TWINS Korean Restaurant

닭집 이다....!!!

I and some of my friends were exploring a little bit of Tanjong Pagar the other day and maaannn...! there really are Korean restaurants EVERYWHERE. From K-BBQ, Bars to 치킨 집. No wonder some call this area "Little Korea".

After wandering for a good 2 hours [or so], the sun was setting and it's time for dinner! We were standing in front of this place deciding what to eat when a random stranger told us "they serve really good fried chicken, we just finished 20 of them." WHUT? Coming from a random ang-moh who obviously did not get paid to say this, it's pretty much decided.

The Place was quite busy, but Thank God there was no queue, so we went right in and find ourself an empty table. After scanning through the menu, Here's our order:

• Black-bean Noodle [짜장면],
• Spicy seafood noodle soup [짬뽕],
• Garlic-Soy boneless Chicken, and
• Seafood Pancake. [해물파전]

our dinner sans jjampong cos it's taking longer to prepare [i guess] and my mates waz hangry

Black-bean Noodle - S$16.90++

Honestly, I was most excited for this one when we placed out order. You know... Jjajangmyon - Korean culture - Korean TV shows. They always have this, don't they? Besides, I've tried jjajangmyon from a few different place here in Singapore, so my expectation was kinda high.

Not bad! In fact, I enjoyed it. so much so I kinda refused to eat the jjampong at first. I like how the noodles are thick and chewy. The sauce was a beautiful mix of sweet and savory with pork chunks and onions. just take a slice of their kimchi for each bite, and you're good to go.

Jjampong - S$16.90++

This was definitely the star of the night. I was quite skeptical at first, thinking it'll be like any spicy noodle. Then as I was trying to taking a few snaps, the aromatic wok-hei surprised me. Thought I smell it wrongly but maaaannn t'was really coming from this bowl, And I LOVE it.
They must've stir fried the ingredients before turning them into a flavorful soup. Not to mention they're quite generous with the portion.

Being a kampong-noob [have never been to Korea - #sob], I was told that this is how it's normally cooked in Korea. Ah~ at least I got a taste of it already. #lol

Garlic-Soy boneless Chicken - S$20++ [half]

Crispy, Well-seasoned, Flavorful plate of fried chicken never fails. Especially the one labeled as "Best Seller" on the menu. This particular one comes with especially strong garlic flavor. So if you enjoy garlic as much as I do, this is a good thing. Otherwise, you might want to choose something else.

Seafood Pancake - S$20++

I have not much to say about this, just imagine a huge not so crispy veggie fritters, filled with leek and chunks of seafoods. that is exactly how it taste like.

Kimchi

So on my way to the toilet I, saw this box of korean-goodness. diz iz awesome guys!

PSA: you need to ASK for their kimchi because it's SO GOOD but they don't serve it by default like other korean restaurants. and yes, it's FREE.

We spent a total of S$81.20 for 4 pax.

The aftermath.

And oh! I'm not much of a drinker, but if you fancy alcohol, might wanna try their ice cream beer and Twins also serve range of soju like...

Ambience:

Table-set with free wet towel. Yes, free. not the kind of place that trap you into paying for these.

Twins Korean Restaurant – Fried Chicken
7 Craig Rd, 089667
Monday – Saturday: 11:30AM-3PM, 5PM-12AM
Sunday: 5pm – 11pm
Phone: +65 6221 5205/ +65 90063875
http://twins.sg/
https://www.facebook.com/Twins.Korean.Restaurant

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Marche Christmas

Holaa! Feliz Navidad!

So last weekend, me, my sister – @noviabenny and her fiance – @yondythong had a Christmas Dinner at Marche, and it’s awesomeeee! Heard about it a few times and looking at the location and the always-there crowd, I always have the impression this place is one of those fancy restaurants with ceiling-high price, definitely not my everyday eatery! But hey, It’s Christmas!

