Mang Kiko's Lechon

Most of the stalls in Lau Pa Sat serve average tasting food at pricey food court price (in my opinion) but there are a few rare gems there that serve great tasting food. Mang Kiko's Lechon is one of the rare gems.

This stall serves mouth-watering Filipino Roast Pork and Chicken. The big roast station on the left of the stall rotates rows and rows of pork and chicken over the white hot charcoal. The sight of the oil oozing out, coating the meat itself and eventually dripping into the charcoal and smoking the meat a heavenly sight for meat lover like me. My stomach is making noise now as I write this post.

I have tried the both chicken and pork before. The chicken portions are generous. The chunks of tender white chicken meat and that oh so tasteful chicken skin is a must have for chicken lovers and for those who are more health concious. I remember when I was trying to increase my protein intake, I just to order 1/2 chicken no rice.Yummy. 

The roast pork however is where the money is. Generous portions of tender roast pork with charred skin is an irresistible sight. Sink in your teeth and the grease, the charred skin, the BBQ aroma filled your mouth all at once. It's so good it always makes me sit back and chew slowly to salvage every bite.

There are a number of sauces to go along with your choice of meat and my favourite is the brownish-greenish one. It adds a sweet touch to the meat. They recently added chilli sauce too (probably by popular demand to go with the chicken). It also comes with free soup if you dine there.

Lau Pa Sat, Stall #27 (near Wendy's)

Barcook Bakery

Something has been causing long queues in Raffles Place, something that never fails to embrace me with a warm feeling of happiness every time I eat it. If you still not sure what I'm talking about, let me point you to Barcook Bakery.

They have been churning out trays and trays of their best seller, Raisin Cream Cheeze Bun, or what I call the Happiness Bun. These bun are almost always gone as soon as they are out of oven, with people buying them in sixes and tens to give to their friends and colleagues (and spread the happiness).

You would know why even before biting into them. The wonderful aroma of freshly baked bun surrounds you as you queue to buy them. And the best time to eat them is when they are right out of the oven. The bun is both warm and soft and once you bite into it, the soft, smooth cream cheese warms your heart. The feeling of warmth and happiness will surely bring a smile to your face.

The raisins pair perfectly with the cream cheese, making resisting having a second bun a challenge. I tried to take a photo of the filling inside the bun but it didn't turn out too well. Anyway this is one bun worth queuing for. Try it, you must!

Address: 1 Raffles Place, OUB Centre, #B1-09, Singapore 048616.

They also have two other outlets at Hong Lim Complex and The Central.

Koi Cafe, bubble milk tea that's worth the wait...

There was a time when every 10 steps you walk there was a stall selling bubble tea. That was the bubble tea craze some years back when these stalls mushroom all over our island. As the craze dies, the stalls that were cashing in on the craze closed down as well.

When we went to Taipei in 2008 for holiday, 珍珠奶茶 (Bubble Milk Tea) was on my to-eat list. Its just so different there, the milk tea was so smooth and the bubbles were so Q. And the chain we frequent alot was 50嵐 as there was a stall near our hotel. We had a cup when we were going out and we had a cup when we were going back hotel. In fact, we drank more milk tea then plain water in Taiwan.

Then last year, we happen to chance upon this trendy place call Koi Cafe in Marine Parade selling Bubble Tea and you should see my excitement when I saw a small print that its by 50嵐. Although it was after the bubble tea craze, it had brought in the crowd with the same yummy bubble teas from Taiwan.

There are currently 5 Koi Cafes (that I know, namely Marine Parade, Ang Mo Kio, Chinatown, Bishan and Toa Payoh) in Singapore and they are all takeaway cafes. The cafes are plays the current popular Chinese Pop songs and the stalls are usually manned by young people. The menu are pretty extensive covering flavoured tea, milk tea, coffee and smoothies. You could also choose the sweetness of the tea. Our usually order is large Milk Green Tea with pearls at 25% sweetness and it cost $3.50. Their pearls also comes in 1 size and its smaller than the usual pearls you get with other bubble tea. But the chewiness is perfect (not too hard and not too soft). The milk tea is smooth as usual and its just the perfect drink for our hot humid weather. Whenever I'm at Marine Parade or Ang Mo Kio, I just had to have a cup to satisfy my bubble tea craving.

Below are the address of two outlets I usually frequent. As for the other 3 stalls, you would have to google for it.

Ang Mo Kio
Blk 704 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 #01-2545

S(560704)

Marine Parade
Blk 83 Marine Parade Central #01-562

S(440083)

Sidenote: I used two different iPhone photo apps for the above photos and they are both free. You should try them too, its pretty fun. The first photo I used the app call MoreNoel. What it does is it brightens and softens the photo and you can choose to add bubble or stars for the dreamy feel. The second photo I use this app is call Morelomo (by the same company). It gives your photo the "Lomo" effect. For more information about what Lomography is all about, read this and this.

So go out and have fun with your iPhone camera.

Milca Hokkaido Soft Ice Cream

My neighbour Alan was asking me for information about Japan as he would be going there with his wife soon. Ever since the day he asked, I can't help but think about going Japan again. There are just so many things I missed about Japan, especially the food, the kawaii girls, the gadgets, the customer service, erm I better stop (as I could go on forever).

One of the things I miss was the Milk Ice Cream I tasted when I was in Hokkaido. You see, Hokkaido is famous for its seafood and dairy products and Hokkaido milk is as fresh as it gets. And it is only in Hokkaido that you get to taste Milk Ice Cream. (The other unique flavour is Lavender Ice Cream.) And I could not find it elsewhere in other parts of Japan.

So I was very excited when I saw one of the stalls in Orchard Ion's Food Hall (at basement 4). So did Milca Milk Ice Cream taste? My first bite had me thinking I was eating the soft serve from MacDonald. But as the Ice Cream slowly melts, the milk flavour began to surface. And the more I ate, the the closer it edge towards the unforgettable taste I had in Hokkaido. The cone is yummy too, thin and very crispy, complementing the ice cream very well.

My verdict, this is as close as you can get besides flying to Hokkaido for the milk ice cream. Its still not the same, but defintely close enough.

2 Orchard Turn
Orchard Ion, Food Hall (basement 4)