Crackerjack

Over the radio on 88.3FM, I heard the DJs discussing what to do over weekends and how the typical choice for most people would be movies and eating out. I belong to the camp where I believe there's a lot more to do in Singapore than simply movies. Please don't get me wrong, I love the occasional indulgence in cinemas but I also feel hanging out at cinemas generally has close to no interaction and little creativity. I spent my weekend at Gardens by the Bay with dinosaurs and cherry blossoms. Yes, a little bit holiday deprived but I enjoyed the calm and serenity the flowers gave me.

I had to settle my 2FA at Tanjong Pagar so that I can use my Singpass to pay my taxes, check my CPF and renew my passport. Hence, the trip to Crackerjack! Crackerjack is a new establishment in Tanjong Pagar boasting a wide selection of brunch, lunch, dinner and bar food depending on what time of the day you visit. I was a little disappointed that the weekend brunch menu was different from the weekday lunch menu because I wanted to try the highly raved about Lentil Mushrooms Scotch Eggs. Nevertheless, the brunch menu still provided an appetizing selection to choose from.

I had my mind on the Funnel Cake ($14) even before I stepped foot  into Crackerjack, largely tempted by the drool worthy photos I see online. The funnel cake is basically fried pancake topped with bananas, candied bacon, caramel sauce and amaretto cream. The pancake on its own tasted like fried fritters (youtiao). Being someone who has a penchant for sweet food, I particularly enjoyed the combination of sweet and savoury through the fried pancake with caramel sauce. I felt that the caramelized bananas, bacon blended well with the amaretto cream and pancake, making this dish a generally safe dessert for anyone who loves sweet stuff. While there's no stand-out factor in this dish, I felt that this dish brings comfort for anyone who needs a break from the everyday cooked food and it's an added plus that it looks so camera friendly.

Vain Pot who is always complaining she's fat, chose the Sweet Potato Hash ($14). Basically its made up of breakfast sausage, kale, sweet potato and baked egg. I felt the dish was aromatic and very rich in flavour and taste. Totally my kind of thing. Vain Pot felt that the dish was so-so because she can cook the exact same dish at home. Haha, I need to vet the outcome of her cooking to agree with her. While the dish looks plain and ordinary, and like how some people might feel that brunch food is overpriced, I feel that there's merit in good execution... that's why I bother to pay a premium to dine out.

I tried to be a little more arty farty by giving a new take to the coffee photos. Crackerjack is also known for their coffees. The above coffee is called Breakfast of Champions ($6) which is Espresso with cereal milk. It's definitely a good blend and I like it that I don't need to add additional sugar. I enjoyed the thickness of the cereal milk going well with the bitterness of the espresso. Thumbs up.

I pretty much enjoyed my dining experience at Crackerjack. My biggest gripe is the different menus on weekdays and weekends. I feel this limits the experience for most working adults who don't work around the CBD area, you pretty much will never get to try some stuff. Crackerjack serves some affordable and well executed dishes, albeit the ordinary appearance and ingredients used. I also like that the Tanjong Pagar area is generally not crowded on weekends giving our hectic lives more breathing space to properly relax.

Crackerjack
43 Tanjong Pagar Road  

Tendon

This week has been food filled and busy. I feel like a bee buzzing around catching up on work after disappearing for 10 days. Christmas is round the corner and all the festive gatherings are here knocking. I'm prepared to gain weight.

Tendon is a place which has gone un-noticed by greedy me. Interestingly, I noticed the streaky queue when I was in the area the last time I came to check out Kajiken Ramen but didn't bother to find out what the queue was about. It was only after my friend brought me to the place because she wanted to try that I finally found out what everyone was queuing for. Tendon is a very authentic Japanese dining joint. They only have 2 options on the menu making it easy to choose. You either pick the Special Tendon ($13.90) which consist of meats and vegetables or Vegetable Tendon ($12.90) which is pure vegetables.

We picked the Special Tendon which has a mix of vegetables, chicken and prawns tempura on rice. The portions are very generous. We sat at the bar tables which meant we could see the chef prepare our food in front of us. The tempura were lightly battered and tasty. I like it that there wasn't any hint of oil when I bite into the food. I also enjoyed the sauce that goes with the tempura and the variety in the special menu was just right. In fact, after the meal I felt very full.

The meal also consisted of chawanmushi and miso soup and a tea. The chawanmushi was especially good and I finished mine in double quick time.

In short, Tendon allows you to experience authentic Japanese tendons without the cost of the aeroplane. It's really a perfect place for Jap food lovers but please do this when you have time to queue. Lunch break is probably a bad idea to brave the long queues. Oh one more important note, we didn't have enough cash and had to to the nearest ATM in order to settle the bill. They only accept cash.

