Blanco Court Prawn Mee @ Beach Road

It is an old establishment and I tried it when my previous workplace was at Gateway. That's a good many years ago.

There's two stalls in this coffeeshop. One that sells the fried fritters (ngoh hiang or wu xiang) and the other one that sells prawn noodles. It is a good pair, and I'd totally recommend to order both.

Stand at the front of the queue line and once the staff take notice of you, he'll quickly assign a table. Move on and take a seat. Remember the table number as you'll need that info when ordering from the prawn noodles stall.

Is it worth it to get the bigger prawns version at $12+? Am not sure, as the flavours are the same as the 'smaller' prawns so typically I'd just go for the $7 version. Save some $$ to buy the fritters. Hahaha!

Make payment and the prawn noodles will be delivered to your table when it is ready.

As for the wu xiang, take a plate, pick out your favourites and hand them over to the uncle. He'll quote you a price and make payment. Then he'll hand you the buzzer. Head back to your table and pick up your order when the buzzer buzzes.

prawn noodles @$7

wu xiang 五香 @$8+

I have selected 4 items for the deep fried; guan chang (灌肠), prawn fritters, liver roll and fish paste roll (I think it is this, but then I don't know).

The most expensive should be the pink coloured meat roll (guan chang), and my go to pick is the liver roll. Don't know why but I always get one of these. The prawn cracker/fritter is a must for that crunchy crunchy feels. And the version here, was superbly crunchy!

two sauces

Anyone knows why the wu xiang is always eaten with the starchy pink/orange sweet sauce?

yums

I asked my friend why not the stall just peel off all the shell from the prawns since the prawns were all pre-cooked anyway. She said, "for aesthetics". Probably true.

One need not choose the noodle type here. The default is this type of firm bee hoon (rice vermicelli) that's thicker than the normal thin type.

Broth was flavourful but it is not those deep umami type. Sufficient, I'd say. I felt that the noodles were on the smallish side, so the pairing with the extra fried stuffs was a good match.

Blanco Court Prawn Mee

Address: 243 Beach Rd, #01-01, Singapore 189754

Contact: +6563968464

Business Hours: 

Closed on Tues.

Wed - Mon: Thursday, 7:30 AM–4 PM

Breakfast @ Ginger (PARKROYAL on Beach Road)

Was doing a staycay at Parkroyal on Beach Road and was looking for breakfast the next morning. Hotel breakfast is served at Ginger and not at the Club Lounge. Had mistakenly went to Level 6 and there was no breakfast service. So went back down to lobby to enquire on where is the breakfast location and was directed to Ginger.

The place was bustling at 830am. The restaurant is of a good size and should be able to accommodate plenty. Its interior seemed to be Peranakan themed gives a light and spacious feels.

Guests are free to sit anywhere and hence, if you're a solo guest like me, sometimes the table would have been taken by another as staff would try to clean up the table once the guest vacate the seat. 

prata corner

essentials for breakfast; baked beans, scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausages

I like eggs for breakfast, so off I went to the live station where the nice staff would be busy preparing egg omelettes upon order. I'd usually go for 'all-in' as it is easier to order. Just nod when asked, haha!

omelette station

If you do not want to wait for the omelette, actually there's a counter that guests can just freely take the pre-fried scrambled eggs or sunny side eggs. Psst, some of the sunny side up have yolk that's slightly runny if you prefer those.

table for one

Let's eat breakfast! Oh, the drinks section has jugs of juices such as orange, cranberry as well as milk and water. Every now and then, staff would come by to refill the emptied ones.

not so big breakfast

Can you guess the next items that I took? Noodles? Yes you are right!

specialty corner

mee siam

I was a tad amused when the guest ahead of me, took her bowl of mee siam without adding any condiments to it. 

The mee siam sauce (or more like broth) was leaning towards the sweeter side, slightly tangy and not at all oily. Added the hard boiled egg, chili, spring onions and shallots.

