The Prata Place @ Upper Thomson Road

This place is somewhere near Springleaf Garden at Upper Thomson Road and definitely needed a car to get there. Remember the Ultimate Hawker Food Fest that was curated by Ian, Maureen and Derrick sometime in October last year? On its 'Ultimate Ingredient' menu, The Prata Place had showcased its Prata with Poached Egg w/ Hollandaise. It's called the Blaster Plaster! But the sauce seemed to be different...

Blaster Plaster

perfectly runny yolk

The Blaster Plaster really tasted like an angmonized prata. It was more of a regular egg benny but on a crispy pancake instead. Didn't really go well with the curry though. It was like a novelty to eat this with teh tarik, but I prefer the usual pratas with strong curry. Speaking of teh tarik, it's almost customary to have it with pratas, don't you think? Or Nescafe tarik. That works too.

teh tarik less sweet

If weather is too hot, have a glass of teh-o-limau ais (iced tea with lime. That's a thirst quencher!

weather too hot? Or, if curry was too hot

The Ultimate Murtabak is on menu, so we got ourselves that. Ultimate anything, should be worth trying, right? This murtabak has tandoori chicken, mushrooms, onions and cheese. Came in a good size for sharing. Loaded with ingredients and tasted so good with the chicken or fish curry. Personal favourite was the fish curry. Yums and spicier.

Ultimate Murtabak

loaded with ingredients

For munchies that doesn't fill you up, there's pappadum. But I'd think pappadum goes better with rice that's drenched in curry sauce, and with some delicious fried chicken.

snack

Then, the latest on the menu would be Umami 50 which has chicken luncheon meat, chicken floss and mayo. Glad that we ordered this, as it was really tasty! Ate it with fish curry and the combo was just wow. Spicy, savoury and sweet at the same time. Lovely and definitely recommended. Don't forget the fish curry sauce.

Umami 50

Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters @ Jalan Pelatina

Located at Jalan Pelatina Upper Thomson Road, this place was crowded during the weekend morning of our visit. Long queues outside after 10am. This place is at the same stretch that houses One Man Coffee, just that it's at the other corner.

beautiful tarts

menu

Coffee with milk comes in a 3 size options; 3, 5 or 7 ounces. 3 ounces would be something of an espresso lungo size. Three ounces is about 90ml of liquid. Tiny when compared to the smallest size of say, Starbucks. Chose the Roadster blend, for a more chocolatey flavour.

Roadster blend 3 ounces @$4.50

cold brew coffee

For food, we had the breakfast set, pancakes and a lemon tart. Shared the food as there are other stops to make that day.

The breakfast set was good, liked the jam that came along with it. Spread it up, mop up the yolk and eat together with those saltish bits of bacon and salmon. Yums.

Signature Breakfast @$20

Pancakes @$16

The pancake stack of course, pretty to look at. It was soft and pillowy. Liked it with lots of maple syrup and mascarpone. Not overly sweet, just nice.

let's drizzle

good for sharing

The green apple looking tart was very pretty, but we got the lemon one instead. The lemony zing was nice and not too sharp. Best consumed with a cup of hot coffee.

lemon tart

good things must share

Pacamara have some interesting craft beers too (for example, milk stout?!), if you fancy that in the morning or on a hot sunny afternoon. 

crowded

Cashback when shopping at Rakuten!

If you're already an avid Rakuten/Groupon/Expedia/Zalora/Taobao shopper, good news! Did you know that there is a company that offers cashback when you shop at online shopping portals such as Rakuten, GroupOn and even Expedia! Yes, no kidding. It exists. Check out ShopBack, a Singaporean-led startup that offers cashback reward ranging from 1% to 12%, depending on portal. This means, one could get paid for shopping online. Interesting.

