Bicycles & Bak Ku Teh in VivoCity

Hubby craving for bak ku teh again, so we headed out to our new fav, Xin Chen Bak Ku Teh 星辰肉骨茶, inside the Food Republic at VivoCity.

One of the reasons why I like the place is its separate seating enclosure. The downside of this is that the whole family would have to eat from the same stall. The (major) upside, however, means we get to have a leisurely meal in a popular - ie. crowded - food court, paying food court prices but enjoying the attentive services of the waitresses.

There were several like-minded parents that day.......half the tables were occupied by families with young children, and I guess we were ALL grateful that we could choose our tables & take our time to seat the young ones without worrying about other diners rushing past us.

Sam still refused to sit near the artificial tree in the corner, but we got a table under a row of rainbow-coloured bicycles hung from the ceiling, which distracted Sam long enough for us to place our orders in peace!

I was quite surprised to see that Sam was now tall enough - just barely - to reach the table from the stool, so we didn't force him into the wooden high chair that he could still fit in comfortably. Of course, I regretted my decision 15 min into the lunch after Sam started getting off the stool on his own. ;P Especially since Sam didn't seem to fit snugly on the stool. Still, I guess I have to learn to respect this little show of independence. ;)

The waitress brought an empty plastic bowl along with our food, so we didn't have to request for anything else, the plastic Chinese soup spoons being placed in a holder on each table (as with the chopsticks). Her colleague didn't have the sense to place the hot dishes away from Sam, though.

The Bak Ku Teh (pork ribs soup) ($6) is hubby's fav. Not that there aren't better ones, but for the quality & price & relative comfort (ie. aircon with non-crowded conditions + service but no service charge) & proximity to our home, it's definitely on top of our list. The meat was tender enough for Sam and not too fatty for me and hubby had no problem separating the meat from the ribs. What more can we ask for???

I insisted on 2 servings of dough fritters 油条 ($1.20) as I find the soup less peppery when it's soaked up by the cripsy snack. Sam enjoyed it too, since if I soak his rice ($0.70) with the soup he finds it too peppery & ends up drowning the 'fire' with Yeo's Lemon Barley ($1.80). Hubby drank most of the soup though, so it was a good thing the waitresses make their rounds topping up the soup from a mini kettle.

We ordered the Liver & Kidney Soup ($6) again, which was value for money for such serving size & quality in a food court. Sam still didn't like the pork liver nor kidney though. This time we tried the Teochew Fish Cake ($2.50), freshly steamed and Sam's fav. So we didn't have to order the braised peanuts or egg.

Ended the meal with the Premium Chinese Tea ($5), which was strong enough to last throughout the meal. Sam was particularly curious when hubby prepared the tea, kung-fu-cha style (ie. steep tea in small teapot, pour into jug, then pour into the tiny cups for drinking).

All in all, a satisfying meal & relatively hassle-free lunch in a food court on a Saturday. What more can parents ask for??? ;)



Xin Chen Bak Ku Teh 星辰肉骨茶
Food Republic
#03-01 VivoCity

T3 - Xin Wang

Brought Sam to Changi Airport last Friday, when his childcare centre was closed for preparation for the new school year. It was our 1st visit to Terminal 3, and Sam was excited during the train trip to the airport. Asked me at every train stop if it was our turn to get off the MRT!

We both enjoyed T3, which wasn't crowded, that being a blessing when the suburban malls were all jostling with crowds even on a weekday afternoon. For lunch I took the 1st restaurant I came across in the 3Top area, Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe (新旺香港茶餐厅), partly because I have the membership card and thus would be able to accumulate rebates to offset my next bill.

The waitresses were very friendly & prompt, maybe cos the outlet wasn't as busy as the ones in Anchorpoint & Northpoint, where it was sometimes impossible to attract the attention of the serving staff. The 2 of us were given a large 4-seater couch table, which I accepted since Sam was tall enough to eat on it, without using the plastic-and-metal foldable baby chair.

One convenience about this restaurant chain was the utensils are placed in a special holder on every table, which means I could choose the metal fork & spoon, or in this case, the chinese soup spoon, without the hassle of bothering the waitresses. Of course, it also means that on the smaller tables, I have to look out for Sam grabbing the utensils or knocking the whole contraption off the table.

