Seriously Ice Cream @ Everton Park

It has been a busy month for me since my last Blog post...

So here I am back again with my recent visit to Everton Park to try out one of the raved healthy Ice Cream with Waffles. This hidden cafe at Everton Park had been making news in the online social media platform as well as Channel NewsAsia. As per the Singapourlang (Singaporean) mentality, got Long Q must be Lagi (very) good to Makan, got media interview one, must be Lagi good to Makan too lor.

Ms Rila & I decided to make a trip down to try it out for teabreak before our Dinner at the nearyby Stranger's Reunion. The cafe its quite within the HDB area, even though it was a Saturday, the surrounding was very the An Jing (quiet), which can be good in some way, to escape from the Noisy city area.

Seriously Ice Cream Shop Front

The interior have limited seats due to the small dining area, there is also a table outside for those who wish to enjoy the natural air.

There are 2 bench type of tables and a couple of round tables inside, and what caught our attention is that apart from selling the Ice Creams & beverages, they also sells some accessories and bags, which are displayed at the back, with a 10% discount off for the customers. It does makes a nice backdrop for taking Selfies and photos, for someone like Ms Rila, haha.

They served around 10 plus kinds of Ice cream flavours each day, so you need to come early before its gone, just like the saying, "Zao Qi De Niao Er You Chong Chi" (Early Bird Gets to eat the Worm). Apart from Ice Creams and waffles, they do sell Kopi (coffee) and Teh (tea) too for those that just want a nice little place to La Kopi (chill).

Before stepping in, we already had in mind that we will be trying out their Ice Cream with Waffles, after trying out the different flavours available for the day, we picked the Collagen and Lychee Rose Ice cream flavours. For waffles order, do take note that there is a 5 minutes waiting time as the Waffles is not ready made, its made upon order.

 Double Scoop Ice Cream with Waffles $9.60

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★★☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★☆☆

The Collagen ice cream tasted yacult-ish, which had a tint of yogurt sourness, and the Lychee Rose ice cream is bandung-ish but not overly sweet, with bits of lychee meat within. Both the ice cream tasted soft and savoury, we also noticed that the Ice creams didnt melt that fast as even after 15mins plus of photo taking, it still looks Damn Solid. Waffles wise, I personally felt it was a bit too hard to me, but it was crispy and thick nevertheless, I would side towards waffles that is more fluffy and softer. This is just my own preference of eating waffles. As for Ms Rila, the only complaint from her is the chocolate syrup as it is one of the thing she disliked.

According to the owner, every Wednesday there will be a 50% waffles, which is Very worth it lor, so for those that want to try it out, can come to have a taste of it. I guess I will be back here very soon to try out their Savoury Waffles with Ice cream, as recommended by the owner. It is salted waffles with the inclusion of Cheese and Ham in contrast to the usual sweet waffles.

P.S. peeps with some hokkien base or singrish base will understand what i'm expressing easier :P

Address: 

Blk 4 Everton Park #01-44 Singapore 080004

Telephone:

9621 6889

Opening Hours:

Mon: 12:30pm to 9:00pm 
Wed - Thu: 12:30pm to 9:00pm 
Fri - Sat: 11:00am to 11:00pm 
Sun: 11:00am to 9:00pm

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/seriouslyicecream

Causeway Bay Hong Kong Dim Sum @ JB City Square

Crave for a taste of Dim Sum lead us towards the top of City Square...

Actually is due to the rain outside that we decided to have our lunch inside rather than to head out to eat the Herbal Duck Rice, so up we go to the top floor of City Square (level 6), the restaurant is just beside the Cathay Cinema Ticket booth.

After flipping through the menu outside, Ms Smiley agreed to go in to try it out, rather than to continue searching for another place to makan our lunch.

Its rather a spacious restaurant, with both interior and exterior having lotsa tables and seats, so confirm have a place to seat one, haha.

