Makcik Tuckshop

Official site is here.
From a recommendation of a friend, brought my eldest son and helper to Makcik Tuckshop for Lunch. Its tucked away in one corner of an industrial building. One of the last place you will look at if you are looking for a more than a decent place to eat.

This restaurant is part of a chain of restaurant operated by Tenderfresh. Like many if not all of its outlet, they are halal certified. And, like many of the outlets, the food here is familiar. You will get the Tenderfresh vibes if you decide to dine here. There may be certain varieties that can be or a signature items but nothing strikes me as being that fancy.

The ambiance is welcoming with large windows providing natural light to filter in. Being in an industrial building, in an industrial estate, you may be disappointed if you are hoping of a lush greenery view that may overlook the sea. What you do get is a sense of being there, in the heartlands, where people make honest work to make honest ends meet. Nothing pretentious about it.

Quite vacant at 11.30 am. Good times.

A digital turntable cum CD player. The source of the music.

Self service for the utensils.

Washing area. 

Nice deco for the counter area.

The list of food items are quite extensive. We took a long time to decide. But since there were 3 of us, we decided on a crab pasta, a teriyaki grilled chicken chop and chicken salad. Overall, we found the food to be adequate and the portions enough for our hungry stomach.

Although if I were to delve deeper, I would wonder as to why the chicken salad and the teriyaki chicken chop were with chicken that were prepared the same way. I would think that at least, the teriyaki would be used as a marinade and not a sauce on the side. If done that way, then both chicken dish would be different in terms of taste. They just taste the same, that is, they taste of inadequate research, preparations and just plain chicken. That is too bad, seeing how Tender Fresh is known for its chicken.

One of the best reincarnation of the Bandung I have come across. The cocobandung. Coconut cream and rose syrup makes for a divine combination.

The crab pasta. At first glance it looks like Mee Rebus with dead green jellyfish.

Chicken salad.

Teriyaki Chicken Chop. Thats teriyaki sauce on the side.

 Would I go there again, I rather not. But I would if I need a place to chill where I can park the car just next to it. But for food, I think there are better choice to be had in Woodlands.

*Halal certified at time of writing.

Oasis of halal food in Punggol

Oasis of halal food in Punggol.

Much grumblings about finding halal food in Punggol from me has dissipated somewhat when I revisited The Oasis. With more stalls obtaining halal certification, more choices are available. 

On one such visits to the barber on the 4th storey, we checked out the food court while waiting for the youngest to finish his hair cut. I was sure glad that I did. There was a whole corner of about 4-5 stalls selling halal food. We saw a stall selling bbq wings and while waiting for the youngest to finish his hair cut, I ordered a few. $1.50 each. And the sambal that accompanied the wings? It was very nice. I realised I wont have to go all the way to the East Coast Food Center for my fix off bbq wings.

Eldest decided to try the popiah basah. "Nicer than Qiji", said he, referring to our default place for the dish.

"Are you done?" asked my Eldest.

The wings. 

Huat Huat chicken wings, halal certified.

Popiah basah.

Yong Tau Foo stall, now halal certified. For those light, healthier choice of sustenance.

Hawkerman at Singpost Building.

Muis Halal certified

Went there for lunch. Love the ambiance. Food was great. Restaurant is from the same group that brought us Tenderfresh. Would I go there again, maybe.

Lovely use of wood for the ambiance.

Utensils are very accesible. Don't have to bother the staff if you need extra spoons or bowls.

Mocktails #78. Very refreshing. Can't remember the name of the mocktail, just the number its under in the menu.

Popiah. The fillings are filled to the fullest. A meal by itself.

Sambal grilled fish. Yellow rice is well cooked. Fish is well cooked. Comes with a side of coleslaw.

The very "Kao Kao" kopi.

Yam fries. Comes with sambal mayo. New to us.

Love the decor.

Their FB page is here.

Slim G.

Pictures taken using the GH3 and Panasonic Leica 25mm 1.4

Dinner at the landmark restaurant.

My dad...
My dad appeared in front of our door just as we were about to leave. He said he was tired after a visit to the doctor and would like to rest. Seeing that it was dinner time, I dragged him to place where we had planned for our dinner. Sent a whatsapp blast to the rest of my posse and my younger sister decided to join us.

The Landmark Restaurant
We drove to what used to be called, the Golden Landmark Hotel, and what is known now as the M Village Hotel, Bugis. There was a car lift and for the fun of it, we decided to take it and parked on the 4th floor. For my dad, it was exciting!

Took the passenger lift from the car park to the 3rd floor, went into the hotel lobby and its like entering a different world! Entered another lift and went up to the 5th floor and found the Landmark Restaurant. Wow!

