Alright folks, firstly I would like to thank y’all for your great support that this blogsite has hit more than 70k unique hits already. Awesome job guys! Secondly, I would like to apologize for not updating this site, reason is I’ve been bogged down by my move from Suzhou to Shenzhen. And immediately after my arrival, I got into work mode already and been busy till even today. I’m squeezing some time over weekends to update now and I have so much backlogs not just in Shenzhen but also my trip to Xiamen! I’m telling you, the food there… I really need to go again. This time I may organize a group of foodies to check out the place together. 🙂
Anyways, I would like to start with a place which I’ve checked out not too long ago. This is a famous coffee chain which is franchised from Korea, with more than 200 stores worldwide! Of course I didn’t know about this place ‘cos I’ve never been to Korea. But I found out the first store was opened in July 2012 in Shenzhen. So far they have 4 outlets in whole of Shenzhen! Check out my reviews below:
Store front at MixC Phase 2Love the mezzanine concept and high ceiling!Ordering counterGrub!2nd floorSelfie! 🙂 And showing the view from the top as well.Love those lamps!No latte art and foam was obviously scooped. The roast they use really doesn’t appeal to me even though it was a triple shot. Lack of robust. Something is really wrong with the formula.Banana Caramel Waffles with ice cream. I reckon vanilla ice cream would be nicer with this combi but then again, not a big fan of sweets.Pizza toast… Ingredients not a lot and toast is so thick… was basically eating bread…Some Rock Candy which was bought by someone beside us… They had to use a mallet to crush it… Scary… That’s one huge lump of sugar! 😛
Rating: 4/5. Extra points for ambience and service. Not so much for coffee and food though.
Taste: For those who like sweet stuff, you may like it here but nothing very special ‘cos all the sauces used are all readily available from supermarket.
Service: I must say service is pretty good. Don’t like the self-collection part though (even for food).
Ambience: Very good. But during summer the aircon may not be cool enough ‘cos of the high ceiling.
Portion: Average.
Price: The 2 entrees above with 2 grande lattes costed around RMB$130+. Pretty alright.
RTE: I wouldn’t return to eat but it’s a nice place to hang out and of course, eye candy! 😉
Location:罗湖区宝安南路1881号万象城. It’s hidden around a corner so you may wanna ask the security guard from the mall (That’s how I found it too!) They would bring you to the road and show you which way to walk! Talk about good service yo!
Alright I reckon it’s time to write a little more on Suzhou food before I leave this place for good. 🙂 This noodle house was discovered by myself while riding around the secluded areas of this deserted Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP). Came here many times already actually, just that never got down to write about them. I reckon they deserve to be recommended as the noodles here are awesome and at the same time, they are at an area where not many people will know due to the lack of public transport facilities. See my comments below the pictures attached.
Noodle house frontCan get very crowded during weekends and lunch hours… interns in front… 🙂Display of all the additional ingredients to go with your noodles… not much left if you’re there after 1pm… like me… 🙁白汤 (White Soup) RMB5 – Typical Suzhou noodles with clear soup. Don’t think they use MSG as I couldn’t detect the usual MSG taste. Soup is nice and thick, I believe was boiled with pork bones among other ingredients for hours/days/weeks/months. You’ll never know. 😉红汤 (Red Soup) RMB5 – Typical Suzhou dark soup noodles. I reckon they added a little of the braised sauce from the braised meat. I prefer the clear one still.Assorted Mushrooms RMB8 – Very nice to go with your noodles.焖肉 (Braised Meat) RMB8 – A typical Suzhou dish to go with the noodles.爆鱼 (Braised Fish) RMB8 – Typical Shanghai/Jaingsu dish where the fish is deep fried and then braised. A little sweet as usual in their cuisine but an excellent source of protein. But the fish from around here are fresh water, hence LOTS OF BONES…A meal like this is around RMB$22 (S$4.50)This is how I slurp up my soup… Trust me, the taste is a lot better than using a spoon.This is how you show your appreciation… by finishing the soup that took many hours to boil!
Rating: 5/5.
Taste: Really awesome… been here like more than 8 times since I came to Suzhou a year ago. Brought my SG interns there as well and they loved it. Noodles are custom made for their 2 outlets, soup base is boiled for many hours and even the accompaniments taste good!
Portion: Above average. I can be filled with only 1 standard bowl of noodles.
Service: Pretty good.
Ambience: Traditional setting. Quite appropriate for a traditional dish of Suzhou.
Price: Really cheap and affordable. I tried one traditional outlet at Shiquan Street, costed me RMB200 for 3 pax! And this is so much better than that ‘popular’ place!
