit.

     Cendol- $1

So the first dessert I have was Cendol, the pandan flavour and coconut milk was very strong but well balanced. Really love the pandan jelly that was so smooth it just slithers down to my throat! The taste from the gula melaka is not sweet (This may mean that it is a little to plain for some of you guys as I am very sensitive to sweetness). However, I felt that the peanut was a little too dry and powdery. (4.25/5- Good bowl of cendol, powdery peanuts however.)

                        Cheng Tng- $1 (Without Gingko Nuts)

This is the star of the whole trip! Actually, there is still many other really famous stall at that area that I haven't tried yet, hopefully they will open the next time I go to Toa Payoh for a visit again. Anyway, the Cheng Tng was really awesome! The soup was sweet but it does not dry your throat and was really cooling for a rather messed-up day. There was white fungus, barley, longan and sago jelly. The only disappointment in this was the rather tasteless sago jelly. (4.5/5- Great bowl of Cheng Tng, just do something about the sago jelly.)

Qing Xiang Ting Hot & Cold Dessert

Blk 22 Toa Payoh Lor 7

Tian Tian Lai (Come Daily) Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee (Main)- THIS is from the main stall?!

Yes, the ol' man is back with a new blog post! I recently heard about something dissing about my blog, saying that the photos are disgusting and the layout sucks. Well, I will be damned to have the cheek to say that I am a good photographer, I am FAR from that. I mean, I don't even have my own camera yet! (Thanks to the stupid fact that my old one died on me...) Anyway, I generally like my layout besides the fact that it does not allow breaks. However, I must point out that the photo in my previous post was meant to look disgusting as the food tasted really bad and I think deserved to look gross. I don't even think it can look a lot better if I try to make it look visually appetizing anyway.

For this stall, I can safely say that this is perhaps one of the most raved about fried hokkien prawn mee stall in Singapore! However, I do not think that it lived to all that hype that people gave, saying that it is filled with crustacean flavour. Just for visual impact (And hopefully not looking too disgusting), I have took the photo in a rather "interesting" angle.

                                Hokkien Fried Prawn Mee, $3

That right, it was a rather interesting sight to see that the noodle was only able to fill up 2/3 of the bowl, leaving the other 1/3 looking sparkling clean.  I was thinking, why couldn't the hawker just spread out the noodle to at the very least deceive his customers thinking that the whole plate is filled with noodle? Never mind that, time to talk about how this taste. Firstly, this is those gooey type noodle which I prefer, they uses thick bee hoon which is also my preference! The ratio of yellow noodle with thick bee hoon is just nice. However, they cook this noodle just enough, so it was firm. I personally do not like that at all, I find that hokkien fried prawn mee is good mainly for its stock and the soft noodle! The chili is nice with quite a bit of dried shrimp. Like all their branch stalls, they are really stingy on the prawns. All we got was 2 tiny pieces of prawns (You can see one peeking out of the noodle in the photo). Ryan and I both do not like it as it taste rather charred instead of the 'wok hei' taste, which ruined the fact that they do have quite a good stock. Also, it gets a little 'jia lat' after a few bites. We simply finished it to not waste food. (3/5- The branch stalls are surprisingly better!)

I know that a lot of foodies insist that this stall is perhaps one of the best hokkien prawn mee stall but I beg to differ. Oh well, taste is acquired, so I guess I am just not into firm noodle unlike the majority?

Blk 127 Toa Payoh Lorong 1

#02-27 Toa Payoh Lorong 1 Food Centre

Singapore 310127

Open Tues-Sun from 9.30am to 9pm

Closed on Mondays

19 Cooked Food- Cashier with buzzer spoiled?

Firstly, I want to apologise to those who came with me for makaning that day. I seriously did not expect so many stalls to be closed. This is one of those 'down on my luck' days I guess.

I'm sure most of you guys have watched "Buzzing Cashier", the show on Channel 8 which every episode, renowned chefs teach hawkers who cook stuff into such a way that, I wouldn't eat them even if you pay me! The show is  I didn't really watch this show after its first season as firstly, the time slot always clash with my schedule and secondly, which is also my main reason, is that most 'students' always show attitude, that they just do stuff any old how they like, talking back, giving excuses- generally not showing a interest to make their own lives better. I know there have been a few really good and successful throughout the two series so this is the first stall from the stall I have tried!

