FOODNINJA·SG: August 2017

List of 10 Popular & Affordable Hawker Food Near Temasek Polytechnic

Hawker August 29, 2017

After all the posts of restaurants and cafe, here is one for the students! The FoodNinja Team took the chance to explore the area around Temasek Polytechnic. For those who are (or once) a student, you know stretching the dollar is always essential. To start off, right opposite Temasek Polytechnic is a wet market where there's plenty of affordable hawker food.

[1] Wanton Noodles

A plate of Wanton Noodles (SGD 3.50)

Wanton Noodles, one of the staples in a Singaporean's food. This is where you can get your fix around Temasek Polytechnic. It is very under rated as it is hidden away from the crowd where most student goes. What I like about this stall was the consistency of taste and flavor. The noodles has a nice bouncy texture, the roasted marinated pork was tender juicy and the wanton has a nice meaty pork taste. It was rather a generous serving for a grown man to eat and feel full.

南天城 (Nan Tian Cheng)

Where to find it:
Choh Dee Place Coffee Shop, 824 Tampines Street 81, Singapore 520824

[2] Western Food

Chicken Chop with Black Pepper Sauce (SGD 6.90)

There are few western food outlet located near the wet market but nothing beats Tenderbest. You can be rest assure that your plate of chicken chop will taste the same, every single time. While they are known for their fried chicken, I actually prefer their black pepper chicken chop set. The chicken was grilled to perfection. It's flavorful and filling and not forgetting easy on the pocket too. A popular set meal among student together with fish & chip and fried chicken rice.

可爱鸡 Tenderbest

Address: Choh Dee Place Coffee Shop, 824 Tampines Street 81, Singapore 520824

[3] Roast Duck Meat

Roast Duck + Roast Meat Rice (SGD 4.50)

Usually when you see people line up for something, you know there's good stuff. This is definitely the case for this roast duck stall. The food was definitely worth the wait. The meat was so incredible juicy and the fat just coats your mouth. The dark soy sauce was rich and pairs well with the roast duck, rice and chili. I believe they serve the best roast duck in the area. They are even featured in straits times newspaper!

华仔烧猪
Address: Tampines West Foodcourt, Blk 827 Tampines Street 81, Singapore 520827

[4] Economy Mixed Vegetable Rice

Rice with Crispy Cereal Fish, Braised Eggplant & Long Bean and Pork Slice (SGD 3.50)

Economy mixed vegetable rice can be easily be found anywhere in Singapore. It resonate very well with Singaporean as we have this saying [三菜一汤] which translate to 3 Vegetable and 1 Soup. At this particular outlet, they have this crispy fried fish which is a well-seasoned diced fish that is lightly coated with this airy batter that would dance on your palate as you chew and savor the fish. Come early as they always sell out fast! Their business is so good that they took weekend break!

安乐源仔菜饭

Address: Tampines West Foodcourt, Blk 827 Tampines Street 81, Singapore 520827

[5] Handmade Chinese Noodles

Zha Jiang Noodle/ Knife-Shaved (SGD 3.50)

Honestly speaking, the quality has dropped quite a bit since the last time we ate here. All of their stuff were handmade from scratch. Often you'll see two cute uncle auntie rolling out noodles and making xiao long bao. I appreciate the workmanship and skill that goes into making those noodles. A small complain was that they replace julienne cucumber with boiled cabbage. I think the cucumber adds a nice crunch and freshness to the dish and it's a pity that they switch to other vegetable. Nonetheless, I always make sure to finish every last bit of food down to the gravy. Make sure to try their xiao long bao!

上海食香閣

Address: Food Park, 823 Tampines Street 81, Singapore 520823

[6] Chinese Mala Hot Pot

Mixture of Pork Slices, Cuttlefish, Napa Cabbage & Dried Bean curd Skin Noodle. Served with Rice (SGD 8.50)

Hot! Spicy! Numb! Those were the feeling as I feast on this big bowl of Ma La Hotpot. Lately, Sichuan cuisine has taken Singapore by storm and it's more common now to find it at your neighborhood. This particular food stall allows customer to pick and choose ingredient to suit their taste. I suggest optimizing for 'small heat' as even someone who can take spicy food, it's still quite a challenge without water and tissue paper.

