Kitty goes to Tokyo/ Yokohama - DAY 1

Hi to all! i'm Kitty the guest writer for KopiKia's blog. I'm in Tokyo right now and i shall be documenting my food escapades here in the 'land of the rising sun'.

First stop, Japanese PASTA!!! Saizeria Pasta in Center Minami, Yokohama.

I think that the Japanese make the best pastas in the world. Their pastas are so good that they can't even make up their mind on which pasta to order. Here is a serving of a 2-in-1 Spaghetti with Shrimp on 1 side, and Bolognese on the other. The Springy Spaghetti was boiled and cooled to perfection and the Bolognese sauce is very different from the ones i had before in Singapore.

The thin-crust pizza that accompanied the spaghetti was also 2-in-1. Although it was nothing special to have a 2-in-1 pizza (heard Pizza Hut has them also) but one of the sides is topped with anchovies, olives and a ton of cheese.

Topped with fantastic service of the waiting staff, i give the overall experience here a 10/10.

Spam and Egg Sandwich

Kopi Kia is going to teach you earthlings an easy and fast snack/breakfast. Spam (Luncheon Meat) & Egg Sandwich (餐蛋治) is one of my favourite breakfast back in Hong Kong.


Melt your butter in a pan. I would prefer butter over margarine. Approximate one table spoon's worth of butter would be nice. Keep the heat low so the butter don't turn brown easily.


Throw in your bread in the pan. Mine's with the skin removed. Again, watch out for the heat. Fry only one side of the bread.


Once the bread turned to your desired crispiness, remove them from the pan and throw in beaten eggs. Egghead earthlings can use 2 eggs. Beat those eggs with pepper and sloosh them into the pan. No oil needed as the pan is already lubricated with butter.


My eggs are usually left partially uncooked so it has this soft and tender feel them you chew on it. Once ready, lay your fried egg over one slice of your bread. Next throw in your spam (luncheon meat) and fry them until the surface is of golden brown and slightly crisped.


Place it over the eggs and top it up with the 2nd slice of the bread. A snack that kids and grandpeople will love. Can you dig it?

KK.

CHIPSHOP

Another day of Brit food for Kopi Kia as I was attracted to "Lovely Rita" playing on the stereo. It has been raining for several days in the usual Sunny Singapore, so I guess it won't harm to go a bit brit on the food here.



Ordered the Cheese Sausage with Mash. The mash is rubbish mix from the MAGGI machine. The "potato" was powdery with no character. The sausage is saviour. Very cheesy inside and it becomes a bit obscene when I tried to a bite, the cheese squirted out like it was coming. What I enjoyed most was having my quick bite with the beatles album playing on the background. Very Liverpool-ish for someone who hasn't been there before.

Rating: 2.5/5

Site: 2 Handy Road, B1 The Cathay

KK.

Chippy

Classic Brit food for a country with not much traditional local snacks, or is there any? I've been reading rave reviews about Chippy in several other blogs and decided to give it a go.

Kopi Kia wants to tell you all that not everything "Red, white & blue" means good. This is a decent t0-go bites but definitely not worth my 5 kopi Os. The additional cheese dip ridiculously costs S$1 and the taste of the deep fried batter is not fantistico.

Rating: 2/5 Kopi Os

Site: Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road #B1-58

KK.

Phantom of the Opéra

Forget about dieting when you have killer deserts like the Opéra.

I have a thing for Bakerzin cakes. I feel the cakes are very sincerely made. Every layer of it is a representation of the labour behind in making this cake possible. I am getting all emo here...

The Opéra is a blend of chocolate ganache, coffee syrup, coffee butter cream and Jaconde sponge. I have no idea what those are but they sure taste good.

Rating: 3.5/5 Kopi Os

Site: Bakerzin, 930 Yishun Ave 2, #01-44 Northpoint Shopping Centre

KK.

Hokkien Mee

One of Singaporean's favourite, the Hokkien Mee or 福建麵, is also one of my personal favourites in this case.

I've tasted too many bad ones that sometimes, I can't tell the good ones from the really good ones. Yishun 921 is the proud owner of a stall that serves decent Hokkien Mee. Its a bit on the stingy side when it comes to sotongs (a few loose slices) and shrimps (2 tiny ones). Texture of the noodle is ok and there is a certain stickiness to the noodles that I think is essential for Hokkien Mee.

Definitely not the best, but still a decent substitute if you are lazy to travel far.

Rating: 3/5 Kopi Os

Site: Block 921, Yishun Central 1

KK

Best Laksa in Yishun

Never underestimate the power of a tiny food stall located just next to your home. Tucked in a corner of a public estate in Yishun, this Laksa cum desert stall has been serving loyal gluttons in Yishun and probably the rest of Singapore with the simplest yet one of the best laksa I ever tasted.



