RamenPlay @ Novena Square Part II

First time trying the ramen at RamenPlay. Surprise surprise! Haha, that's because on earlier visits, I was ordering the Chashu Donburi.

Colleague ordered the Butariki Ishinabe, which was served hot stone style. This stone pot rice smelled delicious! All of us were enviously staring at it while awaiting for our items to arrive. Too bad the raw egg was broken when it arrived. Otherwise, would've made a prettier picture.

stone pot rice with pork slices, topped with raw egg

Meanwhile, we munched on gyoza. It was just alright.

gyoza (5 pieces)

while waiting, let's look at the picture

Lunch was a busy affair for this place. At times, chaotic too. The table next to ours, had one rice dish missing while his partner was already about to finish hers. Little did I know, I was about to experience the same.

My colleagues had finished more than half of theirs when mine came (after one reminder too).

toroniku uoboshi tonkotsu ramen (3 pieces) @$11.80++

Luckily, the Toroniku Uoboshi Tonkotsu Ramen was very likeable. Pork cheeks were tender and had a smokey flavour. Felt that these lent some character to the overall taste. Enjoyed the lava egg with its tasty yolk too.

Here is the link to earlier visit.

Criollo Cocoa Cafe @ Orchard Gateway

Exit from Somerset MRT and take a right turn to Orchard Gateway. Spanking new building with lots of streetwear, a couple of restaurants and cafe but what a hassle when trying to find a washroom. It is somehow linked to Orchard Central too.

Lots of coffee places in Singapore, but at Level 2 of Orchard Gateway there's a cafe that offers cocoa, coffee and tea. For chocolate, there are 3 main variants of cocoa and these are criollo, forastero, and trinitario. Read it from wiki.

Was recently invited to Criollo Cocoa Cafe to try out its menu.

menu

Cafe is spacious and there are tables by the window that are perfect for people-watching.

by the window

First up, a refreshing cup of cold peppermint tea. Normally, one would not really care if the tea is cold/hot brewed, as long as it taste good, right? But what if by doing a cold brew, one could cut down on carbon footprint by reducing energy consumption needed to boil water, and gets to enjoy a cup of a lighter sweeter tea? Sounds good, doesn't it?

cold brewed peppermint tea

For appetiser, try the chicken tortilla. It looked quite plain but those things on the plate, they worked!

tortilla with grilled chicken @$8.90

between the lines, yummy chicken and cheese

dab on spicy salsa

A good start. The spicy salsa was tangy and with just enough heat to wake you up. Dressing on the salad has a touch of sugar to it. Good to share.

Fancy a butter finger drink? Ingredients include peanut butter, shot of espresso and cocoa. Stir well before you drink. Had just a hint of peanut butter though. Tasted creamy, more of coffee and a little bit of peanut butter. Strangely, I felt that the taste is reminiscent of kopi peng.

butterfinger latte @$5.90 - cocoa, peanut butter, shot of espresso

If there is one drink that you must try, I would recommend the frozen hot chocolate. Err, is that hot or cold? Keke, it is a cold drink that's chockful of chocolatey goodness!

Imagine mixing melted chocolate onto rich and creamy milk, and topped with a scoop of ice-cream. Sounds delicious? It is.

frozen hot chocolate @$8.90

deliciously rich

Or, if you prefer the hot version of this (and minus the ice-cream), have a cup of dark hot cocoa @$6.50. Comes with two version of latte art. Personally, who could resists the cutesy bear?! Not me for sure.

cute bear hugging marshmellow

kind of creepy. a face smiling at the broken heart?

The food here are mostly western fare. Tried quite a number of pasta dishes.

smoked duck aglio olio @$15.90

seafood spaghetti @$15.90

The seafood spaghetti has prawns, squid, fish and mushrooms. Healthy tasting and mildly flavoured. On the other hand, the flavours of the smoked duck aglio was good though a tad oily and the duck was a tad too salty. Noodles were al-dente with just a notch leaning towards the softer side. If there's a term to it, I'll call this Asian-styled al-dente.

One last pasta dish, the bolognese. This is a befitting finale to all the pasta dishes that we had tried. Served piping hot, strands of pasta buried underneath bolognese sauce and topped with cheese and baked. Yums.

spaghetti bolognaise @$14.90

loaded with meat sauce, cheese and baked

Did you request for meat? How about a chicken chop. A pretty plate of chicken chop, please.

chicken chop, side of greens and truffle fries @$15.90

Strong truffle smell from the fries. Sinfully fried and salted. Side of greens was refreshing with that slightly sweet dressing, and chicken chop was tender and enjoyable.

chicken thigh meat

If the group has more meatatarians, then there's the meat platter to try. Looks like bar food but there is no alcohol here. Never mind, wash it all down with the frozen chocolate or iced-tea.

mixed grilled platter - chicken, bacon and chorizo sausage @$19.90

bacon and chorizo sausage

If you prefer, there is fish and chips as well.

fish and chips @$15.90

Last course, desserts. Shop signature dish is chocolate waffle with chocolate ice-cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce. Triple choc!

chocolate waffle with a scoop of ice-cream @$14.90

The chocolate waffle has crispy edges, light tasting and tasted great with the ice-cream. If one prefers a more fruity waffle, they have a version of that as well.

waffles with fresh fruits - mango and blueberries @$14.90

The fruit waffle batter is not as crispy as the chocolate one, served with fresh mango that is sweet and a slightly sourish tang from the blueberries. Perhaps, this could also be served with ice-cream, or chocolate sauce or maple syrup as it felt a tad monotonous after a while.