日日昇麻辣香锅

Address: Food Park, 823 Tampines Street 81, Singapore 520823

[7] Indian Food

Masala Dosa (SGD 2.50)

Who doesn't fancy a good roti prata? Ask any Year 3 student and they would tell you the location of this Indian restaurant. The shop is open for 24hrs and it's the perfect hang out place after school and late project work. My friends and I would usually buy different dishes and share. Personally, I recommend the Masala Dosa, Mutton Murtabak and their popular Mee Goreng. Avoid crowd period like lunch and dinner period as often, you will not be able to get a seat. Their business is very good.

Al - Hussain Restaurant -

Address: 822 Tampines Street 81, Singapore 520822

[8] Thai Food

Pai Thai

Soi Thai Kitchen is the only restaurant in the area that serve Thai food. It's best to come as a crowd as you can order more food and enjoy different type of dishes. If I'm alone, I would order Pai Thai or Basil Chicken Rice. If I had to complaint, I would say that the meal might be a little pricey for students who does not have a recurring income. Well, it's a great alternative food choice when you get sick of eating the same old food.

Soi Thai Kitchen -

Address: Blk 824 Tampines Street 81, #01-28. Singapore 520824

[9] Pancake with Filling

Pancake with Corn + Peanut + Egg

I always wanted to taste their pancake but didn't as there is always a long line of queue. Today, I was lucky and decided to give it a try. To be honest, I'm wasn't too sure about the combination of pancake, egg and savory filling together. I guess i am too accustom to pair pancake with dessert. I went on and brought the egg + corn + peanut combo. The pancake was soft and chewy, the filling was alright. Next time, I am sure to try their chocolate + peanut combo!

亞龍面煎粿

Address: Food Park, 823 Tampines Street 81, Singapore 520823

[10] Dessert

Sea Salt with Hokkaido Milk Ice Cream (SGD 5.50)

The flourist is the only dessert cafe I can find in the market place. It served some decent ice cream flavor and waffle. I suggest the Sea Salt with Hokkaido Milk, Horlick, Charcoal & Coconut, Mango Pineapple. I try them all and went with my first choice. The milk was smooth and creamy and the sea salt ever so gently cuts the richness of the ice cream. It's a well thought, well executed product. I'm sure they took a long time perfecting the right balance between milk, sugar and sea salt. A very addictive ice cream flavor. Good news to all Temasek Student, you get to enjoy 10% when you show your matric card to the cashier. Enjoy while it last!

The Flourist

Address: Block #01-36, Tampines Street 81, Block 824

Below is the map to all the hidden treasures of hawker food that are worth the buck and still deliciously good! Look out for the number code for the stores we are mentioning to below and refer back to the map to find where you can eat your next lunch at~

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Lunch at O Batignolles | Causal French Dinning Experience

Cafe&Bistro August 27, 2017

O Batignolles is one of the true blue (or Blue, White and Red should I say) French Bistro that you can find in Singapore. Decorated in a warm maroon color with some photos of french streets and the map of France in the dining room, it bears resemblance to the bistros that I have once eaten at in France. Entering the bistro, you can find the first dining area and their service staff that are happy to welcome you to eat here.

Walking through the passageway where the kitchen pass window is at you can find a more secluded dining room with only a few tables. The open dining area are suitable for company lunch up to 15 people where the more secluded dinning room is for about 10 people with comfortable sofa seating.

The more secluded dining room

As it is located in the Central Business District (CBD), along the side of Chinatown but also where a lot of the office buildings are surrounding. Considering this fact, it is not strange to see that their weekday lunch menu features more of a set lunch menu catered more to the working people - where you can choose quickly depending on your appetite and what you are craving to eat.