Very Spacious with wide walkway

 DIY tick your food ordering system 

Lunch Set Add-on Promotion

After much Beo (see) here and there, end up we go for their Set Lunch promotion, whereby you order a main dish and gets to add RM3.00 to get a drink, a soup and a plate of dim sum. Where in Singapore can you find such a DEAL sia, think even you add SGD3.00 also cant get such deal. We were still worrying about the serving size of the add-ons since its so cheap...luckily it was not :)

HK Milk Tea

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

For drinks, you get to choose between HK Milk Tea, HK Coffee or HK Yuan Yang (mix of coffee & tea), we go for the HK Milk Tea, which I think it tasted kinda sweet but silky, but the aroma is still Gao Gao (strong), its not those dilute type of Milk Tea, its at least near to Ya Kun's standard.

Borsch Soup / Cream Soup

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

We got the two different soups to try it out, Borsch Soup tasted more like tomato juice to me, and it tends to be more sour, and the Cream Soup tasted like mushroom soup with the addition of carrot bits, tasted quite average, portion given were acceptable, so really cant Hiam (picky) much.

Cantonese Style Fried Hor Fun with BBQ Pork & Ginger RM12.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ms Smiley tends to have the fondness for Black Char Siew and this is one of her favourite kind of dish whenever she is in JB, so of course she will have to try it out to see the difference between this and the one at Hong Kong Cafe. Char Siew wise it uses Wu Hua Rou pork, which gives the meat a little softness from the fatty parts, which is better then a whole piece of lean pork meat. The accompanying gravy is too plain according to Ms Smiley, but it taste alright to me. Hor Fun is not really that QQ, just average normal. Overall a food court standard dish.

Honey Grilled Pork with Rice & Mixed Veg RM9.70

Ho Jiak bo ? ★☆☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

As compared with the Char Siew from the Hor Fun, the honey grilled pork meat for my dish is harder as it is 100% lean meat without any fats, and it seems a bit of overcooked to me. I felt that the veggies were not very the Shou (cooked), as it was not totally and fully soft. Ms Smiley mentioned that mine is just like the usual Cai Peng (mixed vegetables rice) bought from food court. Which I kinda agrees after eating, I think the Cai Peng stall opposite my block cooks better pork meat then this.

 Chicken Feet with Chuhou Sauce

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★☆☆

Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★★☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★☆☆

The Dim Sum "side dishes" actually taste nicer than the main dish that we ordered, the serving is not Giam Siap (stingy), chicken feet is quite Ru Wei (infused with taste) and spicy, but I think it will be better if they could cook longer to make it softer. Pork Ribs is better than my pork meat by a lot, with the right amount of fats and lean meat, it taste just right. Definitely can just order the pork ribs and a bowl of rice to start eating. 

Golden Liu Sha Bao RM6.80

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Custard dont really flow out

The "recommended" Liu Sha Bao (Golden Custard Bun) was a letdown, first of all, the Mian Fen (flour) is too much, and also not fluffy, the so call liquid custard is not liquid enough, Ms Smiley commented that it might not be handmade, could be bought from supermarket and then the Chef just fried it. Oh well, the taste of the custard is so-so, sad to say, it is still not really passable as a Liu Sha Bao.

Ms Smiley suggested to come again to try out their morning Dim Sum with the 50% promotion, since I dont really eat Bao (buns), I'm ok to give it a try again, to see if their other Dim Sum are really up to the standard. 

P.S. peeps with some hokkien base or singrish base will understand what i'm expressing easier :P

Address: 

Lot No. J6-10 Johor Bahru City Square 80000 Johor Bahru

Telephone:

+60 7221 1666

Opening Hours:

Daily : 11:00am to 9:00pm

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/CausewayBayHkDimSum

Eggs & Berries @ Westgate

It have been Jin Ku (quite long) since I have my last egg benedict...

As we are watching the 2nd part of the Lang Sai (Lion Dance) movie by Jack Neo at JCube's Shaw Cinema, Ji Tao (straight away) decide to eat our dinner at somewhere nearby, Jiu (so) end up Makan at Westgate lor.

Even though it was a Saturday, and around 7pm+, its not really that crowded, might have been due to the promotion of "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" from the chicken stall beside it.

Due to the Jin Zhua (very hot) weather outside and happens that this mall is kinda open concept, so better to sit inside to Chui Air Con (enjoy the air con), do note that the interior is kinda narrow and squeezy, not much seats inside, so if you are coming in big groups, better to seat at the outside, as it is more spacious.