Note that there is no GST and service charge.

Thank you HGW and Criollo Cocoa Cafe for the invite, especially to Mr Lam for hosting us.

Criollo Cocoa Cafe

Location: #02-01, Orchard Gateway, Singapore 238858
Contact number: 67026568
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criollococoacafe

New Lane Hawker Centre @ Lorong Baru, Georgetown Penang

This hawker centre is located like a minute's walk to Sunway Hotel in Georgetown. Was staying at Glow Macalister Road, and to get to New Lane from Glow, is approximately ten minutes walk along the same side of the hotel. Yay to no road crossing!

New Lane, stalls getting ready

New Lane Hawker Centre or rather hawker street is actually a collection of smaller stalls selling various street food that converges daily after 3+pm. Numerous stalls would lining up along the road and some would be ready for business at about 4+. By 6pm, this place would come alive with wok sizzling, customers placing orders, chefs busy dishing up their wares and vehicles trying to squeeze in and out of this small lane.

New Lane Hawker Street

Over a span of 2 nights, I've managed to try a few stalls from this makan area. Street food hunt.

seafood char koay kak

For the uninitiated, seafood char koay kak's taste is akin to char kway teow plus fried carrot cake. Instead of radish, koay kak is normally rice flour. Lots of chai po and garlic was fried and thus, it was very fragrant. This stall was rather generous with the amount of dough too.

char koay kak takeaway @RM$5

it should be renamed as prawn char koay kak instead

Still preferred fried carrot cake's taste though. Not used to the rice flour cake's taste here, though the rest of the ingredients were actually very fragrant. Prawns were unfortunately overfried too.

There are stalls located within the coffeeshop too. Tried the roasted chicken wing that many has blogged about. Minimum order is 2 pieces and each piece goes for RM$2.20. Drumstick (more apt to call it chicken thigh) is RM$6 per piece.

roasted chicken wings & drumsticks

roasted wings - takeaway

Liked the wings here better than the one I tried at a coffeeshop in Gurney Drive, near Evergreen Laurel Hotel. The chili sauce here was green in colour and the wings were glazed with sweet sauce. Drumstick looked good too.

Outside the same coffeeshop, there is a stall selling congee. To be precise, it sells 猪肠粥 or chee cheong jook (in cantonese) or pig intestine congee. Hmm, but its chinese sign says it sells pig mixed parts congee. Also can lah... Not sure if the boss had retired or not but the stall was manned by two foreign workers.

pig intestine congee stall

Had the congee inside the coffeeshop. For this privilege, one need to order at least 1 drink from the coffeeshop.

chee cheong chook - RM6.50

It was one, glorious bowl of congee. Liked it very much. Loaded with ingredients - stomach, shang cheong (生肠), meat, deep fried intestine, liver and char siew. I think it'll taste much better without the sweet char siew. Less sweet and more savoury would be good. Congee was smooth, just how a good Cantonese porridge texture should be. Recommended. Just tell the guy you want everything inclusive of the deep fried intestine. Yummeh!

Along New Lane, one will find a loh bak stall. Not the ones within the coffeeshop but the one outside.

loh bak 卤肉

closer view

Penang Loh Bak is actually a myriad of deep fried items, usually fried upon order. For first timer who can't decide, just let the stall owner know that it's for one pax and she'll pick something for you. Tried this twice and the common items that she puts in there were loh bak (meat roll), prawn fritters, fish ball and tofu. Felt that it was value for money as the pack had 5 items for RM$5. Liked the sauces too. The gooey brown sauce and the sweet chili sauce with peanuts. Dipped into both for maximum taste! Liked this loh bak so much I had it twice during my 2 nights stay at Glow Hotel Macalister Road.

loh bak @RM$5

Liang Court Signature Food Trail: Shakey's Pizza

Spent one of the Liang Court Signature Food Trail coupon at Shakey's Pizza, located at Level 2. Got the pizza and chicken karaage set meal.

It was a good deal, this set meal. The pizza was served alongside chicken karaage, with one soft drink. The chicken felt more like an upsize popcorn chicken instead of karaage. Crispy, well fried and tasted great with the wasabi dip.

Pizza was light, tasty and the Special has everything on it. Capsicum, meat, mushroom and cheese.

thin crust Shakey's Special

chicken karaage, with wasabi dip

inclusive of one soft drink

Liang Court Signature Food Trail: Nirai Kanai Okinawan Restaurant

Liang Court has just concluded its food trail, in conjunction with the Tanabata Festival celebration. The Liang Court Signature Food Trail coupon was priced at $40, and one can use it to enjoy one fixed set-meal from a specific restaurant as per stated on the coupon. For the next 2 set meals, diners are free to choose from any of the participating restaurants. Plus, one of the coupon can be used to redeem a free drink from Thirsty Beer, and the other a quick bite from selected shops.

So, took the opportunity to try Nirai Kanai at B1 of Liang Court. Restaurant was quite busy on a weekday evening.

tables outside of the restaurant

Orion draft beer @$8.90++

Had the braised pork belly rice set. It consists of seaweed soup, braised pork, some vege with tamago and tofu.

braised pork belly rice set

closer view

The sauce was noticeably sweet. Pork was tender and the egg was really nice. The green vege tasted like 帝皇苗 or ceylon spinach.

lava egg!

The texture of tofu was pretty dense, so that tasted quite unique. Tofu was sitting on a slightly thicker savoury sweet sauce.

savoury tofu with a pinch of minced ginger