Maison Ikkoku - Lunch and after dinner hangout

About: Lunch and after dinner hangout

When: Sometime early 2014 to mid 2014
Where: Maison Ikkoku at 20 Kandahar Street 
Deal: Nil
Website: http://www.maison-ikkoku.net

1 of the many cafes near my office. Drop by for lunch a few times this year. Its "cheaper" to have lunch during weekday as the main/sandwich comes with a free coffee.

Normally I will order a smoked salmon wholemeal sandwich with free coffee ^^ 

The sandwich is just the right size with coffee enough to fill me up for the rest of the working day.

The coffee is one of the better ones I have tasted, reminds me of the coffee I used to get in Melbourne when I was studying there ^^.

Hangout after dinner

One friday evening after dinner with friends, we decide to find a place to hangout, and Maison Ikkoku came to mind. So we head over there. In the cool evening, I came to realisze the building is beautifully restored. Never really pay attention to it during the day as I was only interested to get into the cafe asap to avoid the heat :p.  

And as I didn't need to rush back to office, I took some time to appreciate the deco of the cafe. They have furniture hanging from the celling!

Spoil for choice on cakes!

The cake is just the right sweetness and not too heavy (normally non Japanese style cakes tend to be not so light n fluffy)

I ordered a pot of Lemon Chamomile tea. Not from a tea bag! Very worth the $5 I paid as I top up with hot water 2 more times! :p

There is a bar on the 2nd level, I went up to check it out.

I didn't order anything from the bar as I was there for the cafe food. But base on the crowd and the buzz around the place should be a nice place to try out next time.

Can see the bartender at work from the stairs.

The view from level 2's smoking area.

For a small cafe/bar, much thought went into the renovation and deco of their toilet. I like~~~~~

Do note: During peak hours (weekdays after 7pm and during weekends) the queue can be long (small cafe) and parking can be an issue. 

The food and drinks are not really worth the effort if that is the case.

Verdict: Totally worth checking it out if you work around this area! Or is free during their off peak hours. 

Thai Mookata steamboat BBQ and Chicken Pot - Dinner

About: BBQ + steamboat night

When: 1st Aug 2014

Where: 2The Pot (333 Joo Chiat Road Singapore 427588) 2 mins walk from Katong 112 mall.

For drivers: there is a (coupon) public carpark next to the shop, free parking from 10pm onwards! (I love free parking!! ^^)

Deal: In house deal 15% off total bill (Opening special)

Website: https://www.facebook.com/2ThePot

This is an invited food tasting at the newly open 2The Pot. 2The Pot is located at a 2 storey shop house along Joo Chiat Road next to a public carpark.

There is about 20 tables in total, the air ventilation is adequate (for me). I guess it would have to depend where you sit :p

 This is a set meal for a party of 4, very generous serving. Too much food for 4 actually.

 There is a choice of Tomyum or chicken soup. We pick chicken soup, as we wanted to taste the freshness of the meat. 

Customers have a choice of just ordering individual raw dishes (side dishes) rather than the sets if they would like to "customise" their meal.  

1 hour later with a very full tummy :) we are still trying to finish the food! 

At this point the soup is so thick and full of flavour from BBQ meat (so sinfully good lol)

Personally I like the Honey glaze pork belly and spicy chicken thigh, very well marinated.

Special mention on the sweet and tangy chilli, very tasty ^^. 

Understand from the owners there is a special spicy chilli available for those who like very spicy taste.

We tasted of their signature chicken pots also.

Laska chicken pot

Very flavourful Laska soup, for those that love spicy and thick soup this is the choice. 

A must try for fans of Laska. 

 Spicy Chicken pot

The chef took a lot of care in preparing the spicy chicken, so full of flavour. Just the gravy and a bowl of rice is all I need! 

The idea of the chicken pot here is to order 1 pot for sharing and order raw sides to cook in the pot (some what like steamboat). A much healthier choice as compare to Thai Mookata as we had mostly vegetables side to complement the chicken meat. 

The chicken pot is the best choice for group of friends or family gathering, as everyone can sit around the pot to cook/eat and catch up.

Verdict: Overall it's worth to give it a try if you are looking for a late night supper place and is in the area!  (Did i mention free parking after 10pm? lol).
Best of all there is No service charge and No GST!! 

Seafood dinner - Phuket

About: Holiday at Phuket (1st night dinner)
When: 9 July 2014
Where: Rawai Landing Pier and Gypsy restaurant
The Deal: Nil

Our search for food lead us to Rawai Landing Pier, what we have in mind is a seafood dinner!

We decided to take a walk down Rawai Landing Pier before dinner.

There is a market along the seaside selling very fresh seafood. Basically the idea is to purchase your choice of seafood and bring it to the restaurant and have them cook for you for a small fee.

 Stalls around the market

 

 We got 500g clams 

 500g of big size prawns 

 And 2 sotong

Total cost for fresh seafood: 450B

Well we didn't decide/find a restaurant hahaha the owner of Gypsy "found us", he is a Singaporean! He overheard our conversion (talking like a Singaporean :p) and asked if we will be interested to dine at his restaurant.

So along with our fresh seafood buy, he show us to a table and start recommending how should we cook them. 

 For the prawn, stir fry with black pepper top with fried garlic (taste like Singapore style black pepper crab :d) Cooking charge: 75B

Clams was stir fry with sweet chilli and basil (on the spicy side) Cooking charge: 90B

No picture of the sotongs which are cooked with basil also. Cooking charge: 75B

 Service is fast, 15mins after our seafood went into the kitchen food start appearing on the table! We added 2 more side dishes, stir fry morning glory (200B) minced chicken with raw vegetable (250B) from the restaurant's menu. Our drinks cost 350B and 1 plate of rice 30B. 
Total cost: 1,520B (Not cheap but its a lot of food)
We could have ordered 1 or 2 less dishes since there is only the 2 of us eating lol but we are on a holiday!

The food here taste normal nothing to scream and shout about, but it is very fresh. Service is good and we enjoy chatting with the owner.


Verdict: If you are in the area and looking for a seafood dinner, why not drop by!