Here are some online write-ups about ShopBack:

• https://vulcanpost.com/174511/steady-silent-and-deadly-inside-singapores-hidden-gem-startup-shopback/
• https://sg.news.yahoo.com/shopback-online-version-great-singapore-050900409.html
• http://e27.co/shopback-nabs-us600000-funding-led-east-ventures-20150309/

 So, wanting to test this out, I went ahead and registered for an account at ShopBack

ShopBack website

so many merchants in ShopBack

Been eyeing the things in Rakuten for sometime, and just missed the Snaffles offer the other time when it was doing a 1-for-1 for its catch-cakes. But never mind, this time round, found something at half-price. But I was also looking at Japanese Rice and some curries... so many things to buy, so little funds...

ooh, Japanese liquor at half price!

this combination also looks good!

In the end, I chose to get the half-priced liquor. Completed the transaction but nothing seemed to happen with the ShopBack. Hmm, let's get details about Rakuten's cashback here.


Oh, need to wait one day for the cashback to be added to the account. Oops, false alarm! As stated, the cashback will be tracked after 1 day and redeemable after 60 days. True enough, at the next day, the account shows the Rakuten transaction.

pending redeem

All in all, it was a fun experience and there were some other promotions going-on at Rakuten. There was an extra 10% off for Tuesday shopping and an extra 5% when paid via Mastercard using a promo code. So on-top of the 5% cashback via ShopBack, in total, one may save anything from 5% to 15% more. Good right?

For Rakuten, one need to register for an account to shop in Rakuten as guest shoppers will not get to enjoy the cashback. So do remember to read the terms and conditions to make the most out of your online shopping experience!

If you have registered for ShopBack account, and the individual accounts to shop at GroupOn and Expedia, you can click on the links to start shopping (check out the terms and conditions). ShopBack has also conveniently listed out the available coupons and voucher codes that are applicable at the partnering site, on theirs. Most are time-sensitive, so do look-out for it!

Have fun and may you find the best deals!

Updates:

Order received 2 days after ordering from Rakuten - Sake Cellar

bubble wrapped

ta-dah!

Bedok Market Place 勿洛坊

Located at 348 Bedok Road (near Simpang Bedok), this renovated food centre is accessible only by stairs. The stalls there have stylish decoration, plus it feels a little hip. Although, we were still in a non-airconditioned food court setting. Certain areas have powerful fan units, so no need to worry about the heat.

entrance

Was there with a specific objective in mind, which was to get some meat. Ok, perhaps that didn't came out right. Had a morning event where we loaded quite a bit on desserts, so to balance things up, the foodie gang decided to grab some late lunch which must contain meat items for that substantial feel.

collection of menu from the features stalls

For our mains, found Ballistic and the Chop Chop Selections. Then, for desserts, the girls got something from SPies & All Things Nice.

so pretty

gonna get their specials, but it ain't on a flatbread

Got some meatballs to try from Ballistic. A few flavours in fact. Chose their shop specialty, chicken and the chili crab meatballs. Added two sides; the deep fried abalone mushroom and the salted egg yolk fries.

Signature Ballistic Meatballs - sesame battered cheesy beef meatballs @$5.90 (back - chicken meatballs @$4)

Chili Crab Meatballs with mantous @$10.50

Crispy Wild Mushrooms @$3

Salted Egg Yolk Fries @$7.90

For the meatballs, unfortunately the Signature cheesy beef meatballs didn't work for us. It was a tad dry. Enjoyed the chicken meatballs more but the favourite was the chili crab meatballs. We liked 'em saucy! The salted egg yolk sauce on the fries was good too but the crispy mushroom was quite addictive for nibbles. A bottle of beer at the drinks stall costs only $5 for an Asahi.

Next, we tried the Chop Chop Selections. Yes, like its namesake, choose your chop (choice of meat), and they will cook it for ya. From simple grilling to deep fried. We got ourselves a beef steak, pork ribs and fish and chips. From the land to the sea. Didn't do poultry though. Should have gotten some wings, aiyah!

Best accessorized stall

meet the meats

Needn't wait long for our food. Quite chop chop, this stall.

Baby Back BBQ Ribs @$15.90

London Fish & Chips @$9.90

Premium Ribeye Steak @$18.50

Most value for money item, would be the London Fish & Chips with that thick slab of dory. Thinly battered, and moist meat. Best tasting would be the BBQ Back Ribs with its fork tender meat. However, thought it was more Asian flavoured than western. The steak was done rare and actually, quite enjoyable to chew on.