Being a first-timer, I was pleasantly surprised by the restaurant concept. Turns out it’s somewhat like a European food-court where each person will be given a card upon entering [forget to take a snap of this card] and there are lots of stalls selling different kinds of European delis: Pastas, Pizzas, Paellas [their Seafood paella was AMAZING!], Steaks, Pork Knuckle, Rosti [apparently their rosti is quite ell-known], Salads, Soups, Drinks, Cakes, etc!

Take a peek at what’s inside:

THE famous Swiss Rosti

THE star of the night, Seafood Paella

DAT SEAFOOD PAELLA THOOO….!!
That’s arguably the best paella in town, but legit the best one I’ve had! By default, it came with prawns, chicken and mussel, then the guy asked if we want to add pan-fried calamari for $2.5. YAAAASSS OF COURSE!! and I’m happy we did! Very flavorful and rice was nice & plump. Not the kind where the rice is mostly dry and stick to the pan.

Now you might or might not have heard [or read] people talking about their Rosti, and some even went to the extent of saying it’s like a compulsory thing, it feels like there’s something missing if you go to marche without ordering their famous rosti. so, of course, we got Ourself one too! With sausages! IMHO, I’d say it’s not worth the hype. I mean it’s okay, eatable. Not horrible but not amazing either. How did it taste like? Pan-fried small-cut potato. That’s about it.

Other than these two, we had Salmon Steak, Mushroom Soup, Garlic Bread, and the Tiramisu Cake as well as the lemon tea too! Most of them are – as expected – not bad. These things feed the three of us well. We're tempted to get the pork knuckle as well, but I’m glad we didn’t, or else it’ll be such a burden to finish.

If I am to come back, I will definitely say it’s the Paella!

OH! one more thing, despite having a nice ambiance, it was quite hard to take a well-lit picture in there. Perhaps it’s for you to enjoy the moment – be there, talk, catch up – instead of being busy taking pics.

Here’s a little video of our visit:

Merry Christmas!! Have a Blessed one!

Marché Mövenpick 313@somerset

313 Orchard Rd, Level 1, Discovery Walk,
313@somerset, 313@Somerset

Open until 11:00 PM

Average/Pax S$30-40

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Merry Medley at Flower Dome

MERRY CHRISTMAAAASSSSS EVERYONEEEE....
YASSS... we're in the most wonderful time of the yeaaaarrrrrrr...
when Starbucks Redcup is everywhere, roads and shopping malls are ssssoo pretty full of Christmas decorations and lights, and of course, Christmas carols everywhere...

Have you visited Merry Medley at Flower dome by Gardens by The Bay???
I DID! and it was pretty...! [Hurry, it's only until 5Jan]

Here's the thing about Christmas decoration [or in this case, installations] they're pretty in bright day-light, but prettier by folds when the night comes -- talking about the magical feeling when those fairy lights shining in the dark. [Not to mention in a full air-conditioned dome, with christmas carols playing non-stop.

Now if you're like me -- love them both, but find it hard to take nice pics with the lights behind. I'd usually opt to take 'em while the sky's bright, and take some of the decorations itself when the sun's out. With this in mind, If you're planning to visit, i would strongly recommend you to come at around 4 or 5pm [like we did]. This way, you'll get to see the installation in bright day and night condition.

If you're a Singapore resident -- Singaporean, PR, and long-term pass holders -- you are entitled to buy the tickets at a local price [check the prices here]. Better yet, use your OCBC Card and enjoy a good 15% off of your ticket(s). In Our case, we choose to go to Flower Dome only -- cause they don't have any christmas installation in the cloud dome, and i've been there -- and the local price for single dome is S$12. with 15% OCBC discount, it's S$10.20 ONLY! #lovestruck

Here are our tickets:

However, for tourists, I wouldn't recommend buying the tickets on the spot. Take time and contact a travel agency, like seawheel here -- located at Chinatown. More likely than not you'll get better offer. Last time I checked, they sell a two-dome ticket at S$18 each [u.p. S$28 on the counter]. That's a direct S$10 off there..!

Here's some peeks:

sssooo pretty, yeah? 😍

Them reflections 🌌

PS: If you're going by MRT, make sure you alight at Bayfront station [not Marina Bay -- I know it's behind Marina Bay Hotel, but trust me. Bayfront.]