Nothing fancy, few slices of fishcake, fresh cockles and half a hard boiled egg. Noodles are cooked to the right texture. Soup is amazing and chili paste that goes with the soup is just unbelievable. There is really nothing special about the laksa, which is probably why its so good. This stall closes early, so make sure you hungry earthlings reaches there before 7pm.

Rating: 4/5 Kopi Os

Site: Block 924, Yishun Central 1

KK.

Coastes - Sentosa

Many of us just cannot resist the temptation of nicely roasted chicken wings, especially accompanied with some champion dip.

Coastes, blessed with a calming beach view, offers one of the best options for dining along the sentosa coast. These chicken wings are slightly sweetened to compliment the sour and spicy dip that comes along with the wings.

If you think you had enough of that Singapore sun, stop by for some wings and maybe even, a beer.

Rating: 3/5 Kopi Os

Site: 50 Siloso Beach Walk, #01-05 & #01-06, Sentosa

KK

Bananas

There are many uses of bananas. Sports people use it as energy booster. Children and mindless adults like to feed monkeys with it. Earthlings with constipated bowels uses it to regulate their digestion.

While some use it as a wake up call to the government. Wonder when Singaporeans have the balls to do this to Peeple Action(Gerek) Partee.

KK.

Tekong Seafood Restaurant

The Kopi Krew arrived approximate 6pm on a weekend and there were still plenty of seats for us as we chose a seat with a sea view because we are so shallow earthlings. We were told that Tekong Seafood Restaurant was formerly located on Tekong Island itself until the army invaded the island and chased the residents out with their hi-tech M16s and SM-1 tankers bought from the germans 40 years ago.







We proceeded with a little tour around their ponds and was fanscinated over their collection of sea creatures just like an elementary school kid's first tour to the Science Park. The person-in-charge mentioned that their seafood are caught straight from the pond or sea. No frozen food. We applaused and returned to our seats as we sit comfortably waiting to be served.















By the time we were served, the restaurant was nearly fully packed. Dishes rolled in one after another, and I must say, the Kopi Krew sure enjoyed every item served to us. The seafood were overall quite fresh, especially the crabs. Nothing fancy, just garlic, chili, spring onion and probably a little chinese wine all steamed to perfection. This style of cooking not only retained the crab's natural flavour but also a healthier choice over the curry crab or black pepper crab.

The cereal prawns also deserves mentioning for its generous amount of cereal, nicely deep fried to the right crispiness. I have doubts about the prawn's freshness though because it was not the most tender prawns I've eaten.

The rest of the dishes were decent and there were nothing much to complain over. Service was good throughout our time at the restaurant and definitely will be visiting them soon in the near future. Good hangout to bring your foreign mates to if you don't mind the obscure location.

Rating: 4/5 Kopi Os

Site: Blk 6 Changi Village Rd #01-2100

KK.

Nando's

Nando's is a fusion of Portuguese and African delight that spread to Europe and later Asia. The specialty of Nando's is in the spices and earthlings with low tolerance on chili should proceed with caution. There are different levels of spiciness for you to choose from and for the more adventurous, go for the most spicy peri-peri.


Most of the main course are grilled, even the greens. Most sides are quite ok as well. I don't really remember much about Nando's except for glurping down lots of water after experiencing the power of peri-peri. Overall a decent meal.

They have lots of outlets around Africa and London. Fellow Asians may proceed to Malaysia if you are keen.

Rating: 3/5 Kopi Os

Site: Lot 1.03 & 1.03B, Level 1, Plaza Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

KK.

Triple O

The Triple O story is a typical young American boy who roamed the streets during the early 1900s and worked hard to build a massive business empire. Quality fast food and excellent service, I felt are the best words to describe this junk food joint.

A must try on the menu is the mushroom burger combo. It makes the popular Mushroom Swiss burger from Burger King taste like S-League stadium curry puffs. The bun is nicely fried to perfection making the skin on the top part of the bun crispy, yet not oily. The patty is thick and juicy topped with generous amount of cheese and mushroom. It is a bit on the messy side when you eat the burger because the juice just keeps leaking out from the patty.


You can choose between fries or onion rings sides. As of any typical American joint, Triple O provides tomato ketchup and vinegar to whip up that appetite of yours. Also, try the milkshakes if your guilt is not on a high. Beats Mcdonalds without hands downt.

Rating: 3.5/5 Kopi Os

Site: Shop 10, 1/F, The Forum, Exchange Square, Central, Hong Kong SAR

KK.

The "Incomplete" Elvis Sandwich

According to a friend, the Elvis Sandwich was one of late Elvis' favourite food and could possibly be one of the murderers of his death.

Today, my fellow earthlings, I shall introduce to you one of easiest to make and yet happening snacks.

Get a few slices of bread and put them to toast. Cut up some bananas and fry them in a pan and get some chocolate sauce (nutella if you are too damn lazy) and put them all together.