Menu given are the same as the BIG MENU outside the cafe

 Eggs & Berries Eggs Benedict Doppio $16.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★☆☆

Italia Eggs Benedict Solo $14.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

So both of us end up ordering their Signature Eggs. The only difference between the 2 dishes is the type of ham used and the little avruga caviar on top of my solo egg. The former have bacon and honey ham while the latter have prosciutto parma ham. Its a little upsetting that the rosti was not available and a hash brown replacement is given instead. Luckily its not those greasily oily hash brown from McDonald's.

The eggs benedicts were soft and running, with egg yolk Liu Chu Lai (flowing out). Salad Greenies given is crunchy with a little pinch of taste from the accompanying sauce. Bacon on the other hand is really hard and Jin Giam (very salty). Honey Ham tasted quite normal, like those from NTUC, I would prefer the prosciutto parma ham on my Italia variation as it is more soft and tender. Lastly, the carbs of the day, the english muffin, tasted soft with a little crispy side. Portion given is just nice for us to fill our empty stomachs. 

 Green Mountain Bee $6.50

Ho Jiak bo ? ★☆☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★☆☆☆☆

Berries Berries $6.50

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

We also tried out their smoothies. Firstly, the Berries Berries smoothie, which contains Strawberry, Raspberry, Honey, Milk & Vanilla, tasted really like those normally seen strawberry yogurt drink bought from the supermarket, there aint any taste of the milk, honey or vanilla, its just pure sour drink. On the other hand, the Green Moutain Bee smoothie, which contain Avocado, Bee Pollen & Vanilla, is really plain and tasteless, even someone like me who drank ZERO SUGAR bubble tea, find that it is very very Dan (plain) with minimal avocado taste, not to say about the vanilla. The drink is still thick and creamy, just that its tasteless. Even the avocado milk shake I bought from the hawker centre near my workplace taste better than this. I'm not sure if they forget to add Honey or Vanilla into the drink that day or maybe they only put 1 teaspoon down. Really not worth the price tag in my opinion.

Berries Banana Pancakes $15.90 (add on $3.50/ scoop of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream) 

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★☆☆

Generous amount of Strawberries & Bananas slices

Next up, we ordered their Berries Banana Pancakes together with a scoop of Cherry Garcia Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. The 4 slices of pancakes were thin, soft and fluffy, wont really feel the starchy and floury texture. They are generous in giving plenty of the bananas and strawberries slices, making it a very huge portion when eaten as a dessert, even when shared by the two of us, if I'm the only one eating just this one for dinner, I will be very full. However, I still feel its kinda overpriced for this. Maybe it was meant for to be a meal instead of a dessert.

Even thou there were some hits and misses, the dining experience is still fine as the staff were quite fast in response and handle our requests quite well. Might be dropping around sometime to try out their waffles and other dishes.

P.S. peeps with some hokkien base or singrish base will understand what i'm expressing easier :P

Address: 

3 Gateway Drive Westgate, #02-06 Singapore 608532
(Nearest MRT Jurong East)

Telephone:

+65 6465 9189

Opening Hours:

Daily: 8:00am to 10:00pm

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Eggs.and.Berries

Createaf Waffles @ The Cathay

The crave for waffles finally satisfied after saying it for so long but didnt really went to makan it...

Still feeling Tam Po Tam Po (a little) not full after our dinner at Orchard Gateway, I suggested to roam over to Makan some dessert at The Cathay, actually I already know I wanted to have some waffles, as previously only say & say, but didnt really go to eat it...

Its conveniently situated near the level 1 entrance at The Cathay, although the cafe is kinda small with limited seats, it is not too squeezy within. 

The waffles and drinks are NETT priced, thus NO GST & NO SERVICE CHARGE, and do note that they only accept CASH payment, so please remember to head over to the ATM first.

We ordered the snacks set with Ji Puey (a cup) hot latte , as we do not want to eat till too full. Its not very nice to have a very bloated stomach before going to sleep. Eat a bit Jiu Gao Liao (is enough).