Tendon
101 Tanjong Pagar Road

Hakumai Sushi & Omakase

This week I pretty much didn't do much besides work and squeezing in brunches in between which feels really good on weekdays. I thought I'll do a double post this month because I have been quiet for too long.

Hakumai Sushi and Omakase is my first ever Omakase ($170/pax) meal in my life. Another milestone reached. Be warned that this post would be picture heavy because it's pretty much what it really is. This occasional extravagance is mainly a treat for Vain Pot's birthday. 

Due to the photo heavy nature, I won't be doing much food introduction. Photos are pretty much self explanatory. Instead, I'll give an overall summary of the experience after you see the food. 

Appetizers:

Cooked Food:

Sushi:

Basically the sushi doesn't end till you say you are full. Vain Pot and I were really stuffed till she had to escape outside for walks on multiple occasions. 

For dessert:

The overall experience at Hakumai is summarized as satisfying and value for money. No doubt the experience is on the pricier end but I'd gladly pay to do it again. The ingredients used were very fresh, I like it that the chef bothered to introduce each dish to us. I also like it that many of the dishes I wouldn't have ordered if it's on the ala carte menu because I am not adventurous enough. It's an eye-opening experience and I feel very grateful and fortunate to be able to have such meals from time to time. 

Hakumai Sushi and Omakase

#01-50A, 10 Anson Road, International Plaza

Kajiken Ramen

The weather has been really difficult lately. I'm literally soaked in sweat every other day that I don't use carriage. So it'll probably come as little surprise that I am ill this week. The cure to illness is best done through good food (talk about greedy excuses) and thus I decided to seek remedy at the first Mazesoba Dry Ramen stall in Singapore.

Surprisingly there's no queue. Not that the place was empty, it's full house but there's only 1 or 2 people in the line and the turnover rate was fairly decent. Kajiken Ramen is the newest edition to the line of ramen restaurants at Tanjong Pagar. If you ask me, I feel that this space is getting crowded out and people are just moving from one craze to another. Keisuke Tonkotsu King which is walking distance away doesn't have a queue now. I recalled that I had to wait at least 45mins when they first opened. 

We tried the classic Mazesoba Nagoya Style ($12.80) which comes with ramen, spicy minced meat, vegetables and a soft boiled egg. It's really good! The dish isn't very oily for a dry ramen and the spicy minced meat provided a tangy taste that goes well with the rest of the ingredients. The meal comes with a small cup of soup broth which is really good on its own. Perhaps if they come up with a soup version with the broth I'll be keen to try it too. Vain Pot and I reached a consensus that ramen for all its worth are generally the same if we compared the popular ones. The key difference is really whether you like dry or soup, what kind of broth and the type of ingredients. 

I'll come back here for my dry ramen fix particularly because there's not much queue on weekends and the quality is really good for dry ramen. In my view it's an inexpensive way to treat yourself. 

Kajiken Ramen

#01-07 Orchid Hotel

1 Tras Link

(The parking at Orchid Hotel isn't wallet friendly so it'll be advisable to park elsewhere)

SPRMRKT

I'm typing this from high up in the Cingjing farm and it's cold up here. The blog post will be relatively short because the place I went was a rather impromptu visit I had yesterday after Vain Pot's dental took longer than expected and I need to rush home to pack for my trip.

We happened to be at Tanjong Pagar and just wandered around seeking food and Vain Pot led me here. The general appearance of the place generally told me its a brunch cafe but I also noticed that they offered a lot of healthier choices in the form of salads and natural juices. 

For a change from coffees and teas, we picked Orange Grapefruit ($6.50) and Apple Beetroot ($6). Service was good as this mix of fruit juice choices are recommended by the staff. A look at the menu doesn't offer the option of mix and match. What's more, there's no extra charge! 

My love for omelettes started during my visit at Maison Ikkoku. Ever since then, I have shunned away from the typical Eggs Benedict and big breakfast choices for eggs omelette as my preferred brunch choice. Here at SPRMRKT, I settled for Eggs Omelette with Crabmeat and Spinach ($16). It tastes very fresh with creamy tasting eggs and a good mix of crabmeat and spinach. Personally, I always felt that crabmeat is overrated and I didn't really get a very distinct taste outside of eggs and spinach. I only chose crabmeat because the other omelette choices had distinct processed food inside and I am rather health conscious recently. 

Vain Pot settled for Eggs Florentine ($14). It was a satisfactory with properly poached eggs that was runny the moment you cut through it. The taste blended well together. One feedback was that the portion was rather small but at $14 it's reasonable.

SPRMRKT is a fairly decent brunch venue at the heart of town. While the food I tried won't make me specially make a trip down, it's worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. I do think there's not many brunch places near Capitol Tower so here's a brunch idea if you happen to be working on a Saturday morning around the area. 

