Mahan Food - Mee Soto @ Blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road

Right across the coffee shop from Al Mubarak Restaurant is Mahan Food, a Malay Muslim stall selling nasi padang, lontong, mee siam, mee rebus and mee soto.

Other than the nasi padang, their noodle dishes are all priced affordably at $3. I ordered a bowl of mee soto and I could not resist the temptation of adding a begedil and fried chicken wing to complete my meal.

Don't you think the begedil and fried chicken wing are the best accompaniments to pair with mee soto? The makcik placed the two sides separately in another bowl. She even helped to cut up the chicken wing for easy eating.

The total bill came up to $5.20.

Al Mubarak Restaurant - Chicken Briyani @ Blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road

I was visiting the bank in the area so I thought I would drop by Foodclique at blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road for brunch.

I had spent the entire morning waiting at the bank and I was getting hangry. While pondering over what to have from the coffee shop, I saw this huge pot of briyani beckoning to me from the counter-top of Al Mubarak Restaurant, an Indian Muslim stall.

Resistance is futile, they say and I think there is much truth in that as I succumbed to temptation and ordered myself a chicken briyani ($5.50).

My eyes sparkled when the staff removed the lid that was partially covering the pot, revealing the basmati rice together with mutton and chicken in its grandeur.

As I did not had my camera with me, I returned for a second visit within the same week, this time, armed with my trusty camera for a proper review... only to realize that the memory card is still plugged into the computer at home.

I had to depend on my iPhone camera, albeit unwillingly, for the rescue mission.

Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee @ Blk 130 Jurong Gateway Road

Update: Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee has relocated. It's new address has been updated at the bottom of this post.

Two years ago, I learned of a certain Thai-styled wanton mee setting up shop at the Ang Mo Kio area and being the avid wanton mee lover that I am, how could I not give it a try?

However, the mere thought of getting there just for a bowl of noodles convinced me otherwise and I ended up procrastinating for the longest time.

When I found out that they have a new outlet at Jurong East, it got me excited since the location is very much closer to me now.

Unfortunately, I have been to the coffeeshop no lesser than five times but each time I have to turn back in disappointment as they are always closed when I got there.

Tokyu Hands 東急ハンズ Arrived In West Gate Singapore!

Tokyu Hands (東急ハンズ) has recently opened a new store in Singapore - its first outlet in Southeast Asia - earlier this month.

This Japanese lifestyle store sells such a wide variety of merchandise that you can call it a part hardware, part hobby, part kitchen, part gift and stationery store all in one.

Seeing some excitement from friends about its arrival, I decided to check it out to see what was the commotion all about.

From what I found out, Tokyu Hands is a multi-level shopping paradise in Japan but the store here is located in a 7,500 sq ft store on the first floor of West Gate Mall in Jurong East.

Actually, it reminded me of Daiso but a more upmarket one (read: EXPENSIVE).

秋莲板面 Qiu Lian Ban Mian @ Jurong East Westgate

Qiu Lian Ban Mian at Westgate

I remember I had my very first bowl of Ban Mian from Qiu Lian Ban Mian (秋莲板面) some twenty years ago during my schooling days in the 90s.

Ban Mian is a traditional noodle dish with Hakka origins (some say Hokkien) and it is Qiu Lian who introduces it to the masses in Singapore.

Well, I could be wrong though but I do not recall seeing any other Ban Mian stalls around prior my first bowl at Qiu Lian.

It was only after sometime that other Ban Mian stalls began sprouting all over the island when the dish became popular and gained a foothold in the local food scene.

At that time, the novelty of seeing your noodle being handmade (with the pasta machine) in front of you was something new to me and the chewy texture of the noodles was a refreshing change from the usual mee pok, mee kia, kway teow, etc...