Sweet Tooth Addiction - Panini Sandwiches

So we've been seeing a lot of Sweet Tooth Addiction on our Instagram feed and all the photos they are posting always give us such cravings!! So one day while we were headed out for a meeting, we decided to stop by to get some goodies!

Had a bit of trouble finding the place at first but eventually we took a correct turn somewhere and ended up right in front of the store! And just in time too... just opened! Did you know they're the only late-night bakery? Open from 3pm to 2am! Perfect for late night munchies LOL

So we got ourselves some of the sweet treats we saw on their IG but then something else caught our eye... A poster for Panini sandwiches! And we were feeling a bit peckish so we thought what the hey!

But you'll have to forgive the photos because they were literally taken in the car!

Smoked Salmon and Guacamole Sandwich ($9.00)

Okay so the first thing we noticed and would like to point out is that it's not really a Panini seeing as to how it's not Panini bread used. Not that we mind though. Maybe we read the poster wrong? I'm not sure but this is more of a baguette and a very suitable choice of bread if you ask me!

Anyways, I'm the Smoked Salmon guy so you can probably guess I enjoyed this one. Nice and briny smoked salmon gives a generous bite with the fresh lettuce and tomatoes. Yeah there was guacamole there but I guess I was concentrating too much on the smoked salmon! And there was plenty so I guess this justifies the higher-than-usual price tag.

Sambal Chicken Sandwich ($8.00)

Here's one we saw on the IG and simply had to try and it did not disappoint.
My Darling Wife says it reminded her of Sardine Sambal while I thought it reminded me of Sambal Ikan Bilis. Safe to say - it's definitely Sambal something.

Yana did note though that the cucumber slices were a tad thick. I didn't have much of a problem at first but towards the middle of the sandwich, they did get a bit thick. Yeah I know we wanna get a nice crunch on it but still. Luckily the sambal chicken was tasty and you're gonna keep chomping down and chomping down until it's all gone.

This one also happened to be Mein Bruder's favourite by the way.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich ($7.00)

And last but not least, we end with the sandwich that seems like the most boring but brought back a lot of memories to be honest.

Mein Bruder and I used to have a lot of these types of sandwiches when we were kids. Yeah maybe not such fancy bread but just the normal sliced bread. Our Dad would but slices of Halal Chicken Ham or Halal Turkey Ham which was quite a luxury in those days. And as a snack, we'd plop on some mayonnaise in between some bread, pile on some of the Chicken/Turkey Ham plus a cheese slice and pop it in the toaster oven for a bit to melt the cheese. And the result is that - a good old satisfying feeling.

I'm note sure how many of you will enjoy this sandwich because to be honest it does seem like the most boring of the lot doesn't it? No veggies. Not much filling. But I guess it's actually not that bad if you go for this sort of thing. And if my memory of tastes serves me correctly - this is Chicken Ham.

Adam's Verdict:
Smoked Salmon and Guacamole Sandwich 3.5/5 -- Sambal Chicken Sandwich 3/5
Ham and Cheese Sandwich 2.5/5

Maryah's Verdict:
Smoked Salmon and Guacamole Sandwich 4/5 -- Sambal Chicken Sandwich 4/5
Ham and Cheese Sandwich 3/5

Azlan's Verdict:
Smoked Salmon and Guacamole Sandwich 3/5 -- Sambal Chicken Sandwich 4/5
Ham and Cheese Sandwich 3/5

Yana's Verdict:
Smoked Salmon and Guacamole Sandwich 4/5 -- Sambal Chicken Sandwich 2.5/5
Ham and Cheese Sandwich 4/5

Well, we didn't go there for the sandwiches but they turned out to be a pleasant surprise. A little pricey if you ask us personally but definitely nice to have at least once in awhile.

Don't forget they also have plenty of sweet treats (it's called SWEET Tooth Addiction like duh) including Churros and the sort. We also saw a poster for My Pizza which has one of our most fave pizzas in the history of the world - The Sambal Ikan Bilis Pizza!

