Craftsmen Specialty Coffee

'Twas a lazy Sunday afternoon (isn't it always?).
The Sister-in-law + Husband decided to ditch myself and The Wife for sleep in favour of Mahjong.
Probably scared of me! HEHEHEHE.

So once more, me and The Wife decided to brave the unknown and source out somewhere new to visit. I was lazy, so when asked to choose from the list of possible places to visit, I decided on somewhere in the East.

And so, behold our latest food adventure.

Nestled right in the heart of the Siglap suburb, this cafe isn't very hard to find. To make things easier, they even have signs pasted on the walls of the opposite direction with arrows pointing potential customers in the right direction!

First thing you notice : How bloody crowded it is on a Sunday afternoon :(
Seeing as how she hates crowds, The Wife was initially against going in. But then I said : "Where in the blue hell are we supposed to go then? This isn't town!"

So we waited for all of....5 mins.
Haha we were lucky that there was a table leaving.
Once you get seated, you notice the little nuances and decor that make the cafe appealing.

Instantly made me like this place. Because I have a beagle! And her name is...Lucy (in the sky with diamonds...)!

The Wife was commenting on how nice their setup is.
It's the unpolished, industrial feel that has been steadily gaining popularity. Exposed bricks, uneven painting, concrete flooring, you get the drift.

Being the realist, I was all like 'Smart buggers ah these owners? Saving money actually by doing less!' But of course, I also agreed that the overall feel was well done and nicely executed.

 I also liked their menu. The Wife was browsing through the menu that was placed on an easel at the counter, and the cashier was like 'Oh you can bring it to your table.' Imagine me over there trying hard to suppress my sniggering. HEHEHE.

Upon ordering, they give you a little cube that they use to identify orders. Probably good to keep pesky kids (of which there are many on a Sunday afternoon) entertained. Cute.

So I wanted to order a Lemon Yoghurt slice. But the guy before me took the last one. Bugger it.
I had to settle for what they called 'One Banana Republic'.

This was a closeup so you can't tell how big the slice is...I would recommend 1 slice for sharing if you ever go! I couldn't finish my cake, and The Wife also had difficulty (but she did).
Back to the cake itself...I really liked the fact that they had banana bread in there...BUT. The chocolate and peanut butter (yes that is peanut butter) overwhelmed any banana taste that might have existed. Choc and peanut butter was all I could taste. Not in a bad way though. The taste was good, though overly jelat

And the banana bread part was very condensed, adding to the jelatness. It wasn't light and airy at all.
Verdict : Taste 8/10, Texture 4/10 (Unless you like REALLY rich cakes)

The Wife also had a slice of cake.

Other blogs and reviews highly recommended the Chocolate Salted Caramel, so I sorta coerced The Wife to try. We were pleasantly surprised by the addition of popcorn, yums!
Much like my One Banana Republic, the taste in this cake was great.
You might not be able to see, but there is a thin layer of salted caramel in the middle layer of the cake, and this slices cleanly through the heaviness of pure chocolate cake. In layman's terms : Not so jelat lah.
BUT, also like like my cake, the texture was too heavy. It felt more like eating fudge than cake. Ok maybe I'm getting old, this is the new direction of gourmet cakes. But I still prefer my cakes light and airy.
Verdict : Same score as my cake.

The Wife also needed her daily caffeine shot, so she ordered an iced mocha.

Her verdict : Too bitter, can't taste mocha at all.
My verdict : *Gave my best ogre face upon 1 sip*
I am not much of an authority on coffee, so don't trust what I say. I do believe that they will still fans of their coffe, after all, it's what they are built on isn't it?

Coffee aside, what I do know are my smoothies and milkshakes.

Behold, my strawberry/banana smoothie. If it looks watery,it because it IS watery. I almost thought it was melted ice kachang when it was served. It sure looked like it. So i decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe after mixing the ice cream it would resemble a smoothie. Ok...still no.
Disaster. I will stick to Coke when I come back to try the Lemon Yoghurt slice I missed.

The ambience here is great, I would totally recommend it for quiet WEEKDAY afternoons.
It would be great to sit in a corner and read a book.
I would come back, partly because it transports me to somewhere that is not Singapore.

This is the view from inside looking out. Looks like I'm on vacation ain't it? Bliss!

Don't treat my opinions as a negative review, I will probably come back some day.
Do give this place a try, as you might find something you do like.

 Oh yes, service is good even when they are busy, so I imagine it would be better if it were quiet!

