Marine Cove

Tung Lok Seafood @ Marine Cove is a great place for a reasonably priced, seafood and dim sum buffet. Lunch a-la-carte buffet is around S$20 to 30, while dinner a-la-carte buffet is around S$40.

I had buffet there thrice already! The menu is extensive, covering a wide range of dim sums and seafood dishes. There’s also a complementary shark’s fin for each diner. This is the only item that is capped at one order per pax, the rest of the items are all free flow.

Here’s their address if your interested to visit:

1000 East Coast Parkway
2F Marine Cove
Tel: +65 6246 0555

It’s advisable to call and make reservation for weekends as the place can get quite packed.

The pictures below are just some of the stuff we ate. There’s more on the menu, but we were unable to try everything as we were already too full.

For the price, the food is pretty good and the service staff are prompt and friendly. Will definitely visit again.

Seafood + Dim Sum buffet menu

Shark's fin soup for everyone

We really eat a lot for five people

Custard buns

Shrimp dumplings

Chili cuttlefish

Siew Mai

Egg tarts

Brinjal with pork floss

Rost meat platter

Chee Chong Fun

Banana and prawn fritter

Salmon sashimi

Fried fish

Steamed tilapia fish with chili sauce

Oatmeal prawn

Fried silver bait

Kangkong

Roast chicken

Desert balls

Chrysanthemum apple jelly - I can eat ten bowls of this

Gui Lin Gao

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In a few hours time, I will be on a Kingfisher flight to Mumbai together with Rachel. We will meet our friend, Jeremy, who flew there a day earlier as he has more leaves to burn.

We will spend two nights in Mumbai and then take a flight to Delhi together. At Delhi, Jeremy’s friend, Hui Tee will be flying in from Singapore to complete our four person travel crew.

All four of us are visiting India for the first time. After reading through over a dozen travel guide books and consulting our friends who visited India before, Rachel and I got rather jittery about the drinking water problem. The water in India is not suitable for untrained stomach, unused to the native bacteria.

Rachel and I do not want to suffer from diarrhea throughout the trip because of the water. We stocked up heavily on diarrhea medicines and will take note to avoid ice; salad and fruits (water is needed to wash these) and any other food that may be tainted with water.  Hope we don’t lao sai man!

In total, Rachel and I will be in India for 14 days. We will be visiting Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Agra in Delhi. Itinerary also includes visiting the beautiful Taj Mahal. Stay tuned to this blog for day-by-day accounts of the entire trip when I am back.

Meanwhile, this blog will still be updated daily on weekdays, via archived entries. Do continue to visit.

Technorati Tags: kingfisher airline, alvinology’s india odyssey, alvinology goes to india, india travel, mumbai travel, delhi travel, jaisalmer travel, jodhpur travel, jaipur travel, agra travel

Rachel and I have tried the Kim Gary at VivoCity and found it pretty average. When we passed by the Tampines 1 outlet, we couldn’t resist the colourful menu and decided to give it a try again. Given that they have such a wide variety of food, we may chance on something better this time round.

They were having a tea-time promo when we stepped in. Strangely, for some of the items we wanted to order, it actually cost more to order them a-la-carte than to go with their tea-time set meal that comes with a drink.

That’s how we ended with with four food items and four drinks.

Four cups of beverages for two person!

As per the experience we had with their VivoCity branch, the price is great, but the food is pretty average.

Couldn’t complain much about the pineapple hotdog and the two soup noodle dishes as they are really simple to cook and you can’t really go horribly wrong with them.

The beef burger was really bad though.  The beef was as tough as leather and we had problem chewing through it.

Super tough Hong Kong styled beef burger

Beef soup noodle

Mini hotdogs with pineapple and corns

Instant noodle with luncheon meat

We enjoyed the drinks, but four cups of tea between two person is really too much. We both suffered from caffeine overdose after the meal and were feeling giddy for a while.

Rachel sipping her hot yuan yuang tea

The conclusion we came to is that Kim Gary is a restaurant that’s good for social gatherings where the extensive menu should be able to cater  to everyone’s taste bud, without hurting the pocket too much. It’s not the place to go to for a quality meal.