Ribeye Steak - customary sliced view

The girls, came back with pies. Cute little mini pies from Spies and All Things Nice.

say hi to Brandon and try their freshly baked savoury and sweet pies

Lots of Asian influenced flavours such as buah keluak, babi pongteh, chicken laksa etc. Not forgetting, their sweet pies with pulut hitam, or the almond flavour tasted exactly like how those desserts should be. So convenient to 'da bao' the flavours. A slightly bigger version would be good too. Yummy.

(top) sweet pies - pulut hitam, almond tart (bottom) - there's buah keluak, basil chicken, laksa, baby pongteh

And, Brandon generously introduced to us his new creation for SG50; the Chili Crab Kueh Pie Tee. The pie tee shell was amazingly crisp, and those chili crab was just so flavourful with the necessary tinge of spice. Gone in one mouthful. *thumbs up*

Chili Crab Kueh Pie Tee

Was fun hanging out with the foodie gang at Bedok Market Place, and trying out the stalls here. To find out what the shops have been up to lately, you might want to check on their individual FB page.

Bedok Market Place

Website: http://www.thebedokmarketplace.com.sg/

Ballistic Meatballs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ballisticmeatballs
 

Chop Chop Selections

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechopchopselections

SPies & All Things Nice

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiesandallthingsnice

Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar @ Tanglin Post Office

Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar has been around for a few years now. Well known for its fresh bakes, especially its Guinness Stout bread and Reuben sandwich, it also offers a casual cosy ambiance for dining. Did you know that its Happy Hour starts from 8am till 8pm? Now you know where to head to, for that early tipple.

say cheers!

interior

if you prefer the outdoors

Was invited to try its menu, so we were there on a weekday evening. The place has a very relaxed vibe. Walk inside, and one shall be greeted by an array of breads and cakes. Heard that brioche sells out pretty fast too.

lovely bakes

come early for greater selection

Look at what I found. It's a sign, which am translating it into: Let's try. With that many of us gathered, we ordered every single one of its Signature Cocktails. Wheee~

Signature cocktails

Here goes. Am listing the main alcohol in each of the cocktails. By the name of the cocktails, its not difficult to know what are the other non-alcoholic ingredients in it. Forgot to take a photo of the sour plum cocktail though. Liked my Raspberry cocktail as it was sweet and fruity, but would have preferred it to be stronger.

Raspberry Lychee Iced Tea - Absolut Elyx Vodka

Yuzu Breeze - Prosecco

Peach Tree Lemonade- Absolut Elyx Vodka

Dirty Sriracha Bloody Mary - Absolut Elyx Vodka

As Guinness Stout bread seemed synonymous with Nassim Hill Bakery, let's have a round of that. Fully agree that this bread was indeed very nice, flavourful and simply a joy to eat. Have it with jams and butter, or pretty much anything else. It's even good on its own.

Guinness Stout Bread - marmalade and strawberry jam, butter

If you like seafood, do ask for its mussels. Listed as "Market Fresh Mussels with a hint of Chili" in its menu under the Shared Plates section. Using imported French Bouchot mussels which is smallish compared to the usual ones that we see in supermarkets, but is said to be sweeter in taste. We tried it and it was uninamously accepted. Was mopping up the sauce with any remaining slices of bread that we could lay our hands on.

Market Fresh Mussels with a Hint of Chili @$25++

that golden sauce

Mussels was good, with just a touch of chili for some heat. It may prudent to request for it during reservation, in order to avoid disappointment as it is only available in limited quantities.

Great to see Kale Caesar available in the menu. Kale has became very popular due to the superfood trends and it is also touted as one of the world's healthiest food. A leafy green that has plenty of vitamins (A, C and K) and minerals (copper, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus), high in protein but low in calories. Doesn't that makes us want to rush out and chomp on kale?

At Nassim Hill, you can enjoy kale salad with your friends. A good quantity of greens, paired with hard boiled egg, some prosciutto chip and tasty creamy anchovy dressing. Best part (besides superfood kale, of course) would be the super duper crispy parmesan crumbs. So good.