 Price : About $15 (cake + drink)
Address : 2 First Street, Siglap V, #01-01
Website : None but Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Craftsmen.Specialty.Coffee

Signing off,
The Lunatic

Tong Heng

If you haven't already heard by now, you probably aren't an egg tart fan.
Tong Heng serves the BEST egg tarts in town.
Or so I think. I haven't tried any egg tart so far that is better than this.
If anyone can recommend, I'll be happy to try em out!

Staying true to their roots, the bakery still packs their products in cardboard boxes reminiscent of the 80s. Probably haven't changed their recipe since they opened in the 1930s as well! But like the old adage, 'Don't fix what ain't broken!'

Besides the odd diamond shape (most other egg tarts are round or oval), the true differentiator is the silky smooth egg filling, which is not overly sweet, and somehow stays soft for hours! The crust is more flaky than powdery, and is almost paper thin. It sometimes feels like the crust is unable to hold the weight of the filling, which actually adds to the allure, as you will not feel like you are piling on the pounds!

They have a range of other pastries as well, but I can never get past the protective barrier the egg tarts have erected over the others!

Price : $1.60 per egg tart
Location : 285 South Bridge Road
                 Singapore 058833
Tel :          6223 3649
Website : http://tonghengpastries.com/index.php

Signing off,
The Lunatic

PS. Cafe @ Palais Renaissance

One of my colleagues tendered recently, so we held a farewell lunch for him. Originally the plan was to dine at 10 @ Claymore at Pan Pacific Orchard, but before I even got there the guys decided the menu wasn't to their liking!

So Boss suggested the nearby PS. Cafe at Palais Renaissance. We went there previously and he liked the atmosphere, so we all headed there.

Stepping into this cafe is like stepping into a cafe overseas, it really remind me of the cafes in Melbourne, with the exception of all Asian staff ;p. The rustic decor is really calming and it serves as a great place to chillout, especially during office hours!!

The a-la-carte dish menu isn't anything to shout about, if you are looking for a decent meal here during tea time, you might be disappointed! I counted a grand total of 3, yes 3 main dishes. 1 pasta, 1 chicken and 1...sorry can't remember for the life of me...

I had pasta quite recently so I didn't really feel like it, and the other forgotten dish seemed pretty pretentious from the description, so I went for the breaded chicken tenders. Turned out...we ordered 6 mains, and 5 of them were chicken tenders! LOL! I was the first to order so I say they copied me!

The tenders came in a basket accompanied by 2 little saucers of mayonnaise and salsa. If you read an earlier post, you will know I'm not a mayo guy. So that was left pretty much untouched. The salsa chilli was pretty decent though. Just a hint of spiciness with sour notes to round off. Some Singaporeans might might the taste not fiery enough (like The Wife would have if she were here), but it was ok for me.

The basket is really value for money, and I would recommend it for sharing actually. The breaded chicken was good for the first 3 tenders, but then it got a bit too jelat! I didn't manage to finish, and neither did the other guys. I do like the steak fries though. Nothing exactly special, but then fries will always be fries. Comfort food!

The guy that was leaving ordered a cappucino, and I have no idea what it tasted like, though here is a small glimpse of what it looks like. Hehe. I don't think you can go wrong with a cappucino at a cafe though!

The last time we came, Boss ordered truffle fries, and I think he must have liked it because he ordered them again without even looking at the menu! Yes I had a hand in eating the fries, like I said earlier, fries will always be fries!

The truffle scent is strong on the top part of the fries, where the grated cheese is, but it gets diminished when you get deeper into the pile. That being said, there is still a faint truffle scent on the bottom-most fries. Probably one of the better truffle fries in town I reckon! Like the breaded chicken, this is also meant for sharing, it's a huge portion, probably more than 2 packets of large Macdonald fries!

After the meal, it was back to the office. At the counter, you are constantly enticed by the cakes on display. Some of the cakes looked real good, and coming from me (not exactly a cake person), that means a lot! I would love to try the banana butterscotch cake the next time I come! Until next time!

Price : About $30 per pax
Address : 390 Orchard Road
                #02-09A
                S(238871)
Tel : 9834 8232
Website : www.pscafe.com

Signing off,
The Lunatic

Changi Village Hawker Center

So myself, The Wife and The Mother-in-Law (MIL for short) were at IKEA Tampines over the weekend trying to find some household stuff. And everyone needs a decent place to eat after a workout at IKEA! I am assuming most would drive there, so it won't be too much of a stretch to say Changi Village is easily accessible at just a 15min drive away (assuming not much traffic)!

