Lil Papa's Wieners - closed and moved

Sorry that I haven't done entries for so long… But my entire family has been infected by BABY SUPER VIRUSES… so more important things had to take priority.

Back to this place…

I'm sure the person who set this up, choose the name to make people do a double take…

But anyway, this hotdog place has opened in the area in place of Meii sushi.

The place isn't really direct competition for the other hotdog joint in the area- Purple Mustard

This place is distinguishes itself as a beer and hotdog place.

The hotdogs aren't bad but I like Purple Mustard better for hotdogs alone.

I choose the hotdog with cheese, onions and bacon.

As you can see from the picture, the bacon isn't crispy enough. But it's not a bad hotdog and the combi comes with lemonade.

Website:http://www.facebook.com/lilpapawienersbeerstro
Address: Blk 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza 01-108
Opening Hours:

Mon:	12:00 pm	-	11:30 pm
Fri:	12:00 pm	-	11:30 pm
Sat:	3:00 pm	-	12:00 am

Contact Number: 97650110

In Place of Meii Sushi

In Place of Meii Sushi, it is rumored that there will be a take away shop…

Peter's Char Kway Teow

 The best unhealthy Char Kway Teow I have eaten in recent years is from Penang. The thought of the noodles in shiny lard still excites me.
This place serves decent Char Kway Teow which is seriously hard to find in Singapore these days.

Good Char Kway Teow is not soggy as it has been semi dried out from the right amount of heat from the hot wok. 

Address: Blk 5 Tanjong Pagar Plaza

Rong Xing Hakka Yong Tau Foo

This is the other Yong Tau Foo in Blk 5 Tanjong Pagar Plaza. A few stalls down from the other

Again, good but not spectacular…

Rong Xing Yong Tau Foo

Having Elsa in childcare finally frees me with some time to do some things!

And I'm not just talking about cleaning up my house, I'm talking about getting hawker food in the Tanjong Pagar Hawker Market in Blk 5.

Anyone who knows this place well knows that it is ridiculously difficult to maneuver during lunch with a baby. So finally is my chance...

I like good yong tau foo but it's not easy to find this. While many think yong tau foo is a healthy dish, it is only if you don't eat the fried stuff. I love fried food in yong tau foo.

There are 2 popular yong tau foo stores here supposedly run by two different sisters.
I only got this story from here http://ieatishootipost.sg/2011/05/rong-xing-yong-tau-foo-at-first-there.html#more

Anyway, it's not of too much importance to me. I just want to eat.

The one I went to has the above sign so that you guys don't get the two mixed up.

The soup base is not bad. It is sweeter than the average bland yong tau foo stores I go to in many hawker centres and food courts. Also the variety of fried yong tau foo was quite good.
But I like the one in Golden Shoe Hawker centre on level 3 much better despite the fame of this place. The yong tau foo in Golden Shoe has a much richer broth and also they have onion oil and sesame seeds there.

I think this is better than average but I'm not sure what the fuss is about.

I'm not a hawker food specialist admittedly. I only like something as much as my taste buds tell me. In this case, it says value for money and quality as a lot of good hawker food is. But it doesn't draw me back over and over again. I don't dream of it.

Location: Blk 5 #02-04

I think Meii Sushi has closed down

It seems that Meii Sushi has closed down as I saw a sign outside that says that the space is renting out...

Bull's

I needed lunch and the hawker centre queues were too long so I went for this new joint instead.

This place serves Japanese, sandwich rolls and bubble tea.

The sandwich rolls looked really unappetizing so I went for a bento box.

Curry chicken bento box

This is eatable but isn't great. If you want Japanese, I suggest the Japanese store in the hawker centre above the wet market in Tanjong Pagar Plaza. I can't remember the store name but will blog it when I get a chance to buy from there when the queues aren't too long.

However, if you want a quick meal without queues like me, I had no choice but to buy from here.

The slogan on the cash machine is really strange it says 

Even Michelin star restaurants don't claim that. I suggest that they take it off, its a bit misleading…

Location: 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-53, Tanjong Pagar

Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 8am- 5pm

Prices: About $10 per meal

Homebaked Dough

Shop Front

This little ramen shop is situated in a food centre in Blk 5 of Tanjong Pagar Plaza.
The name sounds unusual for a ramen place but it is because they sell cookies as well. Ramen and cookies is a bit of a strange combination.

Menu

Menu is pretty simple. Pretty affordable for ramen as it is in a food centre where costs are lower. Most ramen outside costs at least $10 or more.

Corn Ramen

I ordered the corn ramen for $6. This isn't bad at all. If you are not looking for a excellent ramen, then this will feel your tummy and satisfy you for $6. The broth is too light for me as you can see from the color. There is seaweed, sufficient corn and pork to make one happy for $6.
But for fussy oh me, I will go back to Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King. The ramen there is at least twice the price but more than twice as good.

Website: http://www.homebakeddough.com/
Location: Level 2 Blk 5 Tanjong Pagar Plaza Teck Kee Coffee Shop, Tanjong Pagar
Price: About $4- $7 per serve

Red Riding Hood

This is another shop that is popping up in the HDB that defies the convention of traditional HDB shops.