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HAMBAOBAO..!

Hi There..
Been yet-another while, hasn't it?

So i went to the newly-famous Hambaobao the other day, and here's how it went!

Located at the hawker centre on top of Beauty World Centre, this place can easily reached using MRT. Make your move and conveniently alight at Beauty World station [Downtown Line - Blue Line], walk under the sheltered walkway to the building, and take the escalator all the way to the top!

Surprisingly this stall has been around for quite a while, got famous recently -- mostly thanks to Night Owl Cinematic, Dee Kosh, The Smart Local [and EatBook SG], also tons of bloggers, intagrammers, and of course people who watch them. [Talkin' bout the power of SocMed].

I reached at around 12.46pm and here's how it looked like

Waited for around 40mins to GET MY ORDERS TAKEN, Here's the menu:

i mean, just look at the prices!!!!

My orders was taken around 1.40pm, upon taking my order i was informed that it'll be ready at 2.50pm! that's another 1hr+. Well.. being crazy hungry, it was too late for me to back off -- yet too long for me to wait, so i went and stuffed myself a good plate of pan-fried dumplings AND a few Xiao Long Bao from another stall.

Finally the wait was over, and here are our order:

Star of the day a.k.a their best seller -- Roasted Pork Burger.

Now about this one, they're slayin roasted pork game STRONG. Like let's not talk about this being a fusion food or sth, the roasted pork itself was winning compared to other roasted pork from most hawker centres [and possibly restaurants]. SO Crispy yet juicy, and flavourful! What interesting is, they make it on the spot. like literally, legit roasting it from raw meat.

Here's a closer look of the roasted pork:

Here's a short video on where to find them! :)

Do visit them on weekdays if you can, cause one of my friend told me he visited them on weekday lunch and there were NO QUEUE! Also take note of their opening hours and days below:

HamBaoBao
144 Upper Bukit Timah #04-49 Beauty World Centre
Singapore 588177

Open Wed-Sun 12-8 PM
Closed on Mon and Tue.


Lastbutnotleast, do follow me on instagram @anthony.ali for more recent updates and quick reviews! :)
Thankssss

WWIM13 x Singapore [with @ExploreSingapore]

How's your weekend??

Mine? Touristy..!

So last sunday, I went to my very first World-Wide Insta Meet [WWIM] hosted by @exploreSingapore at The Fullerton Heritage.

Together with my friend, we unexpectedly came early -- good for us, we were entitled a free Heritage Trail Tour!

Never knew that Fullerton was such a powerful building that served as post office, and several important ministries simultaneously. Even before that, during British colonial time, it was an important building for the government. Fun fact: during this time -- even as a government property -- it has a private club, billiard room, and several suites! cool, huh?!

Now that! Was a touristy weekend.

Honestly, the first half of the tour was proven not-so-exciting for a lot of participants -- as around 2/3 of them gone before we reached the 'woaaaaahhh' part. It was quite fascinating to me tho! [a foreigner who never really learnt about Singapore's history -- perhaps.]

Now about this woaah part. So as the tour nearing to end, we were brought up to lv. 4, where the billiard room was [now it's a private dining hall], lv. 8 where we have access to Lighthouse -- a luxurious Italian restaurant with wonderful view of Marina Bay area. AND this rooftop wine bar where the wind breeze, and you get a wonderful no-boundaries view of marina bay area.

Marina Bay from The Fullerton Hotel rooftop -- The Lighthouse wine bar.

I'm grateful we came early that day. I mean we made a few new friends there, but to me, the highlight of the event was really the tour. Learnt new things, get the access to such restaurant [not sure when else i can get these kind of opportunity -- honestly].

The Lighthouse

Taking candle-light dinner to a whole new level. [esp. if she loves italian food]

View from the former "Billiard Room"

Free snacks at the end of the event.

Lastly, do check out and follow my instagram @anthony.ali for more -- mostly food -- updates. :)