Weekdays Set Lunch - Obtained from O Batignolles Website

Ordering is simple. Just pick a set you would like to eat. For something light, Set A will do as it only has a simple savory tart with flavours like Salmon, Chicken or Cheese (Buffalo Mozzarella or Goat Cheese). To have something more filling go with Set B or Set C. Perhaps to be more fitting to the needs of the customers around the area, they have a more substantial salad choices as compared to sandwiches or quiche. There are 9 different types of salads to choose from, each featuring a myriad of ingredients. Whereas for the sandwiches and quiche, there's only two choices for sandwiches and one quiche option. For a complete meal, I would definitely suggest to get Set C.

Like the bistros in French, they also have a carte du jour (Menu of the day) which changes daily to feature four mains that you can choose if you choose to eat Set C from the Set Lunch menu. Upon seating, their friendly staff would ask you if you are familiar with the way to order. They would then showcase their carte du jour which is written on a blackboard to introduce to you the selected mains of the day. The day that I was dining, there was Beef Burguignon, Pavé de Saumon, Duck Parmentier and Linguine de Poulet on the carte du jour.

You can also order a la carte if you wish, which is what my companion and I did when we were dining at O Batignolles that day. We order a Set B with a choice of Quiche Lorraine and two of the mains - Beef Burguignon and Pavé de Saumon as a la carte.

Soup of The Day

Shortly after ordering, soup of the day was served together with two slices of toast. Upon request, they would provide you butter with the bread. The soup was garnished The soup was rather confusing for me as it was orange in color which I had expected it to be pumpkin soup. Yet the pumpkin taste was negligible. After a few more sips, there was a few thin shavings of carrot which then made me realised that this is probably a carrot soup. However, the taste of carrot did not stand out either. Overall, the soup was smooth and seasoned nicely however did not have any character of its own. Perhaps other soups would have a better taste than this.

Quiche Lorraine with Salad

Next we were served up with Quiche Lorraine together with salad on the side. Balsamic vinaigrette was also given on the side to complement the salad and you are free to add as much or as little as you wish. Quiche Lorraine is a simple pie with bacon and cheese as fillings and baked with an egg mixture. The slice of quiche that was served was really generous and it was garnished with chives. It was rich and flavorful despite using ingredients like bacon, cheese and egg that could potentially be overwhelming. The crust was also flaky and buttery, coming together with the fillings, it feels like an indulgent party in your mouth. The salad could not be faulted as well, all fresh and crisp and together with the balsamic vinaigrette, the salad cuts through the richness of the quiche.

Pavé de Saumon

Next we were served up with the two mains, Pavé de Saumon which is essentially grilled salmon fillet on a bed of grilled asaparagus, zucchinis and carrot puree. When we ordered it, the service staff had even asked us what doneness we would like for our salmon - medium or well done. This is something that I did not expect especially from ordering a set lunch. When the dish came, the piece of salmon fillet is really generous likewise to the portion of the quiche. The salmon was cooked perfect in the middle and seasoned perfectly. On the other hand, the grilled vegetables was a little salty for me and likewise to the soup of the day, the carrot puree did not have any character on its own except that it is orange.

Mid Section of the Medium doneness Grilled Salmon Fillet

Beef Burguignon

The other mains was Beef Burguignon - from tradition french cuisine, beef stewed in red wine. It is served together with mashed potatoes, sauteed mushroom and pearl onion and grilled carrots. The sides that was served together gave a nod to the ingredients used in the traditional way of cooking beef burguignon. Starting off from the meat, the meat was tender and falls apart at the prod of your fork. It has been marinated and stewed well in the red wine broth as the flavour from the red wine and the meat was married into a beautiful succulent taste. With the little chunky bits of potatoes stuck in the mashed potatoes, you can tell for sure that they used real potatoes as well as butter and cream as it was also rich and creamy. To eat it in one mouthful, with the mashed potates, a slice of the sauteed mushroom, pearl onion and carrot together with a chunk of beef, when the flavours come together and dances on your tongue - you can be sure, your mouth will be grateful to you.