Ordered the fried mee sua with luncheon meat & egg ($7.50) for Sam. Admittedly it wasn't a healthy choice. But then, the restaurant is about quick & affordable HK-styled cafe food, so it's a matter of choosing the lesser evil from the menu, the moment one decides to dine there. Moreover, my choice was based more on the likelihood of Sam liking the dish. ;P

Well, my son enjoyed the egg & luncheon meat, as I expected him to. The mee sua was soft & smooth from its bed of oily sauce and it was a new taste of noodles for Sam, but he took to it well, finishing half the portion. I had forgotten to toss the mee sua thoroughly before cutting it up in the small plastic bowl I had requested the waitress for, so the noodles turned out a trifle dry & sticky. The 2nd serving to Sam was better after I tossed the noodles.

The vegetables were a total turn off, though, looking yellowish & limp with a thick coat of congealing gravy when it was served. The kitchen staff was obviously not as good as the ones in Northpoint, where I've eaten a much better version of the exact same dish earlier this month.

For drinks I got Sam the hot barley ($2.50), which was homemade and a trifle sweet for my taste, but then Sam loved it, so what could I say? My shanghai-styled fried rice with pork chop ($8.50) turned out to be too salty for me, with all the preserved vegetables (梅菜) fried into the rice. So I had to order a 2nd drink, hot honey green tea ($2.70), to help me finish the meal. Sam loved the sweet drink, which had more honey than green tea. In fact, I could hardly tell that it was green tea!

The main advantage of dining on level 4 of the 3Top area was the view. I could see the planes landing & taking off from my seat, since the restaurant had no windows & was open to the Viewing Hall. Sam, being much shorter, could only see the planes only if he stands on the chair. And it was a good thing the toilets - with foldable diaper changing station - are just behind the restaurant too, when I had to change Sam's diaper immediately after the meal. Sam even tried to drink from the automatic water cooler outside the toilets, but I forbade him as he was still a trifle too short for the child's version & risked getting all his clothes wet.

All in all, T3 would have become a fav place to bring Sam, if not for the fact that it takes us one whole hour to travel there from the west!


Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe 新旺香港茶餐厅
Changi Airport Terminal 3
#04-02 North Viewing Mall
Tel: 6241-5201

Mini Bus Bento of Sakae Sushi

Surprisingly Sam still remembered eating sushi after the previous library trip, and insisted on going back to the same place again. So hubby & I had no choice but to got back to Sakae Sushi in the Frontier Community Club after leaving the library.

Again, Sam had to sit on a booster chair at the table next to the sushi belt. I get so worried whenever he has to sit like this, it seems possible he may topple over, cos though there was a seat belt securing Sam to the booster, there was nothing tying the booster to the bench! But Sam went through the meal unscathed - again - so perhaps it's Mummy's over-reaction. After all, I doubt the restaurant chain would use the booster if it's unsafe.

Service this time round wasn't as good as our visit a month ago. I wonder if it was because we're the 1st customer on the Sunday morning. The place certainly didn't fill up till we're almost done with our meal. There was only 1 waiter visible when we tried to order at 11:40am, and he was too engrossed with whatever he was doing at the cashier to see or hear us, so we decided to use the computerised system instead, which went pretty smoothly.

We had asked for a cup of warm water for Sam when we 1st ordered our hot green tea ($0.99). Had to ask for the kids' utensils again later, which was a matching set of white plastic bowl with Sakae's logo and a small metal fork & spoon. That was necessary for Sam to devour the large makis he selected off the sushi belt, while we waited the longest time for Sam's bento (Sam finished 2 makis, and we polished off 5 plates of sushi, before the bento came).