七宝老街 (Qibao Ancient Street) is an ancient town which has been preserved for the purpose of tourism in Shanghai. However it is not a complete ancient town… just 2 stretches of old shops which is linked by a bridge. This is one of the attractions in Shanghai but it’s not very near the city. Nevertheless, I was there to check out all their street food and found some good stuff there actually! Check out the pictures I’ve taken!
Entrance to the townPagoda outsideCrowded at all times.The words on the glass panel says these sugared haw will lower your blood pressures. Yeah, and thickening the blood with sugar!Candied haw and fruits on sticksFamous goat meatsome stallThe bridgeTry to ignore the apartments behind… looks nicer without that haha
Super crowded on the other side!Love old buildingsBraised pig trottersBraised pork legBraised pigeonsBeggars’ Chicken cooked in ‘mud’Bored stall assistantBraised sparrowsFamous glutinous rice ball placePeople queuing for raw ones for take awaysMany awardsEach ball is around RMB2.50… soup is just water… not sweet typeRed date… not nice… regretBlack sesame, nice…Peanut also nice…Meat… awesome! Juicy inside!Managed to get a seat downstairs which is RARE!!!Guy cooking the balls in front… they differentiate the balls from the shapes…Some sweet snacksCrabsShe’s making some corn flour crispy biscuit snack thingy…China’s answer to balot/balut… Chicks inside the eggs… not duckings…Braised gizzard… Quite good cos the sauce is boiled over years…
Some glutinous rice thing sweet snackssweetsPeanut candy is really good!
Rating: 4.5/5. Eat quality is good. Gotta try everything!
Taste: Pretty good but I don’t really like the sweet stuff.
Portion: Average
Service: Not good… cos so crowded
Ambience: Old and wet… cos Shanghai weather is mostly wet.
This is another backlog which I haven’t got time to write about. This is a popular chain of restaurants in Shanghai and they have recently penetrated Suzhou. Many tourists coming to Shanghai may not know this restaurant unless a local bring or recommend them there. I got to know this place through my friends who were base in Shanghai also, much before me. This place serves a mix of Shanghai cuisine and more of Szechuandishes. They do have a lot of dishes that they created for their menu. All their outlets are literally packed with people almost everyday especially weekends when you have to queue up like mad. Reason why it is so popular, is that their dishes are cheap and portions are huge! Check out the pics below:
Every out let has a reception and waiting area where you press for a ticket and wait for your number to be called out. You can also pre-order your dishes at the computer screen beside the reception.Everyone has a packet of stuff inside with chopsticks, tissue packet, toothpick and a wet towel.海鲜老油条 – Seafood Dough Sticks. The dough sticks if you eat quick enough are still crispy. Very nice dish.水煮黑鱼 – Snake head fillet in oil and dried chillies. Their signature dish.樟茶鸭 – Very tasty and the flavours from the spices are soaked in the meat of this duck.上汤芦笋 – Asparagus cook in stock.珍珠豆腐 – Tofu serve in hotplate.Free dessert of some rice wine with glutinous rice balls cos I’m a member. ;P This is a typical Shanghainese dessert which can be bought from the supermarket too.Bill for 4 pax… plus packing the food we couldn’t finish.
Rating: 5/5. Quality food at affordable prices. Well done!
Taste: Very nice. So many choices but too little stomachs. Bring more friends to enjoy more dishes!
Portion: Huge! Remember not to order too much unless you’re packing for your lunch and dinner for the whole week. ;P
Service: Pretty good I must say.
Ambience: I’ve been to quite a few of their outlets and most of them are pretty warm inside. Seating is comfy though.
A Korean friend invited me for dinner to celebrate his wife’s birthday. This is perhaps one of the best Korean restaurants I have visited in China and I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner, not because of the company but also the ambience and the food. According to my friend, he said that this is probably the closest to what they eat in Seoul. Really mesmerized with the cuisine they have to offer and not that expensive also.
Restaurant frontUsing real charcoal for BBQLove the decorQuite full at nightBeef RibsThe veg is free flow… to wrap and eat with the meat. Salads we ordered.Fried kimchi pancakeService staff will be BBQing for youKimchi soup comes with a bowl of steamed riceCold Noodles… This one is damn awesome… The noodles are chewy like what you eat in Korea!Complimentary dessert
Rating: 4.5/5. Service could be a little better.
Taste: Really good. I would wanna visit again but on diet… maybe after my diet to reward myself!
Portion: Average
Service: Service is not that good ‘cos you have to call them to get things done. Some things have to be automatic like topping up the water when the glass is empty, etc.
Ambience: Very nicely decorated.
Price: I didn’t pay but I believe it’s around RMB500 (SGD$100) for 4 pax.