Finishing off the meal, was the mini dessert of the day together with a selection of coffee/tea. My companion selected a double espresso. The dessert of the day was actually a combination of two mini dessert - a one-bite choux puff and a one-bite brownie together with a tiny cup of fruit salad. They were served together on a platter with the coffee - which reminds me a lot of the café/thé gourmand (Dessert platter with coffee/tea) that you can easily find in bistros in France. As we were quite full from the meal, we can't complain much about the sizing of the desserts although I will not be too sure if someone else would be satisfied if they should only eat a Set B/Set C by themselves.

Overall, the dining experience was really great - a good combination of authentic French food with friendly and attentive service. The service staff always made a point of refill the water on our table and also came by when dessert was served to asked if we had enjoyed the meal. And moreover, after knowing that the bosses of this French bistro, along with their other crêperie bar - O Comptoir in Boat Quay, are a couple from France, it is no wonder that they could serve up such authentic french cuisine here in Singapore.

Expected Damage per person: SGD 18 - 30 ($$)

Overall of a 'Authentic French cuisine experience' 2 Ninja Stars

Operating Hours

Monday – Tuesday: 11am – 12pm

Wednesday – Friday, 11am – 1am
Saturday: 10am – 1am
Sunday: 10am – 10pm

2 Gemmill Lane
Singapore 069247
Contact: 6438 3913

O Batignolles Website

Here is where you can find O Batignolles:

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Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant Buffet Review

buffet August 22, 2017

Want to travel to Indonesia but unable to? Well, you can have the next best thing in Singapore itself at Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant. Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant started all the way back in 1985 and specialises in halal Indonesian food. Entering the restaurant, it was as if you were transported through space into Indonesia - the decorations as well as the staff’s dressing were all in Javanese style.

Kintamani offers various types of Indonesian/Balinese food that caters to all ages and taste buds alike. Although Indonesian food typically consists of hot and spicy food, Kintamani has dishes that caters to all. This is thus a good place to go for family dinners even if you have children along. .They have various food stations with a variety of different types of food that I found really similar to traditional Malay foods.

Indonesian Fish Crackers, Tapioca Chips served with Belachan

Fragrant Yellow Rice

There was also 3 different types of crackers and two types of rice - white rice and their special spicy rice.

Boiled Fresh Prawn and Mussle on Ice

They also offered a mini salad and seafood section whereby you can create your own salad and the seafood that was offered were green mussels and prawns.

Mixed Beef, Mutton & Chicken Skewer

One of the food that you MUST try is the satay. The meat was soft, tender and savoury. If you're the kind that loves satay then this is for you. Personally, although I am not a satay fan as I find that it's usually quite oily, the satay here at Kintamani is not oily at all. The peanut sauce, which I usually do not appreciate, was a good compliment to the satay. I can say that their satay has revolutionised my idea of eating satay. One thing to note is that the satay sauce becomes slightly diluted later on as it runs out really fast so grab a bowl to go with you satay while you are at it.

Grilled Chicken with Black Spicy Sauce

At the first look, it looks really dry which made me rather hesitant to take a piece. However, as they say "Don't Judge a Book by it's cover" likewise for the chicken in this buffet which was so succulent and full of flavour. If you are not one who normally takes spicy food, it is good to know that this dish leans towards the spicier side. It is worth to brave the spiciness to try this dish, but just remember to have a glass of water on hand when you eat this dish.

Grilled Lamb Station

For this dish, there are two types of sauce that are offered to go with it - mushroom sauce and chilli sauce. As the lamb was rather dry, the sauce could recover some of the moistness to the lamb. Both of the sauces complements the lamb well as it brings out the taste of the lamb. Having a personal preference for mushroom sauce, I preferred it over the chilli sauce as I found it a little overwhelming but still complementary to the lamb.

Mutton Curry

As a person that loves curry, this was the dish that I was most excited to try. After all, what's there not to love about curry! The gravy was flavourful and not too thick, similar to the consistency of soup. However, the mutton pieces int the curry fell short of my expectation. The mutton cubes were overcooked and too tough for my liking. It could be likely due to the flame underneath the pot that used to keep the dish warm that have caused the overcooking. I would still recommend to try this dish as the flavor of the curry is rich and the spiciness was just mild. Take a few pieces of the mutton if you want but definitely pour the sauce of your rice to go with.

