Saizeriya @ Seletar Mall

We visited Seletar Mall last evening and was pleasantly surprised to discover that Saizeriya, a low cost Japanese restaurant has opened since last Friday.  Although we weren't hungry, we decide to try some of the food for the fun of it. We ordered a spaghetti bolognese ($3.90) and a Milano doria (baked rice $4.90). The food was quite good considering the low prices. We have dined at Saizeriya Km One and Hougang One Mall a couple of times.
At around 6 pm, the restaurant was packed and there was a long queue outside. We left after eating our food so the other customers could have our seats.

                                                         Prices are nett as reflected on the menu

Saizeriya has 1,300 outlets in Asia including Japan. In S'pore alone, it has 21 outlets. It is famous for its low cost good quality food as well as its clean restaurants. 

Lunch@ Zhongshan Mall

We were told that the foodcourt at Zhongshan Mall off Balestier Road serves delicious wanton mee. It was a 20 minute drive from our place. Although it is a Sunday, the mall wasn't as crowded as other places. Besides, parking is free of charge for the first 2 hours on weekends and public holidays (very rare) and between 12 and 2 pm on weekdays.
It was the wanton mee that attracted us to Zhongshan Mall. We ordered 2 plates of wanton mee ($5 per plate) with char siew and a plate of veggies ($6). It turned out to be quite good although the one at Eng's Noodles is much better.
After lunch, we wandered around the mall and spotted a hot beverage and pie cafe. We ordered  one rendang pie and a chicken pie ($5 for 2) and a cup of Earl Grey tea ($5.50). The pies and tea was a disappointment.

Beef bowl and durian pie

Yoshinoya beef rice is not as yummy as it used to be. For that bowl of rice and some thin slices of beef I had to fork out $6.50.
The $3.50 small piece of durian pie at Beard's Papa was a rip-off. The durian custard was diluted and lacked the authentic durian taste. I don't recommend anyone paying for it.

Oyakodon, a Japanese dish for lunch

We had home prepared oyakodon (chicken and egg bowl) for lunch. Seldom would we want to venture out to eat on a weekend due to the large crowd. Mind you, Singapore with a small area of 719 sq km has to accommodate 5.9 million people (not including visitors). Therefore, on most weekends and public holidays we would cook and eat at home.

Brown soba (buckwheat Japanese noodles)

Had this for lunch. It is light and healthy and contains lots of fibre and is high in proteins. It is refreshing if chilled especially on a hot day like today. Soba is taken with soba sauce (not in the pic), seaweed and wasabi or mustard. I also add a plate of boiled broccoli with the meal.

Sliced fish soup with rice

We decided to go to Ang Mo Kio for our lunch. We drove to Block 409, AMK Ave 10 where the famous Long Xing sliced fish soup stall is located. We were there at 11am and the queue wasn't long. Waiting time was about 10 minutes. For $4, you will get a big bowl of soup with large slices of Batang (Mackerel) and veggies. We brought from home, sliced bitter gourd and Korean seaweed and mixed them in the piping hot clear fish soup. The meal was satisfying and worth the drive there.

Having afternoon snacks at Compass One Kopitiam

We visited Kopitiam at Compass One in the late afternoon for snacks. We ordered fried carrot cake ($4), kopi c kosong ($1.60), big pow ($1.60) and siew mai ($2.60 for 4). Kopitiam is a foodcourt on the 4 floor of Compass One shopping mall. There is a bus interchange nearby and an MRT station (Sengkang)on the N.E. Line. The place is not as crowded as during lunch and dinner hours.
There are more than 60 restaurants and cafe on the ground floor as well as at the basement level.
When you dine at Kopitiam, use the Kopitiam card which is a dinning stored value card and you will get a 10% discount on food and drinks.
Payment is via the icash box ( pic below). You may use cash or the Kopitiam card for payment. There are also cash top up machines situated inside Kopitiam.

Home prepared light dinner

After having the sliced fish soup and rice for lunch and snacks in the afternoon, I decided to have something light and nutritious for my dinner. I boiled the broccoli and made some dressing using miso, apple cider vinegar and crushed mustard seeds. My "dessert" was the small bowl of roasted cashew and almonds nuts. It was a refreshing meal indeed.

Best beef kway teow in north eastern Singapore

Photo courtesy of Bridget
I was with my friends at Kovan and went to eat this beef kway teow at block 203, Hougang St 11. It is by far the best beef kway teow in this area. A bowl of mixed meat noodles/kway teow cost $4 to $6 which is worth every cent. They provide sliced onions in chin cha lok and of course the usual chilli sauce. The queue is usually long at lunch time and must be prepared to wait for 20 minutes. I was there at about 2pm and so there was no queue at all. But that said I still prefer the one at Shaw House foodcourt which is quite expensive ($9). The place is airconditioned unlike the one at Hougang.

CDs scare away the birds

When left unattended, the birds would swoop to the table and feed on the food of customers who had left to buy their drinks. These birds are very hungry creatures and they will come by the dozens. Whenever the diners left the tables with leftover food more birds will come and happily feed themselves. The situation could sometimes get out of control and the birds after their feed would poo on the tables and chairs.
The coffee shop supervisor was so fed up with these creatures that he resort to tying the used CDs on to the ledge to frighten away the birds. I was told that the CDs are like mirrors and the reflection of the birds plus the movement scares away the pests. Now, the birds stood on the side on the floor,away from the CDs and hope someone will throw some scraps of food to them.