Cakes, cupcakes and cookies

This new place is a comforting place for the working crowd to sit down to have a drink and cake. An alternative to kopi Os and Tehs. 

I had their hot chocolate which is a mixture of liquid chocolate and powdered chocolate. This is better than most places that only have powder chocolate. However, at about $6.50 per cup, I still would expect pure tasty liquid chocolate to be the base of this drink. I understand liquid chocolate is more expensive and also takes more work. But powdered chocolate is way too sweet and always has an artificial taste.

I was given a pecan cookie and a ginger snap cookie to sample. Both are delicious and not too sweet. The only thing is that I find the pricing a bit on the high side at $9.50 per box of about 10. Its nice to be able to indulge in it once in a while but I won't be buying a big box anytime soon. Pecans are not cheap though so perhaps that goes into the pricing.

I must say that I love the Tanjong Pagar area as new interesting shops are always popping up. Also like in this place, most of owners are friendly and happy to chat. 

Cupcakes that I got recently:

Pumpkin

Apple cinnamon

Both were pretty good. Cream was not sickly sweet. But at ~$3.50 a pop, pretty expensive.

Website: http://www.facebook.com/RedRidingHoodPL
Address: Block 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #02-102
Contact Number: 96497989

Black Gold

1st recorded visit

The eateries below HDBs are traditionally coffee shops. However, a new slew of boutique eateries is starting to pop up in Tanjong Pagar Plaza Block 7 HDB that break the traditional mould.

Meii Sushi was the first.  Now, Black Gold cafe has just opened. Blue Mist pub will be opening soon (this is moved from Amara hotel). So look out for more updates in the Tanjong Pagar Plaza space.

Post pregnancy, a friend of mine popped by for lunch. I wanted to go out but it needed to be close to home for me to cope with the pregnancy wounds and the newborn. Fortunately, Tanjong Pagar is such a great spot to live that I can pop in for lunch in numerous places within mins. This was a good chance for me to try Black Gold cafe.

Black Gold cafe specializes in coffee and affordable french cuisine.

Latte & Traditional coffee  

My husband is a bit of a coffee addict and had 2 coffees.
I only had a sip at the latte. The latte was decent with a proper froth. My opinion is that it isn't in the same league as The Plain or Highlander Coffee but it is far better than what you get in most places.
I did not try the traditional coffee as I have have been advised against too much caffeine during breast feeding. The wait staff said that the local coffee here is a lot stronger than in most coffee shops. He said most coffee shops have coffee that can only make one stay alert for an hour, but this one has enough strength to last one for several hours. If strong coffee is your thing perhaps you should try this out

Pork Sausage with Lentils and mash

We did lunch there as well. There are some good lunch deals there for about $10-$13 dollars. This includes a soup/ salad, a main course and a tea/ coffee.

I had the sausages for my main. This is like bangers and mash but I guess I can say what makes it french are the lentils. The sausage was undercooked the first time and had to be sent back. Other than that mistake, the dish was quite good. A lot of sausages served outside are bad. This pork sausage didn't taste too oily or dry and it went well with savoury mash and lentils. It wasn't a wow dish but everything was seasoned properly.

Chicken Legs in red wine sauce

My friend had chicken legs in red wine sauce. I think this dish is traditionally done with frogs legs. Chicken was braised and tender in a rich tomato sauce. 

Stuffed tomato with pork and olives

This is the lightest meal among the three and I think its a good option if you don't want a heavy lunch. The ratatouille is quite nice. The stuffed tomato is a healthy and tasty option. 

I can't say any of the dishes were spectacular but everything was quite nice. If you want a good affordable lunch in the CDB area for a good price, this is a place to consider. 

Meals during subsequent visits:

2nd visit

Salmon

The Salmon was very fresh, moist with a nice brown sear on the outside. This was good as it is very easy to overcook fish. 

Location: Blk 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza
Prices: About $2- $5 for a tea or coffee. Set lunches come at about $10 - $13

Hair Bliss Indulgence Spa

Tanjong Pagar Plaza has plenty of hair salons, massage services and nail places. They service a lot of the lunch time office crowd in the CBD region.

This hair Spa is tucked in one corner in Tanjong Pagar point block 7. It doesn't offer any other hair service except for the application of Origin Hair Spa Products.  The products are to help promote hair growth and improve the quality of the hair. The products are made of chinese herbs that turn white hair to the natural reddish dye of the herbs over time.

The shop is owned by 2 sisters and their mum who have used the Origin products for over 10 years. The owners have a hereditary issue of having white hair from a relatively young age. They were dyeing their hair regularly and the chemicals from the dye affected the quality of their hair. When they discovered Origin Products, it allowed them to dye their hair and maintain good hair quality.

The sisters have other jobs so their mother runs the spa. The Spa isn't really run to make massive profits as their entire family use it for treatment. This is true considering the price of the treatments and the rental costs in Tanjong Pagar. Hence, the treatment prices are reasonable from about $30 to $50 depending on your length of hair for 1.5 hours treatment. This is also reflected from the fact that the owners have never tried to push their products on me unlike many other spa places. The general treatment consists of application of herbs, steam, wash and massage, drying of hair and application of hair oil/ cream.