Here’s the address of their Tampines 1 outlet:

10 Tampines Central 1
#B1-07 Tampines 1
Tel: +65 6786 1418

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]]> http://alvinology.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/hong-kong-kim-gary-restaurant-%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e9%87%91%e5%8a%a0%e5%88%a9%e8%8c%b6%e9%a4%90-tampines-1/feed/ 1 alvinology Four cups of beverages for two person! Super tough Hong Kong styled beef burger Beef soup noodle Mini hotdogs with pineapple and corns Instant noodle with luncheon meat Rachel sipping her hot yuan yuang tea http://alvinology.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/the-hand-burger-raffles-city/ http://alvinology.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/the-hand-burger-raffles-city/#comments Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:02:45 +0000 alvinology http://alvinology.wordpress.com/?p=3726 ]]>

A few weeks back, Rachel was working on a story on the gourmet burger trend in Singapore with chic burger joints, sprouting out one after another. You can read her article HERE.

One of the burger joints which she particularly enjoyed the food was The Hand Burger, located at Raffles City, basement level. Hence we went there for a snack, ordering a burger set and two drinks to share.

The patty at this joint are hand-crafted (hence the name) and the ingredients are fresh and unique. The fries are hand-sliced such that you can taste bits of the potato skin.

They serve rather unique beverages too. We ordered a peanut butter banana milkshake and a lychee mint to share.

Rachel's order

Close-up of the burger

Our drinks

However, note that the burgers are on the pricey side, costing upwards of S$10 a piece, excluding GST and service charge.  Then again, that’s a reasonable price to pay, considering that they handmade all their ingredients.

The service was a bit wanting though. Maybe it’s because we went during the off-peak period at around 3pm – the staff can be seen sleeping on the chairs and lazing around.

We like the modern decor at The Hand Burger whereby you can see that the furniture were custom-designed, right down to the menu, plates and utensils to fit the overall theme.

Unique menu design

Chic decor

Here’s The Hand Burger’s address if you are interested to visit:

#B1-77/78 Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road

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Shop front

I am not a big fan of Korea food, but for some inexplicable reason, Rachel and I both had a sudden craving for Korean food one day and we decided to check out Auntie Kim’s Korean Restaurant, located at Upper Thomson Road.

Rachel said that this one of our friend, Melvin Ryan Tan’s favourite restaurant. Hence our expectations were high when we stepped in.

We ordered rice, beef bulgogi and ginseng chicken soup. The portions were quite large and we figured that what we ordered was actually enough to serve up to four people.

As per traditional Korean restaurants, pickled veggies, including the ubiquitous kimchi was served as complementary starters while we waited for our food to arrive.

The pickled stuff was pretty good and the two of us actually gobbled up all that was served.

We enjoyed the ginseng chicken soup. The chicken was stewed so soft that the bones melt in your mouth (really) when you pop in it. You can literally eat up the entire chicken, bones and all. The ginseng was also soft and soggy – Rachel and I divided it and gobbled it up too.

The only disappointment was the beef bulgogi which was served cold. The meat was tough and lacks texture.

Restaurant interior

Complementary pickled veggies

Rachel portioning the ginseng chicken soup

The chicken has been brewed so soft that you can chew up the bones

Beef bulgogi

The service was very good. The staff work fast and are very attentive, refilling our drinks, wiping the table at every instances.

The total bill came to around S$50. It’s actually reasonably priced, but more appropriate to dine in with upwards of four people instead of two as the portions  are quite large.

Here’s the restaurant’s address:

265 Upper Thomson Road
Tel: +65 6452 2112

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As elected by The Webby Awards guys:

Craigslist expands outside San Francisco (2000)
In 2000, the free classifieds site broadened its reach outside of San Francisco into nine additional U.S. cities, sending chills down the spines of newspaper publishers everywhere. Today Craigslist serves free listings in more than 500 cities in 50 countries, serving as a model for no-frills business and community success and the catalyst for countless jobs, apartments, and just about anything else you can think of.

Google AdWords launches (2000)
With the launch of AdWords in October 2000, Google turned advertising on its head. The self-service ad program opened up the marketplace to any business, no matter how big or small, and allowed advertisers to target their customers with laser-sharp precision.

