iSteaks Diner @ MyVillage Serangoon Gardens

iSteaks had existed for so long at Holland Village but I've yet to try it. Hardly believable, yes? So when the gang decided to do a food trail at MyVillage and iSteaks happened to be at the same location, well what else could I do? To try it of course!

order and pay first

But of course, there was one tiny weeny problem. It was so difficult to get a seat on a weekend! Works similarly to a food court format, one basically need to stand close to the table that you think would be finishing their meal. For some reason, I felt like a vulture that day.

cowboy decor

It was our third meal for the day. Prior to that we had dined at Petaling Street and Hajime, so we decided to go modest in iSteaks. Ordered a 250gms NZ and AU ribeye, and an AU lam shoulder all with two sides. Hmm, I guess that's about 650 to 700 gms of meat for the 5 of us, excluding the sides. WoooOoo...we big eaters!

AU Lamb Shoulder @$16.50

The lamb shoulder was tough! Had to send it back to the kitchen to help us cut it. Think they saw that certain parts were rather rare and helped us to cook it some more. The lamb tasted much better when it came out of the kitchen the second time round. The spinach & sesame salad was good. Tastiest of the lot. The buttered corn kernel were rather normal.

AU Ribeye 100 days grain-fed 250gms @$27.50

Look at that thick-cut meat with nicely pink center for the AU ribeye. The Australian meat had a more beefy flavour, and of a texture that can be described as 'macho'. The sides of cauliflower cheese and sauteed brussels sprouts were enjoyable.

NZ ribeye 250gms @$23.50

However, I do prefer the NZ ribeye for its more genteel texture. The mac & cheese were off that day, so we didn't enjoy any of it.

give me more meat!

Not sure since this place is perpetually packed on the weekend. It probably wouldn't have a queue before 12pm. The queue continued all the way till 230pm on a weekend. The place seemed popular with families and young adults.

Hajime 初め Tonkatsu and Ramen @ MyVillage Serangoon Gardens

Hajime "初め"  means 'beginning'. Did you know that Chef Tan-san is the first tonkatsu chef in Singapore? Now we can enjoy this taste that has been mastered over the years at Hajime located at Level 2 of MyVillage Serangoon Gardens.

Bright and spacious but do go there early as there will be a crowd during weekends.

shopfront

what shall we have today?

Of course, one should be getting a tonkatsu. It was only a matter of which one. For meat, we chose the premium pork loin and the other a fillet. One with miso and the other without. Also took a bowl of shabu shabu to try.

grinding sesame

For appetiser, we tried the chicken skin. All agreed that these salty, crisp sinful bites are to be had with drinks. The edamame too was tasty with the generous sprinkling of salt over the charred skin. Someone please get me an Asahi!

deep fried chicken skin @$4.50

edamame @$4

Of course, the heavyweights are the much awaited tonkatsu. My goodness, please go for the premium pork loin. Wonderfully smooth and firm meat that's gentle to the jaw. Clean tasting and loved the crisp crumbed batter.

Nagoya Miso Fillet Set @$19.50

Premium Loin (ala-carte) $13.90

I love Japanese rice, and the Niigata rice served at Hajime satisfied the need for carbs. Could finish the rice even if it's with the occasional salty deep fried skin and lots of shredded cabbage with tonkatsu sauce dressing. So yums.

rice

Tried the kurobuta shabu-shabu and it had a mild pleasant flavour. Lovely broth and comforting to eat when the weather is colder.

Kurobuta Shabu Shabu Ramen @$15

lifted and ready for take-off!

Would definitely return for the premium pork loin tonkatsu.

Jalan Petaling 茨厂街美食 Famous Malaysian Food Street @ MyVillage Serangoon Gardens

The shop's name is quite a mouthful but hey, since it has Malaysian chefs cooking up street food, let's give it a try! Located at MyVillage Serangoon Gardens, level 2.

茨厂街 must-eats are chee cheong fun (steamed rice roll) that's paired with yong tau foo (tofu stuffed with minced meat), claypot lou shee fun (claypot bee tai mak with a raw egg in it), claypot chicken rice paired with ikan bakar (grilled fish) and so much more! Read about some of it here.

entrance

There's a couple of menus available; individual eats, or communal dining (zhichar) styled, or special menu of seafood hotpot. Seafood hotpot like this? A smaller version from its sister restaurant.

individual meal menu

So what did we try? Let's see the varieties sampled with Jennifer, Ivan, Alvin, Hence and Tracy.

curry chee cheong fun with yong tau foo @$6.80

pork trotters bee hoon @$8.80

The chee cheong fun was smooth and the curry complemented it well. And, how Malaysians like their local chee cheong fun? With yong tau foo, of course! The yong tau foo gave it some variety to avoid being too monotonous. The pork trotters were forgettable though.

Now, for the taste test. The KL hokkien mee. Ooh, don't forget the sambal which one have to take albeit self-service styled.

KL Seafood Hokkien Mee @$8.80

Happy to report that the hokkien mee came laden with lard bits at the bottom. So toss it up a bit before eating! The wok-hei was subtle but it kept us happy. Slurpiliciously good. The colour of the soy sauce was right. KL hokkien mee must be dark dark then nice.

round noodles? oh yes!

But of course, my preference of good tasty KL dark hokkien mee will always be the pork slices version with cabbage, chicken gizzard, crispy lard bits and fried with enough wok-hei.

Yong Tau Foo platter (own mix) @$1 per piece

Soy Sauce Chicken @$16 (small)

Another favourite of ours, was the delectable soy sauce chicken with its smooth gelatinous skin. The 滑滑 (wat wat in Cantonese) feels~. The marinade was good and strongly flavoured. Order this to satisfy meaty cravings.

All in all, we had a good meal and the service staff was friendly and has good knowledge of shop's namesake 茨厂街 (KL Chinatown).

Wishing you a happy meal at Petaling Street!

Jalan Petaling 茨厂街美食 Famouse Malaysian Food Street

Address: 1 Maju Ave, 556679 Singapore
Contact: 6509 9872

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