Lapis Daging (Sliced Beef with Special Sauce)

Being a beef lover, I was really interested to try the Lapis Daging (Sliced Beef with special sauce) However after tasting it, I would say that you can give this a miss. Similarly to the mutton curry, the beef in this dish was really tough, overly dry and chewy. It was a mouthful to eat it. Unlike the mutton curry, the gravy of this dish did not stand out particularly despite being named as "special sauce" to salvage it. The sauce was quite similar to a sweet and sour sauce with a hint of spiciness. It was rather disappointing. You could try a few slices if you really want to try it for yourself but honestly, save your stomach space for other dishes.

Noodle Station

Mee Soto Ayam - Yellow Noodle in Clear Chicken topped with Shredded Chicken

Standing out in the buffet section, there is the "make-your-own" noodle section which gives you an option to personalise your very own Mee Soto (Chicken Noodle Soup) Two types of noodles - yellow noodles and Bee Hoon is provided alongside with shredded chicken, quail eggs and beansprout. There are also garnishes such as lime, spring onion and fried shallots for you to top your noodles up. Overall, this station was rather interesting to me as I had fun cooking and personalising my own bowl of noodles. Though one thing to note is that the soup provided to go with your noodles was rather bland. Chili is provided, so if you like more flavour to your soup, feel free to add it into the soup.

Balinese Seafood Skewer

This is another disappointing dish that I would suggest giving it a miss. Despite what the name states, there was no taste of seafood at all. In fact, it tasted more towards a really bland kind of fishcake.

Stewed Mixed Vegetables with Coconut Gravy

Deep-fried buttered Prawn tossed with Egg and Curry Leaf

Deep Fried Dory Fish

Siu Mai

Other than those that were mentioned, there are also these dishes that are worth trying.

Rice Pudding with Palm Sugar

After eating that much of food, there's always room for dessert! Among all the dessert selection available, which is rather wide - the Lolos Beras (rice pudding with palm sugar) was my favourite. The texture was really soft and definitely the dessert for those who have a sweet tooth. It has a similar texture to a beancurd dessert with a mellow pandan taste.

Assorted Traditional Cakes/ Sweets

Eating at a buffet of Indonesian cuisine, how could you miss out the kuehs. There was a variety of kuehs available, all rather sweet, which is normal for kuehs. If you like something less sweet, you should go for the kueh lapis - also known as the thousand layer cake due to its many layers. However not all desserts were made equal, I would recommend you to skip the cherry cake if you are not fond of cherries as it had an overwhelming artificial cherry taste that wasn't too pleasing. If these dessert are not to your liking, there is always the ice cream, what you can usually find in buffet, with 4 flavors to choose from namely - yam, strawberry, chocolate mint and blueberry ripple. You can also go for the fruits, if you're looking for something healthier.

There was a hot drinks station that has a hot drink machine and tea bags provided to make your own tea. You can sweeten your tea with the sugar that is provided at your table. However, there is no cold drink machine but you can make do with that for there was refillable water at the table.

Overall, the staff were all very polite, friendly and willing to attend to your queries.They have various food stations with a variety of different types of food that was really similar to traditional Malay foods.

The experience was rather pleasant as the staff would consistently refilled water and cleared dirty plates so efficiently. In the background, there was Indonesian music playing which was rather loud to make it possible to have a proper conversation over the music The seating was also rather tight which made it difficult to move around at times.

Expected Damage per person

Buffet Lunch and Dinner: S$58++ (adult) S$20 (child)
Not applicable on eve of PH and PH

Worthy of a 'Just pleasant' Two Ninja Stars

Operating Hours:

Monday - Sunday

Lunch - 12pm to 2.30pm

Dinner - 6pm to 10.30pm

405 Havelock Road

Furama Riverfront Singapore

Singapore 169633

Contact: 6333 8898

Here is where you can find Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant Buffet

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List of 10 Popular & Affordable Hawker Food Near Temasek Polytechnic

Lunch at O Batignolles | Causal French Dinning Experience

Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant Buffet Review

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