I like the congee a tad more than the mee siam. So comforting but the cut chilies that day, was spicy! 

congee

Lastly, time for dessert. There's an automated mini pancakes machine, and it seemed like a curious toy that attracts children. A father was telling his son about the workings of the machine, while I was quietly listening behind and wondering when they'd press the button to start making them pancakes. Hahaa!

make your own mini-pancakes

A single press makes 2 pieces of those mini-pancakes. There are various sauces available on the table, so you could have strawberry jam, kaya, chocolate sauce, peanut butter, or honey for the pancakes.

mini pancakes with chocolate sauce (back) and peanut butter (front)

Overall, expect busy ambiance at Ginger but it was rather easy and fast to obtain the food. Fun thing about buffet styled breakfast is, once you see a line at a certain counter, just move on and eat something else first.

Staycation at PARKROYAL On Beach Road

Decided to give PARKROYAL On Beach Road a try since I wanted to hide away from the world for a short while. Check-in was seamless and staff was friendly. Was upgraded to PARKROYAL Club Premier Room located at its highest level, which is at the 7th floor.

42sqm Club Premier Room

Room was very spacious, with proper dining table and a couch. Has a bathtub and a balcony! Wow.

bathroom

shower

loved these

water dispenser in the bathroom

balcony

view from the balcony

Was enjoying the room when suddenly, the room door opened and quickly closed when the person realized that the room was occupied. Then, the staff rang the doorbell and of course, I opened it to see what was that about. Turns out, she was bringing up the welcome amenity and didn't realise that guest had checked-in. Quite a dramatic entrance, this pack of salted egg biscuits, which by the way, was tasty. Got a box of macarons too, since the room was booked under the National Day package deal.

treats!

The sweet treats were actually in time for tea break. The macarons tasted sweet and light. There were rose and lychee flavours. Thank you Parkroyal and GHA Discovery for the treats.

Dilmah teas

rose flavoured

Nespresso

It was nice to chill in the room and roll around amongst the space. Went to the Club Lounge at Level 6 for some evening drinks and canapes.

Club Lounge at Level 6

cheeses, cakes

cheeses, popiah, wakame and Sauvignon Blanc

My favourites were the mac & cheese, wakame (hmm, daily dose of vegetables?), chicken yakitori that's flavourful and tender. The pandan and chocolate cakes were lovely to end the meal.

mac & cheese, chicken yakitori, popiah, wakame, cakes

night view

zoom in to MBS and Singapore Flyer

sunrise

Breakfast was served at Ginger, located next to the lobby. It was pretty crowded by 830am. Overall, it was a nice stay at the Club Premier Room. Staff was amiable and friendly. 

PARKROYAL on Beach Road, Singapore

Address: 7500 Beach Road Singapore, Singapore

Website: https://www.panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pr-beach-road.html

YY Kafei Dian @ 37 Beach Road

Was staying at Naumi Hotel and YY Kafei Dian is nearby. Like just a few minutes walk. Plus, I heard about YY Kafei Dian from Fiona. I remembered something she was sharing with me about their bread which is of the old school bun type. Hence, I trudged the next morning of my staycay 

YY Kafei Dian

One orders the breakfast set directly from the cashier of the drinks counter inside the shop. She will ask you for your table number. So don't be like the noob me whom luckily, still managed to point to an empty table during her visits.

waiting to be buzzed to collect

While waiting, one could observe the other patrons having their breakfast here. There was one uncle whom I saw on my two visits in the morning, so I reckoned he probably is a retiree who likes to have breakfast at the same shop most of the days. Back in my hometown, my dad used to do that as well but he hasn't been able to do so for the past one and a half years due to the pandemic. And yes, am checking out retired persons activities for future references.

traditional breakfast set of kopi and kaya toast

Actually, the only thing that I needed to pick-up from the counter, was the bread. The rest of the stuffs were brought to the table by the staff.

am ready

slurp worthy

I liked the size of the soft-boiled eggs here and how perfectly it was boiled. Both eggs had perfect liquid yolk. Do you break the eggs and mashed it up then dip the bread in? For me, I don't like breaking them up. Straight up slurp them in! Happiness!

kaya and butter

It has been a while since I had a toasted bun. They did it pretty good at YY Kafei Dian with its outer part crisp while the inside of the bun was still soft and pillowy. Kaya tasted of caramel and coconut.