There are actually only 3 stalls I patronize at the place. But I am only gonna cover 2 of them as I didn't have anything from Mizzy's Nasi Lemak. One of the stalls I frequent is - you guessed it - the other snaking queue...

Wee Kee!
The stall is famed for their Ipoh Hor Fun, but what I love there is the Chicken Chop noodles.
You don't have to try the food to know that they have a loyal following. There is almost ALWAYS a queue, and a single stall occupying 2 shop spaces is almost unheard of. That stands testament to their popularity!

So The Wife had her usual, which is the signature of the stall, Ipoh Hor Fun.

Probably the greatest selling point of the dish is that the noodles are extremely smooth, and easily *slurppppppp* ed up...heh! 
You know how some sauces can be too jelat after 2 spoonfuls, and those that leave you feeling like you are just drinking colored water? Well, this was neither. Done just right, it had slight spiciness tinged with a little bit of sweetness. That is the hallmark of Ipoh Hor Fun, and it was executed well here.
Other ingredients are included as well, like char siew, fishcake, mushrooms and bits of chicken. The sauce sorta covers the taste of these individual items though. And the fishcake is so thinly sliced that I was looking at them and asking The Wife : "Aren't you gonna eat that abalone?"
That gave her a good laugh :(

The MIL wasn't feeling too hungry, so she ordered simple dumpling soup from the same stall.

Ok lah...nothing really special to me. I did like the fact that it wasn't too 'porky' though. After awhile you guys will realise that I'm partly halal, as in I try to avoid pork wherever I can!

And of course, it went without saying that I had my usual chicken chop noodles!

My apologies, I was famished and so I only managed to get off 1 photo before the urge to eat overwhelmed me! The noodles are slightly different from most other stalls selling wanton mee or mee kia, as in that they don't feel as starchy. I could probably polish off 2 plates without feeling sick!

Ok truth be told, I am not of big fan of the chicken though. I'm more of a (chicken) breast man. HAHA! But the parts here are pretty assorted, though to their credit, none of it is overly fatty or has any bones. I wolfed down my portion within minutes, partly cos I was super hungry. Do give this a try next time you visit! But it says chicken chop HOR FUN on the board, ask for NOODLES! 'JI PA MIAN'!!!

Before we started queuing for these 3 aforementioned dishes though, we made a beeline for this place.

Mei Xiang Goreng Pisang!
The goreng pisang is so nice! I never fail to get a couple (or more) when I am here and IF they are open.
I can't seem to grasp their operation hours, and I suspect they open on the whims and fancies of the owners. Just try and order from the grumpy uncle and you will see what I mean. He isn't exactly rude, but most times is brusque. Of all the times I have visited, only once did he joke a little with me. He probably struck Toto on that day hehe.

Rule of thumb No 1 when making banana fritters : USE RAJA BANANAS!
Any other banana will not be as sweet!
So Mei Xiang got part 1 right, and part 2 (the batter) down pat as well. Not excessively thick like most of the Malay-styled goreng pisangs, you can see how thin the coat of batter is in the photo above! Best eaten hot/warm, the batter is crispy and not too oily.

The bad thing about this is that once left to cool, the batter will stick to the teeth, most likely because of the oil seeping out. That is a good thing for the health conscious, but then again, if you are THAT health conscious, you don't have any business eating goreng pisang!! :)))) 

My favourite story is how I once bought like 20 for my campmates, but had less than 10 left when I reached my camp in Lim Chu Kang. MEHEHEHE.

The MIL said she was here a couple of weeks earlier, and she discovered some pretty good chendol just opposite the hawker center.

Just look across if you stand at Mizzy's Nasi Lemak and you will be able to see this stall.
The chendol IS pretty fine.

You get to choose whether you want your chendol plain, with red beans, with corn, or with a variety of different ingredients, even durian! We opted for the conservative red bean, and while it isn't comparable to Japanese azuki bean, it sure gave us an old-school ice kacang taste. We also liked the fact that the green wormy things carried flavour of its own. It tasted to me like Bengawan Solo's layered kueh (for some reason it slips my mind now, but you know the red, green and white one).

Worth the extra calories and also serves to cool us down in the sweltering heat!

Price : Nothing above $4 (individual item)
Location : Changi Village
Website : None to speak of!

Signing off,
The Lunatic