A & W @ Jewel

After a very long wait, A & W is finally back in Singapore! You know the excitement if I have to queue 2 hours just to have this meal even after a couple of weeks since Jewel opened its doors officially to the public. This is actually a throwback post. I've been holding out for the A & W waffles but guess it is not happening in the short term. It was already 9pm when we got our food and I'm kinda on a diet so didn't want to push to eat waffles at this time.

My friend picked the cream cheeze chicken combo ($10.90) which comes with cream cheese burger,  curly fries and drink. I guess to be honest, fast food is fast food. The expectation cannot be out of this world. It's definitely a good burger as long as you know you are having fast food.

As for my 2 Piece Fried Chicken Combo ($8.90) it's very much an American fried chicken. For most american style fried batter, it has this distinct charred taste that isn't very oily. While it isn't my kind of favourite, it's authentic american fried chicken.

Personally, I was more excited with my root beer float (+60 cents from my meal). It is definitely what I imagined and reminded me of my childhood days. It's 100% A&W. This makes me happy because it's probably what I queued for. I couldn't remember the mains that A&W served because I was too young and there's no memory besides the waffles and the root beer float.

The million dollar question got to be is it worth the queue? Honestly, no. Queuing 2 hours for fast food is crazy. My friend was nudging me to queue for Shake Shack instead but I already tried it in London and no way was I going to queue for that in Singapore. In fact, I felt a little crazy queuing for this even. I mean, if you have the means to travel overseas, surely 2 hours can be better spent doing something else?

If not for the passion of blogging about food, there's no way I would have queued for this.

A & W
78 Airport Boulevard, #B2-209, Jewel Changi 

Ministry of Burgers - Popular Pasar Malam Food Available All Year Round

Whenever I pass by a pasar malam, my first inclination is to contemplate if I wish to purchase a Ramly burger. Afterall you don't get to indulge in this craving all the time except when you chance upon a night market. Most of the time though, I get put off by the price tag and the fact that it is takeaway. So I jumped at the chance when my friend told me there's a dine in burger joint in Singapore serving this popular pasar malam indulgence.

Ministry of Burgers lets every Ramly burger fan have their cravings satisfied throughout the year without the hassle of hunting down the latest pasar malam and you get to enjoy your burger in air-con! Granted that their dine-in area is small and they probably cater to a wider takeaway crowd, I'm still glad this option is available.

The MoB burger comes in beef, chicken or fish patty ($3.90 single patty). You also can choose the double patty option. Each burger comes with sauce and an egg wrapped around it. Cheese and veggie are add ons at $0.80 each. As a whole, the bread feels rather dry unlike other buns from the more recognizable fast food chains. Perhaps this is to stay true to the spirit of your pasar malam treat. While the dish feels authentic, I haven't indulged in sufficient Ramly burgers to rate the burger. I'm pretty certain our mainstream fast food joints needn't view them as competition though.

Just like other fast food, you can order a combo (w/fries and drinks @$6.10 inclusive of burger). As there's customization, I paid an additional $0.60 for my briyani fries and $4.60 for my lightning drink. What you see in the photo is the briyani fries on the right and the cheese fries on the left. I'd say that while the fries are sufficiently tasty, be sure to drink lots of water.

This lightning drink ($5.90) comes in a number of colours with flavours ranging from tropical, mango, rose and vanilla. The blue one I tried is basically frizzy rose syrup with LED lights flashing. My friend thinks this is overpriced while I personally enjoyed the drink.

I'd like to credit the staff and team for their passionate approach to their business. I felt very welcomed and they were really hospitable. I also felt their sincerity in wanting the business to be successful. Simply for this reason, I urge everyone who is around White Sands to give these entrepreneurs a chance. As a business, I hope to try an improved version of their Ramly burger the next time I visit their joint. Because they are a restaurant, I think it'll be ingenuity if they succeed in retaining the spirit of the Ramly burger while improving the quality, like a juicier bun to start with.

Ministry of Burgers
1 Pasir Ris Central Street 3, #01-30, White Sands Shopping Centre

Food to enjoy while travelling solo in London

London, a city bursting with diversity in terms of culture, people and food. In my case, especially food. Having recently upgraded my iPhone camera to the Olympus Pen E Pl-8, I pretty much structured my itinerary around taking photos this trip. The photo you see here is the classic red telephone booth with the under-construction Big Ben in the background. Aside from scenery which might be reserved for another post in the future, travelling solo while Vain Pot works means that I've to find 1 person meals.

Shake Shack

Shake Shack is a fast-food chain originating from New York. Unlike other fast food chains I see in London like Subway, KFC, Burger King and Mcdonald's, Shake Shack hasn't found its way to Singapore yet. Hence, dining at Shake Shack feels like an affordable novelty for me. A beef free diet means a limited selection of burgers I can try from this fast food joint. Beef lovers will have no problems dining here. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my Chick n Shack burger a lot. It's sufficiently tender, fried till crispy without the excessive sauces found in other fast food burger joints. I'm happy the flavour isn't compromised as well. I liked it that I can customize my meal and I enjoyed the classic vanilla shake that I ordered.

Shake Shack (Covent Garden)
Covent Garden, 24 Market Building, The Piazza, WC2E 8RD

Tea Room at Bun House

Tea Room & Bun House are two concepts housed in the same location. On the top floor is the Bun House where it looks like a traditional Chinese Tea House. The Tea Room located on the basement looks really eerie for my first time visit. The green lighting coupled with the fact the place was empty when I was there made the entire experience unforgettable. I made the eerie trip to the Tea Room specially for the Fried Cheong Fun which is new on the menu. The dish met my expectations though some might find it leaning towards the saltier side. I felt that the dish achieved the wok hei taste and the egg with the runny yolk blended excellently with Fried Cheong Fun. Perhaps the owners of the restaurant can incorporate some XO sauce to complete the dish!

Tea Room at Bun House
23 Greek Street, WID 4DZ

Saint Aymes

Saint Aymes can be distinctively identified through its framed wisteria. One of the most instagrammable cafes in London, it stands out also because visitors prefer sitting outside the cafe rather than inside! Such is the popularity of the external tables, the owners placed a 1 hour dining time on them.

During my visit, I had a unicorn cookie, the cake of the day and the unicorn latte. Half the time, I was busier with my camera than pigging on the food. If you have a sweet tooth, this place is perfect for you. If not, you better love photography. I found sitting outside the cafe with delectable food while enjoying a good book (currently reading How to be a Bawse by Lily Singh) to be a very pleasurable activity. Some of the other patrons chose to people watch and simply enjoy some me-time.

Saint Aymes
59 Connaught Street, Connaught Village Hyde Park London, W2 2BB


Chin Chin Labs

Chin Chin Labs are best known for their nitrogen ice cream and hot chocolate with mashmellows. I actually went to Hawker Feast with Vain Pot. So yeap, dinner isn't solo. Still if you are alone and looking to try some street food, I felt that Chin Chin Lab's Hot Chocolate with Marshmellows to be a perfect treat to end the day. In this cooling London weather, Chin Chin Lab's hot chocolate adds a bitter sweet finale to the day. The chocolate has adequate thickness and has a hint of bitterness from dark chocolate. The thick slab of torched marshmellows offered a melted sweetness that blended perfectly with the bitter chocolate. It's an excellent beverage on a cold day.

Chin Chin Lab (Hawker Feast)
Canada Street, London SE16 7PJ
(do note that the Hawker Feast is only available on Fridays and Saturdays after 5pm)