Hopefully we get to review the cakes and tarts soon!

Sweet Tooth Addiction

216 Joo Chiat Road
#01-08

Tel: 6444 0424
www.instagram.com/sweeetoothaddiction

Operating Hours:
3.00pm til 2.00am Tuesdays to Sundays
Closed on Mondays

The Chicken Rice Chronicles Part 7: Evertop Family Restaurant

Oh yeah... The Evertop review is finally here...
But first, why not recap our past visits of The Chicken Rice Chronicles HERE.

So Evertop is such a famous name when it comes to Chicken Rice in Singapore I reckon. I know lots of people who tell me they love to go to Evertop with their friends and family because there's lot of food to choose from but the draw is definitely the Chicken Rice!

You all know I'm a fan of Mackenzie Rex Chicken Rice and  I hold that as the top level.
So how did I find the Evertop version?

Chicken Rice ($4.50)

Okay that picture is actually of half a chicken serving by the way. The normal serving is definitely gonna be lesser than that. But you get the picture right? Looks good and really super appetizing am I right or am I right?

The chicken was really tender and not tough at all. It was also nicely bathed in the soy sauce just the way I like it similar to the Chicken Rice at Tang Tea House but this one was not as salty though.

And I'm not sure if you noticed but they have a serving of pickled cucumber and carrots on the side which I found kind of weird. I normally only get that when I order something like Ngoh Hiang at Rex and this was the first time I was receiving it with Chicken Rice that's for sure. But don't worry they have the normal cucumber too.

I think this is where it started to go a little downhill for me.
I actually found the rice quite bland. I guess I was expecting more since everyone was telling me about how nice the Chicken Rice here was.

In fact, this is the same case as Tang Tea House where I found the rice to be totally out of sorts.

Just one look at the Chilli and you know it's packing quite a punch. None of that watery stuff here this is the pekat stuff!

And just like Tang Tea House, this was the spicy-spicy kind of Chicken Rice Chilli. No vinegar or lime juice or sugar or anything like that. Seems like just chillies and garlic (and maybe some ginger) and that's it. Nothing complex. Just plain heat.

And even though I compare this Chilli to Tang Tea House, this one was definitely spicier.
In fact, I'm gonna say this is the spiciest Chicken Rice Chilli I've tasted so far in this series!!

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken 3.5/5 -- Rice 1.5/5 -- Chilli 2/5 -- Overall 2.5/5

To be honest, I feel that the Chicken Rice at Evertop is very comparable to the chicken rice at Tang Tea House except that Tang Tea House edges out on top because their roasted chicken is better. But other than that, it's a pretty close fight.

Still looking for the chicken rice that will make us change our minds about Rex Chicken being #1!!

Evertop Family Restaurant

89/91 Joo Chiat Road
Tel: 89/91 Joo Chiat Road

https://www.facebook.com/evertop.joochiat?ref=ts&fref=ts

Operating Hours:
11.30am to 11.00pm Daily

Istanbul Gourmet

So it seems that a lot of people remember 'that Kebab shop from Simei Eastpoint' even though it closed down quite awhile back and Eastpoint itself is undergoing major renovations.

Well I'm not sure how many people knew but the one at Eastpoint was apparently just a smaller branch.
The main restaurant is actually at Joo Chiat Road! I actually walked past the one at Joo Chiat awhile back and I made a note to bring my darling wife there one day but I had no idea at all that it was the same place! Founded since 1999!

Open for so long means they should be doing a thing or two correctly am I right?

So anyways they opened a new stall at Changi City Point recently and since I spotted it, I've been hearing nothing but praises from people about their Laksa! Hmmm... well let's see what the fuss is about.

Chicken Kebab ($4.50)

So when I think Turkish food, i automatically think of Kebab.
Kebab actually refers to the sliced roasted meat so you can have many many different types of Kebab including more common ones like Doner, Roll, Kofta, Iskander and Shish.

The Kebab here at Istanbul Gourmet is the Doner version which is basically the meat and veggies in between some flatbread or pita bread.

