A Break in Lotteria

I needed a break from eating traditional Korean cuisine after a couple of days in South Korea. I headed to Lotteria in Myeongdong.

Lotteria is a fast food chain serving burgers, fries, and fried chicken. Exactly what I needed!!!

Fries

Not the best fries I've had but I didn't care.  

BBQ & Spicy Sauce

Fried Wings

The chicken had very crispy skin and was also juicy inside. The BBQ and spicy dips made it a winner.

Bulgogi Burger

Very sweet and lacked flavor. Should have ordered the popular shrimp burger.

Of course, Lotteria will not compare to the more popular chains but it's worth a visit for those who want to experience American fast food with a Korean twist. 

Lotteria has multiple branches in South Korea. For more information, click here. 

Shilin Night Market is a Must Visit

 I was in Taipei for a quick 3 day getaway. It was more of a sightseeing excursion but we did manage to squeeze in a few culinary adventures along the way! This is the 6th of 10 parts.

One hasn't fully explored Taipei without visiting the mother of all night markets, Shilin! 

Shilin Night Market is the biggest and most famous night market in the city with hundreds of kiosks and stores selling food and  non-food items (clothes, shoes, accessories, etc.). Arcade arenas, karaoke joints, and theater houses also surround the area. 

Don't be deterred by the huge crowds as the frenzied and chaotic environment is part of the Shilin experience.

Our first stop was the popular chicken stall Hot Star.

Hot Star has one of the longest lines but wait time isn't bad...

thanks to a very efficient system!

Chicken Getting Floured 

Fry Station

Ready to be Served

Deep Fried Chicken Fillet

Juicy with an addictive flour coating, I could eat this jumbo chicken all day long!

A few stalls from Hot Star is Ladu Alibaba...

Making the roti in full view of passersby is a brilliant strategy as it drew us in.

Kebabs Anyone?

Curry Beef Roll

Sadly, there was nothing remarkable about this roll. Hot and filling but not much else.

A food kiosk not be missed is the stall below. It's home to the best scallion pancakes in Taipei!

Scallion Pancakes

This fried dough with egg didn't picture well but was oh so good! Salty and greasy making it perfect for midnight snack. Best eaten piping hot.

Our last food stop at Shilin Night Market was Cheng Zu.

I could not resist these buns!

Small Meat Buns

Loved the crunchy bottom bits and the very soft and flavorful meat inside. 

Curly also tried the intriguing "froggy" drink...

but got disappointed. She said it tasted weird.

We also joined the long lines of this 50 year old establishment.

Everyone was queuing for this drink....

and it tasted like grass!

Oh well, at least we also had milk tea which wasn't so bad!

Shilin Night Market is open from 4 pm to 2 am daily. Get off the Jiantan Station (not Shilin!!!) of the Danshui MRT.

Maxwell Food Center: Home of the Best Chicken

Singapore Day 3

Maxwell Food Centre

1:10 p.m.

Our third day in Singapore began a little late with us leaving our hotel at noon. We headed straight to Chinatown to eat at Maxwell Food Centre for a bite of the best chicken in town.

Clean It Was Not

Popular Food Centre

Most Singaporeans agree that the best chicken in Singapore is to be had at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice. The fact that it had the longest line at Maxwell Food Centre goes to show how popular the stall is.

Long Lines Unsurprisingly

Bourdain approved

Modern Times

Hainanese Chicken

The 15 minutes I spent waiting in line at Tian Tian was worth it because this was undeniably the best hainanese chicken that I've ever had. Perfectly cooked, the chicken was so tender and juicy, it even had the hard to replicate thin layer of gelatin that glossed the chicken's skin. It was also seasoned very well and tasted very clean  that I didn't need the accompanying sauces provided. Tian Tian certainly set the bar high and it would be hard for anyone to replicate the quality and awesomeness of their chicken.

It came as no surprise that the other food we ordered at Maxwell Food Centre paled in comparison as the Tian Tian chicken truly was the star of the meal. Here are some thoughts I had with our other orders:

Misua

 Forgettable. I have no memory of the flavor profile whatsoever.

Curry

The curry was actually good but I didn't appreciate the sloppy presentation of the dish. It didn't help that my friend told us that the stall had sanitation issues.

Carrot Cake

Not as good as the carrot cake we had at Chomp Chomp. Lacks a healthy dose of pepper me thinks.

Mee Go Reng

Flavors reminded me of Italian spaghetti. This is pasta the Singaporean/Malay way.

If only to have a taste of Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, I would strongly encourage everyone to visit Maxwell Food Centre.

Maxwell Food Centre is located at 1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Road Singapore. 
Aside from the stall at Maxwell Food Centre, Tian Tian  Hainanese Chicken Rice has a standalone restaurant at 443 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore. For more information, click here.

Dinner at Boon Tong Kee

Singapore Day 2

Boon Tong Kee Balestier Road

9:42p.m.

Boon Tong Kee is the place to be if you're looking to enjoy Singaporean cuisine at an air-conditioned, more sanitized environment. It serves a mean version of chicken rice as well as other favorites the Lion City is known for.