The food and the decor
They were beautiful. The decor was simple white and brown. Very and the seats were comfortable. The food was beautiful too. They were bathe in a warm delicious glow and the perfume emanating was not too overpowering, but enticing enough.

There were 2 types of rice, biryani and white and the accompanying dishes. There were chicken, in various manner, mutton and fish dishes as well. Mostly spicy-like dishes, but not as spicy as one would think. Very nice. Its not just hot and salty as with many of local indian dishes you may find in many food courts. They are tasty. Sadly, besides pizza, there not many other buffet staples one can find here.

Costs
It costs us about SGD$25 ++ per person, but since we bought coupons from groupons, we paid about SGD$19 each. Normal rate was SGD$30 and above.

Here are some pictures.

What you dont't get to see on every buffet spread, Gulab Jamun, a must try.

Spicy fried dummets.

Sweet, very sweet Gulab Jamun

The interior of the Landmark Restaurant

The desser corner.

Sitting by the pool.

Would I ever come back here again, yes I would. But I would come only on weekdays as I heard it can be very crowded on weekends. Reservations are strongly advised.

Happy Eating, Bismillah!

Sari Ratu Restaurant, Singapore

Lunch
Went to this place. Never heard about it. Chose this place as it was the closest to where we parked our car. No complaints.

We ordered Chicken Rendang, Sambal Prawns, and three types of vegetables, with Sambal Goreng as one of it.

My wife, who has relations in Negeri Sembilan said that its quite authentic. The dishes were dry, as they should be. However, we lament the fact that there was no Rendang Itam. Oh well. The Chicken Rendang is one of those that has been cooked for a long time where the dish should last more than several days if left out in the open. Sweet, dry but savoury at the same time.

the website: http://www.sariratu.sg/web/

Stir Fried Vegetables

Sambal Prawns. 

So many dishes, so little time.

Would I visit this place again? Sure.

Slim

Pitstop

Once upon..
There was hardly any halal food in Punggol when I first moved in. There was a stall selling halal Indian food but it was far, far from acceptable. Things have changed, finally after ten years. We went to a halal restaurant in Tebing Lane which was by the river or the new Punggol Waterway. I simply love the place, ambience wise. Rattan chairs and spacious between seats and table. Courteous staff who understood what was amiss without us having to explain in exasperation our predicament. Food wise, we loved it!

This morning
I went there this morning and I had nasi lemak. The rice was green and the sambal is unlike the conventional nasi lemak sambal one is used to in Singapore. For one, its not sweet. It reminded me of the nasi lemak one can find in Johor. I believe that the majority of the staff are from up north, but I would prefer the sweeter sambal, akin to the one at very famous Changi Village nasi lemak. The nasi or the rice could be more fragrant, but I detracted from the conventional. This is how nasi lemak should be even though we, Singaporean are used to a more sweeter, saltier taste. I like it.

Nasi Lemak Chicken set.

The whole set cost $4.00. Not bad.

At night

I had a birthday dinner at night. Its a Saturday so parking was tough. But there was room in the restaurant and my sisters had already ordered before we got there. For a package of 8, it cost $88. That included white rice, prawns and squids cooked in sambal, omelette with beef, plain omelette, tom yam soup and vegetables. Overall, I think its a well priced packaged. And we finished it to the last drop! Here are pictures.

Steam Fish and Tom Yam soup.

The steam fish was served hot, with steam still pouring out of the soup. My sister loved the base and I for one find the fish fresh tasting. The Tom Yam was sweet, I would prefer it spicier, but, it was a good allrounder. Easy for the palate, especially for children.

Prawns, sweet and sour

The gravy or the base for the prawns and squid reminded me of the sauce for the sweet and sour fish dish. I like though. Not too over powering.

From the front, Tom Yam soup, squid in sweet and sour sauce, beef omelette and vegetables.

Overall, I would come here again. The fact that it now opens 24 hours is another pulling factor. I would not recommend this for people who are really serious in spicy and extreme taste in their food. Their dishes are mostly all rounders with none too exceptional.

Slim.

On a side note, according to one of the owner, they have yet to receive the halal certificate from Muis. The owner however, said that its a Muslim restaurant run by Muslims. To each his own, I say.

satay ayam

satay ayam, a photo by Nor Salman on Flickr.

This was taken at Pasir Panjang Hawker Center. Easily accessible via the Circle Line, Pasir Panjang Stn.

This was my first time there. The Satay was reddish instead of dark brown and that took us by surprised.

The meat was sweet and the gravy was nutty. But I have tasted better.

There are several outlets there selling satay, but seating seems limited.

I would recommend if you are in that area, but no, it did not even come close to some of the satays I have tested.

Via Flickr:
dinner at pasir panjang food center.