The original Elvis Sandwich includes bacon and frying all the elements together which will put you one step closer to seeing Elvis himself. So this "incomplete" version is just nice for you to stay a few more years on this beautiful planet. A must try for you sweet tooth people out there.

KK.

Hong Kong Cafe

Hong Kong food lovers out there must be terribly disappointed at local Hong Kong styled cafes. They all taste bad. I cannot find anyone that is of passing grade and this one at East Coast Road is just as terok.


The only thing I can comment from this 波羅包 is the butter is cold enough. The bun is just normal and the slice of butter is pathetic. Say no more.


This 凍奶茶 is just weird. Funny. Jialat. Lousy. (Your favourite swear word here). Any Hong Kongers out there wanting a taste of their hometown, 念都唔好念.

Rating for bun: 1/5 Kopi Os
Rating for iced tea: 0.5/5 Kopi Os

Site: 378 East Coast Road

KK.

Broadway Claypot Rice

The story behind this selection is a god damn grandmother story which I feel will bore you readers to closing this window.
To cut the crap, I had this claypot rice 20 years ago, and I chanced upon it some weeks back and I gathered the KOPI KREW down to test it out again after this long absence. Who would have thought, tucked in a corner of Ang Mo Kio, you people sure have enjoyed this culinary delight for the longest time huh.


We start the ball rolling with this perculiar looking liver soup and boy does it taste good. Liver soup to me is generally hard to cook to perfection because the soup itself must have enough taste, but cooking the liver too long makes it stiff and disgusting to chew. If there is only one bowl of soup you will ever swallow in Ang Mo Kio, please go and savour this. Its just too good to be true. Good tasting soup, tender liver. Excellent appetiser of what is about to come next.


How about a 7-men serving rice for 4 very hungry Kopi Kias? The generously sliced salted fish and tender chunks of chicken is the recipe behind this long-time famous claypot rice. The rice is not your typical well done rice offer by other stalls but nonetheless, still acceptable. Chinese sausages are sweet enough but just enough to make you think its chinese sausages. Now, the main star of the show, the burnt and charred rice crisps left over at the bottom of the pot. This is nasty shit for the health conscious buggers out there. Proceed with caution.

Rating for Soup: 4/5 Kopi Os (no joke, must try)
Rating for Rice: 3.5/5 Kopi Os

Site: Broadway Coffeeshop, Blk 727, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6

KK.

Steamboat

Steamboat, hot pot, 火鍋, 打邊爐, or whatever term you like to call it, is basically a process of one or more earthling sitting together to turn some uncooked meat or vegetable to an edible state.

I don't know and don't really bother where it originate from but it is kinda cool gathering with your mates at the same dining table and talk cock, bitch and laugh over silly stuff.

But of course, the soup base need to be SEDAP lah... and sauce must be GEREK!

Today Kopi Kia will teach you all earthlings how to prepare a simple sauce and where to buy the soup base for a DIY Steamboat, hot pot, 火鍋, 打邊爐 session at home.

The top right hand corner is a sauce i came up with. Simple.
Get an expensive soy sauce (kikoman), slice up some chili padi, spring onion and sesame seed oil and you are ready to go.

ok, the soup is damn important to me la and this by far is the best of the lot. I cannot find this flavour in Singapore at the moment, maybe someone should go call Lee Kum Kee up and ask them what the hell are they waiting for. This is available in major supermarkets in Hong Kong (Wellcome, Park N Shop). Remember to ask some sucker buy some back to Singapore the next time they are there. I guarantee you, this is damn champion.

And finally, get some sukiyaki beef or pork, some yong tau fu and lettuce. Seafood is ok but expensive and quite leychey to eat.

Comments and suggestions are welcomed. Don't be shy la.

KK.

Making that perfect breakfast egg

Ever woken up with the sudden urge of eating half boiled eggs and immediately asked your mum or wife or girlfriend to do you this favour of preparing it?

After washing up, you realise your damn eggs are either under-cooked or over-cooked. Your day is spoilt, you get screwed by your boss, you got busted by the traffic police and got caught in the rain.

Kopi Kia is here to help.

Get a nice metal pot, approximately 15-20cm in diameter.
Fill it up with real boiling water and place those eggs of yours slowly one at a time.
4mins and 30 seconds, no more, no less. Remove them, crack them ASAP.
Sizzle some pepper and dark soy sauce over it.

There you have it, no more nonsense from your mum, wife or girlfriend. But no guarantees on not getting screwed by your boss.

KK.

Kopi Kia is here

Sick of finding sedap food in stupid Singapore?

Tired of trying food from advertorials in mediacorpse publications that turn out bad?

Frustrated at your buddys' nonsense recommendations?

Kopi Kia is here to help! We run around tirelessly to test the food for you, and promise you that you will go home a happy man (or woman).

KK.