Wikipedia launches (2001)
Containing 20,000 articles in 18 languages by the end of its first year online, Wikipedia today boasts more than 14 million articles in 271 different languages. The free open-source encyclopedia epitomizes the Internet’s power to bring strangers from around the world together to collaborate on projects both big and small.

Napster Shut Down (2001)
Although Napster was shut down in 2001, it opened the file-sharing floodgates. Its demise sparked a wave of innovations that forever changed how we obtain and experience music and video – from Hulu to iTunes to Radiohead famously dropping its label and self-distributing their “In Rainbows” CD online for free.

Google IPO (2004)
Google’s IPO, one of the largest in history, put the six year old search engine on the path to becoming the most dominant and influential company of the decade. From gmail and YouTube to Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Android, the Internet giant and constant innovator is the engine that powers countless aspects of our everyday lives.

Online video revolution (2006)
In 2006, a perfect storm of faster bandwidth, cheaper camcorders, and the groundbreaking use of Adobe’s Flash 9 video player by YouTube combined to launch the online video revolution. The trifecta led to a boom in homemade and professional content – the Diet Coke and Mentos guys, lonelygirl15, SNL’s Lazy Sunday, and Senator George Allen’s “macacagate” – that has reshaped everything from pop culture to politics.

Facebook opens to non-college students and Twitter takes off (2006)
In September 2006, a social networking site for college students changed its user qualifications to include anyone 13 and older with a valid e-mail address. Facebook struck an immediate chord — and almost overnight, social media went mainstream. Less than a month later, the creators of Twitter acquired the company and its assets from its investors, paving the way for the service to take off in 2007. Both companies took social media mainstream, radically changing the way we connect, collaborate, and communicate with everyone from friends to colleagues to customers.

The iPhone debuts (2007)
The iPhone was released on June 29, 2007. By the end of the weekend, half a million had been sold, and smartphones had gone from a luxury item to a necessity. The iPhone inspired the development of operating systems like Google Android, as well as an app for just about every aspect of modern life. Over the next decade, it’s estimated that a billion new users will come to the Internet for the first time through mobile devices.

U.S. Presidential Campaign (2008)
The Internet altered presidential politicking in 2008 much as television had forty years earlier during the Kennedy/Nixon race. From videos like “Obama Girl” and the Reverend Wright clip shaping the debate, to social media mobilizing voters, to record-breaking online fundraising from small donors, every facet of the way campaigns are run was permanently transformed.

Iranian election protests (2009)
When Iran’s 2009 presidential election produced fishy results, the opposition took to the tweets — and the “Twitter Revolution” was born. In fact, it was so vital to organizing demonstrations that the U.S. State Department asked the company to delay planned maintenance.. The protests also highlighted Twitter’s key asset as a protest tool: Since most users don’t access it through a central website, it’s nearly impossible to censor.

Quite a fair and comprehensive list I would say. It’s interesting to note how fast the online environment changes in a span of just ten years.

On another note, I am curious to see which of the following ten do YOU, the reader, think is ONE DEFINITIVE Most Influential Internet Moment of the Decade:

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Esplanade welcomes you for picnics

Choosing the right spot

These two photos were taken on a random weekend at Esplanade. Can really see foreign workers, youths and families alike, answering to Esplanade’s call for them to dine there.

Great river view, ample lighting, near to MRT station, isn’t the Esplanade bay area the perfect place for people to have picnics? I will bring my family there for a durian picnic during the next durian season. :p

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Stark contrast of old and new buildings, side-by-side

Balestier is a city-fringe residential area, characterised by the stark contrast of old and new buildings, poor and rich living side-by-side.

One lazy Sunday, Rachel and I decided to eat and shop at this quirky heartland area instead of heading to the usual dime-a-dozen air-con shopping malls.

Me strolling

Spiral staircase landing

7-11

There’s lots of great food in the area. Many of the famous hawkers can be found in the Whampoa Market. I especially enjoy the satay bee hoon there and will order it without fail, each time I visit.

This time, Rachel and I ordered a plate of satay bee hoon and some barbecued chicken wings to share.

Great food at the Whampoa market

Charcoal barbecued chicken wings

My favourite satay bee hoon stall

Singapore’s last surviving traditional bakery supplier is also located in Balestier, walking distance from the Whampoa market. You can’t miss the bakery when you walk pass. The aroma of freshly baked bread will stop you in your track.