Kale Caesar @$17++

Or, if you must have meat in your salad, one can opt for the Asian BBQ Chicken salad. Pretty colourful and has variety in a plate. Edamame, fresh greens, capsicum, toasted almonds, sesame seeds, wanton skins, carrots, mandarin oranges and chicken with soy ginger dressing.

Asian BBQ Chicken Salad @$15++

pour it all over

Have not mentioned that there's beer and cider on tap too. Well, it's never too late to mention. They do have Erdinger and Heineken on tap, as well as Strongbow cider.

wanna tap your own?

Heineken and Strongbow buddies

How about some beer food to go with the drinks? Got some popcorn chicken with sriracha aioli. Good old fried chicken bites. Yummy.

Popcorn Chicken Bites @$12++

For something unusual, one could try Sam's favourite; The Gherkin Tempura with Sour Cream and Bacon Dip. Yes, fried pickles. It was interesting but Sam, am not going to fight with you over this one. Keke.

Gherkin Tempura with Sour Cream and Bacon Dip @$9++

If you like Poutine, then good news for you as Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar do have a Poutine in its menu. Fries with Chef's entrecote sauce, lots of minced beef and topped with shredded mozarella cheese. Poutine is a dish that originated from Canada.

Poutine @$13++

look at those strings of cheese~

Am liking the minced beef, brown sauce and cheese combo but not the soggy fries. Still prefers crispy double fried fries. Speaking of crispy, out came the Cheddar Cheese Bacon Waffles, served with a dip of chive sour cream. Liked the chive sour cream with the saltish cheddar cheese waffles. Nice as a snack.

Cheddar Cheese Bacon Waffles @$19++

Time to roll out the main courses. First up, the Singapore-influenced, Chili Crab Pasta. Heard that this Nassim Hill's number one bestselling pasta. Jumbo lump crab meat with spicy chili crab sauce, and a pretty generous amount of sauce too. Enjoyable and be careful with those tiny red hot chilies.

Chili Crab Pasta @$16++ / $25++ (for half or full portion)

Meat lovers are not forgotten. We tried the Tonkatsu and the Grain Fed Angus T-Bone Steak.

Tonkatsu @$21++

break the sous vide egg and let the runny yolk moisten the meat

The Tonkatsu is a panko crusted pork loin, served with a sous vide egg and asian red cabbage slaw. The gochujang sauce gave a Korean flavour to the dish.

That hunk of a T-bone steak looked attractive with its sear. Served simply with arugula and some sea salt. The meat was beefy and requires a good chew. For T-bones, the meat nearing its bone is always the best. Enjoyable with the sea salt. Good with a glass of red wine.

Grain Fed Angus T-bone Steak (500gms House Special) @$65++

the meat is calling

Best way to end a meal? Why, it must be desserts, of course. We had the Pear Cheddar Crumble, Triple X and Carrot Cake.

Everyone has their favourites and mine was the Triple X with Triple Sec. No, it was not because of just the liquor. But gotta admit that the orange flavoured liquor lends a certain moistness to the chocolatey cake. Spongy, fudgy with dark chocolate. Nice.

The Pear Cheddar Crumble was very good too. Who doesn't like ice-cream and those salty cheddar crumble was so good to crunch with the sweet ice-cream. The carrot cake surprises me as well, with its airy cake and delectable nuts and dried fruits. Most importantly, it was not overly heavy with spices. Sweet.

Pear Cheddar Crumble @$11++

Triple X @$9++

Carrot Cake @$8++

Thank you Audrey and Jaime for hosting the dinner. To the friendly and efficient crew of Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro and Bar, thank you too. Also, special thanks to HGW for the invite. To my foodie friends, enjoyed your company, as always.

Till next time, everyone in Singapore a Happy Golden Jubilee and Happy Eating!

Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar 

Location: 56 Tanglin Road, Tanglin Post Office #01-03
Closed on: Mondays
Telephone: 6835-1128
Website: http://www.nassimhill.com.sg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nassimhill