Botak Jones

Char-grilled Salmon Fillet Meal at S$14 with additional "Shiitake Mushroom" sidedish

We heard the Botak Jones advertisement many times on the radio and being in the vicinity around Bukit Merah, we thought we will make a trip there to try.

Botak Jones, what a quaint name for a food place! This place serves authentic American food such as grills, burgers and pastas. Supposedly I understand that the concept for the Jones outlets is to make great western food available for the Heartlanders. So you would notice their outlets are located at the industrial and housing estates. As its slogan suggests, this place serves "damn good good at a damn good price"! This is because they prepare 95% of the food themselves and hence the prices can go so low. And as they claimed, we definitely got some great food at great prices there!

The meals were reasonably priced at S$7-19, burger sets at S$6-15. The steaks are at a different price but am sure it will be well worth the money. I ordered the recommended "Char-Grilled Salmon Fillet Meal" at S$14 and Ted went for the "Cajun Chicken Meal" at S$8. We also went for the additional S$2 deal where you can order a sidedish - and we ordered the "Shiitake Mushrooms". I especially love the mushrooms due to its fragant flavour! The char-grill salmon was also just nicely done and came topped with their own basil and garlic sauce . It was tender and almost melts in your mouth! The cajun chicken was likewise. It was juicy tender and there was a layer of cheese melting over it!

The sets were also served with any 2 sidedishes with the entree and the choices include:

* FRIES * COLESLAW * POTATO SALAD * CHEESE POTATO * DAILY VEGGIE * MEXICAN RICE * * FRESH DILL PASTA * AND MORE. We chose the coleslaw and fries. See what a great meal we have!

Cajun Chicken Meal at S$8 with additional "Shiitake Mushroom" sidedish

Botak Jones Depot Lane Outlet is at Blk 118, Depot Lane #01-02 Stall 10, Singapore 109754 Tel: 6272 3225.

Japanese Kikumasmune Sake

Happened to see this interesting Japanese Matsuri Festival at Central Shopping Mall probably two weekends back. Matsuri means festival. Maybe the festival was to celebrate harvest of some sort. I did not ask further. So there was some celebration over at Central, nearer the end facing the Riverside Quay. The event was a rather short one. Japanese music were playing in the background and cocktails were served to everyone at the mall. At the auspicious time of 9pm, the Japanese danced and celebrated, followed by opening a big wooden cask of Japanese sake wine /of brand known as "Kiku-Masamune". (Supposedly this is a famous brand of Japanese dry sake!)

After the opening of the big wooden casks, the Japanese were crazily inviting everyone at the Mall to have a taste of the Japanese sake wine as celebration. The sake was scooped using wooden ladles from the big wooden casks and everyone was served tiny little glasses of the Japanese sake. Very interesting. There was a lot of Japanese fun and giggles! There were also booths providing information on tours to Japan at the mall. A lot of shoppers joined in the fun! So we did too... the sake was very aromatic despite it being a small glass. Very sweet and rather strong. I understand that the sake was kept in the wooden casks to absorb the cedar wood from it and so as to produce the refreshing and wonderful aroma. We had a tiny glass for sampling and would say thanks for the sweet sake experience - and cheers ! Arigatoo gozaimasu ne.

Astons Express

We ventured to the neighbourhood this time. Its Serangoon Gardens! Yep the place where the famous hawker food centre is affectionately known as "Chomp Chomp". But no, we did not go to Chomp Chomp. Instead we detoured and visited one of the coffee shops round the corner of Farleigh Avenue, just diagonally opposite the Serangoon Maju Mall.

We walked along the row of shops and found this "New Huak Hin Coffeeshop". Surveying the stalls, we found this Grill place called "Astons Express" where all the staff at the stall don the same look - an Astons T-shirt with a khaki apron and cap. The grill looks good and they boast of serving Wagyu tender beef grill, tender chicken grill and many other choices at pretty competitive prices!

I was attracted and went for the "Chargrill Chicken". The complete grill set costing S$5.90 also allows for 2 side dishes to be served from a choice of items like; baked potatoes, baked beans, corn, mashed potato, vegetable salad, seasonal vegetables... among others. My choice for the day was the mashed potato and seasonal vegetables which was reasonably good!

See what a great meal I got above. The chicken was very tender and soft. Grilled well but still does not feel hard. It was served with mushroom sauce and the chicken was sprinkled with lots of black pepper. Nice! The mashed potatoes were soft and quite comparable to that served at the Punggol Park Bliss Restaurant (See earlier post on "Bliss Restaurant"). For a grill set of this price and NO GST, I would say what more can I ask?? Quick go and try it.

Astons Express is at 56, Serangoon Way, New Huak Hin Coffeeshop Tel: 6258 8839.

31 Sungei Road Laksa

Nothing beats a bowl of smooth thick spicy Laksa in hot sunny Singapore! And you can find the perfect bowl here at Sungei Road, Singapore! It is not famously acclaimed for no reasons and when you try it, you will know...

There has been many Laksa stalls found in Singapore claiming to be either the best Sungei Road or Katong Laksa. These 2 are supposedly the best Laksas in Singapore so many use that name to pose as the stall hoping to draw crowds. The original Sungei Road Laksa is in fact located at the Jalan Besar area, at Kelantan Lane within Seng Chuan Eating House. It is a coffeeshop that not many may find it unless you make an effort or perhaps while visiting the infamous "Sungei Road Second Hand Market"... The eating house is opposite a bike shop and those bikers who visit the "Lim Ah Boy Motorcycle Servicing Shop" will probably know where this Laksa stall is!

My opinion on the Laksa there is that its darn good! The coconut milk blends so nicely with the Laksa curry and spices. Its not too thick but just enough to bring out the taste. Very nicely done. Served with the cockles, fishcake and some bean sprouts, the dish is perfect!! Moreover, its served at a reasonable price of $2, $2.50 or $3 so its really a great deal. Maybe the only thing is that I wish there were more and bigger cockles in it.

Sometimes I wonder if there is a standard recipe that they use for the concoction of the Laksa because each time, I visit the place, the standard never falters and I wonder how they do it! The stall also serves a fantastic Mackerel otak (@ S$1) to go along with the Laksa so its great for spicy lovers as you don't just get Laksa served there (as if you dont have enough of the spices)! Well, but even for non-spicy lovers like me, I also found it hard to resist the delicious Laksa and Mackerel otak there. And I was definitely one pleased satisfied customer!!! Will be back for sure again.

Sungei Road Laksa is at Blk 31 Kelantan Lane, #01-12 Seng Chuan Eating House, Singapore. Opening hours 9am - 6pm. Closed on first Wednesday of the month.