Rachel and I bought a few fresh loaves and headed to the nearby supermarket to stock up on some supplies to make sandwiches for dinner.

The last traditional bread factory in Singapore

We bought a few fresh loaves for dinner

Rows and rows of freshly baked bread, left to cool outside the shop

Rachel hiding between the breads

Rachel cooking some bacons and eggs to go with the bread

Our dinner

The dinner at home essentially sums up our little heartland outing that Sunday. The experience was great. We reckon we should do this more frequently.

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Signature fish head steamboat

It would not be an understatement to say that Tian Wai Tian Fishhead Steamboat Restaurant has one of the worst service standard in the entire Singapore, but they also serve the best fish head steamboat and tse char in Singapore.

Back when my mom was still operating a dressmaking school, her school was located just beside Tian Wai Tian before she was forced to relocate due to the construction of the expressway.

The steamboat are all charcoal-grilled, hence the extremely long waiting time of even more than an hour during the peak dinner period.

To place order, one has to step into the kitchen and shout out to the lady boss there is are usually very hot-tempered and snappy. There’s no menu available. Apparently, if you don’t know what’s good, you don’t deserve to eat at this place.

They staff also has a tendency to serve the wrong order quite frequently. If it happens during  your visit, my advise is to just go with it as getting them to change the dish may require a wait of another hour or so during the peak period.

Cleanliness is lacking too, with tables spilling to the back alleys, some even placed beside the gutters.

Dining in the back alley

However, the food is heavenly and that’s what keeping regulars back, in spite of all the negative factors mentioned above.

Their signature dishes, other than the steamboat, are their prawn paste chicken, sambal cuttlefish kangkong, handmade ngoh hiong and oyster omelette. I remember they also used to serve delicious fish roes too when I was a young boy, don’t think they do so any more since I haven’t seen any one eating it during my recent visits.

Prawn paste fried chicken

Sambal kangkong with cuttlefish

The fish head steamboat comes with a healthy dose of greens, yam and some salted fish to flavour up the soup.

Usually when we dine there, either my sister or me will go there earlier to order, bringing a book along to read while waiting. When the first dish arrive, we will then call home and ask my parents to walk over.

Here’s their address if you are interested:

1382/1383 Serangoon Road
Tel: +65 6292 9982

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The landmark Masjid Sultan mosque

During the last Hari Raya festive period, Rachel and I headed to the  Kampong Glam and Arab Street area to check out the food bazaar as well as to sight-see. Often time, we find it more convenience to head to the ubiquitous air-con malls rather than check out some of the heritage or heartland areas in Singapore.

Although it was a weekday noon, the place was relatively crowded, with mostly tourists milling around. There were also some secondary school kids in uniform running around, probably out on a school excursion.

We bought beef kebab, mutton lontong and barbecued chicken thigh to share among us for lunch. The first two items tasted great. The chicken thigh was horrible though. We should have known better when we saw the hawker using an electric heated grill instead of the usual charcoal.

Busy street

Hari Raya baazar

Otah and barbecued chicken

Lontong

Mutton lontong - quite nice

Kebab kiosk

We bought a beef wrap from the kebab kiosk

After filling our stomach, we loitered around the area for a while. We were delighted to find a little spice garden where many tropical spices and herbs were planted. An unexpected find was the mysterious Tongkat Ali, a famed local herb for improving male potency.

Function hall

Ketaupat contest

Spice garden

Spice variety

They even have Tongkat Ali - a famous local herb to treat male potency

Here's what the Tongkat Ali plant looks like

We then made our way to Haji Lane where the hip and cool hang out. We had fun checking out some of the quirky fashion boutiques there. It was interesting to see graffiti art and other youth fixtures in the area, contrasted against the old colonial architecture.

This is a restaurant, not a gardening store

Teddy bear specialty shop

A plant we came across

Crossing over to Haji lane - where the cool and stylish hang out

Outside one of the boutique

People like plants around here

New meets old

Inside one of the boutique in Haji Lane

Tour agency with original retro office

Textile shop

Announcement for upcoming flea market

Grafitti art besides old Chinese pillars

Street Art

We headed home after that, satisfied with ourselves for finding an alternate way to spend a day in Singapore instead of the usual shopping or movie.

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