Simple and Comfortable facilities

The place looks basic but it is clean and comfortable.

I have been going to the place for about a year before and during my pregnancy. My hair always feels luxurious for at least a week after treatment, it has helped to reduce my hair loss and stem my oily scalp problem. My mum who has been going with me for about the same period of time has also seen results in better hair quality. Her hair is clearly stronger and not as dry. 

Location: Tanjong Pagar Plaza Blk 7 #02-109
Opening Hours: Mon - Fri 11am - 7pm, Sat 9:30 am - 4:30pm

Contact Number: 62721683

Prices: About $30 to $50

Five Spice Prawn Fritters

Given this is in the neighborhood. I thought I'll give it a try. It only opens from 11am-2pm from Mon to Sat. I went down there at 1245 on a Saturday to be told o come back 30 mins later to collect it as they needed more time to cook my order. She said that there were already plenty of others who had booked for it earlier. Also, when I offered payment, the aunty said it was not necessary. A shop that doesn't need down payment and also needs me to wait 30 mins?? this only indicates to me that even if I didn't collect my dish, there was a continuous stream of people waiting behind me to buy it. 

Shop front

Noodles that come with the dish

 

5 different types of fritters- Prawn Fritters, Pork Rolls (Ngoh Hiang), Pork Liver Rolls, Egg Rolls and the Pork Sausage

All the above for $4. How many decent things can you get these days for that price.  No wonder it is that popular. My favourite is the prawn fritters. The rest is good but really not spectacular. I will probably go back. 

Location: Blk 5 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #02-04/05 Teck Kee Coffee Shop

Opening Hours: Mon- Sat 11am- 2pm
Prices: $4 per serve

Artease

Shop on Main Street Tanjong Pagar Plaza

The nice thing about Artease is that there are a couple of seats in the shop. One can sit there for a short time and have a quick chat. 

The flavors that are sold are also a bit different from Woobee. So while they seem to be bubble tea competitors, they each have their own niche. 

I think Woobee has a purity in the tea while artease is less intense in tea flavour. It comes down to how you like your bubble tea. 

Summer Blossom Tea

This is a plum flower tea. Initial sip tastes a bit too salty/ sour, the overwhelming flavor of plum (unless you like it). However, as a refreshing drink it does grow on you. The hints of flower do emerge and the taste of plum gets more muted.

Website: http://www.artease.sg/

Location: 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-35

Prices: About $2.50- $3.50

Meii Sushi (Moved to International Plaza)

Tiny Japanese Restaurant beneath HDB. Sets only about 15 max.

Dinner is a bit on the pricey side but set lunches are good. Set lunches are between $10-$20.

Set lunches come with a small salad dressed with ponzu sauce.

The lunch time dishes we tried

Salmon Sushi

Sushi and Sashimi is meant to be the speciality here. $10 for a portion. The lunch time sets for sushi and sashimi are about $20 and I think are better value for money. However no complaints as the slices here were very thick and fresh.

Chicken Karaage Set lunch

This is really value for money at $12. Chicken is quite nice and crispy on the outside and comes with a sourish thick dipping sauce. It isn't bad, but I think i like fried chicken with a more crunchy batter. The soup comes with a few clams. Rice and salad completes the meal. 

The special here available for dinner is meant to be Omakase- meaning leave it to the chef. Its supposed to be "cheap" at $100 per pax. I still cannot bring myself to pay for that price but perhaps I will try one day. 

In the meantime, lunch is a bargain. 

Warnings: 

1) This place is not child friendly

I tried to go in for lunch with my newborn and I was told apologetically that babies were not allowed in. I'm not sure if this is because the seating space is very small but it looks like I won't be going there for a while.

2) This place does not do takeaways

I'm not sure what the reason is behind this. My gut feel is that the owner may be a purist who believes that all meals be eaten straight after preparation?? Maybe you guys can query it for me.

Location: Blk 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-108

Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 11am- 2:30am, 5pm- 1030pm

Prices: About $10-$22 for lunch

Woobee Bubble Tea

Woobee is one of the best bubble teas around Singapore. A lot of bubble teas are syrupy without the genuine taste of tea. Woobee has decent tea in the bubble tea and uses natural raw sugar which means there is none of the artificial syrupy taste!

Funky Shopfront

One can also choose from big or small pearls or puddings.


The lunch time office crowd during weekdays is truly crazy. Delivery is also available if you are within a close range.


I like the Citron green tea which isn't available in most places or only in japanese shops.

Lychee Red Tea, Passionfruit tea, Caramel Milk Tea 

Website: http://www.woobbee.com/en/
Location: 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-18, Singapore, Singapore 082001
Best Sellers: Pearl Milk Tea
Prices: $3-$4 average for most teas. A bit pricer than the average for this premium product
Opening Hours: Mon- Fri 10:30am- 7:30pm, Sat 11am- 5pm