This is one of the outlets that offers Singapore cuisine. Hence when Singaporeans or Malaysians miss their hometown food, they will come to this place. There is another place opened in a secluded place out of malls like this one, which I have yet to visit. This was my first time here and to be honest, food is not bad, service sucks big time.
Store frontGot nasi lemak, bak kut teh, etc…Even got fried carrot cake, curry puffprata, satay, etcCurry Chicken is pretty awesome RMB42Sambal Kangkong is quite good too. Can’t remember the price.Hot plate tofu
Rating: 4/5.
Taste: Pretty good. Taste pretty close to back home.
Portion: Average
Service: Really sucks big time. Male captain can stare are me standing at the entrance and after 5 seconds, look away. So many staff, service so slow. They don’t bother to top up water for the customers. Cooking time also very slow for the hot plate tofu. Took more than 30 mins to serve.
Ambience: As it is located in an island of the mall, the aircondition is really bad. But at least they should have fans cooling the place. They don’t. Hence I was uncomfortable throughout.
Price: Quite pricey but as per all Singapore food overseas, they are never cheap. Total bill with drinks around RMB150.
I do apologize for the absence as I was doing my stint in Shanghai. Just got back to Singapore and will be flying to Taipei for a short trip to feature lots of street food! Then after that will be heading on to my new stint in Suzhou, China, where there are a lot of nice and traditional snacks and foodstuff, which I will be slowly discovering them.
I was recently in Bangkok as you can see from my previous post on Bangkok’s Most Hated and apart from what pissed me off, was the great food in the land of smiles. I was checking back my previous posts and was quite surprise that I didn’t write anything about the food in the foodcourt of Mahboonkrung or otherwise known as MBK. For the benefit of those who have not been to Bangkok before, MBK is the MUST GO place in Bangkok. It has almost 80% of all the things Thailand has to offer. From titbits, to accessories, IT stuff, massage places, cinema, restaurants, cafes, supermarket, banks, money exchanges, lifestyle shops, furniture shops, etc… Basically I think you got the idea. And the foodcourt is the best place to try most of some Thai local dishes, in a cleaner environment, if you have a weak stomach. Like most Singaporeans, MBK’s foodcourt is where we usually report to when first reach Bangkok. The food there is pretty good (Thai local standards) but a little more pricey than that of the street. No choice lah, foreigners flood that place daily, forcing price up quite a lot.
MBK Foodcourt
So I was there last week, I already knew what I wanted to eat for lunch. But before you can buy your food, please go buy coupons first. Here is all base on coupons, no cash unless for the stalls not within the foodcourt. How much to change? Hmm… I usually change about 300bahts so that you don’t have to run here and there. You can refund balance coupons once you’re done with eating and remember, you have to utilize the coupons on the same day… if not, you’ll lose the monetary value tied to the coupons in your hands!
Coupon counter at the far endCoupons for food!
So after changing the coupons, I headed to my favourite Khao Kar Moo (Thai for Pork Leg Rice) stall. You can let the stall person know you don’t want fats or skin and they will just give you the pork leg meat with some salted vegetables. Add an egg for 10baht. Total is about 55baht (S$2.30). Just love the soft skin (without the fats of course) and together with the sourish chilli sauce, it’s really appetising! Yums!
Awesome Khao Kar Moo (Pork Leg Rice)
Portions like the above is actually quite little for a normal adult. So I would usually order a side dish which you can share with whoever is with you. Hoy Tod is like the Fried Oyster in Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. But this one is crsipy and assorted seafood. Used to be 70baht but now it’s 120baht.
Hoy Tod Talaay (Hot Plate Seafood)
The great thing about dining in Bangkok, they always have these pharmaceutical companies sponsoring tissues on the tables! Free to use! 🙂
Free tissues
As for desserts, look out for the little fruit shops lined on the ‘outskirts’ of the foodcourt. Check out the yellow signages stalls. But prices have gone up a lot for the mango one to about 140baht. Used to be only 80-100baht. But this time I ordered Sticky Rice with Durian instead for 60baht. It was awesome. Very strong in taste, and very fulfilling. 🙂 If you are packing back to your hotel room, please make sure they tie properly and double pack it. Cos most hotels do not allow you to bring durians into the hotel premise itself. Make sure also the aircon is independant and not central sharing!
Stalls with yellow signages where desserts are soldSecurely packed for scentless bringing back to your hotel rooms 🙂Khao Niao Tulian (Durian Sticky Rice) Awesome and strong taste, gave a lot of durian, love it!
Rating: 4.5/5
Taste: Awesome food quite close to most street food!
Portion: Average
Price: Average for some. A lot cheaper than the food court at Siam Paragon.
RTE: Like I said, must report to this place everytime in Bangkok!