Actually, when I went to the stall, it looked empty and I thought that it was closed until the stall owner came from a corner and get my order. Not a really good start. But never mind, it is the food that counts. And the moment the food was served...

I was disappointed.

Hokkien Mee-$3

I mean, is this really all that is to be learned from a renowned chef? When the food came, I just stared and go "No... This is not worth my money man..." But still, I did try it- and I didn't like it. Firstly, the vegetables were hard and bitter. There was a mollusc in there but it there was barely any meat and seem more like a garnish. The prawn was not shelled which I am actually ok with it. However, it was MUSHY. Yes, mushy, also known as 'not fresh'. The noodle is actually the best thing in the whole dish as it still manages to keep its texture, that it actually was firm. The chili was also ok it has alot of 'hei bee' (Dried prawns) in it. The gravy was salty and was slightly bitter, but it actually makes it not so monotonous. (2/5- Do something about the ingredients and really get that cashier buzzing!)

Vivian told me that this stalled is owned by a mother of some people from her school. Sorry that my ratings might seem harsh but I can't force myself to really write much good stuff about it...

19 Cooked Food

Toa Payoh Block 127 Food Centre

If only I have a Canon DSLR...

First up, congratulations to all the winners for the Nuffnang Regional Blog Awards! It was a real shame I didn't go for the awards ceremony, it would be such an honour to see some of the best bloggers in Asia Pacific. People like ieat, Miao, Kenny Sia are all people that I really respect and had been a fan of them for quite some time. However, I would probably look like some kid that was seperated with his parents between all the crowd ba? Also, I really wished I had participated and somehow, by extreme luck, get into the Best Hidden Gem award! I do not even mind not winning the award, the very fact that I get nominated between all these wonderful and amazing bloggers already fill my heart with joy!

As a food blogger, there is something that I feel really ashamed about: the fact that I have NO CAMERA! Well, actually, I did have a compact camera, but thanks to the fact that not everyday's Sunday, it has to be broken before I start out this blog. Luckily, I do have some really wonderful friends (that are also some really wonderful food critics) that had been lending me their cameras for the past 4 months. 

Despite the fact that I (Most of the time) is able to borrow cameras from my friends, I generally feel like this every time...

Well, look at the guy on the left, I think he represents me pretty well! You can see that 'I' am really focused and trying the best to take a really good shot of the food, but there is just something that is lacking. The fact that I do not have my own camera and am nothing more than a poor Secondary School student who is not able to afford his camera doesn't really help make me feel better 1 bit. If only I am able to have my own Canon DSLR camera, that I can take high-quality photos of my food. I am sure that will bring a smile to my face!

Now look at the huge difference! Taking photos does not necessarily means that I have to take picture of  fancy, gourmet food served in a 5-star restaurant! With a Canon DSLR, I can take a photo of something as simple as bread, and with enough photography skill, I can make something so simple look delicious and fanciful in my photos! Of course, if I want to improve in my photography skill, it is essential that I have the equipments needed, so a Canon DSLR is a must-have for me!

Of course, I have a wish that someday, my blog would be recognized and I would receive awards like ieat, one of my favourite food bloggers ever! For me, it is not about winning the award, it is about the fact that the amount of effort I put into my blog is actually being recognized makes me happy! Of course, one of the deciding factors for a good food blog is whether the photos I take look appetizing and attracts readers to regularly read my blog! Thus, getting a Canon DSLR would make it more possible for me to achieve this dream of mine!

Of course, even though I may be a food blogger, I will not only take photos of food with my camera. I have this habit of taking photos of what is typical in our life, like a wall with a crack of it. It may seem boring and mundane but with the right angle and good camera, even something as common as that would look like an artwork in the hands of a photographer!

I hope that readers of this blog do support me, this poor student who only has enough money for recess and lunch to get his hands on a Canon camera! Do vote for me by clicking the button below! 

My Favourite Canon Moment!