The chicken meat itself was quite tender but I felt it was lacking in flavour. Maybe I was expecting too much after all the good reviews I had been hearing. I saw that the chicken was being cooked in the traditional way on the rotating roasting spit and the meat was definitely not over-cooked and still juicy.

Or perhaps the lack of seasoning in the chicken meat was intentional?
The description on the menu says "Freshly-baked bread with with choice of chicken or mutton. Topped with onions, lettuce, tomatoes and Istanbul Gourmet's signature salad dressing".

Well I'm not 100% sure but I think it was just mayonaise and chili sauce in there.
And some pieces of potato! (Which was a welcome surprise)

Mutton Kebab ($6.50)

I normally go for the 'other' kebab instead of chicken. So this is normally lamb, beef or in this case - mutton.

As it's quite safe to say, the mutton was not cooked the same was as the chicken meat on the rotating spit.
This mutton was minced and scooped out of a warmer when I ordered so I'm not really sure how it was prepared.

Anyways I have to say that this was the first time I was having MINCED meat in any kebab.

What I can tell you is that it is definitely more flavourful than its chicken meat counterpart.
You can really taste the spices in the meat but unfortunately since it's minced, you don't really get to take a nice big satisfying chomp into the meat.

For both versions of the kebab, they give you a nice soft bun which unfortunately gets a bit soggy by the time you get home. Because there is no seating area at the Changi City Point outlet ("No Frills Dining"), you'll have a bit of a challenge if you're gonna buy back some kebabs to bring all the way home.

Maybe you might consider eating it on one of the benches in the mall so you can enjoy it fresh?
But then you'll have the challenge of not looking like a clown because kebabs do tend to be a little messy in nature if you're eating it especially in public. Having sauce dripping down your chin onto your clothes would be a nightmare so be careful! :)

PS you can add Cheese to your Kebab for an extra $1.

But hey what about this Laksa I was hearing about so much eh???

Istanbul Laksa ($4.00)

Hmmmmmmm...

Well so basically this is their take on the local favourite - Laksa.

One of the special things about it is that they put a serving of the Chicken Kebab meat and some fish cake so you have some extra bite. No prawns or cockles. Just Chicken Kebab meat.

Okay I can't avoid mentioning it anymore. What's up with the oil??
That's quite a layer of oil am I right? And I'm not sure where the oil is coming from...

Once you actually dig in, the Laksa gravy is actually quite tasty!
It's got quite a unique taste to it... Not like your typical Laksa. A bit of a tangy/spicy hint to it.
Take a bit of getting used to but I guess it was tasty enough that you keep going spoon after spoon after spoon til it's all gone!

And as you can see from the picture, the oil was just the top layer so I'm not sure where the oil came from.
Perhaps from the Kebab meat? Hmmmm.... Anyways just like the Chicken Kebab, the meat was not really seasoned very strongly so it contributed nothing to the taste of the Laksa. Just some meat to munch on.

My darling wife didn't have much but after a few spoonfuls she commented that it didn't taste the same as what she remembered from the old days at Simei Eastpoint.

Adam's Verdict:
Chicken Kebab 2/5 -- Mutton Kebab 2/5 -- Laksa 2.5/5

I wasn't really impressed with Istanbul Gourmet on this visit. Especially since it was the founder, top chef and big boss - Mr Henry Teo - who was behind the cooking counter when I visited (I recognize him from his picture on the name card). I guess maybe I set my expectations really high but having to bungkus makes a difference.

But I do intend to visit the Joo Chiat restaurant because I really feel not being able to eat there makes a big difference to the food. Plus there are some items that seem really interesting... Like the Beef Bomb!!
Hope my 2nd try of Laksa goes better!

Istanbul Gourmet

5 Changi Business Park Central 1
Changi City Point
B1-20

Tel: 64406026 / 98410260 (Mr Henry Teo)
www.facebook.com/istanbulgourmetsingapore

Operating Hours:
10.00am til 10.00pm Daily