There are several branches of Boon Tong Kee but we chose to dine at the original branch in Balestier Road upon the recommendation of locals.

The Famous Chicken

The Balestier branch was still full of diners even late at night so we were relegated to the "al fresco" dining area. I didn't mind the on the street eating as it somehow made the experience more authentic. haha

On the Street Eating

Deep Fried Crispy Beancurd

I hate anything soy related but miraculously got convinced to try this chicken nugget looking dish. I'm glad I did because it tasted heavenly! Every bite was smooth as silk and I'm sure the touch of mayo helped in making me enjoy the dish.

Crispy Cereal Prawns

Sweet, spicy, salty, and everything nice. This is one example why I love Singaporean cuisine! The huge prawns were also perfectly cooked.

Chicken, Salted Fish, and Chinese Sausage Claypot Rice

They didn't scrimp with the ingredients and it was seasoned well (read: not salty).

Signature Boiled Chicken

Though not as splendid as I remembered it to be, Boon Tong Kee's chicken still deserves to be considered as one of the best chickens in all of Singapore. Head to a branch near you to discover why...

Boon Tong Kee has 6 locations in Singapore. For more information, click here.

Yum Yum Chomp Chomp

Singapore Day 1
Chomp Chomp Food Centre
10:25 p.m.

A food trip in Singapore isn't complete without visiting a hawker center. Hawker centers are open air complexes housing different food stalls that showcase authentic Singaporean cuisine at affordable price points. 

We couldn't let our first day in Singapore pass without stepping foot on a hawker center so we headed to Chomp Chomp Food Centre for some late night food debauchery.

Chomp Chomp Food Centre was voted third best hawker center in Singapore so we knew we were in good hands.

At 10 in the evening, Chomp Chomp was still full of hungry diners and we had to wait for an available table given the compact size of the food center. Good thing turnover was fast and we made use of the idle time to scout the stalls. 

I have to admit that Chomp Chomp Food Centre will not win any awards in the hygiene department but all was forgotten as soon as our orders arrived. By the way, I included photos of the stalls where we ordered our food for reference.

Lychee Juice

More water than lychee. At least it was ice cold, perfect for the humid weather.

Our Carrot Cake Stall of Choice

Chai Tow Kueh or Carrot Cake

For those who are confused, carrot cake doesn't contain the orange vegetable rabbits love to eat. It's actually made of white radish mixed with rice flour fried with fish sauce, eggs, garlic, and spring onions. There were a lot of stalls offering carrot cake but I had no regrets with the stall we chose as this is one dish that haunts me still.  The addicting flavors have had me craving for carrot cake ever since I got back, making me want to book a return ticket to Singapore a.s.a.p. The carrot cake had a clean mild taste with bursts of pepper, chili, and crunchy egg taking turns in delighting my taste buds.

Char Kway Teow

Sadly, I failed to take a picture of the stall where we ordered our char kway teow which is flat rice noodles stir fried with lard. Yes, LARD! Lard is used to highlight and bring out the flavors of the noodles which also have Chinese sausage,  chili, bean sprouts, and chives in the mix. The salty/sweet/oily combination was to die for that it took a lot of restraint on my part not to finish the entire plate knowing how unhealthy it was. This proves the point that delicious food is usually not good for us. 

 Beware of this Stall

Spicy Clams

We ordered the spicy clams from Boon Tat, a stall famous for its stingray. The clams were not so fresh but what I remember about this dish is that we got more empty shells than clams with actual meat. Such a ripoff!

BBQ Stingray

I liked the salty and spicy flavors of the Boon Tat stingray but did not appreciate the rubbery consistency of the fish. I'm glad to have tried stingray but I'm not a fan.

Wing Factory

Chicken Wings

The wings took a long time to arrive on our table but it was worth the wait.  Perfectly cooked which made the wings so tender and juicy. The wings actually tasted plain on its own but became something else once dipped in the red spicy sauce provided. A healthy alternative to bonchon chicken.

Porridge Land

Congee

I wasn't able to take note of the kind of congee we ordered but I remember this as having a very thick and creamy consistency. One can never go wrong with congee as this is comfort food.

Convenient Rojak Stall

Rojak

Since a rojak stall was conveniently located opposite our table, we ordered a plate not knowing what rojak was. The prawn paste sauce was interesting with a tangy, sweet blend but I gave up on rojak as soon as I bit into a cucumber. I later learned that rojak does have an odd pairing of ingredients with fruits, vegetables, dried tofu, dough fritters, and cured cuttlefish making the cut. Hmmm....

In hindsight, this meal was one of my favorite memories of our trip because we not only ate simple, delicious food, but we also had an authentic Singapore experience by mixing and eating with the locals at Chomp Chomp.

I wish I could say that Chomp Chomp was our last stop during our first day in Singapore but we actually went to Helipad in Clarke Quay for a nightcap. Helipad offered good views of Clarke Quay but it was too dark there so I didn't bother taking pictures.

Next post will be the start of Day 2.

Finally!

Chomp Chomp Food Centre is located at 20 Kensington Park Road, Serangoon Garden Estate, Singapore. It is open from 6 p.m. until 12 midnight.