SPRMRKT

2 McCallum Street

Best 5 waffles I've had in Singapore (so far) [Edited]

Whenever I have a craving, I'll google for "best ________ in Singapore" and hope to get something. Everytime I do this, I'll wonder how other people search for good food. One issue I had was some results gave me like 16 best waffles or 20 best waffles, and I'll start thinking but I only want to eat good waffles tomorrow. So many how to research and narrow down?! Nowadays, with Instagram and Burpple, it's getting easier to stay abreast on the latest 'in' food in town. In any case, I thought that this week I'll share my own top 5 waffles places having spent the last two years feasting on a lot of waffles. I've had fun and much success discovering a number of nice new places this way, and thought I'd share my own favorites with everyone. These 5 favorites are in no particular order. 

This photo was taken 2 years ago when I first googled best waffles in Singapore 2014. Strangers Reunion came out top of that list of top 5. Strangers Reunion is known for their latte art because their owner has won numerous top barista awards and also for their buttermilk waffles with maple syrup and fresh fruit ($11.90). The waffles batter made the waffles light, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Paired with maple syrup and fruits, it's an awesome combination that doesn't make you 'jelat'. In fact, it is so good, I'm motivated to go back and try the ice cream version now that I'm done with my waffles exploration. 

Strangers Reunion

35 Kampong Bahru Road

(Please note that I haven't been there in two years and can't attest that the standard remains the same. The taste 2 years ago is still my top 5 favorite if they maintained the quality today)

This was also eaten 2 years ago as part of the top 5 waffles list that I googled back in 2014. After the visit to Strangers Reunion which was very promising, I told myself next time must try waffles with ice cream. Prior to this visit, my only experience with ice cream waffles was at Gelare which as a poor clueless student, I thought it was very good waffles. Last year I ate Gelare again to check out the difference between good and bad batter. My findings was that the waffles was dry and it felt like tasteless flour that accompanied cold ice cream and there's no satisfaction after eating. 

Anyway, back to good ice cream waffles, the buttermilk waffles with premium New Zealand Ice cream with butter rum bananas ($15) at Department of Caffeine is a clear winner. The butter rum bananas is by far the best rendition of bananas with waffles I've tried. I've always felt that good waffles are the kind you can eat them on their own and still find them awesome. The buttermilk waffles at DOC sure makes the grade. 

Department of Caffiene (Closed Permanently)

15 Duxton Road 

(Again please note that this was eaten 2 years ago and hopefully their quality remains. If it does, then the taste still retains in my memory as top 5 today)

Hatter Street was introduced to me by a friend (let's call her fat fat) few months ago. In 2015 there seems to be more waffles establishments springing up and the modern day waffles have more variations. This pandan ice cream waffles with gula melaka is very different from the ice cream waffles I ate in 2014 (Yes all of them!). The texture of the waffles reminds me of Belgian waffles and it's very flavorful. The batter gave the exterior a bit of biscuit-like crispy and interior was fluffy. I felt that the mix of pandan ice cream and gula melaka goes perfectly together and I have been back twice since. 

Hatter Street Bakehouse and Cafe

212 Hougang Street 21 #01-333

Another waffle place also introduced to me very recently by Fat fat is Oblong. While flavored waffles actually existed since 2013, the craze only caught on late 2014. Oblong offers a variety of waffles flavours with a variety of ice cream and a variety of sauce and add ons. The picture you see is a red velvet waffles with earl grey ice cream with cream cheese and butterscotch syrup. If you order it as a combo with drinks it cost you $10. I really like the mix and match concept and their flavours really go well together. The waffles is light and fluffy. I felt that the variety of flavours gives a refreshing twist to waffles and I like it that the waffles are meant for individuals which means I can walk in on my own after dinner and not worry it's too much for my tummy. 

Oblong

10 Maju Avenue

Last but not least, I specially went to eat here on Thursday with Ms MooMoo. Montana Brew Bar is the "IN" waffles in town now. I found it on Instagram and Burpple with lots of noise from the Blogosphere. Apparently I'm considered late at trying out this place because the hype started late last year. Montana Brew Bar is famous for their creative waffles. The photo you see is their Mac and Cheese waffles with Jalapeños and Salsa Sauce ($13.80) version 4. Based on my research I discovered that the owners having invited bloggers for tasting and have worked on their food and the ones I'm eating is already the 4th version of the dish. It's really one of the best savory waffles I've had. The aroma of Mac and Cheese was very distinct on the onset and the smell alone can wet your appetite. The waffles are very crispy on the outside and the stuff macaroni and cheese inside the waffles really gives it a unique combination that goes very well together. On top of that the salsa sauce was really very balanced, spicy enough not to mask the Mac and cheese taste and provides the added oomph to make this dish my new favorite. 

Montana Brew Bar

1 Selegie Road, POMO, #02-25