Bali Thai: Family's Frequent

One of the regular favourites among our families, because the food portions served here makes it nice for sharing (in a group).

Avocado Shake,   S$4++,   

Thick avocado goodness, very sweet together with the Gula Melaka (sugary sap from a coconut tree). Do bear in mind however, to stir the mixture well before drinking, else you would end up like us, enduring the bottom half in sulking bitterness.

Tahu Telur,   S$8.50++,   

Imagine a 'anti-tofu eater' desperately grasping for more of this after the first try. It was that great. Hot silky beancurd underneath a layer of crispy deep fried skin, plus a dive into the sticky peanuty sauce - fantasitc!

Pandan Chicken (6 Pieces),   S$17++,   

A must try when you come to Bali Thai! As you unwrap the pandan leaves, one unique tender and succulent kind of chicken was born. Fall deep in love with the enchanting pandan fragrance, which comes with each mouthwatering bite.

Pineapple Rice,   S$9.50++,   

Half a pineapple fruit used as a 'bowl' for better relation to the dish, but that 'bowl' was also the only source of pineapple. No cut pineapple chunks at all - you have to dig out the hard flesh from the walls, and it really was a bother. Fried rice itself was was rather typical.

Green Chicken Curry,   S$11++,   

One of the best Green Curry we've tasted. It was thick with appropriate amounts of coconut milk and spices, which flaunted the strong ambrosial flavour of the curry and chicken slices.

VERDICT
Balinese and Thai cuisine are often associated with high levels of spicyness. An added bonus for people who appreciate hot food, but for those who do not, Bali Thai still whips up equally delectable non-spicy dishes.

Bali Thai - IMM
#01-21, IMM Building
2 Jurong East Street 21, S(609601)
(+65) 6560 5660
Mon - Sun: 11.30 a.m. - 10 p.m.

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Rite Pizza: More Cheese Please!

For a change, I thought I would order something else rather than the usual Pizza Hut.

Winter Special (12" Medium),   S$30.50 nett,   

Judging from the name Winter Special, I supposed this was a pizza created exclusively for this season of "Winter". (Is it still winter now? I don't even know.) Anyway, it's just a wild guess. Back to the pizza - topped with cheese, lettuce, turkey bacon, lettuce, chicken ham, lettuce, cheesy sausage (no signs of it), lettuce, pineapple, lettuce, mayonnise, and lettuce. On the first look, I thought they had given me a vegetarian (lettuce) pizza by mistake.

Apart from the not very appealing sight, Winter Special turned out to pretty alright. One thing which caught everyone's instant liking was the pizza crust - fine crisp delivered the moment my teeth sank in.

Ocean Delite (12" Medium),   S$0.00,   

Since it was "Buy One Get One Free", this was free. Ocean Delite - a juicy mix of shredded tuna, onions, crunchy green peppers, covered with hot melted cheese, garlic powder and thin mayonnise. However, I thought that this failed to proclaim itself as a seafood pizza. There wasn't the slightest tinge of seafood greatness in it, at all. (Shrimps and crabsticks stated as two of the toppings in the pizza menu, were nowhere to be found.)

Chicken Wings (3 Pieces),   S$4.50 nett,   

I was having some reservations when ordering this, because I was expecting just three small drumlets for the price of S$4.50. Luckily, to our delight, three pieces Chicken Wings really meant three whole pieces (inclusive of both drumlets and wings). Taste wise, it was considerably good (if you don't compare them to Pizza Hut's), with the sweet BBQ sauce smeared all over.

Mashed Potato,   S$1.50 nett,   

Fuffily mashed potatoes, a pity it doesn't come in any gravy. Initial mouthfuls were still acceptable, but the later part was it too dry to even continue.

VERDICT
Maybe we ordered the wrong flavours or from the wrong branch, because from the pictures here, I was expecting a whole lot more chunk of cheese. Rite Pizza didn't seem very truthful nor generous in the ingredients they gave. Nevertheless, the prices were pretty reasonable. No GST, no delivery charges - all nett from the menu.

Rite Pizza
Home delivery to all areas islandwide
(+65) 6899 3838
Mon - Sun: 10.30 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.
http://www.rite-pizza.com

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Ramen Ten: Stomach Killer

9.45 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and this was the only restaurant still surviving in the vicinity.

Tomyum Beef Ramen,   S$8.90++,   

A nice touch of Thai and Japanese mix. The tomyum soup was spicy and sour enough, although the colour didn't seemed really right. Ramen noodles and beef slices were thin, absorbing the rich tomyun flavour from the soup, yet retaining their original tastes.

Teriyaki Salmon Dry Ramen,   S$9.90++,   

Ramen Ten is the first originator of dry ramen dishes in Singapore, like this. The noodles were soft and springy - quite likeable for someone who've never fancied ramen. However, the ramen and salmon were flooded by some kind of sour and spicy sauce, and not the teriyaki sauce as promised in the menu. The more you eat this dish, the more you will grow sick of it.

Chocolate Freeze,   S$4.90++,   

This restaurant doesn't serve plain water, so we were made to order (expensive) drinks. S$1.50++ for a bland tea bag Hot Green Tea, and S$4.90++ for this glass of Chocolate Freeze.

First impressions was that it tasted like Milo Dinosaur from a prata store, and only on second taste, it was pretty not bad - thick, milky and chocolatey. But for its price, I think I'm better off having my Milo Dinosaur.

VERDICT
The reason for calling this restaurant a "stomach killer", because I ended up with a good reward of food poisoning from them. Apart from the three other Ramen Ten outlets (namely Far East Plaza, Jubilee, and Orchard Point), this is the first and only outlet to be semi-open-air. As far as hygiene is concerned, I leave it up to you all the decide. Food pushed out of the kitchen were left at the counter, until some (attentive) servers pick them up, (they were all busy chatting), and houseflies could be seen flying all around. Clean indeed.

Ramen Ten - Tampines
#01-37, Century Square
2 Tampines Central 5, (S)529509
(+65) 6789 7566
Mon - Sun: 11.30 a.m. – 10.00 p.m.
http://www.ramenten.com

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