Finally managed to order a bento set from the kid's menu, something I've not managed to do for our past 2 visits. Succeeded by the quick act of shoving the menu under Sam's nose to get his attention before he started taking his pick from the sushi belt. So Sam spent several minutes trying to choose from the 6~7 children's bento sets available, more from the designs of the bento containers than for the food itself, I'm sure. In the end, I managed to convince him to take the mini bus bento ($7.99) instead of the fire engine/train/aeroplane sets. My choice, obviously, was based on the food selection. ;)

Sam was tremendously pleased at the Yakult that came with the bento set, and to my surprise didn't attack the fries immediately. Instead, he took a liking to eating the meat balls & crabstick off the toothpicks. I guess this refreshing method of self-feeding appealed to him then. I polished off the 2 fried chicken pieces in the bento myself, then spent the rest of the meal coaxing Sam to eat the rice in between his mouthfuls of meat balls. The remainders of the rice (with its decorations of sausage, egg & avocado) we had to 'tabao' home after the lunch, for Sam to finish after his afternoon nap.

The one-for-one red plate promotion had ended, so we only got 10% discount off the bill when paying with Citibank credit card. Should have eaten more often last month! ;P


P.S. For 1st time parents bringing your toddlers into Sakae Sushi, strongly suggest you place your child nearer the corridor, so as to be away from the sushi belt & hot water tap & computer mouse. I only dare put Sam next to the sushi belt after numerous visits to Jap restaurants, after I'm sure he's been well-trained enough NOT to grab the dishes off the belt nor to experiment with the hot water tap. Nowadays I try to keep him away from the corridor seats instead so that he's less likely to wander away from the table on his own. ;P


Sakae Sushi
The Frontier Community Club
60 Jurong West Central 3 #01-05
Tel: 6792-2806

A Deep-fried Peranakan Meal

Just realised I haven't blogged about this yet and the next weekend is here already!

Last Saturday we went for dinner in Jurong Point, which was so crowded we couldn't get seats in our preferred restaurants at 6:30pm. So we decided to try this Peranakan restaurant, Red Lacquer, which we weren't really keen on since hubby's friend had said the Penang Fried Kway Teow there was nothing like the ones in Penang (the friend was from Penang).

The restaurant was only half-full when we arrived, so we managed to get a corner table, where Sam could scramble up & down the sofa bench. Though halfway through the meal I had regretted not restraining him in the baby chair! ;P

The waiter who took our orders was quite attentive, informing us the lack of plastic forks but readily supplied a suitable plastic bowl & spoon. He even asked if Sam needed warm plain water, even though we had ordered drinks. But unfortunately the promised H2O never materialised. We had to ask for it later, and also a straw.

Only after all the dishes arrived did I realised that everything I ordered was deep-fried. I guess I had unconsciously gotten all my favourites. ;P Still, I didn't have much choices since I don't eat spicy stuff, so what could I have ordered in a Penang Peranakan restaurant???

Well, we had Loh Bak ($7.90), Inche Kabin ($13.90) and hubby wanted Otak-Otak ($4.90). The otah was very, very good!! Basically it's what I would have expected from a Peranakan eating place. I had to swallow 2 mouthfuls of white rice ($1 a bowl) for every bite of the otah, but the burning sensation was worth enduring!

The Loh Bak tasted almost exactly like the ones we had during our holiday in Penang, with solid pieces of meat wrapped up like our 'ngoh hiong' (五香). I had the pieces cut back for Sam to eat with his rice, which he quite enjoyed, though he steadfastly refused the accompanying 'tau kwa' (豆干).

The Inche Kabin was basically deep-fried chicken, flavoured with spices. The meat was tender enough for Sam & not dry at all, the delicate spices making the dish more flavourful than the usual fried chicken dishes. I had ordered the hot Longan & Red Date tea ($3), which came in a pot (I had expected only a tall glass) and tasted not bad, though a trifle on the sweet side. Fortunately Sam didn't drop the ceramic cup when he sipped a whole cupful of the tea.

Hubby had the worst deal: the soup of his Penang Prawn Noodle ($6.90) wasn't strong at all, doesn't taste of prawns, despite the physical presence of the seafood. We concluded jokingly that the chef must have been from a 'zi cha tua' background instead of from Penang, that would explain why none of the famous Penang hawker dishes tasted genuine but the individual dishes were good. ;P

We had a good deal last weekend, as the promotion then was a 10% discount and no GST, so basically we saved on the usual 17% taxes (10% service charge + 7% GST). I understood from the waitress that in December there would be 10% discount for Shiok! card members, so I guess the restaurant changes its promotions every month.



Red Lacquer Penang Peranakan
#03-96/101 Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Tel: 6794-5427