Waffle with Matcha Ice Cream $4.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★★☆

Snacks Set consist of just a quarter of a whole waffle with a scoop of the ice cream of your choice. Its quite a nice portion for those who wanted to just eat a bit but dunwan feel too Bao (full). Ice cream is home made and not those from supermarket, its smooth, creamy and milky. For the Matcha lover like me, I felt that the taste of the matcha in the Matcha Ice Cream is not that strong, quite light, I would prefer a more Gao Gao (strong) taste. No wonder it doesnt look really green to me, but Ms Rila said that cause they are home made, so didnt put much coloring...

Waffle with Strawberry Yogurt Ice Cream $4.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★★☆

Whereas for the Strawberry Yogurt Ice Cream, it doesnt taste like those Meiji Yogurt which is Jin (very) sour, there is just a tint of sourness from the yogurt, which I feel it can be more sour a bit. Waffle wise, it is kinda thick, soft & fluffy in the inside and Su Su Chui Chui (crispy) on the outside crust. Ms Rila mentioned that her waffle is a bit Dang Kort Kort (hard), but for me its quite alright. The accompanying chocolate sauce taste quite the Pin Fan (normal), dont think its made from those swiss dark chocolate, as I cant really taste out the bitter taste. Considering its price, it is quite affordable.

Matcha Tea Latte $4.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★★☆

Ms Rila mentioned her Matcha Tea Latte is quite Ku (bitter), however, it taste just a little bit of slight sweetness to me. Taste of matcha is at its minimal, maybe only just one table spoon of matcha powder, the presentation art is quite the creative, as least not the usual leaf, love or flowers design. 

Roasted Tea Latte $4.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★★☆

Its actually Oolong Tea with frothed milk, which is bitter than the Matcha Tea Latte. Its aroma is pleasant with every sip of the latte. The little bitterness from it actually complements well with the sweetness from the waffle. On a side note, Ms Rila complaint why am I given the Hello Kitty art while hers is the Monkey art...guess the person doing it might have thought that I'm the one drinking the Matcha Tea Latte.

Overall, its quite a nice place to chill out with your friends over here, listening to their light music and eating the waffles with a warm cup of latte. I've yet to try out their whole waffle, which I think for my stomach, it can be a Dinner meal for me, and I'm also looking to try out their other ice cream flavours too, haha. 

P.S. peeps with some hokkien base or singrish base will understand what i'm expressing easier :P

Address: 

The Cathay, 2 Handy Road #01-02 Singapore 229233
(Nearest MRT Dhoby Ghaut)

Telephone:

+65 6844 9207

Opening Hours:

Mon to Thu: 12:30pm - 10:00pm 
Fri to Sat: 12:30pm - 11:30pm 
Sun: 12:30pm - 10:00pm

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/createafwaffles

Lemon Tree Restaurant @ Taman Melodies

Mission to roam into new grounds of JB in search of good makans...

Finally having the first collab with fellow friend cum food blogger, Mr Jaron from Criticritics, alongside with Ms Rila, this time round, we Soh (roam) into Taman Melodies.

Taxi ride takes around 10 to 15mins or so, with a cab fare of 12RM, which should be cheaper all thanks to the driver taking the long route....as our journey back to City Square only took 9RM.....

Bright Yellow Shop Board

Upon arrival at the restaurant's front , it just looks somehow normal and nothing fanciful at first glance. However, the interior seeks to differ from the Lok Kok (worn out) exterior. Do take note that you can smoke both inside and outside of the restaurant, which we happened to sit Sway Sway (unluckily) in between the smokers....at least make it a Non-Smoking area inside.

Yellow Interior

Theres also wifi within the restaurant, so you can hook up to the internet, FB, Twitter, whatsoever when you in within. Can kindly check with them if they had ON their wifi.

Menu kinda worn out, please be gentle...

Upon arrival, we were been given 2 menus by their friendly staffs, one for the main dishes & drinks and one for the desserts.

Mr Jaron ordered a Ice Cafe Mocha first since he is very the Chui Dah (thirsty), and Ms Rila & I ordered the Hot Cappuccino and Hot Cafe Mocha respectively.

 Ice Cafe Mocha RM4.50

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

 Hot Cafe Mocha RM3.50

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Hot Cappuccino RM3.50

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Drinks wise, we shall let the Xiong Gong Wei (picture do the talking), as it is just the normal average drinks, nothing very special to comment about. Taste wise, its around that of foodcourt level in Singapore given the price.