Loved the kopi here for its balance of bitter-smokiness plus the milk taste not too strong. Good!

Their breakfast noodles are popular. Come on a weekend after 9am and one could see the long line outside the shop.

all these for just $4.80

bee hoon mee combi

A packet of noodles with 4 extra added ingredients costs less than $5, hence its priced reasonably. So one could add their favourites like luncheon meat, chicken drumlets, ngoh hiang, vegetable, egg etc. 

ngoh hiang

When you're adding the fried egg, can let the staff know if you prefer more cooked or more runny yolk and she will try to accommodate. I think shops that allow you to choose to this extent, are pretty nice. I added egg (with softer yolk), vegetables (turned out to be tasty chap chye, and it was yummy!), ngoh hiang and a longish looking fish cake. The ngoh hiang here is smaller than others but still packs a nice taste. The sambal chili was towards the sweeter side with some spice.

Came back during lunch and tried their Hainanese Pork chop. It was cooked upon order and served with chunky fries. The wait was about 10 minutes and it came piping hot. No extra sauce was served.

Hainanese Pork Chop @$10

The tomato sauce underneath the pork chop though watery, it was slightly tangy sweet. Soothing taste. The pork chop meat was tender, not too thin and its batter was crisp and well fried.

closer view of the meat

I spied other tables and most officer workers ordered claypot noodles , or chicken rice during lunch time. I felt like a tourist with the pork chop. Hahaaa!

Overall, YY Kafei Dian is a popular place for breakfast and lunch, with a nostalgic vibe.

YY Kafei Dian 

Address: 37 Beach Rd, #01-01, Singapore 189678

Website: https://www.facebook.com/yykafeidian/

Contact:  6336 8813

Business Hours:

Mon - Fri: 7:30am–7pm

Sat - Sun: 8am–7pm

The Beast Southern Kitchen + Bourbon Bar @ 17 Jalan Klapa

Was at Pan Pacific Serviced Suites and decided to drop by for dinner. Reservation is recommended. It was a warm weather night, so we hid out in the comfort of air-conditioning.

We ordered fried chicken, cornbread, fish and chips, pork ribs and an extra serving of slaw. For drinks, happy hour was till 8pm, so got myself the Brass Lion Butterfly Blue Pea Gin.

bar counter

Lemonade @$8

Diet Coke @$6

Bourbon Russell's Reserve Kentucky Straight @$15

Brass Lion Butterfly Pea Gin @$18

The gin was delicious and sweet. Ladies drink, if you'd like.

coleslaw @$6

cornbread @$8 x 2

Have I mentioned that I loved cornbread? I do, especially well-made ones. The version at The Beast was firm and somewhat drier but still so good. Served with house made whipped honey butter.

house made whipped honey butter

The purple slaw was nicely crunchy and not overly sweet. Refreshing and the necessary vegetable component in the meal plan. 

Catfish & Chips @$22

The portion for the Catfish & Chips was good though I didn't quite like the batter as it was a tad thicker than expected. The fish itself needed lots of tartar sauce.

Bourbon Glazed Ribs @$32

The single most expensive plate that night was the Bourbon Glazed Ribs. Lovely texture of the meat that was fork-tender, flavourful and not too overpowering. Quite yummy.

served with sweet potato fries

I was in high anticipation for the fried chicken when it was served. My friend remarked that that size seemed to have somewhat decreased as compared to their previous visit.

Southern Fried Chicken @$20

I liked the fried chicken. Crisp flavourful skin, moist insides and you just gotta eat it while it is hot. Didn't need any sauce too. While it may not be the best fried chicken, it is comfort food.

Staff are genial and friendly with good knowledge on their food items, portion and also drinks.

The Beast Southern Kitchen + Bourbon Bar

Address: 17 Jln Klapa, Singapore 199329

Website: https://thebeast.sg/

Contact: 6295 0017

Business Hours:

Mon-Fri: 4–10:01pm

Sat-Sun: 11:30am–10pm