We ordered 3 main dishes to share so as to leave some stomach for the desserts later.

Spaghetti Cabonara RM8.80

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

The Cabonara's sauce is very creamy, with the mixture of eggs in within, its also light and not oily. Spaghetti is kinda QQ and not Nua Nua (soft & soggy). There could be a little more ham bits as I had a hard time digging them. Overall, the presentation is clean and simple, I would say its an above average Cabonara, at least better then some of those sold in Singapore's foodcourt.

Spaghetti Mushroom Cream RM9.80

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★☆☆

Mushroom Cream sauce is Gao Gao (thick & generous), with a more intense garlic taste, accompanied by bits of onions and mushrooms which added the chewiness. Some of the Mushroom Bits is a little hard to bite. Spaghetti wise, the texture is the Sama Sama (same) as the Cabonara. I would suggest, they grind the mushrooms into bits and add it into the cream, to make the cream more rich & tasteful.

Tropical Hawaiian Pizza RM17.50

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★☆☆☆

The crust is crispy but the bread layer is kinda thick, so its very flour filling, as after the first slice, it kinda fills my stomach. Its topped with Pineapple, Capsicons, Hams (which they cant really find it , while I did remember eating it), Onions. The cheese layer is sparsely given, so not really a lot. We have to ask for the cheese powder as it was not given to us. The most it will be a bit lower then Pizza Hut standard. Bella Pizza from Robertson Quay is still one of the best Pizza I have eaten. 

Small Cold Lemonade RM3.50

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★☆☆

Large Blackcurrant RM7.00

Ho Jiak bo ? ☆☆☆☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★☆☆☆☆

Mr Jaron being too thirsty, ordered a Large blackcurrent drink, which turns out to be a VERY BIG cup of sweet syrup drink, which is VERY SWEET... luckily I only ordered a small lemonade , even thou its sour, but still not as bad as the blackcurrent drink.

The time has come for the desserts, we picked 3 of the desserts that have pictures shown on the menu (assuming they are the chef recommendations), haha.

Cream Catalana RM11.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★☆☆

First to arrive on the table is a french dessert, Cream Catalana or Crème brûlée, it looks like a pudding to me initially, haha. The vanilla custard base is not overly sweet but milky, its texture is soft and a little Niam Niam (sticky), in contrast with its hard layer topping of caramel sprinkled with sugars. I would say that its Tian Er Bu Ni (Pleasing Sweetness).

Matcha Tiramisu RM13.90

Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★☆☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★★☆

Being a Matcha/Green Tea lover, how can I not have a taste to this, presentation looks sleek & clean, with "drops" of chocolate and caramel sauce. Its topped with Matcha powder as per normal, matcha taste is savoury strong. The tiramisu is soft and spongy, with a little Dam Dam (wetness) for the Matcha Portions that seems to be infused with some kind of alcohol. The initial taste is a bit sour at first, after which it became bitter and a little sweetness. 

Volcano 75 RM15.90
Ho Jiak bo ? ★★★★☆

Ho Kua bo ? ★★★★☆

Lastly, we have our Volcano 75, which is a dark chocolate lava cake with homemade vanilla ice-cream. Theres also a small amount of Sweetened Milk given to pour on the cake. The cake is coarse on the exterior but soft and moist in within, and upon cutting up, the warm and smooth dark chocolate fluid will slowly flows out, as it is made of dark chocolate, its more of a bitter sweet taste. Eating it together with the cold vanilla ice-cream, it complements well with each other. For the ice-cream, its rich in vanilla taste and having a creamy texture, although Mr Jaron did found a tiny bit of egg shell inside. Thus, confirming its not those King's or Marigold ice-cream bought from supermarket, but is indeed an authentic Home Made Ice-cream.

Before leaving, one of the friendly staff approach us to collect feedback for our meals, and recommend us to try out their new desserts the next time round. I wouldn't mind coming again to try out their new dessert menus.

P.S. peeps with some hokkien base or singrish base will understand what i'm expressing easier :P

Address: 

18, Jalan Bedara, Taman Melodies Johor Bahru, Johor 81250

Telephone:

+60 7335 5688

Opening Hours:

Tues to Sun : 12:00pm to 11:00pm

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Restaurant-Lemon-Tree/157181411041060